Monday 26th Nov ember 2012

This week has flown by with great speed.  We have had some hot days and not much rain at all so the gardens are suffering.

Sunday 18th November 2012 we had Anne, Joel & Emily for breakfast as Rod was doing some weekend work.  I had some fun with the kids playing, watering the garden and walking down to the station to see the trains.  At 10.30 we had to get ready to leave for golf.  Our playing partners were Ron & Lynn Puiatti and we had a good day other than the boys beating us for the Keno Ticket on the second last hole.  We stayed for dinner at the club to finish off a nice day.

Monday 19th November 2012 was F-Troop day and we had a 7.00am start.  It was a busy day with lots of projects to complete including the wedding garden that I have been trimming, weeding & mulching.  It was a long day and a nanny nap was required in the afternoon.,

Tuesday 20th November 2012 we had a 8.00 am shotgun start as the Ladies Annual General Meeting was following the golf.  My playing partners were Christine Drakeford, Sheila Williams and Mary Beard.  Our golf was not too good but we had an enjoyable day.  That evening we went out to dinner at Wamberal with Alice & Col and Col & Lauren for a catch up dinner.  We had a good chat about our recent holidays.

Wednesday 21st November 2012 I worked on the Golf Club gardens doing some weeding and trimming.

Thursday 22nd November 2012 I worked in the front gardens at home until lunch time.  We have not had a lot of rain but the weeds still continue to grow.   At 3 o'clock Peter dropped me at the Erina Day Hospital to have my second cataract eye operation.  It all went smoothly and I was home by 6.30 pm wearing a very attractive eye patch.  I had no pain but felt very tired so an early night was in order.

Friday 23rd November 2012 we did some household shopping. Peter did some work around the yard and I rested up so I did not upset my eye.  My eye is very good with not much discomfort at all,  I can do some reading without glasses but I still need reading glasses for small writing. I can use the computer without glasses which is great.  Friday evening we went to the Golf Club for dinner and the raffle night and we won the baked dinner prize which was a leg of lamb and all the vegetables.

Saturday 24th November 2012 I did some garden work at home before going over to the club to clean up for a garden wedding in the afternoon.  The day started off overcast and then turned into a beautiful sunny day for the wedding.  There were two wedding receptions in the clubhouse as well as the Men's Saturday golf so it was a busy place.

Sunday 25th November 2012 we did not have Rod & Anne over for the traditional Sunday breakfast as they had gone away to Nelson's Bay camping with Anne's family and Shane was there also playing golf.
Golf today was a very popular day being the Annual Naggers Cup which is always a fun day. It is an American Foursomes and Peter & I did not play all that badly but missed just too many opportunities for a good score.  We went to the clubhouse early at 8 o'clock  to help set up for a Members breakfast which was held prior to the golf game.  Everyone enjoyed their champagne & orange juice and a nice hot breakfast before a 12.30 shotgun start.  Our playing partners were Garry & Doreen Trigg and we had a good day but pity about the golf. My highlight was that I drove two of the par 3 greens and did a good difficult chip shot to the green under pressure.  We stayed for dinner at the club to finish off a nice day.  It was 34 degrees and we appreciated having the golf cart.

Monday 26th November 2012 (today) we had another early F-Troop start.  It was a busy day as we did not have too many volunteers today.  We worked through until 3 o'clock which was a big day.  There were storms all around us tonight but we got very little of the rain as it was all Sydney or Newcastle way.

Tomorrow is Ladies Golf day and it is our Annual Christmas day and final day of formal golf for the year.  We now go into informal ball competitions for the summer.  We have an 8 o'clock shotgun start so I hope we do not have too much heat - the prediction is 31 degrees.    

Saturday 17th November 2012

Thursday 15th November 2012 Peter and I made a joint effort to give our Golf Cart a good wash and polish.  It gets very dirty especially when I use it for F-Troop work.  We took the cart out to the club wash bay and gave it a thorough clean and polish and it is shining like a new pin.  We make good use of the cart using it a minimum of four times a week.

Peter had a couple of things to do at the Club so I did a bit of gardening in the front gardens of the Club while I was waiting for him.

In the afternoon I did some work on my travel blog.   Late afternoon we did a bit of household shopping so that we had Friday free to do a couple of things.  I found out that I had won a raffle prize from Tuesdays Golf and it was a small wheelie suitcase - handy for weekend travel.

Friday 16th November 2012 we went out to Bunnings and I bought some new roses and some petunias for my garden at home.  It was not a good weather day so I spent the afternoon working on my travel blog.  That evening we went over to the club for Raffle Duty.  We came home empty handed with no raffle wins.

Saturday 17th November 2012 (today) Peter was playing in the Club Foursomes Championships so I spent the morning doing some of the gardens at the club and planted out some of the roses and petunias at home.  In the afternoon I did some more work on my travel blog and I am just about finished the New York section.

All going well I hope to make some good inroads into my travel blog in the next few weeks if time permits.     

Wednesday 14th November 2012

The last two weeks have been a bit of a blur - still fighting off jet lag and trying to catch up with my photos and the blogs among other things.

Wednesday 31st October 2012 I had my check up with my eye specialist after my first cataract operation.  I got a good report and the my other eye is now scheduled to be done on 22nd November 2012 which is great as my eyes will be fully functional for Christmas all going well.

