This year we have bowed to pressure to revive our traditional "Resting on our Laurels" calendar card - now with images to match each month!
RESTING ON OUR LAURELS 2011
JANUARY
David plays for the New Years Eve dance in Canberra with Southern Cross Bush Band and Anne spends 4 days with her Dad at Sans Souci. James minds the family farm for a week so that David and Anne can do a road trip down the coast to Victoria and up through the Snowy Mountains. The temperature tops 35 degrees on Australia Day and musicians gather at the Connor's home at Bowral for a music session. David goes to the Numerella Folk Festival while Anne recovers from camping with some intensive physio and hydrotherapy. David and Anne, the Connors and Gary Tooth donate their musician skills to an Indian charity fundraiser. With warmer temperatures, we optimistically purchase avocado, macadamia and banana trees and passionfruit vines to create a new tropical garden - to be trialed next summer, after the plants have wintered in the glasshouse.
The warm weather continues, with temperatures of 30 degrees plus for 9 days in a row, followed by a freezing 10 degree day. Anne works at Goulburn TAFE library 2 days a week and David teaches at Crookwell on a Wednesday. David also maintains web sites and creates databases and commences the implementation of his Permaculture design for a share house in Bowral. He continues his involvement with Permaculture Goulburn and a new Welsummer rooster joins our hens. Paddy's River Band performs at the Kangaroo Valley Show and in the evening play for a wedding. David's brother Andrew and his son Tim stay overnight and they all visit the War Memorial in Canberra. David and James dig footings for the windmill and we skype with Tatham in Canada. Paddy's River Band plays for the annual Bundanoon Pre-School Bush Dance and lantern parade. James helps us to pick apples and blueberries and we harvest calamondins, raspberries, hazelnuts, ugni and wild blackberries. David, assisted by Andrew, installs a ram pump on a property at Robertson and Anne makes jams and tries riding her new 3-wheel tricycle. (Let's hope the video never makes it to YouTube)
MARCH
An earhquake hits Japan but thankfully James is enjoying WOMAD in Adelaide and not in Tokyo. David does some panel beating on the Holden (we won’t go into details about why it needs it).We enjoy a St Patrick’s night music session at the Bowral Folk Club. Andrew develops a passion for photography and borrows David’s Pentax camera. The Penrose Community Association reforms and David is appointed unofficial ‘stirrer’, We help friends celebrate a 60th birthday. Paddys River Band play for the Landcruiser Club at Taralga and we get a ride home in a tow truck. David starts looking for a new Volvo (we won’t go into details about why he needs a new car). We scrump wild roadside apples, pick the last of the tomatoes and light the first fire of winter.
APRIL
We attend a Bowral house party with String Contingent performing. David designs databases and web sites. Anne enters short story competitions, with a spectacular lack of success. We attend a friend's 80th birthday party. Andrew does a LOTE course in preparation for travelling overseas and teaching English. Anne stays with her Dad for a few days and has more mouth organ lessons and they plan Tom's first book: Write It Down. David and James spend Easter at the National Folk Festival at Canberra and Anne runs an unscheduled Easter B & B for people visiting or passing through. David buys a newer Volvo to replace the old one (we won't go into why it needed replacing). Anne and her sister Debra pick Brown Turkey figs, quinces and persimmons and they plan to take a mid-winter cruise. We scrump more roadside apples and rose hips and pick quinces and Anne makes Quince Paste and Rose Hip Jelly. 
MAY
David rehearses with the Heritage Ensemble In Sydney. Paddy's River Band plays for a bush dance in Goulburn. Frosts start in earnest. The Heritage Ensemble, with David as Musical Director, plays for the Heritage Ball at Parramatta Town Hall. Anne quietly turns 60 and enjoys a relaxing dinner at Solar Springs Health Resort with David, James and Andrew. David gives Anne a 24 bass Scandalli piano accordion and Anne begins to take her revenge for all of David's violin practising she has endured over the years. We pick kiwifruit, medlars and over 10kg of green figs. Anne makes Persimmon Chutney, Spiced Figs, Candied Figs, Fig Jam, Fig Chutney and Dried Figs. We DO care a fig!
JUNE
David launches his mammoth Big Book of Australian Folk Song (the 'Orange' book), which quickly becomes the Bible for the First Friday music sessions at the Brewery in Goulburn. We are saddened by the loss of a friend's teenage son. Frosts become more frequent and the wombat takes up residence again under the house. David co-ordinates the 3rd Bundanoon DanceFest (affectionately known as Bunders) over the Queen's Birthday weekend and discovers an ingenious bush crafted chair left on the deck, in appreciation. Paddy's River Band plays for a bush dance in Sydney, with Don Richmond calling. We continue to enjoy the 3rd Friday Celtic music sessions at the Goulburn Brewery, as well as the 1st Friday Bush Traditions gatherings. Autumn leaves fall and we dig into gardening during the day and play music in front of the fire at night.
