Too many drafts

I've just found three beginnings of posts in my email.. I start a post and then something comes up and I don't remember to come back later and finish it. Oops.

In an hour..ish, we head for the local station. We've booked the coach to Heathrow from Cardiff and need to get in to town by 12.30pm. Unfortunately, Sunday timetabling means we'll be hanging around in the centre for an hour. Given it was that or the need to run with our cases to the coach stop, I'm happy to wait.

Although our flight is a very reasonable 27 hours (or thereabouts), once we add on getting to the airport, or travel time is approaching 48hrs! In fact, if we add the car journey at the other end (thanks Mum & Clive), it'll be over two days! Don't expect us to be too buoyant on arrival. ;-)

Looking forward to seeing everyone! Still doesn't seem real.. I've been super busy at work lately and haven't had time to think about it! Dial up the sunshine for us please - we'll be there soon!!

*big hugz*
-b&d-

Go Dan Grading

A big week this week for Iaido.

On Tuesday the Win News cameraman came and took some footage of the dojo, plus interviewing me and my students. He'd seen me do the demo for Chinese New Year, and started training a few weeks earlier. He'd had the idea of putting together a little story about the club, and was able to find a "newsworthy" angle to go with.

Wednesday it was on the news. I don't know if it will bring new students or not, but it was kind of cool anyway. You've probably already seen it but here it is.

Thursday I headed out to a karate class to teach one of the Sensei there. He's keen to learn but very busy (and unavailable on Tuesday when I have my usual class) so we'll need to work out some way I can teach him, maybe once a month.

Then Saturday I caught a lift to Melbourne with one of the students to take part in Shihan's seminar/grading. I passed my Go Dan (fifth Dan) grade, which was good! We'd had a bit of training but then everyone just stood around watching, so I had to be careful - Shihan might not have minded a little mistake but I didn't want the students doubting me ;) I'd prepared for 20 waza (fighting forms) and Shihan picked about 7 out of that list for me to do. If I'd known which 7 I could have really worked those, but no luck - I had to be ready to do any.

That should be my last grading for 2 years, plus the next one also requires those same 20, so I'm okay for now.

Shihan also wanted me to take a more active role in teaching the Melbourne guys, and especially to try to get their teacher up to a higher standard, so I'm going to try to make the trip down every 4 - 6 weeks to teach. There's a fair bit to improve but hopefully I can get it all working a bit better before Shihan returns.

House Hunting

Today we started our hunt to find a new place to live.

It turns out our 'walk-in bar' is actually bigger than most people's master bedroom...   :-(

Hmmm ....  maybe we have too much alcohol.....I guess we can fix that though!!  :-)

Our makeover is complete

I thought I'd write a quick post here (before it gets too late) to tell y'all about our little makeover^[1] which was completed today.

Jess and co. from Temple & Webster arrived at 9am this morning and immediately started unloading a van with various things -- I dawdled as long as I could, but eventually had to head off to work (dammit!), with a promise to return circa 3:30 for the wrap-up and photo shoot. Luckily (?), I'm so busy with work at the moment that the intervening hours just flew by, so before I knew it I was taking my leave and heading back home...

... to find all sorts of shiny interior design-y goodness had magically transformed our habitat into a cosy little home. We had new furniture and furnishings, plants and greenery galore, a dining table, lamps and haberdashery^[2]. I wandered through the space in awe, finding new marvels at every turn and only half-listening as Jess explained each item or another. A rug made from saris? Hand-stencilled cushion covers? Tiny poison bottles-cum-vases? A fiddle-leaf fern in our house?? All very cool, very "us" (I think) but somehow more than we would have been able to put together ourselves (price notwithstanding).

Last weekend we cleared all the outside furniture and pressure-cleaned the deck, then put down a layer of decking oil; Monday and Tuesday night Dee finished off with another layer. We had to keep the kids off it as long as we could, but when Jules finally slipped through he just loved running around the empty balcony.

