Season’s Greetings!
Oh my goodness. Here we are nearly at the end of 2016 and as always, we hope this Christmas letter finds you well and happy.
2016 has been a year of the most incredible highs and the lowest of lows and some lovely celebrations.
So firstly, how is retirement? It continues to be FANTASTIC. Life truly is good! We still wonder how we ever managed to fit work in to our lives and have never had a day at home wondering what we could do to fill it.
The commencement of the school year in February saw us head to Sandy Cape in Jurien Bay for a week with our lovely friends Tricia and Glenn. We had planned this for 2015 but never got there, so a year later, we had a beautiful week together and just enjoyed the sunshine and peace. It was a special time for us, as Tricia had been diagnosed with Mesothelioma in 2015 and we weren't sure how many more of these wonderful trips we would share together. As always, we had fun.
Mid-March was a bucket list moment and saw us head off on a Kimberley Cruise on The Odyssey with Tricia and Glenn. We took a week to slowly head north to Broome in our vans, never travelling far and enjoyed evenings under the stars, chatting, laughing and popping corks to share a glass or three of bubbles.
We left our vans in Broome at the Odyssey Expeditions site and we flew to Kununurra where we stopped overnight before being picked up and moving to Wyndham where we boarded the boat. We cannot begin to explain how amazing this trip was. From the accommodation, the five staff, the food, the scenery, the experiences and the other 16 passengers - everything was outstanding. The weather was incredibly hot and humid, but the boat was more than adequate to provide relief from the heat in the form of air conditioning and a fabulous bar! New friends were made - Pam and Roy, whom we share many similar interests and experiences with. We thank them for their friendship.
How do you explain the colours, the sights, the sheer majesty of what we saw? Impossible, but it was an experience that will always be way at the top of our "best ever" list. We hope the included photos give some small indication of how fantastic it was. We spent days climbing waterfalls, swimming in rock pools, exploring Aboriginal artwork, watching crocodiles and sharks, fishing, eating way too much, drinking way too much and relaxing on deck watching the beautiful afternoon sunsets.
We cannot even begin to express how wonderful the crew was in every respect. We also had one of the owners sharing the cruise with us - Eddie. A very funny man. The personalities of the crew complimented each other and we shared so many laughs and had such fun. They displayed incredible patience, professional standards, genuine interest and care with every guest. Highly recommended to anyone who has ever thought about taking this experience. Tricia coped really well during our trip up to Broome and our first week of the cruise. The second week saw her health decline rapidly - the crew were amazing and were very discreet - as Tricia wished it to be. On arrival back to Broome, Glenn took her to hospital where she was admitted immediately.
We stopped in Broome for three days before heading to Cape Keraudren for three days then back to Perth. Glenn stayed in Broome a day longer than us to stay with Tricia while arrangements were made for her to fly back to Perth on Royal Flying Doctor. He caught up with us in Keraudren and we then travelled together back to Perth.
More details of our trip can be found on our Journal page and many more photos can be found here .
Nine days after the end of our cruise, Tricia passed away in Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital. Glenn called us to the hospital the day before she passed and we shared a bottle of "Patricia" champagne (that we were going to have in Broome) with her daughter, two sisters and Glenn. What a special memory. We shared so much together, chats, bubbles, laughs, walks, holidays, trips, grumbles, an AFL Grand Final in Melbourne, fishing, playing around in her orchard, shopping - so much. Tricia spoke to Paula on the last night of our Kimberley cruise with a beautiful golden sunset as a back drop and a glass of bubbles in hand. She turned and said, "Thank you for being on this cruise with me. I made it!" We hugged. We miss her. Paula gave a eulogy at her funeral and Steve did a wonderful job making the data projection for her. It was lovely, but so sad.
After Tricia's funeral, we headed to Albany for two weeks and stayed on our block to battle the weeds. Glenn came with us for a week. We had a great time as always. It wasn't the same without Tricia, but we had a glass on hand with bubbles as she will never be far from our hearts and thoughts and minds.
During our stay in Albany, Paula received a phone call requesting her to have a second mammogram as the routine one she had undergone two weeks earlier had picked up something. So back in Perth and after a second mammogram, early breast cancer was diagnosed. Thus, began a round of biopsies, more mammograms, doctors, specialists, radiologist visits, two surgeries, five weeks of radiation therapy and recovery. Paula says she is lucky. It was caught very early and was told that whoever picked the cancer up in the original mammogram needs to be congratulated as it was very small and difficult to find. She visits the oncologist and radiologist again in February for any future planning, but has come through well.
