Lake House Progresses

 There has been some massive progress on the Lake House in the past few weeks.  Lisa and the boys have been up with Mark to assist with some of the more awkward tasks with Cooper handling a lot of heavy work such as moving scaffolding.  

The bathrooms are close to completion.

Cladding has been completed on the west wall and the scaffolding moved to the front (north side) of the house.

The water tanks are full even though the Lake is well down from levels last year.

Lisa and Mark have decided on solid wooden benchtops that will be made using locally supplied timber.

The sanding and sealing is still to be completed but the bench tops should look great.  At the end of a long day a glass of wine around the firepit is an appropriate reward.

James Heads for Vietnam

 James has the travel bug.  Having already toured France and Spain this year, he took off with a couple of mates on a six week ramble through Vietnam, Thailand and Nepal.  All seems to be going well.

The boys took a long (and dangerous) motor bike tour in the mountains of Northern Vietnam before heading for Thailand.

Year 12 Completed

 Sophie and Holly have now completed their secondary schooling.  The occasion was marked with a Graduation Ceremony at Strathcona.

and a more formal Graduation Dinner for the girls and their parents at the MCG.  It was a magnificent setting to mark the end of an era!

Jack's New Car

 Jack has really fallen on his feet.  He has been looking at cars and Mark found an older Camry in Mansfield with only 35000 k on the clock.  It is in immaculate condition appears to have been garaged and was owned by an older man who was sinking into dementia.  The interior looks new.  Jack is one happy camper!

On the Harbour

 With a spare day in Sydney, we decided to ride the ferries.  We traveled from Woolwich to Circular Quay and then over to Kirribilli to have lunch on the wharf.  It was a very relaxed way to spend a day.

Riding the "Zig Zag"

 We had a perfect day to see the Zig Zag in action.  An efficient volunteer operation got the train in on time for boarding

As we travelled the top section of the rail we were able to see the lower sections of the "z".  On arrival at the Top Station the engine was moved around to the other end of the train for the next leg of the journey.

On the return journey the process was repeated giving us all plenty of time to see how it was all done.

The Zig Zag Railway

 I had held on to a long term hope that one day, I could travel on the Zig Zag Railway (originally built in 1869) to carry goods and passengers up the steep sided valleys of the Blue Mountains.  The track was cut over a three year period with picks and wheelbarrows in the form of a sloping "Z" up the side of a valley.  The engine had to be detached, moved to the other end of the train and reattached to move up each section of the "Z".  My father had ridden the train years ago but bushfires had destroyed the infrastructure.  However volunteers have restored the train to immaculate condition so I had my opportunity.  

We traveled west from Sydney onto the Blue Mountains. Having seen the terrain, it is not difficult to understand the problems of the pioneers trying to move from east to west in the Blue Mountains.  The valleys are huge and steep.

We booked into our luxury accommodation at Blackheath (the only rooms available) ready to travel the railroad the following day.

Sydney - "The Book of Mormon"

 For my 80th, the Inchleys had very generously given us tickets to "The Book of Mormon" that was playing in Sydney. It is an easy and uneventful trip on the train to stay with them.

Getting into the Theatre was a breeze using the highly efficient public transport system. Bus, Driverless Train and Light Rail.

The production was fantastic with the great staging and the broad based social commentary it presented.  The music (unfortunately) was totally unremarkable but that was inconsequential.

Vale Patrick West

 Today was a very sad one for the family as we attended the funeral of Lan-Tian's Dad. His totally unexpected death in what should have been happy times was a massive shock to all who knew him making the funeral even more difficult.  There is little that can be said in consolation on a day like today.  Our love and best wishes to his family and particularly Lan-Tian and Patrick.

Ian Turns 80

 As the probability of turning 80 approached 100%, Claire convinced me that a celebration was appropriate as the prospect of a 90th was way more uncertain.  So my wonderful family rallied around and the weather cooperated for a Sunday afternoon celebration  The cast included all the family and a few close friends including the Inchleys who had travelled from Sydney.  Claire had meticulously planned the sustenance and the ambience was enhanced with balloons provided by Lisa.

The casual format enabled family and friends to mix easily for a relaxed afternoon.

The afternoon was without doubt, the best birthday present I have ever had.