Easter Saturday

We have been self isolating since the first week of March - the last time we went out was the 2nd March with the exception of shopping for food.  While we would normally keep away from everything over public holidays and school holidays this year we are beginning to go a bit stir crazy.  I suppose that what happens when you are an early adapter.  

Normally I would be tired after a big day of entertaining, and looking down the barrel of a big clean, but not this year.  This year everything is sparkling because we have continued to find little projects each day that could be done like clean out a cupboard, clean up the garden, but really now we literally have no projects left to really do.

I know the kids are also going a bit stir crazy, D1 and boyfriend (soon to be husband in 4 weeks) have been working from home for 4 weeks now and they too are finding it difficult to keep themselves busy when not working and each day is becoming a little more like the same.

We try to only watch the early news in the morning and then the nightly news at 6pm because the day can just get away from you watching the same information all day long.  At first it was sort of OK to keep up to date with whats going on as there were messages from every politician but that has also faded a bit.  Me I now follow ScoMo on facebook because that's the truth and Annasticia  Palaszczuk, this gives me a good overview of our National information and our State information.  I am not saying the TV networks aren't doing a good job, because I think in the main they are - not a lot of fake news at the moment and they are I believe trying hard to keep it real, but I don't want the watered down versions of press conferences, I don't want their opinion on what these people are saying, I want to hear it from the horses head and not the horses arse so to speak.

Australia has done an amazing job, ScoMo and his national cabinet what a stroke of genius, able to put all those people together to make one team and that is such a great thing to see, it will also mean there really shouldn't be any finger pointing when we reach the other side.  We are one! 

Also I am particularly over football players and their woes - who cares, from where I sit they should all be sacked and let a new group come through but under different guidelines so sporting stars (or so they think) understand they are not above it all and the people who really pay their wages are hurting.

It is so sad to see pictures of mass burials in New York, and other places where the bodies are left on the roadside - and yet we still see people not taking it seriously and that is so annoying.  Lets keep our fingers crossed that Australia continues on its path, as we seem to be fairing better than most.

Happy Easter

Such a different feeling this year to most Easters.  I hope everyone gets the message to Stay@Home this year - even though there are lots of things we would prefer to be doing - it's hard.

Generally at this time of the day as I write this I would be getting everything ready for our big family Easter celebrations.  We always do this on Good Friday because generally nothing is open (but hey that's just life now) no one can really go anywhere - again because nothing is open so it is a good time for us to all get together as a family and still give everyone else time to do other things over the nice long 4 day break.

This year however I was able to spend some time getting things to deliver to all my beautiful family who I am missing so much so they can Stay@Home and stay safe.  It was a challenge but over 3-4 weeks every time I went shopping I just popped some extra things into my shopping bag - what I can put in my own shopping bag doesn't get purchased. I don't want to use trolleys even though I see them being cleaned I prefer to take my own big bag and one other and use the self check out to reduce the strain on the girls at the check out and reduce spreading anything, this also generally means that I can just do a pay wave because it is under the $100 limit again reducing the need to touch things.  I also found it stopped me from just going ooooh that might come in handy - being limited to only those things that fit in my bag made me understand exactly what I was looking for.

So for as long as I can remember we have celebrated Easter on Good Friday - I would buy so many Easter Eggs and Easter goodies and food so that we could have a lovely day all together eating, playing games.  I would now generally be getting Julies Yummy Corner ready but not this year.

This week I went to my useful box where I store all my various holiday and special occasions decorations - got out my Easter stuff (all Corona virus free) and packed up everyone what we called Julies Easter Essentials pack so everyone could have the joy of food, essential products that are often hard to find and Stay@Home.

I think everyone enjoyed their delivery and enjoyed all the bits and pieces in it - things we take for granted most of the time but today are just hard to get.

I hope it is a Good Friday and everyone Stays At Home and our numbers reduce so that we can get out again soon.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

April 8th Thoughts

We have so much information at our fingertips these days and I must say I was surprised that so many people really couldn't see what others in the world where facing and didn't see it was going to happen here.  Sometimes you are just better off being prepared - nothing lost if the worst doesn't happen, but better safe than sorry.

As per one of my previous posts our little group started way earlier than most, and therefore we where not in a panic.  As I also said, we where not hording but ensuring we could sit it out for a few weeks without worry, without stuff, and without useless stuff.  That is what has amazed me, people buying large amounts of stuff that I wonder would you normally buy that many beans - whats the point in having stuff that you don't normally eat, that you don't normally prepare - but when there isn't much on the shelves because you haven't prepared maybe that is what happens - but to me it was clearly out there earlier than most wanted to believe.

