Mabel's Cottage

What a charming little place Mabel's Cottage was.  Very small rooms but that's just as they were.  It felt very homely.  Sitting on the couch one night, I saw a flash reflection in the mirror.  Brian didn't see it.  I was convinced it was a ghost!  I even checked the camera to see if there was an extra photo on it.  There wasn't.

While in Geeveston, Brian went to the airwalk at Tahune.  He enjoyed it.  I enjoyed my day.  I sat and cross stitched and then had a nap.  It was a very lazy day for me and I really enjoyed it.

Next stop Hamilton

In Hamilton, we stayed in the old schoolhouse building.  It was beautiful and had a fire going when we got there.  The weather had changed and was now very wet.

We headed to the local pub for dinner.  The pub owner came and spoke to us as it wasn't very busy.  He told us all about the history of the pub.  It was built in 1834.  Under the pub was a cellar that had been built by convicts.  He invited us to come back in the morning and he would give us a guided tour of the cellar.  We turned up just after 10.00am and knocked on all the doors we could find as well as lots of windows.  No answer.  After about ten minutes we gave up.  We were both very disappointed as we had been looking forward to seeing the cellar.  The owner had told us that he had a busload of people coming in at 11.30 so he can't have been too far away.  We could see into the kitchen and there was no-one there.  Out of kindness, we decided they must all be at church so left a message to say we had been.

The Wilderness Railway

The day after our Gordon River cruise, we climbed aboard the Wilderness Railway train.  It is supposed to be a bus trip from Strahan to Queenstown, but a storm had hit the area recently and damaged several hundred metres of track and downed thousands of trees.  So, we just travelled on the train but it wasn't the full trip.  It was still a lot of fun, though.  The train travels through some absolutely beautiful rain forest.  It stops for morning tea, which you have to buy, and then later on stops for lunch, which is provided. 

When we stopped for morning tea, a woman came and spoke to me.  We talked like we had known each other for ever.  Cathy is from Perth and was travelling on her own.  I find that a very brave thing to do.  At lunchtime we ate together and talked a lot more.  Brian asked the train staff lots of questions, including the fire lady.  Yep, a job for the girls!

Cathy and I decided to go for a quick walk through the bush.  Another woman came up to us and asked if we would take her photo as she was also travelling on her own and wanted a photo of herself rather than just taking photos of things she was seeing.  Cathy then asked her if she would take a photo of her with her lovely friend.  Awwww  ........ what a lovely woman.  She also thought I was about thirty-five so she had already won me over anyway. 

During our leisurely stroll through the bush, we heard the train whistle blow.  Oh no!!!  We were only about halfway through and had to make it back to the station before the train left.  Luckily one of the train staff knew where we were.  As she saw the three of us appear, she asked us if there was anyone behind us.  There wasn't.  It was a very quick walk back to the train and as I was wearing thongs, told you it was warm, it made the walk very difficult.  We joked that if we missed the train we would be in enormous trouble as our mobile's had no reception. We made it.  As on the boat the day before, the trip back to Strahan was very quiet.    

Three days in Strahan

We are finally somewhere where we can use our computer again!  I have no idea how people who live in Tassie cope with intermittent mobile phone and internet access.  LOL.  We do get very used to some things, don't we?  Now I can update you with what we have been up to and where we have been.

After leaving Smithton, we headed to Strahan for three days.  The place we stayed at was called Kitty's Place.  Don't know about you but to me it sounds like a "place of ill repute". 

In the village of Strahan is a shop where you buy the tickets for a Gordon River cruise.  There I bought this hat.  And I've since worn it and worn it.  Brian thinks it's daggy but I've had so many compliments about it that I'll just ignore fashion advice from a man who wears checks with other checks or stripes.

The cruise down the Gordon River was very interesting.  The captain takes the boat through Hell's Gates and out into the incoming swell from the southern ocean. He then has to turn around and in the process the boat is broaching sideways into the swell before the nose comes around.  The water was quite calm the day we were there but as the captain turned the boat, a lot of the crockery in the gallery went flying and broke.  And not one person called out "Taxi!".  The name Hell's Gate is very appropriate. 

All that is left of the cells that prisoners were put into if the offended while on Sarah Island

All that is left of the penitentiary

About a third of the way into the trip, you land at Sarah Island.  A guide shows you over the island and tells you what life was like for the convicts who lived there.  Some of them murdered some of the others prisoners so they could be caught and executed.  They preferred that to having to live on Sarah Island.  Heartbreaking.

Further down the Gordon River, just downstream of the Franklin / Gordon River junction, is another stop.  This time there is a forest.  It doesn't take very long but shows some beautiful trees.  Apparently there was also about three tiger snakes that had been spotted recently but fortunately weren't there when we were!  The weather was unseasonably warm and the snakes we just enjoying the warm weather.

