2005 - the year that was

So much has happened this year, brought home by our new random photo screensaver. It has inspired me to write a summary (albeit a long summary!) of our year - for me to get a grip on all the places we've been, things we've done and people we've seen in their and our home environments.

The Places The People

January The year started off celebrating Roland's 30th into the wee hours and then somehow moseying on through my hen's day & night around Freo. (This followed on from our Engagement party the night before that). The hen's melded in to the buck's the following day. It was quite an intensive run of events, given that we aren't as young and nubile as our uni days. Next day, at 5am, we (incl Shane) jetsetted off to Broome to celebrate Joe's 35th and catch up with the Vernons.

On our return to Perth there was more kicking up heels at the Meston/Bunting wedding (a match made left of heaven!). A week later I found myself walking 'down the aisle' at the gorgeous Tortoiseshell Farm. A magic day. More magic (and glorious solitude!) followed for our 3 night honeymoon staying at the Wilderness Cabin near Margs. Late January we said goodbye to Australia, and hello to Dublin Ireland.

February Jamie accepts the redundancy offer and the job hunt hits full swing. We head down to Brae, a gorgeous seaside town south of Dublin for an interview. Jamie has another interview in Belgium around my birthday, so I join him for our first trip to what will become our new home. The weather is crap and we inadvertedly book a hotel in a seedy dive of a district, but Jamie reassures (a skeptical) me that from his train view on the way to SWIFT Belgium is amazingly beautiful and green. While he has his interview I go to Ghent for the day. Unfortunately, that day is Monday. By about August I fully appreciate the level of activity across Belgium on Mondays (ie not much!).

March (a busy month!) The job hunt continues and we are off to Scotland for an interview with Amazon. We land in Edinburgh and spend a night or two catching up with Kelly. We hire a car and head up to Inverness overnighting in a couple of towns (whose names i can't remember!) taking in some awesome scenery. Nessie is not to be sighted.

We pop over to London for Shane's birthday, kicking off with some at-home good times with the new London arrivals (Tarek and Sarah) and other pals. After Shane's ideal birthday celebration cities wind up being too pricey to fly to, we opt for an exploratory trip to the little known French town of Rodez (where cranes and coiffure are revered). We cover every drinking establishment at least once à pied. The next day we take off for Conques. Its on the pilgram trail and can have sixty pilgrams through a day in peak time. In March however we see maybe 10 people all day (and that includes a small tour group). We spend most of the day departing from the only open pub to look for the elusive second pub.

Heading back to Ireland, Shane is in depeche mode and just can't get enough of us, so joins us for St Patricks Day festivities in Dublin and an overnight trip to Kilkenny.

We end the month with a trip to Portugal to celebrate Miranda's 30th birthday (congrats on the engagement too guys!). The Algarve is sunshine coast multiplied - a sea of ugly white apartments stretching back from and shadowing the coast. We are by far the youngest people there visiting at peak blue rinse tour season. However, we lap up the salty air, slurp up the 20 cent beers and make the most of it!

April We had decided on SWIFT Belgium as Jamie's new career on the train with Shane on the way home from France. April was the month of getting the wheels in motion - arranging for removalists for Ireland and my stuff in storage in Oz, getting the paperwork going for the pets to join us, negotiating with SWIFT for the best relocation deal and trying to find somewhere to stay on arrival that would allow pets.

May We kick off the month with an orientation trip to Belgium (at SWIFT expense) where we stay at the lovely Chateau du Lac, and even nicer Villa du Lac. I realise that Jamie wasn't pulling a SWIFTie when he had said that Belgium is a beautiful country. We meet up with the relocation people who show us around a few suburbs and sample houses - the last place we see we fall for and get the ball rolling to rent it out. A lucky find which saves us from having to hunt later.

12th of May we fly out of Ireland and in to Belgium. We are put up in a furnished apartment for a month - one that we located ourselves which is pet friendly and, as a bonus, is opposite a forest. Shane is itching to see our new home and arrives the next day. Its a lazy 'trackie down' weekend, spent sampling the boissons of our new home.

Late May there are more arrivals - my sister Ali arrives, at the start of her (UK) working holiday. Later that evening Lucy, Max and Olly turn up bedraggled and smelly, but happy to see us (no thanks to Heathrow Animal Reception Centre, unprofessional shower of wankers). It is a happy reunion. Although Oliver suffering jetlag and disorientation spends the night going from room to room singing to the walls. Ali also gets singing at a local jazz singers night.

June Chris Tann emails to let us know that there is a mutual acquantance also in Belgium, who Jamie may know. It turns out that they are staying in the apartment below us, so we catch up for dinner. We have been in Belgium long enough by now for an English speaking dinner to feel like a real treat.

Mid June we move into our place in La Hulpe. We are waiting on furniture from Oz, so do a mercy dash to a furniture place for some essentials (like a bed!). It feels good to be settling in though.

But not for too long... Glasto time comes around. Em heads over from London to mind the animals and explore Belgium (thanks Em!) Ali, Shane, Jamie and I head off from Shane's place in London. Glastonbury is an experience. Just as Jamie had said it would be - although he always struggled to explain it. Its the kind of thing you feel fortunate to have experienced. This says a lot, given that the experience also included loads and loads of MUD! Walking was a workout. And a challenge to stay upright. But, unlike others, our tent was not fully submerged in water, and we didn't wake up with our mattress floating.

July We hit the 6 month wedding anniversary mark, and celebrate at the Chateau de la Hulpe. Life feels good.

Work beckons Jamie to Madrid this month and, again, I tag along. It is hot, something by then I'm not used to. I spend most of the day at the Museo del Prado while Jamie is working, and we both return there over the weekend. It rocks. We are only there for a few days all up, so don't really feel like we've got a good feel for the place, so plan to head back some time. Ali has come over to mind the pets while we're away, so I get to have a sisterly catch up on my return.

