Carols by Candlelight.

The weekend started well on Friday evening when Brian's cousin, her partner and their son came over to babysit and let us have a night off. It was the best Christmas present they could have given us. We headed for Fremantle to the Little Creatures brewery for some food and delicious beer. How good it felt to be out walking through town on a Friday evening, specially as the World Sailing Championships have been on down in Freo for the last couple of weeks so there was a bit of a buzz. We decided that we haven't done enough as a couple recently (read "nothing at all") and determined to get a babysitter and go out at least once a month for our new years resolution.

For the rest of this weekend we've been keeping busy getting organised for our big camping trip. I say getting organised when I really mean doing random bits such as fitting the roof-rack to the car and figuring out how best to fix all the bikes to the bike rack. I don't feel very much more organised at all but I'm sure it will all come together on Thursday night in a panic as usual.

Then last night we went back to Freo for the second time this week for a wonderful carol concert. Probably the strangest carol concert I've ever seen, coming from the northern hemisphere where we expect to be indoors trying to keep warm. Friends from the school were coming too and had warned us to get there early so we could all find a spot. We queued with our picnic rugs, esky's(cool boxes), and bottles of wine, and then streamed into the gardens of Fremantle Arts Centre, picking up the programme/ word sheet as we went. After an hour or so wholly devoted to eating, drinking and chatting to friends in the warm evening, the sun started to go down and the carols began.

Pic of the stage (taken with my phone so no such features as zoom).

 With traditional carols such as "Silent Night" and "Deck the Halls" mixed with childrens favourites like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer we all had a good sing along, even if we couldn't see the words as it got darker! I was also introduced to an Aussie favourite called "Six White Boomers" which was great fun and was astonished when Alfie sang his heart out in the chorus as he'd learnt it at school!

Children by (battery operated) candlelight!

The evening ended around 8pm and we were just packing up our belongings when "Boom" a firework went off. Clearly the sailing championships were also at an end, and we got full advantage of their tremendous fireworks display for the best part of another half hour.
What a beautiful end to a wonderful evening. And I think I'm starting to feel rather more Christmassy at last.

Christmas time is coming.

I can't believe another year is nearly done, and that this time last year we had barely made the decision to come to Australia. Then we travelled in thick snow to do our shopping and see our families, whereas this year it's been 30 degrees C and we're planning a camping trip for Christmas. The time has flown by (and what a busy year it's been) and we are settling in really quite well, making friends and starting to feel a bit more established. But I have to admit it feels strange to be so far away, and in such sunny climes at Christmas.

The past week or two has been filled with Christmas parties, nativity plays and Santa Claus. First was a couple of weeks ago when Alfie had to dress as an ancient Egyptian for a party at school celebrating the topic they have been looking at this term- ancient times. With a pillowcase, tasseled curtain tieback, a decorated paper plate and lots of kohl eyeliner, I think he made a reasonably convincing figure. He flatly refused a black wig, but did give in on the eye make-up after a bit of work!

Did ancient Egyptians do cheesy grins?

Then last week Brian had to go off to Singapore again, but was due back Wednesday afternoon just in time for Alfie's nativity play and carol service. On the Tuesday we had major storms all day, which threatened to go on on Wednesday too. To my amazement (as one for whom Christmas and bad weather are inseperable and normal) this resulted in the carols being cancelled because it was to have been an outdoor affair. They moved the nativity indoors and ploughed on with it as they felt it would be too disappointing for the children to cancel. In the end there was only one person who was really disappointed- poor Brian whose flight was so delayed after the previous day's disruptions that he was still on the runway in Singapore while his little boys class sang their hearts out on stage. He eventually came in the door around 11.15pm.

Waiting to go on stage..

Next day was Ruairi's turn. He was a shepherd in his 3yr old kindy nativity, and at least B was able to be at this one. We walked in the door and asked each other where he was. I was just starting to think he must have refused to wear the costume and been asked to sit out, when I spied him in full garb. The headdress obscuring his blonde head was amazingly disguising and I really had failed to recognise my own child on first glance! It was lovely to see them all do their bit and sing songs with shy delight- I had wondered if Ru would cope with the pressure!

Proud mummy with her little shepherd boy.

