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29. November 2021 17:12
by Rene Pallesen
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Struggling

29. November 2021 17:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I was struggling a lot this year, through a combination of things ranging from self worth, lack of s
I was struggling a lot this year, through a combination of things ranging from self worth, lack of support, dealing with the boys, work and other things.

Mid-year during the lockdown it hit hard.



7. April 2021 22:04
by Rene Pallesen
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Camping Glenworth Valley

7. April 2021 22:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Over easter we went to Glenworth Valley for Camping. This location is about an hours drive north of
Over easter we went to Glenworth Valley for Camping. This location is about an hours drive north of Sydney in an easily accessible but beautiful little valley.

It is private propoerty, so you have to book beforehand and it does get very busy. We were very lucky that we were located down at the end of the property where it was more quiet.

In the evenings there were beautiful sunsets.





In the morning it was a bit more misty in the valley.






The owners also put on a great easter egg hunt for the children. There were hundreds of children with 20,000 chocolate eggs hidden in a field and there was an easter bunny riding a horse.









We also spend time playing some ball sports. I'd brought a baseball bat and ball. Because we were four families, we had plenty of people to form two teams. It got very competitive and the bat took a bit of battering, so I had to go a buy a more solid wooden bat.





In the evenings we had the normal campfire and baked dampers on sticks, marshmellows and baked potatoes in the fire.













There are also lots of walks witin easy driving distance, including some walks with beautiful waterfalls.













Also, people come to the valley for horse riding, so there are lots of horses in the surrounding paddocks.

And wildlife such as Kookaburras!


And going for a short stroll in the mornings was a beautiful experience with the mist and light changing.

Because of lots of rain, the whole area had been flooded just weeks earlier. Where we were camping would have been a meter under water, but because of the river running through the area the water had fortunately receeded.








21. March 2021 13:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate 3rd Kyu

21. March 2021 13:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

I reached a significant milestone in karate this week. I graded for my 3rd Kyu (Brown belt) and at t
I reached a significant milestone in karate this week. I graded for my 3rd Kyu (Brown belt) and at the same Kim graded for her 5th Kyu (Blue belt).

On the occation I treated myself to a new dogi (karate uniform).


I was so nervous and tense - and screwed up a few places. There is now a lot of hard work ahead to get to the 2nd Kyu which is at least another half a year away.

Here are some photos from the grading. The ones from the dojo are a bit blurry because they weren't taken from my camera and I don't have the full resolution photos.












20. March 2021 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate bruises

20. March 2021 14:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Last year was a tough year with Karate.First the lockdown meant that we had to go online for trainin
Last year was a tough year with Karate.

First the lockdown meant that we had to go online for training, but even in the dojo I managed to get a lot of injuries.
Some of them visible and some of them not so visible...I have a whole stack of scans and x-rays as souvenirs from this year.

Some could have been avoided, but most are just part of the training.






I even earned an award for it...


The worst one was a kick to my chin. I dont have any photos of it, but I do have the indentation it made on my mouth guard I was wearing at the time. If it hadn't been for the mouthguard I am certain that I would have lost some teeth. This injury could have been avoided.


I have now gone out to buy a new and way cooler mouthguard (I created the design myself). It is thors hammer in the middle surrounded by the Fenrir wolf and Midgaards Serpent.


Even Kim got a few bruises.


13. March 2021 18:03
by Rene Pallesen
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My Burmese Dha swords

13. March 2021 18:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Back in the late 90's I visited Laos. In the northern corner of Laos I acquired two old swords from
Back in the late 90's I visited Laos. In the northern corner of Laos I acquired two old swords from a local.

Through some forums I have tried to find out as much as I can about them and this is what I have been told:

