Wednesday 30th January 2013

It has been a big mix of weather this week with some very heavy rain on Sunday and Monday but thankfully not enough to do any damage. It was very inconvenient for anyone wanting to celebrate Australia Day outside. There is flooding up the North Coast so we were happy that we opted not to have our regular Byron Bay holiday this year - we would have been stuck there again in the rain & flood waters which happened to us last time.

Thursday 24th January 2013 I dedicated to the back rose gardens getting them weeded, fertilized and treated the soil so that I will have a nice show of roses come March and April.  It took me all day but I was determined to finish.

Friday 25th January 2013 we babysat Joel and Emily from 6.15 am to 5.30 while Anne was at work.  We made pancakes for breakfast and then went down to the Gosford waterfront so Joel & Emily could have a swim.  It was a lovely day and the Gosford waterfront is a perfect place for little ones like Joel and Emily.  The water is shallow so they could paddle around and it was also partly shaded which made it comfortable. There was a playground right next door in the park where the kids could play & we had morning tea at the picnic tables.  Peter bought them a chocolate paddle pop which was a big treat.  We stayed there for a couple of hours until it was time to bring Emily home for a sleep. The kids loved it and were happy to come home for a quiet time in the afternoon.  Joel is getting very good at playing games on my iPad and Emily loves it too.  Anne fed and bathed the kids before taking them home about 5.30.  We went over to the Golf Club for dinner and the raffles and ended up staying until about 11.00pm.  We won a baked dinner in the raffles (leg of lamb & vegetables) which was a good bonus.

Saturday 26th January 2013 we went household shopping in the morning & then had a catch up rest before driving the Graham & Anne's house to celebrate Matthew's 30th birthday.  It was good to catch up with all the family and to congratulate Matthew on his 30th birthday and engagement to Jana and also to have a cuddle of Nicholas & Carla's new son Hamish.  Anne & Graham are looking forward to a month in Europe where they hope to enjoy some skiing in France.  Graham hurt his knee while holidaying at Copacabana over the holidays and is doing physio to get himself fit enough to ski.  Heather & Matt are house sitting for them.
It was a hot afternoon with storms brewing.  We left at a reasonable time because we were booked to play golf on Sunday, and we had a good run home along the highway.

Sunday 27th January 2013 it rained for most of the day - very heavily at times.  Our golf was cancelled but Anne came over with Joel and Emily as Rod was at a mates 40th birthday party at Avoca.  The kids were able to get out on the front verandah & play in the sand pit but the rain was very heavy.  Thank heavens for the iPad which kept them amused.  Anne left late afternoon to pick Rod up from Avoca & we had a slow cooker on for dinner.  Mark Stimpson rang to see if we wanted to go over & have a game of cards as golf had been washed out and they were bored.  We went over to Mark & Anne's after dinner & played cards between watching the final of the tennis.

Monday 28th January 2013 we were up early for F-Troop.  It had rained overnight but was overcast when we were ready to leave.  I had a look at the forecast and it showed very heavy rain coming.  I baled out of F-Troop & Peter went over for a few hours until the rain got too heavy.  I have been managing to get a bit of work done on my travel blog in stops and starts during the week and spent the day doing a bit more.  Anne rang to say that their microwave had blown up so Anne & Joel came over & picked me up and we went out to K-Mart at Erina and got another one.  Thankfully they are not expensive items to buy anymore and are best to replace once they start getting old which prompted me to consider buying a new one for us as we have had our old one for quiet some time and it is a little dog eared.

Tuesday 29th January 2013 the rain had continued over night so the Golf Course was closed and my golf was cancelled.  We decided to go to the movies at Erina as it seemed to be a good rainy day thing to do and we had been recommended a movie to see - Django unchained.  It was a long movie so we had a late lunch afterwards at Erina & I picked up another microwave for us to replace our old one. I got some more photos done and caught up with the ironing in the afternoon & the watched the Mission Impossible movie to finish up the day.

Wednesday 30th January 2013 (today) the weather had cleared so I was out in the garden early dead heading the roses that were ruined in the rain and weeded a bit more of the garden that I did not get to last time..  I got my fertilizing done at the exact right time as the roses will shoot well now that the gardens have got a good drenching.  I will do some more photo editing this afternoon so that I can post my next part of our USA holiday photos.  I am currently up to Zion National Park which was a beautiful place.

Tomorrow is Rod's 40th birthday and they are coming here for a Mum's Lamb Roast (the one I won in the raffle). I will have a birthday cake so the kids can help to blow out the candles.  Rod is having his formal party on Friday night at the Golf Club with his mates which I am sure he will enjoy.




  

Wednesday 23rd January 2013

We only thought we were hot last week.  This week went from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Wednesday 16th January 2013 I spent in the front gardens working on fertilizing & treating the roses and then in the afternoon did some more work on my travel photos.

