LGR Gets a Haircut

It's often said imitation is a form of flattery. I hope so, because LGR has decicded he wants hear just like Daddy. So we obliged him :-)

It wasn't all beer and skittles however. Halfway through he ran out of the bathroom crying - "I want my hair back on!!" It took us about 15 minutes to coax him back into the chair and that was only achieved via subterfuge and misleading statements. In the end we finished up the job with the #4 cutter and he was keen to go shorter. I grabbed the #2 and tidied up the edges. This satisfied the young man and he was well chuffed with the results.

Mrs G and I are also quite happy. I'm sure those of who are familiar with a young chap in Woy Woy will be well aware of the more than passing similarity.

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We've had a pretty good (and tiring) weekend. Australia Day was spent at a BBQ at Clan McK's place. It seemed as though the whole world was there. It was also very hot. There's not really a lot of 'things' to report (apart from the jumping castle. I was king of the kids because I could do somersaults in the air!!) - it was more of a neverending stream of conversations, drinks and food with occasional appearances from the kids to remind us we were adults. The day kicked off at about 10:00am and I have no idea what time we got home. It was late.

The 27th was more mellow. We woke up late because of a late evening and the kids were dragged to swimming lessons while Mrs G tried to get the window on our soon be gone Ford fixed (Where's the new car? Still being built ....). We all reconvened at about 10:00 and did a bit of not much at all for a while before jumping in the car for a trip to Wollongong which was mostly to visit one of LGR's mates but had the dual purpose of an afternoon's play on the beach. Much to our surprise some very horrible cloud and wind came in while we were in transit - so we were stuck in Wollongong with our best summer gear on while we froze :-( It was a good visit however. A great chance to spend time with some folks we haven't seen for a while and LGR and his mate enjoyed the whole thing. So did Hayzey and her little pal. We ended up leaving at about 22:00 and it was just as well - I was almost asleep at the wheel when we got home.

Today was quieter. Much quieter. We did some groceries. I've cleaned out the garage (finally managed to get rid of some rubbish that's been in there for 15 months!!) and mowed the grass while Mrs G did other stuff. Then we all mellowed out nicely with some beverage of choice (Coopers Pale Ale for me, Sauvignon Blanc for Mrs G and an assortment of juices for the kids). LGR's hair got cut, and so did my own. Then we had a BBQ and ate out on the deck. We were delighted to discover our yard is developing shady spots.

So that's the weekend. It was good, and long, and is just about over. Bit of a hellacious week at work for me which only gets worse the week after so I'm glad I've had a good time.

Speedway

Over the weekend Clan Jones motored on down the Hume Highway to Goulburn to go to the speedway. I was very sceptical initially but it turned to be an awesome night and all 4 of us had a great time.

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Starting at lunch time Saturday ....

It was pretty warm and a very serious burst of concentration saw yours truly finally remember where we put the plugs for the wading pool. LGR claimed he knew where they were all along and was just tricking us. The jokes on him however because Mrs G couldn't find them on Friday and the kids missed out on an afternoon swim :-)

We had a swim. It was hot and nice. No breeze at all and lots of sun and games. Eventually we clued up about the time and started to get ready for our adventure. We had literally just finished putting our stuff together when Aunt LJ, UA and Nanna arrived at our place. We travelled in a small convoy passing several broken cars.

Soon enough we were also a broken down car!! For some reason the car started lurching really badly and was really struggling whenever I applied power. When it got to what seemed a suitably appalling state we pulled over in a relatively shaded and wide section of the road. We left the motor running but it kind of gasped itself to death less than 2 minutes after we got out ...

The NRMA arrived in pretty good time (specific mention of the 2 and 4 year old children were made when placing the call ...) but in the interrim we had gotten out the picnic mats and were lounging around somewhat comfortably in the shade.

Somewhat predictably the car started perfectly when the NRMA guy was arrived and drove like a dream all the way to the speedway!!! Grrr .....

The speedway itself is quite picturesque. It's on the side of a hill so forms a natural ampitheatre. Visibility is excellent and as you sit on the embankment you have great views of the hillside and paddocks behind the track. Very beautiful (in a dry sort of way) and quite serene.

Until the cars start.

