Quiet Weekend

Hiya Gang;

Insomniac weekend here, due solely to a bunch of maniacs touring France in lycra. I wont pretend to have watched the whole Tour De France from stage 1, but i've followed it for the past few years and the final week this year has just been the most gripping thing since the bear hug was invented. I even stood on the couch and clapped at 2 am in the morning when Cadel donned the yellow jersey after blitzing the time trial. Where were you?

Feeling guilty at not waking early enough to make pancakes with Bodhi, I opted to make an apple pie in the afternoon instead, complete with a lattice top. The Lovely Samantha thought it was so impressive she said to take a photo...so I did. Good thing I did too as it didn't stay looking like that for long. In fact, come Sunday night it was all gone.

Bodhi and I made a trip to Bunnings on Sunday. I felt like a relapsed alcoholic walking into the pub for the first time in ages, such is the mouth watering effect the big box hardware store has on me. I only needed some clamps, but still insisted on inspecting the contents of every aisle. It's a good thing I did too as Sam's birthday is coming up and I found a drop saw which I know she'll go crazy over.

Some friends came around in the afternoon for some formal portraits (and apple pie).

Congratulations Cadel!

see ya,
Minas.

Whirlwind Weekend

Hiya;

I've been glued to the wires in the last week about the News of the World closure. I don't particularly care for the paper but having had the privilege of knowing the current editor (his daughter was our friend & neighbour in London), it's been sad seeing a man of hard working integrity caught up in all the hoohaa. I get the impression he's not the only one.

On Friday night, following a colleague's well intentioned (but misguided) tram advice, what should have been a simple 20min journey turned into an hour long back and forth debacle to meet The Lovely Samantha and Bodhi for dinner in East Brunswick. Better late than never i suppose.

I flew to Sydney on Saturday for a whirlwind catch up with Mum. She'd bought me a concert ticket to the Opera house for my birthday a while back. Aside from the experimental avante garde flute solo at the start, the rest of the concert was sensational! Classical music matched to HD projections of the solar system on a big screen! I squeezed in a slap up lunch and dinner either side of the concert to show Mum just how much her big boy cares about her and it seems to have done the trick - I've been invited back again.

On Sunday we caught up with my brother who was coincidentally in town with his missus. Yum Cha, coffees then a stop off at my grandparent's house on the way to the airport. Back to Melbourne where it was horribly cold.

see ya,
Minas.

White Weekend

Hey;

I've been under the pump at work the past few weeks, so i breathed a sigh of relief leaving early on Friday for a weekend at Mt Bulla. Despite taking the scenic route we still arrived by 18:30pm. Proximity to the snow fields is but another thing I've discovered Melbourne does better than Sydney.

This weekend was all about making good on a year old promise to Bodhi (you may remember last year we'd set out for the snow but had to turn back with 10km to go for fear of running out of petrol). We stayed with friends on the tail end of their week in the snow, which was perfect as their kids were keen to get out of ski school and just muck about.

Saturday was full of snow fights, tobogganing, snowmen, gluwhine and hearty meals. Smiles all round, Bodhi's tattooed on. When it was time to leave he was asleep in the car (smiling) before we'd even left the car park.

Home in time on Sunday arvo for a quick jog around the lake, then off to Shalome's for a nice curry cook up.

see ya,
Minas.