  • The swords are of a Burmese style called Dha (Means sword in Burmese).
  • They are of museum worthy pieces
  • I should NOT EVER attempt to restore them. This would degrade their value significantly.
  • The flower script design on the swords are reserved for the rulers and officers of those days.
  • အဲဒီဓားတွေကငါတို့ရဲ့ဗမာဓားတွေပဲလာအိုဆိုတာအရင်ကဇင်းမယ်လို့ခေါ်တယ်အင်းဝခေတ်မှာမြန်မာတွေတက်သိမ်းခဲ့တဲ့နိုင်ငံပဲဓားကိုငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဓားလို့ခေါ်တယ်ဓားကဓားကောင်းပဲ အခုငါပြတဲ့ဓားဟာလည်းသမိုင်းဝင်ဓားပဲငှက်ကြီးတောင်ဓားပေါ့ (Translation: These swords are our Burmese swords. Laos was formerly called Zin Mae, a country that was conquered by the Burmese during the Inwa period. The sword is called the Sword of the Bird. The sword is a good sword.).
  • It's a Ngat kyee daung Dah the sword that was once used by Burmese warriors and Thai during the dark age of Konbaung (1765–1767).
  • This Burmese Empire was destroyed during the English colonized to the East and totally wiped out by the English cannons kind of like a scene from the last samurai movie in the end! They were like charging to the enemy where they were being shot at.
  • These are also antique pieces in a good state of preservation! Swords, even if they are in such good condition, belong in the museum. You have to take a look at the Malaysia Sword Museum! They are great specimen
  • One would have to analyze the material metal wood winding fibers would certainly be very interesting! You don't see such a bundle every day
  • The handle on the smaller sword is made from wound rattan fibres.
  • The larger sword is made from silver and wound silver threading (I believe it is the typical not so pure silver/tin that was used).
This means that it is likely that the swords are up towards 250 years old and that the long one belonged to someone of a high status.

The area they are from is a place that has been ravaged by war for several hundred years right from the wards beween Burma and Siam (Thailand), conquer by the English empire, the Second World War, the Chinese civil war through to the Laos Civil/Vietnam war.

It is highly likely that the swords have seen some action. Although a bit rusty, the swords are still very sharp. Given that the blade on the longer sword is narrower at the hilt it is likely that it has been sharpened several times through history. Again this probably means that it had a practical use/purpose and wasn't just for display.








22. January 2021 01:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Newcastle

22. January 2021 01:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Between Christmas and New year we made a trip to Newcastle with the family.They had this beautiful l
Between Christmas and New year we made a trip to Newcastle with the family.








They had this beautiful little animal park that is maintained by the council and is free to visit.











Just outside Newcastle is fighterworld, which is an aircraft museum next to an active air strip.










Newcastle museum was also worth a visit on a rainy day.





One evening we went to the games arcade...no idea how Aiden managed to get a first place in racing.




21. January 2021 18:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Karate 2020

21. January 2021 18:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Karate during 2020 was challenging to say the least.I was devastated when everything moved online. I
Karate during 2020 was challenging to say the least.

I was devastated when everything moved online. I love the partner work and couldn't see how this was going to work through video conferencing.

The boys and Kim were okay with the new format and I hung in there. I was so happy once we were able to get back in the dojo again.






Just before the lockdown I had purchased a punching bag, so at least we were able to do some outdoor contact punching.









During the lockdown there was a kata competition and other programs, and we did get a few prices.




...but dojo definitely rules...







We have managed to go to gradings...












And I have kept all the grading certificated we have gotton...





















21. January 2021 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Tennis Award

21. January 2021 14:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

Another encouragement award for Aiden. This time in Tennis...
Another encouragement award for Aiden. This time in Tennis...





31. December 2020 14:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Covid

31. December 2020 14:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

2020 was definitely a bit different because of Covid.Australia managed to get through with very few
2020 was definitely a bit different because of Covid.

Australia managed to get through with very few outbreaks because of very early and sever lockdowns.

This let people to panic buy. We spent the time to chill out and solve lots of puzzles in the evenings, do lots of exercise in the parks (which was still allowed), Karate online and work moving fully to conference calls.


















31. December 2020 13:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Challenging year

31. December 2020 13:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

The last couple of years has been super challenging for Aiden all around.He is struggling all around
The last couple of years has been super challenging for Aiden all around.

He is struggling all around and this photo tells it all.


For myself I have been struggling equally, and had it not been for the release of karate I don't know where things would have been at. I often wish I had my own bucket to hide under. I don't think this year will be any easier unfortunately...

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9. January 2014 11:16
by Rene Pallesen
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Malua Bay

9. January 2014 11:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

malua bay


Over the new year we went with the family to Malua Bay Beach down south.

The house was beach front with great access directly to the beach.







The big wrap-around balcony was great for the kids to play on and they spent hours running around.





And it was great for the family to be together.





There were also lots of chicadas and Ethan found a dead one.



