What else does one do on Holidays???

Hi Readers,

After spending much of last week in Brisbane, enjoying the brilliant weather and sunshine, how can I top that this week?

Well I know it was bleak flying back into Melbourne on Saturday night, still dressed in my shorts and t-shirt and being greeted by rain and cold weather, but this week has still been better.

It wasn't all the work I have done in the yard since Saturday. For those who don't know me, we have a fairly big block of land that requires quite a bit of maintenance. At this time of the year the grass
(weeds) just go ballistic. This year has been worse as we have had a combination of some warmer weather and a lot of rain. I have spent a few days with my head down and my bum in the air ripping out weeds, at least three trailer loads have been taken to our local green waste facility.
Add to that about 6 hours of mowing, and then a similar amount of time on the whipper snipper.
And to top it off, I added a few hours on the chainsaw yesterday clearing up all the wood for our fireplace.
To say I am over our yard at the moment is an understatement!!

This is what it looks like when it is green...

And when it is dry and lots of leaves have dropped in the heat...

And when it rains!!

And when we compare the two when I have cleaned up!

It is a great block of land, but we hardly use it, and it does take a lot of effort to maintain.

As you can see we have a lot of gum trees on our block, and they are a constant worry as they drop branches, and fall over without warning. We had about 6 of hem dropped a few years ago as they were becoming too much of a threat of falling on our house, or our neighbours, and today I reckon we have identified three more that will need to come down.

Not looking forward to the cost of that, or the clean up!! 

On the positive, it will supply us with a year or two of firewood!!!

So, this week is better than last week, and it isn't because I have really got heaps done in the yard.

Could it be because I am fully ready and prepared to go back to school next week?

You are dreaming!! Perhaps after tomorrow?

Could it be that it is Grand Final Week? I absolutely love my footy, and the Grand Final is the pinnacle of the year. I love nothing more than watching it and the build up only adds to the excitement. Also, it motivates me to clear the decks in the days leading up to it so that I don't have to do any jobs on Saturday.

Heaven help the world if Richmond ever make the Grand Final, let alone win it. I would be a total maniac for a year if that happens!!!

The spiritual home of Richmond, Punt Road Oval.

And the firebox that was meant for our late brother, which I was lucky to have been given.

Nope. It's not that.

Could it be that I am starting to feel a lot better (although sorer!) since I stopped taking the medication for the ongoing problems with my shoulder? I was really worried about the side effects so stopped taking the pills. It has taken a week or two but already I can feel that the side effects I was suffering from have subsided. Sure, my shoulder hurts more, but I'm used to it now, so I just suck it up.

Nup. Not that.

So what is it?

This morning our alarm clock went off at 3.30 and we were in the car and off to the airport in Melbourne to collect a very precious package. We were back home by 8.00 with our package, and by then the day felt like it was half over!

How was I going to stay awake for the rest of the day???

The rest of the day was spent finalising a lot of details for our late brother's estate, time that I really needed as it becomes too hard to do when at work.

I also got back in the yard collecting firewood ( I am NOT doing any more yard work these holidays!!)

I even got out for a good workout for an hour or so before the expected bad weather hits us. (That is my real addiction!!)

I even went down into our bottom lounge room where there is another TV to watch a few episodes of 'Long way Round', but fell asleep in less than 5 minutes, so now I have to catch up on my 'catching up'. It is a series about two blokes who ride their motorbikes from London to New York, and being someone with a love for motorbikes, I just love it!

So what was it???

One of our boys lives and works in London, and has popped home for a couple of weeks for a visit before he heads back again.

Welcome home Sam!! That was the special package we had to collect.

This is the best part of the holidays so far, it has been a while since we have seen him. I did catch up with him when I was in London back in March, but his mum and two brothers have not seen him since January.

 The two of us chowing down on the biggest hamburgers in London earlier this year.

And, with a bit of luck we just might manage to get a new shot of the five of us together.

So readers, the best thing about these holidays has been getting to see all of of our family and just spending that time together that is so precious.

The next few weeks will be just fantastic!!

Only a few more days left for these holidays and then next week is a huge one for us at my school as we have quite a bit on to say the least.

Until my next post...

Cheers!!

Our last real day in Brisbane...

Hi Readers,

I'm really cranky while writing this post, as I have just spent an hour writing it, only to lose it all when I switched apps to upload some photos. Rest assured I will be tapping 'Save' whenever I leave this app From now on!!

