Christmas 2016

I wasn't very good at taking photos this year for Christmas so here a few photos in a bit of a random order. Christmas Eve we went out to dinner at the Grain and Marble with the Garcia family. We had a lovely evening with them, went back to their place for coffee and cake and did our Secret Santa exchange which wasn't very secret! We had a fun night. Then we came home and did our family Christmas Present swap and headed to bed- a nice night.

These photo above and below were taken at the Garcia's- Reuben- Belinda's boyfriend was Santa and handed out the presents.

Christmas morning was nice and quiet- being a Sunday we had church so Bill came with me and we just had Sacrament Meeting then came home. We had the missionary sisters and elders over for Christmas Brunch afterwards. Amy helped me set up, we had fruit, croissant,toast, ham, bacon, egg etc. It was lovely having the missionaries over and they appreciated it, they were able to Skype their families from our place so that enjoyed that. We had a bit of a rest in the afternoon then headed over to our next door neighbors around 6  pm and joined them for a bbq. I made Christmas pudding with the coins in it so everyone enjoyed that especially the kids when they worked out they got chocolates for finding a coin. It was quite a busy day but very enjoyable.

Christmas Animals

Jack in his Santa's Elf costume- he did look very cute!

Ziggy in his Santa Suit- he wasn't very impressed- it probably felt like a straight jacket as he couldn't fly!

 Amy and some of her birds and Jack

Luna with her little Christmas Hat

Melbourne Visit with Amy

Amy and I headed down to Melbourne the week before Christmas, it was her birthday present. We had booked this trip before we ended up going down to Melbourne for all the Neurofeedback trips but at least this time we were flying and not driving.

Bill dropped us off at the Canberra airport on Friday. If you look at the snowflakes on the window you will see they are all made up of little aeroplanes!

We picked up our hire car and headed out to the South Melbourne markets, we hadn't been there before, so managed to find our way there and get a parking spot- no mean feat in Melbourne. We had an enjoyable couple of hours wandering through the stalls and checking out the food and tasting some cheeses and it wasn't too crowded as it wasn't the weekend.

From there we headed into the city and checked in at the Windsor where we were staying for the night. It was a lovely hotel, we really enjoyed our stay there and it was a good deal as well. We had a relax, I went for a wander around the city streets, then we went out to dinner at Cumulus Up a place Amy had found. We had the Chef's selection dinner which was a whole lot of tasting dishes-it was a lovely meal, nice place and finished of with two amazing deserts- this one below is the poached meringue with elder flower syrup and berries- it was yummy- like eating the inside of a pavlova!

Saturday morning I went for  nice long walk around Melbourne while Amy slept- I just cannot sleep in. It was a nice way to see Melbourne without the crowds, all decorated up for Christmas and to see the Myer Christmas windows.

Got back and woke Amy up and we headed down to breakfast at the Windsor which was included in our deal. Was a very fancy breakfast and lovely service.

We did a little bit of shopping then checked out and headed out to the Dandenongs. We went to the Fern Tree Gully Market and stayed with my mum for a couple of hours and helped her pack up. Amy and I then headed up to our B&B in Belgrave where we stayed the night.It was a lovely spot. We went for a drive and a walk before having dinner back in our room. In the morning I went for a walk in the forest over the road, I had forgotten what a lovely part of the world the Dandenong's are.

There was a little window between my bedroom and the kitchen, Amy thought she was very clever when she would scare me when I was doing something in the kitchen-she would sneak up and 'boo" me!

The next day we headed out for a drive and some walking. We went to the Grant's Picnic Ground- we had been there briefly  the night before and it was closed and quiet but the next morning there were tourists everywhere. We also went to Sherbrooke Forest just up the road and saw lots of lovely birds.

We explored the little town of Sassafras, then headed down to my mum's at Berwick. We drove over to my brother's place in Nunawading for a pre Christmas dinner and December birthdays gathering with some of the family. It was a lovely evening and a chance to catch up.

We stayed at mum's on Sunday night then helped her out in the garden on Monday morning before packing up and heading to the airport and flying home to Canberra. It was a lovely time away and a great way to celebrate Amy's birthday and also Amy getting her new job. She started work that week at the Inner South Vet at Narrabundah. She worked four days that week and went really well, so it was a very happy weekend!

Stuff- Catching Up!

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Here is Jack in his little Christmas Elf suit, he looks very cute and seems to suffer it with dignity. We took Luna, Jack and the three birds- Beau, Lyra and Ziggy to get their photo done with Santa at the Inner South Vet- quite a challenge but it did happen. Will have to post the photos when Amy gets her copies!

Bill had his birthday this week so we went out the Hamlet for dinner- a hipsterish place with lots of little trendy food vans. Bit hard to find a seat- it had been raining so all the outside seats were wet! We survived though and then head to San Churros on the way home and ended up having chocolate fondue for desert.

I put up some Christmas decorations this year for a change! We made this "Believe" sign at our Relief Society Christmas Activity at church, which I painted, so I put it up behind one of my little nativity set, thought it looked  pretty christmassy! We had the sister missionaries from church over for dinner, so got them to help me.

Chiltern

Amy and I headed down to Melbourne the week before last for some top up Neurofeedback treatment. It was a quick trip down the Hume Highway, we left on the Wednesday for a 5pm appointment, drove all the way down in one day. Had a picnic lunch at the Chiltern then had a brief stop in  Yea before getting to the appointment. We stayed overnight with my mum, then the next morning headed out to Amy's appointment at 12 noon. After that we headed for home but only to Chiltern about 3 hours away where we were staying overnight.

We had lunch at the Chocalatier at Yarra Glen which is on the way and a yummy spot for lunch. We shared a plum pudding hot chocolate, which had a gorgeous gingerbread syrup in the hot chocolate ( we had to ask what was in it). We stopped at the cherry packing shed at Yarck and had some  yummy cherries before arriving in Chiltern around 6pm.

We found our little cottage we were staying in, a renovated linesman's cottage behind the Post Office. Chiltern is a lovely little town, and old historic town where the buildings have been done up beautifully. Our cottage was very comfortable and we went for the wander around the town and discovered a bit more about what is on offer in Chiltern. Had dinner at the pub and breakfast in local cafe before heading for home on Friday morning.

Out and About on the Bike

HTime to get some serious training in for the Audax Classic at the end of January. I am planning on doing the 140km ride which involves a  25 km climb up Mt Buffalo and then over Tawango Gap to Mt Beauty. My riding has been a bit erratic this year but in the last month or so I have been able to get a few decent rides in so am feeling a little more confident.

Two weeks ago we rode up to Corin Dam, it is a 12 km climb up to Smokers Gap and then a 8 km descent down to the dam, then you have to turn around and ride back up again, in total from home it is about an 80km climb. The vegetation as you ride down to the dam is lovely and you can hear all the birds singing and then lovely to see the dam so full at the bottom.

Last week we headed out to the EOB- end of the bitumen on the road out to Tumut, again another pretty ride and we have had some good cycling weather.