Latest updates

I have not updated this page for a while as I am on holidays and away from my own computer. So here are the latest updates.

I spent christmas eve and christmas day at the Sargeants house in Cronulla. It rained all day Christmas day, so we did not go into the pool as usual. Only about 15 people attended, but that was ok. The Canberra Gates were not present nor were the Queensland Gates, Bill and Kirsten. We had cooked fish for lunch instead of a roast chicken or turkey. I got lots of presents, which was nice. Generally, it was a good day.

The following day, Boxing day, Mum and I flew out for Perth. The flight took about 5 hours. It was pretty smooth flying in an Airbus 330 200. We are staying with Bill at his house in Mullaloo, which is right on the beach.

On Sunday we attended church at 6.00 pm then went for dinner at Scarborough beach.

Yesterday, the 28th of December we travelled to Fremantle where we did a tour of the old Fremantle jail. It was interesting but scary. They had terrible conditions in the past. No wonder there were riots. We saw the place where people were hung.

We had lunch at a harbourside restaurant. I could not finish off the meal.

Today, i am on my own, exploring the city of Perth. It is nice to have a free day.

Christmas Period 2009

The christmas period started out not in a not terribly memorable fashion. I was sick all day monday the 21st. I found myself vomiting and feeling really ill after i came back from doing my christmas shopping. I felt lousy and did not sleep all night. I was almost tempted to call of the trip to Sydney. However, i decided that I would not waste my ticket and decided to go. There was also the fact that I could not stand the thought of being stuck in Bendigo on my own over the christmas period.

So I went on tuesday the 22nd. I got the train to Melbourne and then caught the flight to Sydney. The flight with Virgin Blue was ok. I have stayed the last two days and nights with my sister Maryanne in her unit in Neutral Bay. She is a good host. Yesterday she took me to Manly where I had a swim at Manly beach and went or a walk along the Corso. It was nice, although the surf was pretty ordinary. Today we went christmas shopping. Later this evening I will go to Cronulla with my sister Frances, and I will stay with the Sargeants at Cronulla.

Last day of BUCO for 2009

Yesterday, Friday the 18th, I came to work at BUCO but has to leave early as I was feeling unwell.
I had very bad indigestion. I had to go home and sleep it off. I am not sure when I will go back there.

Last Shiraz meeting for the year

Today was a very hot day, reaching 35 degrees at one stage. I gave away some clothes to the Op shops today. We held the last Shiraz Club meeting for the year at the Geri's house in Junortoun. There were only five of is there, including Russell Treloar, which was a surprise. But it was nice to see him. The conversation once again returned to motorcycles, as well as other things.

Friday on my mind

After finishing up at BUCO today I ran into Kath Tointon in Mitchell St. She hopes to be able to provide me with more work next year. That will be cool.

In the evening I watched a DVD called "The Last Hurrah". It is a documentary about two very old guys from New Zealand who ride two very ancient British bikes all the way from Beijing in China to Arnhem in Holland. One guy is a diabetic. They made the trip successfully. I suppose if they can do it, so could I if I wanted too!

A day to remember

I went to Connect Church this morning and spoke to Ps Simon Williams. He is very keen for me to come on board and start working on the church website. He is also keen for me to get involved in the area of databases. I am looking forward to getting involved as they have now worked out just what structure they will need for the new website. This is very exciting indeed. I feel it is the right time for me to become involved.

I got an email from my sister Maryanne. Apparently I will be staying with her and Lizzy during my stay in Sydney, as Frances is now moving house on the 23rd of December. I will get to stay for a couple of days at Mosman, then Cronulla, which will be cool, i am sure.

First Sunday in December

At church once again Ps Simon Williams preached from Nehemiah. His theme is that the Lord is going to build up Connect church. I remember him saying that he does not know just what the Lord will build but it does not matter, as God already knows.

This afternoon, I finished watching "Long Way Down". It was cool.

Last Sunday of November

At Connect Church again this morning, Ps Simon Williams preached once more on "Nehemiah". The essential theme is that this church will be building in the Lord. He also announced that next year, the church would offer internships in various areas, such as multimedia, office work and other areas. I might keep that in mind!!

I went to Holy Trinity Church in the evening again. The church was packed. It was am Ecumenical Service which involved the Anglicans, Lutherans, Uniting Church and Catholics. Fraser Pearce was taking part. Ps Greg Harris preached that "God prepares the way". The theme was that God is very big on preparation.

A christmas party

BUCO held it's annual xmas party this year at the Bendigo club. It was a fully catered for evening. It was the first time that I had been to the Bendigo Club. During the course of the evening, Kath publicly thanked me for all the help i give with the data entry, which was nice.

It rained very heavily today, which is good.

An update on Kevin..

