The End

(BA from the water)

With all the excitement, jet lag and uni that's going on in these parts I haven't finished telling you about our trip to Argentina, oh, and Uruguay.  Did I tell you we went to Uruguay too?

(Madres de Plaza de Mayo with the names of their children who disappeared embroidered on their scarves)

(Reflections-my boy loves reflections-at Porto Madero)

(A church that Andrew noticed was all lit up when we were wandering home one day)

Andrew had the first 4 days to explore with me.  We packed it in, traipsing all about the city and heading to Uruguay for a day.  We visited Eva Peron's tomb (remember when we went and saw Evita at the drive-ins and Mum was the only one who didn't fall asleep?!) in the craziest cemetery ever.  We visited the world's second coolest bookstore in an old theatre and read and drank and waited out the rain (apparently the coolest bookstore is in Maastricht, Netherlands, I see a trip in our future).  

(Never too old to dance, ever)

(Recoleta cemetery, absolutely bonkers, it's like a little village)

(Evita's tomb, she was quite a woman)

We visited artisan markets and the most incredible antique market in San Telmo, smiled at children with pigeons, and watched quietly as the Madres de Plaza de Mayo walked silently around the square remembering and advocating for their children who disappeared during the military dictatorship.  

(El Ateneo, beautiful, beautiful bookshop)

(Guess who's husband is an engineer and a fabulous photographer? Fuse box in the El Ateneo bookshop)

(Lights, ah, pretty sparkly lights on the world's widest avenue, 9 de Julio)

We watched tango in the streets and sat on the sidelines of an old ballroom as elderly couples elegantly moved to the dances of their youth.  We visited the sights, admired the art, and ate the food.  We took the boat to Uruguay on Sunday and wandered around Colonia in the rain, feasted in cafe's and took windswept photos on the jetty.

(Passionfruit flower sculpture, Porto Madero)(San Telmo antique market, woh)

(Way more dessert than anyone could eat, dulche de leche tart and lemon meringue at Las Violetas after a ride on the old wooden subway car)

It was an incredible trip and a beautiful place to visit.  Buenos Aires isn't a modern, shiny city but a city with a sad and elegant past which can be seen in the people and the buildings that line the streets.  It's a mixture of so many things, so many people, so many cultures, so many influences.  A wonderful place with lovely, warm inhabitants.

(Windswept, Uruguay)

(The Street of Sights in Colonia, it has an old Portuguese drain running down the middle)

(Church, Colonia, Uruguay)

PS I don't have any other pictures of when I was wandering about the city (or when I was lounging by the pool!) as my bag was stolen the last night we were there and our little camera was in it (not just pick-pocketed this time Linny, they got the whole thing).  Hence the trip to the police station.  We were eating in a restaurant and someone took my bag from under the table.  Sneaky.  We think they had a hook, or ridiculously long arms.  This is the 3rd time I've had something stolen, I'm thinking it should be the last as things come in threes right?

All photos taken by the boy.  He's good huh?

Christmas Past Part 2

Kati is in the last days of year 8. Oh, how quickly the years fly by!!!!! She is the ever fit one in the family and enjoys tackling most of us to the ground in a huge bear hug of which it is quite impossible to get out of. However when she deems it suitable to be lady like (especially to impress the boys) there is no one more attractive than little tom boy Kate!
Calli - the baby, who is now almost taller than her big sister, who has completed year 6 and starts into year 7, who has taken to wearing her big sisters dresses and who can hardly be called the baby any more - has done well this year. The super brain has not been idle and has achieved excellent results in school.
Triniti (that's me) has just completed her third year at Uni and continues to tie shoelaces and send naughty children to corners! Days fly by and new wrinkles start to appear on her face, but still she lives in hope of her knight in shining armor sweeping in on a gallant stead and carrying her off to some island paradise! As you can see she lives in her own little fantasy land when on a well deserved holiday.
So, that's the run down on the family members and where they are at in their journey through the jungle called life.
Together as a family this year we have
* been on a tour with 40 other teenagers around upper Queensland.
* participated in and were spectators at the Sydney School Spectacular
* participated in and were spectators at touch football competitions run by the Salvos.
* bought or encouraged to buy Mum a new car.
* enjoyed laughter, tears and each other.
I could go on, but suffice to say that our year has been packed and overflowing with one thing or another. So, as we bid farewell to you our dearly beloved friends - we wish you God's Grace for the coming year. ANd as a famous author once felt the need to write "Good night, Good Night! Parting is such sweet sorrow...." William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.
God bless you this Christmas and always.
Love and Cuddles
Y, S, T, L, K, C

It Looks Like a Little Swimming Dinosaur

For my lovely sisters, who don't answer their phones.  This is our bun in the oven.  Wow.

