January 2012

Bron doing Thermomix Demo in our kitchen

The Amazing Thermomix

Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks on mash

Dympna & Kath on eve of road trip

View of Coogee Beach just around corner from Benn & Daina

View from Hotel

Sam, Pete, Riley & Jethro

Daina with Jethro

Murray with Jan and her Indonesian feast

Home grown eggplant (aubergine)

Thanks for the reminder Kim! 2012 has kicked off with a busy but very enjoyable first month. Murray is enjoying having time to practice his golf swing, and I have enjoyed catching up with family & friends. Bron came down from Tamborine Mtn to give us a Thermomix demonstration. If you have never heard of it (like me), then this link will give you a better idea of the 'world's smallest, smartest kitchen'! My sister Gemma & I are the proud owners of one now, thanks to the initiative taken by our aunt to purchase one to share between her 'restaurants'. I am away six months of the year so Gem has it to herself then, and once I am home, perhaps it will reside with me but with sharing rights as needed! We are looking forward to giving it a workout!

Gem & Bill were flying off to spend most of this month in Perth in Western Australia (for my US friends). Other friends of ours were also heading interstate for a holiday, so we invited the four of them over for dinner before they all left town. I cooked Rogan Josh Lamb Shanks in the slow cooker. Yum. We gave a slow cooker to Benn & Daina for Christmas, so I hope they get as much pleasure and tasty meals out of theirs as we do ours.

My aunt turns 88 this month and is keeping well. So well in fact that she went on another road trip to Dubbo with her friend Kath - they went on two road trips at the end of last year as well. They took my aunt's car and took turns driving. The night before they left they came to dinner (chicken, peach & macadamias) at our place - it was lovely to see them chatting out on the swing while Murray & I served dinner up. Yes Jan B - still a lot of eating going on here! Dinner parties are our favourite social event - good company, good food & lots of laughs - life doesn't get much better.

Our USA visas needed to be renewed, and you can only have them processed in Sydney, Melbourne or Perth. Yes, you need to attend in person. Although now they have our fingerprints, we may be able to process them online in future, but they have the option to call us for an interview if deemed necessary. It is a very streamlined process - you fill in an online application, pay a fee at the post office and then make an appointment, also online. A one year visa (you can still only stay a total of six months in any 12 month period) costs $145 pp, but for an extra $25 pp you can have a 5 year visa instead. A no-brainer that one. The visa appointment meant a trip to Sydney, so we turned it into a great opportunity to catch up with family & friends there. We drove down, as Murray had arranged to spend several days golfing with a mate from his RAAF Butterworth Malaysia days and my son Benn had purchased some furniture here in Ballina that needed to get to Sydney. Unfortunately Benn was in LA while we were in Sydney but his girlfriend Daina hosted us. We had an enjoyable evening with pizza, red wine and watched a good tennis game on TV - The Australia Tennis Open is on at the moment. Federer is still in it...

The next day we moved into a city hotel to make it easier to get to our Visa appointment during peak hour. Our hotel had a lovely view of Sydney Harbour. Before we got to our hotel we had a delightful lunch with my nephew Peter, his wife Sam and the two boys. Riley is 9 and was enjoying time with his dad before heading back to mum in West Australia. Baby Jethro gave lots of kisses and cuddles and as usual drew everyone's attention. The night before our appointment we were invited to dinner at my friend Jan's place in Woollahra. Jan & I worked together (with Judith who called in to visit us in Ballina a few weeks ago) back in Canberra, and we both retired in 2007. We have been ladies of leisure for almost 5 years now, and can't believe how we ever had time to work. Jan cooked us up a storm of Indonesian delicacies, taught to her by an Indonesian housekeeper during her visits to that country. Delicious. Her apartment block has a fabulous view of the Sydney Skyline - day and night - during the day you can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but sadly it is closed for renovation of the road surface at the moment, so there were no lights to see that night.

