Body Tune Ups......

That seems to have been the order for the last couple of weeks.  We have had many appointments Audiologist (Me), Optometrist & Orthopaedic Surgeon (Philip), Skin Checks (both of us). It's not good news regarding Philips knee, but not unexpected.  Early next year he will have a knee replacement.  The knee has not been kind to him in the past week so waiting for the operation over the next few months are going to be difficult.  

We still plan on driving south in December. It just means that I will now be doing a lot of the driving.  I am fairly confident towing the van as we shared towing the gooseneck horse trailer backwards and forwards to Julia Creek for many years and it is the same size as the caravan.

In between all the appointments we have been working with our interior designer on the renovation of the bathrooms.  We met with them yesterday and we have chosen most of the fit out but as we all realise, we are going to have a Plan A, B and possibly C because this is an old building and we just don't know what we are going to find once we start pulling everything apart.

Apart from all this busyness we have enjoyed a fair amount of eating out both with friends and without.  We tried the new Rattle'n'Hum with our friends and although the food is glorified "pub grub" it was still very delicious.  Most of the crowd chose the slider variety board and I chose the Calzone. Instead of ordering dessert we came back to our apartment where I force fed everyone some Chocolate Ginger Cake that I had made earlier in the week.  It wasn't my favourite cake but it was okay I guess.  We all sat around the table until the sun went down and, as always with these friends, it was fun and enjoyable.

This week we also ate out at the one and only Pier restaurant that was opened for lunch.  It is just devastating to see so many shops/restaurants closed in the complex.  Some I'm guessing will never re-open.  We have vowed to support as many of the local businesses as possible by shopping locally but it is difficult when so many are shut. Please Premier......open the goddamn borders and let us take our chances.

Another restaurant we tried this week was O'Donnells Irish Bar.  A friend at our Seniors Gym class had recommended it and we were somewhat underwhelmed.  Philips Seafood Chowder was delicious but my Grilled Barra Sliders had bones in the tiny little fillets.  I think our problem, if you can call it that, is that we like to eat out for lunch rather than dinner and the dinner menus are far superior to the lunch menus.

 

Home cooking is, and always will be, my great passion and I am so fortunate that I have a husband who will try anything.  An interesting meal I cooked this week was Honey and Lemongrass Chicken with Pear. Wow!  It was such an exciting flavour combination and a recipe that will have a repeat performance in my kitchen.  

I watch a lot of cooking shows and am inspired to cook the meals that the chef presents.  I made Justine Schofields Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs that were tasty but I do prefer another recipe that I have in my repertoire that is a much lighter version of Justines Sweet and Sour.  

I also made a very American Philly cheesesteak bowl rather than the typical sandwich.  This recipe came from my Hemochromotosis cookbook and it was a very interesting dish because you marinated the steak in coffee.  Coffee fends off the iron in the beef, so it is a good combination for my diet. 

My exercise regime is still on track although I definitely allow for downtime.  I am doing two yoga classes each week and nothing will stop me from going to those classes as I enjoy them so very much.  I go to Seniors Gym classes twice a week.  I don't love Gym but I know that I have to do weight bearing to build my bone density so it is a necessity.  I'm actually enjoying it a little more than when I first started classes, so perhaps in six months time I won't want to miss them (said with tongue in cheek). One class is a real "huffy puffy" aerobics workout and the other class is a lot more fun where we always end the class with Nutbush City Limits and the Macarena.  They are such fun dances and are actually a really good work-out!  I still manage to get a few walks in each week when we have nothing on.  My favourite walk is to Kewarra Beach.  It takes me around 80 minutes and it is for the most part a shaded walk.  My other walk is around Argentea housing estate.  I like to check out all the amazing gardens.  Up until this past week Philip and I have been doing beach walks but I think I will be doing them by myself until Philip has his knee replacement.

