Here are the Footy ones and the Five Rebels too

One more from my walk, the half way big tree(That is the 1/2 way point on the 5-6 km walk, not the longer one.In summer I sometimes walk up to there instead of doing the round trip because it is more shady. By the way, I hear the Hollanders are doing it hot, more like here ). Then ,2 of my five rebels , also Zoe & Caitlyn walking and Oma ( me with the hat & grey top)helping with training (Rick,not seen , was behind me catching the strays) while Riley takes a catch from Oma. In the background is the Primary school that Zoe and Riley go to.

It was a Busy Day

Sunday and we were up early for grandparents day at Riley's Football. Well Riley was well represented because all the Branch family was there. Uncle Rick and Oma helped with training and Uncle Travis helped play in the last 1/3 rd. We went back to Scott & jo's for fresh scones and cream and choc. cake with morning tea. Trev and I then went to Viv & Mick' to bring presents and we had lunch with them. Their house renovation is looking great. Then onto a car yard to look for a car, petrol is too expensive for us so we are looking for an economical smaller 2nd hand car. Back home, took some picks of cafe and then to finish my Library work. I also will upload my walk pics. I'm pleased with them. I have just noticed that some of the football ones did not save so will do them again later. From the top left we have the lake which reminds me of Laapersveld a bit with the big grass bit for Mac to run on, then 2 of my spoonbills,these were further north up the river,makes my walk about 2 Kms longer , but well worth it and the last, the frost on another doggy park along the river, north of Royal St Bridge.

Chinese Restaurant Treat

Vicki & Travis treated us to Chinese at Yangebup. it was a long time since we ate there and it is still really good. The little restaurant was full to the brim and takeaways were queing up. Caitlin has just started to stand on her own and performed her new feat nicely. When we came home, Mac was all over his dad, literally. There is also a photo of our little Mac seeking the sun in the corner of his own , 1 and 1/2 x 1/2 meter lawn. This morning took some photos on my walk again and did get the spoonbills . Will put them on another day as it would take too long on this so will do them on the Arcadia Waters site.

Now There are Two

The West Australian police force are very lucky to have two great young men in their midst. Yesterday Rick rang to say he got his promotion to sergeant and Scott, who is already a sergeant, is waiting to be offered a position as Senior Sergeant. (he is "acting "at the moment). We are very proud of our two sons and congratulate them both. Have had a few extra babysits with Zoe & Riley this week because of the holidays but Bella & Sarah were minded by their dad. They'l come on Monday as well because Bella has a pupil free day. Met up with my friends from East Waikiki (the Wacky Group) for coffee on Friday at the Dutch Windmill. That is always most enjoyable.I have to organise the next one . Will have to think of something unique and enjoyable.Suggestions are welcome but Cananda or U.S. or Holland or Xmas Island are no good, too far away. Somewhere in Fremantle area is most desirable or between Freo and our area I suppose.

Not Much happening

No great events happening basically,babysitting. The house was one that the daughter of Rick's neighbour had transported to a block on a farm near Harvey, a small town about 100 Km from here. The men helped the Electrical Contractor, Charlie ( a friend & client of Trev's ) do the connection, so that she could have it done for almost nothing. Scott, Jo & the kids went back to Kalgoorlie to see baby Anna and for a memory trip . Had some great photos of the superpit, which I could not save so I'll check with the kids why not and try again. Nice pic. of Jo and Zoe and Riley in front of the superpit though. Then we had our new Waterways Cafe open this week , it is now run by the residents and went quite well this week. Hope it continues to be a success as it would be great to have a cafe again. Their prices are really affordable and my Dutch appeltaart was a great success and the most popular, so they tell me anyway.Nice though. The girls all had "Nutrimetics" parties because Kelly has taken up a distributership to help her study income.The three of them can now also be home shoppers which means they will get their stuff cheaper. Nutrimetics is an Aussie cosmetic Co and it is a very nice product. We have had a little rain these past few weeks, some very cold days also, one night dipping to - 1 1/2 degrees!!!! and day temperatures as low as 12 and 13 degrees. But still, nowhere near the amount of rain we need. With Israel and the surrounding Arab States trying to blast each other off the earth again, we have once more world tensions and increased prices. Just what is wrong with people and Governments?? The majority of people don't want all these horrors to happen, either at home or further away and still they do. How can these minorities terrify the world so much? It seems so unbelievable.I guess it is no different from the people who kill innocent citizens and innocent children at home. Sick, sick.

WHEN I'M WALKING

This is James, at my '20 minutes to go 'spot. He is very old but dearly loved by his owner.Underneath, Burslem Bridge, across the Canning River with our village to the right in the background. A lovely rainbow over the white gums and above the morning sun on a stand of eucalypts Typically the Aussie river view, paperbark, a young palm and eucalypts. Firstly Royal St Bridge,I pass over then under, very old above but so solid underneath Whenever I get the opportunity I go walking early in the morning. I often think I should bring my camera because there are some very peaceful,interesting and for people who don't know Australia, typical sights.This morning, the kids were arriving a bit late so I walked and I actually remembered my camera . So.... what happened? It was still too dark for a lot of the photos. I left before 7 and the sun does not rise till well after. Such a pity because for the first time I saw TWO spoonbills with a white heron and another spoonbill on its own. I photographed them but they were too dark. Bet I won't see one of them next time I bring the camera and it is lighter!!!So I'll postwhta I hope will give some idea of why I just LOVE my morning walk.My pedometer says it is 6 km but I think it is a bit less because I take quite small steps.Here goes.

