Olivia Kate

and then there were three.....


the little red-headed princess

Born Sunday 6 December 2009, on what would have been her great grandfather's 89th birthday. She was 6lb 15oz and 52cm long.

Michelle finished work on the Friday before, and had planned to do lots of resting, catching up with friends and various other tasks (like installing the carseat) before baby was due on the 15th. That never happened!

chilling out

"bring me my food now!!!!!"

Back, at last!

My father has told me to get back blogging as the old posts were 'getting boring'. So I'm back.

There have been two significant events occur in my life in the last 6 weeks.

1. I got a new job!!!!!

2. I became an aunty (again)!!!!

I was not happy with working at the hospital. Whilst the hours were suitable for looking after Jemima, I didn't like the bullying behaviours of one of my colleagues. And she was not going to change. Staff had put up with her behaviours for the past decade, so the likelihood of anything changing was minimal. So I started applying for other jobs.

Late in November, I had an interview with a local company for a 'Assistant Records Clerk'. And I got it! It is a full time position at Vickery Bros, a company that supplies and spreads fertiliser. Despite being a 'local' company, they service a large portion of southwest Victoria and into South Australia. It is a great place to work, really friendly and laid back. I'm really enjoying myself.

On 6 December, Michelle gave birth to a beautiful little red head, whom they have named Olivia Kate. Little Livvy already knows the importance of being dramatic (the genes inherited from her grandmother, Dame Mary) and stubborn (Michelle swears that she did not pass on this gene). She insists that meal times are whenever she wants, and naps whenever she chooses. Just like a baby:)

One of the drawbacks of getting this full time job is that I can't visit Livvy over Christmas, like I had planned. I'm still trying to work out when I can get up to Sydney to spoil her rotten.

Winery Tour

Yesterday was the Winery Tour, a fundraising event for the Kindy. Numbers were small, only about 26, a victim of the Dunkeld Races, Casterton Show and the hot weather but it was a great bunch of people.

Caitlin and Mim stayed home alone, with strict instructions for Mim not to annoy her sister.

We left the Kindy all stocked up with a couple of eskies containing water, UDLs and some beer. Morning tea was at Penola - coffee and cake, and some of the girls went wandering around hte main street and found the lolly shop.

At 11, we boarded the bus again, ably driven by our hero, Bazza (husband of the Kindy mum organising the whole thing). Next stop was Rymill's winery, where we were greeted by Andrew Rymill and invited inside to taste the wines. There were some lovely drops there, so I bought the Traminer (a sweet dessert wine that wasn't sickly sweet) and the MC2, a red blend. Andrew and the lady helping were very friendly and it was a positive experience. We got a big discount on the wines purchased, even though the prices were reasonable anyway!

After Rymill's, we went to the Poplars for another testing and lunch. They also had cheese testing, so Michael and I partook of that ...mmmm, goat's cheese! The wine tasting wasn't as nice as Rymill's, with the man (owner?) insisting that the wines be tasted in a certain order, and how dare you skip a wine (even if you didn't like a particular variety). They were pushy and wine-snobby, which didn't help for their sales. Lunch was delicious though, a choice of an open steak sandwich, battered fish or caesar salad. Michael and I sat with Annie (the lady we'd bought this house off) and her friend Jane. We had lots of laughs over lunch, then it was back on the bus.

Next stop was Katnook. It was a smaller tasting area, so it was a bit crowded and we were pushed through the tasting quite quickly. It felt like you had to scull the wines to keep up! Still, the lady was pleasant enough. We didn't stay long, and I didn't like the wines enough to buy any of them.

We had a bit of time left before we were due at the last winery, so we headed back to Penola (after an hilarious three point turn on the highway after going in the wrong direction - I don't think we hit any of the grapevines!) so some more of the ladies could hit the lolly shop - purely to buy lollies for their mothers/classes /kids etc. The boys (all five of them) hit the pub for a beer and I wandered down the street, had a look in the lolly shop (lovely) without purchasing, and then wandered through the secondhand store. Lots of lovely things in there as well.

Then back on the bus and out to Patrick T for afternoon tea and yet another tasting. Everyone was merry by this stage and having lots of laughs. Patrick T had set up an afternoon tea for us, cheeses, dry biscuits, dips, chocolate cake, strawberries and honey biscuits - as well as tea and coffee. It was a lovely area, very friendly staff (Jane was trying to pick up the bloke) and somewhere I'd be happy to go back to. The wines were okay and Michael bought one, but I ended up buying some dukkah and lime-infused olive oil. They had basil-infused, blood orange-infused (very nice) and chilli-infused oils as well.

