And So I Don't Forget...

Play Date

Last weekend Mike and I had some young friends over to our house. Thankfully it was a beautiful Melbourne winter day, chilly and sunny. Not sure what we would have done if we were all stuck inside!

Us girls got incredibly messy playing and experimenting with the pottery wheel. It was a different experience teaching something so exacting that I'm still in the process of learning myself. She was proud of her creations though!    

The boys - two adults and a five year old - had great fun playing with Mike's remote control cars and drones. Mike was pretty amazed how quickly our young guest picked up driving; the vast majority of his crashes were intentional.

With homemade, everyone involved, pizzas for lunch (the best cooking always leaves the kitchen a mess, right?) the day was a success. He's already asked to come back next week.  

 

Camping at Cathedral Ranges

Who: 10 of us, a larger group than normal. (Mike and I, Chris, Erica, Tanya, Dave, Gareth, Lierin, Ben and Esther). It was Esther's first time camping, and maybe Lierin's as well.

Where: Cathedral Range State Park, a favoured spot we've visitied again and again and again.

Food: Lamb roasted on the spit with potatoes, sweet potato and corn for Saturday night dinner, followed by Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding cooked in the coals. Breakfasts of pancakes with banana and strawberries, and bacon and eggs with toast. Toasted sandwiches for lunch one day (which taste so much better when eaten in the cold outdoors) and burgers the next.

Weather: Chilly, enough to keep the fire burning all day with us cozying up extra close to it when night fell. There were a few moments of passing showers, but the downpour stayed away until Mike and I were tying down the trailer for the trip home. Mike figures the weather was such we didn't use up all our good mojo and can chance another trip before winter's end.

Sighted: 4 kangaroos calmly nibbling on grass at the edge of our campsite. A wombat by torchlight; Mike was pretty delighted when he realised it wasn't a rock and he could show Esther her first wombat in the wild.

As we were sitting around the campfire after dark I had the thought, this is it. You know that touch of envy sometimes experienced watching TV ads of friends having a great time, this right here is what they are portraying. It may not look the same, we're not taking a roadtrip on a summer afternoon while drinking Coca-Cola, but the connections and history together, the shared jokes, laughter and teasing, talking as we ignore the passing of time, the escape from daily obligations...it's all here. This is awesome.

First Birthday Celebrations

Last Sunday Mike and I enjoyed fairy bread, sausage rolls and cake when we celebrated the first birthday of this little sweetie, the son of good friends of mine. First birthday parties have the best food!

Couple of days earlier I was asked to take a few photos of the event, just 10 or so Liz said. I laughed, because I don't think I've ever picked up my camera and taken only 10 photos. After an evening of sorting through photos, deleting, selecting and editing, I've got a renewed respect for event photographers. Thankfully my friends had low expectations; it's the first thing I checked!   

Healesville Sanctuary

Yesterday Mike and I met up with some friends visiting from Canada and took them to Healesville Sanctuary. I met the couple in India back in 2008 - we were on the same tour - and they've since married and had two adorable little boys. It was lovely to catch up and spend the day with them, showing off some of our crazy/wonderful Australian native animals in the process.  

White Night Melbourne

On Saturday I celebrated the birthdays of two friends with an evening in the city during the White Night Festival. It was a hot, sticky summer's night and the centre of Melbourne was teeming with people; I heard an estimate of half a million people.    

We saw only a few of the installations - and some of them were very odd - but this was definitely my favourite, Wonderland. Light projections on the Forum Theatre.

The evening began with a drenching from a summer storm as we walked to the tram stop and ended with me walking barefoot through a golf course at 2am in the morning, quite lost after we took a 'shortcut' back home.

I laughed and laughed. 

Little Bundle of Cute

The other weekend I got to meet this little cutie, the first child of good friends of mine. Actually, they're the first of my friends to have a child. It kind of feels like a new chapter has begun.     

It was wonderful to see them doting and so much in love. Exhausted, but doting. 

He seems like a great sleeper, although not at night apparently. :)

2013, You Were Awesome

As I rush full tilt into 2014, to do list dragging behind me as the engagement party at our home is now only a week away - oih! - I wanted to take a moment to look back and reflect.  Because 2012 was a great year, but 2013..wow. 

2013, you were awesome.

January - My highlight of this month, attending a thai cooking course before rushing to the engagement party of friends Tanya and Dave which was just one of those great afternoons, standing around laughing and catching up. 

February - Mike seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time, wandering there from half way across the city as he spotted it on the skyline and was enchanted. 

March - My highlight is the day we had our own private island, Mike says seeing a herd of elephants while on safari, but March is also the month we started living together.

