Work Starts on the Lake House

 Mark had cleared some of the undergrowth on the new block at Gough's Bay ready for work to start on the new house.  He had a long day last Friday overseeing the installation of two tanks at the top of the block.

After a long day the tanks were ready to be filled.

Barn Developing

 Mark and James have been working on the barn that now is fully lined and insulated.  The plaster work is at the "touching up" stage before painting.  We had conducted tours during James' 19th celebrations.

James Turns 19

 The traditional family gathering for James' birthday was held on Sunday.  It was great to be able to meet up again with the Altis side after all the disappointment of cancellations caused by Covid in the past year.

It was perfect weather for the occasion and all the sweeter for the promise of further relaxation of restrictions in the future.

A Premiership for Sophie

 Sophie's Basketball team had worked themselves into the Grand Final today.  Sophie had run a cross country at school and twisted her ankle so there was some apprehension amongst her support crew.  We need not have worried as they ran away with a comfortable win (even though they ran their foul count to the line!).  Great to see Sophie winning another medal.

A happy day for all!

Normal Services Resume

 The football season is starting up and now James is in the U19s, he plays on Saturday mornings.  Today it was a practice match but the Mitcham tigers were not particularly troubled by the Basin team.  It would have been a shelacking if Mitcham had not insisted in building their score with single points. Granny was happy to resume her usual activity.

There were times during the game when the ball seemed to be actively avoiding James however he did have a fair run ready for the first game in a couple of weeks.

Even with their unusual approach to scoring, at the end, Mitcham had doubled the opposition score which will add some confidence for the season ahead.

The Season Starts

 One of the season openers is always Richmond V Carlton. Jack is a Richmond fan and his mate Clay barracks for Carlton.  Clay's Dad managed to get tickets so Jack was lucky enough to go to the game.  As always, Jack came home the happier camper on the night!

Greg Turns 70

 Our trip to Echuca was made to coincide with Greg's 70th birthday.  Due to a mix up with local nomenclature we initially went to different venues.  Eventually we found each other and all was well.  Greg maintains his happy and optimistic disposition although his decline is evident.

Desperately Seeking Silos

 As we were heading for Echuca for a couple of days, rather than taking the Northern Highway as usual, we took the scenic route.  A number of small towns had painted their silos so we traveled some of the backroads to see their efforts.  First stop was Goorambat.

Then on to Devenish.

The town is working up its attractions as there is also a war museum in development but the town itself looks like its best times are well in the past.

Just up the road was St James.  The area looked a little more prosperous and the Silo celebrated one of their more illustrious alumni, J G Coles who started the precursor to the Coles Myer empire.

Next up was one of the larger towns, Tungamah.  In this case we thought they deserved a commendation for effort but execution fell a little short of the mark.

Our final stop was Picola.  The town is near the Murray and the Barmah wetlands that is depicted in their silo.

Strathy Surfers

 Now they are in Year 8, Sophie and Holly are working hard at school.  On Monday they were working on their surfing skills.

Long Lunches Resume

 During the Covid Crisis long lunches were a distant memory. Now things have changed and we caught up with our traveller group for lunch at The Sandy (Hotel) and then back to Lex and Rosemary's place for an afternoon of chat and planning future moves.

Mitchell's 19th

 Granny's Gallery has been updated to reflect Mitchell's recent status upgrades to 19 (and Green P Plate driver).

The Budding Musician

 We were privileged to catch up with Cooper just after he had picked up his new trombone for his music lessons at school.  It has been a rough start as vaccinations stopped his first lesson and illness stopped his second.  Hopefully it will be plain sailing from now on.

Because it has been a while coming, we were all a bit excited to see the new instrument.

It lived up to expectations.  It is a very handsome device.

Collection of Cousins

 Claire had her semi regular meet up with cousins Valerie (from Yinnar - Gippsland) and Glenda (from Cohuna)  They all come in by train and have lunch together.  On this occasion the cuddle (or perhaps "cackle") enjoyed time together at Docklands.

Lachlan At The Athletic Sports

 The Aths Sports were run today and Lachlan was in a number of events.  Strangely one of the first was the 1500m.  He also took part in the hurdles, the triple jump, the long jump, the 100m and the 200m sprints and he came away with a number of ribbons.  First in 100m, 2nd in the triple jump and 3rd in hurdles and 200m.

Overall, Lachlan had had a good day!

Lunch

 On days like today, one is obligated to go to lunch at a local eatery!

Streetscapes

 As the weather changes and increasing cloud, the morning walks are becoming more interesting.

Normality Returns

 While the rest of the family was in Deniliquin, Jack had a couple of appointments to keep in town.  One of them was his Basketball game.  As they only have 5 players it is difficult to abandon the team.  We got to see a game.  The first of his in a while.

It is a great way to work up an appetite.