Last day of January - a month of 2013 already gone!

It's hard to believe but the last day of January is here. The year is whizzing past and it's going far too fast. Almost unbelievably, I have now completed 1/12 of my commitment to do a daily snippet. All good so far. We'll see how February pans out.
Meg's school takes the first week or so to sort out the student's new classes and teachers. When Meg came home today she informed me that her class has a mystery teacher who hasn't arrived yet. They all had to write out the note below. Class names are based on the teacher's surname and although they don't know who is coming, 2N is just a guess apparently! However, the teachers may know more than they are letting on!

Meg's first day in Year 2

Pretty exciting - first day in Year 2 at Bungendore Public School! It takes about a week or so to sort out which classes the kids will be in and who their teacher will be. Meg enjoys school very much and loves learning - let's hope it stays that way!

Jack more excited than Meg at getting an extra three days

holiday at the end of January!

Visit by Tania and Paul

Back to work today for Allan and I, Meg to the YMCA and Jack at home with a late start. It's Meg's last day as school starts tomorrow so the year begins proper.
Tania and Paul (Tania's son who is only two months older than Jack) came to lunch today and it was fantastic to catch up with them. The boys played XBox and the soccer game and had fun on the trampoline. It was great to catch up with Tania and hear all the news - especially the exciting news that she is off to Libya for a three month period with the UNHCR and plans to purchase a home in northern Italy sometime down the track. I love a plan!

Home to see Anne and Dyanna

Early start to leave for home. We were going to pick up Jack's new desk and bookcase from Ikea on the way through but unfortunately it was too wet to have the flat packs on the roof. We'll have to get them another time. Good trip home in time to meet Anne and Dyanna who came out late this afternoon. Anne picked up her paintings which we have been looking after and it was terrific to meet Dyanna who teaches music at Saint Thomas More School in Noosa.
Yesterday afternoon Jack used his JB HiFi Christmas gift card to purchase Futurama Season 7 which he loves. After coming home he set it up on his computer in his room and Meg set herself up to watch it too!

Roast pork dinner on the night of the Men's Singles Final of the Australian Open

Jack competed in the 12/13 Years Boys event on the 1m board today. He came in fourth overall which was a great result. Jack's first diving competition was a huge learning curve for us all but now we have a better understanding of what is involved and how they are run.
Liane and Peter came over tonight for dinner. We are in a motel room with only a microwave and toaster available. However, we have Allan - cook extraordinaire!! We had pork roast with broccolini, roast potatoes and roast pumpkin. The Cobb Cooker (heat bead oven) came into its own. It can cook a whole roast dinner in one go and is superb. Liane and Peter brought dessert (vanilla cheesecake with strawberries and cream) which was enjoyed by all.
Interest in the Men's Singles Final of the Australia Open was high and so the game was on so we could keep tabs on the score. The final was played between Novak Djokovic (Serbian) and Andy Murray (Scottish) and the games/sets were neck and neck. A close match finally won by Djokovic.
It was a great evening with a fantastic dinner and wonderful company.

Allan, Jack, Meg, Liane and Peter enjoying Allan's roast pork dinner.

2013 NSW Country Championships

Jack competed in his first ever diving competition today. Today Jack's events were the 12/13 Years Boys and 13 Years and Under Synchronised both on the 3m board. His individual 3m event was a bit all over the shop. One dive he couldn't do and so just jumped off the board giving the result Unsatisfactory and one dive he was blown off the board by a gust of wind (we had a huge storm during the afternoon). He didn't realise he could put up his hand to have another go at that dive because the wind caused him to fall and Ann (Jack's coach) thought it was too late for her to request another attempt. So, he didn't get another shot at it. Out of six possible dives, he only completed four and received a total of 79 points, the lowest score.
However, he did much better at the synchronised event with his partner, Finn Tregurtha. The boys did really well and came in third, receiving a bronze medal. Jack was absolutely thrilled. He has come out of his first dive meet with a medal - brilliant! The boys were only four points off second so they did very, very well for their first synchronised event together.

Jack and Finn after being awarded their bronze medals.

Packing for Newcastle

There's one thing I hate more than anything and that's packing to go away. At least it will be warm so we don't have to take all the jackets and coats as we usually do which is wonderful. It's fine to pack when you come home - you only have to pack what you have taken but trying to remember everything for Meg, Jack and myself is a nightmare - particularly if we need to pack for hot and cold. Hopefully nothing has been forgotten! As long as Jack has his swimmers and Canberra Diving Academy uniform for tomorrow, we'll be right. There is an Opening Ceremony and Parade tomorrow at 2:00pm to kick off the meet and the CDA uniform must be worn.