April - We had Mike's family (the entire family including aunts, uncle and grandparents) over for lunch. Probably more an accomplishment than a highlight, a tonne of work and with more than a pang of regret, Yellow House was made available to rent. 

May - BoyF and I spent a weekend in Bright.

June - Mike went to Hamburg on his first overseas work trip (he says he was spoilt rotten by the hospitality) and Mum and I went to the Yarra Valley for the Shortest Lunch event.

July - BoyF and I went camping, just the two of us, at The Grampians.  

August - The wedding of Erin and Chris, with incredible food, amazing red wine and dancing to La Bamba.

September - Mike proposed.

October - BoyF arrived home from 6 weeks studying in Singapore and we celebrated with a weekend in the Yarra Valley.

November - Our early Christmas get-together with friends was just one of those magical days. Great food, great company and the time just disappears way too fast.

December - Too recent (and unblogged) for me to choose just one highlight, maybe my favourite moment was the Thursday night shopping trip with BoyF, chatting and laughing and shopping and destressing. Or there was the Christmas celebration with my sister, Wood family Christmas, Potts family Christmas and I can't forget Christmas Day and exchanging our first presents at 2am when Mike arrived home from work. And lastly there was New Years Eve, a house party with friends, lights twinking and drinks flowing. 

2013 was an incredible year, but I have a sneaking suspicious 2014 is going to be just as amazing.

Life is good and I'm so appreciative and thankful of that.

Friends Christmas Get-Together and my Incredible Ham

Christmas got an early start for us yesterday with a lunch got-together at a friend's house. Our contribution - a maple honey mustard glazed ham. Although a little more charcoaled than I would like (oh my goodness was disappointed about that!) it turned out pretty darn delicious.

Pat, our host, cooked the most technological turkey you've ever seen. This bird had multiple sensors, lights, even a camera hooked up so you could see the turkey when the barbecue hood was down. Tasted good too. :)

There were stuffing muffins (called stuffins or muffings depending on which end of the table you sat), the ham and turkey, a pumpkin salad that was actually yummy, lemon cake for dessert and Erica even made fudge for everyone to take home.   

It was one of those wonderful afternoons where you are surrounded by conversations and laughing, the food is delicious, drinks are flowing and the next time you look at your watch, hours have disappeared.  

Merry Christmas my friends. We should do this again soon.

Congratulations Tanya and Dave

Melbourne put on a beautiful day for Tanya and Dave's wedding on Friday. After a slight delay as we waited for some late guests, including her grandmothers, Tanya looked absolutely stunning as she walked down the red carpet aisle.

Three guests arrived even later and we couldn't resist having a chuckle is they cut through the garden bed behind the pavilion where the ceremony was taking place.   

Love that little look at each other. 

An exchange of rings, first kiss and we are introduced to the brand new husband and wife.

As the families organise for photos, we move inside and the food begins. Firstly canapes before we take our seats and are greeted with antipasto platters. A delicious fish entree, roast chicken or lamb shank then a plate of creme brulee, tiramisu and mango icecream. So much food but so lovely.

And then there was dancing. A slow dance with Boyf, the Nutbush, Grease and I even had a go at the Zorba. Our table grabbed a group photo with the photographer, making use of the silly props. Two separate people told me the pirate hat I was wearing really suited me, and I'm not quite sure how to take that. ;)

It was a wonderful wedding, celebrating with a lovely couple. 

Congratulations Tanya and Dave.

Easter Long Weekend

On Good Friday Boyf and I travelled to my aunty and uncle's house for our traditional fish'n'chip lunch and easter eggs hunt. 100 chocolate eggs were hidden, 96 were found, plus the one that Mum ate.

From there, we drove to the Running Creek Camping Reserve at Howqua, meeting up with Boyf's brother and his friends. Their campsite is something else - they actually bring the kitchen sink, complete with hot running water! Not to mention the microwave, shower, twinkle lights...

Saturday morning Boyf went out for a much anticipated ride on his dirt bike.

Saturday afternoon we comd to the reason I didn't need to much convincing to come along - four wheel driving!

It was a bit of an aborted outing - it's not good when a wheel can be wobbled! - but still lots of fun. (And thankfully not our wheel.)

We still got the car ad moment.

I think Boyf would like me to point out how wonderfully Charles' (that's the car) controlled hill descent (or something-or-rather car technical sounding like that) worked. ;)

We headed home late Saturday afternoon, stopping to a country pub dinner on the way. That left Sunday and Monday for room organising and tidying, picture hanging, clock breaking, curtain buying, curtain hanging, hardware shop trips (that was plural), planting in pots, more picture hanging, at least 6 loads of washing and a great dinner out with some friends.

So long, long weekend. Please come again soon.