Government House Open Day

Jack played with the Senior Band at the Government House Open Day in honour of The Smith Family. It was a great day out and Meg had a lovely time wandering down to the water and looking at all the stalls and exhibits which included the RAAF balloon. We had never been to Government House before so it was great to see the building and surrounds.

Australian Catholic University Graduation

Jack played with the Senior Band today at the Australian Catholic University's Graduation Day which was held at Parliament House.

BPS Twilight Fair

It was Bungendore Public School's Twilight Fair and the clouds and showers cleared to reveal a lovely Autumn evening. I was on the Knock 'em Down's (also called Tin Pan Alley) which was busy in the extreme as the game consisted of each child having three balls to try and knock down six cans. Every child won a prize for having a go so the games were fast and furious. We have lines for Preschool, Kinder to Y2, Y3-Y6 and Y7 plus. There was a bit of dodgy footwork going on (one Year 7 threw from the Kinder line and nearly knocked us out with flying cans (he didn't realise - yeah, right!) but we set him right and he didn't hit as many next time around.
I was helped by Nikki, Francette and Nancy which was great as there were lots of can and ball chasing. A complete miss by a child gave them another go - some children ended up having six or seven throws just to get a can down! Meg was a huge help running after balls and many other kids and parents returned miscreiant balls which was very helpful. We made just over $300 on the night which meant at $2.00 a game, we had over 150 children participating in our activity.
Each student at the school did an artwork and it was pinned up on the hall walls where parents and relatives could peruse the art and purchase for $2.00 each.
The Twilight Fair was a great success and $10,000 was raised in total.

Volunteering

The Bungendore Public School's Twilight Fair is on tomorrow afternoon/evening and I am going in to the school hall this afternoon to help set up. There is a secondhand clothes stall, books, toys, children's artwork and lots of games for the kids. It should be a fun time.

Jack home today

Meg and I had a pretty easy Wednesday. We didn't have to get up early to take Jack to school and I didn't have to drive in this afternoon to pick Jack up after band practice. Got an extra hour and a half at Kids Zone instead of in the car so all in all, a really good day!
Jack came home today after the Treacy House Camp and had a great time. Lots of swimming, surfing, kayaking and learning to paddle standing up. They had a play to do on Monday night (each group was given a topic) and it all went well. Looking very tanned and fit.

View from The Pines

John home

John left this morning after going to visit Dimity. It's been great to have him here and we always enjoy his company (and often his jokes!). This visit's best was the one about the black horse who could fix cars - very funny.

Jack to The Pines

Jack went to Treacy House Camp today at The Pines, Tuross Head which is south of Moruya. The property is owned by the Christian Brothers and is operated by St Edmund's College. It has facilities to accommodate up to a hundred students and parents and it is used primarily for school camps and retreats. Jack has been looking forward to Camp for weeks!

Visitors on St Patrick's Day

Suzie Finemore and her two girls, Sophia and Coco, dropped in to see us on their way home from a weekend in Canberra. Suzie was given the Canberra weekend as a gift for her 50th Birthday and they used it this weekend. They all had a great time and enjoyed their luxury weekend to the max. It was great to see them again after quite a few years. Sophia is now in 3rd year of Photography at UTS and Coco is in Year 11 - both going very well.
John Maclurcan arrived today as well for a couple of nights and it was great to see him again as we haven't seen John for quite a while. John has a meeting at the War Memorial tomorrow and so decided to come to visit. Great idea.

Meg climbing at Canberra Indoor Rock Climbing yesterday

Rock climbing at Hume

Last year at the Bungendore Public School Trivia Night we won the voucher from Canberra Indoor Rock Climbing in the silent auction. It was for four children and two adults and we had the vague idea that it could be the beginnings of Jack's 12th birthday party. That didn't eventuate and so as it was getting close to the expiry date (1st April), we decided we had better use it this year and today!
We invited two of Jack's friends - Riley and Archie and took Meg making the four kids. We had a great time with Allan and the kids climbing all the walls and Meg having a go on everything from the walls to the upstairs area with free climbing and falling onto huge foam mats. Too much fun! Very relaxing and fun and the kids had a great time.

