The weekend past felt like Tress’ and my normal routines have returned. We went out to a local diners on Friday night to wind down the week. The Groove Train at the Forest Hill Chase shopping centre is where we go when we want a quick and convenient joint, and when we have not thought about where to go. On Friday night however, I said to Tress we’d probably cross it off as an option, going forward. The food has become very ordinary – stodgy even – and the glass of wine I had, was underwhelming and looked like it was a very miserly pour. I said this to a staff who said they’d take note but nothing was done. We’ll have to find a different “quick and convenient joint”.
On Saturday, it rained in the morning so we stayed indoor and did some cleaning. Tress vacuumed, I wiped down surfaces, and gave the coffee machine, toaster, and other bits and pieces, a good clean up. I also rearranged my home office so that my three screens reflect what I have in the office, as there has been some non-synchronized screen layouts recently. Later, when the rains abated, I cleaned the Lexus to swap with the Mazda as our daily rider for the next few weeks. As I was wiping down the Lexus, I saw a couple of prospective tenants for the new homes next door. One is an Asian male, who looked youngish. That was for the unit further away from us. A NZ family (they looked like Maoris) looked at the unit closer to us. They looked like a friendly bunch – hopefully they’ll be good neighbours.
Later in the arvo, we drove to Wantirna South, and picked up a double-boiler appliance. I had bought it online, and want to use it to double boil some soups for Kiddo. We then had lunch in a cafe nearby, before heading off for some grocery shopping. We bumped into Chin Moi and Ing Tng, and chatted for a little while. We told them about Kiddo and Mic’s expanding family too.
The second half of Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous one, with the earlier rains and dark clouds disappearing. We walked the two boys, and returned to sample the soup I had cooked in the double boiler. It was very nice and we’re excited about using it for more soups for Kiddo and ourselves. We then settled down to watch more episodes of “1883”. This prequel to the Yellowstone series has been even better than “1923”. “1923” was also very good, with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren playing strong characters to fight sheep farmers from their land, but “1883” tells a tale of a very long and harsh journey. I thought it was very good, with the creator/writer (Taylor Sheridan) making important cameo appearances in key moments.
At St Alf’s on Sunday, it was a service to celebrate the 10 years of service that Mike McNamara had put in. It was his last service, as he’d be moving to another parish in Ivanhoe (St James) to be the vicar there. We had come to St Alf’s soon after Mike started, so Mike had been the minister for the congregation we’ve been part of, the whole time we’ve been at St Alf’s. It was a very good service, with Mike and Jo (his wife) being fully acknowledged and appreciated.
After St Alf’s we did our usual lunch and Sunday arvo cook. I did a vego noodles and Tress got stuck into her ethereal space. By the time I had cleaned up and packed away the lunches and took the boys out to the oval, I felt spent. I was physically tired but I felt I had had a good weekend’s “rest”. As we walked the boys on the oval, I could feel my physical strength sapped but my mental and emotional “batteries” being recharged. I guess that’s not a bad thing. I could feel however, that our routines are well and truly back and for that’s I’m very grateful.
Ante 