Well that's about it folks.  My next post will probably be from our apartment in Port Douglas where we will be for the month of November while our renovation takes place.  The Body Corp is also replacing all balcony tiles in all of the twelve apartments in November/December so there is going to be a lot of noise and dust for the next couple of months. It will be a good place to stay away from!

Judi xx

Another week in Paradise

We really are so blessed to live in this lovely tropical part of the world and even more so when I think about a lot of the folks around the world who are going into a second Covid lockdown.  This insidious pandemic is never ending.  I wonder if we should somehow just try and live with the damn thing and take our chances.  I know the elderly would suffer but talking to my mum about it, well I don't think they are too worried.  And lest not forget that us baby boomers are now also the older generation and even though I have a somewhat compromised immune system I am ready to tackle Covid head-on. Bring it on and let's open up our country again.  Ok, I will now get off my soapbox.......

So what's been happening this past week or so.  We decided, finally, to put the Camper up for sale.  What a drama that's been.  What is it with people that can't make a decision!  We had a huge response to the sale and a couple from Cairns asked for an immediate inspection, that we agreed to.  They said yes they will take it and that they had paid the $$'s into our account.  We were very happy but that was short-lived when we received a message the next day that they had decided against.  Back to the drawing board and more advertising.  So now we have a couple from Victoria (!!) who have paid a hefty deposit and getting a friend to inspect the camper on Wednesday.  I don't have a good feeling about this potential sale though.  The logistics of getting the camper down to Victoria I think will defeat them.

We also sold Philips old Trek Bike on gumtree this week and that was another drama with people "to and frooing".  But it did sell relatively fast so we can't complain.  

So what else has been happening this week.  

We enjoyed our first Connoisseur's Lunch this week at the Reef House Resort. The group get together once a month to enjoy a lunch at various venues around Palm Cove.  They have a guest speaker and this week we were lucky enough to enjoy a talk from Paul Furse who's grandfather is thought to be the original James Bond 007 and yes there really was an M.  Paul inherited all his grandfathers diaries and he spoke for most part straight from those diaries.  The lunch we ate was really lovely with lots of choices.  I chose the Crispy Skin Salmon with asparagus puree followed by Lime Brûlée.  We were given a glass of champagne on arrival and we sipped on a delicious Sauvignon Blanc during the talk.  It was a lovely lunch and we met some really nice people who I'm sure we will meet up with again.  We now know a lot more about the area we are living in and the "things" going on and that was the whole idea of going to the lunch.

My two friends and I went to a Terrarium making course on Saturday.  It was lots of fun and it was interesting to see how different our terrariums where, even though we used identical plants and embellishments.  Mine is sitting in the bathroom under the skylight at the moment.  One of my plants is already looking a little sad so I may have to find another spot.

On the cooking front I was surprised to find a Burrata in the cheese section of my local Coles store this week.  Wow, I had always wanted to try one and believe me I was not disappointed.  The recipe I chose was a simple pasta dish that took a whole 10 minutes to put together and I placed the Burrata ball in the middle of the bowl and then broke it apart and mixed through the pasta.  My husband voted it a definite keeper and I have to say it really was one of best pasta dishes I have made!

Yesterday we woke early to watch the start of the Ironman 70.3.  The swim leg is right along the waterfront here at Palm Cove so we had a birds eye view.  They close the whole esplanade so it was lovely to see people instead of cars on Williams Esplanade!  

Our friends came and joined us for breakfast afterwards and they are always enjoyable company.  Kate sent me some photos yesterday dating back to 1978 just after we were married.  Gee I wish I knew then what I know now......or maybe not....

Take care folks

x Judi

Time flies........

To say that we have been busy is quite the understatement.  Philip and I both commented that we have to somehow stop jamming so much into a week.  For goodness sake we are retired and should be slowing down not speeding up.  I wonder if deep down we are worried that we are going to become bored.  Heaven help us........I wish!

