Each week I post another fascinating true-life excerpt from my friend & mentor’s journals while she was Housekeeper & Cook at The Flamingo, during the period 1968-1999, titled Cookie’s Diaries. Together we’ve changed a few things around & set Cookies story in a fictional Australian country town so as to protect the innocent & the not so innocent!  We hope you enjoy Cookies journey from such humble & all but penniless beginnings to owning & running the highly successful country guesthouse, ‘The  Flamingo’. To read the last chapter click HERE.

The Rock Pool Delema

It had taken Pietro, Jamie & Frederick almost 4 years to complete the enormous task of turning the boggy little creek-bed at the bottom of The Flamingo’s property, into a beautifully landscaped freshwater swimming pool & entertainment area.  In daylight hours it was a shady cool retreat to escape to where you could lounge away the day with a good book or doze the afternoon through in one of the many deck chairs, listening to the constant fall of water over the rocks & boulders, when you weren’t cooling off in the water.

It was in the evening though that this beautiful oasis became an enchanted garden with cleverly placed underwater lighting, showcasing Pietro’s marvellous tile work.  The clever spotlights completely changed the fernery surrounding the waterfalls into a tropical paradise & the huge ghost gums took on other worldly dimensions all lit up at night, towering overhead & adding still more mystery to the evening atmosphere.

A 2011 use of Chilli Con Carne - Anna's Taco Pizza's

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