And then even more

This is what the actual Christmas weekend celebration looked like for us this year.....Ros and Pete able to cross the border and be with us here in Canberra - free of quarantine, and masks even, - at last, and all the "kids" away - and just us adults left to enjoy a quiet Canberra Christmas, with gorgeous locations, beautiful mild weather, plenty of joy and love and too much food, sweet treats and no doubt too many glasses of fine wine.

Ros and Pete drove up from Geelong on Thursday and we started the celebrations together that evening at "our table" on our beautiful Aspen Island.........

Such a happy gathering, in this beautiful place ..........

We had an uncomplicated Christmas lunch on Friday, allowing us time for an early morning lake walk, while still being ready to crack our fave Majella, served with some nibbles, by a little after midday.

Claire and Peter prepared some magnificent salads to accompany the turkey, ham and fresh prawns .........

Christmas evening was made extra special by being able to Facetime with London family. We shared the excitement of the kids opening their presents on their Christmas morning, quite oblivious to the anxieties around them in London under strict Tier 4 lockdown.

We had a late night that night, bingeing on four episodes of "The Queen's Gambit" which we all thought was brilliant.

But after that late night and the previous day's excesses we approached Boxing Day cautiously - a morning walk for Ros and me around the lake on a cool, grey morning, and a cycle around the wetlands for Rob and Pete. We were relieved to find our fave cafe Elixir (on the lake) open for the Boxing Day early morning crowds

We rounded off the day with another feast of food and wine and a final session with the wonderful Queen's Gambit.

Sunday (yesterday) dawned sunny and mild - perfect for our morning walk, coffee and cycle in this beautiful part of the world

One of the joys of our lake walk is being able to show off our beautiful National Gallery environment along the way. It looked especially beautiful on this fine sunny morning.

We managed to get a booking at Poacher's Pantry for lunch on Sunday - quite the achievement in these times when restaurants are at half capacity and restricting their menus to make ends meet.

Ros and I picked the vegetarian set menu - which was a welcome change of pace after a few days of excess.

Although the grass fed eye fillet option did look rather good too........

Rob took some great pics of Ros and me after lunch - against the backdrop of the old farmhouse "barn". We're both wearing our beautiful Gorman dresses so we look very well coordinated (and colourful!).

And it's amazing how similar our hair colour is these days - we are sisters after all!!

Ros took this great pic of the two us....... capturing the amazing and beautiful leather goods made (by hand) for us by Kay's Dad in Seoul, South Korea. My blue leather bag is so beautifully made and finished - and perfect with my Summer wardrobe. Rob loves his new wallet too - such a neat and compact design and beautifully finished too. What a clever man is Mr Kang and how lucky are we to receive these beautiful gifts!

Ros and Pete returned to Geelong today. They got an early start and weren't held up too long at the NSW/Victorian border. In these extremely strange times we felt very grateful we could be together over Christmas while all the young things, spread near and far for the time being, are nevertheless happy, healthy and in good spirits despite all the challenges.