Christmas Lunch

We had a very enjoyable Christmas Lunch. We ate about 3pm and had the missionary elders from our church over for to eat with us. We had roast lamb, turkey and ham, potato salad, tomato mozzarella salad, beans, and char grilled veggies for lunch. Followed by the traditional Christmas Pudding with the coins for desert. We didn't even get out the rocky road and apricot fruit balls but tucked into those later. The two missionaries we have in our ward at the moment are a great pair. One is from Tassie and a real Aussie- he taught Lachlan and I to crack the whip after lunch. The other elder is from Boston in the US, his family has Monkey Bread at Christmas time so I found a recipe and attempted to make that for him. They normally have it for breakfast, we ended up having it with desert and giving him the rest to take home. It was very yummy and something we will make again- sugar, bread, cinnamon and butter!

Christmas Morning

Had a leisurely Christmas morning- Lachlan gave us permission to wake him at 10:30am so it was around 11am before we opened our presents, as you can see we had the dogs to help us!

A Very Doggy Christmas

Amy picked up a job dog sitting two dogs over Christmas for week- Jubi and Wrinks. I am not sure who has enjoyed the dogs more- Bill or Amy. As you can see by the above photo they have had no trouble settling in! I must admit I was not particularly looking forward to having 4 dogs running around the house but they have really been no trouble at all and have been a real part of our family over the last few days. Bill and Amy have been coming up with numerous plans of getting out of giving the dogs back to their owners-like "Sorry there was a storm last night and they all ran away" or "Kennel fees have gone up to $2000 if you want your dogs back"

Christmas Eve

Twas the day before Christmas so what did I do? Last minute Christmas shopping- no, last minute Christmas cooking- of course not- ride my bike- of course! The Sue Frost Philosphy of " live to eat, ride to eat" came in to play!

Now, a few people out there already think I am mad and this will probably just confirm it, but on Christmas Eve I drove out with a couple of my female cycling buddies to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. We parked our cars, got out our bikes and then road up to Corin Forest where as you can see from the photos it was a bit cool and foggy- 10 degrees actually. Then we rode down to the dam which was 100 percent full. Last year it was 38% full and the year before 8%. We then had to ride back up again. In total 25km of climbing! We then headed back towards the Nature Reserve but had to ride in and out to the tracking station (another 12km and more hills) before heading back to our cars having ridden 68km. What did I do the rest of Christmas Eve- slept and read my book- I was a bit tired!

Hydro Dog Visits

Benji is the most excited when the Hydro Dog lady pays us a visit. Clancy is not all that thrilled. He is the one that gets to have a clip, a bath, and his ears cleaned out. He always smells lovely after his bath and always looks very skinny after he has been clipped but it keeps him cool for the summer and it soon grows back. Benji just charges around and loves the excitment of something different happening and he knows he usually gets a treat from the Hydro Dog lady just for being there!

Amy's New Drink Bottle

Amy has acquired a new water bottle- it is filled with water - or so she tells me. One can only hope!

Amy's Birthday

Amy is about to turn 17 around 10:30pm tonight! She celebrated her birthday by having a party at Zone 3 with some of her friends. They used to go there when they were younger, have not been there for about 3 or 4 years now. They put on these laser packs and run around and shoot each other. The first time Amy ever played she did okay, the second time she beat her brother Lachlan and her uncle Simon and has never been beaten since. I was wondering if after not playing for 4 years she might lose her unbeaten record- but she didn't - beat him yet again!

They had a great time, I managed to lose the candles so we had matches on her mango cheesecake instead!

I could have killed Amy when she woke me up at 12:15am to tell me she was 17 and I could wish her a happy birthday- that was not what I was wishing her at 12:15am!

Christmas has Arrived

Christmas is nearly here and I have put up the Christmas Tree- this year I did get some help from Amy so that was nice. Bill just stays out the way and is a bit of a Christmas Humbug but we just ignore him! I love putting up my little Christmas Elves that wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I cannot get away with not putting up the Advent Calendar- even the teenagers are not to big for that. I brought the panel from Spotlight a number of years ago and managed to sew it together. The kids like it because we can buy the chocolates we like to put in it. Funny they never need reminding to get their chocolate out of the Advent Calendar and I guess they would let me know about it if I didn't put it up!

More Rain In Canberra

On Wednesday night we had another massive thunderstorm and 90 mm of rain fell around Tuggeranong. Our rain gauge was full at about 45mm and overflowed. Reports vary from 50 to 78mm aroung Gordon so not sure what we actually got. I went for a walk on Thursday morning to Pt Hut Crossing. It was closed yet again and the Murrimbidgee was very full, water flowing right over the top of the road, you could not see any evidence of the road underneath at all. There is so much water flowing everywhere!

Bill's Birthday

It was Bill's birthday this week, so we had a birthday dinner. The kids got him some goodies from Darrell Lea as well as a selection of coffee, soap, biscuits and shampoo from the motel they work at. They know how much he loves soap from motels as he always wraps the half used soap in toilet paper and tries to bring it home if we don't catch him at it!

