Dear People,

Time has slipped through my fingers so you'll probably get this as a New Year wish rather than a Christmas greeting. And yet, after looking through the letters of the last three years, there seems to be less to tell.

The obvious change is our address. I finally submitted plans for a third of a house, which were eventually approved. The quotes from builders were shattering - approx $1000/sq. m to build, or around 120-130,000 for what I had drawn up. It could have been done but we would be shackled to the bank for a long time (even if interest rates stay down). I was finally forced to consider buying. Surprise, surprise - when we last looked seriously, all large houses were $200,000 or more for what we wanted. But the market was in a slump and we saw several 4 and more bedroom houses for under $180,000 (an amount which I considered just affordable). We settled on the first house that Poss looked through (after looking at several others and making a few bids) for $158,000. it is legally a 4 bedroom single story house but previous owners did extensive underfloor modifications to add two living areas, a bedroom and another toilet/bathroom. The council know about the nonstandard additions but have issued a certificate saying they will not act to have the non-compliance rectified until 1997 (and it appears are not likely to do anything even then). There seems to be enough room for all of us.

Even though we exchanged contracts in March, we didn't settle until July which suited me fine as we now had a block of land which was surplus to requirements. We sold the block for $14000 more than we paid for it which, after legals and loss of bank interest were considered, was probably a break even price. After 5 months of residence the place seems to work although some alterations will have to be done.

One bonus is there is an in ground swimming pool. The weather has hardly been adequate to use it although everyone except Poss has now been in. Swimming pools need lots of care and feeding as they have to be pH balanced, chlorinated, filtered and cleaned. It is a nice mindless job after a day's work to mess around with the pool for half an hour. The pool is situated at the end of the yard (which slopes down from the house). In the middle there is a strip of grass which is pretty useless as it slopes too much to sit on or play ball games. I have plans...

There have been no unexpected developments apart from the move, just a lot of little happenings. Poss's sister Barbara and family stayed in January as expected. Poss and I went to see the first Aus. v South Africa cricket match in some time, at the Sydney Cricket Ground (it's different to be there but Australia spoiled it by losing). February was start of school and March and April got caught up in a haze of house hunting/buying. April was Poss's 40th Birthday but I was so disorganised all she got was a night out at a resteraunt. Nicole fared better as we all went to Australia's Wonderland in Sydney for her birthday, and a good day was had by all.

In May, we went to Stuarts Point to celebrate Poss's fathers 70th birthday and Barbara was able to visit from the U.S. for the second time in the year (unbeknown to her father until the day she arrived). June was packing month then July was the big move. Except for a few heavy and awkward items we shifted it all ourselves (with a little help from friends). Fortunately the move was only 10 minutes drive so it was feasible to do lots of little trips. The move was done in the first week of the July school holiday and the second week we went to Coolangatta to use our time share (the real one, not all the freebies). We stopped on the way up to see the McDowells in Lismore (who were good for a weekend trip from Armidale but impossible from Newcastle). We did some touristy things, caught up with Bill Gifford in Brisbane but generally vegetated as a happy contrast to moving. On the way back we stopped briefly in Armidale to check out Kerry Harden as Nigel had got a job in Hervey Bay and Kerry was about to leave. Haven't heard since so we don't know when she got there. The time share system seems to work well, the facilities were good and the staff were friendly. This particular resort had jet boats, water ski boat and wind surfers which can be borrowed at no charge. There were also organised activities so we could try the gear without going through the hassle of getting it out and putting it away.

Barbara was in Australia for her third visit of the year at the end of July so we had her and Poss's parents stay for a week. She returned to the States on the 25th July, taking Beth with her for 6 months schooling in the U.S. It was Beth's birthday that day, she was 11 and we were worried that she would not enjoy the experience as much as Sandra and Joanne (who were six months older when they went). However it seems that Beth is still a surprise package as Barbara says she is the easiest of the three to look after and is into everything.

To fill the void, we gained an extra family member for a month in the guise of a French exchange student called Aurelie (with accent, but my printer won't make it). Unlike Mio the Japanese student the year before, Aurelie's English was quite comprehensive, and it rapidly improved. She fitted into family life very easily and brought a new perspective to things. She lives in Paris and has a rigorous school week - it seems her school requires students to take all subjects through to the end of the HSC equivalent year so they have a long school day and extra on the weekend. There is an equivalent increase in homework so there wasn't much left of the week for extra activities, social or otherwise. Naturally she loved the Australian system with its shorter hours and less homework, but I wonder which system allows the students to reach their potentials? It was sad to see her go, and she really didn't see the country at its best as it was still winter.

We had another Japanese student in September, this time for only two days. Like Mio, Kiyoka spoke almost no English although Sandra and she seemed to get along in Japanese with some difficulty. However, she was not in the least shy and quite happy to investigate what she could in the limited time available.

As if all these alterations to the family were not enough, we tried to acquire a cat. Poss and Nicole chose a cat from the RSPCA and payed the necessaries to have her desexed. The cat had a snuffle and was on antibiotics when she arrived home. She was unsteady on her feet, then went off her food and after a few days was very poorly and could hardly walk. There was no improvement after a change in prescription so eventually the RSPCA took her back to see if they could get her better. Fortunately all the messing about was covered by a 14 day money back guarantee on the cat so it didn't cost much except for petrol. Anyhow, they diagnosed a bone disease, an unexpected complication to the desexing operation. After several weeks the cat (still unnamed) had not improved to any degree so it was suggested we might like to choose another. But when Poss went in to do the choosing the vet suggested we take unnamed home "just to see if she had a chance". To cut a long story short, the cat doubled its weight in two weeks and is now totally recovered.

