Project completed 1st June 2008

WOW! Look at me now! A new coat of paint & hey presto! Looking beautiful again.

I wish a fresh coat of paint would work that well on me.

This my 49 year old magazine rack all refreshed & it was this week's project completed.

That feels good!

This was a gift for my 16th birthday & still intact after all these years of special care.

Friday 30th May 2008

This week the weather has been beautiful - find a sunny spot and enjoy.

Monday was regular F-Troop day at the golf club and we achieved quite a bit of work doing some more work on the gardens with the help of the F-Troopers, some watering of the new plants and an attempt to discourage the pesky rabbits that are eating the plants on the 18th.

Tuesday was a lovely day at golf. It was our annual challenge day with the girls from Tuggerah Lakes. Gosford won the day & everyone had a great day. I played with two girls from Tuggerah Lakes (Kay Walker and Robyn Ray) and Julie Hazzard from Gosford. I scored 35 points, won a ball and won another ball for nearest the pin for my division. We had some good highlights through the day playing a 2-ball team aggregate & I enjoyed the girls company.

Wednesday I had a few hours at the Golf Club planting out some Agapanthas that were donated to the club. After that it was my annual check up with my family doctor - I do all my tests all in the one hit (blood pressure, cholesterol, diabeties, stomach ulcers, pap smear etc) & for good measure I had my hep.B booster needle so I have now got a lifetime immunity for that.

That has me up to date with everything I need to travel except for tablets that I need to take for malaria which is done at the time of travelling. If I get an all clear for all these tests then I only need to survive the dentist next week & my health check is up to date.

Thursday was a run around day. I went looking for a filing cabinet for the sunroom so I can better organise all my paperwork. I have accumulated a lot of information on world travel and around Australia travel that I want to organise to finger tip control as well as clean up old records that I have lying around in disorganised heaps. I have decided to turn the sunroom into "my space" with a new computer desk that I am yet to find. I found the filing cabinet that I want & it will be available next week. While I was at Erina I claimed from my health fund my chemist receipts that I have accumulated & also my doctors bill from medicare which was a bit hefty with all those tests & the injection. I did of course have to visit Officeworks to pick up some suspension files for the forthcoming filing cabinet.

Today, Friday, I painted my first coat of paint onto my magazine rack & it has come up very nicely. I should get that finished tomorrow. 1.30pm today was John Smith's funeral service at the Hillside Chapel at Palmdale. John was the husband of my cousin Dawn. John would have been well pleased with the service & we further celebrated his life at his wake at Wallarah Bay Recreation Club at Gorokan. I was bridesmaid at John & Dawn's wedding some 48 years ago & we have remained very close. John has been battling with cancer & other problems for some years now and he will be sadly missed.

Attached photos : With the F-troopers working on the shade garden; a tempory fence to discourage the rabbits at the 18th tee garden; my playing partners at Tuesday golf - Robyn Ray (Tuggerah Lakes), Julie Hazzard (Gosford) & Kay Walker (Tuggerah Lakes).

Sunday 25th May 2008

We had a catch up evening on Saturday night with Ken & Margaret Gardiner. It was Margaret's birthday the previous week which we had forgotton so to make amends we went out to dinner at Aree's Thai Restaurant at Wyoming & chatted the night away. We followed that up with coffee at Ken & Marg's house & managed to talk & drink our way almost right through the night. It seemed a sensible thing to stay the night by this stage - so we did.

Sunday morning was a quick tea & toast on the front patio in the sun & then we had to rush off to golf as we were due to hit off at 10.58 am.

It was a tough day getting through golf. Self inflicted lack of sleep was a huge handicap to the golf scores. We had a very enjoyable day playing with Robyn & Wally Johnston who are always great company. My highlight of the day was being on the card for nearest the pin with 259 cms but was unfortunately beaten late in the day by 226 cms.

Images attached: With Ken & Marg at Aree's Restaurant; Ken & Marg the following morning enjoying the sunshine of the front patio of their home; With our playing partners Wally & Robyn Johnston.

Friday 23rd May 2008

Another full-on week with one thing and another.

Monday was spent mainly at the golf club - gardening in the morning. One of the members donated about 60 hydranga cuttings that had to be set and watered & I had to transfer some of the shade plants into the new garden. That took most of the morning. After that we did some voluntary administration work for the golf office that took the rest of the morning till lunchtime.