Picking Raspberries and Logan Berries

Picked my first bowl of loganberries and raspberries this week. Very yummy. Some of them are a bit waterlogged because of all the rain we have had this year!

Black and White Masquerade Cruise

One of Amy's friends had a cruise on Lake Burley Griffin for her birthday. They all had a great time. They had to wear black and white and a mask! It was a bit of a soggy night though with all the rain we have been having. We were beginning to wonder if the boat could have picked her up from the front door!

Work Christmas Party

Had our work Christmas dinner on Friday night. Had a lovely meal at "A Bite to Eat at Chifley. Antipasto plates, Roast Turkey, Roast Pork, Platters of baby carrots, squash and brocolini, couscous salad and Christmas pudding and ice cream for desert. My secret Santa present was a bag full of chocolates and lollies starting with S- someone must have know I can't resist the lolly jar at work!

The Big Wet in Canberra!

We have had a week of rain with rain, showers and thunderstorms every day from last Sunday to Saturday. Even this afternoon it looks like another thunderstorm is brewing! Thursday night or Friday morning we had one very scared Clancy on the bed next to us when the thunderstorm struck- I did not get much sleep that night! The dams are now 100% full, lots of roads were closed and Pt Hut Crossing where I took these photos was also closed for a couple of days with the Murrumbidgee flowing very swiftly!

Motor Bike Rescue

Just when I thought I had nothing of interest to post on my blog I get a phone call from Lachlan- the sort of phone call a mother who has a son with a motor bike dreads- I have come of my bike! At least it was him talking to me and not someone else! He had been coming home from work and a guy changed lanes with out indicating and without seeing Lachlan- Lachlan braked, locked up and came down and off his bike. The driver was oblivious or just didn't stop and the cars following didn't stop. Fortunately someone did stop to make sure he was okay and had someone to ring. So off goes mum to the rescue- they still need their mums! He was all in one piece, the safety gear worked, his right arm is a bit stiff and he has a nasty graze on his stomach, but he is walking and talking and is okay! The bike was unrideable but not too badly damaged, with any luck it might take a while to fix. He had just got it registered and on the road and out of the garage in my car parking spot, but come to think of it, I don't mind how long it stays in the garage this time if it means he is not on it. Unfortunately though it doesn't seem to have shaken his resolve to keep riding!

Late Birthday Celebration

On Friday afternoon- after a long week- but that is another story, I went out to Gooromon Ponds, near Hall, just out of Canberra for high tea with a couple of my cycling friends to celebrate my birthday. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and a wonderful way to end my week!

The Homestead Cafe overlooks some of the northern suburbs of Canberra and also the Brindabellas. With all the rain we have had recently the view was so green and beautiful. The chef/owner had trained at the Hyatt in Canberra and then worked overseas in Dubai, Seoul and Istanbul.

We sat at a table with beautiful plates, cups and saucers, the others had a glass of champagne to start and I had sparkling pink grapefruit juice. We then had some savouries- mini cream cheese and smoked salmon croissants, toast with avocado and tomato salsa and mini chicken tandoori wraps. This was followed by a selection of hot finger food- curry puffs, spinach and rice balls.

Next on the menu was a hot chocolate with scones and a selection of home made jams, followed by a plate of mini deserts- a chocolate pot, a mini lemon tart, a chocolate brownie and a piece of chocolate caramel slice. Mainly just bite size- enough to get a good taste. Everything was delicious. Needless to say I did not need dinner!

Bike Basket

It is a 10 to 15 minute car trip into work depending on the traffic and about 20 minutes by bike. I did try riding to work on my road bike but it was a pain to ride and then change after riding only a short distance. After returning from Europe and seeing all the bike commuters in their work clothes I decided I could do the same. So I purchased a basket for one of my old bikes that I used to ride when I went riding with the kids when they were younger and got the bike serviced and ready to go. So now I can put my lunch in the basket with whatever else I need for work and ride to work dressed in my work clothes, park the bike and go straight into work. I have done this each day I worked this week and felt very pleased with myself!

Bill laughed when he saw my bike with the basket- he said he was not sure if he could tell any of his cycling mates that his wife had a bike with a basket- I just laughed at him! I also told him he was not allowed to take this bike out riding with the dogs, which he has a tendency to do and because he goes off road it wrecks the bikes!

Last Saturday- he had to go into Tuggeranong for an appointment with the optometrist- what did he do- stole my bike with the basket- ran into two people he knew- serves him right!

Picked with love or a cheapskate?????

I had a birthday this week. My kids cooked me a lovely meal and gave me a book and some chocolates. It was a quiet birthday, simple but enjoyable. I got to lie on my bed, read my book and eat chocolates - so I was happy.

I am not convinced that the flowers my husband got me for my birthday were worth the $70 he reportedly spent on Roses-On-Line- he said he wouldn't use them again. To me they looked very suspiciously like the brussel sprout plants that had gone to flower in our garden!!!!!