We are so lucky here to be honest - but it still surprises me that many just do not get the Stay@Home message and feel like they must go out, must socialise.  Yes it is hard but I will say I have seen people walking around our suburb I have never seen out and about before - so maybe there will be a lot more fitter people when this is finished, but what did they do before?  That is what perplexes me, did they really spend that much time at pubs, restaurants, casinos just generally out shopping because a lot of these folks don't look like they have been out on the beaches exercising etc for a very long time.  Or is it now that they are meant to sit down, have a beer and watch telly the don't want to because it is more about rebellion.

I am still surprised by people who go shopping in groups - yes I know the kids want to get out as well but it is so much harder to keep your distance when everyone is in groups. This is probably more to do with smaller blocks and not enough room really for the kids to romp around on like we did and our kids did.  My kids could play for hours out in the yard, collecting things, making things, running around but then again we had larger yards.  Maybe governments should be rethinking block sizes and instead of trying to get as many blocks into an area look at making application fees smaller for larger blocks so that families can be at home with enough space.  The space provides more for everyone to do while staying at home.  It could be that kids are now just use to being carted out and about as well, most people I knew when my kids where growing up didn't take their kids to the shops - they where left at home with Dad but now it does seem like a bit of a family event - have we really just lost touch so much.  I will say that most of the kids in our area seem to be happy, I haven't really heard any whinging so maybe they are happier than what parents think, but it's the parents that are bored.

So today our Parliament is sitting to pass the Job Keeper package - I feel this is great and of course there will be winners and losers there always is, but I am not feeling for the OS Students to be honest - they signed a form to say they could support themselves 12 months - evidently they can't so go home, go to a family members home and yes they may well have paid some tax but how much can you pay when you are a student they would have made more than they have paid in tax and how much are they making each week - why should they get a Job Keeper $1500 a fortnight when New Start now Job Seeker is only $250 a week (yes it is also being increased in this pandemic, but apparently that was enough for people without jobs to live on in the past).

Now on to the whingers and whiners about the quarantining that started 2 weeks ago, they say it wasn't well planned - guess what it wasn't but it was necessary to reduce the spread, I would be interested to know how may left Australia for their oversea trip after mid Feb when travel warning where already in play - to me that wasn't good planning.

A Letter to Greta

A LETTER TO GRETA

RE: Be careful what you wish for

It has occurred to me in the last few weeks, that I have not seen your somewhat miserable face telling the world what we all need to do  and realized there is a new kid in town – one who seems to be getting all the attention and to some extent is fulfilling your wishes within weeks.

While everyone understood your desire for a cleaner world, (we all wish that) it was not understanding what would actually make that happen practically, the new kid does!  A cleaner world was only ever going to happen by:

• Reducing population – the new kid has that one under control.
• Reducing consumption – of things and food – again the new kid seems to have managed to keep our consumption of everything reduced, everyone will be eating less, buying less.
• Reducing travel – planes, trains and automobiles (you know plus ships etc) are big polluters – it is now just about non-existent – yes still occurring but reduced significantly and reducing the carbon emissions with it.  The new kid did that!
• Acting and staying local – unfortunately you cannot make a cleaner world while everyone wants something that is imported from overseas – things get to you from the big polluters.  Staying local and buying local will reduce transportation needs and make the world a cleaner place.  That new kid knows how to keep everyone at home.
• Reducing manufacturing – without consumption there is no need to mass produce – now we are only producing necessary items – thus reducing emissions and making the world a cleaner place.  Less greed, less entitlement – less emissions.  The new kid understands that.

Reducing farting cows is not the issue today is it?  Petrochemicals are the cheapest they have been in a decade, however there is no need for them given we are not going anywhere.  Reduced emissions thanks to Stay@Home and isolation.  It is a new world for the time being and no doubt cleaner, but was this what you were really wanting?  

Fighting climate change and COVID 19 on both fronts probably isn’t necessary except to keep you in the media as the new kid is getting the lime light.

There are more but while you want to promote a cleaner world for the future – maybe you are getting a small picture into what that practically means.  It’s not pretty and it’s not nice.  Your parents allowed you to be entitled by providing an environment for you – I understand that, but all your cohorts are on a band wagon and from what I see do not really practice what they preach in the main it’s about notoriety, and making a living out of being seen, but none of us is being seen anymore because the new kid has changed that.  Influencers are not required anymore it was always a hyped up look at me unsustainable reality – it is now about substance and getting back to basics.

