Annie has a Visit from No 1 Son
Annie has been in a state of excitement for a few days waiting with great patience for a visit from her son Adam who is normally not known by his forename ! he responds to “Indy” or “Captain” the latter being given to him by his wife Issy.They have recently been on a cruise around Noumea and spent a few days in Sydney which included a walk over the famous coat hanger looking Sydney Bridge. I have had to walk very carefully ensuring I do not bring horrid dust into the house !!! It was good to see Mother and Son bonding so well after not seeing each other for a few years.Their trip to this very pleasant Hervey Bay has hopefully been relaxing and inspiring (meaning most people who visit here do not want to leave) As usual after visitors I have once again put on lots more weight ( am I ever going to achieve complete thin-ness?) Annie sister has been very generous by loaning her 4xwheel drive whilst on their visit enabling them to get around freely as they wish
Bats in the Belfry (well in Hervey Bay !)
Sitting outside as the sun had set it came to our notice 1000,s of BATS flying overhead heading for their night sleep over.Hervey Bay has a large colony of Grey-headed,black and Little Red Flying Foxes and they all play a vital role in the conservation of native forests.Being highly intelligent they live in the mangroves,swamps and eucalypt tree that are in abundace around this area, and can sometimes travel up tp 20 kms in search for food.People are warned in this area IF spotting an injured Bat,ring the local RSPCA as these creatures (altho lovable looking) can deliver a nasty bite or scratch inflicting infectious diseases;The area they live is called Tooan Tooan Creek with the area open for public vowing (altho advised NOT to disturb them) Their living area is approx 10 min drive from my home and a worthwhile spectacle to view if in the area Unfortunately I only managed a couple of photo,s the fly over at dusk is spectacular and best viewed in person ( my video-ing doesn’t do any justice to the scene ) The “Baby” bats are taken from Wipedia,the others taken by myself
High Tides in Hervey Bay
Today Saturday 12 th of January 2013 we witnessed the highest tide of the year.The depth surpasses normal tide heights by 1.3 metres.As usual a very pleasant day here in Hervey Bay and the seas relatively calm (Dont see huge crashing waves like those witnessed by me in my home town of Blackpool) Children gathered along the sea wall not only yo see the spectacle,but to feel it by virtue of sea spray coming over the sea wall (not dangerous enough to drag spectators into the Coral Sea) Kids were screaming with delight as they gradually got soaked by the overspilling briny ! It is very pleasing to see family s lining up against the sea wall and having fun with the cascading,very cooling water ! Channel 7 sent a camera man out to the record the event and perhaps show some footage on the local week day news.Annie has had her outing for the day and that should keep her happy till her son & his wife pay a visit come Wednesday
A Pleasant 31 C on our afternoon out Sunday 6th Jan 2013 my eldest sons Birthday
Went for coffee at our local Beach cafe and watched the New FLYBOARD being tested for tourists.Very relaxed day with hardly anyone on this pristine beach !! Luv it !the Flyboard look like a terrific joy ride and will be soon available to the public.I would imagine it being very expensive tho because a Jet Ski is needed to power it !! I am so glad we relocated to this area and wish we had done it sooner .Our street has come together nicely and we are kept fairly occupied with all that goes on in this very friendly place
Waiting patiently for the BIG ONE !! in February
After dropping Annie off at her volunteer job with St Vinnies,I was sat on the beach front bench reflecting on the very lucky life I have had. This is mid season Summer here in Hervey Bay and altho busy ish the pristine safe beaches are almost deserted and the Coral Sea is looking spectacular! I suppose everyone is still in bed? after all tis only 8.30 am!The countdown to our massive tour around Oz is getting intense,work on the bus and car is complete with the towing tackle fixed ( to enable us to see more in our 4 wheel drive around bush,mountains and desert areas ) and we have had my beloved LUXXIE number plates removed by the new Queensland registration (as required by law in this State and the actual number 243 is the same as my old house in Perth !) Annies son,Adam & wife Issie are gracing us with a few days stay mid Jan,we have the Buddy Holly Show (already booked !) in the first week in February and then its all systems go! heading for Perth and to see my newest grand child (nameless at this time !!) So to keep this Blog active I have added these few photo’s that make up a very small part of Hervey Bay
2012 in Review by the Makers of this Blogging Programme
Heres the official listing for my Blog ,lots of people read it,but are a little shy when commenting ! Jill & Annette were the biggest read of 2012 (rightly so too!)
