Anzac Day

Anzac Day is a huge deal in Australia and New Zealand. It's the day Aussies and Kiwis remember the soldiers who died fighting in wars around the world. In particular the Anzacs who fought in  World War 1 are remembered and specifically those who died in the failed, bloody attempt to capture the Turkish peninsula at Gallipolli. Loads of Aussies and Kiwis travel to Gallipoli itself for a dawn service starting at 4.30am, the exact time the invasion attempt began from the sea. It was Anzac Day on Saturday so Rob got Scarlett up at 3.15am and they drove into the city to take part in the Dawn Service at the cenotaph at Martin Place. Despite the hour there were thousands of people there, packed in to the watch wreath laying, listen to the last post being played and to observe a minute's silence.  Scarlett was keen as mustard to go and enjoyed it all, before she and Rob slipped back into bed at 6am for another 3 hours sleep.

Happy Greek Easter

Our great friends Jo and Mark are about to move out of their amazing rented house in Rose Bay after more than 10 years. It's been a great entertaining house over the years with its gorgeous grounds and a huge verandah allowing lots of rainy day lunches under cover. With Jo being of Greek heritage and Mark having unusually large hands, they decided to have a double celebration - the last hurrah at the house and to celebrate Greek Easter. We thought it was to be an intimate lunch for a few friends but it somehow -  thanks to facebook perhaps - became a party for  more than 100 people. There were kids everywhere, tables heaving under the weight of food, huge tubs of ice full of wine and beer and a massive lamb roasting on a spit. As the day progressed slices of lamb were cut off and we helped ourselves to  kebabs of lamb, tomatoes, hommous and cucumber. It was a fantastic afternoon celebrating old friendships and new beginnings. Huzzah.

In other news, Rob's Grizzly Adams phase has finally come to an end.  After a fortnight of dedicated beard growing, with accompanying scratching and unwitting food storage, Rob went to a barber yesterday for a shave and a haircut, instantly taking 10 years of his appearance. Ah, so that's the secret of looking younger. Now where did I put those testosterone tablets....

School holidays rock

Rather then dreading the school holidays, we are having lots of fun having Scarlett at home every day. Of course in a week's time when we are still finding things to do, or if it starts raining, you may need a translator to work out my gin-soaked slurred speech. After our busy Easter weekend we took to two wheels on Tuesday for a lovely ride around the bays near our house. Scarlett rode the whole way on her bike and Flo was in her seat on the back of Rob's. The weather has been glorious so we have had days at the beach and pool. Yesterday we had one of Scarlett's school friends for the day and hit the playground and pool for 5-year-old larks - e.g saying 'poo' and wee' a lot followed by hysterical giggles.. Today with Rob at work and Florence in daycare, Scarlett and I went to Balmoral and hired a double kayak. It was a perfect  morning and we had great fun kayaking the length of the beach, around the headland and back again, marvelling at amazing homes spilling down the cliffs and the beautiful yachts. Later we were joined by Gav and Bev and their kids for a swim. In a few weeks it won't be warm enough  for ocean swimming so we are enjoying it while we can. Rain is forecast for the next few days, which seems unbelievable  at the moment, and our plans to go camping on Monday may come undone as a result. Before then we have ballet, soccer and a Greek Easter celebration this weekend.  

Happy Easter part 2

The hippity hoppety Easter bunny came to our house this weekend and left a trail of Easter eggs throughout the house and garden. Rob did 6 night shifts in a row last week so was out of action on Good Friday. With all the shops shut, I took the girls to Balmoral for the morning which was divine, lovely and sunny with a light breeze. Florence  entertained the few other beach goers by doing a massive poo in the sand. How we laughed as I dug an enormous hole in the sand to bury it. On Easter Saturday, with Rob fast asleep, the girls and I took the tram to the fish market to get a huge Tasmanian trout for Easter Sunday lunch. Much like at Christmas it was packed with holiday makers stocking up on prawns and fish. On Easter Sunday, with Rob still asleep, I somehow managed to entertain the girls all morning again by myself, cook the trout, extend the table by adding a new folding trestle from Bunnings warehouse (where everyone gets a bargain) so that we can now sit 12. Scarlett did a great job with the place settings and soon we were ready for our guests at 3pm. Much like our Lord Jesus Rob was finally risen and we sat down to  a lunch of roast trout, herb potatoes and 3 massive salads provided by Brett, Gav and Bev, finished with a flourless chocolate cake  made by Lara. The kids had an Easter egg hunt that was over in 12 seconds and then the gorging began. We finished the Easter weekend  with lunch at Zoe and Paul's to celebrate Paul's 40th.

