22 October 2008

Dear Diary

November 2007 - April 2008

Jeez, I can't believe I haven't updated this for so long. For anyone reading it(?), I do apologise. We had Fiona & Fynn over to stay for Xmas and New Year, which was nice. Danny and Fynn seem to have developed a love/hate relationship, which made for some interesting times.

I had an arthroscopy on my right knee at the beginning of April to try to sort out some old rugby or beer related injury that I have had for years but has been getting worse. Hobbling about a bit and it will probably be a few weeks before I can hit the gym again. Physio giving me a pretty hard time, but all for the best I am sure.

Just back from a long weekend up at Taracoonee with Mark, Megan, Pete, Tracey, Tina, Bruce and assorted offspring. Had a great time and the weather made for much sampling of wine.

October 2007

A fairly busy month. Alison has started looking for a job and the market seems pretty good. We weren't expecting her to start back until the New Year, but she may start this year if the right job comes up. Alison has also been going to a gym with a crèche, so she can dump off Sarah with complete strangers :-)

We started our pool renovations and were hoping that they would be completed by now, but there has been a delay with the pavers so it looks like the end of November before it will be done. Pictures here.

January 2007 - September 2007

Jeez, how slack am I? Well, I suppose the birth of Sarah gives me a "get out of jail free" excuse for not keeping this updated. Brief highlights ... its been a pretty cold and wet winter here ... will really have to do something about the roof! We are getting the pool renovated and hopefully it will be completed before November so we can make the most out of it this summer.

Alison has been putting her feet up looking after Sarah while I continue to slog my guts out to earn a crust :-) I am sure there is loads more, but I have the memory of a goldfish.

August 2006 - December 2006

Gordon started a new permanent job with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and is working in the Sydney CBD and is pretty handy for the train.

Had a visit from David Scott at the beginning of December. I think he appreciated the double bed, and unlimited access to our food and beverages.

May 2006 - July 2006

Finished up working at Macquarie at the end of May, and have been taking it easy since. Alison started working for a Funds Management company here called MLC which are part of the National Australia Bank (the ones that own the Clydesdale Bank).

Danny had his 6th birthday on 30th May, and we arranged a special Spiderman party for him and his friends.

Lynne came to visit us for a few weeks in July, and Danny has managed to pick up some nice Scottish phrases as a result. Some of them we are trying to get him to stop :-)

September 2005 - April 2006

Yes, I know, its a long time since I updated this. I finished up working at Westpac and then promptly suffered a slipped disc which put me out of action for a good few months. As you can imagine, Alison was well chuffed at having to look after both me and Danny and still hold down a job!

Our Christmas was great, and the newsletter has all the details.

I started working at a bank here called Macquarie in February. Its only a short term contract until the end of May, but I am enjoying it.

Alison packed in her job at Vero in March and has been a lady of leisure since. She assures me she is looking for a job, but I suspect she is getting her own back on me being out of action for so long.

July - August 2005

Alison & Danny spent a few weeks back in Scotland while I tried to relive my bachelor days. Depressed at my complete lack of imagination. Local curry house, video shop and off licence know me by name now though.

The day after Danny and Alison arrived back, we attended out Citizenship ceremony. So there is no chance of them throwing us out now.

March - June 2005

Danny's 5th birthday on 30th May. He had his party the Saturday after. Photos here Great fund, but 15 kids on a bouncy castle is a recipe for disaster!

Got approved for our Australian Citizenship. Just waiting for a date for our ceremony where we have to swear allegiance to Oz, drink beer and BBQ some prawns. Its the rule apparently.

Danny has been playing soccer most Saturday mornings and has been improving every game. Mind you, just getting a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds heading for the right goals is a bit of an achievement.

Went to the annual Bundanoon Highland Gathering. Lots of pipe bands, Irn Bru and black pudding rolls. Yum. Really sunny day, so not what I would call and authentic highland gathering :-)

Danny had a sore hip from falling out of the bath. He was very excited to get an x-ray and ultrasound though. Diagnosis was for bed rest. Bed rest for a 4 year old - what planet do these doctor live on?

