In The Home Straight!

It is Sunday morning and our time in Melbourne is coming to an end.  We set off tomorrow (Monday) for Newcastle around 1100k's away.  We will have an overnight stop most likely in Goulburn NSW and arrive with friends Janet and Mick around lunch time New Year's Day.  The plan is to spend two nights there and then hit the final stretch for home on Thursday.  It will be a long trip for one day but with getting home as the goal it should be OK for us.

The Test match finished in less than three days throwing heaps of plans into disarray.  It allowed me time to catch up with friends Gordon and Anne on Saturday afternoon and Barry and Rainy on Saturday night.  Other friends John and Sue are popping in this afternoon at Kate's place.

The previous evening we enjoyed a meal with Keith and June.  I took the laptop around as well as the hard disk drive and copied a heap of movies and TV shows over for them.  I packed the power leads and mouse into a separate package.  However when we got there the mouse was nowhere to be found.  For all intents and purposes it has vanished from the face of the earth!

The last day or so has been spent using the touchpad on the laptop.  The missing mouse cost me $4-95 from China!  I have another one exactly the same at home so it will be pressed into action.  I am becoming more proficient at using the touchpad though!

We have known Barry and Rainy from when we were neighbours in Hampton Park.  Our kids have grown up together and have been lifelong friends.  Their daughter Tammy even works as a teacher at the same school as Kate and Arj.  We were delighted to be with them last night when they received a text message from Tammy last night saying her long time partner Kane had proposed to her Saturday evening.

Today will be spent quietly but beginning to tidy everything up as we go.  We hope to be on our way around 8:00 am tomorrow morning (Monday). The trip to Goulburn should take around 8 hours.

UPDATE:  We have just dropped the Melbourne Car (Telstar) off at Keith and June's who look after it for us.  Trish found the lost mouse near their TV set.  It must have fallen out of the the zip up case I use for carting the laptop around while I was looking for a electricity powerpoint the other night.

To The MCG

Yesterday (Thursday) promised to be a warm sunny day for my trip to the MCG to watch Day 2 of the Australia vs Sri Lanka Test match.  My tummy had improved and so Trish dropped me at the nearby station around 8:15 am ready to catch a train into the city.

It was around 9:30 when I arrived at the ground.  I quickly found a seat and checked out my view.  The top photo shows the view from my seat.

What you can't see is the large screen TV which was in clear view a couple of metres away.  This would show the score board and any replays. I was also able to have easy access to the seat over the back to the concourse.

Click on the photos for a larger view.

I had a quick tour and visited a couple of the places I like to checkout.  The lower photo is the view from the MCC Library overlooking the practice nets.  You can see plenty of people watching as the Australians warmed up before batting on the second day.

I enjoyed the day very much.  I caught up with my two nephews Marcus and Beau in the bar.  We spent a very pleasant hour in there with a chat and a few drinks.

A cool change blew in later in the day sending the temp from around 30 down to 20 degrees. The Aussies had a great day with the bat setting up a strong position going into Day 3.  I won't bother going back in for day 3, the seats there aren't the most comfortable and my back does get sore spending a whole day there.

Around 5pm I left the ground back to the Richmond train station and then I hopped off at Springvale.  I caught up with Trish and the grand kids for another Vietnamese meal.

The kids hit the sack around 8:30 and Trish and I watched a couple of 'Christmas Specials' I had recently acquired.  They were the Mrs Browns Boys and Call The Midwife Christmas Specials.  They were great!

Christmas Has Come And Gone

Overnight Sunday was extremely hot, much hotter than any overnight weather we ever experience up north.  No one slept well.

Monday was spent quietly getting ready for the big day on Tuesday, Christmas Day.  We did a little last minute shopping and that was really about all.  My sister popped in for an hour on their way through which was a pleasant surprise.

We first heard the patter of little feet around 6 am on Christmas Day.  They jumped into bed with us while waiting for a suitable time to attack their pile of presents.  Kids sure get a lot these days for Christmas.  There were squeals of glee and joy as wrapping paper was shredded and yet another new toy or piece of clothing was unwrapped.

The kids loved it.  I think the new console Wii was probably the longest lasting gift.  After tidying up the kids continued to explore their new toys. The Wii was put to use.

I now had enough vouchers to buy my $150 3TB external drive.

Trish made us Garlic Prawns for lunch which again I over ate!  A few drinks, more nibblies and the day went on.

Arj and family hosted the Bartholomeusz family Christmas Night gathering that night.  By 8 pm there were people everywhere.  We had more gifts, more wonderful Sri Lankan curries to eat and heaps of chatting and drinking to do.