When he got home today to find the new stuff, he walked around saying "Oooh!" and "Cool!" a lot -- unimaginably cute. I'm very happy with the result, and so was Jules: "I like it," he declared. Let's face it, I'm probably only still up now (at 11pm) because I want to spend time here, and can't afford to work from home tomorrow (like Dee is). But yeah, photos^[3]!

[1] As a reminder, I entered a "25 words or less" competition from The Livingroom (TV show) and won an $18,000 lounge room makeover. As you've seen from the photos, in a small little cottage like ours that actually stretched to include our bedroom and the outside balcony area.

[2] Honestly, I didn't even know that was a thing (although I'm not using the term correctly -- think "knick knacks" rather than buttons and beads).

[3] I've asked for copies of the professional photos, which should include some of the "making of" behind-the-scenes. In the meantime, these iPhone and Android photos will have to do.

Meet Max

We've got a new member of the family - Max, or as the kids call him "Little Maxie". We adopted him from the RSPCA on Saturday, although we didn't pick him up until Monday because he needed to be desexed. We were lucky - another person had put in an application for him about 5 minutes before us, but they didn't have approval from their landlord so they missed out.

He's a really affectionate little guy. About 11 weeks old, so he has bursts of typical boy insanity racing around the house jumping on things but most of the time he's happy to just relax or, as he did this morning, sleep in my lap while I work ;) Lily seems to swing between being afraid of him when he's a bit frisky and being his best friend the rest of the time. Ossie was so excited to pick him up from the Vet and loves him, although like with all animals he's a little wary.

Still, I think he's the right kind of cat for our family - quiet and friendly. Now if we can just sort out his sleeping so he's not scratching at our door all night that'll be perfect ;)

February is zooming along

Hi all,
Been meaning to write a post but like many of you, I don't think much has been happening.
It was great to see Glenn when he had his Victorian visit. Thank you for the great iced tea jug and fruit tea. I've had fun with that with the very hot weather we've been having. Hope you got all of the goodies home without any trouble. Hope the settlement with the house has continued smoothly. I was glad that area didn't seem to have been affected by the fires last week.

Dayna and Bruce, while we've been sweltering with 40+ days for three lots of four or five days at a time, you have had the cold and rain from what I've seen.Hope you are both keeping well and take care with driving on the narrow and slippery roads.Feeling very guilty that I still haven't written to Gwen and John to thank them for the earrings. I'll have to find something special to send back with you at Easter.

Nana felt she still wasn't happy that her car wouldn't let her down as it did over Christmas so we went car shopping. Auntie Denise and I found a couple of cars for sale privately in Bendigo on Carsales but only checked out the one she found.We took a Camry for a test drive and while the history was great the car was too big for Mum. Headed out to the Holden dealer to check out a Suzuki Alto but took the Nissan Micra sitting next to it for the test. It was dearer but seemed a better car so Nana now has a 2011 white Nissan Micra with 25000 on the clock. I got the Pintara roadworthied and Lisa is going to have it until she can afford a newer update and then Carolynn is waiting for wheels.The Laser is giving some concern and Jared thinks he'd rather learn in an auto. (Lazy?) Carolynn only has an auto licence.The dealer offered $250 to 500 as a trade which was tempting. I hope the car continues to run well for Lisa and Carolynn. Couple of the roadworthy things we think should have been fixed in the regular servicing, but Col has sold his business and a new man has it. Not sure he is as good as Col was.Nana thinks it was his cleaning the engine when he serviced it before Christmas that led to the troubles of not starting, although he eventually said it was a switch. Even the RACV said it was electrical but it wasn't.

Denise got me some tomatoes so I made relish (two batches) but no sauce this year.Still sauce tomatoes available if I feel so inclined.

Continuing with the dancing and now I'm helping with the Dahlia and Arts Deb Ball this year, with a view to becoming co coordinator next year. Beginning to have doubts about that but we'll see.That's added Sunday to going out but only until 21st March.One of the Red Hat ladies has said I can check out her dresses for a Ball gown.This week is cooler so I need to get on to it.

