Blue Lotus Water Garden

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Have a picnic or BBQ and relax with your friends & family

On Tuesday, the 30th of December 2014 we met Tristan, Stephanie and their daughters Kianga (7) and Jakira (6) at the Blue Lotus Water Garden. They provided everything for a BBQ, such as sausages and salads. Martin had brought along some pieces of watermelon as well as a good selection of fresh berries, custard and cream.

We arrived early and waited near the entrance for our grandson Tristan and his family.
We arrived early and waited near the entrance for our grandson Tristan and his family.

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Tristan and his family have arrived.

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We enter the garden.
We enter the garden.

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This is our great granddaughter Kia.
This is our great granddaughter Kia.
Here Kia is with Jaki.
Here Kia is with Jaki.
Tristan with his two daughters.
Tristan with his two daughters.
Tristan, Martin and Stephanie
Tristan, Martin and Stephanie

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Caroline, Tristan and Peter. I  had asked for a wheelchair when we bought the tickets to enter the garden.
Caroline, Tristan and Peter. I had asked for a wheelchair when we bought the tickets to enter the garden.
Kia tries out my wheelchair.
Kia tries out my wheelchair.

I soon found out I could quite well walk around the garden. But I used my walking stick since my left knee was still bit sore.

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Mother and Son
Mother and Son

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All this Tris and Steph had deposited here for our BBQ lunch.
All this Tris and Steph had deposited here for our BBQ lunch.

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A Feast Day: The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Sunday 29th December 2013

A Living Community

“Making Connections. Make special times for family this week. Contemplate the richness of family life.”

I read this in the church bulletin yesterday after having gone to the early Mass.

In the second reading of the day, what does St Paul say in his letter to the Colossians?

Here a few exammples:

Wives, give way to your husbands . . . .
Husbands, love your wives and treat them with gentleness.
Children, be obedient to your parents always . . . .
Parents, never drive your children to resentment or you will make them feel frustrated.

OUR DAY WITH SYLVIA AND MONIKA

Our friend Sylvia had agreed to go with us to a picnic by the sea .  We picked her up at 11 am. Our trip went southwards towards Shellharbour. The place we had in mind for our picnic seemed to be full of cars even though it turned out to be a day with very strong wind.

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We decided to travel on a bit further south. Soon we found a spot where parking was still available. We were even able to occupy a beautiful picnic table. Sitting down and unpacking all our picnic supplies we came to realise why this table had not been taken yet by anyone. The reason was quite simply that the wind at this spot very close by the sea had become extraordinarily strong.

Somehow we managed to cope with the wind, enjoying our picnic lunch as well as possible. As soon as lunch was finished we packed everything back into the back of the car and drove back to where we could buy some delicious ice-cream wafers as a desert. I did not want my ice-cream to melt too fast in the brilliant sunshine. This is why I sought some shade near a palm tree plant. When I had only a bit of wafer left, Peter thought of taking this picture of me:

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I took a picture of Sylvia.
I took a picture of Sylvia.

Our daughter Monika had invited us for coffee and cake at her place, She was expecting us at 3 pm. That meant we had a bit of time left to go somewhere else away from the gusty wind by the sea. Blackbutt Forest was not far away. This place turned out to be the right spot for us for a lovely walk.

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We arrived at Monika’s place right on time at three o’clock. Monika and two of her daughters greeted us. Monika and Sylvia were happy to see each other after a long time of not having been able to see each other. Sylvia had brought a lovely home baked cake along. Monika’s daughter Krystal and Monika also had baked a cake. Soon we were served cake and plunger coffee.

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We have known Sylvia since she was about two and Monika wasn’t even one year old yet. Now they are both in their fifties! We had a good day with Sylvia and Monika and her family. We spent about three hours at Monika’s, having a lot to talk about. Mark joined the conversation too a bit later.

To drive Sylvia back to Wollongong along the freeway didn’t take long. I think just before seven Peter and I were back home in Dapto. We were pretty tired by then but happy to have had a very enjoyable day.