Out of the Ground

The builders are back after the Christmas break and progress has been swift.  The outline of the ground floor rooms are becoming evident as the frame is put together.

 We had some overnight rain but it was dry by morning for building to proceed.

By afternoon, more wood and trusses were delivered for the upper level frame.

School Year Starts

The holidays end and the school year starts.  Old news for most but Jack starts secondary school today (with a few mates).

The Annual Civilization Challenge

The Despots, Barbarians, Tyrants and Generals gathered at Bordeaux Ave for the annual massive conflagration to determine the future of the Mediterranean and surroundings.  So as to maintain consistency, Italy (me) was crunched by the hordes from Africa (Mitchell) although I managed to inflict considerable damage on everyone with my home grown epidemics.  The Demon of the West (Brett) finally prevailed with a huge last move, gathering the majority of the resources of the known world under his control.

Kate's Birthday Celebration

Brett and Cathy hosted the family gathering for Kate's birthday last night.  For the first time in some years we were unable to watch the Australia Day fireworks as part of the evening entertainment.  However we were able to consume a fantastic meal with barbequed meat and a whole variety of local produce coming from Brett's back yard gardens.  (Five Stars - Highly Recommended)

Blog Book Arrives

The summary of events of 2018 that we included in the Blog have now been published in book form.  It was an eventful year with the sale of Efron St and it is good to have a record of all that has happened.

Base in Place

Things are moving along with our build now.  The under floor insulation is in place as are the heating and cooling ducts. The yellow tongue board is now covering the base ready for the framing stage.

Work Starts for 2019

There has been no progress on the new house as the builders have taken their Christmas holidays but things are off to a flying start this week with the installation of the heating and cooling ducts, additional water and gas piping and the under floor insulation.

Country Roads

Mitchell is wishing to add a few hours to his driving practice record book so he took me on a trip to Yea for lunch.  It was an easy trip on a warm day thanks to a very competent Learner Driver.

Nunawading Primary Transforming

Work continues on development of a Community Centre at the site of the old Nunawading Primary School.  Enormous volumes of soil and clay have been removed from the site and digging continues.  Work appears to be starting on the refurbishment of the original old building which is to be preserved.

Torvo Comes to Play

With the family off playing in the water at Eildon, Torvo took the opportunity for a visit.

Inspection of the building site was a priority together with marking off the territory as his own.

He kept a check on potential invaders (birds) and looked after us well.

Waiting ... Waiting ...

Over Christmas we have had plenty of time to look at the foundations.  Now we are ready to see something more.  A floor would be good, perhaps a wall or two?

New Year Finale

Our New Year has been a little different this year with a series of discreet events rather than sequential extravaganza.  The final act was performed today with lunch for the assembled company before the Inchleys head back to Sydney tomorrow. Mark and Lisa called in for a catchup.

Lotus Gardens

Our New Year itinerary saw us visiting the Lotus Water Gardens at Yarra Junction today. They are a very exotic plant in the Australian environment and the display is worth a visit.

It was a great backdrop for our annual group photo.

William Ricketts Sanctuary

Today was a good day to visit the Dandenongs and wander through the William Ricketts Sanctuary followed by lunch at the Paperbark Restaurant.

Arthur's Seat Cable Car

While the Inchleys were down from Sydney, we took the opportunity to catch up with Rhondda's brother and sister at the newly installed cable car on Arthur's Seat.  It was the perfect day for a ride with clear views over Port Phillip Bay

Followed by a meal at the Cafe that was surprisingly good if a little pedestrian.

New Year's Eve 2018

In keeping with our tradition over the past 49 years, we celebrated the New Year with the Inchleys, Raymonds and Russells.  On this occasion we chose Qilin Restaurant in Glen Waverley.

The amazing thing is that we look no different from how we were all those years ago (cough).

We would have to recommend the place as the meal was magnificent and matched by the service.