Where 'ave you bin?

During the last year, Canberra has been trialling (and then rolling out) green waste garden bins. We produce a fair amount of garden waste, and our options until now have been to hire a 'trash-pack' which do hold a large quantity but are notoriously expensive, or borrow a trailer from a friend and embark on a trip to the tip (which is something we've done every year or so). 

Now though, with the delivery of our shiny new green bin we can dispose of green waste every fortnight. The kids and I celebrated the bins arrival by using it as a chariot (I was the horse of course) and I pulled them both up and down the road howling with a combination of fear and laughter. 

The bin is now packed with sticks and leaves rather than children.

Audrey - Jam Champion!

At last year's Canberra Show Audrey won a very creditable two seconds and two third places with her jam. This year though we were better prepared and with the experience that 2018 had given us, Audrey started making jams early and we had both noted the comments that the judge had made regarding jars, sweetness, the set of the jam etc.

As a result Audrey successfully won three categories in this year's Canberra Show (plum, marmalade and apricot) and came second with her tomato relish and third with her sugar free jam. It was a wonderful achievement and she collected a lovely ribbon which now adorns her bedroom wall. Surprisingly her strawberry jam (which won the ABC competition late in 2018) didn't get placed (I think it was too firm a set) but it was an impressive result from her other jams nonetheless.

A late watermelon also collected a third place in the fruit and vegetable section!

Multi Culti

We really look forward to the Multicultural Festival (Multi-culti!) in Canberra run over three days in February.

It's a celebration of Australia's multiculturalism and Garema Place in the Centre of Canberra transforms from its usual tranquil self and becomes awash with food, music and crowds. In truth it would be great if the city centre could be like this every weekend.

While we were there we entered a competition where you were required to speak to people from 15 different nationalities and ask them how they said 'hello' and a few other general words. Incredibly we completed the task in only about 40 minutes. Sadly we didn't win the prize, but actually what made the competition great was that you were required to speak to strangers and quiz them about their heritage and it was fabulous how remarkably easy to find people from so many different backgrounds.

Our world is truly a global village, and one that we should embrace and celebrate rather than be afraid or suspicious of. 

The Capitals win it!

Like a couple of thousand Canberrans we've jumped on the bandwagon by following the success of the Canberra Capitals (the women's basketball team) On Sunday we watched them complete a Grand Final win in a 93-73 victory over the Adelaide Lightning to claim their first victory in the competition since 2010.

Looking at the records of the individual teams, the Capitals have been the strongest team in the competition since it began in 1981 (the Capitals joined in '84) but the last few years have been very lean and fans had started to drift away. This year has been different entirely though and the AIS was packed to the rafters with tickets selling out several days before.

The atmosphere was electric and at just $20 a ticket it was incredible value and fun. The team may struggle to repeat the feat in 2020 as stars such as Kelsey Griffin and  Kia Nurse may listen to bigger financial offers from elsewhere. Still wherever the team ends up we were so happy to be there to watch the capitals lift the trophy.

Audrey with her 'Student Leader' badge

Audrey collected her 'Student Leader' badge today, signifying that she's now in her final year of Primary School. 

It's gone so quickly and Audrey's becoming such an amazing young lady who makes me proud every day. The school held a special ceremony to celebrate the occasion and it was packed with both parents and grandparents. It's hard attending these things on my own.

My kids have certainly not had the easiest of starts to life, but they continue to amaze me. Well done Audrey. 

(I'm a bit unclear what the role of 'student leader' involves. When it was introduced a couple of years ago in the school, the power seemed to be more wide ranging that it is now, with kids allowed to wander the play ground pulling younger kids up on their behaviour. I got told off by one of the school Mums for suggesting that the school had created their own version of the Kapo. Perhaps my humour was a tadge black.)

Tryathalon

We've done the Weetbix Tryathalon for a few years now. It's an incredibly well organised event and there's thousands of kids that take part.

Due to the number of times we've participated we've kind of come to know the ropes, where to go. what to do, how to not get annoyed by the mass of pushy-parents there.

Every year I think it'll be our last, but actually it IS good fun and the kids really enjoy it.

I do resent the fact that Sanitarium (by virtue of being a religious organisation) doesn't pay tax on the production of its wheat cereals 'Weetbix'. It makes zero sense to me. Still we do like the event despite the sponsors.

Eli cheering on his sister

Eli graduating from Coerver

Eli's Coerver football programme came to an end and they organised a 'graduation' ceremony one evening. It was good fun. Eli's skills have come on so much in a really short amount of time.

Watermelon from our garden

We've had quite a few delicious watermelon from our garden this summer. This was probably the best of them. It was so sweet and succulent. We ate the whole of it in an evening!

Kids go back to school

The kids returned to school after their six weeks of school holidays. I enjoy them going back (because of the certainty and predictability it brings) they're less keen....

Test cricket comes to Canberra

Canberra played host to test cricket for the first ever time and a small group of us luckily got to go along to witness the first day's play (the match was sold out for the first couple of days). Australia played Sri Lanka. Australia ultimately ended up as winners. I've seen a few games at Manuka's ground (T20s and one-dayers) but it was good to finally see the five day format on our doorstep. Hopefully it'll be the first of many Tests played in the nation's capital.