Bonsai Garden Forums / BONSAI / Social Chat / 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-) / Latest Posts

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Tuppence — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:28:35 GMT

Looking forward to seeing some of the photos, Kath, particularly native australian trees. They have some wonderful names for them, from what I saw on an Australian gardening site. One is known as a snottygobble! Or something like that.
It's interesting to travel but it always good to be home!

:)

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:51:53 GMT

Thank you Don & Penny,

Beginning to get back into some sort of routine. Yes, I took over 600 photos - oops :w00t:, just put them from my 'memory stick' into the pc, as soon as I have edited some I will post same.

Bright day here with sun but wind is very chilly, been in the greenhouse today, having a sort out :), lovely and warm behind the glass.

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Tuppence — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:33:02 GMT

Welcome home, Kath. Good to have you back. You must have had a wonderful time.

Penny :)

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Stymie — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:15:10 GMT

YABADABADOO! Welcome back Kath.:satisfied: Glad you're back at the tiller. Got any photos?

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:39:27 GMT

hi Don,

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr don't like this ol' white stuff, hope we soon get a bit of warmth.

What with stops in between, it took a total of 36 hours to arrive back home on Friday morning at 11.00a.m., as you can imagine the old body clock is all over the place atm, but after a couple of more days I'm sure I'll be back to some kind of normality and routine :)

Hubby did his utmost best whilst I was away, all the fuchsia bonsai are looking very healthy in the greenhouses, just need a bit of a trim here and there, so a gold star for Henk :)

Keep warm

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Stymie — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 14:21:08 GMT

I believe that you'll be travelling this way this weekend Kath. Let us know when you touch down in blighty. You've got a cool, wet week in store I'm afraid but that will be a novelty at least.:hehe:

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:55:36 GMT

Hi Carol,

Yes the Easter bunny did find me :)

Travelled Wednesday from Mount Eliza to here in Murray Bridge, still enjoying ourselves, called in at Border Town on the way up here and saw the famouse white kangaroos.

Probably going to Adelaide on Tuesday, only one more workshop to do tomorrow, then it's the big haul back on Thurs/Friday. Time has passed so quickly, but this really has been a trip of a lifetime, such friendly people in Australia, they have all made us feel so welcome. Bye for now Best Wishes Kath :)

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Carol — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:40:29 GMT

You're getting round a bit, Kath - and I'm glad you're seeing something of the country other than Melbourne! Ballarat is in Eureka Stockade country - an arguably important part of our history.

I'll be in Melbourne in a couple of weeks - unfortunately a full schedule. I'm doing a refresher course on aged care accreditation auditing before the "rush" of re-auditing the various aged care facilities starts this year. A pity - would have been nice to catch up with you if you were still there, but maybe on your next trip!!

Enjoy the rest of your stay - hope the Easter bunny found you.:D

Cheers

Carol

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:21:52 GMT

[quote][b]keithmart (3/21/2008)[/b][hr]

Don't swallow a boomerang, you can't afford the air fares to keep going back![/quote]

That's certainly true Keith :) but can well understand why so many immigrate to here. Have a Happy Easter, I hear from home snow is expected, keep warm and eat plenty of Hot X buns, Best Wishes Kath

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

keithmart — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:34:08 GMT

Hi Kath,

Glad that you are having fun. Don't swallow a boomerang, you can't afford the air fares to keep going back!

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:05:40 GMT

Hi Carol,

Just to let you know, spent Wednesday and Thursday in Ballarat. Went all day Wednesday at Sovereign Hill, panned for gold, no luck there I'm afraid :D Went on the Gold Rush Tour, very interesting and went back in the evening to see the 'Light & Sound' show, fantastic.

There's a lovely Chinese Restaurant there in the vicinity 'Golden Gate', delicious :)

On the way back to here (Mount Eliza) on Thursday called at Dalesford, what a quaint little town, just loved all those little shops, even found a bonsai nursery called Bonsai Barn. They've now moved from their original premises. Now at the top of the hill of the High Street on the corner, next to Mitre 10, but you probably know all this :)

Would you believe it, they even had the same Chinese round table and 4 stools that I have standing in my own bonsai garden + the lady had 2 fuchsia bonsai.