Too soon it's back onto The Eagle for the Strahan-bound trip.  The inward trip was much quieter than the outward trip.  Lots of people napped most of the trip home.  A wonderful way to spend a day in this beautiful little fishing village.

Greetings from the Apple Isle



Janet trying to sleep on the Spirit of Tasmania





Rose and Ava watching as the ship leaves Melbourne

 



Brian at Ye Olde Post Office, Smithton

 


Janet playing peek-a-boo through a rose bush at Ye Olde Post Office

 

Our long awaited holiday has finally arrived. We are now in beautiful Tasmania. And one of the most fantastic things is that we finally have computer access. At home, not only does my mobile not work and the landline work only when it feels like it, our internet access is so restricted we may as well not have it. I thought changing to broadband would solve our access problems but it certainly didn't. We sometimes feel very isolated from the world. Calls don't come through or they constantly drop out. So much for being in contact with the outside world! So if you've been wondering where I've been, I've mainly been just at home, out of contact with everyone.

It's six years since we visited Tasmania. Last time we were here I ended up with the flu. Couldn't just get an ordinary cold. Oh, no, had to get the flu. So I missed a lot of the holiday last time. Fingers crossed it doesn't happen again. And it may be a good idea to keep everything crossed as two days after we arrive home I have to go to hospital for the fifth operation on my right foot. This time it's to take the plate out. Just hope the anaesthetist remembers he tried to really make me go to sleep last year and doesn't do it again. I really would like to wake up afterwards!

Tasmania has put on the most fantastic weather for us. Today was so sunny yet not hot. Also very little wind and no rain. Heaven on earth. Wonder how long it will last. Today we drove through some very pretty little country towns. You get a sleepy little seaside village nestled at the bottom of some very rugged hills. They look like something out of Doc Martin. Didn't see him, though.

We wandered through a beautiful old mansion today. It has been extensively renovated but some parts have been left in the old, worn state. Very interesting. When we went into the main bedroom I got an enormous fright. I knew only Brian and I were in the room yet I could hear a woman sobbing. Turned out to be a tape playing from an old dresser. It couldn't be seen so the sound was very effective.

Tonight we are are staying in a very beautiful old home. Apparently it was the local house for the postmaster. Very high ceilings, lots of beautiful pictures and absolutely divine rooms. We are the only guests staying here so we have the place to ourselves. I could pack up all my things and just move in here. As the owners are away, the key was left for us at the butcher shop next door. Yep, that's the country for you.

Tomorrow we head for Strahan where we will spend three days. Providing the weather stays good, we are planning to go on a cruise down the Gordon River. And on one of the days we will be heading to Queenstown (the place that looks like the end of civilization) by bus and coming back on the Wilderness Train. It takes 45 minutes to get to Queenstown and the train trip back takes 4 hours!! Will find out why the long time in the next couple of days.

So keep checking back on this blog and see what we have been up to. Unfortunately our mobiles have no reception: It's just like being at home. As long as we have internet access I will be able to keep everyone updated. So if you don't hear from me for a while, you'll know we're out of range ...... again.

Please feel free to leave comments on this blog, they will let me know you've been following what we are doing. Also, let your family, friends and anyone esle who you think may be interested in the blog know about it so they can follow it as well. OK, yes, I do want to feel important. Stay safe and hopefully I can update you from Strahan.

Damn computer!

As soon as this computer stops having a hissy fit, I will post more biscornu pictures.

A bounty of biscornu's

Here are some of the biscornu's I have made. Some have been given as presents, some have been given to brides to carry the rings on their wedding day and some I just keep .... just in case I need a present. And some just live in a bowl on my coffee table and others in a bowl in my bedroom. I love making them and I love holding them. There's just something about the shape of them.

Wedding Vow Renewal

Grab yourself a drink, and maybe something to eat, tell anyone around you that you're not to be disturbed and read on. Are you ready? This may take a while!

Brian and I married on 0101/2001. It was a very hot day. We renewed our vows on 29/01/2011, ten years later, and it was also a hot day.

As with a wedding, the lead up to the renewal was very hectic. Organizing clothes, invitations, flowers and all the little things that go into making a day very special. And then the next day I slept nearly all day and was sick for most of the rest of the week. It took more out of me than I thought it would.

I wanted to be finished getting things ready and dressed and make up and hair done by three o'clock .... but that didn't happen. I finally just shut the bathroom door and had Sarah as a lookout just so I could do my hair and makeup. Unfortunately, it was so humid that my makeup just kept running off. We had to bring a fan into the bathroom. I finally got it looking good so scampered into the bedroom to get dressed. Again Sarah shut the door and just waited with me. As the service was being held in our front yard, we had a great time looking out of the window to see people arriving. And to our relief, nearly everyone was dressed very casually. That's just the way we wanted it.

