A long overdue update for the web site, although I am unsure how many of you have stuck with it over the past two years.

Tardy no, busy yes.  2004 was a year of mainly ups punctuated by a few downs but it was busy throughout.

Much of the year revolved around family and property matters. 

We sold our Regent Waters home in September after it had been on the market for some 8 months.  During that time Sandy sold her home and we helped her with gardening and tiding up etc.  We had to dispose of all of Sheila’s furnishings as they had been stored at Sandy’s and we tidied up and sold Sue’s Mum’s unit as well.  In May Keith  returned from Melbourne and stayed with us for the first couple of months.  We came to the conclusion mid year that we simply were not meant to sell our home while everything else was going on. 

When Sandy was settled, having decided to go to Sydney, Keith found his feet again, and Sheila’s possessions had gone, we changed real estate agents and along came our buyer.

The new owners lived in a coastal town about 200 kms north of Perth and only wanted to relocate to Perth early in January so asked us if we would rent back.  This was something that we preferred not to do (you always live in fear of something going wrong) but decided to do so as it would be easy for Jenny to look after a home that she was familiar with while we were overseas.

We moved out in the first week of January and now live in a smallish cottage home in a fairly new satellite suburb north of Perth called Ellenbrook.  This was not our ideal but we had difficulty getting the right mix of air-conditioning (desperately needed in Perth during summer), a lockup garage and an outdoor patio area so that Jessie, our aging dog, could shelter from the sun and a little patch of grass for her as well.

The downside is that we have moved away from the coast and it is a bit warmer here.  It is also a bit remote from some services and although only 20 kms from Perth it is surrounded on all four sides by pine plantations, and rural bush land.  Just like living in a big country town.

The upside is that we love the smaller property and we have everything that we need right down to dishwasher and security system.  It is also fairly quiet and we have many lovely parks within walking distance.  We also live within a kilometre of the Swan Valley with its many wineries and restaurants.

It took a little bit of adjusting but we are enjoying  it now.  Jenny is still at home but will be moving in the next month or so and that will give us a bit of space.  At the moment one room is floor to ceiling in boxes.

To give you an idea we did have 240m2 of living space and now have 130m2.  When our Olive Ridge home is built during the year we will then have about 180m2 so that will be worth looking forward to. 

Our new ‘retirement’ home hasn’t started yet but we have signed a contract and are hopeful that it will get underway in February and we will be in well before next Christmas.  Here’s hoping!!

On the downside we lost a dear friend in tragic circumstances in the first week of January 2004 and later Sue and Brendan in New Zealand lost Brendan’s Dad after a long illness.  Mick was much loved by all and he and Noeleen were wonderful family people.  We will miss not seeing Mick on our future visits to NZ.

My brother Alan, who lives on the Gold Coast, had a quadruple bypass very early in 2004 and while that gave us some worries at the time he now seems to be largely recovered.

Another of our good friends was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (in her early 50’s) and then in May we had Keith return home somewhat depressed.  Another of Sue’s long term friends was then diagnosed with terminal cancer mid year. In the meantime Sue’s Mum had settled into hostel care but still required a fair bit of support.

These issues, coupled with the home and property comings and goings, kept us well occupied right up until September.

On the upside I had a trip across to NZ in May to see my Mum who now in her 92^nd year  and continues to do remarkably well.  While she is physically not so strong her intellect is amazing as is her love for sport and the news.  It peeves me somewhat that she can read the small print in the newspapers without glasses whereas I am forever misplacing mine.  My visit coincided with a visit by Alan (part of his recuperation) and his wife, so there was plenty of opportunity for fun and catch-ups.  But I do miss my Sue when I am away.

In late September we left on the trip of a lifetime with 24 days traveling around Europe and some wonderful time in ye old England.

Yes, we had an amazing time in Europe and saw all of the popular sites plus some special treats like a concert of Strauss and Mozart music in a palace in Vienna and a night out at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.  Truly great experiences.

We were hosted by long term friends near London and that was just so great as it had been 28 years since I had seen them and they took Sue under their wing as if she had always been a part of their lives.  They were great company and we had many a laugh.

On the web site we have put in separate pages with a travelogue of our holiday together with some photos of our European/England holiday.  Please pardon the indulgence.

It has actually been a good year for reunions.  Only a couple of weeks ago we had a lovely dinner out with two couples that we met on our Superstar Gemini cruise back in 1999.  One of the wonderful things about travel is that you can meet some absolutely lovely people and some friendships endure for years.

Sue managed to pick up a lot of casual teaching work over the first eight months of 2004 and worked two or three days in most school weeks.  She still loves her teaching and is not quite in retirement mode yet.

Family is very important to us and we try and have outings, special dinners or BBQ’s for any birthday and other events during the year like Easter, Christmas etc.

We also had a special family dinner out just before our big holiday and it was an opportunity to gift a little to the kids after the settlement of our home.  We have decided that when given the financial opportunity we would like to share the enjoyment with them while they have a few treats over the years.

Other members of the immediate family have had good years.

Keith is now happy within himself after resettling and having some initial counseling support.  He is now focused on a three year University course in environmental studies which he has just been accepted for and starts late February.  He will do casual pub work to help support himself (with some Austudy help from Government) and seems to be happy with his domestic situation where he shares a home.  He has not got a special lady in his life at the moment but 2005 and his Uni studies might present opportunities.  His friend Kate from Melbourne is visiting later in the year so  we look forward to seeing her again.

