Well hello I'm back!!
Slight hiccup !
Hope to resume daily blogs about my family.
Works been busy and that puts a strain on everything, but now I'm on holidays so will pick up where I left off.
Lots has been happening so over the next few weeks I'll fill you in.
Tonight I'm off to bookclub Christmas dinner with my wonderful friends who are all book lovers like myself. We all bring a plate of food to share and met at Pauline's house, who does the most amazing Christmas decorations. So I've cooked a leg of pork. Actually I slow cooked it on the BBQ using the indirect cooking method. I put all four burners on at 10:50 and got the temperature up to 200C after 1/2 hour, put the pork in, which I had scored the rind and oiled and salted. I cut some herbs, basil, coriander, and parsley and put at bottom of pan, filled with a little water placed pork on rack and shut the lid. I lowered the temperature after the 1/2 hour by turning off 2 of the burners and the temperature dropped to 150C which was perfect. Every so often I topped up the water, then at 1pm I noticed we had run out off gas!!!! So I sent Frances down to the garage to get some more!!
I had a hair cut appointment at 2pm so checked the pork core temperature which was only 61 C!! Luckily Bernadette was home and I got her to check temperature and she took off pork at 2.45.
I fill you in tomorrow how it all went, as Laurie is home now and will carve it for me while I have a quick shower and then head off.

Laurie has been busy today doing the shopping for the week. He is in charge of the kitchen!
He prepares a menu on Saturday for all the food for the week, and then shops for it, and will cook it for all of us. This works really well as I have a demanding job and after 20 years of doing all the house and kitchen management myself I'm happy to let someone else have some responsibility. The girls are encouraged to help when they are free, and willing!
His job entails a bit of travel to China and the US so I still have to jump in and do it all sometimes.













I stayed home with the girls full-time until Angela was 20 and then returned to full-time work so I've been lucky to have good support now I'm not at home with all the chores.

Laurie travels a long way to work each day and his car is wearing out. I've been given the opportunity to salary sacrifice and include a car. So today we went for a test drive in an i20 and were very impressed. I think we will "do the math" a see if its worthwhile to have. It will also be the car Geraldine will have access too when she gets her licence, in a couple of months.

Laurie is usually the photographer !

Laurie and Bernadette
We travelled to Adelaide when Bernadette had her University Orientation

Geraldine and Laurie.
Riding bikes around Dubbo Zoo on our Holiday in June this year.
We also visited Parkes, Laurie's place of birth and the Parkes radio telescope,
Laurie showed us where he lived till he was 12.
We also had a quick stop in Orange in NSW

A proud Dad when Angela Graduated from her Graphic Design Course several years ago

Life is all about Balance !
Bernadette on her recent holiday to New York

I was telling you about Geraldine recently and how she doesn't really know what she wants to do when she leaves school.
Bernadette, my third daughter had that dilemma 3 years ago. As she had an ability to write well she began to think about being a journalist. So she started University doing a communications degree. For a part time job she was coming to work with me at the hospital to help with the administrative duties of the unit. Shortly after starting, Bernadette found herself doing all the administrative duties on her own, due to our receptionist going on sick leave.
Being in the unit and seeing the work we do opened her eyes to what nursing is all about. Then last year she decided she wanted to become a nurse. Being the diligent student she is, she also wanted to finish her communication degree and start a nursing degree at the same time. So this year has seen her working very hard at both degrees as well as working 3 days a week with me at the hospital, sometimes as a nursing assistant and other doing administrative duties. She has become a valued member of the unit.

A tourist in New York

Bernadette and her best friend Kate at their 21st Birthday party in June
The theme of the party was Super Heroes !

Bernadette and Geraldine 

After work today I felt like doing something creative. So I baked a carrot cake...mmmmmmm.......

Enjoy

All quiet on the Frances front. I spoke to her on Sunday when she was in Seattle. Unfortunately she had left her phone charger, camera charger and power adaptor behind in Portland! So I guess all has gone flat now! Luckily she plans to go back to Portland shortly on her way to Chicago so will be able to go back to hostel to check if they are still there.

                                         

I'm missing My Frances...and the funny things she does! These photos of Frances and Bernadette were taken by 
Geraldine on a holiday we had a couple of years ago in Falls Creek when we were learning to fly fish and they got a little bored!

Geraldine got her year 12 timetable yesterday. I can't believe this is my(!) last year at school! 
We also received her year 11 report. She has done incredible well, and it brought tears to Laurie's eyes when reading some of the comments! Geraldine has been our quite achiever. She enjoys learning and has a strong desire to please, so gradually has been improving. She is still unsure what to do with her life, all we keep saying is just do you best to give you the most options. It very hard for a young person to know what they want to do with their lives.

Working hard at her school work which is 90% on the computer




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Today, when I was at work a visitor commented to me how nice the paint colour was in the unit.
I guess I had got so use to the colour scheme that I no longer noticed it. But then I began to think about how the colour scheme had come about.
The place where I work is a day surgery unit, where people come to have eye operations. It was painted in pretty bland, typical hospital colours of nondescript blue or maybe grey. Then about two years ago we were told that the unit would be painted over Christmas. So we started to gather ideas on what colour. But nothing look right and we couldn't agree on anything.
So I consulted my eldest daughter, Angela and see was able to develop the best and most exciting colour scheme. I have got a photo of it but I have one of Angela.

Angela

Angela has the most amazing creative talent. She works as a graphic designer in a big printing company. She just has the knack of knowing what goes well together. She has also studied really hard, going to a top graphic design college, obtaining a graphic design diploma as well as doing a four year apprenticeship in prepress printing. She now is studying for a degree in Marketing at Open University, as well as working really long hours. We are all very proud of her achievements. Any problems in deciding what goes with what, and Angela is consulted.

Sharing her birthday cake with Maggie and Honey

Being out in the garden is one of my favorite things to do.
So today I spent most of the day outside. It was a beautiful spring day with the temperature just right. With sun screen on, hat, sunnies, shorts n t shirt and boots I was set.
A couple of years ago we put in birdies raised garden bed and started to grow some vegetables. I set up a watering drip line on a tap timer and mulched the bed with straw. It was so rewarding! So then I decided to get another garden bed last spring extended the watering system and grew more varieties and had a bumper season. So early this spring I planted a good variety of veggies all from seeds including cherry tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, beetroot, carrots, cucumber, beans on a climbing frame and somes herbs of parsley, corriander and basil. I also got some strawberries in a pot with a watering chamber at the bottom, as strawberries, I was reading don't like to be watered from the top.
The beds are all full and I'm starting to think I'd like another! .... But that will involve a good deal of planning. The lettuce grew really fast and we enjoyed it, but then suddenly it had gone to seed. So a visit to the nursey was number one priority today. I got some lettuce seeds as well as some seedlings, and then I saw some snow peas so I got them also, and planned to set up a climbing frame for them. I
 also got some more strawberries and a blueberry plant and then .......I saw a grape vine so I decided that would be good out on the back verandah. Then I saw .....some flowers .......snapdragons cause 
they alway remind me of my mum and some other flowers but I can't remember their name!

Little tomatoes 

That meant quite a lot of planting and moving around some other plants. I'm a little bit tired now but looking forward to another bumper season from the veggie patch!