Wednesday 16th July
Another lazy morning of pottering around before jumping in the car to go and check out some of the galleries. The weather had cleared a bit so the drive along the scenic route was quite pleasant. I stopped at a couple of different galleries but nothing really much interested me and, once again, the prices were aimed at the considerably more affluent tourists.
The one place I did want to see, called ‘Wood be Good’, was a gallery of handmade wooden furniture with a sculpture maze. After driving up and down the stretch of road it was supposed to be on, I finally noticed a very small sign for ‘Wood be Good’ with any even smaller sign underneath it saying ‘closed’. Apparently it had closed the week before I got down to Margaret River. At least there were other things to look at.
I ended up driving to Yallingup to have a look around. There was a lookout with a bench overlooking one of the beaches, so I sat up there for a while and just watched the ocean. It was very calming but at the same time rather overwhelming to think about the power of the waves and the vastness of the ocean. It made me feel very small in the grand scheme of things, which was actually kind of good in a way, because it helped me to regain a bit of perspective on the things that are troubling me.
After it had rained on me one too many times for my liking, I went to Dunsborough for some lunch, some much-needed petrol (182.9 per litre!) and a drive out to the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse. It’s another thing that has changed heaps. The last time I can remember going to this particular lighthouse, I was about 10 or 11 years old. (I suppose you have to expect things to change in 25 years!) I decided against doing the lighthouse climb... my knees were still recovering from the Jewel Cave … and the whale watching platforms were a 3.5km hike away in the rain. Call me a wuss but I didn’t want to get soaking wet on the off chance that there were some whales way out to sea.
I went back into Dunsborough township for a wander around the shops and found a lovely little bookshop. I happily browsed in there for a while and found a book full of retro (1950’s) pictures with some rather more modern sayings attached:
“You remind me of my husband, except you’re not buried in the backyard.”
“Your proctologist called. They found your head.”
“My mother doesn’t just enjoy guilt trips; she runs the travel agency.”
“If size doesn’t matter, why aren’t there any four-inch dildos?”
“Does my fat ass make my ass look fat?”
“I understand the concept of cooking and cleaning. Just not as it applies to me.”
And my personal favourite:
“What we have here is a failure to give a s***.”
After deciding not to buy the book, as I had already memorized the ones that appealed to my warped sense of humour, I checked out a couple of other stores where I got a head start on my Christmas shopping. By the time I had finished paying for everything, it was getting rather dark and the rain had started again, so I headed off to check out one last gallery. Unfortunately I missed the turnoff to it so I just kept going until I got back to the house. Not bad for a little afternoon jaunt … only 110km round trip.
Soup for tea and another late night.
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Holiday update #9
Tuesday 15th July
The weather was rather stormy this morning and is apparently going to continue this way for the rest of the week. Perfect scrapping weather if I could just find some mojo!
I decided to have “PJ day” and do very little. I think I managed to achieve that. It’s all in the expectations isn’t it? Did some washing, updated this diary, some scrapping, some lounging around, some reading and not much else. Just what holidays are supposed to be ... relaxing. I even had another nanna nap on the couch which of course meant that I stayed up late because I couldn’t get to sleep at a reasonable hour. Oh well … it’s not like I have to do anything in the morning is it? The joys of holidays!
The weather was rather stormy this morning and is apparently going to continue this way for the rest of the week. Perfect scrapping weather if I could just find some mojo!
I decided to have “PJ day” and do very little. I think I managed to achieve that. It’s all in the expectations isn’t it? Did some washing, updated this diary, some scrapping, some lounging around, some reading and not much else. Just what holidays are supposed to be ... relaxing. I even had another nanna nap on the couch which of course meant that I stayed up late because I couldn’t get to sleep at a reasonable hour. Oh well … it’s not like I have to do anything in the morning is it? The joys of holidays!
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Holiday update #8
Monday 14th July
I woke about 6am, looked at the clock, groaned and rolled over. Before I knew it, it was after 8am. I must have really needed the catch up sleep. Debbie was already up and around so I had a shower then had a chat before she left at 9:45am.
Being alone again was rather unsettling at first. I wandered around the house trying to decide what to do with myself before curling up on the lounge with one of the books I brought with me. While reading the book, my tears reminded me that it would probably be a good idea to take my “happy pills” as I had forgotten to take them for nearly a week! Realistically, I think it was more a sensory thing of being more aware of being on my own … no sound of anyone else in the house and even the neighbourhood was quiet. The fact that the book was pretty sad in parts didn’t help!
I know it may seem strange to some people but I like to read stories about people who have lived with children who have difficulties of one sort or another. (My eldest son is autistic, only very mildly so, but enough to make life interesting at times. He is slowly learning more of the unwritten social rules but as his two closest friends are very similar to him, it’s taking longer than it would if his friends were neurologically typical/”normal”). I even read these sorts of books as a child, specifically about autistic children which must have been the universe trying to prepare me for what was to come. On another train of thought, reading these books helps me appreciate how good I do have it and that it could have been much, much worse.
The book I was reading today is called “A Friend Like Henry” and is about a severely autistic boy who is slowly and lovingly brought out of his own world by his very determined and patient parents and a Golden Retriever puppy called Henry. It was just astounding to realize how bad they had it and how much blame was squarely placed on the parent’s shoulders. You would have thought this book was written about someone born at the beginning of the 1900’s, not a child born in the 1990’s. I experienced some of the same attitudes when we were trying to get Alex diagnosed but luckily not to anywhere near the same extent as the parents in the book. (Their son is now functioning well as an adult but the parents are going through it all over again with their daughter who is also autistic).
After I’d wiped all the tears away, I went into town to try and update my blog. Unfortunately the cybercafé doesn’t have Word on any of their computers so I couldn't use my diary to quickly update the blog. I surfed the net for a while, then went back to the house for a bit more sloth-like behaviour. Scrapping, reading, watching TV, contemplating my navel (figuratively of course!), making delicious toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches for lunch at 4pm, more reading, more scrapping, more TV … you get the picture!
I had decided to have an early night, but at 9:30pm my brain was still racing so I stayed up a bit later … midnight. Your body uses less energy watching TV than sleeping so I figured I was resting while perving on the Tour de France riders! Ooh la la … magnifique! (Apologies to all the French speakers out there! That’s about the limit of my very bad French).
I woke about 6am, looked at the clock, groaned and rolled over. Before I knew it, it was after 8am. I must have really needed the catch up sleep. Debbie was already up and around so I had a shower then had a chat before she left at 9:45am.
Being alone again was rather unsettling at first. I wandered around the house trying to decide what to do with myself before curling up on the lounge with one of the books I brought with me. While reading the book, my tears reminded me that it would probably be a good idea to take my “happy pills” as I had forgotten to take them for nearly a week! Realistically, I think it was more a sensory thing of being more aware of being on my own … no sound of anyone else in the house and even the neighbourhood was quiet. The fact that the book was pretty sad in parts didn’t help!
I know it may seem strange to some people but I like to read stories about people who have lived with children who have difficulties of one sort or another. (My eldest son is autistic, only very mildly so, but enough to make life interesting at times. He is slowly learning more of the unwritten social rules but as his two closest friends are very similar to him, it’s taking longer than it would if his friends were neurologically typical/”normal”). I even read these sorts of books as a child, specifically about autistic children which must have been the universe trying to prepare me for what was to come. On another train of thought, reading these books helps me appreciate how good I do have it and that it could have been much, much worse.
The book I was reading today is called “A Friend Like Henry” and is about a severely autistic boy who is slowly and lovingly brought out of his own world by his very determined and patient parents and a Golden Retriever puppy called Henry. It was just astounding to realize how bad they had it and how much blame was squarely placed on the parent’s shoulders. You would have thought this book was written about someone born at the beginning of the 1900’s, not a child born in the 1990’s. I experienced some of the same attitudes when we were trying to get Alex diagnosed but luckily not to anywhere near the same extent as the parents in the book. (Their son is now functioning well as an adult but the parents are going through it all over again with their daughter who is also autistic).
After I’d wiped all the tears away, I went into town to try and update my blog. Unfortunately the cybercafé doesn’t have Word on any of their computers so I couldn't use my diary to quickly update the blog. I surfed the net for a while, then went back to the house for a bit more sloth-like behaviour. Scrapping, reading, watching TV, contemplating my navel (figuratively of course!), making delicious toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches for lunch at 4pm, more reading, more scrapping, more TV … you get the picture!
I had decided to have an early night, but at 9:30pm my brain was still racing so I stayed up a bit later … midnight. Your body uses less energy watching TV than sleeping so I figured I was resting while perving on the Tour de France riders! Ooh la la … magnifique! (Apologies to all the French speakers out there! That’s about the limit of my very bad French).
Holiday update #7
Sunday 13th July
Even though I went to bed early, I was still awake at 10:30pm so I figured I may as well do something instead of tossing and turning. I ended up finishing an entire That’s Life puzzles section in an hour before I finally crashed and slept through to 8am. By the time we’d both had our morning wake-up shower, a lovely cooked breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast and decided what we were doing for the day, it was after 10am.
The rain didn’t seem to be too bad and I’d heard reports of whales down in Augusta, so we headed down that way. Debbie even let me drive her car. (I so want to get an automatic for my next car and one with cruise control would be even better!) It only took 35 minutes to get to Augusta and driving down the main street was an eye-opener. It’s nearly twice as long as the last time I was there with three times as many shops as there were before.
I was trying to work out where the whale viewing platforms were but couldn’t find them so we ended up taking a little scenic drive along the waterfront before stopping at a craft shop which was right next to the Tourist Bureau. After having a look around at all the souvenirs and asking where the best place to spot the whales was, we went out to the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse. Another place that had changed heaps since the last time I was there. You used to be able to just walk into the grounds and have a look around and you only had to pay if you wanted to go into the lighthouse itself. Now you have to pay just to get into the grounds, which is where the whale viewing platform is, and then pay extra for the lighthouse tour and the viewing platform binoculars. Oh well ... literally the price of change!
We decided to have some of the yummy smelling soup from the tearooms for lunch (we didn’t have to pay to get in there … just for the food!). It was so nice to able to sit there, eat lunch and not have to worry about the kids fighting or getting bored or disturbing anyone else. There were plenty of kids there but none of them were ours so we didn’t mind!
When we ordered our soup, the staff were trying to talk us into having some of their freshly baked scones. We finished lunch, sat and chatted for a while then thought we’d try them. One of the guys had even said they were “The best in the West”. Unfortunately, he was sadly mistaken! The Berry Farm’s scones are still the best I’ve ever had by a long shot. Once we’d finished what we could of the scones, we went outside to get some pictures of the lighthouse over the fences and then went to look at the old water wheel.
The water wheel used to draw water from a local freshwater spring and pump it to the lighthouse. It’s not used anymore and the wheel has calcified but it still made for some pretty photos, especially with the banded rocks in the background. I also tried to take some photos of the hundreds of shells stuck to the rocks but didn’t release I was standing in the wavezone. When the waves came in, the rock I was standing on got covered in water so I ended up with wet jeans legs again! Luckily not too bad so I could still get in the car without dripping everywhere.
We were both pretty windblown by this stage so we headed back to the house for an afternoon of scrapping. Amy rang Debbie several times during the afternoon for instructions on how to make a white sauce for the lasagna she was trying to cook, so Deb didn’t get much done and I only managed to finish a couple of the kids’ school pages but it was the perfect afternoon. Scrapping, cuppas, bikkies and great company … what more could a girl ask for?
I was feeling a bit sorry for myself because the boys hadn’t rung me once the whole time I was away and I thought it must have been because they didn’t miss me. Amy proved that wrong in one of her phone calls by telling Debbie that the boys were really missing me (they’d been out to Wayne and Debbie’s for dinner on Saturday night) so then I started feeling guilty for not ringing them more. Mother guilt is a wonderful thing isn’t it? After a phone call to them I felt a bit better and hope they did too. Apparently they’re helping Peter clean up his (very messy) side of the backyard and are having a ball playing the new PS2 games he bought them. A bit of bribery never goes astray!
At about 6:15 both Debbie and I developed a craving for Chinese food and went out to get some. The lady at the Chinese restaurant is rather odd to say the least! We fronted up to the counter where she informed us to “come back in hour” to place our order that would then take another 20-30 minutes to be ready. I think Debbie’s response of “Chooks it is then” changed her mind because all of a sudden she was quite happy to take our order. What a strange way to run a business!
When we eventually got our Chinese food, we came back to watch TV for a while before we both headed for bed at 9:45pm. Another great day in paradise!!
Even though I went to bed early, I was still awake at 10:30pm so I figured I may as well do something instead of tossing and turning. I ended up finishing an entire That’s Life puzzles section in an hour before I finally crashed and slept through to 8am. By the time we’d both had our morning wake-up shower, a lovely cooked breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast and decided what we were doing for the day, it was after 10am.
The rain didn’t seem to be too bad and I’d heard reports of whales down in Augusta, so we headed down that way. Debbie even let me drive her car. (I so want to get an automatic for my next car and one with cruise control would be even better!) It only took 35 minutes to get to Augusta and driving down the main street was an eye-opener. It’s nearly twice as long as the last time I was there with three times as many shops as there were before.
I was trying to work out where the whale viewing platforms were but couldn’t find them so we ended up taking a little scenic drive along the waterfront before stopping at a craft shop which was right next to the Tourist Bureau. After having a look around at all the souvenirs and asking where the best place to spot the whales was, we went out to the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse. Another place that had changed heaps since the last time I was there. You used to be able to just walk into the grounds and have a look around and you only had to pay if you wanted to go into the lighthouse itself. Now you have to pay just to get into the grounds, which is where the whale viewing platform is, and then pay extra for the lighthouse tour and the viewing platform binoculars. Oh well ... literally the price of change!
We decided to have some of the yummy smelling soup from the tearooms for lunch (we didn’t have to pay to get in there … just for the food!). It was so nice to able to sit there, eat lunch and not have to worry about the kids fighting or getting bored or disturbing anyone else. There were plenty of kids there but none of them were ours so we didn’t mind!
