A very lucrative weekend....

Well, went down to Hobart last weekend, how unusual...lol
NP suggested we go to The Valern Hotel which is near daughters house for the happy hour and meat tray draw that evening.... Daughter didn't feel like going out, so we stayed local and went the Beltana Hotel instead, they have cheap drinks, bar snacks, meat tray raffle and joker jackpot on every friday evening.
When we walked in the sign was on the wall regard the joker jackpot which was up to $2050.00 and NP commented on how nice it would be to win that...( his fridge was playing up, and it looked like a new one was required).  We had a few drinks, and everytime you order a drink you get tickets in the joker jackpot, we hadnt been there for long only about 1 hr prior to the draw so only had a few tickets.  The bar staff crunched up the raffle ticket stubs and asked NP to draw one of them to see who would be the lucky person to try their luck for the joker jackpot. (full deck of cards and one joker pinned to a board, one person gets to pick a card and if it is the joker they get the jackpot)  NP said no way,  his luck was out, let me pick who the lucky person was.....so I reached into the container and drew F97 on a purple ticket......handed it to the bar staff and looked at our tickets and there on the top was F97!  I called out that it was my NP, and got ribbed because I had pulled his ticket....lol, he asked me to pick the card, there were a few that were already drawn, and I thought, Why ask me, I spend so long deliberating and then get it wrong anyway...lol.   So I thought well his birthday is on the 23rd of a month, so I went with two cards along and three down, because it wasn't turned over.  The Hotel owner offered me a bottle of Jamieson's whisky to forgo turning the card over, then 2 bottles, 2 Bottles of Whisky and a slab of beer, I made my way back to NP, and said we agreed that if the jackpot was over $1000 you were better off turning the card, was offered 2 bottles of whisky, and 2 slabs of beer, we took the card, the Hotel owner turned it towards us, and lo and behold, it was the JOKER!
 Well the place erupted, I got a big kiss, ( in front of everyone!) and we went halves in the money. which has paid for our weekend away in Melbourne and we have some left over.

As if that wasn't excitement enough we won $157 on keno on the friday night too, our football team won their game that night and then I won a meat tray when we dropped into the pub on Sunday arvo....

Moving on.......

Well, guess I seem to have been pretty quiet of late.......WRONG!

I have just been flat out busy. I have been whizzing up and down the highway every weekend to meet up with a friend whom I shall code name NP for new partner!


As most of you know I had retired and moved to the rain forest township of Maydena which is a lovely little town approx 95 kms from Hobart (capital city of Tasmania). I then married the person I was carer for even though there was quite an age difference, and was blissfully happy until he died unexpectedly in August of last year.

New Years Eve saw me sifting through things which had happened over 2010, I looked through my diary and blog and checked out notes on holidays and outings, especially a memorable holiday in Queensland with my grandson for my mums birthday.  I also watched my wedding video from the previous year and our holiday snaps on our belated honeymoon when we went to West Australia and Queensland.  I then read through the condolence messages and cards I received when my hubby died, had a really good cry and put that all away.

January saw me trying to rebuild social networks and get out and about a bit more, I also joined a dating website called Plenty of Fish, put a profile up, said I was interested in email/chat and see where that leads,
nothing serious, just a way of meeting some new people.   Well, January saw me having an interesting afternoon with a very nice gentleman in New Norfolk, we had afternoon tea, looked around the antique shops and went for a walk which was pleasant but nothing more.  Then I met up with another gentleman in February and WOW! He is the loveliest, kindest, nicest man I have come across  (can see some of you turning green...lol)  We met up for a drink on a friday arvo, sat chatting for a couple of hours and agreed to meet up again the following day to go to the pictures to see The King's Speech.   We then met up and watched Avatar together and are seeing each other on a regular basis. He lives in the city so I whizz up and down the highway every weekend as he works every day, but he has been able to get a couple of weekends off and has visiting my place, and had a weekend here over the Easter break and met my friends.  He has my grandson's seal of approval and gets on well with my daughter and extended family and friends. He has even got me barracking for a football team, GO CATS! and we are planning a weekend away soon to Melbourne and going to the football, YAY!  I am really happy it is great to have someone special in my life again, and he is so appreciative of anything you do, compliments me on my cooking, and has a slightly warped sense of humour which is so like mine it is unbelievable.....so will try and update you on a regular basis regard my NP!

