May means ..........

We got back to Canberra on the 3rd of May, just in time for what is our favourite month in Canberra .... and this stunning view from our North facing windows .......

beautiful foggy mornings ........ (view from our Mt Ainslie walk on the 10th May)

and quite a few frosty mornings too!

Rob now has a new iPhone 12 after a lifelong commitment to Android - and even he can see the improvement in ease of use and quality of picture taking - how about this portrait bokeh???And just to prove it has clarity too .. the same scene (taken from our fave morning walk coffee spot), without the bokeh .......

While Abi's horse riding happens every month of the year, not just May, this May is the first month we've got to take her to after school lessons on Wednesday afternoons. It is such a joy to see her enjoying something so much, learning so much and gaining so much from it!

Beautiful May weather entices everyone into the outdoors. Judy L organised us all to have a lovely cafe breakfast a week or so back, at the beautiful old Clementine Bakery in Yass. In the fifty years (almost) we've lived in Canberra I think it is the first time we've had a stop over in this beautiful little gem of a country town - only 60klm from Canberra. We vowed we'd do it again soon!

The 14th of May, always means its the anniversary of the WW2 sinking of the hospital ship Centaur. This year it was the 78th anniversary, which we commemorated at the short but heartfelt Last Post ceremony at the Australian War Memorial. These are such sad events and we're always so conscious of the tragedy of the great loss of life yet thankful for the miraculous escape by Rob's Dad when so many others were not so lucky.

And last but not least, May always means its Ella's birthday. She turned fourteen on Friday and we were lucky enough to be invited to a special meal to celebrate the happy event. Everything on the menu was Ella's choice - and lovingly prepared by hand by Jody. As always Ella is our absolute ray of sunshine - and she doesn't even need a birthday as an excuse!

And Abi is a growing girl too and loves her protein (and hamburger carbs) whether its a birthday meal or not.

My birthday cake making days seem to be over these days. Abi made a surprise icecream cake for Ella this year. Three layers, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry and lots of sweet goodies folded through each layer..

Abi is at that "love of lighting fires" stage!

especially fires on cakes .........

But what about me, says Ella!

A funny pic taken by Abi showing a typical moment at our family dinners: Ella holding the floor, riffing off Joshy, in the process mimicking one of my various foibles (hilariously) while covering 10 topics a minute. OMG what will she be like when she's fifteen???

But we all know we're so lucky to know this wonderful, funny, talented, ray of sunshine!