Friday, April 19, 2013

Jeremy Hunter - Picking Up the Pieces [HD]

This is my nephew Jeremy Hunter's newly release EP.
Check out his talent - formerly from his group Inland Sea.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Better late than never...

It's been nearly a month since we came back from our trip to Tasmania. It seems so much has happened and yet in fact life has been pretty quiet really.

Tasmania: We LOVED it. Such a stunningly beautiful place. We had the best weather - some rainy days  which was good because the countryside everywhere was yellow from the lack of water. For those that asked: NO, we did not see any fires as we came 2 days after Dunalley burned down. We hadn't planned to go down to the Tasman Peninsula anyway, but what a sad day though for Tasmanians who suffered the fires, lost their homes and some their lives. Too tragic for words!

We arrived at Hobart Airport to a rainy, cold day, experienced immediately when stepping out of the aircraft doors, as there, you walk across the tarmac to the airport buildings. An altercation with our taxi driver left a sour taste in our mouths, but at least we arrived safely at the Camper van depot. Picked up our van and drove through to Snug where we found a lovely little spot to stay. Next morning off to gorgeous Bruny Island via car ferry, where we spent the day driving around to see all the beautiful scenery. Back to Snug Caravan park overnight...and so it went. Day after day of stunning scenery, lots of driving, sleeping in the van, exploring lakes, forests, gorges and small towns and villages.

Instead of boring you with detail, let me say that it was hard going trying to fit all of Tassie into 14 days. Impossible. I felt we needed at least a month to be able to actually enjoy the trip more. For me it was too rushed - I need to meander, to sit and contemplate the beauty around me. Watch people, have time to read signs of interest, take in a view. I truly dislike having to rush from one place to the next.
Cape Bruny Lighthouse, TAS
Cape Bruny Lighthouse, TAS
Looking South from the Rookery, BI, TAS
Highlights:
  • Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake walk. It took us 3 1/2 hours instead of the recommended 2. It was a challenge, but we had an absolutely stunning day to do it in.
  • Bruny Island
  • Climbing up to Wineglass Bay lookout and Coles Bay.
  • Bay of Fires - stunning
  • Meeting up with and staying with my lovely face book friend Janet Drummond
  • Attending a church service with her and meeting some of her friends
  • The Bridestowe Lavender farm - outstanding http://bridestowelavender.com.au/pub/
  • Strahan - Gordon River cruise and excellent guided tour of Sarah Island
  • Salamanca Markets, Hobart
Binalong Point, Bay of Fires, TAS
Binalong Point, Bay of Fires, East Coast, TAS
Ross and I at Cradle Mountain, TAS , before our walk around Dove Lake
I was exhausted by the time we got home partly because it took 12 hours from arriving at Hobart airport to get home at 11pm. 2 cancelled JetStar flights in one day was not something we were expecting. I think it will be the first and last time we will fly with them. No apologies, and no response to the email I sent them.

Australia Day:Our lovely family and grandies came for lunch unexpectedly - was great to see them all and to catch up over a quickly organised lunch. They headed for home in the late afternoon with Oswald bearing down the coast!

That night Ross and I watched the AO Women's Tennis final in the lounge and were just about to go to bed, when I heard a soft 'pop'. Without time to even think of what that pop could be, we were covered by our lounge room ceiling which had dropped on us without any warning. Ross got hit on the head and shoulders, but I had instinctively put my hands and legs up and was actually holding the (7mx7m) ceiling up above my head. Well, one side of it :-) . How amazing is that? We were in shock as we crawled out from underneath the heavy rubble. I immediately rang Anita as I didn't want to spend the night in our bed, worrying about more ceiling coming down on us.  Anita and Craig very generously opened their house for us on short notice and we stayed there two nights during the wild and wet Australia Day weekend while Oswald wreaked havoc up and down the Queensland and NSW coast. 
As I write 3 weeks later, the assessor and cleaners are here packing up everything in the room and taking it away to be deep cleaned, as the insulation has penetrated into the electronics, furniture, piano etc. We will be happy when everything is back in it's place in a renovated, freshly painted and clean room. Thankfully we have insurance for house and contents, so that's all covered.

We are back at work driving special needs children to school, enjoying our church and friendships. Our family is always a source of friendship, fun and kindness to us - where would we be without them, their beautiful families and their love and care.