Tuesday 26th February 2008

This has been a very busy week, fitting in all kinds of things including finalising tour information for our forthcoming golfing tours to China & Tasmania. I have also been very busy clearing issues with the gardening enhancement work at the golf club.
There is a huge amount of work to be done on the "front door" gardens of the club. This week I have devoted time to the garden surrounding the practice putting green.

My golf has been very ordinary given that the course has dried up substancially & I have no more excuses for bad play.

We played golf on Sunday with Robin Incoll & Duncan Brown & had a really nice day.
I forgot to take my camera so I do not have any images to show; today I played with Jan Fitzgerald & Pam Cowin (image attached) and had a lovely day in spite of my score. I did score a 3 pointer on the 13th hole (rated no 1) so that pleased me.

Some time ago Butch designed a new area at the front of the Club & the board have now decided to go ahead with the plan - so that will be good to see come to life.

Mum has been keeping okay with no major dramas happening. She is sleeping for the best part of the day & her energy levels are very low.

Tuesday 19th February 2008

It has been a very wet week and the golf course has been struggling to keep it's head above water. We played on Sunday through the rain - not a pretty sight with scores to match. My camera battery ran out so I have no images of that day - better forgotten.

Today was a better day although we did get showered on the general weather was not too bad. The course is still very wet & hard to play on. My playing partner was Frances Maclean & we had a good day trying our best.

Our handicaps are blowing right out as it is so hard to score - so we are looking forward to the course drying up so we can smash a bit off our handicaps. I have heard that is is going to be very wet up until April so we could be waiting for a while.

Much has been happening with the golf club gardens with a new garden being finished this week (image attached.) I am currently working on the putting practice green garden creating a formal garden to blend in with the wedding garden.

Mum is feeling better this week having finished her course of antibiotics. We had a little walk through the gardens yesterday (between showers).

George & Tosca came for dinner Monday night ( no camera battery - so no record )
They are looking forward to coming to China with us on our tour in October this year.

Images attached: with Frances Maclean today on the first tee; the newest garden at the golf course.

Friday 15th February 2008

This has been an incredibly wet week with intermitant sunshine but not enough to dry anything up. Wednesday we had a huge downpour that closed the golf course for the day. Follow up rain & showers overnight & Thursday has left everything very wet underfoot. A few brave souls attempted rounds of golf but I opted to do some work on the golf club gardens instead.

I did the rounds of the nurseries searching for suitable plants for the 100 metre markers and managed to get some bargain buys. We are also putting in a formal garden around the practice putting green & have started to plant out the hedging plants. I have planted a couple of iceberg roses at the entrance step that should blend well with the formal look.

The 13th tee garden now has a matching water can to the cup & saucer which was installed yesterday (photo attached) & I was happy to find that the new gazania garden survived the very heavy downpour quite well. They were a good choice of plants for the area.

Mum has been coping okay this week. She has been managing to eat some bananas at the times when she cannot cope with other food. That is good as she is getting something nourishing. Mum has not been feeling up to any of her walks through the garden this week but the weather has been too awful to go out there anyway.

Images attached: The new matching 'water can' to the 'cup & saucer' at the 13th tee garden; gazania garden survived in the big wet.

Tuesday 12th February 2008

We have had a mixed bag of weather this last week which has dictated all social activities for the week. The golf course has been closed two Sundays in a row & also closed several days throughout the week with all the heavy rain that has persisted - "Shock/Horror". It has given me the opportunity to clean up a lot of the overgrown garden & to do some "new work" at the golf club gardens. The bonus about the rain is that it has really bought on all the gardens & they are all flourishing.

Mum has not had the best of weeks having a few off days. Hopefully some anti-biotics started yesterday will pick her up. The wet weather has not helped as she has not been able to get outside in the gardens which she enjoys.

We were happy that the sun has been out the last three days which dried the course out enough for us to get out there today. It was heavy going but it was great to be out in action again.

My playing partners today were Pam Cowin & Wendy Stapleton & we had a very enjoyable day. Wendy got the nearest the pin on the 8th & I scraped into 4th place in my division and scored a birdie on the 5th.

Images attached:

With my playing partners Pam Cowin & Wendy Stapleton at the first tee; my drive to the 3 par 5th ( a few more rolls of the ball required ); receiving my 4th place voucher & ball (winners can be grinners).

Wednesday 6th February 2008

I had some good quality time with Mum at Tarragal House this morning. Mum said that she was not all that well yesterday, but this morning she had a good breakfast & apart from feeling a little weary she was okay. Mum enjoyed a banana and a cup of tea while I was there. We had a lovely walk through the gardens as it was such a nice sunny day. After all the rain the sunshine was very welcome. The gardens were all looking happy after having plenty of natural water. We spotted some large spiders busily rebuilding their webs after the rain damage. We also found our favourite lizard sunning himself on his rock. Mum gets quite excited when we find him. We will have to give him/her a name soon to make it personal.

I left her to have a much needed rest for the afternoon.

After lunch I spent a few hours at the 13th tee garden at the golf club. The course was closed today so it was the perfect time to do some tidying up. The garden is coming on in leaps and bounds and should be perfect summer 2009.

I have also been busy organising another golf trip to China in October 2008 together with a golf trip to Tasmania in September 2008. So much to do - such little time!!!!

It was Kay's birthday today ....Happy Birthday Kay!

The rain has settled in again tonight so things are not looking good for golf tomorrow.

Photos attached : Mum looking at the lizard at Tarragal House; garden at Tarragal house; spider building it's web; lizard sunning itself on a rock; the 13th tee garden on the golf course.

Golf - Sunday 3rd February 2008

Unfortunately there was no golf today due to heavy rain just as we were due to hit off. A bolt of lightning and a loud clap of thunder bought everyone in off the course & the persistant rain eventually closed the course for the day.

We spent a few hours up on the balcony telling stories to keep ourselves amused & stayed for lunch. Then it was home to watch the final round of the womens golf on TV. Better luck next week.

Image attached: A very wet outlook from underneath the clubhouse.

Saturday 2nd February 2008

Today was Marty & Sally's wedding day which we were happy to celebrate with them. The weather was lovely & the day went over very well. The ceremony was in the garden of Lizotte's Restaurant at Kincumber and the reception in the restaurant itself. Ben & Taylah (Greg's god children) were Bestman/Bridesmaid. It was great to be able to catchup with them & see how they have grown up so beautifully.
It was a wonderful day as wedding's should be and Sally was a stunning bride.

Images attached: Sally & Marty; the wedding party during the ceremony.

Thursday 31st January 2008

Today we celebrated Rod's 35th Birthday which we did in style with pre and post dinner drinks at Rod's "office" - the Elanora Hotel at East Gosford and dinner at Cafe Jazz just accross the road. The last couple of days have been a big blast of summer. Late afternoon the wet weather set in with a huge lightning storm overnight.
The rain is very welcome after all the heat & it cooled considerably overnight.

Images attached: Rod with his birthday cake; Sam, myself, Pete, Anne, Rod & Shane at dinner.