New Year's Eve

And here we are again. Another trip around the sun. 2024 has certainly had its ups and downs. When I look back I realise that I did cram quite a bit into it!

The new house and the new hip took up a lot of time, several trips to Melbourne, dealing with the awful rental and the fall out, making new friends (hi Penguin), joining  U3A and then the committtee and generally getting used to our new lives in Lakes. We are still convinced we made the best decision moving here.

On Monday last week we had some neighbours over for drinks. It was lovely getting to know them better. One couple have sold their house and will be moving mid Jan which is a shame. Their new next door neighbours are a challenge (drugs, feral kids, noisy cars and we get frequent visits from the local constabulary which is fine by me) which was the catalyst in them selling although they had been toying with the idea to be closer to her children and grandchildren. They have only been here 2 years. He is our neighbour that works at the local transfer station and he will continue to work there for the foreseeable future so we can still catch up. 

The other couple live next door to them on the other side and are more our age (if not a bit older) and I think we will see more of them. 

I also invited Sue whose husband recently decided he didn't want to be married anymore after they built their new house so she is living in it alone (he comes up from time to time to work on the garden, decking, fence, etc and makes her cry) until it is sold and then she will have to decide whether to go it alone in Lakes or move back to Melbourne where she has family. If she chooses the latter it will be a huge financial struggle for her as her share of the sale won't get her anything half decent in the city whereas she could get a nice little unit here. Either way, I will continue to support her as best I can whilst she is in this awful situation. We have coffee at least once a week and she just talks about the soon-to-be-ex.

While they were here we got notification that our VCAT hearing will be on 4th February. It is all now in the hands of the magistrate and on 5th February we can put that episode behind us and move on regardless of the outcome.

We had a quiet Christmas. We took the dogs for a walk along the foreshore and as the tide was in and the tourists scarce we let them have a bit of a swim.

                            

                                            

A couple of my favourite feathered residents ...

                                        

                                

... it was a glorious day.

On Friday Two and his lot arrived and stayed until first thing Saturday. I had my trepidations about this visit as his kids are not well behaved and his wife is not the best at setting boundaries. My fears were well founded. I was very sad when they left that I couldn't say they were welcome any time and I couldn't wait to see them again because, honestly, until the kids' behaviours improve they aren't welcome and I can't see that happening any time soon. 

Three and his lot arrived later on Friday and it was lovely to see the cousins interact but everyone was exhausted including Sally as everything was a drama. If Two's kids don't get their own way they literally scream until they do. 

Once the NSW lot had left things were a lot calmer. We had doughnuts for breakfast, played in the new playground and generally chilled.

Part of the issue with Two's girls is their fear of dogs but instead of reassuring them, their fear is fed. Billie said she didn't want the dogs inside and Himself said the dogs would come inside. Mads said that would be interesting as Billie always wins. Well, this time she didn't and the dogs did come in and the girls were told in no uncertain terms to stop squealing which they did. And they even patted the dogs. 

Which is why these two photos mean so much to me. Alice also used to be terrified of the dogs - and understandably when you realise how big they are and how small she is - but she is told to be calm and tell them to go away (which they do) and we end up with this ... 

... maybe one day Two's kids will be the same.

On Sunday we had doughnuts for breakfast and the blokes took the girls to play minigolf while Amy and I looked at the shops. We had a quiet afternoon and then had fish and chips for dinner on the foreshore before heading to the carnival. We did this last year when they surprised us with a visit. Sally wanted to go on the ride she struggled with last year and asked Himself to go with her. It wasn't a success! Initially they seemed fine but her face quickly changed to one of acute discomfort. Unbeknownst to me Himself had knocked back two 500ml energy drinks whilst waiting for the fish and chips to be cooked - he has only just discovered these and didn't realise the effect of such a caffeine hit. He ended up very unwell and took himself home while we stayed on. Energy drinks and fairground rides don't mix well!

If you have looked at the link to last year's visit you will remember the dude who helped Sally with the backward/forward turns. He was there again this year and was amazing with the kids who obviously wanted to challenge themselves. Including, no surprise, Sally.

She was very hard to photograph but had an absolute ball.

Himself had gone home by this point so the 5 of us went on the ferris wheel. The views are still amazing. Like last year, this is the best time as the sun is setting but you still get a good view of the area.

   

Alice was still mainly interested in the kiddie rides but she and mum thoroughly enjoyed the dodgem cars - as did Dad and Sally.

It was a quiet morning yesterday as they packed up. We went to the pub for lunch and then they headed home.

This morning we hit the shops but not early enough! You can always pick the tourists - they are the ones with an entire family in a small supermarket; grandparents, parents and many kids all meandering around the store blocking the aisles and discussing what they should or shouldn't buy. I wanted eggs and neither Woollies or Aldi had any. We tried Foodworks on the offchance and they were unloading a delivery from a local free range chook farm. Score!! 2 dozen eggs and I was happy. We have had a huge issue with bird flu which is why eggs are so scarce but the price hike is crazy. They are almost in the luxury food category whereas they used to be a good, inexpensive source of protein.

And now here we are. 

Himself is planning to go into town to see the 9.30 fireworks. I will not be joining him. I understand we might see some from here and that will be fine whether we do or not. 

I realise I haven't posted much here this year but I did write something every month! I will try harder next year but if I have nothing to say I will stay quiet. I admire those who manage to come up with such interesting content every day (you know who you are and I salute you). 

I am so grateful to be part of this online community. You make me laugh and cry, you challenge my thinking and you share so much of yourselves and your lives. Thank you.

Have a very happy and safe New Year's Eve and may 2025 bring you health, happiness and the strength to navigate the ups and downs of life.