Miscellaneous

I know I know - where are the cute pictures of Emma? Well they are still on the camera cause I have lost the cable to download them onto the computer! We have been pretty busy with visits from Grandma, Adam and family and Sam and kids, a trip to the zoo, a 1st birthday party for Emma, visit to the Melbourne Show and a trip to Mornington Penisula. We've also been fixing the paving out the back. Hopefully some photos will be arriving soon. Thanks to everyone for Emma's presents and cards - she loves looking at the sparkly ones.

Grandma visited this week to catch up with Emma who is now 6 months old.

 

Grandma had lots of playing, kisses and hugs with Emma and it was lovely to have her here. We took Emma swimming for the first time at the Yarraville pool and Emma enjoyed it - putting her ears in the water and splashing about. She looked very trendy in her swimmers too - thanks for those Gran - yes they are 000 but still fit.

 

For my birthday we had a great lunch out with the parents group...

 

We had a cold snap recently and Emma tried out her polar fleece - it is a bit big at the moment but won't be long and it will fit perfectly.

 

Nathan has started a new job this week and so far he is enjoying it. He said today that his skill sets seem to match the kind of work that they are doing and the generally are a motivated and busy bunch of people. This is a good start and over the next couple of weeks I guess he will learn more about the nature of the job and how he can contribute. It's located in South Melbourne near the markets so I'm looking forward to stopping by after work on Friday before picking him up and buying some tasty food. The office is also pretty handy to some cheapish parking and public transport so we will look into those options in the next couple of weeks.

I have about 4 weeks of work before I'll be on maternity leave. I'm looking forward to it and starting a new focus in life. I'll probably have off until mid May and then go back part time at least for a while.

Lately we haven't been doing too much on weekends which has been nice. Nath has been doing some digging in the garden for me and moving some massive stone blocks from the back to the front to make a small path. This will frame the vegie garden out the front. I'm looking forward to putting in some tomatoes and the like this spring. I planted some herbs out the back this last weekend which will be great for cooking. I've been missing them since we've moved.

We have been busy visiting this month and it has been great to catch up with everyone. We've just got back from Tasmania and Bec and Kev's Wedding. It was a great event and thankfully the clouds parted for the garden ceremony. I know they will be very happy together and it was nic to meet all of Kev's family and welcome them into the fold.

 

We were in Tassie for a week and spent a few days camping with Nathan's brother and sisters and Dad. It was so much fun getting to know our nieces and nephew again - they tend to forget us as we don't visit very often. Having grandparents around for such occasions and the relaxed pace of Tasmaina was definitely an attraction and something we will need to think about for the future.

Sam threw me a surprise Baby Shower that I appreciate very much, thanks also the Mum and Helen for hosting and assisting with the games. Thanks to all who gave presents for the baby - we know have the start of a collection of things we will need and it really feels like we've been given permission to start focusing on getting ready!

Also this month we visited Alison, Anthony and Tor for a swim in their pool and dinner and went to a fantastic Moroccan themed house warming for Dave (from work) and Michelle. It was a great excuse for dressing up.

My family have been visiting us for the past week and we have been busy attending Ali's graduation from her PHD...

Well done Ali!

and spending some time enjoying the Christmas festivities...

eating too much and generally having a good time catching up.

I am also proud to disply the first mushroom from the box I am growing in the garage...

tasted good on toast for lunch.

Hope all of our friends and family have a Happy Christmas and a fantastic new Year - especially to those of you who won't be near by including Nathan's extended family, Clarie and Chris, Pete and Bronte, Chris and Jamie, Matt and Christine, Alex and Nathan, Inger and puppy and more local friends Bob and Evelyn, Alison and Anthony & Tor and Lynne and Roger.

We are pretty settled into the new house in Yarraville - thankfully as my family will be staying for X'mas and we will need the room to sleep them! We're both looking forward to having a couple of weeks to unwind and explore the local neighbourhood. Hopefully I will stick up a few photos of our celebrations and post more in the new year.

I have finally finished the navy suit that I was making last weekend. It looks quite good though will be better with a bit of hanging. I have it on here with the skirt and top that Mum made for me from some material that I bought at least a couple of years ago. It looks great. I am really happy with how the suit has worked out but wow so risky - the effort expended may not result in a wearable garment!

Thanks Mum for trying out your new overlocker!

Now that we are not house hunting I have time on my weekends again! We have also been kayaking twice recently taking advantage of the close proximity of our flat to the water before we move house. We are trying to bring the settlement date forward and move by the end of October but haven't had confirmation of it yet.

I've also been looking into yoga and checking out places nearby to learn more about it. So far the most promising place looks like Agama yoga in Middle Park though it depends on whether I like the way they teach. I will probably check out a couple of others. There is an interesting site from India on the healing properties of yoga that I need to check out more. I'm reading a good book by a Perth guy, Gregor Maehle on Ashtanga yoga that explains the ancient understanding that yogis developed about brain functioning and how to develop a greater awareness and calmness through technniques to balance the mind such as postures, breathing and meditation. The logic and philisophy behind it is quite fascinating and it is amazing to me, but perhaps not surprising the parallels with modern thinking on consciousness and the functioning of the brain that these guys had already figured out thousands of years ago. It is quite sad to see humanity relearning so many things.

Nathan and I babysat Tor Bettanin yesterday and had fun walking to the beach, flying helicopters in the empty car park, rolling around Macadamia nuts and figuring out fun things like changing nappies, settling a crying 18 month old and feeding the lizard strawberries.

Nathan had a nice cuddle and read of New Scientist with Tor for about half and hour after lunch which was nice. I think we had worn Tor out with all the adventures earlier in the day.

Of note, last time Alison and Tor visited when Mum and Dad were up she brought over a fantastic Baklava for us to eat. We took a great photo of it as it came out of the oven (just a little bit of extra cooking required on arrival). Thanks Alison it was as delicious as it looks.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes for my birthday. I had a fantastic weekend! Lynne and Roger visited for the weekend and came with us to Skyfire by the lake with a fabulous picnic and friends Matt & Christine, Jeremy and Natasha and Steve & Claire. Great conversation, food and lights. We then had an excellent meal at Grazing in Gundaroo for lunch on Sunday. They have their own vegie patch out the back which we wandered through with heirloom vegetables that they serve up seasonally in the restaurant. It was a hot day but under the verandah we had a leisurely lunch. I had smoked trout and then shared desserts creme brulee, lime curd tart... the highlight was the lemon grass icecream which I will have to try to make myself.

We went to a small local potter and had a tour of his kilns and Lynne had a chat to him about ceramic making. We also went to the Open day for the War Memorial, Parliament house and old parliment house rose garden (beautiful). I had a really great birthday weekend full of friends, gardens, food.

We also recently bought some light fittings.

We have been going to the Holy Grail these last few Friday nights to try out our salsa dancing skills. This last Friday there was quite a crowd, with performances from funk dancers as well as a great couple of salsa couples. If you are in Canberra and keen on salsa you have to come along for a great night - more info. There is also the Sydney Salsa congress coming up in January next year where my sister will be performing professionally. I'm looking forward to seeing the international teachers that come along and give some great classes. It is a pretty full on weekend so we will have to build up our stamina to make the most of it.