Cooper's Book Arrives

 As with all the grandchildren, we produce a book for their 18th birthday to celebrate the times we have shared with them.  Cooper's book arrived earlier than expected so we were able to give it to him today.

Ebony Graduates

 Ebony completed her degree last year and is now well into her Houours Year but she had her Graduation Ceremony this week.

Clear Skies

 We have had cloudy wet conditions for some time now so it was great to see a break with clear skies and have a chance to break out the telescope.  This time4 it was aimed at NGC_3372 in the Carina Nebula and I managed to get 3.5 hours of good data for this image.

Many Mothers Meet

 On Mothers' Day the family called over for afternoon tea.  It is a busy day for each family so it was good to see everyone.

Jack's Gallery Update

 Jack was quick off the mark to have his portrait updated in Granny's Gallery.

Too Early?

 While most of the family is sleeping peacefully, some more enthusiastic members are at the Gym.

Garden Guru

 Lisa has developed an interest in growing food - early stages but initial results are promising.

Cooper's Year 12 Jacket

 We had heard Cooper had a Year 12 Jacket but had never seen it.  He modeled it for us last night.  This was only the second time he had put it on - no wonder we had not seen it!

Jack Turns 20

 While we are having a family celebration on Sunday, Last night we had dinner with Jack and his family to mark the actual birthday.

Cousins Lunch

 Claire and her cousins, Glenda from Cohuna and Valerie from Trafalgar had one of their occasional catchups yesterday.  They meetup at Southern Cross Station as the VLine trains and the country buses all terminate there.

They have lunch in a very pleasant pub across from the station and on this occasion, Barry and I were invited along for the ride.

Following the Looong Lunch, it's not far back to the station to wend our various ways home.

Lachlan's New Season

 Lachlan had his first game of the Basketball season with his new team.  With the new coach it was a shakedown session.

Marathon Man

 On April 26, Pat took part in the Ballarat Marathon running the half in 1hr 42 min.  His legs have survived.

Cladding In Place

 The cladding of the Lake House has finally covered the "Pink House on the Hill". Mark moved the scaffolding so he could finalise the sealing around the windows and there is some final capping to be put in place.

Around the Island

 Our Cabin on Lady Elliot Island opened directly to the beach and surrounding coral lagoon.

If we had expended our "quiet contemplation" budget, we could walk across the Island in about 20 minutes. On the way there were all manner of sea birds.  Many nested on the ground and tended to ignore people as they were no threat.

The Island was once mined for guano and consequently denuded of vegetation.  Once the re-forestation program started the quaint old lighthouse was no longer high enough and a newer, less picturesque structure was erected.

On our final evening, the Island Chef produced a magnificent cake for Rhondda's birthday that we celebrated in a private room.

The following day we flew back to Coolangatta and the weather was so bad we had to fly around storms for 30 min before we could land.

On Lady Elliot Island

 During our stay on the island we were treated to the full range of weather it could provide.  While this included sunny skies, it also included torrential rain.  Our refuge on these occasions was the dining area for drinks and nibbles.

The day prior to Rhondda's birthday, it happened to be Terry's birthday so we were able to celebrate (along with all the other guests).

Lady Elliot Island

 Rhondda was turning 80 and for her birthday she wanted a beach holiday with a few friends.  She chose Lady Elliot Island in the Coral Sea north of Harvey Bay.  We flew there in a light plane out of Coolangatta Airport.  The weather was not promising!

In fact for about 30 minutes we were obliged to fly at about 500 ft, under the cloud layer so we were able to see the Gold Coast.  Once we got to the Island the weather had improved.  We just had to hope the pilot would not over run the airstrip!

Birthday Weekend

 On my 80th Birthday, the family decided that their present would be a weekend away together.  The logistics were daunting however we managed it last weekend down at Phillip Island.  We all stayed in Air BnBs or houses and met up for a Woolamai Beach walk.

The houses gave us plenty of space to relax in the spare time.

We all met up at "Saltwater" restaurant for lunch on the Saturday.  It is in a great location on a pier over the water and looking out to the bridge to the Island.

After a big late lunch, we met up for a pizza dinner preceded by games that turned out to be great fun and prompted the thought that this could be done again.

The evening gathering gave the family an opportunity to celebrate Cooper's eighteenth birthday -

and, although late, offer our best wishes to Lachlan for his sixteenth birthday.  It really was a magnificent family weekend.