It's been well over a month since I last posted and so much has happened in that time.  Philip flew down to Marco for ten days to help him erect a new fence. When he flew home he brought Mum with him who stayed for two weeks and didn't that fly.  I decided to deliver mum back to Brisbane so I flew down and back in the same day.  It wasn't difficult as I managed to get back to back flights so I only had two hours to kill in Brisbane.

After mum left it was a quick pack up of the van for a trip to Mission Beach with two other couples who are very special friends.  It seemed that we just got into relaxation mode and we had to once again pack up and return home.  Note to self.....book for at least a week next time.  Mission Beach is such a beautiful place and it was very fitting that we were able to celebrate what should have been Kurt's 41st birthday at Buko Restaurant at Castaway Resort. I highly recommend this restaurant.  We chose tapas that just keep flowing and were both delicious and filling.  Of course they were washed down with cocktails for the women and beers for the men.

In this past week our new lounge arrived and I LOVE it.  We purchased it from UD Furniture in Brisbane. The furniture is handmade to perfection and it is well worth paying the extra dollars to get quality.  They usually have a turnaround of four weeks but as the material from Warwick Fabrics had to come from Melbourne there was a slight delay.  Still, all in all it is much faster than our bedside tables and dresser that were ordered from Harvey Norman in July and are still on a slow boat from China.  We honestly thought we were purchasing Australian Made.  Another note to self.......check origin thoroughly.

We had to hire a crane to take the old lounge away and bring the new one in.  It caused quite a bit of commottion in the street.  Folks just love watching a crane operate and I must admit I couldn't stop taking photos.  The crane operator and his offsider were magicians at manoeuvring that furniture from three floors up!

So that brings us to this week that has been lots of fun with three girlfriends (all ex Julia Creek) rocking up for sundowners and pizza on Saturday night. We had so much fun and laughter as the drinks flowed.  We were quite a noisy lot and I did try to take the party inside but they were having none of that!  We had the obligatory photo shoot before they left at midnight.

Sunday we both hit the road, Philip on his bike and I did the 6km walk to the end of Clifton Beach.  It was probably not the best thing to choose after a big night but it felt good.  After all that exercise we decided to walk down to the Underground Restaurant for lunch and it is another restaurant I can recommend.  I had the pork belly and sides that absolutely melted in the mouth.  Philip chose the garlic prawn pizza that was also "to die for" delicious.

So that brings me to today that is relatively quiet.  We had to move a painting over the lounge and rearrange the lounge slightly but that is about it.  We are still making lunch our main meal and suits us very well.  I like to "go go go" in the morning and relax in the afternoon so lunch fits in well with that plan.  I slow cooked a ragu two days ago that has been sitting in the fridge and developing flavours.  We will have that with gnocchi today and the leftover will go into the freezer for meat pies next week.

My way of relaxing lately has been huddled over the jigsaw table.  I bought an easel style table that certainly makes doing a puzzle a lot more user friendly.  Mum bought two puzzles with her so I have completed them and am now working on a rather complicated puzzle.  It is a photo of Portofino and I love it so much.  I dream about the day that we might be able to once again return to Italy!

Take care everyone,

x Judi,

Just a little stroll

I love walking.  They say that you have to enjoy the exercise that you are doing otherwise it becomes a chore that you will eventually not continue. 

Walking in earnest began for me when we were living in Julatten and we bought Hudson the Labrador.  I took him for a walk every morning and I used to laugh at the way he would "read the mail".  The beauty surrounded me at Julatten.  It was just a breathtakingly beautiful place to live and I am so grateful that we had that opportunity to live there for all those years.

Now, with our sea change, I am experiencing a whole new world with my beach walks.  I  get a little carried away with walking and actually forget how far I have walked, as happened to me last weekend.  I walked three kilometres from Palm Cove to the end of Clifton Beach before I realised that I had walked so far and forgetting for a moment that I had to re-trace my steps!

Anyway it was worth the walk to find this view at my turnaround point.

In other news, we have had a nice string of visitors grace our doorway. Our forever friends from Julia Creek (now Leyburn) visited for a good old chin wag.  We seemed to have so much news to catch up on and the time with them went extremely fast.  Fortunately we were able to meet them a second time for breakfast at Vivo Restaurant, along with their family, before they flew south.  