Yesterday John came back to show a friend the Buick(he had asked first). Still no offer of how much they would be prepared to pay. I told Jeff that Les had spent $10000 on it. He said if I wanted to sell I should let him know. Back to thinking I need to get some advice on value.At least if it's cooler I feel more like getting organised.

Clive is busy for  a couple of weeks. He's watering at the race course six nights a week. Should be good for his bank balance although once he earns a certain amount the government cuts his pension.

Hoping that Daria and Oscar are enjoying school. It has been so hot I'm sure all of the children are exhausted when they come home.

How has Jules been managing  with day care? Sydney doesn't seem to have had the intense heat we've had here.

All for now. Hope to hear from someone else now.

Happy Birthday Ossie!!

Dear Oscar,

Hope your birthday was very fun. 
Can't wait to see you!

Lots of love and hugz,
aunty dayna & unkie bruce

Where did January go?

On the train from Birmingham to Cambridge, perfect time to write an update. This month has disappeared far too quickly! And there hasn't been anything much going on.

Was back at work on the 6th and I've had a trip away most weeks.. to Aberystwyth for three days, an overnight in Bangor, a day trip to Swansea, and another overnight in Bangor. This trip is for a three day team meeting in Cambridge - I get back late on Wednesday (just less than a week after leaving, because it was less travel to spend the weekend with B's folks rather than heading home before Cambridge). Phew!

And yet work has felt less busy than the end of last year.. I'm trying to get more organised, GTD style (Getting Things Done  by David Allen - bottom line is to write down everything that needs be done and free up brain space). I'm also trying to cut the long hours but it's difficult when there are so many things that wouldn't happen if I didn't do them. :-\ and it doesn't help having to work evenings and weekends (eg, now)... but I'll get there.

B has had a tough time with work - the Techniquest job finished at the end of December, so he's back doing supply teaching. The schools aren't great, the classes are challenging (not in a good way), and it's such a temporary existence. There haven't been many jobs to apply for but he's had interviews for all those he did. Unfortunately, none have ended with a job. :-(

It's not all doom and gloom from us - we're off London next week to see Cirque du Soleil's Quidam. It's my present to B for his birthday (next Monday). And we've got three weeks at Easter to look forward to too. :-) by the time we come back, the weather should be less depressing. Hopefully. :-)

Let's get back to regular updates.. the Little Masons are putting all the rest us to shame. ;-) Lis, Glenn & Dee, Mum, Carolynn, Jared? How's January been for you?

*hugz* to everyone.

Lots-o-stuff

Time from a post from me! We've been pretty busy since... Lisa's party, I think? So, there was the party, followed by Christmas Day, our Boxing Day Brunch, a few dinners out with family, lunches out with friends, Shihan's visit, and then Damien returned to work. We're back into the usual routine now, minus kindy. It was so nice to be able to spend a lot of time with everyone during the break, and especially nice to have Damien on holidays :)

The kids loved Christmas! Presents, cousins and lots of food... we all had a good day :) It was our first one living in Bendigo, so we took the opportunity to host Dinner at our house (with the help of mum and Rach!). And no driving 7.5hours afterwards!!

We had planned on getting a kitten in the new year, but as the Bendigo Welfare & Community Services took a while to get back to us, we've decided to wait until after our overnight stay in Melb later this month (for a friend's wedding). Looking forward to going away for a night, and then getting a kitten! 

Os' birthday will be the same week as school starts. We've got a couple of things planned for his birthday, plus iai-do starts up again, so it will be a busy week! At least Os' first "week" of school is only one day, so he'll have the following weekend to recover :)

Last weekend Shaun (landlord) installed an air conditioner into the office. It's Lovely! And just in time for the heat wave we're currently experiencing. Air conditioning for the rest of the house will happen at the end of this year, so for now we're using the existing AC in the lounge and vising family/friends/shopping centres. Nights have been pretty terrible, but the cool change is on it's way!