As I write it a second time, it is always in the back of my mind, "Is this as good as the first attempt?" 

Today started with a very lazy sleep in, something which I rarely do, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

We were then off for some casual browsing in the shops. First stop was the Apple Store for some necessary purchases, and some that weren't on the cards too.

As we left the shop, Jen suggested we split up and do our own thing for an hour or so. Bingo!! Shopping 101 defined in an instant!!

I swear it was less than 10 minutes into this venture into retail peace that I got a call from Jen to say that the shoes I had been looking for were " Near Hungry Jack's" or that was what I thought she said.

Keep in mind Readers that I had some extra cash in my wallet from yesterday ( read previous post).

So when I found Hungry Jack's, I saw a shoe shop next door. In I go, and while I did not find the exact shoes I was after, I did pick up a pair on special that fitted like a glove. That's an odd thing to say, especially when I was after shoes, not gloves!!!

I left the shop and was taking the shoes back to our digs when Jen rang to organise a meeting place before we went to our planned movie date!

I duly caught up with her, and on the way to the cinema we walked past the shop where I bought the shoes. I asked her to come in and I'd show her the shoes I bought. Her response? "This isn't the shop I told you to come to".

Once again, I had only listened to part of what she told me on the phone, and went to the wrong shop.

We then went to the correct shop and saw the shoes that I was after, but I just couldn't be fagged trying to take the other ones back. Plus, they fit beautifully and I'm happy with them, so why bother?

Anyway, I have since convinced myself that although the other shop had what I was after, there was no way they would have had my size!!

I just mentioned the movies, and we went and saw 'Bridget Jones' Baby'. I'll admit I went in thinking that it would be just another chick flick, but I will freely admit that it was brilliant. The music caught me from the start, as did the totally appropriate swearing at just the right times throughout the movie. I'll also admit to a sneaky tear welling towards the end 😢!!

9.5 out of 10, I thoroughly recommend it.

And to end the day I went for a long walk at dusk and scored some great shots of Brisbane finishing the week.

As I walked past the Gabba ground, it was amazing to see a residential property directly across the road. Where else in the world would you see this?

The bridge to South Bank lights up at dusk. People everywhere tonight, South Bank is THE place to be on a Friday night.

                                

                        

And the city starts to empty for the weekend. There is a massive celebration here tomorrow night that will bring thousands of people to South Bank. Such a shame we will miss it.

Brisbane loves lights on its major buildings, and the Treasury Casino is no exception. 

Well readers, tomorrow is our last day here so the next report will be bland to say the least. Or maybe not! It all depends on my mindset at the time I guess.

Until my next post...

Cheers 👍

       

Day Three in Brisbane...

Well Readers,

Today was our third day in Brisbane, and as we had spent a day and a half roaming the nearby streets, today we decided to hire a car and head south to the Gold Coast for the day.

After the rain of yesterday, today we were greeted with glorious sunshine and a top of 25 degrees. It was perfect!!

The drive to the Gold Coast only took an hour, totally uneventful.

Upon parking the car at Broadbeach, our favourite part of the Gold Coast we set out on foot to explore.

We were immediately struck by the amount of roadworks going on, and that so many streets were blocked. Normally these streets would be bustling with cars and people, but not today.  The works are due to be completed by May next year, it must be killing the local businesses.

                           

The view of the Broadbeach roadworks from the monorail which we went for a spin on.

We also went for an obligatory walk along the beach as the day was so brilliant, why wouldn't we if we were in sunny QLD?

But...it was incredibly hard to get to the beach due to the works that we're going on. As we lined up to look at it all, an old bloke sidled up beside me, and without my asking he just proceeded to rattle off what was happening and why. After getting the general picture, we escaped, because we could see ourselves getting stuck listening to him!!

As it turns out, they are building a massive rock wall beneath the sand near the surf club, as erosion is a major problem, and they are trying to have it all sorted before the Commonwealth Games that will be held here in a year or so.

Just part of the massive works occurring at Broadbeach.

And this is what it looks like not far from the beach works...

Beautiful blue skies in every direction. The water wasn't bad, too cold for me, but it was a perfect beach day.

Enjoying the sand between the toes.

And the typical pano shot capturing the full view.

