Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Dragon flower


When we bought the house in Noonmuckle Street, I thought it was some kind of cacti growing up the tree in the back garden, mixed with a bougainvillea.

But later somebody told me it was a dragonfruit plant. Badly situated, I thought, for dragonfruit are supposed to grow over a log and fruit when they reach the highest point. If our dragonfruit waited till it reached the top of the tree, we would have a long wait and an even longer climb!

But last week it flowered. Three beautiful yellow flowers. They only last a day or two but were a delightful surprise. I don't know if they were pollinated or not so I'm unsure whether we will have dragonfruit.

Halfwit Wedding



I can't believe almost a month has passed and I haven't posted the fact that I got married.
Guy and I finally made it to the altar (well, the garden and the celebrant) on 6th February, after over 14 years of unmarried bliss.








When Guy proposed (see previous post in June 2009) we then set out on the difficult task of setting a date. With five children and partners scattered worldwide, this wasn't easy. The girls were fine - they both live in Brisbane and even the two nurses could organise shifts that far in advance. But the three men .... another story.



Dan said it had to be before March when he was going to Canada from the UK. Adam said it shouldn't be at Christmas time because fares from the UK were extortionate until February. That left February ............





Doug said it couldn't be 20th February because the biggest Adventure Race of the year was on then and he had already entered. 14th February is my birthday but, being Valentine's Day also, we thought a great many couples would be planning their own romantic weekend.




So we set the date for the 6th February. People came from all over. From the West in a posse of family and friends and hockey team-mates, from Darwin as a freewheeling gypsy sister-in-law, from London via Singapore, from London via Uzbekistan (don't ask), from Melbourne, from Sydney, from Caboolture, from Brisbane and from all over the island. 130+ in all.
We set up a marquee in the neighbouring empty block and tarted up the garden. 8 cases of wine, 2 cases of bubbly and 10 slabs of beer sorted out the drinks. Surprisingly, all we have left is a lot of soft drinks. (I knew we had over-catered in that department!)




Instead of gifts, we asked islanders to bring a plate of fingerfood each. And did they ever! Inga next door made four tortes, best friend Judy made six pavlovas, sausage rolls and goodness knows what else. What a treasure! She also ran the kitchen for the day, ably assisted by cousin Cath and other friends.



Friends all over the island put themselves out to accommodate our immediate family and various friends. How truly fortunate we are to live in such a loving place!

Of course, the wedding went off brilliantly. The rain held off for the ceremony, everyone looked lovely and we partied on until 3am.
The less said about the next couple of days (cleaning up the disaster zone) the better. Now I know why people go on honeymoon! Wish we had!



But we stayed because Dan (youngest son) and Sarah, his girl, stayed over for a week after the rest had gone home. My best friend Jane from Darwin stayed for a week also. We sailed, we ate, we drank, we laughed .... great memories before Jane headed for Tweed Heads and Dan and Sarah for Byron Bay, Melbourne and the UK to go on to Canada.

A great day! Here's to married life!