2nd last day of 2008

Today is the 2nd last day of 2008 and for now at least, my 2nd last day in Cronulla. Next year Mum will move to Brisbane so I do not know where we will have Christmas in 2009. I will really miss Cronulla, it is such a beautiful spot.

I went into the City today. I went to the Virgin Megastore to claim on the $30 gift voucher I got from Bill. After much searching I got hold of a CD from Katharine Jenkins and a DVD of "TheMask", the Jim Carrey movie. Not bad for less than $30.

I went for a walk to the Opera House, even though it was hot and muggy and had a beer the Irish Pub. I was glad to get home as it was a hot day and I went for a swim in the surf which was great.

T'was the Saturday after Christmas

I have not updated my blog recently as i have been away from Bendigo, visiting the family in Sydney. Here is an update of my progress.

Wednesday the 24th of December. Christmas Eve. I caught a Qantas flight to Sydney that left Melbourne at 1.30 pm. I was a bit late getting there and had to be rushed through check-in. The flight was ok, not too bumpy. When I got to Sydney, Kirsten greeted me, as she and Francis were now doing pick-up duty. My bag was put onto a later flight so i had to wait nearly an hour to pick it up. Pauline and I were staying with Mum. John and Lillian, plus Nick and Charlie and Alexandra came over for dinner as well. The kids are real live wires, so it was a fun dinner.

Thursday the 25th of December. Christmas Day 2008. We met at Mark and Lizzies new house in Cronulla. Literally, everybody was there. The whole family gathered plus a few extras including Mark's brother and Caitlin's boyfriend Jarrod. Christopher Gates was there as well. The day went off really well as I knew it would. There were plenty of presents and plenty of food as usual. The day started off cool but warmed up later so we could swim. In all, it was great to see all the family, youngest to oldest. This time nobody had to leave early which made it better. Lots of fun was had by all!

Friday the 26th of December. Boxing day. Today, I did as little as i possibly could. Watched the cricket and the start to the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. I went for a swim and a walk and not much else. Best way to spend Boxing day.


Saturday the 27th of December. I did very little all day. Feeling very lazy.

Finished up Friday

Thursday, the 18th of December was officailly my last day at BUCO. The folks there do want me to come back next year as I have made a real contribution, which they appreciated. I told them that I probably would come back if nothing else appeared on my horizon. It was really good to feel appreciated. That has not always been the case in the past.

By friday the 19th I feel that i have come down with a dose of the flu. That is great in summer! The weather has been so variable it has made me sick, literally. I am sure I will get over it if it warms up.

Friday the 15th - tooth out friday

It was an eventful day on the 15th. After a quiet day at work, i began to get some tooth pain. I suspected it was coming from a broken tooth and a cracked tooth. I contacted the Bendigo Hospital and they just so happened to have an appointment free at 3.15 pm. I got a lift there by Macka and was attended to by a young female Dentist, who did not appear to be very long out of college. She had to extract two of my teeth as there was really no way to save them. She did a good job and the operation was relatively painless. It just feels odd to be short of two teeth, but at least the nerve pain is gone.

A quiet Sunday

I was prepared to go to church today but chose not to as i was unsure whether or not I would get rained upon if i went to church. It is a bit hard when you do not have a car, so I decided to stay home. I got a lot of work done updating BUCO's website. I feel that it is coming along well. I did some shopping in town and spent the evening watching TV. I watched Adelaide United get beaten 1-0 by Gamba Osaka. It was a good match but the wrong result. The rain is starting to ease off a bit.

A very wet but festive friday

Today it has been really wet. I mean it has poured all day long and it looks like it will pour for some time to come. While we really do need the rain, it is a nuisance when you do not have a car. But, I still manage to get around.

In the evening we had our end of year break up for BUCO. We had a really nice dinner in the church hall in Forest St. I won a prize in the lucky dip and a young lady sang for us. Kath has awarded a nice certificate to all the volunteers. So it was a nice night.

A down and up Thursday

I slept really well and went to work refreshed. I had to catch up on a bit of work. I found myself getting a bit depressed after another chat with Kath who told me that I would be welcome back next year but only in a work for the dole role. BUCO could not afford to pay me. I left disappointed but when i got home I had a rest, fell asleep and had a dream in which i was told that "I had Graduated". I feel that is a confirmation that the Lord wants to move me on......! This will be interesting. I felt much better afterwards.

Last Men's shiraz group for 2008

The day did not start well for me. I had very little sleep the night before. My electric blanket packed it in and it was hard to get comfortable in bed as it was still a bit cool. I got to BUCO an hour late as i had to get a little sleep so as to do my work. It rained in the afternoon.

In the evening the Shiraz group met for the last time this year. We met at Rod Geri's house in Junortoun where we had a barbecue, then watched the movie "Mongol", which was great. We did not leave until 11.30 pm so it was a great night. Only six of us were there, but that was OK. I got to check out Rod's hydroponic system, which was impressive.

A "Missionary" Sunday

At Connect church today we had a guest speaker. A 76 year old gentleman who is a former missionary and missions director for the AOG church. He spoke really well. I was surprised to find out just how many people from this church are now missionaries. It was a good day overall. It is getting closer to christmas. I wonder what next year will bring.