Exploring

Thursday:

This morning I set out to find the perfect spot to write. Sometimes I need a change from my desk at home. My criteria for the ideal spot were:

*Attractive view
*Table/bench for notebook or laptop
*Choice of sun or shade - or possibly indoors - for comfort in all weathers
*Neither too crowded nor too isolated
*Toilets
*Café to buy cups of tea
*Not too far away from home

I hadn't found a suitable café near home, so I went a little further afield (but not very far) to the river. I've driven over it many times on the long high bridge but never been down by the banks. After a little preliminary internet investigation, I crossed the bridge and drove down a winding road on the other side to the first park.

It was far from ideal. I felt very isolated, it was surrounded by bushland and there were only a few other people there; a guy packing up his canoe and a middle-aged couple who then left. There were benches next to the river, which looked muddy and unappealing, no tables for writing. Further back, behind trees, was a nice area with a playground and tables but scarily lonely. Also too shady. It probably has people on weekends.

This is the bridge I drove over, and the muddy bank.

I crossed over to my side of the river on a little low bridge because I saw a café there with tables outside. I ordered a hot chocolate and got a bit of writing done. It was very nice sitting in the winter sun. Then I started getting splashed with water. Another patron pointed out some birds (rainbow lorikeets) up in the gutter having a bath. My notebook got quite wet (very dirty water). I changed tables.

Although I liked the sunshine, it would be unpleasant in any other season but winter. And to get my view I had to look over a little road and a carpark first. The road wasn't busy, but the cars were fairly frequent and noisy. There was a shady park next to the café that might be nice in summer, I was considering it as a possible spot for the future.

With hopes of finding something better, I crossed the low bridge again and drove alongside the river until I came to another park. And yay! it fulfilled just about every one of my requirements (except the cups of tea, and I could always take a thermos). It was pretty, with lots of tables and benches in sun or shade. Not too isolated with houses both sides of the river and quite a few people there; parents with children in the playground, a group having a BBQ, an old guy practising his golf swings on the football oval, people walking dogs. I could sit with my face to the river and still have the murmur of human voices nearby.

There were ducks on the water, kookaburras in the trees, and a little footbridge to walk across. And quite decent public toilets. Having found the perfect spot, I didn't manage to do any more writing! I sat enjoying the sun and the ducks for a while then, my foot being quite good today, I went for a little walk around including over the footbridge and back. I enjoyed myself very much, and had a lovely morning. And I did get some writing done, after all, at the second place. It was approaching lunchtime so I left, but I will definitely be back there.

Carols in the park

Monday:

Yesterday we did some unpacking in the morning and played World of Warcraft, then we had some visitors in the afternoon who we hadn't seen for ages. They moved from Canberra to Sydney about a year before we did. It was great to catch up. They rented for a year then bought a house recently, so we mainly talked about the housing market! They brought two big containers of home-made fudge with them to share. Unfortunately (or fortunately!) it wasn't great. The kids had some, Tim and I had one small piece each. They insisted we keep some (they wanted us to keep all) so to be polite I kept some then later shared with other people and tossed the rest out. Life is too short to waste on mediocre fudge, but I think we managed it without hurting any feelings.

In the evening we went to Christmas Carols at the local park. I was really apprehensive about this as it was a stinking hot day, and also the only other time I'd been to that park there had been a million flies, and we all know how I feel about them. But it turned out really nice.

The sun was heading below the trees so we were in the shade, and the temperature was ok at that time of day. There weren't many flies - probably hanging around the sausage sizzle. We had a nice picnic that I had prepared and sat with other family members who we'd arranged to meet. The singing and band from a local church wasn't great and we talked rather than singing along, but it was good to sit in the park and enjoy the festivities.

(I don't know any of these people, it was just a random photo towards the stage area.)

Jasmine and little Emma got their faces painted and Aiden got a pretend tattoo (and also two huge mosquito bites).

Today we went into the city. There were a couple of items people had asked for for Christmas that I couldn't get anywhere else. So we took a child each and did some shopping - the huge department store was pretty awesome - then met up for lunch. We got lucky with the weather, it wasn't as hot as the day before and the rain held off until we were back on the train going home. We came home and collapsed, Tim and I both having a nap. Only a few sleeps until Christmas!

Visiting dad and rescuing a dog

Sunday and Monday:

Our little country motel offered toast and cereal and the like for breakfast, but we decided to drive the few blocks into the centre on town for breakfast on Sunday morning. We parked and started to wander up and down streets and through the mall. Nothing was open. Siri found us one coffee shop but it wasn't the sort that sold breakfast, just coffee and a few cakes. After a cold and hungry fruitless search, we drove to the outskirts of town and went to McDonalds. I guess we're just city folk, used to everything being open all the time. Who doesn't have brunch on Sundays after a night out?

The good thing about this trip to McDonalds was that we found a beautiful park on the way. It was new since I spent my childhood summers in the area, a created lake and wetlands with a lovely walk around the outside and two children's playgrounds. So after breakfast we went for a stroll. There were lots of ducks and some pelicans in the water

and then we saw this little guy.

He was swimming around and diving, presumably for food. The tail was wrong for a platypus, we don't have otters in Australia as far as I know, and he was too big for a rat although he looked like one. In the end we decided he was a native Australian water rat of some kind.

Then we got caught up in the Million Paws Walk. This is a charity dog-walking event. There must have been 50 or more dogs of all shapes and sizes with their owners, walking along the path beside the lake. They ended up congregated at one end of the park where they held some competitions. Best trick, best costume;

And I thought there should have been a prize for the dog and owner who looked most alike;

After this pleasant interlude we went to the hospital to see dad again. The relief that he wasn't as bad as I'd thought had worn off a bit. He is very sick, and we still don't really have any details. We asked a nurse but she didn't know much. His blood sugar levels are still way too high and they are giving him insulin injections. (I decided against giving him chocolates!) I'm hoping if they can stabilise that then he'll feel better and can start eating more and maybe go home.

