TropicalSoup

Just like sands through the hour glass...

Oh life. We've had rather a lot of it lately. Almost all good - I hasten to add - but it does rather impact on one's ability to report about said life, when one is busy living it! (One does rather love to refer to oneself as one...it makes one feel rather grand, and not at all like one is sitting here in one's pj's, ha!)

This guy - in the pic he is just finishing an insane multisport event a few weeks ago (in a very respectable time, I might add!) - celebrated his birthday last week. Well, his fake one, anyway. D is now officially 13 1/4. Woot! The real celebration though comes this weekend - Neil Young and Crazy Horse are playing at one of the local vineyards, and D is more than a tiny bit excited to go and see the master!

Oh, and the event? A 1500m ocean swim, 30km mountain bike, 9km paddle and 12 km run. Seriously. And all this 1 week after a mid-length triathlon, and with a couple of injuries that had me doubting his ability to finish either.AND just a few short days before blowing out 53 candles!!! He's pretty awesome, that guy. Completely nuts, but awesome nuts! A belated happy birthday, Crash!

 

Stuff I learnt while camping...

So, the Campbells have returned, windswept and sunkissed and with sand lingering in many a crevice, from a lovely week at the beach. This is the first time we'd ever done the camping/tenting thing since we'd been together - so for at least 19 years! And here, without further ado, are some things that became apparent whilst we were away:

~we all like it! Enough to try and figure out when to do it again, anyway.

~I like it enough to do it again, but am okay if that's not until towards the end of the year (ahem).

~You cannot fit a tent, a gazebo, everything else you need for 7 days' camping, 4 bikes, a kayak, and 4 humans into a station wagon. As a result, 3 of the humans caught the train to Newcastle whilst D drove the car there (with every spare inch of available space crammed) in order to pick up a last-minute-hire trailer so that we could fit all 4 humans in the car again, and finally head off to the campsite.

~Stuff like that seems to be a fairly common occurence for the Campbells...

~Putting up the tent in near (and then total) darkness is a lot easier with new, modern tents. And teenage boys from neighbouring sites who offer to help! (Did I mention we'd borrowed a tent and hadn't done a test run? hahaha)

~Cole and Immy absolutely adored being able to be free range (within the clear confines of the camp ground), and spent hours and hours on their bikes, making friends, playing volleyball and climbing trees.

~I sometimes had to make a concerted effort to be okay with them being a bit more free range than usual - sometimes it's hard to step back.

~Every Campbell is happiest when in water.

~My kids now are rather expert at boogie boarding, and are catching waves like naturals.

~Including waves that are bigger than them.

~I was usually the only one nervous about that.

~Given that they're both having to resist the urge to get up on their boards, I don't think surfing lessons are too far away.

~Cole has also been watching his daddy, and can now add bodysurfing to his repertoire as well.

~I really like sand-free sheets.

~That is just not possible on a beach camping trip.

~Being unplugged is lovely. And hard.

~3 of the 4 Campbells think fishing is an awesome way to spend a day. (The 4th Campbell took photos)

~2 of those 3 mentioned above were probably more interested in seeing if the fish took the bait (every 3.5 seconds) than the sitting and waiting part. As for the *being quiet* part....mwahahahaha

~46 degrees is too hot for camping.

~The beach is awesome even when (and sometimes especially because) it's raining.

~I took knitting and stitching and did neither.

~It's not classy, but sometimes a big sheet of black plastic is a lifesaver as an extra wall for long wet days.

~There's nothing quite like kissing the forehead of a sleeping child, sunkissed and sand-ridden, who has spent their day in the serious business of holiday fun.

~this little family rocks.

A little bit of pretty

I'm pooped and really should be in bed (and I'm there next, promise!) but I just wanted to check in first and say hi, and thanks for checking in on us. D has had a rough week - including another rushed visit to the ER last night, complete with munchkins in tow (they did so well!) We hope everything is sorted now (fracture clinic on thursday - good news then we hope!) and so once the pain becomes a little more manageable, I'm sure things will start looking up. Poor guy's in a world of pain right now...I can tell how long until the next dose of pain relief is due from the look on his face, and the sound effects! He's a trooper.

