January 2010

Happy New Year!
Sorry we’re running late with this one too!
2010 started for us with the marriage of two of our really good friends, Ruth and Richard.  We went up to Derby for their wedding and it was a really special occasion.  After the wedding we drove further north to York and met with Audrey (a friend of Kate’s) and Jo and Jonty (friends from Kate’s Uni days).  We got home FAR too late and got to bed at 6am!
January also brings another exciting event - Dim’s Birthday (Kate’s sister).  This year, we went to her house for dinner – Maria cooked up a storm once again!

Now, if you’ve been reading our blog, you will remember that last November we found out some exciting news, which we promised to tell you more about later… well…
In the second week of January, Kate popped into the Royal Free Hospital for a check up on the progress of this news … her 12 week scan!  That’s right, we’re going to be parents! :-)

This is a colourised version of one of the scan pictures showing our little one :-)  We’re calling it Joey (which for you non-Aussies, is what we call a baby kangaroo).
You may be able to see his/her round tummy in the middle, long legs to the left, head to the right, with his/her left arm up besides his/her head with the hand resting on his/her forehead.
As you can tell from that last paragraph, we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet.  We technically will be able to find out at the 20 week scan in 2 months time, but we’re not sure if we should or not.  What are your thoughts?  Leave a comment for us if you like.
January is also one of Kate’s favourite times because it’s when she has her Birthday!  YAY, Happy Birthday Kate!  We had our London family around for her birthday dinner and a fun time was had by all with pizzas, chicken, cupcakes and a yummy chocolate cake.
Near the end of the month, Wayne (a childhood friend of Adam’s) and his father, Peter, come to stay.  They arrived on Australia Day (the 26th) and left a few days later after helping Adam get back into tourist mode once more.  The three men all went to Westminster Abbey for the day, on the Tuesday.

In the last few days of January, we started looking for houses again.  Perhaps urged on by the news of the baby, Adam set a goal of April for finding the right house.
We’ve seen a few houses now, and one that we really liked.  We decided to go for a second viewing later in the week… but for more on that, you’ll have to wait until February’s blog update as that brings us to the end of January!
--- SNEAK PEEK ---
We're off to Switzerland from 12-19th Feb - YAY!! We're really looking forward to that. Kate’s a bit upset not to be skiing but, hey! it's a small sacrifice :-) It'll still be beautiful. The food will definitely be delicious - Adam and Maria are very excited about the cheese! The whole of Kate’s family will be there - siblings, nephews and parents. And the hotel has a pool so we’ll definitely make use of that! All in all, it should be a fabulous holiday :-)

2009 Kate’s Synopsis

Well, well. Here it is – the first of update of many (hopefully)!!
I'll summarise!
January: Adam and I turned 30 (well, Adam turned 30 in November) and had a joint fancy dress 'come as your favourite food' party. It was something I (Kate) had wanted to do for a long time because food is just such fun! (BTW, I’m a chocolate soufflé, Adam’s a box of sweeties and Mum and Dad [Hadji] should be fairly self explanatory :-)

Our new little nephew Elijah James Hallam was born on 29th January :-) Hooray! Unfortunately, I don’t have a newborn photo as all photos went straight onto facebook - HUMPH! As most people know, Adam and I refuse to join, so instead I’m putting up a photo of 4-5 months later…

February: It snowed!! Snow is always gorgeous and London was no different. We woke up in the morning to a sea of white and it was wonderful. My sisters and I ran around the garden at 62 writing our names in the snow just because we could! Adam stayed in the warmth and took photos :-)

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Adam took me to two surprise destinations for Valentine’s Day: we went to a circus in the morning and in the evening he’d arranged for us to have a special kind of Valentine’s Dinner…we went to Hownslow and met our chef for the evening! She (Monisha) cooked a 3 course meal in front of us (and the other 3 couples who’d come to watch and learn) and she talked us through some fundamentals of Indian cuisine. It was fantastic! So much fun!
March: It continued to be all action stations at 62 as we packed up the house to get it ready to sell, as well as helping Mum and Dad as they got ready to move to Greece. Below is a picture of our basement as we slowly but surely boxed things up!

We also attended the Greek Orthodox Charity Organisation dinner dance in March and had a really good time socialising, dancing and eating.

Don’t we look great? – Isn’t my dress gorgeous? It’s one of Mum’s. One of the few advantages to us moving out of 62 was that we got to raid their wardrobes and acquire some great new items. Adam got some suits and overcoats and I got some lovely dresses.
April: Mum and Dad moved – we waved them off at the airport with sadness but knowing that we were going to see them soon. Easter was fairly relaxed and we had a BBQ on Easter Monday with friends.
May: Our friends, Ron and Denise, from Oz came to stay over and that was lovely. It was so good to spend time with them and have their company after nearly a year!
Our other little nephew, Alexander John Hadjipateras was born on 15th May :-) Hooray! (again!)
June: Surprise day visit from Renni who was en route to South Africa on a mission trip. That was LOVELY.
Adam and I started making mango chutney AND strawberry jam. We went berry picking at a pick-your-own farm in Enfield and came back to make about 3 batches of jam. We were later told by some very reliable sources (AK & P) that the jam was wonderful.

