Feb, 2021

 February, 2021

I was supposed to be visiting Adelaide in the first week to get some things done on the house between our last tenants moving out and our next ones arriving, however the lockdown put an end to that idea. The kids had plenty of time at home! They were very disappointed to not be going to school as Monday was to be their first day at Heritage over here. They have been looking forward to it for weeks!

 

I had another late-night course for a new program I've joined to help improve the business' performance. I found this very helpful, and February was an extremely satisfying month on many fronts. Not only do I have a much better business plan, it's meant I'm using my time a lot more efficiently which has also meant less actual time working and time to get a number of other important things done, like spending more time with the kids and reading books.

A few afternoons after school I took the boys down to the local skate park where they had fun with their bike and scooters which they'd borrowed from relatives over here.

Jude...

... and Matt at the local skate park

 Because we were still in lockdown we had to have masks during that first week in Feb.

The 'new' bullbar for our Pajero!

I had also managed to find a bull bar for the Pajero on Facebook Marketplace! Its front end hasn't been the same since we hit the kangaroo in July last year, and on and off I've been on the hunt for a genuine second-hand alloy bull bar. I wanted it to be alloy, not steel, because I didn't want too much extra weight on the front as our shock absorbers were just standard duty ones on the basis we didn't have a bull bar! These types of bars are very hard to find and tend to go quickly, and also because of the type of headlights ours has we're supposed to have headlight washers. So it was a very specific type of product I needed. But I was fortunate enough to find one that was a good price (in Wodonga, Vic unfortunately), but got the whole thing bought and freighted over here for about $900, which is less than the cost of replacing the damaged bumper bar (which the insurance payout will cover anyway).

 

 Second week of Feb the lockdown finished, and they started school! Yay! Masks were still needed for this second week of Feb but schools were open.

Matt, Bek and Jude all ready for their first day
of Term 1 at Heritage, Perth

 

One thing I wanted to achieve in my new plan, as I mentioned, was some more balance, rather than spending hours doing lots of business work and no time for anything else. Mim and I spent an hour a week a few mornings in Feb having a coffee and a chat together. We normally have a coffee in the morning but it was nice to go out together here and there.

Our second coffee morning at Epic Espresso in West Perth,
where I worked for a few months in 2007!
It used to be one of Perth's top coffee shops; the menu is still the same but
it's changed hands twice since then and the quality's well short sadly.

 

From Feb 18-23 I headed back to Adelaide to visit my parents and get a number of jobs done on the house. It was sad to be apart for a few days but it was a very successful visit in terms of the things I was able to get done.

It felt very strange to be on a plane again!

Lovely to see Dad and Mum again!

.... and Shadow our dog!

Veggie garden was looking nice!

Birthday lunch for Peter and I

Heading back to the airport on my way back to Perth -
first time I've been in a Holden Statesman!

Wow what legroom!

This Statesman had about 700,000km on the clock,
was on its second engine but still sounded smooth and quiet!
It's the last one in their fleet, so will likely be retired soon!
:( RIP Holden

I had a Qantas Lounge invitation sitting in my account which was due to expire soon, so since I was flying back on Jetstar and wouldn't get any food, I took advantage of this and had lunch in the Qantas Lounge before boarding. Got a decent meal, a lovely quiet atmosphere and got some work done too. For the small amount I travel I don't think I'd bother purchasing regular lounge access, but since it was a free inclusion I was happy to make use of it!

Lunch in the Qantas Lounge

No crowds here! It's like a library inside!

All you can eat food, snacks, drinks etc

The kids have continued to be included in social activities in Perth thanks to the warmth of the Bundesen's and Ketterer's. While they have enjoyed the travelling, they've missed social contact with other kids so they are absolutely soaking this all up! They went ice-skating one evening:

On another Saturday, while I was in Adelaide I think, they were invited to a Saturday picnic at Matilda Bay which is on the south side of the Swan River, near Perth.

They've also been to a couple of Eastern Suburbs Youth Group activities.

 

At the end of February they were all involved in the school swimming carnival.

 

 

They all did really well. Bek even came 2nd in her year level!

They have really all landed on their feet and fit in extremely well.

We've visited a few different ecclesias over here. So far we've been to Perth Central, Gosnells and Eastern Suburbs (plus Bassandean at the end of Jan). It's our plan to visit them all before we leave.

Mim and I had another coffee morning later that month, this time at the Pinjarra Bakery in Maddington, a few minutes from Mim's parents' place.

And finally Jude had a small accident at school playing soccer and was on crutches for a few days while his ankle recovered.

 -- Greg