~Happy Birthday JoJo~

A couple of weeks ago JoJo celebrated her birthday.......the event of the year in this house!!!

We celebrated with a Wiggles Birthday Cake

The day started off cold for coastal style......8 degrees centigrade

raining.......bleak........blowy......boats bobbing up and down but a calmness at the same time 

Sometimes I just love these sort of days!!!

Perhaps the boat in the foreground 'Crazy Diamond' is a Pink Floyd fan

JoJo is a Floyd fan as well, as we all are!!!

Pancakes for breakfast

At JoJo's request she wanted to go to her favourite Restaurant in Canberra......La Scala

Mind you she requested this back in February so we thought why not......lots of time to get ready for it!!!

Pasta for lunch for JoJo

And gluten free for me......Salad plus Fat Chips

Check out the size of these chips!!!

We happened upon a Hospitality Shop and JoJo saw the biggest potato masher ever!!!

Back to La Scala for dinner

and Dessert

Plus we saw a huge bottle of wine also

Must be the day for Big Stuff!!!

We also took her to see The Phantom of the Opera which opened the night we went to see it at the Canberra Theatre

What a brilliant show this was......we just loved it

Free-Rain Theatre has successfully won the rights to stage the premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera in Canberra and negotiated with two nationally and internationally recognised, musical theatre stars for the lead roles and the services of one of Australia’s most accomplished young theatre directors.

The role of the Phantom will be played by Michael Cormick who has won international and national acclaim for lead roles in The Phantom of the Opera, Romeo & Juliet, Chess, Evita, and most recently; End of the Rainbow for the Edinburgh Festival and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End production of The Woman in White.

Julie Lea Goodwin who will play the role of Christine has appeared in the role in 200 performances opposite Anthony Warlow on the Australasian tour and also starred as Maria in West Side Story. 

text from the theatre's site

There was enough Wiggles Cake left

for JoJo to take a small portion in to her Day Programme!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GORGEOUS GIRL JOJO

with lots of love xoxoxo

It's All About JoJo...A Happy Birthday Wiggly Party...And Some Much Needed Respite...

Last weekend we had a very special occassion at this house...JoJo's Birthday!!! She waits all year for this...as she does all occassions and enjoys every moment of every occassion...and she will cheers to that person as well quite a few days before the special day...especially hers!!! A pic of the teddy I saw at last week's Craft Fair and could not resist purchasing...almost as if she spoke to me...I was eyeing her off and the Sales Assistant said...is she speaking to you? That does it I thought...she must be destined for us...!!!

JoJo has named her Jess!!!

Oops...out of order here...

This delightful owl was sent to JoJo all the way from Ireland by Micki and has been named the Harry Potter Owl!!!

Thank you so much Micki for the Harry Potter Owl!!!


JoJo getting acquainted with 'Jess'


JoJo's little Nephew...Ryan


Wiggles Pinata...

Plate...

Cake...

and what party could be without sweets!!!

We all had a beautiful day celebrating!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JOJO!!!

Meanwhile...this weekend we are celebrating another occassion!!!

JoJo is away on a little holiday for 3 nights and 3 days...

We are going to be a couple for that time...and do what some people do on weekends...

Enjoy a whole movie without interruption...

Do what we want...when we want...

Have a break from bedtime and bathtime...

Go for a beachwalk when we want...

Enjoy some freedom from caring...

And keep adult hours...not 9-3pm..

We have already started our break...

But I'm sure we will miss our girl!!!

ABBA BABBA DO - We Are The Dancing Queens!!!

On Friday night we took JoJo to see Australia's premier ABBA show ~BABBA~

It's Saturday night...stage all geared up ready for the band...

Wind back to Saturday morning...and here's JoJo with her blue hair...and it looked great...she was so pleased with it!!!

Standing in front of the stage...ready and waiting for it all to start...

They came on and sang up a storm...

BABBA is the most exciting and musically accurate ABBA tribute in the world...The vocal ability of this sensational act has stunned audiences in Australia, South East Asia and New Zealand since it began in 1994, bringing them to their feet.