After a good lunch we headed out of Broadbeach towards Harbour Town. For those who don't know, Harbour Town is basically a massive shopping centre of outlet shops for big brands. It is essentially full of Victorians on holidays!!!

Anyway, we went up and down EVERY street, I kid you not!! Some even more than once!

I can't complain though, because while Jen went into various shops I indulged in something I just love to do when I travel somewhere, 'People Watching'. This involves just watching the general population wander past. There is so much to see and hear, I love it. I managed to do a lot of it overseas this year, so I have really honed my skills lately!

And being dragged up and down each street wasn't all that bad in the end. I went into one shop and found a pair of shoes that I had been after, and pulled out the cash that I was given for my recent birthday. I'd had it tucked away in my wallet so that I wouldn't spend it, so imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was actually $200 instead of the $100 that I thought was there. 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner !!!💰💰💰💰💰

And Jen picked up quite a few bargains too.

So now I have some extra coin to spend tomorrow on some other things I have my eye on.

Just after parking the car before we went shopping, I realised I had left my sock in the car that I was going to need as I was going to try on some shoes. I told Jen to wait a minute while I bolted back to the car to get it.

I mustn't have been concentrating that well, because after I pressed the unlock button I reached into the back seat to grab the sock the sock that I knew was there.

Imagine my surprise when I couldn't see it at all, and was also struck by how messy the back seat was. And where the hell did that baby seat come from???

Then it hit me. I was in someone else's car!!!! I had opened up the car that was beside ours, that had obviously been left unlocked.

You would never have seen someone move as fast as I did to close that door, get the sock out of our car next to it and bolt!!! 

These people may as well have left a sign on their car inviting people to steal it, I nearly did!!!

When I told Jen, all she could do was roll her eyes as she had been noticing today that I have been 'off task' quite a bit!!

After being so lucky to have travelled overseas a few times in the past couple of years, I became quite adept at taking photos everywhere. It struck me lately that I don't take enough photos here in Australia,  or even at home, so when I took off for a walk this afternoon when we got back to Brisbane, I made sure I took shots of what grabbed my attention.

The contrast between an old church being towered over by the growing number of skyscrapers in the city centre.

Just around the corner from our digs, people just lounging and taking in the late afternoon sun.

Crossing the bridge towards South Bank. It felt the same as crossing Westminster Bridge in London and seeing the London Eye on the banks of the Thames, my favourite spit in London, seen below.

The River Cat taxis continually criss cross the river.

Looking back towards the CBD from one of the many bridges as the sun starts to go down.

The reflection of the sun was moving from building to building. These shots were taken 5 mins apart.

The walking track along the river bank was a hive of activity. This photo just doesn't capture the atmosphere and energy that was everywhere.

The myriad of roads that bring the traffic into the CBD. I thought it looked confusing until we drove on it ourselves today, just so reliable.

The Square around the corner from us, being lit up at night. The crowds were really starting to build in the mild night air.

People just meeting in the square. A great gathering place.

Finally, we were only after a basic hire car, and after trying all of the main ones without success we stumbled across a smaller firm called Redspot, who just managed to find something for us. The bloke in the queue ahead of us yesterday was really rude to the woman on the desk, and in the end she just told him, "We have no cars available", and off he stormed. We joked to her about his rudeness and had some friendly banter with her, and before long she had found a car for us, and then upgraded us two levels for free. The benefits of being nice!!! In the end she could not do enough for us, we had a great chat throughout the entire booking process, she was lovely.

So, instead of getting a tiny two door, we scored a near brand new Kia about the size of a Commodore. All we had to do was not crash it, and return it with a full tank. This in itself became problematic, because as it was so good on the juice the needle hardly moved all day!!

We stopped at a servo on the way back into Brisbane and managed to squeeze $12 of juice into it. Not bad for a few hours of driving.

Tomorrow?

The retail side of things might need to take a back seat, so the plan is to go to a movie, something which we haven't done for so long. It looks like I struck out on the choice, so it's a chick flick. I hope it's good!!

So readers, until my next post...

Cheers 👍

        

Holiday Rattlings...

