Saturday, June 04, 2016

WHAT A BEACH!



My Brother Graham with his first born....1967
Graham and Me at various ages during our childhood
Mervyn and Me circa 1966...photos a bit weather-beaten...similar to me these days!
My brother Graham when he worked with me at the resort on Hinchinbrook Island 1986/87
Graham...2nd May, 1998 (with steam engine in background) and cutting his 56th birthday cake, 28th February, 1998
View from the current Noosa Surf Club...circa 2015
View to the east from Mount Tinbeerwah
Widgee Crossing on the outskirts of Gympie
For me the beach has never been, and never will be an area that is choked by multi-storeyed high-rises towering over the foreshore and beyond; nor is it a place where shopping centres the size of regional towns filled with hordes of people breathing down the necks of others abound. Add the extra, unwanted bonus of bumper to bumper, non-stop traffic and my spontaneous reaction is to stay well away from the fray.  “Non-stop” is probably not the correct description because too often the traffic comes to a stop causing the patience of some to vanish into the ether. The mere thought of one or all of the above makes me quiver and quake...aka a “double shake”. 

I know I’m getting old; I live with the fact every day and don’t need anyone else to point it out to me (the woman who dwells in my mirror does that), but because I am the age I am I remember the “good, old days” at the beach.  And what great days they were!

When we were little kids my late brother Graham and I spent a lot of time at the beach. Both of us learned to swim at an early age. Graham and I ran free as the wind along the sand. We collected shells as well as cuttlefish for our canary, named “Sweetie”.  We often swam in the ocean without another human in sight.

And the times trips to the beach were not possible we hiked out to Widgee Crossing to swim in the Mary River and to have a picnic around a camp fire. 

Regular trips to Tin Can Bay, 52kms north-east of Gympie were on our agenda (or on Mum and Nana’s agenda; we were taken along for the ride; and we enjoyed the ride and the beach immensely...the latter more so). 

With Nana we collected oysters fresh off the rocks out from the esplanade. We ate fish and mud crabs freshly caught by our mother, and by Graham the times she took him along with her.  Mum taught both of us how to fish.  She loved fishing and crabbing; as did Graham.

Also, when I was a little girl our next door neighbours regularly took me along with them to Noosa Heads for a day of swimming in the ocean at Laguna Bay, followed by a picnic lunch. A condensed milk tart always played a part in the picnic fare.  Mrs. Butcher, our neighbour, knew I loved the tarts; therefore she always made one as a special treat for me.

I looked forward to those Sunday adventures; to reaching the top of the range at Tinbeerwah. Tinbeerwah is a semi-rural area, about 14kms west of Noosa Heads...between the small township of Cooroy and the Noosa River-side suburb of Tewantin. 

Driving to Noosa we always played an exciting game. Playing to win - when reaching the top of the hill to be the first to see the ocean in the distance; pretending not to notice the adults pretending it was me who saw it first and not them.

In those days of the Fifties, and the early Sixties, in fact, Hastings Street was little more than a track. 

Next to the original surf club building were outdoor showers, dressing sheds and picnic tables.  The floor of the wooden, unlit dressing sheds was always wet and sandy. I disliked the dank, dark, smelly sheds. I soon became a record-breaker in the art of  changing swiftly out of my wet togs into dry clothes.  I was spurred on, too, of course, by the thought of the condensed milk tart that awaited my attention.

The Sixties arrived; and I felt I had, too. I‘d morphed into a bikini-clad surfer girl. Magically, so too had my group of girlfriends.  We spent every spring, summer and autumn weekend at the beach. 

At my urging, my brother became a Noosa Heads surf lifesaver, which was a good thing, but it was also a bad thing.  Being a lifesaver was good for him, but it was bad for me.  I had only myself to blame! It was my idea he joined the Noosa Heads Surf Club.

Taking his big brother role too seriously Graham believed it was his duty to steer would-be suitors/admirers of his “little” sister in the opposite direction; for them to focus their interest elsewhere - or else.   

He was nicknamed "Ding-Ding" by his mates in the surf club..."just ring a bell and he'd come out fighting"!

On Friday just gone I talked at length with three of my friends from those days....ex-Noosa lifesavers who were fellow-club members (and mates) of my brother Graham.  

