End of year photo essay...

I have included some of the photos from the last part of our year.  They are not necessarily in chronological order, but all bring back great memories. Enjoy!

 

 Jane did a welding course during the year - here she is talking to Leigh about the fabrication of our sliding doors.

Jane on the tools!

On the weekend of 27/28 November we decided to have our first official party at the farm. We decided to make the most of our deck, and have a movie night and spit roast. We ended up with about 40 people for dinner, who then stayed for a double movie session.  The lamb came from our neighbours, and weighed in at about 30 kg. It was roasted for almost 7 hours, and was just perfect. 

The movies were "The Lorax" for the kids, and then "What we did on our holidays" for the adults. The deck was full of people in beanbags, hammocks and camp chairs, and it was a really lovely evening. We had guests travel from Sydney, Canberra and Wodonga. It was such a success that it will now be added to the annual social event register for the farm!

We didn't make MacK dig the whole fire pit... don't think he would have been smiling if he had!

 This is the gorgeous beast after about 6 hours of cooking over coals. It was about now that we added potatoes to the fire, and started on our second (?) beers. We served the lamb with aioli, jacket potatoes and coleslaw. There was plenty of wine, beer and conversation to go round!

Now that is a drum stick!

 

On the night before the World Cup final, we were in Canberra, and invited to the function at the New Zealand High Commission with Jane's parents. The bloke on my right looked a little familiar, and we worked through our shared history. It turns out that he knew us when we were at Highden in the Manawatu, and was a good friend of Dad's when they were both 19. He still hasn't forgotten Dad driving his Land Rover into a dam, where it promptly stayed. I love those coincidences! Also enjoyed seeing the ABs triumph!

 Jane particularly wanted a cake featuring a hippotamus for her birthday this year...

 As ever, Peter spent a lot of time on the farm when we were up. The grass was too long to be easily hit with either a slasher or a trimmer, so Peter channeled his inner 13 year old and jumped on a scythe for the first time in a great many years. He says the skills come back easily enough! It was certainly a great help to have the grass down.

 

 A graduand with attitude!

MacK with his favourite teacher

 

Gorgeous - Jane and MacK ready for Tyson's wedding

 

 

The Groomsmen with Tyson

 

 

The set up for the wedding - note the theme. Everyone was in white! It was a lovely wedding. Ty and Maddie worked incredibly hard to make it a beautiful day

 

  

Eventually we got a family shot

 

 Mr and Mrs Dalziell - Congratulations

 

Diem, Helen and Jane at the All Saints Christmas party - lovely friends!

 

 Us and the Bells. Still showing a reasonable degree of decorum!

Imagine my disappointment at (again) finding a hat that doesn't fit!

 

 The Lads

This was our first crack at the cladding. Surprisingly it all went off without a hitch!

 

One of the window cutouts - The building program for that day was brought to you by the letter 'F'

And that pretty much brings 2015 to a close... Safe travels if you are on the road, and we hope you get to spend time with your loved ones.

How time flies...

I can't quite believe that our last post was in September. I noted then that our run in to the end of the year would be frantic, and it has indeed turned out to be that way. Let me bring you up to date with a general overview, and then I will follow up with a couple of more specific posts.

October for me was a little hectic - I had my last logistic career course to complete, over the month of October. The course elected me "Sherrif" - means I get to hold the regular kangaroo courts (to raise money for our end of course function) and organise said functions. There was a little extra work involved, and there were nights I was still planning and working at stupid hours of the morning, but the bonus was that I got to do it all from home. This is the first year I haven't had to say goodbye to Jane and MacK for an extended period, which is rather a lovely change.

During the course we had to fly to the Sunshine Coast for a fleeting visit (up Saturday, back Sunday) for Tyson's wedding! Very exciting, and I only wish we could have stayed longer. Still, work sometimes has to take primacy, and this was one of those occasions. This was the last of our weddings for the year, and was a really good fun one to be a part of. It was wonderful to see family from New Zealand (Margie and Rosie) and to spend time with the family spread across this wide brown land - even if only for a short while. Oh - did I mention that I was best man? Such an honour to stand next to this young man whom I have the utmost love and respect for. I couldn't ask for a better brother. There was a time I might have said "Thanks for everything, little man", but that was a long time ago now - these days he towers above me!

November was supposed to be the wind down into a leisurely pack and move to Darwin. Typically those plans turned to clag, and we now sit at the end of the year, exhausted and longing for a break!

Work for me was just as busy as ever, although I did get a welcome recognition for that work before we finished. Jane topped off her usual days of work and super mumming with a welding course (every girl needs a hobby, right???) and MacK graduated from the pre school program at day care.

