A Warm Wednesday

We have a warmer day today and I must admit we are both feeling more comfortable. Trish has the beginnings of a cold which we hope won't develop into something more serious.

Our friends from home are in the air as I type on the tablet. We will collect them from Tullamarine in an hour or so.

Most likely we will eat in Richmond tonight.

We caught up with Eddie and Patsy on Monday night in a new restaurant near Springvale. It was a comfortable night with easy parking and a quiet little spot.

We have the footy at the MCG tomorrow night but the forecast isn't looking too good. But it is Melbourne and you never know!

Let The Merry Making Begin!

The pressure has come right on today!  Since just before lunch it has been non-stop go!  Trish and I headed to Fountain Gate, Trish wanting to check out Spotlight while I was more than happy to wander into the Good Guys.  Trish picked me up and stated the car key wouldn't go into the driver's side door to unlock the old car.

$5-50 and a dispenser of graphite from Bunnings had the errant door lock working perfectly.  Around 1pm we arrived at Keith and June's for some lunch, a cool beer and for me to update their supply of movies and TV Shows.  The meal was great, the beer cold and we managed to pass on a few movies and TV series as well.

The email on my phone was going off regarding problems (only small) with the Community Association website.  I contacted the web site designer and passed the message on.  We were not the only clients experiencing problems.

Hopefully a solution has been reached.

We caught up with good friends Eddie and Patsy for a meal at a restaurant near Springvale just after 6pm.  The advantage was the parking was nearby and abundant.  The restaurant was not hustle and bustle and the food was very acceptable.

It was a delightful evening, lots of laughs with good friends and several drinks to boot.  The sweets were OK too as the photo shows.

We are not sure what is happening tomorrow at this stage.  But I am sure it will work out OK.

Our friends Kerrie and Ian arrive early afternoon on Wednesday!  The weather has been on the coolish side ever so dour, dull and cool.  It certainly doesn't want to make you get outside and do things.  It should be around the low to mid 20's later in the week.

A Nice Winter's Day

We awoke to temps around 10 degrees this morning here in Melbourne's S/E suburbs.  Then the sun came out and we are looking forward to around 20 degrees.  But it isn't winter just yet, it is autumn here in Melbourne.  At home in S/E Queensland this would be a mid-winter's day.

Our first day here was spent sorting glasses out.  At least we tried that but with little success.  It would take around 14 days to complete the manufacture and we would expect to be back home by then.  The chain store SpecSavers didn't appear to be much cheaper than where we had previously got our glasses back home.

As we don't want the 'specials', their prices are no different to most others.  We were told the range at our local SpecSavers would be the same as in Melbourne so there was no real advantage to purchasing now!

Some other gift buying and checking out "Specials" at Rivers ensued.  I did buy a long sleeve polo top for $8.  The way the weather currently is here it will be a good buy.  We will spend much of the weekend with the kids and stay at home.

Monday is flat out with a lunch and dinner already booked.  Kate and Trish have something planned for Tuesday (Kate may take a 'sickie') and I will be left to my own devices.  Kerrie and Ian are due around lunchtime Wednesday and the merry making will begin. An evening meal in Richmond will be the most likely scenario we feel.

We will be taking them around in our Melbourne car.  Thursday looks like lunch in Carlton before Ian and I head off to the MCG and Carlton vs Richmond.  I have a Balcony Pass and his entry ticket already.  Friday looks like St Kilda with the evening with Kim and Dave.  We will move to Kim's to stay as of Friday night.

Some chocolate thing is planned for Saturday and later that day we head down to Drouin for the night with Russell and Irene.  Sunday morning to Bazz and Rainy's. The afternoon a 'tour' to some wineries before finishing up at either Malaysia Garden or Hoi An. 

Monday night is the Tram Car Restaurant while Tuesday will be lunch at which ever restaurant we missed on Sunday Night.

We hop on the plane back home first thing Wednesday morning.

Arrived Safely

What a difference 6 hours makes.  From leaving Caloundra late in the afternoon to being at Kate's home 200ok's away in Melbourne.  It was actually warmer in Melbourne upon our arrival last night than it was at the same time back in Caloundra!