At lunchtime we went back to the lovely park. We had lunch at a café next to the lake, the food wasn't great but the view was.

We walked around (I didn't have my fitbit on because I didn't think to take my charger, but I'm sure I did 10,000 steps again) and the kids played while I sat in the lovely sunshine and Tim jogged around the lake.

Then we drove out to dad's house, some 15 or 20 mins out of town to pick up dad's partner Wendy. She doesn't drive so she's been dependant on other people taking her to the hospital and shopping. She must be very isolated and lonely out there without dad. My aunty Pat has been driving her in most days. We went and spent more time with dad. Tim took the kids outside for a while and they chased wild rabbits around the lawns outside the hospital. They both now want a pet bunny. We took Wendy to the shops to get groceries then drove her back home.

We got back into town ready for dinner. Only to find the same problem as we had in the morning. Everything closed (or non-existent) on a Sunday night. Siri directed us to places that had either shut down or were so closed and dark that we couldn't find them. We ended up going to a Thai restaurant even though that is what we'd had the night before. It was that or take-away pizza eaten on our motel beds. Luckily we all like Thai food.

Tim and I both slept very poorly our second night there. My shoulder was aching quite a lot. In the morning we blearily managed to find a café that was actually open, being Monday, then we hit the road early for the long drive home.

Seeing dad sick was sad, and the driving was tedious and hard on my shoulder, but some parts of the weekend were really nice. I hadn't seen dad for a few months so it was good to talk to him, and I saw my aunty Pat (some other family members who live down there were away, and I didn't feel up to seeking out the others) and the park was really nice. The kids would have happily spent all day there. Very glad we went, but it's nice to be home.

...

I had just finished the above at 5pm then Tim called me outside. There was a dog roaming around trailing his lead, and I am good with animals (and babies). I went out and called him and he ran over to me. I caught him easily and set to work calming him down.

 He looked like maybe a Rhodesian ridgeback cross, medium size but very strong. He was obviously very scared and worried. Once I had his lead he sat and leaned against my legs. He was agitated by someone walking down the path on the other side of the road and by a lady with a pram. My hand is still hurting from holding him! He barked and even growled a bit so I tried to keep the kids at a distance for a while but he wasn't actually aggressive, just scared (which is still dangerous with dogs). After a while he seemed comfortable with them.

We stood outside for a while in case an owner turned up looking for him, and gave him a drink which he seemed very grateful for, then after a while called the appropriate authorities. They said they could either pick him up at lunchtime tomorrow (!!) or else we could take him to a vet who could check his microchip to find his owners. He didn't have a tag. I didn't want to put him in the car, not knowing how he would react, and not having any appropriate restraint, so we walked him the 2 km or so to the nearest vet.

Tim had the lead, I just wasn't strong enough. He wasn't very obedient, pulling ahead hard or else stopping to sniff and urinate. But he seemed like a nice dog. At the vet, they said he had a microchip and his name was AJ (I had guessed Max), and said he lived in Evatt which is a couple of suburbs away over several main roads in peak hour! No wonder he was scared. They couldn't get through to the owner right away but took him out the back to hold him until they could, and we walked home. I felt like we did a good deed for the day. And got our exercise too!

I was very late starting dinner, Wendy called while I was cooking with some good news. They'd managed to speak to a doctor who thinks dad is improving a bit. He ate today (food Wendy took in, not hospital food) and although the hospital doesn't expect to release him until the end of the week, still it is good news.

Playing at the park

Saturday:

I am so up and down with my eating at the moment. Yesterday I was out with the kids and decided to go to my favourite fried chicken place for lunch. Not quite as greasy as KFC, but pretty bad. But they have a skinless breast with the same seasonings but much less fat, less than 200 calories for a piece according to their board, and I've had it before and it's yummy, so I figured that with that and a few chips (fries) I would be ok. Not much nutrition, but a treat I could fit into my calories for the day. Unfortunately I then ate some of my children's leftovers. I couldn't resist that crispy fried chicken. And extra salty chips. I didn't eat all of it, I threw a whole (slightly nibbled by my son) piece of chicken away so that was a small victory, but I still ate a lot more than I had meant to.

Today we took Thor out for his daily walk - we are up to 30 minutes now and he loves it - and then shortly after we came home I started feeling really down for no reason. It got worse and worse, the world seemed a horrible place and I was sad and grumpy. I finally tried eating some chocolate. And I was right, I was experiencing low blood sugar. I used to get that quite often but hardly ever these days. I'm "only" pre-diabetic but I seem quite sensitive to blood sugar fluctuations. I don't know why it happened today, I'd had my afternoon snack shortly before the walk so I shouldn't have had a drop. The only way to fix it is to eat carbs. Chocolate seems to work pretty fast.

I planned a nice dessert today, just because it was Saturday, originally, but also it turned out to be our monthaversary (we used to go out on a special date night each month to celebrate our first date, and later our wedding, harder with kids). Tim made crepes and instead of having lemon juice and sugar I made an orange sauce with fresh orange segments, and cream and chocolate. It was delicious, but we all felt very full afterwards. Each crepe is around 100 calories, plain, and we had two each; but I later worked out that each plate was well over 500 calories! And this was after dinner. So I think that was a bad decision. It is all very well to have an occasional treat or dessert but I have to work out my calories beforehand AND stick to my plan! I should have just had one crepe, not two - 280 calories is a bit more feasible.

Most of the day I am doing well, but I keep having these moments that I should have dealt with better.

Thor and Aiden having a great time at the park. I don't have any good close-ups - they were too busy moving!