trees in backyard
For lunch on Easter Saturday we were at the Illawarra Yacht Club:
We knew the Yacht Club Brasserie from a previous visit:
https://auntyuta.com/2016/08/01/1st-of-august-2016/
After Saturday’s lunch we had coffee and cake at our place.
Easter Sunday
On Easter Sunday we had our extended family visiting us:
To be continued
Well, yesterday, on Tuesday, the weather was beautiful. We went to Corrimail to the new Primary Medical Centre:
Peter’s doctor had moved from Dapto to Corrimail. The new doctor in Dapto was on a three week leave. So Peter decided he could see his old doctor in Corrimail. At the same time I managed to see a skin specialist at this centre in Corrimail. She gave me some treatment straight away. I did not have to wait! I was very happy that this service was available.
When we arrived home yesterday all my washing that I had hung out early in the morning, was dry already. It was beautiful to have fresh bed linen! Today, Wednesday, Peter had to start his BCG treatment at Wollongong Hospital. When we arrived back home, it was raining again.
Peter and Astrid were with us in Corrimail yesterday. Today they left early to catch the train to Sydney. They were looking forward to explore Sydney for one day. I hope the weather will be okay for them. They experienced a beautiful mild and sunny day with a light breeze last Saturday. They had booked a trip on the Tall Ship James Craig:
It was a beautiful sailing adventure for them. They loved it very much.
They spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Sydney and stayed overnight in Glebe with C and M. On Friday we spent the day with P and A in Sydney, visiting the Chinese Gardens and walking along Darling Harbour to where the Tall Ship was to have a look at it.
On Saturday Peter and I stayed home in Dapto, but on Sunday we drove to Glebe and had a lovely day there with C and M, and P and A.
Last week on Thursday we went to Port Kembla Beach with our guests. I still have pictures from last Thursday and Friday as well as Sunday and want to publish some of them now:
As far as I can recall, we had no rain last Wednesday. We had first stopped at Bulli Beach and from there we drove further up north along the Sea Cliff Bridge and up to Bald Hill. On the way back we stopped at Austinmer and had there some fish and chips for a late lunch at a nice cafe. At Austinmer there is also a beach and a swimming pool. We liked to take some more pictures at Austinmer Beach.
On that day when we stopped at Austinmer there was hardly anyone at the beach, I would think though that some visitors may appear during the upcoming Easter period.
Further up north we had been at Bald Hill. This area is very popular with Hang Gliders.
Last Wednesday we went with our guests to Bulli Beach. It was very overcast. We had some coffee in a beach cafe near the swimming pool contemplating whether there was a chance that we could go for a swim even though there was no sun. But as soon as we had finished our coffee the sun had come out. The swimming pool close to the beach looked very tempting. My brother and his wife are good swimmers and stayed in the pool for quite a while. Peter, my brother even went into the surf for a swim later on. He knew he had to stay between the flags, so that the life guards could keep an eye on him. I did not stay in the pool for very long. But I found my little swim very refreshing.
The above pictures were displayed in the cafe. I liked them very much.
And here I took some pictures in front of another beach cafe:
My brother and sister-in-law arrived Monday morning, the 3rd of April. Their flight was from Berlin to Sydney via London and Singapore. Their plane was to first to land in Sydney after the curfew’s end at 6 am. Peter and I picked them up from the airport. It was a very rainy day after heaps of rain the previous weeks. I think on that arrival day on Monday we stayed with our guests at home in Dapto. The had left home some 48 hours before they arrived here. There was some trouble at their departure from Tegel Airport in Berlin. Their booked flight with Air Berlin was cancelled. Before they were redirected to another flight they had to stand in a queue for some six hours!
Anyhow, by Tuesday, the fourth of April, they were well and fit to go out for a drive with Peter and me. They had recovered remarkably fast. Tuesday turned out to be a rainy day again. None the less we took a chance driving with them up to Mt Keira. Arriving at Mt Keira the rain had just stopped, which was pretty amazing. We took the opportunity to look around a bit. The view towards Wollongong was pretty good. For a few minutes we were able to take a few pictures. Then it started raining again. We were so happy that the rain had stopped for a few minutes. As the rain started we drove down to Wollongong Harbour, where we were able to walk up to the lighthouse. But while we were still near the lighthouse, an extremely heavy downpour caught us. The three of us got very wet despite our umbrellas. Peter had gone away to where the car was parked. But he also was caught by this heavy downpour before he could reach the car. We were glad when he brought the car up to us to pick us up and take us home to Dapto.
Pictures of our outing to Mount Keira you can find here:
https://auntyuta.com/2017/04/05/up-at-mount-keira/
In the morning of Tuesday, the 4th of April 2017 we went first to Mount Keira before we drove to Wollongong Harbour. We were very lucky for when we parked our car on Mount Keira the steady rain had just stopped for a moment and we were able to go yo the close by outlook and take pictures of the surroundings. Downtown Wollongong and the ocean were more or less clearly visible, but so were some pretty heavy clouds. And sure enough soon it started to rain again and we had to leave.
Pictures from our excursion to Wollongong Harbour.
Soon after i had taken these pictures of the Maui Van we got caught in a very heavy downpour. Peter had run further down where we had parked our car. He thought it was urgent that he did get the car up for us, for me as well as Peter Uwe and Astrid. Very dark clouds were already approaching. Before Peter did get to the car, the downpour started already. In the end we all did get quite wet. Our umbrellas were not of much use in this extremely heavy downpour.
When we were up at Mount Keira earlier in the day we were very lucky that some rain had just stopped and a bit of sun did break through. We had a few enjoyable minutes looking towards the sea and Wollongong and watching all these looming clouds in the sky. But before the next downpour came we were already back in the car and on our way to Wollongong.