Jane served her signature 'meat wrapped with meat, stuffed with meat; on a bed of girlie greens' on two consecutive weeks to cover on the friends we had promised it to, and we had to pack up our house again,. We really weren't ready to leave Wodonga, and really enjoyed this posting. We had great friends, and the location is perfect. Both Jane and I could travel to work in under ten minutes (me walking) and we could regularly meet for lunch. We were only an hour or so from winter ski fields, and we lived in the middle of a couple of excellent wine regions (is there a bad one?). Produce is excellent, plentiful and cheap, and the climate suited us both admirably. Not sure that we will ever take a posting there again, but we would all be happy to. There were certainly a few tears when we left!

We were lucky to be able to finish our time in Wodonga with a Christmas party at the All Saints winery in the Rutherglen. The winery is built in a castle, and we had a great night - photos to follow.

We drove to Canberra to celebrate Jane's birthday and then off to the farm for a bit more of a building frenzy. Our aim (must!) before we leave the southern states is to get the house to lock up. The list of jobs for that to happen is quite daunting, but we are getting there - we needed to get doors and windows in, the giant (200kg) sliders for the deck, weatherproof the deck and also wanted to rough in the electrics.

As I write we have roughed in most of the electrics - we ran out of cable, having put in just on 500m. The plan isn't terribly complicated, it is just a big house. We have completely weatherproofed the deck (blue board, and colorbond), and have helped with the fabrication of the doors. We will drive to Townsville, before I fly back to spend three days installing windows and doors! Jane will be able to have a good break, and hopefully restore her sense of humour. She will certainly need it when we hit the humidity of Darwin.

We hope you all have a brilliant Christmas and a prosperous New Year. We look forward to seeing you all as we can - and remember that Darwin is a brilliant place to escape the southern states (and NZ) winter cold!

A freezer party

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We will have an insane run in to the end of the year, and our move north, so we thought it time to have a dinner to clear out the freezer. We had a fantastic piece of Vietnamese roast pork belly and a chunk of venison to work with. I can’t be any more specific with the cut for the venison, as we got it frozen in a bread bag (wild shot!). We set our usual table for eight, with local friends making up the guest list.

 Ready for the evening's festivities

 Just some of the plates we required

The menu we served was perhaps the best we have yet served at any dinner party. I know that is a big call, but it was really good. We started with fresh breads and dips (beetroot hommus, and pumpkin and feta), with Persian feta and Rosnay olives (from the farm).

The menu proper was as follows:

·      Quail breast ‘Kilpatrick’

·      Linguine, tossed with garlic prawns, chilli, citrus and parsley

·      Smoked lamb cutlet, with roast cherry tomato and walnut sauce

A little annoyed that this was the only course that I didn’t photograph.

·      Vietnamese pork belly, pickled vegetables and Nam Jim sauce

·      Venison and parsnip pot pie, with roasted kipfler potatoes, asparagus and hollandaise sauce

·      Apple and caraway crisps with King island smoked cheddar

·      Cake…

I really enjoyed making this cake, and designing the build. I did have a design to work from, but that changed as I started to plan the elements. It ended up being a gateau with layers of chocolate and vanilla sponges, sandwiched with dark chocolate mousse. The cake was covered with a French vanilla butter cream and iced with chocolate ganache. The cake was then topped with a mascarpone and natural yoghurt frosting (which added a really nice acidic counterpoint to the cake), fresh berries and crisp meringue. It is a long description, but so totally worth it.

We drank a couple of really good bottles of wine, including a Rosnay ‘Garage’ wine that was an experiemt for the Rosnay team. The conversation was really good, and after dinner we played a card game named “Cards against Humanity”. The evening was brilliant, and MacK was exceptionally good too. It was even better that he slept until after eight this morning!

 A couple of the wines we drank. The label on the left is the Rosnay 'Garage' Cabernet Shiraz

 Cards against Humanity...

 Recovery breakfast at Mr Benedicts, Albury

There are a couple of other shots from the last couple of weeks. We did get up to the farm to do a general clean up and cut the grass around the house. There has been a lot of rain, and the grass has just bolted. There was no way that we could hit the grass with a weed eater (would have just taken far too long), so I was glad to have a scythe with me. Nothing like going ‘old school’!

 The shed looks a little better with a bit more racking!

The canola fields around the farm are very picturesque

Tyson at his Bucks... nice threads...

This poppy was one of a small patch that we discovered growing close to the house! We are very excited!

A little brother gets married, and we get to Darwin!

We finally got away for our family holiday – one in which I am cooking D’s wedding, and spending a few days at my future work conducting a handover. So not so much a holiday, but a break away nonetheless. We need this one – we are really tired, having spent most of the weekends this year in the car travelling between Wodonga and either Canberra or the farm.

I stayed up late on the night before we left to make a chocolate fudge as the dessert for the wedding, and let it set overnight. I flubbed the recipe, as it was still far too sticky to cut this morning. I had a minor conniption, before throwing it back in the pot and playing with extra ingredients until I was happy that it might work. The jury is still out, but we will have a grand unveiling tomorrow! (The fudge was fantastic)

The first three hours of our holiday were a bit of a drudge – we were back in the car, driving the road much too frequently travelled. On arrival into Melbourne the mood picked up considerably, as we called into the Melbourne Zoo. Jane particularly wanted to see the new baby pygmy hippopotamus, and MacK particularly wanted to see everything! We did get to see the pygmy hippo, along with many others. A couple of highlights for me were the lowland gorillas (also with a baby in tow), the orangutans (just so incredibly beautiful) and the majesty of the lions.

