Monday:
I weighed myself this morning and was very surprised to see 84.1kg. I rechecked and got 84.3kg twice in a row so I'll go with that. That's a kg less than last week! I have been trying to eat less junk food but I've by no means been a paragon of healthiness so I was expecting to be about the same. Could be just a fluctuation, but it's nice to think I've lost a little through eating a bit better than I was.
We're having an ongoing problem with Jasmine's hair which I wasn't going to mention but it's just getting frustrating! When she had the big knot cut out, the hairdresser found head lice. I hadn't seen any in all my hours of brushing, and she didn't see any the first day of detangling, so they must have all been in the knot. Anyway, the hairdresser treated her hair and gave me the stuff to use a week later to get any that were hatched since then. But two days later Jas said her head was itchy and sure enough there were still head lice. I used the stuff the hairdresser gave me and did all the combing and washing her sheets and pillow and clothes (again). No one else in the family seemed to have head lice, although just thinking about it makes us all feel itchy! Two days later, itchy head, more lice. Maybe that brand of stuff wasn't working well, we bought another brand I'd used in the past. Re-did her hair, linen etc. Two days later, this morning, itchy head. Checked again, MORE head lice! Little tiny ones, presumably newly hatched. Arg! Did the whole routine for the fourth time is less than a week. Maybe she's picking it up from one of her friends? Or is her hair so fine the combs (two different ones, one metal one plastic) aren't getting the eggs out? We've never had a problem like this before. I checked her again when she got home from school and she seems to be louse-free now, fingers crossed!
Monday, December 7, 2015
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Family Day
Sunday:
Our tree is up! We've gone with purple and silver this year, with a splash of gold to bling it up. Over the years we've gathered a variety of colours and some years we put them all on, other years we have a colour theme.
My brother Darren came to visit today. He said "late morning" but I knew not to expect any particular time, and indeed wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't make it at all. So we went ahead with our day, put up the tree, did a bit of cleaning. Aiden had been hoarding some packing materials and waiting very patiently; Tim helped him hammer in some nails to make a... well... some bits of wood nailed together.
Darren arrived at 2:30. He admired the house and I fed him a late lunch (we'd had ours) and he played with the kids. For those of you new to the blog, I'm not very close to my brother. He has obsessive compulsive disorder and is also a hoarder, and was very hard to live with back when we were kids. Of course it's even harder being him. I don't like going to his house because of the hoarding and the filth, but he is welcome to visit here which of course is much easier now we live in the same city. He is fond of my kids and very good at telling weird stories, a skill he inherited from our dad. Like about the competition for the naughtiest child, or about a goat called Norbert who is made out of cheese.
I spent much of the afternoon cooking, and in the evening Tim's family came over for dinner in our new Sunday tradition. Ten people in all. We don't have our new table yet so we put our small dining and kitchen tables together.
In the past, family dinners that included us were rare because we lived further away, and they therefore became a sort of party, with plenty of junk food. But if we're sharing dinner every week, alternating with my sister-in-law, we need to tone down the excess calories. I tried to keep it relatively healthy, with a pre-dinner nibble of vegetable crudités and hommos dip, then roast lamb with lots of vegetables and cauliflower "rice" (and gravy!), then finished with ice cream with raspberries and honeycomb. We did still have alcohol and fizzy drink, brought by other people. I feel like there is no need to start with chips and lollies or have supper an hour after a big meal. Food is part of the equation, but we're really there to enjoy each other's company.
Most people left around 9 (which is still a bit late for all the kids with school the next day), Darren told them a bedtime story then played computer games a bit before he left. It was a good day. I was exhausted by the end of it!
And we still didn't get much unpacking done. I'd love to have it all done by Christmas, but that is less than three weeks away now so I don't know if it will be!
My brother Darren came to visit today. He said "late morning" but I knew not to expect any particular time, and indeed wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't make it at all. So we went ahead with our day, put up the tree, did a bit of cleaning. Aiden had been hoarding some packing materials and waiting very patiently; Tim helped him hammer in some nails to make a... well... some bits of wood nailed together.