Next was Trudi.....our gardener at "Kuramar" for eight years.  She had so much news regarding the happenings at our former home.  The new owner is going to allow weddings to be held there so that is exciting news and we are just a little bit chuffed that the hard work that we put into the gardens will be able to be enjoyed by many.

Philip is at present enjoying some time with Marco and Suzie.  They have quite a few kilometres of new fence to erect so Philip is very much enjoying the physical work.  I have been enjoying some "me" time and anyone that knows me well knows that is my favourite time.  I never tire of my own company and can always find plenty of things to do.  At the moment the majority of my time has been spent researching my diagnosis of hereditary Hemochromatosis.  My iron levels are in the 500's that are way to high and need to be lowered.  Donating blood would be a relatively quick fix but that is almost impossible for me as my veins are not great after chemotherapy. So diet it is, and gee there is a lot to consider. Calcium is good Vitamin C is bad.

Philip and I have also joined the local gym where we go twice a week for Seniors Circuit.  If you think it is a stroll in the park you would be GREATLY mistaken!  It is very high energy and really gets the heart pumping.  Of course you can go as slow or as fast as you like.  I am more in the slower limit but hope to get fitter over the coming months. I am doing it to try to build bone density as I have also been diagnosed with low level osteoporosis.  What is with your 60's!  Everything within our body seems to start breaking down.

At one of the gym classes we ran into an old neighbour from Julatten.  They had sold their property a few years ago and now live at Kewarra Beach.  Linda and I both did Yoga at Julatten and I am amazed at how great she looks.  She tells me it is all down to Pilates and she invited me to join her in a class.  I'll think about it but not until I get a lot fitter!

Philip will be home on Saturday and he is travelling home with my Mum who is staying a couple of weeks. It has been very cold where mum lives so she will enjoy the warm coastal air here at Palm Cove.

I will leave you all with a photo that I took from our balcony the night of the full moon.  Wasn't it spectacular!

Life is good....

Philip asked me recently if I was happy with my life.  It was a rhetorical question because we are both so very happy with the life we are now living. It.....just...feels.....right.
We are making the apartment our own as we slowly replace some of the furniture in the apartment (or cubby house as we affectionately call it) with our taste in furnishings. It is a slow process but we have all the time in the world.

Our social life is lots of fun with impromptu meals with friends as well as outings.  A couple of weeks ago I had a large rib roast to cook so I invited our friends for a good old roast meal.  After lunch we walked down to Beach Almond Restaurant where a local band was playing in the beer garden.  It was a really great afternoon with the band playing all the songs from the 60s and 70s that we could sing along too.

Last weekend we had another impromptu meal at our friends place.  This time it was Laksa that was just so delicious.  I told our friends to stop setting the bar so high! I am a food tragic.  I just love good food and the thought that is front and foremost in my mind is always "what I am going to eat next and where"!

This time last week we were sitting on the beach at Mission Beach sipping our bubbles and watching the sun go down over a perfect day.  We finally found time to take the caravan out of the shed for its inaugural outing.  As I mentioned in the previous post we wanted to see how long we could run the caravan "off grid" and I am happy to say that we could go pretty much forever if we have sun to charge the solar panels.  Water is the biggest problem.  Although we are very conservative with water, our onboard supply only lasts two days and we carry another two days in the tank under the vehicle. Showers take the most water so I suppose we could shower every second day to conserve water.......not!

Mission Beach is our new favourite place.  We walked each day as there are so many beautiful places to walk both at Mission Beach and South Mission Beach.   The beach is perfect to walk along, in fact it is one of the best we have ever walked on and leaves Four Mile Beach at Port Douglas for dead.  It is so wide and flat and the sand is perfect to walk on.