Kevin is scheduled to have stents inserted tomorrow. This procedure is normally not a big deal but, given how much Kevin's organs have been battered around, there is some risk attached. The doctors are particularly concerned about his heart rate (it is still too fast) and his kidneys, but they certainly feel that Kevin is well enough to face this surgery at this stage. His breathing is still a concern to him also - he gets very short of breath at times. I tell you these details so you can pray with some knowledge.

Peter and I have been down tonight and had takeaway Vietnamese food with him and Jenny. We were then able to pray and lay hands on them both. Kevin is really appreciating the visits he's been having from many of you and tells me tonight that the next time he sees us he will be in Bendigo - let's hope so!

Another weekend over and done with

At Connect Church this morning, Ps Simon Williams once again preached from Nehemiah. The topic of the sermon was "Building in the Lord". The theme is that the Lord wants to build up Connect Church. The weather is still very hot.

There is good news concerning Kevin Furness..! The latest is that Kevin is moving to St. John of God Rehab on Monday. It's another miracle! On Thursday he was 10th in line for a bed at the hospital, by Friday night he was told he would be going up there on Monday. Timing is perfect as Jenny was planning to go back to work on Monday in any case.

He is gaining in strength each day. He is able to stand up and take his weight for a short time, and can turn over in bed without any help. Lungs are still a problem as there is a small pleural effusion. This was meant to be tapped today but I haven't heard if this has happened. This is another hurdle to get over, but if we look at what he's got over so far .......!! Need I say more?

Building up Connect Church

At church this morning, PS Simon Williams preached on "Building up Connect Church". He preached from the book of Nehemiah. His message was that God wanted to build up Connect Church in ways that have not been done before. I feel that this means that there are exciting times ahead for us all.

Fuel burn reduction

This morning, I went with Trevor Clark to The Furness's house in Strathfielsaye to help clean up the backyard. Jenny was concerned that there was too much fuel building up as the fire season approached. There were myself, Trevor, Manny, Peter Wilding, Geoff Bray and Adrian Knight who helped clean up. We got a lot done. I am really not used to hard work.

The good news is that Kevin seems to be on the mend. Apparently he is able to talk to people again! Praise the Lord..!!

Good news regarding Kevin Furness

We had some great news this morning. Kevin had has the trachey thing removed this morning - much to Jenny's surprise. She walked in and there he was having a drink of water - water never tasted so good!

He has also been moved out of ICU to the cardiothoracic ward (E4).

Gay Wilding talked with him on the phone and he sounds terrific! Still as weak as a kitten and will need help with feeding and all activities of daily living for some time yet. But his resilience and the speed of the improvement this week alone bodes really well for this too.

Again, praise God from whom all blessings flow.

The day was dull but the night was 'interesting'

I did very little all day long as I did not have much too do. There is some good news regarding Kevin Furness. He does seem to be improving. Kevin has had another fairly good day. He sat out for 10 minutes today and found it exhausting. He has no strength in his muscles yet. He also had about 4 1/2 hours off the ventilator. He finds this quite exhausting and pleads to be put back on it, but it's a matter of him keeping 'practising' - there's no way through this except the hard way.

So we need to keep praying for building up of stamina for him, and for patience while it's happening.

He is also pleading for water or drinks. He was able to have flavoured ice blocks for a day or so but his body is unable to differentiate yet where the fluid goes and some of it ends up in his lungs, so they have now stopped this. He feels very dry and thirsty and would like Jenny to (underhandedly) get him a drink. Of course this is not going to happen!

The news is all positive however. It's hard going but it is 'normal' hard going and will improve with time and hard work.

The Shiraz group met again in the evening at Rod Geri's house (in the back shed mainly). We seemed to spend a lot of time discussing motorcycles (this in interesting!). It was a great night as usual. We spent time in prayer for Kevin and Jenny.

There were only five of us present but we had a good night as usual! Geoff Bray surprised us when he announced that he and his wife Sandy are having a trial separation!!

Lighting up my life!!!

In the morning a fitter from TRU Energy came around and at no cost to myself, changed over my light bulbs to the more energy efficient types. She also changed the shower head to a more efficient model. This is all part of the service as I have now switched to TRU Energy.

Today was Bendigo cup day. Many business were shut, so the buses were on Sunday times.

I did something unusual today. I bought a motorcycle magazine! It contained a DVD about "The seven deadly sins" motorcycle ride which takes place in the Victorian high country every year. Who knows, but I might get to go on it one day!!

A somewhat sad Sunday

At Connect Church this morning it proved to be a somewaht sad morning service. A visiting preacher bought the message. He preached that "God can bring order out of chaos". It was an inspiring message. When he was finished he read out a letter stating that Ps Russell Harper and his wife Nikki would no longer continue as senior ministers of the church. No specific reasons were given except to say that "due to ongoing circumstances", Russell could no longer continue in his present role and was standing down immediately and that this sunday would be the last at the Church for him and Nikky. There was no hint of any misconduct, but apparently "circumstances" were the problem. do not know what those circumstances are but I feel sorry for them as they seem like really nice people.