All of the primates were pretty special, and MacK was again taken with the antics of the meerkats. Melbourne Zoo does an excellent job with their animals. At no stage did we feel that the animals were stressed or distressed, and my residual thought was that there are no animal enclosures, but genuine habitats. It also helps when the kitchens where all the food for the primates is prepared has plate glass walls, so that patrons can see the care with which the food is prepared.

We then parked our car and checked in with plenty of time to spare. We had dinner at the same restaurant we patronized last time we flew out. “Able Baker Charlie” is an excellent pizza restaurant, where the pizzas are cooked in a hearth oven. The beer was also good… Not a bad start to ten days away from home.

Tomorrow will be a slow day, as we get used to the end of winter, Darwin style. I think today was 23-32 degrees Celsius. Wodonga matched the humidity levels, but was 6-15 degrees… Methinks we will end up in the pool sooner rather than later!

Darwin was not as hot as I had expected, which was really a rather pleasant surprise. The first night in we spent at a YHA Hostel with Peter, Phyl and Aunty Carmel having arrived in at midnight. On our first day we collected our car, spent some time in the pool, and made our way out to Berry Springs to see David and Jess. They have a beautiful and unique space that sits nicely in the environment – Treading lightly, I think they call it.

We checked into our new digs, at the Tumbling Waters Holiday Park. We ate in their café that night, with the food being excellent. MacK enjoyed his Barramundi so much he ordered a second serve! We stayed at Tumbling Waters for three nights before moving into Darwin City proper.

Friday was a work day for me – I spent the day preparing all the food for the wedding. It has been a long time since I have spent a day cooking outside, and the tropical heat posed a few unique challenges. Butchering 15 chickens makes a lot more sense in a cool space – when all you have is permanently set at 35 degrees Celsius, you need to work a little quicker!

 Jane and Dave found the cool room - a perfect place to be on a warmish tropical afternoon.

 Plenty of colour...

 So, the lads from Canberra are so used to sitting around a fire at a party that they couldn't stop themselves, even when the temperature was in the mid thirties!

 MacK sitting quietly so that he might be able to go for a swim after the ceremony

MacK, and 'the Cousins'

 

The catering might have posed a few unique challenges, and I might have had my cranky chef pants on for a bit, but the wedding itself was brilliant. I think it was lovely for the family to be able to come together for the organisation of the wedding proper. I cooked, Jane, Jasmine, Clare and Philip kept food up to the buffet, with Phyl and Aunty Carmel doing a lot of the post dinner clean up. I have to also acknowledge the contribution of Leigh, who ran point on keeping me lubricated and provided invaluable assistance in sorting out the spit and the pigs! As compensation, both he and I had a complete roast pork shoulder for dinner. It was magnificent!

 Siblings three... apparently Jane suggested that they should all poke out their tongues...

 Peter wanted a photo of us all in berets drinking Guinness

 And apparently something was a little funny...

The ceremony happened at Berry Springs, which is a lovely dry season swimming spot (the wet season brings with it a requirement to share the space with crocodiles…), and all were typically laid back. Floral corsages for the bridal party were dispensed with in favour of matching fishing lures. I think the bridal party even splashed out on new jandals for the wedding! The wedding space was in an open shed which came up really well. Jess has a really good designer’s ‘eye’, and had some really good concepts.

Sunday was a rest day for us all, before moving back into Darwin city. I worked a couple of days to do a handover for 2016, and then finally had a chance to rest. Jane and MacK went out on a jumping croc tour while I was at work, and had a great time watching Aggro and his ladies.

 

 Just like in the "Swamp" cartoon...

 

 The sunsets are really something to see. This one was over the Mindil Markets

We had another wedding to attend in Darwin on the Thursday night, which was again celebrated in true Territorian fashion. The groom again wore jandals, which were perfect for a beach wedding. Jane and Mack stayed in Darwin until Sunday, and attended the wedding reception/party on Saturday night. MacK told me that there were a lot of kids there, and that he had a great time at the party – and that he had also gone to bed really late!

I flew to Brisbane on Friday to attend/coordinate Tyson’s buck’s party. We had a great day, starting at 1000 h with an hour or so of karting. After the karts, the lads lunched at Victoria Park golf course before settling down for nine holes of golf which could best be described as the good, the bad and the very, very ugly. I had stocked the apartment with beer and nibbles, and the boys were suitably lubricated before we headed out to dinner at about 2000 h. We had a great night out, and the Buck was suitably looked after, and home by 0200 h.

After a very busy holiday, I headed home for a rest…