Happy Easter 2016

We've had a very relaxing Easter at home. We've caught up with friends, done some hiking up Mt Cootha, read and watched movies. We had the usual Easter hunt which is always exciting but seems to take much less time these days.

Pip and Hamish have enjoyed having us all home - especially snuggling in bed with Bunny ears on!
Hope you and your family have had a terrific Easter.
Love, Rach xx

Welcome 2016!

As promised, my commitment to this blog would be sadly lacking. Here's a quick catch up since my last post in November in the form of photo collages. Hold on for the ride as this post is LOOOONG.

DECEMBER 2015

Clockwise from top left:
Christmas Day spent in Brisbane
Penny's Dancing Concert- she was in 10 dances!
Cool Pip
Nic had braces fitted for the next 20mths and managed them brilliantly
Hamish and his strangled Christmas chook
Penny on Christmas Day
Penny and her friend, Summer at Max Brenner, Southbank enjoying the best chocolate milkshake ever
Lego Brickman Exhibition

JANUARY 2015

Nic and I cleared an old, messy garden to plant hydrangeas. We pulled out over 40 agapanthus which are now planted along the inside of our front wall and are sprouting plenty of new growth. Hamish enjoyed helping too.

MOOLOOLABA, JANUARY 2015

We enjoyed a lovely 5-day stay at Osprey in Mooloolaba. We visited the Eumundi Markets on our way up which is always a treat. It was a bit rainy on our first day but after that plenty of surfing, walking and eating occurred. We had a fantastic view over Alexandra Headland and Mooloolaba. We visited Underwater World as we had so many times when Nic and Penny were really little. Unfortunately it didn't have quite the attraction as it did when they were small.Their confidence in the surf though was second to none!

BACK TO SCHOOL 2015

Penny has gone into Yr 5 at Sherwood State School and Nic is now in Yr 8 at St Peters Lutheran College. They've both had a great first term.

FEBRUARY 2015

My cooking adventures (clockwise from top left):
Fiery Bengal Chutney on the stove
Remedy for chopping loads of onions
Our first raspberry from a bush we planted in September and it has just kept giving
Crispy skin Thai salmon curry - favourite dish
My Thai Kitchen cooking lesson
Fiery Bengal Chutney in the jars
Loads of onions

BOAT #2

We are back to a family of two boats. Craig and Nic bought a tinny as they were having trouble fishing "seriously" from the kayaks. They have had fun exploring the Brisbane beaches and catching fish and mud crabs. The two bottom left photos are from our big fishing boat which is stored at Agnes Waters and Nic really enjoyed his second trip out to the reef in January despite sea sickness.

Hope you're still with me and have enjoyed the catch up. I'll be back tomorrow with Easter photos. Hope you're enjoying your Easter break.
Love,
Rachxx

Mischievious Pups, Dancing and the Brisbane City Hall

Pip and Hamish have been getting up to high jinx and mischief. A couple of weeks ago they decided to destroy a Pepsi box that still had 15 cans in it. There were cans and cardboard all over the deck and even next to the pool. They even sampled two of the cans which had puncture marks but luckily the Pepsi drained away to the verandah below!

This week the pups caught a mouse/little rat with my help in flushing him out. We have been having a little trouble with them getting into the pantry and trying to eat the dog food. Pip has a great nose for the rats/mice and so she alerted me to the one downstairs, that ran under the water heater which I flushed out with the hose and she caught. Pip wanted to show it off and Hamish being the piggy he is, just wanted to eat it!

Penny is deep into dance concert rehearsal and I have been helping out with the sewing this year. I had to make 16 head pieces which involved hand sewing on the orange fabric, sewing on the silver sequin band and then hot gluing on the feathers (which went everywhere) and sewing on the hair combs underneath. Time consuming but easy to do in front of the TV at night. I am still vacuuming up little bits of feathers!

