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so these are the photos taken round the table

I put these on Facebook so the rest of the family could see them.

Fresh broad beans, peas and runner beans all from my garden, best peas I have ever had, I am reminded of Frau Junge, cycling off to the "Gatte" to water every day, that's me at the moment!

But the weather is so hot, you have to be dedicated but occasionally I am rewarded by a lovely bowl of raspberries or even black currants to make into my favourite jam!

So, Christmas 2015 Hobart, Tasmania

It was a Scorcher!

And the Turkey started like this

and ended like this

The mince pies and Christmas Pudding were much appreciated too.

And even the morning picked ( by Hazel) Raspberries went down well.

No 2 Mercer Street.

So, last night was the official House Warming Dinner at No 2 Mercer Street, Tim and Mandie's new abode for the next few months!

The flat was much nicer than Ken, Heidi, Kiya and I had imagined, it is tastefully decorated, and because of the very high ceilings it appears bigger probably than it really is.   It already looked cosy and inviting, with a few of the Newham favourite pictures and pieces round the place.   It consists of two bedrooms (one looks like a mini workshop as Tim couldn't be without a few of his favourite "toys" and has already (and they have only been there since Christmas Eve) made a built-in wardrobe in their bedroom.

The living/kitchen area is all in one, here are the three photos I took with my new IPhone (Christmas present to me from Ken and I!)

Family re-Union

It's been a long time coming!

Lest we forget

Apple Roses

Heidi and I had a play today and made these apple roses for dessert!   Look good, don't they?

The Southern Lights over the Tulips

How is this for an Aurora?   We are having a few of these lately, they are amazing but only through the lens of the camera, unfortunately.   Heidi and I are busy honing our long forgotten photography skills so maybe one day you will see one which we actually took?

And this is one in our neck of the woods the other night.

The Tenth of September

Had a good day, a lovely new painting from Heidi now reigns supreme on the wall.

The new photo is top right.

In the evening Ken, Heidi and I went to The Re loving Restaurantand had a beautiful meal with our steak Dianne cooked at our table.   Who needs birthday candles?

11th September

And so the surprises continued.  I knew we were going out for a meal with Jos and Daphne.   Cooleys Hotel in Moonah was a far cry from The Revolving Restaurant, but we had a pleasant dinner and the company was good.   Afterwards I thought we were coming home but no, we drove out to The Derwent Entertainment Centre and had tickets for Michael Flatleys last of his last World Tours for Lord Of The Dance (you can see him on youtube).  It was a great show and I had said to Heidi ages ago that I wouldn't mind going to see it!   She talked with Jos and Daphne and together they hatched up the plan of the evening.   Thank you Ken, Heidi, Daphne and Jos for a good evening.   When I got home we found we had missed two calls from Liselotte!

The Dancing House!

Thanks to Katja for dragging us around Prague to see The Dancing House!

Last night we had a fascinating documentary on Frank Gehry and his amazing buildings, I had not realised he was so world renowned for his creations and was very pleased that I could say to Ken, "we saw that one when we were in Prague"

Gehry has just completed a building in Sydney and this programme followed the construction, what a headache for the bricklayers!!

Brr! It's chilly.

We have had a few frosty mornings lately but I was pleased with this photo I took recently.

What to cook for a Farewell Dinner for No. 2 Grandson?

Perhaps we should start at the beginning!

Now into the oven for half an hour and 

The finished Chicken Cobbler

And it tasted as good as it looks!

Heidi hasn't lost her creative touch.

Knowing that Nelle in particular has a liking for all things Dr. Who, Heidi came up with a suitable vehicle in which to transport them back to the Old Country.

A Photo Opportunity not to be missed.

£10 Poms

What does one wear for ones first outing to £10 Poms?

Hope this will be acceptable!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

We woke up this morning to a covering of snow!   What a cerfuffle this caused, schools were closed, shops were closed, roads were closed, mums couldn't go to work cos their kids couldn't go to school.   It was the best snowfall since 1986!   

I must say, it has been really freezing today and I sincerely hope it will be better tomorrow, not least cos we have friends coming to lunch and I have already started my prep!   If they don't come we will be eating shepherds pie for the next few days.

Blimey!

A terrible thing happened yesterday, here, just off Maria Island, a recreational diver got taken by a White Pointer, right in front of his daughter.   This is the same bit of water where George has been diving lately, also for scallops!    First fatality in Tasmanian waters for 21 years apparently.   I hope George isn't fishing this weekend!

My first taste of Scallops!

George came the other day with some lovely fresh Scallops which he had caught only the day before.   He must be mad, the water would have been freezing at this time of the year, even though he wore a wetsuit!.

Anyway I enlisted the help of good friend and connoisseur Eva, and she came round and cooked them for us and shared them with us.

Here they are, from start to finish:

Look what some kind neighbour just bought us!

Jerusalem Arcichokes

HELP!

What do you do with these knobbly things?   How the Dickens do you peel 'em?

Invitation!

No prizes for guessing where we will be next Monday morning!

Probus visitors today!

We had two interesting visitors today, telling us all about Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Sauerbraten und Spätzle!

Today Ken, Heidi and I had lunch with Eva.   She did us proud, with her sauerbraten.

A great walk

on a beautiful crisp sunny winters day, and I didn't have to lead it ( just made the chocolate hazelnut muffins for morning tea)

This one was a bit dark but couldn't resist showing you the view of North West Bay at Snug ( where Heidi and I once went Dolphin watching, and we were lucky)

It's getting chilly

The blanket Joan and I recently finished and donated to a local bank to distribute to the poor and needy turned up on the front page of the local paper!

Here it is on our bed after we had finally got it all together!  The Next one - which we are already working on - is all going to be made up of 7 inch squares as this one was a nightmare, trying to get it together!