Mum arrives ....

My mum arrived safely if a little tired on Tuesday night. It was a strange feeling having spoken to Mum on the Sunday knowing that she was en route and that I still had two days at work. Not so much of a small world after all then!

She has spent a couple of days getting her body to work out what time of day or night it is. Sleeping has not been aided by a very unsettled Alfie who is struggling with croup and a number of teeth coming through. He is struggling...

Its also been tough being at work since Wednesday so we are very much looking forward to the weekend and spending some time together.

The Awesome Foursome...

Here's a picture of the victorious awesome foursome after our Hunter Valley Winery run, as you can see it was smiles all round with the exception of a slightly grumpy looking mascot!

Magazine Feature...

Since posting the start of the magazine article I have been inundated with one email requesting to read the rest of the fascinating story that is my life. So here goes...



... you'll need to double click the picture to see the large version to be able to read it!

You've gotta break eggs to make an omelette...

We got Alfonso involved in making his own meal tonight, a ham and vegetable omelette! He managed to give everything a good stir whilst keeping everything in the bowl and even taste tested the ham as he went along...





... I've no idea what the hat thing was about!

Yes more park pictures!!!!!!

Not more park pictures I hear you cry, well yes there are! With Alfie becoming more and more active getting out of the house and keeping him busy is very important, and therefore we have become very frequent visitors down at the park.

We had cousins Liam and Joel with us today as they stayed with us overnight. We had great fun playing on all the equipment but enjoying the slippery dip (...slide to you UK readers!) the most. Alfie now goes on the big boys slide without any help. Check out this short video clip... listen out for the sounds of excitement at the top, closely followed by the squeaking of the hand and gum boot (... wellingtons!!!) brakes!



Here's a few more pics...

... promise not to post any more park pictures for a while!!!

Backroom Bar ... Now open!

The Backroom Bar is now officially open... Beth can be seen here sampling her personal favourite Island Blues! While the cocktail menu is a little sparse at the moment the range of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks is growing fast! Cheers...

Bath Play...

It's amazing to watch Alfie exploring the world around him. He is really starting to take an interest in things and develop a control over more of his movements. You can actually ask him to pick things up and put them away or give them to you (... we are enjoying this while it lasts!!).

He does enjoy playing in the bath every night, but you can forget the toys, as with most children the empty bottles provide the most entertainment...

Magazine feature...

I somehow got talked into writing a short profile of myself for the school magazine for this the Semester 1 2008 edition of Success. I managed to get thirty four years of my life into one column of the magazine, despite there being enough news in the last three years to fill several pages!!! I did however manage to find space to mention my "beautiful wife and son" and Plymouth Argyle so bonus points all round!

Sporting Success...

There was some sporting success to report over the weekend, as I captained the four man marathon running team from school through the local vineyards up in the Hunter Valley.



Each of us ran 10.1km at the same time and our times were added together to give us a marathon distance time, which came in comfortably under four hours. It was a fairly tough run for lots a reasons, the first being Heartbreak Hill at 6km which did just that and secondly the fact that my enthusiasm for all things fitness has wained slightly. That said I have been maintaining some fitness through my football and the Hillsborough Hornets, but as far as running goes I've been missing in action my Saturday morning runner partner says! I'd rather say that I've been tapering my training...



.. well getting fit is hard work while getting unfit is actually quite easy! It was clear to see that I'd lost a bit of edge not helped by lung punctures, being far too busy and having a recent head cold. Still thats to take nothing away from Ralph who had too much for me on the day! I had to settle for second place in our four man team on the day... hardly a captains innings! However I make that 2-1 now after two earlier narrow victories over the former professional footballer! He'll be keen to level things up at the next run....



After the race most people drifted off including the three members of the team (Ralph, Andrew and Brett - all teachers at school) leaving me to enjoy the rest of the morning and hang around for the presentations to see if we actually won anything! Much to my, Beth's, Alfie's (... and Amy and Mitchell's they were up in the sponsors tent. Mitchell has moved to a different accountancy!) surprise I was called up to collect the 1st place certificates as well as some bottles of 2007 locally grown vintage!