A couple of weeks ago I took Wednesday off work and attended the grade 4 excursion to City Hall. It is a magnificent building which was renovated 3 yrs ago. The kids were there to learn about what the councillors do and so our local councillor Nicole Johnston took us on an excellent tour and we visited places that the general public don't see. She provided sushi, watermelon and lamingtons for lunch which we ate in the councillors tea room. We also had a tour of the museum upstairs which had some great exhibitions on and went to the beautiful concert hall. Penny was one of seven, lucky enough to be chosen to go up in an old-fashion lift to the clock tower. We fully plan to return for another visit in the holidays.

Have a good weekend and try to keep cool!
Love, Rach xx

Gardening and Birthdays

Nic and I have planted a veggie patch underneath the laundry window. We put it together by ourselves and researched how to make a good soil mix. After letting it sit for a couple of weeks, we planted seedlings of parsley, chives, spring onions, tomato, basil, coriander and more recently beans and thyme from seed. Everything is roaring along with the help of consistent falls of rain. Nic is very good at covering (and uncovering) it every night with netting so that the possums don't feast on our plants. We are really enjoying watching the growth and had some chives with sour cream on our jacket potatoes last night.

Craig has also filled the garden with mushroom compost which was deemed waste at work as it became too hot in a truck. It seems to be working fine in our garden though with the plants flowering and looking healthier as well as mushrooms popping up everywhere. This mushroom is huge (diameter=14cm).

We have also put in some sandstone garden edging out the front to contain the cane mulch (from puppy frolics) and made a new garden along the inside of the front wall which is waiting for me to fill with plants.
Penny celebrated her birthday in October with a sleep over with 4 of her friends. It was lots of fun with the girls swimming, playing a few games, eating pizza and an ice cream cake topped off with a DVD. She wanted mostly clothes and items to decorate her room rather than toys - a sign she is growing up!

Here are some photos of Nic enjoying his birthday night out at his favourite Italian restaurant in Graceville in April. Mum and Dad joined us and the meal was bellissimo!

Be back soon with the next installment.
Love, Rach xx

Poor Neglected Blog

Sadly, again I have neglected the blog. Thank you Robyn for the message on my previous post which has spurred me on even if you did leave it a few months ago!
It's too hard to go back and fill in March-August so I will just fill you in for the last few months.
In the holidays, Craig and Nic and some other boys/men went camping and kayaking at Eurimbula National Park (6hrs nth of Brisbane) for 4 days. They certainly roughed it with no shower (which wasn't a disappointment to Nic) and a long drop toilet! They had a great time and caught many fish.
Penny and I stayed home because we obviously weren't invited on a BOYS trip and also because
Miss P had dancing eisteddfods to attend. She danced in a trio and this was the debut of a dance they have been practicing all year. The costumes were beautiful and they did very well - 2nd (missed 1st by one point) and very highly commended.

Nic and Penny also attended a tennis clinic for a few days and Penny was very pleased to top her group and win a trophy. Nic did very well in school tennis and received the Coach's Award. He was undefeated in singles.

We also went to a couple of movies in the holidays - Pan in 3D (N and P's favourite) and Oddball (my favourite). Both were very enjoyable and I'm sure we'll watch them again when they come out on DVD.
In October, we had a visit from Trudie, Alex and Lachlan for Alex to attend the Gregory Terrace Boys School Semi Formal (Yr 11) with an old kindy friend. Nic and Penny so much look forward to their cousins coming to stay and there are plenty of giggles and fun. Alex looked stunning after an afternoon of primping and preening. We also went kayaking at Wivenhoe Dam and us girls went to the musical, Strictly Ballroom - both very enjoyable.

Doesn't she look stunning?
Well that's enough for now. This post was much longer but I have split it up so stay tuned for the next post very soon.
Happy Friday. I think it's champagne o'clock.
Love,
Rachxxx

First Week of School

Nic and Penny returned to school on Tuesday with one major difference - they were at different schools. They had a great first week.

Nic has begun year 7 at St Peter's Lutheran College at Indooroopilly. He had a fantastic week and we watched his confidence soar day by day. He catches the train by himself, is managing his timetable, a new phone and laptop very well. We are really proud of him. He has made new friends and is happy to ask for help if he is lost or has a problem.

Penny is in year 4 and has a wonderful teacher. She is with her good friends and is happy to be back.

