A bit of a brag

Yesterday Boak and I popped into the Genetics Society of Australasia Conference at Sydney University (as you do) and I was moved to tears by a presentation entitled "MHC Diversity in the Koala: the 'immune genes' which drive the adaptive immune response".

It wasn't simply because I was being told how these cuddly little Aussie icons are threatened with extinction by diseases like Chlamydia and Cryptococcosis.

It wasn't simply because this aging brain of mine only understood every third word, phrases like Class II MHC molecule, heterozygote advantage, cysteine bridges, and Tryptophan and Asparagie residues having no place at all in the vocabulary of an ex-English teaching Arts graduate.

I was moved to tears because the beautiful young woman presenting the preliminary findings of her PhD research to her first scientific conference was my daughter, Sarah.


From the time we give birth to them we teach our children - to speak, walk, read, and face life's situations. So for Boak and me to reach the day when our little girl turned the tables on us and dazzled us with her professionalism and passionate knowledge of her chosen field of work, and opened my eyes to a new area of learning, was simply wonderful.

I was so glad she had invited us to be there - and so proud of her!

[Now she just needs to ask me to show her how to play her iPod through car radio - she doesn't know everything yet!]

A personal message for you, my gentle Reader

Dear Reader,

Strange as it may seem, you are not the only blogophile who regularly checks my pages for new snippets 'n' scraps from my life - a fact that I've only learned recently after falling behind in my homework over the past 2 months.

Although my blog entries would seem to suggest otherwise, my life is not all patchwork and parties, and I must apologise for my silence over such a long time, when the tyranny of the urgent, and the humdrum, overcame me.

But now ..... I've got a grip, spoken severely to myself, given myself a little slap on the wrist, and made myself write out a thousand times "I must keep my blog updated regularly".

If any good has come from this, it's the heartwarming discovery of just how many readers my humble little blog has, and I find this so encouraging. Thank you very much!

So if you'd like to read the more interesting things I've been up to over the last 2 months, just scroll down until you come to where you were when I fell silent. You have a lot of homework to do!

Alexanne and Chloe

When wanting to learn to ride a horse, one is advised to begin with something smaller. A golden retriever will do, if you have a spare one lying around the house.

Even a golden retriever like Chloe seems huge when you're only 12 weeks old! Chloe wasn't too impressed with her role either as she normally tends to keep quite clear of little children.

But being a gentle, patient dog, Chloe eventually allowed Alexanne to play "horsey" for a brief time.

Sunset over Sydney Harbour

I took this photo several weeks ago. It was at the end of a delightful Sunday spent entertaining English visitors by showing off our beautiful harbour, when the clouds turned a rich rosy pink delicately brushed with violet. With the magic of my digital camera I managed to capture it to share with you, dear reader.

An occasion for much merriment and feasting

Sunday lunch on the June long weekend was the setting for Moo's second annual Queen's Birthday Celebration, a riotous repast of all things regal.



The house was dressed in red, white and blue for the occasion, as were many of the guests at what has become, in only a short time, a tradition we eagerly anticipate, even beginning the menu planning in January. Everyone has his or her allotted task, and the meal is a team effort, culminating in a truly spectacular table!


Queen Victoria would NOT have been amused, I suspect, as we ate and drank to her memory, overindulging in bangers and mash and mushy peas, queen pudding, sherry trifle and gloucester, leicester and stilton cheeses, accompanied by some cheeky colonial wines.


After the Loyal Toast we sang "God Save the Queen", then broke out the sparklers for "Rule Britannia" and "Land of Hope and Glory".

Then it was time for Moo to blow the whistle, rally the troops, and lead the customary march around the garden and through the house, as we played our improvised instruments - a toy drum, triangle, saucepans, claxon horn etc. (Those without instruments to play - not mentioning any names here - merely played the fool.)

Moo

Ian

Joanna

As you can see, our joy was complete. Good on you, Moo - the hostess with the mostest!

Breast Cancer Quilt

In my local quilt group we've each made a block for a quilt to be raffled later this year in aid of the breast cancer research, and this is my block - finished on time!

The guidelines were simple. We were given 3 pieces of fabric - a pink floral, a green tone-on-tone, and a creamy white tone-on-tone background square. All these had to be used in the creation of a 12 inch block, of our own devising, and at least one heart had to be part of the design.

Since my love for pink and green borders on the fanatical, I found the challenge an easy one, and went on to embellish my heart-shaped flowers with yellow embroidered stamens and tiny pink beads.

Now the work of stitching the 25 blocks together begins. I'll share photos of the finished quilt with you in time, but until then I'm afraid you'll just have to be content with this sneak preview.

Diamond Wedding Anniversary

My parents, Mary and Trevor, thought they were going out for a quiet, romantic lunch for 2 to celebrate 60 years of wedded bliss. However, the grapevine was working very efficiently and, one by one, members of the family just happened to drop into the garden centre where they were lunching, so that soon there was quite a large tablefull of well-wishers to toast them and their great achievement. What a wonderful example they have been to us all.


Everyone I spoke to, from the woman in the newsagent where I bought a greeting card, to the florist who made up the pretty pink bouquet in the photo, was amazed to hear that a married couple had actually notched up so many years together. I guess it helps if you were married as young as Mary and Trevor (at 21 yrs and 24 yrs respectively) and have your health as they do.


Only 3 weeks earlier Boak and I had celebrated 35 years of marriage with a quiet lunch at the yacht club. When asked if he has ever considered divorce, Boak is fond of answering, in the famous words of Lady Longford, "Divorce, never! - Murder, many times!". He's such a romantic!