At last I've taken some photos of our temporary home. There's a lovely garden with separate patios which is perhaps the best thing about it, something not usual except in expensive lettings.
OMG. I'm having so much trouble with this post. I have got photos on my iPad and on my phone, but can I get them into this blog? No way. It will have to wait. It may be because I'm connecting through my mobile. Goodness knows. I'll try another time.
We're seeing quite a bit of Chris but the best thing about being here for so long is we don't have to cram things in and can give him plenty of time for himself and with Elen. So our time passes in, up till recently, getting organised here with all the food and equipment we need to survive in a new situation. More recently we have been free to explore. We are gradually exploring the riverside locations upstream. We are a little north of Hobart city in Lutana on the west bank of the river Derwent so we drive upriver staying as close to the water as possible. Lots of creeks and foreshores.
We love the way Australia encourages use of outdoor spaces. Everywhere we go we find parkland with fixed electric or gas barbecues (functioning and not vandalised) and tables and benches. I did tell you all that I had visions of Xmas day barbecuing on the beach but Chris says most barbecues will be booked up! He is working a day shift so won't be free till 6.30. So maybe Jon and I will just go and mingle with the throngs on the beach during the day and BBQ in the evening. We'll see.
On our anniversary we ended up not going out for a posh dinner (surprise?) but Chris took us over to Cygnet, an interesting drive to a lovely little town down south. We had an outdoor organic café lunch. There's a good folk festival there in January every year so we intend to come, though Chris will be working unfortunately.
I've just lost a whole load of writing on here so will fill in briefly
I was telling you that we had sleet and snow on the mountain when we were launching Chris on his downward trail ride on his mountain bike (he loves to get a ride up which we can do as we can get his bike in the back of the car). We usually start off by sharing time over coffees at an outdoor coffee stop up there but it was not too comfortable last time.
And we had some fun in the charity shop choosing an"old lady outfit" for Chris to go to a party in. At least he didn't even ask me if I had anything suitable!! If you want to see how he looked he's posted a photo on FB.
We've had only one incident here so far which was a bathroom flood. It was a good one though. Hot tap at the basin, no overflow, emptied the hot tank (landlady's too) and so much water that it overtook the sill and soaked a lot of carpet. If it happens to you, the best way to clear the water off a hard surface is a bucket and dustpan. The pan acts as a squeegee.
It's now the evening of Thursday 22nd and I'm determined to post this before the 23rd!
We've just spent two lovely days on Bruny Island. Chris had two consecutive days off work and Elen is in Melbourne visiting her family so we went over to Bruny, spending the night in a two bedroom house right on Adventure Bay. It was a gorgeous house with huge windows opening onto a large decking balcony with the most spectacular view of the bay.
We caught a mid-morning ferry and drove down. Stopped at a very popular oyster sales and restaurant. Jon and I don't like fresh oysters but we do like smoked tinned ones so we thought we'd try freshly prepared cooked ones. Tried them WonTon style as little Chinese parcels and ones with bacon in BBQ sauce. Not specially impressed by either so now we know. I can't see what all the fuss is about.
We had been told that Cloudy Bay was worth seeing. It meant crossing from E to W via a very rough road - glad Chris was driving, and we weren't always sure where we were. Quite an epic trip.
I wish I could show you some of the beautiful white empty beaches surrounded by forests. The waters cold though, but the day temperature is warming up gradually. This evening I am still in a Tshirt at 11.30 but some nights we have been wearing long sleeves and fleeces indoors.
We won't see much of Chris now for a while. He is working over Xmas and New Year and working at a festival in between. So more self-guided exploring for us.
So have a really lovely Xmas everyone. I'll do my best to make you all jealous with photos of beaches and sunshine but don't hold your breath, it may never happen.
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