Recap
All in all 2018 wasn't a bad year.
January - started the year off with a bit of unexpected expense. My laptop died, and I replaced it with a Macbook Air. It was a superseded model bought during the end of year sales so it cost around 50% of the regular new price. Gotta be happy with that! I'm still learning all of the different commands for Excel and Word but I'm slowly getting there.
February - absolutely nothing comes to mind. Nothing. I probably hibernated inside out of the heat.
March - baby shower for my daughter in law! Was fun planning and organising it.
April - Avengers Infinity War, and the analysing that came after it. Combing through dialogue for hints of the ultimate fates of our heroes. Only four more months till we find out for sure.
May - BABY!!! Adeline came into this world weighing 4.45kg on the 10th May. I can't believe the joy she has brought to me.
June - Having had a credit balance on my line of credit for the previous twelve months, I had to draw down on it this month to get some plumbing work done. What was supposed to be a relatively straightforward job - replace front guttering, and connect up two rainwater tanks - ended with half my backyard dug up and a gravel pit installed, when the plumbers found that my stormwater pipes previously went nowhere but were just left to drain into the earth near the house. Lived here for fourteen years and never knew that, but it explained why my gutters always overflowed.
July - this was a bit of a mixed bag. I bought a new car, but the excitement was overshadowed by my son's house being burgled while he was at work and Jess was out having lunch with me. The thieves smashed a window to get in, then took a couple of portable items - a Guess suitcase, Jess' fitbit, Jay's Macbook Pro and his watch - also the spare keys to his Skyline which he had driven to work that day, Jess' Cruze which she had driven to meet me, and the spare key to the Calais which was parked out the front of the house. I say WAS parked, because the thieves got into it and drove it away as well.
At least both their dog and cat were still inside when Jess got home, that was one good thing.
The kids don't have a garage, only a double carport at the front of the house, so Jess' car spent the next few nights in their neighbour's garage, until she could get her locks and keys replaced. Jason had to get the immobiliser changed in his car, as the code for it was on the spare key, and he spent a couple of nights sitting up in the front room watching out the window in case the thieves came back to see what cars they had keys for. And we think they did just that; on the first night, the Calais was clocked coming off the motorway and going through the toll gates near their house, and about twenty minutes later it was clocked going back in the opposite direction. He thinks that the house being lit up like a Christmas tree probably deterred them.
August - Jason's car was recovered, but after being resprayed in a black rubber compound, being used in an armed robbery, and having the engine thrashed, the insurance company wrote it off. *sigh* He had spent weeks looking at cars before buying the Calais as a practical family car for the new baby, and now he had to start the search all over again.
Also - bought an Arlo camera system for the house. Amazing how much more secure I feel now - the breakin at Jay's really shook me.
September - "One day in September..." yes the AFL grand final, and Collingwood had made it for the first time in years. And they led spectacularly from the opening bounce until the beginning of the fourth quarter, when the dreaded Collywobbles kicked in and they managed to lose by the barest of margins - less than one goal!
October - Craig Lowndes, in his final Bathurst drive as a full time driver, managed to go out with a fairytale ending. Clocked up his seventh Bathurst win, only two shy of Peter Brock's all time nine victories record. He still has a few years left as a co-driver; if anyone was to beat Brock's record, I'd like it to be Craig.
Also went to see Bill Bailey on stage. Witty, funny, and very entertaining.
And can I say - new Doctor?! I really really like her. Wasn't sure that I would....
November - off to New Zealand to see the V8 Supercars at Pukekohe. Freezing cold the whole time (this is supposed to be late spring!) but still had a ball. And for the first time ever, brought the rental car back damaged. Windscreen had a huge crack thanks to a truck throwing up a stone on the first day, and someone grazed one corner of the front bumper. Brand new Corolla when I picked it up, sad and sorry a week later. Do you know how much a windscreen costs for one of those things? $928. Yep, thanks to all the sensors etc built into them nowadays. Luckily we'd opted to pay a bit extra in order to bring the excess down, but two separate events meant two excesses to be paid. Ouch.
On the brighter side, while standing in line at Pukekohe raceway to buy our entry tickets, some random guy walked up and just handed us two three-day passes, including pit access. For free. I have no idea who he was, or what the story was, but yay for random guy with free tickets.
December - Went to see Shania Twain in concert, with my daughter in law. It was her idea - none of her friends wanted to go with her so she asked me if I would. I don't mind Shania Twain - actually have a couple of her albums - so was happy enough to keep Jess company. And it was a good night.
On balance it wasn't a bad year. I have nothing planned for 2019 other than consolidating finances, doubling down on my savings for a trip to Scotland in 2020, but I'm convinced 2019 is going to be fantastic :-) . I hope yours will be too.