Rays Christmas 2010 poem

I don’t need an angel on my Christmas tree,

I have one looking down on me,

He looks out for me everyday,

My loving hubby, my darling Ray.

On that day I felt my heart break,

And in its place, just a heavy dull ache.

He was taken so swiftly, no time to say bye,

Just taken from me, to a new home in the sky

The tears still fall, but memories stay,

I think of him often, each and every day.

He is not in pain, he is resting above

In heaven, surrounded by peace and love.

Reunited with family and friends he held dear,

But I miss him and often shed a quiet tear

And now he looks down on me from above

That thought fills me with eternal love.

The love he showed me was perfect and rare,

Love and respect, hugs and care.

And so my darling till we are again together,

I will think of you often, and love you forever.

Party, Party, Party!

Well, I have had my Sister and Brother in law visiting from Queensland, they came over for my birthday which turned out to be one of the biggest birthday celebrations I have ever had….. started on Friday with friends from the City coming up for lunch, continued on Saturday lunchtime by meeting up with Rays family for lunch at Shoreline Hotel, and having a tea in New Norfolk with yet more friends.  Sunday was a quiet day, getting ready for the party in the back garden that night with friends from in and around Maydena, also Daughter who came and stayed and a good time was had by all.   There was loads of dancing, chatting, drinking and laughing, then into Hobart on Monday, and a bbq tea with mutual friends in the Kingston area. I feel well and truly caught up with everyone I know, and spent the day today recovering from lost sleep.

Queenstown

Well had an interesting trip away recently.  Had a quick overnight trip to Queenstown. Stopped of at the Wall in the Wilderness at Derwent Bridge on the trip, this was phenomenal. It is totally unbelievable the depth of detail and intricacy which has gone into the carving. Had a quick look at Gormanston before arriving in Queenstown, stayed at The Empire Hotel, good cheap rate, and quite comfortable room, Tea in their Dining Room, which was excellent value for money.  Next day a drive through to Rosebery  played the tourist and looked at the area's local mining museum, also a lovely little craft shop across the main road from the Museum called "Eureka on Agnes" great souveneirs and the owner is lovely to chat too. I was in heaven found a lovely Opportunity shop, and got some great bargains. Then onto Zeehan and a walk along the main street checking out all the shops and also the park.

Back to Queenstown for a fish and chip supper before the drive home

Magical interlude in Hobart Mall

Delightful day (Monday 18/1/2011), had to take car into insurer for repair and had 2 hours to wait before I picked up an hire car.  So I walked into the city and was drawn to the mall by the sound of a busker playing lovely lilting melodies most of which I knew the words too.  It was a pleasure to spend some time enjoying not only the music but the interactions between strangers.    International tourists who were asked to make a request for a song, and spoken to in their own languages…a family that were enrapt by the spell the busker cast on people passing by, so much so that the father and his three delightful children came back and listened, singing to some of the songs, with the daughter doing somersaults and dancing to the music.  While playing the pink panther tune, a serious looking man who was walking through the mall and suddenly did dance steps to the music.

Also the gentleman who was hand feeding the wild birds which frequent the mall.

It was truly a magical moment in time. A thoroughly enjoyable hour.

Friendship Poem

FRIENDSHIP

Friendship is a thin line

Hewn in finest gold,

It never can be broken,

It never can be sold.

It reaches out encompassing,

But never ties you down,

And when it finds a problem,

It simply travels round,

It reaches out, and past and through,

Friendship belongs to me,

I know it belongs to you.

Glenys Smith