Thursday 17th January 2013 I played golf as I did not play on Tuesday.  My playing partners were Rosalie Dyer, Kath Payn & Lea Southon.  It was a hot day so Lea came in the cart with me as Rosalie & Kath had their own cart/bike to use.  Kath won the day with a great score which was a good highlight for us.  I had a good par on the 9th and finished with two 3 pointers which made my day. Anne bought Joel and Emily around about 4 o'clock as they were having iPad withdrawals.  They are both getting addicted to the games I have downloaded for them and are getting quite good at operating the iPad. Rod & Anne had to go to the Golf Club to organise Rod's 40th birthday party so the kids stayed with us for a while.

Friday 18th January 2013 was a real stinker with temperatures reaching 45 degrees.  My poor garden and the golf Club Gardens really suffered.  I was up early to pick a bunch of roses to take to my beauticians and just as well I did as they would have burnt off in the heat.  I had an early appointment to have a manicure and pedicure & waxing which worked out well as I called into the supermarket afterwards to pick up a few things and was home before the high heat hit.  It was just too hot to do anything much but to sit in the air conditioning and be glad to be inside out of the heat.  That evening we went to the Golf Club for raffles an badge draw.  I won a meat tray which was a bonus.

Saturday 19th January 2013 I was over at the Golf Club early as we had a garden wedding that day and I needed to do some watering after yesterday's heat wave.  I worked over there until 1.30 and then came home to catch up with a few more of my travel photos.  I have been a bit slack getting them all uploaded but it is very time consuming and I have so many other things to get done.  Today is my annual reflection day, looking back and looking forward. Keeping busy is a good answer for everything.

Sunday 20th January 2013 we had some nice rain overnight and it was still coming down steadily which was great for the gardens.  We went over to Rod & Anne's to have a bit of time with Joel & Emily before going to golf at 10.30.  It was still raining steadily so we met our playing partners Duncan & Rosalie Dyer, at the Club to contemplate over a drink as to whether we would play golf or not.  The rain still had not cleared by lunch time so we decided on giving golf a miss and have some R & R instead.  The rain did clear later and we probably could have played but I am not a keen wet weather golfer.  I have enough trouble when it is dry.  I was able to get some more travel photos done which was a bonus.

Monday 21st January 2013 we were up early for F-Troop.  It was a nice cool overcast day and good working weather.  We did not have a big working crew so we just had to get as many jobs done as we could.  We worked until about 12.30 and then had an R & R afternoon. That night I did some more work on my travel photos.  I have finished all the photos from our Eastern USA & Canada tour and am now up to Las Vegas.

Tuesday 22nd January 2013 I played golf early (7.30am) as the day was forecast to reach 31 degrees.  My playing partners were Lyn Bates and Anne Burke and we had a nice day.  Our final scores were not great but we did have some good highlights.  I had a good par on the 10th and a gobbler at the 6th followed by a couple of terrible shots that got lucky bounces and turned into great result so I was happy.

Wednesday 23rd January 2013 (today) I spent the morning in the front gardens getting the last of the roses there fertilized and treated.  The roses were badly burnt off from the heat wave in places and I had to cut them off which was a shame as I had some lovely new shoots that have been ruined.  I worked until 2.30 filling up two green bins - so it was a good job done.  It has been an overcast day and perfect for working out in the garden.

Tomorrow I am hoping to start on the back gardens which need the same treatment as the front gardens so that come March the roses should be at their best.

Tuesday 15th January 2013

This week went quickly enough with some mixed weather days.

Wednesday 9th January 2013 the weather predictions were in the high 30's.  Peter went to golf and I had an R & R day enjoying the air conditioning and doing a few odd jobs.

Thursday 10th January 2013 We had Rod, Joel and Emily for the day.  I kept Joel and Emily occupied while Peter started on replacing some of the support wires for the roses with something more suitable that does not cook the roses in high heat.  Rod did a great job of cleaning the sky lights and the light panels on the roof which made the house look a whole lot better. Anne has been working all week while Rod had some holidays.

Friday 11th January 2013 we were up early to go to the Golf Course to give the tibouchinas a good water.  They suffered in the high heat of  last Tuesday so they needed to be watered well before the next hot day coming up on the weekend.  We were home by 9 o'clock and Rod dropped Joel & Emily over while he did some shopping.  Anne was doing a double shift so the kids stayed all day and we took them to the club that evening for dinner as Peter was on raffle duty.  The kids were tired by then and Rod took them home to bed about 7.30.  Rod won a meat tray in the raffle so that was a bonus.

Saturday 12th January 2013 the temperature was due to hit 42 degrees.  We were up early to do the household shopping as Peter was going to golf.  Again I found things to do inside in the air conditioning. I have been watering the gardens in the early morning or late evening so the gardens stay alive.

Sunday 13th January 2013 we went over to Bunnings and got a few things.  I stocked up on rose fertilizer and soil treatment as it was time to get the roses prepared for their March display. Peter did some more work on the fencing and I started on systematically weeding, fertilizing and treating each of the roses and managed to get the side garden completed.  I got the garden sprayed for black spot and fungus and no sooner had I done it that it started raining.  So that part of my work was a waste of time.   That evening we (Peter & I and another Club Director) went out to the Shelly Beach Golf Club to represent the Gosford Club at a District function.  Shelly Beach is a lovely Golf Course with beautiful ocean views. It was very late by the time I updated the Golfers Blog after we got home.  We had heavy rain that evening so that relieved the gardens.

