January has ended (nearly)

It is 31 January 2010 - how time flies when you're having fun!

We have just got back from a wonderful weekend at Sandy point with Kim, Jac, Clare and Simon. We cooked a thai meal last night and ate out on the paved side of the house, under the shelter of the new roof Paul installed last weekend. Today was probably my best day's surfing. I haven't been in such big waves before, it was fantastic. The tennis men's final is on, and I'm wondering whether I can stay up to watch it (it is only 8.15pm!) but I am exhausted from surfing today. Attached are a few recent photos - excuse the spider - I had to put it on here. It was an unwelcome visitor to our house - it was on the ceiling of the car port and was very very big!!!! Not at all nice! Don't let it put any of you off coming to visit. This is a huntsman, but we don't see them very often. On a more pleasant note, Paul was kitesurfing at Shallow Inlet this morning and was sharing the water with a very big seal! The photo at the top left is a view of the building we live in - it was taken from the jetty at Sandringham Yacht Club.

A new decade has dawned.......

Well, Christmas 2009 came and went with a bang in Sandy Point. We had the tree, we had the weird singing snowman and reindeer toys, we were joined by our great friends Laura and Miles, Laura made the stuffing, bread sauce and peeled all the veg, I made the cranberry relish and a pavlova. With great moral support from Laura, I bbq'd the 5 kilo turkey. We went for a splash in the sea on Christmas morning, opened our presents before lunch, had a delicious bottle of Pol Roger 1998 Champagne with the Luckin family Christmas must-have - smoked salmon on brown bread (crusts cut off).

We sat out on the deck, shaded by the umbrella as it was 30 degrees and the sun shone whilst we toasted absent friends and family.

The best Christmas present of the day for Laura and Miles was the koala who sat in a tree in the garden all day.

Kim and Jac (who I'm delighted to announce has agreed to be one of my bridesmaids) arrived on 27th December, accompanied by Larry their border collie - he makes the saying "As happy as Larry" really make sense. We bbq'd one night and Laura cheffed up a delicious pasta dish the next night. We have surfed, kite surfed, been wakeboarding behind Kim and Jac's boat, and done some gardening, intermingled with sitting on the deck in the sunshine setting the world to rights over some cold beers.

Laura and Miles set off for Warnambool (near Victorian/South Australian border) to spend New Year's Eve with other friends. Laura's mission for the holiday was to stand up on my surfboard - mission accomplished and so she was able to leave for the next leg of their trip back to Adelaide!

Karl joined us on the afternoon of 31st December - another gloriously sunny day, but immensely hot. Emmy his Belgian Shepherd dog arrived, much to Larry's delight. I put a very large piece of lamb on to the spit roast in the bbq, did some baked potatoes and made a salad.

At about 10.45pm the heavens opened with thunder and lightening and mother nature put on a firework display of her own for us - so we de-camped the party into the car port!

We counted the new decade in with the radio caller live from Sydney and here we are on 2nd January 2010.

Here are a few snaps. Happy New Year to all of my fans who read this, I hope it gives you a sense of life in Melbourne. I am terribly excited to be joining the Bryce family as Paul's wife. Planning is underway - not exactly sure where to start! I only know that James and Charlie will be required to sing a duet somewhere in amongst the proceedings. Signing off now, until next time.......

Some months later.....

Well, it hardly seems possible that I haven't updated our blog for such a long time.  Since my last post, months have passed, we've been to London, Dad turned 70, Mum and I had a wonderful two days in Paris, Paul and I then went to Durham, home to Suffolk and spent a weekend in Coggeshall, before the journey back to Melbourne via Hong Kong, where Paul proposed!  Here are some snaps of what we have been doing recently....

Old Friends reunite in Australia

Laura and Miles came to stay with us in Victoria on the Queen's Birthday weekend.  They hired a car and drove up from Adelaide, along the Great Ocean Road.  They stayed the night at Port Fairy and continued on to Melbourne on the Friday morning.  We drove them down to Sandy Point for the long weekend.  It was a brilliant weekend!  Couple of photos attached, from the scenic drive back to Melbourne on the Monday.  

Various shots from days at Sandy Point

We went to Sandy Point again this weekend.  This weekend we were joined by Kim & Jac (and Larry), Mandy & Nathan (and Bronte, Yvette and Obi).  We went down on Friday night.  It is the middle of winter, but the weather was spectacular.  Cold at night, but gloriously sunny during the day.  I got slightly above my station and went stand up paddle boarding with Paul in all my clothes (was being lazy and didn't put a wetsuit on) - very risky..... as at one point we had a crash and he rode his board straight on top of mine.  Luckily I didn't fall in, in my jeans!  The photo of us stand up paddle boarding was taken at Shallow Inlet.  Nathan also gave us a lesson on how to rig up (and sail) our windsurfer which we bought a few months ago.   Paul got a land board recently, as a belated birthday present.  It is supposed to be used with a kite on the beach, basically a big skate board and the kite pulls you along.  There wasn't a breath of wind, so we decided to hook up a rope to Kim's ute, and be pulled around that way!  Being ever so careful, I wore a wakeboarding helmet!  Couldn't really face hitting my head!!! Other shots were taken a few months ago, probably the last time we took Kim & Jac's boat out wakeboarding at the Inlet.  

Jac cooked a delicious thai green curry on Saturday night, and we spent the day surfing on Sunday.  Fantastic weekend, can't wait for the next one down there.  

Surfing at Sandy Point

Just in case you don't believe my grand stories of starting to learn to surf.....here is the evidence. Paul bought me a surfboard for my 30th birthday in October. These shots were taken two weekends ago. It is now Winter, but tomorrow Laura and Miles arrive and we will take them to Sandy Point. Seeing as Laura did a surfing and yoga holiday in Hawaii not that long ago I'm expecting big things from her!

Laura and Miles came to stay and Kim and Jac took us out to see a colony of seals in the bay.

We had visitors from Adelaide a little while ago.  Unfortunately, the four seasons in one day seriously came true for Laura and Miles.  

The weekend before last we went out with Kim and Jac on their boat, to see seals at a colony in the Bay.  We also saw masses of dolphins.  I took ALOT of photos, here are a few of them!!!! .........