The roses are unrelated really - I picked them up for D to take in for his team's admin lady whose last day was the very next day after his accident. (He missed her morning tea, but was there in person to hand over the flowers and his team's gratitude. Like I said, trooper.) Flowers always make me happy...even when they're not for me!

Simple Mathematics:

PLUS

EQUALS

 

There's a really good reason all his mates call him Crash Campbell. And why I was so nervous until we got medical insurance covered. Ha! Poor dude is now sporting a broken arm in a sling (a clean break straight through the surgical neck of the humerus; ie. the very top of the arm bone, just under the bulbous end. So very lucky it was a clean break - and it wasn't another broken shoulder!), and today D was feeling decidedly tender and counting down to the next round of pain meds. It was pretty comical last night at the emergency room though when each medical personnel asked how the accident happened and D replied *I was skateboarding*...he came in for a fair amount of good natured ribbing and *what, are you 12?!?!* comments...at least he could honestly say that yep, he wouldn't be 13 for another fortnight, leap year baby and all!

Please forgive me if I'm a little sporadic around here for the next few days...my arms and hands are in heavy demand just now!

As for me and my family, we shall worship the Men in Black

(Us watching the opening ceremony en famille last night. And those little size premmie All Black suits the baby dolls are wearing - were once worn by 3  month old Cole and Imogen. sob)

The Rugby World Cup is officially underway, and if you know D at all you'll know that saying he is rugby mad is a little like saying he doesn't mind the occasional cup of coffee. It is all on here. I'm not a huge rugby fan per se, but even I am a little excited about this cup, and especially for the opportunity for the all Blacks to hold up a bit of kitchenware on home turf!

We watched the opening ceremony together as a family last night which was lovely - and brought out a bit of homesickness from me - I'm incredibly proud of NZ's cultural heritage, and it was lovely to see a little on display. As much as we are loving Australia, and happy and proud to call this our new home, there is no doubt on which side of the divide our allegiances fall when it comes to rugby right now...though Cole and Immy suggested that they might like to shout for the yellow team (the Wallabies) since we are in Australia now and therefore should support them. The good thing to come out of that - I know *exactly* what D looks like right before he's about to have a heart attack, lol!

 

Drama Queen

(rockpooling)

Really, the way I disappeared here for months on end might make one suppose that 4 moves, 3 significant birthdays, a new country, new job for D (with some seriously harrowing down-to-the-wire-do-we-wait-for-the-job-that's-taking-forever-or-go-to-plan-B dramas) and all the related malarkey that goes along with these sorts of adventures were a tad time consuming and stress inducing. One would probably be right!

 

(watching the surfers)

By rights we really should just about be pros at this moving nonsense - this is the 5th international move for Cole and Imogen after all, and they've only just had their 5th birthday, but this one was easily the hardest move for me yet, both logistically and emotionally...even if it was the shortest international move we've ever done! We're going to try and stay put for a little bit now, just for a change!!

So where did we end up? We are in the gorgeous Hunter Valley region in NSW, Australia, in a large country town, just over half an hour from Newcastle, and about 2 hours from Sydney! The move was purely dictated by D's new work, even though we were actually in Australia looking to settle up Brisbane way before we finally got word that this job was his (I wasn't kidding about the down to the wire stuff - it seems that's just how we operate!) The place though is lovely and so far, so fabulous! It is extra nice that everything else has fallen into place so well, given this was D's preferred job. Oh, and the Hunter Valley is a major wine producing area...I know I know, it's a terrible hardship being surrounded by all this squashed grape - we're doing our best to deal!

We moved into our lovely rental place 7 days ago, and whilst we're glamping it up here on airbeds and beanbags whilst our furniture wends its way to us (it's taken a bit longer to catch on to our change of plans and arrive at its final destination) it is already starting to feel like somewhere we can settle and feel like we're home. I will share some of the sillier, crazier, lovelier moments from the past few months soon, but for now, I'm back, patchy mobile internet and all! (Mr Telstra man, name your price for organising my ADSL quicksmart!)

 

(in all our rockpoolong, we never once found a starfish with *just* 5 appendages!)

