Old Friends

It is Saturday and I have been back visiting everyone in Wellington for a week now. Only couple more days to pack everything into and then back on to the plane for me.

Arriving in Wellington last Saturday I was greeted by a beautiful sunny winters day. I have always loved the expression 'You can't beat Wellington on a good day!'. Shame that there aren't too many of them during the winter but that is by the by.

Mum picked me up at the airport and took me back to her place via a quick detour to pick up wrapping paper. Yes, my catch-ups were already starting. I had time for a coffee and a quick chat with mum and Michael before it was timeto go. Mo came and whisked me away to her place for her impromptu 40th birthday get together with hubby Brian and friends Barry, Lynn, Cameron and Taylor.

Happy 40th Mo

I was greeted at the door by their dog Corey and I found out that he was so excited that he had managed to pee up the leg of my jeans. This seemed to tickle Barry's sense of humour and he couldn't stop laughing for some time. I was just annoyed that HE didn't manage to wet himself laughing. Bugger.

Photos were taken, stories shared, gifts exchanged, wine drunk and through it all, Lynn, Mo and Brian continued to fill us up with some lovely food. Yum!

Sunday was a lazy day, catching up with mum and Michael and just not doing much of anything. Monday I hit the shops to get a few NZ knick knacks and fill the children's shopping lists of Pineapple Lumps, Chocolate Fish, Eskimo Men, Fruit Puffs and pkt Onion Soup. Customs are going to have a good time with me :) Then caught up with my friend Diane for a coffee and to make plans for other catch up times.

Tuesday I decided to get some exercise before I completely holiday blobbed out. So I put on my walking shorts and t-shirt and opened the front door. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Am now thinking I am going to have to walk very very fast just to crack the ice as it forms round my nostrils. (Not quite that bad, but it feels like it) Mums wishes me luck as I head out the door telling myself 'Think Warm, Think Warm.'

I walk in the direction of my old place which is up a rather steep hill. If you are going to exercise you might as well make it worthwhile. I feel the old leg muscles begin to complain as it has been over a year since I last did any hill walking. Woohoo! Make it to the top in good time and snap a couple of pics for all of you flat land dwellers.

I huff and I puff!

Now to head back down. Easy right? Am finally at the bottom and I think my shins are no longer on talking terms with the rest of my body. Who knew walking downhill could be so hard when you are out of practice.

People have been commenting that I must have brought the sun with me as the weather has been really terrible up until now. And here it is still shining down on me. I always thought I was a little ray of sunshine. Lol

Time to catch up with Brother/Sister inlaw for lunch, chats, dinner and early 40th birthday drink. See, there is a theme to this visit. Wow, haven't my niece and nephew grown.

Wednesday Pinch me I think I am dead. Better yet shake me really hard cause I think my body has gone numb. Ok, yesterdays walk kinda killed me. What's the answer for it? Another walk of course, while I can still move, just. Shorts and t-shirt back on I hobble out the front door and head for my horrible hill. If it doesn't kill you it must be good for you right?

Yay, another hill walk under my belt but man does my butt hurt.

Now I am feeling virtuous, sore as well, but virtuous nevertheless. Can have Fish and Chips for dinner with Mark and Diane. Have been hanging out for good NZ Fish and Chips.

Thursday It is raining. Damn no walk today, heh heh. Thank you Rain Gods. Thursday late morning it is really rainng quite hard. Thursday afternoon, yep still raining. Actually, it is giant bucketsfull. Thursday night, same day, same precipitation.

Friday A call is going out for galoshes and snorkels so I can get out the front door to meet up with my old mothers group. Ten years on and they are all still meeting with special guest

appearances by moi.

Happy Birthday Gary

Lets start at the beginning of the weekend as after all it is definitely worth commenting on. Connor's rugby team finally won a game and Connor also managed to score a try. WooHoo, Go Vikings!

