Catching Up [i]

This past couple of years, I have managed to reel a few old friends in.

Today I sent off [the usual & overly?] an exuberant
HELLO HOW ARE YOU? AND HERE IS WHAT I AM UP TO...
 to my old school friend Macca. Yet to get a response. At this time. We went thru primary and secondary schools together in a small seaside town out of the Big Smoke. When I went orf to try geology in a country CAE, he was left behind to get into a spot in an art course up in the Big Smoke instead- and only caught up three or four time in the interim. [funnily enough, same place where my ex-gf Sue went too, and my eldest #1son goes now! wow.]

That's thirteen years growing up together man! Macca and I used to make up Scalextrix tracks and buy and race cars with Tug and Trev, compared to when these days you can't get the kids off the web or Wii or ... He had one of those racer bikes that had the three speed hub. I had to wait a few more years for a flouro green 10 speeder. Macca [thru his big sister and brother] got me into Supertramp's Crime Of The Century and Bloody Well Right on nightovers in his bungalow, as loud as possible too, back in the 70's of course, and  Lou Reed's Satellite of Love and the rest of that album Transformer too. And

Another friend, SmokoKid had never heard of Transformer, in 1990! Well, maybe he was pulling my leg, cos he does own a lot of music. I imagine he has filled a few iPods too.

I did catch up with a girl Brigitta G that went thru the same school years, but that was it, a 'FBk friend'  and that's that. Heloooo?! Get back to me!

And more as well, Melissa [Lisa] WJ, Michael H & Grainne M, Robyn, Richard W, Kevin H, Luie B., Fiona Hunters' sister, Michael M, Trevor D, list goes on.

Out of the blue last year, one of my bestest ever mates in the CAE years caught up with me! From the other side of the country too, and did we ever get sloshed and catch up via the web!

And by accident I got hold of other fellow house mates too, of the Houston Street mansion-not, thru the web. The years before that, I got in contact with two others from there too. One has just the other month completed the Barcelona marathon, at my age, and in a really good time too. What else is amazing was that Mandy had made friends at work in the North Sea with another Geo I had worked with, Stew, two decades ago offshore, WOz. The mansion had a loo that leant to the right a bit and full of weeds, being an outside dunny, so if you were not in the right mind at wee time in the wee dark dark hours...

Face Book, Friends Reunited, Wikipedia and the web is an interesting experiment, indeed.

What a Family!

Yesterday-

Saturday.

My uncle dropped in mid arvo for a cuppa. He was on the way back home from a week long fly-fishing trip in the Snowy Mountains with his brothers.

Progeny #3a earlier had taken an advance warning call from my dad about a night-over with us and  he followed his brother inside shortly afterwards.

There had been some fishing done, but no trout for My fridge this trip. The "Boys" ate well in the mountains cos my other uncle, an Ozz champion fly caster- does not return without a catch to the cabin!


And then after that, in time for that cuppa break, #1 son had managed to drag his scrawny ass down from the Big Smoke o the train for a family visit and friend-catchup, and a good dinner [?].

Three relatives, dropping in at the same time. Amasink!

Bern tally-ho-ed home, two hours away, not stopping for the beef roast dinner with us this time.
Maybe I should have started cooking it up earlier?
But then we would have had even less, cos it was overly cooked, in the end- bugger- but I was complimented.
The gravy was spiced up too, nice.

After dinner, the boys and my dad and I chatted, #2 about possible careers and #1 about uni. The gels sat and watched tv. Over ciggies and some home-made wine there was mention of renovations I could probably get done by winter. The weather-boards are eroding and a window frame may need replacement...

And Today-


And this morning I was up early because dad's sister and hubby was going through on the way to the South coast NSW for a week long vacation.

Their plan was to arrive at 8am, ARGH! So I was up at 7pm, to tidy up a little. They got in after about 9am, which was okay, and so the girls got to meet and greet some great relatives. The ulterior motive was to drop off a bike that Jon could not handle that was given to him by his son-in-law. He thought that a such a fab pushbike for the road may be better utilised by us. Drop down handle bars are not so cool for grandads... Well, ok then! An Italian job, nice one Clause.

Dad continued on his merry way to another old mate's place, in a beach town, and my aunt and hubby continued on their merry way, in the opposite direction.

After lunch, we noticed that my aunt had left her handbag behind...

Three calls. One to Jon- "leave a message!" Drat.
Second to Bern- "can I get my cousins' numbers please- because your sister..?"
Third to my cousin, paraphrased-"Hi, it's me."
"who?"
"me"
"Oh. Right..."
Okay then. Odd.
"Your mum's left her handbag, can you catch her at all?"
A short chat- we decided nothing important was left behind, otherwise I would have got a frantic call, or a another visit...
I did think to travel half way... And later- maybe take a few days off and have a wave-sailing session there.

Nah. Some one will say, "nah mate, no bloody way". Life can be a drag.

This evening, mum and I had a little OMG time over it all, but thought it would be all okay in the end.

So a relatively busy weekend!
Uncles, aunts, cousins, sons, dads, mums. And we do it again at Easter at The Ghurk!
Just missed having a skype sesh with the LA rels. Sorry darls.

Just a Choking Feeling, all day.

Well another anniversary has been and gone.

A short visit out to the plot with the kids and flowers from the garden.

Hard to talk to them out there. Tidy up the headstone and place the bouquet. Tarn liked getting and giving flowers.

The twins pillage the garden for flowers sometimes for a small table display, the stalks a bit too short for the size of the display, but I imagine it would have been just the same with their mum looking on too instead of me alone, admiring their energy and "artistic flair".

Girls broke into tears for the first time out there, ever, on leaving. They are growing up so much, and I really felt for them. I nearly got a group hug going, the boys hung back, quiet.

My sister in law writes of the minutes gone by since that day ten years ago, what was going on at the time. Some of my memories that are stand out, not too blurred, are these, my in laws and a party trip.

Her father was not that pleased at some of the Olympic antics about then, seems so far away. Well, he is pretty old and set in his ways, and it was hard not to laugh at his comments on the goings on up at Sydney back then. He was not trying to be funny, he was-  annoyed, but it was the Games, an entertainment event of the centuries! Like me though, he could not believe the costly fuss they had up there. Bev loved the idea of us getting outta town, she could handle this lot!

In the middle of that September, I had taken Tarn to a very old friend's of mine's surprise 40th birthday party, not far from the big smoke, my old home town.

So we left two hundred kilometers behind us the kids with Ken and Bev for their first time as "bulk" baby sitters, before they moved away to the big smoke for Bev.

This was to be our first and last night away alone together since the girls were born.

Tarn was all dressed up again, looking just fine. Tarn met Paul and Sue and many other of my old mates and their wives and husbands. We had a good time. There was a mutual friend Trish from college that had married another old friend of mine. Even an old unrequited love of mine! And her ex!!! Could not talk to him that night! Paul and Sue were the same people they were years ago I thought. Same with the rest- but we didn't get to talk about twenty years of activities all in one night! Kids photos were passed around, there were a few.

The next day I drove us home a different route this time, along the hills instead of the freeway to surprise her. The next time I traveled that way a few years later was hard, and I do not think I will be doing it again.

It would hard to believe that just less than two weeks later, a lot of those old friends were with me again in a totally different situation.

Ups and downs, choked and alive. That's life I spose. It was not the best day of my life.