In other news, we have adopted a new baby - a Westie pup named Hamish. We met him on Saturday after telling the kids we were travelling out to Calvert (1hr from Brisbane) to look at a shed. They received the shock of their lives to see a litter of  7 Westie puppies on their front lawn. Nic and I will go and pick Hamish up on Thursday afternoon when he will be 8wks old. We're very excited and hope that Pip enjoys the company after a major adjustment period of course. We spent yesterday puppy shopping and puppy-proofing the house.

Have a great week.
Love, Rach xx
PS - HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY LACHIE!!

Australia Day Weekend 2015

Well 10mths later and I'm back. I've been thinking about deleting this blog for the last 6mths as it reminds me of how slack and unmotivated I am these days. At Christmas, Robyn (sister) was asking me about my blog and why I didn't write it any more as she loved receiving the updates. So I've been pondering this for the last month and decided to give it another go. No pressure to do it regularly, just when I want to share something. I've given the blog a bit of an update with a new background, heading photo, new 2015 goals and updates to the book list. Hope you like it.
I thought I'd explain one of my goals - TAKING RISKS. Don't worry Mum, I'm not going to rob a bank, I'm just going to step out of my comfort zone a little more which I have found more and more difficult to do with age. I did this in December when I attended the Katy Perry concert. I've never been to a music concert but I loved it. I think more so because of my admiration for this stellar lady was confirmed rather than the bass that vibrated through my whole body!
January has gone quickly for us. After a most relaxing New Year week, we returned to work and the kids attended vacation care (only 3 days each week). They had fun doing science experiments, going ice skating and making candles.
Last weekend, the kids went to stay with Auntie Annette whilst we attended work drinks for Craig's management team at his boss' digs - Mantra Penthouse, South Bank overlooking the Brisbane River. It was a lovely evening with delicious food and icy cold drinks as it was stiflingly hot. After collecting N and P on Sunday I lay by the pool (cooling off regularly) for the afternoon reading a book as it was so hot.
This last week, Penny and Nicholas attended a tennis camp for 3 mornings and thank goodness it cooled down a little. The threat of rain was imminent but it didn't interrupt them. They both had a good time and have improved. Nic was put in the top group and much to Penny's delight she was moved from the 5th group to the 3rd group in the first hour. Nic even ended up with a new racquet as he has managed to crack his old one. I'm not surprised with the amount of tennis he has been playing.
I am on holidays at present (last and this week). I have sewed a dress, although I decided it needs altering so I'll pop a picture on once it's completed. I've also done some scrapbooking. It's lovely looking back at the photos from 2008. The kids have had many friends to play and sleep over which is fun and easy these days, especially with a pool to entertain them. I'm also enjoying the tennis too.
We had 150mm (6") of rain yesterday and it was a cool day (23) which was a welcome reprieve. We had to drain water from the pool three times!

Lastly, I wanted to tell you about this great Australian movie the kids and I saw this morning
                                             ***       PAPER PLANES      ***
Don't watch the trailer before you go, please just go and see it. It is very funny but also deeply moving. I was laughing out loud for much of it but also holding back tears in other parts. It isn't just a children's movie, it is a movie for 5yo -100yo and beyond. A lovely, uplifting and positive Aussie film. Let me know what you thought of it.
Have a great weekend
Be back soon with back to school photos, best book I read in 2014 and my updated guest room.
Love, Rach xx

New Book Review x 2

My recent reads include:

Elliane by Judy Nunn
I really enjoyed this book but I think that was in part due to the setting being in Bundaberg where I spent 16yrs post graduation. She has researched this area and it's history very well. It's a great story with a good twist. 

The Winter Sea by Di Morrissey
Again a very well researched book. I have read all 21 books Di has written and even had the chance to meet with her at a book launch and signing. Katie Cleland (Little) gave me the first book when I was in hospital 22yrs ago! Di always manages to make a place sound so special. Pretty good story too although I have to say I have enjoyed her earlier books more as far as fiction goes.

Have a good day.
Rach xx

March Already!

