Roleystone Down Under

Sapphire Princess

2008-03-12T18:46:00.009+09:00

Juanita taking a spa leaving Okinawa dock

What a great experience our cruise was top quality food & fine dining we were totally spoilt 3 weeks holiday felt like a whole year!
Sapphire Princess Nagasaki Harbour

Princess theater

Adam on deck 4 degrees C Brrr

Juanita on top deck leaving China

The Churchill cigar & cognac lounge

Keith & Jean Norfolk England

2008-03-12T18:10:00.009+09:00

Uncle Keith & Adam in the garden
Adam & Keith in the summer house

Adam & Juanita in the field opposite Keith & Jean's Barn

Hawthorn Barn Norfolk

Keith & Jeans fantastic kitchen. We can still taste that amazing roast duck!!

Wimbourne, Dorset 2005

2007-10-04T19:00:00.006+08:00

Adam with a wild pony

New Forrest Dorset, England

Juanita with a wild pony

New Forrest Dorset England

Having our final dinner before returning to Australian with Fraser & Penny in Wimbourne

Colehill Post Office up the road from Penny & Fraser

London 2005

2007-10-04T18:59:00.000+08:00

Coming Soon...

Cornwall 2005

2007-09-28T13:35:00.001+08:00

Adam, Norman, Lynda & Juanita having dinner at the infamous Bodmin Jail. Bodmin jail was one of the highlights of our trip, it was an extremely creepy place & haunted. The Doomsday Books & crown jewels were kept here. It fell into disrepair over the ages & it has now been purchased by Steve who is turning it into a very scary tourist attraction!!
Adam

Juanita down in the armoury of Pendennis Castle

The Turret of Pendennis Castle

The kitchen of Pendennis Castle

Adam at Pendennis Castle

We visited Adams Dad & his wife Lynda down in Cornwall, England. We were fortunate to be able to stay in their ancient converted cow shed which was just adjacent to the main barn. The walls were solid granite with exposed beams & very cosy with central heating for the cool climate. We had a great time down in Cornwall catching up with Norman & Lynda. Andy also made the trip over from the USA so we could all catch up, it was great to see him too.

Andy & Adam
(you wouldn't know it was freezing outside!)

South Barn Cornwall, a solid granite converted barn near Bodmin. This barn is apparently named in the Doomsday Book & this is where Norman & Lynda settled for a time, they have now sold up & moved to Dorset. It was fortunate that we were lucky enough to enjoy Norman & Lynda's hospitality before it was sold. Thanks for making our stay a very memorable one.

Left: Lovely Lynda cooking up a storm in her very rustic & charming kitchen.

The converted cow shed that Adam & I stayed in, it was very charming & comfortable

This was inside, thick granite walls & exposed beams it even had a more than adequate kitchen.

Part of the garden behind our accomodation

The Eden project...not far from Adam's dad

You would not know it was freezing outside this lush tropical artificial jungle

We were very surprised to see thick layers of pollution in the early mornings in a relatively rural setting.

This would have been possibly the best photo that we took on our holiday...not far from Adam's dad's Barn.

Adam's 45th!

2007-09-27T23:15:00.001+08:00

Adam celebrated his 45th birthday in style at the local Roley's on the Ridge. A lovely rustic restaurant where some lovely Western Australian wine was consumed. Adam thanks family for the cards which were opened on the day. We are looking forward to spending some time together to be able to watch a new DVD set that has been added to our collection of the Rollingstones (set of 4 !)...Cheers

Nana Mouskouri eat your heart out!

University Graduation 2007

2007-09-27T22:35:00.000+08:00

Juanita has finally been awarded her PostGraduate Diploma of Forensic Sexology from Curtin University on the 27th of September 2007. She decided after receiving 4 qualifications since 1979 she would finally attend a graduation ceremony.

Juanita accepting her award from the University Chancellor

It was great to be among distinguished academics all in regalia with all the pomp & ceremony. Juanita managed to doff her mortar board without it falling onto the stage. Adam, Sarina & Frank came along to celebrate the occasion. We hope you enjoy the photos.

Frank, Juanita & Sarina

Juanita & Adam

What is next you ask? Who know's maybe PhD ...^%#$%%^!!

Teddy, a graduation present from Adam all done out in regalia

The Chancellor paid tribute to the long suffering family members of academics, many relationships fail in the quest for knowledge...Juanita Doffs her Mortar board to Adam who has suffered the academic journey since 2003 & survived!

Professional photography was taken of the event, which will be posted at a later date.

Roleystone Musicians Club

2007-09-06T19:15:00.000+08:00

Adam tuning up before the big jam session!

