Spring Definitely Not In The Air

It was a bit windy but the temperature was around 25 degrees when we flew out of the Sunshine Coast around lunchtime yesterday for Melbourne.  Spring was definitely in the air.  There wasn't any hint at all of spring in the air when we arrived at a windswept Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne several hours later.  The landing with 60kph winds brought back some memories of internal flights we had in China a few years earlier but we arrived safe and sound.

The hasty walk across the tarmac to the airport buildings was bracing.  It wasn't long after getting inside that another couple of layers of clothes went on!  After a short wait we were collected by Chris and enjoyed a lovely hot meal at his place and then we left for Berwick and Kate's place.  We picked up the car with some of our winter clothing stored in a bag in the boot.

There were the normal chats before slipping off for a good night's sleep.

Overcast cold weather greeted us Friday morning.  I wasn't too keen on braving the cold and possible wet night air to attend the footy later this evening so I made an early decision not to go.

We completed a few chores throughout the day but much was spent just getting organised.  With kids going to school, then kindergarten along with piano lessons, kids club etc this is a pretty busy spot.

We will visit friends tomorrow afternoon who just happen to have Pay TV and live coverage of my team's game.  The weather certainly cuts down on what anyone can do around this part of the world.

Not Looking Forward To Hail & 13

We are expected to get some showers today.  There are some dark clouds around but we haven't had anything as yet.  Outside it is low 20's and generally sunny.

Both our footy teams won over the weekend.  With only one more home and away round to go both our sides will be in the finals.  Trish's team is on top while my team is around 6th.  I am quite pleased with Geelong this year after being on top for so many years and with several high profile players retiring at the end of last year we are doing OK with a young developing side.

Eventually friends John and Margaret came around for a couple of hours on Friday for drinks.  It was certainly much quieter and more sober than our usual Friday night get togethers.  Computer Club was very good on Saturday with me being kept busy enough but not overworked at all.

On Sunday the local private school Unity College had its "Spring Fair". That filled in an hour or two.  The weather was bright, sunny and mid 20's. 

The wet, some hail and around 13 for our arrival in Melbourne on Thursday is less than comforting!

I have been flat out 'downloading TV series as I will be in Melbourne for 50% of this month's internet access.  I have managed to give the limit a hiding and it is only half way through the month.

The fridge is being cleaned out of leftovers prior to our departure on Thursday.  We are around to friends for a get together this afternoon, Trish and I will be out for tea on Tuesday and she has a show in Brisbane while I have a meeting Wednesday evening.

There will be lawns to mow and a quick tidy up on Wednesday before heading to Maroochydore Thursday for a 12:35 pm take off.

Pool Filter Working Overtime

The backyard has changed incredibly!  The removal of the two palms yesterday reminded me of someone losing their two front teeth, such is the large gap in our yard from where the trees used to be.

Forecast storms early today would have been the first rain we have had for around 5 weeks.  The rain did not come, but we do have warm windy days (high 20's) overcast threatening skies and a dry change forecast for tomorrow.

So there is dust aplenty from the work done yesterday along with the new housing development only 200m away also giving us a fair serve of dust.  This means the pool certainly isn't looking its best.  After cleaning the pool yesterday I decided to clean out the filter. The water from the filter clean was black.  I gave the filter a double flush to get rid of as much dirt from it as possible.

Again this morning you could see even more dirt lying on the steps and the floor of the pool from even more dust settling.  I again vacuumed the pool today and again cleaned out the filter.  The water wasn't too clean at all from the filter cleaning, in fact I reckon I have top dressed the front lawn with all the dirt.  I clean the filter out the front so as the water finishes up on the lawn and isn't wasted down a drain!

It has been so dry I had to top the pool up again from the tap.

We have almost finished series 2 of Boardwalk Empire which has been taking up most of my TV viewing time.  After all my laboring yesterday the back is tender along with some sore leg muscles.  I am not used to all the hard physical work!

I did manage to bottle the latest brew this morning so at least my beer supplies are 'back to normal'.  The photo seen here shows the five polystyrene boxes I have for storing my beer.  Each box contains 21 bottles.  That doesn't include the 15 or so bottles in the cupboard nor the 9 cooling off in the fridge!

