Patrick Starts Yr7

The new School Year has started and Patrick headed off to Tintern for the first day in his new uniform.

Hard Work Bears Fruit

The Donvale orchard has been a work in progress for a considerable time now but today's harvest shows it is gradually moving into production.

The Holidays End

Before the curtain falls on the holiday period, one can always squeeze in a little more game time into the day.

Chickens Beware

Rubber chickens should be cautious out Donvale way, there is a killer on the loose.

The Enchanted Garden

On Friday, we went with Lisa and the boys to the "Enchanted Garden" at Arthur's Seat.  It is a fun park in a bushland setting with a variety of fun activities for children of all ages.

There were a variety of puzzles and mazes.  The suspended walkway through the tree canopy tested your balance.

While they enjoyed all the puzzles and mazes, the hero attraction was a series of long slides you came down on rubber tubes.  At the end of the day, no one had much left in the tank after dragging the tubes up the hill to the head of the slides for an hour or more.

Kate's Milestone

On Thursday we had the family finale in the Festival of Celebrations to mark Kate's 40th.

We presented her with a night in a Yarra Valley BnB.  Following dinner, the Council again obliged with a fireworks display to mark the momentous occasion.

Pool Time

It has been a strange summer but we did have a warm day recently.  Jack, Cooper and Lachlan had the chance to visit Adam and Kate's pool to cool off.

The T(r)ooth Will Out

Another one bites the dust. Jack's dentition is on the demise.  Just as well the Tooth Fairy offers compensation.

Justin's Final Farewell

Justin was a man who loved Australia and its wild places.  He loved the mountains and the deserts, the streams and lakes and forests and we had the privilege of being with him in many of these places and seeing the joy it brought to him.  It was his final wish that his ashes be scattered at the top of Mount Kosciuszko. So on Saturday 7th January his friends and family gathered for our final farewell to our much loved friend, father, husband, son and family member who will continue to be sorely missed by us all.
We took the chair lift to the start of the 6 KM walk to the peak.

It was evident to us all that his remains could not have been taken to a more perfect location.

Justin was important to many people and  60 or more had come to the top of the mountain to participate in the scattering of the ashes.

Cooper made sure I got down the mountain safely keeping me company the whole way.

The day was a massive tribute to the man we all loved so much.

Farewell Katoomba - Hello Jindabyne

Having enjoyed Katoomba, the shopping -

and the Carrington Hotel,

it was time to leave the Lord Carrington Suite we had occupied and say farewell to our benefactor, an early Governor of NSW

and a couple of other special friends we met in the hotel.

 We headed out through the rain driving for about 6 hours to reach Jindabyne and a much improved weather system.

Spectacular Blue Mountains

With rain threatening we decided to do a little walking of the tracks around Katoomba.  Without too much trouble you can be rewarded with a range of spectacular views and environments.

The Skyway certainly imposes itself on the scenery near the Three Sisters so the Scenic World operation is not exactly an environmental conservation project.

We walked the paths down into the wet forests at the base of the valley.

With all that energy expended what better to retire to devonshire tea at the hotel?