Arrived Safely

We have been in Melbourne now for 4 nights after a long 1800+km drive down from the Sunshine Coast.  We spent a brief stopover with an old cricketing buddy of mine from our time in Malaysia almost 35 years ago.  I think we will make an effort to catch up with them again but for a longer stay.  They are in Ballina which is around a 3 hour drive from home.

After a night in Coffs Harbour, our next stop was Newcastle.  We arrived with 36 degrees on Wednesday and left in about 18 degrees on Friday.  We enjoyed Newcastle a lot and catching up with a few drinks was enjoyed by all.

Friday's drive of almost 1000k's was a big ask.  It rained consistently for over half of the drive making things less comfortable.  It was almost dual highway for the whole trip so the driving though long was easy.

Then there was three nights with the lad Chris and his family which was a great move.  To spend that sort of time with the grand kids Andrew and Emily was priceless.  Kate, Arj and family joined us for a family Christmas on Saturday.  Even our daughter Kim from Perth joined in via Skype.  As usual it was a special family day.

Andrew received an Android TV Box as a present so we especially had a great time setting it all up and learning the ropes.  It seemed to go over as a big hit and will give him hours of fun and enjoyment!

On Monday we packed up and headed off to a hotel for 4 nights in a hotel.  Some of the planning for this trip began back when Kate and Arj were in Saudi.  They were considering renovations to the house and visitors for the week prior to Christmas.  With this in mind and unsure of our accommodation setup we booked the four nights.  In hindsight this could have been managed better.

From our hotel in Glen Waverley it is a 5 minute walk into the main shopping area, a residential area which has a high Asian element.  This means numerous Asian (including Malaysian) restaurants.  It is close to our favorite Malaysia Garden restaurant and also The Palms.

Yesterday's lunch was a huge plate of Char Koay Teow, today's lunch was Hainan Chicken Rice in one local restaurant and Char Koay Teow in another.  I reckon Curry Laksa will be tonight's choice!

On Monday night it was the traditional Christmas night out with our very good friends from this part of the world.  A great night was had by all, great food, enough to drink and great friendships stretching back over 35 or so years!

We have a little baby sitting and looking after kids to do this afternoon before returning home for a bit of a rest up and the Curry Laksa!.

Tomorrow it is Vietnamese with Eddie and Patsy for lunch followed by a little final Christmas shopping.

A Quick Update

The rechargeable light I ordered was supposed to be delivered in 3 to 5 days so I was always apprehensive as to whether I would get it prior to hitting the road south to Melbourne for Christmas.  It came with tracking so I was able to kind of keep an eye on where the delivery was up to.

As you can see from the attached photo (above left) it was sent on Tuesday Dec 6th from Brisbane so I could expect delivery most likely on the Thursday.  Being Christmas the delivery could well have been delayed for a day or so.

I checked out the tracking website prior to my bike ride on Wednesday 'just in case'.  Tracking info for deliveries for that day usually go 'online' well before 9 am.  There was no updated tracking info at that stage.  So I did my bike ride, got home and had my swim and then did a couple of things around the house.

I managed to get back to my computer before lunch and decided to jump online and see where my 'package' was!  The screenshot as you can see told me the package was waiting for me at my own front door!  And there it was sitting there in a big brown cardboard box.

The new light will be perfect for our outside under the pergola summer night needs.  All power to the pool area etc is now on off-peak rates and is always unavailable from about 5pm until it becomes back on again around 9pm.  So we need around 4 hours of battery powered light to fill the missing time.   A quick test gives the new light at least 5 hours of power, more than adequately filling the gap.

Then it is fully recharged in 3 or 4 hours.  And being reduced from $99 to $30 delivered is another great feature!

There have been a few computer call outs the last few days where I have been asked to go around and help people out.  For thanks I have received one $50 Bunnings voucher and another $50 local IGA voucher, all going towards a new phone for my birthday!

We have begun getting sorted for the trip south.  Bags are open on the bed and things are being added to it from time to time as our memory clicks into gear.  The bags will be filled over the next couple of days.

We have a new neighbour.  He is a single guy, around 30 who is moving from the Gold Coast to here to be closer to family.  The house has a big backyard but is even smaller than our place inside.  Much of it has been renovated with a new kitchen, fresh paint and the like.  It sold for around $15,000 more than than I would have guessed as well indicating property values in our area are moving upwards.

The wind has died down luckily and has switched direction to come from the south east.  The days are much cooler and easier to enjoy! Despite being the storm season, we have only enjoyed one decent downpour so far.  We need a few more good falls as things are becoming quite dry.  I will need to top the pool up from the garden tap before we go away!

Goodness only knows when the next post may be as we head off first thing Tuesday.  We expect to drive into Melbourne's northern suburbs around 6 pm on Friday and will be staying there for several nights catching up with family.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone down there again.

