8th to 14th Dec, 2023 Geck Beach House Woodgate, Qld (Cistern Chapel, Maryborough)

Fri, 8^th

Another lovely morning. Warm but nice breeze. Lots of bait schools being smashed by some bigger fish so the birds are diving for the leftovers.

I made my ‘book’ tree - Wendy had shown me how to do it off an instagram post.

I continued on with my cross stitching while Steve finished putting the fans in the engine to keep it cooler.

David and Amanda arrived in time for drinks.

 

 

Sat, 9^th

Had our morning walk then we got into some jobs. The boys worked on cleaning out the shed so they could move it to a new spot ready for the new one next year.

Amanda and I sorted the linen then changed curtains around.

Paul came over and the ‘move’ was on. They decided to do it Egyptian pyramid style as it was too heavy to carry and they found a log they cut up to use as rollers. Worked well.

Bradley arrived just after we got it in position!

 

 

Sun, 10^th

Finished the curtains then Amanda and I worked out how to make a cover for the washing machine. Not bad.

The boys pulled the shade shelter down and attached it to the shed for the time being. After the new shed it built it might go up the other side beside Paul’s fence as another ‘car park’.

The boys loaded all the ‘not keeping’ things etc onto the truck to go to the transfer station this afternoon.

Uploaded the pole tree and Christmas tree onto our Geck family FB page as we will only be a small family this year.

David, Amanda & Bradley left, poor things have to go to work!!

Took Terry upstairs to check out all the changes - he is impressed. It was time for a big spring clean.

Steve and Terry went for a drive in the truck to drop off the stuff at the Transfer Station.

Kaylene sent a photo of us with Jakob (I am holding him). They celebrated his 30^th birthday early as they will be Townsville on his birthday (14^th) for his wife Annaliese’s Medical Degree graduation. We look so young!

 

Mon, 11^th

Grey sky and very windy so the sea looks mean as we headed into Bundaberg to do some shopping and appointments for Terry.

I took a photo of the oil painting Erica had done with Mum’s help.

Back home for late drinks then leftovers - thanks Amanda.

 

 

Tues, 12^th

Cyclone Jasper is heading for Port Douglas but only a Cat 2 so the media is beefing it up while the locals are going - oh well. Hopefully it will just be a lot of rain which they need as it is very dry up there.

Got a few more jobs done around the house. Breezy day with passing clouds.

 

 

Wed,  13^th

Watched the TV coverage of ‘Cyclone Jasper’ as it headed towards to coast - made us laugh at some of the broadcast but at least the authorities had everything set up and ready in case of damage and flooding. Sadly though Ergon seem to have things to sort as they had lost power before the cyclone made any impact on the coast!! Once it passed over as a Cat 2 which isn’t that bad really there were 40,000 home without power!! I texted and rang family and friends and everyone was doing well and not too worried about things as the cyclone was going to pass further north but the upswing wind can cause a lot of damage too.

 

 

Thurs, 14^th Cistern Chapel, Maryborough

9 months since Erica departed this world.

Went for our walk then sent Jakob a happy birthday text for his 30^th. He is in Townsville for Annaliese’s Medical Degree graduation. She has a placement in Cairns which is great for them both. Kaylene & Rick made it down through the rain to join them.

We headed to Maryborough for the day with Terry. First we visited the Cistern Chapel behind the Information Centre. An Usher checked the cubicles so we could go into the Mens and Ladies to have a look and take photos. It is amazing and is used as public toilets so I didn’t have much time for photos as someone was waiting to use the toilets!! Certainly a fabulous tourist drawcard.

The markets were on too in the street beside it.

We wandered along and found a cafe for a cuppa and yummy muffins. Mary Poppins was dropping into the cafe too.

I went for a quick wander through the stalls - it went the full length of the street with lots of different things.

Back to the car to head to Hervey to visit Margaret in one of the many retirement villages. She and her late husband John had met Erica & Terry whilst travelling on their way to their favourite spot in Bowen from Victoria. Erica & Terry said to call into Woodgate and they loved it so much they bought the block behind our house and put up a shed. I had many fun times with them when I took the boys down for Easter etc. We had a lovely time catching up over lunch then headed off to visit Erica’s brother, Ron in Scarness nearby. Checked out his many fruit trees and desert roses and Steve fixed his mower for him. Hopefully he will be up to Woodgate for Boxing Day.

Back home again for a drink then a walk along the beach. Watched the news of the cyclone and most of the damage was over the Daintree area with rainfalls recorded over 500mm over 24 hours. Flash flooding of course as the cyclone is a low and slowly moving dropping more rain but not too much in Cairns itself. Just glad it wasn’t too bad for most people.