Sorry February, no posts. Lots has been happening. We've had the downstairs interior of our house transformed with a beautiful paint job and replacement of carpet in the bedrooms with floating timber floors. Just waiting on a few pieces of new furniture and it will be complete. Nic and Penny are thrilled with the transformation which also included some new curtains and bed coverings.
School is back in full swing. Both children are happy with their teachers and appear to be achieving well.
My brother, Richard who lives in Griffith, NSW came to stay with us on the weekend. It was so lovely to catch up and Nic and Penny idolise him. Our guest room is still getting a work out with more guests arriving this weekend and also again in a few weeks time. So lovely to have a house full of people.
Craig is very busy with work and away most weeks although we were lucky to have him home last week.
I did manage to finish a scrapbooking layout (Penny @2yo) on the weekend but unfortunately my time has been mostly spent cleaning down walls inside and out. There's always something to do when you own a Queenslander but I don't think I'd have it any other way.

Here's a cute photo of Pip. She's so patient and compliant. She has been a little unwell with skin problems but well mended now as the weather is cooling and starting to change.

During February we also did a half day trip up to Bribie Island. It looks like a great place for a relaxing holiday with beautiful beaches. The inside of the island borders a body of water named the Pumicestone Passage and all of the beaches have pumice stone on them - great for feet!
So that's February done and dusted for 2014.
Have a good week.
Rach xx

The Beginning of a New School Year

What lovely holidays we had but it all had to come to an end so that some routine could return to our lives.

We enjoyed having my SIL, Trudie and kids, Alex and Lachlan from Griffith to stay in the beginning of January. The cousins really enjoy each others company and just enjoy hanging out together. We then had some Bundaberg friends to stay for a weekend. The boys went to the 20/20 cricket which Nic really enjoyed. Great close game even if Brisbane didn't win and a great spectacle. Penny and I went to see Frozen at the movies which was a lovely movie with beautiful music - out iTunes favourite at present. In the last week the kids and I went to visit my family in Adelaide. Thank goodness we timed it in between heatwaves. We visited the SA museum, local pool, had dinner and lunch with my sister, Robyn and her new husband Ian, went to the National Motor Museum. The highlight was visiting the Gorge Wildlife Park at Cudlee Creek just out of Adelaide where we all got to cuddle a koala (a first for all of us).

On the school front, Nic and Penny are very pleased with their teachers. Nic has a male teacher who he says is "cool" and Penny's female teacher is just lovely. I think the things I least enjoy about the kid's school days are homework because they don't enjoy it and making school lunches. This week hasn't been too bad as Penny hasn't had any homework and Nic has been quite willing to complete the tasks set as they have been quite relevant and not too laborious. On the school lunches front, I made a big batch of sausage rolls and biscuits and a chocolate slice. The biscuits didn't last until the start of school but the rest have been enjoyed. I think I'll make a batch of mini quiches this weekend as they always go down a treat. I usually freeze the savoury (and sometimes sweet) food and it is nicely thawed by lunch time.
Our house is in disarray at present, rather like packing as we are having the downstairs interior painted. The kids are upstairs in the guest bedroom at present making bed time interesting with the constant chatter and giggles. The guest bedroom is getting quite a bit of use. I might have to put a Vacancy/No Vacancy sign out the front. The painting should be all finished by the middle of next week. Hope my colour selections look good.
Have a great weekend.
Rach xx

GOMA

Yesterday we visited the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) at South Bank, Brisbane. They always have a kids program for the school holidays and it's a great place to beat the Summer heat. The children's program was about an Australian artist and his book and paintings about different roos. There were masks to make, computer games to play and a computer generated poster to make. We also visited many other free displays. Nic is very interested in the Aboriginal art and there is always a lot of alternative art which is great for the imagination. We particularly enjoyed the maze of fluffy white trees. Very serene and relaxing.

