What a start to the day today...!!

Hi Readers,

A few things to bang on about today!

I never really plan or know what I'm going to write about in each post, I just open it up and see what happens.
Maybe if I put more thought and effort into it the quality would improve? For Sure !!

What has surprised me (and pleased me!) lately is the gradual increase in Readers, and the variety of places they have come from. Hopefully they might encourage a few more of their colleagues and friends to hop on and have look themselves!!
For those overseas Readers, or those who don't know me, I'd love to hear how you found my blog, and what you think. Anything would be great, and it can be positive or negative, I don't mind at all.

Check out my latest stats...


This Week

    

                            This Month.

What I'd really like to know though is, where on earth is this 'Unknown Region' ???

Now, an incident that started my day that turned out to be rather comical. 

I was up early as I do most mornings and have a stretching workout with a fitball on the floor in a room we call our 'bottom lounge' (It is a slightly sunken lounge room)

There is a fireplace here that we hardly ever use, as we hardly use this lounge room either. In the past we have had birds come down the chimney, so we now have paper and cardboard blocking it at the base, which we remove when we do want to use it.

This morning I began to hear scratching sounds from the chimney, then some bird noises. "Great!" I said, as this meant a bird in the chimney!

I finished my workout (of course!!) and then proceeded to unblock the base of the chimney.

I needed to prepare the room first in case the bird escaped from the chimney and became loose in the house. My first step was to move a large vase of flowers from a nearby table in case the bird knocked it over, so I put it on the floor near the edge of the fireplace where I felt there was no way the bird could knock it over.

Big mistake!! You'll soon see why!

I then put a big sheet around the metal guard that is in front of the fireplace, that stops logs and coals falling out. Good so far.

My next step was to pull down the cardboard and paper stuffing, which came out easily, but also with a small cloud of dust and soot, all over the clean carpet.

As I was collecting this rubbish I noticed something different there as well...a dead pigeon!!

By the looks of it, it must have died recently as it was very stiff and hadn't decomposed or started to stink. Luckily I found it a day after the house went on the market, imagine the stench for prospective buyers coming for a look!!!

By now I could really hear the bird in the chimney, but at this stage I was still unsure what sort it was or where it was, so I was still fairly nervous poking my head up the chimney.

So, with a small torch I gathered some strength and shone it up the chimney to see a young rosella ( a type of parrot) struggling about halfway up the chimney. It was in a position where it couldn't get up any higher on its own, and was not prepared to drop down any further either. Added to this, I could see an adult rosella at the very top looking down, obviously a concerned parent.

Jen had seen a rosella at the top of the chimney a number of times yesterday, so it looks like the young one had fallen down and the parent was hanging around waiting for it.

So how do I get it out?

There was no way I could leave it there as our house is now on the market and buyers will be coming through. Imagine walking in and finding a rosella flying around the house, leaving droppings everywhere!

I tried a broom, but couldn't get it up the chimney due to the angle.

The bird was definitely trying to go up (with no luck) and was determined not to go down!

I don't know where the next idea came from, but it worked. I went out to the shed and got our leaf blower, and took half of the nozzle off. It managed to fit in the chimney cavity perfectly, here we go!!

At this point my wife poked her head around the corner, saw what I was doing then retreated back into the bedroom, not wanting to know what I was planning to do.

I cranked the leaf blower int action and let it go full blast up the chimney. Dust and soot went everywhere, and at first the rosella just panicked, and then in a flash of feathers, shot up the chimney and out the top, never to be seen again.

It might not have been the most graceful exit, but it was effective!!

Now, back to the vase...

You'll remember that I put it 'out of the way and on the floor so that the bird wouldn't knock it over'?

Well, in my excitement and rolling around on my back in the hearth of the fireplace, I accidentally kicked it over. Water everywhere which I quickly soaked up with towels, but the flowers had lots of pollen which then stained the cream carpet!!

So here we are trying our best to keep the lace spick and span for an eventual sale, and I proceed to make a mess with soot, dirt and pollen as I try to extricate a rosella from our fireplace.

And to top it off, I was planning to ride my motorbike to school as it was going to be such a nice day. It took me 5 minutes to get all my gear on, and would you believe it, it wouldn't start as it was too  cold where I had parked it!! Another 5 minutes getting my gear off then quickly into the Jeep for a rushed drive to school where I made it with 5 minutes to spare.

