Welcome to the wonderful world of gardening, little Elijah! May you eat lots of home-grown veggies and fruits. :)

yep, he looks like a vegie gardener; congratulations!!
Rose

I can see where he gets his good looks from, lets hope he's inherited the green thumb too!
Congratulations!
Sarah

Good stuff, Pete. I especially like the middle name!

Hey, finbar! Are you in Italy now?

No, not yet. I'm flat out (a) finishing work; (b) trying to organise the zillion and one things I have to organise to get us to Italy; and (c) trying to organise the zillion and one things I have to organise to get this place ready to be let while we're away. We have a departure date - May 26th - and we've found a house to rent over there - I'll email you pics of the place - but we still have to run the gauntlet of the Italian Consulate, here in Sydney, to acquire the right visa. In short, life at the moment is madness.

I'll be thinking of you and Mrs Finbar - I'm departing on the same date.

Very nice pic of the two of you Pete - another lil' mate to teach everything you know. You must be gettin' aweful busy?!

PP

Nice undersized throwback, mate. Looks like you've handled a few. And top handlebars you got there. Thanks for sharing this great moment and best wishes.

Why is everyone is leaving on my birthday, May 26?

'Cause it's cheaper than buying you a present.

LOL... we still love you Grub! It's an auspicious day of course.

Grub, tried to email you but it bounced back. Something to do with your mail box being full.

congrats to you. I love the name Elijah thats my seconds sons name. I fine strong name. I wish I was going to Italy. Is there room in your suitcase?? I diguise myself as an aussie tomato. LOL.

Thanks all and greatly appreciated :)..Busy would have to be an understatement lol..
Just getting my Tomato patch in order and i think i might just nearly be there:)..
Just gotta sort them cutworms out is all..
Cheers

Buy me something at the airport, dutyfree, I'll return the flavour. Afterall, you only turn 39 once. Email basket now empty. Thanks for trying :)

Volvo,
Can we have a copy of the original, poster sized, without the baby? The girls at the local surf club want to post it in thier locker room. Something of the Magnum about you.

Looks like I am getting a b'day gift after all. A Marianna's Peace and a Golden Queen in pots from Finbar. Brilliant! Just need to get some of those top-shelf pantry ingredients and his plonk.

No chance, Grub! I'm going to Sydney at the end of this month! :)

So I have a few weeks left to raid Finbar's pantry before Spatz arrives. failing that, I am prepared to exchange his goodies for some of your preserves.

(Actually, I can't think of no more deserving home for his belongings. Best you bring a wagon. Can't wait to see your Italian recipes;)

Any chance of a get-together with the Sydney contingent, while I'm there? Are Adam and Ray already gone? Finbar might be too busy, too....

We will always make time for you, Spatz. When are you going to be around?

Sorry for the double negative in the messy post above. Bit rushed. Cheers, :)grub

Arriving 23 April, leaving early morning 26 April. Get-together would be great, but I would not want to add to all the stress and hassle, finbar, as you must be very busy right now. :)

Yes, but we can't be stressed and hassled 24 hours a day until May 26th. For example, I'm currently perched on a bedside table typing this. The painters are in, painting all the upstairs ceilings and trim, hence most of the bedroom is currently in the office, after which most of the office will be in the bedroom. But that all comes to an end tomorrow after the painters finish. Anyways, so what night(s) are you available?

You've got the first pick as we haven't finalised anything yet. Saturday or Sunday. Your choice. :)

Ps.: If you are lucky I might be able to bring some delicious, super-sweet figs from the garden. No promise, though, the tree/weather decides when it feels like ripening up some figs.