At the beginning of this rambling I thank God for His continued presence and direction throughout 2024. In looking back over the last year my thoughts turned to all the different adventures the year held for us.

January—(see Christmas 2023 in Echuca/Moama) We started off 2024 by travelling back to Granville (11 Jan-18 Feb); Colleambally (2 nights), Narrandera (3 nights), Junee (4 nights) and Yass (2). While there we celebrated a late family Christmas together on a very warm day and the kids had lots of fun on the slip ‘n’ slide. We had a surprise visit from Doug (my brother) who was in Sydney for training, it was great to catch up. On Australia Day we invited family and friends to a BBQ/sausage sizzle & welcome to the 5R afternoon. This was a very relaxing time together and they all loved seeing our new home. On the 31st Harry was in hospital overnight to remove a steel pin from the arm he had broken mid 2022.

February—While in Granville we got to spend lots of time with Nyssa, Brad & children and visit with Joel Beck & Vera at Silverdale —also see Cardiff, Tea Gardens, Granville . Mid February saw me commencing new treatment for my psoriatic arthritis which meant I needed an injection every 2 weeks, oh joy.

March—Granville (1 Mar-18 Apr) We arrived back in time for Nyssa’s 37th birthday on the 4th. On the 6th Nyssa, Jack, Charlie & Harry headed off to School Camp for 3 days so we were busy caring for Andy. See Tea Gardens, Granville for more information. Joel celebrated his 39th birthday on the 18 March and Harry celebrated his 12th birthday on the 29 March.

April-July—While we were in Granville Andy had a buckle fracture injury to his right wrist which had to be strapped for a few weeks. On 18 April Beck had an operation on her foot so Dean & I were on Vera duty for the afternoon, we collected her from day care and fed her dinner while Joel picked up Beck from Royal North Shore Hospital. On 19 April we left Granville and arrived back 5 July; see Singleton, Tea Gardens, Granville for more details. On 6 July (a day early) we celebrated Vera’s 4th birthday with a party. Andy celebrated his 11th birthday in 8 July.

August-October—(30 July-4 October) During these dates we went travelling out in western NSW on a 3-stage adventure. Stage 1 was travelling from Granville to Jerilderie in preparation for The Kidman Way adventure. Stage 2 was travelling with our friends along The Kidman Way, all the way to the Queensland border. Stage 3 was the long adventure back from Bourke to Granville. During the trip from Narrabri the truck started having over heating issues which made the driving slower. It took 2 visits to Iveco service to get the issue fixed.

To find out about the next month see; Dean’s diary notes for 10 October-8 November.

November—During the month there were more doctor appointments, scans, x-rays, injections, etc; I continued to improve slowly. We attended Vera’s graduation ceremony in the park, it was great. At GCBC (Granville Community Baptist Church) we celebrated Thanksgiving with a night of food and fellowship.

December—We were busy with the grandies end-of-year activities at Primary/High School. We also enjoyed swimming and dinner at our friends. Christmas preparations kept us all busy and it was great to see Brad’s son, Matt who was in Granville for a few days. Our family get together was in Granville on Boxing Day and we enjoyed our time together. It was good to spend time with AJ, (Amelia Jane) who is Joel’s 19 year old daughter. We also had a visit from Doug & Terri on Friday 27, they dropped in on their way home to Dubbo via Katoomba. We actually managed to see the new year in by watching the fireworks on TV.