And Then There Were None!

Darren lives two doors up from us.  For a living he has a tree removal business which specializes in removing palms.  Darren has his good weeks along with his quiet weeks. I thought I would catch him this morning and see if was able to remove our two palms in readiness for concrete to be laid before we went to Melbourne later next week.  If I got them done before I went it would mean less mucking around when we got back.

He was unable to do it early next week so I said I would see him when we got back from Melbourne in mid September.

10 minutes later there was a knock on the front door.  His job for today had cancelled at the last moment so he asked did I want to help him remove the palms this morning.  We decided to do it.

This photo above shows how we prepared the pool and the surrounds because with the grubber (to remove the tree roots) there would be quite a mess.  It didn't take long before the first of the two palms was down.

Click on all photos for a larger view.

I carried the fronds out to his truck at the front of the house while Darren got to work with his chain saw.  Majestic Palms are especially moist inside so bits of palm were flying everywhere as the chain saw did its job.

One thing we have discovered with palms is the absolute network of surface roots they have.  So I asked Darren to give the whole area a going over with the 'grubber' to cut up as many of the roots as possible.  Gary the concreter would be digging the area out by hand so every little bit Darren could do to cut up the root system would make it easier for him.

Dust and debris flew everywhere.  Everything was covered in dust.  Previously I had removed 90% of the tan bark and scattered it on the small front garden.

The biggest job was tidying up afterwards.  There was dirt and dust everywhere, there was tree pith all over the fence.  Darren and I carefully removed the 'tarp' from the pool and took away a lot of mess with that.  We started at around 8:30 am and it was all finished by 11:30.

I will sleep very well tonight. I will have a booking with the Chiropractor early next week!

Dentist

I have all but finalized the quotes for the concreting job and the removal of the garden on the back side of the pool.  The concreter and I have spoken, confirmed the cash price and tentatively set a date for after our return from Melbourne, mid September.  I may even get the palm tree guy removal guy in before we head away and get that job done early next week.  We are due to fly to Melbourne for 17 days next Thursday around lunchtime.

We fly out of the Sunshine Coast around 12:30 and are due at Tullamarine around 3 pm.

A couple of teeth problems prompted me to head to the dentist.  I have had 2 x 1hr appointments Monday and Tuesday and popped back in this morning to have a little more removed from the last filling.  Thank heavens for Health Insurance!  Trish even managed to ring Monday morning and upgrade our plan for another $2 per month and our rebates were up by around $150.

Two trips to the dentist, rebuild a broken tooth, make a few changes to another one and redo a partially lost filling and the total was $1000+.

Today we are looking at 24 degrees as a top temperature.  Minimums are now usually in double figures and we may even get to 27 later in the week.

We have not had a drop of rain for almost 5 weeks.  The lawns are drying off and the pool requires a top up again.  We may get a storm or showers on Friday!

Cool Sunday

The sun is out, the sky is blue but that cool blustery southerly is with us again  It managed to struggle to almost 20 earlier but by mid afternoon it was closer to 18 as the wind got up.

At least I managed a bike ride this morning for the full 12.5k's.  I went to the cricket on Thursday, had the Forum to get to on Friday and Computer Club Saturday and missed out on a ride on each of these days.

I had both T-Shirts on this morning on my ride, such was the cool wind.

So far I have received a quote back on the concreting job we want done at the back.  The price is better than we expected as well.  Another guy who was here took heaps of measurements which seemed to indicate he was interested.  But at this stage, no quote has been emailed to me.

The tree guy who lives a couple of doors up and will remove the two large palms for me has told me how much he wants.  It is $100 less than I had thought!

At this stage it looks like it will all happen.  It will be done upon our return from Melbourne mid September so all is ready before the swimming season begins!

All Is Great On The Sunshine Coast

Today is a little cooler with a top temp expected to be in the low 20's.  The few days beforehand saw temperatures into the mid 20's with clear blue skies.  Rain?  What is that? We haven't seen a drop here in around 4 weeks.  I have even had to top the pool up from the tap it has been so dry!  The garden needs some water too as does the lawn. We had a 'cool' change pass through last night dropping the wind back to the south and cooler weather.