Today was another hot day which we spent in and out of the pool. Hopefully we'll get a storm tonight to cool us down as we are sweltering at present. We also went out to pick up some colour swatches in readiness for painting the downstairs interior of our house later in the month. It is soooo hard to choose. I'm sure I'll be back and forth a few more times to get more swatches. The kids were very good under the proviso they could go to the vet to cuddle the kittens up for adoption. There were really cute kittens running amok there today. Up and down the Christmas tree and playing with the baubles. Penny is determined to bring one home over her Daddy's dead body!!
Have a great weekend.
Love, Rach xx

*** 2014 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! ****

I'm back and determined to document our year ahead through this blog. A new blog appearance and a beautiful sunset in Lombok adorns my header to celebrate the passing of one year and the anticipation of the next.
What a busy year we had in 2013. My Christmas letter was a little more difficult to write this year as I neglected my blog. In a nutshell this is what we did:
* holidays - Byron Bay in January
                 - Bonville and Gold Coast (Craig and I) in March to celebrate turning 40
                  - Lombok Indonesia in October
                  - Adelaide (me only) in November to celebrate turning 40 with school friends
*children- Nic - completed yr5, playing soccer and tennis and attending cubs
                  Penny - completed yr2, playing tennis and dancing (tap, jazz and ballet)
*Craig - promoted to general manager of sales and marketing at Lindsay Australia
            - hiked the Kokoda track (PNG) in August - very tough despite rigorous preparation
            - playing golf and has brought our Kevlar cat (boat) down from Bundaberg to Nambour so               that he can go fishing more often
*Me - not much has changed
        - loving our 80yr old Queenslander despite its flaws
        - have reverted to project life scrapbooking but still seem to be slow (will explain this in another 
           post)
The highlight of the year was the wedding of my sister Robyn to Ian Greening in Lombok. We had a great holiday and it was so lovely for our family to be together as this is such a rare occurrence these days with us all being spread around the country.

I have set new goals for the year. I often fail miserably at my goals but they serve as a reminder I guess. I would love to get my fitness back so will try hard with this.
I have also added the books I read last year. I am a very slow reader so was surprised at how many books I actually did get through. The book that was the highlight for me was The Rosie Project. Very entertaining. I also enjoyed Shane Jacobsen's biography and the Loretta Hill books are always a good, easy read.
We enjoyed our Christmas at home in Brisbane and were joined by Craig's mum (Bundaberg) and his sister Annette (Cairns). We went out to a restaurant for lunch and returned home for a refreshing swim in the pool. We had a BBQ at home with friends last night to celebrate New Year's Eve but were tucked up in bed well before midnight and only lifted my head for a minute when I heard the fireworks in the city
Well it's time to take the Christmas decorations down and start to cover books in anticipation of the new school year. I'll be back with a new post soon.
Love, Rach xx

Hello There

Another long absence but for good reason. Shortly after my last post we were robbed. Due to the invasion of privacy I shut myself down to all social media but have slowly returned. I find it's important to blog as it is my diary. So here is what we've been up to.

In March, Craig and I went away to Bonville (just out of Coffs Harbour) and stayed at the international golf course. We went down for a 2 day work function for Craig's company but it was the most superb location and food and was very relaxing. Our night at the Gold Coast at the Marriott on the way home paled in comparison. I also turned 40 in March - how horrid. Unfortunately, I can't change that but would if I could.We also went to Caloundra for a night to meet up with some old friends from Bundaberg which we all enjoyed.
We spent Easter at home relaxing. My brother, Richard and his family came to stay for a night just after Easter on their way through. It was a great to catch up. Nic wasn't very well over Easter and the first week of school holidays but after some antibiotics he was ready for tennis clinic the following week. Nic was runner up in his tennis group and received a medal. Penny received a certificate for her tennis prowess.

Nic is now sporting a new look with a set of glasses. We all agree he looks very brainy! Nic has begun soccer again and is also filling in at tennis fixtures during the week from time to time. He is loving his sport and is trying harder with his school work. Nic has celebrated his 10th birthday this week and is having friends over for a sleep over this weekend. Hopefully we'll get some sleep tomorrow night! On the cubs front, he has been on a camp to Kenilworth which he loved and he proudly marched in two marches on ANZAC day with his cub scout group. They marched at Graceville (local) early in the morning and then went on to march in the main city march late morning. He was one tired boy after soccer practice that evening!

