We kicked off July by celebrating Canada Day in style. We started the day with some waffles and maple syrup. Then, with a CD player full of Tragically Hip, Rob hung the flags and prepared the Caesars, while I whipped up some homemade butter tarts.
This year, we were joined by new fellow Canadian expats – Justine and Hugh. They arrived here in Australia and are settling in well to life in Yeppoon. Justine and Hugh helped spruce up the dinner table with these fabulous napkins and took a rare photo of Rob and I together.
We rounded out our Canadian Day weekend, with a very Australian activity – a beautiful winter’s walk on one of many perfect beaches.
A few days later, it was time to celebrate again. This time we were celebrating my birthday. Strangely enough, I decided to keep the ‘red’ theme going. As always, Rob spoiled me with a beautiful dinner, and carrot cake for dessert.
And best of all, he surprised me with this cool present. It didn’t stay in the box for long!
July also kept Rob busy playing in one of two Pickleball tournaments. Yeppoon Tennis Club has built 14 dedicated Pickleball courts to grow the club and to introduce Pickleball to a new generation of players. It’s the largest Pickleball facility in the southern hemisphere currently. It’s being called the Mecca for the sacred game of Pickleball. Rob also acted as the unofficial photographer for the tournament. Some of his photos of tournament play even made the local paper.
While Rob was busy taking pictures, I took advantage of the gorgeous winter weather and did lots of walking.
I have been loving watching this rock snake grow along one of the walkways that line the beach and noticed a new creative community project pop up last weekend.
During the final week of July, I was attending an intensive training program for our research higher degree students at the university as part of my new role at the graduate school resulting in some pretty long days. The night before our anniversary, I headed to bed early. While I was sleeping, Rob decided to sneak a special anniversary card into my nametag. He always makes fun of me for my ‘nunchuck skills’ and jokes that if there’s an awkward or hard way of doing something, that is definitely the way I’m going to do it. Believe it or not, the first session of the intensive that morning was all about skills development. It was still just a little embarrassing when my boss noticed the new addition to my name tag.
When I arrived home from work, Rob had once again put together a wonderful meal, complete with wine from a winery we’d visited in November, and the perfect dessert. After 21 years of marriage, he still steals my heart every day!