One of the above with whom I spoke was my first husband, Mervyn. 

Mervyn managed to slip through Graham’s guard, although in those days of the early Sixties, Mervyn and I  didn’t really date as such.  We weren’t “boyfriend-girlfriend”.   He worked in Brisbane.  I lived in Gympie, but during the ball seasons he always returned to town late on the Friday afternoons to be my partner at the balls.  There were three or four balls a season – during winter; and Mervyn always escorted me to the balls.

And then Randall (who later became my second husband, now ex) came to town...life as I knew it changed.  And then Randall went overseas...and once again, life as I had grown to know it, changed.  

I was by then living in Brisbane and shortly thereafter Mervyn and my paths crossed. We married and remained that way for approximately two and half years...and the rest is history.  History I shan’t write about in detail at this moment in time.

Friday just gone, 3rd June, was Mervyn’s birthday. I always telephone to wish him the best for another milestone reached.  He does similar to me on my birthday.  His wife, Jackie answered the phone, telling me she knew who it would be before she heard my voice.  Jackie and I talked at length, too.  We always do...we have no reasons to dislike each other. 

The other two fellows I spoke with on Friday are still friends with Mervyn, too.  One, “Laney” was our best man.  He played the role again when Mervyn and Jackie married, as well.  Laney was captain of the Noosa Lifesavers for many years; and for many years after he was president of the club.  He and I have remained friends since the late Fifties/early Sixties until now.

“Ned”, the other friend I spoke with whose first name is really “Ken/Kenneth”, I’ve known as long.  Another Gympie lad, born and bred, when he was a teenager - “a bit of a lad” (and a very good-looking one!), he earned the nickname “Ned” – in honour of Ned Kelly, the Aussie outlaw - and the name has stuck with him throughout his life. He was a bit of a rascal, but not in a bad way.  Ned, too, was a lifesaver in the Noosa Surf Club.

When we conversed on Friday last, Ned and I. as well as sharing many stories, memories of the past and tales of the present, laughed over my brother Graham's nickname...particularly as I'd been thinking about it only the previous night.

Mervyn turned 76 on Friday.  Laney turned 78 in May, and Ned is around the same age as Mervyn, I think.  I'm the "baby" of the group - I’m tailing them by a few years...I’ll be 72 this coming November, but I keep failing to believe it to be so.  It can't be true!  I keep doing the math...and the answer still keeps coming up the same!   Dammit!

Few cars hogged the roads back in the decades when we group of present day “oldies” were kids and teenagers. If Mooloolaba was our choice destination in 1960 we had to go along the Bruce Highway through Nambour to get there. The David Low Way hadn’t yet been opened.  The Sunshine Motorway wasn't even a developer's dream.  The developer probably hadn't yet been born!

The “Sunshine Coast” nomenclature came into being in 1960, but it took longer for the title to fit into our vocabulary. Noosa was Noosa; Coolum was Coolum, Mooloolaba was Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headland was Alexandra Headland (or "Alex") etc. 

In those years of yore the coast was great.  I believe we experienced it at its best. We had room to spread a towel; to catch a wave. Without a worry, we could leave our possessions unguarded on the beach when we went surfing/swimming.

To me, that is the beach – the coast. It’s long stretches of golden sand with she-oaks, pandanus palms, coast banksias, angular pigface, sand spinifex etc., fringing the foreshores; not soaring, multi-storey structures, crowds and endless traffic.

My brother Graham, who would've turned 74 in February, 2016, could be such a pain, often. We had our arguments...and we had them often from when we were kids.  We had our good times; we had our bad times. We experienced and shared happy times; and we had our fair share of sad times.  

Regardless of it all; the good, the bad; the happy; the sad, and the in between - Graham remains in my thoughts every day, and he has permanent residency in my heart. 

Thoughts of Graham are even more vibrant and alive around this time of the year - Graham passed away 6th June, 1998.

There were many times he annoyed the whatsits out of me; but I’ll always miss him. 

What a beach!

Spicy Picnic Chicken Wings: Combine 1/4tsp allspice, 1/4tsp ground cloves, 1tsp cayenne, 1tbs sweet paprika, 2 garlic cloves, salt, pepper and 1/4c olive oil; grind into a paste. Place 500g chicken wings in marinade; toss well. Cover; chill at 4hrs or overnight. Preheat oven 180C; line baking tray; spread wings on tray; bake 25mins until golden and cooked through.

