Celebrating Health and Freedom

 

21 years ago today

Way back in time before I started blogging and before Facebook came along I used a family website to record significant events in our family's history. As my hoarding gene includes hoarding digital assets I am able to share screenshots from that now defunct website.

The most significant happy event in 2001 was the arrival of our precious first grandchild, Emily Elizabeth on the 27th March. Emily, prior to your imminent birth I remember driving up the motorway from Sydney to be ready for our first meeting. There was such anticipation followed by unbridled joy after we got the call to come and meet you. Following are snips from a few of the web pages I posted during your first year.

It is interesting to note that those pages were produced by Granny. When Emily found her voice she renamed me Gummy.

Emily and the eleven grandchildren who followed her have given their BobBob and Gummy much joy. Our lives have been enriched by our tribe of twelve amazing young Australians.

Due to my Covid situation I cannot celebrate personally with Emily so today I am celebrating in  a trip down memory lane courtesy of my huge digital photo collections. As I wander I am recalling so many fab family times we have shared.

We are so proud of you and your achievements, energy and commitment Emily. BobBob and I send congratulations and much love as you forge your future path.

And Covid came along...

 I was looking forward to a weekend of family events but my plans have been dashed by Covid.

Last weekend we travelled down to Sydney to see a grandson in his school musical. We had a super time starting with a nice Chinese meal with the family then we drove together to the school. As a cast member had tested positive to Covid our Grandson was elevated to a leading role, in "School of Rock". We were brimming with pride especially when he performed his drum solos. As it was a late evening we stayed the night with the family. 

Next day our son kindly delivered me a morning cup of coffee with the news that one of the grandkids was feeling poorly. We packed our gear and made a hasty escape in case it was Covid. We are pleased that this five year old has now had several negative tests. On Sunday evening our son called to say that one of the other family members was feeling poorly and subsequently tested positive on a RAT. By last night another member of that family had tested positive.

I usually have a runny nose and a bit of a cough so I didn't feel much different to normal. I thought I may have escaped the dreaded bug but, as I was to be in contact with several family members in coming days, I went along for a PCR test. My result was POSITIVE!

I am so sorry that I am missing my Aunt/Godmother's funeral tomorrow, my granddaughter's 21st birthday dinner tomorrow evening and on Saturday a trip to Sydney for dinner  and  to see "School of Rock" again with another offspring and her family. We were to be joined by my better half who is away in the country but I suggested he now keep his distance.

All but one of our five families has now been touched by Covid, I pray that the rest of our crew keep dodging the bullets. I'm so grateful that we are all fully vaccinated. 

Meanwhile my fingers are crossed that I have a mild dose and can use my time in isolation to chase a few more ancestors.

Puppy Love

 A man and his dog. 

A Lesson for Gummy

If we listen we can learn so much from the younger generations. BTW the Grandkids call me Gummy.

Last evening when we were hanging out with the grandkids we were given a lesson in the finer points of Taekwondo. This young master taught us all about the various belts and levels in this martial art.

Backseat Driver

We have driven up and back to Sydney on the M1 a few times recently. This evening we followed this ute that had an enthusiastic canine backseat driver.

High Tides

We are fortunate that the only damage we have sustained from the flood this week is inconvenience. Our hearts go out to our fellow Australians who have suffered loss and devastation.

As we face Lake Macquarie with its large surface area there is plenty of space for our excess water to go. The level of the water has temporarily risen with the result that we have had a permanent high tide for the past week which completely covered our neighbour's jetty and came close to hiding ours.

High tide

Mother nature made a fool of me

After days of  punk weather I showed off on Facebook with the following snap of this blue sky in our backyard at 12:27pm.  Several of my contacts remarked on our fortune in experiencing such calm conditions. I was thinking that the storms had finally disappeared.

Mother nature made a fool of me!  I later shared a further image of the same scene taken at 3:35pm from inside our home (it was too wet to go out on the balcony). Seems as though the rain is going to be around for a while yet.

20 Something Snaps - Welcome to the Country

On our recent break from home we were domiciled in Narrabri, NSW, where Robert was working. On the weekends we took the the roads and visited many of the surrounding areas.

We encountered many welcome signs as we travelled along the roads. I was particularly captivated by some of the place names that recognised the traditional aboriginal names of some areas. 

These images that haven't been doctored were taken from a moving car although, if there wasn't any traffic around, Robert would slow down for me to take my snaps.

Big Night Out

When some family members were unable to attend a local venue Lizottes they offered us their tickets for dinner and a show with The Whitlams. We accepted readily as I wanted to check out the venue and I'm always up for a night out.

One of our cheeky offspring asked if we had heard of  The Whitlams, and I said I'd heard of our former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and his wife Margaret but didn't know much about this rock band.

On Tuesday evening we donned our glad rags and headed to Lizotte's, which is set up in an old theatre in Lambton, a suburb of Newcastle, NSW. It was a good venue for a live gig as it's small and most tables would afford a good view of the act up on stage. A much better option for seeing the Whitlams than a huge entertainment centre. We did feel a trifle overdressed as most of our fellow audience members were casually attired. Shorts and a tshirt for a dinner and show - really?

Lizottes - A former theatre

Music themed decor at Lizottes

Apparently our included dinner could be taken between 6pm and 8pm with the show starting at 9pm. We opted for a 7pm dinner; next time we will go later as we didn't need two hours for dinner. I was expecting rather ordinary fare so was delighted with the quality and presentation of our included main course and our shared entree (purchased), the wine we had was a decent drop and wasn't drastically overpriced.

Calamari Entree

Scotch Fillet Main course

We enjoyed the two hour show although we weren't familiar with most of the music and we couldn't understand the words due to poor diction (or sound quality). I was most, impressed with the vocalist/keyboard chap who appeared to be le leader of the band, I loved the energy, enthusiasm and energy of the drummer who put his heart and soul into every number. 

Keyboard/Vocalist

Drummer

I wouldn't know if the guitarists were good or not but the long-haired one was totally engaged and appeared to be enjoying himself. The other chap was a physical presence who just stood and played; I got the impression that this was just a job to him, there was no evidence of any passion or feeling.

Guitarist

Guitarist

And the verdict. We will be following the offerings from Lizottes and look forward to returning for future events. While we enjoyed The Whitlams they are not high on our list for a return gig.