It's no good if one of the Principals asks staff to be on time when he can't!!

That was just the start of the day Readers, hectic, but I got through it.

Here's hoping that tomorrow will be better!!

Until my next post Readers...

Cheers!!

We are on the Move!

Hi Readers

As I mentioned in my last post, I am taking the year off in 2019.
Not from my blog, as has happened this year, but from my position at my current school.
This will give me more time to add to my blog, as well as try and do more things around the house.

This will be something else that will be a big change, as we put our current home (which is more than just a house) on the market this week.

We have bought a smaller property in Bendigo and have plans for renovations to be carried out soon after we move in. This will no doubt keep me busy, as it is an older house that we just loved when we walked through it.

We did look at new homes, but none made us feel like this one, plus it has the added bonus of enabling us to put our touch to it. It i good enough to move in right now (one of our sons is actually living there now), but there are a few things we'd like to do to it. We've had our plans drawn up and are being approved as we speak.

For a look at what we are leaving behind (which will be incredibly hard to do as we just love it here), go to this link...

https://www.maherrealestate.com.au/real-estate/927769/4-tchumlock-court-ascot-vic-3551

We really feel we need to downsize, this place takes a lot of maintenance, and we hardly use most of the space any way.

Will most likely write more this weekend Readers.

So, until my next post...

Cheers!!

So What has happened in 2018???

Hi Readers,

Yes I know what you are thinking...

"This bloke writes diddly squat for a whole year, and now does more than one post in the same night!!"

Maybe it's just me, but in my mind I just can't NOT touch on things that happened since my more recent posts before writing about what is happening now.

Be patient though, I hope to catch up in the next day or so!!

The biggest news for this year (it gets bigger later!) is that I was asked to take on the Co-Principal role of the school I work at for 2018.
As I was asked only a week before heading overseas, I needed to make up my mind quickly, which I did over a few days.
I hadn't been a Principal before, but have been a Deputy Principal for 5 years at different schools.
I took the view that it was now or never, so decided to give it a crack with another teacher from our school, Grace.

The Summer holidays were spent preparing for the new role, and this was only possible as I spent a few weeks at home by myself.
Jen went to Italy for a course, Sam was still in London, Will was in Canada, and Lachie took off to New Zealand for a few weeks.
It was just me and the cat for a few weeks, and the two of us do not get on! All I wanted was for the cat to be alive when they all got home so it wouldn't look like I neglected it. Thankfully, we both bonded and she survived!!

So this is where our family was in January this year!! I was the poor sucker still at home!!

So, apart from the usual changes expected in taking on a new role, one of the changes that has been most notable, and one which staff found hard to get accustomed to, was seeing me in a tie!

It has been a major change adopting a new dress code this year, and the first day of school had me in a tie, the first time in more than 30 years of teaching.
To say the staff were a little shocked and amused is an understatement!

Another change has been having my own office, something that I still have not become accustomed to.  Still, having the tv proved handy on the opening night of the AFL season when Richmond were playing, and I was late at school!!

And this was last week, with Richmond playing again and I was late at school. While I can't see out at night, others can see in, and this is what they saw.
Luckily, I only copped good natured jibes from families as they belted on the windows as they walked past!!






I will only be in this role for 2018 as the previous Principal has announced that he will be coming back to take over the reins again. Maybe I should hide lots of Richmond memorabilia throughout the office for him to discover at different times next year!

So Readers, that was the major news at the start of the year, and now for something else to finish this post on.

Next year, for a number of reasons that I need not go into, I will be taking all of 2019 off and doing other things. It will be a mix of Long Service Leave, and leave without pay.
In order not to have to resort to surviving on 2 Minute Noodles, I will also do a bit of relief teaching, as well as explore some other options. I'm sure my wife would like me to contribute financially in some way!!

It is a decision that has not been taken lightly, and only done with careful discussions with those closest to me who support my decision.

I'm just so lucky with those who I hold dearest.

So Readers, that means this blog can only get better and more creative next year, as I'll really be able to devote quality time to it, as I find it is a great release. It's not about having no time to do it, it's about making the time to do it, which I no doubt will.

Two posts in one night, this writer is on a roll!!!

I love looking at the stats to see where my readers come from, and I always welcome feedback...of any sort!

