Joe Blogs

Chinese New Year was last week and we ushered in the year of the rabbit. I got this lovely lladro piece for Helen before we were married and it is beautiful like the person who received it.

 Chinese New Year is when a lot of travel, homecoming, hope and noise occurs. Lion dances, red packets and fireworks herald the new year.

Joe's Chinese class made mobiles out of paper that formed the character for luck and prosperity and also traced out four character phrase for us to hang on the wall.

We ate jaozi or steamed dumplings that were handmade by Helen and it is great to see the way she puts them together.

Between the rainy days the humidity has been reasonably high which although good for chillies and plants in general, left us wanting to spend more time in the pool.

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This entry was posted on February 14, 2011 at 7:58 AM and has received 211 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

  NATIONAL TRUST Northern Territory

This entry was posted on January 30, 2011 at 11:11 PM and has received 241 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Three of Joe's cousins - Ashley, Bianka and Cecilia are in Darwin on a holiday from Melbourne and by all accounts are enjoying the slightly different surroundings and lifestyle compared to the suburbs of Melbourne. We went off to Crocosaurus cove which really is a must see as it has good displays in a convenient location in the heart of the city.

As you can see, visitors can get up close and personal with some of the residents. Even Ashley at 3 years old wanted to get involved. Probably just a little too big for the snake but I am sure it considered its options.

And all this was before we had seen the crocodiles.

I think the best part is where the kids get to feed the crocodiles with fishing lines. Seeing these juvenile crocodiles jumping so high makes you think twice before hanging over the side of a boat.

We even got to see Harry the Psychic Crocodile get fed. (I don't think he is really psychic)

A great day and despite all the crocodiles and reptiles we didn't lose any children.

This entry was posted on January 20, 2011 at 7:22 AM and has received 220 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Last Saturday was a bit of a battle. With just five players, three of whom are under ten playing in the under twelve team we were up against it from the start. Everyone played very well and ball passing continues to improve. Everyone was in the wars for one thing or another. Ned had a stone in his shoe, Kayden got knocked down while going for a shot and twisted his leg, Joe got sent off for reaching five fouls, Jayden was whacked in the back of the head with the basketball and Dakota got knocked around on the court edge.

It wasn't a rough game at all, players on both sides played a great game. It was just a small series of unfortunate events. We did lose, yet I am so proud of all the boys who know they are up against it with no interchange and older players, but they play a full hard game.

Well done boys and Coach Delean.

TV Jets 7Aug10

This entry was posted on August 10, 2010 at 5:21 AM and has received 210 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

'Tis the dry season in Darwin which approximates for a kind of winter -although a minimum of 27° celcius made it our hottest july night on record. If it keeps this up we will breaking out Neil Diamond and playing "hot August Night". Anyway... normally it is cool and dry and the orchids love it. One particular type I have flowers all year around and thrives on tough love rather than mollycoddling. I provide the odd banana skin and water.

We have two types that are lovely and flower less often. The white one flowers every two years and was a gift for Helen from our dear friend Charmayne.

From Orchids by night

The other one I have managed to split into three plants and these have been located in different parts of the garden.

From Orchids by night

The others (and yes there is a yellow habenaros chilli in the mix with fruit) are here in this web album.

Orchids by night

This entry was posted on July 27, 2010 at 12:07 AM and has received 222 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

The Greek Glenti (which means party) has been held in Darwin for a very long time - over twenty years. The festival is well attended and the aroma of the barbequed octopus, pig on a spit and lamb rotating slowly before being shaved onto a waiting Yiros draws the crowd from a distance and the vibrant music of the Bouzouki welcomes you into the marquees where young and old mingle to listen, watch, eat, drink and generally just be happy with the gathering.

The dancing and singing was exhuberant and laughter was a key component to the event. How the guys sweating over the barbeques managed to keep going the way they did in among the smoke and heat was incredible.

I came for the barbequed octopus, a delicacy I hadn't savoured since the last time I was in Athens and ate it on therooftop of the Hilton as we gazed towards the acropolis and wondered if the dish dated back to those times. Something I always find funny is that I went to a Greek wedding in Athens and was surprised when there wasn't any plate smashing. My hosts were even more suprised, asking why one would want to destroy a perfectly good plate.

The Greeks may have given us democracy but their legacy of food is sometimes a more enjoyable dish than the rigours of politics.

Glenti 2010

This entry was posted on June 15, 2010 at 10:50 PM and has received 355 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

The boys in the U10 went up against Eagles last weekend and they are definately the top team in that age group. Unfortunately we lost that match and that is something for the boys to look at. The good sportsmanship of both teams was great and I can see Joe improving with each game, even if it is his first season. He is loving playing as all the boys do.

sport - Basketball U10 vs Eagles

In the under 12s where Ned, Joe, Kaiden from the under 10s are playing, they are getting a longer game and certainly in Joe's case he is playing a lot better. I still maintain that this is because the kids are more his size and he can play positively without fear of knocking over

sport - Basketball u12vs Razzle

This entry was posted on March 30, 2010 at 12:01 AM and has received 212 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Harmony day is celebrated in Australia on the 21st of March each year.

The continuing message of Harmony Day is ‘Everyone Belongs’. It's about community participation, inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

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This entry was posted on March 29, 2010 at 11:09 PM and has received 265 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Or pretty close to it. I have created a little program that randomly selects a random album from my twenty or so album repositories up on the Internet and presents the viewer with a slide show. To view a new album, just press F5 to refresh with a new album.

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This entry was posted on March 20, 2010 at 11:05 PM and has received 359 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

I read in the Australian today with some dismay and then reflection the following:

BARACK Obama is proposing a new blueprint for the US public school system that would overturn a heavy emphasis on standardised testing favoured by his predecessor, George W. Bush, to identify failing schools.

In the 41-page blueprint, the President declares that he wants to overhaul "flawed law" promoted by Mr Bush in 2002 under a policy known as No Child Left Behind.

The Obama White House wants to end a pass-or-fail approach to judging schools.

Standardised testing of students would remain but would steer away from the current focus on reading and maths.

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This entry was posted on March 15, 2010 at 3:06 AM and has received 222 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.