Jocelyn's blog
Posted in Redwall Book Club
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I am WAY behind with my blogging and hope to do some back-dated entries soon to catch up. I've finally uploaded a whole stack of photos onto shutterfly, so I'll get onto this soon! On Friday 29 May, we had the long awaited "Pearls of Lutra Day". It had effectively been postponed twice, so it was great to finally celebrate this book with a group of friends. The Redwall Book Club here is always changing as some move away and others join so it was lovely to see that dynamic at play. As usual, we started with introductions but this time, I asked the children to mention their fav part of the book. We got some interesting and hilarious answers!! Food and a naughty little Arven rated highly in the responses.  Stevie as Clecky, Zac as Rasconza, Adam as Gowja and Mark as Arven After some indoor games, we walked down the street near the dam and had a sword tournament. One of the mums had asked for the swords to be more than decoration, so we put our thinking caps together and came up with the tournament idea. Stevie then took over and worked out all of the rounds, based on the child's age/ability. Here's a couple of photos from that:     The contest of the tournament. These two were locked in combat for most of the tournament until we finally had to institute "sudden death". We only had one sword casualty, and it was Stephen's sword that cracked in half. Most of the children survived in good humour, so that was good. The next item on the agenda was a pearl hunt. The children were divided into groups and given clues to start them off. Following the clues in the book, they then had to find where all the other pearls would be hidden, either down by the dam or at the Burnet's house. It was a good idea, in theory, but in the rush to get it all organised the night before, I numbered the clues incorrectly which threw everyone out. A bit of re-explanation en-route saw most groups able to continue and work out the rest of the hiding places.   We then went inside, compared notes and each group had a turn at saying the Sister Cicely tongue twister on a time limit. After this, the fav part of any Redwall Day occurred - the feast!!  The horde listening to Mrs Kirky give the wonderful food introductions......and of course, some quick snaps of the food on offer -    We had a lively quiz time after lunch - with chanting that has been louder than I've experienced before - they really got into it! Then, in the same groups as earlier, teams went out and practiced acting out a scene from the book to present to the rest of us. This was a lot of fun and there some great choices. At the close, we probably shouted out the neighbourhood by doing all the war cries from the books - my ears were certainly ringing for a while! Most took their time packing up and going home and one little Dibbun just couldn't wait any longer for a sleep...  We had a great day and thanks go to the kitchen crew and the Burnets for hosting us. That family has been sick this week, so thanks for rising above the oncoming symptoms to have us for the day. A special mention to some of the older ones who really helped out and my own older boys. Stephen and Zac typed out a lot of clues, the door welcome was Zac's creation this time and Stevie organised the whole sword tournament. All these things made it easier for me and much more fun for everyone. So, until next time.........REDWALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Posted in excursions
 What's unusual about this photo? Those of you have have been to the ASF will know that this picture is not out of the ordinary... Daleks are common place in this arena. Andrew doesn't usually come with us to the Science Festival because we go during the week. This year, they decided at the last minute to hold it in May, rather than August, so we came on the Saturday to book into some of the things that interested us. There was still some "fun" things in the main hall. Mark got to dress up at the fire brigade stall:  and NICTA had a great exhibit. The boys tested out their endurance and speed, the results being recorded by use of sensors.   Zac tried to build a sustainable environment on "Catchment Detox", drawing the others into the game.  and the boys got to see how cotton is taken from the plant and processed.  After a short lesson in areodynamics,  and some rocket building,   we went to a seminar on "CSI: Fact or Fiction?", learning about the work of forensic scientists. The boys also went to a session on The Square Kilometre Array. Unfortunately, Andrew didn't get to the Science of Beer seminar and after a full day at the convention centre, we decided not to go out star gazing that night. They did have some light hearted fun at the end of the day though:  ...all in the name of Science!!! |
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Posted in Homeschool life
 I know that I have not blogged in a while and have about six month's worth of entries to put in. It's been hard to be motivated, then technology has let me down a few times and the moments I could have used are gone. Anyway, I do want to try and catch up as I can. Back in May, my mum invited us to join her and Bill in Nowra. Having never explored this area before, it sounded like a great idea. One of the first places we went was a small, historical craft village called Jindi Andi. There were some things left over from convict days and it was a nice afternoon spent in the sun, poking around the old fashioned "lolly shop", craft store and souvenir shop. Here's some photos:  This grain mill was built with convict labour in the 1830s.   Interesting tree in the gardens...  and other "interesting amenities... On the next day, I took the boys to the "Fleet Air Arm" museum. Though it sounds strange, I think the boys quickly caught on to the idea that the Air Force doesn't have all the planes - the Navy needs to have its own complementary force.  