Picnic Pesto Salad:  Cook 600g frozen cheese tortellini until al dente; drain well; cool. In large bowl, whisk 1/4c pesto, 1/4c Greek yoghurt and 1tbs lemon juice; season; add tortellini and 2c rocket; toss; season to taste.  Sprinkle over grated parmesan before serving.

Picnic Loaf:  Grab 1 large rustic round loaf of bread (approx 22cm in diameter); carefully cut a lid, approx 8cm in diameter off top of loaf; set lid aside. Scoop out most of the bread, leaving the outer shell.  Spread 8tbs fresh pesto evenly over the interior base and sides. Thickly slice 250g mozzarella; place the slices and 400g sun-dried tomatoes neatly inside bread in an even layer; top with a handful of fresh basil leaves; then a layer of drained artichoke hearts (180g). Replace lid; wrap loaf tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate with a heavy weight on top to pack down; chill overnight. To serve, cut loaf into thick wedges.

Condensed Milk Tart – Easy-Peasy:  In metal bowl, pour in 1 can Condensed Milk (not low-fat kind): add juice of 1 lemon. Mix well with wooden spoon; the mixture should get very thick. Pour into prepared tart shell; refrigerate until required.

Double Thick Chocolate Shake: Place 120ml milk or almond milk in blender; add 4tbs cocoa powder; blend; add 5-6 small dates; blend; add 1 fresh or frozen banana; blend until thick and smooth. Decorate with date syrup or chocolate syrup; top with choc bits and a maraschino cherry. 

 
Tin Can Bay

47 comments:

  1. Thanks for the well wishes.

    I would like to be walking that beach. Amazing!!!

    Have a very wonderful week.

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    1. Same to you, Gail. Thanks for coming by. :0

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  2. Lovely memories to cherish. Of places, of times, of people.
    I too remember when three people on a beach made it crowded. And prefer it that way. Too many people is NOT a treat in my eyes.

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    1. Hey EC....I can't stand crowds milling around either...I stay well away from them. I very rarely go down to the Gold Coast. Too many people, too much traffic and concrete, glass and steel towers....not my kind of fun or a relaxing day out.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  3. Oh Lee, you have captured my teens perfectly. Who would recognize the Noosa of the old days? Although there is a spot in the National Park where you can turn your back on the track and rarely see a soul, except my ghosts of young, tanned surfers. Thanks for the memories. That was a lovely tribute to your brother. I do so enjoy your word pictures.

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    1. Hey there, Pauline. There is still a magic about Noosa...when you get to the National Park and look back across to Laguna Bay...across towards North Shore...a special feeling takes over. Yes...it's magical. No one can take that away...try as they might.

      Sadly, I've not been to Noosa since I came here to the mountain 14 years ago (other than a brief visit of two days to Tewantin to attend a funeral - that's anothr story).

      When I was living back in Gympie before coming here I often drove to Noosa on Sundays, on my day off, to soak in the ambience and have lunch somewhere...either in Hastings Street or at a restaurant on the banks of the Noosa River at Noosaville.

      Noosa will always have a part of my heart...but everything had changed so much when I arrived back there after not visiting the area for the 13 years I'd lived in North Queensland (I moved to the north after spending 7 years living at Coolum briefly and then Sunshine Beach - and I had my greengrocery/healthfood shop) in Hastings Street.

      No doubt over the past 14 years...so many more changes have occurred. When I think about Noosa I feel a tugging at my heart. :)

      Oh...for those days of bliss. :)

      Thanks for coming by...and thanks for your kind words. :)

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    2. Hi again Lee,
      I should have added I love Noosa still, especially that National Park. Two of my brothers have apartments there, one just up the road from the park entrance and when visiting I walk there every day. Once past Hells Gate there aren't as many visitors and I can drift off to spend some time in memory lane.

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    3. Hey Pauline...I still love Noosa, too. The place has a special magic about it...a magic that no one will ever be able to take away.

      Fortunately, the locals who do have a say in future development there have done and continue to do their best to control it...for it not to get out of hand. And that, to me, is good.

      Noosa is special; and always will be, I hope.

