Lorna Doone

I picked up my old copy of Lorna Doone from the bookshelf recently, and having been to Exmoor in May this year, and in fact staying at the Lorna Doone Hotel in Porlock for 3 nights, in Gwenny Carfax room no less - and indeed a short square room - I decided to read it. This meant that I have not got as much done in the past week or two, but I have tried to alternate it with bursts of activity.
After a slow start, I did enjoy it and I am glad that I read it again at this end of my life as he had some good reflections on life, as well as some good descriptions of Exmoor.
Although published in 1869, it is a tale set in the late seventeenth century.

Thursday activities

I have been thinking of changing my Thursday activities.
When I first came to Toowoomba, it was a stay-at-home day, then in 2006 I started going to Tai Chi with Michael at the RSL. We went to Oxygen Cafe after this for morning tea together and it was a pleasant morning out.
I think it was mid 2008 when Ann asked me to come to Energise Fitball class at USQ which commenced at 11 am, so this cut into the morning tea section of my Tai chi activity. I found the fitball class with Natasha very enjoyable.
After visiting Andrew in Sydney in July 2009, I decided to get back into lap swimming and joined U3A to go to Harristown High pool with Ann at 7.45 am. It was a bit of a rush to go to Tai Chi after it, and now being a member of U3A, I decided to change to Scottish County Dancing in Hume Street at 9.30. From this I would rush off to USQ at 11, getting home around 12.30.
Eventually the council funding for Fitball ran out and classes stopped in mid 2010?
In May 2010,  I hurt my knee while bushwalking and had a couple of months break while I had it refurbished and regained my fitness, so dancing was put on hold. I was ready for a break anyway, so I was back to just swimming from 7.45 to 8.45 am on Thursdays.
My friends at Fitball and dancing had convinced me to try Energise yoga at the PCYC on Wednesdays until it also ran out in September 2011.
In February this year, my friend Neil offered a class in bird identification at U3A so I again deferred dancing while I did this for a term. I went back in term 3, having been away for much of term 2, and now feel that they do not need me to support numbers as the group is going well.
Judy and Graham have been going out to Crows Nest Nursery for the past couple of years as volunteers on Thursday mornings and she asked me if I could come as it is in need of more support. While I have always been interested in learning more of nursery work, it always seemed a long way to go and I had all the above activities, but in my current frame of mind, I decided to drop even my swimming [which would be more pleasant out of doors at this time of year] and go out, getting a lift with them this week.
I really enjoyed it. And I can bring home some plants for my efforts at potting and maintenance. So I will continue.
Now to find an alternate time for swimming.

Cleaning day

It is now several years since Margaret Viney gave me her outdoor tables and chairs, with assurances from me that I had just the right paint to do them up.
So it was with relief that I found the paint still viable and even more when I had finished painting the first piece, the round metal table.
As a result of this achievement, I was keen to install it on the Feez patio/conservatory/outdoor area, but this was not ready to take such a smart piece, having not been cleaned by the previous owners, who had it fully furnished with plants, daybed and dogs.
We set out early with our load and the first object was the top of the airconditioning unit, which looked very rusty and in need of refurbishment. I commenced with nylon scourer and sugar soap and found over an hour or so, that this, combined with liberal elbow grease, was sufficient to remove most of the discoloration and make a coat of paint unnecessary. Some furniture polish restored the shine and we are making a cypress pine top for it, to provide a useful surface in the small area that is the above glassed in patio.
Next I took to the scourer, cloth and bucket, over several hours, removing dirt from window frames, glass and tiles. Many trips were made to the kitchen to empty and rinse, but eventually we got to a cleaned area with just the tiled floor to be done. Small areas showed that these were not cleaning up to any brightness, so we purchased some tile cleaner which promised shine and took to them with the scrubbing brush then a mop for a satisfactory conclusion to the day's effort - being seated at the table when the new owner returned from work.
The wine tasting, which had determined this visit, was then enjoyed to the full, followed by Indian takeaway from Yeronga.

Moving Day

After much anticipation, the day arrived to move into Feez Street. We loaded the Lavender and set out at 7.15, meeting Emily there with her first load soon after 9 am. After taking stuff upstairs, we then collected the Pintara and vacuum cleaner and set off to Clyde Road, to load up in a most organised manner commencing with the large items: recliner, TV, dining table, chairs, desk - distributed between the 3 cars and gradually filling the gaps with smaller items. Then an organised cleanup - leaving the place beyond reproach.
Actually we started with morning tea with lime slice which was very civilised and perhaps explains the very successful operation we conducted.
We then drove back with the loaded vehicles, unloaded upstairs, and walked down to Hyde Road for lunch by 2pm. It was a glorious Brisbane jacaranda day. We then drove to the uni to collect a table and chair and Em rode her bike back, arriving shortly before us. After coffee we eventually headed back into the traffic on Ipswich Road around 5 pm and were home in time for the news.