When we ordered our soup, the staff were trying to talk us into having some of their freshly baked scones. We finished lunch, sat and chatted for a while then thought we’d try them. One of the guys had even said they were “The best in the West”. Unfortunately, he was sadly mistaken! The Berry Farm’s scones are still the best I’ve ever had by a long shot. Once we’d finished what we could of the scones, we went outside to get some pictures of the lighthouse over the fences and then went to look at the old water wheel.
The water wheel used to draw water from a local freshwater spring and pump it to the lighthouse. It’s not used anymore and the wheel has calcified but it still made for some pretty photos, especially with the banded rocks in the background. I also tried to take some photos of the hundreds of shells stuck to the rocks but didn’t release I was standing in the wavezone. When the waves came in, the rock I was standing on got covered in water so I ended up with wet jeans legs again! Luckily not too bad so I could still get in the car without dripping everywhere.
We were both pretty windblown by this stage so we headed back to the house for an afternoon of scrapping. Amy rang Debbie several times during the afternoon for instructions on how to make a white sauce for the lasagna she was trying to cook, so Deb didn’t get much done and I only managed to finish a couple of the kids’ school pages but it was the perfect afternoon. Scrapping, cuppas, bikkies and great company … what more could a girl ask for?
I was feeling a bit sorry for myself because the boys hadn’t rung me once the whole time I was away and I thought it must have been because they didn’t miss me. Amy proved that wrong in one of her phone calls by telling Debbie that the boys were really missing me (they’d been out to Wayne and Debbie’s for dinner on Saturday night) so then I started feeling guilty for not ringing them more. Mother guilt is a wonderful thing isn’t it? After a phone call to them I felt a bit better and hope they did too. Apparently they’re helping Peter clean up his (very messy) side of the backyard and are having a ball playing the new PS2 games he bought them. A bit of bribery never goes astray!
At about 6:15 both Debbie and I developed a craving for Chinese food and went out to get some. The lady at the Chinese restaurant is rather odd to say the least! We fronted up to the counter where she informed us to “come back in hour” to place our order that would then take another 20-30 minutes to be ready. I think Debbie’s response of “Chooks it is then” changed her mind because all of a sudden she was quite happy to take our order. What a strange way to run a business!
When we eventually got our Chinese food, we came back to watch TV for a while before we both headed for bed at 9:45pm. Another great day in paradise!!
Holiday update #6
Saturday 12th July
Today was the day I woke the earliest … 7am! Of course this was bound to happen because last night was the latest night I’d had. (Must have an early night or five or I’ll never be able to get up for work!) I had thought I was the only one awake but then I heard the other shower start just as I was about to get into my shower. The water pressure isn’t strong enough to have both showers going at the same time so I waited until whoever it was finished, then jumped in quickly.
When I emerged, Debbie and Mina were having an in-depth discussion about the joys of raising teenage daughters. (Mina’s daughter is 13 and Debbie’s are 15 and 11). Once Mina realized I was out of the shower, she went for one, then packed up to go back to Perth. I tried to talk her into staying for the morning and going back after lunch but she had already made plans for the afternoon. Once Mina had left, Debbie and I got organized and went in search of The Berry Farm for some of their scrumptious jams.
After we had perused all the available jams, chutneys, sauces and wines, we tasted their apple vanilla port. Smelled divine but boy, did it have a kick and a burn! Then we tried the chocolate liqueur that Mina had had as part of her dessert at The Spaghetti Bowl. Another one that smelled fantastic but it had a bit of a kick as well. Debbie bought some after we worked out that we could make our own mudshakes with it! Then we headed over to the café where we had the most delicious Devonshire tea. The strawberry jam was, of course, the Berry Farm’s own and the scones were fresh out of the oven. Delish! I would even go as far as saying they were the best scones I’d ever had!
The rain had let up a bit by this time so we went out to the back verandah to check out the parterre garden. Of course, as soon as we stepped out from under the roof the rain started again, so we contented ourselves with using the zoom lens to take pictures. It’s funny how much we think alike. We both took pictures of the exact same things in the garden!
The rain was still coming down quite heavily so we moved to the front verandah where we noticed quite a few pretty little birds hanging around the railings. I had noticed some children feeding the birds on our way in and the birds seemed to be waiting for another feeding so I obliged. Debbie managed to get some photos of all the birds sitting on my hand helping themselves but they moved so quickly, most of them were just blurs. It was the strangest feeling having them moving around on my hand; almost a tickle but kind of scratchy as well. Another lot of kids had noticed what I was doing so I left them to it and had a look around the cottage garden instead.
We wandered up one side of the main street and down the other, stopping at a few places to buy a couple of things, before stopping at Brumby’s for some crusty bread to go with our dinner of creamy chicken soup. A bit more wandering down the street to where we collapsed into the car (I’m sure that street gets longer every time I walk it!) and went back to the house for a quiet afternoon. Reading, puzzles, cuppas and a bit more updating of the holiday journal.
I noticed that there was a fair amount of mist outside, so I grabbed my camera and went down to the creek at the end of the street to try and get some of those lovely, misty scenery shots. I need to take the legs on my jeans up though because even though I got a couple of ‘decent’ shots, the bottoms of the legs were soaked from the wet grass and puddles. I should probably pay more attention to where I’m standing instead of just focusing on the picture!
Today was the day I woke the earliest … 7am! Of course this was bound to happen because last night was the latest night I’d had. (Must have an early night or five or I’ll never be able to get up for work!) I had thought I was the only one awake but then I heard the other shower start just as I was about to get into my shower. The water pressure isn’t strong enough to have both showers going at the same time so I waited until whoever it was finished, then jumped in quickly.
When I emerged, Debbie and Mina were having an in-depth discussion about the joys of raising teenage daughters. (Mina’s daughter is 13 and Debbie’s are 15 and 11). Once Mina realized I was out of the shower, she went for one, then packed up to go back to Perth. I tried to talk her into staying for the morning and going back after lunch but she had already made plans for the afternoon. Once Mina had left, Debbie and I got organized and went in search of The Berry Farm for some of their scrumptious jams.
After we had perused all the available jams, chutneys, sauces and wines, we tasted their apple vanilla port. Smelled divine but boy, did it have a kick and a burn! Then we tried the chocolate liqueur that Mina had had as part of her dessert at The Spaghetti Bowl. Another one that smelled fantastic but it had a bit of a kick as well. Debbie bought some after we worked out that we could make our own mudshakes with it! Then we headed over to the café where we had the most delicious Devonshire tea. The strawberry jam was, of course, the Berry Farm’s own and the scones were fresh out of the oven. Delish! I would even go as far as saying they were the best scones I’d ever had!
The rain had let up a bit by this time so we went out to the back verandah to check out the parterre garden. Of course, as soon as we stepped out from under the roof the rain started again, so we contented ourselves with using the zoom lens to take pictures. It’s funny how much we think alike. We both took pictures of the exact same things in the garden!
The rain was still coming down quite heavily so we moved to the front verandah where we noticed quite a few pretty little birds hanging around the railings. I had noticed some children feeding the birds on our way in and the birds seemed to be waiting for another feeding so I obliged. Debbie managed to get some photos of all the birds sitting on my hand helping themselves but they moved so quickly, most of them were just blurs. It was the strangest feeling having them moving around on my hand; almost a tickle but kind of scratchy as well. Another lot of kids had noticed what I was doing so I left them to it and had a look around the cottage garden instead.
We wandered up one side of the main street and down the other, stopping at a few places to buy a couple of things, before stopping at Brumby’s for some crusty bread to go with our dinner of creamy chicken soup. A bit more wandering down the street to where we collapsed into the car (I’m sure that street gets longer every time I walk it!) and went back to the house for a quiet afternoon. Reading, puzzles, cuppas and a bit more updating of the holiday journal.
I noticed that there was a fair amount of mist outside, so I grabbed my camera and went down to the creek at the end of the street to try and get some of those lovely, misty scenery shots. I need to take the legs on my jeans up though because even though I got a couple of ‘decent’ shots, the bottoms of the legs were soaked from the wet grass and puddles. I should probably pay more attention to where I’m standing instead of just focusing on the picture!
Holiday update #5
Friday 11th July
We had vowed to get out of the house a lot earlier this morning and we managed to leave by 9:15am. First port of call was the Margaret River Chocolate Factory (after I had looked it up on the map to make sure we didn’t miss it again!). We had a great time checking out all the different things on offer and purchased a few different things just because we could! No kids there to beg for another one of this or that … sheer bliss! We also got to watch one of the ‘chocolate artisans’ making some hazelnut whirl truffles and were mesmerized by the three vats of chocolate with their big wheels churning the chocolate around and around and around …
On the way out of the carpark, we noticed signs for another new venture called Providore. It had all sorts of jams, relishes, spice mixes, wines, homewares and interesting floral arrangements. The first arrangement had a head of cauliflower in it. I know that it has ‘flower’ in its name but I would never have thought to put it in a floral arrangement. The other arrangement had rhubarb leaves tucked in the bottom around some lovely proteas. Another unusual idea but very effective.
After we left Providore, we went off in search of some ‘Divine Nooky’. Well, not actually Divine Nooky, as that is the name of a fudge at The Candy Cow, but the main ingredient which is a port called Nooky Delight. It’s made at a winery called Woody Nook, just north of Margaret River and is the smoothest port I’ve ever tasted. After buying a bottle each, Mina wanted to find a white port so the next stop was The Grove, a winery right across the road from Woody Nook.
There is a pond out the front of The Grove’s cellar door with a sign saying “No swimming! Crocodiles!” and sure enough there were! In fact, there were three crocodiles... well their heads anyway. (Fake floating crocodile heads added for novelty value). Grove does a range of liqueurs as well as wines and ports and we had a great time checking the place out before tasting their white port. It was nowhere near as smooth as Nooky Delight but quite nice all the same.
Then the saleslady talked us into trying their white chocolate liqueur, which was really yummy. (I know that’s not a technical term for wine or alcohol appreciation but it sums it up very well!) Apparently it’s very nice poured over ice cream; you just need to make sure you’re not going to be driving afterwards! Of course, we both had to buy a bottle of that too. I don’t know when I’m going to drink all the alcohol I’ve been buying but I suppose I could always give it away as presents .. yeah right!! We’d had our legal limit of wine tasting by the time we’d finished at The Grove, so we went back to Moonhaven in Cowararmup for another look around. We’d been there fairly late the day before and we both wanted to have another look.
While Mina went inside I rang Mum to wish her a happy birthday but got her answering machine, so I left a message. (I had arranged for some flowers to be delivered Friday and had left a present for Peter and the boys to drop off). Then I tried to ring Debbie to find out what time she was due to arrive but her phone rang out. (Her daughter, Sarah, had changed the ringtone so Debbie thought it was a sound effect on the radio!)
After not getting through to anyone, I went back into the shop and ended up buying some very pretty-smelling moisturizer (rose-geranium) before we headed back to Margaret River and the toy shop. Mina had spotted some funny fridge magnets that she wanted to get so we spent about an hour wandering around playing with all the toys and weird stuff. We both ended up buying a few things then realized it was after 2pm so we went back to the house for a late lunch and to wait for Debbie.
That morning I had done a load of washing and when it wasn’t anywhere near dry after 5 hours, I put my pyjamas in the dryer. There’s a note on the dryer warning that it’s loud and they weren’t kidding. I’m sure the neighbours six houses away could hear it! At least my jammies were dry before bed though!
Debbie arrived about 3:30pm just as the rain started again so we all sat down with a nice hot cuppa and a good girly chat. Before we knew it, it was after 6:30pm and our stomachs were starting to think our throats had been cut. We had decided to have a counter meal at the pub but it was full to almost overflowing, as was the next pub we tried. So we went to a lovely little restaurant called The Spaghetti Bowl where we managed to get the last available table.
Dinner was very tasty and extremely filling … but then again, the filling part might have been the desserts! Sticky date pudding with caramel sauce and homemade ice cream … yuuuummm! We were all so stuffed, we could barely move but we managed to get back out to the car around 8:30pm before going back to the house to do a fantastic impersonation of three sloths. Debbie went to bed at 10:30; Mina went at 11:15 but I managed to hang out ‘til midnight. Why I’ll never know but it seemed like a good idea at the time!
We had vowed to get out of the house a lot earlier this morning and we managed to leave by 9:15am. First port of call was the Margaret River Chocolate Factory (after I had looked it up on the map to make sure we didn’t miss it again!). We had a great time checking out all the different things on offer and purchased a few different things just because we could! No kids there to beg for another one of this or that … sheer bliss! We also got to watch one of the ‘chocolate artisans’ making some hazelnut whirl truffles and were mesmerized by the three vats of chocolate with their big wheels churning the chocolate around and around and around …
On the way out of the carpark, we noticed signs for another new venture called Providore. It had all sorts of jams, relishes, spice mixes, wines, homewares and interesting floral arrangements. The first arrangement had a head of cauliflower in it. I know that it has ‘flower’ in its name but I would never have thought to put it in a floral arrangement. The other arrangement had rhubarb leaves tucked in the bottom around some lovely proteas. Another unusual idea but very effective.
After we left Providore, we went off in search of some ‘Divine Nooky’. Well, not actually Divine Nooky, as that is the name of a fudge at The Candy Cow, but the main ingredient which is a port called Nooky Delight. It’s made at a winery called Woody Nook, just north of Margaret River and is the smoothest port I’ve ever tasted. After buying a bottle each, Mina wanted to find a white port so the next stop was The Grove, a winery right across the road from Woody Nook.
There is a pond out the front of The Grove’s cellar door with a sign saying “No swimming! Crocodiles!” and sure enough there were! In fact, there were three crocodiles... well their heads anyway. (Fake floating crocodile heads added for novelty value). Grove does a range of liqueurs as well as wines and ports and we had a great time checking the place out before tasting their white port. It was nowhere near as smooth as Nooky Delight but quite nice all the same.
