There's a lot of worried, anxious people around Australia at the moment (with the exception of Scomo!!). There are no fires in Canberra yet but the big one burning near Braidwood has spread all the way north to Nowra (at least 80klms) and there is no end in sight with this and all the other fires across the land - and no rain on the radar either!
We've had the smoke from the Braidwood fire hovering over Canberra (on and off) for over two weeks. I took this pic at midday today - very similar to one I took at the same time about two and half weeks ago. Last Friday there were a few hours where we couldn't see any part of nearby Mt Ainslie at all because of the smoke.
So this year our annual pre-Christmas celebration at Murrumbateman (last Saturday) had to take account of the (now usual) smoke haze AND a maximum temperature for that day of 40oC!!
I took this pic of the distant vineyards at Bush's Lane just as the sun (softened by smoke haze) was going down. The vines are the only green thing in this vista - in the worst drought in the region since anyone can remember.
But the haze did give us some nice soft lighting for these beautiful pics of Maddie and Sophie in Jennie and Wayne's front garden (with Rob and me).
Lucky Rob!
We coped very well with the heat - even with the air con going on the blink... but we enjoyed catching the cooling outside evening breeze when it started.
I felt emotional taking this pic as we all knew who was missing on this lovely night!! But Maxie would have been proud of us all doing our best anyway!!
Jennie and Wayne are always amazing hosts. They make the night very special, with a beautifully set table, fabulous wine and food and the warmth of their company. The Christmas crackers were very memorable this year. Jurgen and Rob really enjoyed playing to their audience with the contents of their crackers!
Jennie had baked a whole salmon for main course - a stunning centrepiece for our special meal together.
And to end off the meal Anke had done her usual run to Bowral to pick up one of the luscious chocolate cakes from the Gumtree Cafe. Maddie did her usual great job of cutting and serving the cake.....
We think it's getting close to 20 years since these pre-Christmas celebrations started at Jennie and Wayne's. Maddie, Sophie and Thomas weren't much bigger than toddlers when it all started. We're so lucky to be a part of this tradition - and long may it continue .........
The school year is well and truly over. Abi has graduated from the junior school and moves into year 3 next year and Ella starts high school!!
So this year's Year 6 graduation was a pretty big deal for Ella and her group of friends, many of whom had been together (in the same class group even) since 2012.
At Year 6 Graduation last week Ella won the "Excellence in Science Award" for 2019 - with a wonderful commendation from Mrs Elliott, her Science teacher.
And gave her last Assembly address as School Captain (Prime Minister) ......... Who will run the school next year?
She and her friends look so happy and excited about the future!
Closer inspection of the Excellence in Science Trophy shows Ella is the first female recipient in the last 6 years (so proud!).....
We're all so proud!!
Joshy was here for all the excitement too of course - but had to leave before the photos were taken (good timing Joshy!)
Ella's Year 6 Graduation Party was held the same night as the assembly. It had a Hawaiian theme so the kids all dressed up in their best beach party gear to suit. Jody had spent weeks working with other parents to transform the school hall into a colourful Hawaiian beach club scene complete with palm trees, lots of flowers and a Tiki Bar (serving soft drinks of course).
We arrived just in time to see Ella in her party gear. (She seemed to be most pleased with her new Nike slides as the key element in her outfit.)
They really haven't changed much have they? (Pics below taken when Ella started Year 1 way back in 2013!).
Ella has just acquired her own phone!!!! so there was a lot of excited texting going on at this stage of the night. I suspect Ella striking this pose will be a pretty common sight over the school holidays.
Congratulations Ella on your stunning success at school and life in general over the last 12 and a half years!
We thought it would be therapeutic to take a road trip with Rod over the weekend. So we drove to Geelong on Friday - one of the easiest 730klm road trips you can do in Australia!! Our incentive was to catch up with Ros and Pete, who only moved to this beautiful part of Australia themselves a short time ago.
Rob took this pic of their contemporary townhouse complex on Oakbank Avenue in Highton, looking out to the centre of town and Port Phillip Bay beyond. Ros and Pete's townhouse is at the rear of the complex with wonderful views to the East. It's very private and very contemporary in design and it hasn't taken Ros (and Pete) long to get it looking very chic and stylish indeed!
Ros had our weekend visit beautifully planned in advance. We met the lovely W family on Saturday morning for breakfast at Winter's Cafe on trendy Pakington Street in Newtown. Sam and Lil were full of fun and great breakfast companions (as were E & J).
Seeing more of E & J and Sam and Lil has been a fantastic boon to Ros and Pete's move to Geelong.
We spent a lot of time walking on Saturday afternoon - around 4klms (8 klms there and back) along the beautiful Barwon River walk (which we joined at the bottom of Ros and Pete's Oakbank Avenue).
Our reward was another food (and wine) opportunity at the aptly named Provenance at the former Fyansford Paper Mill complex (which in recent years has become a bit of an arts hub).
Provenance is a working winery with a beautiful "cellar door" and function area (inside the old paper mill's machine room) where you can sit and enjoy a wine by the glass or the bottle + food offerings that also reflect the local region's produce.
We finished off our self indulgent (apart from the 8klm walk) Saturday with more wine and platters of food at home and the brilliant Quentin Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (wow) - screened on Ros and Pete's cinema sized TV screen.
