No winnings at Dooleys!

Tonight I did not have any winning luck at Dooley's, but I'm not complaining, as it is not possible to win every time that I buy a Raffle ticket! This morning I took some photos in our garden, starring my wife...Eileen.




Eileen with the flowers
from the ISOLE EOLIE





Eileen with "Claudia"
flowers.
When one of our
grand chilren was born,
we planted a shrub in
their name.


This is a "Giant
Tree Tomatoe"plant,
it seems to be growing
pretty well



This is a photo of an
"Ox Heart" tomato
plant, tranplanted
at the same time as
the "tree tomatoe'
plant,see the different
shape of the leaves.

They both produce large fruits,going on past
experience.
Have a nice weekend!

The Gardener

A Windy Fishing Day

Today's fishing trip was somewhat sploiled by the windy conditions, from about 10 am I ended up with 9 fish, and most were caught in the early part of the morning! When it became apparent that it was almost impossible to continue fishing in those conditions, the skipper took the boat closer in (to the shore), to minimize the effect of the wind, but it also minimized our catch. In the end, we returned to the harbour early, but at least it was hot wind. I did not do to badly, I caught 9, including a 1.3 kg fish,but as usual it was not big enough to be the biggest fish, which was shared by two others with a catch of just over 2 kgs.
This morning also,our first grandson Benjamin, left by plane, to go to Japan,with some of his classmates, they will be staying with a host Family for a few days,that should be a great experience for all of them, to experience a total different culture to our own, I'm sure that they all will be touched by it. Benjamin, if you happen to view this Blog, I will try and place some of photos taken at the airport, when I get them; meanwhile have a good time,you will be back in two weeks time.
See you then

Nonno and Nanna

One in the Hand is Worth 2 in the Bush

The Winning Ticket
I won one prize this evening and I had the choice of a bottle of wine, a $20.00 KINO voucher or a $20.00 Gift voucher. I decided that the gift voucher was the way to go, as I was assured of its value, whilst the Kino might deliver much more. it could also deliver NOTHING, and the bottle of wine, it was a prize that I had won before,so I decided that the gift voucher,was the best option to take. Eileen will know where to spend it!


Inside view of the
$20.00 voucher

We have had a few hot days already this week, and the forecast is for a few more, before a cool change, so I'll be looking after the plants that I have in the ground,so that they don't dry up. This coming Sunday is Fishing Sunday again. I will have to spend a bit of time tomorrow, getting all the gear ready. It should be a nice day out on the water, and hope that the fish accept our invitation to Breakfast and Lunch. 'Till next week
Regards from the
Fishing Gardener

Cousins-Get Together

A LOW TURNOUT
FOR COUSINS
GET TOGETHER

Angela( Profilio)
Elsa (Scaramuzzi)




Angela (Di Mento)
with daughter Lisa
Greenwood,and
Grandaughter
Sophie,Lucy.
6 1/2 months.





Grace (Di Mento)
and friend Maria









Carol Scaramuzzi
and Angela (Di Mento)




It was a low turnout,but it was still very enjoyable
as we could exchange news about us and the rest
of the extended family.
I was sad to hear about the passing away of June
(Elsa's sister) in the past few months.

I used the original family names,rather than the
current married names.

I took the photos,that is the reason that I am
not in the PICTURE as it were

Back to Gardening and the Raffle

After been away from Dooley's for three weeks,I went back this evening,and actually
won two prizes! A nice welcome back.
The first one was a Pork leg and some Pork chops,and as the Raffle was drawing to a close
I was lucky enough to win the last "Pick of the table" prize,a nice bottle of "Coonawarra Pinot Noir", 2000 vintage,should come handy at the B/Q next Sunday,on the occasion of our first and
last son's birthday; both on the same day......only 16 years apart!






Here is a photo of my"Broadbeans"patch
should be able to start picking some in the next couple weeks or so.



And just four plants, of my "Giant Tree Tomatoe" last year, one of the tomatoes weighed at just 1/2 kilo.






Here you can see some early figs (first crop) they should be ripe around late December


Next week we will be having our yearly "Cousins get together" I'm hoping to be able to take some photos,and will then be able to put them on the Blog, thus allowing the rest of the relations overseas to see how we have all changed!
Have a nice weekend!
The Gardener

More Photos from Norfolk Island

Here are a few more photos taken on our recent few days break on Norfolk Island.




The plane that took us there and back









Eileen with local plant








Views of Nepean and Phillip Islands









Me outside St Barnabas Church









Inside view of Catholic Church

NORFOLK ISLAND

Five days on Norfolk Island!
A quite but beautiful place. Very green and a lot of "Norfolk Pine" trees, very majestic and elegant looking trees, just by looking at them, one feels a sense of serenity. The Island has a very colorful past, especially with the first and second settlements, and the relocation of the Pitcarn Islanders to Norfolk, their descendents still make up a good percentage of the total population, but one that is diminishing. I was told that the permanent population is about 1,800 with another 600-700 non permanent residents. Those figures are only figures quoted by locals that I spoke to, I do not know how accurate they are, but I will try and get some more official figures. The Island appears to depend on the tourist trade as its main source of income, any downturn in that sector,has a devastating effect on the Island economy, but overall, the people of Norfolk say that they are very happy to be living there. My wife and I had spent a very nice few days there, and enjoyed it a lot. I took a lot of photos, and will try and publish a few more in later Blogs.

Berala Patch about Norfolk