It was a beach week!!

Naturally, being summer here in Australia, one must go to the beach!! We went twice this past week to Manly Beach, via a ferry from Circular Quay. (Quay=Key) This location is the hub of all things around Sydney Harbor, where the cruise ships come in to Sydney, tons of museums, restaurants and shopping and of course, the Sydney Opera House. As you will see in the following photos, the days were perfect!!
First, on Monday Jan 13th, Jason and I started off with a 'take-a-way' coffee from the St. Jude Cafe on our walk to the bus stop. We rode the bus through downtown Sydney...I never tire of looking at the beautiful old buildings right next to skyscrapers and the many parks interspersed along the way. We took a ferry to and from Manly Beach. Strolled through the shops and streets, walked along the boardwalk by the beach and had lunch at a delicious place on the main street. Reminded me of Key West...with prettier beaches!
Oops! No pictures from my tablet...and don't have my computer with me. They will come later!
Then on Friday we went on another Manly Beach excursion: this time for surfing lessons! Anthony, good friend of Jason's whom I met for the first time, Renee and Charlotte, former student of J's full time course, all had booked lessons. I was the chick watching from the beach. Lovely ferry ride, and this time we sat on the Opera House side of the boat! The weather and waves were perfect and they all had such fun stories to tell. Again, had a great lunch at the beach and then everyone went their separate ways. Anthony stayed on for some snorkeling and more beach time. Jason had class to teach at Sydney Dance Center, Renee and Ckarlotte had classes to attend and Mum went to visit the Chiropractor again. This time navigating the bus to the right stops and home by myself! I must say, I did it without a hitch, but was a bit uneasy! Sydney is a huge city and I have no clue which way is North, South, East or West.  I did find a way to relieve the stress! Once I got off the bus, I recognized a pub we had gone to before. So, I stopped in for a sandwich and a cold beer while I watched the Australian open on the telly! Jay says now I am officially an Aussie!

That is it for this post...coming up next is getting the rental car and DRIVING with Jason and Renee navigating and coaching!

Looking forward to a busy week...

For goodness sake...that last posting was a mess!! I had such a hard time getting it to go through and was cutting and pasting, rewriting and editing!! Sorry about that!! Finally, (and this ALWAYS works), I closed everything down and restarted my computer. Who knew????

Well, this past week Jason had a little down time and we took the ferry to Manly Beach from Circular Quay (pronounce 'key'). Very nice kind of Key West atmosphere and the beach right on the Pacific!!! In fact tomorrow morning, we are going back!! Jason and some friends are going to a surfing class, while Renee and I vege out on the beach!! Then after we have some lunch...Jason goes on to teach at a workshop at Sydney Dance Center, Renee working someplace and Mum is going to a follow up chiropractor appointment!! On my own!!! Jay got me the bus numbers, my bus pass and directions as to how to get there and home! I will post some photos and how it all worked out over the next couple of days!

The good news about my knee is that it may be only 'twisted.'  I am trying to do as much pool and beach time as I can for therapy!!! (Rough, isn't it??!!).  As long as I avoid steps and hills...stay on flat surfaces...it is bearable. I had my first acupuncture treatment a few days ago from Jason's friend/chiropractor/kinesiologist and that felt pretty good.  Such a pain in the ---, but managing to overcome it and have fun!!

I am off to bed...have an early wake up in the morning!!! Much love and many hugs to all!!

Hello 2014!! part 2

 Having some technical difficulties lately. My devices are not sure if they are in the USA or Oz!!

I must back up a bit to Christmas day. Jason, Renee and I woke about 10:00AM when Steve arrived with Frankie. [Renee now lives and works in L.A. California, but is back home in Oz for the holidays. She has worked with Jason almost since he arrived in Sydney and is invaluable to  him as his assistant and dearest friend. She is staying with us on occasion.]  It is also not unusual for Steve and Frankie to spend the night. Thank goodness for the invention of the blow up beds!!!!] So, when Steve arrived, I started breakfast and Jason served the champagne and OJ. We honored Papa (Uncle Bill, Dad) by having baked eggs and fruit!! Everyone here loves them and now I am making them at least once a week!!  Then Renee played Santa and  passed out presents. We enjoyed our giving as much as receiving!! Renee and Steve got me all Australian souvenirs: Tim-Tam Cookies, A boxing kangaroo, an 'I love Sydney' T-shirt, a Koala Bear oven mitt, a Kangaroo wine cork and some Vegemite!!!  Love it all....except that Vegemite!!!! I would say it is like buttermilk; one must acquire the taste when you are young and either you love it or hate it. 