A few of our friends all have birthdays in June so we decided to amalgamate them all and have a curry dinner at our place on Saturday night. My mothers day present came in handy to prepare yummy curries while the oven could be used for samosas. Everyone brought a couple of dishes and we soon had a banquet before us. Check out below, yum! I shuffled the family and dining area around to fit in extra tables so we could all sit and eat together. A noisy but entertaining dining experience. I managed to get a pic of the kids tucking into their meals (yes, that is Butter Chicken in front of Connor and he did eat it). Unfortunately the adults were harder to capture so I gave up in favour of eating my meal. Was trying to think Indian for desserts and decided on a milky theme, easy. Lots of ice-cream and a very large home made cheesecake which doubled as a birthday cake for the three big birthday kids.

Blow hard guys, you're not that old. (yet) Sunday was Gary's actual birthday and we celebrated it very quietly at home. It was nice to just laze around and not do much for a change. Our weekends always seem so full and just flash by. Then it was time for 'Merlin' and the sharing of the traditional block of chocolate. Connor likes to call it Merlin Magic.

Rugby hits Murray Bridge

Well, junior rugby players and their partying parents.

Saturday-We were the first of the four families to arrive and were suitably impressed with our weekend abode. The house sat right next to the waters edge surrounded by beautiful gardens. A fantastic place to kick back and relax.

By the time all the families had rocked up I thinkwe had almost as many boxes of beer and wine as we did food. Perhaps it was going to turn more into a game of survivor rather than a relaxing weekend away.

On the first night the kids all decided that they were going to sleep in the same room, 6 kids, 4 beds, 1 very small room = ????????????? It was their holiday too so the walking space became extra sleeping space. One of the boys brought up his Nintendo Wii and in the evening the band jam sessions started. I have a few pics of some very intent looking boys rocking to ACDC.

While the kids rocked on downstairs the adults dished out the cards and the drinks. The evening became loud and we all found a lot to laugh about. At one stage, one of the guys was christened with a new nickname, Foxy.

Again I have a few pics of drunken bums doing ‘Foxy’ impersonations. At 3am (yes we were still up) there was a knock on the door with a plea for help. A couple ‘visiting the river’ had forgotten to put the car handbrake on and it had rolled down the road and bogged in the sand just short of the water. Gary the hero got changed out of his PJ’s (yes, he was the only adult asleep) and went to the rescue with tow rope in hand.

Four hours sleep later it was time to start the new day (yawn).

Sunday-

We are trying to introduce Australians to the complexities of pancakes, bacon, bananas and maple syrup. They are heathens here and do not recognise something good even when it jumps up and spills maple syrup all over them. Needless to say the kiwis had plenty.

A day of walks, exploring playgrounds and eating we then withdrew to the house in search of more restful pursuits. A frenzy of painting was sparked off by the 3 year old and all of the kids rediscovered their kindy days. We now have a lot of butterflies around the place.

Before we knew it 4pm had come round and it was happy hour. As you can see we had a theme weekend going. Though I do have to say some of our players did start their happy hour at morning tea time.

Cards became the game of choice for the evening again though this was soon voted out in favour of Pictionary. However, after everyone started saying my partner and I were cheating (yes we were winning, by a lot) it was changed back to cards. There seems to be a conspiracy over me winning at Pictionary.

An earlier night and in bed by 1.30am.

Monday-

A slow start with people doing their own things. I finally remembered to take a pic of a Paddle steamer making its way along the Murray.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

What do you think?

Just a quickie as I need an early night. Stayed up a bit too late on Thursday after the rugby club and am now feeling like I could do with some matchsticks to prop open my eyes.

You may have noticed that I have been playing around with my blog, updating and adding things. One new item is the 'Our Doings' spot. I thought I might use this to post any new pics of times we go away or do something interesting. So hopefully I should have a pile of new pics afer this long weekend away.

Love to hear your thoughts on the new look.