There was bad news concerning Kevin Furness. Apparently his condition has worsened. Kevin had a CT scan today which showed that he has had a stroke - not a catastrophic stroke, but still a stroke. Effects of the stroke are of course unknown - but it was a left sided stroke which affects things like vision and movement. There may be little effect for him, or there may be lots - nobody knows yet. Also unknown is when he had the stroke - it may have been last Saturday or may have been Wednesday.

Also of concern is that he has a major chest infection and liver and kidney problems. When they try and reduce the sedation his blood pressure has problems and his heart is also unstable during this time.

Today they stopped kidney filtration for a while during the CT scan and tried to use that time to assess whether he could do without the filtration. This proved not to be the case so he is back on the kidney machine.

He is booked in for a tracheotomy early this week to be able to manage his ventilation better. If he wakes up and finds large tubes in his mouth and down his throat this causes further stress, so they're removing that stress by doing this.

So Kevin needs 24 hour prayer - so does the family. We must all keep praying.

Sunday the 18th of October

I had to get to church by myself as Simon was not available. There was a word that "The Lord wanted to roll away the stone".

I heard from Rod and Helen Geri that Kevin Furness had an operation that lasted all night and that he is now in an induced coma. Apparently, a stent that was in his aorta failed. It must have been scary. I hope he is OK. I will continue to pray for him and his family.

Kevin Furness

In the evening i got an email from Jeff Bray, saying that Kevin Furness has had to go to hospital to have an operation on his aorta. Sounds serious... I must pray for hm and Jenny.

End of another week

After working at BUCO, I went up to Connect Church where I met Hilda English and got a few things sorted out regarding the database I developed for her. I stayed for afternoon tea. It is still cold and very wet.

An up and down wednesday

I had to get up early as the maintenance man was coming to fit a new split cycle air conditioner.

The fitter arrived a bit early and got the unit installed. Unfortunately, the electrician did not show up at all. I waited all day for him but he has not turned up.

Strangely, in the afternoon I got a letter from Tweed Sutherland telling me that my rent was behind, which is rubbish. They have obviously got their facts wrong.

Bendigo Motorcycle Show

Today i went to the Bendigo Motorcycle show to check out the latest in motorcycling "stuff". I am not sure why but I seem to be developing a new interest in motorcycles, even though I have not been on a bike for years. The show was pretty good. There was a lot of great stuff on display and i thought it was worth the $15.00 entry fee.

The weather is still cold.

Grand Final day 2009

I stayed home and watched the Grand final on TV. It was a great game which Geelong ended up winning by 12 points. The game was an arm wrestle all day. The weather is very cold and wet, which is good in a sense as we still need the rain.

The day before grand final day 2009

It was raining hard all day today. I was late getting to BUCO as i had to wait until the gas heater  maintenance man arrived. He could not fix the gas heater as he had to wait to get a replacement part.

I did not have much work to do at BUCO and left early to go to Connect Church. 

Ken Miller was happy with the database program I delivered him. I stayed on for the men's night in the loft. There were not many there but it was a good night anyway.

Still no real progress on the prospective web site. 

Meeting in a different place

At Connect Church this morning we met in the Administration building, rather than the church hall.
They are laying new carpet in the Hall and it will take about 3 weeks to complete the process. We will meet in the admin block for the next two Sundays.

Ps Russell preached from John 11, concerning the story of Lazarus. The theme of the message was that God uses our circumstances to teach us things and to change us as individuals. God seeks to change us so that he may work through us to achieve a specific purpose.

I went to Holy Trinity in the evening. Mick and Val Lee were there.

First week of September 2009

Last Wednesday evening, we held the Shiraz club meeting at Kevin Furness's house in Strathfieldsaye. We did the usual talking and ended up talking about motor bikes. The evening ended in prayer as the guys shared some intimate secrets and issues regarding family members.

I went up to Connect Church on Friday and showed Ken Miller a few really cool church website designs I saw on the internet. In particular a church website called Long Hollow http://www.longhollow.com/ particularly caught our attention. We feel that we may need to redesign our website in a similar manner.

I spent this morning looking at various trail bikes with an eye to eventually owning one again. In particular, the Kawasaki 250 took my eye.

The weather got warm very suddenly. In the evening Collingwood came from behind to beat Adelaide. It was a great match.

Fathers day, 2009

It was fathers day today. Not being a dad, i was not concerned by it. We celebrated it at church this morning. There was a special fathers day service on in the evening which i could not attend. Instead, i watched "Zulu" on DVD. It was ok.