January - started the year off with a bit of unexpected expense. My laptop died, and I replaced it with a Macbook Air. It was a superseded model bought during the end of year sales so it cost around 50% of the regular new price. Gotta be happy with that! I'm still learning all of the different commands for Excel and Word but I'm slowly getting there.
February - absolutely nothing comes to mind. Nothing. I probably hibernated inside out of the heat.
March - baby shower for my daughter in law! Was fun planning and organising it.
April - Avengers Infinity War, and the analysing that came after it. Combing through dialogue for hints of the ultimate fates of our heroes. Only four more months till we find out for sure.
May - BABY!!! Adeline came into this world weighing 4.45kg on the 10th May. I can't believe the joy she has brought to me.
June - Having had a credit balance on my line of credit for the previous twelve months, I had to draw down on it this month to get some plumbing work done. What was supposed to be a relatively straightforward job - replace front guttering, and connect up two rainwater tanks - ended with half my backyard dug up and a gravel pit installed, when the plumbers found that my stormwater pipes previously went nowhere but were just left to drain into the earth near the house. Lived here for fourteen years and never knew that, but it explained why my gutters always overflowed.
July - this was a bit of a mixed bag. I bought a new car, but the excitement was overshadowed by my son's house being burgled while he was at work and Jess was out having lunch with me. The thieves smashed a window to get in, then took a couple of portable items - a Guess suitcase, Jess' fitbit, Jay's Macbook Pro and his watch - also the spare keys to his Skyline which he had driven to work that day, Jess' Cruze which she had driven to meet me, and the spare key to the Calais which was parked out the front of the house. I say WAS parked, because the thieves got into it and drove it away as well.
At least both their dog and cat were still inside when Jess got home, that was one good thing.
The kids don't have a garage, only a double carport at the front of the house, so Jess' car spent the next few nights in their neighbour's garage, until she could get her locks and keys replaced. Jason had to get the immobiliser changed in his car, as the code for it was on the spare key, and he spent a couple of nights sitting up in the front room watching out the window in case the thieves came back to see what cars they had keys for. And we think they did just that; on the first night, the Calais was clocked coming off the motorway and going through the toll gates near their house, and about twenty minutes later it was clocked going back in the opposite direction. He thinks that the house being lit up like a Christmas tree probably deterred them.
August - Jason's car was recovered, but after being resprayed in a black rubber compound, being used in an armed robbery, and having the engine thrashed, the insurance company wrote it off. *sigh* He had spent weeks looking at cars before buying the Calais as a practical family car for the new baby, and now he had to start the search all over again.
Also - bought an Arlo camera system for the house. Amazing how much more secure I feel now - the breakin at Jay's really shook me.
September - "One day in September..." yes the AFL grand final, and Collingwood had made it for the first time in years. And they led spectacularly from the opening bounce until the beginning of the fourth quarter, when the dreaded Collywobbles kicked in and they managed to lose by the barest of margins - less than one goal!
October - Craig Lowndes, in his final Bathurst drive as a full time driver, managed to go out with a fairytale ending. Clocked up his seventh Bathurst win, only two shy of Peter Brock's all time nine victories record. He still has a few years left as a co-driver; if anyone was to beat Brock's record, I'd like it to be Craig.
Also went to see Bill Bailey on stage. Witty, funny, and very entertaining.
And can I say - new Doctor?! I really really like her. Wasn't sure that I would....
November - off to New Zealand to see the V8 Supercars at Pukekohe. Freezing cold the whole time (this is supposed to be late spring!) but still had a ball. And for the first time ever, brought the rental car back damaged. Windscreen had a huge crack thanks to a truck throwing up a stone on the first day, and someone grazed one corner of the front bumper. Brand new Corolla when I picked it up, sad and sorry a week later. Do you know how much a windscreen costs for one of those things? $928. Yep, thanks to all the sensors etc built into them nowadays. Luckily we'd opted to pay a bit extra in order to bring the excess down, but two separate events meant two excesses to be paid. Ouch.
On the brighter side, while standing in line at Pukekohe raceway to buy our entry tickets, some random guy walked up and just handed us two three-day passes, including pit access. For free. I have no idea who he was, or what the story was, but yay for random guy with free tickets.
December - Went to see Shania Twain in concert, with my daughter in law. It was her idea - none of her friends wanted to go with her so she asked me if I would. I don't mind Shania Twain - actually have a couple of her albums - so was happy enough to keep Jess company. And it was a good night.
On balance it wasn't a bad year. I have nothing planned for 2019 other than consolidating finances, doubling down on my savings for a trip to Scotland in 2020, but I'm convinced 2019 is going to be fantastic :-) . I hope yours will be too.