25. December 2013 05:12
by Rene Pallesen
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New bike for Aiden

25. December 2013 05:12 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

new bike for aiden


Aiden got a new bike and helmet for Christmas. He was very proud as it was the biggest present under the tree.



The helmet is a combined bicycle and climbing helmet (cost more than the bike) so will see if I can also find an opportunity to take him climbing in the new year.

25. December 2013 05:09
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Day 2013

25. December 2013 05:09 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

christmas day 2013


As usual we celebrated Christmas Day with the whole family.

There was a lot of Christmas presents this year, so the kids must have been good.




Even Father Christmas paid us a visit...



It was a big group this year.

24. December 2013 05:05
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Family Photos 2013

24. December 2013 05:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

christmas family photos 2013


Every year I do a family photo. This year we decided to use the gingerbread village and the tree as a backdrop.

Merry Christmas.





23. December 2013 05:03
by Rene Pallesen
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Gingerbread Village

23. December 2013 05:03 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

gingerbread village


Over the Christmas period Aiden and I have been building a Gingerbread village.



It has been good fun for me to put the houses together and for Aiden to help with sticking on the kandy.

16. December 2013 12:56
by Rene Pallesen
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More Christmas Photos 2013

16. December 2013 12:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

more christmas photos 2013


Tonight I did some more photos...



The plan was to get a photo of Lucas and Aiden together wrapped in christmas lights. It turned out to be impossible to get especially Lucas to sit still, so we eventually gave up and tried to do some individual shots...the photos below are the best of the lot...not great but will have to do. To be honest the best shot of the evening is the one above of Aiden which I took after we gave up with the chain.






16. December 2013 05:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Boys best mates

16. December 2013 05:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

boys best mates


Lucas is growing up really fast and him and Aiden are now best mates doing almost everything together (including fighting).

16. December 2013 04:57
by Rene Pallesen
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Garage Lizard

16. December 2013 04:57 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

garage lizard


The other day I found this in our garage.



I had to look it up...but it turned up to be a blue tongue lizard but without the stumpy tail we normally see.

I asked Kim if the kids could keep it...but she screamed and said no, so I released it into our garden.

16. December 2013 04:55
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Banana

16. December 2013 04:55 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

christmas banana


You can tell that Christmas is approaching when Banana's in Pyjamas is wearing a Christmas hat...oh and then there is the cute Santa's helper.


15. December 2013 07:42
by Rene Pallesen
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Kims dads birthday 2013

15. December 2013 07:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

kims dads birthday 2013


Yesterday it was Kims dads Birthday and we celebrated with a big lunch party with cake and good food.








And Kim was beautiful as ever and Lucas was very handsome...




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13. June 2013 09:40
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden insect bite

13. June 2013 09:40 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

aiden insect bite


The other day was in the park with his daycare group to play at the playground.

While he was there he was bitten by some unknown insect and the morning after his whole face was swollen.



Fortunately he was happy enough and it didn't require any visits to a doctor.

30. May 2013 10:47
by Rene Pallesen
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Emma's Birthday

30. May 2013 10:47 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

emma s birthday


Last weekend it was our Niece Emma's first birthday.

This was celebrated with lots of cakes and a jumping castle on which Aiden had lots of fun.







2. May 2013 09:16
by Rene Pallesen
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Countries I have been to

2. May 2013 09:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

countries i have been to 61


I just updated the map of the countries I have set my foot in...now 66 countries.





AfricaRene(68)KimAidenLucas
Kenya YES


Tanzania YES


Uganda YES


Egypt YES


Tunesia YES


Morocco YES


Gambia YES


Senegal YES


South Africa YES YES YES YES
Zimbabwe YES YES YES YES
Zambia YES YES YES YES
Europe



Turkey YES


Spain YES YES

France YES YES

Swizerland YES YES

Austria YES YES

Greece YES YES

Italy YES


Lictenstein YES


Vatican YES YES

Yougoslavia YES


Croatia YES YES YES
Slovenia YES YES YES
Bosnia YES YES YES
Montenegro YES YES YES
Poland YES