It did take us a while to get into the building because a helicopter was just getting readying for take-off and we HAD to stop and watch that.  The favourite exhibit was the helicopter simulator - the boys had to try and make it land on a carrier out at sea. No prizes for guessing what happened if they didn't quite make their landing :) The museum had a great collection of planes and the boys learned about the sinking of the HMAS Sydney, World War 2 bombing raids launched from the sea, and how a plane can be collapsed to fit in storage on a ship.   We were there for most of the day and had a great time. On the final day, we had to pack up and leave - but not without seeing the beach! Those of you who know Nowra, it's just inland from the coast. So we, traveled out to Shoalhaven Heads, had a run around on the beach, morning tea and then headed home.   |
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Posted in excursions
Back in May, we went to the CSIRO for an excursion, looking at "mini beasts". In this category are some rather large insects and spiders! We asked Oma to come along...  and Mark, being the grown-up boy he is, joined in too. In this photo, he's making the sounds of a cricket. It was a "hands on" affair, and some, like Adam, got taken aback at some of the little creatures:  some things required closer examination....  some puzzles had to be solved...   and some things were just a lot of fun...  so, if you are not "squimish" in any way, and want to see some these creatures in action, a hands on workshop like this one, is a great way to learn more.  |
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Well, we didn't sing the song but the rain has stayed away from us during our first three days in England and it looks like it will be sunny for the last day we are here too. We arrived late Friday night, and although it was slightly overcast on Saturday, it really has been fantastic here. Saturday was spent looking at some sights in the local area. Down the road is Fishbourne Palace, an excavated site with extensive Roman ruins. That was interesting both in inside the building and also for the gardens. After a quick lunch,and because it was starting to get very windy, we moved on and went for a walk in Bosham Hoe. This walk takes you down to the harbour, where you can see a lot of small villages dotted along the landscape and the boats, which go from being dry docked in low tide, to being well anchored for high tide. There's even some streets on the harbour's edge that warn that cars parked in the area will be flooded in high tide. What better way to finish the day than at the local pub? Well, almost the most local one... This one was a good family pub and the meals were large and well priced. We had a great dinner there before feeding some ducks at the water's edge and going home. Sunday was spent at church in the morning and visiting my brother-in-law's parents in the afternoon. We walked along a stretch of beach near their house and even saw some people engaged in beach cricket! Later on, Maya went to a birthday party and we just came home to rest - after all, we had a big night ahead of us...we were going to have wine, cheese, olives, grapes and other nibbles in a shared meal. Yes, it was a nice night.
Today, we woke to another sunny day. We travelled in to London, which took just over 90 minutes from the south coast. We had arranged to go to the British Museum and then after a couple of hours, meet up with our friends, the den Dulks. It was great that they made the effort to travel almost 90mins from north of London to meet up with us and we then spent the rest of the afternoon together, in the British Museum and walking around London. After saying goodbye, Andrew & I then headed back to Waterloo Station so that we could go south again. Not quite ready to end our day, we walked around the Southbank, behind the London Eye and had a quick dinner in the area. We then began the long train journey south, surrounded by more people journeying home at this time of day! Tomorrow is our last day here before we begin our trip back home to Australia. I won't write about it now but will leave it until we get back. |
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I'm running a bit behind with entries! On Friday, we went to the cheese markets in Alkmaar. This town has been showcasing their famous cheese markets for centuries and every Friday over the milder months, men and wmone will dress traditionally and operate the markets in an historic way. Andrew's borther-in-law first told him of these markets over 7 years ago when we last visited Alkmaar. The hype was building, the virtues of the markets were being extolled and then we turned the corner , looked onto the square, and the markets were not there! So, it was rewarding for Andrew to finally see these chesse markets in operation, still visit the wall to wall cheese shop and just stroll around Alkmaar's streets. After this, we pressed on with our car trip and went across the dyke to Friesland. The half-size replica of Noah's Ark was moored in Sneek, Friesland so that was where we had to go to see it! Even at 70 metres long (instead of the 150 metres mentioned in the Bible), this Ark is impressive in its size and dimensions. The floors inside were spacious and a lot of information was given to support the record of a worldwide flood. We were glad that we had the opportunity to go and see this and were amazed to learn that another, full scale, ark is being built in time for the London Olympics. We travelled back to Amsterdam, had a quick dinner and then left for the airport. It was sad to say good bye to the vdBs but we were also looking forward to spending time with my sister in England.