Darren arrived at 2:30. He admired the house and I fed him a late lunch (we'd had ours) and he played with the kids. For those of you new to the blog, I'm not very close to my brother. He has obsessive compulsive disorder and is also a hoarder, and was very hard to live with back when we were kids. Of course it's even harder being him. I don't like going to his house because of the hoarding and the filth, but he is welcome to visit here which of course is much easier now we live in the same city. He is fond of my kids and very good at telling weird stories, a skill he inherited from our dad. Like about the competition for the naughtiest child, or about a goat called Norbert who is made out of cheese.
I spent much of the afternoon cooking, and in the evening Tim's family came over for dinner in our new Sunday tradition. Ten people in all. We don't have our new table yet so we put our small dining and kitchen tables together.
In the past, family dinners that included us were rare because we lived further away, and they therefore became a sort of party, with plenty of junk food. But if we're sharing dinner every week, alternating with my sister-in-law, we need to tone down the excess calories. I tried to keep it relatively healthy, with a pre-dinner nibble of vegetable crudités and hommos dip, then roast lamb with lots of vegetables and cauliflower "rice" (and gravy!), then finished with ice cream with raspberries and honeycomb. We did still have alcohol and fizzy drink, brought by other people. I feel like there is no need to start with chips and lollies or have supper an hour after a big meal. Food is part of the equation, but we're really there to enjoy each other's company.
Most people left around 9 (which is still a bit late for all the kids with school the next day), Darren told them a bedtime story then played computer games a bit before he left. It was a good day. I was exhausted by the end of it!
And we still didn't get much unpacking done. I'd love to have it all done by Christmas, but that is less than three weeks away now so I don't know if it will be!
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Picnic
Saturday:
We spent a lot of the day at a birthday picnic/BBQ for a two year old family member. It was a lovely location, a big park next to where the Sydney Olympics were held. Rolling hills and trees and water and bike paths.
Good: Almost no flies! So I didn't mind eating outside.
Bad: We weren't served lunch until 2:30pm.
Good: I know these people and their sense of time (or lack thereof)! So I wisely made sure I ate a significant amount before we left home, and got through until official lunch with only a very few Doritos, instead of standing over the food table shovelling chips and lollies down my throat.
Bad: The only drinks on offer were fizzy soft drinks - and warm! But it was that or water straight from the tap in the public toilets (without a cup). So I had half a can of lemonade, wishing for cool water.
Good: I sat in the shade chatting, and didn't get burned.
Bad: Jasmine got a bit sunburnt running around, despite sunscreen and a hat.
Good: The kids got to run around!
Bad: I was hoping to get a lot more done at home today with Tim to help me unpack.
Good: We had a lovely day with family.
We spent a lot of the day at a birthday picnic/BBQ for a two year old family member. It was a lovely location, a big park next to where the Sydney Olympics were held. Rolling hills and trees and water and bike paths.
Good: Almost no flies! So I didn't mind eating outside.
Bad: We weren't served lunch until 2:30pm.
Good: I know these people and their sense of time (or lack thereof)! So I wisely made sure I ate a significant amount before we left home, and got through until official lunch with only a very few Doritos, instead of standing over the food table shovelling chips and lollies down my throat.
Bad: The only drinks on offer were fizzy soft drinks - and warm! But it was that or water straight from the tap in the public toilets (without a cup). So I had half a can of lemonade, wishing for cool water.
Good: I sat in the shade chatting, and didn't get burned.
Bad: Jasmine got a bit sunburnt running around, despite sunscreen and a hat.
Good: The kids got to run around!
Bad: I was hoping to get a lot more done at home today with Tim to help me unpack.
Good: We had a lovely day with family.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Bird Wars
Friday:
I decided I'm not going to feed the magpies any more. The butcher bill is getting a bit expensive! I was excited at first because they would take food from my hand, but actually I don't like magpies very much, they are common and can be aggressive and just not glamorous enough! And they poo all over everything, they seem to be the worst culprits by far. This morning the two adults and noisy adolescent came and stared at me through the kitchen window for a long time, I went out and shooed them off every time they got on the table. I don't mind them sitting on the chair backs so much although it can still get messy. Eventually they gave up, for the moment.