Friday came and first of all Ru had to go to see the optician. Of course Alfie has worn glasses since the age of 2, but Ru never seemed to squint so nobody really worried. Then amongst the other goings on last week, he had his 4 year old jabs and health check (before he starts kindy in the new year), and he seemed to struggle with some of the picture tests. So off we went, only to come out an hour later with a referral to the paediatric opthalmologist and the news that his sight appears to be even worse than his brothers!! Poor old Ru, I always knew he was a bit clumsy (like mother, like son etc.) but he must have been struggling quite a bit. He won't get seen now and get the glasses till the new year,but at least we're onto it and I can give him a hand where needed.
Then Friday afternoon was Alfie's Christmas party. No dressing up this time, just lots of food and a visit from Father Christmas! All the children were given a gift. Alfie got an archaeology set from ancient Egypt (lucky Santa had been watching what they were doing!), and Ru a lovely Christmas book.

Such digging and brushing was done on Saturday morning. Eventually two figurines were revealed- a cat and a bird-god type thing. Alfie was thrilled to bits and went to bed with them under his pillow!
Ru's Christmas gathering was a playdate this morning. Also incorporating a Santa visit [from a different one of Santa's helpers you understand ;o) ] Ru got another book, a really special one about a big green tractor.

 We've already read it several times over and he's pointed out from the back cover that there are 3 more in the same series so I may have to hunt for those too!
Tomorrow is Alfie's last day of pre-primary- basically reception class if he was back home. In 7 weeks time he'll be starting out in uniform as a year 1 and I'll have a tear in my eye I'm sure. Ru will be going into kindy class for 2 and a half days each week, which will suit him very nicely I suspect and I may just find myself feeling more at a loose end than I'm used to. Mind you, by the end of a 7 week school holiday, I may just be delighted with the break!

"Failsafe" eating

For the past few weeks I have been looking at the food we eat, and making changes. We always ate what I would have thought of as a reasonably healthy diet, but after chatting to one of the other Mums at Alfie's school, I did a bit more research and started to wonder.
The first big shock was to find out that many of the additives which have been banned for years at home are perfectly legal and very commonly used here. So in looking through my larder imagine my horror when I discovered the "straight to wok" singapore noodles I had in stock were coloured with not only Sunset Yellow, but a dash of Tartrazine for good measure. Both illegal in the UK. That was enough for me, we had a mass clearout and I am now very careful as I do the weekly shopping, reading labels as I go while I get used to what's safe and what isn't.
Next was the serious web searching with reference to behaviour in kids etc. Alfie, although reasonably bright, has the concentration span of a gnat which can impact his school work and regularly gets him in trouble. The teacher says words to the effect of "I know he's able to do the work, he's just too busy chatting, or watching the fly that's buzzing around, anything, it's such a shame" Add to that the silly and often extremely defiant behaviour at home from both of them and I find I'm at the end of my tether quite often. I know they're only little, but they seem to be a lot more difficult to handle than some of the other kids I meet.
I found a website by a lady called Sue Denham, and a book by her too called "Fed Up". She talks about not only nasty additives, but also the fact that children can be affected by natural chemicals in foods (such as salicylates and amines) leading to big problems for some, and having no effect whatever on others. The website can tell it all far better than I can,
http://fedup.com.au/
but suffice it to say we've been having a bit of a go at following the ideas behind it.
 It seems very odd, because we've actually had to reduce the amount of fruit the boys would normally eat, but keep up with certain veggies ( the old fashioned ones like cabbage and swede) and other normal things. It would be hard to be very rigid with it I think, but I guess if you had a child with serious issues it would be worth a try.
Anyway, Alfie's teacher has called me over at pick-up a few times recently to say he's been much better at getting on with his work/ eating his lunch etc. Then last Monday after a particularly slack weekend when Brian was away and we went, amongst other places, to McDonalds, she called me over to say she didn't know what had gone wrong, but he'd had a dreadful day. He'd even been in the naughty corner. Only then did I tell her about the food thing, she'd had no idea, and we had to conclude there may be something in it.
So I'm baking my own fairy cakes and oaty biscuits called Anzacs that are popular here. It's actually great as it reminds me of my own childhood days, and I'd got rather lazy about such things. The boys of course love it too. Licking out the bowl, nibbling warm cakes or biscuits, and getting to add ingredients or give a stir. I'd forgotten how lovely that all is.
So here's to food of all kinds, but particularly stuff without the additives (or too much salicylate). And here also is to my being able to keep up the momentum of a somewhat restricted diet for long enough to really, really test out if it works.
Wish me luck!