While Paula was undergoing her surgeries and recovering, renovation work on our kitchen and two bathrooms commenced. Not being renovators, we were overwhelmed with what choices there were. We went through The Kitchen Factory in Malaga where a lady named Lynda coordinated most of the choosing process. Thank goodness for Lynda! We had outstanding workman and they were very thoughtful and willing to explain things and nothing was ever a big ask. Unfortunately, the winter we had in Perth was so cold and the house was open all day for workmen to come in and out. We froze! Luckily our house has a large spare room with an ensuite which we lived in during the 6 weeks of chaos. We also set up a "Camper's Kitchen" in our outside studio and were able to manage quite well. Steve bought an electric fan forced heater which we used in the ensuite room and we shut ourselves in there. We are really happy with the finished job, but we also managed to blow our budget! We have no plans to move in the short to medium term so we intend to stay where we are and we enjoy it. Unfortunately, looking at the house now, we realise other renovations are in order! Might just go on holiday instead!
Between diagnosis with cancer and surgery, Paula needed a recovery period before radiotherapy could commence, so a planned trip to England for a wedding and to see Ashleigh went ahead. We flew out to England at the beginning of August and stayed in London for a week before heading off to explore. Steve drove and did a brilliant job. We loved London and visited sites we hadn't seen last time we were there. We also revisited several places we had seen before and just wanted to enjoy again. We met up with Ashleigh in Trafalgar Square and spent the day with her wandering around London and stopping at pubs along the way. Highlights of London were Shakespeare's Globe and Greenwich. And Ashleigh!
From London, we went to The Harry Potter Studio – it was just fantastic. Ashleigh met us there – for her third visit since she moved to the UK. We had another great day. Following Harry Potter, we spent four days in Sandwich – also totally amazing and probably the best surviving example of a medieval town in England. We stayed in The King's Arms Pub built in about 1580 (or a little earlier). We tended to stay in large towns for 3 or 4 days and venture out each day to the surrounding towns and sites and this worked well for us. As it was school summer holidays for the English, we found the "seaside" towns very busy, but vibrant and fun. After the gorgeous coastal towns in the south of England we had a one night stop over at Jamaica Inn – which featured in a Daphne Du Maurier novel of the same name, before heading into Wales. Wales was lovely (and recommended) and we went on two exciting steam train rides in two days. Steve was in his element!
We slowly headed back south to attend a wedding, but stopped in Bath for three days, where Ashleigh came and stayed with us. We celebrated her 25th birthday in Bath and didn't forget the balloons and sparkle! Bath is beautiful. From Bath and with Ashleigh, we went to Exmouth for Sophie's Mum's wedding. (Mandy). We met up with David and Sophie. It was a lovely wedding, from the tiny church Mandy was married in, to the reception held in an amazing marquee at the farm she lives on with her husband. Fantastic coastal and farmland views. A great day and night was had by all.
After a sad farewell on the Exeter train station, Ashleigh headed back to London the day after the wedding, and we left the following day to Heathrow where we flew to Dubai for three days. We had a fabulous time in Dubai. Another amazing city. They seem to have the biggest, tallest, longest or heaviest of everything and were keen to point this out. The architecture was fanastic! We enjoyed an all-day city tour that was brilliant and of course we also did the real touristy 4WD Safari, Dune and desert dinner - camel ride included! We had a great time in Dubai and it was a great way to break the long flight home.
Upon returning to Perth in late September, Paula then commenced her five weeks of radiotherapy. She underwent this at Fiona Stanley Hospital and a round trip from home to the hospital including the treatment could be taken in 28 minutes if everything was working according to schedule - which it usually did. She had only very minor radiation burns and came out of it really well. Then it was time to just recover from everything.
We had two small trips away during October. One to West Cape Howe Winery near Mount Barker. It was our lovely friend Rod's birthday, and he paid for a week in one of the homesteads for eight people. So off we went, but only for three nights because of Paula's daily radiotherapy commitment during the weekdays. We had a great time with Vicki and Rod, Ann and Mike and another couple Chris and Mike who are old friends of Rod. Lots of wine consumed by some.
