What a week!

As the world changes all around us thanks to CV-19 our morning walks around the lake and up Mt Ainslie bring us great solace. It's actually a beautiful time of the year in Canberra, which we must stop and appreciate more often, particularly after our hellish January and February start to the year!

 Canberra schools (with no advance notice) became pupil free on Tuesday this week. We were due to do school drop off and pick up for Ella and Abi anyway this week, so that announcement made it easier and much calmer for all of us.

They made great use of our new (old) table set up in the winter garden most of Tuesday morning doing art work and construction projects. It should prove very handy over the coming months if ever the girls want to work on their "home learning plans" over here.

 We spent Tuesday afternoon outdoors, making sure we kept the mandatory "social distancing" from other people - together with lots of hand washing.

 Abi is a great nature/animal lover, and there are plenty of opportunities around here for her favourite bird whispering activity .........

  .... and plenty of puppies around for park play. There's every variation of poodle crosses in our Hassett Park. The big bouncy golden retriever/poodle cross puppy (Oscar the Groodle) was a big hit with Abi.

Abi and I checked out some of the memorials along Anzac Parade (the first time we've done this together).

  And I knew she'd LOVE the beautiful, larger than life size bronze horses in the National Boer War Memorial over the road from our apartment.

 And she did (of course)!

  The girls stayed overnight with us and then we started work in earnest on their "home learning plans" on Thursday. So far the girls (and us) have coped very well with enforced home schooling. They are very lucky - Jody is a trained teacher, they have great access to learning through their devices, there is a mountain of resources (paint paper games tape books) they can draw on at home and each of them is making regular contact with their teachers who monitor their learning. I am so impressed with what the schools are doing to support the girls' learning through Google Classroom and other means.

We did it all again on Friday, although by the end of this huge, disrupted week, with the world getting crazier and crazier by the hour, Ella and Abi decided to make it a "stay in your PJs day" - all day!

But it didn't stop them getting into work projects .....

 Ella's had all her after school activities cancelled, including her beloved Gymnastics - and Abi's horseriding class was cancelled at the last minute too today!!

Joshy was able to sign her up for a 30 minute, one on one lesson this afternoon instead, much to Abi's delight - on Tinsel.

I think Joshy will try to keep this arrangement going as long as possible (and pay the big bucks). She made extraordinary progress under the very watchful eye of her tutor - and LOVED it (of course)!

 Our girls are so lucky that their lives can be so good in these crazy times; fingers crossed we can keep it all working like this, despite how crazy it gets in future!!

Judy achieves her (60 years) seniority

The Ides of March means it's Judy's birthday - and this year it's a big one!  To mark this milestone Jennie and Wayne hosted an amazing lunch at Murrumbateman for all of us - all Judy's favourite foods were on the menu - and all (well most of) her favourite people were invited too!

It was a HUGE weekend for this family because Sophie was celebrating her 21st birthday too (on 14th March!)

Jennie had the 6 course menu (for 12 people) under control in her busy country kitchen. Three different entrees, scallops and pork belly, duck breast and pickled beurre bosc pears from the garden, beef fillet and stir fried mushrooms ............

I don't know how Jennie and Wayne do all this - they are superlative, utterly generous amazing hosts!

 In amongst all this spoiling there was a degree of (nervous) hilarity about the social distancing policies we've been "ordered" to follow in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic. No kissing or hugs allowed at this party!

 Of course the wines for each course were perfectly matched - including the 2004 Penfold's GRANGE we were privileged to enjoy with that buttery rich, unctuous beef fillet and mushroom dish!

Fifth course (Jennie's delicious raspberry and chocolate mousse cake) was heralded by a great deal of stuffing around getting birthday sparklers lit!

 Which was a bit less than successful in the end despite our best efforts.......

 but, no matter our favourite birthday girl appreciated the effort made .......

Happy Birthday dear Judy!!

 That Clos Jean 2003 Loupiac was wonderful with the cake and icecream, and even better with the final cheese course. One of the many things I admire about Jurgen is his great wine buying skill and his ability to keep track of his considerable collection. 

He bought this wine way back in 2005 when the family was living in SW France (near Bordeaux) for a time. It was a lovely moment sharing this wine as we all remembered this beautiful part of France and the times we'd shared there visiting the L family back in 2005.