February 2005

Wow, that went by quick. Got Danny enrolled at West Pymble Soccer Club so I am looking for ward to many early Saturday mornings shouting encouragement (or something) from the sidelines.

It was Holly's christening and Calum's birthday last week, and there are some good photos from the party here

November 2004 - January 2005

Gordon: Sorry for neglecting this! Its been a bit mad at work. Well, that's my excuse anyway. Graham arrived in November and has been enjoying the famed Dracup/Wallace hospitality. We showed him where the kitchen and toilet were, and that was about it.

Xmas was pretty nice. Danny got the normal truck load of presents and we had a nice non stressful meal and a few people over on Boxing Day.

We spent a quiet New Year up a Coffs Harbour. very nice, but the weather was a bit blowy. In fact the weather this summer hasn't been a patch on last year. Lots of rain.

Danny started back at Pinjarra pre-school again for his final year. Not sure how we are going to manage when he goes off to proper school.

October 2004

Gordon: Well, been pretty busy at work, and the regular visits to the gym have suffered as a result. Well, that's my excuse and I am sticking to it.

Just heard that Graham is coming out in mid November to stay with us for a few months. Great news. We won't be stuck for a baby sitter then. Mind you, I may have to put in a bulk order at the bottle shop.

Went to the annual Highland Gathering at Castle hill. A bit disappointing as there weren't that many people there. Plenty of pipes and drums and people recruiting for clan membership.

Getting a bit warmer now, and we are in the pool a bit more, although now that Danny has figured out the DVD player, prising him away from the TV is proving a challenge.

August - September 2004

Gordon: Fiona, Jonny & Fynn came over to visit for a couple of weeks. Had a great time. Went to the Blue mountains and did the usual touristy things - Jenolan Caves, 3 Sisters. Stayed in a great wee cottage in  Leura.

Traded in the boring old Commodore for a very cool Jeep Wrangler. No photos yet, but it looks like one of these except older!

July 2004

Gordon: Started new job. Pretty busy and still getting up to speed with a lot of it. Working on the replacement of the EFTPoS terminals. That is those swipe terminals you see in the shops. Got about 40,000 of the things to replace by the end of 2005.

Met up with Mamood (ex SAMS) the other night. Suffice to say too much imbibing was going on to way to far into the wee small hours. Can't party with the big boys anymore.

Got Fiona and Fynn coming over for a few weeks to sample the terrible Oz winter. Even planning to go up to the Blue Mountains for a few days where it is even colder.

June 2004

Gordon: Quite a busy month. Handed in my notice at IAG and started looking for contract work. Offered a contract with Westpac starting 5th July working through a project management company called Proton Looking forward to it. Got a week off before I start, so I will be taking it easy.

Been watching a lot of sport, and it is good to see normal service resumed with the latest English results. :-)

January - May 2004

Well, I did warn you that these diary entries would get a bit more sparse.

We moved into our new house in February and have been getting a bit done to it; decoration, gas installed, curtains etc etc. The list is endless. We did manage to make full use of the poll until April, but then it got too cold even for our hardy Scottish blood.

We have a week off and took a road trip to Melbourne, staying with my aunt Jean. Melbourne was great and we had a good time, but I am not going to be driving there and back again in a hurry. No it will be the cheap Jet Star flights for us next time. Even got a speeding ticket on the trip - doing 65km in a 60km zone. I thought that was a bit nasty :-(

Lost the digital camera during the house move, hence the lack of new photos on the website. Have just found it, so there goes my excuse to go and buy a new decent one. Bah!

Alison was made permanent in her role, and got a bit of a promotion thrown in, so she is well happy. We are still a bit away from me being the house husband that I would ideally like though.

I put in my notice at work, and will be finishing up at the end of June. Starting to look around for some other work, and will hopefully be able to get back into contracting soon.

November - December 2003

Gordon: Well, it looks like we have bought a New House. Looking forward to getting into it on 23rd January and making good use of the pool on those hot days (if we ever get any). Not really looking forward to the large mortgage, but I suppose it has to be done.