Monday 14th January 2013 we were up early for the 7.00am F-Troop start.  The day was much cooler which made our work more comfortable.    We lasted until 12.30 and then called it a day as we were tired from yesterday.  That afternoon I had a dental appointment to repair a damaged tooth.  Fortunately I had not done too much damage and had the problem promptly fixed by my long time dentist and came home with some change out of $100 which impressed me.

Tuesday 15th January 2013 (today) I was up early to get some more fertilizing and trimming done in the front gardens.  At 11 o'clock I had to go out to Erina to have a CT guided injection of steroid into my right foot where I have been suffering from arthritis for some time.  It was fascinating to watch how they pin point the injection to the exact right spot by looking at a CT image on the screen.  The injection was painful but not unbearable and I feel as though it was placed in the right spot.  So hopefully I will now have some pain free evenings when my arthritis used to cause me some grief.  Time will tell.  My foot is still a bit sensitive tonight but understandably so. Again this procedure did not hit us in the hip pocket as it is all done through medicare.
This afternoon I was back in the garden continuing my mission to finish the roses. Shane called around after work and on his way to play bowls.  He stayed for a couple of beers and we had a good chat.

There was another break & enter and a car stolen from our street again today so we have to remember to stay vigilant at this time of the year there seem to be more low life around.

The last couple of days have been pleasant but the predictions are that the weather will hot up after tomorrow and be back up to 42 degrees on Saturday.

Tuesday 8th January 2013

It was a rather eventful week in one way or another.  The heatwave hit today - thank heavens for air conditioners.

Wednesday 2nd January 2013 Peter played golf and I spent the day working in the garden and around the house.  I was expecting the arrival of the new buffet for the kitchen the next day so I had to start sorting a few things out.  Graham rang from Copacabana where he is spending his Christmas break & said he was playing golf at Gosford as well.  Graham called in after golf to say hello & have a catch up as we had not had a chance to see each other since Christmas Day.

Thursday 3rd January 2013 Rod brought Joel & Emily over for a visit as he was in charge of babysitting this week while Anne had been at work.  While they were here the Kitchen Buffet arrived and thankfully fitted beautifully into the space we had in the kitchen.  I am very happy with the look of it and I have got so much more storage room now.

Friday 4th January 2013 I was up early to wash the kitchen curtains and Peter helped me to clean the windows. We went into Gosford and bought a runner for the top of the buffet and a round table cloth for the dining room.  Peter decided that we should go out to lunch so we went to Woy Woy and ended up having lunch at the Old Woy Woy pub - just because it was there.  It was fairly basic in the restaurant and there were a heap of holiday makers there which made it rather noisy.  That evening we went to the Golf Club for dinner and Raffles and managed to win a meat tray.

Saturday 5th January 2013 Peter played golf with Graham and I spent the day sorting out cupboards and filling up the spaces in the kitchen buffet.  That was quiet a job as I am such a bad hoarder eg I found enough Christmas cards/birthday cards/gift wrapping/gift cards/sticky tape/ribbons to last us for about 5 years. All were filed away neatly in different places that I forget about and then I go out and buy more.  I have them all filed together in one place now - so I have no excuse.  I have been able to put up our electronic photo display units now and I am going to change the photos over every couple of days so that we have new photos there every time we walk past. The sun room looks better for a clean up.

Sunday 6th January 2013 we went over to Rod & Anne's to see Joel and Emily before going to golf. We were playing golf with Wally & Rhonda Robertson.  They were great fun and we had a good day made even better when I won the Ladies Comp. with 39 points.  That evening we went to the Gosford Hotel for dinner with some of our friends from the Golf Club.  The Club does not open for dinner on Sunday nights so we have had to find some alternatives.

Monday 7th January 2013 we were up early for F-Troop 7.00am start.  We had a lot of garden watering to do as there was a predicted 43 degree heatwave due on Tuesday.  We worked through until 1.30 getting as much done as possible. When we arrived home Rod was there with Joel and Emily as he was in charge of babysitting again this week while Anne is working.  Luckily Rod had holidays at this time of the year when Joel and Emily's kindergarten is closed for holidays so it has worked out okay.  Joel helped me in the garden cleaning up some weeds and picked some ripe tomatoes for our lunch.  Joel and Emily both love the iPad games and enjoy playing games when they come over. That evening I spent some time getting water into the gardens in preparation for the heatwave.

Tuesday 8th January 2013 (today) I was up early to water the front gardens and to pick some of the open roses before they got burnt off in the heat.  I decided not to play golf today as the weather was going to be so intense. We went out to Bunnings to get a few things and also bought a new pressure cleaner from Repco as our old one needed to be retired.  My new cartridges for my "photo cube" arrived in the mail which I needed to collect from the post office.  So I am all set up to print off my photos straight from my iPhone or iPad now.  The weather was really hot by lunch time, reaching 40 degrees  so we went home and turned on the air conditioner and spent the rest of the day relaxing in the cool while everything was sweltering outside.

Thankfully there is a cool change coming through tonight and tomorrow should be okay and hopefully we get some showers to help the gardens out.