Minecraft Woodcraft

Whittlesea

Peter provided Minecraft kits to both schools woodcraft programs this week. It amounted to about 45 'Steves' and 12 'Creepers'. Coloured 'skins' to glue over the wood were dispensed with and the kids did their own colouring of the wooden bodies. That seemed more creative and far better all round, and each one far more unique.

Whittlesea

Tallarook

Tallarook

Tallarook

Tallarook... opps the glue!

Ticket to Ride

We had a most enjoyable Ticket to Ride (Europe) game a few nights ago. For those who don't know about the game, be assured that it is right out there with the best of them. The game had the closest of finishes with Barb just pipping Daniel by one point and Peter coming last and enjoying it just as much. Barb and Daniel even tied for the longest track.

New Wheels

We had to search for another car. As if we could afford the time to go out and look! Through a chain of events (little leadings) we settled on a Holden VE.  We are now learning to drive it and still don't know some of its many features. In time we'll know all its idiosyncrasies and drive comfortably. We believe we have made a good choice to replace our sadly departed Toyota.

The Funks call it the gangster car

Our borrowed car for two weeks of this month

Our faithful Toyota Camry became unrepairable this month

Our earlier car unrepairable February 2006

Before that Tarago,

Before that a Holden Cameria 

Before that three borrowed cars over as many years

Before that a Citroen

Before that a Ford 500 (Barb's)

Before that a Holden EH (Peter's)

Sandringham Visit

We had a delightful Sunday late afternoon stroll along the foreshore at Sandringham with friends Sandy and Grahame. Their dogs were Rusty and Tinks who had a super time meeting other dogs as they ran about. For Peter it was what he could get into the camera. What a nice way to spend the time.

House Craft at Whittlesea

This week at Whittlesea, Peter brought in about twenty simple house kits. These went down well and every kit was used. The degree of difficulty was just right for these mostly grades one and two. They like to take what they have done with them at the end of the break and that is another factor to keep in mind.

Parrot Craft at Tallarook

This week's woodcraft at Tallarook was based around a balancing parrot perched on a simple stand. Once the stand was made the parrot could be decorated with coloured paper. The end results were very attractive and every child who participated became very involved in the task. Each time the children get a little more experience on how much glue to use. Hopefully on future times they will use just the right amount for what is needed. The pictures show the versatility of the children's designs.

Old Friend Catch-up

Peter's friend from their days at the College of Art Brisbane, paid a visit with his wife. The last time Iain caught up with us was fourteen years ago. Time has a way of flying past very fast. We all went and had lunch at the Stonehouse Cafe, Warrantyte. The high quality food was an added bonus. A perfect place to stop.

Family Night Out

This event was a Bec and Gord gift to us all to cover for birthdays and Christmas in one swoop. It was a super evening spent at the Machan Indian Restaurant, Eltham. It was very convenient that the table covering was paper. There was plenty of drawing going on.

Holiday Visit

Because the school holidays were on, we were able to both come to Gembrook in the middle of the week. It was a great day. Barb made clothing for a soft doll that Piper was making. They were sharing in a joint project. Jaz was into chess and played Peter a number of times and beating him fair and square on one occasion. Jet is learning chess fast.

A totally original Jaz robot design

The entrance to the renovation soon to be in use