Then the saleslady talked us into trying their white chocolate liqueur, which was really yummy. (I know that’s not a technical term for wine or alcohol appreciation but it sums it up very well!) Apparently it’s very nice poured over ice cream; you just need to make sure you’re not going to be driving afterwards! Of course, we both had to buy a bottle of that too. I don’t know when I’m going to drink all the alcohol I’ve been buying but I suppose I could always give it away as presents .. yeah right!! We’d had our legal limit of wine tasting by the time we’d finished at The Grove, so we went back to Moonhaven in Cowararmup for another look around. We’d been there fairly late the day before and we both wanted to have another look.
While Mina went inside I rang Mum to wish her a happy birthday but got her answering machine, so I left a message. (I had arranged for some flowers to be delivered Friday and had left a present for Peter and the boys to drop off). Then I tried to ring Debbie to find out what time she was due to arrive but her phone rang out. (Her daughter, Sarah, had changed the ringtone so Debbie thought it was a sound effect on the radio!)
After not getting through to anyone, I went back into the shop and ended up buying some very pretty-smelling moisturizer (rose-geranium) before we headed back to Margaret River and the toy shop. Mina had spotted some funny fridge magnets that she wanted to get so we spent about an hour wandering around playing with all the toys and weird stuff. We both ended up buying a few things then realized it was after 2pm so we went back to the house for a late lunch and to wait for Debbie.
That morning I had done a load of washing and when it wasn’t anywhere near dry after 5 hours, I put my pyjamas in the dryer. There’s a note on the dryer warning that it’s loud and they weren’t kidding. I’m sure the neighbours six houses away could hear it! At least my jammies were dry before bed though!
Debbie arrived about 3:30pm just as the rain started again so we all sat down with a nice hot cuppa and a good girly chat. Before we knew it, it was after 6:30pm and our stomachs were starting to think our throats had been cut. We had decided to have a counter meal at the pub but it was full to almost overflowing, as was the next pub we tried. So we went to a lovely little restaurant called The Spaghetti Bowl where we managed to get the last available table.
Dinner was very tasty and extremely filling … but then again, the filling part might have been the desserts! Sticky date pudding with caramel sauce and homemade ice cream … yuuuummm! We were all so stuffed, we could barely move but we managed to get back out to the car around 8:30pm before going back to the house to do a fantastic impersonation of three sloths. Debbie went to bed at 10:30; Mina went at 11:15 but I managed to hang out ‘til midnight. Why I’ll never know but it seemed like a good idea at the time!
Holiday update #4
Thursday 10th July
I woke about 8am only to find Mina had already been awake for half an hour. We chatted for a bit then Mina cooked a fantastic breakfast of bacon and eggs while I just did the toast. Perfect arrangement for me!! By the time we’d both had showers and done the dishes, it was after 11:30am.
We had decided to see Jewel Cave so we hit the road for the 45 minute trip. The rain started almost as soon as we walked out the door. Thank goodness the cave is “undercover”! We stopped at the caves info centre (Caveworks) where we both bought ourselves some new jewelry... mood jewelry. I got a new ring and Mina got a bangle. Apparently I was feeling very romantic and relaxed and Mina was feeling relaxed and active (how those two go together I don’t know!)
Then we drove down to Jewel Cave where we were just in time for the 2:30pm tour … just the two of us. The tour guide was great and very patient especially considering I had forgotten how many stairs there are in Jewel Cave ... over 500! I had thought it would be easier then the 336 steps down into Lake Cave and the 336 steps back up again. Boy was I wrong! The cave was absolutely amazing. So many different things to look at and all made by Mother Nature. The guide turned the lights off when we were right at the bottom of the cave (he warned us first thank goodness!) and I have never felt anything like it. We couldn’t even see our hands in front of our faces. Together with the lack of air movement as well as the total lack of sound, it was complete sensory deprivation. Having the tour to ourselves, we could just stand there and enjoy the sensation of total peace and quiet. I can’t imagine being lowered into that environment on a rope through a narrow hole in the ground, with only a single torchlight to see by.
By the time we climbed all the stairs and got back outside, I was so red in the face Mina thought I was going to pass out. Of course I didn’t (just!) but we had a nice little rest before getting back in the car and heading off to find the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. The chocolate factory wasn’t where I thought it was (apparently I was only about 20kms off!) so we ended up at the Candy Cow and Moonhaven Soaps instead. The Candy Cow was great as usual and I had a great conversation with the new owner. He’s even going to look for the recipe for my favourite fudge … cappuccino with marshmallows. And he’s going to work on getting the mail order system back up and working. Woohoo!!
I could have spent hours in the Moonhaven shop... so many things to look at! Fairy stuff, knick knacks, crystals, jewelry, and all the different soaps and lotions. We were both fascinated with all the little things hidden at the back of the shelves. After spending an almost indecent amount of money (not really but it’s the most I’ve spent on non-food items!) we headed back to the house for some warmth, with a promise to ourselves that we would find the Chocolate Factory tomorrow morning.
Another late night … after 11pm.
I woke about 8am only to find Mina had already been awake for half an hour. We chatted for a bit then Mina cooked a fantastic breakfast of bacon and eggs while I just did the toast. Perfect arrangement for me!! By the time we’d both had showers and done the dishes, it was after 11:30am.
We had decided to see Jewel Cave so we hit the road for the 45 minute trip. The rain started almost as soon as we walked out the door. Thank goodness the cave is “undercover”! We stopped at the caves info centre (Caveworks) where we both bought ourselves some new jewelry... mood jewelry. I got a new ring and Mina got a bangle. Apparently I was feeling very romantic and relaxed and Mina was feeling relaxed and active (how those two go together I don’t know!)
Then we drove down to Jewel Cave where we were just in time for the 2:30pm tour … just the two of us. The tour guide was great and very patient especially considering I had forgotten how many stairs there are in Jewel Cave ... over 500! I had thought it would be easier then the 336 steps down into Lake Cave and the 336 steps back up again. Boy was I wrong! The cave was absolutely amazing. So many different things to look at and all made by Mother Nature. The guide turned the lights off when we were right at the bottom of the cave (he warned us first thank goodness!) and I have never felt anything like it. We couldn’t even see our hands in front of our faces. Together with the lack of air movement as well as the total lack of sound, it was complete sensory deprivation. Having the tour to ourselves, we could just stand there and enjoy the sensation of total peace and quiet. I can’t imagine being lowered into that environment on a rope through a narrow hole in the ground, with only a single torchlight to see by.
By the time we climbed all the stairs and got back outside, I was so red in the face Mina thought I was going to pass out. Of course I didn’t (just!) but we had a nice little rest before getting back in the car and heading off to find the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. The chocolate factory wasn’t where I thought it was (apparently I was only about 20kms off!) so we ended up at the Candy Cow and Moonhaven Soaps instead. The Candy Cow was great as usual and I had a great conversation with the new owner. He’s even going to look for the recipe for my favourite fudge … cappuccino with marshmallows. And he’s going to work on getting the mail order system back up and working. Woohoo!!
I could have spent hours in the Moonhaven shop... so many things to look at! Fairy stuff, knick knacks, crystals, jewelry, and all the different soaps and lotions. We were both fascinated with all the little things hidden at the back of the shelves. After spending an almost indecent amount of money (not really but it’s the most I’ve spent on non-food items!) we headed back to the house for some warmth, with a promise to ourselves that we would find the Chocolate Factory tomorrow morning.
Another late night … after 11pm.
Holiday update #3
Wednesday 9th July
Woke about 7:30 to the sound of some little animal scratching around in the garden so got up and had a relatively early breakfast. Didn’t have anything to read until I remembered the books Debbie had lent me so I sat and read for a while then had a shower to warm up a bit. It had rained overnight so it was quite warm to start with then got rapidly colder so I decided that getting firewood should be priority. Mina was due to arrive sometime during the late morning/early afternoon and she really feels the cold so I thought I’d better be nice!
After getting the firewood, I went to the internet café to update my blog and check on my emails. I spent about an hour and a half just surfing all my linked sites then realized it was nearly 12 so I got some more groceries and headed back to the house for lunch. I wasn’t sure what time Mina would arrive so I decided to stay ‘home’ and read for a while.
I got a phone call at about 2pm from Mina who rang me while sitting in the driveway hoping she had the right place. I didn't have the heart to mess with her after that long drive so I opened the front door and scared the daylights out of her instead! We unpacked her car and got the fire going again before going in to town for a look at the main street. I’d done more walking up and down that street than I had in the previous three months! I know I needed the exercise, but that was going a bit too far!
We checked out the Fudge Factory and Ye Old Lolly Shoppe where we went a bit crazy buying stuff. So many lollies … so little time! Then we got some “grown-up” drinks, groceries and Chinese food before we went back to the house for a girl’s night in. Mina brought her movie collection so after perusing the choices, we watched “Because I Said So” and then “The Princess Bride”. I had forgotten how funny “The Princess Bride” is. You have to have seen the movie to get these references:
“Would anyone like a peanut?”
“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!”
“The cliffs of insanity!”
“Nobody would surrender to the Dread Pirate Wesley!”
After laughing ourselves stupid (the Cruisers probably helped), we watched a bit of TV then headed for bed about 11pm.
Woke about 7:30 to the sound of some little animal scratching around in the garden so got up and had a relatively early breakfast. Didn’t have anything to read until I remembered the books Debbie had lent me so I sat and read for a while then had a shower to warm up a bit. It had rained overnight so it was quite warm to start with then got rapidly colder so I decided that getting firewood should be priority. Mina was due to arrive sometime during the late morning/early afternoon and she really feels the cold so I thought I’d better be nice!
After getting the firewood, I went to the internet café to update my blog and check on my emails. I spent about an hour and a half just surfing all my linked sites then realized it was nearly 12 so I got some more groceries and headed back to the house for lunch. I wasn’t sure what time Mina would arrive so I decided to stay ‘home’ and read for a while.
I got a phone call at about 2pm from Mina who rang me while sitting in the driveway hoping she had the right place. I didn't have the heart to mess with her after that long drive so I opened the front door and scared the daylights out of her instead! We unpacked her car and got the fire going again before going in to town for a look at the main street. I’d done more walking up and down that street than I had in the previous three months! I know I needed the exercise, but that was going a bit too far!
We checked out the Fudge Factory and Ye Old Lolly Shoppe where we went a bit crazy buying stuff. So many lollies … so little time! Then we got some “grown-up” drinks, groceries and Chinese food before we went back to the house for a girl’s night in. Mina brought her movie collection so after perusing the choices, we watched “Because I Said So” and then “The Princess Bride”. I had forgotten how funny “The Princess Bride” is. You have to have seen the movie to get these references:
“Would anyone like a peanut?”
“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!”
“The cliffs of insanity!”
“Nobody would surrender to the Dread Pirate Wesley!”
After laughing ourselves stupid (the Cruisers probably helped), we watched a bit of TV then headed for bed about 11pm.
Monday, 14 July 2008
Apologies ...
to those of you who have been waiting to see what other stuff I've been up to. I've actually been kind of busy instead of relaxing so I haven't managed to get back to the cybercafe before now. I even brought my portable hard drive with me to update my blog quickly but this computer doesn't have Microsoft Word so I can't just cut and paste.
Enough whingeing for now though. I've been having a great time and can't believe that I've only got four days left. Time really does fly when you're having fun!
I'll try to get back here later today to put the full versions of my days up but it might not be until tomorrow. Don't hold your breath!!
Hope you're all having fun in the holidays!
Enough whingeing for now though. I've been having a great time and can't believe that I've only got four days left. Time really does fly when you're having fun!
I'll try to get back here later today to put the full versions of my days up but it might not be until tomorrow. Don't hold your breath!!
Hope you're all having fun in the holidays!
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
I'm here!!
Monday:
I had planned to be on the road by 10am at the latest but by the time I'd ducked down to Big W to buy some rose bushes for Mum, dropped the kids off, had a cuppa and then got home to pack the car, it was after 11am. I finally managed to pull out of the driveway at 11:20am after checking, double-checking and triple-checking the house. Luckily the weather stayed nice all the way down to Margaret River, apart from getting a bit cloudy once I hit Bunbury, so it was a pleasant drive even with all the stops for road works.
It was quite strange being aware of how my mood was changing the further I got from Perth. At first I was nervous with a huge knot in my stomach and was feeling very selfish for driving away and leaving the kids at Mum's (especially because of the mood Alex was in ... trying to say the least!). That passed after the first hour and then I could feel my mood lifting as I turned up the music and bopped along the highway. I'm sure the truck drivers in front of and behind my car thought I was a raving lunatic, dancing along to the music in the driver's seat!
That was the stage when I became more aware of the scenery and had a good laugh at the antics of some of the animals in the fields bordering the road. There was a single lonely looking chocolate brown alpaca in a field of white sheep. He seemed to be looking around him wondering why he was there and why did he look so different from the others. I wanted to stop and take a photo, but the truck sitting right behind me doing 110kph put paid to that idea.
The next thing that made me laugh was three calves having a great time hassling each other. I got to watch them for a few minutes because I was stopped at one of the many road works sites. Funnily enough two of them had almost the same markings with the third one being a bit bigger and rather pushy. The bigger one was pushing and head butting the other two to try and get them to play, until they'd finally had enough and backed him into a corner of the field, then ran away. Sound familiar?
At another one of the road works stops, there were three Friesian bulls in a field right behind the the stop-go lady. Two of them were very disinterested and quite happy to keep grazing, but the third one was extremely curious about what these humans were doing. There was quite a backlog of vehicles to get through, so I had to wait through three stop-go changes. Every time the traffic was stopped, the one interested bull would wander over to look at each of the cars in turn, then once they started moving again, he'd go and stand behind the stop-go lady. It was like he was the inspector at some sort of checkpoint. I'm sure the stop-go lady thought I was nuts too because I was laughing so hard at the bull, I almost missed her signal to move!
