A FAVORITE THING...................

VENICE AND BEYOND.......

It's A Favorite Thing Saturday again so I'm 

linking this post to Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage. 

You all know how traveling to new places is a favorite thing 

I love to do........and I'm doing a lot of it lately.......

........we're leaving for Europe today! 

Thankfully I feel a whole lot better because my treatment 
seems to be working well. With my wonderful Bob to help 
carry the bags, stop me from tripping on the escalators, 
shove the carry ons up into those tight squeeze 
overheads, and give me moral support, I'm ready to
see several European jewels...
Venice, Dubrovnik, the Greek Islands, 
Athens and Istanbul. These places have been 
high on my wish list for a long time. 

We'll be on the Crystal Serenity sailing the seas. 
If I have Internet I'll post now and then, if not, 
I've pre-posted a few more fun Australian stories 
from the amazing recent Kimberley Region trip, 
which should pop up whilst I'm gone. Know I'll be 
missing you, taking photos, and taking notes on all 
the beauty of these old cities so I can share more
travels with you when I get home. 

Visit Mockingbird Hill Cottage today - Claudia's Saturday 

friends will have lots of fun things to share.

Will there be crocs?

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

14:00 - General Disembarkation for Swimming at Crocodile Creek

Join us for a swim in the cool freshwater of Crocodile Creek. 

We will run a zodiac shuttle from shore to ship every 

15 minutes. Please bring zodiac life jacket, sunscreen, 

hats and cameras. It will be a dry landing at the swimming 

hole today.

Heavenly, a swim to beat the heat, with a promise (had to 

get the promise) there would be no crocodiles! This was 

the reason Paula and I packed our swimsuits.........

......to climb up and over and into a little slice of 
heaven in Australia's Kimberley Region.

Orion blue welcome marker flag peeking above the red rocks.......climbing the ladder to the swimming hole. 

When the dry season's tides are low like this 

there's apparently no chance of crocs 

being able to access the water above.........there 

were harmless jellyfish, fish, and other creatures 

at the bottom.......but we didn't learn about them 

until the evening recap. Nobody was 

bitten or stung.....

This beautiful place awaited, the colors of the water 

were breathtaking, and that lovely sound.......

the saxophone played by none other than Gus 

from the ship already ensconced on the rocks 

when we arrived.

Gus and Fran were the great musical duo who entertained 

us daily - they were amazing.

This really was a magical place.................

.......a special day and memories to treasure for ever.

Back to Orion waiting for us on the deep blue sea.

Last chance to clean up...................

After all that deck and gazebo repairing, 

power washing, cleaning, re-staining and fluffing

back in September.......the early 

days of Autumn require more clean-up 

efforts around our garden.

We hire no professional help, still muddling 

along and trying to prove we can still do it all 

ourselves, stubborn old you-know-whats!

• Reseeding the lawns, front and back, then watering each tiny seed daily for several weeks
• Raking and shoveling up a trillion-plus gigantic acorns.....well it seems there's that many this year
• Spreading ten, yes that's 10, cubic yards of cypress wood chips.....a veritable mountain delivered via huge truck and dumped at the top of the driveway
• Cleaning pots at the potting shed - terracotta, plastic, resin - and acquiring a much-needed new wood pallet to pile them on
• Trimming and pruning every which way..........and pulling masses of crabgrass, Vinca, English and Boston Ivy, all creeping non-stop through the flower beds
• Edging those flower beds, cleaning out weeds, cutting back and dead-heading..........on and on it goes

Most of the heavy and hard work has been delegated to Bob this time......I'm still having to treat my hands and wrists with TLC so mustn't overdo the lifting and twisting. What an awesome job he's been doing...........we can leave on our trip to Europe knowing our garden remains enjoyable for our neighbors, visiting wildlife, and passers-by.