My final "Nourish" questionnaire and weigh & measure have arrived in the mail. It has been really good to be part of the study (childhood obesity) for 5 years! Hopefully some programs/information for new parents will come of it :) 

I'm still doing pilates once a week. It's a studio session, so me and two others plus our instructor. I'd have to say, pilates machines are fun ;) It's working very well, too! My abdominal muscles are closer together and can actually meet in the middle! :) Damien's also got me started on some exercises at home.

I've probably missed something, but I'll leave it at that for now. Hope everyone is well and enjoyed their break.

Our Pre-Xmas Trip

One of the benefits of living in the UK is how easy it is to travel. We decided to make the most of Bruce's leave with a quick trip to Northern Ireland before Christmas. On Thursday 19th we flew out of Bristol. We caught the coach from Cardiff and it dropped us right at the airport. It's only a short flight across to Belfast and on arrival we collected the tiny hire car that would take us around for the four days.

After a lovely dinner with one of my work mates, we headed to the hotel. We arrived at 11.10pm and found a sign on the door that said "Check in by 11pm or your room will be re-sold"!! We phoned the manager and our room had indeed been re-sold!! However, after some discussion and a half-hour wait, we had somewhere to sleep that wasn't the car! 

Our day in Belfast started with Paddy's Black Cab Tours - our driver, Sam, was great. He told us about the troubles and took us to some of the main areas - Protestant murals near Shankill Road, the Peaceline (a wall longer and higher than the Berlin wall with gates that are still shut at night and weekends), and a Catholic remembrance garden. He dropped us off near the town hall and even gave us an umbrella (because the weather was damp). There was a Christmas Market at the town hall, so we had a look around before wandering around the city centre. It's much the same as any other city - shops, cafes, a sight-seeing dome on the top of the shopping centre(!).. There was lots for us to see.. and that was without going anywhere near the Titanic!

The next day we headed west (go west, young man) to the highest sea cliffs in the country, Slieve League. Our teeny tiny hire car didn't have guts but it managed to get us from one side of the country to the other. Eventually we found the parking for the lookout - or so we thought. We walked up the hill to discover that the lookout was another couple of miles along! A short drive later we had the chance to admire the view. Bruce went for a wander even further up the hill.

From here it was more narrow and winding roads to the thatched cottage which was our bed for the night. Beautiful building with slate floors and an open fire. We ate at Leo's Tavern - a pub owned by the father or Enya and Clannad - and chanced upon Rudolph enjoying a pint. :-)

Day Three had us driving back into Northern Ireland and over to the Giant's Causeway - columns of basalt, formed by a volcanic eruption or a giant who threw them into the sea to make a path to Scotland.... We parked, paid our exorbitant entry fee (thanks National Trust) and collected our audio guide. The stones were quite a walk from the visitor's centre and by the time we arrived we were frozen! I'm sure the audio guide tells you some interesting things but my hands were too cold to work the buttons. We might have to visit again in summer (and walk from the Inn - it's free if you don't park or get the audio guide).

We had planned to visit Bushmill's Distillery on Day Four but it was closed for Christmas (d'oh!). So we headed along the coast to the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge. Fortunately, the bridge was open (weather was a bit dodgy, so we weren't sure it would be), so we paid our fee and went for another walk. The bridge crosses to a little island that used to be used for salmon fishing. To be honest, I think the steps down to the bridge were scarier than the bridge itself - even though the attendant told us to hold on with both hands on the way over. Having cleared out our cobwebs, we got back into our teeny little car and headed down the costal road - arriving just in time for our return flight.

More photos here: Pre-Xmas Trip 2013

Roll on 2014

Happy new year! Good riddance to 2013 and roll on 2014, says I.

We celebrated with the Melrose clan (the Scots) by taking a picnic down to Bicentennial Park for the fireworks display -- it's the park right near our house, so not too far to go and we had a good view of the fireworks from both the Harbour Bridge and in Balmain. We also weren't the only people with the same idea! Very family friendly: they even put on early fireworks ("fa th' wee wains") at 9pm, after which Dee took Jules home to bed. He was kind of over the crowds and noise anyway. It was a pretty impressive show!