But that isn't the case right now as I type away.  It is around 20 degrees here and quite overcast.  Click on the photo for a larger view. It isn't going to get much warmer over the next couple of days.

That late afternoon flight has its advantages.  We get a whole day to get ready so nothing is rushed.  The plane is half full at best but you do miss the footy if your team is playing.  I switched my phone on to get a score as the plane was taxiing into its parking spot.  It was close at that stage but by the Bolte Bridge my team had won comfortably.

Despite now having been here for 12 hours my ears still haven't cleared from the flight.  It is quite frustrating actually.

The kids are all at school now so we have the place to ourselves.  We will check out having our new glasses made while here so that is the first job this morning.  We are on our own tonight and look like we are baby-sitting tomorrow evening.  that gives us time to settle in and find our feet.

The old car we have down here is running very well indeed.  It will get a good work out when friends Ian and Kerrie arrive mid next week.

Finally Getting Sorted

The Chiro has now been visited and my back is reasonably OK.  Clothes are spread out across the bed almost ready to be packed.  My recently acquired tablet has been loaded with podcasts, movies and TV shows so I am certain to be entertained while on the plane tomorrow night as we trip down to Melbourne.

Yesterday we headed to the optometrist and now I have a 'prescription' for new glasses which we will now most likely do when in Melbourne.

I have been successful in gaining a Balcony Pass for Ian at Thursday's MCG match between Richmond and Carlton and we have already purchased his entry ticket into the ground. Ian and Kerrie are flying down to Melbourne on Wednesday 26th and will spend a week with us down there.  They have a hotel room booked in the City.

The lawn was mown yesterday late in the afternoon just prior to a glorious swim and a frosty home brew (or two).

But perhaps the highlight of yesterday was lunch which we had at a small Thai Restaurant beside Pumicestone Passage.  As it has been quite warm the last few days this was a marvellous spot as the photo shows.  The food was a lunch special at under $10 but you would not have wanted to have been very hungry as they were budget sized serves.

But it was delightful.

This morning's bike ride was down to Pumicestone Passage again and obligatory photo that goes with that.  It was a little cloudier earlier and this has impacted on the water color.

But it was a delightful ride followed by a swim in the pool.  The recent warmer weather meant the pool was over 25 degrees this morning and very comfortable for a swim.

Click on both pictures for a larger view, then on the "X" in the top right hand corner to return to this page.

Last night we watched Telemovie set in the Cold War period in London.  The new TV series Resurrection was previewed on one of the local FTA channels.  It looked interesting so I grabbed my tablet and downloaded the first two episodes which we later watched.  We finished our viewing with the 4th show in the third series of "Silk" which is probably one of our very favourite TV shows.

It was a great TV viewing night!

Another Job Done

Again we are entering a "Getting Ready To Go Away" frame of mind.  Today I have had my haircut, Monday I am off to the Chiro, Tuesday the optometrist and then "Spec Savers", Wednesday mow the lawn and finally Thursday ready to fly to Melbourne late in the afternoon.

And what a stuff up flying late Thursday was!  My footy team has its first game for 2014 on Thursday evening as we fly from the Sunshine Coast to Melbourne!  Ah well, we are booked now so I guess the smart phone's footy 'app' will get a work out on arrival at Tullamarine!

Same old same old since I last posted.  Computer Club was OK Saturday and I think I helped a few people out.  The footy was on TV later Saturday afternoon so I just potted around and downloaded the final shows in the TV series for Jonathon Creek, Banshee and Black Sails before settling back to watch a couple of OK AFL games.

Yesterday was also declared an official "Drying Out Day".  Despite being planted in front of the TV for much of the latter part of the day I only had one of my home brews.  I feel a lot better for abstaining (well nearly abstaining) for most of yesterday.

But what a glorious day we have today.  A northerly is blowing and it is low 30's outside and hardly a cloud (nor helicopter) in the sky.  It is truly delightful.

I managed my almost 13k bike ride earlier today and the pool wasn't too bad at 24 degrees.  I grabbed a few photos and added a post to the Community Association Website and then hunted around for good TV shows to download.

It looks pretty good doesn't it?  Click on the photo for a larger view.

So just another normal day really!

