Little Wandering Wren …. chats!

Shuffling along remarkably unperturbed by our existence,  common and widespread around these parts, the echidna on the path  draws quite a crowd . They can be shy animals   it's hard to get a half way decent photo. As my earlier attempts will show... Approach with too much excitement and an over  enthusiastic  ' come quick it's an Echidna...! ' And the little critter sinks into a bristling ball of quills camouflaged  amongst the dense undergrowth  of the Point Nepean National Park. Where, where they all ask? But this one is friendly  it's snout sniffing out ants and termites, happy to show off it's curly hind claws. Isn't he a cute critter? The common Aussie echidna  always seems so exotic  to me.  In my childhood we had hedgehogs, but nothing as big, or enchanting as an echidna! Linking with Saturday's Critters Thanks Eileen!

2014 was supposed to be a quiet year! A year in which we were mostly Australia based whilst our youngest finished off school life... In the end Little Wandering Wren didn't do too badly keeping her frequent flyer points up with trips to  England, America, Hong Kong, Bali, Thailand, New Zealand. Bangkok waterways July 2014 With two of the three kids now at university their Third Culture Kid upbringing was never going to keep them in the nest for too long. We lived vicariously through their adventures in 2014  in Africa, Europe  and the United States of America... Bristol, UK March 2014 I will remember 2014 for the people I met.  Whether it was reconnecting with family in the UK or US,  or catching up with friends in Hong Kong, Thailand and New Zealand, or the courageous men and women  from all over the world,  asylum seekers now in Australia,  who have enriched my life in so many ways...

Festive Fun... Hope you had a lovely Christmas. We had an Aussie beach Christmas  at Rye,  on the Mornington Peninsula. One red, (yes red!) tablecloth,  a few seashells from Number Sixteen beach and a touch of ivy from the garden a Turduken roast lunch  which is a three bird special of turkey, duck and chicken, and a walk along the ocean beach... Simple, fun  and some would say totally exhausting! Linking with Saturday's Critters My Sunday Photo

We have attended office Christmas parties in  Sydney,  Melbourne and Auckland this year. Auckland shopping Each location was vying to see who could impress most  to have  the most fun  on a limited budget. It was great to see how different each event was. Auckland Symphony Orchestra carols at the Town Hall Sydney got off to an um rather spectacular start  with the naked man on the balcony followed by a Brazilian BBQ at Darling Harbour. I'm not quite sure that combination of words sounds right either... But that's where we went and what we ate!! Roadside sculpture Auckland Melbourne's party was a band in a garage all hip and trendy.  It was fantastic, although rather too much  like corporate speed dating for me. I had 60 seconds in between very loud music  to talk to people  I'd never met before before the next song drowned out all hope of conversation. Albert Park, Auckland ...

Christmas Aussie style is different... We don't go in for a lot of festive palaver. All we need is a blow up Santa with a blue sky,  and we're  pretty much good to go! Santa at the Melbourne Star It's not that Australians don't love Christmas It's just that it comes awkwardly  at the start  of our Summer holidays. And... Well, we have buckley's chance of having a white Christmas. It's just not quite the same  for those of us used to Frosty the Snowman. I can't stand anything red in the house... just in case we have a hot one. No, not even a poinsettia makes it across our doorstep! Poinsettia's in reception at The Windsor Hotel this week My red rule cuts out 80% of all my traditional Christmas decorations. The rest  you may remember were impounded anyway  by Australian customs  on our arrival in 2000  on account of them being a threat to national security having pine cones amon...

Sunday 14th December Boozy Santa 

Our Aussie Year 12 kids have finished their High School life  and celebrate together on a Schoolies holiday. They can do no more but wait for their results  and their university place offers in January.  They have the whole summer ahead of them. They are determined to party hard...  Thirteen years at school, and your choice of university comes down to six subjects. For my son who studied the  International Baccalaureate  this also included  one extended essay of 3,000 words one Theory of Knowledge paper. 200 hours of Community, Action & Service and  fourteen exams over a sixteen day period. Melbourne University Open day 2014 Our son is currently in Bryon Bay in Queensland He has rented a house, with a swimming pool with nine of his friends at a hugely inflated price. Schoolies, started on the Gold coast in the 1970's  when the single-sex private schools  headed off to Queensland fo...