27th to 31st Dec, 2023 Geck Beach House Woodgate, Qld

Wed, 27^th

Heavy rain into the early hours. Grey sky and very windy for our walk. Full moon tonight so the tide is very high and the big waves are rolling in. No swims till it calms down again unless you like getting dumped on the beach.

Quiet morning - some playing pool, the others watching the cricket. Wandered down for a sit on Erica’s chair under the tree. Very peaceful.

Jon and Annalise rang via video chat so I could see our little boy has grown a lot in her tummy. She is doing well.

Sky cleared - should have done the washing but BOM had said more storms.

The others are into cricket so Steve and I played some cards then read our books.

Said farewell to Brian as he will head off at 3am so we won’t be up to wave goodbye.

 

 

Thurs, 28^th

Hot and humid walk this morning. Waves rolling in on the high tide but no wind.

Put the washing on as the sky is clear of dark clouds.

We all headed down for a swim. Jenny & I were first in. 

The water is lovely and cool. The other days it has been quite warm. Probably the busiest we have seen the beach. We are so lucky here as it is never crowded.

Paul and Terry love the bench seat.

Charlie, Carla and Coen headed home with their caravan.

Put the washing away so time for another swim. Choppier so we got dragged down the beach a bit as we bobbed with the waves. A lady waved to us so we went in. She said they had just seen two black shapes out from us and thought best to alert us. We saw them - two manta rays which is ok but I would rather see them from the beach than beside me!

Packed away the Christmas tree and pulled down the ‘tent pole’ tree. The boys were going to take the poles to the dump but Alby next door grabbed them to use in his garden.

Brenda & Phil called in for a chat at drinkies time.

 

 

Fri, 29^th

Calmer day so hotter for our walk already.

Jenny & I went for a swim - cool temperature but it had gotten rougher from earlier this morning.

Terry got a call from his old office girl that one of his fellow workers in the Forestry had passed away and the funeral is on 2^nd in Bundy so we will head back on the 1^st.

Steve and Paul worked on trying to find out why our fan belt is squeaking!!

Steve and David loaded up the truck for a final dump run then David headed back to Maryborough.

Jenny & I went for another swim but the tide was out and the rip was very strong. Got wet and got some exercise too!

Steve trimmed the trees as we can dump green waste for free at the transfer station. Then he mowed the lawn that he could get too, will do the bits under the camper and van when we pack up. By the way it is very hot and humid but that doesn’t stop Steve.

Quiet drinks this afternoon with only the 3 of us now. Dark clouds built but didn’t drop anything. There is rain/storms forecast over the next few days.

 

 

Sat, 30^th

Griffo’s 70^th birthday. Hope he has a great day and has somewhere to keep cool - shame we weren’t home to help him celebrate. He replied ‘air con is on’.

Wind is making the beach wild this morning.

Steve packed the washing machine, camp chairs etc back into the truck then we pulled the awnings off the camper and packed them away in case we get rain this afternoon.

Jenny and I went to the beach for a swim but it was too wild.

Had an early cuppa then Steve and Terry headed off to the dump with the last load.

David had sent a text that a storm is coming so I looked around - very black.

I went to wash my hands and we had no water then I realised we have no power. I decided it might be wise to close up the camper and Terry’s van and just managed to get it done when the wind and rain arrived. Steve and Terry arrived - they had only a couple of drops as they left the dump but by the time they were driving down the Esplanade the road was getting covered in leaves etc. Unfortunately I had forgotten to close the fridge vent doors but Steve got to that so there won’t be too much water in there.

We sat under the house watching Nature’s display till drinks time when the rain had settled down. Lightning and thunder still putting on a show out to sea. Another cell rolled through. Got dinner cooked on the gas stove with our sensor lights to cook and eat by.

Went into the camper about 8pm and read as we have 12 volt power so we are all good - same with Terry.

Rain stopped so we were able to open up the windows a bit to let the air in though the rain has cooled things down a lot.

 

Sun, 31^st

Beautiful morning for our walk - calm though we had to keep dodging all the fallen limbs and pine needles on the path.

Internet and phone signals are very weak today. Maybe the storm upset things.

Cooked pikelets for morning tea to finish off the year.

Packed up the camper and moved to the side of the house so Steve can mow. Only Terry’s spot to do now.

Had morning tea then headed down the beach for a swim as it was near high tide. Perfect. Terry had one last sit on Erica’s bench and chatted with Paul while we bobbed up and down in the waves. Robert, Michelle and little Riley and Harper arrived too so we had a nice morning. Great way to finish off 2023.

Packed up some more things ready to head back to Bundy tomorrow.

Steve has marked the corners of the shed. Looks huge but we came off the back boundary 3m and side boundary 1.5m.

Last drinks at Woodgate with Terry.

Phone signal still playing up - everyone is complaining about it. Can’t get the BOM, some can’t make calls and notifications come through for Facebook but you can’t open them. Annalise posted a lovely post of memories of 2023 and I was able to read it so sent a reply that took ages to get through. Stood outside to try and help the signal. I then managed to post a Happy New Year post onto Facebook then send our sons and their lovely wives text messages too so Telstra was doing ok for me.

There was a storm forecast for today (yesterday’s BOM) but it looks like we will miss it today which is great. Perfect finish to the year and it wasn’t hot and humid either.

Cooked roast vegies and pork steaks for dinner then ice cream to finish off the year.

Jenny and Paul joined us and we played Tripoli which they remember playing with Erica & Terry. Shame I didn’t realise they liked it as we could have had more games - next visit. Played till 9.30 and Terry got the biggest haul of 1 and 2 cent pieces!!

Then we played Kelly Pool - took photos of Terry to upload onto the Geck page but they wouldn’t go through. Unfortunately he didn’t get the ball in!!

Paul was going fishing at 6.30am so we said goodnight at 10.30 so he could get some sleep. Very quiet around here - no big parties. By the time we had our showers etc it was nearly midnight and we heard 2 lots of fireworks go off to finish off the year. It has been another interesting year for us - Erica’s passing, travelling, two weddings and two pregnancy announcements. We are looking forward to 2024 with the arrival of our grandchildren and more travelling.