Not long after that, I stopped for a quick stretch of the legs and a "comfort stop". The Getz doesn't have cruise control and I really wish it did. My right knee was quite sore form being held in the same position for nearly two hours, but the quick walk around did the trick. Then it was back into the car for the last leg and that was when I could feel my mood changing again. It probably had something to do with the cloud cover but I was starting to get tired and there were no interesting things to distract me. All the cows and sheep were on the far side of the paddocks and for about 30 minutes, I was the only vehicle I saw in either direction. Then I saw the sign for the Candy Cow. Woohoo! Instantly wide awake again but then again, the promise of a sugar fix will do that. (Free samples are a wonderful thing!)
Of course I had to stop there and bought 10 different flavours of fudge. They don't make my favourite one any more (cappucino with marshmallows), but I managed to make do with what they did have. I have yet to understand the current fascination with pairing things such as chilli and chocolate, but I suppose it must appeal to some people or they wouldn't keep making it. Then it was back into the car for the last 15kms.
I finally reached the house at 3:40pm and the first thing I saw was a parrot sitting in the grevillea bush out the front. He (she?) was having a wonderful time plucking the flowers and detroying them for the nectar inside. Then when I went to get the house keys out of their hiding spot, I disturbed some ducks (what is the collective term for a group of ducks anyway?) that were enjoying their afternoon tea of worms and snails. All this in the suburbia of Margaret River.
After doing a quick exploration of the house (it's huge!), I unpacked the car before heading off to do some food shopping. I also joined the local DVD rental place and finally managed to get a copy of "27 Dresses" along with a couple of other movies that have been out for over a year that I still haven't managed to see. "27 Dresses" had been recommended to me, but I have a problem with paying the exorbitant movie theatre prices, so I waited until it was out on DVD.
With the shopping done and some light entertainment lined up, I headed back to the house, fully intending to hibernate there for the rest of the night. Then the craving for Chinese food started. I knew there was a Chinese takeaway in town so I headed back out only to find that it's closed on Mondays. Fish and chips it was then! (Didn't feel like cooking and because there's no-one else to worry about, I didn't ... worry that is!) Went back to the house and settled in to watch "27 Dresses" with my fish and chips. It was quite a good little movie. Typical Hollywood formula but which movies aren't these days?
Started to crash about 11pm (late for me) so I headed for bed and sleep knowing that I didn't have to surface before I wanted to in the morning.
I had planned to be on the road by 10am at the latest but by the time I'd ducked down to Big W to buy some rose bushes for Mum, dropped the kids off, had a cuppa and then got home to pack the car, it was after 11am. I finally managed to pull out of the driveway at 11:20am after checking, double-checking and triple-checking the house. Luckily the weather stayed nice all the way down to Margaret River, apart from getting a bit cloudy once I hit Bunbury, so it was a pleasant drive even with all the stops for road works.
It was quite strange being aware of how my mood was changing the further I got from Perth. At first I was nervous with a huge knot in my stomach and was feeling very selfish for driving away and leaving the kids at Mum's (especially because of the mood Alex was in ... trying to say the least!). That passed after the first hour and then I could feel my mood lifting as I turned up the music and bopped along the highway. I'm sure the truck drivers in front of and behind my car thought I was a raving lunatic, dancing along to the music in the driver's seat!
That was the stage when I became more aware of the scenery and had a good laugh at the antics of some of the animals in the fields bordering the road. There was a single lonely looking chocolate brown alpaca in a field of white sheep. He seemed to be looking around him wondering why he was there and why did he look so different from the others. I wanted to stop and take a photo, but the truck sitting right behind me doing 110kph put paid to that idea.
The next thing that made me laugh was three calves having a great time hassling each other. I got to watch them for a few minutes because I was stopped at one of the many road works sites. Funnily enough two of them had almost the same markings with the third one being a bit bigger and rather pushy. The bigger one was pushing and head butting the other two to try and get them to play, until they'd finally had enough and backed him into a corner of the field, then ran away. Sound familiar?
At another one of the road works stops, there were three Friesian bulls in a field right behind the the stop-go lady. Two of them were very disinterested and quite happy to keep grazing, but the third one was extremely curious about what these humans were doing. There was quite a backlog of vehicles to get through, so I had to wait through three stop-go changes. Every time the traffic was stopped, the one interested bull would wander over to look at each of the cars in turn, then once they started moving again, he'd go and stand behind the stop-go lady. It was like he was the inspector at some sort of checkpoint. I'm sure the stop-go lady thought I was nuts too because I was laughing so hard at the bull, I almost missed her signal to move!
Not long after that, I stopped for a quick stretch of the legs and a "comfort stop". The Getz doesn't have cruise control and I really wish it did. My right knee was quite sore form being held in the same position for nearly two hours, but the quick walk around did the trick. Then it was back into the car for the last leg and that was when I could feel my mood changing again. It probably had something to do with the cloud cover but I was starting to get tired and there were no interesting things to distract me. All the cows and sheep were on the far side of the paddocks and for about 30 minutes, I was the only vehicle I saw in either direction. Then I saw the sign for the Candy Cow. Woohoo! Instantly wide awake again but then again, the promise of a sugar fix will do that. (Free samples are a wonderful thing!)
Of course I had to stop there and bought 10 different flavours of fudge. They don't make my favourite one any more (cappucino with marshmallows), but I managed to make do with what they did have. I have yet to understand the current fascination with pairing things such as chilli and chocolate, but I suppose it must appeal to some people or they wouldn't keep making it. Then it was back into the car for the last 15kms.
I finally reached the house at 3:40pm and the first thing I saw was a parrot sitting in the grevillea bush out the front. He (she?) was having a wonderful time plucking the flowers and detroying them for the nectar inside. Then when I went to get the house keys out of their hiding spot, I disturbed some ducks (what is the collective term for a group of ducks anyway?) that were enjoying their afternoon tea of worms and snails. All this in the suburbia of Margaret River.
After doing a quick exploration of the house (it's huge!), I unpacked the car before heading off to do some food shopping. I also joined the local DVD rental place and finally managed to get a copy of "27 Dresses" along with a couple of other movies that have been out for over a year that I still haven't managed to see. "27 Dresses" had been recommended to me, but I have a problem with paying the exorbitant movie theatre prices, so I waited until it was out on DVD.
With the shopping done and some light entertainment lined up, I headed back to the house, fully intending to hibernate there for the rest of the night. Then the craving for Chinese food started. I knew there was a Chinese takeaway in town so I headed back out only to find that it's closed on Mondays. Fish and chips it was then! (Didn't feel like cooking and because there's no-one else to worry about, I didn't ... worry that is!) Went back to the house and settled in to watch "27 Dresses" with my fish and chips. It was quite a good little movie. Typical Hollywood formula but which movies aren't these days?
Started to crash about 11pm (late for me) so I headed for bed and sleep knowing that I didn't have to surface before I wanted to in the morning.
Holiday post #2
Tuesday:
I was woken by the sound of the ducks looking for their breakfast right outside the bedroom window at about 8am. (The ducks are wild that wander wherever they please). When the other birdlife started their morning chorus in earnest, I dragged myself out of bed and had a leisurely breakfast while reading the paper and some info on the local attractions. So nice to be able to lie in bed and then to read at the table and not be told off for taking up too much room!
At 11am I headed into town to return the DVD and check out the tourist bureau and the changes to the main street shops. It was a fair bit windier than Monday and as a result a fair bit colder. I went searching for shops that sell firewood but almost everyone had sold out. Apparently they're all getting some more on Wednesday. (I hope so for Mina's sake!)
After wandering down one side of the main street, I found the tourist bureau and asked about the internet access and the local scrapbooking shop. By this time it was after 1pm so I wandered back up the other side of the street, stopping to check out "The Scrappy Cow" (tiny little shop with hardly anything in it ... good thing I bought my own supplies!) before heading back to the house to watch the other DVDs and have some lunch.
I watched "The Terminal" (ok) and "Bride and Prejudice" (quite good) and tried to watch "The Devil Wears Prada" but it kept freezing and skipping so I gave up and had a nanna nap instead. Two hours later (!) I woke up and had some dinner then watched TV before heading to bed at 11pm again.
This is the life!!
I was woken by the sound of the ducks looking for their breakfast right outside the bedroom window at about 8am. (The ducks are wild that wander wherever they please). When the other birdlife started their morning chorus in earnest, I dragged myself out of bed and had a leisurely breakfast while reading the paper and some info on the local attractions. So nice to be able to lie in bed and then to read at the table and not be told off for taking up too much room!
At 11am I headed into town to return the DVD and check out the tourist bureau and the changes to the main street shops. It was a fair bit windier than Monday and as a result a fair bit colder. I went searching for shops that sell firewood but almost everyone had sold out. Apparently they're all getting some more on Wednesday. (I hope so for Mina's sake!)
After wandering down one side of the main street, I found the tourist bureau and asked about the internet access and the local scrapbooking shop. By this time it was after 1pm so I wandered back up the other side of the street, stopping to check out "The Scrappy Cow" (tiny little shop with hardly anything in it ... good thing I bought my own supplies!) before heading back to the house to watch the other DVDs and have some lunch.
I watched "The Terminal" (ok) and "Bride and Prejudice" (quite good) and tried to watch "The Devil Wears Prada" but it kept freezing and skipping so I gave up and had a nanna nap instead. Two hours later (!) I woke up and had some dinner then watched TV before heading to bed at 11pm again.
This is the life!!
Sunday, 6 July 2008
I'm getting nervous ..
but am very excited! I leave tomorrow for my first ever all-on-my-own holiday.
It's amazing how much I still have to do. I have to pack:
It's amazing how much I still have to do. I have to pack:
- clothes (some are still going through the wash. I'm sure the washing machine is eating my bras 'cos I can only find two!)
- toiletries (Have to try and stay decently presented. Never know who you're going to run over .. oops .. I mean into.)
- scrapping stuff (this will take up the most room. Priorities people!)
- camera (I'm a scrapper. Of course I need a camera!!)
- phone (just in case. I went to school with him .. Justin Case. Nice guy but a bit too Boy Scout .. you know .. "be prepared" just in case!)
- battery chargers (for camera and phone)
- some food items (got to have nibblies for the long drive down there. The groceries can wait until I get there).
- "grown-up" drinks (Don't have to face the kids in the mornings so I can have a drink or twelve. Just kidding .. I have a strict 11 drink limit!!)
- laptop (to download the millions of photos I'll probably take of Jewel Cave.)
- books (I don't do enough reading at home .. yeah right!.. so I have to take some with me.)
- CPAP machine (to stop my snoring so I don't rattle the windows out of the frames.)
And I still have to:
- put petrol in the car (can't go far on an empty tank!)
- bring in all the washing on the line before it rains again
- finish cleaning up the kitchen
- get some cash for incidentals (still too many places that don't have EFTPOS)
- drop the kids at Mum's place (and try not to look too happy when I'm leaving them there!)
- make sure to wrap Mum's birthday present and take it to her when I drop the kids off
All these things to do and yet I'm still sitting here thinking of more things to do. Better get a move on or I'll be late for my holiday tomorrow!
Saturday, 5 July 2008
"You're not the boss of me!"
That is all I have heard for the last ten minutes as the oldest and the youngest fight it out over who gets to sit in the bean bag and control the TV remote. I'm just waiting for the inevitable wail of pain and one or the other screaming "I'm telling Mum!"
Alex: "I'm telling Mum you hurt me."
Brad: "Well I'm telling Mum that you're watching TV."
Alex: "So? I'm allowed to."
Brad: "No you're not. You're supposed to be doing your homework."
Alex: "It's school holidays. I don't have any homework."
Brad: "Yes you do! Your English assignment that you were supposed to hand in on Friday that you said you already finished."
Silence....
Alex: "Have the stupid remote then! See if I care!!"
Bradley's got this blackmail thing down pat. The scary part is he even knows that's what it's called and the difference between blackmail and bribery!
Remind me again what I'm supposed to be teaching them or is this near enough??
(Just for the record: I know Alex hasn't finished the assignment and I know he's going to get a detention for not handing it in on time. I'm at the stage where I figure it's his lesson to learn and all the pushing and screaming from me will do absolutely no good at all. I think they call it being resigned to the situation.)
Alex: "I'm telling Mum you hurt me."
Brad: "Well I'm telling Mum that you're watching TV."
Alex: "So? I'm allowed to."
Brad: "No you're not. You're supposed to be doing your homework."
Alex: "It's school holidays. I don't have any homework."
Brad: "Yes you do! Your English assignment that you were supposed to hand in on Friday that you said you already finished."
Silence....
Alex: "Have the stupid remote then! See if I care!!"
Bradley's got this blackmail thing down pat. The scary part is he even knows that's what it's called and the difference between blackmail and bribery!
Remind me again what I'm supposed to be teaching them or is this near enough??
(Just for the record: I know Alex hasn't finished the assignment and I know he's going to get a detention for not handing it in on time. I'm at the stage where I figure it's his lesson to learn and all the pushing and screaming from me will do absolutely no good at all. I think they call it being resigned to the situation.)
Thursday, 3 July 2008
A little prayer ...
Dear Lord,
Thank you for getting me through the first day of the Big W "Toy Spectacular" brochure without doing anyone bodily harm. (Calling them names in my head doesn't count, does it?)
Thank you for giving me the presence of mind to not swear at the lady who asked me the same stupid question 16 times hoping to get a different answer every time she asked it.
"No, we don't have any of the $2 CDs you're looking for."
"We have sold out."
"Yes that means we don't have any left."
"No, we don't have any more out the back."
"Nada, zip, zilch, zero, none, no more, all gone!"
"I'm sorry I have personally ruined your day by hiding the one thing you were looking for but that's my job today: to screw with your life!" (Not really but you know I wanted to!)
Thank you for giving me people to work with at the home entertainment counter who were, for the most part, able to follow simple instructions and not stuff the system up too badly (except for he-who-shall-not-be-named who nearly gave away a Wii console and two $60 games for 2 cents. Did you mean to make him miss out on even the most basic of common sense or was that just an oversight on your part?)
Thank you for only giving us one barfing child and one pooping child all day. I do need to have words with you about why you let the mother of that child allow it to poop in one of the toy aisles, but I suppose you have your reasons!