We woke early to have a hot breakfast before walking to Kings Cross Station (reminds me of a Monopoly Board) and we only had one stop to travel into the city. Too easy. We renewed our visas with no problem and they said to expect them in the mail before this week is out. Hurrah! Another 5 years to enjoy our American travels. I just had a phone call from other Aussie friends who have a different US visa. They can stay for 2 years, as Bev has been offered a full-time job in San Antonio where they have a house. Bev has just suggested that Murray & I visit them on our next trip and have a chance to catch up with Randy & Wanda as well. Hmm. Perhaps Texas will be added to our itinerary for this year's travels. Decisions, decisions...

Murray is still in Sydney playing golf, but meanwhile Brisbane environs and Ballina are having torrential rain. We have had 4" or 102mm since I went to bed last night. And it is still raining out there, with more predicted for the coming days. I am very content inside, playing on the computer, iPhone, and enjoying eating the tasty tomatoes and eggplants from the garden.

A Shiny, Bright New Year - 2012

Gem, Aunty Dympna, Bill & Murray at the river's edge

Me with Liz & Joe - pity you can't see the ocean behind us

Grant & Audrey's pool decor

Roast Chicken lunch on the patio - Audrey - with Billy underneath

Niece Claire with her son Billy and Jethro (on her lap)

Nephew Peter tapping the mini beer keg

Sam holding Jethro, my son Benn & nephew Peter

Sister Ret having a hug with brother Tony and his wife Yudian looking on

Jethro had been to bed but this was taken at midnight - his first New Year!

Jethro slept like this for almost 2 hours

Some fun time splashing in the pool

Benn taking photos of Jethro in his new Wiggles boat

Benn, nephew Greg & Pete holding Jethro

Me with Lynne at Chinese Restaurant

Great nephew Riley back in Ballina (see the faded Big Prawn behind him)

Sister Rose in Port Adelaide

New Year celebrations were in a different state with a different group of family & friends, as our Christmas ones, but they were as wonderfully relaxed and enjoyable. We drove up to the Gold Coast and had a great two days catching up with family & friends and seeing the New Year in. But before we even left Ballina, we had a pre-New Year dinner at an Indian Restaurant with sister Gem, her husband Bill & our Aunt Dympna. Not wanting the beautiful evening to end, we wandered next door to enjoy a coffee, some desserts & a brandy (for Bill) as the setting sun went down over the river. Daylight savings enables us to enjoy the later sunset times.

We kickstarted our time on the Coast with a 9.30am New Year's Eve morning tea at Palm Beach with retired Air Force friends Liz & Joe - Liz was a nurse and Joe was a Ground Defence Officer. Joe's sister & her husband had recently returned from a trip to Africa and kindly invited us to all meet at their stunning 3 level home at Palm Beach - literally on the beach - well, 14 wooden steps from their lawn down to the sand. The views were as amazing as you could expect, but the house itself was of a calibre I had never seen before - only being completed 12 months ago, it has all the mod cons. But someone had great architectural vision & skills to be able to create such a magnificent abode. Fortunately, while I can appreciate other people's settings and layout, for us & our lifestyle, we can't beat Holden Lane!

Next stop was what we thought would be a tasty but simple BBQ at Audrey & Grant's home after we had done our usual walk around to check out their ongoing renovations. It is the home where we celebrated Murray's 60th. No BBQ for us - instead we were served a delicious roast chicken dinner which we consumed with a glass of champagne served on the patio no less, and looking out over the transformed pool area to the Tamborine Mountains in the distance. Delightful.

Then it was on to my sister Ret's and her husband Pete's home for the Main Event: the family New Year's Eve party! By the time we arrived my son Benn had flown in from Hong Kong - he had a 36 hr stopover which was perfectly timed - and he was collected off a train from Brisbane by my nephew Peter who was up from Sydney & staying with his mum Ret, with his wife Sam and 9 month old son Jethro. Jethro ended up being the main attraction for the duration of his visit! Such a placid and adorable child - a constant source of entertainment. Another nephew Greg from Brisbane stayed over, and other Brisbane residents - niece Claire, husband Al, and 4 yr old son Billy, also joined in the festivities. My brother Tony & his wife Yudian (thanks for the delicious Key Lime Pie) completed our gathering. With the numbers attending we were very creative in preparing the menu - there was a lot of variety, enough food, and we were all well and truly sated. Washing our delicious food down with 2 bottles of Veuve Cliquot and 3 bottles of Moet seemed very fitting - thanks Benn, and no doubt Tony! New Year's Eve was a glorious evening and so we sat outside in our summer attire and enjoyed the company and the feast. You get to a stage where you wonder if you will last until midnight - but we did - and then we connected the iPad to the TV and everyone called out a song to bring up a video, and we sang and danced to our favourites. At 1.30am Murray, Benn & I headed back to our motel. A truly wonderful night.

