We are still alive!

This is the time of the year when we have to go to Centrelink to let them know we are still alive. Well, both Peter and I, are old age pensioners. We get the Australian pension plus a small monthly pension from Germany which is so small that it doesn’t affect our Australian pension.

As I said we have to present ourselves at the Centrelink office with a form that has been sent to us from Germany. Peter filled out both our forms (I only had to sign). With both these forms and our passports for identification we arrived at Centrelink. A woman very politely took all the details from Peter and then pointed to a row of seats telling Peter to wait there till his name was called.

I felt I was completely invisible but didn’t feel the need to draw some attention to me. Well, she had advised Peter. And that was it. All I had to do was follow him and sit down beside him. After a while someone called “Peter” (no surname). I doubted Peter had been able to hear this call. (He has again a bit of trouble with his hearing aid) I told him a “Peter” had been called and that it may be him. Peter got up and a woman asked him to come over to a certain counter. I followed.

In the past we had always been called to a table with seating provided for the two of us and the office person sitting opposite us and taking notice of both of us. So this time we just stood at a counter. But then it didn’t take very long at all to get the required certification and stamp. Peter handed over the papers, the Centrelink office worker very efficiently took care of these, soon handing them back to Peter. She didn’t say one word to me. I contemplated why on earth should she take notice of me?

I wondered whether she even had noticed that I was there. When I talked about this to Peter later on, Peter assured me that she must have seen me. How else could she have certified that I was still alive?

Sunday Surprise

It was Sunday. Our daughter had said she’d see us in the afternoon. What a surprise it was when she brought her little grandson Lucas along who’s nearly twelve months now.

Here are a few pictures I took soon after their arrival.

While I took photos Peter already set the table for afternoon coffee.

The parents of Lucas were busy with something that needed doing to the house. Some kind of maintenance. So Monika suggested she could take Lucas along to our place. Her daughter Natasha was also with her. And we already had our daughter Caroline from Sydney with us. So we were a nice group of people having afternoon coffee together. Caroline had been baking the cake.

July 2013, DIARY

Hyde Park is in the midst of Sydney. This is where we were today, Wednesday, and not only today but also two days ago on Monday.

Peter had to have treatment at the Dental Center for a broken off tooth and I had to go for another visit to a dental clinic for getting new dentures fitted. I’ll have to go to Sydney two more times for further fittings. Caroline came to see us again and later on also Matthew. It was great to see them both.

Last Saturday Peter and I went on this excursion to the highlands. Sunday I ventured on my own for a walk to Lake Illawarra while Peter did his running training. I took heaps of pictures at the lake. So here I show some of them.

This is Brooks Creek that flows into the Lake.

On Monday we went on an early train to Sydney and could see the sun rise shortly after seven.

Remnants of a Rainforest

It was windy and cold today, however plenty of sunshine and beautiful clear air. We thought it would be wonderful to go up to the highlands on a day like today. To drive up Macquarie Pass was no problem. Here is what it says about this pass in the Wikipedia:

“Macquarie Pass is an eight-kilometre-long section of the Illawarra Highway passing through Macquarie Pass National Park. It was opened in 1898.[1]

Macquarie Pass links the Southern Highland town of Robertson to the coastal town of Albion Park, descending the Illawarra Escarpment via a very narrow bitumen roadway, which has several single-lane sections and is mostly two lanes with double “no overtaking” lines. It is in the Shellharbour local government area.

This section of roadway is very steep, and contains a large number of hairpin bends, resulting in buses and trucks needing to reverse on some of the bends. The pass is quite notorious for accidents due to its nature, and drivers and riders are required to be cautious.

After heavy rain, the Macquarie Pass can be closed due to flooding on the top half of the pass. Cars and motorcycle riders may opt to use Jamberoo Mountain Road between Robertson and Jamberoo, while trucks are advised to use Mount Ousley Road (Southern Freeway) and Picton Road as an alternative.

The road is very popular with motorcyclists on weekends and public holidays. The Shellharbour and Wingecarribee Councils and the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority have therefore published a safety brochure entitled ‘Motorcycling Macquarie Pass.'[2]”

We reached Robertson and decided we would first of all have an early lunch with one of the famous Robertson pies and a cup of tea. The pies were delicious as ever. We have frequented this PIE SHOP in Robertson for over fifty years. The pies there are really special. Peter had a pepper steak pie and I had a beef curry pie. A hot cup of tea with it was lovely.

In the Wikipedia it says that the road is very popular with motorcyclists on weekends and public holidays. And so it is. At the pie shop for instance scores of motorcyclists had just arrived for a well deserved break. The eating section of the shop got pretty crowded after a while for lots of other holiday makers with children on winter school holidays had also arrived. The shop did a roaring business with their pies.

Near the railway line and near what used to be Robertson station is the little bit of rainforest which we had not been visiting for decades. Today was the day. We got ourselves reacquainted with it. There is a round-track of only about 600 m. We walked along it and felt like being in another world.

Earlier in the morning on the way to Macquarie Pass we stopped at the Marshall Mount Dance Hall. Our daughter Monika liked to go to their dances nearly forty years ago. Looking at the hall today Peter recalled how he drove to this hall on a Saturday night to pick up Monika and her friends after the dance had finished. We noticed today also a building next to this hall which used to be the Marshall Mount Public School.

We did a little detour through the country side where we noticed some ducks crossing the road. All in all we had a lovely day on this beautiful sunny winter day with gusts of wind that felt very cold.

On this coral tree were already some flowers appearing. Does this mean spring is not far away any more?

