Life Trove: me at Xmas

25 December 2015

28 December 2014

Xmas at Brendan and Eva

Xmas with Eva and Brendan is always so special. It feels like I'm amongst family. The food was out of this world and the company was wonderful. As usual, mum's potato baked was in great demand. I also made chocolate mousse this year which went down very well.

Dinner around the table

Just a sample of the amazing food.

Eva hand painted these table settings. Beautiful.

Xmas decorations

Such lovely, lovely people.

Making the most of the beautiful pool and warm weather.

Such a perfect house for parties!

The queen of the leaps. What amazing technique.

20 December 2014

Hiking Xmas party in Newtown

What a fun night out!!

Any excuse to wear my mullet and have hair again!

Gavin and I "hunking" it up for Elna to make her cousin jealous!

The food at the Thai restaurant was sensational!!

What better way to finish a night out than an 80's milkshake and chocolate crepe at Max Brenner.

27 December 2012

Xmas at North Head

I spent a wonderful Xmas with Dani and her family on her folk's Macadamia nut farm near North Head.

Here are some of the highlights:

How welcome the family made me feel.
The beauty of the farm with its gorgeous garden flowers and Macadamia nut trees and gorgeous views from the porch.
A delicious Xmas eve dinner of smoked salmon and pork.
Cooking the Xmas dinner main course with Dani - slow cooked lamb shoulder salad (with oranges and capers and olives). It was totally delicious and surprisingly easy to make, a great recipe to add to my repertoire.
The divine French dessert.
Playing hide and seek with Dani's nephew in the garden.
Lazing on a romantic swing chair on the porch.
Exploring the farm, including the beautiful dam and surrounding rain forest.
A cocktail party at friends on a nearby property with amazing food.
Kaspar, the family dog, who abounded with Xmas spirits and loved having us all around.
Eating lots and lots of Macadamia nuts - my favourite nut in the world!
Getting some lovely presents - a slow cooker from Dani, a recipe book, and a book of national geographic photos.
Two new bird species - Regents Bowerbird (to my delight) and Pacific Baza.
The beautiful King Parrots that visited the farm.
The peace of sitting on the farm balcony in the early morning.
Seeing cute little swamp wallabies on the farm.
Dani's dad's enthusiasm for birds and wildlife - a passion shared.
Dani's dad giving us a tour of the farm shed and all the farm equipment.
The extraordinarily loud chirping of the cicadas - a sound that always makes me feel peaceful.
Talking to my wonderful family on Skype on Xmas evening.
A lovely barbecue with Dani's sister and family at Scotts Head.
Teaching Dani some camera tricks and doing a photo safari of the farm together. Great fun.
Learning that Macadamia nuts are indigenous to Australia - the trees are a natural rainforest species. Is there no end to Australia's natural treasures?
Two lovely walks along Valla Beach.
A swim at Valla Beach and Shelley Beach. The temperature of the water couldn't have been more perfect.
Some exhilarating body surfing on big waves in Scotts Head.
Reading the colourful graffiti on the rocks at North Heads headland.