Apr 21-28 - The Canadians Visit & Win Our Hearts

Hello there!

We had a lovely visit with my business partner Jullieanne Matheson (Jules) and her husband Rob for a week. We couldn't have ordered better weather and the temperatures were up and the sun shining brightly every day. Considering Jules & Rob came from a snowy 10 degrees, it was a nice, warm vacation atmosphere for them here on Keswick Island.

We did a lot of relaxing of course, but we also went on a couple of walks, beachcombing, snorkelling (yay finally!), swimming, socialising, fishing, generally just taking it easy and snapping tons of photos.

Rob was a classic while snorkelling, exclaiming "Look guys - a turtle!", and "Hey there's a stingray over here!" or "Did you see that school of fish, right below me!" A very excitable guy, but really appreciated because he shows enthusiasm for everything (except perhaps climbing the mountain - which is where we're going to put the shorts he left behind as a flag, seeing as he won't be needing them in Canada). ;-)

But Jules was right. Rob is an absolute sweetie and both he and Brian were as thick as thieves while they were here...

On April 25, we had the annual Anzac Day Two-Up On The Deck at the Keswick Island Guesthouse. Lyn cooked up a storm as usual and our guests got to try kangaroo as well as an assortment of other delicious aussie delicacies... Including a chocolate pavlova with home-made choc-chip ice cream donated by yours truly.


Here's a shot of B1 & B2 in their Anzac Day regalia.

I'm happy to say that there's a Canadian name on the trophy now. Jules scooped the pool and with her "Wooga, wooga, wooga" chant, and pipped the challenger at the post to win. She now has an official gold medal to wear proudly around her neck.



Both Jules & Rob did a beautiful rendition of "Oh Canada" and cheeky Mike just couldn't resist and had to stir the pot by running around Jules with the Australian flag. (Lucky Jules missed his head with the bottle of sparkling shiraz, otherwise Brian wouldn't have been able to steal it and drink it later on!)



A most enjoyable day was had by all. ;-)


Here's a nice photo of Jules & Rob on one of the walks. Rob got to try a few different varieties of aussie beer while he was here and didn't mind them at all. ;-) We got to try Jule's 'paralyzer' cocktails which were yummy as well! Plus I was given a big jug of pure maple syrup when they arrived. Delicious! Velly nice on pancakes. :-)


Here's Rob, Jules & Brian on a walk we took down to Arthur Bay to collect shells.

One moonlit night, we all went fishing at Basil Bay for sharks and Lyn Kinderman caught a nice reef shark, which she cooked up for us the next day in beer batter!

All-in-all, we had a great time and we thoroughly enjoyed our Canadian visitor's company. I didn't really want them to leave... I wish they lived closer by...

We're really looking forward to their return with son Nathan in the future.

Warm regards
Eva Browne-Paterson

Jess & Ben Visit During Easter Holidays

Hello there!

We recently had the pleasure of having our daughter Jessica and Brian's nephew Ben up for a week over the Easter holidays. They had a great time here.

Here are some photos taken up the mountain on their last morning:




The butterflies came out in their thousands on the last few days that the kids were here. Below is a shot taken from up the mountain of butterflies on the grass tree flowers:

Here's a photo of two Kerloos, very elusive birds that make a sound similar to a woman being strangled! Well not really, it's mournful wailing kind of sound. If you come across them as you're walking or driving around in a golf buggy, they'll run in front of you like a road runner. They have beautiful wings when they open them up to scare you, with a black area with a couple of big white eyes. We think they're so dainty as they run along in front of our buggy on their spindly little legs...




That's all for today. There'll be more next week after my business partner Jules and her husband Rob come for a visit from Canada for a week. I can't wait!

Warm regards
EvieB

We Have More People! Yay!

Hello again!

It's very exciting to report that we have more new people living here on the island now...

Ron & Marion Brookes have moved back to complete their home, just up the hill from where we live. They've brought their son Andrew and his girlfriend Sascha over for a week's holiday -- what a lovely young couple.

It's good to see people making their dream come true no matter what spanner is thrown in the works! :-)

We also have Kevin and Loretta who arrived today. They're staying in a house right up the top of the island that we were looking at buying at one stage... The views are breathtaking from there. Well, Brian mows the lawns and tops up the batteries there so he still gets to admire the view. ;-)

They're building a house up Gos Hawke Drive which has a beautiful outlook as well, and is located even higher up the big hill at the top of the residential part of Keswick Island.

Mike and Lyn had a social get-together this evening to welcome Ron & Marion and their family back to the island. Hopefully their house will start the completion stage of building by the end of this month or so...

I can't tell you how exciting it is to have more people coming here to live and the new company and personalities are a refreshing addition to our little community. It's lovely to see that so many genuinely nice people are moving here. :-)

We also met the developer Vince and his two workers, Jim and Barry during the last week. It looks like things are being repaired, tidied up and new roads to be built... That's all good in my books. Brian might even have a bit of work repairing some broken down machinery -- so that's even better. ;-)

That's all for today. I'm hanging for a swim tomorrow! Next week will be busy with daughter Jessica and nephew Ben coming for a week - then business partner Jules & her husband Rob from Canada for the next week as well! I can't wait! :-)

Warm regards
Eva Browne-Paterson