We finally got everyone back on the bus and Bazza headed for home. One last stop at Casterton, for a much needed toilet stop and to sample the wines from the Kindy range. We drew the raffle, first prize of a magnum (the large wine bottle, not the ice-cream) was won by.... the drunkest lady on the trip! Then back on the bus we went...... and this time Janelle got her wish and got to listen to ABBA on the way home. It was very naughty (and slightly illegal) but it amusing to watch some of the ladies dancing in the aisle, against the backdrop of the rolling hills between Casterton and Coleraine.

Bazza pulled the bus over at our driveway and Mim and Caitlin jumped aboard so we could all eat at the pub. The other pub, not our usual pub. Food was good, smaller serves than Julie gives but was still very nice. The kids played outside on the skates, trampoline and other toys until well after dark, then came inside and had a game of pool. It was very funny seeing four five year olds standing around the pool table, barely able to see over it, all holding their pool cues! Michael and I had a discussion with Tracey and Grant about the lack of service from Hamilton City Motors - they had a Pug disaster story to tell as well.

I drove us home at 10.30, having consumed plenty of water throughout the day I figured I was just fine. It really was a great day - and we raised about $600 for the Kindy!

Swimming at the Creek

We discovered the local waterhole a week ago. It's a section of the creek that is deep enough to dive in, with overhanging trees that kids have attached rope swings to.



I took the girls down there one day, and they had a ball. The dogs enjoyed it as well. Sarah is happy to swim, but Jess just wants to get in the water and be held by someone, or sit over their shoulder.



Local kids have set up a couple of couches for sitting in, and an ex freezer is buried in the ground for keeping drinks in.



Michael and I took the girls and dogs down again a day later, and spent a few hours there.

I thought it would be a wonderful place over summer to go to when the pool isn't open.... until I read a recent article in the local paper warning people about snakes near lakes and creeks, as a dog had recently died in the space of a few minutes after being bitten.

Hmmmm, might have to rethink it.

My Little Ballerina

Mim had her first ballet concert last weekend. She had three performances, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon.





It was the Nutcracker Suite and she played a child with a teddy (all the beginners did). I think she showed more natural grace than most of her class..... but that may just be mother's bias!

I dropped her in town on Friday and Saturday nights, all made up and waited around til first interval to collect her.

We all went and watched the whole performance on Sunday. I dropped her round the back, got her in the costume and then joined Michael and Caitlin. We went inside and sat down, third row back. In front of us were some ex students of Michael. The lights dimmed, the narrator told the story of the Nutcracker, the music started..... and the girl in front of us threw up! Luckily it was a water barf as it wasn't cleaned up until the first interval.

The concert went off well, Mim was perfect (of course). I didn't like the 'pirate crumping' but most of the dancing was good.

She wants to do another concert very soon.

A Busy Weekend

Last Friday, Caitlin had her annual heart check up in Ballarat. We left by 7am and arrived in Ballarat two and a half hours later. There was a light frost on the side of the road as we left Coleraine, but it had warmed up quite considerably by the time we got to Ballarat.

The check up was good. She's due for another one in two years, at which time Dr Weintraub will organise a MRI for her.

After the checkup, we headed into the city to do some shopping. Long live Big W! The girls ended up with new bathers and some summer clothing.

Then it was out of town and back to Beaufort for some lunch at a lovely little bakery. And then high tail it to home.

We arrived home in time for Jemima to jump through a shower, put her leotard on, have her hair tied up in a bun and makeup put on, then I drove her into town for her ballet performance. Afterwards, she had dinner at Maccas and came home to shower and wash hair and go straight to bed!



On Saturday morning, I had to be down at the showgrounds by 8.30am to help out at the Kindy stall for the Coleraine Show. We made lots of sandwiches, but because it was a hot day it was a very slow start. The cordial and jelly sold well early on but by the end of the day, all of the sandwiches had been sold and most of the slices/cakes.

Michael brought the girls down around 2 and we wandered around the exhibits and the animals. Michael came across one of his ex Casterton students who was exhibiting cow/bullies (as Mim calls them) so we chatted to them for half an hour. Then had a ride in one of the horse and carts that you can hire for weddings. Mim sat beside the driver and chatted to him, while Michael, Caitlin and I sat in the carriage. We were halfway around a lap when we were stopped and asked if we wanted to go in the Grand Parade.