TTFN

Wow, its June!

Hello all,

No pics, no scrap pages.  Just me today.

I am sick.  I hate being sick.  Today is my 5th day in a row on the couch (got sick of bed).  But thankfully, today my eyes and nose are no longer streaming.  Yay for drugs.  I guess I am lucky in that it is only me who has got this bug.  Everyone else is fit, fat and happy.

Didn't May just whizz by. 

My long list of 'round to its' is looming closer to their should have been done by now dates. I guess that is why they are known as 'getting round to it'.  Perhaps I will start my Christmas stuff in July:)

It is Queens Birthday weekend this weekend for us in Adelaide and we are off on a spur of the moment weekend away. Four families from the rugby club.  Oh no, how much of the weekend will we be sober for, lol.  

We are taking our kayak up but I have stipulated that we tie a long rope on to it to pull in any wandering children.  It is too cold for me to be swimming in the river Murray.  The spa on the deck sounds like a much better option.

Am contemplating taking my stock pot up and having a go at a batch of Mulled wine.  Not quite a ski lodge I know Mo but it will be cold, sort of.

Broken

Credits : 

Papers & Elements - http://justus-mylifeinpictures.blogspot.com (Fresh Air)

Elements - http://les-petits-scraps-de-maelia.over-blog.com (Mon Petit Jardin)

I am very annoyed with myself as while I was working out at the gym last Thursday I managed to tear my calf muscle.  I am now on limited movements for the next couple of weeks.  I do hate it when I break myself as I am not very patient in my rehabilitation.

While I have been down I finally scanned some old pics with the intention of scrapping them. Even better, I have finished and posted my first page.  It is hard to believe that the little baby above is my nearly 13 year old daughter.  

I thought I would give you a hint as to what I will be working on next

On Top of the World (Nearly)

I had a good Mothers Day, starting off with breakfast in my favourite chair next to the window. See, I haven't got used to seeing grass again yet.  In the afternoon we all went to see the new Star Trek flick and finished the day with pizza and wine watching the Merlin tv series.  Not very active I know, but relaxing and after all I am broken.

Connor's rugby club is having a sponsors day in conjunction with the two senior clubs it feeds to. This is happening this Saturday and things have been left a bit late.  My first (short notice) large event to co-ordinate, heh heh.  I think I shall be looking forward to a well earned rest at the end of the day.  As long as everyone comes away having had a good time it will be worth the effort. 

Gary has booked tickets for the family to go and see the Bjorn Again concert the same Saturday night.  I think I had better start taking my Berocca now.  The kids have been enjoying watching the Mamma Mia dvd and bopping on down to ABBA Gold so Gary decided to take us all out for a bit of an ABBA session.  Unfortunately the Mamma Mia show isn't coming to Adelaide so Bjorn Again it is.

Growing Up

As Eilish gets older I am finding it harder to get her to smile for me when taking a photo. I have a lot of great pics of the back of her head or her running around a corner. I think she may be taking after her mother. Though I do hope she grows out of it soon as hair is fairly limited in its interest stakes.

Last November we took the kids to an adventure playground in a place called St Kilda. I think this was the start of Eilish hiding from the dreaded lens. However, I have had a play around and scrapped some of the pics I took that day. Low and behold, a scrap page that has Eilish's thumbs up of approval.

I went shopping today to the local Westfield, in search of sturdy bubbly glasses. Over a few drinks with the girls at the rugby club we decided it would be fun to have our own personalised bubbly glasses behind the bar. So I have shopped, I have bought, and I have dropped off at an engravers to be picked up tomorrow. Just in time for drinks at Thursday training me thinks. And what have we engraved on our glasses? Sam (The Web-Mistress), Paula (Queen Bubbles), Donna (The Goner), and Lisa (Watch Out) - cause it is always the quiet ones you have to watch out for.

Cheers!