Bizet Carmen

We went to some Operas in Brisbane in 2012 with Ian Titmarsh and Jen. Our seats were well back but it was OK.
Opera Qld and Qld Symphony

Ravensbourne Falls

I thought the plan to walk to Ravensbourne Falls on a Tuesday was a bit ambitious but we started at the car park down Wellers Road which reduced it. It is 2 km from there to the gate and top of the fire trail which descends steeply and quite rough and loosely to Buaraba Creek. Last time I tried to lead this walk, we missed the turnoff as it comes right after some nice logs which beckoned us for smoko - was it an hour from the top car park?
I was surprised and pleased to glimpse rocks and creek instead of lantana as we approached the bottom and the sound of water revealed a nice waterfall with a good drop. In the past we descended into a tunnel in thick lantana at the creek and climbed out on the track on other side, ascending some distance before striking downstream above the creek. This time we sat on the rocks beside pools and had smoko then scrambled somewhat down to below the falls, 4 of the group opting to return up the hill to the cars.

below the first falls

The creek was delightful and easy walking and in almost no time we came to the top of the falls where we enjoyed the views below for some time before striking up the spur on the southern side. To the left it dropped sharply down to the valley below the falls but it was only moderately steep and we soon came to more gentle contour and joined the track only 100 or so metres from the turnoff we had gone down. We were back at the cars by midday and had lunch at Beutel's Lookout. It was great to find another way to the falls and we look forward to exploring the creek further.

looking down from Ravensbourne Falls

looking across the top of the falls to the group and ascending spur

Spear Lilies

It's spear lily time at Mt Cordeaux so we headed down to see how they were. We had a good group and the place was looking green and vibrant after the bleak drought years. After smoko at the picnic area, we had a further snack at Mt Cordeaux lookout before heading on to Bare Rock for lunch. This makes for quite a long walk of around 12 km on graded tracks and with the trip home into the afternoon sun, it was a tiring day.

Last day

We checked out fairly early and headed down to the ferry to Devonport. It was a sleepy place but we got a map from the information centre to walk up Mt Victoria. As we passed the library we were tempted to use their internet access to check-in for our flight home. This was a mistake. Not only was it incredibly slow, but it suggested that the flight was fully allocated unless you paid for an exit aisle. We headed on up the hill, took in the views and found an alternate path down, wandering across to the gun emplacements on ?, then back to the ferry by 11.15. Here we found a bargain french croissants for $1 [a demain] which satisfied our hunger for the trip back. We collected our bags from the hotel and caught the airport express bus by 12.30. We checked in without incident with good seats and we enjoyed the Qantas flight back, arriving in good time and out to our car very quickly, to get home to Toowoomba in time for the news probably.

Exploring the city

With two nights in the city we set out to explore on foot, commencing with Albert Park and the art gallery. It was nice to be out early on a spring morning with the flowers. There was plenty to see in the gallery although we moved quickly past the modern stuff. There is a nice connection of old and new architecture and we stopped to look out at the wind and rain in the street below, then had a coffee overlooking a large floral mobile in the foyer.
We then headed across the park again, wandering through student accommodation areas, across the Grafton Bridge, past a hospital and smokers, to another park where we descended to lakes and then up to some glass houses with interesting plants and a fernery before heading across the grass to the large white edifice which is the museum. Here we were assisted to the restaurant area at the rear for lunch before wandering around the exhibits for quite a long time. It is a very interesting place. The top floor is a war memorial with very good exhibits from the Boer War as well as later wars and two fighter planes; a Zero and a Spitfire.
We then walked back across the Domain, through the university, Albert Park and back to the supermarket for Central Otago Pinot Noirs and further sustenance.

Back to Auckland

On Wednesday morning, we called in to see Carol and Peter who have just moved up to Whangarei, then took the old road back through Orewa, where we called in briefly on Catherine and children to drop in spare copies of the family histories. We collected El Cheapo from the retirement village where Margaret and Peter live and said farewell to Allan and Heather. The trip into the city was uneventful apart from missing the turnoff due to change of exit number. We found a handy spot to park near the hotel while I left the bags, then returned the car by 2 pm, walking back through the city to the hotel. It was wet and blustery but by then we had learned that things changed regularly.
We found the supermarket next door to the hotel provided us with all we needed in sustenance after the previous days of plenty and settled back to rest before a day of exploration.

Russell and Waitangi

On Tuesday morning we started with a walk at Whangarei Falls, a lovely spot close to the city centre, before heading north to Russell where we caught a ferry and took in the sights from the lookout. It was a lovely sunny clear day for this. We then drove around to Waitangi where we met Diane, Doug, Robin, Margaret and Peter in a minibus, and had lunch together before visiting the museum and wandering around learning about the Treaty and spending time together. They were taking Robin further north for the night.
We took a scenic drive back to Whangarei and another enjoyable evening with Allan and Heather.

North to Whangarei

Allan and Heather came to collect us on Monday morning and we drove north, calling in at Sandspit to see the old Wellington bach which is not longer in the family, then stopping for lunch before visiting the Kauri Museum at Matakohe. This was a very interesting and well presented collection and we enjoyed quite some time there before continuing on to Whangarei and their new home just north of the city.