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"It is beaut, really." That was Nanna's way of describing this picturesque way of traveling around some of the Netherlands. By catching a bus from Utrecht to Rotterdam, we would go through tiny, quaint villages and see the countryside. It sounded like a great idea and it was 27 degrees yesterday, warm and sunny, so we thought that we would spend the afternoon this way. We'd had morning tea and lunch with Nanna and left her place by mid-afternoon. After all, the Netherlands is a small country so it really wouldn't take that long... After taking a train to Utrecht, we eventually found the bus we wanted - Lijn 90 (line 90) and it did meander along the edge of the River Lek for two and a half hours. I couldn't take photographs of so many of the scenes that caught my eye because being on the bus just didn't allow me to do so. I will try to describe some of what we saw and the rest of the pictures will be put on Facebook later today. There isn't one scene that has stayed in my mind, more of an ongoing picture, added to and enhanced as we traveled through each little town. The countryside is open, rather than fenced off as it is in Australia. We use terms such as "rugged" or "rustic" to describe country charm and I find myself unable to use those words. Perhaps another "r" word is better, like "relaxed". There's houses that are set in manicured gardens, there's the neatness and order of canal ways through the land, there's finely appointed houses but there's also part of the countryside that hasn't been tamed or domesticated or seems to be more loosely structured. Longer, lush grass that is so vividly green; goats and cows sharing the land; trees and flowers bursting into bloom, a riot of colour. The beauty is in the harmony of all of these elements and that gives the sense of idyll. Just spending time reflectively looking out at the countryside, in quiet repose was a worthwhile experience. If you have time, I would recommend the bus part of this journey. I certainly felt it was the best part of the sightseeing that day. Unfortunately, when we stopped at Kinderdijk to look at windmills, the next bus didn't come for one hour. We had more hassles getting from South Rotterdam to Centraal Station and the train back to Amsterdam, and with the waits and train transfers, we didn't get home until 9.15pm. This meant the whole trip took almost 7 hours!! We were a bit travel-weary but sat down to enjoy a lovely meal of Thai Takeaway with the vdBs - which was a great way to unwind and finish the day. |
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Yesterday was such a fine day. The weather continued to be sunny and warm and we spoke to the boys back in Canberra. After this, we went for a bike ride to a shopping mall. It was a pleasant ride, there and back. I found some good hiking shoes for half price and we bought some treats in "jamin", the lolly shop. Straight after lunch, it was on the bikes again as we were going to ride to Nanna's house. This was the first time we had attempted the ride and it took us about 40 minutes. The bike lanes here are easy to use and the scenery along the way is beautiful - the cobble stone streets, well appointed brick houses, the trees and flowers in bloom, the flowers scattered along the edges of the road. After a short break, we got back to our card game and spent the whole afternoon enjoying Nanna's company and talking and playing. We left just before dinner and got back in 35 minutes. The day was not over as Michelle had invited the Christian homeschooling group to come and have a conversation about History. Homeschooling in the Netherlands is much more difficult and many of these families had young children. One lady, originally from the Netherlands, now resides in Belgium as the rules for homeschooling are easier there. One man travelled from near the German border for the meeting and had a one and a half hour journey to get home. Another lady had taken an hour to get to the house. the commitment here is astounding but then, it has to be in such a hostile environment. We all shared about our families and what we had been doing with the subject of History and then spoke about curricula and different approaches. The day ended after midnight - it was full and satifying - one fine day. |
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On Easter Sunday, we got up nice and early and headed off to the trains... first the Metro and then the train to Alkmaar. Our friends, the Kloks, live there and we went to stay with them for a night. The first stop was church in Alkmaar. Thankfully, Erik-Jan was able to translate and write notes in English for us. Then went back to their house, which is in an old cabbage farming area. They actually renovated their whole house and the sheds out the back. The sheds were used by the farmers to hold their harvest and to dry out the cabbages. Jeanette now has a craft workshop out there and there's guest rooms as well. In the back, Erik-Jan has a toolshop and storage area. The children have grown...and grown...and grown... The shortest is Laureen at 180cm! There's a photo of us standing together and Andrew & I look short next to the family. The photos will be put on Facebook. On Monday, we had another lovely sunny day. The Kloks took us sight-seeing in the area and we went inside an old working windmill, to a little town with the smallest house (27 m sq), and to a picturesque village called De Rijp. After sitting on the square and having lunch, we went back to the house and Jeanette gave me a quick tour of her craft workshop. We then travelled back into Amsterdam and had a Dutch meal with Nanna called "Hachee" and chocolate custard. Afterwards, we played cards for a couple of hours. It was a great time. |
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We spent time visiting with Andrew's Nanna yesterday but the plan today was to go to Keukenhof, the annual Tulip festival in Holland. This year is the 60th anniversary of Keukenhof and the 600th anniversary of exploration in what is now New York State. So, in a few places, there is a Dutch-New Amsterdam theme. Keukenhof is truly amazing for its variety and scope. The setting amongst tall trees, lush grass and still pools of water is idyllic. There is so much space that the atmosphere is relaxed and restful in the bigger gardens. There's also pavillons that have different emphases. One is filled with such an incredible array of tulips, one focused on orchids, one told the story of the tulip and has historical photos, and one has roses and a themed use of flowers. We spent most of the day there and had such glorious weather. We were thankful for the safe travel and the ability to spend this time admiring God's wonderful creation. I have some 50 photos up on Facebook for those who want to take a look. |
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