Life – Page 46 – Life is a Journey

Winter 2010

Posted on September 20, 2010October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

I saw this fantastic idea on Natalie’s blog. Some of the other blogs I read do a monthly sum up but I think a seasonal recap is a great idea and a fun way to remember the seasons. Most of this is probably already on the blog but you might learn a thing or two you didn’t know :-).

I travelled to…

London

Spent 5 fun-filled day in the big city. Walked lots and saw most of the sights. Stayed in a cute B&B.

The Baltics

Our 12 cruise took us to Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Denmark. The highlight would have to be the two days we spent in St. Petersburgh, Russia. But everywhere was just amazing.

The UK

We hired a motorhome and explored England and Scotland for 3.5 weeks – driving from the very bottom (Portsmouth) to the top (John O’Groats). My Dad joined the girls and I in Scotland which made for incredible memories. I fell madly in the love with the North West coast of Scotland and can’t wait to return one day (hopefully sooner rather than later).

I listened to…

The new Enrique Iglesias album, Euphoria

I read….

a few Scottish Historical romances (in preparation for and during our trip). I started using my kindle more and now dislike having a hold a REAL book.

I watched…

quite a few movies on the plane to and from the UK. During the whole 6 weeks we were away I watched NO TV – and loved it :-). In June we watched LOTS of documentaries on Scotland, plus the movies Braveheart and Rob Roy. I don’t think I’ve seen so much blood and dead people in my life :-). Back home we watched the Canadian show Being Erica.

I wore….

my beloved Crocs almost every day. I also wore my new jeans which, most surprisingly, were too big when we got back from the trip (can’t the say the same now though :-)). Most days you would find me wearing my new glass heart necklace that I bought in Sweden. LOVE IT!! And I’ve had so many comments on it. I also wore my new purple wind jacket an awful lot :-).

I scrapped….

hardly anything. By the end of Winter I was just starting to get back into it again but found it hard after such a long break. I got 1200 photos (out of 5,000) printed from Snapfish of our trip :-).

I planned…

the finishing touches of our big trip. And almost as soon as we returned started making plans for our next trip.

I celebrated….

my birthday, my cousins Wedding, Amy being accepted into the selective high school for next year.

I dreamed of…

living in the UK (need I say more)

Odd and sodds….

The dogs (and us) had some lessons from the naughty dog school.

I went on Amy’s class excursion to Kiama and to a dairy farm.

We went to the organic expo in Sydney followed by Luna Park

Christy sang in the school massed choir

August proved to be difficult month as it took me a lot longer to settle down after the trip than I expected.

We attended the funeral service for our friends father.

Last year in single digits

Posted on September 11, 2010October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

My baby turned 9 today. Can’t believe she’ll be TEN next year. Really – that just can’t be right!

We started off today with the traditional opening of presents in bed. Do you like my wrapping? Material bags and pillowslips for the big boxes. I asked her if she missed unwrapping presents (in paper) but she said no – which is good.

Her main present from us was some Lego City that she had requested.

Amy bought her some Tinkerbell jewellery.

Since her behaviour has not been the best the last few months she missed out on having a party. Instead she had her best friend (from school) over for brunch with the family and a sleepover.

It was a beautiful day so we were able to eat outside. On the menu – pancakes and crossaints with fresh fruit.

Followed by the birthday cake – or cupcakes as the case may be. Amy made and decorated these – didn’t she do a fantastic job?

I’m not sure what I was doing with photo taking today – I really didn’t take many – and I totally forgot to get one of everyone at brunch :-(. Luckily I did think to get one of me and Christy.

And one with her new doll that she got from Nan. You’ll be pleased to know the doll does “real” wees and poos….

Fathers Day

Posted on September 6, 2010October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

Well, it was was a most unusual Father’s Day in the Withnall household. Amy was sick, Kevin got stuck going into work and I had to prepare our Fathers Day lunch all by myself.

The day started off well enough with presents in bed.

Our school run a Father’s day stall and they always have a great selection for the kids to chose from. Christy picked a car sunshade.

And Amy chose a lunch bag.

Everyone ended up doing their own thing for breakfast. I had planned to make pancakes but it didn’t really pan out that way. Then just before Nan, Pop and Granny arrived for lunch, Kevin got called into work. It was terribly windy here and power was out in Wollongong which meant the office generator was running – and someone has to look after it.

Luckily the soup was already ready so he was able to take some of that with him.

For lunch we enjoyed Corn Chowder.

followed by Roast Honey Pumpkin Rissoto

Both recipes are thanks to Lisa at Bike Bake Blog.

For desert we had a chocolate orange pudding with cream and ice-cream.

then some mini cupcakes and chocolates with tea & coffee.

It was nice lunch but it was odd not having Kevin there. Luckily my Dad was present so it wasn’t all for nothing. For some reason I didn’t take any people photos during lunch!!!

Kevin got back just after 3.30pm and we watched a few episodes of The Tudors. I also worked on some knitting – which I haven’t done since before our trip.

I actually finished this scarf and started work on another :-).

Sydney – Part 2 – Harbour Bridge Climb

Posted on September 4, 2010October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

Kevin and I were up early, and I mean EARLY, as in 3AM to go on our Dawn Harbour Bridge Climb. Not only was it early but it was cold and rainy. Still we got dressed and caught a cab to the Bridge Climb office. I think we were still half asleep – what do you think?

We arrived a bit too early and had to wait until they opened.

Once we got all geared up we headed out with our guide Matt. We were doing the Discovery climb which involved seeing more of the bridge than just the arch. We set off in the dark.

And arrived at the top just before the “sunrise”.

As you can see it was an awesome sunrise :-). Suprisingly the weather didn’t “dampen” things too much for us and we absolutely loved the whole climb experience. By the time we headed back down it was a lot lighter. This was what we really liked about the dawn climb – we saw the city and bridge in both the night and day.

Having recently watched Glee we were pleased to see they had a nice day for their climb :-).

While it’s not a cheap thing to do (we had been given vouchers for Christmas from my Mum & Dad) it really was an awesome experience – one I’d encourage everyone to do if given the chance.

After the climb we were tired, damp and hungry so headed to Starbucks for some breakfast.

We then went back to our room where I had another bath and Kevin had a little nap. We checked out around 10.30am and headed home. It was brief but very enjoyable little getaway.