Lake House Developments

 Torvo had been worried about rumors of a new family location so he went to inspect the positioning of the Lake House.  He was pleasantly surprised and gave his immediate approval.

So when the house arrived as a flat pack, he raised no objections.

Colourful Mornings

 Mornings are currently freezing but there are compensations seeing the sunrise.

School Photos

 Jack and Cooper have done their school photos for the year.

Latest Baby

 It has been difficult to get a photo of the latest addition to the family, (poor light and some dirt on the wheels).  We managed a photo today when Mark and Lisa were over on a maintenance visit.  Apparently it goes faster.

Roll On Rollout

 Brett has found his way through the rather chaotic distribution of Covid vaccines to have himself fully vaccinated.  The rest of the family is also on the way with the news today that our grandchildren can now be vaccinated.

Lake House Starts

 The Lake House is on its way.  Now that the roof trusses have been completed all that has to be done is to add the bits that hold them up and the bits that hang off them!

The Final Flourish

 The Barn is dead. Long live the Barn in its new incarnation! All the work has now come together to convert the barn into a comfortable recreation space that is well insulated with heating and cooling, kitchen, bathroom and now the pool table.  Things have moved on since the old "Cubby House" days!

Rosie - Still Going Strong

Today was Rosie's 15th Birthday.  She celebrated with the family by sharing a vanilla layer cake, baked by Sophie after online school. Rosie also enjoyed a walk around the court. All three dogs willingly sampled the cake!

Suburban Raiders

 The (not so) "Little Corellas" are making themselves at home in the suburbs.  They appear to be able to eat anything that is vaguely edible from grass roots to berries and in this case, olives.  They have just about stripped all of the olives out of the street trees for this season.  Next year I will be picking them a little earlier to process them in brine. (The Olives, not the Corellas!)

Ebony On Her "Ls"

 Ebony has had her L Plates for a while now and has been racking up her hours in readiness for her full  licence.

Mitcham Downs Mooroolbark

 It was freezing in the foothills and Mitcham was playing Mooroolbark on a misty morning.  The teams were comparable so both were fighting for a place in the finals.  After the first half we thought Mitcham had done the job with a handy lead but Mooroolbark came back in the second half. However it was not enough and Mitcham finished with a good margin.  James again demonstrated his capacity to get up close and personal with an opposition team member who had the ball.

Jack's (Long Delayed) Birthday Lunch

 Only a bit over two months late, we joined with Cooper and Lachlan to celebrate Jack's birthday with Lunch at the "Dark Horse" in Mitcham.

The meal was more than sufficient after having Mark's dinner the previous evening.  However the food was great and we made a reasonable attempt to clear the table.

Mark's Birthday Dinner

 Last night the family gathered to celebrate Mark turning 21 and a bit. The menu had a ring of familiarity about it as Granny carved the lamb roast.

Cooper had been working on his trombone skills and brought it along for the musical interlude.

The singing of the birthday song proved that as a choir, we make a better family. Luckily, Mark had sufficient energy at the end of proceedings to extinguish the blaze.

WOW!

 I have recently been testing the capabilities of my newer camera combined with new processing techniques that are now becoming available.  The combination enables photos that were never possible in the past.  This photo is hand held late at night with no moon.  This would have needed a tripod and long exposure only 2 years ago.

Mark's Birthday

 Mark arranged his birthday for the middle of the school holidays so we were able to catch up on the day.  The family is having a full day of activities.  Perhaps a sleep in tomorrow.

Milestone Achieved

Covid 19 has been a major factor in our lives for the past 18 months so it was with some relief that we took the next step towards a more normal life.  We both had our second dose of vaccine.  If the Government could now get its act together and ensure the rest of the population had access to the medication we would all be a lot happier.

An Alternative Reality

 While we are freezing here in Melbourne, Adam, Kate and the family are sunning themselves in Port Douglas - but where's the fun in that?

As a new project, Adam is looking at Cassowary breeding for Donvale.

Drama In The Burbs

 Morning skies in the winter can add that touch of drama to the day.  Today's skies suggest we may have to drag out the wet weather gear.

Long Lunches Resume

 We caught up with our Travel Group again today after another Covid induced delay.  Lunch at the Blackburn Pub then coffee and cake back at our place.  We never have any difficulty filling the afternoon with conversation and laughter.

Dogs In Charge

While Adam and Kate and family are sunning themselves up north, the dogs have been left in control.  So far, they have kept the place in good shape.