We have enjoyed the last of the summer and now are just starting to experience Autumn at its finest, beautiful gold, yellow, red and copper leaves throughout the Hills and it's getting cold - 15 degrees - and rainy. Which of course is great for the garden and the farmers.
As we move into the middle of the year and I have settled in at work (and passed my probationary period :-) ) we have turned our mind to the house and started some of the work we have identified we want to do. We've had the driveway done and we're now rendering the front of the house from an old fashioned slate cladding effect to a lovely modern 'bushland' render.
Apart from the usual, work etc, I have been quite sick with a nasty cough and flu like symptoms so had quite a few days off work and 2 courses of antibiotics to clear it up. I'm geting back to normal now, I'm about 98% right again!
May is always a busy month for us because we have Iain's birthday and our wedding anniversary to celebrate. On our anniversary we spent a night in a hotel in town, the hotel adjoining where my parents bought their apartment.
We had such a lovely relaxing time - spent some time in the spa area of the hotel and went for a fabulous dinner. One of the best things about it was we could wake up in the morning naturally and then doze off again and just have peace and quiet. No Amelia jumping on us, no requests to watch any kids TV. It was quite a luxury!! We took our time and went to have breakfast at the farmers market at the showgrounds.
James stayed the night and looked after the kids and did very well. I think he was tired when we arrived home!
Last week we went to the Helpmann Academy dinner which is an Academy of Arts. We were invited by one of Iain's board members and it's a spectacular fund raising event. I've been to many but this was something else. Because it's all about the arts, you can imagine that there were amazing artworks in the auction and there were various performances of singing, drama and performance artists throughout the night. I sat next to a Professional Organiser so that was interesting conversation.
The next morning we popped back into town with the kids to collect the car and ended up having a super afternoon in the city and a trip on 'Popeye' which is the boat which goes up and down the river to the Zoo and back. Amelia and Cameron were beside themselves with excitement being on a boat trip and she adored getting in the city centre tram to the Mall.
Apart from these rare but enjoyable 'going out' occasions we have been pottering about Aldgate and Stirling, visiting the Chestnut Man for roasted chestnuts, and Kane the butcher for his home reared meat!
Iain has been doing really well at work and got a super performance review and pay rise recently, I am very proud of what he's done with his job. Not so much about the increase in profits he's delivering (although of course that's what helps the salary!) but that he has created a super environment for his staff and implemented policies such as some paid parental leave for all staff and just a really good, fair workplace where people are rewarded for good work.
James has finally submitted all the paperwork for his permanent residence visa which is good news, now we just wait to hear about whether it gets approved. We hope so.
The kids are great, both are flourishing. Amelia is now in the Kindy room at childcare and she is coming on in leaps and bounds. She has started to write individual letters and her grasp on language is brilliant.
Cameron is copying sounds now and he loves to say 'uh oh!" when he drops something. He's crawling around, such a fast little crawler and desperately trying to walk. At the moment he contents himself to walk around furniture.
Hope you are all well. Enjoy looking at the photos. We're away now to hibernate for the winter with a well stocked cellar, my slow cooker on constantly making hearty soups and 2 tons of red gum wood for the fire.
Lots of love
Caroline, Iain, Amelia and Cameron
xxxxxx
Amelia just about inhaled this German homemade cheesecake at the Stirling Market
At the playground
Dad the packhorse at bedtime
Cameron loves having a bath
Caroline almost inhaled this locally made Chicken Pie at Stirling Market!
A rare photo these days! Us all dressed up and off to a dinner
