Arriving in Australia is always a bit of a hassle and this time was just the same as I had gifts that had to be checked by customs and my customs officer thought it would be good to give me a lecture about each item. In the end the only thing he would not let me bring in were some orchid cuttings which were all perfectly ok but did not have a sticker on the container saying which genus they were. At 2.00 a.m. I was not interested about the whys and wheres and just wanted to get through to meet and hug Will who was waiting for me. His new four door ute was immaculate and unlike the previous one there was not a speck of dirt, a coke can or pair of shoes in sight!
The first thing that struck me being back was how friendly and trusting people where. On my first morning I walked down to the small shop by the beach to buy some eggs and a paper but forgot my purse. The owner of the shop told me not to worry and to bring in the money when I next came down - he had never seen me before and when I returned with the money, he didn't even remember me not paying. I was most impressed.
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| The morning at Sunshine Beach |
Later I had to go to the optician as my sore eye was getting worse and although I had my new Medicare card number, I did not have it with me (recurring theme here - I won't be able to blame the malaria tablets any longer as I have stopped taking them). They told me they would put me through as private patient and I could ring the number through later. By now I was loving Australia again though that did change a little when I had to go to the doctor to get the presciption for my eye written up and it cost $65.00 ($32 will come back through Medicare). I reckon that has doubled since I last went to the doctor in Australia. As a diabetic, I get my diabetic treatment and all prescription drugs free in UK so until I retire and get my pension card, medical is going to be a big cost for me.
The boys house was great, very roomy with them each having an office which could be used as bedrooms plus a room for me. Once I had moved the surfboards there was plenty of room to spead out. I spent a happy morning morning sweeping up leaves. It is the time of year when all the gum trees are shedding their bark and keeping up with the leaves and bark is a full time job. The palms were also losing great fronds with spectacular crashing and banging. As soon as Will gets a tow bar on his ute, there will be a mammoth yard cleaning session.
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| Will in pool at front of house |
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| Will and his pool fence |
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| James by candlelight |
So I am now a proud owner of a mobile phone (+61403465929). I was going to buy an exotic phone but in the end just bought the cheapest available on a pre-paid card and will upgrade to an i-phone when I have a job. We also looked at various cars to get me on the move and I ended up using my far-eastern skills to barter on a Hyundai Getz with low mileage. It is exactly the same as Kate's which is unfortunate but there was not a lot of choice.
Going to Kate's was always going to be exciting. She and Michael have also moved into a new home which is wonderful. Again heaps of room and with a lovely view over the rainforest. They live on the upper level and have a huge bedroom, ensuite bathroom and office there. The spare rooms plus an enormous billiard/ family room are on the lower level. I got to meet Fudge, the new brown labrador puppy, who is no longer a little puppy and getting quite big. He has long legs and I think will grow very tall. He is adorable, of course, and very well behaved except when he hangs off the tassles on my trousers. I am sure that little family will be very happy there.
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| Relaxing by the dishwasher |
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| Aren't I beautiful? |
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| Michael, Fudge and Kate |
I started work last week and whilst the job is hardly the one of my dreams, if I do well I should make a reasonable living out of it. I am doing promotion work in the local shopping centres by giving away free scratch cards and getting people to come and attend a presentation for our holiday club. It sounds easy and I thought it would be but it is proving to be a lot more difficult than I expected but I will plug on in there as there is no work on the coast and this does give me time to develop a business that I have become involved in. Anyone who wants more details on that just email me on
sally.peterson@gmail.com and I will gladly tell you about it.
Last weekend Mandy, from the Odyssey trip, came to visit. She stayed just the one night but we packed a lot into the time with a long walk in Noosa National Park, a drive up into the hinterland which proved to be longer than I planned as I kept getting lost and fish and chips down at the beach. It was sad to see her leave and just hope some more of the Odyssey family come to visit in time.
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| Noosa Park |
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| Noosa Park |
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| Me walking in Noosa Park |
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| The view from the Range behind the Sunshine Coast |
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| Montville |
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| Sea Eagle at end of harbour in Mooloolaba |
I had a great time catching up with old friends and champagne lunches, champagne afternoon teas and Melbourne Cup were all great social occasions. Melbourne Cup is held on the first Tuesday in November and the country stops to watch the race. It is a good excuse to dress up and drink more champagne and in my case join friends to eat the most delicious prawns. I knew I was back in Australia!
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| Melbourne Cup with prawns |
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| My friend Chris who I met when first arrived in Australia 30 years ago |
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| Wallaby in the garden of the house where we had Melbourne Cup lunch |
At the weekend I moved from the boys to my friend Brenda's house where I am now living with her and her daughter Heidi. I loved living up in Sunshine Beach at the boys' place but there is only so long that they want their mother with them and I thought it better to get out before I outstayed my welcome. However, I do plan to go and spend the odd night there when I am working in Noosa so that can keep an eye on them! Living at Brenda's is like being on eternal holiday with its resort like garden and wonderful covered area to sit outside. I am typing this sitting under the verandah looking out at the pool and in the next day or so will get into the garden and plant some herbs. Brenda spends a lot of time in USA so the herb garden has rather run to seed. I am never happier than when I am pottering around with herbs.
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| Early morning work in Twin Waters |
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| Twin Waters canal system |
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| Butcher bird on early morning walk |
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| Stringybark Gum |
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| My new home - resort style |
I have had a couple of very enjoyable evenings with Paul, a friend who I met in England who happens to live near here. We went to see an interesting film about monks living in a Muslim country which I found particularly good as it combined my love of Church music with the problems that can face the Muslim population if there are extremists in their midst. It ended badly unfortunately but there were some amusing moments too.
Work progresses with fits and starts but I am pleased to say I making good progress with my own business and now have a website which you can check out
http://www.sallypeterson.max4u.com/. It is very exciting and I hope in time I will be able to give up my other job.
That is the end of blog no. 1 about my time back in Australia. I do not want to be bothering everyone after this with emails but if you check it each month (before the 15th) I will post something.