And what an experience that was! The Grand Parade consisted of five old tractors (one of which had broken down, so had to be pulled by another), the firetruck, two horse-and-carriages and about six cattle. We did two laps of the main oval. Woo hoo!!! As Michael said "grand" and "coleraine" should not be used in the same sentence.

The girls went on the dodgem cars, jumping castle and the Char-Char-Char. We left at 4.30pm to go home and get Mim ready for her concert. I took her into town and then brought her straight back after her concert. We then went back to the Show to catch the fireworks and then a few more rides on the Dodgems before heading home.

We were able to have a sleep in on Sunday before Mim's concert in the afternoon.

It was an exhausting weekend, quite hot, and Mim has been sleeping in a fair bit since.

The Saga of the Pug

As previously blogged, we'd had Michael's car being repaired by Hamilton City Motors, the Peugeot dealers in town. After week 4, we were given a courtesy car (at our instigation). This was it!



A Jeep Cherokee that was a monster to drive. Still, it made the following five weeks bearable. Yes FIVE WEEKS!

Each time we contacted Craig Fort, owner of the dealership, we were told that the diagnostic team in Kuala Lumpar had said to try another BSI, or try this or try that.

At week 8, I'd had enough. I rang Peugeot Australia's head office in Sydney and blew a gasket. The girl said she'd get someone on it straight away. This was at lunch time on the Wednesday, I hadn't heard back by the time I'd left for work, but there was a message on the phone from Peter McIntosh at 5pm that day, saying that he was on the case and had contacted the Hamilton dealership. I managed to speak with Peter the following day and he was all apologies about our experiences with Hamilton.

You see, it appears that Peugeot have this policy that if the problem is not diagnosed within three days or five hours of diagnostic time, it needs to be escalated. And this had not happened. So for the next few days, Peter rang me each day to let me know what was happening with our car in Hamilton. He arranged for it to be escalated to France IMMEDIATELY to find out what the problem was. France requested photos of various things. Mark the mechanic had allegedly gone home with pneumonia on Friday, so Peter was waiting for Craig to call him back so Peter could take Craig through step by step the process to use to take these photos and email them to France. By Tuesday morning, France had replied that one of the wires in the BSI was faulty. It was repaired by late Wednesday and Michael could pick up his car on Friday afternoon. Not so hard now, was it Craig!!!!!!

Michael had totake the car back in on Monday because the airconditioner and vents weren't working. They'd start at a reasonable temperature, then whistle and fall to freezing, then whistle again and up to sauna level. That didn't take long to fix and he had the car back on Monday afternoon.

Peter McIntosh kept following up with us on a daily basis, keeping us informed on what was happening - something that Craig could never do. He also got Robert Toonen involved, the aftersales service manager for most of the country. They were most interested in how many Pug drivers we'd spoken to wouldn't go to Craig because of bad experiences.

Then came the bill. Peter said he'd spoken to Craig, who assured him that he would be very generous with the billing, but didn't give him a figure. Michael hadn't received anything in the mail after a week, so he went in to see Craig. Craig handed over the account for over $5000. Michael saw red. Craig then proceeded to say 'Oh, we're not going to charge you that full amount, only $2,900', claiming 46 hrs of labour and diagnosis. Michael almost had a stroke. Craig also said he'd never heard of or spoken to Peter.

He rang Peter McIntosh, who was disgusted. Michael came up with some figures, based on 5 hrs diagnosis, 2 hrs labour and the cost of a BSI and offered Craig $1500. Peter advised that he had advised Craig to accept that offer. We got a letter in the mail from Craig, apologising for our bad experience, blaming his staff for their lack of communication and maintaining that it was sheer coincidence that the matter was escalated on the day that I contacted head office. He would accept the $1500 if it was paid within 30 days. But still no written account for our records, despite weeks of asking!

And then, just under two weeks later, we get another letter in the mail from Hamilton City Motors. It was a reminder notice - and the actual account!!!! And the bank details on the account were wrong! They just can't get it right.

Kudos go to Peter McIntosh, for his empathy, his communication and for being a great support in fixing our dilemma!

Caitlin's new Do

Caitlin had her hair cut a few weeks ago. She got to choose the style. It looks really good, and is practical.

