Spectacular

Sitting on Mark's verandah the other night and watched as an amazing sunset lit up the sky. Couldn't resist getting out the camera.





Stunning!!

Agapanthus

Had a lovely day last Saturday. Started with lunch with our daughter Jo and her partner Steve. We lunched at Howard Vineyard where our son Mark is the head chef. Great meal of tapas and delicious wines. Howards, at Nairne, have a tapas day every Sunday with live music and great food. You do need to book, though. Friday and Saturday lunch is the bistro menu. Superb food, even if I am the chef's mum. Check out the website if you want a pleasant day in the country and good food.

After lunch we visited the Agapanthus Farm at Littlehampton. Don and I had been there before and spent too much money, but Jo wanted to have a look - not to buy, just look.

We spent well over an hour there just looking around. The gardens are fabulous and of course we couldn't resist buying 'just a couple more'!! Check out the website, then visit. You are assured of a warm welcome from a very helpful, friendly family.

Finished the day with pizzas! LOL!!

Liz

Pandas

Two days in a row. Amazing!!!

Adelaide has been hit by Panda Frenzy!! This Christmas nearly every little girl must have received a panda in her stocking. They were everywhere. Funi and Wang Wang (pronounced Wong Wong because so many jokers were substituting the 'g' for a 'k'!!) must be the best known names in Adelaide.

So, Jo, Mark and I took the girls to the zoo!

After a long and tiring tour of the zoo, we duly lined up with hundreds of others to wait 45 minutes or more for our time to see the precious pair - tedious, boring, but like everyone else there we were captivated by our first contact with real live pandas. We had heard that all pandas do is eat and sleep, but we must have been there on a good day. Funi, in particular put on a very cute and entertaining performance and the several hundreds who were there with us were totally under her spell. Shutters snapped, video cams hummed and the very photogenic pair were captured on a hundred cameras. Small matter that the reflective glass gave a very poor picture - we had our photos!





Just as impressive is the area in which they are housed. When we were there, they were still in quarantine and behind glass, but they are due to be allowed outside mid-January, so next time we will see them in beautifully landscaped custom - built compounds.


I for one am a fan. I will be going back!!

New Year's Resolution

My resolution this year was to keep up to date with my various commitments - including my blog. So far I have done a pretty lousy job. However I am at least up to date with making my ATCs - if not posting them.

One of my excuses has been that the 'm' on my keyboard has not been working. Quite remarkable what gobbledegook one can write when one letter doesn't work. However, that has been rectified and now I have no excuses.

We had a very pleasant Christmas this year. For the first time in many decades (apart from two restaurant meals) I did not have to cook Christmas dinner - the girls did it and at Jo's place not ours. Have to admit that I did feel very bereft for a while not having a hundred and one things to do on Christmas morning - but a few wines soon made me feel far more relaxed.

The Sydney contingent stayed with Jo and Steve this year which was better all round as they didn't all have to squeeze into the sewing room, but had the luxury of a parent's bedroom and a kids' bedroom.

We had an indecent number of presents under the tree and a mountain of wrapping paper to clean up, but we had such a lot of fun and this was followed by great food and entertaining company - and NO family arguments!!!

In among the wrapping paper.

Erinn enjoying the cream puffs

A quiet moment reading a Christmas book. Lovely now that Niamh can read to Erinn. They share some very precious moments.

I do love Christmas.