Dear Blog......

... Allow me to apologise. I have been incredibly innattentive recently. And not even because I've had nothing to write. Just a lack of impetus to sit down and get it on paper, so to speak. So, where were we??

Well, since last writing we've been "down South" to Busselton for a long weekend. There were 4 families from school who went down but stayed in different places and got together for a bite to eat or a swim each day. The boys had a ball because even when we were at our own cabin the site had lots of other boys staying too, and they joined the "gang" for a cycle or scooter round the park.

While there we visited :

    A lighthouse....

   A very cool maze....

 A Brewery...

  A reptile park where B got to hold a snake (not sure he realised that was part of the bargain when he suggested the reptile park but there you go!) ..

Brian and Mildred the python.

and most exciting of all, went whale watching.

Mother and calf side by side.

This was a real highlight as the whales are heading back to their feeding grounds in the antarctic after breeding in the warmer waters to the North. Lots of mothers with their calves and they really are an awesome sight. Best of all from the boys point of view was the very jolly captain giving them a chance to "drive" the boat (that was better that the whales for them I suspect!)

Alfie.

Ru.

In the two weeks since then Brian has spent a week in Singapore, we've been to a birthday party, had a day at the maritime museum and very excitingly attended Alfie's sports day at school. Brian even managed to slip out of work for a couple of hours so he could take part in the piggy back race ( he was at his desk at 6am so he could be there, don't know how he had the energy to run when it came to it!)

In full swing..

Piggy back time.

Certificates being awarded.

After such a busy couple of weeks we spent yesterday in the garden, pruning, mowing and generally tidying the place up. While we worked the boys did "experiments" with lemons from the tree (using half my kitchen equipment to squeeze and grate them, plus salt, sugar and sand for the mix).  It was a beautiful day and very satisfying to get the place looking tidier as it was very overgrown when we moved in, and we hadn't done much since. One of the things we have to think of here is the possibility that if the place is too overgrown it might be possible for snakes to be hiding in the long grass, and it's almost certain that spiders would be too. So for everyones peace of mind, and for the love of it, it was a good job done.

And now here we are on a Sunday afternoon and I'm just back from the airport with two very tired, somewhat miserable boys. Daddy has had to go off once again. This time to Norway for the week, and understandably he'll take the opportunity to nip home to Kerry while he's in Europe. That means we won't see him for a whole ten days. We have lots of plans to try to keep busy while he's gone, but it's never quite the same when he's away.
Ru said it best when saying goodbye at the airport . "But I'll miss you" he wailed. And so will I.

They do make me chuckle...

We managed to jinx the weather once again this weekend with talk of a quick one night camping trip. We woke this morning to find the glorious sunshine of the week replaced by dark clouds and thundery rumbles. So after packing the stuff into the car and back out again twice over, we finally made the decision that we'd be mad to go, and went off out for a day trip instead.
We went to an old town to the East of Perth called York. It's a one street town, but quite a pretty one. They have a motor museum which kept us occupied for the best part of an hour and had some amazing old cars and memorabilia, the boys loved it but would ideally have like to be able to get inside all the cars for a play.

We had lunch at a local hotel and were served by a girl from Tipperary who had cousins Brian knew in Kerry- scarily small world- then went for a walk by the river and found a pedestrian suspension bridge over the river Avon which is rickety and huge fun for the kids.

The boys in their turn gave me a laugh too. On the drive out they had some (nominally) chicken flavoured corn puffs to nibble- a bit like wotsits but not cheesy. These are new and Ru was the more adventurous to try them. When asked what they were like he answered "Yumm, they're pieces of chicken flavour yellow chocolatey stuff" Interesting concept I thought, if not necessarily an appealing one.

We had the Levellers playing on the stereo and Alfie asked about the words to one of the songs -"Beautiful Day". I told him part of the chorus "nothing is impossible in my own powerful mind" and proceeded to talk to him about how that was a great way to think of life - if you believe in something nothing's impossible and you can do anything you want. Perhaps my choice of words was poor and I should have used "achieve" instead of "do" in that last sentence though, because a nodding, serious looking Alfie came straight back at me with "You can do anything except break the speed limit Mummy, only the policemen can do that." 