I do now feel a little more inspired and motivated and hope to continue building some fitness without going all out again and getting too burnt out and bored with the whole thing. It seems that I either do nothing or go at it like an Olympic Athlete. Still I hope to have more sporting success to report soon... I'm now preparing for the Lake 10.5km later next month. Hopefully I should be in a little better shape!

Park Pals...

Today provided a chance for Alfie to catch up with all his birth class buddies down at the park. It's been good to keep in contact with all the babies and their mums and dads. It was great to see them all becoming so mobile, independent and watching their personalities develop.



The idea was that all the bubs would sit for a picture, however it is now very apparent that they don't sit still like they used to! So it was mums with babies in hands and me with cameras in hand.

In the picture above from left to right are...

Back row: Alfie with Beth, Kel with Elliott, Darcy with Nicole, Jacob with Marianne.
Front row: Benjamin with Kate, Paige with Kylie.

Start them young...

With Alfie's indoctrination into the Argyle family almost complete, the next step is to foster a love of all things Volkswagen. This started today with a rare visit to the garage for Alfie (... you'll see why!!!!), he hopped in and started steering although wasn't too sure about the horn! Alfie's first ride is some years away... Beth would let you believe that the car is barely fit for human transportation and that a tetanus is essential! However she does have a point in that in 1963 safety wasn't a primary concern, there is nothing in the back and the front seatbelts are well interesting... so no car seat and no Alfie anytime soon... he'll just have to make do with garage rides.



... a tidy of the garage is imminent! I think the biggest problem is that we keep the box for everything ... just in case! ;0)

Many hands and all that...

Another day outside in the garden today using Matt's edger to keep the grass in order. The grass down under is fairly tough stuff. Our particular variety sends out runners in every direction and quite happily sets up home in any crack in the concrete etc. So with edger in hand it was outside on the pavement (....grassed area outside!) clearing up the kerb stones before rediscovering the path to the washing line!

Still it was certainly easier than it might have been as Alfie and mum came out to help...



... just like his dad if you're doing something thats hard work, never be afraid to let everyone hear it by making appropriate noises, and never be afraid to congratulate yourself!

Grin and Beer It....

Mitch and I have decided to have a go at making some of our own beer. With the first batch doing little more than make Amy and Mitch's bathroom smell we pushed on with a second brew undeterred. The second batch after two weeks made the bottling stage and so it was off to the shed to bottle up...



... We got quite a good system going and before we knew it there were thirty plus bottles of the amber nectar!



Two weeks after that we got our first taste and despite trying to find a positive (... it is cheaper!) we had to admit that we were a little disappointed. Still maybe its an acquired taste...



... only 28 bottles to go! Any home brewing tips gratefully received. ;0)

The Life of Riley...

Sad news from the Daily Telegraph...



An Australian woman believed to be the world's oldest blogger has died aged 108, after writing a post about her deteriorating health. Olive Riley began blogging in February 2007 after a friend suggested the idea and offered to type up the posts on her behalf. Her blog, The Life of Riley, became an international hit, with readers logging on from the United States to Russia to hear stories about her life.

Mrs Riley' tales of surviving two world wars and the Depression, bringing up three children on her own and working as a cook in the Australian outback and a barmaid in Sydney, were also nominated for a Blogger's Choice award in 2007. Not content to stick to writing, she later branched out into video, posting clips of herself talking and singing on YouTube, the video-sharing website.

In her 74th and final post on June 26, she wrote about moving into a nursing home because of her ill health.

"I still feel weak and can't shake off that bad cough," she said. She also described singing "a happy song" with a visitor and said she had "read a whole swag of email messages and comments from my internet friends today". "I was so pleased to hear from you. Thank you, one and all," she wrote.