Only problem is when she tries to straighten her hair, she can never get the short bits around the back!

More Mim Moments

When I was putting Mim to bed, she asked about Tyler's cat Purr, who had just kittens. She then wanted to know if Morticia would have kittens. "No, she's been desexed".
"Can Jess and Sarah have puppies?"
"Yes, they haven't been desexed"
"Is desexed were the vet opens their heart and puts the puppies in?"
"No, desexed is were the vet opens their tummies and ties some things up so they can't have puppies"
"So babies grow in your tummy?"
"Yes they do"
"They start in your heart, and move down to your tummy."
I can't refute that statement.


Mim and I were discussing babies again, as she is excited about the imminent (well, 6 weeks away) arrival of her new cousin. She pointed to her tummy and said, "are my babies in here?"
"Um, not yet, but they will be.... when you are my age"
"Does it hurt to have a baby"
"Yes, but you won't remember the pain"
Mim started looking worried, "but what if I don't want to have a baby"
"Then you don't have to have one"
"But if I have a baby, and I don't want it, can I sell it?"
"ummmmmmmmm....NO!" Where do you go to after that!


I was putting away some a silky dressing gown when Mim asked if that was what I wore in the photo near Michael's side of the bed. It was a professional photo taken at a studio when Caitlin was a baby. I told Mim about having special photos taken when Caitlin was only six months old. "Were you the Next Top Model?" she asked. I don't bloody think so!!!!


On the way home after the ballet concert, Mim asked
"does it hurt when your tongue gets pissed?"
"???.....oh, pierced! Yes, it does hurt."
"Does it hurt when your nose gets pissed?"
"Everything hurts when it gets piss...pierced!"


Conversation from the back seat of the car between Mim and her kindy mate, Mason:
Mason: "I know who you're going to marry.... Oscar"
Mim: "Yep, 'cos he's my boyfriend"
Mason: "Gypsy's going to marry me"
Mim: "No! Portia's going to marry you. Gypsy's not the right girl for you!"
Mason: "Gypsy and I are friends now, but if I don't want to be friends with her anymore, I just have to say 'You're dumped' and then we're no longer friends"

Jenny and John's visit

Jenny and John came to visit for one night in October. They brought with them a gorgeous range of their chilli sauce and jams 'Cop It Sweet'. Michael hasn't yet tried the 9/10 chilli sauce, but I'm sure it won't be long before he does!

It was great to catch up with them again, even though they were suffering the effects of a cold. They weren't alone, Caitlin was coughing up her lungs as well.

Caitlin's cooking

Our friend Jenny Tully ran a cooking class for a few young kids she knew. Caitlin attended and had a ball. She arrived home with four large creme caramels, some large meringues, some yummy biscuits and a number of egg and bacon pies. And they were delicious!



Meanwhile, I attempted the cheesecake brownie recipe that Meegan discovered. It didn't turn out as picturesque as hers did, but none of the nurses/doctors/family members complained about the taste of it!

What happens when Mim takes over the camera

Caitlin in mid sneeze

Me on the 'puter (probably playing Farmtown)

Michael and Caitlin looking at old photos

Bloody Sarah!

Michael was on the phone the other day, after Caitlin and I had left for Hamilton, when he looked out the kitchen window to see Mim, in her gumbots, clutching Sarah's collar in one hand and scolding her with the other, stomping down from the top paddock.

She gets to the wire fence and has to let go of Sarah to climb over it, meanwhile Sarah jumps straight over and waits for Mim. Mim then grabs Sarah again and marches her down to the houseyard and in through the side gate.

She releases Sarah, turns to Michael, and with a frustrated sigh, says "Bloody Sarah, she jumped the fuckin' fence!"

Michael's blaming me for that one!

Happy Father's Day

Mim made this for Michael at Kindy. It amused the Kindy teacher, Michael and myself.



French, English.... they're only 20 miles apart, an honest mistake really! And it's good to know he can 'cook' Jelly!

Special Persons Day at Kindy

Mim had a Special Persons Day at Kindy for their term break up party.

The idea was to invite all the special persons in your life (mum, dad, grandparents, neighbours, etc) by mail and have them RSVP by mail as well. Poor Mim, I was the only one who could attend. Others brought up to six special persons.We did activites (playdough, making necklaces from beads and macaroni) before watching the kids do some singing.



