FUNKY FRIDAY

Away back I use to do this thing called FUNKY FRIDAY, then life got busy - work gets in the way of life.
Its time to get back to Blogging - Mundane Monday (that has to be returning to work after the weekend), then there's Wednesdays in France - we've been there 6 times and met some of you out there and how good is that. Throwback Thursday that I stole from Walt who stole it from someone else - is nothing new?

So now its Funky Friday and why is it so? Well I've relegated myself to a four day week. Oh yes, I negotiated this on a five day pay.

So can I leave you with a you-tube clip on Elton John with one of my very fave albums - Madmad across the Water? I love the piano and the strings on the album but as a three man band ( make it four with the lyricasist, Bernie) this clip is inspirational. (apolgies to Diane who has poxy internet)

This is truely FUNKY

Launceston's Cataract Gorge

Lonnie (Launceston) has some amazing natural features. The Tamar River runs from Bass Strait, the coast and wanders, snakelike to the inland port of Launceston. Along the way the river becomes a little obese, giving the impression of lakes along the way. The tide changes the appearance of the river during the 24 hours of the day from river mud flats to a fast moving river way. At the end of the Tamar River as it arrives at  Lonnie it becomes two rivers - the South and North Esk rivers. One of these rivers - the South Esk runs from Cataract Gorge.

You can walk from a cafe in the central business district and within a 20 to 30 minutes casual walk, you can enter Cataract Gorge. Leaving the sound of city traffic you find yourself in the tranquility of the gorge where the peaceful sounds of water rushing over the craggy rocks mingle with bird sounds and sometimes the breeze through the trees.

The earliest recorded visit to this area was made by settler William Collins in 1804 when exploring the Port in the ship "Lady Nelson". He was particularly impressed by the South Esk and its cataract and wrote, "Upon approaching the entrance I observed a large fall of water over rocks, nearly a quarter of a mile up a straight gully between perpendicular rocks about 150 ft high. 

After watching the below you tubes, tell us why we would not consider Lonnie as our new home.







THis probably our fourth visit to Tasmania and like France, we keep returning because its a comfortable place to be.

5 Days in LONNIE

Yes, I know its been a while since we last posted. Work, family and house renovation has depleted our time to blog. I've just negotiated a four day work week as a transition to retirement. That probably just means packing five into four. We'll see.

Lonnie is what the locals affectionately call Launceston in Tasmania. We decided awhile ago to visit during Launceston's Festivale - 3 days of food, wine and entertainment.

We flew in on mid-day Thursday to pick up the hired SUV but with a problem. 4 people, luggage and 2 bikes would not fit. One of the people, Rhani came to our rescue and said she would bring our bikes in later that evening as she had to come into Lonnie anyway. How friendly was that.

We decided to go to lunch in Evandale, about 5 kms down the road from the airport. Here's a few scenes from the historic village of Evandale.

Scenes from Evandale

Horse trough made from stone

The Evandale Pub - every year Evandale holds the Penny Farthing Australian Championships.
It passes by the Pub with each lap and then fills up to toast the Champion.

The Beer Garden of the Clarendon is a perfect spot for a cool beer on a summer's day under the leafy spread of the trees while chooks and peacocks wander amongst the drinkers.

This cart was in the beer garden with the under growth embracing it.

I couldn't resist taking a few photos of the cart.

We arrived at our five night stay - The Aldrington, previously an historic convent converted to guest accommodation.
Its our second visit to the Aldrington and our host, James joined us on the balcony which overlooks the compact city of Lonnie. (pop 95.000). 

We'll show more of our extended weekend in Lonnie over the next few days with some interesting stories - we hope.

I've been very, very busy...........

The bathroom finished - tick, the bedroom finished - tick, the outdoor deck finished - tick, the hallway, finished - tick, the kitchen and family room finished with a lick of paint - tick.

Now for our very special rooms - the lounge or sitting room which I believe in the UK, they call a reception room. I've started on the preparation of the lounge and dining rooms. This means sanding back the old paint for the undercoat and final coats. The carpet has been pulled up in preparation for the old Baltic pine floorboards being sanded, stained and varnished. That won't happen until I've completed the painting.

The first or was it the second renovation that we looked at heritage colours to suit our Cal Bung? I've lost track of the revamps now. We were told that Heritage is passe and that a pallet of whites are what buyers are attracted to. It make the house light and airy.
We had a small round table with two chairs either side. We return them when the room is completed with maybe a small round rug.

Believe it not, the over mantle and iron fireplace are original features but only used as ambiance as we have both central heating and cooling.

The sanding has gone well, more a point of having the right tools. I actually like the distressed look but don't tell Sue.

This is my arty farty shot through the dividing doors from the hallway to the lounge.
I need to do some trimming of the paint on the glass don't I?

The wall colour is Antique USA, an off white with a clean crisp white on the woodwork in the hallway. Hoping the polished Baltic pine compliments the walls. Noted the floor - originally runner rugs covered the floor with the edges being stained with Japan black.

So that was part of my weekend and most probably my next six months of weekend. We are taking a four day weekend soon to revisit Launceston, Tasmania to investigate some more real estate and enjoy their Festivale of Food, Wine and Entertainment so we should have some interesting posts coming up soon.
But for now it's "Tow that Barge" and get back to work.