Before Computer Club

Late Thursday morning we drove south to stay overnight with Carol and David.  They have a Time Share apartment at Coolangatta and were spending a week or two there up from Melbourne. It was well over two hours of driving to get from our home to Coolangatta.

We arrived after lunch and were ushered into a private car park spot and then to the 8th floor and their apartment.  It was great.  The unit had a sensational view and is in a wonderful position.

It was two bedroom apartment and because it also had an ensuite, Trish and I had exclusive use of the main bathroom.

The photo was taken from their balcony with my phone and isn't the best angle but turned out to be the best photo.  The sun was in the wrong spot.

I was moving poorly from the night at the RSL so it took a little time and a couple of home brews for me to find my stride.

We enjoyed the stay there very much and we had many valuable minutes to catch up with everyone's news.

Dinner in the small Malaysian restaurant downstairs was great.  We had a walk along the beachfront Friday morning and after breakfast enjoyed a coffee at a nearby coffee shop.

We left for the drive home late Friday morning arriving home early afternoon.

Later we headed to Ian and Kerrie's for Friday drinks.  Afterwards it was home and first round of the AFL footy.  Needless to say I slept pretty well Friday night.

Home Brew Buy Up

I have been kept busy recently helping people out with laptops and media players.  As a result my 'tab' at the home brew shop has increased markedly.  I popped in there Tuesday afternoon and found I had a $180 balance.  The photo shows what you can buy from a Home Brew Shop with $180.

I have enough brew mixes for the next few months and I have back ups of hydrometers, seals, taps, bottle brushes and other assorted bits and pieces.
 
Now I have to find room to store it all.

Prior to heading to the Home Brew Shop I caught up with an audiologist who wanted to test my hearing and if necessary adjust my hearing aids.  My hearing is around the same as it has been for the last few years.

She connected my left hearing aid to the computer and entered in my hearing test scores.  This automatically updates the info in the hearing aid so it suits the wearer's needs.  Wow what a difference it has made.

Much of Wednesday was spent sorting out a media player and movies for someone.  I think the person will be well satisfied with what has been done for them and now has to live long enough to watch all they have been provided with.

Last night we headed to the RSL to spend Trish's birthday freebies.  The meal was OK and we enjoyed a few drinks.  It was a "Roy Orbison Tribute Band' playing so the music was great too.  I am not moving so well this morning.

We are heading down to Coolangatta today to spend the evening with good friends Carol and David.  They were planning to visit us but as we are tripping to Melbourne shortly we would have missed them.  Carol has had 'time-share' there for some time so we will spend overnight with them.

Just by chance we will be passing the suburb of Sunnybank around lunch time on our way to Coolangatta so we will grab something to eat there.  Sunnybank is the where many of Brisbane's best and authentic Asian Restaurants are, and in particular "Malaysia Corner".

Needless to say our return trip tomorrow will also see us passing Sunnybank around lunchtime.

We have had some light showers overnight most nights recently.  I managed a bike ride Wednesday morning but all other mornings this week have been washed out.  We have had high 20's most days after the showers clear but this weekend it appears to be warming up again.  Nights are now high teens rather than low 20's and this means the pool loses extra heat overnight.  Most days the pool gets up to around 25 degrees.

Tidying Up

By 10a.m. this morning I had completed my 12.6k bike ride, washed all my home brew beer bottles ready to bottle the latest brew and had a quick swim.  It isn't too hot a day today but there is a fair bit of cloud about and a top temp is expected to be around 28 degrees.

Our small house on a small block is great for our time of life.  We have minimal ongoing maintenance to do and a fantastic back yard with a pool and a lovely shady area.  For the climate here, our backyard is ideal.

However the area is small with limited storage space and only a single garage.  We squeeze as much out of each square metre that we can.  The garage has hooks everywhere with odds and ends hanging from them.  It has some 'home made' shelving which, though serviceable, doesn't look a million dollars.  It can be a bit of a squeeze getting things stored away.

It isn't easy to cart stuff from the boot of the car through the garage and into the house, especially with several bags of heavy bulky grocery shopping.  You are forever rubbing up against brooms and other items hanging along the garage walls and you need to be careful not to knock them off.  Then there are my fishing rods as well!

