We Celebrate with the Knights Family

Another month has come & gone

ANZAC Day

Judy is 50

This is a visual diary of my friend, Judy's 50th birthday party. You might notice a distinct 60's theme running through the guests!

A Visit to Nowra

Easter Fun at Pretty Beach

Simply Wicked

Tilba Turns it On!

March in Review

A perfect Autumn Afternoon

Last Saturday afternoon we hosted a BBQ for two exchange familes; The Hodges Family from Cornwall in the UK and the Knights Family from Collingwood, Ontario.
The afternoon began with the arrival of Mariana & Greg Knights - we all cooed over their new baby girl - tiny Julia. Once Tim and his family arrived we headed for the beach. The afternoon could not have been more perfect and Em & Tim headed out back to catch some of the larger waves. Tim's son, Jack and Nick & Max had a bit of a surf, skim boarded and generally enjoyed the water. As for me, I took the opportunity to have a snuggle with baby Julia whilst her mother took her two little girls for a swim. John enjoyed showing Greg & Holly how to surf - they did quite well for greenhorns from inland Canada!

afterwards, we caught up with Judy & John and enjoyed a balmy night on the deck eating and drinking! All Saturday nights should be like this!

Sculpture By The Sea

February Frolics!

Central Tilba Public School Assembly

Facets of life in our Hometown

Our Little Town Turns Soggy

During the first two weeks in February we have has almost 600mls of rain. Believe me, this is massive. About half of this fell in about 36 hours last Monday & Tuesday. To put this in perspective, our area only had 460mls of rain for the entire year of 2009. The lakes and waterways were like dustbowls and our shire had less than 20 weeks supply of water left.Consequently, we witnessed flash flooding, lake openings, damage to roads and infrastructure like we have not seen since at least 1999 when we had 13 inches in one day. The Princess Highway was cut by 11.00am on Monday morning and there were serious concerns about how we were going to make it home. Em and I left school in a small convoy around 1.30pm and had to stop in Bodalla (a small town about 17km North of Dalmeny) and wait for several hours until the road temporarily reopened. Once the tide receded we were able to sneak through. We couldn't believe the damage to the highway as we slowly made our way towards home. So much water had come down the creeks in so little time! For the first time ever, school was cancelled on the Tuesday and we were able to stay at home since the road did not reopen until later that morning. I doubt that we will see rain like this again in a hurry. This has been the wettest February since 1911!

Making the most of my Friday sabbaticals. Lunch with two of my favourite friends!

January in Review

Why we live where we live

I took these pictures very early one morning last week and caught the sunrise over Montague Island on a beautiful summer's day. It made me realise why we live where we do. We spent last year travelling and exploring the beauty of Canada yet, we too, live in a place of beauty! In fact,parts of the Maritimes really reminded me of these scenes from home. I hope we get to share it with all our Canadian friends soon! We miss you all in Canada!

Emily is sweet 16

December in Review

Home at Last!

December 31st saw us rise at 5.00am to be out at Honolulu Airport for an 8.00am flight across the Pacific to Sydney. Fortunately we were not held up too long with increased airport security and our flight left on time. We were quite impressed with Jetstar, particularly the food and ten hours and four movies later, we touched down in Sydney. It was surreal to be home and we marvelled at the 29 degrees and high humidity as we stepped out of the terminal to catch a taxi to John's Mum's house.
We stayed in Sydney for four days and managed to catch up with some friends and family. We also spent a couple of days searching for a new car and I successfully purchased a snappy little Nissan Tiida which I got to drive home last Tuesday.
Since then, we have been busy unpacking and putting our home back in order. We all have some readjustment to do. For me, it seems like my head space is still in Ontario. Nevertheless, we are enjoying summer in narooma. The days are hot and clear and I have enjoyed being able to walk in the mornings. Em is back in the surf and the boys are enjoying back yard cricket with their mates!
Yesterday, we got our dog back and we have enjoyed welcoming him home.
The previous years in many ways, seems like a dream. However, we have some wonderful memories and experiences of our time away that will remain with us always!

More of Beautiful Waikiki

During our time in Waikiki we managed to find some time to hike up to the top of Diamond Head - an extinct volcano. Despite the heat and the steep grade we managed the walk with ease.Needless to say, the view from the top was quite spectacular.
We stayed in Hawaii until Dec 31 when we boarded a Jetstar flight bound for Sydney. Somehow, we missed new years eve, arriving back in Sydney late on January 1st. We were greeted by 29 degree heat and high humidity. It really hit us for a few days. Quite a change from -17 when we left Kingston!