Flashback: Us in 2005 - (another) picnic lunch on the banks of La Dordogne in SW France .......

However Murrumbateman was looking distinctly Australian by late afternoon yesterday - but in a good way after the recent drought breaking (?) rain. Jennie and Wayne had moved their sheep into the home paddock to "mow" the grass - before being released into the gradually greening paddocks after months of hand feeding.

The sheep were a great distraction over lunch for the Sydneysiders......

and provided an interesting challenge when we had to leave the property .....

 ... but in the end this mob proved to be very well behaved at gate opening time!

Not the Lobster Lunch

This was the weekend in our 2020 diaries for our Lobster Lunch at Rosedale. But in line with the new world order, we made other plans.....

Like so many other Canberrans on this long weekend we still headed down to the bushfire ravaged South Coast - spending money at cafes, bakeries and other relevant business along the way.....

And we paid a heart rending visit to North Rosedale, to witness the devastation along Yowani Road and other parts of this beautiful coastal settlement.

I couldn't bear to take pictures of Judy and Jurgen's destroyed property. Instead we made our way to the lookout point at the northern end of Yowani Road - where we used to make our way down to the rocky beach at the start of our after lunch walks. The impact of the fires right along the extensive beach cliffs is very evident here.

 ...... but so is the regeneration, after the recent rains.

 And these burnt spiky palm plants are recovering well too ........

 We're pretty sure James and Fiona stayed in this destroyed beach house at the end of Yowani Road one year of the lobster lunches. This is typical of the tragic sights, all along Yowani Road - nothing much survived the fires........

The good news is that for the next year Judy and Jurgen are able to use a house in Malua Bay as part of the recovery process after the fires.

We met there on Saturday afternoon - feeling sober in spirit, but absolutely determined to enjoy "New Beginnings" together.

 With lobster off the menu, we set off to The Sandbar Restaurant on Beach Road Bateman's Bay for dinner. The Sandbar is a one chef's hat restaurant (possibly the only one on the south coast) that "uses the finest produce from the South Coast, employing French techniques and Japanese inspiration". It's a 6 course set menu: Chef's Selection. 

First course was smoked trout rillettes with duck gelee and grape. That's a pickled black berry and zucchini flower on the plate of pebbles!

Second course was scallop, purple carrot and beetroot (and other delicious things)....

 Then prawn, tomato, peach and daikon (topped with peach powder)...

 The fourth course was a spectacular beef tenderloin (buttery rich) with glazed wasabi leaf, caramelised eschallot, bordelaise and porcini veloute YUM!

 I wish I had taken a close up of dessert: Braidwood black truffle cream, red anko frangelico ice cream, cassis, cherry, chocolate soil, buerre noisette, pistachio, Kyoto matcha dust and red vein sorrel - a truly incredible dish (and very rich).

 And followed by a cheese plate of French, Riverina and Gippsland cheeses - what an amazing and incredible meal.... unbelievable really in such a small regional area. I would love to take Haruko here when she next visits us!

Back at Judy and Jurgen's temporary holiday house at Malua Bay this is what we woke up to on Sunday morning - a view from their back deck down to Pretty Bay.

 We walked along the cliff track at the back of the house, around Pretty Bay towards Pretty Point (if you've got a good adjective then stick to it!). We were stunned by how close the fires came to this part of Malua Bay too.

 The Pretty Point headland was devastated by the fires (view looking North towards Bateman's Bay).

 .. and looking South towards beautiful Rosedale......

 Another view of Pretty Bay back towards where Judy and Jurgen's holiday house is.......

 Once again we're struck by the signs of regeneration of the big eucalyptus trees on the headland ...

 

 The Bracken Ferns are coming back with a vengeance, and the grasses and small shoots of acacia (wattle). They'll help hold the soil until bigger plants get established.

 But reminders everywhere of how much has been lost....

 A view of the Malua Bay house... big bedrooms for guests (lucky us!) and what about that deck!  We're hoping the next year will be healing for this region, and for Judy and Jurgen, and the family too.

 Driving back to Canberra on Sunday we took this terrible picture out the car window on the Clyde Mt road... The tree ferns are sprouting like crazy in the burnt forest. It's like a scene out of Jurassic Park - quite surreal, but restorative too!