In the afternoon it was an appointment with our financial advisor to get some paperwork sorted out & then back to the golf club to finish off the administration job until 5 o'clock. That evening we attended the Narara/Wyoming Junior Cricket presentation night where we present the "Martin Family" trophy for the most improved under 16 year old. This trophy is presented in Greg's memory so it is a special event for us. We calculated out that Greg would have started playing cricket as an 8 year old - so we have been attending junior cricket presentation days for about 30 or more years & we do not remember ever having to miss one.

Tuesday I played golf in the stroke medal round for this month. My playing partners were Annette Dunk and Pricilla Webster & we had a very enjoyable day. Annette won Division one which was a good highlight for us. The weather was a little cool to start with but warmed up to a perfect day for golf.

Wednesday was a bit of a miserable day with some heavy downpours in the early afternoon.

In the morning I went shopping and picked up some more "king" size sheets from the Sheridan factory outlet shop in Gosford - much cheaper that the retail shops. In the afternoon I had an appointment with the Palmdale Office to finalise Mum's plaque & placement.

Mum & Dad will rest together in the native garden at Palmdale, Ourimbah.

On my way home I got caught in a torrential downpour as it always seems to do at Ourimbah.

The rain was so heavy I could hardly see the road. I was intending to do some watering at the Golf Club gardens before going to Palmdale but did not have the time so I was not unhappy to have the rain as it will save me the trouble of hand watering.

Late afternoon I spent filling out Centrelink forms and we all know what a task that is. Thankheavens I was able to find all the paperwork that they require. I got a phone call to say that our bedroom furniture had arrived ( much earlier than scheduled). A quick phone call to Rod & Shane to help with the pick up & delivery chores which we organised for Thursday afternoon.

Thursday morning was spent at Centrelink getting our paperwork accepted. What a lucky break - there were not many there at first with a huge crowd arriving as we had finished.

Can't help good luck!

Rod arrived around 2.30 pm & we went to Shane's to pick up the trailer & Shane when he finished work. With Rod's truck & the trailer and the two of them to do the lifting it was an easy matter (at least for me) to collect the furniture - deliver and instal at our place; pick up the old discarded furniture & take it to another happy home. There are great advantages in having the two boys so close by and this is one of them.

Now the place is starting to take shape again with all the excess furniture out of the way. I still have a lot of finessing to do to get the jobs finished but at least the heavy work is done. I have to do some more painting & upgrading. I have had a magazine holder (a gift to me for my 16th birthday). It has been treasured and has sat beside my bed ( some 49 years now). I have decided to give it a much needed paint lift but strangely enough by pure coincidence the original colour is just perfect for the new decor so it is just a matter of a freshen up. Kay & Lyn would be horrified that I should keep something for so long - but my hoarding skills have held firm.

Friday was a reasonable quite day - just tidying up the week's mess. I bought a computer mat for my computer chair to save the polished floor (now that I can see it) & spent some time browsing in one of my favourite places (Officeworks) this afternoon. I invariably find something that I "need" like a sticky tape dispenser that works & some "In" boxes for my mail & filing.

Images attached: The new made to order furniture getting installed (Tasmanian Oak with maple stain); Shane & Rod doing the furniture removal work; the golf club gardens that I worked on Monday; the 49 year old magazine rack prior to my upgrade of it (on next week's list); with my playing partners on Tuesday - Pricilla Webster & Annette Dunk.

Sunday 18th May 2008

After all the threats of bad weather looming it ended up being a beautiful sunny day. A little bit of chill factor with the wind but not enough to call it a bad day.

We started the day by watching a bit of Shane's final in the lawnbowls at the Gosford City Bowling Club where he had a playoff against his mate Matthew. They were both playing for the first time in the championships & were playing the first to 31 points. The event was for players that had never won a championship before. Shane put in a valiant effort while we were watching but lost at the end with Matthew putting down some great bowls.

We had to leave the bowls early as we were hitting off at golf at 11.05am with Butch and Anne.

Graham and Anne came early as well so that they could watch a bit of the bowls before our golf game.

We had a lovely day at golf with Butch & Pete getting a good score of 46 points in the 2- ball only to be beaten on the day by the winners on 48 points - pretty close!

