Finally found that platypus!!!

Last Sunday the girls and I went to the Arboretum, only about a five minute drive from our house, and there were platypus (platypuses?? platypi??) everywhere!! I saw about six in the water during the hour and a half we wandered around the lake. It was cold but beautiful, and Alice had a ball feeding the swans. Unfortunately platypus are very shy and my photos aren't great - really need to get a super-duper telephoto lens!!


Big Girl, Alice and Big' Girls Best Friend, S.


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16

Black swan


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16

Cute little baby wallaby


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16

The Platypus!!


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16

Red robin


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16

Piggy back with Big Sis


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-16

A Walk at Warrawee

Today we are on a day off thanks to the Queen's birthday long weekend, and since it has finally stopped raining we managed to go out for a bit of an adventure. We drove to the Warrawee Platypus reserve, which is only about 15 minutes from our home, but feels like a world away. Even though it was chilly (about 10 degrees) the weather was gorgeous - very still, and the pond looked like a mirror. Lots of fantastic photo opportunities, so I made the most of it. And yes, I know the one of me and the kids is blurry, but my darling husband took it and he isn't as familiar with the camera as I am!! I thought I had better include the shot though, just to prove that I do exist!! Alas, the only platypus we saw was busy surfing the rapids in the middle of the river and I failed to get a picture of him. Maybe next time...

Lots of interesting fungi!


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07

The pond was so very still and reflective

By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-06-07

My Wonderful Husband

Although this blog is largely about Alice and, to a lesser extent, my two big kids, there is someone who doesn't get mentioned frequently who is really worthy of a bit of praise - my lovely husband of 13 years, D. We met almost 16 years ago whilst acting together in an ancient Greek play (Orestes by Euripides). He was a brash, handsome and somewhat wild nineteen year old law student, I was a shy, unconfident, sort dorky Classics/history student with a steady boyfriend (oops!) D was the leading man in this play, I was in the chorus, and it was (for me at least!) love at first sight. I fell head over heels with this dashing and rebellious young man who wore tight jeans, Dr Martin boots and smoked exotic French cigarettes. And I was amazed that he seemed to have an interest in me!! Needless to say, the steady boyfriend was soon discarded, and our time together began. We have had our shares of ups and downs during our time together, as most married couples do. Babies, post-natal depression, arguments, mid-life crises (mine!) and my generally mercurial moods have caused us some angst, but through all this my man has stood by me. He is an incredibly hard worker, a devoted Dad to his three children, and a wonderful, sensitive, loving and generous husband to me. He is my soul mate and my one true love and I am incredibly blessed to have him in my life. And now here's the opportunity to show off some photos - my darling husband bought me home flowers this week, for no reason other than that he sensed I was having a down day and could do with some cheering up. So here are some pictures of said flowers, and his little note that came with them. Thank you D for putting up with me and loving me even when I am being most unlovable.


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-28

And just a few more...

'cos I am feeling a tad guilty and neglectful!! Just some random pictures from over the weekend, including some yummy doggyliciousness!!


Bella

By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-25

Daisy


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-25

My Big Boy doing what he does best - being cheeky!!


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-25


A rare pic of Big Boy and Big Girl being nice to one another...

By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-25

Big Girl with Orange Dot On Nose


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-25

Precious foot..


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-25

Miscellaneous close-ups


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-25


By cristinafairley at 2009-05-25


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-25

Photos from the weekend

Yeah, I know - no witty report on life here with the Ferals, no wise insights into life and the meaning of the universe. Time is my enemy and I have too much to do!! Hope you enjoy the pics.


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-24


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-24


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-24


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-24

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to camp we go!!

I made a very sudden and exciting decision yesterday that involves me and Alice, a boat, a car, about 2000km and a week away from the family. The annual Families with Children from China camp is on at the end of September in Adelaide, and I had initially dismissed it as impossible, mainly because we are off to the Gold Coast at the beginning of the month. Anyway, I had the bright idea yesterday that Alice and I could go by ourselves, thus saving money and making a very fun adventure for the two of us!! So we leave on the Spirit of Tasmania (large boat which travels from Tassie to the 'mainland' part of Australia) on Friday September 25th, sail overnight and wake up in Melbourne at 7am the next day. Then were unload ourselves and our car, and drive the 800km or so to Adelaide, accompanied by my lovely friend Jen and her sweet daughter Ebony. The camp starts on Sunday afternoon and goes until Thursday, and is chock-full of games, crafts, food, workshops and guest speakers, with a distinctly Chinese theme all round. This will be our first FCC camp and I am VERY excited to be going - it is a great opportunity to met lots of new people, many of whom I know by name from the email groups, but have never met. So September looks to be a busy month for us - two weeks in sunny Queensland, home for a week then off to South Australia. Whoohoo!!!

Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day yesterday - no breakfast in bed, but that is per my request as I cannot STAND crumbs in the bed!! Lots of beautiful hand-made gifts, including a pin cushion in a gorgeous decorated box (from Big Girl), two hair clips, one sporting a blue flower and the other a blue mouse (yes, that's right, BLUE MOUSE) and a very special calico bag, decorated with lots of Alice's cute little hand prints (thanks to K at daycare for that!!) So I proudly wore my new hair clips to church and received many glowing comments, and generally had a very pleasant day. It was made even more enjoyable by the visit of some very special people. Jen and I 'met' over the Internet a few years ago, as we are both involved in on-line discussion groups pertaining to Chinese adoption. She and her husband and darling daughter Ebony were in Tassie for a holiday so they came to visit!! It was just wonderful to finally meet someone who I felt as though I had already known for years!! Ebony and Alice had a ball playing together, and the grown ups enjoyed getting to know each other, a nice red wine and some yummy chocolate mud cake. Hope everyone else out there had a great Mum's day too!!

Ebony and Alice hamming it up for the camera!!


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-10

New Photos from the Slogger

'Slogger???' I hear you ask??? It's a term for someone like me who is a completely slack blogger!!! Life just seems to move at a frightening pace and I never manage to put bloggy pen to bloggy paper and actually do anything of note. So here are a few recent pics to keep you going - the ones with the beanie and the pyjamas are very cute, don't you think???!!!


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-05-05

Glorious Rain

The past three days we have been blessed with oodles of gorgeous rain. Since much of Tassie has been experiencing near-drought conditions for some time, this rain is a long-awaited occurrence. I am loving my new wood heater, as it is chilly along with the rain, so I am snuggled up inside being warm and cosy whilst the rain falls outside. I did sneak out though and take a few 'wet' photos for you all to see.


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-04-25


By cristinafairley at 2009-04-25


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-04-25


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-04-25


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-04-25


By cristinafairley, shot with E-520 at 2009-04-25

A Busy Week

Apologies for no photos this week -we have been far too busy!! And the pics I did take were rubbish and not fit to be shown to the general public! Major news for the week was Big Girl having an unscheduled trip to hospital on Tuesday night due to a lump of wood clunking her on the head. Three hours and five stitches later she was home, with a killer of a black eye. She was pretty pleased with the amount of kudos it gave her at school the next day!


Will try to take some pics on the weekend to post. Currently enjoying the wonderful rain which has been falling non-stop all day. We so need it here in drought-affected Tassie!