Not wanting the fun to end, we all rallied again the next morning for a brunch at the Parkwood Golf Club - they have a verandah overlooking the course and it is a nice setting - the menu was extensive and service was good. Only this time we had coffees instead of champagnes! Murray, Peter & Benn went off for a game of golf, Ret, Greg & I went to the shops, and Sam stayed home with Jethro who slept for almost 2 hours sleeping on her tummy. He looked so comfy. The sun was shining and the pool looked inviting, so before long, Jethro was sailing in his Wiggles red boat and the other 'kids' (Benn was the youngest) horsed around while Benn took underwater photos of them all.

Time for a quick shower then we dropped Benn off at the train station for Brisbane (he was part of the flying crew heading to Hong Kong) and we continued across the highway to meet my nursing friend Lynne for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. After a most enjoyable catch up Murray & I returned for one more night at the motel. The next morning we called in to visit another nursing friend Jenny and her husband Peter (lots of Peters in my life I can tell you), and I spent a pleasant few hours with her setting up her new Mac and working with her iPhone. Murray and I then hit the road for Ballina, but spent most of the trip recounting what a wonderful few days we had just spent.

We had only been home one night and then I drove south to Grafton to pick up Ret & Pete's grandson Riley. He is 9 years old and lives over in West Australia but had come back with his mum to visit the family. Ret & Pete drove down to Ballina that afternoon to collect him, and we all had a BBQ here at home. They joined our other sister Gem, aunt Dympna and Murray & I for a breakfast on the river before they headed back home.

While we were celebrating the New Year in Queensland, my other sister Rose was celebrating it with a friend in South Australia. She had spent Christmas with us, and then took the opportunity for a southern holiday for New Year, but she kept us posted with photos of her outings.

If the rest of 2012 is like the start, then it is going to be a beauty. Bring it on...

Christmas 2011

Christmas Greetings from Beautiful Ballina (Courtesy local paper)

Adrian & Danielle with our grandsons Blayke & baby Heath

Trying Ribbon Tying - Very Trying!

Sibling Christmas

Aunty Dympna & Yudian with their contribution

Judith caught me up on colleagues

Murray stealing off with great-nephew Jethro

Two Kookaburras join us for breakfast

My Solar Butterfly

The Chooks followed Toby the Pig around the yard

This house sure decorated well for Christmas

Murray Preparing the Christmas Turkey

Turkey ready to take off the BBQ (Murray with Rose)

Another year draws to a close...well it is Boxing Day as I write, so we now have less than a week until the New Year 2012 emerges. Our build up to Christmas was as enjoyable as the day itself. We had my sibling Christmas party on 17th December here in Ballina, and all 6 of the 7 remaining siblings (& spouses) attended (our youngest brother lives in Japan), as did the Matriarch of our family, Aunty Dympna. I think there were just under 20 of us in all, counting 2 nieces, a nephew, and their kids, plus sister in law Cathie and her partner. Lots of delicious food and fun with Kris Kringle. The next morning, almost before the champagne bubbles had time to settle, Murray & I drove 3 hrs south to join our sister, brother (& spouses), as well as 2 nephews & their children at Coffs Harbour. We stayed in a delightful resort and the weather was pleasant. I enjoyed the kookaburra visitors that joined us each morning for breakfast - they perched on the open air rails of our dining room that overlooked the ocean. Delightful ambiance! We went en masse to visit a nearby Butterfly enclosure and I loved the bright blue Dunk Island butterfly (also saw them in Kuranda, near Cairns on a visit with Joe Bill & Sandy a few years ago) and so my thrill on Christmas Day was to receive my own solar powered butterfly - he keeps me entertained in the garden!

