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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Angela's Christmas tree decorations
Another rainy day today, and while I've been sorting photos and posting to the blog, Gill and the girls have been making Christmas tree decorations from the kits that Angela sent us last year. Here are some photos for you, Angela, to show you the fruits of their labours.
School projects
There seem to have been no end of projects to help with at school recently. Towards the end of last term, Camilla and Louise had to design and build some go-karts as part of a class project. Much of the work was carried out at home - with not just a little help from Dad, of course - but the final assembly, painting, testing etc. was done by the girls themselves at school. Here, I'm helping Louise out with some tightening of screws and other finishing touches.
On the final day, they lined up with the competition at the top of an alarmingly long hill, in the Lowe's field next to the school. Here is Camilla with her kart ...
... and Louise with hers, looking rather nervous, as she had tipped over several times in the trial runs. Both of them did very well, although they weren't among the winning entries.
Camilla and Louise have experienced a much tougher year, homework-wise, and spend most week-day afternoons doing their "topics" or weekly research studies. Despite them being the youngest children in the Year 7/8 composite class at Oropi, they've done very well indeed, and are often among the top students. Here they are finding answers to the weekly list of general knowledge questions on the playroom computer.
Both Hannah and Lesley tried the NSW examinations for the first time this year, and did very, very well indeed. Hannah achieved Distinctions for Maths, English and Science, while Lesley managed a High Distinction for Science and a Merit for Maths. Here is Hannah being awarded her Maths certificate at a Pyes Pa School assembly.
On the first weekend of term, both Oropi and Pyes Pa Schools hosted their annual AgriGala & Calf Club Days. Camilla and Louise were involved in fundraising activities for their class trip, due to take place later in the term. Rather than selling chocolates, we decided to make a "Treasure Island" from papier mache and have a "Guess where the treasure is buried" competition. The photo below shows them manning their stall, with appropriate pirate hats. They ended up making over $200!
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On the final day, they lined up with the competition at the top of an alarmingly long hill, in the Lowe's field next to the school. Here is Camilla with her kart ...
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... and Louise with hers, looking rather nervous, as she had tipped over several times in the trial runs. Both of them did very well, although they weren't among the winning entries.
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Camilla and Louise have experienced a much tougher year, homework-wise, and spend most week-day afternoons doing their "topics" or weekly research studies. Despite them being the youngest children in the Year 7/8 composite class at Oropi, they've done very well indeed, and are often among the top students. Here they are finding answers to the weekly list of general knowledge questions on the playroom computer.
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Both Hannah and Lesley tried the NSW examinations for the first time this year, and did very, very well indeed. Hannah achieved Distinctions for Maths, English and Science, while Lesley managed a High Distinction for Science and a Merit for Maths. Here is Hannah being awarded her Maths certificate at a Pyes Pa School assembly.
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On the first weekend of term, both Oropi and Pyes Pa Schools hosted their annual AgriGala & Calf Club Days. Camilla and Louise were involved in fundraising activities for their class trip, due to take place later in the term. Rather than selling chocolates, we decided to make a "Treasure Island" from papier mache and have a "Guess where the treasure is buried" competition. The photo below shows them manning their stall, with appropriate pirate hats. They ended up making over $200!
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Calving and lambing time
The other thing that arrives with the flowers is calving and lambing. Our neighbour Alan arranges his lambing to start quite late, and everyone else has usually had theirs by the time the first of his arrive. "Rowdy", the ewe that we raised four years ago, had triplets for the second year in a row, and they are in the field directly in front of our house, at the end of the lawn, so we can follow the progress. Alan left her (Rowdy's, that is) tail on so that we could continue to recognise her among the rest, which are all docked.
This year we acquired two more male calves to add to the collection - Toffee and Treacle are almost ready for the "you know what". This shows the girls with their friends Joe and Ross at the Kehely's farm, looking at the cows which were in calf - they actually saw one being born ...
and then checked out the selection of young calves.
A week or so later, our two new calves arrived. They have been christened Spongebob and Patrick!
This year we acquired two more male calves to add to the collection - Toffee and Treacle are almost ready for the "you know what". This shows the girls with their friends Joe and Ross at the Kehely's farm, looking at the cows which were in calf - they actually saw one being born ...
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and then checked out the selection of young calves.
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A week or so later, our two new calves arrived. They have been christened Spongebob and Patrick!
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Spring brings more than flowers ...
Rain, and lots of it ... a soggy day from the kitchen window
The magnolias are always spectacular in Oropi, but this particular one is outside Gill's offices at Barke's Corner, overlooking the golf course:
This flower is on a magnificent tree just outside Oropi School:
The Oropi School grounds have some great indigenous trees too, including several large totara, shown here in the background:
A few weeks after the magnolias, the flowering cherries start to flower. This year, because we had an unusually warm and dry start to spring, the Prunus in Oropi, at an elevantion of over 400 meters, flowered at almost the same time as those in Greerton, close to sea level. Usually they are several weeks behind! This in our garden, which we planted five years ago, one is of the variety "Awanui".