Thank you for keeping the store manager out of my hair for most of the day. If I was tempted to do bodily harm to anyone, it really would have been him, so thanks for that.
Thank you for giving me some workmates who were able to shed some perspective on things for the few really bad customers.
"I could understand you getting this upset if this were a life-support machine sale madam. As this is only a toy sale and you are enquiring after a five dollar piece of plastic, that will probably be broken before your child has finished unwrapping it on Christmas morning, I am having a problem understanding your rage." insert more irate screaming here.. "Would you care to rephrase your request as I'm sure that is anatomically impossible. No? Well I hope you have a nice time shopping at Kmart madam."
Thank you for only allowing the fire door alarm to go off six times. The 110 decibel siren right above my head did manage to make me jump every single time so thanks again for the adrenaline rush. (However, I'm not going to apologise for the names I called the manager once we found out it was him setting the alarm off because he was too lazy to go around the long way like everyone else.)
Thank you for giving Taya's mother the strength in her lungs and vocal chords to screech Taya's name for three hours straight. It gave us all an idea of where Taya might be in the store so we could avoid her after her first three run-ins with staff. I'm sure the bite marks will heal relatively quickly but the bruises on the shins will take a bit longer. At least the bruises are pretty colours and I'm sure we'll all recover our hearing by next week.
One small request for tomorrow: please grant me the patience to deal with the store manager's endless dissection of what could have been done differently, the inevitable squabbling over how someone's ideas were better than everyone else's and the clean-up of today's fallout. If you grant me strength I will kill them all, so patience is highly preferable!
Amen.
Thank you for getting me through the first day of the Big W "Toy Spectacular" brochure without doing anyone bodily harm. (Calling them names in my head doesn't count, does it?)
Thank you for giving me the presence of mind to not swear at the lady who asked me the same stupid question 16 times hoping to get a different answer every time she asked it.
"No, we don't have any of the $2 CDs you're looking for."
"We have sold out."
"Yes that means we don't have any left."
"No, we don't have any more out the back."
"Nada, zip, zilch, zero, none, no more, all gone!"
"I'm sorry I have personally ruined your day by hiding the one thing you were looking for but that's my job today: to screw with your life!" (Not really but you know I wanted to!)
Thank you for giving me people to work with at the home entertainment counter who were, for the most part, able to follow simple instructions and not stuff the system up too badly (except for he-who-shall-not-be-named who nearly gave away a Wii console and two $60 games for 2 cents. Did you mean to make him miss out on even the most basic of common sense or was that just an oversight on your part?)
Thank you for only giving us one barfing child and one pooping child all day. I do need to have words with you about why you let the mother of that child allow it to poop in one of the toy aisles, but I suppose you have your reasons!
Thank you for keeping the store manager out of my hair for most of the day. If I was tempted to do bodily harm to anyone, it really would have been him, so thanks for that.
Thank you for giving me some workmates who were able to shed some perspective on things for the few really bad customers.
"I could understand you getting this upset if this were a life-support machine sale madam. As this is only a toy sale and you are enquiring after a five dollar piece of plastic, that will probably be broken before your child has finished unwrapping it on Christmas morning, I am having a problem understanding your rage." insert more irate screaming here.. "Would you care to rephrase your request as I'm sure that is anatomically impossible. No? Well I hope you have a nice time shopping at Kmart madam."
Thank you for only allowing the fire door alarm to go off six times. The 110 decibel siren right above my head did manage to make me jump every single time so thanks again for the adrenaline rush. (However, I'm not going to apologise for the names I called the manager once we found out it was him setting the alarm off because he was too lazy to go around the long way like everyone else.)
Thank you for giving Taya's mother the strength in her lungs and vocal chords to screech Taya's name for three hours straight. It gave us all an idea of where Taya might be in the store so we could avoid her after her first three run-ins with staff. I'm sure the bite marks will heal relatively quickly but the bruises on the shins will take a bit longer. At least the bruises are pretty colours and I'm sure we'll all recover our hearing by next week.
One small request for tomorrow: please grant me the patience to deal with the store manager's endless dissection of what could have been done differently, the inevitable squabbling over how someone's ideas were better than everyone else's and the clean-up of today's fallout. If you grant me strength I will kill them all, so patience is highly preferable!
Amen.
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
I love my IRL friends!!
(For those not in the know, IRL means In Real Life)
I have just about talked their ears off over this whole moving to the country thing and the ensuing relationship dramas, yet they still make time out of their own busy lives to keep in contact and check on how I'm doing.
I'm the kind of person that goes on auto pilot and withdraw from people when things get too much to deal with and I don't think to reach out and ask for help. I really appreciate the fact that I have such great friends who know me so well that they reach out and offer help instead of waiting for me to ask for it.
So, Jackie and Deb, here's some great big cyber hugs just for you! Thanks heaps and love you both!!
I have just about talked their ears off over this whole moving to the country thing and the ensuing relationship dramas, yet they still make time out of their own busy lives to keep in contact and check on how I'm doing.
I'm the kind of person that goes on auto pilot and withdraw from people when things get too much to deal with and I don't think to reach out and ask for help. I really appreciate the fact that I have such great friends who know me so well that they reach out and offer help instead of waiting for me to ask for it.
So, Jackie and Deb, here's some great big cyber hugs just for you! Thanks heaps and love you both!!
((((((((HUGS))))))))
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
The things you find out afterwards...
Alex loved Thomas the Tank Engine when he was smaller and would often play with them for hours. If he wasn't playing with his own trains, he would be watching the videos/DVDs over and over again. He was never really interested in any other children's characters for long and would always come back to Thomas especially when upset about something. His Thomas trains were kind of a security blanket for him.
I have only just found out today (only about 8 years after the fact) that a fascination with Thomas (bordering on an obsession) is very common in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I found some information on this site about this interesting fact.
The things you don't realise until much later!
I have only just found out today (only about 8 years after the fact) that a fascination with Thomas (bordering on an obsession) is very common in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I found some information on this site about this interesting fact.
The things you don't realise until much later!
Monday, 30 June 2008
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Saturday, 28 June 2008
Next week ...
... will be my last week at work before my holiday!! I'm starting to get excited but there's still so much to organise. Clothes, food, entertainment .. and that's just for the boys!
Seriously though, I'm trying to work out which scrapping project to take, just how cold it will be so I know which clothes to take, if I can get internet down there and how much money I'm going to need. The money thing is probably the most important seeing as I have to drive past the Candy Cow on my way to Margaret River. Mmmmm .. fudge!!
Creamy Bailey's, cappuccino with baby marshmallows, St Clements (orange and lemon), double choc, rum and raisin, lemon cheesecake, jaffa (choc orange) and choc mint are the ones that spring to mind from the last time. Wonder if they've introduced any new flavours since I was there two years ago? Must.change.topic.now. (before drool shorts out the keyboard!)
About the scrapping: I don't know whether to take the boys' albums and try to get them a bit more up-to-date or start the photos from our 10,500km trip last year or do 2007. Better decide tomorrow and pack it all then so I don't give up and take nothing!
The boys are a bit concerned about what they're going to be fed for dinners while I'm not here. They usually make their own breakfasts and lunches (because I got sick of them being picky about everything) but dinner is totally different. Bradley is worried that they'll only get beans on toast or scrambled eggs on toast or just toast! I've told them that their dad knows where the supermarket is and that he has his own card for the bank account so they'll be fine.
On a totally different note though, can all you lovely people out there please give me some suggestions for an easy dress-up costume for work? Next Thursday is the start of our big toy sale and all the staff have been asked to dress up as their favourite kids character. I don't want to spend a heap of money hiring a costume for one day (especially as they won't reimburse us .. I have my holiday fund to think of!) but am a bit stumped about what/who to go as. Any and all help gratefully appreciated.
Oh, and a few prayers for some sanity while dealing with the ferocious, psychotic, feral, toy-buying public wouldn't go astray either! Thanks!!
Thursday, 26 June 2008
More retail therapy...
After a rather quiet (compared to yesterday) day at work, I spotted a couple of marked down items on my way out the door. Then I spotted another one, and another one, and another two until very soon I had almost a whole trolley full of clothes for the boys.
I kept picking up this one pair of pj's for me and putting it back because it wasn't marked down but then I figured that I have to have some decent pjs to wear on my holiday. Now they're not really fancy or silky or even "cool" but I liked them so I ended up buying them, another pair that did have satiny/silky pants and three tops. I didn't bother trying any of them on in the shop so I'm going to be taking back the three tops and the pjs with the silky pants. Nice pants; shame the top looks dreadful, but the other pair are so comfy and kinda cute. Here's the top .. what do you think?
Just in case you can't read it, it says "GRUMPY ... but gorgeous!" There's another pair there with some pretty funky zebra-striped pants and something about "being wild" on the top. Might have to check them out tomorrow. Now if I could just find some winter shirts/tops that liked I'd be all set. There's always Saturday at Target and Miller's and KMart and ....
I kept picking up this one pair of pj's for me and putting it back because it wasn't marked down but then I figured that I have to have some decent pjs to wear on my holiday. Now they're not really fancy or silky or even "cool" but I liked them so I ended up buying them, another pair that did have satiny/silky pants and three tops. I didn't bother trying any of them on in the shop so I'm going to be taking back the three tops and the pjs with the silky pants. Nice pants; shame the top looks dreadful, but the other pair are so comfy and kinda cute. Here's the top .. what do you think?
Just in case you can't read it, it says "GRUMPY ... but gorgeous!" There's another pair there with some pretty funky zebra-striped pants and something about "being wild" on the top. Might have to check them out tomorrow. Now if I could just find some winter shirts/tops that liked I'd be all set. There's always Saturday at Target and Miller's and KMart and ....
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Excursion
I haven't been on any excursions with Bradley in the three years he's been at his current school, so I took the day off work and went to the WA Museum with the two year four classes today.
Before I go any further, I would just like to thank the powers that be for giving me relatively quiet children who actually do as they are asked (most of the time anyway). I remember now why I changed my mind about becoming a teacher. I have nothing but admiration for someone in that situation all day, every day. The children were sooo noisy all the parent helpers had headaches by the time we got to the museum. 56 9-year-olds in the confined space of a school bus for 40 minutes is not a recipe for peace and quiet!
Apart from that though, it was a good day. Bradley loved having me there and I enjoyed myself too. The kids have been studying responsible water management and usage this term so the travelling display of "just add water" was perfect for them. They got to play with a whole lot of interactive exhibits (without actually getting wet) as well as look at all the usual stuff: dinosaurs, meteorites, crystals, the butterfly gallery and the megamouth shark.
Before I go any further, I would just like to thank the powers that be for giving me relatively quiet children who actually do as they are asked (most of the time anyway). I remember now why I changed my mind about becoming a teacher. I have nothing but admiration for someone in that situation all day, every day. The children were sooo noisy all the parent helpers had headaches by the time we got to the museum. 56 9-year-olds in the confined space of a school bus for 40 minutes is not a recipe for peace and quiet!
Apart from that though, it was a good day. Bradley loved having me there and I enjoyed myself too. The kids have been studying responsible water management and usage this term so the travelling display of "just add water" was perfect for them. They got to play with a whole lot of interactive exhibits (without actually getting wet) as well as look at all the usual stuff: dinosaurs, meteorites, crystals, the butterfly gallery and the megamouth shark.
After the bus arrived back at the school, I left the teachers to it and retreated to do a quick bit of retail therapy. (One crowd of noisy people obviously wasn't enough for the day!) The retail therapy thing worked out quite well. I managed to pick up two pairs of jeans that were normally $45 each for only $7 each. They are only KMart jeans but I'm still very pleased with that!!
So, all in all, it was a good day. My baby loves me for going on his excursion with him and I picked up a bargain!
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Therapy
After another round of fruitless, disheartening discussion, I needed something to do. I wandered around the house for a while trying to decide which project to tackle and finally decided on weeding down the laundry side of the house.
Weeding is great therapy. You can vent all your frustrations on the weeds, you're getting exercise, you're outdoors getting fresh air and sunshine and there's a visible result when you decide you've had enough.
6 wheelbarrows full of weeds later, the laundry gardens are looking a lot better. I am thoroughly sore and tired but at least I did something instead of eating! Now I might actually try to scrap something. (Only 'cos I need to sit down for a while!!)
Weeding is great therapy. You can vent all your frustrations on the weeds, you're getting exercise, you're outdoors getting fresh air and sunshine and there's a visible result when you decide you've had enough.
6 wheelbarrows full of weeds later, the laundry gardens are looking a lot better. I am thoroughly sore and tired but at least I did something instead of eating! Now I might actually try to scrap something. (Only 'cos I need to sit down for a while!!)
Saturday, 21 June 2008
Another version of circles
I was playing and being silly with Andrew when he stopped and very seriously asked me what language was I speaking. It wasn't really any language, just silly noises, but I told him I was being the Chef from the Muppets. "Who? From where?" Oh you poor deprived child you!
As a result, we have spent the last 25 minutes watching different clips from the Muppet Show on youtube. This was Andrew's favourite:
The circles part comes in here: my sister and I used to watch this show every chance we could and now my kids want me to get the DVDs so they can watch it too! Everything old is new again. (It's still funny to me but probably only because it was funny then).
I love youtube! Now I'm off to look for "Pigs in Space!"
As a result, we have spent the last 25 minutes watching different clips from the Muppet Show on youtube. This was Andrew's favourite:
The circles part comes in here: my sister and I used to watch this show every chance we could and now my kids want me to get the DVDs so they can watch it too! Everything old is new again. (It's still funny to me but probably only because it was funny then).
I love youtube! Now I'm off to look for "Pigs in Space!"
Circles
That's what we are talking in .. circles!
He's home this weekend but is out today all day at a dirt drags race meet. I tried talking to him last night but it's going nowhere. Still a stalemate.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow!
He's home this weekend but is out today all day at a dirt drags race meet. I tried talking to him last night but it's going nowhere. Still a stalemate.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow!
Monday, 16 June 2008
SS Blog Challenge #22
"In honour of Father's Day and since mine has been on my mind of late: tell me, what is the greatest lesson you ever learned from your father?"
