Settling in

Busy day today (what's new?). Ishbel's friend Ruby goes to gymnastics on a Saturday morning and she was allowed to bring a friend along this weekend. It so happened that we'd invited Ruby for a sleep-over for tonight. So Ishbel was invited. We went along and met Ruby and her Dad at the Boys and Girls Club. We also bumped in to Alison and her Dad, Philip who are the daughter and husband of my former supervisor, Robyn. Alison and Ishbel have had play days together sometimes. Ishbel, despite knowing Alison and Ruby and another girl that she knows from Tanderra, would not participate at all. Both Ruby and Alison asked her to join them, Alison repeatedly, but she just clung to me. We watched while the girls did bits and bobs and cartwheels and stuff on the mat and it wasn't until they moved off to the back of the hall to use some of the other equipment that Ishbel got up and was doing cartwheels. As soon as the class came back to the mat, she sat with me again.

It was local council elections day today so we went across the road to the Grammar School so I could vote while Ruby continued with a dance class after her gymnastics one. The gym teacher talked to us briefly and encouraged Ishbel to come again next weekend and perhaps take part next week. She says she'll consider it. Hmmmmmmm.

After a quick potter in Springwood we came home and the girls have been playing nicely all afternoon (it doesn't always turn out that way). They spent some of the afternoon across the road. Yesterday evening one of our neighbours, Jodie, came over with a bottle of wine and her two children to welcome us to the street. How kind was that? Her daughter is 9 and her son 7 so Ishbel is sandwiched between them age-wise. Jodie mentioned that they have 5 puppies at the moment. The girls were playing in the front garden this afternoon and was invited over to see the puppies. They are very taken with them and are trying to work out how they can earn the AUD$350 it will cost to buy one. I think we are fairly safe . . .

They are up in the bathroom now, screeching and carrying on. Goodness knows how much of the water will have stayed in the bath!

Bella has been growling and grizzling under her breath for the last half hour at least. She met one of the neighbourhood cats earlier. It didn't come with a bottle of wine. Bella came away yelping.

Ian is out taking Rob to Woodford. He got a last minute invitation to his girlfriend's house. That cured him of the headache he was complaining about earlier!

Jamie's upstairs listening to a new CD. The boys are really enjoying having their own space to hang out in in peace. Music was one of the few things the boys used to argue about, they don't have the same muscial tastes and Jamie likes to go to sleep with music on while Rob doesn't.

Our bed arrived yesterday. It's colossal! It's a good foot bigger all round than our old double bed (the new one's a king).

See the difference in the space they occupy? It's a good job it's a big room we have.









And the bed's heavy, I couldn't budge it - not even an inch. I've reassured Ian that he is unlikely to come home and find the bedroom rearranged as he's used to!

Last night we were joined by Ishbel who was complaining of nausea. At least there's room for all of us now, even with her doing her starfish impression in the middle of the bed, and I had a reasonably good night's sleep.

We don't get mobile reception here. I think we're in a bit of a blind spot, being in a bit of a hollow. When the men delivered the bed yesterday he couldn't get his wireless credit card machine to work. We had to go up to the top of the garden before it would work. While we were waiting for the transaction to come through he told me he'd been here a few months ago, dismantling the water bed for the last occupants!

Karen and Ben popped over to see how we were going yesterday. Karen's looking very big! She was saying she has 4 weeks to go, but that one of the doctors thinks it might be just 2 weeks (she might be right) while her boss is in denial and is hoping for 6 weeks more! I met one of the neighbours on our first night here. He's a teacher at the primary school just round the corner but his partner is a midwife up at Katoomba Hospital where Karen will be going.