We have snow this morning in dear old Ireland. You definitely wont miss driving to work in that!

I am curious to know what a swag is. Is it like a hammock? The only time I heard of a swag before was in relation to fancy curtain pelmets called swags and tails.
Sounds like you are having a great time. Make the very best of it because it will be over all too soon.
I have exactly 53 weeks to lose 4 stone before my 60th so I must lose at least a lb per week to reach my target. Going well so far so fingers crossed I can keep it up.
Weather very cold this evening-feels like snow but there's a great stretch in the evenings now. It's nice to come out of work in daylight.
Dave is working in Kilkenny now and stays some nights in a house in Portlaoise provided by his boss so Claire sleeps here on the nights he is away. She is a lost soul without him.
The sisters were due to watch Alan and fion's wedding video last night in Sally's. I am looking forward to seeing it but not my body!!
No more news for now. Enjoyed the blog. Keep in touch. Love Mgt

What a marathon read but we really enjoyed it. I still read it all out to Dad by the way! He is pure spoiled. You seem to be having a wonderful time and make us really jealous that we can,t be in a swag looking up at the stars too! I,m glad it wasn,t too hot for you there. Its really windy, drizzly and miserable here this evening. I presume you got my email and txts to keep you updated. Will you be able to meet up with Shane when you get to Adelaide? Enjoy the rest of the trip and take care.

Hope all is still going well under the stars! Nothing new here, Glad again to have got to Friday! Back to the five day weeks next week but only for three weeks because I have annual leave at the end of Feb. I wont be doing anything exciting for it. I just have to take it before 1st April and that was the only week left. The break will be good though. Take care. Keep hydrated!

Ah how your dad would love to be heading to the outback with you to sleep beneath the stars !! Hopefully some day he might make it before he snuffs it.
Dundalk has had a very sad few days following the fatal shooting of a guard while on duty. Shaun would know him. He leaves behind a wife and two children aged 6 and 7 together with an amazing reputation. Seems like he was a lovely guy.
Weighed in earlier and had a pound and a half off which adds up to 7 in two weeks which is ok. If I lose 1ib every week I will be in reasonable shape for my 60th-that's the plan !!
Hopefully it all works out.
Isn't Mike a really great friend? You definitely owe him a good few pints at this stage.
No more news for now. Talk soon

Hey Lady, you should be in Alice Springs at this stage. Hope its not too hot and that the stars are bright in the sky!

That was a lot of reading for one go! You seem to have enjoyed yourself anyway. Hopefully the flooding expected in Brisbane won,t interfere with your flights. Temperature in Alice Springs is down to 34 or 35 these days wich is very hot but a lot cooler than fiftysomething. |You are lucky to have missed that. Its pouring rain here this evening so you are missing that too! We are going to a table quiz in Rafterys for the development association tonight. Exciting times! I will let you know tomorrow how it goes. So keep safe and enjoy your last days in New Zealand.

Hi there. Seems like I have been neglecting you but believe me it's not intentional. Claire and I met up with Michelle and Sarah yesterday evening for a light bite and a chat which lasted from 6o'clock until 9.45!!! Long chat!! Really enjoyed the catch up.Sarah seems to be settling well in her new abode which is good andiIt feels like Michelle has always been in Glenmore and she seems very happy. It's so good to have folks from the home county around !! Dave is working in Kilkenny for the forseeable fiture with a few other guys. Their boss organised a house for them in Portlaoise if they wish to stay down sometimes so Claire sleeps here on the nights he stays.
Jenny was 33 on Tuesday which makes me feel quite old but none of us are getting any younger.
Stuart had a gastroscopy today so he is lying low. I told him he probably has ruptured his gut from vomiting after drink but he doesn't agree with that at all !!! Why would he ???
No more news for now. Enjoy the remainder of your trip.
PS Nearly forgot the news that I re-joined Slimming World and lost 5and a half pounds the first week. I am really in the zone for now. Fingers crossed that will continue. Love Mgt

Your Mammy would love the mirror image lakes and the penguins and all that so you better enjoy it for me. The ferry sounded entertaining. I was thinking of Micheal O Foighil telling ye not to puke into the wind going to Aran! Had a phonecall from Shane this morning. A big surprise. He is in good form. Its a huge job he is on so he will be a few more weeks there anyway. He is happy enough though. The lads he is with are grand. One guy complains all the time so he has been told already to quit it. I,m sure that was a flowery conversation! He was asking about your travels. He thinks he will come home in summer. I am not sure is it for a holiday or not. It seems the boss would give him work again anyway. So thats good. He told me Tadgh got a job but I didn,t hear it here yet. He hasn,t been down or anything. No other sca here. Chat again soon. Take care.

These blogs make new zealand sound a lot like Ireland with clouds and rain and a surprise bit of sunshine now and again!
Anyway you seem to be getting along ok. No excitement here. Nana is n better form today, so hopefully she will continue that way. Emma was here this evening helping Alva to prepare for her Skype interview tomorrow. Its very cold here these days with snow in a lot of places but not here yet. So keep us posted and we will chat again soon.

Dad wants to know if you " asked them out in fair play"? You had plenty of drama alright. It sounds like your group are behaving like teenagers but its all a bit of fun as long as noone gets hurt!! Hope the new people on your bus tomorrow will be nice and a bit of craic. A few more sing songs and kareokes would be good. Thats not spelt right is it? Chat soon.

Well thank God all those blogs came up on a wednesday morning when I,m off. It sounds like you are enjoying the people you are with anyway. Glad you kept the Irish flag flying with a bit of a sing song! You have obviously been listening to too much of your Dads type music! You havent mentioned your head in the last blogs, so is it getting better?.
It sounds like you didn,t leave yourself enough time and that its all a bit rushed. But I suppose its nice to be staying with the same people. They probably have no heed on reading stuff in museums if they are anything like your sister!
Nothing new here, Noreen is able to stay now until Saturday so all the others can sleep in their own beds. At the moment Nana is sleeping well which is great because there used to be high jinks every night getting in and out. So hopefully that will continue. Take care . We will be looking forward to the next update. Mam & Dad