Hawthorn had its first home game of the 2024 season on Saturday. I had looked forward to it all week, in an otherwise yet another groundhog week. The Blackburn line was however, infected with that plague known as bus replacements so Tress and I did the usual thing and drove to Syndal station to catch the GW line into Richmond.

It was a horrible performance by the Hawks. Insipid. I felt like brewing a whole batch of coffee to offer to the new team, particularly the midfield. Actually the defence was very ordinary too. Just a very uninspiring and frustrating performance. It was a balmy day and I only had a thin t-shirt and a rain jacket of sorts (it had been drizzling earlier in the day) but at the G, the notorious draft/wind was cold and after each quarter Tress and I ducked out of the grounds to catch some sun to warm up. I wished the players caught some sun too, as the damped, cold and hopeless performance needed much boosting. In the end, Melbourne (Dees) beat us by well over 50 points and we went home subdued, with only being with the little fellow again the source of happiness…

The night before, Tress and I went to the Yaring Street Food joint in Mitcham for a bit of very good Thai. It had been a while since we were there and I wondered why, as the food is always good and the people there are always warm and friendly. Maybe it’s the “hole-in-the-wall” nature, and how small the place is, which meant if we lingered, it felt like we were taking up space to prevent a better table turnover. With just Tress and I there however, that was ok and we promptly left after our meal.

Earlier on Saturday, before that damp squib of a game, we got a tradie in to have a look at our deck gate/door, as well as some other works – the edge lines along the lawns needed replacement/fixing and the other door on the eastern side needed fixing too. Later, after the very friendly tradie had a look and took some picture to go away to provide an estimate, I took our long armed edge trimmer to a mower service shop on Springvale Road. I had damaged it the last time I worked on the hedges and bent the blade. The mower shop guy said they couldn’t do it and suggested I took it back to Bunnings to see if they could fix it. So I drove to Bunnings on Whitehorse Road but they couldn’t fix it either, so chances are that trimmer will now have to be binned. I’m sad. It has been a great 4-5 years but it’s still very newish so it hurts… 🙂 😦

On Sunday, David William spoke on John 13. It was about contrasting love as our world knows it today (“it’s about me”) and as Jesus showed in that passage (“it’s about selfless sacrifice”). I scribbled in my Supernote note taker:

“True Love – Sacrifices”

“False Love – Self First”

This morning, as I did my run and listened to Tim Keller in a podcast, he dived into describing how immense was Jesus’ love for us. It brought up in my mind, recent images of God’s love that is akin to a man’s love for his bride. It made me think about how better to love. That podcast also alluded to forgiveness and it also made me think about what Tress and I said about that over the weekend, as we thought about getting Jason and Mel together for dinner with A Hooi and U Marloney. We sometimes felt Jason appears to be uncomfortable to be amongsts folks from ICC/Gateway. He still is, probably. Forgiveness is hard. It however, can be very liberating. I hope that happens for Jason soon.

Tress and I were in Canberra from Thursday to Sunday. We left home around 9.30am on Thursday, and after dropping off the little guy at Heather’s, headed to Tullamarine and hopped onto a Rex flight. Not however, before a bit of drama. We had parked at the value car park and took the shuttle to the terminal and were heading up onto the departure lounge before I realised I left my body pouch in the car. It had my kindle, water bottle and the house key so it was worth the while to make a mad dash back to the carpark and retrieve it. Take two on the escalator and soon we were on board, headed up to the capital city.

We got in a bit before 2pm, and to our pleasant surprise, that little sweet pea took to us like we had never left, although it had been just shy of two months since we were there last.

The birthday was on the next day but the party was on Saturday, in a park not far from Kiddo and Mic’s home. It was a lovely party, with the kids enjoying themselves and the adults catching up on a cool and sunny morning in a beautiful park. The birthday girl had a colourful The Wiggles themed cake, which took centre stage when pics were taken.

Later that evening, we headed to Woden for a bite to eat in a Ramen place, as a pub we wanted to go to was swamped by fans of the Canberra Raiders, who had just won a game. The Ramen place was a good alternative – a lot more serene and the food was good.

We left on Sunday arvo, after visiting the Southside Bible Church. We took the 2.15pm flight, picked up the little fellow from Heather’s, and came home feeling very grateful. It has been a wonderful year of seeing a beautiful girl born and grown. I saw in Tress’ face, the joy and satisfaction of being with that amazing human being that is our granddaughter. It is a a level of joy and satisfaction that surpasses most of our current experiences. Seeing Kiddo, Mic and that little sweet pea always makes me think about whether there are enough factors that make remaining in Melbourne a more attractive option. For now, it is the settled cadence and familiarity. Melbourne is, for whatever reason, home. For now. There is more to process. Writing about that will need to happen another time.

It had been a very warm long weekend. A little bit strange that it is right after the official ending of summer, that we’ve had the longest spell of hot days. Just as well, that Daniel did not manage to visit Melbourne. It would not have been the pleasant experience we wished he would have had. There was a problem with his visa, just as he was about to check in for the flight. Apparently, the class of visa he was issued, required a transfer into his new passport and could not simply be attached to his old passport. It was a big disappointment for most of us, not least to Nic.