JULY
Anne and her sister Debra and James and Andrew take a 10 day cruise to Noumea and New Caledonia - going from minus temperatures at Penrose to 26 degrees at remote tropical islands. David and the Brewery Bunch play for the Winterfest Bush Dance at Bundanoon. David takes on permaculture garden commissions as well as continuing with website designs, database projects and primary school teaching. We enjoy cosy nights in front of the fire playing concertinas and nibbling mulled figs.
AUGUST
David plays with Folklines (musicians playing collected music) for the Bush Music Club bush dance at Beecroft. The local community get together for a fun Penrose Mid-Winter Party. Daffodils, jonquils, magnolia, snowdrops plumcot and cherry burst into blossom. David continues to expand the food forest with more plants and David and James build a waist high garden bed for Anne to plant out her veggies. David celebrates his 60th orbit of the sun with more than 60 family and friends at a Birthday Bush Bash at the Goulburn Brewery. The next day, David, Anne, James and Andrew skype with Tatham in Canada and unwrap presents while we have an online family birthday party. 
SEPTEMBER
David plays for the Colonial Ball in Canberra with the Heritage Capital Band - a magnificent medley of musicians from the Heritage Ensemble and the Bush Capital Band. Anne's father, Tom, turns 89 and we celebrate with a family picnic at Sans Souci and launch the limited 1st edition of Tom's first book - Write It Down - a collection of over 350 sayings. Paddy's River Band plays for the Sustainable Living Festival at Penrose Public School. David plays with the Emu Creek Band for the Monaro Bush Dance in Canberra and for a dancing demonstration at Government House the next day. Over the October Long weekend The 6th Bush Traditions Gathering at the Brewery happens, with increased involvement with the Goulburn Lilac Time Celebrations. We pick the first of the asparagus and the garden blossoms into spectacular colour.
OCTOBER
David and Anne attend a poet’s session at Laggan and the Laggan poets attend the First Friday session at the Brewery. Paddys River Band plays for the Wirrimbirra Fauna Concert and the Mt Eymard Retirement Village Anniversary. David performs with Southern Cross Bush Band at the Merry Muse Folk Club in Canberra. The Penrose Community web site, designed by David, is launched http:www.penrose.org.au.The Brewery Bunch musicians play for a bush dance at Laggan and we stay overnight and explore the Crookwell countryside. David builds a second waist high garden bed for Anne and the first bed is planted out with salad greens and herbs. Butterflies appear everywhere and the bower birds (and rabbits!) become more active.
NOVEMBER Andrew leaves for overseas with plans to teach at a college and coffee plantation at Honduras then travel overland to Mexico then on to Vancouver for Christmas. James and Anne plant out the second waist high veggie beds with radish, beetroot, carrots, tomatoes, basil, cucumber and squash. Everything thrives!! David takes photos for the Penrose community web site and the village roadside is resplendent in golden coreopsis. We celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Celtic music sessions at the Brewery. We enjoy a BBQ with new friends and farewell an old friend who is heading back to Sydney and David plays for a party at a nursing home. David teaches a horticulture course one day a week at Moss Vale TAFE and Fridays at Penrose PS. Our old merino sheep dies. Queenie the pig continues to increase in girth. She’s now over 300kg! We enjoy a progressive dinner at Penrose on a delightful candle lit alfresco evening. David plays for the Monaro Bush Dance in Canberra with Folklines. The Jordan’s Crossing Gazette features an article on David and his musical career (see the previous post). James and David create a Tower of Power to concentrate positive energies in the area of the food forest. James leaves for Tokyo. A crane is used to raise the windmill into position and after 15 years of preparation, it is finally commissioned. We pick red currants, strawberries, English gooseberries and radishes.
DECEMBER
Summer officially begins but we have weeks of rain and cool weather. The dam fills to capacity and snake necked tortoises enjoy the deluge. The tropical plants bought in January are planted out and miraculously survive! David continues to expand the food forest, clearing cypress trees, pruning vegetation and planting over 30 different main plants plus numerous herbs and ground covers. Folklines play for a private party in Canberra. David’s nephew Tim stays for a week and they share interests in reading, riding and rockets. We pick yellow plums, lemons, Redhaven peaches and over 10kg raspberries David dusts off the Vacola kit and we bottle peaches. Anne makes raspberry jam and cordial and dries raspberries, peaches and lemon zest for fruit teas. 
As we write this New Year message, the boys are all on the other side of the planet.
James is working in Japan, acclimatising to a Tokyo winter and enjoying snowboarding. He has developed quite a flair for writing tunes but has had to leave his piano accordion and recorder back home in Australia. He has a personal business 'project' that is doing quite nicely and he can work on it virtually wherever he has an internet connection. He has plans to further develop his business interests when he returns to Australia in the New Year.
We are missing our boys but we know that they are enjoying the opportunity to see the rest of the world and we skype with them often.
1 comment:
David and Anne!
A happy 2012 to you both! Tristan and I have just got back to Sydney after three weeks on the road, spending one at the Woodford folk festival. Love the blog! We miss the boys too, but I guess it won't be long until one of them is crashed out on our couch again lol (we love it though). We would both love to swing by Penrose again soon to catch up, maybe when James is back?
Hope you are both well,
lots of love Emily and Tristan x x
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