Can you believe that between the M7 and the F3 you have to hit the Sydney traffic again

on Pennant Hills Road and the Cumberland Highway where the speed drops to a crawl?

The M7 and the F3 don't join up. C'mon Sydney - finish the job!

Getting ready for Newcastle

Jack's entry and dive lists have been submitted and we leave tomorrow morning. Should be a great weekend watching Jack's first dive competition (he is convinced he will do a belly flop!) and catching up with Liane and Peter who will also be in Newcastle this weekend - wonderful coincidence!
Meg was at the YMCA for her second last day and had an excursion to the National Musuem of Australia and Bec and I are still working on the shed. Allan was at the Jerrabomberra Medical Centre and we are all doing our thing. Life goes on.

National Museum of Australia

Giggle and Hoot

Meg and I went to a matinee today of Giggle and Hoot and Friends. Meg loves these guys, laughed continuously and had a great time. She hasn't seen many shows or live theatre so my aim this year is to take the kids to more and this is the start. It was lots of fun.
Stuart installed Jack's new computer this morning ("my computer is better than yours, Mum" is the current chant coming from his bedroom) and he is beside himself with excitement. His own computer that he doesn't have to share with ANYONE and one that has the necessary grunt for his games!

Jack's gaming computer

Jack is very excited as he has saved enough money to purchase himself a gaming computer. A gaming computer is not much different to an ordinary computer except that it has a better than average video card, goes like the clappers and has a lot of memory. This seems to be what is required. Stuart is building it for him and he is soooooo excited. He has spent the day getting his room organised ready for installation - nothing like an incentive to get that room done! It's going to be an exciting day as he will be able to play his games now quickly and with a great deal less frustration.

There is always one more catalogue

I'm going through the auction catalogues before packing them up for the trip up the hill. Just got home after an evening in the shed. It seems to be a never-ending job ..... there is always one more catalogue! I don't think I will finish by the deadline (Thursday) so will just have to pack them up and do the rest at the gallery.
Jack had a quiet day at home, Meg was at YMCA Vacation Care (Dinosaur Day) and Allan at Braidwood. I was at Kids Zone all day after dropping Meg off at Queanbeyan.

The detail on the cover of this Christie's catalogue is from one of

Norman's oils titled Spring's Innocence - one of my very favourite paintings.

Another day in the shed

Jack and Riley slept on the trampoline which was enclosed in the trampoline tent. Even though the evening had turned cool, they thought it great fun and enjoyed it immensely. I was down at the shed again at 6:30am until Bec came at 11:00am for another run to the carcass pit (we found more boxes of books, of course!) and to take twenty-five boxes of slipcases out to her home for checking.
Allan came down in the afternoon to dismantle the bench we had in the shed. Meg came down to help but found the huge amount of space in the shed irresistible and went round and round on her scooter. Both Allan and I did a tip run as unfortunately a vehicle ran over our garbage bin some time ago so we can't put our garbage out on pick-up night.
It's time to sell the walkie stacker and the pallet racking as we no longer need them in the shed. Hopefully by next Thursday we will have cleared the shed completely and will only have to clean the floor and walls before it is ready to rent.

Bec on the walkie raising the forks which can

go much higher but the roof of the shed is restricting them.

A day in the shed

Allan, Jack, Meg and I went down to the old gallery shed in Bungendore at around 10:30am to start the final clean out campaign. Jack mowed the front and back lawns and helped enormously with the boxes - filling them, cutting them down, stacking them and moving them around. Meg moved empty boxes like nothing else - sometimes five at a time on the trolley! We were organising recycling material into boxes for Dimity's erosion gully. Allan worked like a Trojan - on the walkie shifting pallets, making a run to the tip with a load on the trailer, pulling down all the pallet racking ready for sale and generally getting the shed in order.
Bec came by and took two full loads to Dimity's so filling the gully has begun. As we get more boxes of paper and cardboard ready, she will continue to add to it.
Riley arrived for a sleep-over so when he was dropped off at around 3:00pm, Allan, Jack, Meg and Riley all went home. I stayed until 8:00pm getting the auction catalogues in order.

The carcass pit

Subject to the insurance claim for our books in the shed, we have to destroy all The Complete Etchings of Norman Lindsay and Norman Lindsay: Oil Paintings 1889-1969. Allianz paid for these books and under normal circumstances they would have taken them when the claim was settled. We explained to Bruce, our assessor, that we couldn't allow Allianz to take our limited edition books and resell them at auction as it would undermine the integrity of our limited editions.
Consequently, Bruce advised that we could purchase them back at a reduced price from what Allianz would give us which we agreed to. When the time came, Bruce decided we didn't have to repurchase them but we were responsible for destroying them and left it to us.
Originally we thought that it would be a great training exercise for our local Rural Fire Service. In the light of recent events with the bushfires still burning, that idea seems somewhat ridiculous. Today Bec and I did five trips to the carcass pit at Christine's where Bec lives (seriously hot work) and threw over five hundred limited edition books into it. We are going to have them buried and gradually, over time, they will disintegrate. A very sad end to our special limited edition books.
Sydney recorded its hottest day ever today with 45.8C (114.4F). The city was literally melting!
Canberra recorded its hottest January day ever today with 41.6C. The hottest day in Canberra since records began was 42.2C on 1 February 1968.