LGR was very excited. He loved the noise and the speed and took many, many photoes. What it made more thrilling for him was that Uncle P was racing. LGR got to see Uncle P in his racing kit. Uncle S was also in his kit but LGR was not quite as awestruck by this ... It is quite apparent Uncle P is LGR's real life hero.

The evening turned out to be very pleasant. Once the sun had disappeared behind the mountain a lot of heat went out of the day and everyone felt just a little more relaxed about things.

The racing was cool; but even better was the small town feel to the whole thing. Everyone tried hard but it was quite obviously an amateur event. The drivers were out mixing with the crowd, folks were sitting in the back of their utes and wagons which they'd reversed up to the fence and there was plenty of space to do whatever. The commentary was quite laconic and the whole kind of placid in spite of the occasionally violent nature of what we were watching.

I love country sport. It's so much more sociable and family oriented than mainstream professional sport and 9 times out of 10 I'd choose to watch country sport live over professional sport.

We didn't manage to stay for the whole evening - by about 10:15 Hayzey was almost unconscious. She fell asleep within seconds of being put in the car. LGR was asleep before we'd driven the 500m back to the highway - in spite of assuring he would stay awake for the whole trip.

Last but not least I'm very pleased to inform my dear readers that there were no repeats of the car issue. The trip was very smooth, very quiet and and a very placid way to finish off a great evening.

Anniversary

Mrs G and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on the 17th. Sort of. She spent the night in Dubbo and I was at home with the kids. I reckon I probably had the better part of the deal ...

It was also my Dad's wedding anniversary this week so happy anniversary to him too.

Photoes

I've setup an account at snapfish.com.au - it's an online photo album that (apparently) lets you store as many pics as you want. The only condition is you have to print at least one picture per year. This seems reasonable - the cost of prints is 19c each. I'm not sure about delivery charges. As an incentive they throw in 20 free prints after you set it up.

If anyone out there wants access to it let me know. It's not as simple as just posting a URL on the web - I need to do some work to allow the access.

I'll still post pics on here from time to time.

Another Week ...

I once heard somebody say that as you get older each year passes by faster than the preceding year. Not sure if that' s necessarily true but I do seem to having some problems getting time to update this page ...

We've had a bit of a sad week in the Jones house. Sox has disappeared and I'm becoming quite sure she won't be seen again. We heard a cat fight outside our house Sunday week back and Sox faithfully reappeared the next morning. On Monday night we heard another squawl but not quite as loud or aggressive sounding. The difference is that Sox has not been seen since ...

We were all quite sad about it. This surprised me. I only got 3 or 4 chances to sit down and 'play' with Sox and LGR barely touched her. By Thursday he looked like he was going to cry everytime we mentioned her and was insistent he had a picture of her in his room. Hayzey was inially quite confused - she would stand at the back door and yell out "Kitty cat" or "Puss puss" and then wondered why there was no response. By Wednesday evening she had given up - and turned to Mrs G and I and quite simply said "No cat. Gone." We haven't heard her ask for Sox since then.

I guess this means our cat adventure is over. It is sad. We all enjoyed having her around for one reason or another and we all miss her in our own little ways.

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During the weekend just gone Mrs G and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. It isn't actually until 17th January but we figured that babysitting would be harder to organise on a week night. We went into town and spent the night in a fairly nice establishment. We also went out for dinner and breakfast, did a spot of sightseeing, bought some clothes (I needed some shoes for dinner because I left my 'good' shoes at home ...) and generally had a great old time.

So, many thanks to Aunt LJ and UA for looking after the kidlets - who had a great time and gave a glowing endorsement.

Sox - The Cat

We've got a cat. She's a sweet little tabby with browny/gold fur and some black lion like markings. She has a white spot on her nose and her rear paws are also white. We call her Sox.

We never planned on having a cat. I don't like them. But this one came to us. Around Christmas time LGR started freaking out because there was a cat in the backyard. Nobody else ever saw it; up until a few days after Christmas when Mrs G also saw it. We weren't sure what to do. After checking with neighbours it was apparent nobody local owned the cat so we decided to call the RSPCA to get them to come and catch it.

The problem was the Christmas and New Year timeframe - meaning nobody could come out until after New Year. So we decided to catch the cat ourselves. This was kind of hard work and after a day or two we came up with a cunning plan to lure the cat out with food.

