Noel Turns 80!

 The news from Echuca was that Noel had turned eighty.

We traveled up to the celebration which started with a Pizza Night on his actual birthday.

Then on Saturday afternoon, family and friends attended an afternoon tea for the formal celebration.  It was an opportunity for a catch up and to connect with some we had not seen for some time.

Crisp!

 Nice cool morning for a walk!  Birds can skate in the fountain.

Out and About

 We had an impromptu dinner with Adam and Kate last night featuring delicious roast pork cooked by Adam and sweet (Cinamon rolls) cooked by Sophie.

Terry and Tricia came for lunch today to see the wedding videos and discuss our impending trip to Brisbane.  Life is almost back to normal!

Into It Again

 It has been some time since we have seen James playing football and today he was back on the field playing Chadstone, a team we had seen earlier in the season.

For the first 3 quarters it looked like Whitefriars may come away with a win but they did not have the legs for the last quarter.  Alfie found it difficult to concentrate on the game and was more interested in upending Adam.

Family Photo

 While we have photos of all the grandchildren displayed, the rest of the family has been missing for some time.  We were able to get a good photo at Lisa and Mark's wedding and so now we have the full set!

WOW!!!!

 Images from the James Web Space Telescope are astounding.  Unbelievable resolution of areas of star formation -

and galaxies revolving around each other.  The sensitivity is so great they have even been able to find water in the atmosphere of a planet 1000 light years away.  The impact of this new tool is so great that scientists do not yet know the full range of questions they can now address. 

Astronomy Enters a New Era

 Today we saw the release of the first detailed image from the James Web Space Telescope.  More images are expected tomorrow and in the future.  This spectacular first image is of a minuscule portion of the sky but shows it crammed with galaxies and stars that were in existence billions of years ago.  The telescope will allow us to see events that happened close to the formation of the universe.  This is a hugely exciting time in astronomy and this tool will transform our understanding over the next few years.

Mark's Birthday Dinner

 We had planned a family birthday dinner to celebrate Mark and Brett's birthdays but Covid had other ideas.  Ebony then Cathy and then Holly and Brett all came down with the bug so we had to accept a more limited event.  It has been some time since the last full family gathering so it looks like it will be a bit longer before we can have another go at it.  Despite the omissions, it was a great night.

The Chef de Mission produced the usual fare (at the request of the Guest of Honour) and that appeared acceptable to all.

Mark's Birthday

 Mark had the good sense and presence of mind to arrange his birthday to fall in the middle of the School Holidays and on Lisa's day off!  Moreover, he arranged perfect weather for the day. We were invited to join the celebration at the Portsea Hotel.

It is a superb location with the main dining room overlooking Port Philip Bay.

Great day, great food, great location and great age!

Elvis In The Bush

 The Bendigo Art Gallery put on  an exhibition of Elvis memorabilia sourced from the Graceland display in Memphis USA.  We made a day of it with Terry and Tricia travelling up to Bendigo by train.

Some of the items on display were interesting but when the man himself was not a lot deeper than a puddle, there were no great insights to be had.

As a bonus we found the best pie shop we have come across in some time!