Born in Broken Hill, a mining town in the Australian bush, in 1899, Olive would have turned 109 in October. Her grandson, Darren Stone, said she loved the attention her blogs - or blobs as she once mistakenly called them - brought her.

"She enjoyed the notoriety - it kept her mind fresh," he told Australian newspapers.

"She had people communicating with her from as far away as Russia and America on a continual basis, not just once in a while.

"What kept her going was the memories she had, and being able to recall those memories so strongly."

Bloggers have started posting their own tributes to Mrs Riley.

Shirley Buxton wrote : "She was an amazing woman and will be mourned by her family and her readers who numbered into the thousands."Mrs Riley's funeral will be held later this week. Maria Amelia Lopez from Galicia in northern Spain can now rightfully claim the title of the world's oldest blogger. The woman dubbed "little granny" by her readers has had over 1.2 million hits since she started her blog in December 2006 when her grandson set it up for her 95th birthday.



I guess the moral of the story is that you are never too old! ;0)

Winter Wander...

In an attempt to make the most of the holidays and the Winter sun we packed up and went to the beach. It was great to get some fresh air away from paint fumes and clear our heads a little. Alfie has grown to love the sand and enjoys letting it run through his fingers, eating it and throwing it up into the air. We had a great time together making sand castles and sand teddies(... mum and dad) and knocking them over (... Alfie!)

Beth took along the camera for some family snaps. Normally I only put the good ones up for you guys but I thought that these were so good I thought I would let you see them all.... enjoy!

Paint-a-thon...

We've had another day with paint brushes in hands, this time out in the room formally known as the dining room. I wasn't too convinced of the need for a full scale paint attack but it soon became clear as the white paint started to flow that there wasn't much that was actually white! Walls that once appeared white started to take on an elephant grey complexion! So we launched a twelve hour assault painting the ceiling, walls and doors.

Before...

Twelve hours later!!!

Before...

Twelve hours later...


We also managed to paint the front door as well as finishing the bathroom. I'm not sure how those Forth Road Bridge guys cope mentally! ;0)

Bridge Buddies...

A couple of pics of Alfonso and his buddy Ben down at the park.

Head Colds...

Beth and I are really struggling with head colds at the moment. They seemed to start with persistent headaches for Beth and a tingling nose for me, however a few days later and Beth and I are finding it hard to breath and leaving a trail of discarded tissues. Alfie still seems bunged up, although we're not sure if this is because of his first bout of cold (... passed on to mum and dad!) or if he has picked up what we've got (... sorry Alfie!) It is obviously hitting me the hardest being a male ;0), but we are managing to do things around the house whilst keeping our distance from friends, particularly those with children of their own.

Playing with my cousin Joel...

G'day guys,

Though I would write sumfink for you on the blog. As you can see mummy and daddy made me go for a bare cut and now that the weather is shivery I have to wear a hat on my head when i go outside into the big world. I don't normally like hats but now I have decided to keep them on.

I have seen lots of flying things in the sky and the moon and stars, I'm not sure that the big people can see them so I point them out when I can. I can also point to places on the front of my face... eyes, nose and the place where food and other things go! The big people love to see me dance to twinkle twinkle ... I can put my hands above my head and do sparkle hands, I can also make a diamond in the sky with my fingers if I feel like it. Mummy and daddy keep trying to get me to twinkle twinkle on camera but I do get a little shy!




Today big cousin Joel came around, I like Joel because he lets me play Playstation. Normally I'm not allowed and neither is daddy! It seems that the Playstation does more than have two lights that change colour and a tongue which sticks out and goes back inside! Joel showed me how to play Star Wars and even let me have my own controller!



I'm ready for a sleep so see you later guys..

Alfie
xx

Hornets Humbled....

The Hornets were humbled at Howzat! on Thursday evening as the netball finals produced some unexpected results. On a cold winters evening the Hornets lacked much of their early season zip and fervor. Quickly they were down 4-0 due to a disastrous mix of poor (some might say comical!) finishing and misplaced passes. It was a tough physical encounter, but when push came to shove the Hornets finished the half down by almost ten.

