The Changing Seasons – Travels with Ali

~ March Reflections: Downsizing and Decluttering Adventures ~

During March we made the difficult decision that it was time to downsize. Although we have No. 1 Daughter and the two munchkins living with us now we all needed to have our own space.

First up was engaging estate agents, which No. 1 son did for us. Working in property gives him the edge and able to convey succinctly what we wanted. Two agents quickly came and went. Before they had even given proposals I knew I was more comfortable around the first one, Susan. From here on was where I became overwhelmed and began having restless nights.

It was the decluttering that was beginning to take over my thoughts. We had a go at the dreaded “tool cupboard” in the garage that has long been the bane of my existence. We being my dear hubby and me. We managed one shelf in two hours and I gave up when he lovingly held a decade old ball of string and said “this is good is twine, we might need it”. Most just got moved onto another shelf.

I asked him also to remove a can of paint that had become stuck. Disaster struck as he pierced the bottom and paint quickly started spreading. He came to me and said “I’ve just made an unholy mess”. At this moment Susan’s assistant rang to say she had arranged 6 tradesman to come around the following week for quotes. I said we need the painter now to help us with this mess. She came to my rescue and sent around a handyman, who cleared up within minutes.

During March No. 1 daughter backed her car into the moving electric gate and knocked it off its tracks. Fortunately we have a wonderful neighbour who came around and fixed the problem. The next day after coming out of an appointment she saw her car being towed away! Not having read the parking sign properly. The car was returned but not without a fine.

We were told that to obtain the best price it was better to engage a stylist to showcase the house to look its best. This lady turned up along with six tradesman. I didn’t know if I was Arthur or Martha at that point, it was bedlam. We then found out there was a serious leak in one of the bathrooms so this is first on the list to be taken care off.

Believe it or not I did have some lovely moments in March. Laurence and Maddy came for a weekend and we had such a great time. We spent a morning at the beach and the water was perfect.

I also went to see two films. The much hyped up and talked about “Wuthering Heights”. Quite an eye opener but on the whole I enjoyed this version. The second was a Matthew McConaughey film called The Rivals of Amziah King. This was such a good film which we all loved.

I had a night out at an outdoor venue, called The Quarry. It is situated in an old quarry and the seating is in tiers. We took a picnic and watched three tribute bands, Santana, Little River Band and Fleetwood Mac. Beautiful balmy evening underneath the stars.

Having a much needed break at our local Indian. The table behind had 22 guests so was a tad noisy!

If you managed to read to the end of all my rants, thank you indeed. Some of you will have been through similar in your lifetime and know the stresses and strains of decluttering and moving. I have read so many articles on the different ways to declutter and I’m still none the wiser. On that note I wish you a happy Easter.

He came to join me this morning while I was having my morning coffee. How cute is he?

Joining Natalie for Weekend Coffee Share and Brian/Ju-Lyn @ The Changing Season (a tad early).

~ February Adventures – Wan Chai’s Historical Gems ~

Back in February we had a few days in Hong Kong. Normally February weather can be quite bleak, getting ready for the Chinese New Year cold snap. We were surprised this time by how mild it was, we even saw blue skies.

I’ll be linking to Monday Windows and The Changing Seasons hosted by Brian and Ju-Lyn.

There was somewhere particular I wanted to see after spotting it on google maps. It wasn’t too far from our hotel so one morning we took a walk there. Just my luck that the day we went it was closed. Anyway I was still able to take a few photos. It was called simply “The Blue House”.

The building was constructed in 1920 and is a four tier tenement block. It was fully renovated around ten years ago and the original tenants were allowed to stay. The Housing Society came up with a plan of HK$100 million to preserve nine Chinese-style buildings in Wan Chai. I’m glad that money is not just being spent on high rise buildings, it’s great to see a glimpse of the past.

**Emas – Wooden Plaques for writing prayer**s

Inside the courtyard of the Blue House – decorated for Chinese New Year

The front of the building is in Stone Nullah Lane.

At the start of the 20th century, shops that processed soybeans were established near Stone Nullah Lane. Because of the unpleasant odour emitted during the processing, this led to protests from residents in the neighbourhood. Eventually, the shops were forced to move to other areas. The nullah, (a water channel made of stone or concrete was located on the street ) which also emitted a foul stench, was culverted in 1959 and relocated underground, where the stream from The Peak still flows today. Although the nullah can no longer be found on the lane, the street name was left unchanged. Source: Stone Nullah Lane.

Disappointed that we couldn’t enter the house that day we wandered down the street to Wan Chai Pak Tai Temple. It was built in 1863 by locals and is dedicated to Pak Tai, a martial deity.

