We went to the Zoo

Melbourne Zoo is just 30 min by Public Transport (Door to Door) from our place.  So, with a Beautiful Day and a Friend to catch up with - it was a good choice for an outing.

Going in the back door - from Royal Park Train Station:

First stop - The Big Cats

We are fortunate to have a family of Six Snow Leopards with four cubs born in January.

All of the Cubs were out and Playing, and we also caught a glimpse of Mum.

(Here is a link to the Snow Leopard Keeper Talk and how they keep their cool)

Our Orangutang conceded to put in an appearance and was was clearly unimpressed.

All the Giraffes were enjoying the sunshine and a snack  

including Our "Little One" who was soon to take his own 3,332 km road trip across The Nullarbor to Perth.

Shot of the Day belongs to

! Tiger Tiger !

We spent a lot of time with these beauties, and were fortunate to see both Hutan and Indrah out and about. Tigers are solitary animals and are kept separate to replicate their natural behaviour.
(They are also siblings, born at Melbourne Zoo in 2010)

It was an awesome day that ended too soon but they close the doors at 5:00pm.  

We missed the last direct bus home and had another adventure working out an alternate route!

Showcase and Showing Off

SHOWCASE 2026

I didn't Volunteer to do White Glove at Showcase this year, as I didn't know if I had a free day that I could commit.  Turns out I did - so for the first time in as long as I can remember I went as a Visitor.

I had lengthy conversations with wonderful people about lots of things, and wandered the Quilts getting Inspiration for Fabric I have in my Stash, and still had things to see when they started the 'Time to Go' music.

SHOWING OFF

I am Totally sure that Our Barista is trying to get me to give up Coffee.  

Just HOW am I supposed to drink this?

Although, DD showed the photo to GD#1 who was mid 'I don't want to go to School meltdown', she was so impressed with the Catachino that she forgot to throw the Tantrum!  (I call that a WIN.)

Mum

I do not write about my Mother. 

Sadly, there is actually nothing to write about.

As I scrolled through 15 years of Blog posts looking for a photo, it saddened me to recall just how disinterested she is with anything.

I am not sure when the Dementia started creeping in but once we lost Dad, she was alone and with nothing to engage her, she has gotten worse until mild eccentricity turned into alarming paranoia.

Her Doctor said to me  ".. she needs a team of people 24/7 to look after her now" and with that we started the process of placing her into care.

Whether it was by Divine Intervention or just plain Good Luck, we moved her 4 weeks later, out of the home Dad & Mum built 73 years ago. 

She is not happy about being moved, and definitely NOT happy with having someone else in charge, but 6 weeks on and she is looking so much better and is even holding sensible conversations.

Oh -and the Paranoia? It is still lurking

but we did discover that there actually was "someone living in the roof."

What happened in August?

August's calendar is crowded with Birthdays 7 in total.

Fortunately most only require a Text sending greetings and best wishes and the promise to 'Catch up Later'

But when Someone is turning SIX

Grandma is back making Cake Decorations.

This Time it was a request for a Magic Faraway Tree Cake.

A favourite bedtime story for DD and introduced to GD#1 via the new Movie.

I was sent a photo - Sorry I can't attribute this awesome cake, but it gave me the help I needed to make the decorations.

I made dozens of Rose Leaves, 

in several Fondant colours and dusting them in various shades.

As well as an assortment of Butterflies and Bugs.

Making hundreds of decorated Lollypops at the Whittlesea Show over the years was a good foundation to make the Cast of Characters.

Silky the Fairy and Moon-face were challenging as was Saucepan Man.

But I was delighted with Dame Wash-a-lot and her Soap Bubble Hair doo. Which happened by accident when a Butterfly Wing broke, leading me to adapting  other moulds to save time and frustration.

After making a Plaque in the shape of the Cloud at the Top of the Tree,

 

I packed everything up and handed over to DD & DGD#1 to make and decorate the Cupcakes for the small (new friends only) after school Party.

* * *

The Cake Decorator in me wanted this to be perfect. 

It was close enough to the Inspiration Photo but,

after all it is not about perfection it is about making a little girl happy.

And she was VERY Happy!

 

Catching up with June and July

Now that I have caught up with our Anniversary trip in May,

Lets do a Photo dump to skip through the the months that I have missed.

June:

At Cake Decorating we moved into the new Community room at Watsonia Library and had a fun time learning to make ..

Fondant Cake Toppers for a Newborn or Christening Cake

There were plenty of expressions to master but the crying ones proved to be the hardest to manage!

DH received another Certificate (with accompanying Handshake and Brunetti Cheesecake for afternoon Tea) for his 550th Blood donation.

We watched as a disaster of a local backstreet roundabout got the makeover it so badly needed.

And in July ...

I made a Mermaid!

100% Fondant and she took me weeks to get right!

And at the 11th hour did a run to *Lulu and Stone for other Sea Themed decoration moulds for DGD#4's 3rd Birthday Cake.

Then it was a school celebration I wasn't familiar with.  

Marking GD#1's first 100 Days of Primary school where everyone had to dress as Old People...... 

Little Miss A wasn't sure about that so went as a Red Hat Lady!

Note:  Unfortunately in Todays Online climate I have had to make the decision to no longer show my Beautiful Grand daughters adorable Smiles on my Blog.

*Thank you Lulu and Stone so much for filling my order at the last minute!

Lulu and Stone Cookie Stamps and Cutters

Heading Home

Today we pack our bags for the last time and head home...

Well, after a trip to the Perth Mint (They also sell Jewellery) - DH wanted to spoil me rotten for our 45th Anniversary but, would you believe there wasn't anything there I liked - at any price!

So, with time to fill in, we boarded the free City Cat Bus at Barrack Street Jetty just to see where it went, ending up at Kings Park and the Botanic Gardens. 

(Note to self - Spend more time here!)

Perth certainly said Welcome, and blessed us with beautiful weather. 

I will miss going down in the lift to the Jetty below, in search of an evening meal or just to enjoy 

Ice-cream on the boardwalk. 

For the stats nerds out there, Western Australia is Our biggest state at 2.646 million km² there is a LOT to explore and although we won't be going off the beaten track, we will be back to see more of it than just Perth.

Will we go via the Indian Pacific again? 

Perhaps the half trip from Adelaide, or Darwin to Adelaide on the Ghan and then pick up the Indian Pacific to Perth. 

But I will advise anyone thinking about doing this Train Trip - there is a lot of Nothing in the middle of Australia, so pack something to do or learn to play UNO!

But Wait - There's more ...

Our Holiday isn't over just yet.

Today we boarded the Rottnest Express and took a leisurely trip down the Swan River before hitting the accelerator for the 20 km ocean crossing to Rottnest Island.

We had been here 5 years ago and honestly thought it quite run down and 'nothing much to write home about'.

But, todays visit showed what 5 years of restoration and improvements have achieved.

The streets were beautifully paved and seemed more open, old holiday shacks had been restored and renovated and the Coffee Caravan at Cape Valmingh has a new veranda that shelters all from the prevailing winds. A vast improvement on the Picnic table and Umbrella.

The Lighthouses that were shrouded in tarps are now fully restored, removed of the lead paint that once coated them.

Reflecting in the Salt Lakes below, the Wadjemup Lighthouse was constructed in 1896 on the highest point of the Island Standing 38 meters tall and with a range of 26 nautical miles it is still a crucial beacon.

This time, we were only here for a day trip, so with a quick Hello to the Quokkas (who seemed to be less of a problem as they were last time) and a not too impressive lunch

We boarded the Express for the return trip back to Perth. 

(Post written 21/10/26 and backdated)