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The magnolias are always spectacular in Oropi, but this particular one is outside Gill's offices at Barke's Corner, overlooking the golf course:
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This flower is on a magnificent tree just outside Oropi School:
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The Oropi School grounds have some great indigenous trees too, including several large totara, shown here in the background:
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A few weeks after the magnolias, the flowering cherries start to flower. This year, because we had an unusually warm and dry start to spring, the Prunus in Oropi, at an elevantion of over 400 meters, flowered at almost the same time as those in Greerton, close to sea level. Usually they are several weeks behind! This in our garden, which we planted five years ago, one is of the variety "Awanui".
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More winter photos
Some time ago, Hallam asked for some photos of winter scenes from around here in Oropi. It's taken me a while to get these together, but they will supplement what I posted before. You can click on the thumbnails to view larger versions, and if they're not detailed enough email me and I'll send bigger images.
We're well into spring now, of course, and while the frosts are over, we're still having the occasional cold blasts. Today, however, it's been completely overcast the whole day, raining off and on, and now the guti has rolled in. The girls have taken the opportunity to spend much of the day making Christmas decorations, from the kits that Angela sent us last year. I'll post some of those photos later.
This is a shot down the valley from our house, on a frosty morning,
and one up the valley, with Treacle (the cow) looking on.
Hannah, testing the ice ...
Diana, I think you'll be familiar with this subject, from a photo taken in Inyanga our youth. Here it's Louise, Camilla and Hannah trying to be cheerful about this unreasonable request:
Some very odd ice crystal structures on our driveway ... made a wonderful crunching sound when Lesley and I walked over them on our way to meet the school bus at the gate.
... and more interesting ice crystals in a pond on the corner of Gluepot and Oropi Roads, on our way driving to Oropi School.
We're well into spring now, of course, and while the frosts are over, we're still having the occasional cold blasts. Today, however, it's been completely overcast the whole day, raining off and on, and now the guti has rolled in. The girls have taken the opportunity to spend much of the day making Christmas decorations, from the kits that Angela sent us last year. I'll post some of those photos later.
This is a shot down the valley from our house, on a frosty morning,
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and one up the valley, with Treacle (the cow) looking on.
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Hannah, testing the ice ...
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Diana, I think you'll be familiar with this subject, from a photo taken in Inyanga our youth. Here it's Louise, Camilla and Hannah trying to be cheerful about this unreasonable request:
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Some very odd ice crystal structures on our driveway ... made a wonderful crunching sound when Lesley and I walked over them on our way to meet the school bus at the gate.
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... and more interesting ice crystals in a pond on the corner of Gluepot and Oropi Roads, on our way driving to Oropi School.
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Monday, August 14, 2006
The Growing Binnie Family
Welcome to members of the extended Binnie family. You'll find plenty of our family photos here on the site, mainly from since we arrived in New Zealand. Please feel free to leave comments, and if you'd like to share some photos of yourselves, we'd love to see them. It would be best to email them to us via the email link here, and please let us know if we can post them on the blog.
A warm welcome also from us in New Zealand to Jocelyn and her family. In response to Hillary's recent email welcoming Jocelyn to the binniefamily email list, Gill and I dug up this photo, which was originally extracted from Anne's album prior to our Lebanon visit in 1997. It's dated on the reverse, "Sep. 1996" and was taken during Anne (Binnie) and Aunt Maud's visit to the United States (Philadelphia and California). Click on the photo to see a larger version. We think it's Madeleine's writing on the back, which identifies the following:
L to R
Maud, Helene, Anne, (Bishara sitting), Nohad, Mad, Labebe, Jocelyn (sitting)
In my family tree, I have Nohad/Nouhad as the daughter of Nassima Wakim. Is this correct - now I'm not sure at all. Also, I wonder how Jocelyn's father Elias Makhoul fits in to the family? Is he related to Anis Makhoul and Amal Francis? There seems to be an extra generation in there somewhere.
Jocelyn, you are welcome to check the Binnie-Mansour Family Tree, although you will need to email me for a password to get into the site. There are plenty more photos there, many of them old ones from Lebanon in the 1940s to the 1960s, and your family may be able to identify some of the people in them. I hope so.
Hillary - thanks for the emails. It's always nice to catch up with our American cousins, and Gill and I appreciate your efforts at this too. I will post some more photos of our Lebanese cousins shortly, so watch this space.