Jack's dive list

Jack has been anxious to get his dive list prepared for the 2013 Country Championships in Newcastle the weekend after next. He went back to training today and will do tomorrow and next Thursday/Friday before the comp. He spoke to his coach, Ann, and she is working out a dive list for him. He was getting very worried that he wouldn't have his list prepared in time.

Only students from the dive school can use the 10m platform
as it was closed to the public at the end of the 2011/12 summer.

This is what happens when ....

you don't have a computer for two days!! A huge, massive clean up! I have been threatening to tidy the office for months now (probably years!) but I get a bit done and then something else takes my time. The office never gets finished and it's always a shambles. With two days sans computer, it was time to seriously tackle it and tackle it, I did. The work wasn't done as such (I needed the computer for that), but folders were put away, papers were ordered and all sorts of papers reappeared that I had thought lost. All good - just don't look at the sewing room ....
Stuart, true to his word, was ready at 9:00am to install my new computer. It took us three hours to get all the programs up and running even though he had loaded most programs beforehand. The Epson printer proved difficult due to its age but eventually everything was working perfectly. It's a dream to be able to have confidence in turning off the computer and knowing it will turn on again! Pure bliss!

Moving day for the safe

Odana purchased a very large (fridge size) safe many years ago for the safe storage of data and records. We have never really used it to its full potential and it just wasn't as practical as it could have been. Consequently, we purchased another safe last year which has a different layout and is much better suited to our needs. Allan purchased the original safe for his business and needed to get it moved to Stafford Park. Enter Rick, the safe removalist, with his you-beaut forklift and truck. There is nothing that Rick can't move - if you need it moved, Rick is your man. You only need to find the right man with the right toys!
Meg was at the YMCA today and they had an excursion to the movies to see Wreck-It Ralph. She thought it hilarious.

Goodbye to the Sony Vaio

Today the Sony Vaio goes off to the land of dead computers (and only three years old - far too young to bite the dust!) but that's how it goes. I will really miss the Lagoon feature on the Vaio - it's a wonderful up-market screen saver which is enhanced by the touch screen. It has small fish which you can "touch" which seem to swim away from you when you go near them. The water ripples, it looks fantastic and was a lot of fun. Perhaps one can get too spoilt.

Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary

Allan took Meg on a bushwalk to Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary in Forde, Canberra. They walked to the old Woodshed, had a look inside and enjoyed a picnic lunch. The Sanctuary is 485 hectares of Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve enclosed by a predator proof fence. Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary is a step back in time to a woodland before European settlement without foxes or cats, no stock, hares or rabbits and no weeds! The aim of the Sanctuary is to recover some of the fascinating features of woodlands and reintroduce locally extinct native animals and birds that are vulnerable to feral predators such as foxes and cats. Without these predators and stock the native wildlife can thrive.

A very quiet day

I spent most of the day at Kids Zone working on archives and filing, Allan was gardening and doing tractor work, Jack played Halo 4 on the XBox as well as mastering a new backflip 180 on the trampoline and Meg watched Journey 2: The Mysterious Island about four times (although I wasn't here so not exactly sure of the count - I think Jack is exaggerating just a tad!). However, she seems to be taking after her mum in being able to watch the same movie back to back!

New Year's Tennis Clinic

Jack and Meg have spent this week participating in the Bungendore School of Tennis New Year's Clinic with head coach Matt McDonald. We probably couldn't have picked a hotter week and today was tournament day with an excursion to the pool to cool off. Both Jack and Meg's tennis has improved and they both enjoy the game immensely. Meg was the Division 6 Champion whereby she played her friend Stuart and won by one point - 15-14. It is the first time she has come first and she was very excited.

Just in case

My computer has been giving me serious grief. It started playing up back in February but the problems seemed only intermittent but for the last few weeks they have been constant. Starting up in Safe Mode (that drives me berserk) and having all sorts of issues. As I have managed to do a post every day for a week now, I am adding this one early, just in case. I am getting my computer looked at today and fingers crossed it can be fixed but I am ready to throw it out the window!
Stuart came today, took one look at the computer starting up, advised it was a hardware problem (video card shot) and that it was unfixable in my Sony Vaio all-in-one desktop. There wasn't much I could do except organise a new computer. This Sony Vaio is like a laptop which are nigh-on impossible to fix. Best to start again. I am not going with an all-in-one or laptop - back to the tower and monitor for me.

