On the Road Again - Cowra, Orange and Mayfield

 It is nice to start travelling again, even if they are just short getaways. Headed to Orange with my two girlfriends, Kerrie and Deb. We headed up via Cowra to see the Japanese Gardens and came back via Oberon to see the Mayfield Gardens. We were originally due to stay in Bathurst but got a message on the Thursday afternoon to say that our accommodation at Bathurst for three nights from Saturday had to be cancelled. Well that set the cat among the pigeons and had us in a panic, but fortunately we found another Airbnb at Orange which in the end we think was a much better option.

We set off Saturday morning with a stop off at Boorawa, which we have decided we will need to go back and explore another time then arrived at the Japanese Gardens at Cowra for lunch before spending time exploring the gardens there. They were lovely and we enjoyed the beautiful kept gardens and lovely green and autumn leaves. A great first day.

We found our accommodation which we were very pleased with , nice and comfortable and very clean. We had a room each which was nice. Deb had made soup and brought it along, so we didn't need to head out looking for a meal so we had a nice relaxing night.

The next day Sunday we headed out for an early walk and found a great little coffee shop where the guy helped us plan our day, so first stop was the Producer's Market at Cook Park. We got to see the lovely autumn trees in Cook Park as well as meet the local producers and sample various products and off course purchase a few including some lovely raw honey and a heavenly passionfruit curd!

After that we visited the information centre, dropped off our goodies back at the accomadtion and then headed out to the delightful historic village of Millthrope. We had morning tea at the Providore, then checked out the shops and helped boost the local economy. It was a lovely day and a nice place to visit.

Headed back to Orange stopping for a late lunch at Lucknow sitting out on the deck. Back to the accommodation for a rest before heading out for a walk around the Orange Botanic Gardens - another great day,

Monday we checked out the main street, did a bit of shopping, enjoyed the lovely old buildings familiar to country NSW towns, then we headed out to Mt Conabolas, which gave us lovely views back over Orange. We did what we thought would be a moderate walk through the forest to Federal Falls, it was a loop walk, which turned out to be a pretty tough walk. Deb and I left Kerrie at the top of the path which led down the final 500 metres to the falls, as it was very steep. Turned out to be a good move as Kerrie was already tired and it was a really tough descent and then hard work getting up again, only to see a trickle of water at the falls! It was nice country to walk in but I did feel my quads for a few days after that. We were glad to get home and just plonk.

I have managed to put my photos in the wrong way, so hopefully the captions will help

Some of Orange's lovely old buildings

Some of the autumn leaves around Orange

Orange Botanic Gardens

I forget to mention this place- The Parrot Distillery- a Gin Joint where Deb and Kerrie did a gin tasting. The place had lots of atmosphere, the girls enjoyed their gin, while I settled for a ginger beer, it was a fun time.

Tree lined street coming into Millthorpe

The old railways station at Millthorpe, now a shop and cafe

Morning Tea at the Providore

Kevin the Water Dragon at Cook Park

Bandstand at Cook Park

Me in the Begonia Display in Cook Park

Rock Garden at Cowra Japanese Gardens

Japanese Gardens Cowra

The Tuesday Girls!\

Relief Society High Tea

 

We had our first Stake Relief Society Activity in two years last Saturday. We decided to put on a High Tea and spoil the sisters in our stake and give them the opportunity to catch up and enjoy one another's company. It was a great success, it was really well attended and I had a great team helping me out. Les and Moana Howe set up for us on Friday night and then did lots of cooking as well. Bindi, Amy and I cooked as well. On the Saturday we had helpers set up and help make the sandwiches and put out the food. It was a lot of hard work but so worth it to see everyone connecting and having such a lovely time and they all appreciated the effort that was put in. Was glad when the day was over but very satisfying and rewarding.

Out and About in March

 Finally started venturing out into the big, wide world of Canberra in March. Amy and I took Mia and Bindi out for Bind's birthday. We had a lovely lunch at Black Fire in the city. It was nice and quiet on a Tuesday afternoon!

We also went to Hard Quiz at the Canberra Centre with heaps of people- lots of laughs, was a fun night. The bubbles out the front were part of the Enlightenment Festival.

Then Amy and I went with a friend to  Van Gogh Alive- it was great. You walked through a Starry Night Display into a large area where they had classical music playing and projections of Van Gogh's life and paintings.

It was really well done, the music was great, then as you excited you came into the Sunflower Room.

Then finally you could sit in one of his paintings! 

February Catch Up

 Time to catch up on my blog. Can't believe how quickly the weeks disappear!

Luna had to have a small lump on her eye removed, lucky we did that as it turned out to be a melanoma, fortunately they got it all. She was quiet for a day or two, needed to wear the cone of shame to stop her scratching the wound. She obviously has poor spacial awareness, she would just barge her way through things. The birds were terrified of Luna with her cone!

We had some friends who had COVID. The mum had it in January and no one else in the family caught it, then as school started the eldest daughter got COVID and the whole family had to go through another week of isolation. Then after a week out of isolation the remaining 4 members of the family came down with COVID. Amy and I  decided to be COVID fairies and dropped of some goodies a number of times to help them survive isolation with young kids. Amy had fun shopping in Kmart for various games and craft kits.

Valentines Day saw Amy and I help do some heart attacks at some of her friends places, we had fun helping out.

Beau helping out with icing cup cakes- always interested in what is going on.