Last night one of the three kookaburras acted differently to usual. He'd take a piece of meat and fly away, but moments later be back for another one. He made nine trips in all, until it ran out I guess. Usually they just eat their fill and leave. This morning there were FOUR kookaburras! So I'm thinking he has a girlfriend and was showing what a great provider he is and/or teaching her to trust the nice lady who feeds them. (I assign gender randomly, they all look the same to me.) The four came and chatted to each other and had a nice breakfast, then sat up on the roof. And one magpie snuck in (walking, not flying) and took the last piece of meat. Oh, there was a fuss! He was chased under the table and verbally abused. They are similar size but kookaburras have a wicked beak for spear-fishing and I think the magpie dad was very intimidated. He's a deadbeat dad anyway, he's often skulking around without his family and the poor mother looks harassed with her feathers all messy. No time to herself with a cranky child to feed!
I did a huge grocery shop today, how could I fill a whole trolley just for the weekend?? I guess I am feeding ten people on Sunday night. But still. At least a lot of it was fruit and veges!
I haven't been feeling great physically the past few days. My diverticulitis is a bit worse again - if that is what the pelvic pain is, my doctor seemed to rule everything else out after the blood test and ultrasound showed nothing, I need to find a new doctor now we've moved and get a colonoscopy to confirm, urg - and also my sciatica with shooting pains down my left hip. And the wart on the sole of my foot that makes it hurt to walk. Today with the pelvic pain it was uncomfortable even standing for any period of time. Sigh. Well I've started increasing my fruit and veges to get more fibre (recommended for diverticulitis) but I'm not sure how much weight I'll lose over Christmas! And I've realised it isn't practical to join the gym now as the kids get six weeks summer holiday after their final two weeks of school and I wouldn't be able to go. My old gym had classes for kids for a while but then stopped, and I think most gyms won't let people under 16 in the doors except to the crèche which my kids are bit old for - and anyway they don't have crèche during school holidays. At least my old gym didn't. Who came up with that brilliant decision? Like we don't need childcare somehow during holidays? We need it more! So anyway I'll need an alternative for the next couple of months until school goes back. Walking in the morning before it gets too hot, dancing in the lounge room maybe. I know I have to push through this discomfort, but also need to find a local doctor and get it sorted out. Except there is no cure if it is diverticulitis (except surgery in really severe cases), the treatment is to avoid a Western-style diet and get lots of fibre.
Honestly, it seems like every time I turn around something is telling me to eat less junk food and more plant food. Will the universe shut up already? Do you really think it's worth changing my whole diet and sedentary lifestyle just to avoid diabetes and get rid of sleep apnoea and pelvic pain and look better and not die young and fat? Hmm. Maybe you've got something there.
Kookaburras on the roof.
I decided I'm not going to feed the magpies any more. The butcher bill is getting a bit expensive! I was excited at first because they would take food from my hand, but actually I don't like magpies very much, they are common and can be aggressive and just not glamorous enough! And they poo all over everything, they seem to be the worst culprits by far. This morning the two adults and noisy adolescent came and stared at me through the kitchen window for a long time, I went out and shooed them off every time they got on the table. I don't mind them sitting on the chair backs so much although it can still get messy. Eventually they gave up, for the moment.
Last night one of the three kookaburras acted differently to usual. He'd take a piece of meat and fly away, but moments later be back for another one. He made nine trips in all, until it ran out I guess. Usually they just eat their fill and leave. This morning there were FOUR kookaburras! So I'm thinking he has a girlfriend and was showing what a great provider he is and/or teaching her to trust the nice lady who feeds them. (I assign gender randomly, they all look the same to me.) The four came and chatted to each other and had a nice breakfast, then sat up on the roof. And one magpie snuck in (walking, not flying) and took the last piece of meat. Oh, there was a fuss! He was chased under the table and verbally abused. They are similar size but kookaburras have a wicked beak for spear-fishing and I think the magpie dad was very intimidated. He's a deadbeat dad anyway, he's often skulking around without his family and the poor mother looks harassed with her feathers all messy. No time to herself with a cranky child to feed!
I did a huge grocery shop today, how could I fill a whole trolley just for the weekend?? I guess I am feeding ten people on Sunday night. But still. At least a lot of it was fruit and veges!