Penny is busy with dancing. She has ballet and tap exams in a few weeks and will perform in the junior performance team at the Sherwood School fete. She is still swimming and playing tennis but her main love is dance.
Craig is madly training with a back pack filled with sand as he is walking the Kokoda trail later in the year. He is also playing golf again and having some success with his old form beginning to return. He has had 2 x hole in ones in the last 4mths too.
Our darling little Westie pup, Pip is fast approaching one. She loves to eat shoes and steal all manner of things and head out to the front garden with them. Nic and Penny are quite used to going to look for their missing school sneakers out in the yard. One day they may actually put them in a cupboard so she can't get to them. Pip goes to the groomer occasionally and came home sporting this little bow which she didn't really like. She's a bit of a scruffy tom boy so I don't think it really suited her.

Well, I think that is enough for one post. Hope you're still with me. Oh and I have started scrapbooking again and have had 2 layouts accepted for photographing for a magazine. Will post some photos of my LO's soon.
Have a great weekend.
Rach xx

Hello

February already and mid way through at that. I have been busy with work in the last few weeks working 5 days a week (school hrs) as one of the other sonographers is away. It has been very busy at work with the back to school rush of Mums who wait until school goes back before they think about themselves and their ailments. I am looking forward to returning to 4 days next week and having my Friday to get all of those odd jobs done that I need to do since my children have returned to school.
The kids and Craig had a great week in Bundaberg and returned just before the big storm and flood hit up there. Our hearts go out to all of our friends in Bundaberg who have been affected. Parts of Bundaberg look like a war zone but they are a very motivated, tough, tight knit community who are getting on with it and trying to return their beautiful town to some sort of normality. The storm hit Brisbane later in the long weekend and was quite severe although I think it's intensity has weakened compared north of us. There were many huge trees down around the city but thankfully the flooding was minimal.
This week we went down to the school on two evenings to meet the children's teachers. Nic has a great teacher whom I'm sure will give him the big nudge he needs but in a gentle way. She has some great ideas and seems very switched onto the national curriculum in Qld, having written the science component for grade 5 last year. Penny's teacher is also very enthusiastic and Penny is always keen to please.
Penny is back to her jazz, tap and ballet on a Thursday and also performs a performance class on a Saturday in which she will learn a dance to perform at school fetes and eisteddfods. She has moved into the last swimming group (prior to squad) which we are thankful for. Having a pool at home has certainly improved her confidence and skills. On Wednesday morning Penny is having tennis coaching at school which she is enjoying.
Nic is really enjoying his tennis with two lessons of coaching a week and hoping to play fixtures soon. He is playing soccer again this year and practice will begin soon with matches commencing after Easter.
Well I best get the troops organised to leave for school.
Have a happy Friday and a great weekend.
Rach xx

The Last Two Weeks ...

have been busy. My brother, Richard and SIL Trudie came to stay with their children Alex (photo with Penny) and Lachlan for just over a week. They came to finalise the sale of their house in Brisbane. The cousins all had a great time together. They swam most of the time and enjoyed each other's company. One day they set up a great vet hospital with its own radiology department filled with an ultrasound, xray and MRI machine. Pip also loved having so many people around and more shoes to steal.
Last week, we went to Byron Bay for a relax and recharge and stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment with a lovely heated pool. We visited the historic light house which sits above a short walkway to the most eastern point of Australia. We went to the beach on a couple of days although it was closed for the other couple of days due to sharks. The Macadamia Castle (just nth of Ballina) was a favourite. We went there about 4yrs ago. Penny was so excited about cuddling a rabbit as last time she wasn't quite 4 and was too frightened to do so. Nic and Penny fed milk to the calves and lambs, held baby chickens, fed the kangaroos and joeys (that were big enough to eat food) and enjoyed playing on the flying fox and huge tree house. I managed to read two books and have a good rest.
I am back at work this week whilst Craig and the kids have gone to Bundaberg. It's very quiet, just the dog and I but I am enjoying the solitude and getting lots done around the house. I took the opportunity to go out on Friday night whilst everyone was away. My friend Petrina came down from Bundaberg to attend the opening night of "Bundaberg Bohemians not Bogans" exhibition at the Bleeding Hearts gallery in Brisbane city. Petrina's sister, Renita also attended the exhibition with us. One of Petrina's Yr 12 students from 2012 was exhibiting her works. We went onto the city afterwards for a yummy Singaporean meal. It was a lovely night and we enjoyed catching up.
All the books are covered and pencils sharpened in anticipation for the start of a new school year next Tuesday - Yr 5 for Nic and Yr 2 for Penny. Wow hasn't that come around fast! Fingers crossed it will be a good year for both kids.
Have a happy Wednesday.
Rach xx