This worked. Far too well. Once we got a clear look at her we thought it might be nice to give here a pat. And a challenge - because initially she would run away and hide whenever she saw us. In time she would sit and watch us; and then she took food we left out and gradually came closer and closer. Just after New Years day she was coming to within a foot of us but any attempts to touch her resulted in a hasty departure.

Suffice to say she finally relented and let Mrs G pat her. The following day she let Mrs G pick her up and we all got our first good look.

Over the past weekend we took her to the vet and had her checked out. Everything was fine and she was very healthy. We estimate her to be about 6 weeks old. She is now vaccinated, wormed, flea'd and chipped and living with us. Hayzey loves her to bits - and Sox is more than happy to let Hayz pick her up and walk with her.

Sox is still a bit cautious around people but she's quite happy to come to us. Everytime she becomes a little more kitten like and a little less wary.

I'm surprised because I think she's a beautiful little kitty. And I've even spent time with her. LGR is the only who's a bit cool towards her but even he gets a buzz out of patting her.

Overall it's been a very satisfying and rewarding experience. We now have 1 cat and 2 fish :-)

Interim Part 2

This note goes all the way back to last year. Initially.

Aunt BJ came to stay with us on the 30th - and we duly provided entertainment by going 10 pin bowling. Hayzey won the game overall - although this was aided by a bowling frame, gutter rails and an outstanding final frame bowled by me which included a strike and a spare. It's a pity I couldn't do this for my own game ...

It was plenty of fun. Everyone picked up at least one strike and everyone had at least one clanger of a bowl. LGR had a few goes without the bowling frame and it was like watching the kid in Uncle Buck bowl - you know what I mean? "If they had a contest for resting the ball against the pins you would be the world champion!"

New Years Eve came and went in a pretty mellow fashion. LGR, myself and Aunt BJ hit some golf balls on NYE morning and in the evening Clan Jones saw in the new year with a BBQ, some dancing and the obligatory fireworks.

New Years Day was a BBQ at the house of Aunt LJ/UA. It rained. A lot. It poured at our place at about 09:00 (but in reality it rained for about 8 hours) so I called Aunt LJ to query the weather. "Beautiful. Couldn't be better. Bring your swimmers".

By midday it was pouring and all parties at the BBQ were scurrying for cover :-) It didn't change anything however and food was cooked and eaten.

Tuesday was our designated road trip day. We had a strong urge to get some rather exotic photo albums from a shop in Kangaroo Valley so we set out. It was pouring again. It poured the entire trip to Bowral, and half the trip from Bowral to Kangaroo Valley. Upon arrival at Kangaroo Valley it was sprinkling. We stayed in long enough to find a toilet and the desired albums before head towards Nowra for lunch.

The weather looked as though it was improving so we decided to head up the coast. We pulled in at Gerringong for some quick play on the beach time but moving rain clouds convinced us to pull up stumps. Within 5 minutes of leaving town it was pouring again. Decision well made!!!

The rain had cleared by the time we got to Wollongong so we visited the lighthouse at City Beach and then had a family meeting. It was decided to head home and have a proper beach visit another day.

Wednesday saw the boys and girls go in separate directions. LGR and I went into town for the purposes of:

• Catching a train
• Catching a bus
• Looking at boats
• Buying LGR some shoes
• Having an ice cream

We achieved each of these things. We were happy. LGR was very impressed to discover you don't have to wear seatbelts on buses, and that there are ambulance motorbikes in the city.

Thursday was quite mellow. We bought some new trees for the backyard, put away the Christmas decorations and then went for a swim at the local pool in the afternoon. The kids had a great time at the pool - even if LGR wanted to continually go in the coldest pool in the complex.

Then there's today. The day started with a visit to some shops to do a range of things; including pick up some jewellery that had been repaired, buy a photo album and get some more photoes printed. This all ended up taking about 3 hours.

In the afternoon we bundled ourselves into the car and travelled down south with most of Clan McK to go to the beach. We ended up at Austinmere. The water was cold but the kids didn't notice. We played in the water, in the tidal pools, on the beach and just about everywhere else. It was fun. Once the kids started turning blue (literally blue around their lips and nose) we got them dressed and meandered the approx 75m to the park for some dinner.

So that's the week (or so) in summary. There is one important element missing but most of you already know about 'the cat'. I'll put up some information (and probably pictures) soonish. I hope.