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys have prepared a 2012 annual report for Geoffs (Luxxielugs) blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 12 years to get that many views.
Goodbye 2012 (twas a GREAT Year) Hello 2013
On the last weekend of 2012 we invited all our new neighbours in this new area ( which is NOT listed on Google maps yet!)for a come together and get to know your neighbour,was supposed to last 3-6 pm But went until 9pm and after drinking alcohol solidly for 6 hours the day ended on a high ! Neighbours from all walks of life were in attendance including, electrician,printer,fitter,teacher,social trainers,dentist,steel shed erector,painter,lawyer ex pugilist made the party a very interesting one.Annie did a splendid job of preparing and organising the event.We are blessed to have such friendly people around us. Food was supplied by some of the neighbours and an excellent choice was there for all to sample ! Problem is with such varied company and flowing conversation the party went all too quickly. Annie and I are very comfortable when on our travels this great group of people will keep an eye on our home while we are away and pleased most of our neighbours have a idea who lives in the area SO to this terrific bunch of people have a great 2013 as I hope all who view this Blog also have Heres to 2013 and hope it can better 2012 (a hard feat !)
2012 in review and the world hasn,t ended !
On January 1st we arrived in Tasmania and toured the island extensively for 6 weeks in our bus,returning home via the home of the late Don Bradman and the childrens nursery commonly known as Parliament in Canberra! March and April we spent at home afore setting off to our overseas trip which included Hong Kong,Norwegian Cruise,Germany,Singapore and the UK (we travelled from Lands end to John O Groats in Scotland,a fantastic trip) My son Michael spent a week in London with us and we took in a couple of brilliant musicals.My lovely remaining brother put us up at his home and at times we probably drove them mad !! His 65 th turned out to be a great night (so people tell me !!) and I spent it in Hospital with a bloody nose run! Weddings,Christenings,Parties have all featured tremendously in this past year and a BIG thanks to all those who made our stay very enjoyable (you all know who you are) During 2012 we had work done on our house including patio extension,Solar Panels,Garage doors ( to my MAN cave!) glazed and Annie has finished our huge garden and it looks very good. The bus and car have had towing hitches installed so we can take the 4 wheel drive with us on our next adventure beginning in February 2013 So to all the people we know,new friends found,family we hope you have a great Christmas and a Brilliant New Year.Visiting us from Perth is a workmate of mine from the 80s and her husband who are spending a few days in Paradise with us !
Holiday Graphics – Comments
New Year Greetings
More Orkut Scraps
New Year Scraps
More Orkut Scraps at GoodLightscraps.com
Geoff n Annie x
Visitors from Perth on the Day the world was supposed to end !!
We had friends over for a few days who are in this area for the wedding of their daughter Kaye.I first met Maureen in 1983 when I started as a Social Trainer working with handicapped adults in a group home situation.Maureen was part of my ongoing training in a small hostel known as Fairholme.Those days were great with majority of staff getting along and making the job “fun” I came across her husband all but briefly in those far off days and encountered him a couple of times at Union meetings .I was Eastern regions delegate in the those days and also vice President for a while in our sub association which was attached to the Civil Service (now disbanded and a full member of the CA) I worked with Maureen for around a year before she moved on to other work areas BUT in 2007 we started going to the local RSL club and met up with Maureen and Terry , they frequent the club every Friday,and kept the friendship up ever since,hence their visit to us whilst in the area ! Their son and his wife along with their 2 lovely daughters met up with us for a meal and they also came over for a BBQ at our house (lovely family) I hope they enjoyed their stay and we will catch up with them at their club in Perth next March
Solar Panels and Garage Rollers converted Its the way Forward !
Today we indulged in a wee bit if indulgence and has glass doors fitted to our Garage that has been nicely converted into a Games room !The room is now very open with good Panoramic views of our Cul de Sac,giving Annie the chance to sit in the window and watch the world go by !! We also had Solar Panels installed and can run our air conditioners during the day with a very minimum cost !! Any surplus power is put into the national Grid and any “extra” power we are paid in cash SO hopefully our next Bill will be reasonable (for obvious reasons the Solar Panels cannot be used at night!) These new additions are in place in that we might settle down in our old age with a little bit of comfort !! After just one day the house is considerably cooler thanks to the new units and time will tell IF it is a well worth investment (also adds value to the house)
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 