Happy Easter part 1

Scarlett broke up from her first term of school on Thursday following a successful final week during which Scarlett was presented with a reading award certificate with matching bookmark. Scarlett had to go on stage in front of the whole school during assembly to receive it. Very proud. Her class also made hot cross buns and Easter bonnets for a parade on Wednesday.

Public schools in Australia aren't allowed to assume everyone wants their children to receive a Christian education - we had to tick a box to say Scarlett could have an hour of Scripture a week and could choose netween protestant, catholic and buddhist - so there's no nativity play at Christmas for example (gutted of Lilyfield). Rather oddly however they are all encouraged to make the items above. The Easter parade was brilliant however, hosted by very confident year 5 children who introduced each class like it was the Academy Awards.  Slightly alarming was the Easter Bunny who arrived, like a character from Donnie Darko, amid much cheering from the infant school children. The dude in the stetson is Mr Nielsen, the headmaster.

This morning, Good Friday, while Rob slept off his nightshift, the girls and I hit Balmoral beach for sand castle larks and good coffee. Rob needs all the sleep he can get due to the growing of an exhausting beard. 

What is it about my husband and his hair? Who remembers the multiple shaved heads, the bleached hair, the braided hair, the long hair with Spanish armada moustache and the goatees?

 Talking of growing well, our herb garden is going great guns, the basil's going bananas and the tomatoes are going nuts - I look forward to those flavour combinations. Oh and Scarlett has taught herself to skip with a rope. Not as easy as It looks.

Finally, in lieu of the Easter Bond movie - the Aussies don't do Bond movies on any holidays - we have to make our own entertainment on bank holidays, here is Scarlett singing an Easter song.

No weather for camping

We were supposed to go camping this weekend with two other families, and as the weather forecast looked a bit grim we decided to camp close to home in a national park in the city. By Thursday we were on our 3rd day of rain and the other two families, alongwith my own husband, pulled out. I was still determined as I had in my head that was how we would be spending the weekend. I waited until the last possible moment - midday on Saturday - and in spite of big dark rain clouds forming overhead decided that Scarlett and I would go alone with our 2-man tent.  We stopped off in leafy Lane Cove for sausages, bread rolls, salads and cheap wine and then made haste for the Lane Cove River Tourist Park  on the edge of Lane Cove National Park as I was keen to get the tent up before the rain came down. On the way there, the mobile rang and it was Julia calling to say Rich was on his way with their eldest daughter Ella. So the four of us made a blended camping family and had a right laugh. We hired bikes and rode them into the national park alongside the river and in the evening after dinner went on a hilarious torchlight wildlife tour through the park. The tour was notable for the distinct lack of wildlife. After 20 minutes we eventually saw two possums - big whoop - and later someone else on the tour - not the inept guide - spotted a bandicoot sniffing around someone's campervan.  Hilarious. Richard and I put the girls to bed and then sat up chatting with bottle of Penfolds.  On Sunday with still not a spot of rain having fallen we had breakfast and again headed off on bikes down to the boatshed hoping to rent a kayak or canoe. Unfortunately due to the clocks going back here we were there more than an hour before it opened so Ella and Scarlett had to make do with sitting in a tethered boat. Still it was a beautiful morning and all very Swallows and Amazons. We packed up and left for home mid morning regrouping for a late lunch at ours in the afternoon. Meanwhile Rob was having a wonderfully easy time at home with Florence, drinking gin, eating fillet steak and smoking fags. I know - that's what I said.

