Pat's Birthday shop - Finally

It has taken a while to coordinate ourselves to get to the shops with Pat for his Birthday Presents.  We did it today.  It is tiring work trying to find the right presents but the Sustenance Management Program worked well.

Then it was back home to assemble and try out.

Basketball - James

James had a real workout yesterday as his team had to start with only 4 players.  Their star tall left to live overseas and the replacement player is not strong.  Despite the adversity they held their own in the first half but with no substitutes available, the team was exhausted in the second half.

Ebony's Netball Grand Final

Ebony played in the Netball season Grand Final yesterday.  She played really well and scored many of the team goals. Unfortunately they missed on a win but it was a fantastic showing against a good team with a couple of tall players that helped tip the balance of play.

Birthday Shopping

Sophie had no idea what she wanted for her birthday from Granny and Pa so the shopping trip started with some trepidation on our part.  Granny collected Sophie from school and they hit the shops.  It took a while but the expedition did achieve some success.

Two Aussies Of the Week

Well, it was two for the price of one this morning as both Sophie and Cooper were presented with "Aussie of the Week" Awards at school.  Makes for proud Grandparents.

Cathy's Birthday

We waited a while to have the celebration for Cathy's Birthday but yesterday was the perfect day.  We assembled at the Bianchet Vineyard for a very pleasant lunch.  It was well presented and the staff were very accommodating.

Younger team members enjoyed the food and the romp amongst the vines.

Following lunch we spent some time in Melba Park in the centre of Lilydale.  It's a big park, well kept and good facilities.

Ebony seems to like spending time upside-down.

Kate and Bart's Wedding

We stayed with the boys while Lisa and Justin attended Kate and Bart's wedding. We had Fish and Chips for dinner and finished off with Drumsticks.  We think we covered all the essential food groups.

  From the received photos, one can only conclude they were having a good time!

Wedding Day

Lisa and Justin are off to Kate and Bart's wedding today.

The boys are spending some time with Granny and Pa.  We started with a little Gold Class experience. Film of choice? - Star Wars II.

New Grass

The boys are happy with the new grass which seems to be going well.

Eastland Expands

They are really getting into the construction at Eastland now.  On completion, the place will be massive!

A Bit of Problem Solving

While Mum, Dad and James were busy, we spent some time with Patrick addressing some iPad problems -

and sorting some shopping times with Sophie.

Lockhart and Urana

The small town of Lockhart is making a name for itself through its work on farm art and sponsoring an annual farm sculpture competition.  The pieces are displayed around the town.

There is also an excellent little museum in the town recording the history of the town.  Claire faced up to the machinery she was using in the office at work when we were first married.

Although some of the shops are empty it is an attractive place to visit with a number of coffee shops and a few antique stores.  Inch picked up an old iron and we got some salad servers.

Then we set up camp at Urana in the caravan park set on a bend in the local creek.

Although the town is well presented, there are parts that have seen better days.

Urana was also setting up sculptures around the town.

These little towns are well worth a day or two when passing through.

Grenfell and Narrandera

Moving on we visited Grenfell, the birthplace of Henry Lawson, and were lucky enough to catch up with him in the middle of the town.

While quaint and old world, the place was well kept and appeared reasonably prosperous.

Narrandera was the next stop.  The town is built around the Murrumbidgee River and the Bundidgerry Creek so there was plenty of water in the system but the land was dry (and hot).
The whole area is very picturesque with surrounding dry forest and the old railway line and bridge.

They have built a wetland that soaks up the storm water from the town and is now home to a whole range of birds including spoonbills.

 The Bundidgerry Creek has been expanded to become a main irrigation chanel and is now a wildlife habitat and recreation area.