Red framed windows of the temple

**A Door God to protect against evil spirits and intruders**

I didn’t want to intrude on the people worshipping and praying, so no photos from inside.

Street Scenes

As we wandered back to our hotel I took some photos of everyday street scenes.

**As fresh as it gets! – not sure about the joint on the ground**

Fishmongers hard at work

Orange trees in preparation for Chinese New Year

Every time I visit Hong Kong I always see a different tram.

It was good to spot a mural without graffiti for a change

I’ll finish with this photo that I took from the top of the bus. Another side of Hong Kong. I’m wondering is he homeless or selling some wares? He has a few too many items to pack up.

🌺 October Highlights from Perth 🌺

I’m joining “Changing Seasons” and “What’s Been on Your Calendar” for the month of October. Feature photo is from my garden.

I see from most of the posts people are enjoying the Autumn months and getting reading for winter. Here in the South Hemisphere we are coming up to our hottest months. We are still having a few cold nights here and there. So, I haven’t put away my winter clothes yet. Although I have been here too long to really appreciate what cold actually means!

It’s been a fairly quiet month, no travelling, having just returned from Bali at the end of September. The school holidays still had a week left at the beginning of September. So, I spent a day with the munchkins. In our local town they had arranged a dinosaur hunt. This entailed looking for posters of dinosaurs in and around the shopping centre, with prizes and games along the way.

We sure had a big long walk around town, which made for a quiet afternoon.

I thought my garden could do with some new flowers, so one week I took Rosie to the local garden centre. We had a lovely wander through the plants and flowers and Rosie chose a Kangaroo Paw.

I love Alstroemerias, also known as Lily of the Incas. They are always in flower and are a great ground cover adding plenty of colour to the garden.

We enjoyed a visit to one of our favourite wineries, Stringy Bark. It’s an hour’s drive, so Anthony’s car had a good run.

Iron sculptures at Stringy Bark

There are some new murals in a nearby suburb, I managed to see two on our way to dinner.

The mural below is by Wild Drawing. A Balinese artist. His work can be found around the world. WD is based in Athens.

Artist – Finton McGee

As we move into November it’s high time we sorted out the garden and patio areas. This means weeding and cleaning in preparation for a houseful of guests, arriving in late December.

There’s always time for a cocktail though.

~ The Changing Seasons – September 2023 ~

Changing Seasons is really the correct phrase to describe Perth at the moment. We had a mini heatweave last week, like a summer’s day but it’s Spring and a few days later wind, rain and cold nights again, but another heatwave at the end of the week.

This challenge is hosted by Ju-Lyn and Brian from Bushboy’s World.

The first ten days of September I was still in the UK, where they also had a late summer heatwave. The trouble there is you can’t sleep at night as there was no breeze at all! Just can’t be happy can we? I spent those days going to visit my mum in the care home and catching up with old friends and family members.

My mum was so sad to see me go, it was heartbreaking for me. She had forgotten that it was time to say goodbye. She has made a new friend though.

I also had a quick visit back to my childhood home to clear out some more “stuff” with my brother. It will be odd not staying here again.

I popped outside to take a few photos of the garden and saw this cheeky fox, which is undoubtedly the fox I have taken many photos of before. Peeping through the fence (which ties in with Sunday Stills – Fences).

Soon after I returned to Perth we had a visit from Laurence and Maddy, which I’ve already posted about. That was a wonderful week. Rosie also turned 3!

It was also half term here in Perth and I was on duty with “Ninny Daycare” for the munchkins for two days. Exhausting but loved every minute. We made cookies, went to some parks and a cafe. They are such lovely playmates and Lachie is so patient with Rosie. I remember when my brother and I were a similar age and all we did was fight, it was always my fault though, I was a mean girl! Luckily we get on so much better now, well most of the time anyway. I’ll never lose that bossy streak.

Rosie telling Lachie not to put so many smarties
on one cookie!

The Perth Royal Show was on in the last week in September, I didn’t go this year, but I could see the fireworks from my bedroom window.

Not great images but not too bad for a free show!

Lastly for Brian’s last on the card is my attempt at snapping the full moon with my S22.

**Just rising above the roof of my house**

Another Year Over…2022

There goes another year. I feel it has been a long one, maybe because we have travelled a fair bit. When I think this time in 2021 we were travelling back to the UK, it seems an age ago.

January: After receiving bad news about my Dad we decided to go back to the UK for a few months. In the end we stayed ten weeks. I’m happy to say my Dad is still thriving and is the original Iron Man after receiving many iron infusions and blood transfusions. I have to say a big thank you to the NHS for keeping him here.