We spent one afternoon lazing on the beach and trying out our parachute bed.  Honestly, it is just so comfortable as Philip can attest to! We are tempted to buy a second one as they fold up to the size of a shopping bag and are easy to carry.

Each night we had sundowners at the Tavern right next door to the caravan park, except for one night when we took our chairs to the beach for sunset.  The Hideaway Caravan Park was one of the best we have stayed in with its well kept grassed areas and gardens.  The sites were a little on the small size but that can be forgiven because of the cleanliness of the park.  We highly recommend it and we will certainly return.

So, we are home again for the time being and as I lay in bed this morning I made a promise to myself that I would never ever tire of this view from our bed.

Port Douglas as a tourist

We bought an investment apartment in Port Douglas when we sold Kuramar and settlement for the apartment was on the 30th June.  We decided that we would spend a week living in the apartment to work out where we would start on the upgrade, and believe me it needs it!
The apartments were built in 2002 and in those 18 years I don't think a single thing has been changed including the inevitable spa bath that seemed to be so popular then.  The apartment definitely needs to be painted inside because at the moment it is a nondescript yellow/cream.  White throughout is called for so that is the first thing we will change.  Next will be the kitchen and lastly we will get rid of the spa!

Our trip to Port Douglas had a dual purpose though because Philip had put his name forward for a bike ride from Mareeba to Almaden.....around 140km.  He drove to Mareeba with three other cyclists as passengers and from there they cycled to Almaden.  They arrived in time for lunch at Almaden and then they boarded the train that took them back to Mareeba.  He loved it and he pulled up remarkably well after quite an epic ride.  He said that the majority of the ride he had a tail wind which certainly helped on the long uphills.

While Philip was doing that I did............absolutely nothing!  I had a very relaxing day poolside listening to numerous podcasts.  It was bliss and something I really needed.  Our days in Port were mostly leisurely.  We did have doctor and dentist appointments and I managed to fit in two yoga classes with my old teacher.  Other than that we ate lots of really good food at different restaurants each day.  Our favourite meal was at Mamman where I had one of the best Atlantic Salmon dishes ever.  I almost cried when my meal was finished!  We also ate Tapas and Paella at Seabean Restaurant and delicious Aussie Burgers at N17 Burger Joint.  Paddys Irish Bar was also a favourite because who doesn't like the people watching it affords.

I walked most mornings around the Marina/FourMile Beach circuit.  Philip did a couple of hill walks but too many steps for me! Most afternoons we strolled along Four Mile Beach as it is almost the perfect beach to walk on with its very flat surface.  Sometimes we even grabbed an ice-cream to enjoy along the way.

View from our Balcony looking towards the mountains and our old home at Julatten

It really was great to have a break from moving into Paringa and we have returned to Palm Cove very invigorated.  I have to tell you that as we walked into our new home we both commented on how absolutely it feels like home.  We love it.

My new best friend

During the Covid lockdown we were staying at Coconut Grove Resort in Port Douglas.  It was a lovely apartment and thank goodness it had a decent kitchen because there was not a single restaurant opened while we were there. I do rather enjoy cooking when I have plenty of time and lets face it, time was something we all had heaps of during the lockdown.
I stumbled across a recipe in one of the magazines that was made in a pie maker and it looked so simple to make.  I have often looked at these electrical appliances and thought, not for me, even though I love a good pie.  It seemed such an extravagance (even though they are very cheap) and just another appliance that would probably gather dust in the bottom of the cupboard.
Anyway, I thought what the heck, and I went ahead and ordered one online from Myer.  They have one of the best online shops I have ever experienced because five days later I had it in my hot little hands.  I was completely surprised at how big the parcel was and was slightly disheartened to think that I might have purchased something too big and bulky to handle, but thankfully the box was mostly packaging and the pie maker is only the size of my sandwich press.
I was itching to try it out and ooh la laah, our first pies (Mexican mince) were sensational!  I used store bought shortcrust pastry for the base and puff pastry for the top.  I have never been a lover of store bought pastry but honestly the pies just tasted so good!
Since then the pie maker has been on high rotation in my kitchen.  It is fantastic to use up leftovers and you are not limited to the pastry you use.  I have seen recipes for phyllo pastry that I really want to try and today I made apple and custard "donuts".  I had run out of self raising flour so they didn't rise as much as they should have but they are 100% delicious.
So, my new best friend is the Sunbeam Pie Maker and if you don't own one I suggest you order one pronto. I can guarantee you will love it.
PS
I read later that Kmart also sell them at a very good price

