a long hot summer

After a long saga my laptop has been back in action for a few weeks, but as we have no wireless connection at the farm opportunities to update my blog are few. I am sitting in the supper room of the Swanpool Hall to write this post.
It has been a long, hot summmer at the farm, but fortunately only one Code Red day, over 40 and a frightening northerly. We watched green turn to brown, but it has come back to a degree as we have at last had a bit of rain.
We have been very busy catching up with family and friends - 2 trips to Gillian's at Tower Hill, 2 to mum, 1 to Wonthaggi,and 6 days in Sydney at the beginning of January. In between we've been sorting out the house, as we have made the decision to move permanently to Brisbane and sell our house and share, 33 years after we bought the place in 1977. It has been a decision long in the making but nearly 10 months up there last year, testing that it worked for everyone, we have all decided that we want to be near each other. I am flying back next week, on the 18th, and Charles will follow when the fire season is over, driving to Sydney where I'll meet him and drive back together.
We had a farm meeting and work days last weekend which everyone came to, plus Uki and Hugo, which was wonderful. We celebrated our time together at a dinnner setting that reminded me of medieval settings at long tables, combining our cullinary skills for a magnificent meal, and concluded with words from members to Charles and me that were very humbling. Then on Sunday they presented us with a truly magnificent table made by Shaun. It was a very emotional time, and we are just recovering.
The photos are from the November farm visit by Bec, Helen and Remi. We had lunch with Charles' mum on their last day, and you can see how big Remi is at 3 and a half.
I'm afraid I haven't reduced them in size, but will do so in the future. Til then, hope you keep enjoying my blog.

still offline but going places

Have finally got my laptop back but all the applications have to be reloaded and...they are stored in a box in a shed at Claudia's, aren't they? And she is in W.A. so I just have to use other people's computers in the meantime. God knows how many emails will be backed up by the time we can access it again. We came down to Gillian's yesterday, having left here only a week ago, and are here with mum for christmas, then home for a few days before another 5 days in Sydney. After that we should be at the farm most of the time. I will be going back to Brisbane towards the end of Feb when Helen goes back to uni, and Charles, sometime in March, depending on the fire season.
Our big news is that, after long deliberation, we have decided to make our move to Brisbane permanent, and will be selling up both house and share. So if you know anyone who would like to live in the beautiful Lima East Valley, let them know.
By the end of next year, at the latest, we Bristol siblings will all be living within an hour and a half of each other, with Gillian in the process of putting her house on the market and also moving to Brisbane.
I still have many people to catch up with, so will making many pilgrimages up the drive to the only spot we can get reception at the farm, between 7 and 8 pm (our free hour on the mobile). If I ever get email back, I will email (as long as I haven't lost all the addresses).
That's it from the windy south coast. We are off in to Warrnambool to buy some food.
Hope you all have a great break over christmas, and get to the new year refreshed.
Love for now, Penny

breaking the long silence

In response to complaints that I have not updated my blog recently, it is because my laptop has been at the laptop hospital for some time with a mysterious and undiagnosed illness, and is awaiting a new heart from Toshiba. Fortunately all the data was retrievable, but if you have not had answers to emails, this is the reason.
We have been flat out since we arrived home, pulling logs and branches out from the gully behind the house, burning huge piles and getting rid of flammable old grevilleas and so on close to the house. As well, Charles has spent many many days on the slasher, and we have both spent lots of time on the ride on.
In between all this activity, Bec, Helen and Remi spent a blissful week here, during the heatwave, so we spent lots of time in the 'dam'. I will post some photos as soon as I get my laptop back. Remi had the best time... horses to be fed and patted, eggs to collect, animals to spy on (including a snake), dogs to play with, a trampoline to jump on, oranges to pick and make into juice, and lots of water to swim in. Needless to say, we are all missing each other.
Getting back to my last post, we took Jeff & Mat to Kylie Kwong's restaurant on the last night in Sydney...what a truly magnificent meal (and those of you who know how particular I am about restaurant meals will know that this is very high praise). I recommend it to anyone going to Sydney - Billy Kwong's in Surry Hills. For those of you who saw her on Master Chef, yes, we had THAT duck dish, amongst other heavenly dishes. And it was very reasonably priced.
We had a week of rain recently, with over 3 inches which has turned the farm green again. We are hoping desperately for a good follow up before Christmas. We had 3 weeks in Shaun and Nobuko's house whilst they were in Cambodia and Vietnam and are now back at John's. Until I am back in line, the only way to contact us is via Charles' mobile. We have found a place on the farm where we can get reception, and as we have a 'free' hour from 7pm to 8pm, we have an evening stroll to the other side of the farm to get messages and ring, so leave us a message if you want to.
I am at Tim and Janet's. It has been great catching up with them, and everyone else of course. This is it for the moment. Cheers from the sunny south.