I haven't been feeling great physically the past few days. My diverticulitis is a bit worse again - if that is what the pelvic pain is, my doctor seemed to rule everything else out after the blood test and ultrasound showed nothing, I need to find a new doctor now we've moved and get a colonoscopy to confirm, urg - and also my sciatica with shooting pains down my left hip. And the wart on the sole of my foot that makes it hurt to walk. Today with the pelvic pain it was uncomfortable even standing for any period of time. Sigh. Well I've started increasing my fruit and veges to get more fibre (recommended for diverticulitis) but I'm not sure how much weight I'll lose over Christmas! And I've realised it isn't practical to join the gym now as the kids get six weeks summer holiday after their final two weeks of school and I wouldn't be able to go. My old gym had classes for kids for a while but then stopped, and I think most gyms won't let people under 16 in the doors except to the crèche which my kids are bit old for - and anyway they don't have crèche during school holidays. At least my old gym didn't. Who came up with that brilliant decision? Like we don't need childcare somehow during holidays? We need it more! So anyway I'll need an alternative for the next couple of months until school goes back. Walking in the morning before it gets too hot, dancing in the lounge room maybe. I know I have to push through this discomfort, but also need to find a local doctor and get it sorted out. Except there is no cure if it is diverticulitis (except surgery in really severe cases), the treatment is to avoid a Western-style diet and get lots of fibre.
Honestly, it seems like every time I turn around something is telling me to eat less junk food and more plant food. Will the universe shut up already? Do you really think it's worth changing my whole diet and sedentary lifestyle just to avoid diabetes and get rid of sleep apnoea and pelvic pain and look better and not die young and fat? Hmm. Maybe you've got something there.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Six degrees of separation
Thursday:
There was a movie some years ago called Six Degrees of Separation which suggested that we are connected to everyone in the world in six or less links. I don't know if that is true, but I had a "small world" moment today on a much more local level. I put an ad online for free packing boxes for the 60 or so we had in the garage, the woman who picked them up this afternoon lived about 20 minutes drive away so not really that close. We chatted while loading up her car with the boxes, and it turns out she is best friends with my husband's aunt! Quite random. We have different surnames, it came up when talking about the school the aunt teaches at.
It was lovely and cool today despite being the third day of an Australian summer, and I went for a leisurely walk up to the library and back. I'm going to have to join the gym though, it's just going to be too hot for me over summer.
One book I borrowed was about the DASH diet, which I have investigated before when my husband first got high blood pressure as it was specifically designed to combat hypertension, but is also generally considered to be good overall diet. Since I have so much trouble looking after myself, maybe it will be easier if I'm doing it for his health? This is an updated version, published 2014. Essentially it seems to be a plant-based diet. Not actually vegetarian, but with fruit and vegetables and pulses etc as the main part of every meal, garnished with a small amount of meat and fat. Very little processed food. Keen on a wide variety of different coloured plant foods. It seems very sensible to me, but I don't know if we could stick to it! We are very much carnivores here, meat is the centre of every meal. Even if we don't cut down on meat too much it wouldn't hurt us to eat a lot more vegetables, and Tim would be very happy to do so. He likes the damn things. I've had a lifetime of struggling to find ones I like and trying to work out how to cook them.
The tree-trimmers came and cut off that branch that was broken. A truck came with five men! This was their last job of the day and a very easy one. Nothing over head-height, so no ladder required. Chainsaw and slice slice slice, broken bit cut off and a few more bits reshaped. Branches picked up, a few seconds with a leaf blower and done. Amazing what you can do with the right tools and experience. It would have been a couple of hours with a small blunt saw and my puny muscles!
There was a movie some years ago called Six Degrees of Separation which suggested that we are connected to everyone in the world in six or less links. I don't know if that is true, but I had a "small world" moment today on a much more local level. I put an ad online for free packing boxes for the 60 or so we had in the garage, the woman who picked them up this afternoon lived about 20 minutes drive away so not really that close. We chatted while loading up her car with the boxes, and it turns out she is best friends with my husband's aunt! Quite random. We have different surnames, it came up when talking about the school the aunt teaches at.
It was lovely and cool today despite being the third day of an Australian summer, and I went for a leisurely walk up to the library and back. I'm going to have to join the gym though, it's just going to be too hot for me over summer.