As of today all of that has changed.  One entire wall of the garage has been cleared of hooks which previously held mops, brooms, cleaning implements, lights and who knows what.  Even my fishing rods have been moved.  Now as you carry those bulky items into the house from the boot of the car you have nothing to knock against or partially block your way!

I am forever looking at ways to make brewing my beer easier.  I have a 'tree' on which I put my bottles to dry.  It is great as I can easily carry all my newly washed bottles and the tree in one hand to place in the sun to dry.  As good as the tree is, some water still pools in the neck of the bottle and doesn't all quite drain away as I would like.

The bottles don't quite sit erect enough to drain every last drop.

This isn't a problem on hot days but when the cooler weather comes it makes drying the bottles a bit more difficult.

Soon after we arrived up here I found a small piece of security grill which I have now 'setup' as a bottle drying rack in the garage.  It is kind of suspended from the wall and works perfectly.  When placed in this drying rack the bottles sit more upright and therefore drain much better.  It will be ideal when drying bottles in the cooler months.

An added advantage is the height I have set the drying rack at.  I don't have to bend over to put bottles on and off the rack.  It is fantastic on my back!  I reckon what I have done is sensational.  Regretfully Trish isn't quite as excited about it as I am.  I guess she sees it as more junk cluttering up the garage.  I don't!

The rack comfortably holds all my bottles for a single brew with some space left over.

After the bottles have been washed and left for 5 minutes to drain, they are transferred to the 'tree' and placed outside to dry!

Today is the final day of finding some sport to watch on TV on the weekend.  The AFL footy gets underway on Friday and we are looking forward to it all getting 'officially' underway!

Laptops!

I assisted a couple of people at the computer club with their purchase of laptops recently.  They seem pretty happy with their purchases but have needed some follow-up help to get the laptops doing what the people want them to do.

The new laptops require anti-virus, other Malware programs, Microsoft Office in some cases and all their photos etc brought over from their old laptop to the new one.

Then also they require help with Skype, setting up their network, emails etc.

Since Thursday I have done 3 of them, each with their own little hassle of something which didn't work properly.

I don't like to be paid for doing what they want done, instead I suggest they add a 'donation' to my "Tab" at the local Home Brew Shop.

People have been so thankful that I now have a balance at the Home Brew Shop of around $130.  Another person just left an envelope at our home with $50 in it.

One job next week will be to head to the Home Brew Shop and update my supplies. I would suggest $130 at the Home Brew Shop would buy me enough beer mix for around 4 months!

I tell them they should buy a laptop with at least an i5 processor in it.  Most come back saying that usually a laptop from Myer, Harvey Norman etc with an i5 is over $1,000.  Yet all of them have picked one up with an i5 processor in the $600 range.  Dick Smith often have specials over a weekend so they are worth keeping an eye open for.

Another got her laptop from JB Hi Fi.  The price on it was around $750 but she told the guy she only wanted to spend as much as her solar energy rebate cheque of $637.  She bought her i5 laptop for $638!

Today I am off to Computer Club for more computer stuff!

Tomorrow I expect to be a bottle washing day and I will possible bottle the latest brew around Tuesday at this stage.

A New Day, A New Brew!

What a difference a day makes!

Much of the last 24 hours has been spent recuperating!  Another 11 mls of rain overnight put a stop to any thought of bike riding this morning.  There was a quite a heavy shower outside when I checked the weather soon after 6am this morning.

Today is Trish's birthday and we won't go into what age she is but our financial arrangements take quite a turn in response to this birthday.  Trish is at her craft group Stitchers this morning and I recently had a call from her saying she and a couple of the ladies are heading out for a cheap lunch at the RSL to celebrate.

I did get another brew on this morning.  This one is also a 'gift' and is an Australian Black Ale.  Again it is one I have never tried so a new taste sensation is in store.

There was such a head on the brew after mixing and stirring this morning I ladled some of the froth off so I could get the lid closed!  It will be interesting to see how it goes.

Click on either photo for a larger view.  Then click on the "X" in the top right hand corner to return to this page.

Our sun shelter in the backyard impressed our recent visitors.  Mick said on first look he thought it could get very hot under the tin roof.  He was pleasantly surprised at just how cool it was when sitting there.