I'll keep my philosophical thoughts to myself in future!!

Natures harvest.

We've spent a bit of time since moving into our new house doing some gardening. It's soo lovely to have a proper garden again but much of the "border" area is overgrown with bracken so as a quick fix I've planted up some tubs with herbs, tomatoes and pea plants to get us underway. A small area near the house that was fairly easily weeded out has been the recipient of some courgette plants, known here as zucchini, and some strawberries are going in there too when I get organised.

Lettuce and tomatoes.

Sugar snap peas.

The boys always love to get involved in digging and planting, especially when there's the promise of some food at the other end of it.

Whoever originally planted out this garden must have been a person after my own heart as there are fruit trees galore here, which I find very exciting. As well as the very normal (for these climes) lemon and orange trees, of which we have several, there are also a couple of more unusual ones. At the far end of the garden is a large Mulberry tree which is currently laden with fruit and which I'm ashamed to say I only discovered last week as it's a bit overgrown down there.

Lemon tree by the pool (which you couldn't miss!)

Mulberry tree (which I nearly missed).

 There are also two large bushes of a fruit that we couldn't even start to identify. It looked as if it should be edible, but in the absence of an ID, we didn't dare try. So today went to the garden centre laden with a branch of fruit and leaves and immediately met a man who proclaimed "Oh lovely loquats, lucky you."  "What?" said we. "Could you write that down please?" - so he did. And now we have yet another great source of fruit from the garden.

Apparently it's also known as a Japanese plum -I'm going to need to google search some recipes though if we're to use all this bounty well.

Oranges from the trees

Big bowl of mulberries.

But for now we're managing to enjoy it in a very simple way. Fresh fruit pancakes with vanilla yoghurt for breakfast is surely one of the best starts I can think of to a day.

Yum.

Camping(!) and a birthday boy.

In the past couple of weeks we've bought camping gear, put up the tent, and then failed spectacularly to actually go camping!! Last weekend was the planned trip, so the weekend before we bought a stove, camp kitchen, inflatable bed, chairs, sleeping bags. We had already borrowed a tent from Brian's cousin, but hadn't put it up and had no idea how easy or difficult that may be, so it was decided a trial run was in order just to be sure. In fact, despite the fact that it is by far the biggest tent I've ever used, it also turned out to be the easiest. These canny Aussies are into their camping you see, so they use a bit of common sense and make it foolproof.  The poles are colour coded in each length, and then the tent itself has colour coded tabs. You'd need to be an extra from "Dumb and Dumber" to mess it up.

Anywayyy, having done all our research the weather seemed to turn a little. The rain came in and the nights got cool, and we all managed to come down with a dreadful cold/ cough/ chest infection thing. In the end it was decided that we'd leave the trip for another time ( read "wimped out").  The friends who we were going with went anyway and had a ball- weather lovely.  Typical!

Having ducked out of the camping, we managed to go completely mad and went and bought a car instead. We wanted a 7 seater to make life easier when parents or friends come visiting, plus extra boot space (for all the camping equipment!) when there were only the four of us. So after a small amount of research and 3 test drives, we chose a 2008 Holden Captiva Diesel. Sad to say I wanted it basically because I liked it best to look at and it's nice and high off the ground. Brian's reasons were to do with fuel economy and boot space and those are of course the reasons money was actually parted with! So far anyway the boot space has had little advantage as the boys are insisting on using those seats every day for novelty value!

Wednesday brought Ru's fourth birthday. It goes without saying I can hardly believe it. He got a new bike which he absolutely loves, but has already had to watch Alfie use more than himself as it's a little on the large side. His next favourite pressie was a Lightning Mc Queen laptop from his Grandma and also an Ikea pop up tunnel which has provided hours of fun for a child who is as often as not pretending to be a cat or a mouse anyway.

We went to Jandakot airport for a treat and met  a couple of friends there. This is not the international airport. It's the "local" airport with helicopters, training flights, royal flying doctor service etc using it- and it's really busy. What a great spot for a boys day trip though. There's a cafe with picnic area directly overlooking the two runways, the refuelling area and the helipad, so we sat and drank coffee and cut his cake with entertainment on tap.

And today is Saturday. The Rugby World Cup has overtaken our afternoon. I sit typing and watching the Ireland-Wales match. Currently it's 10-10 but the Irish are struggling and it's a bit disheartening. Having said that, we're in the garden, the sun is shining and I have a beer beside me.