Sandy relocated to Sydney early in October and is now reunited with her Brad.  Sandy and Brad were together for about three years up until about two years ago, but remained good friends.  He went to an IT job in Sydney about 1 year ago and enticed her to go across on a long weekend visit.  It went well and she decided to return in early October.  Her greatest frustration is trying to get  work as she is having some difficulty getting into the creative writing field in Sydney. She had some great opportunities in Perth including some projects for Sci Tech, writing a booklet for Transperth (where Ron used to work about 8 years ago) to educate children about public transport and having many books published by a Perth based Educational Books company.   Here’s hoping that something comes her way soon.  Work aside she seems to  enjoy the Sydney lifestyle and Brad looks after her very well.  We will see them in early April when we visit Sydney

Jason and Tristen have now been in their new home for over 12 months and it looks a treat.  The back garden is a Japanese theme together with waterfall and pond and numerous garden lights.  They have an extensive decking area that Jason installed early in the year and it is an entertainer’s delight. 

Tristen has completed her Masters degree and can now apply for work as a psychologist even though her final thesis gave us all some worries as she had to work hard to develop a research base for her project.

Jason continues in retail although the owners sold a few months ago and the smaller retailers are threatened with a deregulation of trading hours over here in WA.  The size of the store that Jason manages is currently allowed to open 7 days but not the larger supermarkets.  That is all about to change.  His new boss is from South Africa and regards Jason very highly.  Tristen also continues to work part time at the store until she gets work in her chosen profession.

They are to marry in January next so this will be a big year of final preparations and they are off to Bali for ten days next month with Tristen’s family.  They can be very proud of their achievements and the year ahead looks very exciting and we are looking forward to sharing in much of it.

Jenny and her partner Leo have now been together for about 18 months and while he is about ten years older than her he treats her with real dignity and makes her smile more than we can remember in a long time.   They intend moving into his home, ironically in the same suburb where we are renting, when his tenants move out in a month or so.

A major challenge for Jen is that Leo has two children from his previous marriage and the kids visit from Melbourne once or twice a year.  They have just been across for a month during the school holidays but Jen managed the situation pretty well and shows a fair bit of maturity in their relationship.

They are also in the process of buying a block of land and having plans drawn up for a new home.  Their block is about a kilometer north of Jason and Tristen whereas we will be about a kilometer to the southeast of Jason and Tristen.  All close but far enough.

Jen and Leo have also bought a pug dog (one of those that stopped 2 seconds after the bus) and are currently having it boarded with Leo's parents.

Jen and Leo work together for Westcare, a semi charitable organisation that employs a number of people with disabilities in light manufacturing work.  Jen works in the office and Leo handles sales.

Our plans for 2005……

Ron is toying with the idea of visiting his Mum for a week or so during late February and will make up his mind in the next week or two.  He just wants to make sure there are no last minute hitches in the start of the new home.

In late March we are off to the Eastern States for three weeks to visit Sandy and Brad in Sydney, Alan and family on the Gold Coast and we will also see Sheila in Sydney.  Sue and Brendan and their three youngest will also be on the Gold Coast for a couple of days while we are there so it will be an opportunity for a mini family reunion.

We are also hoping to see Ron and Jan, a lovely couple that we befriended on our Trafalgar Tour and they live north of Sydney.

In mid September we are across to NZ for three weeks.   It will be yet another opportunity to spend some quality time with my Mum.  I try to get across at least once a year and we both make the trip every 18 months and combine it with a tiki tour down in the far south which is our favorite part of the world.

Amazing when you think Hilary sent me off to NZ in 1993 to see Mum as I hadn’t seen her for some years.  And helped along by cheaper airfares I have now been across to see her about 10 times since.

A big highlight of the year will be the building of the retirement home at Olive Ridge.  When we sold we decided to downsize and use some of our surplus money for travel, topping up our super and spoiling the kids a bit.

Our new home will have three bedrooms, (one a craft room for Sue and one a guest room for visitors and kids needing a bed for a short spell), two bathrooms, a home theatre room and a big open plan kitchen, family and meals area designed to take in Olive Ridge Park which is right opposite our block.  As we are slightly elevated our outlook should be great.  The home also has a nice alfresco dinning area under the main roof with access from both the family room and our bedroom area. We will have a bit of garden but easily manageable, and NO swimming pool.

When it gets underway we are looking forward to shopping for all of the interior items which should be exciting.  We are going for a country theme both in house design and décor.

Today, the 26^th January is Australia Day, and we are both very proud at this time to be Australians and to live in this lucky country.

The tsunami has had a major effect on Australians and they have dug deep to support those who have been so devastated around the Indian Ocean.  It is incredible that Aussies gave over $22M during the television appeal concert and another $15M when Australia played the Rest of the World in a one day cricket match.  Australians everywhere can feel very proud of themselves and their generosity has amazed us all.  We had been to Phuket, Langkawi and Penang on our travels and all have been affected by the tragedy.  In 1999 we spent a week staying at a resort right on the front of Patong Beach in Phuket and it is incredible to think that it is all devastated now.  We really felt good about digging deep as Asian people are probably the most polite, most friendly and warmest people on this earth and they least of all needed this tragedy.

On this somewhat sobering and melancholy note we wish family and friends everywhere a safe and secure 2005.  Above all we wish you love and happiness.  There just isn’t enough of it in the world.

Sue and Ron