Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Cheeky Donkeys

Donkeys are a little more work when it's been raining. They pick up all manner of grass seeds in their fur. But don't try to groom them when it's feeding time. They tend to get a little impatient and start to push you around.

Jack certainly looks like he's been having some fun frolicking among the grass.


Feeding time at the zoo. Five o'clock sharp. And don't forget. They make a lot of noise if you happen to be late.

Lip-smacking good.

Excuse me sir, but can I have some more?

We're sure going to miss these guys.

Letters from G and L... part10.

Arrival in Hong Kong.

Hello folks.

Everything going well here. We arrived in warm Hong kong (G will be pleased with the temperature here) early this morning. We will not be departing for Cairns until 11.30 pm this evening. We booked into the very expensive travelers' lounge. It cost a whopping $300.00 australian dollars, so we could sleep and eat, drink and have free internet access and get a 15 minute massage before our departure. I think we are just killing time as we are not allowed to leave the airport without the required visa. (we haven't got this) We also get to have 2 showers (Isn't it wonderfully excessive?) I still cannot believe G paid this grand amount just to keep me occupied. I cannot do nothing for 16 hours without becoming a pain in the bum. I guess G's sanity is important to him.

I am going to continue our holiday in Cairns, make a web page, video etc.

Anyhow that's it for now. Have fun and cya later.
Love from G and L.

Hey guys,

Isn't it wonderful, the lengths that husbands go to to keep their wives happy, the sweetie. But beware! Pretty soon he'll be demanding his dinner on the table sharply at 6, and then it won't be long before he starts whinging about how his undies are folded. :o)
No, I'm just joking. I'm glad that you guys had such a wonderful time. Now it's time to have a holiday to recover from your holiday, isn't that always the way? Enjoy the rest of your time off. We're looking forward to seeing you again, all fit and tanned. Oh, and we're also looking forward to seeing your pics and video, as will be the ladies from Stitch and Bitch. L, if you need any advice on the web stuff, don't hesitate to drop us a line. We'll be only happy to give you a hand if you need it.

Sabrina is missing you, I think. She's been even more affectionate than ever since the kids have gone. It's quite normal to find her curled up on our lap when we're at the computer, and she has to make sure that she gets the best seat when we're sitting watching TV.

I think she'll miss Jack the most when we go though. They've become as thick as thieves, as the saying goes. Today I walked outside to find them both running around like loons, taking it in turns to chase each other around. It's such a funny sight to see. She does still side with us though when he needs to get in trouble, running over and slapping him if we rouse on him for some minor thing. Never mind, he forgives her two seconds later, as soon as she rubs herself up against him again.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Letters from G and L... part 9.

Early Arrival

Hi Phoenix,

We have decided to return early, back to warm weather was one main reason. I think in 9 weeks there have been 3 days when the thermometer reached the dizzy heights of 20 degrees. My body is still showing the signs of hibernation.

We will be in Cairns on the 1st of May but not returning home until the afternoon of 22nd May. If there are any problems with this, let me know.

G

No worries guys. You lasted a lot longer than I would. My toes would have frozen off about two weeks in, I'm sure. ;o)

It's a shame you couldn't make Anzac Cove. It's definitely a spiritual journey, from what I've heard. Did you get to see the volcanoes? Your last email didn't say.

I'll be returning to Rocky for a week in a bit over a week's time, but Gryph will still be here. I was just doing an entry on the blog when I received this mail, so to save me repeating myself, you can check the story out there.

We're just about to head off for tea at Big Sis's, so I'd better get going or we'll be late.

Take care and have a good flight.
Phoenix and Gryphonn

Getting Organised.

Once again, I'm sorry that I haven't updated as much as I should. My bad!

Well, we've been keeping ourselves busy getting ready for the end of our stay. We've been doing a bit of cleaning here, a bit of packing there, and a bit of trying to finish off all those projects that we didn't quite get around to. G & L will be back home on the 22nd (just got the news as I was writing this), but to to be safe, I want to do as much now as I can. I'll be returning to Rocky in a little over a week's time, and I'll be there for about a week. I kind of feel like I left Gryph in the lurch when I headed down this way, and this time I don't want to leave too much for him to sort on his own.

