Aussie Pilg 12 - Hobart goodbyes and on to Launceston

We arrived back in Dallas about three weeks ago. I think I'm adjusted to the time difference now. It's a whopping 17 hours different. As I write this it is 11:35 a.m. Monday morning here in Dallas but is 4:35 a.m. Tuesday morning in Melbourne, Australia.

The seasons are also different. It's Spring in Australia. But it's Fall here. It's been a bit of an unpleasant shock. Our first week back there was a cold snap here and it got down near freezing. It made sitting outside in the morning for an hour before noon to adjust to the time difference much more challenging. Of course to have an hour to sit outside before noon I had to actually get outside by 11:00 a.m. which didn't happen most mornings which was not the fault of the weather.

Anyway I seem to be adjusted now.

I'm also enjoying the fall colors. I was glad to see that the leaves waited to change color until after we got back. 

Our first morning back. Wearing John's big coat. I didn't stay outside very long that morning.

Our baby maple tree. I was glad to see that the leaves had not changed when we first got back.

Some of our garden died back during the broiling hot summer while we were away. It will be interesting to see how many plants come back next Spring.

Some of them need to be pruned back.
But we have had other priorities.

I went for a walk near the library after voting last Tuesday morning. I was delighted to see the leaves were starting to get their fall color. 

Our baby maple tree this morning. The leaves look prettier up close.

I'm glad I did not trim this bushy plant back yet. It is crowding the salvia and everything else around it. But the yellow flowers are cheering to see.

In addition to unpacking and trying to adjust to the time difference my main focus for the first week was to prepare documents to send to the Veterans Administration about my Mom's finances. I am her fiduciary and they periodically check up on things to make sure I am doing a good job. It was a little stressful. Hopefully I gave them what they wanted despite their instructions not being completely clear.* (John and I each had different ways of interpreting their directions.) Now that that is done and sent off I have no more excuses to put off writing about our final weeks in Australia.

My previous post about our first week in Tasmania ended on Saturday after the first WOW Missions Conference. Picking up from there, our next day was, of course, Sunday. John spoke at the church where our hosts, Phil and Elizabeth Prebble, attend in Midway Point, near Hobart. 

John at the podium. The floral wall decoration behind him caught my eye. See photo below.

It really is three dimensional--in real life that is ;-)-- and appears to be made of paper. I don't know who made it. I meant to ask. But I don't think I did.  

Prebbles took us out to lunch after church. Then in the afternoon we went to see Goat Bluff overlook and beach that Elizabeth recommended. It was beautiful though I felt a kind of sad knowing that it was our last afternoon in Hobart. 

Seeing this double rainbow on our way home was exciting.
I'm still just a kid at heart.

It was hard to say goodbye to Prebbles--especially Elizabeth. I really enjoyed getting better acquainted with her (and Phil too) during our time staying with them. I hope it won't be as long before we see them again--or our other Aussie friends--as it was since the previous time! 

Our next destination was Launceston, Tasmania. On our way out of town we took a little "detour" so John could meet with a young man who is interested in possibly doing computer programming work for Wycliffe. He and John had a good meeting and we all had a delicious lunch thanks to the kind family who were hosting the meeting.

 

Our trip to Launceston was enlivened by seeing "Shadows of the Past" sculptures along the way. There are 16 in all between Tunbridge and Kempton. These ones are near the southern end in Kempton.  

Notice the little girl patting the horses head at the front.

In this one the little girl is sitting inside the carriage. 
It's funny, I didn't notice those details until now as I write this. But the first thing I did when I walked up to the horse sculpture was to pat it on the nose. I thought John took a photo of that. But I can't find it now so guess he didn't.    

Not a great photo but you get the idea!

I was planning to make this post cover our whole final two weeks in Australia. But it is getting so long that I think this is a good place to stop for now. I hope to finish the rest soon, hopefully before Christmas! 

I finally put my Fall wreath up on our front door last night. 

*Post Script: I heard from the Veteran's Administration after I published this and they accepted the documents I sent so I don't need to do anything more. I'm so thankful!