One book I borrowed was about the DASH diet, which I have investigated before when my husband first got high blood pressure as it was specifically designed to combat hypertension, but is also generally considered to be good overall diet. Since I have so much trouble looking after myself, maybe it will be easier if I'm doing it for his health? This is an updated version, published 2014. Essentially it seems to be a plant-based diet. Not actually vegetarian, but with fruit and vegetables and pulses etc as the main part of every meal, garnished with a small amount of meat and fat. Very little processed food. Keen on a wide variety of different coloured plant foods. It seems very sensible to me, but I don't know if we could stick to it! We are very much carnivores here, meat is the centre of every meal. Even if we don't cut down on meat too much it wouldn't hurt us to eat a lot more vegetables, and Tim would be very happy to do so. He likes the damn things. I've had a lifetime of struggling to find ones I like and trying to work out how to cook them.
The tree-trimmers came and cut off that branch that was broken. A truck came with five men! This was their last job of the day and a very easy one. Nothing over head-height, so no ladder required. Chainsaw and slice slice slice, broken bit cut off and a few more bits reshaped. Branches picked up, a few seconds with a leaf blower and done. Amazing what you can do with the right tools and experience. It would have been a couple of hours with a small blunt saw and my puny muscles!
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Housework day
Wednesday:
I was home all day today, dealing with this and that. Ever since we got our new internet set up here, we've been able to receive emails but not send them except by an inconvenient roundabout method from the provider's website. I spent two hours on the phone with them this morning and finally got that fixed. Then there was the tree out the front, at the end of last week a big branch split from the trunk but wasn't quite separated, it was draped across the sidewalk and blocking our mailbox and people walking past. Today someone came out and gave me a quote to get that dealt with, and they are coming back tomorrow. Even if I knew where our gardening tools were, we don't have a chainsaw or anything hefty enough to deal with issue.
I also had to wait most of the day for a delivery. As well as the dining table (which I called about today and we expect to get a couple of days before Christmas!!! I hope!!!) we bought a couple of other items of furniture, like a wardrobe for Aiden as his room doesn't have one. I ordered a bright red flat-packed kid's wardrobe from the local hardware store, hopefully that will come soon. He doesn't have anywhere to hang the few items that need hanging, like his school shirts. But anyway, today was a "lamp table" for the lounge. It is going to be our recharging port, at night all recharging technology sits on that table, plugged in nearby. I wanted to make sure everything was out of the bedrooms, and also kept where it wouldn't get lost. Now it all has a specific place to live. And a drawer to put spare bits in. But that didn't come until mid-afternoon so I couldn't leave the house most of the day.
Aside from that it was housework day. Urg. What fun. I don't have a specific day of the week for housework, and of course some things need to be done every day, but sometimes when I don't have anything scheduled outside the house and I can see the laundry piling up or whatever, I just say to myself "today is housework day" and get it done. Well, some of it anyway.
Despite any grumbling I do here, I am actually very happy at the moment and content with my new house. Especially on a lovely cooler day like today.
I was home all day today, dealing with this and that. Ever since we got our new internet set up here, we've been able to receive emails but not send them except by an inconvenient roundabout method from the provider's website. I spent two hours on the phone with them this morning and finally got that fixed. Then there was the tree out the front, at the end of last week a big branch split from the trunk but wasn't quite separated, it was draped across the sidewalk and blocking our mailbox and people walking past. Today someone came out and gave me a quote to get that dealt with, and they are coming back tomorrow. Even if I knew where our gardening tools were, we don't have a chainsaw or anything hefty enough to deal with issue.
I also had to wait most of the day for a delivery. As well as the dining table (which I called about today and we expect to get a couple of days before Christmas!!! I hope!!!) we bought a couple of other items of furniture, like a wardrobe for Aiden as his room doesn't have one. I ordered a bright red flat-packed kid's wardrobe from the local hardware store, hopefully that will come soon. He doesn't have anywhere to hang the few items that need hanging, like his school shirts. But anyway, today was a "lamp table" for the lounge. It is going to be our recharging port, at night all recharging technology sits on that table, plugged in nearby. I wanted to make sure everything was out of the bedrooms, and also kept where it wouldn't get lost. Now it all has a specific place to live. And a drawer to put spare bits in. But that didn't come until mid-afternoon so I couldn't leave the house most of the day.
