Life of Louka: June 2007

In memoriam: Nana Linda

Graham's Chinese grandmother, Linda, died last Saturday aged 96. She'd been very ill for a long time, but this time she went to hospital for a crushed hip, and couldn't eat, so she just wasted away. We went to see her on the Thursday before she died, and she was able to smile at Louka and reach out her hand to her, but by Friday she was not aware of us, so we were very glad we'd visited her on Thursday.

At her funeral today, we learned that she'd been an amazing woman. Academically gifted, she'd travelled from Canton to Beijing to go to university at a time when it was unusual for a woman to study at all. She'd brought her family to Australia to give her children the best opportunities in life. As I heard this, I thought how sad it was that I'd hardly known her, as I speak no Chinese and her English was limited. I hope Louka inherits some of her intelligence and generosity.

This is an old photo, taken when Louka was only 3 months old.

Clothes shopping

Louka has been growing so much, mostly lengthwise, that all her pants have become three-quarter length. She's also a bit short of warm tops for winter. So we went shopping. I went to Woolworths at Town Hall and bought her a pair of brown jeans and a pair of red trackies. But I didn't like their tops much so we went on to DJs where they had a sale on. There we found two grey tops that are intended for underwear but look perfectly nice enough to wear out. We also found a red top with embroidered flowers. Now she's set for winter.

Mothers group chez Sarah

We hadn't met the mothers group for ages, since Louka's naps seem to be at the most inconvenient time. But today Sarah invited us round to her place. Of course Louka fell asleep just before we were about to leave, but after an hour (in which I washed up and put the dinner on) I took her down to the car. She cried, then slept all the way there, then woke as I parked the car.

I was the last to arrive, and some of the others had to leave soon after. But I think it's good for Louka to play with people her own age occasionally.