Dining In

Last night we cranked up the BBQ and had dinner in our own private courtyard. On the menu: lamb chops, Greek salad and a delicious Oyster Bay Merlot.

Statue guarding the entrance to our courtyard.

This morning, it was time for a bit of retail therapy in town: a new swimsuit, a visit to the Broome Bead Shop, a quick look round Paspaley Pearls and finally a trip out to the handmaiden soap factory.

The Wharf

JL's sister Ann invited us to have lunch at The Wharf Restaurant near the port.  They specialise in fresh seafood.  As we were waiting to be served, many many animal transporters passed by with prime cattle on their way to Indonesia.

The boat at the end of the jetty.

My chargrilled squid.

Ann's Vietnamese soup.

Luscious prawns: must go and order these another day!

Cable Beach

A walk on the beach before breakfast is one of the delights of Broome.

The beach goes on for miles.  Later in the day this is a favourite spot for nudists.

Patterns in the sand and rocks.

Blue camels setting off at 8.15 am.

Coming up from the beach.

Broometime

Escape from the cold weather with 6 days in Broome!

Virgin flight from Perth loading our baggage.

Our chalet at Bali Hai Resort.

Lovely lampshades in our bedroom.

Kalamunda

On a wet morning, we all went out to the Xanthorea Nursery to select some Geraldton Wax plants to fill in a space in the garden at Como.  It is a lovely spot, full of natives, and beautifully looked after.  Pity about the rain! Afterwards we went for Morning Tea in Kalamunda and amused ourselves taking selfies and photos in the cafe.

Trying out C's cap

E with newly pierced ears

C waiting for coffee

JL in his new knitted waistcoat

Sandalfords

Our regular Swan Valley excursion for E's birthday went down well.  Glorious weather after a freezing cold start to the day.  Winter is definitely here in the form of overnight low temperatures , though days have been warm and sunny.

Before going to our lunch booking at Sandalfords, we wanted to check out Mandoon Estate next door. This seemed to have attracted the crowds, going by all the parked cars, with its many dining options, including BBQ'd meat on the lawns, fine dining in the restaurant as well as beer and wine tasting. However, there appeared to be a ridiculous border war going on between Mandoon and Sandalfords, as a gate between the two is closed and fastened with a big padlock.  There was no access even for pedestrians. 

On a fine Sunday, both places seemed to have as many clients as they could handle, so what is the problem?  For lunch, JL and I enjoyed beef cheeks with a raviolo, C had a risotto with chorizo and prawns, whilst E had pasta w cheese sauce. To drink, there was a bottle of delicious Cab Merlot.

JL, C and E outside Mandoon

My new winter outfit amongst the vines

Beef cheek

Progress Report: 3 months

I can now do everything I need to around the house, though getting stuff out of low cupboards is a bit hard. I can get in and out of bed easily, and I can sleep in any position I want.  Walking down to the river is still a problem.  It's about 3 kms round trip. I can feel my bad hip and have to go slowly. I've been doing without my stick. I wouldn't be able to keep up with the others on a bushwalk. I do this walk nearly every day, and try to remember not to limp!

I've been doing a physio programme prepared for me by JE, a brilliant young man who has written research papers with my surgeon on the subject of rehab after hip operations. He has a PhD in this. I see him once a fortnight and come away each time with 4 pages of exercises to do at home.  Some of these are against a theraband resistance or rolling an exercise ball around. I'm now doing sideways abduction exercises, which were a no-no at first. I have to make time every day to do a few. I also go once or twice a week to use the walking lane at Beatty Park Pool.  I'm doing all I can, but progress seems very slow. I need to be able to walk 15 kms before I can book a ticket to Spain.

A pod of pelicans in front of Crown

Perth Marathon last Sunday: a lovely winter's day of 22 degrees

A honeyeater who visits our balcony every day looking for food from this flower