Nothing much happening...arent

Highlights	Not such highlights
Sunrises – Kate	Sunrises – Will, they happen too early, haven’t seen one yet!
Sunsets – Kate	Sunsets, na, The Chase is on! - Will
Sarina Sugar Shed – both Samples of Schnapps – both Samples of Rum – more Will than Kate	Missing people – you see something and want to share it with them – Mackay Show – Lola & Lily would have loved it!
Palms Restaurant at Sarina Beach – both, esp Kate	Reading Lola’s first school report from miles away rather than with her on my knee - Kate
Walk on Sarina Beach - Kate
Mackay Show - Wood chopping – both - duck racing – made us both laugh - Air Time FMX (Free Style Motor Cross) Will both times, Kate the 2^nd time (I kept my eyes open that time) - Reptiles - both


Hearing from our adult children - both
Phone calls – both – keep ‘em coming please!
Not overly missing home – think it’s a good sign our decision was right- at least for now.
Not even realising report writing time had come and gone – Kate and Will because he didn’t have to go hungry or put up with me being distracted and stressed

I was chatting with a friend last night, she’s not my oldest, ‘cos that’s Kaz or Rick, but Janine is the friend I’ve had the longest, unless I count family. We met, if not the first day at teacher’s college, very soon after and went on to share houses for two years. She was by my side when I married and divorced and she was the first friend to meet Will. My parents stayed with Janine when Kyle was born, and we stayed with Janine when Lola was born – yep, Janine’s been around a while! Janine said how much she looks forward to reading these blogs and how, when there is a little longer between them than usual she assumes it’s because I’m too busy. And sometimes that’s the case, (particularly during one 4-week block – LOL). Other times it’s because I think we haven’t done much, not much to tell and I think, how lucky are we that we’ve been able to slow down and have time ‘when not much has happened.’

Is that Venus down the left of the Moon?

When not much has happened’ I seem to have enough energy to stay up and see the sunrise that I spotted through the door as I let the dogs out, or, I’ve got time to wander into the back yard just because I spotted a nice cloud formation through the kitchen window.

'Not much happening' gives me time to remember Aunty Urs telling me that Venus is the brightest star you see below the Moon and of course I could see it as I drove into Venus Bay when I lived there. So, my mind wandered to my Venus Bay family and I felt pretty confident that two young parents, an almost six year old and a toddler probably didn't have time to stand around tonight noticing the stars - but, hey, maybe they did and even if they didn't, at least we are all under that same moon and star.

'Not much happening' means I’ve got time to notice things I’ve never had the opportunity to notice before. The shapes of tress up here are so different to trees I grew up with, or have lived around, or maybe, I just didn’t have time to stand still and look at them. But up here I’ve noticed the ‘lolly pop’ shaped trees I drew as a 5-year-old (when I had it pointed out to me that trees don’t look like that!), and the ‘triangle’ tree that some trendy Christmas trees are based on. I have often felt ignorant when talking with friends who have travelled, I’m really enjoying
learning ‘stuff’ by being in new places.

Sometimes we learn ‘stuff’ by going and listening and looking and tasting like we did at the Sarina Sugar Shed. We found out that sugar cane is a grass, 70% of it is water, 15% fibre and 15% sugar! And the mills are so efficient that they virtually get everything they need from the cane and there is no waste – the water from the cane is used in the cooling towers, the steam from the towers produces all the electricity they need plus excess that goes back to the grid, the fibre is turned into mulch and so it goes on. Anita, I forgot to ask about the little red plant growing beside the crops – oops! We also found out that their Coconut Schnapps and Turkish Delight Schnapps tastes pretty darn good!

Racecourse Sugar Mill, just on the South West side of Mackay, taken from Mackay Ring Road

The helpful assistant at the Sugar Shed told us about a delightful café for lunch at Sarina Beach, a place we’d (ok, I’d) planned to visit, so off we went. The prawns were good, but the view was spectacular!

We enjoyed a brief walk (I must remember to always pack a book for Will just in case I find a spot for a long walk – LOL) and headed to the next destination – Sarina Auto Wreckers. Seems our van will work a lot better if it has chrome wheel nuts – see I learn stuff all the time! No joy there but we learnt where another auto wrecker is - see, learning all the time!

The next few days we hung around the house. I’ve continued to support the museum we volunteer at in Alice Springs by way of writing/editing/compiling their newsletter and researching

Supposedly listening to
a podcast which Kev
found for us!

vehicles. Currently I’m researching the Razorback Roadblock of 1979. Will says I should go on Hard Quiz about the topic as I’ve spent so much time reading about it. And I have read a lot but I also asked Will and my brother, Kev, who’s recuperating from his second hip replacement to help me out. Just saying, Kev may be the more helpful of the two! I promised Janine a link to the museum's website so here it is.

https://www.roadtransporthall.com/?fbclid=IwAR0RFNZ90Sm8tRKYauA2_6Ryq8HNvPMO8vvN-met9hIDBFfJAhK05RVh8JQ

We had both been looking forward to going to a country show so off to the Mackay Regional Show we went. In some ways there really wasn't much difference between the Foster Show and the Mackay Show except for the number of everything! If there was one Dagwood Dog Food Stall (which in my opinion is one too many) there were 30 of them! Instead of a few snakes at the reptile display there were 20! And one was just hangin' around - like Axeminster in a story book I read to Kyle when he was young and now read with Lola - Lily, your turn is coming! They did have duck racing which we'd never seen.

But the major draw cards for us were the wood chopping, both and the motor cross ‘free style try to jump off ramps and kill yourself stuff’ for Will. Turns out we watched the motorbike show twice which was really good because after they’d survived the first show I decided I could keep my eyes open and nothing bad would happen – although one bloke did get way too close to an edge on the first run – even the MC took a bit of a deep breath as that happened. I don't know if I should be worried but Will is outside investigating the empty block next door as a potential motorbike track as I type!

The other thing I am learning, thanks to living in other people's homes, is there is a whole array of products I walk past in the supermarket that are actually better than the product I've stuck with forever just because shopping is boring and I grab the tin/item I recognise. Now, let me just remind you, the home owners either gifted us the products or asked us to use them - no stealing going on here!! But would I have bought myself an Delonghi Nespresso coffee machine - no, but do I use it each morning - absolutely! Will the 'Avalanche Sugar Free Drinking Chocolate', the 'aaah! Bistro Gravy granules' and the 'F. (Fred) Whitlock and Sons ballistic beans' go on the shopping list - probably once I've checked if they are Australian Made - sorry Fred, you're gone. Maybe now that 'nothing much is going on' I can spend a little longer purchasing more interesting products and cooking more interesting meals - or I could just go watch a sunset!