big un

tartine

I may have mentioned that I have become a bit sourdough bread obsessed? It's faded a bit now, but for a while there I was dreaming and breathing loaves. the freezer is full, and bellies are full.  my dad and sis have now caught the bug, I'm pleased to say!  

anyone interested - it's a very forgiving way of making delicious bread, consistently. Far easier than any method I've tried before (no kneading, no kidding!) google 'tartine' and roll your sleeves up!

chalk

janu and granny turned some old chipboard into a chalk board. Here is Janu writing his name - see the upsidedown J, A (lots of them!) and wiggles for N and U? 

 He also draws the wheels and exhaust from cars and I fill in the rest! 

endeavour

Not to be confused with the anti-whaling ship parked just beside it - guess which one Janu was more intereseted in?  Flying a pirate flag, it made for a good discussion about real life pirates and animal rights.  

a replica of the 'endeavour' sailed into hobart - the original was Captained by James Cook when he 'discovered' Australia.  Mum volunteered to show people round, including us. Amazing to think of 100s of people crammed on board for months. Mum even volunteered to sleep overnight on board and do 'watches' at 3am!?!? 

arve

we explored a tree tops walk along the arve river - high high up in the trees! janu charged an 'entry fee' into his hat at most junctions.  He observed that grandad 'only walks in front if there is a cafe nearby'! He is much the same! 

dover

dover is a tiny town a couple of hours south of hobart.  adrian passed through one day, and decided he'd like to take us all there! Janu loves the idea of fishing, but we didn't have a hook or bait, having just found this broken fishing rod in a park.  He is actually a bit obsessed with hunting and carnivores - forever asking which animals eat meat. I guess we are depriving the poor fella?! 

After this trip we said a sad goodbye to Colin and Tippy, who flew back home after a quick jaunt in Malaysia.  A really wonderful trip - thank you for coming!

pirate party!

arriving in tassie, we had a belated b'day party for Janu.  Guess the theme.  

snug

the view from the top of Mt Wellington across Hobart - it's often at least 10' colder on 'the mountain'. Today there was snow up top, I'm told.  We also ventured to snug falls, and janu walked all the way, encouraged by endless rounds of 'hide and seek'. I swum in the rock pool on our last (warmer!) visit.  

tippy!

 tippy had a birthday too, just as we arrived in tassie. we were turfed off the ferry at about 6am, so stopped at a roadside bakery for a surprise treat for her.  ahead of us was a gorgeous sun-filled day in launceston, riding a cable car and surprising kangaroos in this park.

shiny

adrian and janu love a clean car. look at their attention to detail.  I love watching them clean it, particularly if it involves no clothes.   

bye, mainland

leaving Melbourne, making friends on the ferry to tassie. He was from a biker group that was called something like 'bikers against child abuse' and did mentoring programmes for kids.  whattdyaknow.