We have nosy neighbours

Was cutting KISA's hair on the balcony early the other day. These guys were being nosy!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today was my birthday and KISA took me out for lunch. The weather could have been better but at least we didin't get rained on.
We went to Montes Resort at the Northern end of the Whitsundays.They gave us a great table. Everything here is right on the beach.

We started with a bottle of champers. Always goes to my head in the middle of the day, and because KISA was driving, I had to have the lions share. Bummer.

We opted for a selection of entrees as there were plenty that looked good. So for the first round we had stuffed mushrooms and garlic prawns. We had had a munch before I took the photo. There were 6 stuffed mushrooms and 6 prawns. Quite hefty servings for an entree.

So for seconds, KISA had planned on the mini meatballs, but the mushrooms were so good he ordered another plate, and I got the oysters with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and caviar. They were divine, but probably the biggest oysters I have ever had. Could barely fit them in my mouth!

We were getting full, but decided to share a dessert anyway. Glad we did, it was a baked cheesecake with icecream mixed berries and mango cream. It was divine.

We had a great time. Headed back about 3 and crashed. Had soup for tea!

Saw this on the way home..

Son 20 rang from Thailand and we had a good chat. He is having a great time and I am looking forward to seeing the 2000 photos! He gets here in just over a week.

Taking delivery of Jessie Kedron

On the 15th December we had an exciting job to do. Our long awaited delivery date of our new van was the next day and we had to drive to Brisbane to collect her. So up very early to make the trip. We passed lots of these trucks taking the mango crop to the markets for Christmas.
They just put them in these massive bins on the back of the trucks. Bit blurry but you get the idea. We spent the evening of the 15th with TBS (thanks guys!) and had to be at KEDRONat 8am the next morning for our handover which would take till early afternoon. There was lots to learn! They took us over everything, and how to use it, not sure how much has sunk in, but most of the responsibility lies with KISA!
So here she is, straight out of the box, being driven out of the factory by KISA. Kedron is a local Brisbane company owned by a family that has been making vans since the 1960s. They are Australian made to order and are well engineered and highy regarded. They also hold their value well.

Her name is Jessie Kedron.

Her maiden trip was a bit hair raising as we took her to visit our friends who had just moved to a 4 acre block in the Sunshine Coast mountain hinterland. Lucky we hadn't been there before or we may have chickened out! The trip on the motorway was scary for KISA as the van was the biggest thing he had ever towed, and the motorway north on a Friday afternoon, was not the easiests of maiden drives!

Then we had a steep mountain climb after driving through Nambour. Once we got to G&L's place we paled to see their drive! They live on the escarpment of a hill and the drive curves downwards..then there was a reverse uphill to the flat spot for the van! KISA completed the manurver with aplomb and after that, well I reckon he can take this van anywhere! G directed him, so he didn't even have to yell at me..

We relaxed with our friends at their beautiful new home and slept our first night in the van. The bed is firm but comfy and the air was cool up in the hills, in fact I got cold.

Next day we did some sight seeing and shopping.

I love mountains...In fact, I think I love mountains
and the cool mountain air

even more than

I love

the ocean.

The ideal spot would be a mountain top overlooking the ocean!!

G & L have a pretty sweet spot here.

Lovely house, not too big, not too small, comfy, cosy, not stark and trendy.

Spare cottage for guests..

Four acres of lovely tropical rainforesty gardens.

Perfect for them as they love to garden.And mountain views..Trillions of birds...they are very congenial hosts and we had a lovely relaxing time.

All ready to go early on Sunday morning..

Thank you for a great weekend, ready for the next leg.

The trip home was not with out incident, however. Owning a van is a steep learning curve, and a 1000 klm maiden voyage is a tough first trip. We stopped at Maryborough for a coffee and checked inside the van to see if everything was ok.

It wasn't.

We had forgotton a carton with two bottles of wine was still on the floor by the bed. One had broken and with the movement of the van we had wine and glass shards from pillar to post. Red wine..of course!

It took an hour and a bit of swearing but we cleaned up as much as we could and went on our way.

Next stop was Calliope where I discovered that during the night I had forgotton to flush the loo, and the bowl was still full, sloshing about etc. Luckily the lid was down and it fits quite well, but it was getting a little ripe, it being a hot day. So lesson two was learned.

We got stuck behind a house on a truck for a bit.

And passed a big storm between Rocky and Mackay.

We stopped the night in Mackay. It had been a long day as you can't go as fast and towing is more stressful. So we booked into a van park in Mackay. We left the van attached, had bikkies, cheese and wine for tea and slept from 8.30pm till 6am.

KISA had an ear infection, so we drove to the hospital to see the after hours dr and then we struck out for home.

By lunch time we had Jessie Kedron settled into her new home, and we were relaxing at last! We survived!

Happy New Year!

It has been a big year for us. Lots of changes, but overall a good one. KISA is working very hard in his new job, but really enjoying it, and the home life has been full of changes and new faces.
We love our new town, and have loved having the young people stay with us this year.
We ended the year taking delivery of the new van and are planning on getting as much use as work will allow out of it as we can in the new year.
To all our family and friends, we wish you a wonderful 2012, may it be a happy and healthy one for you all.