On Thursday I drove to Maroochydore Cricket Ground where NZ were playing Pakistan in an U/19 World Cup match.  Pakistan went on to win the game comfortably.  Both teams however have made it to the final 8 teams with the next matches to be played in Cairns. I enjoyed the day immensely.  The Afghanistan U/19's were practising as well under their Aussie coach Geoff Lawson.  It was a great day.

Both the Afghani and Pakistan Teams took time for their midday prayers which interesting in itself.

Friday saw Trish off to Quilters while I attended a Forum organized by our local Member of Parliament.  It was looking at the future of this area and I enjoyed the involvement.

Drinks were hectic Friday afternoon and we finished the evening with some Fried Rice Trish had prepared.  It was great.

My footy team had a good win and now is ensured a position in the Finals this year.  They won't make the top 4 so winning the "Flag" is going to be a huge ask.  Trish's team is likely to finish in the top 4 and have an easier run through to the Grand Final.

Computer Club this morning was relatively quiet for me.  It was a pleasant change.

Trish has around 8 other ladies at home this morning doing some gossiping and sewing.  I think the former is more important than the latter.  We have footy on TV this afternoon along with a few 'revivers'.

We are awaiting a couple of quotes to have the area concreted at the back when we remove the palm trees.  It may not be as expensive as I first thought.

Detect A Change

Today there has been a real change in the air as far as the weather is concerned.  Despite a chilly 8 to start off with the temperature has quickly has risen.  It is close to the mid 20's as I type.

I have been riding most mornings, usually with a second T-Shirt underneath to keep the chill out.  The extra T-Shirt wasn't required this morning.

My ride took me down to Pumicestone Passage for a change.  There is a new connection for the pathway along the beachfront now.  Previously the pathway stopped at the Tripcony Caravan Park.  The park has had a major rebuild and update.  The Council owns the park so this allowed for a footpath to go around the grounds in the new plans.  The new section of pathway was opened this morning.

Click on the photo for a larger view.

Our neighbour across the road has recently signed up for a new deal with Telstra.  For $100 per month he gets 200gb download, phone line rental, all calls to landlines in Australia (I think) and discounted overseas calls.  It is a pretty good deal overall.  The change over from his previous ISP is due to happen today.  I will pop over later and see if the change over has come through.  His new router has wireless which will allow his media player to access the internet as well.

Meanwhile Trish and I along with friends Kerri and Ian will try the local Tavern again for lunch.  I am just waiting for Trish to get home now.

After 4 years or so I had a dentist appointment yesterday.  It seems I have at least 2 x 1 hour sessions to have everything put right. We may even be able to swap our medical benefits plan over to get around a 70% rebate.  At this stage it is closer to 60%.

Last night I rang Russ and Irene who are relaxing in Cairns at the moment.  Russ still has his foot in the 'moonboot' after a recent operation.  This has slowed his mobility somewhat but they seem to be enjoying where they are and the warmth of that part of our country.

Warming Up Again

After a couple of chilly days with a very cold wind the weather is expected to pick up again over the next few days.  We may even see the mid 20's again mid week.  It seems to be quite cold 'down south'.

My footy team didn't win in another close tussle.  Last year we won all the close ones, this year we haven't been so successful.  We had a lot of young guys in the team because of injuries.

Computer Club yesterday was a bit of fun.  One lady had a new laptop.  Whenever she scrolled down a list with her mouse, as soon as she clicked on something it reverted to the top of the list again!  Even with the touchpad the same thing would happen.  She was using a Logitech wireless mouse and she had the same problem with the previous laptop.

It turned out the problem was the wireless dongle she put into the laptop to receive the wireless mouse.  As soon as we removed the dongle, the touch pad behaved itself again.  We grabbed a cordless mouse from a "Club" laptop and everything worked OK.  She is shopping for a new wireless mouse this week.

I rode for 14k's this morning so I was a little weary when I arrived back home.

Trish and I finished watching Series 2 of "The Borgias" late last week.  We enjoyed it very much. It was around 10 x 1 hour episodes.

We have discovered a series called "Whitecollar" which is a clever lighthearted crime show.  Each episode goes for around 40 minutes so it is a handy fill in when there are a few spare minutes.