End of the week - "The door opens"

After (mostly) catching up with work at BUCO- i went to Connect Church intending to go to the afternoon tea - which was not on as it turned out. But i got to talking to Ken about doing some other work for the church. By the way -  i won the footy tipping at BUCO. They are amazed that some one from NSW can be the best AFL tipper. Cool.

I feel that "the door has opened". Stay tuned..!

A quiet Saturday

I did not do very much today. I started working on my web stuff but got bored and hired a video instead. I need a distraction. Today was cold and wet once more.

Another "Shiraz" wednesday

It was quiet as usual this wednesday. I spent most of the day designing a new front end for my new web project. I went to the Shiraz club again in the evening. We had it a Kevin Furness's house again. There were only six of us there. To be different, Kevin supplied the wine. We had 

another vertical tasting night. We had an "04. '05, '06 and '07 Shiraz on offer. It was a good night.

"Give it a rest"

At Connect Church this morning, Ps Simon Williams preached on "Give it a rest". Basically saying that we need to rest in the Lord and not try to be too religious. I went to Holy Trinity in the evening. The preaching was from Ephesians 2. "God does all the work, not us. He is getting us ready for the good works that HE has planned beforehand". So it is of God and not of us.

I feel that I would like to give the computer a rest for a while.

A Shiraz Wednesday

It was good to have Wednesday off as usual. I kept up my studies on SQL Server, and i feel that I have gone as far as I can go for now. I went to the Shiraz club in the evening. It was at Geoff Bray's house in the evening. Simon Moten turned up and we had a vertical tasting night, ie trying out his 03, 04, 05 and 06 wines. It was interesting and a great night which was well attended.

A spiritual Sunday

I ended up going to Connect church twice today. I had to catch the bus for the morning service as Simon was not available. Jossy Charko preached at both services. He is the founder of Empart ministries, which is based in India. He preached very well. He had a prophetic word for the church and that is that "This churches best days are ahea dof it".

He also preached that God would restore those promises he had made many years ago. I feel that that is relevant to me.

Last day of July

I chose not to go to BUCO today as I felt that it would be useless just being there for a couple of hours. I got a phone call from Peter Lawrence who told me that Desmond Wong was coming to Bendigo to pick up some computer books. I agreed to leave them in a plastic bag in the backyard.

I went to Connect Church and had good  long discussions with Richard Tatti, Ken Miller and Richard Kinsman. I showed the associate Pastor Simon Williams what I has done and he was very impressed. Simon has taken over the website project and I hope he will get me on board.

I spent some time in Richard Tatti's office and I was impressed with his setup. I also had afternoon tea at the church and stayed for the mens fellowship evening. I was tired later but it was a very productive day.

A slightly ill wednesday

As I do not have to work at BUCO on Wednesday's, i stayed home and made progress on my new web project. I was due to go to the Shiraz club in the evening, but had to pull out as I became ill with what seemed to be indigestion. I chose not to go out as I was worried i would take ill at somebody else's house, so I stayed home and kept working on the web stuff. 

This is the first Shiraz club meeting i have missed. I think that i will look forward to the next one.

A not very busy monday

Things have gone a bit quiet at BUCO. I left at 3.00 pm today as I had finished all my work. I am still working on my new web site at home.

A novel sunday

 At church this morning, I got asked by Richard Tatti to operate the camera. This was my first

 time ever and it was really exciting. Libby operated the other one and it was a great experience. I did not go to church in the evening but kept working on my web stuff. I have now got a handle on CFC's in Coldfusion which feels good.

A busy friday and Saturday

On friday, i was feeling quite ill very early and was tempted to go home. I must have had some sort of stomach complaint. I went up to the marketplace and got my back massaged on one of the chairs. I felt better later.

Roger Connell came up for the afternoon. He sorted out my problem with the website. Turned out that it was the IP address that was causing the problems. He fixed that up, which in turm fixed up the bug with the software. He also showed me a neat way to do the reports and gave me a few good ideas about using the database to help the clients.

The next day (Saturday) I spent working on my new website. I got a fair way and eventually got the paging problem sorted out. It was two good days generally.

An "Irish" wednesday

I spent most of the day at home working on the back-end for the new website I am working on.
In the afternoon I got a visit from 2 young ladies who were looking for donations for The Heart Research Foundation. They were both Irish and both very sexy and yes I agreed to a small monthly donation. They kind of charmed me into it.

A busy Sunday

I went to Connect Church twice today. I attended both sessions. I must be getting keen. In the morning Pastor Russell preached on "expanding your faith". It was a good sermon. I spent the morning session on the multimedia desk getting familiar with the multimedia layout. They served pancakes after the morning session. I got an email that said that my brother John was improving. Let's pray that he gets better.

A thursday to remember

Today was a thursday to remember - for all the right reasons. To begin with, early in the morning

I got a phone call from BEST Employment telling me that I did not have to come to the appointment as I had an exemption. That was cool as those meetings are usually boring anyway.