So why the return to Rocky, I hear you ask. Well, Lara's having an operation on the 8th of May to remove the plate from her leg (she broke it in a car crash a while back). So, I want to be there for her. She'll be in hospital for at least a few days afterwards and I want to stay with her to keep her company. She's a little worried and I know that the ex won't even consider that as important, so I want to do that for her to help keep her mind at rest. Let's just say that my ex is not the shining example of an attentive father that one would hope for. Put it this way, he hates hospitals, hates the sight of blood (or anything icky for that matter), and seems to think that taking a week off work will be sufficient. This girl won't even be allowed to walk on her leg for a couple of weeks at least, will need her wound cleaned and dressed every day, and she'll be on pain-killers... so she'll need constant care. I wonder if that's why his 'girlfriend' (using the word loosely here, considering that before we moved down here they both denied even being involved for anything other than... erm... a mutual need, shall we say) has suddenly moved in? Oh well, if she's happy with that who am I to complain? She'd just better damned well care for my child properly, that's all I can say. Anyway to get back to the point... I doubt he'll let me see Lara much after she leaves the hospital because it's 'his turn to have her', and he's a very selfish man. He definitely won't want me near his house, which is fair enough I suppose, but I'll stick around for a few days just to make sure that he's doing the right thing by her. I'd be happy to bring her back down here to look after her, but it's more important for the ex to think that he's winning against me... the dragon woman who stole his children away from him when we accepted this job. Never mind the fact that we'd arranged for them to return home at the beginning of April. Oh well. My kids all know what he's like, and that's all that's important to me.

Anyway, there's going to be a few ideas for this place that we'll give up on because of a lack of time. We didn't quite get around to getting the pump from the dam going. We were planning on having that all hooked up for G & L's return so that they'd have water for the garden without having to use the tank water for the house. But due to a couple of hiccups, we didn't have the money to spare for the diesel. Never mind, it's all set and ready to go otherwise. The seedlings are coming along nicely, and should be quite drought-tolerant. We were going to add some water crystals at the time, but again, it comes down to dollars. Besides, after the initial couple of soakings when we first planted the soil has been holding moisture nicely. We've only been watering them about once a week which promotes a deeper root system and they don't seem to be suffering. The herb seeds in the front garden get watered every couple of days in smaller amounts, but only because they're still tiny and some haven't come up yet. I'm starting to think that some of the seeds were just no good. The strawberries haven't grown much, which is a bit of a shame, but they haven't died either, so maybe we just planted at the wrong time.

Now, we were going to get the lawnmower working again, but again didn't have the money for fuel or parts if they were needed. Likewise, we never got around to trying the quad or the beach buggy out either. Those plans will all be by the wayside now. We cleaned up some of the stuff outside, namely camping gear and stuff that was starting to become a little weather affected. We tidied up the storage shed to make a bit more room, and it's all in there now. We did manage to get the chimney for the wood heater in about a month ago, with the help of Big Sis and Big Bro-in-law. I'm glad we did too, as the weather has been a bit chilly of late. We went and got a load of wood at the time too, but we're going through that pretty quickly. We might have to go and get some more yet. We were also going to move some of the building materials etc, away from the shed. We've done a bit and we might still be able to do more if we can organise for Big Sis and Big Bro-in-law to come over for a day this weekend to help us out with the heavy and/or awkward stuff. I'd like to do that for G & L, if only to help try to keep the mice away from the shed.

Speaking of mice, they seem to be breeding fairly quickly. We were only getting a couple a night, but we've been getting more in the house for the last few nights. We've set up some 'humane' traps (well, as humane as killing things gets, I suppose). We have one in the house, along with Sabrina, who usually leaves us a little surprise to find each morning. We had another in the storage shed and got a couple each night in that one, but we moved it yesterday to the tool shed. It had been empty for a couple of days, so we figure that we must have depleted the shed stock. It's empty again today, so I guess they don't like the tool shed, but we'll leave it there again tonight and see how it goes. There's another trap in the shed where the donkey food is kept, which has netted us a couple of dozen or so over the last couple of nights. That seems to be the most popular mouse recreation area, natural I suppose. The oats haven't been touched though, but it is stored in a plastic bin with a lid on it. My guess is that they're after the mulch and/or sawdust next to it.

