Grannie and Grandpa arriving on the train, Quinn's favourite thing in the whole wide world

We are in Australia again, at our daughter's house.  Trish, Graeme, Quinn and June live near Bundaberg in a roomy home on a very large lot. The house is built with cinder blocks, something you wouldn't use in Canada but in Aus. it is very cool and it won't get destroyed by ants and wooden houses might. Trish is busy gardening up a storm.  She has cherry tomatoes that are almost ripe and a melon has appeared on a vine.  I am very impressed with her new found knowledge of what can be grown in Australia and the techniques to be used to grow her crop.  She must have inherited her love of gardening from her Grandpa Sam and her Grandma Shanks, it certainly is in her jeans :).

Our grandchildren are marvellous little people. Quinn is a very inquisitive little boy, he had a used circuit board that he brought to show me.  He is only four and a half and he showed me the paths on the board and said cars could go on them and pointed out what I thought were batteries were definitely not. He loves trains and we have spent more than a few happy hours building tracks and making the trains go around.  He knows that bats eat the seed pods of a tree in the yard and he knows more than I ever wanted to know about ants. June, who is two and half has a delightful sense of humour, which I think is quite unusual in a child so young.  She has an astonishing vocabulary and I have found myself wondering a couple of times who is talking.  She is as cute as a button and when she smiles and says something silly I find my self grinning from ear to ear. 

Quinn with his caterpillar bridge

Barry and I are loving the break from the boat, room to move about, a queen size bed, luxury in the extreme.  I actually pruned a hedge the other day(I am not sure it is quite straight though) it has been a long time since I have done any gardening!! There are big reclining leather chairs to sit on here and a full sized fridge to put all our Christmas treats in.  

Barry with Trish's kite.

The other day we headed off to the beach and Trish and Graeme went kite boarding.  Graeme went zooming off and Trish headed off after getting us and the kids settled.  I am hoping I will get a chance to try it    the next time we go.  Quinn, June and I hung out on the beach and made a bridge for a caterpillar to cross.  Trish and I have been planning to make gingerbread houses.  We are going to have seven kids over and they will each have their own house to decorate, mayhem!! We went into town today and had a marathon shopping expedition, everyone survived, even Grandpa Barry.  The best buy in his opinion were the shorts he got at the thrift store. 

BEFORE

We made a huge paper chain to decorate the house. First we got the kids to paint pictures and then we cut them into strips and glued them into a 5 meter chain.  Trish and Graeme are non-traditionalist so our Christmas tree is the outline of a tree stuck on to the cinder brick wall.  The tree is outlined in tinsel and lights, it has decorations.  Trish and I spent about 2 hours last night very carefully taping this tree together.  This morning we woke up and everything had fallen down.  We bought some sticky tack today and very quickly stuck it back together.  Trish is sure it will stay up this time!!!!!!!!!

AFTER

I had better go, I am hoping to make some shortbread this afternoon. No luck, the afternoon has gone and supper is on the go, perhaps after supper.