So much time has passed...

I have been neglecting writing about our travels so here is a thumbsketch...

Arrived back in Australia in Late October.
Visited a friend in Mackay Queensland in early December.
I (Judy) went to the U.S. for almost all of January to settle my 95 year old Mother into assisted living at her request.  I have a really smart mother who has been in independent living all of this time, but who has now recognised there are things she can't do by herself anymore.
Peter stayed in the Hunter Valley and flew balloons for training, fun, and for tethering the 'Flag' balloon on Australia Day which was 'weathered out' due to rain.
We are driving to our 'tree property' in Tasmania tomorrow and won't be back in the Hunter for about 3 weeks. We are taking the Tasman Ferry from Melbourne to Devonport with our car.

Australia is a wonderful place to live!

We are enjoying our time back on our property in the Hunter Valley.  It is beautiful to wake up to birds singing and kangaroos in our front yard.  Our little cottage is still a bit of a mess, as in the last 2 years, we moved from a 7 bedroom house, to a 3 bedroom townhouse, back to a 1 bedroom cottage!  So I have 'stuff' everywhere in boxes, still can't find anything, and no room to move.  Downsizing is definitely a sure way to get rid of 'clutter'.  So that it how I spend my time...   filing all our old papers for tax reasons, and slowly...  ever so slowly... getting rid of clutter.

Really into heavy jet-lag...

We are back in Australia, on our property in the Hunter Valley.  But both Peter and I are in heavy jet-lag. Peter keeps falling into a heavy sleep just around dinner time...  but he seems to still sleep at night.  But me...  I am getting up at 3:45 a.m. every morning!  Just can't sleep anymore.  Then I am super 'fuzzy' at around 3:00 in the afternoon.  Don't want to sleep, but can't seem to think straight so I am useless at accomplishing anything.  Then I am falling asleep immediately after dinner, around 8:00...   far too early.

Time, hopefully, will get us onto some kind of normal schedule, along with Melatonin!

Swiss Schloss

We are in Zurich.  We fly back to Australia tomorrow.  It is SNOWING...  lots of snow gently falling.  I do not have a coat with me.
Today we visited a Schloss...  a castle from the 1300s.  (I am on a Swiss German computer.  Cant find the apostrophe.)  Anyway...  Castle was fantastic in recreating the life and the times.  One would not want to go back and live in that era...  cold, uncomprimising, unforgiving, tedious and relentless.
Next post will be from Austrlia.

Sadness in my heart, but a new beginning...

What can I say....  it looks like we have sold our barge.  The couple came to visit us last weekend, fell in love with the barge, and today, we have received a formal agreement to sell the barge to them.  Peter is working out the details, and a deposit is yet to be paid...  but things are moving forward.

I go along with this, with mixed feelings.  We have had the barge for 12 years and it is time to move on.  We have so many places we wish to go and things we want to do.  And as Peter says, we have been offered the loan of friend's barges when we want, and if we find we miss it too much, we will just buy another with lots of 'barging wisdom'.

I love our 'Zee Otter', and believe it is going to a good home.  But it doesn't make the sale any easier for me.

Back in boozey Buzet

Buzet (pronuounced Buzay) wine region is the best kept secret in France.  This wine area was 'held down' by the larger wine companies in Bordeaux (it is only an hour's drive there), who didn't want competition.  But now Buzet has come into it's own with a huge wine co-operative to combat the bigger wine companies in Bordeaux.  Superb wines.  This is our home port, where we will leave Zee Otter for the winter.  But...  we still have friends coming to visit for 5 days, so we will be cruising the area for a few more weeks.

Keeping clean...

Impossible to keep clothes clean on a barge.  Peter goes into the engine room and Voila!  grease on his clothes.  I work the ropes in a lock and Voila! green slime on my blouse and slacks!  So we have 'work clothes' and 'clean clothes'.  And slowly, slowly...  it seems all our clothes end up on the work side of the ledger.

We are in Moissac, at the moment.  Great activity as a 'fruit festival' is going on.  Music, dancing, food, and market stalls fill the town.  I love it!