A Week To Take-Off

It has been so windy in this part of the world the last few days.  Strong winds have been the norm for us and make for tough work one way at least on my daily bike ride!  The screenshot of the PC pop-up happens daily!

The wind has ramifications for the leafy plants and bushes from next door and the pool I am afraid.  The house there has been sold and the current owners are in the process of moving out over the last week or so.

So with secateurs in hand I have been pruning back plants shrubs and bushes from next door which sway over onto my property but more importantly drop leaves.  The pool is just one destination the leaves have, the others are the house drains and the roof guttering.  At my age climbing ladders to clean leaves out of gutters is a serious no no!

We 'take-off' for Melbourne by road in a week today!  It is around a 1900km drive all up and we plan to set off around 8:30 am on Tuesday of next week and arrive in Melbourne around 5pm or so on the Friday.

On the way south we plan to catch up with a friend with whom I played cricket when in Malaysia (around 40 years ago) in Ballina for a quick visit and arrive in Coffs Harbour for an overnight stay on the Tuesday.  Then Newcastle with Mick and Janet for Wednesday and Thursday before a 900k drive from Newcastle to the northern suburbs of Melbourne.  It seems a long drive for one day but it is dual freeway for 99.9% of the trip with both Trish and I sharing the driving it isn't so bad!

We have the family Christmas gathering on the Saturday afternoon.

Almost two weeks ago I had the first inklings of problems with one of my computer back up drives.  I jumped online and ordered a 2TB Seagate Portable replacement.  With this being Christmas it took almost two weeks for the parcel to be delivered from Sydney but it did arrive yesterday.

I manage to semi retire my drives as soon as they look like they are going to play up.  The 2TB Toshiba Drive (labelled T in the photo) has been semi retired now to be an extra drive on the 4TB Seagate Cloud drive.  The Seagate Cloud drive is attached to my modem/router and stays 'on' 24/7.  So it can be accessed by any device from anywhere on my home network at any time.  You can play music from it on your tablet, your phone or any other device at any time.

Now I have the 2TB Toshiba attached as well as a 1TB old Seagate drive as well.  This gives me loads of backup space all accessible from anywhere on the home network.

I do like my online Christmas specials!  Recently we lost power for almost 4 hours.  I do have a rechargeable light which we use for out doors.  It is snazzy light but doesn't hold its charge that well.  Needless to say that during the blackout, it was useless as the battery was flat.  But I did spot a $99 reduced to $30 rechargeable 'work light' on special.

To good a bargain to miss I thought.  I had an email today saying it was ready for the Courier to pick up so hopefully it will be delivered later this week, well before we go away.

Hot and sunny again today with a top around 32°.  The pool will get to around 30° I guess though this morning's after bike ride swim saw the pool at a little over 27° and just delightful.  I have cricket on TV after lunch so that will keep me occupied!

Storm Wrap Up

The storm I featured in the last blog entry eventually just gave us a little nudge, a few flurries of wind, enough rain to wet everything and then moved on its way.

However the one we got about 90 minutes later swept in with stronger winds and 10mls of rain.  So the pool was topped up, the lawns and gardens got a drink!  It did take a good 20 minutes or so to give the pool a good clean up this morning with some leaves, twigs, and heaps of fine red dust needing to be tidied up.

There was some hail but around marble size only and not enough to do any damage.

Not that it worried us as we had been invited to the local Real Estate Agents Xmas do at the local Tavern.  Enough to drink and heaps of nibblies.  If you wanted something you just asked for it and in it came.  The photo above shows where the function was on!

With plenty of storms around we wisely parked in the underground car park.

We were invited as senior office bearers of the Community Association which has supported this agency quite a lot as the only real "local" real estate agent.  We knew quite a few people who were there so it was a good night.  The storm was only a brief interruption to a great night.

We have "Friday Drinks" again later this afternoon, all within walking distance so all good!  there is a less of a possibility of storms today but it will get well into the 30's. 

The newly cleaned pool will be a great option I suspect!

Storm On The Way

It has been around 32° or so for much of the day but is rapidly cooling off as I type.  The photo left is a blow up of what the weather radar is showing right now at around 3pm.  The major part of the storm cell according to the radar will pass just to the south of us.  But we should get something.

Click on the picture for a larger view

There can be hail and strong winds as the storm passes overhead.

The photo left shows what the sky looks like.  The photo doesn't do the sky justice as it is much much darker than the photo indicates.

The sun has been blocked out as well and it is dark inside the house.  I need a light on to type this.  There is now the occasional roll of thunder.

Both the pool and the lawn are licking their lips in anticipation of a drenching.  However it was almost the same yesterday afternoon and we got less than a ml from the passing sprinkle.  Maybe today will be different.