I really should be watching "The Big Lebowski" down by the lake

but a wonderful combination of "couldn't be bothered's" and the weather looks a bit dodgy means that I am not. :-( Gee thanks.

It is Saturday and surprise, surprise.....

I woke this morning to grey skies and rain :-( We are having guests for dinner this evening and then I have an early start tomorrow morning to meet up with a friend and head off to watch the Tour de France whizz by. Fingers crossed that the weather is a little kinder in the morning- I will have my camera with me and hope to take plenty of photos.
In any case, it is a change of scenery from the office.
The British Open is looking good after 36 holes- some of the stars have drifted to the top of the Leaderboard and some of the stars are packing bags and heading home. At least they were blessed with wind and rain on day 2. Long may it continue!
How are all of the Mooses doing out there?

"They hung a sign up in our town

If you live it up, you won't live it down
So she left Monte Rio, son
Just like a bullet leaves a gun
With her charcoal eyes and Monroe hips
She went and took that California trip
Oh, the moon was gold, her hair like wind
Said {Don't look back, just come on, Jim}"


Did I tell you lately just how good Tom Waits really is? :-)

BTW- thanks Steve for entertaining Selina and Justus- I'm sure that they appreciated it very much (as I did) and I am looking forward to the jar of Vegemite too!

Skype is such a cool thing......

with a little Moose conference this morning to sort out Niccos photo-hosting queries and then a quick TdF conference with les Hodges later in the day to discuss the goings on in le Grand Boucle. It was a tough day over the top of the Tourmalet but luckily the 2-man break stayed out and the Frogs will be happy that another one of theirs has claimed a stage victory.
I have been keeping an eye on the cricket from Cardiff (????) too and it looks as if the Australians should be able to wrap that up this evening too. They are putting plenty of pressure on (as they should) and only need 3 more wickets to finish up.
Back to work tomorrow- wow, that will be a lot of fun :-)

I'm glad that the week is over....

now just bring on the weekend! I have been caught in the rain a couple of times, struggled to take enough photos because of the rainstorms and generally just had a lousy week. Hopefully the weekend will be a bit brighter and I can take a few extra pics and get my project back on its feet.
Mooooo!

I love your work, big guy

and I hope that all of you Mooses have another great week together. Thanks for the call and the little report on Bali. Don't forget...... it don't mean a thing until the pictures are up!! :-) Love to the gang

I collected my favourite old fountain pen this evening

after having to send it in for service. After 18+ years it needed a couple of parts replaced but now looks and functions like new....... and it was a lot cheaper than having a watch serviced!! We have had a summer week- warm weather and a couple of thunderstorms but it looks like the rain may come back just in time for the weekend.
Tomorrow promises to be a boring day in the office- the Americans are sort of on holiday and with the Non-Farm Payroll numbers already having seen the light of day, it might be a good day for lunch. If only I had a couple of local customers.....
I believe that the Goodies are due back in Singapore tomorrow- thanks for the postcard guys and I hope that you had a great time.
July is another month for a photo project and hopefully with long days I will be able to get enough shots in the bag to make it all worthwhile. Only early days yet but I have my fingers crossed to be able to do plenty of shooting.
Welcome to the second half of the year!!

First it was the Moose and now baby brother does it to me as well....

It is nice to receive news and photos from other parts of the world, but rarely do I receive two in a row that make me wish I was somewhere else like these two have. A struggle to type this morning as I went A over T on a wet floor last night and I am still not sure if I have broken my wrist or not.... tomorrow will tell, I guess.
Not a lot of news- still hoping to do another photography challenge next month...... dependant entirely upon my wrist being intact at this stage.

I received one of those "eat your heart out" type of photos today

from the Moose. Yup, it did make me wish that I was in Bali on holiday too....... do that to me again pal and I will have to rip your lungs out :-) Have a great time down there guys- please relax, take plenty of photos and enjoy doing no more than is absolutely necessary.
I missed out on a bit of a party last night- one of the gang from Saturday and I were invited to a small birthday "knees-up" at Restaurant Madonna (the scene of some of Saturday's crimes). He went, I skipped the evening and things did get a little out of control....... two guys turning 40 combining their celebrations with another mate's head-wetting. Could you seriously expect anything else?

So, I was out yesterday......

and had a most enjoyable time with Pete and Scotty. It was lots of fun to have a boys day out, eat and drink too much and then even swing by The Chief's in the evening for sushi. I hope that the party was lots of fun Pete!
This little baby arrived on Friday and I really had a lot of fun wearing it yesterday- Catherine might get to wear it sometime............ maybe.

Happy Birthday Kai

best wishes for a very Happy Birthday Kai! We hope that you have a great day with Mum, Dad and Noodle and we are sorry that we are not able to catch up with you all to help celebrate. Maybe we can speak with you on the phone a little later.
Have fun.

much love,

David and Catherine xxx

Wow! Two days in a row......

I have been out on a bike and managed to drag "her indoors" along as well!! Hopefully it will be the start of a new exercise program and better things to come.
It was very pleasant on the weekend and we even rewarded ourselves with a little bbq action upon returning home at lunchtime today......

It hasn't been a bad week of holiday.....

but does anyone ever achieve everything that they want to get done during time off? I have managed to get a few things sorted and have even started to take some photos again. It was good to get involved in a little photo challenge in order to stay disciplined and now I only need to grab one more worthwhile shot tomorrow to complete the week.
Moose sent a message this afternoon saying that Mini Moose's shirt has arrived- I guess that he can mix and match his trademark going to bed in one shirt and waking up in another trick now :-) I have a new shirt too.......

So here's the geezer in the river

I am enjoying the first couple of days of my week off and looking forward to doing more of the same. The flights to Berlin are cheap at the moment and if the weather report up there wasn't so miserable, I would be on the plane in the morning. I will check again later and make a decision as to what I am going to do......

So, I was out this evening........

and went for a quick walk around the neighbourhood. Most of the crowd were enjoying the sun on a holiday Monday evening and it was pretty quiet in our village - there was even a guy practising his fly-fishing in the river......... dunno if I would be interested in eating anything that came from that water, but at least he was doing something.

Happy Birthday Helena

we hope that you have a great day and enjoy the evening out with your girlfriends, Dad and Campbell. Sorry that we can't be there to celebrate with you but I am sure that you will have more fun without us anyway!

much love,

Uncle David and Aunty Catherine xxxx

Happy Birthday Georgette

we know that you have already had a party and we hope that you have a great day today. Of course you will have lots of fun with Mum, Dad, Angus and Jacqueline and a big birthday cake too.

much love,

Uncle David and Aunty Catherine xxxx