 The Safe Mode screen. To me, the screen of death!

Welcome relief with a cooler day

Today arrived much cooler and not nearly as windy. The wind didn't change direction last night and so all fine at Bec's. The fire at Timber Top Road is still burning although now being controlled with over a thousand hectares burnt. All the RFS personnel have done a brilliant job - they are champions and without doubt, heroes. However, it is not over yet as Friday and Saturday are predicted to see a return of the heat and winds. We wait and see ...

This photo by Chris Hammer of a Bungendore

RFS firefighter fighting the Timber Top Road fire.

The fires are still burning

Fires across NSW and interstate are still burning. We have three fires in our area - the worst is one close to Bec near the Kings Highway. Bec has a bush fire plan and is keeping vigilant but that bushfire is listed as Emergency Warning which means evacuations could take place. At present the wind is a north westerly but if it swings around to an easterly during the night it could be a completely different matter.

Jack took this photo of the smoke billowing across Bungendore
from the Timber Top Road fire.

NSW is heading for a catastrophic day tomorrow

NSW is burning - more than ninety bushfires are burning across the state with twenty not under control. Tasmanian fires have caused over twenty thousand hectares of bushland to be burned out and more than a hundred properties destroyed. NSW isn't the only state affected on the mainland. It's turning out to be another horrific bushfire season.
It was Australia's hottest day since records began over a century ago with the national average at 40.3C. The national temperature is the average of hundreds of daily readings across the country.
Everyone who has a mobile phone in our area received the following text message:
Catastrophic Fire Danger tomorrow for Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern Ranges. Not being in a bush fire prone area is the safest option. www.rfs.nsw.gov.au

Rise of the Guardians

Another hot one today and so the kids and I headed off to see Rise of the Guardians. A terrific movie and quite magical.

A storm ends a very hot day

The kids have been in and out of the pool all day today enjoying cooling off during a very hot day. Australia is currently experiencing a heat wave and many parts of our country are under bushfire threat or burning. Tasmania is having the worst of it at present but other states also have bushfires. To end the day, we had a thunderstorm including lightning and rain. Unfortunately, lightning starts many of the bushfires. The storm has certainly cooled us here and hopefully there will be relief in other parts too.

Jack took this photo of the lightning from our verandah.

The Death Star II .... completed!!

Jack stuck at it for most of yesterday and the Death Star II is now finished. We have only just realised that we will be away on the weekend of the Bungendore Show and unless he can cajole Aunty Bec into taking it in on his behalf, he'll have to forgo entering it. However, all is not lost. The Canberra Show entry form was sent in and hopefully will arrive today so fingers crossed he will be able to enter it there. The model looks fantastic now that it has been completed.

The Death Star II battles on

Jack thought that he had to finish the Death Star II yesterday to have it ready to register for the Bungendore Show today. Not so - a miscommunication between us. However, we all know there is nothing like a deadline to get things happening! As serious progression has been made, he has also decided to enter it in the Royal Canberra Show as well (late entries accepted until 7 January) which is on at the end of February. As Canberra will be celebrating 100 Years this year, it's a great year to enter an exhibit for the first time. I didn't want to push the issue but I am now confident that it will be ready.

And so it begins .... once more into the fray

Both Allan and I are back to work today and so begins the year proper. Allan at Bungendore Podiatry Services, today at Jerrabomberra, and I at Bungendore Kids Zone. Meg is going to YMCA Vacation Care in Queanbeyan and Jack is planning on continuing to build his Star Wars Lego Death Star II. He is hoping to enter it in the Bungendore Show at the end of the month.

Jack trying to figure out the next piece to add ....

It seemed like a really good idea at the time ....

but now, in the cool (or hot!) reality of New Year's Day, a post for every day in 2013 may be a little ambitious, if not outrageously ridiculous. I know that I am not the first person to think of it and I know that many others have already done it but I am intrigued as to whether or not I can actually do it so I am going to give it my best shot. It's not a New Year's Resolution and it's not set in stone, it's just a thought that I may get through a whole year with a photo or image and a few words for every day of 2013. The ABC wrap of 2012 last night finished with .... and that was 2012 and it got me thinking - what if we can end our year with .... and that was 2013? Well, we'll see and we'll start off with today. At least I'll get one post in!
We took our boat (Staffie Girl) down to Bateman's Bay and spent the day snorkelling, swimming, looking around the Tollgate Islands and Snapper Island and going up the Clyde River. It was a great way to begin 2013!

Meg and Jack on the donut on the Clyde River, Bateman's Bay.