It is BABBA's attention to detail in every way that makes this tribute to the 70's Super Group ABBA one of the most exciting and visually entertaining shows to be found.

The costumes, the choreography and the music will transport you back in time and you will fall in love with this amazing group all over again...text from the Programme ...

To learn more about BABBA click here...

Great costumes...

This Armchair Queen turned into a Dancing Queen...I managed to get JoJo up towards the end to have our own little dance...she was dubbed Dancing Princess by the lovely Kath...check out her delightful blog for all the goings on from a Crafter in the Chilterns over in England...

Check out Benny's feather on his left shoulder...he was so nice and had a few words with JoJo...

and managed to get the group to pose with her...

JoJo is standing over my shoulder watching as I type this post up...she is so excited still...and yes, the blue hair is still there!!!

Over the weekend I developed a cold...and JoJo came home on Tuesday from her Day Programme with a bowl of Chicken and Corn Soup that she had made...she has a cooking programme that day...

Upon arriving home she said to me...For you Mum...make you better...

Thank You dear Joanna...it was lovely!!!

We should be great, each of us radiant,

Full of music and full of stories

~Monica Shannon~

Cup Cakes For Ryan...and A Farmers Market!!!

G'day...we are all back now from Ryan's Birthday Week as it turned out...however, before we left I made some Gluten Free Chocolate Cup Cakes in Thomas The Tank Engine Cups...the cakes themselves had a block of Lindt 70% chocolate in them...topped with chocolate icing and...of course, sprinkles for the little fella... Started off with my good ol' bowl...35 years old now!!!
All together for him with one of his favourite beverages...milk!!!

Then on Saturday morning early...and they didn't think I could do it...up early to head off for the Farmers' Market in Canberra...WOW, fabulous food...including fresh from our local area...Clyde River Oysters...and much to our surprise and delight...entertainment!!!

Beautiful flowers greet us on our arrival...I bought the dark pink gerberas (the one in front of the orange bunch) for my Daughter...

One of my favourite vegetables...beetroot...for Borscht the famous soup, beetroot dip, roasted beetroot, grated beetroot...

Walking along...we came upon 'Diamond' playing her Celtic Harp...and singing with her wonderful bell like voice...I have asked her for a bit of information about herself and she has kindly given me the following...
I learnt to play a bit in Scotland. It was something I wanted to do ever since I was born. A harp was too hard for my parents to get for me in the days when I was young. I had to wait till I was going through a divorce to start and do the thing that I have always loved. It is the other side to the coin, as I also play the Great Scottish Warpipe. I have the Bodhron( Irish drum) in my stables as well. I like to sing mostly folk songs and ballads with a little something interesting about them. I sing with a belle canto style, and make no apology for it. I can usually hit rather high notes and sustain; a lot of men singers have tears in their eyes! My classroom is busking and this has taught me stage craft. I enjoy performing greatly. I have also played with other musicans, in various bands, mostly playing celtic music- sometimes other ethnicities as well.
I am in the Canberra Burns Club Pipe Band and have enjoyed many years of piping with them. Costumes are another essential that goes with my performance. I also rather like making costumes; and do it for other people as well. The madder the better. I like historical costumes and am a member of the Ancient Arts fellowship ( a Dark Ages group) where costumes are very much my historical bent (with emphasis on embroidery).
Thank You Diamond!!!

And look Micki...Irish Ballads!!!

And on the way out...Matt James who plays Didgeridoo, Percussion, Kora (African Harp), Acoustic Guitar, Flutes...and does vocals also...all combined in a cross-section of many musical styles to take you on an inner journey...Just Wonderful!!!

Matt hails from Queensland...

A close-up of Matt playing the Didgeridoo...so awesome...

This just about sums up our time on the weekend enjoying Birthday No 3 for our Darling Grandson...

Children are an affirmation of life itself. They simply have shown me how much fun it is to simply enjoy nature; the sea even when the water is freezing, the stars which twinkle and hint at life beyound ourselves, the earth which squishes and squelches in my hands, these are things I enjoy again...Susan Bourke...Australian Writer

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!!