Where have I been....

In short, nowhere...

Sorry, have been neglecting my blogging duties - not that anyone would notice.

So, what's been happening - not much. Bought Rose a HP Mini, loaded Windows 7 RC1 on it...not bad, bit slow to boot, but once running it works nicely. The Mini is nicely spec'd and does the job, Atom N280 processor, 1GB ram and a 160GB drive. Good enough to surf on your lap while out an about (tethered via bluetooth to my Nokia N96 over the Telstra NextG network). Funny how Rose's Mini spends most of it's power on time sitting on my lap. ;)

What else...

We got away for the long w/e in June to Port Stephens, nice w/e away with friends - big group - who was there - Jeff, Kitty, Craig, Thao, Renato, Mariana, the boys, Duncan, Connie and Sebastian, with us totalled 14. Aimee had a great time . Will post some pics over the next week or two.

Went to Sydney Aquarium, hopped a ferry and had a nice day out, though Aimee was a little ratty for most of the day. Spongebob was everywhere for some reason?? Kurtis, I think enjoyed it...

Winter seems colder this year, maybe I'm just getting older and feeling it more...

Anyway, enough for now - off for a hair cut.
Cheers

Zig Zag Railway and Friends of Thomas

Hi anyone,

Last Saturday was the long anticipated "Friends of Thomas" at Zig Zag Railway day. Our family group included, us, Zane, Airley, Brad and Cindy and both sets of grand parents. Mariana, Renato, Luca and Marco along with Jeff and Kitty came as well.

The day started early as the Zig Zag railway is 2 hrs west of Sydney. The weather in Sydney has been hot lately, so it was a bit of shock the 9c temp that awaited when we arrived. Very chilly, but we were in the mountains (>3500ft).

The "adventure" includes a ride up and down the now historic Zig Zag railway in some rickety old carriages pulled by "Thomas the Tank Engine". The ride up and down lasts about 25mins, and you spend an hour between trips in a shed full of fun activities for kids and hot coffee or tea for adults (very much needed on this day).

After returning to Clarence Station, we had a picnic lunch - still chilly but luckily it had warmed a little.

I can fully recommend this to any parent with kids into Thomas. Train buffs might like it too!

See you soon.

Hunter Valley Gardens

Hi anyone,

Spent and enjoyable Sunday up at the Hunter Valley Gardens.

2008-11-09 Hunter Valley Gardens

We carpooled with Jeff & Kitty and met Renato, Mariana and the boys there. The gardens are well worth a visit if you're into 'that'. Spectacular, good at this time of year. In the end, didn't even get to a winery :( - but doesn't matter - it was a great day out.

Aimee enjoyed herself running virtually everywhere as a 3yr old does. Might have to go back for the Xmas lights spectacular, looks interesting from the website.

I've posted some pics on Picasa Web, nothing compared to Renato and Jeff's efforts with there 'big' EOS type cameras, but good enough to capture the day.

ciao.

New lounge and TV...

Hi again,

We've been busy shopping over the past few weeks. Three weeks go, we bought a new lounge and single seater for the living room from Freedom, so we can finally set up the 'library' room (another sitting room) with the old lounges after a lick of paint.

and...my fav new toy
a spanking new Sony Bravia 40 inch Full HD LCD TV... that's a mouthful (model KDL40X3100).

Two weekends ago, Jeff and Kitty were visiting, along with Mariana and Renato, we were discussing getting a new TV (it was in both our plans). Renato called in some favours with a manager at a local Bing Lee store, and by the end of the weekend, we both had a new TV. Jeff and Kitty went the 46 inch option (same spec), we went the 40inch option as our living room is tiny.

Thanks to Renato, we saved quite a chunk of money and that was before the cashback offer that Sony has until June. Yippee.

In my usual fashion, it's turned into a major project just setting the thing up. I'm running Foxtel iQ, my old XBOX, DVD player and PC through it. Where the TV sits is on a entertainment cabinet (built in) which runs the length of the wall and stores everything. The major part of the work has been buying the cables long enough to reach and navigating cables through the cabinet (no small feat). Now this is done, I'm happy.

I was also concerned about the image quality. Mostly, we watch TV via the Foxtel iQ box, which is at best 576i (Standard Definition), and the TV being Full HD - how would it look? Of course when you're at the shop, the demo TV's run a HD picture and no, you can't see how it looks with SD. Thankfully, it's not too bad via a Component connection, just don't stand too close.

Now, if only all the free to air stations would do true HD, Ten and Nine are close, dream on hey!

Anyway, enough for this week... ciao.

Chicken Pox , Pasta, Birthday, Xmas, Europe and a Wii

Hi again, been slack with the blogging, but who reads anyway?

A few weeks back Rose got chicken pox....who knew hey! She never had it as a child and was exposed to it by our nephew Kurtis. Anyway, she spent an annoying week at home trying not to scratch. Luckily, I've had it (well 99% sure), and Aimee was vaccinated :) Rose is fit and well and back at work now!.

The other annoying aspect to chicken pox was that we had booked an Italian Cooking class that was a xmas gift for us and the WongChu's from Lars last year. Of course -Rose with pox couldn't attend - and the cancellation policy ...."tough"- no refund or credit and you can't reschedule. So I ended up going without Rose. The course itself was enjoyable, made fresh pasta - and the eating part was the best, though the lack of cancellation policy left a slightly sour taste.

The WongChu's are heading to HK and Europe for a month - Xmas in Paris (very nice). As it was Wongy's B'day last weekend, and they fly tomorrow, we had dinner last Saturday as a bit of a happy b'day/farewell/merry Xmas get together. We went over early and played on their Wii, which I've kindly volunteered to look after while they're O/S...look out high scores - not. The whole gang was there, Us*3, Jeff, Kitty, Lars, Craig, Thao, Mariana, Renato and the boys (who mainly slept....). We went to the Asia's Restaurant in Lindfield. Very nice, I especially like the soft shell crab and chilli eggplant. Yum. Aimee was relatively good for the night...no major incidents to report - and she scored early Xmas presents :)

Anyway, enough for now - blogul8r.

time for an update...

Been a quiet few weeks now we've found a place, actually had time to catch up with family and friends.

Had lunch with the radac's , back from the UK for a week or two to sort visa's. Boy, the hassles they've had - obviously very determined to re-locate. Sounds like bureaucracy rules in the UK.

Visited Jeff & Kitty on Sunday, poor Kitty broke her foot 2 weeks ago, so is getting around on crutches. Reminds me of my times on crutches and the hassles of getting out and about, small things like showering etc. become a real effort.

Mum & Dad did a drive by of the new house, told us the side fence has collapsed with all the bad weather Sydney has been having. Bummer, just a small hassle to deal with prior to settling in July. We can't wait to get in, a little crowded in our bedroom at the moment.

F1 news...Webber finished 7th, miracles do happen. Well done Red Bull, hopefully things a looking up for the remainder of the season. Not catching Lewis Hamilton though, definitely looks to me like he has lucked out with the car this year, bet he is the envy of most other F1 drivers, including Alonzo. "Them's the brakes" I guess.