...Like a cute alpaca! Isn't he adorable? 

House-Hunting Our New Hobby!

This weekend we started looking at houses in a casual way, to try to get a feel for the market. We are planning to start looking more seriously towards the end of the year. This house (and the following photos) were of our favorite house this weekend... 

This house is in our current neighborhood, The Gap. 

Great view from the tub! 

The house is architect-designed, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car garage, no pool (we don't like pools - would rather put in a spa). 

Second bathroom. 

All these photos are from the real estate site on the web - it is great to have them and really cuts down visiting stupid houses with dinky rooms... 

This is the view from the house looking out over The Gap (towards where we live now). The Gap is 8 kilometers or 5 miles from the center of Brisbane. 

Tim Passes Confirmation Lecture!

Today Tim gave his confirmation lecture for his PhD thesis to a packed crowd of 25! He passed this hurdle with no difficulties, and his advisors were very pleased. Tim is now about 2/3 of the way done, and he plans to hand in his thesis in November. 

Primary Advisor

This is Tim's primary advisor, Professor Peter Liesch. 

Reader

This is one of Tim's readers/markers of the confirmation document, Professor Mark Dodgson. Mark took Tim to Beijing last year; Tim will be heading back to Beijing on his own for a conference later this year. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St Patrick's Day! 

Heading for Home

Today fortunately the weather was better. After breakfast at the B&B, we headed up the coast from Byron Bay and its famous lighthouse, towards home... 

Meeting Friends

Thursday night we drove to Armidale, where we caught up with our friend Lynn. She took us to a great Italian restaurant with excellent cocktails. Friday morning we fortified ourselves with a good breakfast with Lynn before heading off towards Byron Bay and our last stop before home.  

A Windy Day

Friday we drove from Armidale to Byron Bay in quite rainy weather. We passed through some lovely national forests and finally found ourselves at the beach, where the rough weather was causing tremendous waves. 

Our Byron Bay B&B

We stayed at the Cawanbah Bed & Breakfast, 2 minutes walk to the beach (although we mostly stayed in our cosy room and read and checked e-mail...) 

Babbler Tennis

The B&B had lots to keep us entertained. Here a trio of grey-crowned babblers (a type of inland bird) play a great game of tennis among themselves. 

Magpie Tennis

Some magpies played the same game later in the day... 

Frog in Hot Tub

The animals also took advantage of other amenities, including the hot tub... 

Shooting Pool

Tim and I took advantage of the lovely pool table several nights during our stay. 

Many Unique Wineries

All of the vineyards in the Hunter had a unique look. Some had a more Australian look... This pretty winery is Waverly Estates. 

Tower Estates Winery

Others were more traditional in their look... 

Grapes still on the vines...

As it is autumn here, there were still grapes on the vines to be harvested. 

"The fields are alive..."

We preferred to buy the wine already in bottles, however, rather than mess with the raw ingredients. 

Great Dessert!

Tonight we ate in a restaurant called Splash. This is the view from the deck of the restaurant, again overlooking the vineyards of this estate. I had the duck, Tim had the steak, and we shared a great dessert - vanilla ice cream with Bailey's and espresso on top - YUM!