News 2003

News for 2003

The new year saw Kim and family with us after our large Christmas family gathering. We visited our lovely local beaches and beauty spots. Daniel and family returned from their week in Queensland, and after a day they decamped their caravan from our garden and drove back to Adelaide.

In February we took spent a couple of lovely days at a B&B in the hills behind Apollo bay. We also took our bikes, and had some lovely cycle rides in the district. In March we visited Castlemaine for 3 days, also with our bikes. We visited a local historic home and garden, as well exploring the town and surrounds on our bikes.

In April Karen and Lee stayed with us for a couple of days. Then we set off on a holiday to southern NSW. We followed the coastal route, via Bairnsdale and Cann River (Both overnight stops). Then we drove north on the Cann River Highway to Goulburn and Canberra. After exploring Canberra for two days, we drove to Sydney and stayed one night with brother Alan and Family in Frenchs Forest. We all enjoyed a lovely meal at a sea-front restaurant at Manly. We then followed the NSW coast southwards, visiting many beautiful coastal towns and scenic spots along the way. We passed the Victorian border after Eden, and then made fast progress towards home.

In May, Barbara visited her family in Adelaide to be there for the birth of her 7th grandchild, and Mason Pike was duly born to Tracey and Daniel. Victor started work on a new patio on the south side of the house, and paved around our lily garden. Then in early June he drove to Adelaide, and then home with Barbara. At the end of June, Victor "retired" from training work in Melbourne.

The big event in July was Karen and Lee's wedding, which took place at a private chapel at Menzies Creek, in the Dandenong Ranges, east of Melbourne. They were married in style on Sunday 20th July. Karen arrived at the chapel with Victor, in a magnificent vintage car. The civil ceremony was beautiful. After the photos, Lee and Karen were then driven in the vintage car to the reception. This was splendid. Karen and Lee had about 35 guests, many of whom had travelled from far away to be there on Karen and Lee's big day. A few days later, Karen and Lee came and stayed with us at Drysdale for a few days.

In August we started renovating our kitchen, and building a wall around our new front patio. The winter this year seemed to us to be colder and longer and windier than any previous ones. We decided to sell this summer, and move north to warmer weather in Queensland.

In September we finished the patio wall, painted a pale yellow to match our balustrades. In October, Barbara visited Adelaide to see her family and spent some time with her newest grandson, Mason. We finished painting our kitchen and family room, which is the last major job of our renovation. We have placed our house on the market for a private sale.