Aside from that it was housework day. Urg. What fun. I don't have a specific day of the week for housework, and of course some things need to be done every day, but sometimes when I don't have anything scheduled outside the house and I can see the laundry piling up or whatever, I just say to myself "today is housework day" and get it done. Well, some of it anyway.
Despite any grumbling I do here, I am actually very happy at the moment and content with my new house. Especially on a lovely cooler day like today.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Planning
Tuesday:
Quick hair update, another hour of work by the hairdresser (actually three clustered around her at one point!) and Jasmine's hair is smooth and knot-free, and shoulder length. And properly washed. So everyone concerned is very happy. And that salon has won a family of customers for as long as we live here. I'll have to put a nice review on their website, they took so much care.
What did I do today? Not a lot. It was another scorcher. We had a big stack of advertising catalogues put in our mailbox and I went through them looking for Christmas present ideas. We have barely thought about Christmas yet, so busy with moving. But it's time to get on with that! Need ideas for everyone including myself, and keep a few ideas in reserve because Tim's dad will ring on Christmas Eve from the shops to ask what we all want! Things for the house are high on the list for me this year, and I always appreciate books and CDs. The kids are always easy, but thinking of something for Tim will be the hardest.
I am also hosting lunch for Tim's side of the family, and taking dessert to my grandad's for dinner (it will be so strange and sad for everyone without my mum or Aunty Bev there for the first time - and Aunty Bev usually did most of the cooking work). I have started going through cookbooks and magazines for ideas. I will be cooking a turkey at lunch, and everyone contributes, but I'd love to find some new things to make. I do usually make gingerbread reindeer. And we have a tradition stolen from the cooking show Masterchef where a key ingredient is nominated and everyone makes a dish using that, and then we vote for the best. Some years that has meant a lot of similar things which hasn't worked well, and last year most people didn't bother. But it seems to be up and running again with the ingredient of lime which is very versatile and can be used for savoury or sweet dishes or even drinks. I think the very first year was the best when we used lemon. Actually the tradition started the year before that when we didn't co-ordinate dessert very well and had about five trifles. For those not of English backgrounds, trifle is a dessert made of layers of cake soaked in alcohol, cream, jelly (jello) and fruit. I don't like it much, so that wasn't a good year for me! Tim's mother was English, and his whole family loves trifle. Anyway, I need to start thinking about a lime showstopper!
Quick hair update, another hour of work by the hairdresser (actually three clustered around her at one point!) and Jasmine's hair is smooth and knot-free, and shoulder length. And properly washed. So everyone concerned is very happy. And that salon has won a family of customers for as long as we live here. I'll have to put a nice review on their website, they took so much care.
What did I do today? Not a lot. It was another scorcher. We had a big stack of advertising catalogues put in our mailbox and I went through them looking for Christmas present ideas. We have barely thought about Christmas yet, so busy with moving. But it's time to get on with that! Need ideas for everyone including myself, and keep a few ideas in reserve because Tim's dad will ring on Christmas Eve from the shops to ask what we all want! Things for the house are high on the list for me this year, and I always appreciate books and CDs. The kids are always easy, but thinking of something for Tim will be the hardest.
I am also hosting lunch for Tim's side of the family, and taking dessert to my grandad's for dinner (it will be so strange and sad for everyone without my mum or Aunty Bev there for the first time - and Aunty Bev usually did most of the cooking work). I have started going through cookbooks and magazines for ideas. I will be cooking a turkey at lunch, and everyone contributes, but I'd love to find some new things to make. I do usually make gingerbread reindeer. And we have a tradition stolen from the cooking show Masterchef where a key ingredient is nominated and everyone makes a dish using that, and then we vote for the best. Some years that has meant a lot of similar things which hasn't worked well, and last year most people didn't bother. But it seems to be up and running again with the ingredient of lime which is very versatile and can be used for savoury or sweet dishes or even drinks. I think the very first year was the best when we used lemon. Actually the tradition started the year before that when we didn't co-ordinate dessert very well and had about five trifles. For those not of English backgrounds, trifle is a dessert made of layers of cake soaked in alcohol, cream, jelly (jello) and fruit. I don't like it much, so that wasn't a good year for me! Tim's mother was English, and his whole family loves trifle. Anyway, I need to start thinking about a lime showstopper!
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