Sunday 11th January 2009

It seems such a long time since I have updated this blog. It is not because I didn't want to, rather than I have been restricted in volume because I have been updating the Golf Club Events Blog as well as keeping up to date with the golf results blog. My Broadband budget has been stretched to its limits.

We have had a lot of hot weather and I have been trying to keep myself as busy as possible to get me through the 'recovery' period without having too much time on my hands to allow depression to fester. My time has been mainly spent on the two "G"s - Golf & Gardening.

There has been a heap of work to be done at the golf club gardens so I have been spending a lot of time there as well as trying to rejuvenate my garden at home that has been suffering from lack of water and TLC. As you can see by the attached photos it is starting to respond & I have the back gardens about 3/4 done - hopefully finished in the next few weeks if golf will allow.

I played my first practice 18 holes with the girls on Tuesday 30th December 2008 playing with Yvonne Wilson, Dawn Tromp & Rosalie Dyer. My results were not that good but I did manage one three pointer.

We spent New Years Eve at the Golf Club Dinner Dance & had a good night. The food & music were good & great company with Rosalie & Duncan Dyer, Yvonne & Des Wilson, Shirley & Cyril Daly. We chose the Golf Club because we could walk to/from without danger.

New Years Day was a recovery Day as I had drank far too much wine during the night's celebrations. It was a hot day so a restful day in airconditioning seemed to be a good idea.

On Saturday morning I went to the movies with Rosalie & Yvonne to see "Marley & Me".

The movie reminded me so much of our "Sprocket" dog. It was a real tear jerker.

On Sunday 4th January we had a game of golf with Graham & Anne (photo attached). I made it around the course okay & played the best I had for a while coming in the buffer zone which pleased me. Graham had 40 points so it was a good day all around. Anne tried out her new Driver (Christmas gift) & was happy with it.

Monday 5th January was a big F-Troop Day at the Golf Club. We had been donated 100 Tanika Native Grass plants that had to be planted immediately so it was a scramble to get enough workers to prepare the area & plant the grass. It was a 35 degree day so we all felt the strain.

Tuesday 6th January I played golf with the girls. It was a very hot day so I was happy that we finished our round in 4 hours so we could get into the airconditioning. I played with Yvonne Wilson & Doreen Vines & they were great company. I didn't get a photo of us that day so have included a photo of the winner on the day - Judy Verlander who I am going to play with next Tuesday. I hope some of her good golf rubs off on me. I did birdie the 15th which was my highlight of the day.

Wednesday 7th January I caught up with some banking & Estate work. Then I continued on my home gardening project - weeding, fertilizing & mulching.

Thursday 8th January was yet more gardening in the back gardens. In the evening we went to Bob & Vicky Morris' for a BBQ dinner & to play "500" (cards) with Anne & Mark & Gwen & Bruce. We had a good night & this time I came in 4th (which is an improvement from last position)

Friday 9th January I had my hair cut even shorter to make it more managable. The rest of the day I spent in the gardens trimming the hedges & weeding. The Pest control manager came in the afternoon & sprayed the yard & house for spiders, ants & cockroaches which are just thriving at this time of the year.

Saturday 10th January was a quick grocery shop & a visit to the plant nursery to pick up some trees for the golf club gardens. In the afternoon I cleaned out the back BBQ area where I keep all the "plants-in-waiting" for the golf club. I re-potted the native grasses and camelias which took me quite a long while. I also planted some more annuals out the front gardens.

So in summary over the last few weeks I have been focusing on gardening. We have some golfing holidays coming up so it all needs to be up to scratch.

Images attached: With Rosie, Dawn & Yvonne - first practice game; The f-troopers removing stumps from the course; with Shirley & Cyril - New Years Eve; The dancing queens - NY Eve; with Graham & Anne at golf; Trees removed at the course; native grasses being planted; Judy Verlander - golf winner on the day; At Bob & Vicky's for cards; various photos of my gardening efforts; various photos of the current batch of roses.