Today I was going to strip the bed in the 2nd bedroom, wash the sheets and make it back up, but the weather has turned and is threatening us with some nasty looking black clouds. I think I'll just content myself with some tidying up and a bit of blogging and see how it looks tomorrow. I hope it clears up a bit because there's a couple of days of washing to do.

Well, that's about all that I can think of for now, so I'll sign off. We're off to Big Sis' for dinner, but I might chuck up some photos of the animals, either tonight or tomorrow. But Gryph might need the 'puter again tonight. He's been trying to get the web site up and running before we run out of time here. It's kind of hard though, as Bordernet has slowed the connection right down. It's been frustrating him no end, so it would probably do him the world of good to have some time away from the screen, anyway. No promises though. :o)

Anyway, take care all.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Happy Earth Day, Everybody.

You know how it has become trendy for us Aussies to adopt American holidays over recent years? Well I personally don't think that we should. In general, I believe that American celebrations should stay in the US. Halloween is an excellent example of this. The holiday itself was adopted by early American citizens as a derivative of the All Saints Day celebrations. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them. However, over the years the traditions of All Saints Day has all but been forgotten. It has been transformed into a fun night which gives the kiddies the opportunity to dress up and head out into the night, gather together a free supply of lollies and run slightly amok on the poor people who don't wish to add to their bounty. No offence to Americans, but that's not really something that I'd like to encourage my kids to do.

However, one celebration that I do believe all citizens of the world should adopt is that of Earth Day (April 22). The idea of this celebration began in America in the late 60's by a number of politicians who saw that environmental awareness was a good idea. Have a look here at the history of Earth Day, as related by one of the instigators, a man called Senator Gaylord Nelson. Senator Nelson convinced John F Kennedy and several other influential politicians that a national celebration of our planet was the best way to help conserve and protect our environment. And then...
". . . on April 22, 1970, Earth Day was held, one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy. . . "


To be honest though, I'm a little disappointed at the lack of Earth Day activities in Australia. There are quite a number of events organised in the US and other countries, but not a whole hell of a lot here in the land of Aus. There is going to be a tree-planting day in the Daintree, Target Australia has promised that they will not be giving out any plastic bags today, and if you're in Sydney on the 24th of May, you might like to check out the Blue Earth Eco-Living Festival at Darling Harbour. But there doesn't seem to be much more planned for this day. A bit of a shame really.

Oh well, we can only do what we can to spread the message. So, from all of us to all of you.....

Happy Earth Day.

Letters from G and L... part 8.

Our Return to Australia

My god. Our dog is making quite a name for herself and being a complete embarrassment to us. We have decided to come home earlier (to be exact we are arriving in Cairns on the 29th April 2008).

We have decided that after Holland there isn't anything else that we really want to do (except ANZAC day in Turkey) but cannot get there anymore. (Hotels are all fully booked). We have decided to stay in Cairns for approximately 2 weeks and than return home to use the remainder of my holidays to be a little more active and there are wonderful places to do some serious bushwalking in and around Brisbane. We have lost quite a bit of weight and are intending to keep this off and we are unable to do this at the moment up here. It is so easy to fall in the practise of having snacks and cakes (it all taste sooooo good in Holland) and we have to try this and that. We have reviewed our itinerary and completed everything we wanted to do and now want to start building our new house and I want to be back with my beloved animals.

Mum, we will arrive at Cairns International Airport on the 29th April at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Can you pick us up at this time please? Or arrange for someone to pick us up please. Can you let me know before Saturday as we are departing for Frankfurt on Sunday morning.
Lots of love from G and L.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Our Own Quiet Human-Rights Protest.

Big Sis and I have been talking about the Save Tibet campaign lately. Everyone who owns either a TV, internet-enabled computer or radio would surely have heard about all the protests being carried out around the world concerning the Olympic Torch. The torch relay has successfully been hampered in many places by the protest of some very concerned people of the world, the most notable being the London and Paris protests. China has slammed these protests as being 'vile', even though they have been peaceful protests. Rather hypocritical of that particular government I say, considering the vile acts perpetrated upon their own citizens as well as the citizens of other countries like Tibet.

