Mudfest

On Sundays, James likes playing in the mud with his friends. No exception this week.

Basketball With Sophie

Sophie and her team were up against a strong team today.  More accurately they were up against a very strong player with team support. Things looked grim early but the girls rallied and came back strongly toward the end of the game. Sophie, as usual, worked hard the whole game.

Community Centre Growing Apace

The old Nunawading Primary School site continues its rapid transformation as the Community Centre rises from the extensive ground works. Every week or so significant progress can be seen.

Minimising Mud

Work commenced on the driveway and the entry to the house.  It will be a great day when we can enter the house without a couple of centimetres of mud sticking to our shoes.

The drive is quite a complicated surface with the contouring requirements to accommodate drains and sewer connections so the work took a couple of days.

 The initial stage was the coloured concrete leading into the property that kicked off early in the morning

This morning the road entry was completed together with the porch.

Lachlan the Artist

Lachlan loves drawing and his skills have been developing rapidly over the past few months.  He was not well yesterday but he still wanted to draw.  He is moving from guided drawings of simple characters to freehand drawing of more complex scenes.  This epic battle with a dragon is an example.

A Tigers Win

On a balmy winters day the Mitcham Tigers fought it out with Croydon South.  They were not greatly troubled by the Dogs as they cruised to a comfortable win.  James was used in his traditional role.  He is not the heavy bomber of the squadron, he is more the nimble fighter flying to trouble spots and hounding the enemy so they lose focus.  He played a great game.

Mark's Fiftieth Party

Preparations have been underway for a while with major upgrades to the fence and yard at Arlington St.  It all came together for Mark's birthday bash last night.  The rain held off and it was a reasonably mild night but the gas heaters took care of any problems with the temperature.

 Bart was Masterchef for the evening.

 The cake was more of a furnace!

It was a great night for friends and family and all the preparation paid off.

Morning Light

The new Community Centre is rising in the old Nunawading Primary School grounds.  Morning sun in winter gives us some dramatic light.

Tanks for That

Today marks another milestone in the house build.  The water tank is being installed under the driveway.  This will enable the completion of the drainage works.

Nhulunbuy Visit

Adam and James took a few days to fly to Nhulunbuy to visit Paul and Allira.  The teams were full so James missed out on a run with the Nhulunbuy Firsts.

In compensation, the fishing looked great.  With a catch like this I doubt they will be satisfied with the Victorian fishing experience in future.

Fencing Finalised

The fences are now in place around the house with the exception of the gates to allow the van to be parked in the back yard.  The heavy posts are in place but await their concrete foundations to support the gates.

Building Progresses

The last week has seen more progress in the building however as work is now moving to the finer details there is less to show.  The final render on the brickwork is starting to tie the house together but we are still waiting on the painter who has been working inside to prepare the internal surfaces.

In a significant move, the new fences are being put in place.  The removal of the old original fences has cleaned up the whole block.

 Once the fences are complete we should be able to move the van into position.

Mark Makes Fifty

The Weather Gods were smiling yesterday for Mark's 50th birthday that we celebrated at Coombe, another of the fantastic restaurants in the Yarra Valley.  This one was in the estate of Dame Nellie Melba.

 The meal was exceptional, however coffee and the Birthday Cake were beyond our capacity after the meal so we retired to Ringwood to complete the celebrations.

Dungeon Dug Deeper

The Donvale Dungeon has gone even deeper than when I saw it last.  Its proportions are now more in keeping with the entry Gates of Mordor.  If the wine doesn't stay at a constant temperature here something has gone seriously wrong with Physics.