East Germany YES


West Germany YES YES YES
Belgium YES YES

Holland YES YES

Denmark YES YES YES
Sweden YES


Norway YES


Finland YES


Portugal YES


Luxenbourg YES


San Marino YES


Monaco YES YES

Cyprus YES


Hungary (YES) (YES) (YES)
United Kingdom YES YES (YES)
Americas



USA YES YES

Canada YES


Mexico YES YES

Chile YES YES

Peru YES YES

Bolivia YES YES

Argentina YES


Brasil YES YES

Asia



Japan YES


Russia YES


Malaysia YES YES

Thailand YES YES YES YES
Singapore YES YES (YES)
Cambodia YES


Laos YES YES YES YES
Phillipines YES YES YES YES
Burma/Myanmar YES


Hong Kong YES


Yemen YES


Qatar YES


Indonesia YES YES

Diego Garcia
YES

Vietnam
YES

India
YES

Australia/Pacific



Australia YES YES YES YES
New Zealand YES YES YES YES
New Caledonia YES YES YES
French Polynesia (Tahiti / Bora Bora) YES YES YES (YES)
Vanuatu YES YES YES YES
Fiji YES YES YES YES

2. May 2013 08:17
by Rene Pallesen
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Vanuatu - Captured by the tribes

2. May 2013 08:17 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

vanuatu captured by the tribes


They finally caught us and wanted to put us in the big pot...



...but we told them that we are too skinny and that some of the fat tourists would taste better and be able to feed the village for months, so they let us go (whew...)!


2. May 2013 08:16
by Rene Pallesen
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Vanuatu Tribes

2. May 2013 08:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

vanuatu tribes


While in Vanuatu we went on a couple of tours to get some insight into the old tribal culture.



We did one evening tour with food, song and dance and then a couple of days later we did another one during the daytime with a bit more insight into the tribal life.

On the evening trip they would be jumping out at us in the middle of the bush.





Afterwards they entertained us with song and dance.







During the day tour explained the significance of things such as their tribal drawings.



How they would use bark for making clothing and other items.



How they would preserve banana for several months.



...and the wild pigs they would hunt.



And they would also explain how cannibalism used to work in their society.



As well as other traditions.





I took a whole bunch of portraits of the people in the village.


















There were also a bunch of kids around.














2. May 2013 08:15
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden playing with the local kids

2. May 2013 08:15 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

aiden playing with the local kids


On one of the trips to a local village Aiden started playing with the local kids.



It was great that he had some fun as it is pretty hard for someone his age to sit still for long periods of time.





The local kids were great at helping him around and holding the dog so he could pat it.







2. May 2013 08:13
by Rene Pallesen
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Vanuatu - Fireshow

2. May 2013 08:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

vanuatu fireshow


One evening we went to see a fire show...

This turned out to be probably the best fireshow we have ever seen...spectacular.



Fortunately I brought my tripod along so I could capture the following amazing pictures.





The whole show was about 30 minutes with 6-10 performers and finished with group dancing where all the local kids also participated.











2. May 2013 08:11
by Rene Pallesen
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Vanuatu - Kids

2. May 2013 08:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

vanuatu kids


Obviously I took a large amount of family photos in Vanuatu.

Here are some of them.











...and...all this holiday can be very exhausting...


2. May 2013 08:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Vanuatu - Kims Dad

2. May 2013 08:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

vanuatu kims dad


Kims Dad joined us in Vanuatu.

It was great to have him along and quite funny at times.



When we were out and about he wanted his photo taken with people we met.









And he was brave enough to try the local Kava...I didn't tell him how they make it.



And it was great to have him there to help with the kids.

2. May 2013 08:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Vanuatu - The market in Port Vila

2. May 2013 08:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

vanuatu the market in port vila


On one of the days we made a day trip into Port Vila city centre. Here was the big market with is open 24 hours per day.

The market is full of fresh produce of all sorts depending on the seasons.









There is even some live produce available such as chicken and crabs.











Because the market is always open, people live and sleep between the stalls with their families.



It is also the place that people go to during lunch to buy food to eat.



There was a whole row of women sitting their waving their arms to keep the flies away from the food.





Also, I don't understand why the western world is spending so much effort and resources on finding cures to diseases such as cancer, diabeter, high blood pressure, arthritis, obesity, athma etc. since they here in Vanuatu already has one magical cure that takes care of them all. It was cheap and easily available at the market and it doesn't matter how much you buy, the price is always the same.




They were also selling improvised charcoal stoves bringing back memories of Kenya where everything was cooked on a Jiko's.