Credits: Template - http://www.arminadesigns.com

Papers & Elements - http://scrapu.blogspot.com (Mamma Mia set)

Unpacked, boxes gone and internet at last.

Some pics of the new place.

The kitchen (OMG, it's clean)

TV room looking towards the front door

TV Room

Computer nook as no study

The family room at the back end of the house.

View from side of kitchen

It has been ages since I last posted anything and as to scrapping any photos, whats that? The kids had a rather boring school holidays as I was busy unpacking and rearranging the house. At least they can now find all their stuff and even know what colour the carpet is in their bedrooms. We aren't as cramped as we thought we were going to be though I am not too sure where we will put any visitors.

During the last weekend of the school holidays the rain hit hard here and settled in to stay for a while. Poor Eilish had her first day back at school this Monday and she is now catching the bus. About a 30-4o minute trip. I dropped Gary and Eilish down the road a bit and as I drove off the heavens opened up. A lot! They high tailed it for the shelter and waited for their ride.

Now those of you who know Eilish will appreciate the small miracle that has happened with regards to Eilish catching the bus to school. She now gets up at 6.30 in the morning to be ready to leave the house at 7.30. Last term back at our old place Eilish wasn't even waking up til 7.30 in the morning. The poor thing is doing very well though she does look a bit like the walking dead at the moment. I think the weekend is going to be a much needed time of sleep for her.

Some good news for Connor. All the Junior rugby players in Adelaide had a 10 aside tournament last Sunday. This was also an opportunity for rugby officials to come and assess kids who were applying for dispensation to play up or down a grade. Connor's team didn't play so well for their first games of the season but Connor did get dispensated up. So now he officially plays for the under 12's. A note: This is the first time a lot of Connor's team, including himself, have played a full rugby field. The poor little tackers were well and truly pooped.

Gary is getting used to commuting again and has also enrolled in a guitar course through WEA on Monday nights. This is over 8 weeks and one hopes that he will come out of it playing a few songs. He is certainly dedicated in his practising but as I have mentioned before, it would be nice to hear a song or two.

Grenouille?

I think Eilish and her friend Amy may have been taking French lessons a bit far but the pic is cute. Actually it is just a rubber frog and Eilish now uses the pic for her MSN icon. Well life here has been hectic to say the least. I am currently sitting on the floor in the lounge surrounded by a mountain of boxes typing this update before I lose my internet for who knows how long. Moving sucks. We had a lovely Easter away camping with old and new friends only marred by poor old me coming down with a bout of gastro just as we were packing up to leave. I didn't have time to be sick at the moment as the packers were due to arrive today. Unfortunately my body disagreed and I took up a new acquaintance with the bathroom. Luckily Gary was able to take yesterday off and do all the pre moving jobs that I usually do. I sat in a chair, said sorry a lot and generally fell asleep at the drop of a hat. Feeling much better today, thank goodness. The guys rock up at 8am to begin packing and once again we start disappearing into boxes. A bit later I received a text from Gary asking if I could fish his work pass key out of his suit pocket as he had left it behind. To late! Its packed! At least it is not the cheque book like last time. Very hard to pay the moving company when they have packed your cheque book, lol. Now just back from a rugby club meeting and I am telling myself I have to learn how to say no. As I have mentioned previously I keep the club web site updated, a title of WebMistress has (affectionately?) been bestowed upon me. Now it seems as though I am on the Sponsorship sub committee. What do I know about sponsorship? Another large learning curve I am thinking. Gary has just cracked up and called out sucker. I don't need a lollipop, I need help.

On the Road Again !

I am beginning to think there is a conspiracy going on and we will never get to stay in the same house for more than one Christmas.

Yep, our landlord has put up the rent by $100 per week and it is definitely time to move. Not sure what his reasoning is behind this as nothing has been done to the house in the 12 years since it has been built and he has no mortgage on it. However, it is done.

