Shipwrecked

Toot, toot, honk, honk, beep, beep, crash, bang, thump. It was fast and furious, but we survived our ‘stopover in Sydney’. It was truly great to see friends and family, but now that we are ‘recovering’ in picturesque Kangaroo Valley, I know we are not ready to rejoin the city life just yet.
Leaving Sydney I did have some apprehension- are we doing the right thing, when will I see you all again, what is install for the future. As these thoughts raced through my mind, just south of Sydney the weather closed in. A thick fog blanketed our vision, and I couldn’t help but muse that it was rather symbolic of my state of mind. Then as we began to descend, the pea soup fog suddenly cleared and we were greeted with a view of a most glorious valley- so tranquil and serene. All of a sudden my dark mood lifted and I knew we were going to be OK.

Outhouse at the cop shop - heritage listed in Kangaroo Valley

Reflecting on the past week, a smile spreads wide across my face. The laughs between Chrissie (as she is now known), Haggis, Matt the Vet and Ivana. The surprise on Nat & Pete’s and Robin's face at the Oaks (we hadn’t told anyone we would be there). Sarah & Ameila, who went out of their way to see us, even if only briefly. Running into Nat- my friend from kindy right through to high school and beyond. The ‘day after’ giggles at lunch in Manly with V and Kiz. (We giggled at Dave who still had on some of his Jack Sparrow pirate outfit from the

Jack Sparrow and his wench- Jo's 40th

party the previous night). The generosity of Zelks, who moved out of his bedroom and onto the couch, for 3 nights, Sam & Michael pumping up our bed for a night and Jo & Jamie.
Jo is the reason we were back in Sydney- well her 40th Birthday party mainly. After a busy previous couple of days, I remember looking at my watch at 10.30pm and thinking, boy..... I am wrecked.... how am I going to last the night? Alas, the next time I looked at my watch it was 5am. Now I was thinking boy- WHAT A PARTY!! I was having so much fun the hours seemed to melt into minutes. Jo had set a J theme for her party. With limited time to arrange our costume, we went as pirates. Um... pirates start with a p...... oh well. But, I am cleverer than I think- we were congratulated on the ‘Jack Sparrow’ get ups! (Jack Sparrow was the pirate from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie). Yes.... I had planned that all along...... Some other very clever costumes arrived, including jellyfish, Jack & Jill, JFK & Jackie Onassis, Jihadists,

Manager display, Kangaroo Valley

The Jetsons, all topped off with Jo as ‘I dream of Jeannie’ and Jamie as a Jack in the Box. Some select pics have been uploaded for your viewing pleasure, some from the early hours of the morning are not (hee hee).

Jack in the Box Jamie and me- Jo's 40th



Jo and the Jetsons- Jo's 40th

Last but not least, it was great to see our family- my Mum, who especially stocked up on our choice of Lite & Easy meals (they are actually very good!!). Dave’s parents Don & Brenda, who washed our home and cooked a great roast. We also managed a visit to see Dave’s sister Merrilyn, nephew Sam and niece Abbey. On our way back into Sydney we had a night with my brother and Adrianna, and of course my 3 nieces- Aneika, Leisa and Kayla. Actually the night we stayed over (along with Mum), it was Aneika’s graduation from pre-school to ‘big’ school. The graduation was complete with black cap and performance. Being only five, it was a comedy of errors, but certainly a moment to treasure.


Aneika's kindergarten graduation

But, we are ‘back on track’ and are heading south for the summer. After a sojourn in Melbourne we cross the Bass Strait on December 27- the Apple Isle our next extended stay.