The rest of 2014

So since my last catch-up, I have the following things to report.

Fixit has been made permanent at the Rehab Equipment Hire place. He initially applied for a warehouse packer/delivery driver position but his skills and talents were recognised and he was eventually hired as the Warehouse Manager.  He works long, physically demanding hours in a hot dusty shed, but seems reasonably content.  This is a shot of him celebrating his birthday this year, we had a deluxe dinner of sushi, garlic prawns and Peking duck pancakes, and he was very impressed.



Cherub graduated to a full-size bike. It is my old mountain-bike with a more masculine set of handlebars.



Cherub's school had another fete.  I made more bunnies for the craft stall, and some cupcakes for the cake stall which suffered somewhat by being transported to the fete in the basket of my bicycle.  I worked pretty much the whole day on the Champagne/Strawberries and Cream stall so didn't really get to wander round much. It was a good day though.



My sister was diagnosed with tongue cancer.  She has had the lump removed and had 6 weeks of radiation to make sure.  It's been hard for her, but she's been brave and positive throughout. Her recovery starts now.



During the school holidays my Dad and I rented a house on Phillip Island for a week and took my kids and Bron's kids with us, and while we were there we celebrated Cherub's 11th birthday.  We did a bit of rock and tree climbing too, and some maze-running.




We also visited an a native animal park, where we patted kangaroos and tried to avoid the stroppy emus.




We helped Bron move into a better house, and I cooked lots of soup for her. Not that she was able to eat much of it before her mouth got too sore, but you do what you can.



We went to the Royal Melbourne Show with friends, and the kids had a great time as usual. Patting baby animals, trying out rides, inspecting yarn-bombed items and getting a showbag. Fun.




The boys finished off their soccer seasons, and Cherub was awarded Best and Fairest Player in his U11 team.

We took Cherub to see The Dream by Bell Shakespeare (Climber was off camping with a friend and a whole host of mosquitoes at French Island)  The production was an adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream using only 6 cast members. It was clever and fun, although not as fantastic as some previous Bell Shakespeare plays I've seen. But you know, gave my kid some culture.

And we took both boys to their first comedy gig.  We started them with a master, the brilliant Bill Bailey, and the kids loved it.  It was really fun taking them to see this, sharing with them something we love and seeing them love it too.



Both kids received excellent reports, and Climber received an A for his flute exam.  He also performed a short flute solo as part of Junior Stage Band. It was beautiful.

I missed out on September Craft Camp, but got to sneak off for a night to enjoy a girly-getaway to a deluxe spa resort with Jen and Astrid.



Climber went away on Year 8 camp. He had a very good time, possibly too good a time... (don't ask)



Fixit wasn't granted any holidays over the Christmas January period (grr) but was given a week in early December.  It was nice to spend time with him again, and he certainly needed the rest and recharge..


And summer is on its way, which means we see much less of Basil. So I grabbed a picture while I could, with the portable air conditioner which will soon be working hard as the hot months arrive.



So that is us pretty much up-to-date, although I need to report back on my end-of-year concerts too. Still waiting on a bit of footage and some time to piece it all together.

In the meantime, I'm quite glad to see the back of 2014, what with the various familial health scares and the job stuff with Fixit.  I hope that next year brings health and stability and fun, and wish anyone that still reads here love and happiness for the new year.

Royal Melbourne Show Visit #8

Another September school holiday, another visit to the Royal Melbourne Show!  Take that, large number of my friends trying to make me jealous with trips away to exotic locales.

Each year we manage to stay a little longer but there does come a point when the noise levels and the crowds become intolerable, and then we have to leave immediately, regardless of whether we find an unused strip of ride tickets at the bottom of our bag.  This year we went with my friend Jenny and her girls, and together had fun inspecting the arts & crafts (love those decorated cakes!), the cats, the animal nursery, the magnificent yarnbombing and even a bit of the showjumping.  Plus, as is tradition now, the children and I had a turn on the Giant Slide.