Baby Possum

Back in October we found this baby possum making a strange noise outside the laundry one afternoon. I had heard the noise for at least half an hour but was not obviously concerned to go and investigate. Luckily I discovered the little one before our puppy, Pip. It was tiny, with only a light covering of fur but very cute. We left it alone for a while so that it could call out to it's mother in the hope that she'd return but at dusk it was getting quite cold so we wrapped it in a towel and heated up a wheat pack. We tried to contact a local wildlife station to no avail so possum was staying for the night. I kept heating the wheat pack up which quietened it down as did wrapping it up. We tried to feed it some puppy milk with a dropper but it wasn't very interested in this. We were unsure that it would make it to morning alive but Nick was up at 5am and ran in to tell us that baby possum had survived. We tried more milk but again to no avail so we contacted the RSPCA who told us to take it to a vet or the Uni vet hospital. As it was a Sunday we thought most vets would be closed so we packed our little possum into a box with the heat pack and delivered it to the uni in St Lucia. The kids wanted to keep it and rear it but our lives are too busy for a tiny baby possum and particularly as we have little Pip to care for we decided it was best. We decided against finding out what happened to baby possum but like to think that it had a favourable outcome.
Hope you've had a happy Monday.
Rach xx

Book Review - "All That I Am"

Well I'm back, 2 days in a row! I have recently finished reading a book called All That I Am by Anna Funder. It won the 2012 Miles Franklin Literary Award amongst other awards. The book is set in modern day Sydney through the eyes of an elderly lady looking back to her life in Germany in the early 1930's when Hitler came to power. It is about the difficulties faced by the Jews and their brave resistance to Nazism causing them to flee the country and live in exile. They tried to continue their resistance movement with great difficulty and trepidation. This is a true story and very thought provoking.
I thought it must be a good book to win all of these awards and to be in the top 5 on the weekly reading lists. Well I must say that it was not an easy read but I am glad that I did persevere. The book swaps alternate chapters between two characters, Ruth and Toller. This makes it difficult for a slow reader like me who may only picks the book up once a week but for the fast reader who reads daily this wouldn't be a problem. I was surprised at the liberation of young women in this era in Europe with talk of speaking out, free sex, abortions and drinking. They were very brave souls who stood up for what they believed even though others were being executed around them. The book gives a good insight into the struggle of the Jews and I feel richer for having read this book.
SCORE: 7/10
Have a beautiful day.
Rach xx

2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'm not sure that many people would read my blog now as I have been very slack at adding posts in 2012. Hopefully I will get around to blogging again this year as it is such a great diary to look back on. I think the reason I haven't blogged much as I felt I always needed to add a photo which I didn't always have ready to add to the blog. Well this year there may not be photos but words are just as important.

Do you like my new blog header? I am still adjusting the blog appearance, so you'll see some changes over the the coming days.

Usually I put up a single word to aspire to for the year. Last year was motivation. I only managed this in fits and starts but better than not at all. This year I don't have a single word, but a motto:

*the GLASS HALF FULL motto*

I plan to put a sign by my bed to remind me of this every day and night :)

What I would like to achieve in 2013:

1. TONE - my body

2. READ - especially since my family bought me a Kobo Touch EReader for Christmas

3. SCRAPBOOK - I haven't scrapbooked since we moved in August but have had 3 LO's published in the last 6mths

4. PHOTOS - take more photos as I rarely get my camera out now

5. HELPFUL - do good things for other people

6. TENNIS - join a social tennis group on my day off

7. ACCEPT - that I will turn 40 this year and not have ill feelings about it

8. LOVE - my family more than I already do

9. EXPLORE - get out and about more on the weekends and see this beautiful city

What is your word or motto or resolutions for 2013?

