Achievement

Yesterday Tess received her HSC exam results, and they were excellent. Well-done and congratulations Tessie! What a wonderful milestone, for which you have worked so hard! 

For one of the subjects, English, Tess even ended up on the Distinguished Achievers list (click on the image)! The marks:

90 for English

85 for Legal

85 for Art

78 for Modern history

74 for Biology

Old float

In Australia we have this eBay related marketplace site called Gumtree. Fabulous little site, catering for local sales. Put the old horse float up for sale two days ago, and the same day someone called who was looking for just it. This morning it was picked up by its new owner. Thanks, floatie, for good service through the years - it'll be carrying a couple of miniature horses now and a few 16-handers for a family in Uki (/jukai/) near Mount Warning. The float was built in 1986 (!) and should see quite a few more years of work.

Float

Whilst in Katoomba, on our short holiday, and thinking of the year to come, I decided, after long deliberation (months, really) to take the plunge and order this magnificent new horse float which, as we speak, is being custom-built in China for us - ETD February 2014. Looking forward to many an enjoyable ride (with up to three horses! so we can take a friend), and camping trips, because if we take out the dividers we end up with a size-able camper van with kitchen (microwave, fridge, basin, water tank, cupboards, inside lights, saddle room, etc). The float is twice the size of our current one ...

Exploring

Exploring Brisbane

On our way back from Cairns last week, we stopped off at Brisbane’s The Treasury Hotel, and met up with Tess. The next day, Tess and I spent a very enjoyable daddy-daughter day, traipsing around Brisbane’s leafy or busy suburbs looking at possible places to live for when Tess starts off at uni. We ended up talking to some interesting people and, at the end of the day, finding a little gem of a place, 650 metres from the university. All Tess needs to do now is wait for the official announcement of the HSC results (the all-encompassing ATAR score, which nobody in a sane mind seems to be able to understand or explain), for Tess to accept the offer at Griffith’s, accept the offer of the room and start an exciting new stage in her life. We also dropped Tess’  CV off at a café called Lady Marmelade where she was immediately offered a trial – which she will take up when she comes back from Sydney (she’s off for a ten days to spend time with her bestie Maddie in Sydney tomorrow). Mind you, if in the course of that time Tess gets an offer from a renowned Sydney university, she may well change her mind still and go to Sydney after all, but she did seem to enjoy Brisbane, and the fact that it is not so anonymous and big as Sydney is. 

Yarrow’s frangipanni

A few weeks ago, I found an unplanted frangipanni on our front deck (given to me by Ton, with about ten others which I did plant). To my big surprise, the frangi was sprouting leaves – despite the fact it has been on the deck for about two months or so, just lying around. Talk about resilience! I offered it to Yarrow as a symbol of strength and growth, and we planted it alongside the pool where it will no doubt flower soon, like one of the others I planted along the driveway – isn’t it a gorgeous flower …. (Have since found this information here: In India the frangipani is a symbol of immortality because of its ability to produce leaves and flowers even after it has been lifted out of the soil.)

Catching up

What with love, life, health and the universe coming in between the grindstone of daily life, I've been amiss in updating my avid readers (someone should count the times on this blog I use the term 'avid readers', as they will find I usually employ it when apologizing for not writing...). A few bits and a few pieces therefore ...

Tess' graduation Formal Ball

It's a few weeks ago now that Tess celebrated her graduation from Alstonville High School. At the ball where a few hundred graduates, parents and grandparents were assembled, Mrs Bowles, the Year 12 advisor, announced those students with Early Entry Offers. Tess has been offered early entry to Griffith University's Bachelor of Psychology / Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice programme. Proud dada on hearing that announced! Yarrow presented her sister to the school and attending parents.

The belles of the ball

The Graduating Belle

The proud (step)parents

 

The daddy daughter dance... a AHS tradition