In Melbourne!!!

Hello from MELBOURNE!!

Well, after a very easy drive down on Saturday, we had a very pleasant drive from around Goulburn in the RAIN! It was very weird driving with these things going across the windscreen every couple of seconds! Victoria is so green at the moment. The further we went south, the heavier it got and the colder it got too!! We got our hotel agent, (A) to book us a room at the Bayview on the park which apart from being a bit tired, was ok. It was funny, as A was doing the booking when we were still about 30 mins out of Melb City. Thanx A!

Yesterday, after we checked out, we drove up to St Kilda to go to the markets along the Esplanade. These were great, as L bought herself a new necklace. It must have been really obvious we were from the northern states, as L had a shirt, jumper and then her leather jacket! We had a late breakfast, jumped on a tram to Sth Melb markets, (boring) and then went back to St Kilda to the car and to go to our hotel in the city, the Grand Hyatt very nice here! We had a plain dinner, and whilst L was studying, I was watching the Olympics, Idol (on the phone with A), then retired to a good nights sleep around 11.30.

L has gone off to breakfast with the conference, and I am going to McDonald's (or somewhere else that is cheap as it would cost around $30 for me here!!), then off to see something of Melb! Maybe the 'G' who knows (I don't!). Well, I had better get ready.

C'YA

B

More exciting news! P and M are having a baby (due Feb 2005).

I spoke with my special friend P today, and have arranged to have morning tea with her when I get back from Melbourne.

Other exciting news, but nowhere near as important. I think my Korean craft books written in Japanese have arrived. The posties postcard advising we had a parcel to collect was amongst the mail when I got home from work. I think tomorrow I'll be a bit late to work, as I don't know whether I can wait till after work to collect them from the post office. And what perfect timing, the littlest sister is coming over tomorrow evening to help B with some graphic design work, so I will be able to test her Japanese language skills.

Gotta go! B has dinner on the table.

Breaking news!

The littlest sister is now engaged. This event took place at Mundi Mundi (Broken Hill) at sunset today.

Congratulations Liv and I.

We said goodbye to the Cabbage Tree Palm this morning!

It was not a great start to 3 days leave. Have you ever noticed that there is some sort of consipiracy thing that happens when you get a few days off work, and you think you're going to get a sleep in. You know, someones car alarm goes off, or in the case of this mornings effort it was tree removers and their chainsaws.

We like our neighbours across the road, and we really liked their tree. I'm not a great fan of palms in general, but this Palm was so elegant, and tall. Lying in bed it was the only thing I could see other than the sky, and it could be quite mesmerizing as you gazed at its fronds swaying in the wind. The birds really liked it too.

I can't understand why they got rid of it. It certainly improved the look of their house, softening the brick veneer and colorbond, not to mention breaking up the expanse of concrete that is their front garden.

Well for the part it played in the aesthics of the street, providing a resting place for birds, its efforts in reducing greenhouse gases and purifying the air we breath it will be sadly missed by us across the road.

I'm addicted to ebay!!

I have been procrastinating over some books for sale on the internet through a seller on ebay 'Kitty's Oriental Craft Shop' for a few weeks now. The books get listed, someone else buys them and I curse myself and say I'll get them next time. Why didn't I just get them? They are written in Japanese!

Anyway, I've taken the plunge and bought them, I hope

1. they have lots of pictures and diagrams to overcome the language barrier, and
2. the littlest sister can help out, after all she did spend 3 months in Japan, teaching English to the Japanese.

Well this has been enough of a distraction from my study time, and B and Macc will be back soon, and more time will be wasted as I tell of my new purchases.

Just so you know ~ B has taken Macc for a tub at L's which he desperately needed as he was so dusty from rolling around in the nonexistent grass in our backyard. L is also hosting the meeting of the committee for GAPNSW, so not only will Macc be getting a bath he is also able to run around with another 'grey' and Sam who thinks she's a 'grey' for longer, and may be other puppies who are visiting as well.

I'm back!!  It has taken a bit to settle back into the routine of home and work.  I had a week of terrible jet lag and then got a cold which knocked me about a bit.  I have now been back at work for a couple of weeks, and can't believe that it is only a couple of days short of a month since I have been back.

This is also my first week back at uni, this semester the subject is Economics.  What can I say, this is definitely not one of my strongest areas.

More excitingly, today was my first flex, and mum and I went to the Affordable Art Show.   We had a great time and I made a purchase of a piece of art by a Western Australian artist, Rebecca Cool.  I love the colours of the 'Guiding Angel' and the incorporation of recycled fabrics.   I am not sure where it will eventually be hung, but I will have plenty of time to think about this while I save up for the framing.

Hi everyone!
 
Well, it's now been 3 weeks since I have been back and I want to go back!!!!
 
But, alas, I cant!  We are now back in the swing of things with work, duh!
 
We have been trying to get the garden back into order, as there has been next to no rain. Macc is back at home, and again the garden is under stress!
 
Over last weekend, I got a new X-Box game, Dr Muto! It is great, thanx A for finding it and fight the other guy off it!! I am getting through (slowly), but it is good!
 
Lou is now back into the swing of study, lots of reading!
 
Well, whilst there has been a lot of time since the last post, I don't have a lot to say, so cya next time!
 
B

Good morning, it is 7.10am, Canada time. This is a really quick one to let you all know that we arrived safely yesterday. I am now off to get some breakfast and then R and I are off to Hamilton to meet with the Vision 2020 coordinator. Can't really tell you much about Canada, except to say from the brief glimpse I got as we travelled on the coach to the hotel that it looks a lot like Sydney.

Well, it's almost over!!
I am in Heathrow duty free area, waiting to get my boarding call. Then it is off to Narita then home to Sydney!!
I did the bus tour around London this morning after both L & R left for Chicago. It was a good tour, but, I think it would have been better if L was with me :-(.
For £1 I get 15 mins on here, and it is a very stiff/hard keyboard to use, so I will "sign off" for now, and update in Narita!
Cheers
B

Hi Folks,
Well I am in lovely Liverpool with my Auntie Pat. This afternoon, I was taken to the Cavern Club:- home of the Beatles!
It is quite cold here, but nice all the same.
We also went to where my dad grew up, which is where auntie Pat has recently moved out from! I was also taken to the church where we thought dad was confirmed, but after looking through the records to find his confirmation entry, we found both Pat, and also uncle Bernard (whom by chance was Bernard James Patrick! I have also taken Patrick for my confirmation as well!!!)
Well, I had better go now, I hope all is well with you Louise over at Furness Vale tonight, and will see you tomorrow afternoon!!
Cheers
B