Lucy and my sister-inlaw Lorraine

This is a rather glamorous picture of my niece Lucy and my brother Peter's wife Lorraine....taken at the Melbourne Cup (horse race) two years ago. We stayed at Pete and Lorraine's home over Christmas....very good location. A very short walk to a tram stop....trams run every 15 minutes or so to Melbourne and beyond. Melbourne is a very sophisticated city and is the fashion capital of Australia. I was looking at a real estate site earlier and discovered the neighborhood where I spent the first 25 years of my life is for multi millionaires nowadays....median house price...over $1.000.000.
Hampton was a rather laid back seaside suburb...now very chic and trendy. Lots of restaurants....beautiful shops...etc. Perry and I took a tram ride into Melbourne...then a train ride to Hampton when we were at Pete and Lorries. Took a nice walk around the main street and had a coffee with chocolate cake and people watched. The two addresses I lived at now have villa units on the lots. They were way too big for a single family home...we spent a lot of time cutting grass!
Spoke to Phil earlier today...the wedding will be towards the end of the year and will be a low key affair. He took Josh to work with him for the day as it is school vacation time in Victoria....child care arrangements fell apart and it was O.K. for him to take him there. Josh was having a great time. He is very happy that his mum and Phil are getting married...has started calling him dad.
Still can't find a nice picture of Josh and Sherrene.....

The late Frais Jean Alexandra Ellen

Today is the first anniversary of the death of our beautiful cousin Frais, who died at the age of 56 from cancer. Our beautiful Songbird....your voice thrilled us and your warm heart touched everyone.

PHIL AGED 45

Great news ! Phil and Sherrene are going to get married. I am very happy for them and for Sherrene's son Josh aged 12.
More good news.....the job interview turned into a permanent job offer that he has accepted ! I received all this news by text message, while we were at the Kilcoy horse races. I spoke to both of them a little later in the day and they sounded very happy.
I can't find a recent picture of the three of them....but that isn't unusual....we have accumulated way too many pictures and to cull them will be a mamoth task.
I love this picture....look at those lovely eyes. My first very much loved child. My hope for him is that he will know the joy of having a child of his own.

Weather has been quite warm.

Summer has lasted way in to autumn. That's me on the left....Perry on the right.

Perry has entered the B grade championship and plays in the first round tomorrow. He should be contesting on Saturday....however he got approval to play tomorrow because we had already paid for a Saturday outing to a country horse race meeting at Kilcoy. Should be a fun day. About 40 of us going and we get entry, a race book, steakburger, a drink and the bus ride....all for $25 each.
We bought a home theatre system today to go with our super Plasma T.V. Like most things of this nature....lots of what goes where.....does this go here????? Should be installed over the weekend.
I spoke to Phil today....the workworld today seems so much shakier than a few years ago. The company he works for ..... as a 40 hour a week casual employee....is relocating. He had an interview today for a permanent position within the same company at a different location. I feel very positive about the outcome.....mums still worry tho.

My sister Libby

I have a wonderful family. As I get older I appreciate them more and more. Libby was my parents surprise baby after having me, my sister Barbara now 67 and brother Peter 63. Lib is 57 years old. Way back when.....having a baby at the "advanced" age of 37 was considered a bit of a worry. Now of course it's not at all uncommon for a woman to have her first babe at that age. When Lib was born, Barbara and I would argue about who was going to look after her. We thought we had a real live doll. I remember my mother saying that having a baby in later years was absolutely wonderful....Lib kept her young. Mum passed away five years ago this coming Saturday 28th March. Love you mum x x (I know she hears me)

Easter break around here was pretty hectic if you needed to go to the grocery store. Why do some people shop as tho the stores were going to be closed for a week instead of a day?????

Perry needed to have a prescription filled and couldn't find a parking spot. Drove to another area to have it filled. The island (Bribie) attracts a large crowd over Christmas and Easter....the population is capped at 30000....currently there are approximately 20000 people and the majority are older people. It is a great retirement area and we are on the mainland, but count ourselves among them. The climate is great all year, but particularly winter....mild....with daytime temperatures in the 70's...nighttime it is cold enough to use minimal heat. Love it.