As this photo shows there is a blind at the western end of the shelter to keep the hot afternoon sun at bay.

As you can see when it rains the water just runs off the roof and over the new blind leaving some marks.  These marks wash off fairly easily.  A guy came out today and quoted for a pelmet to cover the blind and I gave him the go ahead to get it done.

Hopefully the new pelmet will be up and providing protection for the blind in around a week.

I have another meeting this evening around 5pm.  It should be over by 7 as I am keen to back home and settle down and watch the cricket again from South Africa.

Friends from here where we live returned to South Africa to live a couple of years ago.  We both have installed "Whatsapp" on a phones and had a good old chat last evening.  They live around 80k's north of Cape Town where this Test Match is being played.  It was good.

Whatsapp let's you send a SMS type message via the internet from phone to phone..  It worked well.  This is no big deal here in Australia but when you begin to send SMS messages overseas it can be costly.  Via Whatsapp the cost is greatly reduced!

Recovery Mode

I am in recovery mode for two reasons.  Another great day with our visitors yesterday and a very hectic public meeting for the Community Association last night.

We took Janet and Mick for a great lunch at Headland Gold Club yesterday.  We again had the old faithful, the Parmigiana, while our friends had a steak and seafood.  Our meal was again scrumptious.  They enjoyed their meals as well.

We had a few beers but not too many.  I was vary wary of the meeting I had to chair last night as I knew it was a hot topic.  How right I was.  We had around 80 at the meeting which is a huge crowd for us.  Many were extremely angry and just wanting to vent their frustrations on someone.

We managed to get through the meeting OK.  We were short handed as a couple of our Committee Members were away and their wives who pitch in and help with tea and biscuits were unavailable.  I am not sure how we did it but we managed to get through OK.  Someone from Stockland had borrowed/pinched 15 or so of our chairs so it was literally standing room only.

The local press were there as well which kept the pressure right on me chairing the meeting.  I was still 'hyper' when I got home and took an hour or so to settle down again.

Janet and Mick left to stay overnight in Brisbane several hours ago (just before lunch Tuesday) and then will travel on to the Gold Coast for a week on Wednesday.  It was great having them stay but as usual will be nice to get our house back again.

I need to put another brew on tomorrow though.

We were going to ride this morning but 10mls of overnight rain put a stop to that.  The pool is full again and the garden has been watered.

It will be a 'rest' day tomorrow for me.  I have two laptop computers to finish setting up for people on Thursday and then a third one to do on Friday afternoon.  The Home Brew slate I have set up may get a boost.

Often people I help with computer want to pay me.  I suggest they go to the Home Brew Shop in town and leave some money on my 'account' there.  This makes a pleasant surprise whenever I need to buy new supplies, it doesn't cost me anything.

A Busy Weekend

With a night out last Wednesday it was decided we wouldn't worry about Friday Night Drinks.  As we had friends Janet and Mick arriving lunchtime on Saturday this was a good idea.

I had been having problems getting this brew to finish so I could bottle it.  I eventually bottled on Saturday morning and even then it felt it could have been done a day or so later.  This was a brewing period of 8 days when sometimes it is OK to bottle after 5 days.  But this bottling was done first thing Saturday.  I arrived late at Computer Club but managed to see all those who needed help.  With guests arriving around lunch time I left Computer Club early.

You can guess what we got up to when our guests arrived.  The photo will give you a clue!  Janet is still recovering from major surgery she underwent following a nasty clash with cancer.  She wasn't her usual self but fortunately is on the way to full recovery.

As we don't wash the wine bottles out, they are not in the photo.  Needless to say we had a great Saturday.  Sunday wasn't quite as joyous as we recovered from our Saturday together.  But a lovely breakfast in town, a walk along the boardwalk and then a cruise through Sunday's markets made for a pleasant morning.

We enjoyed a few quiet drinks and a swim Sunday afternoon before walking to the Bellvista Tavern for tea.

Today Mick and I have completed a 13k bike ride and soon we will all be off to Headland Golf Club for lunch.

I have a Public Meeting to chair this evening for the Community Association so I will need to exercise some self control this afternoon.  The meeting should be pretty full on with all the recent helicopter activity and I expect some very angry people to be in attendance.