Mary's letter to Everybody - 23JAN2011

4tun8 — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:21:00 GMT

Hi Everyone

Last Sat we found a good round the world airfare and had til Tuesday to make decisions and the booking. Really focuses the mind does a deadline! Believe it or not, it is done.

We leave Adelaide Sat 13 Aug for Brisbane for our annual week with the kids. We leave Bris for Singapore, London then Edinburgh on Aug 22. Will see the Tattoo. We will see what we want in Scotland, England and Paris before flying from Paris London LA to SLC late Sept. Then on Oct 5 we leave SLC for Brisbane via Dallas arrive Oct 7. We leave Brisbane for Adelaide Oct 13 and go back to work the next week.

this uses up all our long service leave and annual leave but 7 days for me until July 1 2012. and the saving account

The travel agent Jim walked into was a fellow he worked with at Southlink so that was nice. He offered helpful suggestions.

Harmony's baptism is yet to be finalised. I just couldn't imagine getting back on the 16th Sunday and going to work on the Monday, not after another birthday!!!

My friends from school days in Calif were concerned about us with the news of the Qld floods and emailed. This lead to email sharing and now we have all caught up with all of us from the old Gang. Except one who we learned died 2.5 years ago - this so sobering. Barbara gave me the jewellery box that I still use. Her mother taught me how to sew first, Andy Fischer's mother taught me the finer tricks. She and I rode on the back of Vespas to Santa Cruz one day. We were pals for a few summers.

anyway it has been such a thrill to open emails and read about one or the other and see photos. Carole and Martha I have known since grade 1 - we were Brownies together. They even caught up with Carole's neighbour Gary who also was in grade 1 and got every maths question correct just about every day. He is the only one still living in Saratoga.

They are talking about a sleep over then Lynn suggested all coming to Australia! Well I've started tidying up at the prospect, as you can imagine. Carole suggests it isn't likely seeing as how they are having strife organising a lunch date! If Oprah did it..... So it's been a wonderful gift to reconnect with people who knew me in my other life as a selfish kid and still will speak to me! they are all so good looking to my eyes! Some I have spoken to at least annually to keep in touch and those 3 live in the same phone book area and needed me to connect them! Funny eh?

Well, I'd appreciate any group photos you have of your clan to share ( and to refresh my photo gallery. I am about 2 kids short of the full quota, soon 3 )

Yesterday Jim and I went to Fays and the move is officially started. We did about 2/3 of the shed and have piles for dump, garage sale and recycling. It would be the easiest of the whole household as it was mostly Bill's electronics stuff and real junk - 3 broken vacuums. James Hunt has parked a covered trailer there with the contents in the shed. The chances of him actually coming and dealing with this are slim. Next step is getting boxes to Fay so she can fill them for disposal or moving. As Easter gives us a 5 day run (time out for Easter Sunday of course) it seems a good target to aim for the finish. I suggested soon we move the furniture she wants here and start setting this up the way she wants it. We measured items. It will be a big job but, take heart - no tiling needed. :-)

She intends to sell the house. Now we need some advice here - what state should it be in for this? She is adverse to spending any money to fix it up, feels she can't afford it. Getting that carpet out seems vital, probably total paint throughout (except for the bathroom that has just been done) and a good clean. The wooden windows are awful inside and out. We are replacing the blinds in the kitchen now. All this painting etc would be hired - not an Ellis service project. We have a new baby and the existing ones to support.

What is a likely price for it in Elizabeth Grove? How should she go about the sale? There are people who buy houses - try one? She needs a lot of guidance as she has had no experience in making any decisions near this magnitude in her 78 years.

Another consideration is the house on Beatty Street behind us is still for sale as of today. $285000 start price. Really is a very basic 3 bdm house with a huge back yard. How would having an investment property vs own property affect her pension etc? How will the proceeds of Argent St affect her pension? I told her that even if she is entitled to just $1 pension, she keeps her concessions and the income would be equal.

Also, what are the plans for the Feb 1st Birthday Celebrations? Angela will still be in hospital assumed.

Also Jim and I are considering taking the WEA classes one on travel in England and another on - you guessed it, travel in France. On 27 Feb and 27 Mar.

Oh the directory was delivered Friday - I did 10453 steps that day on a sore ankle too. Anything to get out from behind that desk!!!! Oh Peter and Sue Candy came into the library and re-joined on Thursday and it so wonderful to see them again. Peter says he is just starting to read again - he was an avid science fiction fan. the cancer treatment was a knockabout. (More from the past, guess I have more past than you all! )

Going to weigh in at WW tomorrow night. I gained 5 kilos while away and Jim lost 2!! He moved more and drank more water, I ate more and moved less than usual. He has continued to stay off the flavoured milk and stopped sugar in his Caro. Found trying a choc milk last week too sweet!! It's amazing how you get used to too much by having too much! He measured himself on Sat and is intent on losing some of the girth. Fay lost 2 kg - probably as much to do with salt reduction as anything. She is attending a nutrition course for her diet controlled diabetes and is doing well. Feels better for drinking water she says. We took up rain water as her tank has a hole in it plugged with a stick by the neighbour! ingenious.

Well that's all from me for a while. Oh must share: tonight we tried putting a shower curtain under Max's high chair and it caught all his deposits. I just took it outside, clipped it to the clothes line and hosed it off. When it was dry, brought it in and it awaits the next session! So easy! Yesterday I was on my hands and knees mopping the floor as I really wanted to get into the corners and edges which the mop doesn't and there were some spots that needed persuading. Chickens will pick up the food tomorrow. Still only getting 1 egg a day. Will separate them tomorrow and see what appears in the nest box. The dominant chook sleeps in it and the other on the perch. I figure the submissive one got her egg bearing scared out of her at the beginning. They didn't know one another and were not friendly. Hathor and Isis.

It's late. Oh also had a phone-around to the USA in case we were going to make it to Calif, As my bro is 82 it seemed prudent, but it didn't work out and it's always me travelling hundreds more miles to see them and they didn't seem all that excited. Andrea working in the wedding business, in Las Vegas has Australian brides too. She is well. Leslie not contactable but Aaron visited Jim and Barb earlier this week (for money) and said she is an emotional mess, crying a lot, on medication - very unhappy and unproductive. Bob is weary from his hard labor and just can't motivate himself enough to see the girls as much as he'd like. Girls been sick with winter colds and chest problems with Katie. I read a email battle between Lindsay and Liz. whoootie!! But he just adores them and loves that he can see them.

Really going now. that's all the news that's fit to print.

Love you all so much.

Mary and Jim Williams

January 2011

4tun8 — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:24:00 GMT

Organisation and a general coming together of ideas and options were undertaken on Sunday the 16th, where we spent the afternoon browsing various websites looking for cheap around- the-world deals. General consensus was to attend the Edinburgh Tattoo in August, so we looked at various International Hostels in the vicinity thinking it necessary to join YHA in the meantime then try to find accommodation asap. We found a good deal with Qantas and British Airways which I took to a former colleague now working at Harvey World Travel in Brighton who, by Thursday had organised our tickets and accepted payment (in cash).

That evening, via online application, we joined YHA. (Membership Numbers: JIM: 99346254 and MARY: 99346255) The next step was to arrange travel insurance and we managed to get a good deal through World Nomads (POLICY#: WNAUS11002315) on Sunday 23rd.

Round the World 23AUG - 13OCT2011

Mary's letter to Everybody - 23JAN2011

January 2011