Am glad it's cooled down a bit now, here in Mount Eliza only 19c this morning with a chilly wind, but the washing is drying nicely :)

Best Wishes Kath

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Tuppence — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:14:16 GMT

Thanks, Kath. Hope the workshop went well with the Aussie ladies. :) I'm sure they enjoyed it very much.

I'll bookmark the link and take a look.

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 11:55:34 GMT

Hi Penny,

They certainly could do with some of your rain here, off course the grass is all seered off here, but I still find it hard to grasp that such large trees ie euculyptus etc stay so full in leaf with such drought conditions, another common tree I like here is the Norfolk Island Pine, the 'cupped' shape that the needles form reminds me of a venus fly trap plant, but of course much enlarged.

Another great day with the Aussie ladies, yet another workshop where we (my friend Anneke and I) are teaching them new techniques. You can see what I do here Penny.

http://www.picturetrail.com/bonsailady

After such a busy day in, yes even higher today, 40c am going to have a bath and try to catch up on some sleep :) Best Wishes Kath

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Tuppence — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:14:37 GMT

Hello Kath.

I don't know how we would cope with so little water. It's been raining all morning here, which I don't mind at all. :)

The parchment craft sounds very interesting. How nice to be able to travel so far away to practice it. I'll look it up on the internet to find out more about it.

I bet you'll notice a difference in your garden when you get back!

:cool:

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:15:10 GMT

Hi Penny & Keith,

Sounds as if everyone is waiting for an improvemnt in the weather so they can get outside and do all those jobs that need to be done at this time of the year.

You couldn't do much gardening here, soil is like concrete, they really haven't had any rain to speak of for several years here in the south, and the other extreme, there has been flooding in the north.

Everyone is aware of the situation, very strict water restrictions. When I was up in Toowoomba I was told that the local dam was only producing 12% of normal water supply, so you can see how bad the situation is.

Being doing a parchment workshop today and tomorrow another one, 20 ladies attending, so quite an exhausting day as it was 39c and the church hall where it was held had no air-co, phewwwwww, but later we were brought two big electric fans, so bearable.

Take care, Best Wishes, Kath :)

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

keithmart — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:05:44 GMT

For a change Leeds has been a lovely day. The sun was shining and no wind (worth talking of)

I was hoping to drain the pond for it's bi-annual clean out, but we had visitors and that put paid to that.

Oh well tomorrow is another day, I bet it will rain!

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Tuppence — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:41:01 GMT

Hope you're managing to keep cool, Kath. You'd wouldn't need to here as it's damp and drizzly! The holiday sounds lovely.

:)

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:23:09 GMT

Hi Don,

Sorry to hear you've had such rough ol' weather, hope everything is ok at your end. Haven't spoken to Henk for a couple of days, but am sure everything is under control :rolleyes::hehe:

I did ask how the fuchsia bonsai were doing in the greenhouses and he said They've still got all their green leaves on", so that sounds good :)

Still very hot here 38c today, spent the day shopping, lovely and cool in the shops :) Bye, bye for now, Kath

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Stymie — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:18:31 GMT

Fair dinkum weather compared to the gales lasting several days here. I hope that Henk managed to take some defensive measures in time and that you don't return to a scene of devastation.:hehe:

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:19:22 GMT

Hi ya Carol,

Phewwwwwwwwwwwww, boy wasn't it hot today, but I'm enjoying every minute of this beautiful sunshine, mind you, I'm being very good, drinking plenty of water and only sitting in the sun for a maximum of 15 minutes, then going indoors again for a while.