                            Christmas Eve Dinner!!  Jason's requested spaghetti salad, prawns and butter ball cookies!!

                                                    Wii competition  with mimosas! 

Renee in her red and green!

New Year's eve was shared with Renee, Zoe, Jason and I...They cooked dinner and we played monopoly again. MOM WON!! Since my knee injury keeps us from doing a whole lot of walking...we decided to just stay home and watch the fireworks on TV.  People were claiming their fireworks viewing spots by the Sydney Harbor Bridge as early as 6AM!! 

   

                                 Jason, Renee and Mum...with Stella and Frankie!

                    We were very comfortable and no crowds to worry about     

         

Well, so much for Jason having time off of work!! my sweet son has very little..Jason has been almost working every day!! We do manage to have some great homemade dinners and some nice local pub and cafe visits!! We are hoping to get in a few excursions over the next 2 weeks. Jason and I are looking forward to a little trip, just the two of us, next week to Port Macquarie (where he is teaching for two days) and then some real R&R to the Hunter Valley to do some wine tasting and tours. Mom is going to drive on the wrong side of the road!!!! Jason no longer has a driver's license and I got an international license before I left home. So I will be the designated driver!!! OMG...that will be a great story!!

Oh yes, I must back up a bit to Christmas day. Jason, Renee and I woke about 10:00AM when Steve arrived with Frankie. [Renee now lives and works in L.A. California, but is back home in Oz for the holidays. She has worked with Jason almost since he arrived in Sydney and is invaluable to  him as his assistant and dearest friend. She is staying with us,]  It is also not unusual for Steve and Frankie to spend the night. Thank goodness for the invention of the blow up beds!!!!] So, when Steve arrived, I started breakfast and Jason got out the champagne and OJ. We honored Papa (Uncle Bill, Dad) by having baked eggs and fruit!! Everyone here loves them and now I am making them at least once a week!!  Then Renee passed out presents and we enjoyed our giving as much as receiving!! Renee and Steve got me all Australian souvenirs: Tim-Tam Cookies, A boxing kangaroo, an 'I love Sydney' T-shirt, a Koala Bear oven mitt, a Kangaroo wine cork and some Vegemite!!!  Love it all....except that Vegemite!!!! I would say it is like buttermilk; one must acquire the taste when you are young and either you love it or hate it. 

Well, for having time off...Jason has been working every day!! We manage to have some great dinners...

2014 begins!!

As I begin 2014, like many of you, I feel my emotions running the gamut from deep sadness to extreme happiness.  I extend my sympathy and understanding to those of you who have experienced serious illness or have lost loved ones in 2013.  Also, I thank you all for the communications of compassion and understanding that I received during the illness and subsequent death of my father. This is the first year of my life that I begin without him and the melancholy still overtakes me at the most unexpected times.  I can still hear his voice in my mind as he spoke to me of what he wanted for me to do when he was gone. Live in the moment, take care of myself first and most of all, he wanted Jason and I to reunite after a long period of living so far away from each other.  Therein, I find the other end of the emotional spectrum!! The happiness, comfort and joy that Jason and I have shared in the last month is beyond my expectations!!  I have struggled with how to present this message of mixed emotions and that is why it has taken me a bit longer to update this blog.  Now, as I get back to my Australian adventure, I wish you all a very Happy Year in 2014!!

I left off in my last message as Jason, Renee, Steve, Frankie and Stella, and myself left for an afternoon at Rose Bay beach. This is a lovely spot on Sydney Harbor and when we first arrived, I swear my jaw dropped to my knees!!  What a view and such a beautiful beach on the harbor. There were lots of people with their dogs and it did not feel crowded at all. (see the photos below) When we got home, Renee made us all an Aussie Barbie: Homemade potato salad, hamburgers and ‘sausages’ (hot dogs, as we call them in the USA!).  Renee and Steve use bar-b-que sauce like we use mayo, ketchup and mustard!! It goes on everything!!!!  After dinner we played games on the Wii and then a rousing bout of Monopoly!! Steve won!!

If you look closely (click to enlarge the photo) you can see the 

Sydney skyline and the Harbor Bridge

  Frankie and Stella with Steve and Jason ready to swim!

                                      

The castle looking building is a school where a friend of 

Jason's teaches. 

                                               Beautiful day...beautiful beach!!

End of part one!  Click on photos to enlarge...having trouble getting my postings to work, so I made the photos smaller.