Ellery Family Visit

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Earlier this month, right before we keeled over with the flu [or something like it] we had a wonderful visit from Andrew, Mel and Hayden.

We got to have them for almost a week, which meant plenty of time for hanging out and catching up, as well as getting to know the new addition to the family and some quick trips about. The time flew by, and we could have had them stay much longer.

The tours of Cascade and Cadbury factories were on Mel and Andrew's must do list, so we managed to fit them in on a Friday afternoon in Hobart. The genius of this plan was staying with Miriam Cooper at her B&B, Mulberry Cottage in Richmond. She even treated us to a performance by Grannie Rhodes in her original cottage on site. The surf wasn't looking good for the way home, so we headed back into Hobart for the Salamanca Markets. Check out the web album for all the photos, including my awesome Kransky!

Andrew and I headed north on Monday and had a surf north of Bicheno. The surf was a little [OK, very] bumpy, but we were very excited to have a session since Andrew had strapped the mini-Mal onto the Forrester and brought it 'overseas' on the boat. Having a very serious case of the surfing bug, it was awesome to be able to catch some waves with Andrew and see how it's done.

On the last day, we all drove up to Launceston and had lunch at Stillwater at Richie's Mill on the river. It was a nice way to say goodbye before Mel, Andrew and Hayden headed to Devonport to catch the boat.

You were probably thinking you'd miss me mentioning [in detail] food and World of Warcraft. No luck.

The culinary highlights were... Curry night [the blender died while attempting to shred cardamoms] , followed by Jodie's pumpkin pasta [the recipe is on the way guys]. Then we had home-made pizzas! Andrew and I created a 'the lot' while Jodie and Mel were a little more creative with bocconcini, cherry tomatoes, basil, mushroom and a light sprinkling of other goodies. I was charged with pizza round 2. Firstly, a tasteful and delicious salmon, onion and capers pizza and an outrageous desert pizza. I also remember consuming vast quantities of Mel's cadbury chocolate. Mel and Andrew made us a fantastic chilli, served with corn chips, avocado, cheese and sour cream. We tested out our pancakes and cooked breakfasts too. I could go on, but I'll leave the rest for Mel and Andrew's comments - except for mentioning that a healthy amount of Moo Brew and Coopers was consumed.

Mel and Jodie did make fun of Andrew and I obsessively checking our auctions on World of Warcraft. Despite asking how long it could possibly take to 'find an egg' after we abandoned the girls for the entire movie for a WoW session, they both got their turn too. It was fun having two WoW accounts in the same house.

We are looking forward to seeing Mel, Andrew and Hayden again for our wedding [and me for the buck's night] and very excited to have Andrew as my best man and Mel as Jodie's bridesmaid.

Cradle Mountain

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We have created an album from our weekend at Cradle Mountain. The highlight of the trip was snow, which Jodie had never seen falling until this trip. We even enjoyed a hot tub while the snow was falling.

We stayed in the King Billy suite, which is the lodge's luxury suite and was a very special treat. We were finally able to relax and stoke a fire without worrying about one for our guests. The breakfast buffet was plentiful, and the restaurant was a real treat too. The rosewater panacotta was the final tipping point for Jodie's new culinary pursuit [a fantastic chai panacotta a few weeks before got things started].

We got out for a walk on Friday before dinner, and on cue the weather was bad enough on Saturday morning that we got to relax in the lodge in front of open fires, with irish coffee [the alcoholic content was loudly announced, much to Jodie's embarrassment]. In the afternoon, the snowfall started, which capped off a beautiful weekend.

Jodie was a little concerned about the weather conditions for driving. I think I lost count of the people she had talked to about ice on the road [granted, she didn't start all those conversations] before we went. Of course, with the low temperature and snowfall, those concerns happened to be warranted as we left on the Sunday morning. It was a lovely sunny day, but slow going until we hit Sheffield where the road surface could get a little of the sun. Oscar handled admirably - despite the ice there was only one little slip - and I was extremely thankful for the all wheel drive.

My new favourite Web Comic: XKCD

No post recently... even though I've got LOTS of stories and photos! After Andrew, Melissa and Hayden left, Jodie and I were struck down by a mysterious illness that knocked me flat for several days [Jodie is a trooper]. We closed for a few days so as not to infect the general public - and even though we're coming good - the last few days of guests has been a bit of a struggle. Energy levels are sub-optimal and my sinuses are just starting to feel as though they won't explode. Too much information? Fair enough.

Andrew Williams got me onto a web comic that has finally bested Penny Arcade in the number of times I feel the urge to forward the comic to my friends who know me well. This is usually when I identify with the comic so much, that I laugh as much at the memories I recall, as at the comic itself.

So here it is: XKCD . All of the Mudges will relate to this comic, as we used to have regular multiplayer MarioKart matches! William will be able to substitute a few titles in there, in particular Doom / Doom 2 deathmatch sessions. Anyone who has joined in a LAN session will also know.

Joys of remote, tripod photography

The photo is from our trip to Cradle Mountain... I'm enthusiastically trying to get the camera to take a photo with the remote, and finally had some luck!

We've been busy since we've been back from the trip, not so much with guests, but with a visit from Andrew, Melissa and Hayden! I'll blog about that soon, and hopefully we'll get out surfing tomorrow!

Engaged, Getting Married and Honeymoon

Lots of you already know that Jodie and I are engaged! Some of you should even have invitations to the wedding by now. Even though the wedding isn't until September, we just got back from our honeymoon this afternoon! Since we will be coming up to our second peak season after our wedding, we won't have time to take a break until next year, so we had our honeymoon early.

We have had a magical weekend at Cradle Mountain Lodge, including snow falling, just as Jodie wished and I promised. It was the most inspiring and relaxing time away and we have come home more excited than ever about the commitment we have made to each other. Our wedding is a chance to share our love and enjoy the ceremony with all the people in our lives, but we've already started our lives together with a view to forever.

Jodie finally has an engagement ring to wear after this weekend! It is one of the diamond ring keepers that will sit either side of her wedding ring. We were able to pick up our rings from Hobart last week, and they captured our design flawlessly. The rings have a celtic knot pattern that means infinity or eternity, and I'll post the design once I can do it justice.

I'm expecting several comments on this post that include the words 'marriage is forever', since I've hounded all my best friends on the subject prior to them tying the knot. So I've got in first. Read again from the top [especially the bit about infinity].

We'll post some photos from the trip a bit later on too!