With little but pride to play for the Hornets became more competitive in the second half with many individual performances attracting the attention of an onlooking former Australian International (... thanks for the support Ross!) For a short moment the come back was on however it was not to be and now the Hornets will look back on the season as one of lost opportunities. Next season they must convert some of their early season promise into finals success.

by Sports Reporter Jim Shorts. Hillsborough Herald.

DIO = Do It Ourselves!

Long term blog readers will remember that the husband and wife decorating duo walked out on us June 2007, complaining about the terrible working conditions!The living room has remained unfinished since that point.... should have reported them to Watchdog (Is that still on in the UK?) ... cowboys! ;0)



Anyway despite their return this October (Couldn't have been all that bad then!) we thought that we would get the job finished so that they can actually have a holiday and enjoy being around Alfie. So with Alfonso at family day care it was furniture moved. brushes out and paint a spattering for two days solid. It was actually quite good fun having time to chat and spend some time together. We're almost done with just a feature wall to paint... (before moving on to the next room!)

Hillsborough Hornets in the final ...

After a long season of grazed limbs, bumps, bruises, blow ups, soul searching, constantly giving me tips after each match, blood, sweat, tears as well as lots of smiles! ;0) The Hornets have made it to the (imagine fanfare trumpets!)Howzat!Thursday Night Mixed Netball Finals. We've been pretty much first or second all year, with the odd defeat against our arch enemies. We are now faced with hopefully a couple of games to decide who will be crowned champs or chumps! We have a semi final with the winners going through... so keep fingers crossed. We'll update on Thursday...

Short, Back (...front) and sides....

After Alfie's home haircut a couple of months ago it was time to allow the professionals to have a go. I'm rather envious of his flowing blond locks, although a look back at my baby photos suggest that he'd better enjoy it while it lasts because if he follows my path the blond will be followed by the nondescript mousy brown years and then .... well the rest is history! Certainly a case of hair today gone tomorrow!

Anyways he seems to have come through the ordeal okay, cutting his hair is hard when he takes so much interest in the things that people are doing! I'm no expert but I should imagine that it's hard cutting someones hair when they constantly turning to look at you!

Subscribe to What's doing down under...

I have added an RSS feed option to the blog. By clicking on the sign up to feeds button on the left hand side of this page you will get you to the RSS feed for What's doing down under? Every time I write something, the feed is updated so that it is always up to date.

Then when you next click on favourites when using Internet Explorer, or look for it on the Toolbar in Firefox you can click the orange thingy (like the picture above!) and see if there have been updates without having to visit the site.

... if all that means nothing to you just keep doing what you are doing. However if you access lots of other blogs or websites regularly then you'll probably find this add on useful. ;0)

Coldplay...

Kinda like this so I thought I'd share it on here. I'm not the biggest of Coldplay fans (Not that I dislike them either!) but I have to say that I quite enjoyed their new album.



Everytime I hear anything about Coldplay I always think about my brother and his old band that once shared the stage with them in London at an unsigned band night!

Our local...

Since May 2007 getting out on our own has become something of a logistical nightmare, although we have had some lovely nights made possible thanks to all too willing baby sitters, you know who you are! However even when we do go out we are often yawning from about 9:30pm onwards.... anyway with much of our entertaining done at home we have created our own little funky nightspot in the back room!!!



... Might have to get our names on a little plaque above the door! ;0)We offer the warmest of welcomes to all visitors from near and afar!

Gymbaroo...

With mum at work full time over the last month Alfie's gym attendance has slipped... happens to all of us! However with time on our side Alfie has been back working out at Gymbaroo, which is a gym for kids. He has progressed quite well and looks set to continue after the holidays. He is now a penguin and getting quite independent on the apparatus today supported by two encouraging if a little nervous parents!