Roleystone muso's are fortunate to have their very own musicians club based down at the local football club. We went to our first gathering in August, it was a load of fun. At one point there may have been 6-7 electric guitars playing along with the drums...ear bursting! There were some very experienced instrument players & singers among the crowd. Adam was cheered to get up & have a jam with the boy's...below is a small video of Adam jaming with the band. Adam is playing towards the back...click the start button.

"Smoke on the Water"

Family Matters

2007-09-05T19:53:00.000+08:00

Sarina is doing well, she has been working for Nadia part time & also doing some work for Adam & Juanita. She was learning the drums up until recently. It seems she has been suffering vertigo & tinnitus...the doctor has told her she has 30% hearing loss...that's the end of the drums. It looks like she is loosing her hearing like her Grand Mother, Great Grand Mother & possibly mother (not confirmed yet...to scared to have the test!).

Jordan is growing up fast. He's a very active 3 year old, he has produced some very nice artworks for his Nanni. When digital pictures have been taken of them they will be posted to this site. The latest is he is a bit unwell, suffering a few mouth ulcers for not eating his veges!

Jordan having fun on Noono's boat...Christmas Day 2006. More pictures to come...

Young Kaylan also enjoying a ride on Noono's boat...

Nadia, Dariusz & Kaylan have just returned from Europe (August 2007). We have yet to catch up, they visited Dariusz's family in Krakow Poland. They visited other countries on their trip.

Adam is in top form, working in rehabilitative mental health. He is looking forward to the December cruise from Beijing in China. His lesiure time is spent relaxing, pottering around our extensive garden & being bullied by Jag the Rottweiler.

This is part of our garden that we fiddle around in. We have a 3rd of an acre, the house takes up most of the property. The garden is fairly low maintenance since we have started a mulching regime from when we moved in. The whole area is irrigated which also helps.

Dirty Dogs Done Dirt Cheap!

2007-09-05T13:53:00.000+08:00

Cheap?? No!

This page is an introduction to our little family. When we moved to Roleystone we had two red Shar-Pei's Tyson & Panzer (yes named after fighters) They are rare Chinese fighting dogs. Actually they are hunters, with a very acute sense of smell, we are sure they would make great customs dogs or bomb squad dogs.

Then Jag the giant Rottweiler was added to the pack for good measure. There was a bit of fighting going on and there were a few injuries in the quest to become pack leader. Young Panzer established her dominance over the pack (believe it or not!).
Above is an image of our lovely Panzer, she is a fine example of a pedigree that goes back hundreds of years...she is a hunter and she loves to have a bird or two for breakfast ...much to Adams horror.

Above is poor old Tyson. As you can see from the image he is not looking too good at 8 years old. He got into a scrap & suffered a laceration which had to be sutured. Unfortunately in July 2007 we had to have him put to sleep, ongoing infections & arthritis affecting his mobility could not be resolved ...RIP Tyson old boy.

Now we have Jag the Rottweiler & young Panzer left. Adam rescued Jag from a family who had a very small backyard & very young children who could not go outside as Jag is a very heavy boisterous dog. He is really in his element here with a 3rd of an acre to run about with company 24/7. He is a fiercely loyal protector & God help anyone foolish enough to come over the front wall!

Disaster struck only last week. Panzer suffered a torn cruciate ligament. We were bracing ourselves to have Panzer euthanised. The surgery for this injury is very expensive. Panzer has already been an expensive dog. There were lots of tears and debates over the weekend this month. Adam could not stand to have her put to sleep so we had to book her in for surgery yesterday, as you can see from the image shes not too happy, the leg is very sore & she must remain confined for 2 weeks. Updates in 2 weeks time...

We are Cruzin...

2007-09-05T13:19:00.001+08:00

When we were in Sydney harbour in April 2007 we saw this enormous luxury oceanliner. We were so impressed with this ship we took some shots of it. Check out the size of the people on the wharf for scale! Several months after arriving back home in Perth, Juanita was surfing the net & clicked something and a promotion appeared featuring an amazing cruise on the 2,700 passenger Sapphire Princess. We decided this was a great opportunity to see China (3 ports), Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand over 16 nights & relax, so we booked the trip and we will be off to Beijing in December. We managed to organise 3 nights pre-cruise at the Sheraton Beijing & 3 nights post-cruise at the Shangri-La Bangkok.

It was not until after we had booked the cruise & had paid for it that we realised we had taken a picture of the same ship in Sydney Harbour earlier in the year.

We are now counting down...after the cruise we will post our review & pictures to this blog...

