Celebrating

This house we're house-sitting has finally sold! The contracts are exchanged, the cooling-off period is over, the deposit is paid. Hooray!

So we thought we'd go to Manly for breakfast, to celebrate. Unfortunately, Graham was busy constructing a fence round part of the garden, as a puppy-free area for Louka to play. (The puppy leaves chewed-up rubbish and poos all over the garden, and jumps on people, which Louka doesn't like.) So we were fairly late at Manly and most of the waterfront cafés were full. We found one which served pancakes with banana, and the pancakes looked spectacular when they arrived, but they weren't all that great and there was too much syrup, making the effect somewhat sickly. Oh well.

We then drove over to Harbord to check out the roadworks outside our house. They are finished, and there's now a driveway from the kerb to our boundary, which is fine for the current house but rather restricts where we can put a garage. They've also removed the playground from the park next door, temporarily I hope. Oh well.

Then we took Louka down to Freshwater beach. She hogged the swing for a while, but eventually we persuaded her to let other kids have a go, and took her down to the sand. She loves sand, just lying in it, playing with it. She did get her feet wet, but when a wave wet her shorts she retreated back to the sand. She had a lovely time. When we thought she'd had enough sun, we put her back in the car, and she fell asleep almost immediately.

Super Kids Play Day

Willoughby council had put on a kids' play day at Chatswood, with baby animals, colouring in, and a bouncing castle, so the mothers' group met there today. I had hoped Louka would love to look at the baby animals, especially the cute piglet and the duck. But she gave them a glance and ran off (unlike Matilda who was entranced and clung to the fence the whole time).


She was happy to point to the frogs and lizards, but was more interested in the huge furry green and red snakes draped behind the tables of aquariums.

What she really liked was the colouring-in area. A tarpaulin had been laid down with pictures and coloured pencils, and Louka spent time gathering up as many pencils as she could lay hands on. She actually drew a little too, after I prompted her by doing some myself.

Filling her father's shoes

Louka has a shoe fetish. She used to just carry them around, but now she likes to put them on. Her own, sure, but also her mum's and dad's.

Here she is at my parents' place yesterday, in daddy's boots.

Looking at a house

We've looked at project homes a couple of times at HomeWorld, but today we went to look at a house being built by Bush Pavilions. The closest house they've built to Sydney is in Wombarra (look it up, I had to) near Wollongong. So we went for a long drive.

It's currently just past lock-up stage, so we got a feel for the structure of the house, without being distracted by decor and fittings. We both like the style ― open, casual, somewhat resort-like ― and since it's a structural system rather than a design, it should be possible to fit what we want into it. So it was worth the drive.

Fathers day redux

Since my sister was in hospital on Fathers day, and my parents were away the following weekend, we had our Fathers day get-together yesterday. Louka's cousin Elin's birthday was also on Fathers day, so she also had to wait two weeks for her present from us.

But in the end it was a lovely Spring day, perfect for a barbecue. As usual, Louka had fun with her cousins, so much that she didn't have a nap until we left to drive home.

Eating with a spoon

Louka loves to do things for herself these days: she puts her own shoes on for example. And for weeks she's been trying to use a spoon herself, but nothing seems to stay on the spoon and, besides, spoilsport Mum doesn't want her to spray food all over the room.

So yesterday I bought her a little pot of blueberry yogurt, sat her in her high chair, and let her at it. Quite a lot went all over her top, certainly, but on the whole she did very well, and I could tell she was starting to get the hang of scooping stuff into the spoon.

Daddy's gate

Richard had made a makeshift gate to keep his daughter's puppy off the road, but it was inconvenient to open and close, and the garden stakes that stiffened it always fell out. So Daddy made a real gate. It has hinges and a latch, it swings open and shut easily, and it stays in one piece. The work of a Master of Engineering!


It even keeps the puppy in.

Update: Apparently the gate didn't keep the puppy in, so Daddy added high chicken wire: get over that, puppy!

18 month vaccinations

After visiting Micky we headed to Chatswood for the council's free vaccination program. Of course Louka fell asleep in the car, so we weren't at the head of the queue. Louka was pretty good, though it needed all my strength to restrain her for the needle in her arm. She howled, but quietened down fast when the nurse gave her a little biscuit ― which she then insisted on feeding to me!

Daddy at APEC

Visiting aunty Michaela

It was raining and cold this morning, not very conducive to a walk or bike ride. And Michaela was home sick. So we thought we'd invite ourselves over for morning tea.

Louka loved Max's Bob the Builder doll.

Fathers day

For Fathers day we would normally have a whole family get-together at my parents' place. However, last thursday night Michaela was rushed into hospital in great pain, and was eventually diagnosed with pleurisy and pneumonia.









We visited her in hospital on saturday, and she was feeling a lot better. Then Louka got up on the bed and gave her a hug, which made her feel better still. And this afternoon she was able to come home.

We decided to visit my parents anyway, at afternoon tea time, and give Dad part of his present ― some French crème fraïche which is a little perishable. Mum had made some pikelets, which Louka loves spread thickly with butter ― or at least she loves the butter.