Even though Father's Day over here in Australia isn't until September, I decided to do this challenge anyway.
My Dad taught me so many things it's really hard to pick just one.
He was forever telling me to:
Even though Father's Day over here in Australia isn't until September, I decided to do this challenge anyway.
My Dad taught me so many things it's really hard to pick just one.
He was forever telling me to:
- "Have confidence and just walk into the room like you own it."
- "If you believe in yourself, everyone else will too."
- "You never know what you can do until you try."
- "You never fail until you stop trying."
And my personal favourite:
- "The impossible takes a little longer."
But as great as all those things were, the most important thing he taught me was to take care of those you love and make sure you tell them you love them before it's too late.
He was the person we could always turn to in times of need or pain but also in times of joy. Dad would help us fix the problems or be happy for us. He was a rather no nonsense man who wasn't prone to sharing his feelings easily.
In the week before his death, he was more concerned about how my Mum was going to cope than his own pain. He called my sister and I into his hospice room and asked us to take care of each other and Mum. It was only when he was close to death that he realised how much my sister and I needed to hear him tell us in words how much he loved us. He had always shown his love by doing things for us and I know now that that was just his way of expressing himself but it was heartwarming to hear the actual words. "I love you and I'm proud of you and the person you've become."
So don't leave it until the last minute. Tell those near and dear to you that you love them and do it often .. even when the kids are embarrassed by it, they secretly take it to heart and keep it there. What better gift to give your child?
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Nike
I officially hate high school homework!
It was bad enough the first time round when I had to do it for myself. It's even worse trying to get my very unco-operative almost 13yo son to do it. It has taken three days to get three pages of writing out of him and that is only just scratching the surface. He still has a 30 point English poetry assignment, a weekly book report and a research project for SOSE to start and finish, all due this week after having had them for more than two weeks. Mind you, it's only the subjects that involve any sort of creative or expressive writing that he doesn't want to do. Science and Maths homework are always done the same night. Thank heavens for small mercies, I suppose.
Andrew has to make a model of the solar system. I dutifully went and bought polystyrene balls, wire and paint and we've managed to get it all together with some craft glue, which is refusing to dry in this dreadful weather. Maybe it will have dried by tomorrow so he can put the finishing touches on it. Apparently it's due this week too and he's had it for three weeks.
Bradly had to make a rain gauge and predict the weather and expected rainfall for the last week. But he kept forgetting to check it, record the findings and then empty it for the next day's rainfall. Oops .. oh well. And it's due tomorrow.
The standard refrain every afternoon is "But I've got heaps of time left before it's due. I'll do it tomorrow". And my standard response would make the Nike ad writers proud ...
"Just do it"
It was bad enough the first time round when I had to do it for myself. It's even worse trying to get my very unco-operative almost 13yo son to do it. It has taken three days to get three pages of writing out of him and that is only just scratching the surface. He still has a 30 point English poetry assignment, a weekly book report and a research project for SOSE to start and finish, all due this week after having had them for more than two weeks. Mind you, it's only the subjects that involve any sort of creative or expressive writing that he doesn't want to do. Science and Maths homework are always done the same night. Thank heavens for small mercies, I suppose.
Andrew has to make a model of the solar system. I dutifully went and bought polystyrene balls, wire and paint and we've managed to get it all together with some craft glue, which is refusing to dry in this dreadful weather. Maybe it will have dried by tomorrow so he can put the finishing touches on it. Apparently it's due this week too and he's had it for three weeks.
Bradly had to make a rain gauge and predict the weather and expected rainfall for the last week. But he kept forgetting to check it, record the findings and then empty it for the next day's rainfall. Oops .. oh well. And it's due tomorrow.
The standard refrain every afternoon is "But I've got heaps of time left before it's due. I'll do it tomorrow". And my standard response would make the Nike ad writers proud ...
"Just do it"
Saturday, 14 June 2008
Spooks
My kids have never really slept in my bed. Even if they wake up in the middle of the night with a bad dream, I've always let them climb in with me for a cuddle then I put them back into their own beds. Last night I made an exception.
Andrew went to a birthday party at the decommissioned Fremantle prison. Because it was Friday the thirteenth, the birthday child had asked for a 'spooky' party like the 'ghost' tours that are done through the prison. The mother of the birthday child rang the organisers and asked if it would be suitable for 11 & 12 year olds and was assured that it was fine. I explained to Andrew that he might get scared and that he didn't have to go but he was determined to so I let him. (And I trusted the parents enough to not make him continue if he didn't want to).
Apparently when they all got there, one child refused to even set foot in the front gate and two others bailed early in, one of whom was Andrew. Luckily, the parents had expected something like this so the mother went with the tour and the father took the others to a local fast food place. Andrew reckoned he got the better deal .. "we got have chips while the others got to be scared".
He was happy as anything when he got home at 9:45pm but as soon as he put his pyjamas on, the tears started, so I let him sleep in my bed. Now he's not a particularly big child so you'd think he wouldn't take up much room in bed right? Wrong! This not much more than 4ft high child took up almost the entire queen-size bed and managed to get all of the kingsized quilt. He had rolled himself up in the quilt so I had to unroll him over and over to try and stay warm. In the end I had to get up and put thick winter pj's on so I wouldn't freeze.
He panicked when he woke up this morning. He looked at the alarm clock, saw it was after 7am and was struggling madly to get out of the quilt because he thought he was going to be late for school. Once he realised it was Saturday, he deigned to share the quilt and then asked me why I had wrapped him up in it in the first place!
Everything seems fine in the light of day, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens tonight. (At least he doesn't snore!!)
Andrew went to a birthday party at the decommissioned Fremantle prison. Because it was Friday the thirteenth, the birthday child had asked for a 'spooky' party like the 'ghost' tours that are done through the prison. The mother of the birthday child rang the organisers and asked if it would be suitable for 11 & 12 year olds and was assured that it was fine. I explained to Andrew that he might get scared and that he didn't have to go but he was determined to so I let him. (And I trusted the parents enough to not make him continue if he didn't want to).
Apparently when they all got there, one child refused to even set foot in the front gate and two others bailed early in, one of whom was Andrew. Luckily, the parents had expected something like this so the mother went with the tour and the father took the others to a local fast food place. Andrew reckoned he got the better deal .. "we got have chips while the others got to be scared".
He was happy as anything when he got home at 9:45pm but as soon as he put his pyjamas on, the tears started, so I let him sleep in my bed. Now he's not a particularly big child so you'd think he wouldn't take up much room in bed right? Wrong! This not much more than 4ft high child took up almost the entire queen-size bed and managed to get all of the kingsized quilt. He had rolled himself up in the quilt so I had to unroll him over and over to try and stay warm. In the end I had to get up and put thick winter pj's on so I wouldn't freeze.
He panicked when he woke up this morning. He looked at the alarm clock, saw it was after 7am and was struggling madly to get out of the quilt because he thought he was going to be late for school. Once he realised it was Saturday, he deigned to share the quilt and then asked me why I had wrapped him up in it in the first place!
Everything seems fine in the light of day, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens tonight. (At least he doesn't snore!!)
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Feel good moment
This may seem like a little thing to others whose children fit in well and who haven't been constantly picked on for being different. However, it was a really big thing for me as the mother of a child who has never fitted in and who is often ostracised by his peers for being awkward (physically and socially).
When I went to pick Alex up from soccer tonight, he was upstairs in the gym being shown how to use some of the fitness equipment by one of the slightly older boys. The team coach called him down and we were just about to head out the door when several of the other boys called out to him. I was expecting negative comments (isn't that dreadful?) but was over the moon when I heard them all praising him for trying his best and playing a good game. The team captain came down and did that boy thing of "punching" his shoulder with a "Well done mate. See you next week."
I was so happy for him I nearly burst into tears on the spot but I restrained myself so that I wouldn't embarrass him. He, however, just accepted it as his due, said thanks and headed straight for the door with only one thing to say to me ...
"What's for dinner?"
When I went to pick Alex up from soccer tonight, he was upstairs in the gym being shown how to use some of the fitness equipment by one of the slightly older boys. The team coach called him down and we were just about to head out the door when several of the other boys called out to him. I was expecting negative comments (isn't that dreadful?) but was over the moon when I heard them all praising him for trying his best and playing a good game. The team captain came down and did that boy thing of "punching" his shoulder with a "Well done mate. See you next week."
I was so happy for him I nearly burst into tears on the spot but I restrained myself so that I wouldn't embarrass him. He, however, just accepted it as his due, said thanks and headed straight for the door with only one thing to say to me ...
"What's for dinner?"
Negotiations have begun...
and they should be interesting!
I finally managed to talk to Pete tonight. Remember what I said about how he probably thinks that if he waits long enough I'll change my mind? I was right. He was thinking that. But after I made it perfectly clear that I wasn't going to, he said that he wasn't going to let me talk him out of it either.
So the short version of the long story is that he's investigating further details of the block with a view to buying it as a "getaway". I don't have a problem with that provided he doesn't stay at the "getaway" more than he's home. Financially we can probably afford to buy it so long as we don't have to build a house on it straight away. I think he said something about having four years to build a house but that's one of the details he's looking into.
So now it's just a waiting game. Que sera, sera.
I finally managed to talk to Pete tonight. Remember what I said about how he probably thinks that if he waits long enough I'll change my mind? I was right. He was thinking that. But after I made it perfectly clear that I wasn't going to, he said that he wasn't going to let me talk him out of it either.
So the short version of the long story is that he's investigating further details of the block with a view to buying it as a "getaway". I don't have a problem with that provided he doesn't stay at the "getaway" more than he's home. Financially we can probably afford to buy it so long as we don't have to build a house on it straight away. I think he said something about having four years to build a house but that's one of the details he's looking into.
So now it's just a waiting game. Que sera, sera.
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Random stuff ...
- 3 weeks and 3 working days until I get to go on my holiday down south. I would say "but who's counting" but I guess it's kind of obvious that I am!
- Andrew was invested into Scouts last Tuesday and is loving it. He just hasn't decided if he can handle going away for a whole week in October for CampWest with Alex and without us. He's got 'til the end of the week when applications close.
- Alex has had another detention for failing to hand in homework. Funnily enough, he has been rather co-operative these past few days. I'm still trying to work out how he's managed to get three after-school detentions in just over a term when I managed to get through five years of high school without a single one. Am I boring or what?
- I haven't been able to talk to Peter in the small window of time he has after work but am hoping to talk with him tomorrow.
- We have a big sale on at work this week (starts Thursday) so the paperwork has been frantic as have the department managers. And we're losing another couple of managers to different stores. I know I'm dreaming but I wish the people who controlled all the transfers would grow a brain. Why move people who are obviously doing a good job and who want to stay in the store they're in? Logic is a swear word at Big W!
- Bradley is being really cuddly so he must be about to grow again. He always seems to need more hugs and "Mum time" right before he grows. I'm not complaining about the extra hugs but I hope he doesn't grow out of his new clothes as well as the old ones!
- I have once again realised that I'm not invisible at work. Several people have nominated me for a "Great Big Thank You" award. Sounds corny but it means a lot to me!
- Enough for now. I neeeeeeed sleep!!
Saturday, 7 June 2008
Another update
We have come to a stalemate.
He hates the city and I won't move to the country so apparently now he has to "do some thinking". I think he's hoping that if he leaves it long enough that I'll change my mind. I've told him I won't, but he's stubborn like that.
Anyway, the screen is getting blurrier by the second so I'm off to try and get some sleep.
He hates the city and I won't move to the country so apparently now he has to "do some thinking". I think he's hoping that if he leaves it long enough that I'll change my mind. I've told him I won't, but he's stubborn like that.
Anyway, the screen is getting blurrier by the second so I'm off to try and get some sleep.
Friday, 6 June 2008
little changes..
In case you haven't noticed, I changed the title of my blog. Due to the previous two posts, "thinking happy thoughts" really wasn't fitting anymore. So I changed it.
Now we'll return you to your regular programming. Thank you for your attention.
Now we'll return you to your regular programming. Thank you for your attention.
Differences Part 2
Warning: another post full of rambling thoughts that aren't at all happy!
Apparently I have been in the dark for most of our 15 year marriage.
Apparently he has always wanted to move to the country. He just didn't push it before now because he thought he might upset me or that it would end up coming between us.
Apparently I have been in the dark for most of our 15 year marriage.
Apparently he has always wanted to move to the country. He just didn't push it before now because he thought he might upset me or that it would end up coming between us.
He was right. This is probably, no not probably, it is the biggest difference so far. Hiding something as fundamental as where you want to live for the rest of your life is a big deal, even if it was done with the best intentions.
Ok, a bit of perspective is obviously needed here (for me, not you guys!):
- He hasn't had an affair,
- He's not dying or seriously ill,
- He's not planning on leaving me,
- He's not an axe murderer (yet! Though I may drive him to it .. lol)
- He actually asked me instead of telling me,
- He has said that he will respect my decision (for a couple of months or until he finds somewhere else to hassle me about. His words, not mine).
Ultimately though, it is my decision and it's going to affect the whole family. I have wondered if I'm being selfish not wanting to go that far outside everything I know. I didn't want to just say no without giving it some serious thought because I didn't want to hurt his feelings. But after some serious thought and some rather deep soul-searching, I just can't do this at this stage of my/our lives. Given my fragile mental state at the best of times, I honestly can't see how removing all my support network is going to be better for me, our children or our marriage.
So, in a nutshell, I hope this doesn't cost me my marriage but I'm not moving ...
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Differences
Warning: whinge fest and pity party follows. Proceed at your own risk!
I knew when I married him that we had things in common and things we differ on. I should have known that it was the things we differ on that would make the most difference.
I am a city girl. I thought he was a city boy, because he sure used to be, but I was apparently wrong. He has a need to move to the country and to take us all with him. I suppose I should be grateful that he wants to take us with him but I'm having a hard time appreciating that particular silver lining right now. He's even made a concession to my "moving to a country town" phobia by picking a "big" town. It has a supermarket, a coffee shop and, to quote him, "it even has a hairdresser".