This is our Itinerary
16 NIGHTS BEIJING TO BANGKOK - SAPPHIRE PRINCESS
DAY PORT ARRIVE DEPART
04 Dec 07 Beijing (Tianjin), China - Embark
05 Dec 07 At Sea - -
06 Dec 07 Nagasaki, Japan 12:00PM 6:00PM
07 Dec 07 At Sea - -
08 Dec 07 Shanghai, China 7:00AM 6:00PM
09 Dec 07 At Sea - -
10 Dec 07 Okinawa, Japan 7:00AM 2:00PM
11 Dec 07 Taipei (Keelung), Taiwan 9:00AM 6:00PM
12 Dec 07 At Sea - -
13 Dec 07 Hong Kong, China 8:00AM 6:00PM
14 Dec 07 At Sea - -
15 Dec 07 Nha Trang, Vietnam 9:00AM 6:00PM
16 Dec 07 Ho Chi Minh City (Vung Tau), Vietnam 7:00AM 7:00PM
17 Dec 07 At Sea - -
18 Dec 07 Singapore 8:00AM 5:00PM
19 Dec 07 At Sea - -
20 Dec 07 Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand Disembark

Click this link to see a YouTube of the ship

Sapphire Princess Leaves Sydney: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d56iwjEcQms&mode=related&search=

There has been another development. We have come across another amazing cruise on the Ledgends of the Seas. Rome to Singapore 27 days 2008. Looks like this could be our next cruising highlight, there is a strong possiblity we may place a reservation on a cabin on this cruise this week!

Itinerary 2008

http://www.go.cruising.com.au/util/doc.jsp?n=Legend20BrochureLR2_118707541509559.pdf

Araluen Roleystone

2007-09-05T12:42:00.001+08:00

Adam being silly at the Araluen Lake

Araluen Tulip Festival Down the Road

There are many exotic plant species growing in the park. In the summer we can go down to the park in the evening where musical events are staged from full orchestra's to blues & jazz bands. Carols by candel light is also a popular event.

Araleun Botanical Park is located aproximately 3kms from our home. In spring there is a spectacular tulip display. Clicking on the image above will take you to more information.

XVIII World Congress of the WAS, 1st World Congress for Sexual Health Achieving Health, Pleasure and Respect

2007-09-05T09:50:00.000+08:00

April 2007 we attended a world conference in Sydney. We will add some pictures of highlights of our visit to Sydney. Circular Quay was a beautiful cove for the city to be founded. The conference was held in Darling Harbour at the new convention centre. Juanita presented to an international audience at the conference on "sexuality & serious mental illness". Her presentation was well received with positive feedback from the audience. The presentation was recorded by the organisers of the conference and it can be viewed here for a small fee http://www.wasvisual.com/lecture_summary.html?lecture_summary=54.

Over all we had a great time in Sydney, it is much bigger than Perth with all the associated problems of a large city. We found it easy to get around on the public underground transport, which again is much more extensive than Perth. We were disturbed to find many individuals affected by methamphetamine, it was much more overt than Perth.

We took a day trip up to the Blue Mountains which reminded us of Roleystone. Leura left us with a lasting impression, streets lined with federation homes with colourful Autumn gardens. The wealthy Sydney-siders of British descent chose Leura as their summer holiday homes, chosen for it's much cooler climate. It was a welcome retreat from the scorching summer days. Streets & gardens were planted with deciduous trees that would survive there in the cooler climate. These trees reminded the holiday makers of England. When we arrived these fantastic trees were in all their Autumn glory, making a very appealing sight.

Leura was like stepping back in time, gorgeous ornate federation cottages with white picket fences.

We had lunch in a cafe in Toowoomba in the Blue Mountains, it was a preserved Art Deco cafe, it was extraordinary. You can see the amazing wood panelling complete with cameo's in the picture provided. It was a memorable lunch. We took a small video of the cafe, panning throughout in an effort to remember this iconic establishment in the Blue Mountains NSW.

We also had a memorable afternoon tea in a very atmospheric cottage, it was full of interesting collectible curio's, it doubled as an antique shop.
Tarronga Zoo was another interesting place we visited. We were surprised to see it was built on the side of a fairly steep slope. The giraffe have the best panoramic view of Sydney Harbour.

Welcome to Roleystone

2007-09-05T09:10:00.000+08:00

Thankyou for taking the time to visit our blog published from lovely Roleystone in Western Australia. Please visit again, we will endevour to update our site regularly. We think this is an exellent way to keep our family & friends up to date with what we are up to here in Australia.

We would love for you to do the same so we can view your current pictures & keep up to date, share your holidays & significant events. You are welcome to post a comment on our blog, it is also an easy way to view digital pitures we have taken of events on our lives (we have found it difficult to e-mail pictures as sometimes the files are too big & they wont go through). We hope you enjoy viewing our pages...drop us line or two...Adam & Juanita.