Each session starts with the kids getting into their muscle vests, sticking in the picture in their word book (Todays session was brought to you by the word Butterfly!) an ink stamp on their hand, the placing of a special object in the Treasure Sack before some free play. Then its off for some singing, dancing and coordination stuff before hitting the gym once more. A couple of stacks latter its back to the side room for more songs and games and being held upside down by your legs before you post your name tag through the red window and make your way home! ;0)

Okay so thats all a bit tongue and cheek but it really was a good session and he certainly enjoys it. We have noticed the difference in his movement as well as his communication skills. There are also lots of routines that the children need to follow and he is certainly getting used to those. It was great to have this week off (Independent schools finish a week early!) so that I could get to go along as there is no Gymbaroo for a couple of weeks ... sorry Alfie!

Play/Dog House...

After Alfie spends most of his time playing in one at the play group we decided to look out for a play house for Alfie on eBay. I managed to pick this one up for a good price this week. It's a circa 1995 one bedroom villa with an annex, ideally suited to small boys with plenty of energy. It is of plastic construction and has been expertly assembled by Ivey & Co using the instructions!!! The house is centrally located for local amenities and looks out onto the garden...



Proud new owner!


... I'm not sure about the neighbours!




... You got yer blog photo now let me out!



UPDATE... After a rain shower this afternoon I was pleased to see that it's almost waterproof should I be banished there at any point! ;0)

Winter Weekend Away...

On the back of a very busy term at school where all too often my hand is raised for the opportunity to do more work (.. still pulling out all the stops for an opportunity next year!) and Beth working full time for the last month it was time to take a break so we booked a weekend away in Port Stephens about an hour up the coast. We managed to pack just about everything for the trip in the car, although there wasn't any room for Amy and Mitchell our neighbours so they had to drive themselves. Amy is always willing to step in and have Alfie at short notice and inexplicably refuses to take any money for having him on any of the days he's not at child care.

They are both so good with Alfie, his eyes light up when he sees them to the point that we think that he might actually think that they are mum and dad and we are the people he stays with when they are working! With them refusing to take the cash (... they do have a wedding to pay for!) we decided to take them away for the weekend.

On the Friday night we drove up the coast and found the resort where we would stay for the weekend. There were little cabins each with their own facilities, kitchen lounge etc. By the time we arrived it was getting late so Mitchell and I went out to hunt and gather. About 45mins later we returned via the Pub with some drinks and pizza. Our excuse was that the pizzas took a long time and we are sticking too it!

In the morning Alfie took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep, staying in bed well into the morning. When he woke we drove to the Toboggans Run. Alfie seemed to enjoy the ride down with Daddy, making excited Woooo noises although the tightness of his grip suggested he was a little unsure. We also took the Red Train (...well more of a tractor really!) up the hill to the maze. We managed to find our way out, with a little help from Alfie who could see over the top (while sitting on my shoulders) and underneath! We then went to Anna Bay for a bite to eat in the hope that we would see some migrating whales (.... they are all heading up the coast at this time of year) but alas nothing but the odd dolphin or two. ;0)

Later in the evening we went out for a meal in Nelson's Bay, we all had great meals followed by the largest ice creams I have ever seen! Alfie helped out eating the wafers, while Beth had the odd spoon or three.

The next day after an al fresco BBQ breakfast we went to Nelsons Bay and had a walk around. The weather was great to we went back to the cabin to get our swimmers. Alfie had a great time in the sand, although his reaction after dipping his toe suggested that the water was a little colder than his last dip. Mitchell and I managed to chuck a frisbee around (on the sand initially but the tide came in so we went in!)for an hour or so, only stopping to munch on the odd chip butty (... our education of English foods, words and customs continues!) Later in the evening it was more board games and a few more drinks...

Monday came around all too soon, although it was a great weekend with some great friends. Enjoy the slide show...

Winter Warmer...

Its fairly hard keeping Alfie inside. He loves being out in the garden because thats where the sand pit is... He often waits by the door as if to make a point, and has been known to bring his shoes to us when a less subtle hint is needed. It has been beautifully clear and crisp for the last week and so wrapping up warm before he goes out is essential.