In the afternoon , I arranged an appointment to meet Ken Miller at Connect Church. Ken is the Development officer at the church. I showed him what I had done with the Vineyard web site and he was super impressed. The church had been having all sorts of problems getting a proper web site up and running. They had paid a local vendor $4000.00 to create a site, which they were dissatisfied with. I felt that it would be a better idea for them to develop a site from scratch, rather than use somebody else's template, which they cannot adapt for their own use.

Ken was happy with what I showed him and he arranged for me to meet with another chap in the church to discuss some future web plans. He said upon leaving that it was an answer to prayer that I had come to the church at this time.

Overall, i feel that it was a pretty productive day.

First post in a while

I have not updated this blog for a while because there has not been too much to talk about. Not a lot has happened Unfortunately, I heard today that my brother John is in hospital in Canberra with pneumonia. I hope he recovers ok. I have now got the old Vineyard Church website back up and running on my Brinkster account. I have resurrected it as a way of showing prospective customers what i can do as i am hoping to get more Content Management work soon.

The last two days have been cold and very wet. It is really good to see the rain again.

"The Shack"

At last night's Shiraz club meeting, we met at Rod Slocomb's house. We did things a little differently this night. Rod Geri discussed an interesting sounding christian book called "The Shack" with us. I have not read it but everybody who has read it, recommends it highly. Sounds like a must read.

A busy tuesday

As soon as I got to work today, Ted asked me to come to the print shop to do a bit of art work on a business card they were working on. It got it done ok, it took about 3/4 of an hour.

We had a farewell lunch for Ruth at 12.30. It was really nice and sad to see her go, but i am sure we will be able to move on.

I had planned to go to a bible study with Simon Moten tonight but he was unavailable.

A "connected" friday

This has turned out to be a more interesting day than I thought it would be. I was late getting to BUCO as I slept in, but still managed to get my work done on time. In the evening I went to a men's night at Connect church where we just ate a few pies, drank some ginger beer, played pool and generally just hung out as men do. Pastor Russell told me that the mutimedia department needed a lot more help, so I think i will volunteer my services.

When I got home an read my email messages I discovered that my brother in law, Graham Lang is seriously ill in hospital. Apparently he has some serious heart damage and it does not look good. I will remember him in my prayers.

Another hospital visit

Last thursday, the 18th of June, i made another visit to the Bendigo Hospital. I had to get a kidney scan done. I went to the hospital with a full bladder, which was necessary to do the scan. It was painless enough. I will see the results in a week or so.

A Eurovision wednesday

I spent most of the day watching a DVD about the 2004 Eurovision Song contest that was held in Istanbul. The show was ok but I did not agree with the winner. I was a bit late buying the wine. We had the Shiraz group at Kevin Furness's house in Strathfieldsaye. Only six were there but it was a good night.

An odd Monday

I reported to the courts this morning for jury duty, only to be told that I was not needed. That was fine by me. In the afternoon, I bought a new electric blanket as the nights recently have been very cold and I have not slept well.

A wet cold saturday

It is really wet here and really cold a swell. That is ok, it is winter but it is fantastic to see the rain back. I hope it rains all winter long. After studying Chapter 3 of my Adobe Illustrator book, I went to the Coffee Connect group at the Subtle Eye cafe. There were only a few people there, including Jenny Sawyer and Rosalie who used to go to the Vineyard. It was a fun hour or so.

State of Origin wednesday

It has been raining steadily for 3 days here, which is good. I bought some wine today and in the evening we watched the State of Origin match. Queensland won, boo, but a least it was a good match. I must admit that I am feeling a bit quesy. I might have a dose of the flu.

Last day of May 2009

I wen to Connect Church in the morning. I cannot remember the sermon, as I dozed off! Either it was boring or I was still tired? These pills that I have started taking for my blood pressure make me a bit drowsy. I went to the Anglican Church again in the evening.. it was good as usual.

First update in a while

I have not updated this blog for a little while. I must be getting forgetful! Lets see, what has happened recently? I saw the new "Star Trek" movie last Saturday and it was great. I look forward to the next one. At church on Sunday morning, pastor Russell preached on "authority". It was a good service. Other than that, it has been quiet. I have been taking pills to help my blood pressure. They have made me feel a little drowsy. I am told that that is not unusual for the first week.

A full on Wednesday

Today was a really relaxing Wednesday. I got through Chapter 12 of my Adobe Illustrator Tutorial. I have only three chapters to go, then I start again, to consolidate what i have learned. 

In the evening, the Shiraz club was on again. We met at Rod Geri's house in Junortoun. Peter Fox attended as did Simon Moten. We had a night sitting around the brazier, which was fun. I got the job of providing the wines for next Shiraz night.