While we were outside the market discussing where to go next this woman and her little girl walked past. The little girl let go of he mums hand and walked over to Aiden (who was sitting in his pram) and gave him a BIG kiss...Aiden is such a chick magnet.





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26. January 2013 08:13
by Rene Pallesen
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Darling Harbour - Pre Australia day

26. January 2013 08:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

darling harbour pre australia day


Last night we were at Darling Harbour with my dad having dinner. They had already started the pre-Australia Day celebrations with music and a light show on the harbour.



Dinner was very nice...but too much food.



26. January 2013 08:10
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas' Eye

26. January 2013 08:10 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas eye


The other day I was playing around with some macro shots of Lucas and managed to shoot this photo of him...I had something else in mind, but this turned out quite nice (I think).




It was a real challenge to try and keep reflections out of his eye...and as you can see I didn't succeed using a shoot-through umbrella.

19. January 2013 07:54
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas 4 Months Photo

19. January 2013 07:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas 4 months photo


Lucas is now 4 Months and here are his monthly photos.





Kim has him started on solids hoping that he will start sleeping through and he is almost able to sit and he has started babbling when we talk to him.

His favourite pass time is to eat his fingers and play with his feet.

18. January 2013 03:23
by Rene Pallesen
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Heat Record in Sydney 46.4 Degrees

18. January 2013 03:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

heat record in sydney 46 4 degrees


Today was REALLY hot in Sydney.

We have had a couple of really hot (40C++) days in Sydney this summer but yesterday beat the current longstanding heat record from 1936.

In Sydney itself they measured 45.8C and at the Airport which is closer to us the measured 46.4C. At our place we measured more than 43C degrees at midday.



Fortunately yesterday was a lot cooler and because we knew that there was a hot day coming up we managed to cool down the place the during the night to a pleasant 25 degrees...and out house maintained that temperature for most of the day (apart from our study which gets really hot because of the big windows).

In the evening a cool change arrived with very strong winds and a bit of rain...we quickly opened all doors and windows to take advantage of it and cool down the place again...unfortunately this also came with a very fine layer of dust on everything next morning.


9. January 2013 04:23
by Rene Pallesen
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Blog posts for 2012

9. January 2013 04:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

blog posts for 2012


2012 was a record blogging years for me...77 posts over the entire year...which means one new entry every 4.5 days, or in other terms something new to look at regularly.

I am hoping that 2013 will have equally many posts. I have now been blogging for more than 15 years and most if not all the posts can be seen here:

Click here


2. January 2013 01:37
by Rene Pallesen
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Family Bedtime

2. January 2013 01:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

family bedtime


Here is another family photo that I had my Dad assist us with. It was easier to have him on a ladder taking the photo than trying to set it up on a lightstand.



It was lit by firing a group of flashes into the ceiling of the room...hopefully I will get a professional studio flash soon and will have some more power available for these types of photos.


I recon this is one of my favourite family photos from 2012.

2. January 2013 01:00
by Rene Pallesen
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My dad with Aiden and Lucas 2013

2. January 2013 01:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

my dad with aiden and lucas 2013


For the next couple of weeks my Dad and his partner are renting a campervan to cruise down the coastline from Cairns back to Sydney (hopefully they enjoy the cool weather compared to the 41 degrees we had here in Sydney yesterday).

Before they left I managed to do a photo session with him and the kids to get some portraits.

Click here for more photos





I may try and do another one once they return on a darker background.




1. January 2013 09:53
by Rene Pallesen
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New Years Day 2012/2013

1. January 2013 09:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

new years day 2012 2013


New Years day we organised a more of let spontaneous BBQ (well..it was organised day before) at one of our local parks with family and a couple of friends.


I think my dad was still a bit hung over from the day before, but we still managed to get him to do some of the BBQ'ing. They went to the city night before to see the big midnight fireworks while Aiden and myself went to Coogee to see the 9pm fireworks there with family (Kim stayed at home with Lucas).


Click here for more photos

Click here for more photos

...while Kims Dad was looking after Lucas.

Click here for more photos

30. December 2012 01:30
by Rene Pallesen
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Duck feeding with my dad

30. December 2012 01:30 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

duck feeding with my dad


One afternoon we made the trip to Centennial park to go duck feedking with Aiden, but also to show our visitors one of the great parks of Sydney.





Aiden was very excited playing with my dad and running up and down the hills and checking out the big trees.





