A social week.

We've been in Mackay just over a week and it has been quite a social time. We've caught up with relatives and friends over morning and afternoon teas, a birthday dinner, a meal out one evening and tonight we have a barbecue to go to. We went out to see if we could spot some whales one day but they weren't really  cooperating. Saw some big splashes from the tails but they weren't breaching. Well not while I had the binoculars anyway :)

I'll just post some pictures with a short description if they need it.

I was trying to get a pic of the plovers, there were five in all, but they weren't having any of it either. Sisters  front lawn.

Sis with her son and daughter in law.

Trying to spot whales. Both my sisters and Bob just out of the shot.

The shipping harbour...

...and the marina in Mackay. There's a lot of money tied up here.

Sisters sharing a laugh, that's me on the right.

Another morning out, I liked the way they presented the sandwiches.

Morning tea at a friend's house. We knew them in New Zealand and he is a rally car driver. 

He took both Bob and I for a spin in one of his cars, very exhilarating. And noisy :)

A short clip of our ride.

And last night we had another couple of family members arrive for a few days. So it will be nice getting to know them. They're from further south and we'd never met them until now.

And until next time,

enjoy your week,

blessings

Diana

A quick round up.

Last Saturday we flew out of Dunedin to Auckland on the first leg of our trip to see the family in Australia. Our youngest grand daughter and her husband took us to the airport and sat and had a coffee with us while we waited. It was a nice time.

 Aaron and Sofi met us in Auckland and we had a nice relaxed evening catching up on the news. On Sunday we all attended the church Aaron is pastoring. The congregation is small but welcoming and consists mostly of pacific islanders. Below is a picture of a tapa cloth on the wall. Tapa cloth is highly valued in the pacific communities and traditionally represented a woman's wealth. It is made from beaten bark.

After church we went out to Maraetai Beach for the afternoon. It was a really pleasant day and we enjoyed being able to sit there in the sun and watch everyone enjoying themselves, swimming no less. 

We had hot chips for a snack with a hot cuppa. 

And just as we thought we were going home Sofi thought it would be nice to show us Sylvia Park Mall, which is the largest one in the country. So we strolled around there for an hour or so and some of us spent money and some of us didn't :) It was a long day.

On Monday we did a trip down to Cambridge to visit our grandson who has a 'retro and collectibles' shop there. AMPERSAND is what he calls it. It wasn't open but he took us in to have a look...

...after which we all went for lunch and then strolled down to the local museum for a browse.

Below is a mosaic on the footpath. 

Cambridge is the main horse racing stud area of New Zealand. This is one of the horses, 'Mainbrace', very famous in its day.

Next day was a rest day :) it had been very busy then on Wednesday we flew to Aussie. Below is Bob coming out of the chair lift from the plane at our final destination - Mackay.

I'll leave you there until next time. 

Have a lovely week,

Keep well and enjoy yourselves,

Diana

An ordinary week

Although the temps are still pretty cold at times it has warmed up enough for the bumble bee queens to be out looking for warm dry places to make their nests. After having had half a dozen or so exploring our lounge over the past few days we decided it was time to put up the screen curtain. The bees are quite clever though and have been known to come in low and crawl under the screen and then go exploring :) Last year we had a nest under the house for the summer. If it happens again we may have to have them removed, unfortunately.

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Even though the weather has warmed up enough for the bumble bees to be out and about exploring there are still days when it is cold, wet and with a hint of snow in the air. That is when I get the crock pot out and make up a big pot of soup. Guess what we're having for tea tonight? I think we'll have hot buns with it :)

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We went for a wander up the street one day this week, well we went for lunch originally and then took a leisurely stroll afterwards. It was one of the nice sunny days we are starting to get now. I like to poke around the bargain racks when I come across them and so while my GKB looked through a couple of second hand shops that's what I did. I was very pleased with a couple of tee shirts I got for around the house over the summer. Just $6.00 for the two of them. A real bargain :)

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I've also just spent a morning blanching and freezing broccoli to use next week when I am on duty for the Friday Light outreach meal. I don't cook a meat dish any more but when we are given free veges I think it is shame not to use them. May make a cheese sauce to pour over it, hmm.

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looking in from the doorway of Colour me Crazy

While we were in Aussie we took a short trip to Airlie beach and had a couple of stops on the way. There was a shop everyone said I had to go into in Proserpine. Colour me Crazy was just that ,very colourful and very crazy. Even my GKB was fascinated. I'll take you inside next time I see you.

Diana

Sensational sunset

My GKB and I have just spent most of September in Mackay, North Queensland. On our second night there we were lucky enough to look out on God's book just as the sun was setting. WOW!! It was glorious. The first four shots below are some of the pics my GKB took, it looked as if molten lava was rolling across the sky. We had some nice sunsets later during our stay and I have also included some shots of them  but although they were rather nice and there were some nice colours none compared with that first one. Enjoy.