It is definitely still Winter here in Melbourne. Especially since we're currently looking forward to a high of 11 degrees on Friday! This has been one of the worst snow seasons for the Victorian Alps in many many years and Mt Baw Baw is closing this weekend.
My Dad (Graeme) visited last weekend, arriving on Friday evening and leaving on Sunday afternoon. It was great to see him again and we look forward to his next visit with Lauren (my little sister) on her return in November from trekking through Europe as a Contiki tour guide. What a hoot!
Dad had only just departed and Viv and Brian arrived for a two week stay. The house is abuzz with the interaction of grandparents and grandchildren once more.
I'm still enjoying working from home, While it does present a different set of challenges, the benefits are fantastic. Like once I finish breakfast, work is at the end of the hallway and when I've finished work, the family is just outside the door. My company has secured an office in North Melbourne and we'll be taking up residence in the next 6 weeks or so. I won't need to go in there every day so I'll get to enjoy the interaction of working in an office and the solitude and benefits of working from home.
Patrick has finished AusKick for the year and received his medal at the final session last weekend. We had a BBQ afterwards and now we've got a 6-8 week break before Milo cricket starts again! Angus seems keen to take up AusKick next year too.
The lawn bowling season is almost upon us again and my Club has been fortunate enough to get $40,000 from the Federal Government and $18,000 from the State Government to help with the replacement of our synthetic green destroyed by a flood over 18 months ago.
Karen and I are attending a trivia night this weekend. It's that time of year again - every group/organisation seems to be in fundraising mode.
'til next time, Michael
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Gee we've been a slack lot...
Gee we've been a slack lot. March was our last post! Sorry.
So, what have we been up to since March?
Well, we went to the Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt at Werribee Mansion on Easter Saturday (I think). That was a great day. The kids found heaps of little solid eggs, we got entry to the Mansion for the day as well and the entertainment on the green was enjoyable.
May saw Michael change jobs (for those who don't know already). He went from Computershare to PayGlobal. It's the same sort of role but in a much smaller company and a totally different industry. It's already seen him in Sydney twice and will eventually see him in New Zealand - after all it is a Kiwi company.
Sometime since March we went with Col, one of our friendly neighbours, to a miniature railway. Col is involved with Puffing Billy and the volunteer railways of varying sizes have Open Days for each other so we managed an invite to this one with Col. The detail in these miniature trains is outstanding. The kids (and the adults) loved it. And to top it off - it was all FREE!
Angus fell asleep on what turned out to be his last ride of the evening.
We spent the mid-year school holidays in Sydney (for those we didn't catch up with) and Michael actually worked from Viv and Brian's place. Since he's working from home these days, it doesn't really matter whose home it is, does it?
After the holidays we headed back south and have been experiencing a very cold winter. It hasn't helped the Victorian snow fields, but it's been 'bleedin' cold in Upwey.
For those faithful few that have been following the saga that is the synthetic green at the Upwey-Tecoma Bowls Club, we've had a breakthrough. The President, Secretary (Michael) and one other committee member met with AFL legend and Victorian Sports Minister, Justin Madden, a couple of weeks ago on the off chance that he might take pity on the CLub and dish out a few $. Ten days later we get confirmation through our local State member (also a Labor MP) that we'd been allocated an ex gratia payment of $18,000. While this doesn't cover the replacement of the green, it puts us in a better position to get the remaining funds required. So with a bit of luck we should have a new green in October. Stay tuned for more details!
So, what have we been up to since March?
Well, we went to the Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt at Werribee Mansion on Easter Saturday (I think). That was a great day. The kids found heaps of little solid eggs, we got entry to the Mansion for the day as well and the entertainment on the green was enjoyable.
May saw Michael change jobs (for those who don't know already). He went from Computershare to PayGlobal. It's the same sort of role but in a much smaller company and a totally different industry. It's already seen him in Sydney twice and will eventually see him in New Zealand - after all it is a Kiwi company.
Sometime since March we went with Col, one of our friendly neighbours, to a miniature railway. Col is involved with Puffing Billy and the volunteer railways of varying sizes have Open Days for each other so we managed an invite to this one with Col. The detail in these miniature trains is outstanding. The kids (and the adults) loved it. And to top it off - it was all FREE!
Angus fell asleep on what turned out to be his last ride of the evening.
We spent the mid-year school holidays in Sydney (for those we didn't catch up with) and Michael actually worked from Viv and Brian's place. Since he's working from home these days, it doesn't really matter whose home it is, does it?
After the holidays we headed back south and have been experiencing a very cold winter. It hasn't helped the Victorian snow fields, but it's been 'bleedin' cold in Upwey.
For those faithful few that have been following the saga that is the synthetic green at the Upwey-Tecoma Bowls Club, we've had a breakthrough. The President, Secretary (Michael) and one other committee member met with AFL legend and Victorian Sports Minister, Justin Madden, a couple of weeks ago on the off chance that he might take pity on the CLub and dish out a few $. Ten days later we get confirmation through our local State member (also a Labor MP) that we'd been allocated an ex gratia payment of $18,000. While this doesn't cover the replacement of the green, it puts us in a better position to get the remaining funds required. So with a bit of luck we should have a new green in October. Stay tuned for more details!
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