Arriving in the UK at the height of the pandemic was stressful as was having to wear a mask. Perth was still barricaded against the rest of the world and we were living in our own little bubble.

February: Still in the UK and both of us caught Covid, even though we had just had our third vaccine. We had time to travel to Devon for a few days to a dear friend’s funeral before this. During this time we also had the pleasure of Storm Eunice.

February was also the start of the horrendous war in the Ukraine which everyone thought would never happen.

March: We headed back to Perth in the middle of this month only for Anthony to get Covid once again, this time with some serious health implications for him. The year hasn’t been wonderful for him health wise but he is definitely much better now. It was strange returning to Perth and having to wear masks after leaving UK who had dropped the masks!

April: We celebrated Easter during this month and a short visit from Laurence and Maddy, always a happy occasion.

May: We travelled to Melbourne to celebrate Laurence’s birthday, taking Elena and the children with us.

June: For our wedding anniversary we took a trip to Penang and Langkawi. Unfortunately Anthony fell very ill with salmonella poisoning and ended up in hospital for an afternoon! We still managed to enjoy most of the trip.

July: A mini break down to the South West of WA, Albany and Margaret River.

August: Back to Melbourne again to see Laurence and Maddy. Making the most of the borders being open and marvelling at travelling again. I don’t think I’ll ever travel again without having that doubt about flights being cancelled or luggage not turning up.

September was spent in Perth playing Bridge, seeing films and going to a concert. Many nights sitting in front of the fire as it was still so chilly here.

From Point Resolution, Nedlands looking across the Swan River to Mosman Park

October: A mini break with dear friends in Dunsborough, WA

November: Another family vacation, this time back to Bali, our first time in three years. So happy to visit again.

December: Finally back to Hong Kong also after three long years. We had a wonderful week despite three days of room service in the hotel, due to a “quarantine measure”.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Christmas was spent in Perth and it was an amazing fun filled day with all the family at ours for the day. There were so many gifts opened, bottles of champagne and wine drank and turkey and ham consumed. My garage now looks like a recycling centre which will take time to clear.

As I look back at my year, I give thanks for my fortunate life. We’ve had ups and downs with health issues and it’s a miracle that my dad is still here. I’m off to the UK again in January, to celebrate my mum’s 90th birthday and hopefully find them both in reasonable health.

I hope to continue to be part of the wonderful WordPress blogging community, I’ve enjoyed many of your posts and made numerous new friends.

Also posted as part of The Changing Season and Sunday Stills hosted by Terri

~ The Changing Seasons – Springing into September 2022 ~

September in this part of the world heralds the beginning of Spring and the hopes of warmer weather. Although there wasn’t much sun about in the first week of September, torrential rain as I recall. I’ve had a pretty busy month with days out at vineyards and aquariums, a concert, the cinema and of course Bridge.

I visited AQWA, a storied aquarium featuring a walk-through underwater tunnel & interactive touch pool, with my daughter and the munchkins for a lovely morning. So much excitement running from one tank to another. I remember taking Elena and Laurence when we first arrived in Australia at ages 9 and 12.

Lunch in the cafe after and then of course a visit to the shop!

The same weekend I bought tickets for Anthony and myself for a “Stevie Wonder” tribute band. I had the best evening singing and dancing away with half of the audience. We both got an absolute soaking walking back to the car after.

Superstition

We had a family day out at a winery one Sunday. Oakover on the Lake is a great one for kids as there is a playground and a small “beach” at the edge of the lake. I noticed one pedal boat on the lake and people queueing for it! Anyway Lachie and Rose were very patient waiting their turn and everyone was mindful not to take too long for their go.

Rosie turned two in September and we had a small celebration for her. What an amazing wonderful little girl she is. Having suffered through her first year with severe silent reflux and being tube fed, she is now thriving and the cheekiest cutest girl in the world.

I had an afternoon cinema date with friends and dinner after, always a treat. We saw Ticket to Paradise with Julia Roberts and George Clooney. A feel good fluffball of a movie, set in Bali. We all enjoyed it, how can you not with those two in it.

Delicious dishes from a Thai restaurant

Evening walks with Anthony and the two boys along the river, watching a glorious sunset.

And so to Bridge! I played with a new lady this month and we partnered in a competition which ran for two Tuesdays. We were both surprised to come fourth out of 24, so feeling quite pleased with myself. She then invited me to play at her golf club, Bridge that is, not golf! This was a treat indeed, as the club has the best views and is very exclusive! I had a marvellous afternoon chatting with all these fit and active 70 and 80 year old women, so inspiring.

Views over the city and ocean, a perfect way to spend an afternoon, especially with a chilled white wine at the end!