The Olympics finish tomorrow morning.  The top events from London are all on around 4 or 5 am, much too early for us!

All Recovered Now

It took a day or two to recover from having good friends Russ and Irene visit us for a couple of days.  I didn't sleep well on the second evening they were here and I needed to drive them to Brisbane Airport the next morning.  But come today all is repaired and moving OK again.  I think Thursday may have been a 'lazy' day as well.

Thursday's glorious weather has been changed to a brisk cold day today, albeit with clear blue skies.  Yesterday it was still, a lovely blue sky and a glorious 27 or so in the backyard.  Meanwhile down south they are being buffeted by strong S/W winds and temperatures were struggling to get into double figures.  That cold wind has now found its way to S/E Queensland.

They are talking about 19 today but with the wind chill added it will feel like 12 degrees. I sure felt cold on my bike ride this morning.  I wore a T-Shirt, a long sleeved T-Shirt over that and then a 'wind' jacket over that.

Don't let the blue skies in the photo here fool you, it was very cold.

Click on the photo for a larger view

On Wednesday Trish had a bus trip booked for the ladies at Stitchers.  As the organiser she was heavily involved and went along.  It was pretty successful too I hear.  So Thursday was very quiet for her.  We aren't worrying about drinks this arvo, alcohol isn't high on the priority list even two days after our friends have left.

Yesterday was perfect for bottle washing and they all dried as expected in the warm sunshine.  Today was therefore a day for bottling.  This brew was a black ale which Russell enjoyed immensely while he was here.

Footy back on the TV tonight.  Injuries have knocked my team around this week and we have a second string lineup in.  I am not confident!

Computer Club tomorrow and the weather is expected to warm up over the next few days.  We expect to be in the mid 20's by Wednesday of next week.

Just Returned From Brisbane Airport

It is a spectacular day again and has been for the three days we had Russell and Irene with us.  If I didn't need to do a bottling before, I certainly need to do one now.

They arrived before lunch Monday with Irene's sister and her husband.  We all headed to the local Tavern for lunch and the first of many many drinks!  The food was very good, the beer cold and the company outstanding.  The relations departed mid afternoon and the four of us settled down to catch up on old times.

Trish had garlic prawns for tea which were a great success.  The special chilli oil I get from Springvale when we are down in Melbourne received high acclaim as well.  We all slept well.

There is a restaurant in the hinterland around 20 minutes away that we tried out for lunch.  This is the view from where we were sitting.  The food was great and generous servings as well. 

With a view like this it just had to be good.

Russ has his foot in a "moon boot" following an operation he has had recently.  The healing process had been delayed and didn't go as smoothly as expected.  He had expected to be rid of it by now but the complications delayed the healing process.

We had a quiet sit by the beach before we returned home for more drinks and nibbles.  The music went on with plenty of oldies from 60's playing.  It was great.  Trish makes exceptional Fried Rice and when mixed with the "Springvale chilli" is to die for.

We had too much to drink but it was all great fun.  The flew out of Brisbane this morning for a week or so in Cairns.  Russ collected the Media Player and hard disk drive filled with Movies, TV Series and music which I had prepared for him.

It was all great fun and extremely enjoyable.  I think we will all sleep well tonight.

Trish has Bus Day Out for the ladies at Quilters today so left over Fried Rice will do us for tea!

23 Degrees and Sensational

Despite being a chilly 3 or 4 degrees this morning, just before lunchtime we have a gorgeous still and warm day.  The back corner is around 26 degrees.  Trish just gave me a quick haircut up in the same corner of the yard and I almost fell asleep enjoying the warmth.  Even the front and back doors are wide open to let the warm air in.

It would be a great day for bottle washing!  I put a brew on Saturday after I arrived home from Computer Club.  It usually takes around 6 days to brew so that would mean I would be bottle washing and bottling late next week which fits in nicely for what we have planned.

The footy match on TV Friday night was just amazing.  As usual (and totally unexpected I must add) my team won by 2 points with an after the siren kick for goal.  I was ecstatic, Trish wasn't as it was her team on the end of the stick .... again!

