AMY'S BIRTHDAY

Amy's birthday was on 9 June which was on the flight over and so we were unable to celebrate it properly. My cousins wife very kindly arranged a family party for her on the Friday night. We had a lovely meal and of course a few glasses of wine and there was this gorgeous chocolate birthday cake. HAPPY NINTH BIRTHDAY AMY!

FIRE AT THE ENTRANCE

One of the first places we visited on the Central Coast was The Entrance, this is one my daughter's favourite places. One of the main attractions here is the pelican feeding which takes place every afternoon. We had a walk around the children's pool area and got ourselves ice-creams and smoothies, they were delicious. We carried on our walk and as we did noticed a fire shooting out the side of a house. At first I thought this was garden rubbish that was being burned. I then saw, who I presumed to be the occupants of the house, running around, shouting and moving a car that was parked close to the house. An ambulance drove past us and I saw one of the crew was on the radio and she was reporting the fire.

We watched as the fire quickly caught hold of the house and people were running around shouting to see if there was anyone in the house. The roof of the house started popping and explosions could be heard inside, so everyone had to move back to safety. Still the fire service had not arrived and we wondered how long it was going to take them. By now the fire was spreading into a nearby palm tree and I asked if there were any occupants in the apartments that were at the side. I was told that they were empty.

A man, who was walking by, told us that we should move as the roof probably contained asbestos. As soon as that was mentioned we moved quickly away, my dear dad died of asbestosis only 3 years ago, so I know the dangers of this awful substance.

We moved further along the street and when I looked back I could see that the fire engine had arrived and the police. The plume of thick black smoke was going high into the sky along with debris from the house.

It certainly wasn't what we expected to see on our visit here. I felt so sorry for the occupants losing everything like that. We heard a report on the radio later about the fire and it appeared that no-one had been injured which was a blessing.

FIRST FEW DAYS

Those first few days after we arrived passed in a blur. I was suffering with jet lag which made me very tired. I couldn't sleep in in the morning and stopping up after 9 at night was impossible. We did manage to get out though and on the first day I went to meet somone I had met through an internet forum which is for expats and people who are going through the visa application process. A few of us had gone on and 'met up' again on Facebook. I had arranged to visit Catherine at her home. Catherine is originally from America and had been living in Australia since last year. Catherine and her family were at the end of their stay as they had a home to sell back in the US. I was a bit apprehensive going to meet her as I am quite a shy person and don't find it easy making new friends, but I knew that once we moved to Australia I was going to have to make more of an effort to get out and meet people. I needn't have worried Catherine was a lovely, friendly person. We had a great chat, a cup of tea and cake. It was a wonderful experience meeting up like that. I hope that we can meet again sometime!

OUR TRIP TO AUSTRALIA

We left home at 11.30 am on Monday, 8 June and drove to Heathrow airport. We got held up in roadworks but arrived at the airport in plenty of time. Whilst we were checking in I thought about how I would feel the day we did this when we were making our permanent move to Australia. I quickly pushed those thoughts aside and got on with feeling excited about our arrival in Australia and our time there.

A few hours later we were boarding our flight to Japan. The flight passed ok. The usual meals, drinks, in-flight entertainment, more drinks, try to sleep. And then it was midnight and Amy's 9th birthday had arrived. We were very tired but she had her present and card from us, the rest we had left at home. I am not sure what time we arrived in Japan as the time difference always confuses me. But we had a 5 hour wait at the airport for our next flight.

Whilst waiting I heard a strange announcement. It was a male voice (who seemed to be trying to hide a laugh as he spoke) and he was instructing passengers, for a different flight to ours, to visit the washrooms before they boarded due to the turbuluence they were going to have during their flight. At this point I said a little prayer, thanking God that was not our flight. Our flight was finally called and it was onto the plane for the final leg of our journey.



We arrived in Australia on at 6.40 am on Wednesday, 10 June. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, quite cool as it is their winter at this time of year. We got through immigration and that was our Visa's validated. A man approached us and asked if we had any food, we only had chocolate, so he sent us through another door, we didn't have to get into the next queue for the baggage check thank goodness and that was it through the arrivals and there were my relatives waiting for us. At last we had arrived!

HOME AGAIN

Hello to everyone and thank you to those of you who have kept dropping your Entrecard, it is much appreciated.

We have had a great time in Australia and I am looking forward to sharing some of the things we have done with you over the next few weeks.

We arrived home yesterday evening after 2 days of travelling, which included an overnight stay in Japan. My body is still confused over what time it is. I was really tired when I went to bed last night, but was awake at 4.00 am and got up at 4.30 am so I am writing this with very bleary, tired eyes. I am looking forward to going to bed again tonight and hopefully having a good sleep.

BON VOYAGE

On Monday, 8 June we set off to Australia to validate our visas. We are going to be there for almost a month. We are getting really excited and are looking forward to seeing our family again. My daughter has her 9th birthday somewhere on the flight so I will have to keep my wristwatch to UK time so we know when to celebrate it. She is a little concerned because her daddy is teasing her about missing her birthday due to the 9 June disappearing somewhere along the way. We take off on 8 June and land in Sydney on 10 June, the flight takes 24 hours, we are going via Japan. I have told her not to worry, that mummy will know exactly when it's her birthday.

We are also going to travel north from the Central Coast where we are staying and spend some time on the Gold Coast and visit Brisbane. I am really looking forward to seeing a different part of Australia and also the weather should be a bit warmer there.

I have spent the last few days doing last minute shopping, washing and ironing and generally getting everything ready for our visit.

Our dog Jasper is going to stay with my elder daughter whilst we are away. I don't know what he will make of it. But he will be happier with her and her family than he would had we put him in kennels for a month. We will all miss him whilst we are away.

Amy was 6 when the above photo was taken, it is one of my favourites. I am going to renew it this year and will post it on my blog on my return.

When I am back I will be able to let you all know how we got on. Bye to you all for now!

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME

I have read many posts on blogs stating how the blogs have been neglected due to other committments. Well readers that is exactly what I am going to do today, write one of those posts.

I have not only neglected my blog, I have not done much dropping on Entrecard, I have not been very creative. My poor shop on Etsy has hardly anything in it. I have been so busy with other things that there has been little time for anything else. I have had so many decisions to make that my mind has had no time to think about doing anything else.

The biggest thing I have done is quit my job! It has taken me several months to make this decision but it was becoming increasingly difficult to juggle being a mum and working and I was getting fed up with that juggling. I feel so much happier and relaxed now I know that I don't have to go to work anymore and can get on and do the things that I want to do. I am looking forward to the school holidays so much more now that I know I don't have to make arrangements for childcare. I feel free!

The next big thing we have been arranging is our trip to Australia. Our flights are booked for 8 June and we will be over there for almost a month. We have not sold our house yet so this is going to be a visa validation trip, but at least it will give my husband an opportunity to look at the job market whilst we are there. We are both quite concerned about the current employment situation, he has a very good job in the UK and doesn't want to give it up to move to Australia if he is going to be unemployed for a long period of time.

Whilst in Australia we are going to visit the Central Coast region where my relatives live and we are also going to drive up to Queensland and visit the Gold Coast, Brisbane and surrounding areas. We are all getting very excited about our trip.

So hopefully now that things have settled down I can get back to my blogging, crocheting, knitting, beading and maybe now that I have more free time I will be able to have a go at other crafts.