The protests have included one in which 37 people were arrested in London, and in Paris 5 were arrested including a local politician (kudos to him) and the torch was extinguished. The US protests were much smaller, but the most notable was the arrest of three protestors after scaling the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Anyway, as old hippies both, Big Sis and I have been discussing these protests with great fervour. Our hearts go out to the peoples of Tibet, as well as the many Chinese citizens who have had to live with human rights crimes themselves. We are both appalled at the injustices that these peoples have had to endure from the Chinese government over the years, and are in support of the protests that are going on. These protests have been handled in the most noble of manners, as any protest should. The people involved have brought world-wide attention to the cause, and in the true spirit of peaceful protests, there have been no documented injuries.

Now, Australia is about to have our turn to host the Olympic torch. On the 24th of April, the Olympic Torch relay will be conducted in Canberra. Free Tibet activists tout the protests as "fantastic" and say they are "delighted with the protests dogging the Olympic torch". They are promising a strong but non-violent protest in Australia".

So Big Sis and I were discussing how we would both like to run off to Canberra to add our voices to those who will be protesting here. However, sometimes what we want is not always practical. I simply can't afford either the time (I have a job to do here) nor the money to travel to the protest. Big Sis is quite ill and as she is often in a great deal of pain, such a trip just would not be sensible for her to take. As such we have decided to make a small and quiet protest of our own.

We took the clippers to our own heads, then after donning our orange colours we made the greatest sacrifice of all. We stood in front of a camera!!!



Does my head look big in this?


Two beautiful blooms.

This was not a great sacrifice for either of us, though. At least we live in a country where we're allowed freedom of speech without the fear of being either arrested or shot in the streets. At least we're not being forced to live in squallor, suffering from famine and disease, and being denied the right to the most basic of aid. Nor have we been encouraged to give up our babies to die naked and alone in hospital, simply because they are unlucky enough to be born with a disability. Nor have we been injected with a saline solution that will slowly and painfully eat away at our babies because we have fallen pregnant more than once. Nor do our children have to live without a legal identity, and thus the access to the most basic of educations. Nor do we have to watch our elderly neighbours slowly starve to death because their one son has died and they have no financial support in their old age. I could go on, but I won't. I will however, provide you with some links so that you can read about these and many more human rights violations in China.

Please show your disgust at actions such as these. Visit the International Campaign for Tibet website and do some reading. Then follow some of these links and voice your own protest. You can sign the petition asking President George Bush not to attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Or you can sign the petition urging China to improve its human rights practices and demanding integrity from the IOC and China.

Free Tibet.
One World, One Dream

Letters from G and L... part 7.

The Netherlands

We arrived in my country of birth last Monday the 14th April quite unexpectantly. We have discovered that the best laid plans often fail and this is what happened in Germany. We only stayed there for 4 days and I got really quite bored with doing nothing much. It is difficult to adjust to an quieter life after walking 34 days. I missed the Camino initially and with nothing to do in Germany but spend time with G's friend, I felt out of place. We were asked to leave as the wife of G's friend wasn't coping with 5 people in the house.

We arrived in Holland unannounced and had trouble finding accommadation. W was renovating his house and when we contacted R we could come, but C's daughter was over with her 2 children as their house was also being renovated. After arrival at their place several other options were tried but none resulted in a bed. We ended up staying for a few nights and than moved to my old neighbour's place. He is a bachellor and very easy going, he had a bed and lots of room and didn't mind at all.

We have been sightseeing around the town where I used to live. All those loved places from childhood. Some I haven't been able to find. I couldn't find the paddock where we kept our horses, or the entire walk I did with my dog. The shopping centre has been extended and is completely different. Other places are just the same, het polderbad (swimming pool) has remained much the same. I was the very first person to swim in the indoor pool as mum was working there at the time. My Uncle and Aunt's place is much the same also.

Anyway we have also spent 2 days in Rotterdam, 1 day in the city centre and 1 day visiting the Maaslandkering. That is a place where they keep the water from flooding the Netherlands as 1/2 of Holland is below sea level, and some other places where they do much the same. It was very interesting. We have also visited Scheveningen. We are getting spoiled here as we are never allowed to pay for anything no matter how hard we try.