My dress was a hot pink sundress, made from tee shirt type material, and I wore a lacy matching hot pink bolero over it. Sarah and I both wore green thongs that were covered in beads and stones and were absolutely beautiful. Sarah's dress was green and she wore a pink fascinator in her hair and my fascinator was green. We both carried a sheath of hot pink gerberas and pale green roses. Getting the colour co-ordination yet? Brian wore shorts and sandals and a beautiful teal colour polo shirt. As I said, we just wanted a very casual day.

At long last the time for the ceremony to start arrived. As the guests were arriving, the Nutcracker was playing. Then we heard the start of Truly, Madly, Deeply and we knew it was time to put in our appearance. The two flower girls walked out first. Flower girls! You've probably never seen anything like them. One is sixty and about 4'11". She work a mainly purple outfit as she is one of the Red Hatters, the Queen of our group actually, and she also wore sunglasses that were surrounded by flashing lights. The other flower girl was my Mum, and she's 76. I had made her a fairy dress from tulle in twelve different colours. Fortunately she wore white 3/4 length pants under it. I had also bought her some angel wings and I covered the elastic straps with pink sequined elastic. A flower girl halo completed her look. I opened the halo out so it would fit on her head and cut out lots of tulle and tied it onto the halo. They actually looked a little like butterflies.

As Mum and Kerry appeared, all we could hear was laughter. They both had great fun scattering their rose petals everywhere. But the comments we could hear really made us laugh. They were the strangest two flower girls anyone had seen but I think they also had the most impact of any flower girls they had ever seen.

Although I wasn't technically a bride, Sarah walked me in and "gave me away". As she has been my absolute rock over the last two years, I was so proud to be holding her arm as we walked in together. I had originally asked my brother to do that part until I realized what Sarah had done for me. Alan wasn't too upset to be not walking me in as he had a reading to do anyway. But holding Sarah's arm was so special for me. My heart was just filled with so much love for her.

A lot of our original wedding details were included in the renewal. The reading Alan did, the bringing of the bride,the handfasting, the asking and the vows were all from our wedding. The ring ceremony was a little different as this time I was the only one receiving a ring. And what a ring! It has four diamonds, Brian's birthstone, and three sapphires, my birthstone.

This is the reading Alan did:

Above you are the stars.
Below you are the stones.
As time passes, remember ....

Like a stone should your love be firm, like a star should your love be constant.
Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide you in your marriage.
Let the power of love and desire make you happy and the strength of your dedication make you inseparable.
Be close, but not too close.
Possess one another, yet be understanding.
Have patience with one another, for storms will come, but they will pass quickly as your love endures.

As Alan was reading this piece, the celebrant was lighting candles. We had ten crystal vases, each containing a candle. The vases had been placed on a marble topped table. The candles represented the stars, in the first line, and the marble represented the stones, in the second. A candle was lit at the beginning of each sentence and a final one at the end. That made ten candles, one for each year of our marriage.

Apart from the different placement of our names, our vows to each other were identical.

I, Brian, take you Janet, to my hand, my heart and my spirit, to be my chosen one - to desire you and be desired by you. I promise to love you wholly and completely, without restraint, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall respect you as I respect myself.

They were as valid at our renewal as they were at our wedding. And they are beautiful words. The day I met Brian is one of the most wonderful days of my life. And there have been some pretty wonderful days.

As the service was a renewal and not a full on wedding, it was over in about twenty minutes. And then the fun started!

The red hatters formed a guard of honour, all holding red fly swats that had been elaborately decorated, and Brian and I had to walk under them. As our front yard has a few trees, the guard of honour tended to meander. It didn't matter. It was still so much fun.

And then it was on with the partying. Some people had to leave early but some stayed for a lot longer. As it grew dark, our front garden lit up with the solar lights that are in a couple of trees and some placed around the garden as well as some coloured battery tea light candles.

The day was a real family affair.

My mother was a flower girl.
Sarah not only walked me in but she was also my maid of honour.
Brian's son, David, was best man, as he was at our wedding.
Brian's daughter, Susanna, did a reading from I Corinthians.
My brother, Alan, read the piece I've already written. (Up there.)
My son, David, half drew and half painted a tree for us. All the branches were left bare and we had a lot of ink pads for people to put their thumb print on and then write their name. Thanks for the idea, Susan H.
And the celebrant is a good friend and one of my red hat sisters.

For those who were invited and couldn't make it, you were missed. At the beginning of the service, the celebrant performed a libation. It's when you pour some wine onto the ground to welcome those who can't be with you either through distance, illness or death. It's a very special way to welcome everyone who means something to you.

So, that's the story of our big day. Hope you enjoyed reading about it.