Autumn

Last week was hot one minute, stormy the next, hot again, then muggy, then beach weather, then wet again. On Sunday we had Gav, Bev and the kids over for a late lunch and it was boiling. Then yesterday it as all mops on deck as our house of leaks let in a few roasting trays of water. While the storm raged I endured a scary drive in the dark and the wet last night through the city to Liv's house for book club where we discussed Brideshead Revisited. We also managed to fit in conversations about being catholic, raising girls and homosexuality all spinning off from our discussions about the book. Great stuff. Our next book is The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. This morning Scarlett missed school in favour of a trip to the GP being checked out for suspected whooping cough. Her best friend at school is also off with it so while we await the results of her nasal swab we  jumped in the car and drove to Tamarama and Bronte to check out the massive surf brought on by the storm conditions. It was fantastic fun being blown about by the wind and running on the beaches which were closed to swimmers.

Dancing queen

Here's our little music lover Florence, busting some serious rug-cutting moves accompanied by her idols The Wiggles

This freelance life

I spent a few enjoyable days last week finally learning to embrace the extra time I have on my hands as I look for work, freelance and permanent. On Wednesday we  took Flo to Redleaf pool to meet up with Julia and Jo plus assorted children and parents. On Thursday, with both children occupied by school and daycare, I drove 90 minutes north from the city to Palm Beach Sydney's most northern and most exclusive suburb. I was there to research and update the online guide to the area for London-based uber magazine Monocle. I spent a few happy hours strolling the streets checking details on shops and restaurants before hitting the beach for some rays and then swimming my 20 laps in the ocean pool at the southern end of the beach. On Friday I spent most of my day at Scarlett's school co-ordinating the hot food lunch, a bbq the parents put on once a term to feed 300 kids hot dogs and chicken kebabs. It was great fun being in the school during lesson time and seeing what goes on. During a break in setting up, I sat in on a school assemply, perfect timing as it happened as Scarlett was the recipient of an award for getting 10 merits in one week. I'm not sure who was prouder, Scarlett or me.Finally, below is a video clip of Julia and her mother carol doing their famous doll wink. 

It's freakish at best.

Happy 2nd Birthday Flo!!

Our super-fruity, gorgeous, funny, popsicle Florence turned 2 today. Can it really be only 24 months since she came bursting into our lives? Here she is, funny as can be, shortly before being taken to the beach for the morning with her new bucket full of beach toys. After her lunchtime sleep godmothers George, Amelia and Melissa arrived bearing gifts. After a cake care of Daddy we sang Happy Birthday (amid emotional tears from Flo) and then hit the local bowling club with Martin and Godfather Drew for bad food and cheap wine for the grown ups. Lots and lots of fun. Happy Birthday sweetheart.

Backflips, babies and bicycles

What an active weekend. On Friday night I attended an acrobatics class for a story for the Herald. I was absolutely dreading it as the last time I put myself through some bizarre physical task - the trapeze - it was no more than an exercise in humiliation and defeat. In spite of the median age of the class being 14, I rocked. I did handstands, cartwheels, walkovers and round offs without any trouble at all and had an absolute blast. I didn't quite manage a backflip but had help from the instructor with two good handsprings. I left the class completely exhilarated and keen to do it again. On Saturday of course, I resembled  a 90-year-old lady as I limped about the place rubbing my sore muscles - my arms in particular were agony. After Scarlett's ballet class we went to see our old neighbours Rob and Freya whose baby girl Faren (I know, that's what I said) was born on Scarlett's birthday. The girls loved playing with this real life 'doll' as we toasted her good health. We spent Saturday night at a dinner party at Julia and Richard's house - fantastic food and company and lots of laughs - and we drove home through the city to see the throngs of party goers out celebrating Mardi Gras.

Last year Scarlett had a go at riding her bike without her training wheels with short-lived success. She had a blinding first run followed by  a massive crash which ended with a bloody nose, fat lip and a declaration that she wouldn't ride her bike again until she was 5. So yesterday morning we took the girls to the park  so Scarlett could have another go and Flo could try her new bike - got for $20 at a local garage sale on Saturday morning . It was a great success as after 10 minutes of stroppy 'I can't do it' behaviour, Scarlett finally mastered it and is now a fully fledged grown up bike riding girl. Flo did not have as much fun as even if her legs could reach the peddles, she wouldn't be strong enough to push them. Cue small crying episode.