I mean no offense to people who live in country towns but it's just not my scene. I'm quite comfortable here in suburbia on my own little patch of land with everything I want and need close by. Maybe it's just a matter of shifting my view of what I want and need but I like it here! (insert stamping foot and pouting lip).
Besides, I'm sure I'm allergic to red dust. He comes home covered in it every third week and I sneeze for days. (It always sounds better to say that I'm allergic to the dust because the only other option is that I'm allergic to him!) He knows that I sneeze for days yet he wants me to buy 5 acres of red dust and build a house on it and can't understand why I'm not jumping at the chance.
I realise that the world isn't all about me (shock horror!) and that marriage is a partnership with numerous compromises, but I don't wanna move!!! He won't make us move but I know he'd be happier if we did.
I've told him I'll think about it but that I refuse to let him guilt me into it. Stay tuned ....
I knew when I married him that we had things in common and things we differ on. I should have known that it was the things we differ on that would make the most difference.
I am a city girl. I thought he was a city boy, because he sure used to be, but I was apparently wrong. He has a need to move to the country and to take us all with him. I suppose I should be grateful that he wants to take us with him but I'm having a hard time appreciating that particular silver lining right now. He's even made a concession to my "moving to a country town" phobia by picking a "big" town. It has a supermarket, a coffee shop and, to quote him, "it even has a hairdresser".
I mean no offense to people who live in country towns but it's just not my scene. I'm quite comfortable here in suburbia on my own little patch of land with everything I want and need close by. Maybe it's just a matter of shifting my view of what I want and need but I like it here! (insert stamping foot and pouting lip).
Besides, I'm sure I'm allergic to red dust. He comes home covered in it every third week and I sneeze for days. (It always sounds better to say that I'm allergic to the dust because the only other option is that I'm allergic to him!) He knows that I sneeze for days yet he wants me to buy 5 acres of red dust and build a house on it and can't understand why I'm not jumping at the chance.
I realise that the world isn't all about me (shock horror!) and that marriage is a partnership with numerous compromises, but I don't wanna move!!! He won't make us move but I know he'd be happier if we did.
I've told him I'll think about it but that I refuse to let him guilt me into it. Stay tuned ....
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Only in my house...
I called out to Brad at 7:45 last night that it was nearly time for bed and he answered, in a very matter-of-fact tone:
"Yes Mum. I just have to finish killing this goblin first."
Oh fantastic! Another mess in the house to clean up. Hope the goblin didn't bleed on the floor too much. It's really hard to get blood out of the grout in the floor tiles!
(Yes, Jackie. That still cracks me up! And for those who are wondering, he was playing Runescape.)
"Yes Mum. I just have to finish killing this goblin first."
Oh fantastic! Another mess in the house to clean up. Hope the goblin didn't bleed on the floor too much. It's really hard to get blood out of the grout in the floor tiles!
(Yes, Jackie. That still cracks me up! And for those who are wondering, he was playing Runescape.)
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Dreams...
I have heard that dreams are the subconscious mind's way of processing and dealing with things in our lives but why are they always so strange? Cows walking through your lounge room, children that fly and buildings that keep changing from houses you used to live into a very weird shopping centre. And the people in these dreams .. don't get me started on them!
Okay, maybe the cows are due to reading this blog at 10:30 at night and the flying kids thing was due to the trampolining display at the local shopping centre last week and I do work in retail, so some of the weirdos are inspired by that, but where do the rest of the strange things come from?
On a slightly different note: I've been having a lot of dreams about people from my past lately and it's starting to really get me down. There are quite a few things I wish I had done differently, or not at all, to these people and they aren't things I can fix or even apologise for as these people are no longer in my life. Mind you, these dreams are evolving and having very different outcomes to the original ones from even a few months ago. I suppose that means that I'm working through the issues associated with them. Either that or I'm really going crazy this time!
The hardest part of all these dreams is the feelings that come with them. I still carry a lot of guilt about the things I did and said which I know, rationally, is pointless yet I still do it. It's not just the guilt though. The wondering 'what if...' and the pain of lost love and respect isn't something I want to be reliving as often as I am right now. The feelings of a life lived a certain way because it was 'expected' or to avoid causing pain to anyone else, are not ones I'd wish on anyone else.
I'm just trying to work out, in the cold light of day, what exactly I'm supposed to have learned from all these experiences. The fact that I'm still having these dreams shows me that I haven't learned enough. Or maybe, they've reappeared because I need the reminder of past mistakes to stop me making the same ones now. Thoughts anyone?
Anyway, I'm off to hang out yet more washing while I finish pondering this problem and try to talk myself out of being so melancholy.
Okay, maybe the cows are due to reading this blog at 10:30 at night and the flying kids thing was due to the trampolining display at the local shopping centre last week and I do work in retail, so some of the weirdos are inspired by that, but where do the rest of the strange things come from?
On a slightly different note: I've been having a lot of dreams about people from my past lately and it's starting to really get me down. There are quite a few things I wish I had done differently, or not at all, to these people and they aren't things I can fix or even apologise for as these people are no longer in my life. Mind you, these dreams are evolving and having very different outcomes to the original ones from even a few months ago. I suppose that means that I'm working through the issues associated with them. Either that or I'm really going crazy this time!
The hardest part of all these dreams is the feelings that come with them. I still carry a lot of guilt about the things I did and said which I know, rationally, is pointless yet I still do it. It's not just the guilt though. The wondering 'what if...' and the pain of lost love and respect isn't something I want to be reliving as often as I am right now. The feelings of a life lived a certain way because it was 'expected' or to avoid causing pain to anyone else, are not ones I'd wish on anyone else.
I'm just trying to work out, in the cold light of day, what exactly I'm supposed to have learned from all these experiences. The fact that I'm still having these dreams shows me that I haven't learned enough. Or maybe, they've reappeared because I need the reminder of past mistakes to stop me making the same ones now. Thoughts anyone?
Anyway, I'm off to hang out yet more washing while I finish pondering this problem and try to talk myself out of being so melancholy.
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Giving it a go
Alex has never been particularly interested in sports, apart from the occasional comment about footy teams, so I was rather surprised when he brought home a note about an after-school inter-school sports competition. Normally those sorts of notes wouldn't even make it into his bag at school, let alone make it home and into my hands.
[A bit of background: Alex has never really been good at the hand-eye or foot-eye co-ordination thing. Partly due to his gross motor skill delay, partly because it's never interested him enough to try and partly because he was afraid to try in case he "looked stupid" (his words not mine).]
He was really determined to give this a go and so, despite my initial misgivings, I signed the note allowing him to play. Once he started this, he'd be committed to it for the full term but as there's only 6 weeks remaining I figured that if he decided it wasn't for him after all, it wasn't too long a season.
Today was his first game of soccer and I was actually dreading having to pick him up. Typical over-protective mummy-bear I am, I was worried he was going to be picked on for not knowing the rules or messing it up for the ultra-competitive kids but he really enjoyed it. He said: "I don't know about the others but I had fun, even though the other team scored 9 goals."
I spoke to the teacher in charge afterwards and asked how she thought he went. Her very diplomatic reply was "well, he's not a superstar soccer player but he tried really hard and even tried taking the ball off another player. He seems to have enjoyed himself." I explained about his autism, which she already knew because she's his PE teacher, and asked if they were ok for him to continue even though he doesn't know any of the rules. Her reply was that of course he was welcome to continue and no doubt he'd be getting a book out of the library to find out all the rules. Seems she knows him well!
I'm so glad he's finally coming out of his shell/comfort zone and trying something new. Good on you Alex; I'm so proud of you!
[A bit of background: Alex has never really been good at the hand-eye or foot-eye co-ordination thing. Partly due to his gross motor skill delay, partly because it's never interested him enough to try and partly because he was afraid to try in case he "looked stupid" (his words not mine).]
He was really determined to give this a go and so, despite my initial misgivings, I signed the note allowing him to play. Once he started this, he'd be committed to it for the full term but as there's only 6 weeks remaining I figured that if he decided it wasn't for him after all, it wasn't too long a season.
Today was his first game of soccer and I was actually dreading having to pick him up. Typical over-protective mummy-bear I am, I was worried he was going to be picked on for not knowing the rules or messing it up for the ultra-competitive kids but he really enjoyed it. He said: "I don't know about the others but I had fun, even though the other team scored 9 goals."
I spoke to the teacher in charge afterwards and asked how she thought he went. Her very diplomatic reply was "well, he's not a superstar soccer player but he tried really hard and even tried taking the ball off another player. He seems to have enjoyed himself." I explained about his autism, which she already knew because she's his PE teacher, and asked if they were ok for him to continue even though he doesn't know any of the rules. Her reply was that of course he was welcome to continue and no doubt he'd be getting a book out of the library to find out all the rules. Seems she knows him well!
I'm so glad he's finally coming out of his shell/comfort zone and trying something new. Good on you Alex; I'm so proud of you!
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
A busy weekend
I finished work at 3:30 on Friday afternoon and raced off to do a quick grocery shop before Bradley's friend Lachlan got dropped off for a sleepover at 5pm. Having just made it home in time, it was great to sit and have a chat with Mina (Lachlan's mum and fellow "crazy-lady"), while the very fancy dinner of oven-fried fish and chips slowly cooked. Added a bit of salad and then it was time to feed the starving hordes. Anyone would think I hadn't fed them in a week! While all this was going on, Alex was enjoying a sleepover at his friend Chris' house. Traded one boy for another one .. really need to work on those negotiation skills!
Saturday morning was like Grand Central Station around here. I slept in until 7:30am then madly rushed around trying to do the usual weekend clean, before everyone arrived to pick up/drop off various children. Mina arrived to pick up Lachlan so I sat and had a cuppa with her. Just as she was leaving, Jules arrived to drop Alex off so I sat and had another cuppa with her. After a very quick pitstop .. too many cuppas! .. I raced down to KMart to buy birthday presents for my twin niece and nephew, Kathryn and Lachlan. I'm sure every man and his mother-in-law was in Kmart and they're in the middle of changing everything around, so by the time we found what we were looking for, I wanted to click my heels together and wish for home. A very "lovely" young girl (read as sarcastic, grumpy, PMSing cow) "happily" (grudgingly) opened her register just for us so we were able to escape quicker than I'd hoped.
After dodging Andrew's repeated requests for lunch at the shops ("No. We have bread at home. You can make yourself a sandwich!"), we headed for home with intentions of catching up on the Mt Everest of washing that had managed to accumulate in three short days. Debbie arrived to save my sanity just in the nick of time, so of course there was another cuppa involved as well as adult conversation that didn't consist of telling people to stop touching/looking at/breathing on each other.
All too soon, the brief respite was over and it was back to facing the entire Himalayan mountain range of washing. How did it manage to grow from one mountain to an entire range in that short period of time you ask? Easy .. the boys emptied their rooms into the wash basket. One of these days, they will understand, if it kills me (which it probably will), that clean clothes don't actually need to be washed.
I finally managed to fall into bed at about 10:30pm (late for me .. I need at least nine hours sleep every night or I won't be held responsible for my actions!) figuring I'd be awake around the normal time of 6:00am so I didn't bother to set the alarm. Not the smartest decision I've made .. I woke up at 9:45am!! I know I must have needed the sleep but then it was panic stations to be ready to go to the twins' birthday party.
We were supposed to be at Kings Park by 10:45am and, of course, none of the boys were dressed or fed. I hadn't wrapped the presents, packed the food/drinks we were taking or charged the camera battery. I didn't even know if we had enough petrol to get there. Luckily both the camera battery and the car had enough in them to last the day. It's about a 35-40 minute drive and we caught almost every red light on the way but we still managed to make it on time .. well, only 10 minutes late. Despite that, we had a wonderful day out.
The weather was beautiful and the kids had an absolute ball playing with their cousins. They played chasey, hide-and-seek and Bradley was pressed into service as Kathryn's horse.
Saturday morning was like Grand Central Station around here. I slept in until 7:30am then madly rushed around trying to do the usual weekend clean, before everyone arrived to pick up/drop off various children. Mina arrived to pick up Lachlan so I sat and had a cuppa with her. Just as she was leaving, Jules arrived to drop Alex off so I sat and had another cuppa with her. After a very quick pitstop .. too many cuppas! .. I raced down to KMart to buy birthday presents for my twin niece and nephew, Kathryn and Lachlan. I'm sure every man and his mother-in-law was in Kmart and they're in the middle of changing everything around, so by the time we found what we were looking for, I wanted to click my heels together and wish for home. A very "lovely" young girl (read as sarcastic, grumpy, PMSing cow) "happily" (grudgingly) opened her register just for us so we were able to escape quicker than I'd hoped.
After dodging Andrew's repeated requests for lunch at the shops ("No. We have bread at home. You can make yourself a sandwich!"), we headed for home with intentions of catching up on the Mt Everest of washing that had managed to accumulate in three short days. Debbie arrived to save my sanity just in the nick of time, so of course there was another cuppa involved as well as adult conversation that didn't consist of telling people to stop touching/looking at/breathing on each other.
All too soon, the brief respite was over and it was back to facing the entire Himalayan mountain range of washing. How did it manage to grow from one mountain to an entire range in that short period of time you ask? Easy .. the boys emptied their rooms into the wash basket. One of these days, they will understand, if it kills me (which it probably will), that clean clothes don't actually need to be washed.
I finally managed to fall into bed at about 10:30pm (late for me .. I need at least nine hours sleep every night or I won't be held responsible for my actions!) figuring I'd be awake around the normal time of 6:00am so I didn't bother to set the alarm. Not the smartest decision I've made .. I woke up at 9:45am!! I know I must have needed the sleep but then it was panic stations to be ready to go to the twins' birthday party.
We were supposed to be at Kings Park by 10:45am and, of course, none of the boys were dressed or fed. I hadn't wrapped the presents, packed the food/drinks we were taking or charged the camera battery. I didn't even know if we had enough petrol to get there. Luckily both the camera battery and the car had enough in them to last the day. It's about a 35-40 minute drive and we caught almost every red light on the way but we still managed to make it on time .. well, only 10 minutes late. Despite that, we had a wonderful day out.
