So starting with Oct. We had visitors from Australia for most of Oct so tools definitely were put down for a while. It was fun playing tour guides and luckily during their stay the weather was for the most part pretty warm and clear. We had a gorgeous day on the river Dordogne with Pete and Kath - it was 27 degrees and no wind - perfect. And this time I could canoe too as last time I had just got out of hospital so wasn't allowed. Mind you - I have to admit it was hard work so Paul did a lot of it!
We also went with our friends for a few days to Crete in Greece. We chose Crete as it is the most southern of the Greek islands so figured it should be the warmest as we were risking it a bit being the middle of Oct. This turned out to be correct as the weather was pretty much perfect the whole time. We had unsuspectingly booked an all inclusive resort for the week - for the princely sum of $500 for each couple - crazy cheap. The food was great too - very traditional Greek which we all love. The resort was lovely but loaded with young families - screaming kids everywhere - not ideal for couples - oh well never mind, we still managed to relax and have a good time. We also managed to do a dive too - not much to look at as far as sea life went - the Greeks have pretty much fished it out apparently - but we did an amazing cave dive which was a new experience for all of us. It has at least two fossilised mammoths in it - complete with tusks and jawbones - so fifteen metres down the cliff face you go through a hole in the cliff face and swim along the cave a few hundred metres before you can actually surface in an air pocket and see all the stalagnites etc, so cool. Of course it is pitch black so we all had torches to see. Swimming back towards the cave entrance we all turned off our lights so you get this amazing sight of the blue entrance coming up - was one of the best dives I have been on I think. The fact that there are no white pointers in Greece also helped us all relax a bit too! Diving in our home town Perth has become a bit of a gamble with 6 deadly shark attacks in the past year alone - two of which were on divers! eek.
Here are some pics of our time in Crete.
Anyway after we got back from Greece I headed back to the US to be at Chelsea's senior game so she didn't have to walk out all by herself - I also had hoped they would make it to the national finals as at the time they had only lost two games. Of course that didn't happen - unfortunately they lost their two last games which ended up being crucial to the final selection to the finals - pretty much didn't make it by one spot. So sad for Chels as it is what she has been training for for the past three and a half years. However it was the best season they had by far and I was there for Chelsea's one hundredth goal - something only 6 people have managed to do in NCAA field hockey history so a great achievement for her. It's a shame as if she stays in the US she possibly won't be playing at a competitive level any more. Seems a waste of talent but that is how the US system works - lots of very talented girls finish playing in their early twenties. Not like in Aus where you just keep dropping grades until the body gives out ha. Here is me and Chels on her senior day.
Well I have been back for two weeks now and we have been hard at getting materials organised to continue on with the renovation. We have also laid the insulation and pipes for the underfloor heating - the screed is due to be laid next Monday so that will be fantastic to have done. Paul has also fitted a door to the spare bedroom and today has begun to tile our bathroom. We had planned to lay all the oak to the second floor but decided it would be best to wait until we had finished all the concrete work to avoid bringing in more moisture for the floor boards to contend with.
I have also been busy doing some schooling with my horse. I generally ride an hour or two a day and he is really coming on. I have also been doing the dressage lessons once a week and think I am starting to get the hang of it now. It is a real challenge that's for sure.
Not looking forward to winter - we have been lucky so far - normally November can be grey and miserable but we have had lots of sunny days and not too cold - even had 22 degrees last week! It won't last though - that's a given!
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