Birthday bonanza

Yes folks, J has reached the ripe old age of 32 (ahem!) on Sunday and, to celebrate, we had a gr8 day of activities.
Early morning start to catch a boat trip from Hobart docks down the eastern shore, and then back up the western shore of the Derwent River. This is the estuary to the South Pacific and Indian Oceans that run down (not literally) to Antarctica.
It was both a surprise and a joy to have the boat to ourselves - well apart from Captain Bird's Eye and the hostess with mostess!! We spent all our time in the bridge, talking with Cap'n Bird's Eye, looking out at the Fairy Penguins in the water and wondering why there were so many artillery batteries along the coast. I mean, Tasmania is hardly an important military asset!
After brunch in Salamanca Place we went to an art gallery in which one of the rooms has effectively been turned into an aviary. In this room are about five electric guitars fixed in a horizontal way so that Zebra Finches can perch on top of them and make music. This was quite surreal but undoubtedly 'arty'.
Bought some bits for our imminent camping trip to the North East coast and then home for Sunday afternoon papers and fresh Tassie cherries (the best).

The agony and ecstasy of building

We had our next meeting with Bill and Rowan, our architect and builder, this week. Bill has been busy over Christmas and has designed the first plan of our home and it's beautiful and bigger than we had expected, but of course there is a catch. Rowan's first guesstimate on cost is that it will be $20K over budget and it doesn't have a garage or workshop for J's woodworking which would make it $40K over budget! It's awful, it's like someone's given you a new toy to play with, one that you really love, and now you have to give it back!!! Soooooo, Rowan is getting more info on costs and we're looking at what changes we would be prepared to make to save costs and Rowan and I are meeting next week for a chat. Plus, J and I will be looking at kitchens, bathrooms and tiles this weekend. Within Rowan's budget there are allowances for each of these. We have no idea what things cost here so we're window shopping on the weekend to see if we can make any savings, or more likely that the allowances are inadequate for the things we'll want which will push us further over budget!!!!! Still, it's really exciting!

We're so tempted to post the plan on the blog, but don't want to jinx our chances of being able to afford the house, or a version of it. Will let you know whether or not we're going for it next week.

Wally the wallaby

I don't think David Attenborough or Steven Spielberg have anything to worry about. My cinematography skills are obviously at the amateur end of the continuum!

Almost seeing Sydney-Hobart yacht race

We both thought it would be cool to watch the tail-end of the Sydney-Hobart yacht race, particularly as there was a bit of a battle between the two leading contestants; Wild Oats XI and Skandia. However, two factors put us off: -
1. The expected time of arrival at Hobart battery point (finish line) was dawn.
2. Tasha decided to have a dodgy belly overnight.

Factor number 2 was bad, but number 1 was the outright winner. Not so bad if you've started partying the night before at 2am and exited the club at 6am, but a tad too much if you've been attacking the home-made margarita ice-cream and red wine whilst watching a crappy lat-night film!!

However, we managed to make it to Hobart during Sunday (reasonable hours) and did have a sticky beak at the yacht's in the harbour. None of the crew were around - they were all in the pub!

The Taste of Tasmania

Every year 'The Taste' comes to town, with a wide variety of food 'n' booze stalls, live music, art, street entertainment and other stuff. So, doing our bit to support the cultural heritage, we hoofed on down to the docks area of Hobart to see what all the fuss was about.
We have to say that it is a very enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon, especially as the weather was pretty fab and the food 'n' booze is top notch. Most stalls provide the opportunity to sample their wares, and all offer a reasonably priced range either for scoffing then & there, or to take away. The selection of (locally grown) tempura mushrooms was a hit.
The good news is that the event is on until the beginning of Jan, so we have plenty more time to attack the other stalls.

See the link'u'like section for the web-site.

Where's wally?

In our garden, that's where. A little pandemelon (a type of small wallaby) has taken up residence in our garden. Pretty surprising seeing as we live in suburbia 15 mins from downtown Hobart. He's spent all day hiding under a bush, only disturbed a few times by Smoke, Tasha and us as we didn't know he was there. Now we don't know how to get him to leave. Smoke has tried chasing him out of the garden (which isn't fully fenced), but he just returns. Any experts on wallaby behaviour do get in touch..

Yes, it is nearly Christmas and having temperatures in the mid 20's C (or high 70's Fahrenheit) and long daylight hours is mighty strange.
Anyway, seasonal greetings from the other side of the world. I hope Santa brings you what you wish for.