Updating after a week

I have been forgetting to update this blog for the past week. About the only thing that was interesting was my visit to the Doctor last wednesday. He told me that my glucose levels were ok but my urine test showed that some protein has been leaking into my urine. That is probably because of the high blood pressure. He told me to have a kidney scan done, which I will have to arrange this week. He also got upset at me for not taking the blood pressure pills.

On thursday morning I ran into Russell Treloar on the street and we stopped and had a nice chat. It was good to see him again.

A disappointing wednesday

I went back to the Doctors today. I was very disappointed to find out that I have not lost any weight and my blood pressure did not improve at all. I felt very angry, especially after all the exercise i have put in lately. It seems i need to do more or I will not lose any weight.

We had the Shiraz group once again at Trevor's house. We just sat around the fire and talked. It was a good night although Kevin Furness was not there. Peter Fox came for the first time. At least the day ended better than it started.

Another very spiritual sunday

I must be getting really spiritual. Once again, I went to church twice in one day. First to Connect church where pastor Phil Harris preached really well. He prayed for me later. He sensed that "I was on a Merry go round that i just could not get off", which is true. He also told me that there was like a black umbrella over my head and now it would be removed. I felt really good afterwords.

I went to Holy Trinity again in the evening. I met Rolly Hill there as well as the Clark family. I did not do anything special for Anzac day.

No work friday

It was cold and raining when I woke up today. I was not feeling well and so I decided to stay home. I got a long way with my studies in Adobe Illustrator. I had dinner at Hungry Jacks later and watched a Top gear video "The Winter Olympics" in the evening. I got an email from my mother informing me that today would have been her 60th wedding anniversary.

Another quite but fun Wednesday

I spent most of today working on learning Adobe Illustrator CS4. I am working through the book slowly. I have got up to the part where I can create my own illustrations. It is slow but it is fun.

In the evening the Shiraz group met at Trevor Clark's house for a pool night. Only six of us were there but it was fun. It was the first time in years that I have played pool. It was a good night.

Church - twice in one day again

Hebrews 12:12-13 "Therefore strengthen the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that which is lame may not be dislocated but may be healed".

That was read out at church in the evening at Holy Trinity. I feel that it is relevant to my present situation. At Connect Church, the word for the year is "Strength---God wants to strengthen you.."

Interesting..............!

Easter Monday

I had a pretty quiet Easter generally speaking. I did not go to church on Good Friday. I did go to Connect Church on Sunday morning and I also went to Holy Trinity in the evening. I met the Furness's there and it was a great service. I did not go and watch the Easter Parade this morning as I usually do. Instead i stayed home and continued my studies in Adobe Illustrator.

Easter Saturday

The last couple of days have been busy. I purchased a book from Dymocks titled Adobe Illustrator CS4 - Classroom in a book. It is a teaching book for Adobe Illustrator CS4. I have worked my way through the first two chapters and already I am excited. I can see the potential this program has, so I must learn it thoroughly.  It looks like being a quite Easter generally, but I can take the time to learn some new stuff.

Apology in order

I wish to open this particular post by offering an apology to Pastor Gordon Lingard who was Pastor of the Vineyard Church in Bendigo from 1999 to 2007. Pastor Gordon left Bendigo to take up a position in Geelong at the beginning of 2007 and was replaced by Pastor Phil Watson. Sadly, the church closed down in November 2008.

In my blog entry of the 9th of November 2008, I recorded what I thought I had heard said in the church meeting that morning…it transpires that these statements were inaccurately recorded and are untrue….and were not in fact targeted towards Pastor Lingard personally. Also any claims made have not been substantiated and are therefore under serious scrutiny.

At this point I would like to offer an unequivocal apology to Pastor Lingard regarding my blog entries of November 2008, which I have now withdrawn. I regret having caused him and his family some grief, which was never my intention.

First Sunday in April

Last night we had a 60th birthday bash for Peter Wilding at the house of Kevin and Jenny Furness out at Strathfieldsaye. I almost did not make it, but that is another story. There were a few new faces there, but it was a good night over all.

This morning, I did not end up going to Connect Church as Peter Lawrence was not going, so I stayed home. I went to Holy Trinity in the evening, which was pretty nice. I met Gordon Dunster from my TAFE days there.

The Furness's had invited me but they had a previous engagement.

I had visited the Computer Expo in the afternoon where I bought a copy of Adobe Illustrator. It was a good day overall.

Sunday at Connect

I caught another lift to church with Peter Lawrance. Alan Kroiter came along also. The word that came at church today "the Lord holds the scepter but he wants to give us his authority". It was a powerful word. Actually, before church i was feeling a bit flat because of all the time that had gone by without reward or result. I felt that that word was relevant to me personally.

An important lunchtime meeting

Today we had a lunchtime meeting in the hall next door to discuss a few things. Chiefly, the issue of succession regarding Ruth and Peter, which turned out to be a hot topic. Some people feel that Ruth may have been sacked unfairly, which may or may not be the case. My own role was also discussed. I feel a few important issues were raised and hopefully resolved.