Not such a bad way of life really.

Lifesaving, art shows and mud pies.

It's been a busy week. Brian has been in Singapore and will be there until next Friday so the lads have been pushing the boundaries with me at times, but generally they've just been missing him, so keeping busy has been a must.

Last week at the local pool, where the boys do their swimming lessons, was "lifesaving week". Tuesday came and Alfie was very excited as he'd been told to wear some of his old pyjamas for his lesson. The agony of which ones would be the most cool to wear....(!)  Anyway, when we got there it was really very good. Each group was taught what they should and shouldn't try to do if they were in the situation where somebody needed help, or indeed if they need help themselves. They worked in pairs and took turns to be the victim or rescuer. The children all behaved really well for once because it was all so new and interesting. Alfie even used the experience as his "news" to tell the class at school.  Ru's lesson is on a Friday, and he hadn't been asked to wear PJs so we assumed they wouldn't try to teach such skills to 3 and 4 year olds. Remarkably he had almost exactly the same lesson as Alf. They were repeatedly told that they must never jump in to try to help, but from throwing out a toy, towing people back in and yelling for help, the lesson was the same. I was most impressed I must say. Ru took to it like a duck to water and when his teacher pretended to fall in just as the lesson was ending, I'm proud (and amazed!) to say he was the first to pick up a polystyrene "woggle" and lie at the side to try towing her back. 
Then came Alfie's school art show. Now I was obviously always going, as one does to show support for such events, but I can't say I was expecting much of a primary school art show. I was wrong. They do such amazing stuff. There was a photography exhibition by Year 4s (around10yrs old) which anybody would be proud to put their name to. There were sculptures made from recycled items, paintings, models, clothes designed and made by older students. Alfie's year had several projects on display, with Alfie himself having 4 paintings all showing outer space. Just lovely, and he was sooo delighted to show them off to us. Then to cap it all, the school takes part in a "seeds" program called Robotics. In the library the children involved in this were displaying their dancing robots, which move around to music. It was fascinating, and I had to keep reminding myself " This is a primary school, the oldest these kids can be is 11or 12" !!

As an extra special treat we had drive-through "Red Rooster" roast chicken and chips take-away on the way home. It's something we do so rarely that the boys love it and eat every bite every time.

When the weekend dawned with no Daddy, Grandma and I were keen to keep on the go. We went to the playpark for an hour or two, until Ru fell off his scooter and removed last weekend's large scab from his elbow. It was bad enough that he was actually leaving a trail of red drips as he ran back to me, so with a tissue clutched to him we went home to look for a Gruffalo plaster from the medicine box. Later in the afternoon we went visiting friends and sat drinking tea and eating some very delicious home made sausage rolls while the Children played some more. 

Sunday we went to Bunnings (-read B&Q) after mass to get some compost, pots and plants. We spent the afternoon creating a herb tub and planting out pea seedlings. I ran out of compost before we got to plant up the tomatoes, lettuce and courgettes so will have to make another trip, but the boys didn't let that bother them. They just carried on digging and watering in one of the border areas in the garden. When I asked Ru what he was doing with his bucket of mud and water, he proudly explained that he was making giant food - of course, why hadn't I realised?

Amongst all this, we got news that our old house has been re-let so we can finally give back the keys and stop paying rent on it a mere 3 weeks after moving out (all due to the situation of breaking our lease and moving on regardless, as we needed some positive action). This is great news, but required Mum and I to go and clean the windows and give the place a general once over before the keys went back. I suspect window cleaning isn't entirely among my list of recommended activities, but apart from feeling exhausted afterwards, I did ok, and I tell myself it was a good test of my physical recovery.

So today began another week. Alfie was back at school. A man came to try to sort out our green swimming pool, but ended up going away again and saying his colleague will be back tomorrow- the fourth visit to what I'm starting to believe might be a large duck pond if we're not careful. Ru made more giant food and spent much of the day being a baby lizard. And this evening, both boys have been dancing to Buena Vista Social Club, one of our CDs which emerged, as things always do, as a result of the move.

 Now to bed. Ru's there already, Alfie's just going, and I won't be too long behind them I suspect. Sweet dreams...

My recent journey.