My friends Jen & Leonie spent 2 days at our place with my cunning plan to make several lovely Christmas ribbons to decorate parcels. After a day playing with our Mac laptops and iPhones, we had some quiet time to watch some ribbon tying videos, and then got to work - over an hour later, and we didn't have too much to show for our time- apart from a few pieces, and lots of laughs. As usual!

We have enjoyed several pre-Christmas celebrations with friends, including with one family who have a pet pig Toby who has the reign of their rural property. No, he won't be on anyone's plate for Christmas dinner! Another welcome visitor was Judith who was promoted into my position when I retired from Defence. Judith & Jack dropped in for a cuppa on their trip from Canberra to Brisbane, and it was great to catch up on what my colleagues back there have been up to since I left. The homemade jam and Christmas cake she made & brought for us was an added bonus!

My sister Rose came to stay on Christmas Eve, and we took a drive out to see some decorated homes to continue the Christmas spirit that started with a lovely Christmas Vigil Mass, followed by a champagne supper at sister Gemma and husband Bill's home. While we were all there we had a Skype with Kim (Copenhagen) and sipped our champagne as she opened her presents from us. It was a great video link, so it felt as though she was in the same room.

On Christmas Day us 3 sisters, spouses plus our aunt joined us here for Murray's Turkey feast. It was delicious. The weather was warm so we had the air conditioner on, but a light rain shower cooled things off nicely by late afternoon. Now I am waiting for my sister to pick me up for a walk along the beach. Life doesn't get much better...Merry Christmas to all!

Family Surprise

L-R Benn, Ret, Daina, Mark, Sarah, Kim

Mark entertaining Ret & Yudian

Dinner at Chinese Restaurant

Murray, Ret & Tony dancing

Kim & Sarah at Byron Bay

Moet with dinner

Coffee on their last morning...

Rose & Mark share a few last words

Unpacking the tree and decorations

A tree emerges...

Kim & Sarah finish decorating the tree

Few things give me more pleasure than time with my family and friends. Following hot on the heels of our time with Murray's kids and two grandsons in Melbourne, we got to enjoy a visit from my three kids. Benn flew up from Sydney with his girlfriend Daina, Kim flew in from Denmark along with Sarah, her housemate friend from Canada days, and Mark flew down from Darwin. I was just lucky it was their dad's 60th birthday with Kim being the big surprise. She wanted her make her appearance a surprise to Murray too, as a belated 60th birthday present. Needless to say she was a very pleasant surprise to many people.

My brother & sister (and their spouses) from the Gold Coast were part of the elaborate ruse to transport the 5 visitors to Ballina and so we celebrated their arrival with a lovely family dinner for 12 at our local Chinese restaurant. Later we had a demonstration by traditional aussie dancers aka Murray, Ret & Tony on our kitchen floor! Sarah was privy to some primitive downunder dancing styles.

Benn & Mark made their mark on the local surf, and the next day Benn got Murray kitted out with flippers, goggles & snorkel and they both checked out the fish in the local river. Benn wished he had his spear gun with him as they saw some nice big fish passing by - would have gone down well on the BBQ! A day later Benn & I drove Mark up to the Brisbane airport for his flight back to Darwin - my sister Rose was able to catch up with us there for a coffee.

Many local eateries and businesses were better off after their visit, not to mention a dent in the holdings of local oysters and white wines. Gem & Bill did the honours once again and hosted Kim & Sarah to a delicious roast chicken dinner. Murray had promised Kim a bottle of Moet to celebrate her Professorship, and we enjoyed every last drop of it on Kim & Sarah's last night - along with the request for Murray's home made sausage rolls.

December 1st, our first day of summer coincided with their visit, so Murray helped Kim & Sarah erect the Christmas tree, and the girls then decorated it to the accompaniment of Christmas carols. Alas, all good things come to an end, and Murray & I are now sitting alone with just the Christmas tree lights flashing to remind us of the kids' whirlwind & thoroughly enjoyable visit to Ballina.