The most interesting new thing we saw on our travels was the emerging statue at the Nan Hai Pu Tuo Temple site. We had been on a quick trip to visit the Yankalilla Cemetery, and on the way back we couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw something that could grace a Lord of The Rings movie set.

It turned out to be a Buddhist Goddess.

The locals are excited because once the complex is finished they are expecting 20,000 visitors a year to Sellick’s Beach. It’s pity it was so gloomy, and I’m looking into the sun.

She arrived in 23 shipping containers in December

the closest we could get at the front

the Goddess looks out over this sea

For wonderful photos please visit this website (Messenger – Adelaide Advertiser).

And I didn’t even tell you I was going … sorry about that. Didn’t want anyone to pinch our wood while we were gone. 😀

We’ve been to Adelaide to visit my mum who I haven’t seen since my sister died four years ago. It’s such a long journey and we kept putting it off … the car needed servicing … the car needed an overhaul of the cooling system … what about the dog? … and so on.

With the car repairs done just before Christmas, we still put it off. I even thought of flying over on my own and leaving Mr R to look after the dog. But, with Mother’s Day the perfect timing arrived and off we went early Saturday morning. Taking a dog driving is like taking a child with you, but she handled it well and wasn’t car sick. Eventually (on the way back) she actually managed to sleep. We left 7am and arrived about 10 hours later, just before dark.

We stayed at The Retro Shack in Aldinga Beach, south of Adelaide, for three nights.

from Retro Shack website

Back in Victoria, we spent Tuesday night in a one-star cabin at a Port Fairy caravan park. An hour closer to home, at Mortlake, we visited my daughter, and checked out her restaurant (closed Wednesdays), unfortunately having to miss seeing the grandkids since they were in school. Wendy makes great garlic bread.

Once home, just on dark, we unpacked the car, loaded in the work gear and went off to work for nearly two hours.  Yesterday, I found myself shunning the Internet and choosing to catch up with the business book-keeping. Huh? 😮 I still cannot understand that.

That’s it, in a nutshell!  I’ll tell you more later.