So be careful what you wish for - you may get it just not in the package you thought it would come in.

2020 Oooh Dear

This is now about giving me something to do while in lock down and to provide me with my own account on how we are all getting through in our little bit of the world, it will help me to remember and it will help me to continually focus on the important things in life.  So this is my little COVID 19 diary.

One of the Birthday Parties - 
we will be together again!

While I usually write something at the end or beginning of the year about our year what we did, what we are going to do  I didn't this year.  It wasn't that we didn't do anything in 2019, because we did.  We bought a new camper trailer and we went off many times.  We tried to go places we hadn't been before and continued to discover lovely parts of our world here at home, places more isolated than we would normally go.

The after and before of D1s garden - felt exhausted

We made some changes to our Birthdays in 2019, no presents just everyone's presence - going to local pubs and everyone chipping in.  That was fun and it meant we all got together every month or so and went out as a family.  That was a real highlight for me, just happy, fun and loving.

The end of the year got hijacked as Mum (87) fell and broke her knee and that took the best part of the end of the year to get her recuperated.  D1 and boyfriend moved out of our home here and bought their first house - so moving and gardening and fixing bits and pieces rounded out 2019.  Family type stuff which happens.  

Of course we did have our normal mega Christmas - something I am always grateful for having everyone at home but we where less generous on the present giving and more generous with the love and I loved that.

What where we going to do in 2020 - well we did have some plans but as 2019 and 2020 ended and started so bad with drought and fires we sort of just put everything on hold.  Those events seemed so devastating and just felt going away wasn't necessary.  In hindsight I am so glad we made those calls.

We where also planning D1s wedding which was scheduled for the beginning of May, so we had plenty of lovely things going on - you know dress shopping, trial makeups etc.

Fast forward to Feb - we had started to learn of the WuHan Virus now called COVID 19 - like most of these things we are not generally too affected, however I really did start to see the increase and what was happening elsewhere in the world - it was frightening, it was sad and heartbreaking.

By the last week of February I did decide to withdraw my superannuation - I just felt this virus was going to cause havoc - it did and I am glad I withdrew because it gave me more money to look after my family in these times.  In January Woolworths gave emergency service works (which we are) 10% discount so I did a big shop on all the expensive items like cleaning products, loo paper, sanitisers  toiletries etc - that too was a God send, it meant by February I had a good stock of all of these things.  I did at that time also get the girls to begin getting food in case we go into a lock down - now this was well before others where as I said to them just do bigger shops and look for long life stuff you know a Deb, frozen veg, rice, pasta and meat products for the fridge and freezer - just ensure you could survive for 2 or so weeks without needing to go out.  We all did this at the end of Feb including me making sure Mum was well supplied as well - I did put her in lock down at the end of Feb for going out anywhere.  We where lucky because it meant when there where big runs at the shops we where only topping up and being able to keep away entirely while all the panic buying was taking place - that was what I was hoping to achieve, keep us away from crowds.  Being prepared to the best of our ability.

D1s home cooked meal picked up and taken to their home
Now that is social distancing.

Derek and I have been self isolating with the exception of going to the shops and going to Volunteer Marine Rescue each week, we really wanted to stay safe so we can help others including Mum and the community we serve - boaties and boy have they all been out in force.  Shopping now is my main activity as all the kids are working still (and they find it hard to get to the shops while there are stocks) and needing to get Mum stuff and then stuff for us I can shop early 7am and pick things up for everyone and then do the drop offs.  At the moment it keeps me busy and feeling like Mum again.

We are also doing weekend cook ups for pick up by the kids so they can relax a bit and recuperate after what are now very hectic weeks for them, this is been good for me and gives me yet another little activity to do and then they drive by, pick up and we get to see them even if only for 5 mins - all with social distancing of course but it means we are having family meals even if we are not together.  I like it.

I am now getting ready for Easter - there will not be a Julies Yummy Corner this year the first for many years, but there will be a Julies Essential COVID 19 Easter Essentials

Pack being delivered to everyone I have spent the last couple of weeks finding odds and sods as they have been available.  Stay Tuned and Stay at Home!