Then lunch was served. It was plentiful and delicious - everyone had brought something along, from platters of sandwiches, to scones that the kids had made, to cakes/slices, to sausage rolls.... it was enough to feed an army of parents. And one of the parents (who is a freelance photographer) took photos of each child with their special persons, for the kids' scrapbook.



It was a fun day, and Mim enjoyed herself immensely. She does love it when I can stay at Kindy with her.

We had to leave at 2 and go home to get ready for work. As it was Parent/Teacher interviews, Caitlin took Mim to Karate with her until I was able to pick her up. Apparently Mim had fun copying the older kids, and would like to take up Karate when she is old enough. (hmmm, do we think this is a good idea?!)

Bendigo.. or bust!

A few weekends ago, we took a trip to Bendigo to visit friends. I roped in the help of a friend's son to house/dogsit. He had pizza, chocolate biscuits, footy/cricket on Austar, dogs to play with and no siblings around ..... he was in heaven!

We left around 10.30, and stopped off at Ararat for lunch... at Rotten Ronnies. The locals were as feral as can be expected, and the food - well, it was ballast. It was on the road again, arriving in Bendigo just after 3.

It was a warm, windy and wonderful night. Used to the freezing cold and recent constant wet that we had been having, it was lovely to sit on their back patio, sipping on Brandy Alexanders and catching up with friends we hadn't seen for over nine months.

Charu and Dexter

Jemima enjoyed catching up with 'her' brother, Dhruv, as did Caitlin. They played Guitar Hero on the Wii and kept themselves amused.



Dinner was amazing. If Charu ever wanted to give up medicine, she could have a successful career opening an Indian restaurant! After dinner (and a few wines/scotchs/beers), Michael amused us all with his ability to take any subject, any style of music and any accent and make a little ditty, usually with a swear word or two in it.

Sunday morning, we had an amazing version of scrambled eggs, served with chapatis (what's the name for it, Jayant?) and then a trip downtown to play bowling. Do bowling. Whatever the correct terminology for hurling a heavy ball down a wooden runaway to hit some poor unsuspecting pins is.



Charu and I opted to be the cheer squad, whilst the others played. Jemima used a special ramp they had for young kids. You place the ball on the top and then push it down. Of course, it works better with a run up before the push.

Dr J and Michael checking out the balls

the final score!

Then it was home for lunch (a fantastic biryani), and a walk around the hill behind Jayant's house, checking out the old mine sites before heading home after 5.

It was an uneventful trip home, though Michael managed to find an amazing radio station in Bendigo... that supposedly played people's unusual requests. We had Hello Mudder, Hello Fadder; They are Coming to Take Me Away and some other bizarre songs playing! We stopped to 'dine' at Ararat again, though neither Michael nor I could stomach any bog burgers after the wonderful cuisine of Chez Charu, so we stopped off at a fish and chip place.

We arrived home, exhausted, just after 10pm. The dogs were ecstatic to see us - it'd been a whole 36hrs since they'd seen us! Oh boy, oh boy! Lick, lick, lick! So, after the fond greeting, they got shoved into Jemima's room to sleep with her and the rest of us tumbled into bed.

Only I was woken at 2am by the dogs whining and scratching Mim's door. I let them out and they indicated that they were desperate to go outside. My first mistake was letting them. They bolted off. After a few minutes, I called them, but nobody came. So I went outside to look for them. (Bear in mind that I was too tired to unpack my PJs so I was only wearing a Tshirt. And it was about 5 degrees). Sarah came to me but I couldn't see Jess. After five minutes of calling, I knew I'd have to go on a search mission. Came inside, got dressed, grabbed the torch and shut Sarah in the dogbox. Closer inspection showed that the side gate had enough of a gap that Jess would have squeezed out, and gone to play with sheep. But not our sheep, they were still grazing in the western paddock, their eyes reflecting in the torchlight. The silly bitch had decided to go through the neighbours fence and check out their paddock. Apparently there was a dead sheep somewhere there. I called her, and she came back.... but she had taken the opportunity to roll in shit! Sheep shit or cow shit - it didn't really matter which, she stank! And then she decided that it was important to round up our sheep, at 2.30 in the friggin' morning, under the starlight. By the time I was able to catch her, I was not a happy camper. Trying to catch a barking, rounding up dog, with the added noise of Sarah howling from the dogbox, wanting to be in the fun, is not conducive to being able to easily go back to sleep!

Needless to say, soap and water do NOT get the smell of shit off one's hands!!!!

