Claire's 75th

 Adam and Kate hosted Claire's family celebration for her 75th birthday.  We are a growing family so a new table configuration was brought into play and it worked brilliantly.

While the hosts slaved over the preparation,

Claire had time to work the room.

The table arrangement made for comfortable dining.  Brett produced a layer cake decorated by Ebony.

Lisa produced a range of cakes and slices and they had nearly all disappeared by the end of the night.  Mercifully, coded candles were used to identify the 75th year so the inferno did not eventuate.  It was a wonderful family celebration.

Jack Has a Good Win

 Jack and his team worked hard tonight.  The two teams were neck and neck to half time but the Celtics pulled away in the second half.  Jack went well with a number of great goals and penalty shots.

Lake House Moves

 Mark is putting in some serious hours at the Lake House getting the ground work in place before the build can start.  On this occasion it was clearing a path for the concrete truck to get up the block. Last Friday, Adam and James went up to assist with the finalising of the concrete base for the water tanks.

With the concrete pad finished he then had to finish the retaining walls and backfill behind them.

Now all is ready for the excavator to prepare the concrete slab for the base of the garage.  Mark has built an "Amenities Block" to hold his gear between visits.

Awning Revival

 After spending about six years facing the intense afternoon sun, the van awning finally gave up the ghost on our last trip to Cohuna when it was torn by the wind.

So a visit to the massive repair facility in Clayton saw a new awning in place within an hour.  The new one is now protected by a new Van cover!

Cool and Comfortable

The heating and cooling systems at Donvale had collapsed.  For a couple of weeks Adam then Mark and James have been completely rebuilding the heating and cooling system at Donvale.  Adam created a board walk for access then Mark installed the new reverse cycle system with help from Adam and James.  James installed the electrical system and it is now all in operation.

The control panel allows all areas to be set individually.  Happy family again!

Basketball Resumes

 We saw Cooper and his team have a narrow loss last night. It was a good game and the boys all seem to have grown a lot over the holiday period.

Let There Be Lunch

 Melbourne is trying out some different styles this summer.  It's currently practicing it's Winter Style with freezing weather so we decided on a warming lunch at Bucatini's.  It has improved since our last visit with noise suppression and good food but they need Lisa to teach them how to do Lamb Shanks.

A New Phase Begins

 Lisa and Mark start a new phase as Lachlan is now in Year 7 and in the same school as his brothers.  Following the honoured Reid tradition established by his uncles, he smashed up his face and had to spend the evening in hospital getting stitched up the night before school began.

He came through the ordeal with another experience in his CV.

Cooper did not have to attend the first day but has now joined Team G

Goughs Bay Goss

 Things are happening.  The framing wood that was stored at Ringwood has now all moved to the block on a massive trailer.

Now Mark has prepared the formwork to finalise the pad for the water tanks that are waiting patiently for relocation.  Meanwhile Lisa has decided to become a piano tuner in her spare time.

Jean Hawken Memorial Service

 Claire's best friend at school was Lesley Hawken.  Lesley lived with her grandparents and Aunt Jean in the Leitchville Post Office where Claire spent many weekend sleepovers.  When Jean's parents died, she took over the running of the Post Office and in her stewardship, the Post Office was operated for over a hundred years by the Hawken family.  So her passing was a significant event for the village.  We had traveled to attend the memorial.

Claire had the opportunity to catch up with friends from the past and learn more of the recent history of the village of her childhood.