I took heaps of pictures from Mount Keira too and am going to publish them in my next post.
When Peter had surgery in Wollongong Hospital last month he stayed after surgery in a general surgical ward. The following morning Monika gave me another lift to Wollongong on her way to work. So she dropped me off at the hospital just a few minutes after 8. When I went up to the ward to visit Peter I was allowed in immediately. Peter was in good spirits and was already sitting up having his breakfast.
As it turned out Peter had to stay in hospital only for one night. After several tests on the morning after surgery it was decided that he could go home. Monika had offered to come to the hospital again after work. The night before she had come to the hospital after work to visit Peter after surgery. I had still be with Peter. So Monika drove me home that evening.
Peter had been familiar with that ward he was in already from his previous surgery a few months ago. On that occasion Peter had to stay in hospital for two nights. Peter was in a ward with the main specialty being urology. We found the ward was very well equipped with all modern facilities. All the staff was extremely friendly.
By lunchtime Peter had been given permission by his doctor to go home that day. He was asked, did he have transport home. Well, he said, his daughter could drive him home after work. But that meant he would have to wait for until she finished work. Peter discussed it with me. He said he did not like the idea that he would have to wait till evening to be driven home. He felt okay walking. He had been walking with me to the kiosk in the hospital for some coffee. And we had been walking together out onto the terrace on level 2.
It did not take long and Peter came up with the idea that we could catch the bus in front of the hospital that would take us to Dapto near the taxi stand. And we could catch a taxi from the Dapto taxi stand rather then catching a taxi all the way from Wollongong. Nurse said she had to ask the doctor whether Peter could go on the bus. The doctor gave permission.
Peter checked the bus timetable. He went to the toilet before we went out to the bus stop right in front of the hospital. The bus arrived on time. At this time of the day very few people catch the bus to Dapto. For the whole trip I think only another two or three people did come on the bus. The trip from Wollongong to Dapto lasts only for about 15 minutes. But once we arrived in Dapto Peter had to go to the toilet again. So before catching our taxi he went over to the shopping centre toilets. I waited with all his things near the taxi stand. The taxi home cost us only nine Dollars (including a tip of one Dollar). A taxi from Wollongong would probably have been more like fifty Dollars. We thought this was a great saving. Very happy we arrived home at around three o’clock. And Peter gave Monika a message that we were home already. For Monika it was good too that she could go straight home after work on that day.
While visiting Peter in his ward at the hospital I had copied the following from a poster that was displayed for the public:
“Welcome to Ward B 4 East
We are a general surgical ward with our main specialty being urology.
Our team will make every effort to meet your needs and make your stay with us as pleasant as possible.
Please do not hesitate to ask any questions or to inform us of ways that we can help you.
Wollongong Hospital has open visiting hours for our patients between 8 am and 8 pm every day of the week.”
And more rain is forecast for the following week. So it’ll just continue like this. At least it is not very cold. We live like in a rain forest. Things are growing quickly in this rain. I just noticed an article about the floods in other parts of NSW. So we are here comparatively well off still. We have not been flooded yet! Not far from us there have been some minor floods and road closures during a downpour last Thursday. Right now it seems to be much worse further north.
Forecasts from earlier this week for extreme weather in Sydney turned into a great big fizzer. But Sydney’s weather has been notable this month for reasons other than severe storms. In short, the rain has been relentless.
While Sydney has copped the occasional heavy downpour, the real story is how frequent the rain has been. Every day bar three in March 2017, Sydney has been wet. That’s right, it has rained on 14 of 17 March days to date, for a total in excess of 200mm across virtually all suburbs.
The next seven days? More rain is forecast. With some light and heavy showers thrown in. And maybe a little drizzle, just to mix things up a little.
JAMES D. MORGAN VIA GETTY IMAGESMeanwhile in Melbourne, rain has been recorded on just three days in March. On two of those days, the city received just 0.2 mm, which is barely enough to wet the roads. In total, Melbourne has had 2.2 mm in March so far. Little more is forecast for the week ahead.
Melbourne is headed for sun and top temps in the low 30s this weekend, while Sydney is going to be wet, again, with the likelihood of at least another 50mm of rain.
In a moment, we’ll tell you about the weather pattern in place right now, which typically brings dry weather to Melbourne and rain to Sydney. But first, some weather stats. These might surprise you.
AOLAmazing stuff, huh? It’s true. Sydney really is wetter than Melbourne by almost any measure.
interestingly, despite Melbourne’s reputation as the wet city, both cities have exactly 100 rain days on average each year. In Melbourne a sunny day can turn showery at barely a moment’s notice, but rain totals are typically not huge.
In Sydney, when the rain comes, it comes hard — and often sticks around for weeks. The weekend weather map shows why.
BUREAU OF METEOROLOGYIf you can’t read a weather map, you really just need to know that air flows anti-clockwise around a high pressure system (see the big H parked near New Zealand?).
So Sydney is being drenched by a regular flow of onshore winds bringing moist air from the Coral Sea. Persistent easterly winds almost always bring steady rain to Sydney. But the rain doesn’t travel far inland.
When it’s been raining so much, there’s waterfalls on the motorway! #SydneyStorm #SydneyWeather @SkyWeatherAUS
Meanwhile, it appears that the Bureau of Meteorology has a dry sense of humour. On March 22 — which is the fifth of seven consecutive wet days on the current Bureau prognosis — the Sydney forecast says “showers increasing”.
We’re honestly not sure how much more the showers could increase.
AuntyUta 