Slow news week

Mim made the local paper with her large eggs.

Never leave children and animals alone

....again. This is what happens when Jemima gets bored.



See that look of long suffering! It got worse, the headband plays a Christmas tune!



Anybody know a good pet psychologist?

Happy Birthday Jenny!

Michael and I had a night away a few weekends ago. It was Jenny's 70th birthday and she'd planned a 'little do' in town. We arranged for our professional house sitter, Liz, (17) to look after the girls, dogs, cat and chooks and we booked a room at a motel in town.

Even though I know Jenny is not your normal 70 year old, I still half expected the night to be .... tame. I knew that the 'cream of Hamilton society' had been invited, as well as friends from all over the state. I wasn't expecting the raging night we had.

We started off with nibbles and drinks in the bar area - all 90 of us. Jenny had made most of the nibblies herself and asked me to assist in taking the trays around. There were the usual sausage rolls, toast and pate, seafood bites, mini salmon quiches, arancini balls.... and plenty of them. I think most people were almost full before they'd even gotten to the dinner part of the evening.

We then had dinner - alternate fish pies and beef braised in guiness pies, served with mashed potato and peas. Jenny made all of it (she was the chef at the Stirring Pot restaurant for a few years!). I'm not a big fish fan, but the fish pie was delicious! Dessert was fruit stewed in brandy, with icecream, followed by platters of cheese and biscuits, fresh from the Queen Vic Markets, and platters of hand made chocolates to accompany the coffee/tea.

Wine flowed freely that night. Michael counted that our table (of 8) went through at least 10 bottles. Before dinner was even served, I had a bottle of red knocked over almost on top of me. And it wasn't even me that did it, it was Jenny's son-in-law! Before anybody was even pissed! I only got a bit on my sleeves and pants, so it wasn't too bad - though I did reek of eau de Cab Sauv all night.

Jenny is an Elvis fan, so she had an Elvis impersonator singing songs and entertaining us. It was hilarious watching him kissing up to all the older ladies, the supposed prim and proper matrons. Like hell they are!

Jenny's grandchildren got up on the stage to give a speech about there Nan. I loved the story from one of the grandsons, now about 21. He said that when most people talk about grandmothers, they have the image of the knitting, tea sipping little old ladies. When he tells people about his Nan, he tells this story which epitomises the character of Jenny. "She went to a kitchen store in Melbourne and bought a $60 pepper grinder. When I asked her why she spent so much money on a pepper grinder, she said "Because it's fuckin' classy, asshole"." Yep, that's Jenny!

After copious amounts of wine had been consumed, dinner had been eaten and Elvis had exhausted his repertoire, a few of us (included Jenny's slightly uninhibited daughter) got up on the dance floor and shook our groove thing. The others just retired into the bar and kept drinking. We finally got kicked out at 1.30am, so they could lock up the club.

It was a fantastic night!

The next morning, we were invited to Jenny's for breakfast. I had thought it was just going to be a small select group of family and close friends... and it was, about 60 of us! I'd been supplying Jenny with eggs for weeks previously and I'd wondered if I'd been oversupplying her. Nope, she was also getting eggs from another source and had over 14 dozen. John, her son that owns and chefs at his Melbourne restaurant, stood in front of the stove poaching eggs for most of the morning. There was a large bowl of fruit salad, poached eggs, bacon, toasted homemade bread, tomatoes. A barista friend brought along his coffee machine and was doing coffees with the loveheart or ferns in the milk trick. The first bottle of champagne was opened about 9.30am.

Jenny mentioned that she had gone to bed about 4am. She'd invited her family in for a nightcap, so they finished off another three bottles of wine..... and then she saw the scotch and thought that looked like a good idea. Yet she was up bright and chirpy (and still probably pissed) with no sign of a hangover, whilst her fellow nightcappers looked like death warmed up.

It was a wonderful weekend, only marred by the fact that Jess greeted us on arrival home with her tail between her legs. It seems that whilst the girls were occupied inside the house with painting their nails and playing the Wii, the flying chook (the one that laid the enormous eggs) flew out of the protection of the pen and was 'plucked' by the dogs. So we are down to five chooks and none of them have shown an interest in flying...... yet.

Cooking

Caitlin had to make a variation of a pancake recipe, including fruit, for her home ec assignment. She came up with layered chocolate pancakes with bananas and strawberries. Looked quite.... edible :)



So I tried a variation on the cake I'd made for her birthday - a chocolate cake injected with caramel, and covered with crushed crunchie pieces. It didn't last long!

