The King Valley

We had a magnificent drive through the mountains today to the King Valley.

We headed for the Chrismont Winery for a wine tasting and lunch.

Riverview - Howqua

Our accommodation at Howqua was at the Riverhouse that was once a cooking school retreat. Comfortable rooms in a wonderful setting.

Country Pub

We had a fantastic dinner at the archetypal country pub last night. The old wooden Kevington Pub sits on the eastern side of Lake Eildon. Great atmosphere and food.

 The locals came to have a chat.

Howqua About That

We have started our few days away as we mean to continue. Lunch at Yea then on to Howqua for afternoon tea then the evening meal at Kevington.

Deck Done!

Not great weather today but it has been a significant day with the deck being completed.  Happy campers all round!

The Deck Near Finished

Mark has been working hard on finalising the deck and it is close to finished.  Although there has been plenty of drama sorting out the concrete and drainage, the final result has been worth the wait.  The area will be immeasurably more useful and safe to use.

Garden Developments

Claire prepared a whole range of plants in pots to use around the new house and the time has come to set many of them in place.  The alcove outside the kitchen has no soil space but it can accommodate pots.  All the plants have history.  Most are from Efron St but some have been saved from the original garden of the old house.

Monty Matures

Monty has made it through to the grand old age of ten.  Holly decided that a change of wardrobe could be used to mark the significance of the occasion.

Deck Developments

The external alfresco area of the new house looked reasonable on the plan but was evidently too small for practical use.  Mark has been working to change all that and extend the coverage to a much more usable space.  It is going to make the space so much easier to use.  We are happy campers.

Cathy's Birthday

Yes - we know it is a bit late but with other events and commitments, it was decided that this would be the night for the family to celebrate Cathy's birthday.

 We are fine tuning the process but if the family grows we will be looking for other seating options!

House Guests

Claire does not get to see her cousins all that often as Glenda lives in Cohuna and Valerie lives in Yinnar in Gippsland.  On this occasion they were all able to meet up in Melbourne so they stayed over for an extended catchup.

Birthday Celebrations

It was that time of the year for Patrick and Sophie's family birthday gathering.  The weather held off for an easy, relaxed afternoon event.
Sophie produced the cake for the occasion.

The wider family always enjoys the opportunity to catch up.

For many more photos of the day -

Click on this link

Sophie On Song

Today we had the opportunity to see Sophie in action with her new team and new Coach.  They played at Elthan that is, evidently, the Land of the Giants.  Sophie was clearly a threat as they played one of the larger team members against her.  The girls had not had a win this season but today was their day.  They showed that teamwork and strategy could overcome brawn and height.  it was a good game to watch and Sophie played really well.

Cars Under Cover

It has been about 17 months since our cars last had a roof over their heads.  They have had to deal with a lot in that time, rain and storms, sun and pestilence.  However their time has come as we managed to slot them into the garage as planned.  Happy days!

Slow Progress

Despite the concreting disasters of the last few days, the exposed aggregate on the lower patio has almost been completed.  It requires a couple of layers of sealer but is looking good.

Drama Unfolds

We have had a day of high drama.  The concrete for the exposed aggregate around the house was supposed to be pumped in and we had word that the pump had failed.  After another couple of hours they managed to get another pump that worked for a while then failed!!  So the job is partially complete, two $300,000 pumps have failed on us and we are not sure how the job will be finished.
An unhappy day for us and the contractors.