The boys were very happy to come home with a showbag each of sugar, and a little bonus, some soccer strips.  Soccer or - as Climber insists [rightfully] on it being called in our house - football - gear is priced outrageously in Australia so it seemed worth grabbing the Ronaldo and Suarez strips for a mere $20 each.  I wish now I'd thought to get a business card from the stall holder, in case we ever need more.

In other news, my sister and her kids are staying with us for a couple of weeks.  She has taken some excellent shots of the kids on the trampoline, which I intend to put up on my next blogpost, whenever that is. Computer access in a house full of holidaying children can be hard to come by.

The Show 2012, Our 7th Visit

We went to the Royal Melbourne Show with the Mothers Group Mob and a schoolfriend of Climber's on the first day of the School Holidays.



Jenny and Astrid and their children managed to last all day, but by 1.30 my crowd tolerance meter had well and truly expired, and so our contingent slipped away from the hordes and the noise.  I had to teach that evening so it *was* necessary not to fully exhaust myself.

This year, my kids found out about Showbag Hall, a secret I'd kept successfully from them for their previous 6 visits to the Show.  They'd had showbags before, but this year they were allowed to walk round the many stalls, and were given $10 each to spend there as they chose.  They chose chocolate, of course.  Chocolate with bonus Freddo Frog sunglasses in Cherub's case



As per usual, we patted animals in the animal nursery...



... and admired cats in the cat section.  In fact, we were quite lucky because as well as the cats that are there specifically for patting (mostly Burmese and Ragdolls)



... we also got to pat some more exotic breeds, the ones that are usually locked away sleeping in glass cages.  It just so happened our visit coincided with some owners coming to give their kitties a cuddle and a play, and they were quite happy to let us in on the action.  After admiring and stroking a princely looking silver Bengal, we lost our hearts to a tawny Somali who was the most affectionate and beautiful cat I've ever seen.  The kids had to be dragged away from her.



We managed a few rides as well; Fixit accompanied the big boys on the Techno Jump...



(they're blocking their ears to the hiss of the hydraulics)

I had to have my traditional whizz down the Giant Slide...


 (I tried - and failed - to persuade Jenny and Astrid to try it too, maybe next year, girls?)

 ... and the whole gang of kids went on The Magic Circus together, one of those house things where the floor goes up and down, and stuff. I seem to remember loving that sort of 'ride' best from childhood visits to Luna Park too.

 

We had fun in the Craft Hall too. After admiring the cakes, the kids got quite involved adding to the eco-cubby display...

 

... while the grown-ups enjoyed the really excellent yarn-bombing on display.



Cherub wants me to knit a cat now.

September Hols

The September Holidays means going to the Royal Melbourne Show for us.   As ever, our rules for the Show are:

1. Get there early, go home early.  The later you stay at the Show, the uglier it gets, frankly.

2. If possible go with friends.  (This year we hooked up with my friend Jenny and her girls.)


Jenny's girls are standing here with Fixit and Cherub, Jenny seems to have avoided my camera, although that might be her foot.

3. One showbag is plenty, and doesn't mean we don't love our children as one bogan commented to us a few years ago on the train-ride home.  Seriously, I don't get the multiple showbag thing.  It seems so greedy!  Surely one bag of treats, be they toy or sugar, is enough for a kid?  A bag of treats is great, why would you buy them 5 (or more) bags of treats?

4. Children must pat animals before being allowed to do any carnival activities. The Show, after all, is about bringing the country to the city.


This chook pretty much fell asleep on Climber's lap, which made him feel very special.


The kids loved patting the cats, and also watching the playful antics of some nearby silver bengal (I think) kittens.


 
 This very impressive turkey was wandering around the poultry shed like he owned it. He wasn't keen on kids coming up behind him, which is fair enough. Tail like that, we were surprised he could even tell if he had stalkers.


 Fixit and Climber, aka the family irongutses, brave the Techno Jump, while the rest of us waved at them.

5. (a more recent rule) I must have a go on the Giant Slide.



... because it is SO MUCH FUN!



Full photo set here.