from sydney

Arrived at Jeff & Mat's on Friday, doing the mandatory take-the-wrong-turn-and-god-knows-where-we-are on the way in. Thank goodness for mobiles...Jeff talked us through the panic.
Their house is lovely, in a very pretty tree-lined little street, with lots of coffee shops and cafes nearby. We've been having a great time with Mat & Jeff. On Saturday we went down the coast and had lunch with Jeff's family at a pub on the cliff edge, with magnificent sea views. Sunday we explored the neighbourhood (and the local cuisine) and today, Monday Charles Mat & I spent 2 hours wandering the shoreline between Bondi and Bronti, looking at sculpture. This afternoon we went plant hunting then helped Mat do a back yard makeover on their garden, making way for some veggies and herbs, and adding some lovely flowers. Out for dinner tonight then home tomorrow.

from yamba

We have just done a 4 hour beach walk, with lots of poking into rock pools along the way. I am reliving my teenage experience of Yamba, where my grandparents had a holiday house. Gran used to go fishing every morning and come home with whiting and flathead which I always thought she caught, but mum tells me that some days the fish came from the neighbouring fisherman. I don't think I have ever tasted whiting as sweet as that. This pic shows thew beach where I swam as a 16 year old, and was ignominiously saved from drowning by a handsome lifesaver who I consequently avoided afterwards due to my acute embarrassment. We ended our treck at the Pacific Hotel, as also seen in this photo, a beer or two for Charles and a g&t for me.
Tomorrow morning we head for Sydney, but not before a sumptuous meal we have planned tonight, after checking out all the possibilities. Duck and oysters are on our menu.

countdown

Well, it's only a matter of days and we'll be on the road, heading south. In the time we have been here, we have seen Remi grow at the rate of knots, fuelled by an amazing appetite. I measured him a few days ago, and since May he has grown one centimetre a month. He is now over a metre tall and close to 20kg. The photo above may give you some idea of his size, and he's not quite three and a half.
He is not keen on us going, and told me a few days ago, in most earnest tones, "I don't want you and Grandpa to go to the farm, Tuppy, I want you to stay here."
Today is Charles last day of building round at Skinner St and he is looking forward to it enormously. He has got increasingly tired as the tools have become increasingly blunter. A couple of days at Yamba on the way to Sydney will be wonderful.

shifting

Here we are at Manly West, not far from the coast and 30 mins drive (45 in peak hour) from West End. A very different Brisbane. We are staying at Claudia's until we leave to head south at the end of the month. We arrived on Sunday morning having gone to see The Audrey's the night before with Lisa and Simon, Claudia and Sam, and Zoe (my niece) and her boyfriend Gray. It was one of the last shows of the Brisbane Festival, and was a great night in the Speigeltent. (not sure of the spelling)
The weather is beautiful. Hope it warms up in Victoria as we are quite acclimatised to Brisbane warmth now. Looking forward to seeing everyone when we get back.