Hi, winter has arrived. As we write our blog today you will see the first of the fair dinkum snow for this season. The fall is expected to be around 5 cms.
Over the period 27 October to 17 November we were thrilled to have some of our lovely family visit with us. Bronson, Beverley's 3rd cousin who is 19 years of age arrived in Bangor, Maine after tripping around the USA for a couple of months. Bronson is a real character whose passion is fashion and design and here you can see him in the "don't shoot me, I'm not a moose" outfit courtesy of Bev's ski suit with his new hunter orange cap given to him by Doug, our friend from across the road.
It is important to note that Bronson does not normally dress this way but after hearing the various stories of hunters being shot because they were mistaken for game Bronson became very passionate about the colour orange.
As you can see Bronson was supported during his orange phase by Joy and Adam, Ross, Debbie and George.
During our family's stay we celebrated Remembrance Day and the outfit Bronson is wearing is more his style. We were fortunate to have a sunny day for the event however, it was a cold day so you will see Joy and Adam who live in Darwin and arrived on 3 November rugged up and the only time Ross ever wears his overcoat is on this day. Later in the day we joined by Debbie and George and we enjoyed mushroom risotto for lunch.
During the family visit we took the opportunity to have an Australian night where we served foods from OZ such as roast lamb and vegetables, curried prawns and rice, individual meat pies with tomato sauce, pavola and trifle. All together there were 18 of us at the dinner and below is a photo Debbie, George, Kathy, Doug and Diane who are our neighbours along with Bronson.
Ross dressed in his Mambo shirt for the occasion and a good night was enjoyed by all. Please note the hunting orange cap.
While our family was here we also took the opportunity to return to Quebec City and you will see from the photo below it was a cold day so we rugged up and walked around the old city, finally stopping for great lunch before returning to our accommodation. The waitress who served us had spent 1 year in New Zealand and when Ross asked about fish and chips on the menu she said they were not as good as in New Zealand so Ross had the seafood crepe instead, which was superb.
All too soon it was time for us to say goodbye to Bronson who found it a difficult task to pack for his return home. He spent a great deal of time sorting out his bits and pieces and he would have been more than happy to stay in North America and we feel very sure that this is the first of many visits over this way.
Bronson's flight departed 6 am so at 4.30 am Ross cooked him blueberry pancakes with the maple syrup which had been a gift from Debbie and George. Bronson looked remarkably bright and cheerful at this early hour.
Throughout his stay Bronson had been there to support us as we said our final farewell to our much loved Murphy. It was a delight to have him visit and he has made a lasting impression on all who meet him. We look forward to seeing his name in lights when he makes it big in his chosen field of fashion and design.
Joy and Adam stayed on until 17 November so we took the opportunity to spend a few days on Prince Edward Island. Fortunately the weather remained sunny so after some sightseeing we enjoyed lunch at an Irish Pub and spent the afternoon enjoying Irish music. Joy and Adam depart today from New York where they have been sightseeing for the last three days.
Ross and Bev