Apple and Custard "Donut"

Just a simple chunky meat pie

I'm still here

It's been way too long between posts my friends and for that I am sorry because I love sitting down here and tapping away.  I can offer plenty of excuses. Moving out of home and into a holiday apartment. Moving out of that apartment because it was sold. Moving into the apartment next door, and finally.....moving into our new home (apartment) at Palm Cove.  There has been so much packing up and unpacking since we sold Kuramar on the 24th April.  I don't ever want to see another packing container.  The packing up is actually a lot easier than the unpacking because you have to try and find a place for everything. Downsizing from a home into an apartment means a lot of trips to Lifeline.  We sold all the furniture with Kuramar that was actually a blessing as the apartment we bought came fully furnished.  Most of the furniture is not to my taste but it will do for the time being until we are settled.
So, apart from that what have we been doing.  Lots of socialising, I can tell you that much.  It just feels so right to be living at Palm Cove and so much closer to our friends.  Some are within walking distance that we tested last weekend when we went to their apartment for lunch.  It took us around 30 minutes to stroll to their place with our esky and we were grateful for the walk home after a really enjoyable large lunch. The lunch was a celebration for some young friends who have just become parents to a gorgeous little boy.  He is such a dream baby.  You know, the one that eats and then sleeps.  I certainly had my share of baby hugs.

Last weekend we were invited to another friends place for lunch.  They are not walking distance so we car pooled and drove the 20 minute drive to their place.  It was another very enjoyable meal that I know I will have to reciprocate when we are settled.  Philip's suggestion that we simply take everyone out for lunch is sounding like a very good idea! We are spoilt for choice when it comes to restaurants as most are within a block of our place.
Philip has been going for long rides with our friends and today he is doing a solo ride.  He is still feeling his way around the place.  He will continue cycling with his friends in Port Douglas though, as he loves the challenge of riding with some very fast cyclists.  He has just put his name forward for a ride next month from Mareeba to Almaden.  I think he said it was 140km so that will put him to the test!
I have been enjoying walks most mornings and also have been trying out different routes.  The Cairns Council is very pro-active with their cycling/walking paths and have made progress with a large wide path that will eventually run all the way from Palm Cove to the City Centre.  I am going to my first yoga class this morning.  That will be interesting as I haven't practiced any yoga since Covid lockdown in March.  I'm sure I will have some aching muscles tomorrow......
The caravan is sitting in the storage shed just waiting for us.  We have booked into a caravan park in Mission Beach the second week in July.  We want to test the batteries in the van to see how long they will last off grid.  We suspect not long and we will probably have a trip to the auto electrician to enhance the battery/solar system.  We will have to wait and see. We still plan on heading south in August. It was originally going to be July but we really need to settle completely into the new apartment first.  Settlement for our Port Douglas apartment will not be until the first week in July so we also have to organise to have it put into the rental pool.  Things take time.
Speaking of things taking time.  The NBN connection has been a nightmare.  We have been here two weeks and I first spoke to someone at Telstra about connection the day after we moved in and then heard nothing more.  I have rung numerous times and nobody can find, or couldn't be bothered finding, our order.  It is so very frustrating as we are in a black spot when it comes to mobile coverage so we really need a landline. Finally, yesterday, I spoke with someone who was at least able to give me a time and date for connection.  It is not going to be until the 30th June but at least it is going to happen.
It's almost time for me to head to yoga so until next time, take care my friends.
xx

This is the view from the bedroom in our new apartment