(photos courtesy of my dad)

27. December 2012 10:13
by Rene Pallesen
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My Dad and Aiden bonding

27. December 2012 10:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

my dad and aiden bonding


So far my Dad and Aiden are bonding very well.

The first thing AIden asks for when he wakes up in the morning is 'Play Bedstefar' (play grandad) and wants to go and knock on his door to play with him.

My dad has been very patient with letting him jump while holding his hands, so now he wants to do it all the time.

Click here for more photos

Click here for more photos

He especially enjoys the two handed jump...


Click here for more photos

...so now he also wants it when we are walking him.

Click here for more photos

The jumping has come in handy as I have used it to trick Aiden to get in the water at Maroubra a few times.


My dad also reads him his story before he goes to bed at night...we will se over the next month whether we also can get him to change nappies, brush his teeth, feed him, dress him etc.
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10. December 2013 12:11
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Photos 2013 - Candles

10. December 2013 12:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

christmas photos 2013 candles


Christmas is approaching fast. The Christmas tree is up and Kim is busy shopping for presents for the various people.

The other night I managed to slot in 10 minutes for the first set of Christmas photos of Aiden and Lucas.




I was shooting these with a 50mm f1.4 lens to get the nice blurry Christmas tree lights. This also meant that I didn't have much room to play with when it came to focus...almost impossible with two moving kids whily trying to get the right mood with facial expressions, tantrums etc. Aiden couldn't sit still and Lucas refused to wear his hat. What do they say...never photograph wild animals and children!


7. December 2013 07:54
by Rene Pallesen
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Christmas Concert 2013

7. December 2013 07:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

christmas concert


The other day it was Aiden and Lucas Christmas concert with their daycare centre.

This year they were supposed to dress up in some country's national clothes.

We borrowed some Chinese clothes from KC and they looked very cute in it.






The concert went very well. We were especially impressed how well Aiden was able to follow the instructions and the moves to the various dances.








It was especially funny when they were singing this song with Konitchiwa...Namaste....BULA!!!!




Lucas was also in the first part of the concert sitting down the front with one of the carers.


6. December 2013 07:18
by Rene Pallesen
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Big foot playing soccer

6. December 2013 07:18 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

big foot playing soccer


Aiden is still playing soccer once a week. Last week he insisted on wearing my shoes instead of his own.



Maybe he was hinting that his old shoes are getting too small.

6. December 2013 07:16
by Rene Pallesen
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Fun on a rainy day

6. December 2013 07:16 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

fun on a rainy day


We have had a lot of rain lately. On one of the days I was showing Aiden and Lucas how to make a pair of funny glasses out of an egg crate and a piece of string.

They got to paint the glasses afterwards.




6. December 2013 07:14
by Rene Pallesen
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A helping hand vacuuming

6. December 2013 07:14 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

a helping hand vacuuming


The other day I picked up Aiden and Lucas pretty late from daycare.

They were in the process of cleaning and Aiden was eagerly waiting for them to turn on the vacuum cleaner so he could play with it.

20. November 2013 10:15
by Rene Pallesen
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De knoklede - page 007

20. November 2013 10:15 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

de knoklede page 007


I have already gone out too far. I cannot return and jump over the stream because it is growing inside of me and is becoming a roaring river.
What are these strange thoughts I am having?
Were these free farmers in the hills above Varde Aaa more free at year 900 than they were in year 1100?
The only difference was christianity.

Off to the library
The landowner at Noerholm
The Herredfoged.
The Bishop in Ribe
It is all written here

I start thinking about hunting
A good hunter makes sure that they keep a healthy game on the property. He will feed the game during tough winters and make sure that the the overall health is there and have to most productive game survive.
No, it is not right to have these thoughts here in the library when it is the farmers I need to find information on.

Queen Margaret..
Make a claim on Noerholm..
Maybe there is something here..

Wasn't it the landowner of Noerholm that owned Noerholm?
Has he just built up Noerholm and then put his filthy hand on every surrounding piece of land and property?
Which the church was claiming that it should own?
Or was it the Bishop in Ribe?

This was not what I was supposed to find here at the library. It was the farmer - farmers!

Hunting...

What rubbish was that. I must get rid of these thoughts, this has nothing to do with hunting.

20. November 2013 08:59
by Rene Pallesen
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De knoklede - page 006

20. November 2013 08:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

page 6 de knoklede




It wouldn't have been the lord who was out there beginning to move large boulders.