There were carols being sung and Charli sang for everyone as well.  She played the piano too and loved performing in front of everyone.  Click on all photos for a larger view.

Needless to say there was even more present giving.  Gifts are limited to $30 each.

Guess what? I received a $30 voucher!

Come midnight I was feeling decidedly uncomfortable around the stomach area.  And so it was for the rest of the night and throughout the following day as I ensured I was always close to the 'loo'.

We cancelled our usual trip to Drouin for Boxing Day as I just wasn't well enough to make the trip.  I watched cricket on the TV for all the day and ate vegemite sandwiches and drank lemonade.

Hopefully all will be improved for Wednesday when I actually attend the cricket at the MCG.

The Hard Drive I had my eye on was on special as a part of the Boxing Day sales.  Trish picked one up for me for $118.  That was a great deal down from the 'Special Price' of $149 and the RRP of $179.

As Hot As Hades

Melbourne is well known for its 'changeable' weather.  The top temp today (Sunday) is around 39 degrees, while day 3 of the upcoming Test match against Sri Lanka at the MCG will see an expected top temp of 20 degrees.

A mild change is expected later today with tomorrow being around 26 degrees.

The two nights we have just spent as a family celebrating Christmas was wonderful.  The house was great with plenty of sleeping accommodation, an upstairs and downstairs, a couple of bathrooms, toilets and kitchens as well as two living areas. It was perfect for our needs.

We had 7 adults and four kids.  There were a couple of TV sets, XBox, dvd players and lots of games and things as well.  There was even a 'cubby' house in the backyard.

We were a good 15 minute walk from the beach, close enough to get to on foot if we needed.

We walked down with the kids for a swim Saturday morning, they loved it.

It took us around an hour to drive from Kate's so driving times were at a minimum for us.

The photos here will give you a glimpse of what we had.  There were two large deck areas off the top floor, a couple of BBQ's, basketball ring, and some toys.

The rooms were large and the weather was lovely.  It was around 30 degrees the one full day we were there and it wasn't cold overnight.

Kim and I enjoyed my 'Black Ale" which I had brewed myself and brought down from Queensland.  There was plenty of red wine as well.  Arj had enough bourbon to keep him going and there soft drink aplenty for the kids.

As usual Wendy was in charge of the kitchen but others pitched in to help as required.

Yours truly did the BBQ tea on Friday and the other ladies hopped in to help with serving up and then cleaning up.

Wendy was banned from doing any washing of dishes, the dishwasher was OK but not the very best.

We had our Kris Kringle as well and everyone seemed pleased with their gifts.  I am a 'monty' to get gift cards and this year was no different.  I now have $100 worth of gift cards and my new external hard disk drive is a certainty!

We arrived back at Kate's late morning on Sunday.  The evaporative cooling went straight on when she arrived home and this exceptionally hot day has passed by quite comfortably.  I am enjoying an A(lcohol) F(ree) D(ay) .... and an early night as well.

To The Holiday House

Thursday was busy again for Trish.  She was busy sorting out last minute purchases and then keeping an eye on the grandkids.  Thursday was Charli's last day at school, James finished kindergarten on Tuesday.

Meanwhile I jumped in the old car (the one which lives in Melbourne) and headed down to Drouin and the home of Irene and Russell.  Russ has been experiencing problems with his media player so I headed down in person to check it all out.  It only took a few minutes and I was unable to help but the rest of the time was spent chatting and with coffee.

I drove back to Kate's for lunch and touched base with Trish.  She reported the car didn't want to start too well.  I too had noticed the start hadn't been the usual instantaneous over the last few weeks.  I got the address of a good car battery place and headed off.  The guy said drive the car around the back and he would check it over for me.  But the car battery had completely given up and wouldn't start.

A replacement battery and a bill for $143 and everything is OK again.  The battery was the car's original and had lasted almost 7 years.  I had done well I felt to get that long out of it.

We headed to Springvale with friends Eddie and Patsy for tea.  It wasn't the usual top class meal but still it was very pleasant.  We ordered too much so Trish and I have left overs for lunch today.

As the photo shows the restaurant Hoa Tran is 'around the back' and out of the way since the new large carpark was built.  Despite being out of the way it is always well populated with people eating.

Later this afternoon we will head down to Tootgarook with the grand kids and set up the holiday house we have booked for a couple of nights.  Our whole family will be there, kids, spouses and grand kids.  It is a great time.  The weather looks like being perfect with warm weather and we will get back home later on Sunday.  Kate and Arj will get there later today after their school break up drinks.