We are loving our new house although we are finding it laborious at times. I am painting bits and pieces at present as I am on holidays. Craig has been digging trenches for the plumber to replace our main water pipe into the house which ruptured on Sunday. Luckily we found a lovely plumber who lives nearby who was able to come and do a temporary fix for us yesterday. We are loving the pool and the kids are in it twice a day. Our puppy Pip is now 6mths old and gorgeous She was spayed just before Christmas and coped very well. We spent Christmas in our new home, just the four of us. Santa was good to the children and bought them a trampoline. We went to a local, favoured restaurant for lunch which was scrumptious and enjoyed an afternoon swim at home. 

Over January I will add some photos of the last 4mths of 2012.

Feel free to leave a comment as I really enjoy reading what you have written. Have a lovely day whatever you are doing. Rach xxx

Smitten...

is how we feel about our new puppy, Pip. Craig and I went to pick Pip up from Strathpine on Friday morning. She didn't take to the 45min car trip too well and vomited all the way home in her crate. On arrival home, she had an explore, feed, play and bath and then passed out on the couch for the afternoon. Nick and Penny ran all of the way home from school and were home in record time. She was a little unsure of them at first as she hasn't been around children but loved playing with them out on the grass in the sunshine. By Saturday afternoon she seemed right at home and happy with her surroundings. She isn't sleeping too well and waking often to make sure were around. This morning she thought 4.30am was a great time to start the day. Bit like having a newborn. Tonight she'll be going down into the laundry in a playpen as I need to sleep before a day of work tomorrow. It will be difficult to leave her tomorrow but the kids are going to have a big play with her and tire her out before we go. She is far from being toilet trained but we'll work on it with frequent trips out to the grass. Unfortunately she is too little to manage the stairs yet so we need to carry her up and down. Thankfully she isn't remotely interested in going up or down the stairs yet. Pip loves stealing my slippers and barking at Nic's cactus pot :) She is such a beautifully natured puppy with a little bit of mischief (like our dear Labrador Zoe).

We'll keep you posted on our puppy adventures.

Have a good week.
Rach xx

Excited!

Well we're all settled into our new home. It's only been 3wks but feels like we've been here forever. All boxes are unpacked and amazingly we didn't need to buy too much storage. I was a bit ruthless with what I put away as some of the gear we haven't seen for 18mths (packed in boxes), so we decided to get rid of it. Our guest room is already getting use with Trudie and Alex (SIL and niece) coming to stay and Craig's cousin and his family staying. Nick is busy scooping out the pool every afternoon. We have bets going to see how long this lasts but are loving that he enjoys doing it. Nick has crystal chandelier lights in his room and Penny has some pretty funky light covers too but they don't want them swapped. The kids are walking all of the way home from school together and enjoying their new found confidence and independence.

We only have 2 more sleeps until Pip, our West Highland Terrier pup comes home. We're all so excited. I spent the weekend puppy proofing the stairs and front and back decks so that she couldn't fall through. The packing boxes have come in very handy and zip ties. Pip is the puppy sniffing Penny's hand above.

This morning, I was walking back after dropping the kids at school early for their tennis and choir lessons when I came across daddy duck, mummy duck and their 7 tiny ducklings waddling up from the tunnel that goes under 4 railway tracks. They were obviously off on an adventure away from the safety of the Sherwood Arboretum. Unfortunately they were heading onto the road so with the help of another lady, we herded them into a small grassed area. I went home and picked up a large box and we proceeded to put the ducklings into a box but of course the parents wouldn't follow. By that time we managed to get in touch with the RSPCA who told us to let them go as it is illegal to move them and they wouldn't come out unless they were obstructing traffic. They were also worried that the parents would lose interest in their babies. We herded them off in a safer direction and hope they found their way home. I plan to visit the Arboretum on the weekend and see if they made it home. They were such pretty wood ducks.

Well, no doubt I'll be back over the weekend with some cute photos although don't hold your breath with my blog effort this year!

Have a good week/end.

Rach xx