Spent a really nice weekend at Taracoonee last weekend. Great, even though we were sharing our kitchen with a very large snake of some description. Being the coward I am, there are no photos.

Can't really get into the Xmas spirit, as you may have realised if you haven't received your cards or presents yet. Don't worry. They are in the post.... maybe.

Finally got Danny toilet trained, with a little help from his wee pal Calum who I thing gave his a stern talking to during a sleepover.

Lots of office Xmas parties coming up, and we are going to see Powderfinger who are quite a big band out here, but I am not sure how well known elsewhere. First gig we have been to in quite some time.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Love, Gordon, Alison & Danny xxx

July - October 2003

Gordon: Sorry, not been updating this as regularly as I should. No excuse. Just being lazy. Things pretty good. We have been going away a lot of our weekends and generally getting more settled in. Winter was a lot colder than we had expected. Sorry we threw out so many of out winter clothes before we came out.

Started toilet training Danny which has, er, well, been a bit messy. We are now experts in various floor cleaning products now though. Danny is still having a few accidents, but we are getting there.

Getting geared up for the rugby world cup. Got tickets for the Scotland France and Scotland Fiji games, and we even got a couple of tickets for the first semi final, which should be Australia - New Zealand according to the pundits. Still trying to arrange baby sitting though! There are a couple of photos in Photos 03.10.12 Misc of us all done up in our Scotland kit.

Sent a video back home, so if anyone is interested, they can probably get it from my mum & dad.

June 2003

Gordon: Things going along quite well. Weather a lot colder than we expected. Not bad during the day, but the mornings and evenings can be very chilly. I apologise to any residents that I have slagged off in the past for this! Job going well. Boss away for a couple of months, so getting pretty busy. Thinking of buying another car, as picking up and dropping of Danny at the Day Care centre can be a bit of a pain if one of us needs to work late. Alison wants a soft top. One of those very expensive Saab jobs. I am doing my best to dissuade her though. Had a few problems with my PC, so I may not have been in touch as often as I would have wanted. Things OK now, and I have even got the Webcam working, albeit in an intermittent sort of way!

Danny enjoying Day Care and even has a little girlfriend Gabrielle. Apparently they hold hands and hug. Lucky sod.

May 2003

Gordon: Alison has got a job with an insurance company in Chatswood, quite close to where we live. Ideal. She starts on 19th, so that's the end of her extended holiday. Daniel going full time in the nursery as of 19th.

Gordon: Weather started to pick up, although it is getting a little colder. Sometimes we even have to put the heater on. Honest. Alison getting some calls from agencies about jobs, so hopefully it wont be too long until she is back to keeping me in the manner to which I am accustomed. Work going OK, still settling in though. Got some interesting stuff to work on. Going to see Sydney v Brisbane Aussie Rules footie at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday with Alison and Daniel and some friends. Should be a laugh.

April 2003

Gordon: Met up with Len (Tiger) in North Sydney. A couple of bottles of Merlot and lots of other stuff. I remember now why I don't live in the city.

Gordon: Took Danny to the zoo. He thoroughly enjoyed it, although with the attention span of a goldfish, certain features were perhaps lost on him.

Gordon: Got a job with an asset management company in Sydney starting at the end of April. Went a short holiday to Couran Cove on the Gold Coast to get the last of the good weather. Daniel loved it is as there was a great pool and beach for him to play about in all day. Alison getting a few enquiries from agencies and went for her first interview.

March 2003

Gordon: Alison and Daniel arrive on 12th. Finally got the container delivered at the end of March. A little difficult living without any of our furniture. Thankfully, I had to buy a bed, fridge and washing machine anyway.

February 2003

Gordon: Found a house in West Pymble which is ideal. Nice garden for Daniel to play in and close to a train station for commuting into Sydney. Container not cleared customs, so house is a little sparse. Bought a second hand car - Holden Berlina. Never owned a car with a 3.8l engine before! Good job the fuel is cheap over here. Signs that the job market is picking up. Getting a few phone calls and contacts from agencies.

January 2003