Long absence

Forgive my long absence, it must be life that has caught up with me. I have to start from the more recent event and work myself back in time.

Our younger daughter arrived a little over a month ago to look for work and settle down here in Australia. Her boyfriend arrived two weeks ago. He only has a tourist visa so he can't work to begin with, but his paperwork for residency is being processed, and we are hoping that it will be quick. So they are doing all the stuff you have to do when you settle in a new country.

For example,  she is trying to pass  her driving test. She has lived in Chile and they do not have an agreement with Australia simply to change over driver's licences. She has had to do it all from scratch, which is a bit silly when you have been driving for over 10 years. Had she still had her French license, it would have been simple, like it was for me, but it had been stolen when her handbag was stolen.

This is the first part of the"Renaissance Meal". It had to be oysters of course.

Hubby turned 65 and we had the kids and some friends over. Our son cooked us a "Renaissance Meal" for hubby's birthday. It wasn't what I feared from the beginning. I was imagining a big swan in the middle of the table, or a wild boar or something, but in fact it was quail wrapped in bacon and with a blue cheese sauce. It was presented with very fresh carrots and a puree of turnips and pears. Delicious!

Hubby has already spent  months collecting his pay slips and other paperwork from the different countries that he has lived in, trying to figure out what his pension will amount to. It is very difficult. Luckily he is not retiring yet so he still has some time to work on it.
 
Hubby also got to take over the downstairs dining area and run the model railway that he bought from an elderly gentleman. They were downsizing in preparation of moving into a unit for elderly. We should really be doing the same thing but sadly we are not, rather the opposite. However, I blame the children. Our garage is a beautiful mix of their different things. Maybe there are readers out there who have the same problem?

You can look through the things and remember different periods in the children's lives. One thing I regret is not having kept a diary when the children grew up. To remember all the funny episodes and things they said. Now I mix them all up and can't remember who said what, if I remember it at all. It's tragic! Young parents today are lso ucky with Fb, Instagram, Twitter  etc where they seem to record every move they and their offspring make and every morsel they eat. I am not being facetious here. I would use Instagram and Twitter too if I only knew how. I have enough with managing my Fb account and not always very successfully

This was by far hubby's favorite
present, a Panama hat that actually
fits, unlike the pose!

We have had very hot weather lately and it has also been very humid, but right now I am sitting here listening to thunder rolling in the distance. I hope we get a good soak, we really need it.

Easter has come, ... and gone in fact. We just all of a sudden realized that had some days free. Well, nothing happened, in the sense we didn't go away, we have just been here doing fun things around the house.

Have to leave you now and make lunch. Take care, until next time!