I've not been blogging much recently, in fact I was rather shocked to see how long ago my last post was. Thing is, and I'm sure most of you know this already, I've not been all that well of late. That is to say, the doctors tell me I haven't. I've been feeling as well as ever. But about 6 weeks ago I found a very tiny lump in one boob and thought I'd better get it double checked "just to be on the safe side". GP thought it was probably nothing, but she'd send me for a mammogram and ultrasound to make sure. Thinking nothing of it I walked in to the breast clinic 3 days later. By the time I walked out, I'd had 2 biopsies as well, and I knew there was probably more to this thing than I'd hoped.

Early the following week the results were in, and I was sitting looking at the same GP as she told me I had a form of breast cancer called DCIS which usually stays in the milk ducts and is eminently treatable. In fact they even dare say curable if it has not come out of the duct, like a dangerous criminal that can't harm others provided he's kept locked up. "The best of the worst" news.

Neither of us slept for a couple of nights, but then I found I just had to stop panicking, keep a brave face for the boys, look at what I could do for my own health and wait to see what the specialists said, and with that came an odd sense of calm.

Within four days I'd seen a consultant and he'd scheduled me in for surgery the following week. A total mastectomy. B was shocked as everything he'd read and everyone he'd spoken to had said this thing usually just required a lumpectomy. I was not, as the Radiographer who took my initial mammogram had told me whatever she was seeing was in several different areas of the same breast. "Just take it off and get these cells out of my body" was all I could think. There'd be time later to lament the loss and consider reconstrucive surgery.

Within a few days my Mum had arrived to help out. She'd be needed while I was in hospital to look after the boys and what a great support for me too. I'm so lucky to have her and that she's so fearless to be prepared to travel alone to the other side of the world. My Mum-in law was also just as ready to come if needed, and it was decided that we'd see how things went and if I needed extended care, I might well be needing her later.

Thursday 18th August. Half past seven and I'm admitted for my op. I had to have some radioactive stuff injected into my boob in the morning and a CT scan taken to detect the main lymph drainage node from the breast - the sentinel node. The idea was to take this out at the start of the op, get it checked while I was in theatre, and if there was any sign of cancer cells they'd go right ahead and remove all the lymph nodes in my whole armpit (an axillary clearance). I prayed and prayed that they wouldn't have to do this. Bigger op, plus it would mean there were signs of spread so it was important to me that this was all clear. It was. When I came round in the recovery room, I heard the recovery nurse hand over to the nurse taking me back to the ward. "Right mastectomy and sentinel node biopsy" she said. Even in my half conscious state I waited to hear her continue with "also total axillary clearance". She did not. I actually asked the new nurse while we were in the lift going back up to the ward. She checked her papers and agreed that there was no mention of it. I could have cried with delight, something was going my way after all.

I won't go into the rest of my hospital stay. Let me just say the staff were incredible, the food was great and I wasn't in any real pain cos they'd cut through so many nerves it was more numb than painful. They let me out after 5 days and I went home to be pampered some more by Mum and Brian and the boys.

Later that week the results were available of all the pathology tests they do on the breast. The lymph node was totally clear of cancer on extensive further testing, but some of the cancer had indeed made its way out of the ducts and into my breast tissue. Bugger. However he was quick to assure me it was such a tiny amount that it was considered negligible, and he felt sure no chemo or radiotherapy would be required. The oncology specialists agreed and I have been put on a tablet called Tamoxifen for 5 years to keep any errant cells under control. I hope very much that they are right and I have to trust their judgement and be delighted that I won't have to undergo any more extreme treatment.

Throughout all of this, the mums at Alfie's school have been incredible. Mum literally didn't cook a meal for the whole time I was in hospital and for 2 weeks after. Every day somebody would appear with a dinner either half cooked and just needing a bit more oven time or totally ready and just needing a reheat. When we needed a second car for taking the boys to school while Brian took me to hospital, a "spare" car was donated for 4 days, keys given over without question. The boys were taken out on playdates, picked up from school, dropped to sports lessons. Nothing has been too much trouble for these people who I've known for less than 6 months. As well as being a huge help it's been an enormous boost to morale.