Graham had a great 4 pointer on the 6th and Anne scored a lovely 6/3 on the hardest hole for the ladies - the 13th; I was happy with 5/3 on the sixth & the fact that I did not wipe a hole.

Images attached: Shane in action at the lawnbowls competition; with Graham and Anne at golf.

Saturday 17th May 2008

Another rather busy week doing all kinds of things.

Monday was another day with F-Troop at the golf club and I made some good progress on the new garden on the second tee. I also got a new tibouchina tree planted on the Men's 2nd tee.

Tuesday I had a really good day at golf - playing a team event - stableford two best scores to count. My playing partners were Elizabeth McNamara, Sharon Anderson and Yvonne Cumming. We had a great day and only got pipped by one point to winning the day. We finished up with a $20 voucher each for coming a close second and we had some very good highlights on the day. My highlight was getting 4/4 on the 4th - a good par for me. It was a big day at the club with 170 odd players playing in our open day. We have a trade table on the day and a fashion parade of golf clothes. I was one of the models and resisted all temptation by not buying anything new.

Wednesday was a rest day & I took advantage of some "me" time and had a lovely facial - very relaxing. This week was collection day for final payments for our Tasmania golf trip coming up in September - so I had some banking to do for that & also picked up the bedroom curtains from the dry cleaners. The bedroom wall colour dried very nicely to the colour that I wanted - just waiting on the new bedhead & bedside/dressing tables to arrive & then I can do all the finishing touches to the room.

Thursday I did a bit more work on the golf club garden moving a few "shade" plants from my garden but I was having difficulty in finding any enthuisiasm to attack anything big - so I settled on catching up on the ironing. A bit of a "yawn" day.

Friday was all action as Shane had a day off & came over to set up a small TV/DVD up out in my workout circuit on the verandah. It was a TV set that we had bought for Mum to keep her amused at the nursing home - so we have put it to good use here now. Shane linked it to our "Foxtel" so I can now watch 'the current news'; 'golf'; a movie or a DVD of my choice as I exercise. My workout circuit has now moved up to 5 star. The treadmill is working like a charm with it's new engine in place.

Today was normal grocery shopping day until lunchtime, did a bit of housework & then for no reason at all I suddenly decided that today the frangipani tree should have a haircut. This is the only time of the year that I hate frangipanis because they drop their leaves & this one is overhanging our driveway & leaves a mess right at our feet everyday. It has missed a good trim over the last few years and had grown quite large. When it is in flower it is quite beautiful - so hopefully next summer it will have recovered from its shock haircut.

Images attached: new work-in-progress garden at the golf course; new tibouchina tree; three green bins for the frangipani offcuts; the frangipani tree after its haircut; my 5- star workout circuit (complete with TV); the new "King" size bed; new wall colour; with my playing partners Sharon Anderson, Yvonne Cumming and Elizabeth McNamara at golf on Tuesday; getting our trophy on Tuesday.

Mothers Day 11th May 2008

This was my first Mother's Day without a Mother! A strange & sad experience but after all of that - how nice Mother's Day can be with the support of family & friends! A nice relaxing day at golf; a text message from Rod & Anne from Queensland; a phone call from clayton's son Len Geogheagan; Dinner with Shane & Sam at the Golf Club after golf; winning a golf ball at golf; a few drinks with friends, family and neighbours after golf . How good can it get!

Images attached: My lovely Bohemian Glass vase complete with the "Childrens Rose" from my garden ( a gift from Rod & Anne for Mothers Day); With my playing partners at golf today - Des & Yvonne Wilson; with Shane & Sam at the Golf Club tonight; with family, friends & neighbours tonight at the golf club - left to right - Cyril Daly, Yvonne Wilson, Des Wilson, Margaret Ingham, Paul Ingham, Pete, Shirley Daly, Shane & Sam.

Saturday 10th May 2008

Friday - The bedroom windows are clean & the walls painted, curtains back in place so progress is being made.

Saturday - was a shopping day & I made the mistake of going into a plant nursery for a look at some discounted shade plants. One tree fern & a tibouchina later I could not resist for the golf club gardens.

Saturday night we attended the Narara/Wyoming Senior Cricket Presentation night at Erina Leaguees Club where each year we present Greg's memorial trophy for the "Colt of the Year" which was the trophy that Greg had received twice in his cricketing career. This was our ninth presentation and it was won this year by talented cricketer Peter Gallichan.

