Beaune

 Yesterday the Tour de France arrived in Dijon where we also stayed in 2012.  We had accomodation at Chataeu de Gilly where the Cistercians first set up shop. I was hanging out to see if they did an aerial shot of the grounds on the approach to Dijon but they came in via a different road.  They did do a zoom in on the hospital in Beaune (pronounced bon), where we called into.  We also did some riding in the area, as the Chateau had bikes for guests to take out as you liked. Last night the time trial finished in Nuits Saint Georges. This is the town we rode to from the Chateau. 

Passport Moneyport

 This blog is over 10 years old and I just did a search back thru time to see if I mentioned paying for passports 10 yar ago but I can't find a reference.  Ours are going to expire next year so I am getting in early.  We probably did not get our moneys worth on the last lot of passports with COVID shutting us down etc etc. We did use them last month for the first time in four years. We just paid $800 to the Gov for what is basically paper, except for a chip in the middle pages.  Just add it to the nophasement list of travel requirements. 

AirCon1 Aircon2 Aircon3

 All up it was a 5 hour job to remove the old main unit and put up the new one, as well as two other units in the bedrooms.  It is all very toasty right now.  All the old stuff was taken away as well. We do have a small paint job as the foot print of the new one does not match the old one. Getting paint will be the problem.  They have done 40 units in here so far and are nearly finished here. The next village was at Burnside. We know where that one is. If I was to get a quote for this job I don't think there would be much change out of $5000 and yet Retirement Villages get the benefit again.

after

Pro Fresh

 We are getting our under floor heating switched off today and it seems to be one of the coldest days of the year to be doing this. We told the crew would start at 10:00am but since when do tradies start then. At 7:00am there were a few cars then a knock on the door at 7:20am. For the lat two hours every door in this house has been open with the tradies coming and going. There are six of them, in the roof, out the back, in both bedrooms and the kitchen. This is a major over haul with three new reverse cycle units in three rooms and a huge inverter twice as big as the original one. I am in this room typing this up becuase it has an electric heater.  There are a lot of holes being cut at the moment.

During

Hockey 1 Hockey 2

We left at 6:30 am to get to Avondale Heights at 8:00am.  It's a good thing the log truck that lost it's logs, holding us all up tonight, didn't lose its logs this morning.  Originally it was just going to be the Kaia show however it is school holidays so Asher was also there for the day, while Bianca went off to scrub up at Footscray.  It was a picture perfect sunny day so we found plenty of outdoor action to keep busy. We walked to the Cannoli Bar and sat for an extra long time on the tables outside, especially since Mama spied us there. In the afternoon it was improvised soccer then improvised hockey using a small basket ball and brooms for hockey sticks with an upturned tub for a goal. Simples!

206 Bones

 Yes that is how many bones there are in an adult body and it is also the title of a book by Kathy Reichs.  I have read one of hers before and there may be a limit to the number of bone books you can read. It is a whodunnit but also with a side story about being properly qualified to perform a task.  There is a long list of exams always starting with Forensic eg Toxicology.  What about being a member of the Forensic Document Examiners Board, that sounds like stamp collectors to me, always checking out paper thru a magnifying glass. I was just about to put my initials in the book so as to record I had read it when I remembered it came from the Willie retirement village.  I have signed it out on their sheet, so the paper trail will lead the book police back to me if I deface it. 

Orchid Revival

I know an 88 year old (who happens to be my mum) that was studying an orchid plant and observing how well the large green leaves were doing. All fresh and glistening with life, yet there were no buds and no flowers to be seen. What to do? A pair of scissors was taken to the plant and the perfectly good bright leaves were cut off.  Three weeks later, not only are there many buds but an open orchid as well.  Debbie immediately took the hatchet to our orchid plants, lopping leaves in exchange for bursting buds. She did this to four or so potted plants.  Now to sit back and watch the tranformation, without leaves hogging the energy, the flowers will get a look in.

Orchids 101