Anyway that's it for now.
Lots of love from L and G.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Internet Woes

For the past three days the Internet connection at the shed has been slow. Slower than dial-up. The plan as I understand is a 512/128kbps connection, but it is running at 3.2kbps - 6kbps average.This results in a simple web page taking upwards of 30 seconds to load, if at all. We'll see how things go, but updates may take a little longer from now on, as it can be very frustrating waiting for images to upload, or blog editing pages to load. It's no fun sitting at a computer for minutes at a time waiting for edits to happen.

G, could you check with Bordernet please, just to see if it may be a problem on their end. I've done some comparison checks and the problem seems to be with their servers.

Friday, April 11, 2008

A couple more photos for Spaz.

Just before she left this morning we took some photos of Spaz (as you do). Some of Spaz and her sisters, some of Spaz, her sisters, Jack and I, some of Spaz and her Aunty Big Sis, and some of Spaz with Gryph and I. I'll send you the rest by e-mail once I get them all resized, my baby, but for now...

Sisterly Love.



Spaz and Phoenix.


and
Spaz and Gryphonn.


We're missing you already. xxx

Good times, but sad times too.

Yesterday was an exciting day for us all. Vik, our 20 year-old daughter, arrived at about 5pm for a 5-day long visit. She and some girls from work (she's an apprentice chef) had a conference to attend at the Gold Coast and she has a week off work in total. So of course she had to drop in to visit us for the remainder of her free time. I'm so glad to see her again. She's so loud and large and full of life. We've all missed her so much, especially Lara, who has asked me at least once a day how long it's going to be until she gets here. We're all pretty close, and the past month and a half has been the longest time that we haven't seen each other. Hey Vik... It's so, so good to see you again.

Vik's 'girls' made the trip out here to drop her off then, after a very quick stay left to make their way back to the main highway before it got dark. The car that they're driving in is a very small Mazda and they were worried about the damage that a kangaroo might do. Thanks guys, I really appreciate you dropping Vik off for us. You guys are legends!

But despite yesterday's excitement, today is a sad day. Spaz will be leaving us and returning to Rockhampton. And we won't be the only ones who will miss her. Sabrina loves her big scruffy cuddles, and the donkeys (especially Bonnie) will have to get used to me or Gryph feeding them. They love her the most, I think. She can't walk out the front door without Bonnie calling to her. The other day I borrowed her jumper and they called out to me, thinking I was her. When I spoke to them though, and they realised that I wasn't Spaz, they walked away in disgust.

Big Sis will be over shortly to pick us bigger girls up for the two-hour trip to the train station in Gympie. So I'll have to make this post short and quick. I've gotten Spaz's permission to post a couple of photos of her here. I don't normally post pictures of my kids on the net, as most of you would know, but she's a big girl now so it's her decision. Besides, I want you all to see how proud I am of my beautiful girl. We've been through a lot since we've been here and have become even closer than we were before this little adventure. I'm not going to make too big a deal of it, but I'm going to miss her cheeky, smiley face.

This is Purple Spaz... Big Sis bought her some hair dye last week, and she loves it. She's wanted to go purple for a while. They found a bargain... $2 a tube... and I've been informed that I have to buy her a few more when I go shopping next and send them to her. I have to admit, I think it looks great, so I might just have to do that.


Bye Spaz... We'll miss you like mad, my darling baby. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Letters from G and L... part 6.

Arrival in Germany.

This morning we all had to get up really early as we had a plane to catch. We had 4 people in our group and all were going to Frankfurt Hahn.

The camino has been very special and I would recommend this walk to anyone wanting to try something different. On arrival in Santiago de Compostela, we walked to the office to pick up our compostela. A certificate to say we walked approximately 800 kms from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. On our way we bumped into another person who we had been walking with sometime back and we were told that she had stayed on in Santaigo to await our arrival. I asked her how long ago it was since she arrived in Santiago and was informed 5 days. I thought it was pretty special someone waiting for us for 2 and a half hours but 5 days ( wow that is too unbelievable). She wanted to pass on her e mail address and that of some others who unfortunately were unable to stay on that long and get our contact details to pass on to them and for herself. I mean is not that special or what? That is the camino spirit for you. People shape friendships and bonds that normally take years to develop.