And not the bishop -

Christianity had just been introduced but building that many churches required a lot of workforce.

My thoughts are diverted.

Has this big change in faith based activity created communities, something in common because surely it was the farmers who built the churches.
This introduction was it something that made the existence easier for the farmers, my old roots.
It must have been, a lot of other things to believe in has been forgotten and the church is now a gathering place.

You should never start researching your ancestry.
You encounter one surprise after another and will never finish. There is always more.
There is changes in ones beliefs for every new discovery.

Of cause it was the farmers who built the churches. Who else would have?
They probably started with the words; "On the day of honour I am with you".

My thoughts are again left astray.

Russia build the aswan dam in Egypt.

Yes, I saw it myself with my own eyes. I drove in my car along the large canals they were digging.

How was it that they explained it to me?
This canal was to be dug 5 metres deep, 100 metres wide and should extend 800km out into the desert.

There were thousands of workers, it all looked like a large ants nests.
Men with baskets full of soil on their heads.

There was not a single Russian in this ants nest.

- Who actually built the Aswan Dam? -




20. November 2013 08:48
by Rene Pallesen
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De knoklede - page 005

20. November 2013 08:48 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

page 5




Farmers






My grandads memoirs.

-

My Memoirs.

-

But there has to be something before us.

Our family of farmers from Kongeaaen at Toboel to Lyngbakkerne across Varde Aa - Mejls - Hornelund - Sig.

How did they live in the last 1000 years?

I rush to the library but it feels like hitting a miss in the lottery.

Have my ancestors, the farmers, not accomplished anything that made it worthy for a couple of pages in the danish history?

Yes, they have of cause not walked about killing each other to get hold of their neighbors possessions. Rather the opposite, from the looks of it, it was the farmers that were killed.

And for this the killers deserved a rather prominent mentioning in the history.

Yes, there was built a number of churches in the 1100's, but my relatives, the farmers are not mentioned.

I start to think.

- Who actually built these churches? -.

20. November 2013 03:11
by Rene Pallesen
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De Knoklede - page 009

20. November 2013 03:11 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

de knoklede page 009


..as a couple of cows and a bull out on the feeding grounds. Something that can work and reproduce.

There is an old say like this - The devil looks after his own.
Let me immediately point out that the Devil didn't look after the farmers in the area around Varde and it was obvious that it was the met in power that were looked after by the Devil.

Here I would like to jump forward to 1300-1400 in the Danish history (Queen Margaret I). It is like my ancestors roots here start sprouting quickly. It is not quite clear who owns then, the church or the landowner at Noerholm.
Queen Margaret interfere in the argument and this gives the farmers a bit of breathing space.
A few farmers become more established and become independent (owns their land).
How should all these farmers see all the trouble ahead? Yes, even the Danish history has forgotten them.
It is only all the bad evil, power hungry people that are written about.
The more bloodthirsty the more pages they get in the book.

How mush is described about the farmers fight for independence against Kristian the 3rd?

The farmers at Varde invaded the river fortres at Varde and destroyed it but then had to retreat north with Captain Clement pursued by Johan Rantzau the kings right hand.
The farmers were at last defeated at Aalborg so that they would not appear in the history books. Not even crying and mourning by women and children behinds the hills at Varde river.

Honour becomes he who should be honoured.

20. November 2013 02:57
by Rene Pallesen
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De knoklede - page 008

20. November 2013 02:57 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

de knoklede page 008


I am stuck.

There is something peculiar about this study.

Why do I still return to - in a time of hunting?

Right! I remember, there is a book by that name.

I tell myself to think about something else - And he thoughts saw wide views.
And the neighbours wife said to her mum - That decease looks just like...

No, this is enough...

Were the farmers the hunted game or not?
Were the king, the lords, the church, the bishop the hunters?

Were the farmers the game and the hunting so good that the hunters couldn't agree on splitting the game?
Was it like that all over Denmark? Of cause it was. the Varde area was no exception.

It is something strange you are getting involved in when you study your ancestors.
The farmers had to live, otherwise there was nothing to hunt, but when the land owner was about to loose his hunting rights then the hunting escalated to the point where the game was about to go extinct.
The hunters would then loose interest and start hunting elsewhere.