We went out for dinner with Nic and Jon on Friday anyway – went to an Italian place at The Glen. It was great catching up again, and after dinner we went around the shops in that mall and Nic and Jon picked up another gift for Abby – in addition to the cute little backpack they had already gotten for her.

On Saturday, we again slept in a little bit. We then walked the little fellow before we came back and did some quick cleaning. Tress vacuumed while I trimmed the hedges and mowed the lawns. I also had to drop into Bunnings to pick up some threads for the edger; we were to catch up with Nic and Jon again in Brandon Park for a bit of Malaysian food so it was a rushed morning with all that work to do. In the midst of the rushed work, I damaged the longer edge trimmer, which is now a bit bent. I’d have to figure out if it could be repaired, else it has to be a write off, which will be sad…

On Sunday, it was again very warm and St Alf’s felt a little sparse. It could be a combo of the long weekend and the very hot weather – it was already near 30deg when we were there. Again later that arvo, we found ourselves at home or at the mall, just finding places to cool down. I’m thankful Tress got the air conditioning replaced recently; it made coping with the heat so much easier.

Monday was Labour Day and it was again very warm. After a quick walk at the oval with the little fella, we went to Knox for brunch – an Asian serve of nasi lemak and soto ayam. It was to be another day with temperatures in the high 30s so we basically just chilled, between home and the FHC.

It could be the prolonged hear for several days but I got tired, and became easily agitated. The constant nagging stiffness and ache of the back did not help. As I sat on the couch to book the airport parking last night, I fretted that we had to do this – the faffing around with flights, transfers, parking and all those painful bits that come with air travel. I’d much quicker jump in a car and make that long drive than mucking around with all those painful bits. Somehow, dealing with airlines, airport and all that come with those, is never pleasant. Not for the last time, I fretted that it takes so much just to be with people we care about. It gets cooler after tomorrow; hopefully it changes how I feel…

The last 3 weekends have seen Tress and I more on less on groundhog day modes, with small modifications of course.

On Friday, we did a home barbie to welcome the weekend. We were both spent, and staying home was just what felt best. It’s also easier on the hip pocket. Everything costs more now, particularly eating out, and often, I don’t get the feeling that we’re getting anything special or that is really different. The biggest thing is the serving size – eating in on home cooked meals just work better in this regard. Being tired at the end of the week also had something to do with it, but I have to say the St Alf’s home group meeting on Thursday, though it took a bit out of me as I was leading the discussion, did make me feel a touch rejuvenated. Physically however, I felt every ounce of juice drained out of my reservoir and I had wanted to just sleep on Saturday.

On Saturday, we did sleep in but I didn’t feel well rested. We took the little fellow for a leisurely walk, then came home and changed into something more presentable for a quick brunch in an Asian cafe in Knox. They have some lovely Malaysian food there and we both just felt like having some. We drove there late morning and no sooner had we ordered and sat down when we saw Kok Eng and Li Lin walk in. They live close to that cafe so they’ve been coming regularly whereas it was only our second time. We chatted for a bit to catch up.

When we got home close to noon, the house further down our street that has been on the market, was to be auctioned off and the crowd had built up. We mossied there after a little while, and stood around as the auctioneers did their thing. It got sold for a bit over the listed price but that was expected. In spite of what real estate agents claim, under quoting is still rampant and it was never going to sell for the $1.3-$1.4m range that it quoted for. It got sold for $1.471m.

Later that arvo, we went and did some grocery shopping at the Glen, but we also went to David Jones there and a few other shops, to look for a birthday gift for Abby. Later that night, my mum rang and we chatted for a bit, and she also asked that we gave Abby an angpow on her behalf. It would be a biggie…

On Sunday at St Alf’s someone asked me to stand in for communion duty – the person I replaced is an elderly man and he was a touch indisposed so I acted on his behalf. It was also a bit cooler, and for the first time since summer began, I was in my jeans and shirt sleeves with a jacket – just as well as I felt a touch more presentable while on duty 🙂

Back home in the arvo after lunch at our usual joint in Donvale, I did the usual cook while Tress again went to Peter James to visit an ex-colleague. Later that evening, we took the little fellow to the oval again for his third walk and soiree for the day. I had felt far less tired by then – the weekend has finally injected some juice back into me battery but of course, it is the end of the weekend again. Later that evening, we exchanged messages with Kiddo on WhatsApp. Bryan, Tress’ nephew will be married in August (in Malaysia). There’s also a Teh reunion thingo in December (also in Malaysia). We also have two other weddings here in Melbourne – one each in June and July, so there’ll be a bit of calendar juggling going on, although we’d almost certainly not be at the December event. With us trekking up north in a couple of weeks and Tress then heading for Malaysia a few weeks after that, those other events as the year ploughs on, would all add up to a year of travels that will feel like I’d have travelled more than I would have liked to. Who knows however, it’s always interesting – exciting even – to anticipate what’s around the bend. For the moment, I’m just happy to look forward to next week when we see little Abby again for her first birthday.