Anna Patricia

Anna Patricia, 7 weeks now , Came to Caitlyn's Birthday too. It was her first meeting with us. She is so cute. Today we also had another baby come into the Donnes side of the family, to Mat and Michelle a healthy 6 lb 12 ozs baby girl. I'm still waiting to have the name confirmed but it is great news and Congratulati to Matt and Michelle and Nanna ,Pop and the rest of the family.ons

CAITLYN IS ONE NOW

She was not really feeling that well but still looked cute and got lots of cuddles. Unpacking all the lovely pressies with Pop

Looking at the lovely decorations. That icing is sticky Mum and I love my Butterfly cake.

Caitlyn was one on Friday and Vicki & Travis asked us to come & celebrate on Saturday. We had lots of friends & Family to say Hello to, lots of food and altogether a lovely day was had by all. Poor old Travis and even Caitlyn were not feeling too well as they are still affected with colds and side effects. However, the rest of us had a great day.

The Old Girl's Birthday

They all came for tea on Wednesday(except Scott, he was on nightshift. We had casseroles, a beef one, spaghetti Bolognaise,Frittata, Butter Chicken (Rick's) and small chicken pies, with salad( Vicki's). Sweets provided by Net, (white choc cheesecake) , Karen (baked ricotta cake) and Jo (sticky date pudding). All in all was very nice and plentiful also got very spoiled and the lovely gifts were much appreciated. A BIG thank you all.The pics are taken by Karen on the night, Kids jumping as they are not supposed to do ,in the spare room ( but always do!!),Caitlyn with Aunty Net, getting bigger and Jo.Net,Viv, Travis, Gary and Trev, waiting for their dinner.

BIRTHDAYS

On Monday it was Karen's Birthday and though I saw her when she dropped Sarah off in the morning, I forgot to wish her Happy Birthday. When I rang in the evening, she was at a staffmeeting so I missed out again and I passed on my apologies. So now , once again Happy Birthday Karen. We'll see them all tonight as kids, grandies,sisters and brothers in law , are coming for a casserole tea tonight at our place for both birthdays.

The Umbillical Twins

As we don't often go out anymore except to family events, the children decided to buy me tickets to the Playhouse theatre to see the Umbillical brothers, two very funny and very clever Comics. We enjoyed it thoroughly and even treated ourselves to dinner at Han's cafe(A hardworking Vietnamese gent who made good here and now has quite a big number of cafe's with a very varied menu and well priced meals.) All in all a most enjoyable evening so THANKS KIDS. This Pic of a lion dance . I took it at the Chinese New Year exhibition of the Lion Dance at the club and rather like it.

The Winners

Well how's that. Your home team wins its first World cup soccer match ever.Here are the celebrations in Melbourne's Federation square. They say there are 20 000 fans in Germany and there must be thousands in London by the sounds of it.Still there are thousands celebrating here.How wonderful if they won against Brazil too.Anthony Franken is their goals coach and his parents, Ina & Frank are justly proud of him.Bet it is something he'll never forget. To top it off , Holland has won their first match also,gosh I almost wish I was a full time sports fan.

Library picture

Here are the library pics as promised and if I don't run out of time, our waterway as well. This is the main bookcase and at the back,one of the new ones . In the second picture,we have the main bookcase and that acts as a wall. Behind that is a cumputer ,which I use for the library, a printer and a photocopier. Opposite that is another bench with 5 computers. They are being quite well used lately , which was the aim. It is good to see people helping others to get used to the system. The library borrowing system is very simple and I have some great volunteers to help. The other picture is part of the waterway at the end of our street.Our street, it's internal name is Spoonbill close, comes in where one can see the Foxtell dish on the roof. I have actually seen a spoonbill several times on my morning walks around the river lately but I bet if I carried my camera I would not see it!

SOME GOOD NEWS

Just had a phone call from Rick to say he had passed his interview with success,which means he can be promoted to sergeant.They go in a pool and have to be offered jobs in the next two years to take up the promotion. Scott has been in the pool for Senior Sergeant for a couple of months now so they are both climbing up the ladder and we are very proud of them both. We wish them both success and hope they are offered what they want. Old Leftover is doing pretty well on anti-inflamatories ( join the club)but Rick is looking for advice if he can use human tablets as dog ones are so expensive. It is Maureen Barkla's birthday this Saturday, a big 60 and we wish her a lovely day and many more to come.Luv Us. Then on Monday it is Adrie & Jan's wedding anniversary, all the Best to both of you,with our Love.