 

**The photos of Cole and Imogen are from Newcastle beach, where we stayed at our dear friend - and best man - Phil's apartment for 10 days. His apartment is right. on. the. beach. Utter heaven for us all. And as for Phil - man, the definition of a best man? Someone who offers for your family of 4 to invade his 2 bedroom apartment for an unspecified period whilst house hunting. Definition of The Best Man Ever: the man stays with a mate around the corner so you can have the whole apartment to yourself. Seriously - how do you say thanks for something like that? (I'm thinking this may take more than a handknitted beanie and a couple of home cooked meals!) And then just when he couldn't get any cooler, Cole discovered *uncle fill* had a skateboard...and taught him how to use it!!! And he pushed Immy round (and round and round) the tennis court on the skateboard as well. And that was it, 2 small hearts utterly devoted to their dear UncleFill! D and I are just glad the kids love Phil as much as we do...even if I still think he is an utter pain in the arse to watch a royal wedding with!

 

(taking time out to compare war wounds, lol!)

The sign of a day well spent with good friends and the odd tipple...

...is when somebody (in this case, D), takes off for a victory lap around the soccer fields our house backs on to, doing his very best Mary Poppins impersonation with the outdoor furniture umbrella. Tragically, he did not achieve much meaningful lift, and yes, that is a child's fire fighter's helmet strapped to his noggin. Tequila was involved...surprised? As the resident teetotaller, I'm only relieved I had the forethought to grab the camera and snap a pic before it was over, and before I got a hernia from laughing so hard. Hooray for gorgeous friends.

Echino quilt

I keep meaning to show you D's birthday quilt (for last year)...that I finished at the beginning of *this* year. Oops. It sat for a (long) while as a basted beast, then for a (longer) while as a semi-quilted creatures, then I finally got around to finishing the quilting, and it seems to have spent an awfully long time waiting for binding. Sheesh, such a long time frame for a relatively little quilt, but boy is there a good amount of quilting in it! And quilting linen blend is not for the faint hearted!

 

Most importantly, D is very pleased with the finished product (he wasn't quite sure about it pre quilting), and it works very well flung over the sofabed in the drum room!

This is my definition of true love...

No, not the fabric (then again, really, it's pretty scrumptious fabric!), but how I acquired it. We spent the last weekend in February in Auckland as wee celebration of D's unbirthday (leap year baby) and along with a trip to the zoo, to Kelly Tarlton's, much cafe and deli traipsing and some wandering around, we managed to squeeze in a trip to the Auckland branch of my textile spiritual home, Global Fabrics. Yum! And my delicious husband patiently waited (and ran interference with Cole and Imogen once the novelty of a giant fabric warehouse wore off) whilst I collected and purchased this stash of scrummy. And some cashmere for scarves. And a little merino knit. I have grand plans. And this was all on his *birthday* day as well. And he hadn't even had a coffee yet - those of you who know D will appreciate the magnitude of this...he would mainline beans if he could! 

So yes, true love indeed. And I'm sure the fact that he was about to get some alone time in an enormous drum store had no bearing on his patience at all....he came home with a splash*.

*a type of cymbal for his kit.

 

~~~

Meanwhile, I have a quilt in the dryer that I can't wait to share!

oops

Sorry possums - I'm not even sure where the past 10 days or so have gone...though the terms blue, arse, and fly come to mind (apologies to readers of a more sensitive disposition!) Rest assured we've all been busy, though it's been lovely to do a few things en famille as well. And on Sunday, that meant the munchkins and I got to go and watch D perform a few songs with a local blues band, playing blues harmonica.

And afterwards (always my favourite part!) D moved on to the drums on the empty stage (the venue was just closing up) and his two favourite band members got out their harps and jammed with him. Ridiculously cute, albeit heavy on the loudly out of time and tune end of things!

(see that funky eye adornment on wee Cole? Tell you all about that medical adventure tomorrow!)

Given what a natural bar-leaner she seems to be at the ripe old age of 4 (she's enjoying the sacred raspberry lemonade that-is-only-found-at-this-venue-and-don't-you-dare-let-on-any-different!), I am more than somewhat nervous about the coming years with miss Imogen!