We are now in Heidelberg (Germany), we are staying with a friend from G and do not know how long we will be here for or what exactly we will be doing. We are also definitely going to Estonia to celebrate Epp's birthday and look around there. I have seen many other places I would not mind going, one of them Turkey for ANZAC day and some islands of Italy to do a volcanic walk of 3 days on some active volcanoes at night time.

Anyway we are very well and look forward to not having to do much walking, for a few days anyway. Mum it would be nice to hear something from you (even if you do not have much to say).

Anyway lot of love from G and L.

Congratulations G and L. What a wonderful achievement to have walked so far. Being a bit of a hiker myself, I know what a great sense of achievement you must both feel. Personally, I don't really have the urge to visit too many places overseas, but I'd love to go on a walking tour of Australia. I've always thought that a back-packing holiday around our own beautiful country would be one of the greatest adventures. I'm a bit of a sook though, and absolutely hate cold weather. The snow and wild wind that you've experienced on the Camino (Spanish for The Way) would be too much for this tropicali Aussie to handle.

The volcano walk though? Now that's something that would make me shiver. I've always had a fascination for volcanos, and that would be something to look forward to. I really hope that you guys decide to do that one because I would love to see photos of a real live volcano. And it would be something that most people just wouldn't get the opportunity to do.

Here's hoping that you continue to have a wonderful time on your honeymoon.
All the best.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

All Quiet on The Aussie Front

Well, we don't have too much to report on the shed front (or should that be home front?).

Sabrina has been dispatching mice in the order of about one a night. There is a bit of a mouse population explosion happening around the district due to the rain we've had recently. The week before last we had about 40mm all up and it looks like more coming this evening. She is enjoying our laps as well (when the mood takes her). We've also learnt that she needs a landing pad on the shelf above the computer for when she goes stalking about through the ceiling cavities. It was quite disconcerting the first time she leapt from the roof!

Both Jack and Bonnie are happy. They say hello when they're feeling friendly, but they are more attached to the older daughter than us.

I have some more pics to post, so I'll get that done tomorrow when I am feeling a little more awake.

******

I want to say a big hello to my Grommet up in Rocky. I love you lots and miss you heaps Miss L. Hopefully I'll see you soon. You should ring when you read this so I can give you your email address and teach you how to send an email to me. That way I can send you one as well.

******

Well, stay tuned for some photos some time tomorrow afternoon our time.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Letters from G and L... part 5.

Hello Everybody.

How are you all? For you people keen on a photo or 2, we will continue to disappoint you as it continues to be impossible as these computers have no usb ports to connect cameras to. Yes, I am going to make a blog but not until we have arrived back in civilization.

We are now in Sarria and approximately 4 days walk from Santiago de Compostella. G is still having a lot of problems with his foot, instep and knee, and progress is extremely slow because of this.

Let me tell you something else that is rather funny up here. When we go to the toilet you can be faced with the very tiny toilet with the timed lighting in it. We enter the toilet and have to squeeze ourselves to the farside of the loo to be able to close the door. You close the door and put one leg to the other side of the toilet and take down your pants, sit down and it usually happens about here that the light goes off. Spanish toilets have no windows, usually no toilet paper and you now are in absolute darkness. With luck the light switch is inside the loo but occasionally the switch is outside near the entrance to the bathroom area. Now you switch it back on or you put your pants back on, turn on the light, race back to the loo, quickly do what you had to do and the light goes off again, you search for the lock and go to the basin to find no soap or towels either.

The shower in Galitia is a push button shower. You push the button, step under the water, water goes off, push the button again, wet your hair, no water again, push button, grab the shampoo, push button, lather shampoo, push button, lather some more, push button, rinse, push button, rinse more, push button, get facewasher, push button apply soap, push button... Anyway, you're getting the idea. Sometimes the water is running down the wall, so you have to lean against the wall to get some water running over you at all. It's still all good.

We are departing to Germany on the 10th april, from then on nothing is planned. We are thinking about going to Turkey for anzac day service at Gallipolli and look at Turkey in general, do not know when we will be in Holland but will let you know before we get there. I know cycling will take a couple of weeks at least but it is a good way to see Holland.

Anyway good to hear from home front. It sounds good but I miss my animals and would like to here about them.

Anyway lots of love from L and G.