      We often used to go around to Tea Tree Bay, Granite Bay, Hell's Gate and further around to Alexandria Bay. The Noosa National park area is a beautiful area.

      Somewhere under the sand at Granite Bay is buried a bottle of Golden Circle Pineapple Juice. Friends and I went surfing there one day somewhere around 1961/62 and we buried it in the sand to keep it cool for when we returned from our surf.

      When we went to find it an hour or so later we searched and searched for it...but never found the elusive juice! lol

      So if you find it...you know who it belongs to...but you can have it. You might be thirsty and in need of a drink after your walk! :)

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  4. Sounds like you had a wonderful childhood.
    If you're 72, you're a young 72:)

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    1. Hi Sandra...some parts of my childhood were wonderful...some not so.

      I'm not yet 72...let's not rush things...I turn 72 in November. lol Time enough for everything I say! My hips tell me I'm 72, but my mind, heart and attitude all tell me otherwise! I'll go with the latter lot! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  5. Do you remember the Ocean Breeze Motel at the end of Hastings Street ? My uncle owned it . Those were the days when Noosa was just a sleepy old beach resort.....better than it is today in lots of ways.

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    1. Yes, I do, Helsie.

      Many years ago...way back in those days of old to which I'm referring, Jackie's (my first husband's wife) parents owned the caravan park on the corner of Hastings Street opposite the Surf Club - just along from where Ocean Breeze now stands.

      Your uncle probably owned Ocean Breeze when I had my shop in Hastings Street -in the early to mid-80s.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  6. There is something so special and tranquil about the beach (especially the non-touristy ones).

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    1. So very true, Keith...thanks for coming by. :)

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  7. Those views are amazing!
    I lived in such a "freedom" beach when I was very young; we lived in Ardrossan when I was three; miles of beach with hardly another soul in sight. Then we moved and it was beaches by towns with crowds and beaches by cities with hordes. Not the same, but if I had the chance to live by the beach here in Adelaide, I would.
    I'm a lover of sweetened condensed milk too, but I don't bother making tarts, I just eat it straight from the can :)

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    1. Hahahaha! I love your comment about condensed milk, River. I do neither these days, but I think I should do one or the other...or both! :)

      Ahh...the beach...nothing quite like it!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  8. You have had such a rich life - and I love that you are capturing it by blogging about it. You've packed a lot in! I know you miss Graham and lovely that you pay tribute to him on his birthday.

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    1. Thanks, Lynn...but it wasn't Graham's birthday today...it's the date he passed away.

      You confused it with my phoning my first husband on his birthday on Friday to wish him well. No problem. :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  9. I strolled along you and enjoyed YOUR memories for you tell them so well. To me, it's heartbreaking that our lives - our entire lives, are BEHIND us, with nothing but dirt ahead. It's impossible to make memories now, because if they are farther back than yesterday, they will still never be true, golden, memories of a time long past.

    Ow. Did I just depress you as badly as I did myself?

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    1. Hahahahaha! No...you didn't depress me, Dana....I understand what you mean...and have similar thoughts. :)

      I reckon you and I would have some fun together if we ever met up! Thanks for coming by. :)

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  10. The good memories of our youth, with our loved ones around, are the best. I know that when I am feeling down and lost, I think of them and they make me smile.

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    1. Hi Arleen...and I think it's wonderful to recall the fun times. And yes, the memories are uplifting.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  11. Oh my, that Picnic Loaf sounds delicious.

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    1. Thanks for popping in, Sandra...I hope you get to make the loaf...and go on a picnic. :)

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  12. I read that and stories told by Pauline of the area when on our annual safaris came to mind. I don't think I'd ever want to visit because it would ruin all the stories of the places as they were.

    It was a lovely tribute to your Brother as well.

    As for the condensed milk (you can get low fat connie onnie???) pie I recall what I thought was that but there was a caramel coloured tinge to the filling so there must have been something else added.

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    1. Using low-fat condensed milk wouldn't be the same, Graham. Why bother? I don't us low-fat anything.

      There is another tart made from condensed milk...a caramel tart, which is probably what you had. The can of condensed milk is placed in a pot of water and boiled at length until the condensed milk caramalises. You have to make sure you let it cool down, of course, before attempting to open the can.