A quiet wednesday

I stayed home all day and studied layout for web pages. I have a few more ideas. In the evening, we went to the Shiraz club again. To be a little bit different, we studied the various essences of a few different types of wines. It was interesting finding out just how wines can age and just how they are assessed.

Monday....with new helper

At BUCO today, Linda Apostolou helped me with the data entry. I am hoping to get some new people to help me with that so I can go onto other things. There will be a meeting on thursday so that things can be thrashed out at work.

A really quiet Wednesday

I did not update this blog for a few days as i did not get the internet reconnected until today. It was a quiet day, as i had literally nothing to do except some shopping. The Shiraz club met at Kevin Furness's again. Geoff Bray was not there and neither unfortunately was the chap we met at church who runs the Vineyard. But it was a great night nonetheless. The weather seems to have warmed up and we had some rain.

First Sunday of March

Today is the first day of March, which means that it is the beginning of Autumn. I have to say that I do not regret seeing the end of this particular summer, it has been a shocker. It was a good day at church today. I sat next to Chris Hill. She told me that her family may be moving to the Gold Coast next year. I had coffee with Rod Geri after church. We met a fellow who runs a winery and we invited him to the next Shiraz club meeting. It was a good morning meeting. I was tired in the afternoon and did not get to do any exercise at all.

Shiraz group last night

Last Wednesday, we had the Shiraz club meet again. This time at Rod Slocomb's place. It was a great night as usual. Kevin Furness was there. The food, wine and fellowship was fantastic as usual.
I was busy at BUCO today. We are dealing with some people who have been burnt out during the fires, so things are busy.

Full on tuesday

I was flat out at BUCO again today. I found out that I have to do some re-modelling on the Back to School Program. I watched a Top Gear video in the evening where they go to the North Pole by car.

A full on Sunday

I did not get much sleep on Saturday night, so I was tempted not to go to church. But I did and i enjoyed it. There was a lunch for newcomers after church, which I went to. Rod Geri and his family plus Andrew Trewartha and his family were also there. We got to meet some new people and some of the leaders which was great. I was tired later and slept most of the afternoon.

A busy thursday

At BUCO today, I finally got the bugs worked out concerning automating the Back to School database. I managed to get many of the fields to automatically update rather than have to be manually updated. I feel that I should have this program ready to roll by the next week. I did not watch much tv at night.

Back to BUCO - again

It was a quiet day back at BUCO. I managed to catch up from where I was behind in my work after my week off. I had to see Tom at BEST in the afternoon but he was not there. I slept for nearly two hours when i got home so I was more tired than i thought.

A quiet Sunday

After church i had a bit of a chat with Col Pilcher. It was a quiet day all round. The weather has cooled down but there are still fires raging around Victoria.

Diabetes?

I visited my doctor again today to get the results of the blood tests that I had three weeks ago. The results were not great but could have been worse. I am getting close to being a diabetic. I do not need medicine right now, but if i do not lose weight i could become diabetic. Basically, the doctor told me that my body is coping right now, but i must lose weight or i could be in trouble. I am sure this will spur on my weight loss regime.

The Shiraz club met again ay Rod Geri's house in Junortoun. We watched a movie called "I am Legend", starring Will Smith. It was ok, but not brilliant. Kevin Furness was not there again but it was a great night as usual.

Back to Buco

On Monday I went back to BUCO after i finally got back from Sydney. The last Saturday was horrendous. The hot winds lead to the deaths of over 150 people. The death toll is still climbing. Parts of Maiden Gully and Eaglehawk got hit pretty bad. I went to both the morning and evening services at Connect Church on Sunday. A guy named Peter Blase was preaching and he was dynamic in the spirit. I feel it is a new day for me as the Lord will do something new shortly.

Back into the heat

I returned to Bendigo from Sydney after a lovely week with mum in Sydney. I could not update my blog on Friday because i could not reconnect to the internet provider as I got back too late on Friday the 6th of February. The flight back on Qantas was pretty smooth. It took a while to collect my luggage and when I got to the stattion i just missed my train so I had to wait an hour for the next one. I slept most of the train trip to Bendigo. It was 370 when I got back. Fortunately an end to the heat wave is in sight. The night was so hot i had to sleep with the fan on all night.

Skipping the heat

I decided it was a good idea to get out of town for a while, considering how hot it is in Bendigo. So I booked a return flight to go to Sydney for a week. I booked with Qantas. I got the numbers wrong and had to rebook. But I made it to Sydney ok. The weather is nice up here.

Boy, is it hot.