Just to give you an indication, look how this month has already started to pick up since I started writing again recently.

My readers from this month so far.

My readers overall. I remember getting excited when I got to 1 000 views!!

Hopefully I can get back the large number of views that I was getting from the USA before I stopped writing last year.














So Readers, we have nearly caught up to the current date, hopefully I can contribute things you may be interested in.
Feel free to add comments about what you might like me to comment on, or write about. Who knows, it might make sense and actually be interesting!!

Until my next post...

Cheers!!

So now I'm back, What do I write about?

Hi Readers

After the flurry of activity last week where I posted a number of times, I followed this up with a week of nothing! Sorry!!

A good way of trying to find out what to write about is to cast an eye over the photos I've taken over the past year... wouldn't that be exciting!!
It would be as exciting as inviting yo to my house for a Slide Night! (Who remembers slides- the ones used with a slide projector)

 A slide night means a night of looking at other people's photos!

 Generally, you are meant to look interested!!

And this is what the slides look like, and they are fed through a projector that projects them up to a screen, accompanied by a an incredibly interesting and in depth story that everyone really relates to...NOT!








Perhaps a slide night is best done for those who actually took the photos and want to just reminisce!!

So, rather than bore you with a thousand photos and stories about the trip we took to Canada and Europe 12 months ago, here it is in a paragraph and just a few of the most memorable snaps... (Can you see now that I'm trying to get back up to date with the current time??!!)

We flew to Canada to see our son Will, who was working in Banff. He has a Canadian girlfriend, so it was great to meet her, and to also catch up with Piercy, his good mate who he went over there with.
Banff in one word...Perfect!!

 A hot cider at the local Farmer's Market.

 The view of Banff from the top of the mountain where Will works on the Gondola.

 At the top of the mountain. Amazing 360 degree views in any weather.

 Jen and I at the top of the mountain where Will works.

 Maple flavoured popcorn. I was glad that I discovered this late in our stay, otherwise I would have just eaten it for every meal!!

Because I developed a taste for the popcorn, as well as the local beers, it became necessary for me to run it off each day!
This is the view from the top of Tunnel Mountain, overlooking Banff.
An incredibly challenging and hard ascent, but worth every bit of sweat and toil.
The best running course I have ever experienced.








Okay Readers,

That was 10 days in Banff in 6 photos and a few paragraphs!!

After the Tigers won the Grand Final (see last post) we flew from Calgary to London to catch up with our eldest boy Sam and his girlfriend, Phoebe.
The next few days were spent wandering through London and seeing some of our favourite places, as we have been here a number of times. The four of us indulged in some culture by going to see Matilda at the theatre, which wasn't nearly as good as going to see Mamma Mia (my 4th time!) I'm sure that Sam. Phoebe and Jen enjoyed it, but for me it was just magical, I love it!!

A quick stroll past the big house in London

Nearly got blown into the Thames today, so windy!

At Mamma Mia, my 4th time, and still just as good!!

We love using the trains across Europe, a great way to catch up on sleep!

















We had a few spare days to kill, so why not go somewhere totally different? We jumped on a train and headed off to Luxembourg for a few days. Why Luxembourg? Why Not!!!

It was great here to just wander the streets and explore the history of this beautiful place. We even did a day trip to Diekirch, which was close to where some major battles in WW2 took place. Such a beautiful little town that was just a treat to wander through.

Despite the stern look, I loved this town. So much history, I could have spent a few days here.

Wandering the streets of Luxembourg, one of the things we love to do most when travelling.

The old city in Luxembourg. It sits in a massive valley in the centre of the modern city.












After a few days here, it was back to London, more time with Sam and Phoebe, then on the plane back home!

The view from our lounge room in London, we could not have asked for a better base.

Our last night in London, and what a view!!

The best and worse times all in one. Our last night in London spent with Sam and Phoebe, and then ten minutes later we had to say goodbye.

On our travels we always buy a fridge magnet as a memento. Our collection is starting to grow!

















Well Readers,

I nailed it! A 4 week overseas trip explained in just a few paragraphs and photos!

Stay tuned, as in my next post I'll drop a bomb about what I will be doing in 2019!!

Until my next post...

Cheers!!

The Blogger is Back!!

