Again- A catch up.
It seems like all that we do is write catch up blogs. It is true that we are not always as punctual as some, but I would like to think that we have excuses. They may not always be good excuses, but excuses nevertheless! (Isn’t laziness an excuse?)
In any case, this time around, we did have an excuse. For a while there I couldn’t write a blog entry, as I am hopeless at keeping secrets and we had news that I wasn’t allowed to let out of the bag. Then I was away in the bush with work for a good couple of months with no access for blogging type stuff. I also like to think that anticipation is a sweetener.
So- a lot has happened since the last time you may have tuned in. Jane and I are going to have a baby (uber-yay), my new posting order has us remaining in Townsville for at least another year (hot and sticky), and we are slowly building enough furniture to keep our library in check. Even if we are on a perpetually losing battle on that front!
Jane is pregnant, and due to give birth to ONE baby on April 11 2011. Tentatively nicknamed ‘Sparrow’, the scans to date confirm a healthy heartbeat, and a baby who may be a bit of a showboat (always turning his face towards the camera during the ultra sound). Not sure who he/she gets that from- must be from Jane’s side of the family!
Above and below- Jane with 'Sparrow'!
You may wonder about the name ‘Sparrow’- My rugby team is the Wellington Hurricanes, whose mascot is Captain Hurricane. Jane’s team is the Brumbies, and their mascot is Brumby Jack. Combine the two mascots, and you get Captain Jack: ergo Sparrow! It was all Jane too- she deserves the congratulations for this one!
We are also very lucky in that Jacinda (my sister) is a month behind us baby wise, so I dare say they will be cousins able to get into trouble and face the world together. We are starting to settle on names, but you will all have to wait for those until after the BIG DAY. After all, what if your wee baby just doesn’t look like an Evangeline, or a Hubert? Have to keep them secret for now just in case!
We have just come back from Perth. We went over for a friends wedding (great day, great party, and Matt & Steph looked fabulous), and stayed with Jacinda and Jason. Good to do, as Jane had only met them at our wedding, so brilliant to let them get to know Jane a bit more. Two pregnant ladies were able to swap stories and provide support as well. We were met at the airport by Jason, and proceeded to sleep for most of Thursday arvo before dinner and a few beers. Friday we trolled through the central city and got seriously hung up in a couple of book shops. Elizabeth’s second hand bookshop was fantastic with a range of old, rare and newish books. I was particularly taken with a first print of Mrs Beetons guide to household management (printed in 1869), but didn’t have the luggage space for that sort of thing. Boffins was also brilliant. Lots of great technical books, and if lucky we will win the Christmas Eve draw for 170 books, valued at a little over $6500. Have no idea how we would get them over here. I guess we have to win first, before worrying about that little hurdle. We also walked through Kings Park, which has the war memorials, and avenues of awesome gum trees.
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| One of the Kings Park Gum trees, silhouetted against the beautiful Perth sky |
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| The eternal flame, overlooking the Swan River |
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| Jacinda- a very professional amateur photographer |
Saturday dawned beautiful and clear. Apparently the temperature was hotter than what we had had in Townsville, but when there is no humidity the heat is quite pleasant. We walked and then went to Fremantle. Jane wanted to catch up with Ljuba at Little Creatures Brewhouse so we lunched there. The Staff truly are odd ‘little creatures’. I don’t think you can work there unless you are a little- or a lot- odd. I had a really good pork belly with apple chutney, and Jane had chermoula spiced chicken tenders. I drank White Rabbit dark ale and Pipsqueak cider. Very happy boy.
In the afternoon, we went to a kitchen shop and bought Jac & Jase a pizza stone and paddle. I cooked pizzas for dinner, and worked through the vagaries of their BBQ to make a quite good pizza. Jason had requested a cheesecake for dessert, so I obliged, with the following recipe:
Raspberry, Macadamia and White Chocolate Cheesecake.
Base-
Sweet Biscuits (eg shortbread) Crushed 200 gm
Butter Melted 100 gm
- Mix biscuit crumbs and butter together, and press into lined springform pan. Chill
Filling-
Cream Cheese 750 gm
Sugar ½ cup
Eggs 4
Vanilla Essence 1 tspn
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until the cheese is smooth and the sugar dissolved.
- Add the eggs, beating each one in until smooth, then add vanilla
- Add filling. Use approx 1-1 ½ cups of filling (check taste). For this one I used raspberries, chopped macadamia and chopped white chocolate.
- Pour into pan. Cook at 160 deg Celsius for 70 min.
- Check readiness. Cake should be set around the edges, but still wobbly in the centre.
- Leave to cool in oven before chilling if possible. Fast chilling may cause the cake to crack across the top.
Other flavours- Lemon and Raspberry/ Dark Chocolate and Cherry (black forest)/ roasted plum and caramel/ butterscotch.
We went for a swim in the ocean on Sunday before the wedding. The water was so refreshing, and even Jane got in- slowly. She reckons that when I splashed her, Sparrow climbed up the inside of her ribcage to escape the cold. Hopefully Sparrow wont be a complete tropical baby, as we do not intend to make a long term life up here! (Could never afford the air conditioning bills).
Jason also had cheesecake for breakfast…
Jacinda had the Monday off work, and we had a leisurely lazy day. We went to Hilary’s at Sorrento, and had a nice lunch out. A little more snoozing in the afternoon, and we were almost ready for Jane’s birthday dinner. Oh yeah- Monday was also Jane’s birthday. I think she was twenty-thirteen, but am never sure. She only looks about 25, and surely someone in their thirties would have to have at least some grey hairs? Must be due to the care and attention I lavish on her. I started the day with a chocolate milkshake in bed, and a stack of presents. She got a pair of men’s running shorts (long story, but it might stop her stealing mine…), a heart rate monitor, a couple of books, and the Michael Parkinson DVD. Very spoiled.
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| The view at Hilary's (Sorrento) |
Jacinda cooked a fabulous dinner for Jane. Roasted chicken (and how can anybody say that ordinary supermarket chicken can even compare with a decent organic free range bird) with veg, and a cauliflower cheese (she answered one of Jane’s only pregnancy cravings to date). For dessert, Jane could choose between three different flavours of Magnum ice creams. Anyone that knows Jane will know how hard that was for her, but the peppermint won out in the end.
Tuesday was another lazy start before heading into the city for lunch with Ljuba and another stroll around the (book) shops before heading home to cook dinner for our hosts. We did a penne carbonara with romano cheese, asparagus and courgette. We had to catch a flight at midnight, which wasn’t quite as much fun, and didn’t get back into Townsville until mid-day. Perth’s climate is fantastic, and coming back into the moist sticky humidity of Townsville was quite depressing.
Other than that, we have finally finished out Christmas shopping, and look forward to a road trip to the Sunshine Coast next Tuesday. We will spend Christmas with family there before heading to Canberra for a catch up with Jane’s family, and a chance to snuggle under the covers (a rare treat not often experienced in the tropics!). I think I am going to spend a little time excavating more wine cellar, and hopefully enjoying a couple as well.
We have run out of time for Christmas cards this year, and I am prepared to put that down to ‘mum-nesia’, but will endeavour to get something out in the early new year. To all- festive wishes for the weeks ahead. Be safe, enjoy the company of family and friends, and know that our thoughts are with all, even if we can’t spend time with you.