Pray hard, we want this one to reach 247 days with flying colours.

9th December.....

No this is not an important date becasue it is the day the Croatians celebrate Christmas...

Kati Mac has her Aptitude test for becoming a paramedic

Whee-war-whee-war

I have decided to do it

Bobbie Sue style...

http://www.canmag.com/nw/13854-cameron-diaz-bobbie-sue

he he he!!!

Prayers and crossed fingers,toes, moustaches appreciated!

Goodbye BA

We’re leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when we’ll be back again.  It’s been a great time here in Buenos Aires.  Great people, great food, great weather.  Definitely somewhere I’d come back to, even if our last night was spent in a pastel green police station… That’s all I’m saying for now, I like to leave you hanging so you come back for more.

Christmas Past Part 1

Tonight I am feeling a little sentimental...mainly because Mum read some Christmas letters tonight that were from years ago. I share them with you now, because I think it is good to remember who we were, what shaped us and how much fun it is to be family!

1994 Christmas letter
Footnote:Triniti volunteered to write this as she said I couldn't remember 12 months backwards! She has the gift of palavering on just like her mother!
Dear All,
What pearls of wisdom can I possibly give to you to wish you a very happy and Jesus filled Christmas? Perhaps the best and most informative would be a run down on the last year of the Macdonald family. So, sit, relax and enjoy the journey through 1994 that the Macdonald family took and would like you to share.
Old Macdonald (that is Sommy) still continues to call himself a farmer, which includes a vegy garden (from which we are inundated with all that's healthy and fresh), a few hens and one very deranged rooster who insists on crowing at unearthly hours of the morning, a dog called Sally, lots of fruit trees and a funny looking thing that we guess is supposed to be a scarecrow, and the pride and joy. Florence. our little potty calf. As a hobby Sommy still works at the Welfare Centre.
The other old Macdonald (that is Yvonne) has been continually busy with all her volunteer work that provides the backbone to many of the Salvos, school and home functions. Another year older and with lots more grey hairs than we can actually point out (she is very good at hiding them) - Mum says it's the worry of her children, but who would believe that when she has four of the most adorable daughters in the whole wide world!!!
Linli has finished her HSC and yes thank you for heaving a big sigh of relief for her and her family. We now get to see her bright smiling face and hear her happy voice much more than we have been. The future is unsure, but it's in God's hands - what more can we ask for? We had the celebration of the century to celebrate Linli's 18th mid year. She now has the ability to drive, to vote, and is also classed as an adult - Pretty scary isn't it????

To be continued.........

Buying Time

I have often thought about what I would do if I had a lot of money....at the moment I would buy some time. I have been busy. The end of the year is CRAZY in this house. Here are some brief glimpses of just what this absent blogger has been up to.
I have been the mother of a famous sheep. She was the bell ringer and the baa..er! It's hard being the mother of someone that famous!

I was also the mother of the artist on the front cover of the program. And yes there were giraffey looking cows present at the birth of Jesus!My little lambThese costumes were great.Too cute!I made 11 boy envelopes and11 girl envelopes forspecial christmas gifts for Kenzi's class. They loved them.....now what to do for next year?I have been taking photo's of the mo.....now it is gone and we can kiss again!I ...well God really has been growing some wonderful flowersWe have been planting and watering our gardenCorn, tomatoes, capsicum, basil, rosemary and thyme, 1 lone zinnia and seeding parsley and yummy mint.I have been dressing my spunk for Christmas dinners and year 10 formals! Check the shoes!!!!I have been stealing ideas and making secret santa gifts.Secret santa why do you get all the credit?Bag to go with secret santaLittle pouch made from......a golden book for a lovely library lady.
Now I am off to bake for gift giving...oh and I also have 15 crowns to make and a few overnight bags...I love making, but I need more time.
So, if you don't see me in the next little while I am chained to my machine and oven.

Been away a long time.......

