2 friends

a poppy doll for Arch and one for a very dear friend, Harvey.
both boys start Prep this year, at different schools.
i hope you both have a wonderful year in prep.

friends

today i think was one of the best days these holidays.
3 friends and their kids came over for a swim and lunch. we managed to spend some time catching up on a months worth of news while the children around us swam and played happily with each other.
its simple days like this that make it all worth while.

Industrial Brat Pack

this weekend John and his colleagues (best mate) had a warehouse sale.
I'm not sure if i have explained but towards the end of the year John decided to let his new company go due to no real gains and growth after nearly 2 years of hard work. a close friend who has imported indoor furniture for years has decided to branch out into outdoor furniture. John and a really close friend Ian are going to run it. john is inspired, driven and focused and the last few months have been great, with 2 trips to China to order stock and him moving into a warehouse/office space out of home has been great. the business is going well and he is enjoying it.
this weekend they had their first warehouse sale. Mish (Ian's wife) and I and all the kids spent the weekend at the warehouse and it was fun. spending time with old friends, kids hanging out and selling furniture !!

Happy Fathers Day

cooking breakfast for the Dads.

fishing

at the base of Buller, fishing

a weeekend at Buller

friends of ours have a house at the bottom of Mt Buller.
we spent the weeeknd with them...
not alot of snow but lots of fun.

last weekend

our last weekend at the snow...
with a big crew of friends...
not a lot of snow but enough to have a good ski in the morning and then spend the weeeknd hanging out with friends enjoying the sunshine and great food and company.
a leisurely drive home on sunday stopping at wineries and enjoying the King Valley.

Chin Chin

our dear friend Benjamin Cooper is head chef at the new, very popular restaurant Chin Chin.
we went tonight loving every bit of food that we ate.
Hugo was lucky enough to go in the kitchen with Ben for a look.
if you can, go. its the best food i have ever had.

first week

fresh powder and blizzards, a lodge full of kids, great ski buddies, sun the last few days
all in all a perfect first week of holidays

winter solstice

kids, parents, friends
joined together to celebrate winter solstice

pasta

you cant have fresh tomato pasatta/sauce without fresh pasta
so the boys and i made pasta this morning.
Hugo went up to the TV to watch the Stephanie Alexander DVD again, so he could write the recipe down.
100 grams strong flour to 1 egg
as we were in the middle of making it friends dropped in, so Seth joined in and helped.
it was fun and dinner last night was one of our best meals, so simple but delicious.
fresh pasta and fresh sauce.

escaping

from the rain to a friends country property for the night.

birthdays

today is one of my great friends birthday. Hugo, Archie and I went and had lunch with her and her boys. its amazing what can be achieved when it needs to be. a quick card that i made. i love the floral paper and the colours.
we had a lovely relaxed afternoon.
today i was going to show you what was on my desk, but .... nothing except a great big pile of bills. next week i promise i will have something creative.