We attended the Oinoussian Benevolent Fund pub quiz and were on the winning team!!!

We felt highly intelligent :-)
July: Adam passed his Life in the UK test – hooray! We also co-looked after the Steitz children for a weekend and exhausted them by taking them to a goodbye party for the Swainston-Harrisons on the Saturday and Maria’s birthday party on the Sunday.
August: We were busily looking for a house but haven’t found anything yet…
More excitingly, though, we went camping in the Lakes with Etienne and Liza. It was great (apart from the fact we had to wake up at 4.30am!!) They are GREAT to go camping with, I’d do it again any day – braai’s (South African BBQ’s), full English breakfast on the skottle (another type of South African BBQ – they like meat!), a gazebo (very handy when it rains for half your stay!) It was really fun.


Etienne at the skottle (bacon and eggs for breakfast - mmmmm!) Can you see Liza waving from inside the tent?

Us at Tarn Hows – one of the more gentle walks available :o)
We also went wild blackberry picking this month and made delicious blackberry jam – yum!
September: Adam started college studying to be an electrician – he loves it! A fairly quiet month, though Adam did meet with a couple of new clients – always exciting for a new business! We hosted a surprise party for Liza :o) :o) A highlight was watching Adam and Etienne ballroom dancing around our petite living room! We took a ‘family portrait for Mum as a birthday present on the steps of 62 – was fun and my goodness, we’re all so photogenic!
October: Mum H had her 60th birthday party!! All the kids flew to Greece to celebrate with her and had a really fun time dancing at her party. Some excellent photos were taken and Mum and Dad have ordered some for us so when we get them we’ll put a couple up.
Maria and Dim decided to invite us over weekly so we can all ensure that we hang out together :o) Adam and I thoroughly approve of this plan!! So, we now have a regular Monday night booking.
November: Liza returned to South Africa and Etienne moved in with us for a month before leaving for South Africa. Adam’s birthday: I managed to be away for that weekend :o( but Etienne and Adam made ice-cream so I think that more than made up for my absence… We also found out some very exciting news – more on this later!
December: Adam got his ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) which means that he can stay for as long as he likes in the UK and can come and go as he chooses. This was fabulous news for us as it meant that we could have Christmas in Greece! Yay! We visited Mum and Dad Hadji and celebrated with them and with the Dracos’. New Years Eve, we flew back to London and spent the evening with some good friends at their house. (Girls lost rather badly against the boys in a game of ‘Cranium’.)
And that’s 2009 in a nutshell – we’re both sure we’ve left things out, but at least you are more in the picture now than you were before!
God bless,
Kate and Adam

Hello from Tassie!

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Please note, we had some trouble getting this entry up, it was meant to be posted on the 16^th July 2008! Sorry for the delay – we’re back in Sydney now and heading for London next Monday

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Hi everyone!

We are currently in Tasmania, Australia, having a mini holiday before heading back to the UK. We flew down with Mum B (who stayed 5 days with her parents) and Adam and I are currently starting our 6^th day of 11 in our campervan.

We’re visiting places of familial significance for the Bewshers J So, I’ve seen Adam’s old house and primary school in Devonport, we visited his friends and grandparents when in Hobart and now we’re going exploring this wonderful state.

We’ve patted a wallaby!! We were getting ready to go on a walk to Wineglass Bay lookout and lo and behold, as we stepped out of the van there was a wallaby watching us about 2 metres away! It had really soft fur, it was lovely!

The walk was, for us, strenuous, but we rewarded ourselves with lunch at the top J

We’ve also visited some other friends and relatives on the way who’ve been very lovely and it’s been really great for me (Kate) to get to know them better. We’ve paddled in the sea at Bicheno - remember, it is winter here, so it was a bit nippy but the sun was shining and that always makes everything ok.

Driving through the state is beautiful, the scenery is magnificent (and I don’t just mean my tour guide!) We stopped off at raspberry farm (a family favourite) and bought some delicious chocolate covered raspberries and then went and had a cheese tasting at a dairy farm and left with three kinds of cheese J J

Currently we’re in a place called Stanley which is famed for a rocky outcrop on its peninsula, called The Nut. In the summer, there is a chair lift which will take you to the top to see the panoramic view...unfortunately, it’s closed in winter so (being the fitness freaks that we are) we decided to walk to the top. It was worth it, but exhausting. So, once we got back to the bottom, we rewarded ourselves with hot soup overlooking a beach (from the warmth of our campervan!)

Today, we’re heading to Cradle Valley at the foot of Cradle Mountain. Adam’s most memorable bush-walk was from Cradle Mountain to Lake St. Clair through the national park. They did a 7 day walk in 5 days and it rained for 4 of those days! Anyway, we won’t be doing that this time – maybe next time...

After Cradle Valley we’ll be heading further west and staying in Strahan (pronounced Strawn) where we’ve been told there’s a wonderful day long river cruise you can go on which gives great opportunities for seeing wildlife and scenery.

From Strahan we’ll head to Hobart, from Hobart back to Sydney, and then onto the UK.

Keep in touch!