Drinks earlier Friday had been great as usual.  Computer Club on Saturday morning was pleasant.  I managed to solve most problems except for one lady who was trying to reinstall Internet Explorer.  It 'appears' she has (or has had) Internet Explorer Beta 9 on her computer.  In a fit of anger she uninstalled it.  But there is still some parts of it still there and it turns out that beta versions of Internet Explorer cannot be updated! It must be totally uninstalled first! I reckon I will need to have another look next Saturday for the bits which still require uninstalling.

We are toying with the idea of doing something more with the backyard.  The palms have grown too large and look beyond their Use By Date!  We will have them removed in a few weeks.  We both think the best idea is to totally remove the small garden there and concrete it all.  We can get short of space in the yard and this would give is a lot more usable room.

I think we will get some quotes on some concreting!

Good friends Russell and Irene are due tomorrow morning to which we are looking forward to very much.

4 Degrees This Morning!

Whoever said it doesn't get cold on the Sunshine Coast has never been here.  Consecutive cold mornings has reminded everyone in this part of the world just how cool it can be.  The good thing is that as the sun rises, so too does the temperature.  The wind chill factor when riding the bike on these chilly mornings isn't any fun!

And the weather is about the only interesting thing which has happened around here in the last few days.

Our PayTV has been taken over by Foxtel.  Since the takeover we have lost our $15 discount as a 'loyalty reward' provided by the former owner.  I rang the new supplier this morning asking what could they do for us.  We now get a $20 discount (around 25%) but we are locked into a 6 month contract.  That isn't a worry for me!

The Olympics coverage on PayTV is excellent with great high definition pictures.  We get the AFL as well via PayTV.

Trish is at Quilter's this morning and I am recently back from helping an elderly neighbour out with adding attachments to emails.  Other neighbours across the road are looking at restructuring their Phone and Internet setups.  They call the UK several times a month to speak with relatives back there.  I spent a little time explaining "Phone Cards" to him yesterday so he is going to give that a try.

Drinks as per usual this afternoon and then my team plays Trish's team on TV tonight.  We have won the last eight matches but I think we are in a bit of trouble tonight.  Geelong has a quite a few new young inexperienced players nowadays so they aren't the potent force they once were.

Our last rain was three weeks ago so the pots in the backyard were watered yesterday.  We have friends Irene and Russell coming on Monday for a couple of nights.  It is also the AGM for the Community Association.  I am an apology for that meeting on Monday.

Feel Like Doing Things

There is a hint of spring in the air up this way.  We haven't had any rain for around three weeks and July's rainfall total is around 70mls, still 20 down on the average.  So there is that feel of spring with all the sunshine, the clear skies but nippy mornings.  I even did over 13k's on the bike this morning.

The slightly longer than usual ride was probably a form of penance for over indulgence last night.  We visited the local Indian restaurant where we had a discount voucher so at $25 a double it was a cheap night out.  The food was fine, the company outstanding but this morning is less than brilliant.

With the weather the way it is I decided to wash the car on Monday.  We don't wash the car as often as we should so it was a huge job.  The windows etc haven't been done for months.  I reckon it goes 5kph faster now.  The lawn was mown yesterday, the first time for around a month.

I have continued to do fine tuning on backing up my files from my computer onto hard disk drives I have. It is all working out OK.  I even popped into the nearby "Pool Supplies" shop and bought a new filter cartridge for the pool filter.  You should change them every 4 years so I reckon it was due for a change after 7 years!

I also purchased and set up a media player for friends Russell and Irene who we expect to see on Monday for a couple of days.  That is now all done and ready to go.  I also did one for a friend of Trish's.  However she doesn't have access to a local area wireless network.  That is a where you have a modem/router in your home with wireless capabilities.  The latest WDTV Streaming Media Players can connect to the internet via a home wireless network.  They automatically update the firmware and you can adjust the look of the unit or better know as the "Theme" all done via the internet and online.

Russ has a wireless network at his place in Victoria which I will set up for him when we are in Melbourne in a few weeks time.

Trish is at Stitchers this morning while I will have a quiet day around the PC ....... for a change.  I might even grab a quiet hour or two in the back corner in the sunshine.