We are Sailing . . . . . . . .

Fare Ye Well for a couple of weeks. We are heading for the high seas and sailing around the Whitsunday Islands off the coast of Queensland. So stay tuned for an update of the trip when we return.

In the meantime I temporarily leave you with some colourful shots of what I thought was a drab almost winter garden. It is amazing the colour you can find when you really look!! Our garden has evolved over the years from almost a totally native garden to about a 75% native garden with a bit of added colour over spring summer and autumn.

We have found that almost anything grows in Allendale, at least it does if you water occasionally! Our garden has been the location for a lot of memorable family times from simple backyard cricket games to S&J's wedding; birthday parties and just hanging out; sandpits, hammocks and swing sets; swimming pools, running under the sprinklers and BBQ's; parties, climbing trees and picking apricots; feeding chooks, picking tomatoes and occasionally some gardening!!!!

Here are some of the colour remaining in my garden.................

ANZAC DAY and the Great Biscuit Bake

Anzac Day of course is more than Anzac Biscuits, it is a time for remembering and thanking the thousands of Aussie soldiers who died so that we enjoy the wonderful and free life we have now. It's a wonderful day to pay tribute to those who died on the battle fields and also those who were lucky enough to survive and come home to tell their families. This year the focus was not all on Gallipoli but it also included the battle of Bersheba and the may thousands who died in France. Very moving stories. I am very proud of the way Australians remember and celebrate the fallen and keep the ANZAC spirit alive through our kids.

But on Anzac Day it's also proper to bake Anzac Biscuits, so Miss T our proficient little cook prepares for the occasion...while we watch the TV showing the march and the services and they ask the questions about what is Anzac and the why was there war. The last one still hard to explain.I know that the knife looks as big as her BUT she was well supervised and had received the lecture about how to cut butter safely with a jolly big knife...
She needed 125 g and cut off 128g, pretty good I reckoned, so we left it at that.
.....and the funnest part (apart from eating warm Anzacs) was drizzling the Golden Syrup over the butter ready to melt and add to the mix.
This kid is a clown - no doubt about it! Stirring the mix with a sway of the hips!
Enter the Baby Cook, she came in just in time to stir a little and taste the dough....

....and lick the spoon of course!
MMmmmmm very crunchy Anzacs.

Hubby wasn't a great fan, he prefers them chewy but it didn't stop him from eating several in a short space of time! I commented that they would have been the perfect batch to send to the soldiers overseas, they would travel well and remain hard and crunchy - and his reply was that they sure would have saved lives because they were so hard if anyone was shot in the stomach the biscuit would surely halt the bullet and save their life!!! WELLLLLLLLLLL!!

The Bug Catchers!!!

These kids LOVE bugs, they search the garden for beetles and slugs and slaters and worms and the like and usually make a loving home for them for a few hours in a take out container with fresh food of course.

Football and a feed of Fish n Chips

A great way to finish a sunny day at the footy at the Bay. It was too chilly to eat at the beach, so it was home for a warm bath and a picnic in the family room while we watched the Crows play! You can see Nathan Bassett on the screen! I think at this point in time there was more interest in what was on the butcher's paper than on the TV!

....eaten from a butcher's paper plate! There's no other way to eat your fish n chips!

From the Pot to the Pot

Lookie what landed on my sink! It's been a long time since we've had a visitor like this one so he didn't stay on the sink very long.

Around 3kg of about to be deliciously cooked lobster............
Out of the steaming pot (and I had just cleaned my kitchen window!) no matter, n0 mind, it's worth it!
And here's the red fella.....
Cooling and ready to eat............
And we feasted, or at least I did! Allan can't touch the stuff or it's an anaphylactic reaction! He can catch it and handle it green but as soon as it is cooked it is poison to him. How does all that allergy stuff work, how come something that gives others gastronomic pleasure can be the death of him?????????????

No photos of the feast, but in true Pioneer Woman style (if you don't know who the Pioneer Woman is, you must find out - it's a great blog spot to visit), here's the recipe for perfect lobster.

Catch it, Boil it, Eat it - simple!!

Sports Day at SMLC

Apart from our team Livingston "Blue" coming last it was the bestest sports day ever!! The weather was perfect, the kids had fun and won a few ribbons.Little T has proven herself quite the athlete winning both the sprint and long distance in her year level.
She was also anchor for her relay and ran the Year 1 relay as well.
Here's Miss B in her year level relay, think they came in second but it doesn't matter really - she had a ball.
At the end of the day it's the 'fun' relay with parents v staff v students.....not taken too seriously (ah yes it is!)
Look at the determination on J's face! No they didn't win, the kids beat the lot of them!!!!

More pics to come..................

Robert - Do you take Judith...........?

On of the most important parts of the wedding ceremony...and John says............

"Robert do you take Judith..............?"

H Hmm, Pssst Psssssssst John..........her name is SHARON!!

"Sharon?, well "Robert do you take Sharon???"

Yep! It's Sharon and I do take her!!!!

OBE

Happy Birthday Ron, Dad, Grandad, Auntie Ron!With an OBE hanging from his neck (Over Bloody 80 that is!) the candles were blown out and.....

....the delicious mud cake with fresh fruit was cut up and..............



.....It was SCRUMPTIOUS, truly it was! really it was! absolutely definitely it was!

Trust me it was!!!!!

Celebrating 105 Years - Dad's 80th & Bron's 25th

We celebrated at the Indian Restaurant in town, hmmmmmmmmmm!
The "restaurant" and I use that term loosely could sure do with a little upgrade, even a good clean would improve things!
Miss B below will try anything and had her very own Indian meal and a little extra rice.
Not much on offer for the kids, so Adam went across the road for a pizza for the girls and I think that I would rather have had the pizza!
All that aside, it was a nice evening and I did enjoy the Naan bread, in fact it was absolutely delicious, I'd recommend the one with cheese and would go back just for the bread! (Maybe!)
It can't have been too bad, Adam and Bron's plates are pretty empty! And everyone seemed to enjoy their meals. It's just when everything you order comes out ORANGE, it makes me wonder?!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBERT JESSE

From this beautiful baby boy...........
To this gorgeous big boy...........
with Grandad recently
Happy birthday Robbie, may all your dreams come true x x x x

Some Candid Wedding Shots

Just a few more pics of the day...........