Tas Mania

It's often daunting starting one of these things. I'm usually a bit anxious that not enough has happened that's of any interest, but at the same time I worry that too much has happened to be succinctly wrapped up in a few paragraphs. It's like, if you don't mow your lawn for 4 weeks, the job becomes far more difficult and the length of the grass can be enough to stop the rotors on the mower if you're not careful. On the other hand, to use a shaving analogy, if you shave too often - like if you have to shave before going out for a special dinner and then you have to shave again for work early the next morning - you end up with iritated skin. Mashing both analogies together and applying them to blogging: post too frequently and you'll become irritating, too seldom and it'll become too difficult (and may even stop the blog altogether). I'm probably just over-thinking this again, eh?

Blogs seem to have quietened down a lot lately. Maybe everyone's moved over to FaceBook and blogs are becoming "so 2006", or maybe people are just really far too busy at this end of the year. Hey, less than a month to Christmas :) We've managed to get pretty well organised for Christmas this year: the tree is up, as are the decorations on the bannister and over the fireplace, 90% of the presents are bought and wrapped and under the tree, and the first half of the 70-or-so Christmas cards went out this week (the rest will be written and sent over the weekend). Mel's the powerhouse behind most of these preparations, although we both jointly devoted a bit of this month-long holiday to getting prepared.

The trip to Tassie was good. We struggled a bit from a health perspective, with both Mel & Jessica out of action for at least some of the time there, but we did have fun. We saw some lovely places: we thought some places were heavily underrated (Chudleigh region), while others were overrated (Tamar Valley). Next time we're there we'll know where to spend more time, and where we can afford to skip. I'll think I'll post some pics now - just a handful - before heading to bed. I may follow up with some others later (incidentally, if you sign up to FaceBook which has a much better photo gallery feature - you'll see a lot more of the photos from the Tassie Trip). Goodnight, Matt


(PS. What did you think of that Election result? I can't say I'm even remotely a fan of Kevin Rudd, and I think his win merely tops off the most 'successful' fake campaign I've ever seen. With that said, I sincerely hope I'll be proven wrong in everything I think about him: I'll hope for the best, but expect...well...you know.)

2:52...

Well it's 2:52am and I'm somehow still wide awake, so I'll try to make the most of my insomnia by posting a quick update.

What's news? Well, I'm on holiday at the moment: almost 3 weeks through the 4 week break (it's gone SO fast!). We had plans to do a bit of travelling up through NSW and QLD (including taking Jessica to Wiggles World), but a few obstacles got in the way. The biggest hurdle was that Jessica came down with Tonsillitis, and has really only perked up again from yesterday (not quite 100% yet, but heaps better than she was with the 40 degree fever, inability to eat or sleep etc...). It was a really serious infection, and it knocked her for six, so it's just wonderful to see her running around and singing and dancing again.

The holiday has been a pretty low-key affair (yeah I know, such a departure from my usual life-in-the-fastlane). We've: spent a day at Healesville Sanctuary, taken Jessica swimming a few times, been to Grace's birthday party, let Jessica help Mum feed the animals on a nearby farm, done some gardening, done a little video-editing, gone to the gym about 7 or 8 times, been to the doctors three times, and spent several days knocking over about three quarters of the Christmas shopping (Mel even has everything wrapped and carded). We have plans to put the tree up on the last day of my leave (the 26th) and at this rate we'll be able to put all of the presents under the tree at the same time: I think that's about the most organised we have ever been.

We are managing to get away for 7 days though. We're sailing over to Tassie tonight, returning on the morning of the 23rd. None of us have been there before, but keep hearing glowing reports from family and friends. We'll be in Hobart for 3 days (Port Arthur, Salamanca Markets. Mt Wellington etc) then travelling up the East Coast (Freycinet Peninsula, Wineglass Bay, Bicheno, Bay Of Fires etc) then round again to Launceston for a day or two. Expect to be inundated with photos when we get back (aren't you lucky that nobody has a slide projector, so we can't bore you with a 5 hour slide night?). When we get back, I'll be spending the rest of Friday with Susanna and some of her school friends shooting a funny music video clip, and on the Sunday we'll be at a work Family Christmas Day at Melbourne Showgrounds (a bit like the BP Christmas parties all those years ago, Dad?). And of course in between there's that pesky voting thing!

Speaking of that trip, I really do have to get to bed since it's now 2:55am and there's a HEAP of things to do tomorrow before we leave (like all the packing).

Take care - I'll talk to you again in a week or so,

Matt

P.S. our great friend Michelle convinced me to sign up to FaceBook recently, and it's been a lot of fun browsing through networks of friends and linking in with different people that you may have lost touch with etc. If you're interested in signing up for yourself and seeing what it's all about, go to http://www.facebook.com (Bec, Jon, Grace, Mel are all there too, so you don't have to be scared).

P.P.S. Congratulations on the new job Jeff!