Thursday 1st November 2012 I did some garden work during the day and that evening we went to the RSL Club to celebrate Shane's 41st birthday which was on the 29th October and Peter's 70th birthday which is going to be on Monday 5th November.  We met Shane & Sam and Rod, Anne, Joel and Emily for dinner there so the two littlies could be included and the RSL Club has a children's playroom there which is helpful to keep them entertained.

Friday 2nd November 2012 I did some more gardening and catching up and that night we went to the Golf Club Raffle night as Peter was on raffle duty.

Saturday 3rd November 2012 I did a day of gardening at the golf club to catch up with some of the gardens there.

Sunday 4th November 2012 we went over to Rod & Anne's to see the kids before going to golf.  Our golf partners were Doug & Robin Incoll and we had a good day and stayed for dinner at the club that night.

Monday 5th November 2012 was Peter's 70th birthday.  We went to F-Troop as usual and had a big day there.  At morning tea we had a celebration "cake" for Peter's birthday. Peter bought a ticket in the greenkeepers sweep and drew "Green Moon" Shane called over for the occasion and stayed for morning tea.  That evening we went to the Golf Club for a pre Melbourne Cup dinner and sweep draw.  We did not draw a winning horse there.

Tuesday 6th November 2012 was Melbourne Cup Day.  We had a shotgun start at golf so that we could all be in by lunchtime and get ready to watch the Melbourne Cup after golf.  My golf partners were Yvonne Wilson, Elly Van Den Berg and Helen Darkes.  The Ladies put on a fashion parade before the cup and we all had a nice day.  I was up at 5 o'clock to cut some roses to decorate all the tables for the luncheon.  It was a good day and I drew "Green Moon" in the sweep so I came out $10 in front.

Wednesday 7th November 2012 I had another day in the Golf Club gardens.

Thursday 8th November 2012 we did some shopping at Bunnings and out at Erina getting some things for the Golf Club and doing a bit of pre Christmas shopping.

Friday 9th November 2012 I did some more catch up work around the house and that evening we went to Raffle night at the Golf Club.

Saturday 10th November 2012 we did not have a wedding at the club and it was a poor weather day so I spent some time editing my holiday photos and catching up with my blogs.

Sunday 11th November 2012 Rod, Anne, Joel and Emily came over for breakfast and to play for a while before we went to golf.  I took them out in the garden and down to the railway to keep them amused.  Our golf partners were Duncan & Rosalie Dyer and we had a good day on the village green.  My golf was improved from the last time I played but there is still a lot of room for more improvement.  I am still blaming jet lag even though it is three weeks since we got home. We stayed for dinner at the club to finish the day off.

Monday  12th November 2012 we were up early for F-Troop 7.00am start.  We had a big morning with a lot of clean up work to be done.

Tuesday 13th November 2012 I played golf with the Ladies.  My playing partners were Rosalie Dyer & Kath Payn and we had a good day.  Kath was the star & won the day with 43 points.  I made a good effort in the first 9 holes and then my wheels fell off.  That afternoon after golf I went to my beauticians for a manicure & pedicure which were well overdue.

Wednesday 14th November 2012 (today) I went to Sydney with Anne (Martin) to see "Legally Blonde" at the Lyric Theatre.  We caught an early train so we could have a look at DJ's Christmas window display and while there I bought Joel and Emily a Christmas outfit each and a few other things.  We had lunch at the Casino before the show and I left one of my parcels at the table where we were sitting.  I realised during the show that I had left it there.  After the show we went back to the restaurant and at first they said they did not have it and then as we were leaving they caught us just in time with the parcel which somebody had found.  What good luck!  My chances of getting that back were very slim.  We had a good day and enjoyed the show and got home with no hassles on the train.

At long last I have caught up with this blog.  Now all I have to do is my travel blog which I will update and event at a time working backwards from New York so that, when finished, it will read through in the right order of travel.  This will take me quite some time as I have taken thousands of photos and videos to hold the memories of the holiday.  I will give you updates of my progress as I go along.

Tuesday 30th October 2012

Saturday 27th October 2012 I had some gardening to do at home and then a garden wedding at the golf club to prepare for.  That evening I went back to the Clubhouse to take photos of the Men's Championship Presentation and helped Jeff Nash celebrate a trophy that he won in England when he participated in a golf tour of all the courses in England that hosted the British Open.  Geoff won the Event and was the proud owner of the "Claret Jug".  We went to Mark & Anne Stimpson's for dinner and a catch up chat with them.

Sunday 28th October 2012 we played in the Club Foursomes Championship over 27 holes.  Our playing partners were Col & Lauren Matterson and Doug & Robin Incoll.  We had a good day but did not score well.  I think the jet lag was still taking it's toll.

Monday 29th October 2012 we had a big day at F-Troop not finishing until well into the afternoon. We made a start on the foundations to support the two decorative balls that will be displayed at the 10th tee as well as doing a lot of clean up work.

Tuesday 30th October 2012 I played golf with the Ladies.  My playing partners were Rosalie Dyer and Kath Payn.  It was a cool day and I did not play all that well.  Plenty of room for improvement one could say!