I feel as though I have not sat and visited with you for ever so long and so I am sitting in a comfy chair and pretending that I have had a chance to chew the fat with each one of you.
Cal, I have chatted through your latest trip and all the amazing things you have seen and done. You have told me how much I would have loved a certain place and now I am be green with envy. We also have chatted about our latest craft projects and Ben and Rebecca's latest decorating trend (Thank you Ben and Rebecca for providing me with inspiring stories of your boldness and wonderful decorating ideas!) We have talked about God and life and Love and loss.
KT, I have just chatted to you about some op shopping that you have done and some modifying that you will do with the clothes. We have organised a sewing day together and talked about what we will do at the next clothes swap. You have told me about the amazing things that you want to do in the next year and I get a little sad about not having you around all the time, but understand that you are like those beautiful migrating birds that have an inbuilt need to fly North for a season and then back again for a while before heading off again to adventures that are wonderful and exciting.
Linny, we have talked about children and how hard yet rewarding it is to be a mummy. We have also chatted about sewing clothes and how nice it is to be able to claim that it is a Linny original. We also remembered the silly things that we used to do when we were young! A telephone in the car! Crazy perms! Paris boat trips! We have laughed and chatted and talked and have not been interrupted...nice!
And so my darling sisters I have spoken to all of you.....in my head....wishing it was in person......wishing you were all here....wishing and praying that one day my day dreams will come true and I will have these conversations....same or different I care not, just so long as we have some conversation, we talk and we laugh and our story, our journey as sisters continues where ever we are and whoever we become.
I love you all very much and feel very honoured and privileged to have each of you as my sisters and my friends.

La Boca

Being a tourist, I figure that I can get away with doing touristy things so yesterday I walked out to the La Boca area of Buenos Aires.  There's a tiny part of the area that is painted in bright colours.  It's now a total tourist trap with coaches disgorging their loads of tourists with cameras on every street and local touts trying to persuade you to come in for lunch, have a photo taken with a real tango dancer, or buy a painting from a local artist.  I wandered about snapping pics here and there and then retreated to a little square across the street from the area to sit and watch the frenzy.  I wish I had gone earlier in the morning when there would be less people about but I hadn't realised that it would take so long to walk there (something which tourists don't do, all the guidebooks advise against going anywhere in the area outside of the painted streets but I don't have a guidebook and the worst thing I encountered was locals trying to chat me up).  The area was created in the 1950's by an orphan who had been raised in the area and who felt he wanted to give something back.  The idea is based on the history of the area.  La Boca is a port and when immigrants to Buenos Aires came pouring in during the late 1800s and early 1900s many of the Italian immigrants set up their homes in the area.  Scavenged materials from the port were used to construct their houses and the leftover paint from the port was used to paint the outside of these houses, hence the vast amount of paint colours used.  Inventive, colourful and fun!

Inspiration

Isn't this cool packaging?  I was in San Telmo yesterday looking for stocking stuffers for Andrew but ended up buying a funky shopping bag in the shape of a strawberry.  Mission not accomplished, but I thought this was the cutest idea ever.

Kt Mac's New Home

I went trekking around Buenos Aires yesterday and found this little beauty.  It's for sale, it's a motor home and it made me think immediately of Kt Mac.  I think she could get a nice deal on it if she habla español and wobbles her little girls at the owner!

Where to start

Let’s start from the very beginning, 

A very good place to start.  

When you read you begin with ABC, 

When you travel you begin with gay Pareeeeee! 

Note that the photos are all in random order.  Just warning you.

We had a long stopover in Paris and as it was date night we figured we had to be all romantic and have a date in the City of Lights.  We wandered about the city (me with rubber bands holding up the bottom of my trousers!), wending our way up to Sacre Coeur.  The last time I was here I was proposed to by a guy with a beer cup plastered to his hand and was pick pocketed by one of a number of little cheeky street urchins.  This time it was much less event-filled but still beautiful as we climbed the stairs and gazed out over Paris.  At the bottom of the hill we bought crepes (all good trips to Paris MUST include crepes) and continued wandering.  Andrew took photos of the bikes for Dad, you know the ones he always talks about?  We also happened upon the sweetest little cake shop.  The front window was filled with the most amazingly coloured giant cookie things, so Andrew got his French out and we bought a lavender cookie.  It was goooooood.  After all our munching, romancing and wandering it was time to head back to the station where I almost peed myself laughing as they have people to cram you into the train even when it’s pretty much full (I only thought this happened in Japan!).