Around here - my Niece's Wedding

We are nearing the end of the year and what a year it's been.  We are so lucky in Australia and particularly Queensland that we have been so safe from the Pandemic.  Life in Brisbane seems pretty normal and here's hoping that continues.  Our borders are open to the rest of the country and my sister from Perth is coming over for Christmas this year.

My niece [her daughter] finally got married on the 27th November in Perth and whilst our family were travelling over to Perth in April this year for the original wedding date, it wasn't possible for us to travel this time round.  The wedding went off without a hitch and the photos were beautiful. 

Around here - Christmas Lights

Today is the 1st December, 2020 and that means the Christmas Lights on the houses are up and we can go out at night time to see the pretty lights.  I have been taking my kids to see the Christmas Lights since they were 2 and 4 years old and the 4 year old just had his 17th Birthday so a long time.  We still love going and looking at the Christmas Lights as it gets you into the festive spirit.  My sister also made our family Christmas Cake today and I sat with her and kept her company while she made it.

I remember some of the early days with the kids I found some great houses to go to.  One had a fake snow machine OMG the kids loved that one running in and out and under the snow.  Sadly the next year the house didn't do that again as I guess it got very popular and maybe didn't expect that many visitors each night.  We also went to a house in our current suburb where we went down the side of the house down hill and around the back of the house they had a window display...the kids didn't want to leave.  Over the years we've been to some wonderful light displays and we find a few more each year.  Here's some pretty photos from our regular first night seeing the lights as it's in a street not far from our house and there's about 6 houses either side of the street that all do it every year.

Around here - Jacaranda Season

Brisbane is looking so great with the beautiful Jacaranda trees in full bloom.  There are pops of purple throughout the suburbs everywhere you look which is so pretty.  Here's a link to lots of images of these trees in Brisbane.

Around here - featured

I'm so excited that my "Birthday Tradition" has been featured on "For the Love of the Photograph" in "Your Stories" today.  Here's the link to the blog post if you would like to have a read.

Around here - Home Made Yoghurt

One of the things I started making regularly is home made yoghurt.  I have a Thermomix and a Thermomix warmer which is basically a bowl that's like a thermos to keep things cold or warm.  I first made yoghurt in December 2013 and I was amazed it was so simple.  The recipe I currently use is Fiona's from Stay Home Instead.  I add a little bit of maple syrup at the end to make it a tiny bit sweeter however the one litre milk makes two jars and then a few tablespoons left over as a starter for the next batch.  I was very nervous to first make yoghurt however it's pretty simple to make.  Do you regularly make yoghurt for your family?

I pop the thermo warmer in a beach towel and then I leave it for 24 hours before I decant it into the jars.

After 24 hours ready to pop into the jars and into the fridge.

Around here - Documentary

On the weekend I watched "Kiss the Ground" movie on Netflix narrated by Woody Harrelson.  Science experts and celebrity activists talk about the ways in which the earth's soil may be the key to combating climate change and preserving the planet.  Basically the movie is about soil and it may sound a little boring however I found it a really interesting documentary about how having good soil can help the planet and our health.

In January we went to see the movie The Biggest Little Farm and it's true that the health of the soil is the key to the quality of our food and sustainability.  If you haven't seen this movie I can highly recommend it as it's filmed over the course of an 8 year period and the couple work with nature instead of against it starting with a dry patch of land.

Around here - Holiday Movie

If you are looking for a lovely nature documentary I can highly recommend you sit down and watch "My Octopus Teacher" on Netflix.  It stars Craig Foster who also produced the film.  He was a burnt out film maker and suffered from depression and one day when he was freediving he came across an octopus and then every day for over 300 days he went back to the same place to visit the octopus.  He then describes the effect of his experience with the octopus on his relationship with his son, and his son's development as a diver and a student of marine life.

When I suggested to my kids we watch a documentary they weren't too keen however they did think the movie was great and learnt a lot of things about octopus.  The images and cinematography is absolutely stunning.  At times when he was talking about his relationship with the octopus it was a little bit over the top however aside from that, it's a brilliant educational and emotional story with beautiful photography which was filmed in South Africa and a must watch film.

Around here

It's been a long time since I've been to Roma Street Parklands and as it's Spring I knew they would have some pretty flowers out so I thought it would be nice to go for a visit.  Other images of Roma Street Parklands.

Australian Water Dragons are everywhere in the park.

Oh yes this snake freaked us out as we were walking up and it was on the left hand concrete block and we waited for a while and then it slid down onto the ground and headed towards the water dragon and gave one attempt at scaring it and the water dragon stepped back and then the snake slid off...there are heaps and heaps of water dragons everywhere and they are very friendly and don't move when you walk past them however the snake...um..that's another story.