      Thank you for your comment about my tribute to my brother, Graham...Graham! :)

      And thanks for coming by. :)

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  13. Wonderful memories of times gone by.
    Good to see photos of you and your brother.
    Didn't many of us spend a lot of time at the beach when young...I know I did when I had time but unfortunately that wasn't often.

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    1. Hi Margaret...you've made up for lost time now with all your travel wide and far. :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  14. What a lovely life you have lived Lee. You took it all - the highs and the lows, the laughter and the tears. Queensland in those far off days sounds quite idyllic and your memory of those times seems very clear indeed. Eighteen years - it has been a long time since Graham exited the stage and yet for you it still seems like yesterday. Your sister-brother relationship was closer and more loving than most. No wonder you still miss him.

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    1. Hi Yorkie...never fear, Graham and I had our "moments". It wasn't all plain sailing. He could be very pig-headed and one-eyed. I consider myself as a "black and white" person, but he was more so, again. However, he was still my brother...and even though there were times I disliked him and was angry with him, I always loved him.

      Time flies by so quickly and it's when dates such as the passing of a loved one resurface, you realise just how fast the years do disappear into the ether.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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    2. Just to point out, in case there is any misunderstanding or confusion....the black and white photos posted above with me in a white dress and the fellow in a dark shirt are of my first husband, Mervyn and me....not of my brother Graham and me.

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    3. Hell! I wasn't suggesting you were THAT close to Graham even though I know that kind of thing happens in The Australian Outback!

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    4. Does it? News to me!

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    5. For example:-
      http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/australia-incest-case-filthy-and-severely-deformed-children-found-in-remote-farming-community-after-8998115.html

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  15. I love these pics! Especially the ones of you and Graham from when you were little. I bet you miss him.

    As for getting old, it's all in the mind!

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    1. Hey there RK. I agree...age is just a frame of mine. I reckon I'm probably a lot younger in the mind than a lot of the young ones! I'll never grow up...I don't want to grow up! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  16. Widgee Crossing, Tin Can Bay, Gympie, Tinbeerwah, Mooloolaba, Noose Head...are you sure you aren't a fiction writer. I love the sound of those places. Plus I love hearing adventures with your brother. So sorry he is gone. I still have my brother and childhood memories with him are of the mountains not the beach. Our family spent every Summer in Colorado.

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    1. I couldn't make up such names, Annie! :)

      Have a look at a map of Wales or of New Zealand...and they you will discover some really strange names! These are minor in comparison! :)

      I guess the beach plays a big part in our Aussie lifestyle, Annie...sun, sand and surf. Thanks for coming by. :)

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  17. Yes being by the sea is my ideal.

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  18. It would be wonderful, Mr. Ad-Man...I agree. Thanks for coming by. :)

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  19. Noosa was one of my favourite holiday spots when I was in my 20's. Mum tells stories about riding their bikes out of town to fresh creeks for a day of swimming ~ no parent supervision. I suspect Lee it was another time long lost. My generation and those that followed will never know that freedom you had.

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    1. Hi Carol...unfortunately those days of innocent freedom have long gone. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm glad I was a child and a teenager in the decades that I was.

      Noosa is special....there is a magic about Laguna Bay and the National Park.

      Thanks for coming by. Have a good week ahead. :)

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  20. What a wonderful exciting childhood you describe! And your whole life seems very interesting!
    One thing, does your Milk Tart recipe close to the Custard Tart mentioned in "As Time Goes By"? Not sure, I think yours might be easier!

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    1. I'm not sure what you mean by the tat in "As Time Goes By", Kay. This tart shown here is a very simple tart...as you can see...you don't even have to make the pastry if you don't want to do so or have the time to do so...a bought, pre-made tart shell would suffice. It's a very easy tart...one that can be put together when surprise guests turn up on your doorstep!

      I guess I did do some interesting things when I was younger, come to think about it. My life is much quieter these days...by choice! :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

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  21. Oh, and I meant to say, my sister lived in Australia for two years and her photos of the beaches there. WOW!

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    1. I recall you mentioning sometime previously that your sister had lived here for a while, Kay. We love our beaches here in this country. :)

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  22. Stay blessed

    http://shilpachandrasekheran.blogspot.ae/?m=1

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