So here I am, nearly a month on and I'm feeling great. Well, as well as could be reasonably expected after having a part of you removed. I still get tired a bit quicker than normal and there's a small amount of discomfort at times, but really I'm very well indeed, and definitely feeling more like my usual self. I take Alfie to school in the morning and somebody always asks how I am, and as I reply how well I feel and thank them for their support I invariably well up with unexpected tears and embarrass us both.

The whole episode is somewhat surreal. I never really felt ill, and due to the fantastic medical cover we have and the system here I hardly had time to stop and panic. Although I will perhaps never trust my body in quite the same way as I once did, I'm coming out the other side with a different perspective on what is important in life and a renewed faith in other people.

And my biggest hope right now is that I am indeed coming out the other side of all this.

Psssssst......don't tell anyone......

...but the Aussies have kidnapped and cloned one of ours.
There's this current affairs programme on here of an evening called "6.30 with George Negus". Well, it's not all that often I've got the TV on at that time of night, but this evening we did. Brian's out on a work "do" so I ate with the boys and railroaded Ru into a much needed early bedtime. Anyway, the TV was switched on by Alfie and there, looking back at me was Alan Whicker. Thing is, it's not. It's this George Negus chappie apparently. Take a look and see for yourselves whether it's just me, or is this a doppleganger situation??

This is George..

and this is Alan.

How odd is that? Admittedly there's an age difference but apart from that it's uncanny.  Not only does he look the same but he does a very similar job. Curiouser and curiouser I say.
I reckon these Aussies have cracked the human cloning thing long ago, but just aren't telling... ;o)

Theatres, Cups and Complications

Last Friday was the last proper day of the school hols and I took the boys up to Perth city to see a musical Scooby Doo show. It was really very good fun and once the kids realised they were supposed to shout and enjoy themselves spotting the "ghosts" mayhem ensued and a great time was had by all. Even better they sang the original "Scooby Dooby Doo, Where are you?" song so all the parents could join in too. I do wonder if I enjoyed it even more than the boys!!

Very blurrry Scooby and Shaggy.

The boys and their schoolfriends, who by some wierd chance were sitting in the row directly in front of us.

That evening, because they had behaved well all day and earned stickers for their chart, both the boys managed to reach their "goal number" of stickers and earn themselves a reward. On this occasion the goal they had been reaching for were Gruffalo mugs. Alfie's has a saucer for biscuits, Ruairi's has its own bag to carry it in (when not full obviously!). I fired up our coffee making machine and frothed some milk so that their night-time milk drink was a "babycino" (frothy warm milk with a light sprinkle of hot choc powder on top for the uninitiated). Alfie even wrote down his order and brought it to me in the kitchen. He didn't get the spelling quite right but it wan't half bad- began with BAB and ended in NO , just a bit wonky in the middle! I was so proud that he had tried.

The boys enjoy their in-house cafe experience with new Gruffalo cups!

Meantime we've had word that work would ideally like Brian to be in Singapore full time for the next 6 months! We only just got here!! He'll get away with doing 10 days on, 4 off or some such rota though, so having talked it over, we've decided I'll stay put with the boys so as not to disrupt their school/ lives more than necessary. However it's led to an even bigger decision. We may try to move house. The house we're in is lovely to look at, but it is overly big for us, and expensive to boot. The boys don't even like to go down the corridor to their room because it feels a long way away! So the thought is that economically and sensibly, we should downsize. Smaller house is cosier for just me and the boys, easier to heat and cheaper in rent. Can't lose.
Hmmm. Trouble is, I'd forgotten how hideous the Perth rental market is. I saw a house yesterday lunchtime on an open viewing. Really liked it. Rang the agent today to speak to her about it, only to be told it got let this morning first thing. You have to literally get in the door within the hour with your application or you don't stand a chance. I'm already wondering if I can go through it again or whether I should just hunker down and keep going as we are.
Watch this space for the answer in the next few weeks...

Thank heavens.......

 All of us have been a little low since getting back from our holidays. Home is where the heart is they say and no matter what, our home is where our families are. The boys have largely been expressing this by sadly telling me how much they miss Sammy, our beautiful springer spaniel who we re-homed to a farm (where he is spoilt rotten) before christmas. Given that they have not had him for 7 months now, I suspect it is just their childish way of telling me they feel a bit dislocated and homesick. Today Alfie had a 3 hour sport lesson with a couple of the boys from school and he already seems a little happier. Next week he'll be back in school for the new term and I think it will be tremendously comforting for him in an odd sort of way. Ru too. He only does 2 short sessions but he loves the routine and the company.