We had a few drinks, it must be said, but we also had a stack of sandwiches (Dee) and pastries (Dot) to help even our respective keels. We sat around on a blanket (ooh, which I need to pop in the washing machine! Red wine accident, thanks Rab) and chatted -- me picking Andy's brains on how to prep for a marathon, what kind of nutrition he uses before, during and afterwards, etc. Did I mention I'm running the Sydney Marathon this year? And Andy may fly back for it too (but he's already run a marathon, so is already much, much more advanced than I am).

2013 wasn't all bad for me personally, but it certainly had moments that felt like it was never going to end. To focus on the positive:

• We sold our house!
• We moved to Sydney!
• Dee got a job!
• We won a prize!

Some of the stuff I'm looking forward to this year includes:

• Doing a lot of running!
• Going snowboarding and/or skiing! (September, maybe?)

So that's it! I'm going to have a look at the calendar to plan a visit (to Cockatoo, and Bendigo) but in the meantime feel free to update the blog!

Happy New year

Best wishes for a wonderful 2014, to all of my family.May all of your hopes and dreams come true.
I am going dancing tonight. Carolynn is having friends here.What plans does everyone else have?
Thursday the Bendigo ones are meeting for tea at JoJoes.

I won something!

I won something!

A week or so ago I saw a competition on The Livingroom (I think it was -- we weren't actually watching, just surfing for something to watch). Typical "25 words or less" with a website under tenplay -- or maybe I just went to the site looking for a way to win an Xbox One? Whatever the case, I entered (with a barely witty appeal to the competition sponsors, Temple & Webster) ... and a few days later I got a call telling me I'd won!

Not a small prize, either: a $20,000 living room makeover, complete with our own personal interior designer figuring it all out for us, and delivery and "bump in". We don't even need to be here! Once I'd gotten over the feeling that it must be a joke or a mistake, I was excited: what with the house and everything, we were planning on a pretty austere Christmas (no presents for each other, but of course we have some stuff for Jules). But winning this competition is OUR Christmas present!

On Friday morning I met Jess, our designer (see her style on Pinterest). She toured the house, measured stuff and helped me pick some "styles" from a bunch of magazines. Really just a fact-finding mission for her -- she'll go away and select some things from the suppliers to Temple & Webster and get back to us with options. Since we do most of our "living" throughout the whole house, there's a good chance at least (I'm flying blind here really) that her suggestions will run all the way from our little kitchen to the outside balcony where the dining table is. We might even get some bedroom stuff, towels, and possibly garden supplies! Who knows. I'll yay/nay stuff when she comes back to me, then I expect there will be a bit of back and forth until we're set on the "look", if not the individual items. So freakin' excited!

(Dee's taking a passive role, which was a surprise to me (perhaps doing our place in Cockatoo was stress enough?).  She just wants to come in one day and have a new living space, which I totally understand. It will be a surprise! Luckily I'm reasonably confident that I can pick stuff that she will like -- and, more importantly, veto those that she would hate! And of course I'll try to take some "before" and "after" photos -- they're the best part of any reno show, aren't they?)

In other good news, our house sale is now unconditional -- the buyers have been approved their finance, and the building inspection was clean. We're going to ask if they want to move up the settlement date (it's February at the moment) but I'll be taking a (frequent-flyer points) flight down to Melbourne (and a visit to the 'go if I can squeeze it in ;-)) to get the last of our stuff. (Yep, part of the sale deal included the furniture, so we don't have too much to move. Perfect, as we were just going to sell it on gumtree anyway!)

I really feel like our karmic investments are finally paying off.

Happy birthday Aunty Lisa!

I like berries!

Happy Birthday Carolynn

Happy birthday cousin Carolynn! Sorry it's late, lemme put the clock back ...