Hi Readers,

Well, wasn't it fortunate that I jumped back online last  to add another post (albeit a fairly brief and bland one!).
Throughout today I have been looking forward to getting into it again, that year off must have done me the world of good!
Now I'm in a bit of a quandary...do I talk about all/some of the things that have happened to me since last September, or start from today and just move on, or a mixture of both?

Perhaps the latter, because there are quite a few things that have happened, and places I've been that are just too memorable not to revisit.

Firstly, our time spent in Canada was amazing. We were due to stay in Banff for about 7 days, and then Calgary for 2-3 days, but we loved Banff so much we stayed there until the day before we had to fly out to London.
The last night in Canada was spent at the airport hotel, and it was also Grand Final night in the AFL, and who was playing? You guessed it, RICHMOND!!!

We went downstairs to have dinner, and the waiter noticed the accent and we were soon talking about the AFL (I had my Richmond shirt on!) He told me to come back later and he'd put the game on in the bar for me -Winner Winner!
This was especially good as one of my brothers had promised me a seat at the Grand Final, but I had to say no because I knew I was going to be overseas.

Anyway, I set myself up in the bar at 10.30 pm (I was the only one there mind you) and was happily watching the game, well, sort of, as it was tight early. At half time I asked the barman what time he closed. "In 5 minutes" was the reply.  "AAARRGHH"!! That only gave me a few minutes to bolt back up to our room and try and get the game on my ipad.

Luckily I had installed an app for the game and paid for a game subscription, so I watched the 2nd half in the dark in our room, with my wife beside me sound asleep.

How hard was it not to cheer when we got in front and it became clear that we were going to win, and this was made harder by the steady stream of messages I was getting from Australia from people wanting to know if I was watching the game!!

And Readers, I'm not ashamed to admit I shed a few tears when we won, it had been so long since we had a good team, let alone win a Grand Final.

I must have been the only Richmond supporter who gave a silent fist punch at the final siren rather than going hysterical with joy!!! All at about 2.00 in the morning!!

After winning this game I was happier than the proverbial pig!!

                                   

                             And I even found a pair of socks at the airport the next morning with Tigers on them!!!

Well Readers, that's probably enough of me gloating about such an historic win, but I've been celebrating it constantly since. My office has lots of Richmond memorabilia, and I've watched the replay of the game around 20 times...and I'm still not sick of it!!!

A brilliant book retelling the 2017 season.

A great night when Will and his Canadian girlfriend were home for a month and we went to see the Tigers roll North Melbourne!!

So Readers, I think I have my blogging Mojo back, so feel free to drop a comment whenever you can, it only takes a minute to do.

Until my next post...

Cheers!!

Where Have I been???

Hi Readers

Well if anyone is reading this you must be a very loyal reader!
I have just noticed that I haven't posted anything in more than a year!!!
This one will be short and sweet, just enough to help me get my writing mojo back.

Since I last wrote, so much has happened, which I will hopefully expand upon in my next post.

In a nutshell, since my last post...

• Richmond won the Premiership, and are red hot to do it again this year...I hope!!
• I became a School Principal...what was I thinking!!
• We have bought a new house to renovate and will be selling our treasured home where we spent most of our time raising our 3 magnificent sons.
• I have stayed in Australia for at least 12 months (although at one stage my wife and 3 sons were all in different countries to me at the same time while I was still at home)

That's just a short snapshot of what I will hopefully expand upon, as well as announce a major change that I will be involved with next year.

Can't wait to hear about that??

Then read my next post...which won't take a year to post!!

Until my next post...

Cheers!

On the road again...again!!!!

Canada

Hi Readers,

Well some of you must be wondering if I have fallen off the face of the earth as it has been so long since my last post.
I'm not even going back to see when I did my last one, so for that small band of loyal followers, my apologies!!
I think that because my big total of USA Readers have jumped off for some reason I became a bit disillusioned and less motivated about posting , but I'm hoping to change that.

On that point, if there is someone from the USA who was among that big group of regular readers who can give me some idea as to why there has been a big drop in following, I'd love to know why, and perhaps do something about it.

So, since my last post quite a few changes have happened which I won't bother boring you about, so I'll just bore you with what is happening now.

My wife and I have two of our sons working overseas, so we are now on a an exciting trip to go and visit them both.

