Carol's Catch-Up: February 2023

We say goodbye to a relaxing summer

Haven’t we moved through January and slipped into February very quickly. I dislike seeing January go each year - for me it is the most relaxing month, where I can enjoy warm nights with friends on the deck, spend time in my garden, and only have to worry about one layer of clothing. It’s also the month of Christmas leftovers, and I have only just finished off my plum pudding!

Unfortunately this may have contributed to the kilogram or two that just seemed to appear on the hips and tummy during this time, but that is a good incentive to get back into the more regular healthy eating and exercise routine that I am used to for most of the year.

With another year commencing, it brings with it lots of travel to look forward to. My husband and I will be off to New Zealand in March for a month and we are really looking forward to that experience - we’ve been there many times, but always enjoy exploring new pockets off the beaten track. We are heading off in our new van in late August to do the Flinders Ranges in South Australia for another month, and that is going to be exciting taking it for its first big road test. We are trying to plan a couple of trips each year now to tick off all the places we can, while we are still agile enough to do it. In between these trips we might do a couple of long weekends to complete some of the local hiking trails, to round things off nicely.
Over the new year period my husband and I did a couple of day trips in our van, and it was nice to christen the van with a little dust and dirt! The first trip was to Toolangi, northeast of Melbourne, where we enjoyed the Murrindindi River walk - up until the part where I stepped on a snake and pole vaulted myself up in the air with my walking poles! My husband was a little behind me and wondered what on earth I was doing, and I am not sure who got surprised the most - me or the snake - but luckily we all survived to tell the tale.

Our second trip was to the Brisbane Ranges, south of Melbourne, and that was delightful. There were lots of steep sections of the road to make it interesting, and I drove the van for a few of hours which I was pleased with.
The van handled well and I didn’t feel out of control, although using a column shift was a bit of a challenge! We will keep on doing day trips like these, driving the beginner tracks, so we will be more confident and experienced when we head to Flinders Ranges.

Around the house, the saga of getting new Colourbond guttering and fascia boards continues to linger on. It is now ten months since my first contact with the plumber and carpenter, and I must admit I am getting a little impatient. Tradies seem to have so much work that they are rushed off their feet and find it difficult to fit in smaller jobs between their bigger ones - or it’s just not worth their time - so I will have to continue pestering both of them until I get the job done. I will keep you posted!

I hope you are thinking about and planning a few of your own highlights this year, whether that be a big overseas trip or discovering a pocket of your own city that you haven’t explored before. It’s always so good to get out and experience new places and people and things, so I encourage you to pull out a map and start exploring!

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