Plenty of work and plenty of joy

As we all know, all work and no joy makes Mac (or Jack) or anyone else for that matter a dull boy - or girl.  There sure has been plenty of work going on around here but luckily there has also been truckloads of joy.  All members of this household have been enjoying new interests.

My swimming lessons are still in the early stages (my best stroke is still Drownstroke) but I am determined to get to the stage where swimming is actually fun.  My partner is a gun swimmer and most Saturday mornings he can be found far out to sea with many other "Masters" (while back at home I try to ignore radio news reports about shark attacks).  Somewhere in the pictures below are my partner, my swimming tutor and several of their clubmates completing this year's 3.6km Busselton Jetty Swim. 

I don't intend to ever join him in using swimming as a means of transportation, but the other hobby he and my daughter have taken up does look like a lot of fun.  They are having surfing lessons at a local surf school and are both doing brilliantly.  Here they are only one hour into their first lesson.

My daughter has also taken up hockey

and my son is making great progress with lawn bowls. He now trains regularly in Perth with the state junior squad who are the Australian juniors champions.  Lawn bowls might seem like an unusual sport for a boy his age but I am thrilled that he has found a sport he enjoys and is good at as that is something that has eluded me my entire life.

While he attends his day-long training sessions, I get to indulge in one of my favourite activities and explore new-to-me parts of Perth.  On the last trip I took the opportunity to finally buy something new that I have been trying and failing to buy secondhand for three years: a bike!

I use it to do chores, visit friends and tootle here,

and here.

Yup, still op shopping.  I also now have a legitimate reason to obsessively scour through Trademe as I am helping a friend in Christchurch to furnish her new office.  Our most exciting find so far is a huge set of String style mid-century shelving - for $30.

I am finally teaching my daughter to sew by working with her to create her costume for this year's Supanova Pop Culture Convention where last year we spotted the cutest Doctor Who ever.

So plenty of play for everyone but now I really do need to get back to doing some work.  I have been offered a very exciting (and a little bit scary) new role and I need to write up some ideas for a meeting. 

But I'll end with a wee skite about something that has come about as the result of absolute truckloads of work over the past three years by one member of this household and his workmates.  The Mandurah Performing Arts Centre won the 2013 APACA Drover Award for the Performing Arts Centre of the Year.  Woohoo!

That centre is certainly not run by dull boys - or girls.  There is so much happening there that so far I have had absolutely no need to seek entertainment just down the road from there ... at the bingo hall.