22nd January 2012

Here we are at the end of another week, at least we had some activity this week. Plumbers and machinery arrived onsite Thursday to do their bit before anymore concrete can be laid. Being the first dry day all week it was certainly nice arriving back from my morning ride at 6.30 to find people getting ready to do something. After watching two plumbers and an excavator work steadily all day, i've come to the conclusion that this has to be the most complex design for the base of a house I have ever come across and the strangest way of going about it. According to the builder they still cannot lay the slab section until all the structural steel bracing has been set up a most extraordinary method of construction and one the builder hasn't struck in ten years of business. Why the structural engineer has designed it so complex is anyones guess, perhaps it's a British method as I believe the engineer is English (and of course he's not the one paying). End result is there will be at least another weeks delay at least, while the steel work is fabricated and set up.
I'll keep you posted.

Nigel

16th Jan 2012

All's quiet on the Western Front, the old saying goes. Well I don't know about that but there's nothing happening here on our Eastern Front either. Last week the concreter's didn't appear as we had expected so we put that down to the very hot days forecasted for the week. This week commencing 16th Jan is when Casey Jackson's work force were all returning from their Xmas break so once again we expected the concrete contractor to turn up today. But laying in bed listening to the heavy rain rattle down in the early hours of this morning I knew not to get my hopes up. Maybe tomorrow

Sunday 8th January 2012

8^th January 2012

The Concreter didn’t start last Tuesday as expected, I’m led to believe that the concrete companies were closed during the Xmas break and weren’t opening until the 9^th (tomorrow) so he would have to pay an opening fee to get concrete during last week. I guess it wouldn’t have been worth his while to call his gang in just for a couple of days of setting up. With a bit of luck tomorrow will be all go.

Since my last posting on the 2^nd, we have enjoyed great weather albeit a bit hot and humid thank goodness for that wonderful “Bay” breeze, but I don’t envy the concreter and his workers, this coming week is forecast to be hot in the mid 30’s and perhaps a shower or storm early in the week adding to the humidity. Mid 30’s with our humidity is a killer, can you imagine bending and tying steel reinforcing and laying concrete, straight off a couple of weeks break. Just as well some people can do it.

Daughter Lisa has got back into her studies after a couple of weeks unwinding, I think it took some starting but once underway she was right into it, poor girl we hardly see her from daylight to late at night, only about 4 more years to go! I’m expecting a 2000 word assignment to be emailed through for proof reading at any time, I guess that’s what dad’s do.

Lisa said to me this morning that she had slept better last night than she had for ages, purely and simply because she had finally got her head around the topic she was researching and could see the light at the end of the tunnel as they say. When I asked her when the next one starts the answer was “tomorrow”.  I hope after all the effort it’s eventually worthwhile for her.

Still giving the bike a good work out each day, so far I’ve managed to do my 20 – 30 kls before breakfast each day. I have been riding an average speed of between 20 and 24 kls per hour depending upon how I feel, plenty fast enough for me and it’s keeping me fit, as it turns out I’m not nominated for the Tour De France this year. I must admit though it is nice being able to pull in on somebodies wheel sometimes and coast along having a rest for a spell. Needless to say it doesn’t happen too often, the majority are normally going considerably faster than me.

Nancy has started into her walking routine again, she walks to Manly and back each afternoon about 5:00/5:30pm once it has started to cool down, it’s not that far but at least it’s a start and as she feels the benefit no doubt she will increase the distance accordingly.

Well that will do for now.

January 2nd 2012

Happy New Year to everyone 2012 is going to be a good year or at least the start of good things to come, bugger the European situation I’ve had enough of the doom and gloom let’s move on.

Every year seems to go by quicker than the previous one 2011 was no exception, let me tell you when you retire it doesn’t change, what happens is you are inclined to forget what day of the week it is and before you know it Christmas is upon you, so far at least I still know what Christmas is.

Talking of Christmas we had a most enjoyable day, the four of us and Nancy’s sister Nola and her companion Boyd indulged in a most enjoyable buffet luncheon at the Moreton Bay Trailer Boat Club. As well as your normal Christmas fare there was an emphasis on seafood, all I can say is it was first class fresh and plenty of it. We finally left the buffet mid afternoon like bloated cane toads, back to our cottage where other members of the family and our old neighbours joined us for a quiet afternoon session not that this mob is ever quiet. The weather was excellent, we all had a good chat, told a few stories that grow each time, had a good few laughs and emptied several wine bottles, it was all very nice and as a sign of the times we were probably in bed by 9:30pm at the latest.

Strange weather we have been having lately, not as humid as usual for this time of the year, not that I’m complaining about that. Most nights have been cool and in the early morning we have had south-westerly breezes until the sun warms up, quite odd but like I said I’m not complaining I do not like the humidity, even the days haven’t been what you would call hot and down here in the bay we get a lovely breeze anyway so it has been quite pleasant. Certainly not like our poor friends in South Australia with their 40°C heat.

We didn’t see the New Year in, we had a lovely dinner at Susan and Damien’s place (our niece and nephew) including the most splendid French champagne that Damien had been saving for a special occasion (what better time), succulent baked ham and Jamie Oliver vegetables that Susan conjured up most adeptly and a superb crème-brûlée that Damien created with the professionalism of a Cordon Bleu chef, it was all very nice and washed down with too much wine.

We were home and in bed by 11:30pm plenty late enough as I have a bad habit of waking at daylight and can never get back to sleep again, New Years morning was no exception and I was up with the sparrows feeling the effects of too much wine and not enough sleep. By 7:00am I’d had a 2^nd cup of tea and wasn’t improving, although the morning was already starting to warm up I needed to shake out some cobwebs so I did a quick 20 kls bike ride and felt vastly improved.

Just lately I have been alternating days riding 20 and 30 kls before breakfast but the scales must be locked because the weight isn’t going down. I guess the obvious is to cut down on my food intake, maybe that will be easier now the festive season is over.

Since the New Year I have completed a couple of oil paintings, I’ll post them in the blog if they photograph ok.

Nancy went to the movies today and saw the film about Margaret Thatcher, apparently it was first class and not to be missed.

Pretty sure the concreter is starting again tomorrow.

Nigel