Merry Christmas to one and all,
I was thinking that we hadn’t had a very exciting year in 2025, but then I looked back through what we’d done and what had happened, and realized we hadn’t just been sitting around all year. Adding those things to our regular activities of knitting, crocheting, playing keyboard & bagpipes, and various church activities, we actually have had a busyish year.
In January I volunteered again at the Illawarra Folk Festival down at Bulli and then we cleared out Jen and Mark’s unit at Alexandria so that it could be rented out unfurnished. We then stored various bits of furniture until we could either give it away or sell it. Eventually we got rid of everything and the car could go back in the garage. In February I had a severe case of kidney stones. I would definitely not recommend it. The pain was excruciating. The ambulance came and the cat supervised the paramedics. Off to Katoomba Hospital and more pain medication then I wasn’t too bad. Saw a specialist, he said that we needed to keep an eye on the stones. We then went down to Wodonga to stay with Kerry’s friend Louise for a week or so, while she recovered from an eye operation. In March we went up to Nelson Bay for the first birthday and baptism of Kerry’s grand nephew and we were upgraded in a great hotel. April got rather busy with me going out to Nymagee (look it up on Google Maps) on an Outback Links group trip to do up an old church to enable it to be used by the community.
The church at Nymagee
The volunteers
I was then back for Easter when we had Elise, Evan, & Hanley stay with us for a few days and we went on the Zig Zag Railway.
After that, I went down to St Albans (near Wisemans Ferry) for a folk festival. As it was over the ANZAC Day period though, I made a few trips back and forth so I could play with the pipe band in Lawson and then get back down to St Albans for the festival. In May, I went out to Cowra for a few days to meet up with some old friends from my days at Seaforth Tech.
Evan, Hanley, and me
Part of the Zig Zag viaduct
The Japanese Gardens at Cowra
At the POW memorial at Cowra
When I got back, we had a car issue and had to get the EGR valves replaced, which unfortunately was a rather expensive process. Hopefully the new valves last as long as the originals, around 11 years. In June we had been planning on heading up to Queensland, but a couple of days before we were scheduled to leave, I had a relapse of the kidney stones. After three trips to hospital, the specialist blasted the ones in my left kidney and I was ok. Kerry made 2 ponchos while in waiting rooms (15 in all, which went to Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre). It certainly stuffed up our travel plans, which got postponed to August.
A couple of the ponchos that Kerry crocheted while I was lying around in the hospital.
In July I went to the Uniting Church NSW Synod meeting in Penrith over 3 days and at the end of the month played the pipes for NSW National Parks at Govetts Leap for their Ranger Commemoration ceremony. In August we finally got away and headed up to Queensland with the caravan via Port Macquarie and Yamba. I then left Kerry at Grant & Susie’s at Mt Tamborine and drove up to Gladstone to stay a few days with Nathan, Sarah, and Tom. We then left Mt Tamborine and headed back home via Woodenbong, Copeton Dam, Valla Beach, and Port Stephens.
Camping area at Woodenbong
Camping at Copeton Dam
Some of the neighbours at Copeton
The dam was around 75% full
In September, I went to another folk festival, this time in Yass. In October, Kerry and I celebrated our wedding anniversary by going down to Austinmer and spent a couple of days at the Headland Hotel.
The Sea Cliff Bridge
When we got back, we found out that there was going to be a T20 cricket match at Blacktown as part of the women’s Spring Challenge competition, so we went down to that. It was good to be able to watch the cricket live instead of on the tv, especially as it was free. We had a great time despite the wrong team winning, even with our vocal support.
In November, I went to one more folk festival making it four for the year, this time at Bundanoon. When I got home, Kerry went down to Penrith to meet up with a couple of her old primary school friends, one she hadn’t seen for 55 years.
This year has brought some health issues for Kerry and we’re hoping that next year will be better in this regard for us both.
That is our year in a nutshell. Praying that your Christmas would be a time of peace and joy and that your New Year is a chance to relax and enjoy life.
James & Kerry
James & Kerry