Well Readers,

Here we are 3 days into our two weeks of school holidays. I don't actually count the weekends as we get them anyway!
So, what are we up to??
A few weeks ago it was my birthday so Jen surprised me with a mystery flight. The funny thing about it is, when we told people what we were doing their first reaction is to say "Oh, where to?".
Well, on Monday morning we received an email to say that we would be going to Brisbane the following day. We weren't disappointed at all with that result, but in my mind I was thinking that we'd get Sydney. So, the rest of the day was spent getting things organised and making sure our Summer clothes still fitted us!!
All the while, we had family from Queensland staying with us and we we were trying to get organised for a family dinner on Monday night!

How ironic, we had family coming down from Brisbane to visit us, and as soon as they leave we head to Brisbane. Actually, we left our home on Tuesday morning well before them as we had an early flight. It was strange saying our goodbyes the night before to people who were actually staying the night in our house!

I mentioned in a previous post that the medication I have been on has had some rather ordinary side effects, so I stopped taking it. Among these was drowsiness, and I am still suffering a bit from it.
We got onto the plane for the flight to Brisbane and I was out like a light even before the plane took off!! For the life of me, I just could not stay awake. As the lady beside me kept bumping me and hogging the arm rest, I kept being jolted awake, so drastic action had to be taken!!

Luckily I had my iPad with me, and it had the movie 'Mamma Mia' on it, my absolute favourite.
So, no sooner did I crank it up and put my earphones in, I could see that she was trying to watch it over my shoulder, albeit without the benefit of sound.
This was really bugging me, and one part of me was celebrating the fact that she couldn't hear it, but I still didn't want to share it with her, so I strategically tilted it more towards me and rested my arm on the side, just about blocking her view completely. Winner!!
Halfway through the movie the lady on the other side of me (my wife!!) pulled out one of my earphones and used it herself. I soon discovered that this was just a short term move as she just wanted to see the scene where they sing 'Voulez Vouz', our favourite part of the show when we saw it in London.

Our next minor drama occurred at the airport when we were given the wrong information about our shuttle bus that was to deliver us to the door of our hotel in the city. We ended up waiting more than an hour and a half for the next one, but as we had nothing planned we were content to just sit it out and have a coffee. My lack of sleep on the plane hit me on the bus. Despite it being the joltiest  ride, I still managed to nod off, and this pattern continued for the rest of the day whenever I sat down for an extended period. Needless to say, I was in bed early last night!

Today has been very relaxing as the weather has been very bleak today. We have just wandered around the city centre and just taking life very easily. We started off doing the shops together, and Jen quickly, and smartly made the decision that perhaps it would be best if we went to different shops on our own, rather than bore each other with having to go through stuff that the other was mainly interested in. As we were in the women's section of David Jones at the time, you can imagine why I took off faster than the Road Runner!!

By the time we settled into our digs it was off to explore the centre of Brisbane, something that we have only briefly done many years ago.

First stop was a feed in the Mall and a nice cool drink, as it was such a warm day, a direct contrast to what we left behind in Victoria.

                                

As I said earlier, it was a bleak day today, so we stayed mainly indoors, although I did squeeze in a quick walk between rain episodes as I'd go insane without any exercise!!

                                  

        

                                 

                         

Tonight I thought I'd wash a few clothes in the washing machine in our digs. I thought I'd read the instructions okay, but 2 hours later and it is still going 😬😩!!!

Needless to say, Jen, who has gone to bed is far from impressed and has gotten out of bed, swung a few buttons and managed to stop the machine. 

At least I know my clothes will be super clean!!!

I'm thinking that perhaps I will be banned from the washing machine in the next few days😆😬😁😩

Tomorrow is a bit of a different one for us. We are hiring a car and heading down to the Gold Coast for a look around. Just something to get us out of the area we are hanging around in at the moment. As it is expected to be 24 degrees I'm glad I have some clean shorts to wear!!! (She wouldn't find that funny.....yet!)

I haven't gone through and checked this for typos readers as I hardly use my iPad when blogging, I usually use my laptop. The program behaves a little differently on the iPad and uploading photos was a chore, but I have it sorted now.

So, apologies for any obvious errors!!

Perhaps you could tell me how many you find? Just leave a note in the comments box at the end, they are always welcome!!!!!

Until my next post...

Cheers👍

What a Week?

Hi Readers,

I know we all have 'those weeks' when everything just seems to pile up.

Well, tonight it feels like I've had one of those weeks. I'm not complaining though, that's just how things go, and because I always adopt the attitude of "There are no problems, just solutions", I manage to get by with a smile on my face. Well. On most occasions!

