All that Jazz

I was invited to see Carolyns daughter play in her school band at Inaburra (private school in Bangor) last night. If I am honest, I was a bit worried at first thinking I will need to strain myself from the sounds of amateur big band music, BUT - how plesantly surprised I was - they really had a truly wonderful band of Clarinets, trumpets, flutes and the music pieces were no easy feat. It was beautiful music.

To my delight following the school band they had Swing City - a swing jazz band which is lead by John Morrison (the brother of James Morrison - the great aussie trumpeter). They also had a jazz singer singing some of my old favourite jazz songs. I was so impressed by this little surprise, moreso that I didn't need to leave the Shire to hear some great top class music.

The Morrison family contribute a lot to youth music and often have regular shows around the Shire (I know Kirrawee they have regular concerts). The lovely Emma Pask - a jazz singer mentored by James Morrison came from Kirrawee. It was truly wonderful to see these young musicians being mentored by some great jazz artists - and also to see how much the members of Swing City genuinly enjoyed playing with the kids.

Lunar Eclipse

We experienced a Lunar Eclipse on Tuesday night and it was quite spectacular and exciting to see. We had a perfect view from our back balcony. The night was perfectly clear so the view was very clear. Here are some photos (with compliments from a work colleague). These pics are what could be seen with the naked eye.

Click on this link for details information on a lunar eclipse.


http://www.myastroshop.com.au/guides/lunar/lunar-eclipse07.htm

Almost Spring

Well spring is almost upon us. Only a few days to go, but it's still so dam cold. Our peach blossom tree is flowering out the front and it's beautiful. I took some photos, but unfortuantely it isn't a sunny day - as it's so dam cold. I'm surprised the tree has blossomed in the cold.

Home deco

Here are some pics of new stuff for the house.

Timber mirror


Behind these cupboards contains our pantry, broom closet and laundry.

Reading: A Thousand Splendid Suns

What I'm Reading Now: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - highly recommend it. Great book! I had been trying to get this book for the review on ABC's First Tuesday book club - but had trouble getting it as it was sold out. To my excited delight - mum pulled it out of her bag when she got back from Hong Kong. Can't wait to read Kite Runner after this which is by the same author.

My husband's labourer

Phil has been doing some carpentry work at my bosses house, so I thought I'd help out on Saturday and be his labourer (a very sexy one at that I must say). I cleared out the back garden getting in ready for the landscaping that will be done later. Phil got on with putting in some drains and helped out when he needed my expert assistance. I actually enjoyed it - I thought how nice it must be to be able to work outdoors and not be stuck in an office all day.

The work Phil did, which wasn't real heavy work mind you, highlighted just how limited his abilities are now. He was in a lot of pain and needed to have regular breaks, and he gets extremely frustrated.

Boy did I work hard though - we worked all day until 5pm and no lunch break. We were exhausted. Being in Balmain, we decided to walk up and have a feed. What a feed it was. We ate at GiGi's, an italian restaurant which I have eaten at on several occassions with work. We started with salt & pepper calamari (huge plate which almost filled us up). For mains, I had a big plate of Penne Siciliana and Phil had chicken Palome - chicken breast with a lovely creamy salmon sauce. Mmm Mmm It was delish!!

After dinner as we walked back we stopped at the London Hotel for a drink - we felt like we were in London- the place is full of poms. Everyone was friendly and we had a nice evening.

Then back home to the burbs. I just love Balmain and that part of the city - I would have so many things to do, as all my interests involve, theatre, yoga, art, museums, music - but at the same time I would really miss the peaceful life of where we live down at the wonni river. I love our trees and the river and open space. The traffic is horrendous in the city. It took us over 1 hour to get to Balmain - 1/2 an hour was just getting through Darling Street in Rozelle. Can you imagine me driving in the city - I would be in a nut house.

MMMM - a quiet life in a hut by the sea - perfect...

Off to Honkers Bonkers

Yeah! Tickets are booked and myself, Phil, Mum and Jim are off to Hong Kong for 3 weeks over Christmas. So if anyone wants to house-sit and feed our cats - let me know.

We have never had Christmas away from home before, so this will be very exciting.

McHugh family visit

We had a surprise phone call from our good friends Xavier and Tau asking if they could stay with us on their way home to Dubai from PNG. Of course we excitedly said yes. However, it meant a last minute dash to our neighbours to borrow beds, beds, beds. We only have one spare double bed in our house and we had Xavier and Tau and the 4 kids. But thankfully, our dear neighbours came to the rescue and supplied us with two rollaways and a double matress.

It has been an absolute pleasure having these people in our home. I have to say, their kids are the most amazing children I have every come across. They age from 10 to 15 - 2 boys and 2 girls. It is just such a delight when they visit. Don't ever underestimate the value your children will get out of travelling the world and always being on the move. These kids just spent 5 weeks in a small village in PNG (their mums home place) sleeping on the floor and living on rice, fish and yams. They just blended back into the village culture so easily. They are intelligent and thoughtful kids and love experiencing new things.

They soon jet back to Dubai where Xavier must go back to work (he is a pilot for Emerites). So Phil and Xavier have spent their time in usual "Dream" mode dreaming up things for the future. In one day they have come up with a plan for a resort in PNG, talked of boats and sailing around the world, and of course a plan for Phils future flying. Looks like the plan now is for us to go the US for a few weeks so Phil can get some special license to allow him to fly around the world, then off to the UK to find work. Now that part I like. I'm up for it. I'd love to spend 2 years in the UK. Anway - as I say - "Dream Mode". I'll believe it all when I see things happen.

Anyway it has been a fun couple of days. They are all off to visit friends on the North Coast before returning for a couple of nights later in the week. Looking forward to that.

Charlotte CLAIRE Baker Make-over (That's Claire NOT Clair!)

BEFORE and AFTER

Charlottes First Day at School

Australian International School - Hong Kong

http://www.aishk.edu.hk/