Firstly we would like to congratulate Ryan and Liz on their new arrival of a baby boy (Ryan and Liz were to two people who kindly offered us their granny flat when we first arrived in Australia).
Mark has been having continuing success with academic papers, which is resulting in some very late days, so I can’t say I have seen much of him. This was topped off with a trip to Cairn this month for an Australasian Isotope Conference, where he gave two presentations.
A Cairn beach at dusk.
Egrets from Mark's hotle room window,
I have been kept busy with the Royal Society for the Blind, with Neuro vision loss clients and the update needed for my OT professional registration for Australia.
My involvement with Girl Guides continues. I have been working on my Girl Guide Leader qualifications and have finally completed one of four modules. I hope if all goes well, to have this finished by the end of the year. The unit I work with I have to say has a fantastic team of leaders (Judy, Dayna, Sandy and myself) which seems to be doing something well, as our numbers have gone up from 24 to 30 girls this term . The girls are between the ages of 10 and 14 years old.
For the last week of term at Guides, the girls decided we should try a Zamba session. It was great fun and a great laugh was had from the adults at the back of the group.
Dayna Having fun
The following Sunday we went biscuit selling (Guides over here sale biscuits to raise money, just like their American cousins) at the Port Adelaide Aussie football match. This was great fun for me, as we got free tickets to watch the match and I have finally learnt how to play a game of Aussie rules football. I can only describe it like is a cross between a number of games such as rugby, football and basketball.
Port Adeladie against St Kilda.
I have been upping my effect to loss some pounds in weight by joining an Aqua Aerobics class on Thursday night. This was a first for me and I have to say I am finding it great fun. Our teacher works us hard and after an hour, I feel like I have been to the gym without having to step into one, which is fantastic as I hate gyms.
We have to say a big thank you to Lynne and Kathy who held a great house warming party during July. We had a great time and it was lovely to meet people once again, that we had met during our first few weeks in the country. Kathy has a lovely house, with a brilliant log burner, Mark is very jealous.
Our weekends have been full of fun. We have been walking and 4 x 4 driving around Adelaide, meeting friends for coffee and finding new foods to try. We had some lovely walks around the different parks in this lovely warm and sunny winter weather. On our travels we have seen some Kangaroos and come across some wild flowers. Which I have to say have resulted in me wanting to find out more, as I have no idea what any of the flowers over here are called.
Purple potatoes and Red snapper.
Mangroves north of Adeladie.
Austrailan flowers, What are they called?
The last seven photos were taken at the Deep Creek Conservation Park, which is south of Adeladie near a place called Cape Javis.
The last 2 photos were taken on a walk in the Adelaide Hills near a place called Lobethal.
Lavender farm in the Barossa Valley.
Finally we want to wish our friend Thomas all the best in his travels back to Germany. We hope that the next chapter of your life is has enjoyable as your time in South Australia has been. Thank you for all your support and help over the last 12 months in welcoming us into life in Adelaide. We hope that we can visit you one day in Germany.
Thomas
