Another Thursday in Moggill

As we are living on the 'sunshine coast' you can be pretty certain that it will be sunny by 9am even though it is the middle of winter here. There are very few clouds so it stays lovely and warm (about 22 degrees today) but it does get dark at 1715 exactly, every day! There is no sunset, it is very sudden so you need to be prepared for the dark (head torch/lights for bikes etc) and for the change in temperature (need a light jumper/long trousers/socks in the evening).

We've been lent jumpers by kind friends but not only jumpers: a guitar (for Alfie), a saxophone (for Oscar - from the local school) as well as a clarinet, a car (well an 'almost' car - it must be the smallest car in Australia, a Daewoo Matiz that refuses to start most mornings - the kids are getting pretty good at pushing it out the garage, down the small ramp while I turn it over), riding boots and gloves, books/guidebooks and two surf boards...amazing generosity!

The boys had a day off school today because Alfie has a cold and has a sniffly nose/sore throat. He has his sights set on the final Queensland cross-country race that is happening on Saturday so he needs to be well by Saturday. His PE teacher here at Moggill school saw him win the 800m in such style that he made sure that he knew about this upcoming race. As Patrick is doing a cross-country race in the Glass House Mountains on Sunday there will be a little bit of competition between them for who can do the best in their respective age categories!

Oscar didn't have an excuse for missing school today other than his least favourite teacher, Mr Leggett, would be teaching today and I couldn't really see why he had to go in especially as the schools in the UK have now finished so he had the day off too! We didn't do much. Well I say that and then I realise that I went for a run at 0630 and then caught up with my university work before taking the boys to see the place that we are going to canoe to/stay overnight at on Saturday night. It is right on the Brisbane river and belongs to the parents of the people whose house we are renting. While we were there I had a go with a stock whip and ended up with a lash across my own back! I managed to make it 'crack' in the end though. Meanwhile, the boys were turning the rotary line around as it had 4 kookaburras sitting on it and we all laughed as we watched them trying to keep their balance on their very own merry-go-round.

This evening, I took one of the neighbour's horses out for a spin. It was a bit lame in the offside fore because it had had it's hooves trimmed yesterday so I just walked it on the verges. I've got a dressage lesson lined up for tomorrow and I'm arranging an outride with an endurance rider I've just met (she rides 160km at a go). To stay with horses, we've just watched the Australian classic movie 'The Man from Snowy River' - get it if you haven't seen it cos it has some fantastic horse riding in it! And then, to keep the horsey theme going, my dad texted from the UK to say he has a horse for me....it is a 15 year old gelding called 'Cowboy Boots'!  Worth getting it just for the name!!