Sunny Days

Caroline and Mama Uta sitting outside towards the end of summer

This photo was taken a few months ago when Caroline had been at our place for a visit. We were sitting behind our house for morning tea. Peter and I always love to have a cup of tea outside enjoying a beautiful sunny day in our backyard that is overgrown with trees. We just love to sit under these trees and listen to a variety of birds who usually chirp happily close by. It is such a peaceful place. We always call it our little paradise.

This is what the table looks like without the table cloth.

We are in the midst of winter now here in Australia. After a long rainy period in June, the month of July is promising to be full of sunshine. However the nights are extremely cold. All the rooms in the house are extremely cold too, not just during the night but during the day too unless we put the heaters on. We usually switch our electric heater only on in the rooms we happen to use for a while. The warmest room is usually the computer room for it is small and does not require a lot of heating to get it comfortably warm.

Outside in the sun it is much warmer today than inside. So, naturally we had morning tea as well as lunch outside. We sat there for quite a while, absorbing the lovely sunshine and listening to the birds. How lucky we are to have such a lovely spot behind our house. As I said, we feel this is our little paradise! 🙂

Lunch on Sunday

RIMG0919 — We are the early arrivals at the Restaurant.

We are the early arrivals at the Restaurant.

Another photo with me, Ryan and Ebony and Baby Lucas.

We're still waiting for Mark to arrive. In the meantime Lucas plays with his books. — We’re still waiting for Mark to arrive. In the meantime Lucas plays with his books.

Our daughter Monika has arrived. She is the twins' mum. She proudly holds her little grandson, Lucas. — Our daughter Monika has arrived. She is the twins’ mum. She proudly holds her little grandson, Lucas.

Two of Monika's daughters with Troy — Two of Monika’s daughters with Troy

Caroline took this picture of us with daughter Monika and the twins.

The Twin’s Birthday this Month

These pictures were taken on the twins birthday in June of 2011.

Two months ago I published the above pics and in one reply to a comment I said these grandsons looked like little angels when they were kids. And Munira said that she can’t imagine them as kids. Ha, ha! So I replied:

“All right, Munira, as soon as I can scan pics again, I’ll show you how they looked when they were little! The twin’s birthday pics were taken just a few days before I started blogging. My profile pic that I still use, was cropped from that birthday pic where you can see me with Troy.”

Well, their birthday is coming up next week. So here I am publishing what they looked like as kids.
I went through all our photo albums this morning and unfortunately I could not find this special picture of the twins where they really look like little angels.

It’s very frustrating after looking for hours for one particular picture it still is nowhere to be found!
We just have too many pictures. Well, the pictures of the twins that I can publish today are all more than thirty years old or at least close to thirty years. The twins are going to be thirty-four years old in one week. When they were kids they were often together with our daughter Caroline. So Caroline is in these pictures here too. The boys loved to call her “aunty Caroline” just for fun. But she really is their aunty. Unbelievable! Sometimes people thought the three of them were triplets. However we had to explain then that Caroline is more than six months older.

T one

An Anniversary and lots of Birthdays

Last Sunday, the 9th of June, happened to be my brother Bodo’s birthday. He turned seventy-five. For a few months now he has been in an aged care home in Berlin. Peter happened to take this picture of me hugging the tree. I can’t recall having thought of my brother’s birthday at this instant.

Last Sunday when I uploaded this picture I remembered the other photo Peter had taken of me hugging a tree. I looked it up and I was surprised to find that the other picture had been taken on my birthday, the 21st September 2012, when we were on holidays in Berlin.

I don’t think I have any other pictures of me hugging a tree. Just these two. One taken on my birthday, the other a few months later on my brother’s birthday. As far as I’m concerned this is totally coincidental, but still quite remarkable!

Just for good measure here is the other tree hugging picture again which was taken on my last birthday.. — Just for good measure here is the other tree hugging picture again which was taken on my last birthday, 21.September 2012

This month some more birthdays are coming up of some of my grandchildren, there are also quite a few birthdays in the family coming up next month. In July is also going to be the anniversary of the death of our eldest daughter, Gabriele.

Sunday Lunch

This was our place for morning tea in the sun.

A bit later this place would be filled with people having lunch.

I noticed this beautifully decorated reserved table.

Our friends had spring rolls and a rice dish.

While I'm hugging a tree. — While I’m hugging a tree.

Peter is rushing to take some pictures of the pond while our two friends walk ahead to the car. Sadly it's already time to drive bck home. — Peter is rushing to take some pictures of the pond while our two friends walk ahead to the car. Sadly it’s already time to drive back home.

This weekend is called ‘Queen’s Birthday Weekend’ here in Australia. This means tomorrow, Monday, is a public holiday.
We were lucky with the weather today. There was plenty of sunshine in the morning. So it was a good day to go out for lunch with our friends who picked us up from home at 10 o’clock. By 2 pm we were back at our place for afternoon coffee and some more talking. It’s always good to see some friends whom we have known for a long time.

Pictures from Good Friday 2013

Recently a great deal of care went into beautifying the surroundings of the church. There’s a little pond with goldfish and wooden benches invite people to sit down to take a rest and maybe do a bit of reflecting.

On Good Friday at 10 o’clock the Stations of the Cross started. A great many children gathered in their costumes to take part in the Stations of the Cross. I only remembered today that I had not yet published the pictures I took on that day.

Near the school I noticed the above poster. The Catholic Primary School is right next to the church. There was plenty of space for the Stations of the Cross in the school grounds.