That was all I managed to scribble down last week readers, and on reflection it looks like I was behaving like a real sook! Sorry!! I promise not to use this blog as a way of complaining. One does need to take a good dose of perspective at times, and this is one of them!

This is mainly for my overseas readers, but heavy and prolonged rain is something of a rarity here. 

So, imagine how we react when we get 2 days of non-stop heavy rain that causes floods right across Victoria.

We have had a fair soaking this week, and sadly some towns to the north-west of us are still suffering terribly with high water marks expected tonight.

Roads are closed in many areas and schools are closed.

We got off lightly.

 This is the creek that runs around the boundary of the school I work at. This is 50m from a classroom.

 Here you will see a class of Gr 1's negotiating a muddy track to go and see the creek in flood.

 They are just about there!!

 Believe it or not, there is a path here.

 Gr 5 are checking out the flooded creek, but what you cannot see is the wallaby that was hopping around, trapped by the rising water. Thankfully, it escaped.

 The view from another area close to the school.

 Hard to believe that this is just 50m from the school.

 A view of the creek from the school.

So, after a day of dealing with constant rain at school, I get home and as soon as I get out of my car I hear my son Will banging on the window and pointing at his brother's car in the carport. It was still bucketing rain, and we find a rooster nestling on Sam's car.

Keep in mind that we do not have chooks at our place, but a few of our neighbours do, so where do I start the search? And in pouring rain?

Luckily, I located the owners on my second house, and they duly came to pick up 'Billy the Rooster".

What a great way to meet the people in your area, they were lovely!

My biggest fear was that he would do a runner while I was locating his owner, luckily he stayed put.

'Billy' was getting edgier as I got closer.

The next part of this story was sending photos to our son Sam in London to show him how his car was being cared for while he is away.

Needless to say, he was unimpressed!!

The only other interesting, or sort of part of the week concerns my ongoing problems after recent shoulder surgery.

I have been put on medication for it until I see another specialist in a few weeks.

Since being on it for the past three weeks I have noticed that I have been feeling bloated and totally knackered all the time. As soon as I sit down on the couch at night I have been crashing and then waking up later feeling just as tired. Also, I have quickly chucked on 4 kg, even after watching my diet and maintaining my exercise regimen. But perhaps the most concerning was that I have become aware that I have had trouble with aspects of my speech. Others have not noticed it, but I have certainly been aware of it.

So, the other night I was thinking about these recent changes in my body, and I wondered if it was due to being on this medication.

I did a bit of research on it and discovered that what I have been taking has a long list of side effects, and among these were weight gain, slurring of speech and drowsiness, among many others.

This really alarmed me, that what I was taking was alleviating pain to some extent, but was creating all of these other hassles.

Needless to say, I immediately stopped taking it and already feel a bit better, although a lot of my shoulder hassles have returned.

I was quite shocked to read about the side effects of what had been prescribed to me, and although I don't fully trust 'Dr Google', I found enough information to convince me that perhaps I was better off not taking it.

It will be interesting to see how I feel over the next few days as this drug leaves my system.

Finally, and on a good note, holidays are here. Yeeeessssssss!!!!

Not much planned apart from my wife and I heading away for a few days on a mystery flight. All we know is that it is not Tasmania, so hopefully we'll score somewhere warm. My bet is Sydney, or maybe that is what I'm hoping for. As for Jen, who knows. 

All I know is that it will be great!

And on the family front...

Our son Will who is at Uni here in Bendigo, plays for Eaglehawk in soccer, and they recently won the 2016 Championship. At the end of the season they hold a knockout cup between the teams, and Eaglehawk have made the Grand Final this Sunday. Sadly for Will, he copped yellow cards in his last two games, so he cops a 1 match suspension, meaning he misses the Grand Final. To say he is gutted is an understatement.

Lachie, at Uni in Melbourne turned 19 today. I rang him at about 8.45 this morning, and it quickly became clear that this was far too early for him! Nevertheless, Happy Birthday Lachs!!

Finally, Sam. He has been in London for the last two years and has recently been sponsored by his employer to stay longer, which he has decided to do. While we miss him enormously, it has been great for him, and Jen and I are already thinking of planning a trip over there next year to see him Just need lots of $$$$. Sam is coming home in a fortnight for a week or two so that will be just perfect.

A lot on these holidays readers, hopefully I can be more consistent with my posts.

Until my next post...

Cheers!!