A few days ago we boarded a flight to Auckland, then hopped on another flight to Vancouver. Just before we boarded this flight we heard an announcement that a Qantas flight to Melbourne had been cancelled at the last moment, and we both had a good talk about how inconvenient that would be, and how would the airline handle the irate customers.
When we landed in Vancouver we read a report that many flights to and from Auckland had been cancelled due to a shortage of airline fuel, so how lucky we were to have made it out if there before our flight was affected.

Upon getting to Vancouver it was just a few hours strolling around and trying to stay awake as we were leaving again early the next morning to go to Banff.

We found a bar/restaurant on the docks and just sat back for a few hours having a few drinks and a beautiful dinner. It was just bliss and the first time we have really just sat and relaxed together for weeks as work has been fairly hectic lately.




Sunday morning we were up and about early, but not before I squeezed in a short run around the Vancouver foreshore, it was just the perfect start to the day.







We had a hire car booked, and my biggest worry was being able to drive a left hand drive car on the opposite side of the road.
Let's just say there were some interesting moments and a few close calls, but we made it safely to Kamloops a few hours later.

A funny moment happened when we stopped for 'coffee and gas' at a small town called Hope. It turns out that they filmed the first Rambo movie here, and the town is still dining out on the experience! It seems that many still think he was a real person and that he is still on the loose!!!
I was wearing my Richmond shirt ( the team I follow in the AFL) and we went into a shop to order a coffee. As we were leaving I hear someone yell out "Go Tigers", and wave at me.
I went over to see them, and it turns out that they were Richmond supporters from Australia also!!
Small world ( maybe not so in Canada as hundreds of young Aussies are working there)


Could this be an omen for this weekend, and for the rest of the Finals? Let's hope so!!



And this could be another omen?????

Upon getting to Kamloops it was just a quick walk around the streets as a storm was brewing, so we crashed in our hotel (but not before I hit the park across the road as I needed exercise after sitting down for the best part of the last 48 hours!!)

This morning was a glorious day to wake up to, as the view from our room was just beautiful with the sun streaming in.

We were in the car pretty quickly and I was confident that I would not make Jen panic with my driving like some of the moments we had yesterday!!

Today was a day of roadworks. Twice we were stopped for nearly 20 minutes. At one stoppage, a bloke in a car behind us got his dogs out of the car and took them for a walk!!
To see the amount of traffic piling up behind us was mind blowing, and if we weren't stopped somewhere, we were travelling at anywhere between 30 and 50 kmh.
Something else that struck us was the amount of pick up trucks on the road. Not only are they the vehicle of choice, but the sheer size of some of them blew us away.
Then there were the trucks. The freeways were just loaded with them, more than anything we have seen in Australia.
But the most amazing thing of all on the roads is the patience and courtesy of the Canadian drivers. They always let people in and slow down so they can change lanes. None of the aggression of Australian drivers, so I have definitely learnt a lot from them.

When we left Kamloops I was in a t-shirt, but the closer we got to Banff we were in the snow.
The scenery is just something else to behold. I have been here before, but I know I'll never get tired of marvelling at the beautiful scenery everywhere.



As soon as we got here ( safely I must add as I was a much better driver today!!) we checked in and contacted our son Will who is working here.

Within 15 minutes he was at our digs and it was just so good to see him after 5 months away.
After checking out where he lives we also collected his great mate from home, Dyl, who is also here working with Will.
We have just had a great night out together, hearing about the last 5 months of their lives and planning what to do this week with them.

To their credit they have mapped out a busy week which will give us lots of time together as well as seeing lots of this area of Canada.

While I'm writing this post Readers, I am in the basement of our digs in the laundry room doing our washing while Jen hits the sack. It is nearly midnight but as we needed some clean gear I thought I'd just get it over and don with tonight. I hate doing it now, but by tomorrow will be glad I did!!

So, tomorrow?

We are picking the boys up early and going to one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in our various overseas trips over the past 6 years.
Lake Louise is about 45 mins from here, as is another lake, Moraine. It will be great to show these to Jen.

Later in the week is a visit to a glacier, and a glacier skywalk that is bound to scare the living daylights out of me as I have a morbid fear of heights.k

Stay tuned for that one!!

Well Readers, it's good to be back, and I hope many of you will b back with me now as I try to be more consistent with my posting.

Until my next post...

Cheers!!