Fences 2 - 23rd August 2009

G'day !

At risk of flogging an old story, I thought you might be interested in some feedback. You will recall our woes regarding Tessa's wild bids for freedom - I mean really, is 3 and a half acres not enough. My Kiwi friend up the road who did the fencing in the first place, suggested " we " lay some vermin wire along the bottom of the existing fence. Vermin wire? He dropped 2 rolls of 46 metres off along with some little metal things and a strange set of pliers for the little metal things. This all happened very quickly and I suspect he wanted to get it over with before the Springboks won the Tri-Nations.

This week's picture was taken by Jen ( Bron and Matt were out at hockey ). You will see that I am holding the little metal thing pliers. I have completed about 60 metres of the fence and have " fence fixers hand " which is not unlike " tennis elbow ", except it's in your hand and happens after you've been fixing fences not playing tennis.

Still going back a couple of weeks, hundreds of you have subsequently replied and said that you would pick Ruan Pienaar ahead of Morne Steyn. Very easy to say when the Boks are " played 3, won 3 "....................

And what's with South Africa's latest athletics star? Genetics and Endocrinology might not be my areas of expertise but even if she does have two X chromosomes and nothing more, she has to be getting some extra androgens from somewhere. The alternative of course is that she is a freak of nature like Usain Bolt - isn't he amazing to watch?

We all had a good night out at Tigers Hockey Club " Games and Barbecue Evening " last night. Matt's team beat my team at Pictionary which was not very tactful of him but I suppose he has time to learn these things. Bron really enjoys the hockey crowd - much laughter. She gets on well with them and she has formed some close bonds. Not that she has any space in her social calendar............

Winter drought is threatening our food prices; the Politicians continue to behave like schoolchildren although I really believe that Kevin Rudd is a very good Prime Minister who is trying to do the right thing - despite this, I don't see the " gap closing " between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians or even that the proposed startegies are going to be successful; the Aussies are lamenting their pending loss of The Ashes; Jen is frantically rehearsing for various dance activities - doing a piece to " Singing in the rain " which is obviously someone's dry sense of humour coming out; Matt heads off to Newcastle for a Debating competition and enjoyed his first cricket net with me on Friday; Bron continues to make sure that it all happens and I look forward to the challenges of another week.

With Gene Kelly singing and dancing in the rain on You Tube in the background, I bid you farewell. " Watch his feet " says Jen.......

Dyl, Bron, Matt and Jen

Sunday Evenings - 16th August 2009

G'day !

It's not every week that you will get award winning photography and I must say I have been a bit disappointed with my iPhone camera - although, it has been a lifesaver when I have needed to send a photograph of a scan or of a tricky skin rash to someone cleverer than me.................However, my pics are always current and this one is about 1 and a half hours old.

Our Sunday evenings generally involve church at 5 o'clock ( St Mark's Chapel ) followed by dinner at a local restaurant. We usually go to Jin Hong Chinese Resataurant but tonight we found ourselves at East Court instead. I think we were Prawn Foo Yong, Sweet and Sour Pork and Chicken Cashewed out...............do you know, I recall going to Chinese Supper on Sunday nights ( Point Road )as a small boy and I remember the order was exactly the same excepting that we used to have bowties for pudding. And who questioned whether we are influenced by our childhood? Anyway, East Court is a buffet and we enjoyed Mongolian Lamb, Prawn Curry, Honey battered chicken and a few other bits and pieces.

We leave our Sunday dinners laughing, arrive home laughing and Matt and Jen fall asleep with smiles on their faces - ok, not always. Bron and I usually catch a movie ( Bron and dogs on couch, me on single chair ) - tonight it is Hancock.

Our week has been pretty uneventful although I did get back onto the hockey turf on Tuesday night ( 7 - 1 win over Cundletown Cougars ). Bron and I enjoyed a quiet lunch on Friday and we had a relaxing late lunch with friends yesterday afternoon. This morning was a family garden session. Oh, I did some work and also negotiated sponsorship for a Breakfast Club for needy children at the Aboriginal Clinic where I do outreach and also challenged the same Foodchain to raise twice as much money as last year so that we can get a state-of-the-art Baby Warmer - see, it's not all about treating children although there was a fair bit of that too.

Anyway, my chair calls and whilst our Sundays might be routined, they are not monotonous nor taken for granted.

With fond regards.

Dylan, Bronwyn, Matt and Jen

Fences - 9th August 2009

G'day !

" We are so happy we have dogs - they complete our family. We are so happy we have dogs - they complete our family. We are so happy we have dogs - they complete our family. "

This is the mantra that Bron and I have taken to saying every night. It is only partly because at the moment Tessa in particular, is finding the lure of wallaby scent from Peter and Margaret's garden to be stronger than any fence. This means reinforcements are necessary and with only 20 metres of the 500 metres done, the task is quite a daunting one. Oh, and they had a full on ' blue " ( fight ) today...........oh, and Tessa spent last weekend in the Vet and refuses to pay with her pocket money..............oh, and Holly will still chew a shoe left at ground level if she gets the chance.............

