Edie

Our youngest grandchild is Edie. She enjoyed dressing up in her special fairy costume and had several rides on our old rocking horse. She also spent time playing with her new Xylophone.

Christmas day

We were joined by four of our children and their partners as well as four grandchildren for a special Christmas lunch. Our eldest son, Toby is a chef, so he took charge of the kitchen and with the help of others produced a delicious meal.

Island Brass Academy concert in Hobart

Today we went to Hobart ... specifically to attend a special concert by The Island Brass Academy. One of our grand children, Dorian, is a gifted musician. He plays trumpet and as he was performing in the junior section of the Academy as part of the Concert, we decided to make a special day trip to Hobart to see him and hear him perform. It was an excellent concert. We are very proud of Dorian's achievements.

Bruce, Veronica and Cormac Stanley

We contacted our cousins who live at Scarborough and we decided to meet on South Bank for lunch. We actually met at the Art Gallery as there are good parking facilities in that complex. We then chatted as we strolled along the riverbank pathways to the south Bank beach and restaurant area. We spent several hours just enjoying being with family and exchanging news and views while we ate some delicious food and enjoyed the fresh coffee.

We visit David and Betty Scrine

David and Betty Scrine invited us over to their place at Currumbin for lunch. We enjoyed the train ride to the nearest station where David and Betty collected us and then drove us the rest of the way to Currumbin. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed spending time with our dear friends. We always have lots of laughs with the Scrines. The lunch was delicious too!

We have dinner with Michael, Chris and George Day

The delightful Days invited us over to their home at Bardon for dinner. As a bonus, their son George had recently arrived from New Zealand so it was great to see him again. Michael and Chris had been having quite a busy time since they moved to Brisbane after volunteering at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel. We spent a very happy evening with them sharing experiences as well as our plans for the future.

Dinner with more friends at a Thai Restaurant

Lua and John were keen for us to be introduced to some other good friends thay have made, so they organised to meet over a meal at a Thai restaurant . It was a good choice as they served one of my favourite Thai entree dishes - Money Bags. Another very enjoyable evening

Dinner with friends

Lua and John generously invited some friends over for an evening meal. We spent a very happy evening with Michael, Barbara, Jill and Len as well as Lua and John. Fabulous food and fabulous people.

A surprise meeting with Chris Oosterloo

We arrived at the airport to get our direct flight to Brisbane and while we were sitting having a drink in the cafe, I was surprosed to see Chris Oosterloo pass by. I called out her name and she came over to our table. It was quite a surprise as we had not seen each other for maybe 12 years. As well we had lost touch with each other while we were living in Israel so it was an exciting meeting. Chris was also on her way to Brisbane where she has been living for several years. We exchanged phone numbers and planned to meet up while we were in Brisbane.

We meet Valmae Lette-Taomia

Noel and I were at the Scottsdale show and we were delighted to meet our dear friend of many years, Valmae Lette-Taomia. As usual she was looking her radiant self. It was also a pleasure to meet Miriam who was accompanying Valmae on her visit to the show.

Dinner with Peter and Wendy Holloway

Wendy and Peter invited us over for dinner. We go back a long way . Wendy was in the same year group when I first went to Art School in Hobart in 1960 and we have remained close friends ever since. Like me, Peter grew up on the NW Coast so we have many things in common. They have three sons who are quite close in age to our first three sons too. Wendy is a gifted watercolourist and she has continued to produce and successfully exhibit her work over many years. A very happy and stimulating evening with old friends.

We visit Telle in Latrobe

Noel's second godmother lives in Latrobe on the North West Coast. Her name is Telle and she is a delightful lady who loves gardening, like Meg, Noel's other godmother, who lives in Victoria. We enjoyed having afternoon tea with her on our way to Burnie and Wynyard to see other friends.

We visit godmother Meg ...

Noel is very fortunate to have been given two godmothers. They are both wonderful women and although we are not related to either of them they have always been very much part of our extended family. Meg lives in a beautiful part of Victoria at Avonsleigh and she has a beautiful garden. We visited her for lunch during a few days spent in Melbourne.

A surprise birthday treat

During our weekend visit to Hobart, we stayed with friends at Lindisarne. Kevin and Ann Stark have been our close friends for many years and we love spending time with them. They have two delightful daughters, Eleanore and Clare. They invited us to share the evening meal with them. They had also invited Erica and John Davidson and their youngest daughter Rossi. A surprise guest was Salman Stevenson who had spent a year at the Baha'i world Cenre in Haifa during our time there. It was my 65th birthday during the week so they very kindly gave me gifts of delicious chocolate and coffee. As well they produced a special rich chocolate birthday cake with candles. It was a very happy evening.

Edie is 3

We travelled to Hobart for the weekend to spend time with Toby, Nicole, Dorian and Hespa. Nicole's parents, Barbara and David were also visiting from South Australia. The special event was a birthday BBQ for Edie's third birthday. Raphael, Jessica and Caitlin also travelled down from Launceston for the day to help Edie celebrate her special day.