Jack, Riley and Archie

A great result in Technics

Jack was in dire straits with his Technics assignment until Allan came home from Tasmania and gave him a hand. The assignment was a materials research assignment and Allan knew most of it off the top of his head from his days of doing Carpentry at TAFE. Consequently, Jack's knowledge improved greatly and he got his assignment done and handed in only a day late. He was supposed to have a 5% reduction in marks but ended up with 99% anyway. Go figure.

Jack used this image as the title page for his Technics assignment.

Jack back teaching

Jack has been teaching a little boy the trumpet since the end of last year. Riley is now in Year 1 and is very keen to continue and absolutely adores Jack. Riley's little sister was born in December so things were a bit up in the air re trumpet lessons but he has decided to continue and today was Jack's first day back at teaching and Riley's first day back at learning since last year. Jack really enjoys it and the extra pocket money doesn't hurt!

The reason we face west

Everyone knows that in Australia you always build your home facing north, never west. Well, we built ours facing west - the exact wrong direction. However, we had a road to our north and didn't really want to see the traffic hauling up our hill and to the west we had a lovely view of the valley. Now you understand.

Canberra is declared

Today was the day, 100 years ago, that Canberra was named the capital of Australia. Lady Denman (1884-1954), was the wife of the fifth Governor-General of Australia. She was a British woman active in women's rights issues including the promotion of women's suffrage in the UK. In 1911 Lord Denman was appointed Governor-General of Australia and they arrived on 31 July 1911.
On 11 March 1913 Lady Denman accompanied her husband and the rest of a Vice-Regal party to the Yass-Canberra district of NSW. The following day they were to perform the official opening ceremony of the new capital of Australia. The Minister for Home Affairs, King O'Malley, was determined that a start should be made on the new capital during the Labor Government's term of office, and that a formal ceremony should be held, even though the participants would have to camp out in the bush.
For some time before the ceremony itself, the name chosen for the new capital had been the subject of some controversy. Many names had been put forward, but the one chosen by the Cabinet was kept secret, even from the Governor-General, until the moment of its announcement.
Lord Denman laid the first foundation stone, the Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, laid the second stone and King O'Malley the third. The moment had arrived for the naming of the new capital. As well as the choice of name there had been much discussion in the Cabinet as to how the new name should be pronounced. It was decided that whatever pronunciation Lady Denman gave when she read out the name would be the one officially adopted. At noon, Mrs O'Malley presented to Lady Denman a gold case containing a card on which the chosen name was written. Amid a fanfare of trumpets and the bands playing All people that on earth do dwell, she made her way to a dais. The music ceased and Lady Denman said, "I name the capital of Australia Canberra." There were loud cheers, and while the artillery fired a twenty-one gun salute, the bands played Advance Australia Fair and God Save the King. The date is now celebrated in the national capital as Canberra Day.
The pronunciation of Canberra has always been in debate. The most common pronunciation from visitors is Can-ber-rah. As Lady Denman decreed, the pronunciation is Canb'ra with the emphasis on Can.
The Denmans returned to Britain in 1914 just before World War I began. In 1917 Lady Denman became the first President of the National Federation of Women's Institutes, a post she held until 1946. She was also the first Chairman of the Family Planning Association, President of the Ladies Golf Union, a Trustee of the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, and a Director of the Westminster Press.

From left: Lord Denman, Andrew Fisher, Lady Denman and King O'Malley

Canberra Day

Jack had a day off school due to Canberra Day which is a public holiday in the ACT but Allan and I had to work and Meg went to school.
Canberra celebrates its 100th Birthday this year and it is a huge year in the capital with lots of festivals and activities. Hopefully we will enjoy a few.
Happy Birthday Canberra!

Preparing for tax .... 2011/12!!

The time has come where I can't put it off any longer. Odana has changed accountants and I must get our tax in order (read Odana, Bungendore Podiatry, Allan's and mine) for the 2011/12 year. They don't have to be lodged until May each year but May seems to creep up on me faster and faster every year. Mind you, it has to be prepared quite some time before May so that Tim can get it prepared for us. A true bore every year. I have to admit, I would much rather be playing Scrabble!

