Monday 15th November 2010

This week seemed to be all about golf and gardening. We have had extremes of weather ranging from wet and cold to extreme heat. We have just had three very hot days & now it is back to steady rain as I write this. I did not play golf through the week as I wanted to catch up with some urgent gardening jobs at home.

Tuesday 9th November 2010 I spent the day at home working on the front gardens, dead heading the roses after the rain last week, weeding and trimming. I planted out some begonias & Petunias for the summer months. Peter started work on the side fence repair that has been waiting for attention for about five years. George Brand called in for a social visit at mid morning just in time to help Peter remove some large blocks of concrete from the old fence foundations. George stayed for lunch which gave us a break out of the heat.

Later that evening I could feel myself coming down with a sore throat and head cold. Not happy Jan! I went to bed early & Peter went out to play cards with his mates.

Wednesday 10th November 2010 I trimmed the camellias at our front entrance & dead headed & trimmed the roses along that side. It was a full days work & I was still feeling low with my cold.

Thursday 11th November 2010 I was determined to do something about the camellias & azaleas growing along the eastern side of our house. It is an area I tend to neglect because it is out of sight - out of mind. The camellias had grown three feet over the top of the house roof which made that side of the house very shady & dark. The gutters were full of camellia debris which I needed to clean out as well. Three and a half green garbage tins later I had all the shrubs trimmed and looking respectable. The light it let in the house was amazing. I kept thinking that I had left the light on. As I always do - I pledge to keep that area tidy but somehow it is always the last section of garden to be done.

Friday 12th November 2010 we had an early morning appointment to have our eyes checked. I have needed new glasses for quite some time. This time I have ordered some distance glasses that are tinted to change with the heat that I can wear them to golf so I can see the golf balls in flight. My old reading glasses have been damaged so I had them upgraded to I will be able to see better when I pick up my new ones next week. Peter was not so lucky - he has cataracts on both eyes & needs laser surgery. His earliest appointment is next February which did not impress him much. We did some shopping for household items, purchased some equipment for F-Troop which included a small hedger for me to use (I blew our old one up last week) & we needed to buy the BBQ food for the F-Troop BBQ tomorrow morning at the club.

At 3.30pm we played in a 9 hole Ambrose competition which led up to the official opening celebration of the Pro Shop which was held in the wedding garden about 6.00pm. It had been a blistering hot day & we were glad of the golf cart to get us around the course. Our playing partners were Arthur & Judy Verlander who are always good company. The evening was a lovely balmy night just perfect to have an outdoor function in the wedding garden. We had raffles and a Member badge draw and in excess of 100 members attended so it was a very successful night. We did not get home until after 11 pm and it was nearly 2 o'clock before I got to bed after doing the golfers blog with about 80 odd photos to deal with.

Saturday 13th November 2010 we were up early to get the BBQ set up at the golf club for a 7.00 start & to clean up the wedding garden area for a 3.3.0pm wedding that day. We had a couple of F-Troop volunteers to run the BBQ so I concentrated on getting the wedding garden area tidied & the front area of the club. I did get half of the putting green garden hedges done with the new hedger but stopped because it was just too hot to work. During the afternoon I found time for a nanny nap to catch up after the late night previously. Just as well that I did as George Brand & Garry & Carolyn Morris dropped in unannounced to watch the Aust Vs NZ footie match with us. I was in my nightie & dressing gown ready for bed & not feeling too well with my cold. They were good company & were not too perturbed with my appearance. It had been a blistering hot 32 degrees day which was a shock to the system.

Sunday 14th November 2010 I was awake at 5.30am so I managed to get all the gardens watered & the back gardens dead headed before getting ready for golf. We had a shotgun start at 12.30 pm & it was a draw for partners which meant I was playing with somebody other than Peter. We had another blistering hot day and I had to walk the distance in the heat as Peter had the cart. Not happy Jan! My playing partner was Dick Bosley and our other partners were Ronda Jordon & Kevin O'Brien. They were great company & we had a good day with my partner keeping me afloat for the day. My golf was less than spectacular & I only contributed two 3 pointers during the day. We stayed for dinner at the club with Lorraine Bignall, Kevin O'Brien, Mark & Anne Stimpson & George & Vicki Foster. It was a good day but exhausting in the heat. It was 11 o'clock by the time I got the blog updated & my head cold was not improving.

We did not see Joel today as Rod & Anne had an early morning christening to attend.

Monday 15th November 2010 I was up again at 5.30 am. I have not been sleeping well with this head cold which has been very annoying all week. We were at F-Troop at 7.00 am & were lucky enough to have 13 of us to do the work on what seemed to be going to be a very hot day. At morning tea time the heavens opened and it started to rain very heavily which put a stop to all of our work. We did get some good work done prior to the rain. I got to finish the putting green hedges with the new hedger which was good. We were home by lunch time which gave me a nice restful afternoon which I badly needed by that time. My cold is still very annoying and I will revise my decision to play golf tomorrow if it is still wet. It has rained steadily all afternoon which is great for the gardens after the last three very hot days.