The following weekend we headed back to wonderful Nyabing to celebrate Charlie Borlini's 60th birthday. It was held in his truck shed on his property. Formal dress from the Op Shop was required. We had such fun shopping for the right attire! Steve found a lovely pair of tux pants, black shirt and white jacket to wear - with a bow tie. He loved it! It was a fabulous time catching up with lots of wonderful people. Charlie and Laurelie's organisation was superb. Thank you. Nyabing will always hold a special place in our hearts.
November saw us head to Beachlands Caravan Park in Busselton with Glenn and Les and Pete Norrish. While the weather could have been a little warmer, we had a very relaxing time. Fishing was high on the agenda for good weather days and squid and King Gorge Whiting were on the menu several times. We visited Nooky Wood Winery for lunch one day which was lovely and some wine was purchased. On another day, we headed to an Olive Oil plantation for lunch - again, lovely. We stopped at The Old Cheese Factory where we sampled and bought some delicious cheese. While in Busselton, Steve went out crabbing with Roy - who we had met on our Odyssey Cruise and Paula hung out with Pam. Crabs were caught and eaten! We caught up with Pam and Roy again for tea with Glenn at their home and then we went out to lunch together on another day. We are heading to Kununurra with them next year in April for a month. Should be great fun and hot!
Vicki and Rod invited us on a river trip up the Swan for Paula's birthday. Vicki prepared a beautiful lunch on their boat and then we spent a wonderful day on the river. The weather was hot that day, but we didn't feel the heat at all. It was a lovely day. Thank you.
While we were at West Cape Howe with Rod and Vicki, Vicki saw an ad for a cruise on the Ovation of The Seas from Singapore to Fremantle departing November 29th. Buy one, get one free type of deal. No one needed much convincing that this would be a good thing to do, so we flew to Singapore and boarded the ship and set sail for Fremantle. What an awesome ship! The facilities were second to none and there was so much to do on-board. The meals were great with lots of variety if you wanted it. 4800 passengers and 1800 crew were on-board so it is a big ship! We spent lots of time going to shows, trivia sessions, bars, reading, relaxing and eating. Steve went on a Sky Diving experience which he enjoyed, and Steve, Paula and Rod went in a viewing platform type glass bubble, one hundred metres above the ocean. We saw a lot of water! That was fun too. Have to say though, that while everything on board was gorgeous, new and amazing, there were a big percentage of passengers (unfortunately Australian) who were rude, impatient and had absolutely no manners. That aside, we enjoyed ourselves.
So trips and misfortune aside ...
Steve is well and tries to work more on his photography, but finds there are so many distractions and life and adventures stop him from completing some projects. We are not complaining though. Life is good. He is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a drone he has purchased. There is quite a back log, so we are not sure when it will arrive. Just know that next Christmas letter you will see lots of video footage! (If he doesn’t crash and destroy it!)
David now works at Austal Shipping in Fremantle doing marine electrical work. He enjoys this and in this current employment climate, is just happy to have a job. He keeps fit and is well. Sophie now manages a Mimco store in Cottesloe. She is a very efficient and organised business woman and an asset to their company with her happy personality. David and Sophie still have their guinea pig, who is as wide as he is long, their dog and two bob-tail lizards. She would have a small zoo if she had her way.
Mark, after going back to Alltype Engineering, was made redundant earlier in the year. He then went back FIFO for a period before Alltype asked him back again. He would like to change career direction in his life, but times are tough and many employment opportunities have dried up. He sees Tyler regularly and we are able to have Tyler whenever we want, we just ring Vanessa who has been fantastic making visits possible whenever she can. We love Tyler so very much. He is a delight in our lives.
Ashleigh is in England and absolutely loves it there. She is a real winter girl. She is making the most of her time in the UK. She has met some lovely new friends and has had some fantastic experiences - too many to list. We miss her, but she is doing what she wanted and is living her life.
Our children are well and generally seem happy and content. We are thankful for this.
We have plans next year to be away for five or six months in our van, starting with the month in Kununurra and then moving across to NT and QLD from there, perhaps coming back through Central Desert to Uluru. We have booked a six day cruise on board The Astor again in February for Steve's birthday and trips to Albany and Busselton will also be in the agenda, but probably no big overseas adventures in 2017.
All the best to everyone for a safe and Happy Christmas and holiday season and a wonderful 2017.