That was the year that was - Good Bye 2018 - Hello 2019

It would appear our 2018 was "life is a beach", I didn't really think we did that much this year, but when I look back and really think about it, we didn't really stop and most things revolved around beaches, days at Volunteer Marine Rescue, taking our own boat out and then finding new 4WDing beaches to do. I really don't blog that much any more and that is probably due to the fact that life is just life.  We have learnt to enjoy short holidays more often in our own back yard this year and I have blogged about those, and our 4WDing adventures so won't bore you with those again.

I don't feel we have stopped though, it is just different to other years, we have done a lot more family type things this year as well as well as learning and growing as individuals.

If I look back to this time last year, we have changed quite a lot including:

• Loosing weight - we have both dropped about 8 kilos this year - it was a goal we had since we retired, but just never really got around to addressing - me I still have a few to go but I do go up and down a bit but that journey started around April this year and I know we both feel better for it.
• Reducing Dereks sugar levels - it is an on going trip for us but we are trying to keep his sugar levels into a more moderate range - some days are better than others however we keep plugging away at this.
• Changing our smoking habits - it is what we do unfortunately, but I will say we have been able to make advances in changing this habit, from 2K a month to less than  $500 per month so that in itself is a big change for us.

It was a year of leasurely pursuits.

January:  Tennis ( it is our summer of tennis after all), and our first little 4wD trip to the border ranges

February:  North Straddie and lots of beach 4WDing as well as our 14 River Crossings of the Condamine

 

March/April :our 30th Wedding Anniversary and travels to Yamba/Cresent Heads and Mums 86th Birthday

May/June: Mothers Day, D1's Birthday, My Birthday, Foster and Tuncurry plus painting Mums house

July: Lots of boating, Port MacQuarie

August:  Bribie Island and Training for VMR

September:  Dereks Birthday, Rainbow Beach

October:  D1 moves back home and D2's Birthday

November:  We find our little hide away at North Straddie and do several over nighters in the Wallaby tents

December:   Xmas and a nice week at Ballina  

So lots of beachy things, lots of 4Wding, lots of lovely country drives, and we never seemed to lack for things to do.

While these are not big things, we did make a concerted effort to make lifestyle changes which we hope to continue through to 2019.

We tried to learn new things like 4WDing, painting, Derek got a Drone and has been learning how to concur that, as well as becoming a full MSQ Coxswain.

So life is changing for us, it isn't all about where we have been to any more, it is about where we as individuals want to be as people and that is a bit of a different journey.  Yes we could jump on a plane and fly somewhere, do a tour etc but again we there isn't a lot of places we haven't been to , but right now it is about us finding US and the people we want to become, not about the places we want to go to.  WE have leant to find nice little hide aways that provide us with a balance to our lives.

Family is a big focus for us right now, being there for those we love and as Mum becomes older it seems more and more important to spend time doing things for her and with her.

D1 and D2 also now need our support in more ways than they did a few years ago and that fills the heart with so much more than       travelling, helping them and doing things with them gives us so much pleasure right now that being here for them is important to us.

What does 2019 have in store, who knows at this point in time - will tell you same time next year.

Old dogs can learn new tricks

The one thing we have learnt in retirement is to keep busy, learn new things and be prepared to try and challenge yourself.  I will admit there are a lot of things we have done in the last 6 years (yes we have now been retired for 6 years - how fast that has gone)  that I would never have imaged doing much less love doing them, if you have read some of my other blogs camping and caravaning was one example but there are many more.  Our retirement journey has been quite different to what I would have thought it would be, it was not what I had envisaged.

We seem to find new things that keep us not only occupied but learning and taking on new challenges.  Last year we bought a 4WD and I did blog on our I-Venture Club trip to Moreton Island where we learnt how to use a 4WD properly and get the value for money out of them.  So this year has seen us do a lot of beach and bush bashing, it has been a fun new adventure for us as we discover not only new areas but also some old ones with a new vantage point, but it also has helped us to think more about where we go and what sort of driving might be available to us.

I don't suppose I realised just how many beaches there are that you are able to drive on - let me tell you there is just nothing more beautiful than an early morning beach drive it sure beats the motorway run each day!

Originally we have bought the Isuzu in case we wanted to do some 4WDing, when we traveled around Australia we did feel there where a few places that we would have liked to explore, but because we didn't have a 4WD could not go to.  It also helped in our reducing our cost of living by getting a diesel, (we are spending significantly less on fuel these days)  however it has turned out that we get a lot more from this purchase and it has given us a whole new interest and reason to get up and go and as I have said, in some instances they are new places we have never been to, and in others places we have been many times but seeing only from a Street view.

