Monday 26th July 2010

This week was a huge week of activities, mixed fortunes with the weather and sickness.

Tuesday 20th July 2010 I had a lovely day at golf with my playing partners Yvonne Wilson, Silvia Lee and Michele Kennett. We brought Yvonne in as the winner of our Division and only missed out by one point in the team event. It was Grandma's Trophy day but alas I did not win this year - my second qualifying year. Maybe next year. We had lunch at the club and a special presentation of trophies.

Tuesday evening Rod rang to say that Anne was not well & needed treatment at the hospital which turned out to be a kidney infection. Rod bought Joel over & stayed the night so that Anne could go home after her treatment and have a good night's rest. Joel was very good & slept well considering it was his first overnight stay.

Wednesday 21st July 2010 I was up at 5.30am to take charge of Joel so that Rod to get away to work by 6 o'clock. Joel was very good all morning and was very easy to look after. He has got a "teething" cold which was making him a bit off but he played with his toys & was happyto have cuddles. We could not get outside as it was a cold, wet and miserable day & he was happy to have his day nap.

Anne & her Mum picked Joel up about 1.30pm & I spent the rest of the day in recovery. It was very tiring watching out for him as he is now on the run & can move very quickly. I need to go into training to cope with a full day's babysitting now.

Thursday 22nd July 2010 I was back at the golf course at 7.30am for an early hit off in the Singles Knockout competition. My opponent was Julie Hazzard who I have played with often before. We had a great game, playing neck to neck up to the 14th hole when my game fell apart & Julie came good & she won three holes in a row which put me out. We were lucky with the weather & we had good company with Helen Stuart & Robin Incoll making up the foursome.

It was a good fun day. By the end of the day I could feel myself going down with a sore throat & by nightfall I was feeling miserable.

Friday 23rd July 2010 I woke with a very sore throat & a head cold which was not good. We managed to get some shopping done - plants from Bunnings & then I went into Gosford to buy some party accessories to wear to the "Op Shop" Ball that we were going to on Saturday night. I bought a hairpiece & earings from the $2 shop and some false eyelashes. I had in my wardrobe a red "fringed" dress (cost $20) that I teamed with Mum's fur coat & some red shoes that I had for Shane's wedding. I made do with those.

Saturday 24th July 2010 we did some grocery shopping & then went to the Op Shop for a wig and trousers for Peter to wear to the Ball. Peter played golf & I spent the rest of the day planting out some "Stocks" in the front garden & filled another green bin with some more rose prunings.

Saturday Evening we attended the "Op Shop" Ball at the club & had a great night. I won a prize for "best dressed" (a gift from the Op Shop). We wined, dined and danced the evening away until midnight with some very good company. The air conditoning did not help my head cold.

Sunday 25th July 2010 Rod, Anne & Joel came over for their traditional Sunday Morning breakfast - pancakes this week. Anne was still in recovery & Joel was still snuffly. We had some good quality time with Joel & I walked him around the neighbourhood in his pram which he enjoyed as the morning was nice and sunny. Joel is on the run now & does not bother to crawl much at all. Anne needed to go home to rest by 10.30 as she was still unwell. We set off to golf at 11 o'clock to play in the Mixed Team Series which is held on the last Sunday of the next three months. Our partners in the Series are Mark & Anne Stimpson & we bought bright red golf shirts to put our opposition off. It did not work this time as Peter was the only one of us to get a decent score so we have got work to do for the next month's match. Our opposition was Clyde & Lyn Cruickshanks & we had a great day. Lyn had a fabulous round and scored 40 points narrowly missing winning the singles event on a countback. We stayed for dinner and the Presentation which is a very popular & keenly contested event in the club.

Monday 25th July 2010 (today) we had a very busy F-Troop day at the club. The boys in the F-Troop had to move all the lockers in the Men's locker room which was a huge task and us girls focused on the gardens out on the course & the wedding garden. It is time now to get the gardens prepared for the annual garden competition that I enter the club into. We won it last year so the pressure is on to keep up the standard for this year. The weather closed in this afternoon & my head cold is still at an annoying stage. I was at the Doctors this afternoon but only for a regular 2 year checkup so no dramas.

I am hoping for some good weather for tomorrow as we have a Ladies Single Stroke event on at golf which is not a happy day in the wet. I also do not want to freshen up this very annoying cold.

Monday 19th July 2010

We have finally come into a stretch of good weather & after all the cold & wet it is very welcome.

Tuesday 13th July 2010 I played golf with Julie Hazzard & Lorraine Bignall. My golf was not too good but the company was great which made my day. The course was still very wet underfoot as we had not had enough wind or heat to dry it out.

Wednesday 14th July 2010 I spent the whole day in the front garden making a start to my rose pruning. Rather than just prune I also weeded and used some lime sulphur to treat the roses after pruning which should help to keep them healthy. I filled up one and half green bins with rose cuttings so it was a big exhausting day. It was a very sunny but windy day which was good for drying out the golf course.