Caitlin's Photos

Caitlin borrowed my camera two weeks ago to practice taking photos. She came up with some good ones.

Another notch in the belt (or colour)

Caitlin had her karate grading on the weekend. She passed, and is now a green belt.

So watch out chooks, Caitlin can beat you up. Don't worry sheep, you're still safe until she becomes a black belt.

Camping - in your own bedroom

Mim decided last night that she wanted to camp. So she set up her fold up bus, put the sleeping bag inside it and crawled in.



I heard some noises from her room after I'd switched off the light but wisely chose to ignore her. Sure enough, she went to sleep soon after. When I checked on her, she'd put her toothbrush, paste, hairbrush and lipgloss in a container next to her pillow. Just in case she needed a photoshoot as soon as she woke up?

Total Hairectomy

I decided to have a mid life crisis on Tuesday and had a radical hairectomy.

It had grown to well below my shoulders. I was sick and tired of how long it took to wash and dry, I couldn't do anything with it except put it into a ponytail, and its weight would often give me a headache.

So I got it chopped. And threw in a fringe (which I haven't had since high school) and some streaks. Maybe a few more than some.

Last time I really had my hair 'done', with a half head of foils and a cut and blowdry, was about 7 years ago, and cost me $120. Guess how much this one cost! (It included a wash, a lovely scalp massage and blowdry as well as the cut and colours). Only $70! God, I love living in the country!

The dogs went a bit beserk when I got home, they kept trying to jump up and sniff my hair. Mim just stared at me and then told everyone she encountered (strangers included) that my hair was shorter; Caitlin got shitty that I got a fringe and she wanted one but I won't let her get one.

It's been great not having to pull my hair back and put it up. And it's so easy to wash and dry now.

Tact is not her middle name

I was talking with Mim on the way into town today, about riding and horses. She was grieving over the loss of "her horse", Pixie. The pony that she hired for a half hour walking around session at Caitlin's riding school, when she was only 3. But despite only having a half hour contact with Pixie, she has always referred to Pixie as 'her horse'.

Anyway, she asked me if I rode. I said that I used to when I was Caitlin's age, but I don't anymore. She asked why. I replied that I was too old know.

Her response: 'So you would make the horse go onto its knees?'

Thanks Mim, I said I was too old... not too fat!

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Around the dinner table, we were discussing nicknames - Caitlin had Squiggy when she was little(r) and Mim had various pet terms. Caitlin asked me if I had a nickname when I was at school. I said no. Mim piped up with "yes you did. It was 'Lazy'".

Thanks Mim! I wonder where she picked that up from, Michael?????

A New Business Venture

Michael and I have thought about setting up an egg farm business (downwind from the house of course). Suggested names have been 'Mim's Bumnuts' or 'Caitlin's Cackleberries'. Sizes would include the usual... large, exlarge, ouch and OMFG.



I think the one on the end would be in the OMFG range. They would have to be sold separately of course, they don't come around all that often.

Each dozen could include one egg that has had a 'Michael's word of the dozen' penned on it. This word would, of course, be an educationally descriptive word.... like crunthooks, or dingleberry, or worse.

Think this business would take off?

Karaoke Queens

Jemima had been soooooo looking forward to Karaoke night at the pub. She had been studiously practising 'her song' so she could sing with Caitlin.

Caitlin put her requests in early this time. She and Jemima (or Jemma as the MC kept calling her) got to sing early on in the piece. They did a great job. Jemima had to stand on a chair to be seen over the autocue.

The girls sang Lady Gaga's "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" and Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me". Caitlin did a solo on Miley's "The Climb".

Michael elected not to sing this time around, not with some of his students in the crowd.







I am very proud of the girls, especially of Caitlin. It's not easy for a 12yo to have the guts to sing in front of a crowd, with some of her peers listening in.




(sorry about the quality of video, it was dark in the pub and I've had to cut the original around to fit it on the blog)

At last! A courtesy car!

Michael's Peugeot has been at the dealers for the last four weeks, as they 'attempt' to fix it.

Communication is not a strong point for this dealership. At first we were told that the mechanic was running tests to find out what was wrong with it. This took almost a week, despite having told our regular mechanic that it would be ready for us within 24 hrs. The mechanic then advised that it was the BSI (computer system) that was at fault and needed replacing. (It took him a supposed week of running tests to discover this when I did a Google search and came to that conclusion in two minutes!) The BSI would take 3 days to get to them.