Luckily it did not take us long to find a new place this time round as we were no longer constrained by school zones. I contacted Eilish's school and they said they were happy to keep her irrespective of where we end up. Yippee!

The new place is a lot closer to the places the kids do their sports so I am also looking at less driving. See, it gets better all the time.

There has to be a 'but' don't you think?

Here comes the 'but'.

Actually it is not too much of a but so much as a feature we will get creative about. We are moving to a much smaller house. Gosh, you must all be saying, and Gosh it most certainly is. Although we have had 3 international moves and a few domestic moves we seemed to be constantly moving into larger places and then still managing to fill them up.

The new place is a smallish courtyard home with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, small lounge and open plan kitchen, dining, family room with an island of grass out the back. For those of you who remember our house back in Moera many many moons ago, it is not too much larger than that.

I think we are all going to see a lot more of each other than we are used to.

Today Gary and I took Connor's bed apart yet again. Another reason why we would be more than happy to stay in one place longer than a year. It is not so much a bed as it is a jigsaw puzzle, with many pieces. Connor decided to come and help as the electric drill was involved. Boys and their toys, lol.

As his bed is spread across the floor Connor is now sleeping on the fold out double bed in the study. This will limit my computer time a bit but he is over the moon as the big bed just rocks mum!

I haven't been too busy with my camera of late but managed to take a few pics of Connor at rugby training and yes, even scrapped them.

Template: http://jonigray.blogspot.com/

Papers: http://digitreats.typepad.com/

Well they do say that Tomorrow Never Comes - oops!

I was going to do an update post the very day after my blog hopping post but life kinda 'hopped' away with me. I think I should change my name to taxi. Lol !

We had a very busy week followed by a busy weekend. In fact, I think Gary and the kids went to work/school this morning for a rest.

Here is our last week -

Monday- Connor had a pupil free day so we had mum and son time, followed by homework.

Tuesday- Eilish had rowing after school and we had to drive out to get her (30 mins each way).

Wednesday- Rowing cancelled due to heat. However a friend was feeling a bit lonely as her husband was away on a sailing trip so she came over for a couple of drinks and stayed for dinner.

Thursday- Rugby training in the evening and stay at the club for a bit of a catch up

Friday- Connor has two friends over to play after school. My friend and her 2 kids also pop over for a catch up. Everyone stays for dinner.

Saturday- I have a rugby conference to attend and Gary takes the kids to Nippers. Conference ends early and we all fall back to the pub. Great plans are hatched and it is off to someones place for drinks and pizza. Late night had by all.

Sunday- Catch up on sleep and then work on cleaning the house frantically as we are finally having our first property inspection since moving in nearly a year ago.

Monday- Here we go again!

I did however find a little time to scrap.

I am loving playing around with the block templates at the moment so you may see a few more of these kind of layouts. For all you kiwis the pics are from when we lived in NZ and Connor went to Belmont Playcentre.

He was the type of kid who hated getting dirty and would only involve himself in messy play with a stick, if he had to. Eventually the fear of getting dirty was mastered and you had never seen a happier boy in a mud puddle. This particular day he insisted on running in and out of the big puddle until he finally fell over.

The funny bit was that all of us mums were running around like headless chickens. No, not to look after him but to find a camera. He was well and truly coated, even his gumboots were filled to the brim with muddy water. Camera found. Pics taken and at last he could be emptied out and changed.