Thursday 15th July 2010 we had an 8.30 am shotgun start at golf. It was our annual "Theme Day" which this year was "Crazy Hats". My playing partners today were Sheena Asken, Fay Bailey and Margaret Mackie & we had a lovely day with some good highlights. Our team did not qualify for any trophies but we had a good day. The girls all went to a great deal of trouble to join in the spirit of the day & some of the hats were works of art. The weather was beautiful and the course had started to dry off well with the wind of the last couple of days helping a lot.

Friday 16th July 2010 the Pro Shop renovations had started in earnest so Peter & I volunteered our time as labourers to help clean up after the tradesmen. After a quick shopping trip in the morning we made our way to the club to help. We needed to come home to pick up the trailer & lucky that we did because Tammy, Trent & Noah caught us at home just in time. They were on their way back to Canberra after having a couple of weeks R & R at the caravan at Diamond Beach. Noah has really grown up & is a lovely baby. I didn't recognise Tammy to start with as she is now a stunning redhead, previously blonde. Tammy & Trent chatted for a while & then continued their trip to Canberra. We went back to the club & worked solidly until 4.30 pm.

We were back at the club at 6.30pm as Peter was on raffles duty. We had dinner at the club with a group of our friends & I did well with the raffles winning two meat trays.

Saturday 17th July 2010 I was back out in the rose gardens at the front. I managed to complete most of the weeding, pruning & spraying for the front garden - filling another one and half green bins. The weather was beautiful & I enjoyed my day in the sunshine & peace of the garden.

Sunday 18th July 2010 Rod, Anne & Joel came for their traditional breakfast. They had all been unwell with colds. Anne was really not well at all & should have been in bed. They were having a property inspection by a potential buyer so rest at home was not possible. Joel was very sooky and wanted to be nursed all morning so he clearly had not recovered from his cold. I took him for a long walk in his pram which he enjoyed. When we left for golf Joel was asleep & Anne was resting & we left them in Rod's care. Our playing partners at golf were Clyde & Lyn Cruickshanks who are great company. My golf was very ordinary but I did enjoy the day out in the sunshine & we had some good laughs over our golf highlights. My highlight of the day was winning 20 cents from Clyde for the closest chip to the pin at the 4th. We stayed for dinner at the Club with Clyde & Lynn & Bert & Annie Brink which was a good finish for the day.

Monday 19th July 2010 (today) was our usual F-Troop day. We started at 7.00am & worked through until 2.30pm. It was a big work day but we did achieve some good work. George Brand called in to the golf club to catch up with us because he says we are never at home - so he may as well call in over there. He was not wrong - that is where we were found. George joined us for our traditional F-Troop morning tea & was so impressed he thinks he may come again next Monday. It was a lovely sunny day until after 2 o'clock when it started to close in again.

I am hoping for a clear day for golf tomorrow as the course has just dried out nicely & the greens are in great condition. We do not need any more rain just now.

Monday 12th July 2010

I had a very eventful week to say the least - it was all go. We have had a lot of wet miserable days which is never good for golf & the course is water logged.

Tuesday 6th July 2010 I played golf. My playing partners were Leonie Casey & Glennis English & they were great company. Leading up to the Special General Meeting of the club tonight I needed a nice pleasant day with good company to ease the stress. Glennis was our star - getting a great birdie on the 16th however I scrambled a couple of 3 pointers for the team which made my day. Tuesday night we had a special general meeting at the club which was brought about by a no confidence motion in the Board. Graham & Anne came from Sydney especially to vote & support Peter which was good of them. The result was resounding support for the Board - 217 votes to 20 which has restored my faith in the Club Members. It was such a waste of time & resources but it had to happen to clear up a small minority restlessness. Hopefully now things will settle down & we can go back to enjoying playing stress free golf.

Wednesday 7th July 2010 I had a quiet day - doing a little grocery shopping & catch up around the house. Wednesday night Marjorie Abraham and her daughter Shannon came for dinner as Marjorie is due to go back to NZ at the weekend. Shane also came to dinner as he is batching this week & wanted to watch the State of Origin football match with Peter. Peter arrived home from golf about 6.30pm with Col Matterson who is also batching so the Mum's Roast Lamb dinner was just the right choice to cover the extras. We all watched the footie & saw the blues go down yet again.

Thursday 8th July 2010 I took myself out to Erina Fair to get my glasses repaired. I had dropped them at the golf presentation on Tuesday & someone trod on them - cracking the glass but not badly. I was able to get them back into shape & wearable until next month when I am due for another set. It was not a nice day so I spent the day getting a bit of my jigsaw done & started on a new book "We need to talk about Kevin".

Friday 9th July 2010 was a miserable, wet raining day. One of the staff at the golf office was in RNS hospital having surgery so it seemed an appropriate day to go and visit her. I managed to find in Gosford a nice floral orchid arrangement & a couple of Sudoku books to take to her.

We had a nice chat with Sally who was well enough to have lunch down in the cafeteria. We called into the golf club on the way home to find that there was no competition played as it was too wet. Fortunately the club had 21st birthday & a 40th birthday functions to fill the void.

