Merry ChristMas
FroM the ansons 2022
sinne
Dear Friends & Family
Hope you all have had a safe year and are able to spend time with your families.
This year “Year of the Tiger’ we celebrated Chinese New Year at home (total 20 people), Crystal and Andy from Sydney also came home to join the fun. Plenty of serious home cooking by different families. We continued our custom by giving Lai See (Red Packet) to all the children - well (they are 20 something) we’ve been celebrating together since they were little children, 15 years ago. Everyone is looking forward to this special day. This is the first year we invited girlfriends to join the fun and they like it.
At the end of March, I was on crutches for 5 weeks while I was waiting for an Orthopedic Specialist Appt. No operation for the arthritis but visited the physio 3 times a week for 4 months. I was very lucky my friends came to cook for me or bought me food.
After 2 years of not seeing Michelle and Len, during Easter holiday they finally made the home visit, but I was on crutches. However, I organized them to camel farm for camel riding, go out for family dinner and have friends to come around for the Anson family Welcome Home drinks for Michelle, Len and Crystal. After 1 week Michelle and Len returned to NZ but NZ health dept required 24 hours supervised covid test. Len was positive so he stayed on for 7 days. Michelle returned home first.
In May I visited Auckland, for the first time after 2 years. It was very nice to visit Michelle and Len’s new house and their two little dogs, Teddy and Rupert. I’m glad that I was free and able to give lend a hand at Michelle and Lydia’s Lissom Spa Event “Autumnal Beauty High Tea with Zealong Tea” held at the top floor of the Iconic Smith & Caughey’s building in Auckland CBD. This is the beauty of retirement; you can be free, and you can be busy. Do whatever you like!
After my retirement in April 2021, I was lucky to tick off a few things from my wish list. Attended the le Cordon Bleu cooking class in May 2021. 2 weeks holiday to Arnhemland with Pat, going to Pottery classes and handmade headpiece floral workshop or going to long luncheon or some Champagne function. I also go for Reformer Pilate classes 3 times a week, yoga and gym training. Friday drinks with friends (FFD, Friday friends day)
This year Pat is working from home, I can’t believe it - I am seeing him every day instead of 200 days working away from home. It gives me a chance to give him a home project. The latest project was to re-upholster a foot stool and apply new stain to the wooden legs. This stool was used by Michelle for her piano practice when she was 6! Pat did a good job, I plan to continue giving him more tasks like this.
This year we will be celebrating Christmas and new year at Michelle & Len’s home. Our first family Christmas all together in 3 years. Lot of good food and wine and lots of walking and swimming!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Sinne
Pat
This year has been marked by the return of travel as we all got our vaccines and restrictions were lifted. In April Michelle, Len and Crystal were all able to visit us in Brisbane for a few days, the first time in several years that we had been able to all get together. Included in the visit was a day trip out to the Scenic Rim Camel Farm about a one hour drive from home.
Later in the year (June) Sinne and I visited Crystal and Andy in Sydney to go to the Sydney Vivid festival and to explore the harbour area by ferry. It was a short but good weekend.
The main event of the year was a four week holiday for Sinne and myself in Europe. The trip started with a canal cruise from Budapest through to Amsterdam, we were very fortunate that there had been some rain shortly before we went so there was enough water for the boat to travel all the way. The locks on the canal joining the Rivers Danube and Main are something of an engineering marvel with lifts of up to 25m, it was also interesting to learn that the canal was recent having only been opened in 1992. A cruise is a great way
to travel as once unpacked you can just take part in the tours, eat and drink without having to think about getting home or to accommodation. After the cruise we travelled to Belgium and stayed in a small town for a few days to attend a wedding, Crystal and Andy who were also in Europe joined us there for a few days. The trip finished off with a few days in UK visiting my brother John and his wife Jane in Bovingdon north of London and then my nephew, Ed and his family in Winchester. Last couple of days was spent in London before the long haul back, fortunately the transfer in Qatar was short only 45 mins from landing to departure .
The last major trip of the year was a week over in Columbus, Ohio on a farewell visit to my sister, luckily we were able to see her before she succumbed to cancer just after we returned to Australia.