BBQ yesterday with Val and Reg was enjoyable....watched a 2004 Willie Nelson benefit on T.V. and as they have a nice sound system....Perry and Reg discussed the make...cost etc. We will be heading to one of our favourite stores next week to purchase same. We don't have extra speakers etc and didn't feel any pressing need to buy any....however watching a good concert really benefits from surround sound. Our T.V. supposedly has surround sound, but it really is only noticeable when you crank it up. Way too loud for this environment.

Watched a fireworks at eight last night from our deck...it was at the Marina about a half a mile away...then a Reggae band played for about two and a half hours. The evening was lovely and warm. A nice finish for Easter.

Happy Easter to all.
Today was another beautiful day. The day started off with a phone call from Pam. She stayed home today while the other members of her family went ahead to a camp with her church group. Pam wanted to have quiet time for a day. Calling us was first on her list and it was lovely hearing from her. I called Phil yesterday and discovered that he and Sherrene seem to be more or less back in their old rut....I do wish he would seek counselling.
Glen is quite busy with both his businesses....one of which is at http://www.dragonfireracing.com/ he is the San Diego store. He also has an X Ray service and repair business that has been going quite well for the past 16 or seventeen years...however with a lot of X Ray going digital he needed to get something else going and as his hobbies of motor cycle riding and racing....having fun at the desert driving different kinds of all terrain vehicles... made it was relatively easy for him to get into selling, repairing, trading etc. This newest venture has been going very well for almost two years. He is a single dad and juggles his time very well. Christopher will be eleven years old July 4 and it will be lovely to spend time with both my boys during July...all going well. Airfares are really high now that the price has skyrocketed. If possible I hope to fly Qantas from Brisbane direct to L.A. then a short flight to San Diego. Brisbane to L.A. is a direct flight and of 12 hours duration, whereas most other carriers go via New Zealand and Sydney or Melbourne. Up to 4 hours longer flying time plus time spent taking on other passengers etc. Fares are as high as $3,500. Last time we flew to the U.S. the fare was only $1800 each....quite a difference.
Guess what we did today......yes went Lawn Bowling !!!!! Played with some dynamite players. Loved it....I'm hooked.
Tomorrow we are going to Val and Reg's for a BBQ . It will be chaotic around this area tomorrow....we live next to a small marina and there will be all kinds of entertainment there including a Reggae band playing for several hours. If we weren't going out I would love to go listen to the music....if nothing else!

My lovely niece and her handsome husband

Red letter day .....I set myself a goal to play 10 games as fast as I could. With every sport it's....practise....practise.....practise. If I only played a game or two a week it would take me ages and ages to get the feel of it. After my tenth game tomorrow I shall back off with a sense of having a fairly good feel for how to handle the bowl. I'm fairly certain Perry would play every day. The man has STAMINA.....I am pooped ! Won $5 today in a lucky draw....lost the game to a very very good threesome. Again, not unhappy with my personal performance. Good day. Perry played very well....he will probably be asked to play pennant next season. Too time consuming tho. I like to veg out at home....trawl the various malls....visit more of the local beauty spots etc.

I don't have a favourite book....but I am an avid reader. The book I have just finished , Charm School written by Nelson De Mille was a book I found hard to put down, often reading until around 1 a.m. It was probably more of a blokie book, but I find I prefer those stories for the most part. The book before that was very blokie and I sort of skipped through it....but it was interesting. The formation and up to now Hells Angels by the guy who started the Oakland Ca chapter. Pretty violent also. I don't recomend it, but I am fascinated by all kinds of lifestyles. And their lifestyle is something else!

Pam and Glen called yesterday....lovely long conversations with both of them. Pam was in a super mood and we shared lots of laughs. We bounce off each other a lot and act like a pair of dingalings. Love that girl. Glen is very busy....busineness is going well. He rides his Harley every chance he gets despite having had several accidents over the past few years. I used to worry a lot about him...not anymore. He is an excellent rider both on and off a track. The worst fear I had was if he had an accident that left him paralyzed. He tells me he isn't a risk taker anymore. Thank God. Accidents still happen tho! Christopher loves the sport also, and is a chip off the old block....at this age...fearless.

Mr and Mrs Chester and Lucy Baker.