It also has a name - Tash. Maybe all it needed was the dignity of a name.

Poss's parents moved during the year from a house at Stuarts Point to a retirement village at Valla Park Resort. They purchased a mobile home at the resort but pay site fees for facilities. It seems to be a successful move as they were worried about leaving the house empty for any time. Now they come and go at leisure as there are plenty of people around, and also there is more activity at the Park. Poss and the children stayed a week during the September holidays and we will all be staying there for Christmas/New Year.

On the way back from Valla, the Peugeot lost water and overheated. This was tracked eventually to a blown head gasket but for some time I had thought it was time for major heart surgery so the engine was rebuilt along with a new clutch and some suspension repairs. After 260,000km I guess something has to wear. Anyway, with a new motor and a three year old respray hopefully it will now last until we don't have the need to cart six people in comfort. I thought about changing cars but this one suits us so well that it seemed silly to abandon it. All I have to do is get the windows to wind up and down and the cassette player to work again... The HD holden unfortunately was given away in the house move, Poss refused to let me take it along. Some enthusiasts came with 'borrowed' plates and drove it away for the princely sum of $150 (well, it cost $300 in 1978, so I lost on the deal).

Nicole has had a down and up year. She was invited last summer to go away for a week with a friend, had a ball. In February she started gymnastics but complained of back pains and ended up having 16 weeks of physiotherapy and remedial excercises. It seems her bones were growing faster than her muscles and the gymnastic work was causing excess stress on the muscle attachments. She started back in July but is only now passing the point she was at last year. Her coach and some others formed a new club called Lakeside in October and Nic has been training there. It is the only permanently set up gymnasium in Newcastle and seems to be working well. The girls are more relaxed and seem to work harder.

Nic dropped Brownies when Beth did, in April, and also dropped Scottish dancing shortly after Beth went to the U.S. She doesn't seem to want to do outside activities but maybe she is missing Beth and will take up whatever Beth does next year (although they will be in different schools). Her school results have been excellent. She doesn't like the teacher but he seems competent and she is delivering the goods. She was invited to a writers' school for advanced students a few weeks ago and enjoyed it.

Beth really got involved this year. She started tennis in February and Netball in March. She got into an interschool swimming relay team, and also got into the interschool chess competition. I gave the chess team a few training sessions in the hope of lifting their game plan above a Schwarzaneger film plot, but I don't think it had much effect. Since going to the U.S., Beth has written every week, cheerful letters which are bringing out a side of her character which was not so obvious when she was home. We miss her and are looking forward to her return early in January.

Joanne is now 15 and we know it. She has discovered boys (or one particular boy to be specific) and spends most of her life either in his company or writing letters to him or on the phone to him or.... She has had time to do well at school, first in her year in French and Commerce, good marks in the other subjects. She has continued dancing and was involved in a few community displays during the year. She also has acquired braces for her teeth. Her problems are not as bad as Sandra's were, her teeth are uneven and need a lot of shifting around to neaten things up. She has also taken up gymnastics again after a three year break. She and some friends went to a dance instructor for first term but didn't like it much so all took up recreational gymnastics in second term. The friends have dropped out but Joanne is now doing competitive classes and intends to compete next year. She is with Nicole's old club, I think she couldn't handle having a sister 6 years younger showing how it is done so being in a different club suits her.

Sandra at nearly 17 has passed through the infatuation stage with boys and has settled into a relationship which seems to provide the right balance of social activity without stopping her doing her own things. She did a 16 week toastmasters course early in the year, it has improved her confidence in dealing with public situations a lot. Recently she was asked to do announcing at a school function and did an excellent job of it. She does well at school, it looks like she will be third in class at the end of year, first in English, Practical Writing and Chemistry. She has also maintained her interest in trumpet playing, she is now a first trumpet in the school band and has just started playing with a community band (Westlakes).

Poss has stuck pretty much to the routine of past years. She has three days of housecleaning, her tennis morning and more recently tennis evenings as well. Both she and I are in a 'hit and giggle' group which play casual tennis on Friday evenings. Poss seems to be the best of the players, her Tuesday skills coming to the fore. We also are playing volleyball regularly. Two friends of Poss's were playing very competitively 10 years ago and thought they would like to play mixed competition again and asked us if we would play. Now we play every Tuesday night, and are in the grand final of the particular group tonight (as underdogs).

I started the year doing the last subject for my degree (again). However, the hassles of househunting coincided with some nasty disease and a bit of back trouble to make me a fairly useless being in March and April so I withdrew (again). Well, I am enrolled to do it (the third time) next year. Apart from that, there were no big problems. I went to Melbourne on a course in April and saw some of the people we saw last year. Poss and I went to a Gridiron match played in Newcastle. I wouldn't go again, it is a slow game - 10 seconds of activity with 2 minutes of thinking. Give me VFL anytime. I dropped the gymnastics coaching and judging, partly because Nic wasn't going, partly because another coach joined the club so I was superfluous, partly because of the intent to do my final subject. Since buying this house there has been plenty to keep me busy.

Well, that's it, a year in four pages. There have been other things - we hosted a murder, went to the vineyards, had a housewarming last week (better late than never). None of us has been really sick, just the odd bout of 'flu etc. Most of the medicals have been dentals this year. A very steady as she goes sort of year.

And of course we hope your year has been a successful one and that Christmas brings you happiness in celebration of it. We hope in the New Year some of you find the time to visit - We Have The Room now to put up a small army (and a swimming pool) !!. And if by chance we don't meet, may the year be a good one (perhaps the best).

Love to you all from Alan, Beth, Joanne, Nicole, Poss and Sandra.