" We are so happy we have dogs - they complete our family. We are so happy..................."

I must say the response to my Morne Steyn vs Ruan Pienaar survey was spectacularly pathetic. I got 5 replies and it was Steyn 3 and Pienaar 2. One of Pienaar's votes came from his neighbour who had some very nice things to say about him and the other came from my dearest friend whom, I am glad to say coaches the South African Cricket team not the Rugby team. Let's be honest, we can't be unhappy with what they've achieved. Anyway, I passed the result of my survey on to Pieter de Villiers who obviously took it seriously and the rest, as they say, is history.

I have had a busy 3 days on call and can't wait to fall asleep tomorrow night, knowing that my phone won't be ringing and that I won't be having to dodge wallabies and hares as I drive to the hospital. One positive has been the fact that I've been able to follow the 4th Ashes Test and obviously last night's rugby. There have also been some interesting Chatshows ( asparagus growing in the Yamba Valley, 2 million camels in Australia's deserts....) and some music which I've never heard before, on ABC Radio. Tune in or catch it on Broadband between one and four in the morning Australia time.

A new week is upon us and we aim to make the most of every opportunity which presents itself.

The Westralians - Dyl, Bron, Matt and Jen

The Loft - 4th August 2009

G'day !

A couple of days late but for good reason....................I spent the weekend preparing a presentation for the Paediatric Grand Rounds at John Hunter Children's Hospital which I delivered today. Not too many people fell asleep and no-one threw eggs which is good enough for me. I spoke about ADHD and its Co-existing conditions if anyone's interested.............gave examples of Tigger, Bugs Bunny and Calvin ( Calvin and Hobbes ) as classic examples.

This week I have shown you our Loft Room aka Jen's playroom ( and she still wants a Cubby House!!!! ) aka Brian and Pat's Guest Room. They're the only ones who have stayed in it and only had to get friendly with 2 great big Huntsman spiders while they were there. The bed is a double, the room is airconditioned as has plenty of drawer space but not much head space when you get too close to the sides. Don't worry, it will get tidied before you come to stay..................

What else - my calf injury is a tear not a pull, I have just received notice that I have no restrictions on my registration ( has to be Paediatrics of course ), Matt got a new cricket bat today ( bought in Newcastle - the downside of living in the bundu ), Jen is practising for her Eisteddfod solo and Bron is due to send off her teaching stuff ( as soon as I've edited her CV - gee, it's impressive! ).

Later.

Dylan, Bronwyn, Matt and Jen

Kitchen - 26th July 2009

G'day!

To continue the tour of our house - here is our kitchen! I must point out that we love our house. Whilst it might not be as big as our house in St Andrews it meets all of our needs. As you can imagine, Bron keeps it more than neat and tidy and we all ( yeah, Matt and Jen too ) take pride in how we live. I think we have changed our perspective a bit in terms of what is important. There is no doubt that we are far more appreciative of what we have and our lifestyle is hard to beat.

The kitchen is a bit messy today but that is only because Bron cooked up a delicious Sunday roast ( lamb and chicken ) for lunch today. Once again, you will recognise the art and it is only the brand of beer that it is different - find the bottle of James Boag's Premium Lager. Lunch was enjoyed by us; Tom Campbell, my Paediatric colleague; The Stewarts minus Olivia who was at Touch Footie practice much to Jen's disappointment and The Knoxes minus Stuart ( remember, he is a Vet ) who was on duty at an Equestrian Endurance event where he had to ensure that the horses were in a good enough condition to continue ( heart rate and lameness ). Imagine if they did that at The Comrades Marathon..................I reckon a lot of people wouldn't make it past Drummond.

My day started at 01h11 ( forgive me, I overslept ) when I got up to watch The Springboks take on the All Blacks and I was glad I did. I was impressed by the lack of mistakes we made but must admit I was a bit worried for the first 20 minutes of the second half. At that stage, I took the opportunity to finish reading Harry Potter 7 - The Deathly Hallows. Back to the rugby, a survey.......................
Ruan Pienaar or Morne Steyn? I expect at least 100 answers and will post the results next week.
Taree was swamped by 96 teams of over 35 women hockey players this weekend as Manning Valley Hockey Association hosted the Half-State Vets Championship. I was on barbecue duty yesterday afternoon but got off lightly. Having said that Matt and Jen both convinced me that they needed stick bags............a Voodoo Chaos for Matt and a pink Grays for Jen. It was amazing to see the Rec Grounds transformed into 13 hockey fields and I could not help but feel a little bit of pride for our new hometown.

Matt and Jen are settling into an early night in preparation for the start of the third term tomorrow. Bags need to be packed, shoes need to be polished and unfortunately for Bron, lunches need to be made tomorrow morning. At least she has a comfortable environment in which to prepare them.

With love

Dyl, Bron, Matt and Jen