I am still working, possibly even gainfully employed, based in Brisbane and working 3 days in the office with the remainder working from home. The wonders of technology mean that most meetings are conducted using “Teams” with the result that
there has been one business travel for me this year, a big change from a couple of years ago when I was travelling most weeks.
My health is keeping good and I have been kept busy at home painting a couple of the rooms and remodelling part of the garden, we had 4 palm trees and 3 big golden cane clumps removed this year. The follow up to the removal is however lots of work with a pick-axe and crowbar to remove the root systems so soil can be reconditioned and new plants put in. I will get there eventually.
Christmas is almost here and we will be going over to New Zealand to stay with Michelle and Len, also being joined by Crystal and Andy. We will also be visiting my brother Don and Li Hong in Nelson for a few days during this period.
MiChelle & len
Merry Christmas all!
2022 seems to have flown by in a flash: Len and I started the year off in Auckland and stayed local for the majority of the year, with a few trips out to Northland and Rotorua with our tiny dogs Teddy and Rupert. We’ve settled into our new house purchased two days before the last COVID lockdown of 2021 just fine, and I have been busy filling it with many things!
The big adventure on Len and I’s agenda for this year was the much-awaited trip to the US and Mexico, planned for November. I started off in Palm Springs by myself for five days, staying in a boutique resort in the centre of town with a lovely poolside bar and free bicycles which I took full advantage of. Len then met me in San Francisco, where we spend a few days as
tourists before driving over to Carmel-on-the-Coast and hanging around Monterey and hiking at Big Sur for a couple of days. Everyone who’s been there knows that Carmel’s a very special part of the US, with so many boutique stores and art galleries that kept us entertained for hours.
Onwards to Tulum, Mexico, for my Melbourne University friends Brendan and Steph’s beach wedding and week-long party extravaganza. It was so special to see College friends there and explore a new country, with delicious food and great company. One of the highlights was swimming in a cenote, which we descended down a long staircase to get to. We wrapped up the holiday with a trip to Huntington Gardens with KGV school (Hong Kong) friend Ian and his young family, and had thanksgiving dinner with cousin Joanne and her family in Irvine. It was so lovely to share a meal with family after so many years, and I hope many of you get to do so these holidays.
Sending lots of sunny vibes from NZ and all the best for 2023, Michelle
Crystal & andy
Merry Christmas everyone.
This was the first year that we’ve been able to travel since COVID and I fully took advantage of that. Starting in February I brought Andy (my partner) to his first Chinese New Year celebration in Brisbane where he met all our family friends and even learned some Chinese. My next trip was to Brisbane again, over Easter where I reunited with Michelle and Len after not seeing them for the last 2-3 years.
In August, I had a change in direction with my career to pursue my passion for sustainability. After 6 years of working as an architect, I moved to a construction company to be a sustainability coordinator. This role is new to the company so I have a lot of freedom in what I do and there is a lot of support from the team as well. All in all, it has been a very positive change.
During the second half of the year Andy and I went on a long overdue holiday to Europe. We spent 2 weeks in Italy, sampling gelato and pasta in every city before visiting our old family friends in Switzerland. Sinmei and Luis were very hospitable hosts, speedily showing us all the sites and feeding us as much cheese as humanly possible in our short stay.
Andy and I then made our way up through Germany and France to arrive in Belgium where we met up with my parents to attend a beautiful wedding for another one of our family friends, Liyen and Stijn. The trip ended with a couple weeks in Paris and London where I celebrated turning 30 with my extended family. Auntie Jane and uncle John put on a briliant spread at their home and invited my cousins and their families to celebrate. The Anson family members based in England have doubled since I last set foot here almost 20 years ago. I’m so thankful to have finally met all the new additions in person.
Back in Sydney, I celebrated my 30 year milestone again with my friends over a casual lunch.
Our last trip before Christmas was a little closer to home. Together with some friends from my old work, we stayed in the Hunter Valley (wine country) for the weekend to attend a lavish wedding for our friends Jenny & Steve.
We’re all very excited to be flying to Auckland to celebrate Christmas this year. Hope you all are spending time with your loved ones.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Crystal
ansonps@optusnet.com.au
Pat & Sinne Anson 22 Mukurta Street, Chapel Hill, Queensland, Australia 4069