You've told me about the things you love, but what about the things you love to do, in your home area.

We are on 20 acres, about 25 Km from anywhere. We set the place up so the kids could still have fun. With the horses we had the jump paddock, dressage arena, & a cross country course with 18 jumps. There is a 900 meter track around the bottom paddock, where they rode bikes then drove the old ute, as they grew up.

We have an 8Ft dinghy, & a 14 Ft canoe on the dam, & an above ground pool, but the best thing is the river.

Our back boundary is one of our little coastal rivers. The course is 20 meters deep, & sometimes the river is 20 meters deep, & 100 wide, & quite dangerous. At other times it's 20mm deep, & 1 meter wide.

It's a pretty little river, with Grevillea, she oak, black bean & ash lining the bank.

It's when the water is just flowing over a 2 metre log in the bottom, that the kids knew there was enough water to go canoeing.

Just 5Km up the road, where the river runs under a bridge we could put the canoe in, & paddle down the 12Km it takes the river to get to our place.

There are deep slow moving reaches, & little short rapids, where you scraped the bottom, & other spots where you slid over large logs part damming the flow.

If you were very quiet you could surprise turtles dozing on a log, or monitor lizards, in the low overhanging branches. But hit the canoe with a paddle, or laugh at something, & dozens you had not seen would drop into the water & swim off. The kids could never get enough of it.

The first time my wife sat down on the bank to make sure we knew when we got home. The only time she did it with 2 of the kids, after 3 hours she was quite worried she hsd gone past our place.

Sounds like a great place to live.
I see something else in your post, I can see in my mind some of the things you talk of smell the water remember days walking in deep scrub along wandering creeks.
My home while in a country village is on the highway, just a suburban block, maybe a bit bigger, fruit trees and a hedge of natives hide it.
As age stops me romping around the scrub that garden is my hideaway, that too is the name of my home.
2 dogs running madly chasing things that are not there that great song about burning the sugar cane life is to be lived and if you let it that is fun every second of it.

Are you lonely?

Nah, just got a new computer.

Don't be put off Hasbeen. We need this light relief!

I have a galvanised roof. I love the sense of warmth and safety, when I hear the rain pattering on the roof.

I love the fact that when the garden is sodden with rain,-the crickets? make a hell of a din. They love it!

I even love the racket the Rosie's make when they try and sneak up and steal fruit!

I love the sense of well-being on the recliner, and a darn good book!
Or a good DVD;-kicking back (I think that's what you call it!!), with a tube of condensed milk-leaning back, and squeezing it down my throat! Heaven!

As a result of THAT habit I AM getting older and....wider!

Dear Hasbeen,

Another delightful thread.
Thank You!

What's the most fun, around home?

For me, it's cooking. I love to cook!
I love the planning, the buying, and
the actual cooking. I had my family over
for dinner tonight, and it was a sheer delight.
I made Chicken Broth or Bouillon with German egg
dumplings as an entree. This was followed by
Beef Stroganov (old Russian recipe), roast
vegetables, rice, and Strawberries Romanoff
for dessert. The meal was accompanied by a
fine drop of Red, and later came port and
muscat with a cheese platter and coffee.

It was a lovely way to spend an evening!