It is really hot. I had the day off as it is Wednesday. I found out that i did not have an appointment with the doctor at all. I had forgot to book. We had the Shiraz club in the evening. We met at Geoff Bray's house. Peter Buis was there, but Kevin Furness was not. We watched a really good video that featured Peter Bell. It was a pretty good night generally.

It's getting seriously hot

Right now we are in the middle of the worst hot spell since about the 1920's. I don't remember it this hot since the summer of 1996/1997. We are having six consecutive days over 40 degrees Celsius. That is seriously over the top. I am glad that where I work is air conditioned and that i have got an air conditioner at home. I also had my first meeting this year with Tom at BEST.

My 55th Birthday

I am now 55 years old. I really do not care. Just another year closer to God really. My birthday on the 24th was very quiet. I did not do much except watch a video. I was back at Connect Church on Sunday where I met a few old faces, including Lorraine Hunter and Val Pilcher, who I did not recognize. Lorraine and I shared a coffee and she told me that Terry was running his own carpet cleaning business in Brisbane. He is not back in the Ministry.

During the Sermon, the pastor told us to expect something big from God. That is an interesting thought. It means expecting something that only God can do.

A long day in Pathology

After an almost sleepless night, i ended up going to Pathology to get my blood sugar tested. I did not realize the test would require me to stay for two and a half hours. I had fasted since the previous night. I got three injections in all plus a bottle of drink. I did not go to BUCO until 2.00 pm. Peter Darlow drove me home. I have not drunk any soft drink at all today. I exercised later and it felt good. A cool change has arrived.

A momentous Wednesday

Today was a significant day in my life for two reasons.

1. Barack Obama is the new President of the USA (hooray) which means that George W. Bush is at last out of office. Hooray! I did not watch the inaugration on TV, but settled for watching the news replay's.

2. I visited the doctor again today to get the results of my blood test. Generally, most things were OK such as hemoglobin, cholesterol etc. But my blood sugar is a bit too high. I am going back to Pathology tomorrow to have it checked. The doctor said that to get my body mass index to the correct level, I need to weigh about 80 - 82kg. That means i need to loose about 44kg, which is about 100lbs. So I started my weight loss routine today. I will give up soft drinks, and start exercising according to the way recommended by Kathryn Avramakis. I will try to be about 80 kg by Christmas. I will pray that I stick to this task.

A busy Thursday

I was late getting to BUCO as I had to go to Bendigo Health Care Pathology to get a blood test. Once at work, Kath found me some extra work. In the evening we held the first men's Shiraz group for the year at the Furness's house. About 8 people were present and the evening went for about 4 hours.

A Medical Check up

I had the day of work at BUCO so I went to the Primary Care Clinic for a check up. I was attended by Dr Ming Wu. It turns out my blood pressure is 165/94 which is apparently too high. I will go for a blood test tomorrow. It turned out that the Shiraz group will be on Thursday night, not Wednesday night. The temperature reached 41 degrees Celsius today. Fortunately, a cool change has come through in the evening. I do feel that the Lord is saying to me that "changes are coming". Cool!

Incredibly, I lost my watch this morning and could not find it until later in the afternoon.

Sunday once again

I got a lift to church today with Christopher Wiggins. The service was ok. The weather has warmed up again. It was a hot day.

A new database project

I was very busy today at BUCO. We had a lot of customers yesterday, so I was flat out doing the data entry. Plus it reached 35 degrees Celsius. I got a surprise when I was asked to do another database program, this time for the Back to School project. I was really tired when i got home.

Back to BUCO

Today, I went back to BUCO. I did not have to go but as I do not have anything else to go to, I decided to go there. They were glad to see me back and I enjoyed the day. The day was hot, as summer has finally arrived!

First Sunday of the month

It was back to church again today, at Connect Church again. The pastor preached on "Strengthening". That was good because I feel right now that I need some strengthening in most areas of my life.

Into 2009

I did not update this blog on the first day of January in 2009 as i was still not connected to the internet when I got back from Sydney. I am slowly learning that it is not always a good idea to travel on a public holiday. It costs you more than a normal day.

Thursday the 1st of January 2008.

Mum and i left her apartment at 8.45 am to go to the airport. The flight left at 10.30 am and got to Melbourne at 12.00 noon. It was an uneventful flight. I waited for the bus to take me to Bendigo but it did not turn up for some reason? So i caught Skybus to the station but I had to wait an hour and a half for the train to turn up. Because it was a public holiday, the trains ran on Saturday time, ie every two hours, not one. So i had a bit of a wait. When i got to Bendigo station i found out that the buses were not running even though the signs were lit up so i had to catch a cab home which cost extra on the public holiday. When i got home i unpacked and had to clean up the fridge, which had gotten a bit moldy from being turned off. I walked up to the supermarket but i was a bit late getting there. They closed at 7.00 pm so i had to go to the convenience store and pay extra for things. I was very tired and irritable at the end of the day, but i was glad the day was finally over.