Posted as part of Ju-Lyn of Touring my Backyard challenge of The Changing Seasons.

For Jez with Water, Water, Everywhere

Changing Seasons – Joyful June

Each Month Brian from Bushboy’s World and Ju-Lyn over at Touring my Backyard host a challenge where bloggers around the world share their thoughts and feelings about the month just gone.

Many of you will have already have seen some of my posts about the first half of June which was spent in Malaysia and the drama that unfolded there! I’m glad to say my dear husband is well enough now to take up his household chores once again, phew!

Although it is officially winter in Perth we continue to have the most glorious sunny dry days. Good for the laundry but not so great for the garden. There aren’t that many flowers in bloom at the moment, although the Aloe Vera is looking stunning.

**This monster has been living in the corner for many months now and is definitely getting larger**

I have continued to play Bridge twice a week, I don’t seem to be improving in the slightest though, but practice makes perfect so they say! I have also gone back to playing Mahjong with some good friends and we catch up once a week for breakfast first and then a few games.

**Pull up a Seat**
**City Beach, Perth – our view from the cafe where we play Mahjong**

Our book club this month was held at a friend’s house who had chosen the book, where we were served the most delicious carrot cake and champagne. The book this month was “Naked” by Eliza Redgold about the story of Lady Godiva. We have been theming our bookclub meetings for a while, I’m not so sure I would feel comfortable rocking up naked on a horse to this one. We had a wonderful afternoon discussing the book amongst other things.

I had a night at the cinema with a couple of girlfriends where we saw “How to Please a Woman”, it was hilarious and but I think I laughed more at my friend who was actually snorting with laughter.

My cheeky cherub of a grandson turned four at the end of June and we visited him for cake and presents.

These two beautiful little people bring the most joy to my life and I love my day of looking after them both. Although I have to say it’s hard work taking them to the park, it’s like having two run away puppies, I have to have my wits about me.

A gallery of June

I hope everyone had a good June also. Now onto July and looking forward to more sunny days in Perth.

Some photos here for

Pull up a Seat
Weekend Sky
PPAC
Thursday Doors

The Changing Seasons – June 2021

The month of June for me started with quarantine and is ending with lockdown! Plenty of time for blogging.

WEEK ONE

The first week was spent at home in quarantine as we had been in Melbourne and Sydney the previous week. It was only 11 days as the 3 days in Sydney were counted as part of that. My daughter’s partner very kindly brought our two boys back to us from their little vacay in The Big Paws Hotel.

What to do about their walks though? Dear Hubby (DH) opened up our two side gates and created a mini circuit around the house. He very diligently walked around and around for an hour every day. At first the boys followed and thought what new game is this, but just after a few days grew bored with this as I did! He also decided that our bougainvillea needed cutting back and as a verge collection was coming up, we tackled this head on.

Somebody is protesting against no walks!

We relied on the kindness of friends and neighbours and some online shopping for our food and wine.

One day I had a surprise visit from a good friend and we sat outside, socially distanced and had a lovely chat. She brought some beautiful tulips and a small bag of exotic fruit, lucky me.

The beautiful tulips she brought as a gift.

WEEK TWO

The second week we were able to get out for dinner and celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary, definitely something worth celebrating. We had dinner with very dear friends at a restaurant called Dilly Dally.

This week was also the first time I had seen my two adorable grandchildren for nearly a month.

It was good to catch up with these two precious bundles. I could also get back to my weekly activities of zumba, Bridge and Mahjong.

WEEK THREE

This week was much the same as before. I did venture out with a girlfriend one night to our line dancing class. Not the boot scooting kind but more dancing in lines. Such great fun and we get plenty of exercise doing this.

Our couches are getting ruined by our spoilt boys so I ordered a couch cover for one of the couches to see if this would improve things.

WEEK FOUR

It was Book Club this week and the book this month was The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Kranostein. This was not a book I could relate to even though it had some pretty good reviews. There are 11 of us in the club and I think most enjoyed it.

Our Girls Games Night was also this week and it was my turn to host. My son and his girlfriend bought me a Murder Mystery game for my birthday. Even though it’s meant for male and female, my friends were all okay about some of them dressing up as men. It was a brilliant evening and everyone made such a great effort with their costumes.

A Slice of Murder

Also during this last week was my Grandson, Lachie’s third birthday, what excitement that was. He sure did receive a lot of gifts.

Last of the month from today’s walk around the lake.

I hope everyone else had a good June also, look forward to hearing all about it over at The Changing Season hosted by Ju-Lynn this month. Next month Brian at Bushboys World will be hosting.