The weather was beautiful and the kids had an absolute ball playing with their cousins. They played chasey, hide-and-seek and Bradley was pressed into service as Kathryn's horse.
I managed to get the five of them to sit still long enough for a photo. It was just a shame I couldn't get them all looking in the same direction with their mouths closed and eyes open!
After everyone else left, I sent the boys off to explore a bit more in the hopes of wearing them out enough to be able to get a decent picture of the three of them. Several frustrating attempts later, I gave in and sent them to play a bit more while I slowly worked my way around the park to the ice cream kiosk. Once they figured out where I was headed, I couldn't shake them for love nor money. After an ice cream each, I tried again for a nice photo but this was the best one I could get:
Three wise monkeys .. or just three little monkeys? You decide! By the way, striking that pose was all their own idea .. this time.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
I'm not the only crazy one!
I was sitting at work today humming the tune from the "ding-a-ling" video when my co-worker Mina started singing the words. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who knows all the words to that particular one.
The really scary part was when we figured out that we both knew all the words to the other ones as well .. complete with sound effects! The store manager now thinks we're even loopier than he did last week when we were singing "Don't cry for me Marge and Tina" (the Goodies version), "There's a hole in the bucket", "The lion sleeps tonight", "I wanna go home", Would you like to swing on a star?" and various other songs from our childhoods. He actually dared to complain about our singing and that we needed to update our repertoire! How rude!!
It was good to have a bit of fun and a laugh even if everyone else is now scared to come into the office! "Be careful. Those crazy ladies are in there!!"
The really scary part was when we figured out that we both knew all the words to the other ones as well .. complete with sound effects! The store manager now thinks we're even loopier than he did last week when we were singing "Don't cry for me Marge and Tina" (the Goodies version), "There's a hole in the bucket", "The lion sleeps tonight", "I wanna go home", Would you like to swing on a star?" and various other songs from our childhoods. He actually dared to complain about our singing and that we needed to update our repertoire! How rude!!
It was good to have a bit of fun and a laugh even if everyone else is now scared to come into the office! "Be careful. Those crazy ladies are in there!!"
Monday, 12 May 2008
Twenty+ years on ...
and I can still remember the words to these community service announcements. Sad huh?
The ding-a-lings one is most appropriate for work:
"Ding-a-lings do stupid things. They don't think of others at all. Dopes and bullies; see the trouble they bring. That's what we call ding-a-lings."
Can you tell I've had another 'good' day??
The ding-a-lings one is most appropriate for work:
"Ding-a-lings do stupid things. They don't think of others at all. Dopes and bullies; see the trouble they bring. That's what we call ding-a-lings."
Can you tell I've had another 'good' day??
Mother's Day
I had a lovely, relatively quiet, Mother's Day yesterday.
I had breakfast made for me but not in bed, 'cos I hate the crumbs that always seem to find their way over to my side of the bed. I got three huge hugs and lots of 'boy germs' (kisses) and then I got spoilt rotten with the presents they had made and bought. Alex and Drew made a little noteholder each at Scouts:
Bradley made me a beautiful card with pop-up flowers inside: 
Alex had also made a cheese board complete with pyrography (writing burnt into the wood):
They also gave me a pair of earrings:
After a relaxing morning we headed out to see Pete's Mum and then out for supplies for lunch. Over lunch, Peter and I watched "National Treasure 2". Interesting enough to keep me awake but I'm glad I didn't pay to see it at the movies.
While we were out getting lunch supplies, we bought afternoon tea to have with my Mum. She worked Saturday night and was sleeping most of the day so we popped around for afternoon tea once she was awake. We had a nice visit with her and then it was time for her to head back to bed before working Sunday night, so we went home and lazed around for a while before I sent Peter out for fish & chips for tea .. no cooking on Mother's Day!
After tea Peter and I sat and watched "Death at a Funeral". Quite funny in a typical British comedy sort of way. "Is there a dog in the car?" Light viewing for the end of a relaxing day.
Hope your Mother's Day was as pleasant as mine!
Saturday, 10 May 2008
Raindrops
I love listening to the sound of the rain on the roof. I woke this morning to that sound and, even though I'd had a pretty rough night with hardly any sleep, it calmed me.
I'm definitely an autumn/winter person because I don't like the heat that comes with summer and would much rather be cold than hot any day. Snuggling up under a blanket with a good book and a warm drink is my idea of heaven. So taking a holiday down to Margaret River in July should be as close to heaven as I'm going to get while I'm still alive.
I'm going all by myself and leaving the boys at home with Peter for 11 nights of, uuummmmm ... whatever I want! I can wake up when I'm ready to, have what I want to eat, when I want to eat it, go wherever I want and whenever I want, go to bed when I want .. so why am I so scared?
You heard me, I'm scared. This will the first time I have been away by myself .. ever! I didn't travel alone before I married (at the age of 20) and haven't travelled anywhere for any great period of time without either Peter or the boys. I've been away for weekend consultant crops but that was only 2 nights away from home and less than 40 minutes drive. This time it's three hours drive and 11 nights. I have invited some friends to come stay for a few nights each if they can get away from their families, but so far I'm going to be completely on my own for at least 5 nights.
It's not so much the being on my own that worries me. It's the thinking I'm bound to do while there's no-one else around. I might actually have to think about me and who I am .. what I want .. where I'm going .. seeing a theme here? Factor in the guilt, both mother-guilt and the 'normal' kind, and I was starting to wonder if it was all going to be worth it.
Then I woke this morning to the sound of the rain on the roof and I decided it is worth it. I deserve a break and some time to just be, so I'm going and I'm not going to feel guilty ...
Well, maybe just a little bit. I'm a Mum after all!
I'm definitely an autumn/winter person because I don't like the heat that comes with summer and would much rather be cold than hot any day. Snuggling up under a blanket with a good book and a warm drink is my idea of heaven. So taking a holiday down to Margaret River in July should be as close to heaven as I'm going to get while I'm still alive.
I'm going all by myself and leaving the boys at home with Peter for 11 nights of, uuummmmm ... whatever I want! I can wake up when I'm ready to, have what I want to eat, when I want to eat it, go wherever I want and whenever I want, go to bed when I want .. so why am I so scared?
You heard me, I'm scared. This will the first time I have been away by myself .. ever! I didn't travel alone before I married (at the age of 20) and haven't travelled anywhere for any great period of time without either Peter or the boys. I've been away for weekend consultant crops but that was only 2 nights away from home and less than 40 minutes drive. This time it's three hours drive and 11 nights. I have invited some friends to come stay for a few nights each if they can get away from their families, but so far I'm going to be completely on my own for at least 5 nights.
It's not so much the being on my own that worries me. It's the thinking I'm bound to do while there's no-one else around. I might actually have to think about me and who I am .. what I want .. where I'm going .. seeing a theme here? Factor in the guilt, both mother-guilt and the 'normal' kind, and I was starting to wonder if it was all going to be worth it.
Then I woke this morning to the sound of the rain on the roof and I decided it is worth it. I deserve a break and some time to just be, so I'm going and I'm not going to feel guilty ...
Well, maybe just a little bit. I'm a Mum after all!
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Catch up day
Brad hasn't been feeling well for a couple of days (tummy/bowel troubles again) so I decided yesterday that I would have today off work and see if we could "sort him out". He, in typical kid fashion, perked up and was fine as soon as his brothers left to catch the school bus. So apart from the occasional reminder to "listen to his body", I left him to read and play while I finally got to have a chat and a cuppa with Jackie, Sharon and Debbie.
I was beginning to think I had imagined these friends because between my busy life and theirs, we haven't seen each other in a loooong time. It was so calming to sit and have a conversation without having to deal with the kids interrupting every five seconds. The added bonus was that it was time spent with people I wanted to be with and really enjoy being around.
After talking to these girls, I have realised (once again) how hard we women are on ourselves. Trying to be everything for everyone, and beating ourselves up when we fall short of our own impossibly high standards, is no way for us to live the happy lives we all want so much. Luckily though, we all recognise that type of thinking as the energy sapper it is and, even though it's really hard, are trying to make a conscious effort to change the thought patterns.
Something else that Jackie raised was how we are all expected to suppress our true feelings so as not to upset anyone else. 'Nice' girls/women aren't supposed to get angry or upset or if they do, they're expected to keep it to themselves. I can understand discretion and that there's a time and a place for everything, but it becomes so much of a habit to smooth things out that pretty soon you can't actually tell what you're feeling anymore. But maybe that's just me!
Anyway, enough deep and meaningful for now. The kids have been tucked in and it's nearly time to go watch House. Now he's someone who says what he thinks without worrying about what other people think of him!
I was beginning to think I had imagined these friends because between my busy life and theirs, we haven't seen each other in a loooong time. It was so calming to sit and have a conversation without having to deal with the kids interrupting every five seconds. The added bonus was that it was time spent with people I wanted to be with and really enjoy being around.
After talking to these girls, I have realised (once again) how hard we women are on ourselves. Trying to be everything for everyone, and beating ourselves up when we fall short of our own impossibly high standards, is no way for us to live the happy lives we all want so much. Luckily though, we all recognise that type of thinking as the energy sapper it is and, even though it's really hard, are trying to make a conscious effort to change the thought patterns.
Something else that Jackie raised was how we are all expected to suppress our true feelings so as not to upset anyone else. 'Nice' girls/women aren't supposed to get angry or upset or if they do, they're expected to keep it to themselves. I can understand discretion and that there's a time and a place for everything, but it becomes so much of a habit to smooth things out that pretty soon you can't actually tell what you're feeling anymore. But maybe that's just me!
Anyway, enough deep and meaningful for now. The kids have been tucked in and it's nearly time to go watch House. Now he's someone who says what he thinks without worrying about what other people think of him!
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Friendship
I've been thinking about friendship a lot lately, especially about the different kinds of friends. I believe that friends are in your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
Those there for a reason are there to help you learn or help you with a particular issue or problem and then they're gone again, sometimes leaving pain behind them and sometimes not. Sometimes it's the pain itself that is supposed to help you or teach you something.
Those there for a season endure through a particular stage of your life like when you first start work, or when your children are young. They are the kind of people you gradually lose touch with and wonder "whatever happened to .."
Then there are those who are just there, a part of your life whenever you need or want them to be, with no pressure or recriminations when life gets in the way of seeing of each other. These are the kind of friends you can not see for ages but when you do meet up, you pick up where you left off without any problems. They are the people who comfort you, challenge you and, best of all, accept you for who you are. There are no limitations on when you can meet these kinds of friends. They don't have to be school friends or people you've known all your life; they can even be people you've never met face-to-face (internet friends anyone? :P) They can just appear in your life and you know that you are made all the richer by having them in your life.
I used to feel sorry for myself because I felt like I didn't have many friends until I realised that it's definitely not the quantity, but the quality, that counts. I'd just like to say thank you to all my friends, especially Debbie and Jackie, for not forgetting about me and helping me to feel good about myself. To quote Jeff Fenech: "Love youse all!"
Those there for a reason are there to help you learn or help you with a particular issue or problem and then they're gone again, sometimes leaving pain behind them and sometimes not. Sometimes it's the pain itself that is supposed to help you or teach you something.
Those there for a season endure through a particular stage of your life like when you first start work, or when your children are young. They are the kind of people you gradually lose touch with and wonder "whatever happened to .."
Then there are those who are just there, a part of your life whenever you need or want them to be, with no pressure or recriminations when life gets in the way of seeing of each other. These are the kind of friends you can not see for ages but when you do meet up, you pick up where you left off without any problems. They are the people who comfort you, challenge you and, best of all, accept you for who you are. There are no limitations on when you can meet these kinds of friends. They don't have to be school friends or people you've known all your life; they can even be people you've never met face-to-face (internet friends anyone? :P) They can just appear in your life and you know that you are made all the richer by having them in your life.
I used to feel sorry for myself because I felt like I didn't have many friends until I realised that it's definitely not the quantity, but the quality, that counts. I'd just like to say thank you to all my friends, especially Debbie and Jackie, for not forgetting about me and helping me to feel good about myself. To quote Jeff Fenech: "Love youse all!"
Monday, 5 May 2008
Look what I got!
After hanging out washing in the dark and then remembering that it's bin day tomorrow, I traipsed down the end of my 35 metre long driveway to put the bin out. On the way back up, I stopped to check the letterbox and found that I actually had some real mail .. not just bills and junk mail.
I have to admit I was a bit confused about who might be sending me mail so when I opened it and found this ...
I have to admit I was a bit confused about who might be sending me mail so when I opened it and found this ...
(Remember I'm glad there is you)
... I was speechless (which is probably a good thing because no-one here is awake to talk to anyway!) The photo really doesn't do this beautiful card justice. It was made for me by Debbie and will be getting framed and hung up with the others I have received from Debbie and Jackie.
I posted on Sunday about how much I enjoy her company but Deb had already mailed this on the Friday. Great minds think alike but some think faster!
Thanks Debbie. You have made my day .. again!
Sunday, 4 May 2008
The company makes all the difference
Debbie and I had a scrapping afternoon yesterday.
I was feeling dreadfully uninspired and only managed to start, not even complete, 1 double page layout in 4 hours. Despite that, though, I had a great afternoon. It was so nice to be able to just sit and talk, or not talk as the case may be. There was no pressure to 'do' anything except enjoy each other's company. The company really does make all the difference.
Thanks Deb! You really lifted my spirits and I just wanted to let you know that you are a really wonderful person and I'm glad you're in my life.
I was feeling dreadfully uninspired and only managed to start, not even complete, 1 double page layout in 4 hours. Despite that, though, I had a great afternoon. It was so nice to be able to just sit and talk, or not talk as the case may be. There was no pressure to 'do' anything except enjoy each other's company. The company really does make all the difference.
Thanks Deb! You really lifted my spirits and I just wanted to let you know that you are a really wonderful person and I'm glad you're in my life.
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