Love from us all, Brett, Gill, Lesley, Camilla, Louise and Hannah
A warm welcome also from us in New Zealand to Jocelyn and her family. In response to Hillary's recent email welcoming Jocelyn to the binniefamily email list, Gill and I dug up this photo, which was originally extracted from Anne's album prior to our Lebanon visit in 1997. It's dated on the reverse, "Sep. 1996" and was taken during Anne (Binnie) and Aunt Maud's visit to the United States (Philadelphia and California). Click on the photo to see a larger version. We think it's Madeleine's writing on the back, which identifies the following:
L to R
Maud, Helene, Anne, (Bishara sitting), Nohad, Mad, Labebe, Jocelyn (sitting)
In my family tree, I have Nohad/Nouhad as the daughter of Nassima Wakim. Is this correct - now I'm not sure at all. Also, I wonder how Jocelyn's father Elias Makhoul fits in to the family? Is he related to Anis Makhoul and Amal Francis? There seems to be an extra generation in there somewhere.
Jocelyn, you are welcome to check the Binnie-Mansour Family Tree, although you will need to email me for a password to get into the site. There are plenty more photos there, many of them old ones from Lebanon in the 1940s to the 1960s, and your family may be able to identify some of the people in them. I hope so.
Hillary - thanks for the emails. It's always nice to catch up with our American cousins, and Gill and I appreciate your efforts at this too. I will post some more photos of our Lebanese cousins shortly, so watch this space.
Love from us all, Brett, Gill, Lesley, Camilla, Louise and Hannah
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Miscellaneous family pictures - June & July 2006
Picnic on the lawn, Oropi - 2 July 2006
Camilla, Hannah & Lesley in the "forest" during the school holidays - 2 July 2006
Hannah & Louise with St Bernard dog and "snow", downtown Tauranga - 8 July 2006
A morning out on the Waikareao Estuary walkway - 3 June 2006
Louise, getting ready for the Oropi School "Crazy Hair" disco - 20 June 2006
Hannah, ready for her Pyes Pa "Formal" School disco - 22 June 2006
Lesley, Oropi - 2 July 2006
Me, painting cupboards for the girls' bedrooms - 3 July 2006
Hannah, Oropi - 16 July 2006
Camilla, Hannah & Lesley in the "forest" during the school holidays - 2 July 2006
Hannah & Louise with St Bernard dog and "snow", downtown Tauranga - 8 July 2006
A morning out on the Waikareao Estuary walkway - 3 June 2006
Louise, getting ready for the Oropi School "Crazy Hair" disco - 20 June 2006
Hannah, ready for her Pyes Pa "Formal" School disco - 22 June 2006
Lesley, Oropi - 2 July 2006
Me, painting cupboards for the girls' bedrooms - 3 July 2006
Hannah, Oropi - 16 July 2006
Views of Oropi in Winter - July 2006
Misty morning, a view across the fields from our house - 4 July 2006
Sunrise from the verandah - 12 July 2006
Frosty morning, looking up the valley from our back paddock - 29 July 2006
Sunrise from the verandah - 12 July 2006
Frosty morning, looking up the valley from our back paddock - 29 July 2006
Gymnastics, Cross-country and Netball - May & June 2006
Hannah, playing netball for the Pyes Pa School team, at Mount Maunganui - 6 May 2006
Louise in the Oropi School netball team, marking her opponent - 6 May 2006
Hannah, after an inter-schools gymnastics event at Judea, Tauranga - 23 May 2006
Camilla & Louise running through the kiwifruit orchards in Kaimai Rural Schools Sports Assn. cross-country event, at Kaimai School - 7 June 2006
Louise and Camilla in their new netball uniforms, Oropi
Louise in the Oropi School netball team, marking her opponent - 6 May 2006
Hannah, after an inter-schools gymnastics event at Judea, Tauranga - 23 May 2006
Camilla & Louise running through the kiwifruit orchards in Kaimai Rural Schools Sports Assn. cross-country event, at Kaimai School - 7 June 2006
Louise and Camilla in their new netball uniforms, Oropi
Picnic at Te Puna Quarry Park with the McIntyres - 15 April 2006
Lesley with Bob McIntyre, picnic at Te Puna Quarry Park - 15 April 2006
Bob McIntyre and Jocelyn ... oops, no, not Jocelyn, some unidentified lady friend of Bob's then - to be honest, she looks a little worse for wear.
Gill, Bob McIntyre, Lesley & Jocelyn McIntyre
Bob McIntyre and Jocelyn ... oops, no, not Jocelyn, some unidentified lady friend of Bob's then - to be honest, she looks a little worse for wear.
Gill, Bob McIntyre, Lesley & Jocelyn McIntyre
Lesley's birthday celebration, a day late - 13 April 2006
We celebrated Lesley's birthday a day late ... just a more suitable day because of Gill's work, that's all.
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