FAREWELL TO OUR GORGEOUS BOYS

So, here is the 'family photo'!!! Kevin very kindly sent me a copy from his camera. Aren't we happy? Aren't we gorgeous??!! MY BOYS ! ! !



Kevin has had our Formal Farewell Dinner on the calendar for about 5 months! Kevin and Mark certainly pulled out all the stops to make it the most wonderful, memorable evening and we had such a delightful time with them both and Judy and David. The picture of the 4 of us didn't turn out so I am going to have to get Kevin to send it to us and maybe I can post it later.



Below is our delicious meal beginning with cream of parsnip and leek soup. I think the rest is self explanatory and I am scared of explaining them all in case I get it wrong. The sorbet is mandarine! Oh my goodness, what a meal.

Day out with Bernhard and Lorraine

Roger and I had a very special day out with lovely friends Bernhard and Lorraine the other Saturday. Bernhard drove us about an hour from Basel, Switzerland. They treated us to a lovely boat ride on Bielesee (Lake Biel) and we ended up on a little island called Erlauch. Above is the boat we travelled to get there.



Just some of the beautiful scenery on the island. Such a cute small Swiss Village.

Ah, those mobile phones. Such a nuisance! I think Roger is
going to give his to Lorraine!

We walked an hour to this rather excluded restaurant and had a very delicious lunch of fish and then yummy dessert - as you can see.

By the time we were ready to go home it had begun to rain and become quite closed in! But we had such a precious time with Bernhard and Lorraine. We have such treasured memories of special times together 'chewing the fat'. They have loved and supported us here over the past 4.5 years and we are going to miss their company and stimulating conversation.

Another chapter is about to begin............

GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS WEEK

I am going to copy my blogging friend Pat's heading! Thanks Pat. Love you. xx



* Special dinner with our lovely Swiss friends here on Monday night

* Getting the top of the kitchen cupboards cleaned (yes, this was a good thing!)

* Having a delightful dinner on Tuesday night with special German friends. Being picked up and brought home again without having to worry about train timetables (and missing the last train!)

* Baking on Wednesday. I love baking. I made an Apricot Cake and Oatmeal (Anzac) biscuits. Of course we don't eat them. I give them away! If Roger is lucky he can grab a couple before they go out the door.

* Wednesday night we had dinner with another German couple. They live up in the mountains near our place, about 40 minutes drive from Schopfheim. Marianne is one of my 'Girls' Night' ladies but is such a treasure to me. It was rather an exhausting night for me as we had deep and meaningful conversation! They had their heater on as it was so cold there and we had fog on the way home!

* On a mission to find black Linen trousers, but I've left my run too late! (this really isn't a good thing!)

* My lovely Hooks & Needles ladies on a Thursday afternoon in Basel. I LOVE THIS GROUP.

* Centrepoint Basel morning tea and lots of hugs. I love hugs.

* Dinner at Gasthaus Sonne in Schopfheim with gorgeous, entertaining, funny, lovely US friends. Time went all too quickly and they just managed to get on the train before it pulled out of the station!!! Phew, that was close.

* So now it's Saturday and we are pleasantly tired. We have been to the annual Centrepoint BBQ and then to a friends community garden for afternoon tea.

* GOD IS GOOD

* Roger and I love each other very much

I'M BACK ! ! !

Oh dear, I really must try and redeem myself! I can hardly believe it is so long since I have posted on my blog and I am feeling rather ashamed. I know I have some faithful followers and I am going to try and reform.

So, what have I been up to since my last post back in June. The usual things, catching up with friends, dinners here in our beautiful little home, lots of walking, activities at Centrepoint and of course JULY WITH JOCELYN! What a treat that was, but I must say she fairly worn us both out.

Roger and Jocelyn met at Frankfurt Airport on Friday 2 July and travelled by train to Dresden for a little time together. This gave me a chance to have some "Gaynor time", which meant enjoying my own company. I loved it and realized how important this is going to be for me in the future. I really didn't do much of anything.

Roger and Jocelyn arrived back in Schopfheim on Wed. 7 July and we had happy days together doing lots of catching up and fun things together.

We travelled to Rome on Easy Jet on 15 July and spent 5 very hot days there. I was able to book our flights in February so got a really good deal. I also managed to find a good hotel close to the railway station that wasn't going to cost us too much money.







We arrived home late on a Tuesday night, had 2 days to wash, etc and then caught the TGV (French Fast Train) to Paris - just over 3 hours from Basel, so not a bad trip!! We stayed with lovely friends Keith and Deborah (though Deborah wasn't there this time) and again saw many of the sights of Paris. I just love this city and its people. I could have stayed a few more days. It was also wonderful to catch up with Keith again and he was an amazing host. We felt very spoilt all the time.

Then it was home to spend 2 last days with Jocelyn before she flew back to Melbourne.

Jocelyn left on 31 July and it was PACK PACK PACK!! We both felt exhausted before we started, so you can imagine how we felt after a couple of days. Not good. But we got it all done in 4 days and then waited and waited for the boxes to be picked up. They left our home only last Monday 9 August and we are now trying to get back into a good routine to enjoy the last month here in beautiful Schopfheim, our home, visiting our friends and doing all sorts of lovely things.

Remember we are living in a fully furnished little home so we can continue to live here very comfortably. We plan to move out on 9 September and will stay with friends in Basel for 3 nights until we take the train to Frankfurt on Sunday afternoon 12 September and stay there overnight.

We have our good days and bad days. Roger's ALS is progressing but we are continuing to try and be upbeat and positive. Not always easy, but it's the best way to be. Roger has done amazingly well through all the packing and the emotional stress. We will sit back now and enjoy the following weeks.