Here we can mention the war against Sweden with its following plague as well as Napoleon with his Spanish troops in Denmark.

The farmers always recovered, because they were the lifeline for Denmark.
Children are born and new generations grow up between the marshes and hills without knowing whether they in years to come will be valuable as game and hence again be hunted to extinction.

It is the owners of the hunting grounds, their mentality and actions that is written into the Danish history. They have been lifted onto the podium for their dishonest behaviour.

On the contrary is just mentioned as an afterthought...
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17. November 2013 08:42
by Rene Pallesen
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5 years wedding anniversary

17. November 2013 08:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

5 years wedding anniversary


Kim and I just had our 5th wedding anniversary.




She still looks as beautiful today as she did when I first met her.

We celebrated by going out having dinner at Darling Harbour and watched the weekly fireworks.

12. November 2013 01:23
by Rene Pallesen
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International Fleet Review 2013

12. November 2013 01:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

international fleet review 2013




We recently had the international fleet review in Sydney with lots of navy ships from international countries visiting Sydney to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Australian fleet.

This also meant that not only were there lots of sailors in town, but also lots of navy cadets.


Aiden and I chose to visit the American USS Chosin and British HMS Daring.

The US ship is an older class ship, and from the outside fairly unimpressive.



but on closer inspection it had an impressive arsenal of missiles.





As well as guns.



The crew were very friendly and were happy to have their photo taken.



The British vessel on the other hand is a very modern ship, again with a very impressive firepower.







The crew again were happy to have their photos taken.



After this Aiden was over the ships and when he spotted a firetruck he got very excited. Lucky the firemen were pretty bored so they were pretty happy to entertain him for a while and it also gave me a bit of a break from carrying Aiden in my backpack.






After that he was hungry and wanted something to eat.

1. November 2013 02:40
by Rene Pallesen
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Halloween 2013 - Steampunk Vampire

1. November 2013 02:40 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

halloween 2013 steampunk vampire


Last night was Halloween and we walked around with the kids (KC's and our kids) to do trick or treat.

Aiden was a little sick with gastro but we did managed to get him along dressed in his spider man shirt.

I was dressed up as a steam punk vampire.



When we came back I did the photo above in my home studio.

14. October 2013 02:53
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas 1 year portrait

14. October 2013 02:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas 1 year portrait


I finally managed to take the 1 year portrait of Lucas that I had planned and it turned out really well I think.



He is a big boy now and he is able to walk by himself (took his first unassisted steps just before his birthday).

13. October 2013 03:05
by Rene Pallesen
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Lucas 1yo Centennial park photos

13. October 2013 03:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

lucas 1yo centennial park photos


The other day we went to Centennial park to take some 1yo photos of Lucas using a balloon.




What we had in mind was to take the photo down a row of trees.



...but it was impossible to get both the balloon and Lucas to behave in the same photo and the light wasn't great anyway with patches of sun and shade in the middle of the day.

We instead tried to be creative with other photos.







13. October 2013 02:57
by Rene Pallesen
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Aiden on the bridge at Centennial Park

13. October 2013 02:57 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

aiden on the bridge at centennial park


A couple of weeks ago we went to centennial park to take some photos of Lucas for his birthday (see separate post).

I also took this photo of Aiden running across the bridge at Centennial park.

12. October 2013 06:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Test portraits of Lucas

12. October 2013 06:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

test portraits of lucas


Here is some more test shots of Lucas...his facial expressions are priceless.





12. October 2013 03:01
by Rene Pallesen
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Self test portrait

12. October 2013 03:01 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

self test portrait


The other day I was setting up for a portrait using my new beauty dish strobe.

I was using myself as a subject and this one turned out rather well.

12. October 2013 02:49
by Rene Pallesen
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Sculptures by the sea 2013

12. October 2013 02:49 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

sculptures by the sea 2013


Sculptures by the sea is on again and Kim and I managed to find a couple of hours to go and have a look.

I was carrying Lucas in my backpack and didn't bring my camera, so these photos are all shot with my phone...I seriously regret that I didn't bring my larger camera.




















11. October 2013 05:24
by Rene Pallesen
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Working in the Sydney

11. October 2013 05:24 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

working in the sydney


Recently I have been doing a lot of work with a client in the Governor Macquarie Tower in Sydney CBD.

It has been great working in the city as the commute is a lot easier and more interesting in general.

This is the building I have been working in.