Fifty years ago

Fifty years ago on the 8th January 1972, this pair of teenagers got married (in Brisbane). Can you believe that? 

And just like that ......... look at us now, a bit more battle scarred and with very different hair (and no longer in Brisbane) ......but with our greatest achievement together - our beautiful son Joshy and his (and our) beloved Jody and our beautiful grand-daughters Ella and Abi ........ haven't we done well?

We celebrated our fifty year anniversary and Rob's imminent birthday together with such a happy lunch at Lerida Estate Winery today, on the shores of Lake George, just off the Federal Highway.

Abi already knows how to take the perfect group selfie!

Yesterday, on the actual day of our anniversary we enjoyed a quiet celebration together at home - with some wonderful seafood and an exceptional 2002 vintage Clare Valley Riesling - the best ever we thought. With Covid cases rising rapidly in Canberra and NSW we didn't think we'd head out to a fancy (and crowded) city restaurant at this stage! Anyway, we were very happy with our low key party together with our favourite food group and grape variety.

Darling Josh and Jody and the girls presented us with a stunning (and completely unexpected) momento of our anniversary at lunch today - the extraordinary Four Seasons vase by Robert Foster (a fINK design) - in gold (of course)! It is just beautiful - we are so lucky!

We drove back from lunch with the girls, stopping at the lookout above Lake George for a good look at the "full" lake - another exceptional sight as it hasn't been this "full" since the nineties. Over the past twenty odd years we've grown used to sheep grazing on the grassy paddocks now covered by water after two years of good rainfall thanks to "La Nina".

The girls were happy to get back to their holiday projects when we got them home. Ella is doing up an old desk/work table she bought (with her own money) from the Green Shed at the local tip. It has involved a lot of sanding so far - but it will be a thing of beauty when she's finished, for sure. 

Abi was happy to play host - serving us cool drinks, making sure we had comfortable seats and entertaining us with her scooter tricks .......

We can only take a tiny amount of credit for Ella and Abi - they are Josh and Jody's crowning achievement but that doesn't stop us reflecting on how lucky we are to have started this family ... and it all began 50 years ago!!