We started our Sunday slowly before heading off southwards to the Bellarine Peninsula - stopping off at Clifton Springs to get our bearings in the Bay - and a surprising view across to the high rise of Melbourne's CBD.....
... before reaching our lunchtime destination: Basil's Farm at Swan Bay - right near Queenscliff (where we caught the ferry to Sorrento last February).
Coming from drought ravaged ACT-NSW we can't get over how green and moist (and cool) this part of the world looks. The kitchen gardens at Basil's Farm look so healthy and fertile to us!!
Oh how I envy them this crop of figs.....
The restaurant is super busy today ....... but it's a wonderful setting to enjoy while we wait for table service.
There are llamas and chickens in the kitchen garden grounds - and a great view across to Queenscliff.
Our final stop yesterday was at "The Whiskery", the cellar door for the first gin and whisky distillery on the Bellarine Peninsula.
We enjoyed our (very generous) gin tasting session - three different gins - all with different characteristics. We learnt a lot and came away with our own bottle of "Teddy and the Fox"......All ready now for our Christmas G & Ts with this distinctive citrus flavoured gin base.
Rob, Rod and I said goodbye to Ros and Pete this morning and made our way back to Canberra as they faced another work week ahead of them in Geelong.
We all knew we were missing our darling Maxie this weekend and we all had our moments of sadness, but she would have loved seeing us together again and Rod enjoying being part of the adventures. Ros and Pete are such wonderful warm hosts - we are already planning our return visit!
The "bright spots" in our life have been even more important than ever over the past month or so. One of these bright spots has been seeing Abi's passion for horses and horse riding start to develop into a full blown love affair!
In mid November we took her shopping for her own helmet, riding boots and pants - so much better than the borrowed stuff from the riding school!
The girl who usually says no to having her picture taken was very keen to have this shot taken (in her new helmet) - sitting on top of a saddle stand!
And we could see many gift ideas for the future too - here at "Horseland" at Fyshwick.
Abi rode so much better at her next lesson - all decked out in her new gear. "Tinsel" is one of the prettiest ponies in the class - and perfectly matched to Abi's proportions and capabilities.
We love the way Abi's pony tail is always perfectly co-ordinated with her pony's tail!
The kids have learnt how to set up their own stirrups (and then shorten them at the end of the ride).
The riding school provides a chance to make friends too with "kindred spirits"!
We've lost both our Bobbie and Maxie - within two days of each other. Leaving us feeling such utter grief and loss..........
Bobbie left us at about 11.00am on Saturday 23 November. She'd been in Greenslopes Hospital in Brisbane since the 9th November after falling in her room at Cazna Gardens - causing a shocking injury to her shoulder (fracturing the scapula and humerus bone in 3 places).
Within a week of the fall she became desperately ill, with a blood infection, pneumonia and a dramatic fall in her heart rate. Rob flew up to Brisbane on the 16th November and spent precious time with his Mum and other members of the Brisbane family - until returning to Canberra late on the 20th. Bobbie held on for just over two more days, despite her dire condition.
Two days later Rob was with me and Rod when we lost our darling Maxie at about 1.30pm on Monday 25th November (Maxie and Rod's 52nd wedding anniversary) at Clare Holland House, a hospice on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra.
With such heavy hearts we somehow got through the next few days until we left for Brisbane on Sunday 1st December (Maxie's birthday) ready for Bobbie's funeral the day after on Monday 2nd. As she wished Bobbie was laid to rest beside Allan in the ANZACs plot at the Mt Gravatt Cemetery. Six of her beloved eight great grandchildren were able to be at the funeral, as well as neighbours, relatives and friends we hadn't seen in many years. It was a lovely farewell to Bobbie, somehow made more joyous with all the young children there, on a hot dry windy day in Brisbane.
We'd been preparing for both Maxie and Bobbie to leave us .........
but somehow when it actually happens nothing prepares you for the shock, the loss and the grief of losing the people so close to your heart.
So this year our annual pre-Christmas celebration at Murrumbateman (last Saturday) had to take account of the (now usual) smoke haze AND a maximum temperature for that day of 40oC!!
But the haze did give us some nice soft lighting for these beautiful pics of Maddie and Sophie in Jennie and Wayne's front garden (with Rob and me). 
Lucky Rob!
We coped very well with the heat - even with the air con going on the blink... but we enjoyed catching the cooling outside evening breeze when it started.
I felt emotional taking this pic as we all knew who was missing on this lovely night!! But Maxie would have been proud of us all doing our best anyway!!
Jennie and Wayne are always amazing hosts. They make the night very special, with a beautifully set table, fabulous wine and food and the warmth of their company. The Christmas crackers were very memorable this year. Jurgen and Rob really enjoyed playing to their audience with the contents of their crackers!
Jennie had baked a whole salmon for main course - a stunning centrepiece for our special meal together.
And to end off the meal Anke had done her usual run to Bowral to pick up one of the luscious chocolate cakes from the Gumtree Cafe. Maddie did her usual great job of cutting and serving the cake.....
We think it's getting close to 20 years since these pre-Christmas celebrations started at Jennie and Wayne's. Maddie, Sophie and Thomas weren't much bigger than toddlers when it all started. We're so lucky to be a part of this tradition - and long may it continue .........