This coming week on Tuesday we have our "Open Day" at golf so I have been given the job of doing a flower display for the presentation table. Ronda Jordon last year donated some orchid plants amongst others for the golf club gardens. As I have not got the gardens ready yet I have been babysitting the plants in my shade house. At present all the orchids are flowering so I have made up a display to take into the club today - ready for Tuesday.

Images attached - Tree Fern & Tibouchina ready to go to the golf club gardens on Monday; Peter with Peter Gallichan - winner of the "Colt of the Year" - Greg's Memorial Trophy; orchid display - ready to go to the club today.

Thursday 8th May 2008

This last week has moved at the speed of knots. I have had a mixture of golf, gardening and shopping thrown in with a sudden urge to rearrange the furniture in my sunroom & update some our old outdated stuff which led to a big shopping spree and a painting frenzy. (One could suspect that I am missing Mum just a tad).

I suddenly decided that the old lounge in the "TV room" had to go. After moving the "sun room" lounge into the TV room and rearranging the work desk around my computer I was amazed at how much space I had created in the sun room. I can actually walk right through now without falling over something. Well, that was until I decided that everything had to come out of the bedroom so that a new bed could get installed and the room repainted. The sunroom is back in chaos for a while until the bedroom is complete. A quick shopping trip took care of the purchase of a new "King Size" bed with new furniture to compliment. The curtains are down for cleaning and the window cleaning is on this coming weeks list. So far the ceiling is painted and the walls are on tomorrows list.

The weather has been beautiful, perfect for golf. On Sunday we played with Wally & Rhonda Robertson in a team 1x2x3 event. We did not win any prizes but had an enjoyable day all the same. Sunday night we had dinner at the golf club with Shane & Sam and Rod & Anne as a mothers day in advance as they will be away next weekend.

Monday was an "F-Troop" day starting at 7.30am at the golf club. I was very impressed with the achievements that day as we got a lot of the garden work completed and managed to start on a new garden which is my next challenge. We had a good lot of volunteers turn up to help which is very encouraging.

Tuesday I had a lovely day at golf with my playing partners Doreen Trigg and Dawn Tromp.

The golf was not memorable but we had fun anyway.

Wednesday was some "me" time and another lovely relaxing day.

Today I finished off some of my gardens at home that have been patiently waiting for my attention as well as choosing the new paint for tomorrows work. The highlight of today was getting my walking machine fixed. It has taken quite a few weeks to get the engine replaced but it finally happend today which means I can get back into my neglected fitness program tomorrow.

In all a busy, but contructive week.

Images attached: With my playing partners Doreen Trigg on Tuesday; with our playing partners Wally & Rhonda Robertson on Sunday; the new garden challenge at the golf club.

Thursday 1st May 2008

We have finally recovered from the deluge of the last few weeks even though we still have water seeping out of crevices around the house. We have had so much rain it has got to the point that it cannot be absorbed & everything is waterlogged.

It finally stopped raining on Sunday - so the previous few days it was a case of ' In the house' work. Peter got home from Melbourne on Sunday afternoon and brought the good weather with him.

Last week the golf course was closed all week & did not reopen until Monday. It was the only golf course on the Central Coast to be closed on Sunday which goes to show how much our course is effected by so much rain. This week has been some recovery work at the golf club on Monday and Wednesday. Golf Tuesday and Thursday (today).

Tuesday was my first day back at golf during mid week for about a month. It was a beautiful sunny day and really enjoyed being back out on the course. I had a good day with my playing partners Dawn Tromp, Helen Stuart & Fran Maclean.

I decided that I should play again on Thursday so I played with Frank Maclean today in a 2 ball team event.

This afternoon I had a meeting with 'Golf China' representative Bill Elliott where we sorted out some matters regarding our upcoming golf tours of Tasmania & China.

Images attached: With Bill Elliott at our meeting this afternoon; with my playing partners today Lyn Cruickshanks, Lynn Puiatti & Fran Maclean; 'before' and 'after' photos of the path repair done at the golf club on Wednesday; gardens fertilzed and mulched at the golf club on Monday; incredible mushrooms spotted on the golf course this week; with my playing partner Dawn Tromp on Tuesday.