Every so often, especially if I'm inclined to have a miserable moment, I try to take stock and realise how lucky we really are. How many people get to try out a new location, climate and lifestyle at no great risk or expense? As I look out today, the sun is shining and I think that this is a beautiful place and a wonderful experience. It may be far away but I'm grateful for technology- we have phones, skype and facebook. It's not the same as popping in for a cuppa but it definitely eases the distance a little. Just imagine what it would have been like even a decade or 2 ago when we would have felt truly dislocated from all that goes on back home.

To improve my mood further, I made some soup for my lunch with last night's left over roast veg (spuds, pumpkin and carrot), some chopped bacon and a stock cube. I feel inordinately pleased with it as it is actually rather yummy. B can take some for his lunch tomorrow instead of boring old cheese sandwiches.

Think I'll take the lads to the park in a while (when Alfie recovers his energy after sport this morning!) and they can wear each other out some more. If I'm really lucky I may get to read some of my book while they play. It's lovely to find a little time to read again as it was a pleasure I'd missed for too long. Next year, when Ruairi's school hours increase a little, I hope to find a pottery class and get back to even more of my favourite stuff. For now, I'm just enjoying the sunshine, cooking and feeling a little more positive again. Thank heavens for opportunities like these, even if what they ultimately teach us is to be grateful for what we already have.

Back home from the trip home.

We're back from the Irish Isles and just about getting adjusted to being so far from home again. This morning was the first time we got up at a reasonable time -well, Brian's been getting up for work with an alarm, but the boys and I have been dreadful about it. We arrived back just as the boys' 2 week winter school holiday started, not the best timing ever, but that's just how it worked out. It was freezing for the first 3 days and we had to go and buy 3 more heaters for the house to keep warm last weekend. Thankfully for the past few days it's been beautiful and we've had trips to the zoo and playpark and cycled by the river. Today the rain has set in and although not terribly cold, it feels rather dreary and makes us long for home again.
So how was the holiday?? In no particular order: Exhausting, stressful, fantastic, fun, comforting, exciting, homely, sad.
The main stress came when we visited our former home which we still own (can't sell it!) in Cobh. The tenants had just moved out and left it in such a state. Garden overgrown, house filthy, oil tank drained dry, gas bottles empty, shed and yard full of rubbish, the list goes on.... Their deposit was not returned needless to say, but barely covered the oil, let alone the rest. So the first few days were a flurry of unplanned activity which soon reaped its reward and got the place back in some kind of shape. The reward, as always, is the view.

When we got there our holiday cottage down in Kerry was just about as good as it gets. An old converted railway station, complete with platform but not trains. It was out in the countryside with fields as far as the eye can see behind. The boys spent ages sitting on the platform watching a tractor cut and bail silage one day.

The wedding was absolutely perfect and a wonderful day for us all. Aoife looked stunning, the sun shone and the food and band were amazing. Alfie particularly enjoyed the day with all his cousins, running, playing pool, dancing and drinking 7-up!

We had numerous barbeques, family get togethers and parties in the week that followed. We also managed to find time to take my parents to Dingle where we visited the aquarium, had lunch and ice creams and soaked up the scenery. We also saw the Gallerus Oratory, an ancient church far out in the Kerry mountains built of stone and still standing after over a thousand years.

Glorious Dingle.

Gallerus.

  One of the highlights for the boys, apart from every day spending time with their cousins, was riding ponies on the beach out at Castlegregory. It was a beautiful day and the boys were soooo excited. I don't remember ever seeing them smile so wide for so long. It was really magical.

Ready to go..

What a view for a ride....

The biggest hitter was seeing family and friends, which was just so lovely. As well as family I met up with some of my best friends in Ireland for a cuppa and a gossip. In the UK I was treated by my oldest ( by which I mean longest-standing!!) friends to a 40th birthday gathering a week early. We had a glorious day outside and a barbeque with all the assorted children running around half naked in the sunshine. I missed a meet-up with our friends in Berkshire due to a rather sad and unforseen mishap in the last few days which I won't go into here. Better luck next year I say, we haven't forgotten you.

When you're away you get used to not seeing people, but once you go back it hits home how much you've missed everyone, and how hard it will be to go away again.
And it was, it really was....