Credits: Template-http://niniedesigns.blogspot.com/

WordArt-http://elegantwordart2.blogspot.com/

Papers&Elements-http://summertimedesigns.blogspot.com/ (Courage set)

Been Tagged, Blog Hopping and a new Layout at last

This could turn into a bit of a long post so get comfy and you can always listen to the music on my blog. I have been tagged by Kathy of WordArt Fun to participate in a photo challenge. Now this is the type of challenge I like as I don't have to think, lol. Here's how it works: •Go to your photo folder in your computer •Go to the 6th folder of photos •Go to the sixth picture •Put the picture on your blog and a description of it •Invite six friends to join the challenge •Link them in your blog and let them know they have been challenged! So I went to my pictures folder and looked for my 6th folder. This turned out to be where I am storing all the scanned versions of the kids baby and early childhood pics. Here is photo number 6 This photo was taken way back in January 2002 when Rox came to stay with us for some of the school holidays. I had scanned these pics with the thought of scrapping them eventually. So, of course I had to scrap them now. My new layout is below but first, to pass the challenge on. My contacts in the digiscrapping community are fairly limited so I decided to look around and the first site I stopped off at had the same thoughts as me. Blog Hopping! So here I go. . . Pamela - Blog Hopping rocks Lindsay Jane -wow, when you blog hop you find other people who live just round the corner from you. Mo - my good friend who always has a camera attached to her face. Lou - for her tour of Derbyshire Nicole - a new blog hopping discovery. Your collaborations rock. Bethany - I know you love to take pics (when you remember your camera, lol) and thanks for the great WA I have used in my latest layout. I think that is everyone. Now I can post my newest layout if you are all still with me. Remember, you can click on this image to enlarge it and see the pics. The kids are quite cute.

Credits: WordArt -http://elegantwordart2.blogspot.com/ Template -http://teristhingomyjigs.blogspot.com/ Papers&Elements - http://kimbsdesigns.blogspot.com/ (Fresh Posey kit)

Will update tomorrow on our goings on.

Who pulled the Plug? (and yes, I am alive)

You may recognise this picture from one of my previous posts. It is the river Torrens which runs between North Adelaide and Adelaide city. Chris took this picture when he and Rox were visiting us last month. Doesn't it look picturesque!

Unfortunately someone pulled the plug. What an eyesore!

The Adelaide City Council is beside itself. The river Torrens is a big part of the scenic look of Adelaide city and now it is just sludge. There is talk of mechanical malfunctions of the weir gate and hints of possible vandalism. I am not too sure if the true reason has been unearthed yet but I sure do know it is gonna stink as the weather heats up.

For now it is Adelaide's newest tourist destination. I swear I haven't seen so many people rubber necking as they walk or drive past ( me included heh heh ).

Now, I am alive but have elsewhere occupied. I have been working furiously on the rugby club website http://www.vikingssa.rugbynet.com.au/, take a look if you feel like it but also just generally feeling uncreative. I had a small problem with my eye which has now resolved itself but looking at computers was not too comfortable at the time. So onward to sit at my comp.

Eilish has settled in wonderfully to High School life and has even been known to walk home on the occasional non boiling hot day. Tomorrow she is off to West Lakes to try out for the school rowing team. Normally training and trials would be on the river Torrens but, ITS NOT THERE! The good thing about junior high school rowing is that it is in the afternoons. That whole horrible 5.30 in the morning thing doesn't start til they are a senior at the school. will update again on Eilish's thoughts.

Rugby training starts on Thursday night though I have a committee meeting on Wednesday night first. Nippers goes til the end of March so there will be a double up for a while but hopefully no clashes.

Time to go, book and coffee calling.

A slight drop in temperature

It looks as though a bit of relief could be on the way. While it is not cool it is no longer over 40 degrees. I still break in to a sweat each time I do the ironing and popping out to hang the washing in the garage is like visiting a sauna. However, the temperature to set to slowly drop and we may even manage to slide back into the 20's by Sunday.

The above layout is of Connor on a Nippers (junior surf) day. I decided to have a little play around with colouring and erasing parts of pictures. I quite like the overall effect.

We all went down to Nippers this past Saturday, but as it was over 40 degrees (how unusual) Nippers was cancelled. The kids still had access to all the boards and there was many a child standing up trying to catch a wave or two.

While I remember. A funny story!