So I called up in 3 days time, to be told that the part hadn't arrived yet. It arrived the beginning of the third week, they fitted it - and the car still wasn't working. So they ran another diagnostic, and the technical team (in Kuala Lumpar), told them the steering unit stalk/Comm 2000 (the indicator stalk that has a computer in it!) needed replacing. So they ordered that. Again, it would be here in three days.

At the end of week three, on my way to Geelong, I called in to see if the car was fixed. To be told 'oh, the part is on back order and we'll be sent an email when it can be sent out'.

Got Michael to contact the owner of the dealership on Monday. He was told that the part arrived late on Friday and was fitted.... but the computer is still not reading it!! They were going to experiment with some aerials as advised by Kuala Lumpar.

Michael rang on Tuesday, and was told by the owner's wife cum admin person "ring back on Friday after two and speak to the mechanic". Yep, not a good move. He had to get to a staff meeting so couldn't spend the time to react as he wished.

I rang this morning and advised the spare parts chick that Michael and I would be in this afternoon to speak with the owner and find out what the hell was happening with the vehicle! It has been off the road for 6 weeks now. As Michael works days and I work afternoons, it means that I've been running him in to work (40km), home again (40km), back in to collect him and go to work (40km), he'll take the girls home if he has no meetings after work (40km), come back and get me at 7pm (40km) and then we'll go home (another 40km). It makes for an exhausting day, multiplied by five times a week! Caitlin has not been able to go to karate because of its late finishing time. I'd lost patience with the dealer.

Michael and I rocked up at 3.30pm this afternoon and had a long chat with the owner. The owner was a bit shocked that the car had been at his dealership for four weeks - he had thought it was only two weeks. He wasn't able to give us any idea when the Pug would be fixed - it was all the problem of the electronics of cars and outsourcing of technical people to overseas and delay in delivery of parts from the Sydney warehouse. However, after a request from us, he was able to offer us a courtesy car - an old Jeep.

Tomorrow morning, I don't have to be up at sparrowfart to drive Michael to town, Caitlin can go to karate tomorrow night and on the weekend (if the Pug isn't fixed by then), Jemima can go to her friend's birthday party whilst Caitlin and I go to the dog training days. It's not the end of the Pug saga, but at least it's something.

An exhausting week

Michael had a week at 'retreat' last week, which meant I was solely responsible for the well-being of two children, three dogs, one cat, six chooks, eight sheep and one lamb! And they all lived through the week!

We drove Michael to Geelong on the Saturday to catch a midday flight. It's only a three and a half hour drive to Avalon airport. Caitlin elected to stay home and catch up on sleep. She was still exhausted after three days at school camp.

Mim at Avalon airport

Jemima and I waved Michael off then headed into Geelong to grab some lunch before heading home. I played Jemima's favourite CD over and over again so she could practise her songs for karaoke. She also got to take some photos with my camera, to alleviate her boredom, and didn't do too badly with some of the shots. Arrived home at 5.30pm to find that Caitlin had coped well on her own all day.


two of the photos taken by my backseat driver

A lovely friend had offered to look after the girls whilst I worked - I arrived most nights to find dinner had been prepared for me and the girls had already been fed. Thank you Jenny, you are a life saver!

I even managed to whip up two delicious quiches in our new oven, using donations from my six girls.



Caitlin had a podiatrist appointment on Thursday to see what could be done about her ankles (being sore and giving out on her). Turns out she pronates, her left foot more than her right. She has some foam inserts for her school shoes to trial for two weeks and then she'll be reviewed. We also need to get her new school shoes as her current ones were too loose/stretched (and the elastic on the strap broke on Friday).

Jemima had a playdate at our place with her friend, Edward. They happily played Barbies for a number of hours, and helped crack the eggs for a lunch of scrambled eggs.

Jemima and I drove back to Geelong on Friday afternoon to pick Michael up. Caitlin, again, elected to stay home and look after the animals. She did call me to ask how to turn the oven on. I'd shown her how to do it before I left, but she thought that it wasn't working properly because it wasn't screaming at her the way the old oven did! Driving back was exhausting. It was dark, cold and wet. We stopped at Mortlake for 15 mins so I could have a powernap. But we made it home safely.