Foundation day

Foundation Day Holiday today ,that is to celebrate the settling by Europeans of Western Australia.The year was 1827 so , it's been a while. Not a great deal of happenings . Mostly the reorganization of my life. Vicki was asked to work 41/2 days a week ,which financially she could not refuse and also because then it might not be available when she was ready. Consequently Trev and I decided that we would cope with the babysitting and to and from school runs , between us. We thought Caitlyn was too small to go to childcare just now, so wait till next year or perhaps try the 1/2 day when the new Childcare centre is open. Thus, on this long weekend I cleared up some of the Welcome Committee work and now we'll just have the ongoing new residents to go. I also did a good bit of work in the Library. All the books have been re-shelved ,as we were given 2 sets of shelves and I have accessed a great load of books and will ask the others to shelf them.I'll have to take some pics of my library and post them. I guess it is a good thing I don't get up-tight anymore, just take it as I go and I think I still get loads of stuff done. Here's a close-up (Karen's work ofcourse) of the Missy I'll be minding full time. Sarah is just 2 days and Zoe & Riley 1 or 2 days depending on Scott's shifts.

The Old Leftover

When I got to Rick & Karen's today to babysit Sarah,Rick was still home as he had to take Leftover the dog, to the vet. She was curled up in a ball and unable to move, with the sudden drop in temperature. Imagine my surprise when he came back with her again. She has at least some days respite because they are treating her with anti-inflamatories. She never even complains the poor old girl so we wait and see. It was a very cold day , I don't think it got over 15 degrees . Good thing Rick was having a new fire installed today.

Another Day

Had a special meeting of the Residents' Committee of our village and the owner today. We were shown the budget and the result of which was that our weekly rates will go up. We expected about $5.00 as the rates were held steady while the village was being built but we had to talk hard to keep him down to a rise of $7.00.It's hard on pensioners like us but fine for those with money.It is mainly a problem because the petrol prices have put up the price of shopping as well.However, we'll make do because we really live in such a beautiful environment. Karen ,your photos are lovely. Have fun with your new toy. Today is Net's birthday so again, have a very Happy Bithday dear sister, we love you.

Just some Diary notes

It is Tuesday and Caitlyn is now asleep because we have been to Rockingham City. Had a sandwich with mum,Vicki and Oma just had a walk around because she does not get out much these days. Actually , almost felt guilty but I would have felt more so if I had bought anything, I saw a nice 0verblouse & singlet but I am so good these days, I did not buy. We had a nice weekend because on Saturday we went to Jo's Birthday. She's OLD now,40!!It was a nice evening and good to see some of their friends whom we had not seen for a while. henry Phang,from Singapore was here as well so came with Viv and Mick.With Nanny & Geoff there from Xmas Island, she had an overseas contingent. Jo's official Birthday is on Wednesday and Net's on Friday.HAPPY BIRTHDAY both of you and Ellie too who celebrates the same day as Jo. We left at just after 9.30 , with the four oldest kids to spend the night with Oma & Pop, so the parents could enjoy themselves.They were just marvellous. Sunday morning, Trev set off early with Riley because Riley had to play footy.The Dockers won on Saturday and Scott took Trev, as Jo was gettting ready for her party, he always loves that but says they did not really play well. Then on Sunday night we had sister Nanny, Bs.I.L. Geoff and Gary for tea. Nanny & Geoff were to go back to Christmas Island on Monday. We had a nice night and Gary was happy because he had photos of baby Anna plus he won the Golf at Bunbury. Well done Gary. Is keen to see his wife back home ( Net is still in Kalgoorlie with Kristy & the baby.)

A Thursday today

We went to Princess Margaret Children's hospital today to sell Entertainment books. We occasionally do voluntary work for them.Trevor must still have the sales touch because we sold 31 books ( at $60.00 each) and that was the record sale.When one sees some of the poor kids there, and that is only those that can be moved,one realises how lucky one is with all these lovely healthy kids and grandies.

Here we have the very beautiful and dignified final exit from this world of Tante Jeanne. We were told it was a beautiful day. I am told her son, Dick ,spoke well and emotionally. I have not heard who were at the funeral and certainly hope that it was most of the family .Her last goodbye to us, who now are the generation keeping the family of Hendrik Kelder and Clara Mulder together.. The flowers facing us , the red with Australian blue greenery, were the flowers from us. R.I.P.

UPDATING

Here she is, another gorgeous little girl has come into our family, Anna Patricia, to Kristy and Colin.Congratulations Kristy & Colin. Their first and also Net & Gary's first grandchild.I am sure no grandparents could be prouder,congratulations Oma and Granddad.Anna, like all our girls ,bears the name of our dear late mother and her other name is that of her other Great Grandma so well chosen and sounds great.Look forward to seeing Anna soon. (She was born in Kalgoorlie) Then,on Mothers' Day, we went for a picnic to Fairbridge Farm School. It was good to see that the place is now being restored . There is some still to go but one is able to hire any of the cottages at really very reasonable rates, have meals there and there is even a coffee shop open all day. I'd actually like to go back another time. It was great to see so many of the family there.Net ,ofcourse, was in Kal with her new Granddaughter. Here are my 3 eldest girls being photogenic and then performing for the crowd when being told "Pull your head in ". With courtesy to Karen for the photos. (Took them off her website, did ask but it did not seem to publish the comment!!!!)