August Shane comes over for another visit. He is reminiscing about his time in Germany so we decide to go to Germany for the day. Because we can. While we aren't able to locate the atmospheric regional beer festivals which are (apparently) wont to jump in the path of visitors, we do find a pub to have a nice meal and few beers in.

Festival time again - this time the Lowlands festival in the Netherlands. We (Jamie, Shane and I) drive up to Utrecht where Esther, Jeroen and young Hidde live. Jamie and I head off for a night in Amsterdam. We meet up with Bellamy and Neus for dinner and a drink, and then Jamie shows me around the redlight district (as you do). Next day we do a canal trip. I'm visually dazzled by the bikes and also road-crossing challenged by them (crossing roads being something I already struggle with, as Roland and others could vouch for).

In Utrecht, I hear the news that my brother Sam and his fiance Mel have just had a baby girl, Brianna Jasmin. The first of that generation for our small family. Its a buzz.

Lowlands is fun, but a different kind of festival to Glastonbury. More of a McFestival (would you like frites with that?) - European summer has a series of them. The Dutch are a friendly lot though, so the festival has a good feel, even if it is hard to see the stage at times cause they are so BLOODY TALL! Kate Hairsine joins the group of us camping which is great. And Sarah Haynes appears out of the blue at the toilet block - sacrificing her place in the queue to come over and say g'day to us.

The month ends with a visit from Klara, who has just moved to Prague. She charms the pants, and the tabouleh recipe, off the cute chef at the cafe around the corner, before heading back to Prague and taking her French proficiency with her (come back and teach me Klara!!!!!)

September After a week of serious (social) engineering in Germany, Gia trains it over for a couple of nights. Its perfect timing for the Brussels Beerfest in Grande Place. We have a ball, with the evening finally coming to a close when there are only 2.5 pairs of shoes between the 3 of us.

Mid month we get a text from Roland who is on the Eurostar on the way to Belgium. We welcome him in for the night and send him on his way to Amsterdam the next day with his reassurance that he will come for a proper visit soon.

Later in the month Heather heads over, having recently landed in London. We have a good ole catchup, and do excursions to Leuven, Bruges and Rochefort. She just misses the crazy stilt fighting contest in Namur. Maybe next year...

October I head home to Australia and meet my new niece, celebrate Jamie King's 40th at Rotto, hen it up with Chrissy, bridesmaid at her wedding down south, spend Q time with the fam and toast Flicka and Marcus on their recent engagement. In Belgium, Jamie fills the void by filling his new tank with fish - first 4, which then becomes 3 + x, as Gertie dies in childbirth, but her many (still uncountable) progeny swim on. Work gives the opportunity for a trip to London to catch up with Shane for an evening and comfort him in his loneliness.

November I head back from Oz mid month to reunite with my much missed husband. Narelle, on her maiden European trip, visits for a couple of nights and we check out Dinant and Beersel, before she scoots off to Rome then home.

December It's snowing!!! I'm delighted! My first white blanket.

Christmas time! Heather and Ali come over for a homely Christmas. Although not known for snowing in December, Belgium comes up with the goods again to give Heather and Ali their first snow experience on the way to the train station.

The year ends, somewhat sadly, with jamie and I apart - him in London celebrating New years with Shane et al, and me in Belgium having a quiet one with Lucy, Max and Olly. It is however a warm reunion on the first day of the new year.

AND MY HIGHLIGHTS OF 2005

The seasons/the forest I have loved watching the seasons change throughout the year here. Having the forest nearby, which we frequent regularly, has been magical. Bunnies and squirrels in spring on our arrival, sunshine and luminous green in summer, rich shades of red falling in showers in autumn, and bare tree silhouettes and snow in winter. Then there are days like today when you get all the seasons in one day: was like a summer sky - clear blue and sunny. the sun on the freshly washed greens made them shine like spring. and a light white wintery frost lay on the mounds of red autumn leaves. hard to explain it to justice - but it really is beautiful!

Europe Its been great, amazing, living in Europe. Its possible, inevitable even, to get a completely different perspective on life, the universe and everything (including Australia I will add)! Belgium is perfectly placed for exploring, and we know that it would be hard for us to get bored or restless living here. We can hit any of 5 countries within a 3 hour drive. Although progress has been slow (if 6 months on 'je voudrais' can be called progress), we still aim to be speaking reasonably fluent French, and hopefully also Dutch, within the next year or two. Once we get enough basics under our belt to get our foot in the door and benefit from being immersed here. So while we haven't advanced much yet, this year is the first time I've actually thought it possible that I could (with time) master another language.

The food and drink

I used to be a 'marge in the fridge, sliced bread in the freezer' kind of girl - but not any more! The Irish butter started it...mmmm.... The bread here in Belgium is just delicious. We have 3 boulangeries in the street just around the corner. And the cheese!!!! It is to die for... sooooo good, and so much variety. We have a market 20 metres from our door once a week that we can browse for all types of things, and the supermarket around the corner stocks a really good range of organic food. We eat well, and in the main, healthy. Then there's the local beers. They are so tasty you have a glass as you would a glass of wine. EB and Kraft cheddar are not missed!

Our wedding and marriage What a day!!! What more could you wish for than having so many special family and friends gathered together and having a ball (despite the cold!). And not a doubt in my mind about tieing the knot and signing my life away with Mr O. Was just all good.

As for marriage - Love it. For an old fashioned institution, it rocks. Its nice being committed to something and just making things work. Jamie makes that so much easier, in so many ways. I feel blessed.