Eilish and Connor decided they would both like to have a go at growing some flowers. As we have no garden/dirt to speak of in our rental property we purchased a couple of plastic planters. The kids have been religiously watering their little charges and we have even brought them inside as it was too hot out. It was Connor's turn to water them this afternoon and at dinner he had a question to ask me.

"Mum, a few of the leaves on my plants are brown. Are they dead or just tanned?"

I think his brain cell may have got a bit tanned, lol!

Can Anyone Spare An Iceberg?

I thought it was hot yesterday but it was 38 degrees at 9am this morning and heading towards a high of 44. Yuck! I think if we carry on with the expected 40 degrees and above for the rest of the week it is supposed to break a 110 year record. Yuck, again! Both kids started back at school yesterday with Eilish having her first day at High School. They came home with the usual pile of notices and full of the things they did in their new classes. I had to drop Eilish off early this morning as she is on camp for the next three days. At least they are in cabins and not tenting. I have a feeling that she is going to be a very worn out young lady when I pick her up on Friday afternoon. In honour of the fact that is is so blinkin' hot we have decided that the rest of the family are heading to the beach this evening for a picnic dinner and a swim. Perhaps someone could drag that spare iceberg out to Henley Beach, heh heh. No scrapping for today but you will see I have been busy designing my new blog background and header. Have had these papers and elements for a while, just had to wait for the right season. The set is called 'Summer Citrus'. ( Credits on the other side of my blog ) Yep, summer is definitely here!

Good Little Australians

It's Australia Day today!

We are practicing at being good future Australians by flying the national flag from our balcony. Perhaps all the heat has gone to our heads, lol.

I finally sat down to do a bit of scrapping today as it is too hot to do much else. These are some pics from Connor's birthday party at Zone 3. I am trying to get into a boy frame of mind as girly layouts seem to come easier for me. Practice makes perfect I guess.

Kids are back at school tomorrow and Eilish is away on camp on Wednesday. After having them around constantly for the past six weeks it could come as a shock to the system to have a quiet house.

Tags: http://justsoscrappy.blogspot.com/

WordArt: http://elegantwordart2.blogspot.com/

Grab A Drink For My Longest Post Ever (but it has lots of pics)

Gary, Eilish and Connor are taking Rox and Chris to the airport. There was not enough room in the car so I thought I would do a little pictorial of their stay with us. For those of you who have visited us before, you may recognise some of the places. And for those of you yet to visit, feast your eyes, heh heh.

Most of these pics are compliments of Chris's camera as he was a happy snapper and made a great job of it to.

We toured German villages and drank German beers, viewed Adelaide from on high, tasted wines and consumed gourmet delights in McLaren Vale, rode the waves in Port Elliot, walked the jetty in Glenelg, raced the horse drawn cart in Victor Harbour and meandered through North Adelaide.

So lets begin our whistle stop tour of Adelaide.

All Aboard!

First stop- North Adelaide Cathedral

Not far from where we live

The river Torrens, with Elder Park to the left.

View of Adelaide from the top of Mt Lofty (excuse the haze)

The main street of the German village 'Hahndorf'

Eilish, Rox and Connor

Using Connor's head as a comparison

(Rox and Chris's purchases from Hahndorf x2)

Rox and Chris drinking said purchases before playing us at Risk

(the beer must have helped cause Rox finally won a game, hee hee)

The entrance to Hugh Hamilton Winery

(McLaren Vale)

Rox and Chris

Tasting time. Yum!

Coriole Cellar door

(beautiful place but have to book if you want lunch)

Coriole Gardens Just a nice outlook LUNCH (smug smile, we booked) Beautiful Glenelg - a tram ride west of the city Glenelg - still looking fab Horseshoe Bay in Port Elliot (south of Adelaide city) Rox and Eilish - looking good Riding the waves in Horseshoe Bay Gary oops, Wipeout!

and last

A view of Victor Harbour

That's all for now. Hopefully I will be back next time with something I have actually scrapped.