Allan's home

Allan arrived home this afternoon after being away for two weeks bushwalking in Tasmania. The first week spent on the Western Arthurs and the second going to Frenchmans Cap. He has come home very fit and relaxed ready to get back into it again .... or not!

Lorraine, Allan, Trevor and Rupert on the Western Arthurs, Tasmania

TGIF

Thank God it's Friday is all I can say. Allan is due home tomorrow and a HUGE clean up is scheduled for the morning. Jack's assignments have been at the forefront for the last two weeks and we have been skating behind the eight ball for the entire time. It is great that Friday is finally here .... at last.

A superb Autumn day

Today was one of those magnificent, warm, still Autumn days in the Capital region where the leaves start turning and there is a coolness in the evening. I love Autumn but I'm not looking forward to winter. I love the lack of jackets in these months even though for most of the year you wouldn't venture outside in this area without one. The forecast is for another few days just like today. Keep them coming!
On the weekend I found a tutorial on putting together photos to make a panorama. This was incredibly easy in Photoshop Elements 11 and it just does it with a click of a few buttons (as long as you know which ones to click!!). Here is a panorama I took at the Arboretum last month.

Jack's assignments

Jack has three assignments to hand in tomorrow so he is feeling the pressure. Science, Technics and Religious Education all are due and there seems to be a huge amount of research and work to be done for each.
The Science assignment is on an experiment he did in class, Technics is on items around the home and he has chosen the Amish for his RE assignment.
Midnight tomorrow night is the cutoff for Science so he still has some time up his sleeve but he has been working very hard and consistently.

Barn raising in an Amish community.

Animal Farm

I took Jack to see the play Animal Farm at the Q Theatre in Queanbeyan today which was produced by the shake and stir theatre co from Brisbane. It was awarded Best Independent Play and Best Direction at the 2011/2012 Matilda Awards. Animal Farm is touring nationally this year. It was an excellent production and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
Meg did the paper clip "climbing" up the rubber band trick for News today. It went down very well and the kids loved it.
My beautiful speckled brown chook, Alice, died today. She was the last of the last of my pets. My beautiful girls Jess and Bindi have now gone, all my axolotls and now Alice. Jack's project during the school holidays when Meg was born was to hatch a dozen eggs. Alice was one of the chicks that we kept along with six other hens. Allan and I were tossing around names and Alice was a possibility when we were deciding on Meg's name. Meg became Meg so my gorgeous speckled brown chook became Alice.

 

Ozymandias

Jack had a major English assignment to hand in today which he did on Percy Bysshe Shelley's famous sonnet, Ozymandias. It is a great poem and Nona Lin, Diana and myself all helped him get it done. Jack's class was only given two weeks to finish the assignment so hopefully he has done well. It is worth 25% of his semester mark.

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear:

‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Abu Simbel where the torso and head of Ramesses II (known as Ozymandias in Greek)

was taken by the British in 1817 and currently resides in the British Museum.

A smile and a gap

Meg now has two bottom teeth missing so a big gap. The first tooth is starting to come through already!
Allan rang last night at the end of his first week and again tonight. He is ready to set off tomorrow for Frenchmans Cap, another classic Tasmanian walk, and will be back in contact on Friday. So far so good, only raining last Wednesday and Thursday and apart from that, the walk, although hard, is going very well. Can't wait to hear all about it and see the photos!

The smallest of teeth

Meg lost her second tooth this morning and it must be the smallest tooth ever. I honestly don't know how the Tooth Fairy is going to see it when she flys by .....

First day of Autumn

It has to be the coldest first day of Autumn ever, I reckon. Certainly not prepared for this.
Meg and I found a leaf when we went to pick Jack up from diving this evening and it was in the perfect shape of a butterfly. Meg is keen to take it to school for News on Tuesday. Unfortunately it got a tad mangled (bottom right fell off) on the way home but still is a recognisable butterfly. I am not sure about News but Meg has something else for News now. She is able to make a paper clip "climb" up a rubber band. It's a pretty good trick and I think the kids will enjoy it.