Bikini, what's that??? :w00t::w00t::w00t::, shorts is about the limit for me :D. Have been watering just a few pots this evening, (the rest of the garden surrounding our friends bungalow is all seered off). Also pruned the roses and dead-headed the petunias on the patio. I just can't leave the gardening alone altogether :D but I wouldn't like to try and get a garden fork into this soil, it's like concrete, but of course I don't have to tell you that :)

Heard on the radio that this is the 11th day in a row that Adelaide has had +35c degrees, expect you're nearer to Adelaide than me, we're staying at Mount Eliza atm, going up to Adelaide the last week in March, main event there for us is the Craft Camp, I understand this is a yearly event.

I still find it hard to believe that I'm really here in Australia, as a Pom I never realised the vastness of this country. At home we see the world map with little UK and big Australia, but never realised how BIG and for instance how long it would take, even in the plane, flying over the northern coast and then on to Sydney.

Well it's 11.15pm so better get some shut-eye, tomorrow we're going to spend the day in Frankston shopping, thank the lord for air-conditioning inside all the shops, :)

Take care, sweet dreams, Best Wishes Kath :)

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Carol — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:06:46 GMT

I think you must have brought some hot weather with you from somewhere on your travels, Kath. Forget the jackets I earlier advised you to bring - did you remember to pack your bikini?!:cool::):hehe:

Cheers

Carol

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Tuppence — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:58:01 GMT

Great to hear from you way down there, Kath. Hope being "upside-down" isn't giving you headaches!! Look forward to photos and hearing more about your trip.

:)

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Stymie — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:33:55 GMT

Thanks for the update Kath. Keep in touch - its all happening on the forums. Be good. =Don.

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:45:05 GMT

Hi everybody,

So sorry it's been so long since you've heard from me, but we're atm out here in the 'wilds' so to speak with only dial-up' connection and that's not always reliable.

Anyway arrived safely last week, case got lost and was following me in another plane :), eventually caught up with me.

My friend and I were working most of the first week, but now have a week free. We started off in the Brisbane area visiting Toowoomba, then flew to Melbourne and are staying with friends in the Melbourne area at Mount Eliza.

Yesterday it was 34c so just relaxed around the bungalow here, today it was lovely, only 27c so went to Healesview to the Wildlife Sanctuary. Beautiful grounds so many native trees, saw wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, Australin birds of prey, dingos, black parrots, bats etc etc.

Got back here at 6pm, thought we'd have a nice easy meal tonight, fish and chips :), no cod, so had what the locals call 'flake' = shark :) was delicious.

Tomorrow going to a craft fayre. That's all for now, must get some sleep now, Best Wishes to All, Kath

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Tuppence — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:56:06 GMT

Hope you have a wonderful time. What a fascinating and artistic hobby. :)

Very best wishes.

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Carol — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:23:48 GMT

An early "Welcome to Australia", Kath, to both you and your friend!:hehe:

Don't forget a couple of jackets - tomorrow is the start of autumn, and it's starting to cool down somewhat, especially in the south.

Cheers

Carol

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Stymie — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:18:47 GMT

Buon viaggio Kath,

don't forget to remember me to Schiphol.

RE: 'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

keithmart — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:18:45 GMT

Enjoy your hols Kath. I promise to keep Don in order!;)

'Holiday of a lifetime' - as the saying goes :-)

Kath — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:14:06 GMT

Hi Everyone,

Tomorrow morning at 0400 I'm being picked-up by my son, Jan, and taken to London-Stansted, there I fly with Easy Jet to Schiphol-Amsterdam. Meeting a dear Dutch friend there, then we travel together with Maylasian Airlines to Brisbane, Australia, via Kuala Lumpur.

We are going to Australia to visit many of our dear 'Parchment Craft' friends' (my winter hobby) see here

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=13641777&uid=7133047

During a period of 5 weeks we travel from Brisbane to Toowomba then to Melbourne - Boronia - Frankston - Murray Bridge - Adelaide and then back home again.

Whilst I'm away you will all be taken good care of by our mutual and trusted friend Don aka Stymie :) thanks a million Don.

Take care all, and hopefully the weather will continue to improve into Spring -Happy Growing - Kath :)

ps. Yes, I have managed to do all the re-potting before I leave - hubby is now in charge in respect of watering and general care etc,etc,etc :D:D:D:D:D