Monday (19th May) was a spectacular day . . . one of those perfect ones . . . quite cool in the morning, and then gently warming up into the day under a cloudless, crystal clear blue sky . . . hmmmmm . . . way too good not to be out in :) And so, because it was also a day free of any appointments, and Dad and Mum were both feeling pretty well, we spontaneously decided to take advantage of it and so off we went to The Australian Coffee Centre at Skybury for a Devonshire Tea . . . well, Coffee actually LOL! Skybury is a coffee plantation, processing plant, and restaurant about 10 minutes outside of Mareeba, and its Australia's oldest coffee plantation. It's also one of Australia's biggest, and the visitor centre/restaurant truly is a work of art (timber art, that is), with its beautifully finished hillside pole construction and spaceous verandahs built to highlight a spectacular view of the coffee plantation. Several huge shade sails make sure the balmy Queensland sun didn't put anyone to sleep :)
I'm happy to report that the coffee was hot (though I always ask for extra hot coffee these days), and tasted pretty good too. The scones were absolutely delicious, and delightfully crunchy on the outside, but I guess for the price they charged for them, they needed to be scones that stood out from the rest LOL!
All in all, it was a wonderful day, and I think the positives of the fresh air and sunshine way outweighed the energy it took for them to make the trip, and they both thoroughly enjoyed the outing. They're talking about doing trips like this more often, too :)
Sunday (11th May) was Mother's Day, and we celebrated with delicious spread of A La Carte Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a selection of Shelly's fine cuisine out at "the farm" (Phil & Shelly's place). Three mums were present . . . Valmae (Phil's and my mum), Alison (Shelly's mum), and Shelly (Harley's mum) . . . and Pete's eldest son Simon joined us as well. Harley enjoyed his nuggets, and Shadow, Tammy, & Molly (the dogs) enjoyed the bones. The cats slept all day :)
Obviously Dad and Mum are going pretty well, though we didn't stay there for too long due to Dad's lack of energy and strength and Mum's desire to get home in time for me to get the washing off the line before it rained (we didn't make it anyway LOL!)Then on the following day (Monday 12th), some old (as in long time) friends of Dad and Mum, Bobby and Faye Hales (and Bobby's sister Bernice) came to visit, and I managed to get a group photo (below) before they left. Spending time with such dear friends is definately one of their favourite pastimes, and as I am here to maximise such experiences, I'm very happy to play the role of host, tea and coffee maker, waiter, and even photographer, while they chat :)
