December 2013 to the New Year

Hi dear rellies, Peregrinos and friends

      It's been a while since I have had a go at the blog but while Maisie tries to put up a few videos on her blog and is going mad with it and as yet not succeeding getting one on as the site has been altered, I shall try to do one with photos!!!!

December 2013

The garden is coming on well and the green fence looks good.

 

I even found the time to make one Empanada between watering the new plants, 

 Also my book on the Ebro camino was at last published.

We set off for Denmark WA

Arriving in Denmark (WA) Maisie got help from the children and the Christmas cake was iced 

I discovered a 4-leaf clover in the garden, one of only two found this time, as the kangaroos come to feed daily and they must taste sweeter chuckle.

 

So it could have been this mum and her baby! 

They are so tame here!

Maisie and I walked to say hello to

 the other local forest folk living nearby!

                                                              Where a 28 parrot came to see us

On the way back this rather big red daddy roo eyed us to make sure we never disturbed his harem!

Back home, Emil cooked and  served his delicious lasagne and a great sweet and those bottles of wine kept appearing by magic when empty.
 

John was still a little jet lagged from his trip to Poland, England and the USA! Chuckle eating and drinking went on till Christmas Eve then it started again chuckle.

Christmas Eve

Benjamin and Maya 

Emil, John and Granddad Mike by the tree

Silvia the cook gets a drink

Silvia and John

While dinner was being prepared we went to the Family Christmas Mass at the little wooden church in town where the children helped decorate the tree and set up the nativity scene. Unfortunately I didn't get any good photos

For starters the cheeses

      

John did the BBQ prawns and Champagne,

Lighting the Christmas candles

(Opa) Dieter and (Oma) Liesel

Below we see the table on Christmas Eve

(Opa) Dieter and me (Granddad) were taking photos but you can see the rest of the happy crowd, (Oma) Liesel (top centre with raised hand, Silvia my lovely daughter-in-law is on the right then a family friend Annabel, Emil, Benjamin and Maya and going up the left side of the table our host, my son John and Maisie

Silvia cooked a superb meal of Free Range Turkey and all the fresh veggies possible to fit on a plate and more!!!

Turkey Drumstick is for Benjamin

A gap in the eating and we retired to give the presents around!! It got a little noisy as the three children screamed with excitement! Emil had made a huge mallet for his young brother of 6 years, Benjamin!!!!

I am not sure what it was made to hit but the garden weeds were flattened on Christmas day!!!! 

Emil explaining the Lego Fort to Benjamin

Maya receiving Uncle Simon's Hal books he's just published

 What a smile I think its just what she wanted

Returning to the table,
 
to eat a superb jelly and fruit sweet made by Silvia and if you were still hungry for more, grapes and nectarines strawberries and other fruit!!!!!

We were now too full to cut the Christmas cake or fire up the Christmas pudding so they were left for Christmas day!

Christmas day!

Christmas morning was the day of finding out what Santa had brought in the night and assembling many of the toys. The Lego Fort that Benjamin received was an enormous hit and he assembled it all with just his big brother reading and showing him the instruction sheet!

While Maya and Dad made this incredible tin skyscraper

Maya at work on the tower

Work shop

The Fort

 

Model tower built

 

Santa came with sweets, the mallet and the new flute were tried out but not on each other! By the end of the day Maya could play The First Noel on the flute! Remote control cars were assembled and raced around the house and outside in garden and driveway.

The cake was cut for Morning tea

Santa

 

The First Noel on the flute

Model car assembly line

The cake cut

Garden weeds were flattened

 A trip to the beach was fitted in to fly the kite that Oma and Opa had given to Emil.

We all had a chance to swim or paddle in the sea.. Emil did get to have a go!
What a Christmas Day!!!























Back home Emil treated us to a rollicking tune on his fiddle and








 
 some oldies sang and a pantomime was put on called The Two little Pigs adlibbed by Maya, Emil and Benjamin

opening the show

Maya danced for us.

More Christmas turkey, plus Christmas pudding set alight with brandy, sparklers lit! All washed down with rather a lot of alcohol!

Boxing Day

Maisie, Emil and I decided to drive to the bottom of Monkey Rock and walk up to see the view and hope to get off a few kilos that we seem to have put on over the last couple of days! In the distance we could see the first two wind turbines that are said to power the entire town of Denmark now

We continued up following the Bibbulmun track signs to a big rock then turned back as it is hard going and we were all a bit unfit I thought!!!!

Back down to the car and we headed to Lights Beach for a swim

A bit rough to day

Well Granddad and Emil cooled off OK. 'No sharks today' we hoped!

 Back Home two roos asked;

"And where have you been?"

"So we ain't all grey - that big red's been around here when I wasn't looking"

The castle is complete now!!!

The days go by so fast when you're having fun!

Sadly its time to go, but Benjamin is coming with us
 and we stop at Tambellup and take look around.

Tambellup

The old wooden water tower and a grader for levelling the road, Benjamin told me, then we looked in the tumbledown saddlery

Wool press makes the wool fit in square sacks

Probably a wool  fleece wash?

Trough made from a tree trunk

A cart

"A lot of old stuff here Granddad, a wool press and a big pudding bowl and this cart was pulled by a horse!!!"

"Some sort of disc plough you ride on it like me"

 

We stopped for lunch at Wagin where the big sheep is, and the slides there had to be tested. Then on to home, a good safe drive.

New Year Eve

Soon it was New Year's Eve and we had a lot of fun and a huge BBQ meal outside on the patio at John and Tricia's house in Jaradale. 

Here we see big John at his new BBQ cooking shelter with Diane, Steve, Simon and Jo looking on. Great chops John! Lots of food on the long table but I was still having trouble getting used to the camera taking pictures outside in the dark

Benjaman had a great time with the balloon swords that Diane made for him and all the ladies received a bug to put on the wrist, she is quite amazing making these balloon things.

ALEX and JOHN

The big surprise was the Engagement of Alex and boyfriend John.  They had decided to get engaged on Alex's Birthday! So we celebrated that with a cake and Champagne and sang and danced in the New year and toasted all absent friends and Rellies, well as best we could by then chuckle. Maisie and I carried Benjamin out to the Van to sleep, as he had wanted to sleep in the Ford for the first time and I stayed with him while Maisie took his place on a mattress on the floor in the conservatory! 

Simon's brother Matt and Aveni arrived next morning with their two children Thomas and Daniel so we never left until just before lunchtime. A good time was had by all!!

Just to finish off the holidays, Benjamin walked (or rather scooted) one morning with me all the way to the café (about 3 k's), and at home had a play in the park across the road in the sprinklers with me.

John, Silvia, Emil and Maya came on the Thursday after New year and stayed overnight to pick up Benjamin, who we had loved having and he had been a really good boy! They had a good time in the pool before leaving to visit other friends and rellies in Perth.

They returned to us on Sunday to have lunch and say goodbye, so we took a family photo of them as they left.

Phew! That was a long blog! We probably won't have time to do a blog for January, but will let you know if we do.

Hope you all had as much fun as we did over the Christmas/New Year holidays!

Abrazos
Maisie and Mike