It is fun to go back on old maps and see where there are national parks with 4WDing tracks and of course beach drives. We felt very confident after our I-Venture day to tackle these drives and knew what equipment we needed and must say we are loving it.

We did the Moreton Island course in August last year (I-Venture Day) and felt we really wanted to give this a better go, so in September we headed for one of the iconic beaches in Queensland - Fraser Island, having a few lovely days at Rainbow Beach and doing the Cooloola Coast beach drive as well.  Yes at first it was a bit nerve wracking but we started on the small run first - sussed out the area to get on and off and you know we took our time, we probably did look like silly old farts but we checked and then double checked and felt quietly confident as we put our toes into the waters.  That week was exhilarating I must say and of course the beauty of these areas driving right on the beach is so incredible, we all traveled around the world to see beauty, but here it is just a few hours from home and most people in the world would love to experience our vast beaches without a person in sight and nothing but water views. Most beach drives generally include a bit of bush driving to get on and off the beaches and these are particularly lovely as well. We love Rainbow Beach and in the few years since we have started going there we are really seeing change (not sure if that's great but most of it is being done in consideration of the place itself).

After the success of our beach drive we started to look for day trips we could do from the Gold Coast - not a lot of beach drives here but a lot of good national parks on the dirt side of 4WDing, these are great for those beautiful Queensland days where you can just pack a picnic and be back by dinner.  We specifically loved The Border Ranges National Park and the drive to get there was lovely - again places we have driven through and by, but we have never done the national park because you need a 4WD to do so - and of course the views did not disappoint.  These are great to fill in a day here and day there and we have enjoyed quite a few now.

Since we bought our Isuzu 4 others from VMR have as well so we decided to create our own little VMR MUX Venture Club and took off to do the 14 River Crossing of the Condamine - now this wasn't arduous in any way at the time we did it because at that point we hadn't had a lot of rain, but for all of us it was the first time we had done river crossings and it's nice to do things like this in a group, another wonderful picnic by all and we did a little bit of bush trecking through Queen Mary Falls so just a lovely day and the 14 Rivers track was just so picturesque.

Other drives have included North Stradbroke Island - just beautiful, Bribie Island, Foster/Toncurry Beaches and National Parks as well as Port Macquarie region - making it both a NSW and Qld driving experience.  All of these came with a few lovely nights accommodation, and a discovery of new places and beautiful scenery - as one of my friends put on a Facebook post of one of our drives - "So Good for the Soul" and that it is. We have just finished the long beach drive from Bribie Island, Noosa to Rainbow and Rainbow to Fraser which is just a fantastic few days driving and a week or so away. So it has been a bit of a hectic year with many new and lovely experiences for us.

In line with learning new things - Derek has continued on his VMR journey and is now a Skipper - such a fantastic achievement and this has given him so much confidence in both study, learning and mentoring - in a great mateship environment.  At times it was hard and at times we both could have just thrown in the towel, but we hung on and he continued to push himself and now is a MSQ Coxswain something he would never have thought he would do.

After

Before

The confidence we learn at VMR also helped us to realise we can do things we may never previously have undertaken and one of these things is maintenance jobs - you know we work in a Volunteer environment where things have to be done on the cheap - no just calling in people to do things like painting etc (like you do when you have a good income coming in) , but this has been great for us and with some of these new found skills we adventured into painting my Mums house.  We had never painted a house before and this wasn't a small job but again we looked at the job, decided what was needed and gave ourselves 6 weeks (2-3 days a week) and it just looked incredible from the old fashion greens and whites to more modern jaspers and dune colors so this is another thing we achieved through learning new tricks this year. 

I have always wanted to paint something (no not a house) but artwork, with You Tube now you can sit in the luxury of your own home and taking online painting lessons and while I am definitely no Van Gogh I really have enjoyed learning how to paint, how to create and being creative it's a nice past time to fill in rainy days, days where it is just dam hot and those days when you don't have a lot going on and you get a bit of original works around the place. It is very cathartic and I must admit it makes my dreams more colorful. I have improved a lot over the last 8 months and enjoy finding new art classes to do - these are free and there are some really great step by step lessons so if you have ever wanted to learn but like me not really all that artistic and feel a bit embarrassed by your lack of ability - use You Tube and google how to paint a flower or how to paint a house etc you may well be amazed at how many there are and how good it is to produce something.

So thats our learning this year and it does go to show old dogs can learn new tricks.