A neighbourly gathering

At the risk of making this blog entirely about my neighbours, I feel the need to make another post about the lovely people here.

Not too long after moving here the Musician neighbours invited us to their house for tea and home-made muffins. We had a lovely time--the muffins were amazing--and when we offered to have them for dinner in return they suggested a barbecue on the front lawn and a chance to meet a Brit who happens to live in the neighbourhood. That barbecue was extremely lovely and I think it went so well that the opposite neighbours decided they'd like to host a barbecue. We trundled to the village green (so to speak; we have a lovely green area in the middle of the buildings with a play ground, a little sea of grass, and some magnificent oak trees) and a great time was had by all. It was proposed by the opposite neighbours that barbecues should become a regular event in our neighbourhood. Everybody concurred.

Last weekend was the second of the regular barbecues, and I got a mighty shock when we trundled down with our picnic blanket, hamburger patties, bread loaf, and cheese. The little barbecue my husband manned bravely the previous fortnight had become two barbecues, with a park bench conveniently located for the sitting needs of the cooking menfolk. The blankets had been replaced by a small city of folding chairs. The picnic blanket of food had turned into a number of small tables--one of which even had an umbrella!--with salads, breads, condiments, plates, and silverware. I think somebody had even prepared a jug of iced tea for the occasion. The attendance had gone from seven adults and accompanying children to add at least five new families! I felt almost like I should have brought a friend or six, and our little offering of food was almost pitiful compared to the delightful German man who waved his tongs at me and then deposited a hunk of fleisch on my plate. I ought to have brought a steak knife.

The event was fabulous. Frau Musician hailed me as I tried to wake up from my afternoon nap at about, oh, 4.30, and while some people wandered off to do their own thing most of the adults stayed around until sundown. Which, being so northerly here, happens to be about my bed time. The children wandered in and out of the eating area at will, in many cases begging house keys, and by ten we had to make quite a few trips back to the house carrying bikes, roller blades, and Maddyn's toy trucks. I found Maddyn's socks three days later, in a tuft of grass near the sand pit. Truly, the whole experience was more typically Australian than Australia. It almost makes up for the State of Origin not being televised here!

Back to the grind, however. It's once again past my bedtime, but I'm posting whilst waiting for carrot cake cupcakes to cool. I think I'll be icing them in the morning, and then I'll take them across to the school for yet another baking event. There seems to be at least one bake-off every week here, and I'm afraid my baking really doesn't measure up to German standard, but I tried the littlest cupcake from the first of 24 I made tonight and it seemed quite reasonable (even if I did forget the pecans). I hope everybody else is is having a delicious weekend, and GO QUEENSLANDER!