Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Dinner with the Angels

For the past four years, we have been honoured to have been invited by our dear friends Rob & Lorraine to attend Anglicare's biggest fundraising event the Dinner with the Angels.  This year, twenty-two of Melbourne's top chefs from our best restaurants prepared the most wonderful meals for over four hundred guests, who had attended the event at the National Gallery of Victoria to help raise funds for Melbourne's most underpriviledged.

The chefs

We sat at a table with Rob & Lorraine, their son Leighton and his partner Kim and two of their friends and our other good friends Lea & Les.  The meals were delightful and the company was great fun.


The entertainment for the evening was a comedian, a set of three tenors and then the main performance was from Ross Wilson (ex-Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock).

They had a silent auction and a raffle during the evening and this year they raised $163,000 to help fund their programs which assist children, young people and families who have fallen on hard times.

We had such fun that night, chatting and dancing and eating, while knowing that it was all for a good cause.  They had a photo booth there too, so we all grabbed some hats and feather bowers and crammed inside for a bit of a giggle - here's the result ...


Sunday, November 20, 2011

Veggie Patch :: Progress Report

I'm delighted, with all the rain we've had in the past couple of weeks, that the tomatoes have doubled in size, the carrots have all popped up and the snow peas are beginning to wind their way up the trellis!


I have tied the tomatoes up to their trellis,






the snow peas are winding up their trellis,


the carrots are popping up all around the paving stone







and so far three pumpkins have sprung from the six seeds I sowed.















Today, as it was such a beautifully warm Sunday afternoon, I spent two hours putting in a whole lot more seedlings ....

... broccoli ...








... cucumbers ....






... spring onions ....




... beetroot ...




... and iceburg lettuces.

















Then I fed the whole patch with Blood & Bone and gave it a long watering.  After about half an hour, when the water had dried off a little, I sprinkled a generous serving of pet-friendly slug & snail pellets.
















So this is how it looks now ....



Thursday, November 10, 2011

Lizzy's Year 10 Social

Lizzy had her Year 10 Social this evening and I could not believe how beautiful and grown-up she looked with her hair up and her special evening dress!  You may recall the day we went shopping for the dress (click on those coloured words and you will go to that post).  Well, now you can see which dress she finally chose ...


Here she is with her very handsome and absolutely gorgeous boyfriend, Adam ...




She went to the dance with two of her best friends, Bree and Amy who went with their boyfriends, Simon and Brad.


They all looked so lovely, all of the parents couldn't stop taking photos of them!  Lizzy had bought her shoes in Boston, while we were in the US back in September and they made her so tall that she even towered over Wayne!  She had been to the hairdressers during the afternoon to have her hair put up and at the Social she won a prize for Best Hair!


It was a very exciting time for Lizzy, as it was her very first formal occasion.  They all had a wonderful time and came home exhausted, but with big smiles on their faces!

Saturday, November 05, 2011

The Joy of Spring

It's such a beautiful, warm Spring day and I have been wondering around our lovely garden enjoying all the beautiful roses and other flowers that are in full bloom.




I always know that God loves me
I feel it in a million ways
I see it in His rainbows
On sunny and rainy days

He nurtures all of His creations
He is so proud of every one
But there is one thing that I notice
In springtime’s blazing sun

It’s like a heavenly palette
With colors bright and true
After the cold harsh winters
God brings treasures to me and you

It’s His way of showing us His love
With fragrances wafting in the air
He knows winter can be harsh
So with His flowers He will share

He shows there is hope in tomorrow
With these sweet blooms that He brings
And raises up our spirits high
How I love God’s colorful spring!

(Marilyn Lott)



Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Veggie Patch :: Beginnings

Today was a perfect day to resurrect my veggie patch!  The weather was not too hot, but the rain had stopped.  So I donned my overalls and boots and started by pulling out all those weeds.


I shifted the compost bin and found a new spot for it under the plum tree.  The weeds nearly filled it, but they will compress down over the next few months.


The soil was compacted so hard and because I had bruised ribs from a fall at softball last Saturday, I asked Richie to dig it over and break it up for me.


Then, once it was all loosened up, thanks to Richie, I shovelled in all the old compost.


After that, the fun starts ... planting the tomato seedlings!




Then I pushed in some snow pea and pumpkin seeds and sprinkled some tiny little carrot seeds.

Snow peas
Pumpkins
The pumpkin seeds are buried deep in the soil, so I have put some cut-up Coke bottles where they are planted as markers and when they pop their heads up, the bottles will protect them a little from the snails & slugs.

 

I gave the seedlings and seeds a nice drink of water from the hose and now just have to be patient and wait to see what happens.