On Friday night I was home on my own & there was a knock on the door from a stranger. This time I did not open the door, but it did give me a scare.

Saturday 10th July 2010 I was at the golf club early to prepare for a garden wedding that afternoon. I have spent a lot of time in the last weeks trimming & tidying the front gardens so it all looked lovely. The wedding went without a hitch & the rain held off with even a few rays of sunshine at the appropriate moment. Saturday evening we had our usual Xmas in July dinner with the old "Townies" group. We went to the "Trackside" restaurant at West Gosford & had one of the stone grill specials which was very nice. It was great to catch up with everyone & find out all their news. We only get together twice a year & we have set the next date for the 4th December.

Sunday 11th July 2010 Rod, Anne & Joel came for breakfast and we had some good quality time with Joel. Joel is independently walking across a room so it will not be too long before he will be running. We left Joel asleep and Rod & Anne watching Foxtel & went to golf at 11.30 am. Our playing partners today were Des & Yvonne Wilson & we had a good fun day. We had the boys down for the Keno ticket at half way but they caught up with us by the 15th. Unfortunately they won the 16th & 17th so our win at the 18th was too late. We stayed for dinner with Vicki & George Foster who kept us amused with George's stories of when he was a dart's champion in England & represented Australia.

Monday 12th July 2010 (today) it was not raining but was cold and overcast. We started F-Troop early (7.15 am) to do some projects that did not require us to go out on the course. The course was too wet for our maintenance vehicles in addition to the 140 vets playing on the course. I worked with Georgina for the morning & we trimmed some trees and plants & re-potted the downstairs plants & tidied up underneath the club house. The club is renovating the Pro Shop so there is a lot of action going on. We have all new Pro Shop staff so we should see a lot of change in the running & presentation of the Pro Shop.

Rain is threatening again so I am hoping that I get my golf in tomorrow. We have a special Theme Day on at golf on Thursday which is a 8.30 am shotgun start followed by lunch.

No more rain at this stage would be a bonus.

Monday 5th July 2010

This week we have had very cold nights and chilly days - a touch of winter.

Tuesday 29th June 2010 we thankfully had fine weather for golf and I hit off a little later than usual which made it more comfortable. My playing partners were Tania Burt & Linda Rogers & they were great company. Linda was the highlight of our day coming in the winner of our division. I think I was still on the boat & had no concentration at all finishing my game at the 11th hole.

Wednesday 30th June 2010 I had intended to start pruning my roses. Unfortunately the garage automatic door went haywire & I could not open it to get out my gardening tools. It was a very cold day anyway so I spent the day on the computer & managed to finish a book I have been trying to read for ages. The ironing got done as well seeing I was locked inside - so that was a bonus.

Thursday 1st July 2010 the Golf Pro Shop was taken over by the Club so we were all hands on deck at the club to get the renovations started. I also did some gardening in the front gardens of the club hard pruning the tibouchina plants & pruning the roses. It also gave me a chance to catch up with some of the golf girls.

Friday 2nd July 2010 we had another day at the Golf Club doing more renovations and cleaning up. It was a full days work and exhausting but good headway was made. Des & Yvonne picked me up about 6.15pm to go over to the club for dinner and the raffles night as I wanted to catch up with some of the golf girls. I won a leg of pork in the raffle so that was a bonus.

Saturday 3rd July 2010 yet another day at the Club this time helping with the BBQ for the players & cleaning up & trimming in the wedding garden area - another big day. The pro shop is up & running smoothly in difficult circumstances as everything is set up as a temporary shop while the renovations are done.

Sunday 4th July 2010 Rod & Joel came for breakfast & we had some good quality time with Joel before we had to leave at 11.30 am for lunch at the golf club with my old work mates. Joel can take a few shaky steps before opting to go down and crawl if he has to make distance in a hurry. He is absolutely gorgeous and a gem to look after. We met up with Marjorie and her daughter Shannon, Dino & Lorraine, Don & Margaret, Steve & Vicki, Margaret & Paul - all people I worked with some years back at various offices and their spouses. We do not see a lot of them so it is good to catch up.

We had a sunny window table overlooking the 18th green & it was dark by the time everyone left so everyone enjoyed themselves. We had a lovely lunch - so nice in fact that we did not bother with dinner later. We stayed on at the club for the Presentation & ended up not leaving until 9.30 pm. By the time I had done the golfers blog and written some emails it was after midnight.

Monday 5th July 2010 we were up at 6 o'clock for an early start F-Troop. The boys were re-marking the parking area with white paint & had to be there early to beat the parking traffic. I went over later at 7.30 am & we worked until 1.00 o'clock cleaning up in the gardens & I got to finish the wedding garden trimming that I had started on Saturday. At 2.30 pm I had an appointment at the local manufacturing jewellery shop to get a quote to replace my necklace.

The price of gold is very scary these days. Stay posted for the results. It is still very cold & wintery & I am using that as an excuse for not commencing to prune my roses.