I'm sitting at the desk in the living area as I write .... there's a tall floor lamp casting a soft red glow ..... thanks Biaritz! Naomi introduced me to the wonders of this shop yesterday. It has 3 floors of things to pretty up your home .... nearly all at very reasonable prices. It takes the worry out of it .... you just wander round thinking "... one of those ..... three of those .... yes, that one too!" Great place.
The internet modem installed on Monday will have to be replaced .... it only has about a 5 metre range! It barely reaches Bedroom One .... Bedroom Two? Forget it! This might be tolerable for a private situation but in a rental situation, it would cause many problems. A long range modem is needed!
Kaylia's eating habits are becoming a worry .... lately she has begun "stuffing" food into her mouth. Then she might find that she can't chew because her mouth is too full ... so she empties it out! Yuk! I think a social story might be needed.
(For those that don't know, a social story is a page with some simple sentences .... and pictures .... that outline the process that is to happen. So if a change in her routine is coming, we prepare her so that she knows what is going to happen. This reduces anxiety. In the case of eating habits, we can use it to help her understand a new set of behavior patterns.)
Managing anxiety is a major factor in our life .... if we are to have a pleasant day, we must be constantly watching for factors and events which will produce anxiety for her. If we can avoid these .... great! If they are unavoidable, we need to prepare her for them and manage her through the situation. For example ... babies! A crying baby is highly distressing for her. So where possible we move her away from them. Then we help her to manage the distress.
We use a method which she taught us! For a long time, a barking dog was also distressing ... then we noticed that when Teddy barked, she was saying "woof ... woof" .... and it helped her. So we've taught to do the same thing with other noises. When a baby cries, we all say "Wah ... wah" .... she can then manage the distress herself. The sound is still upsetting but she doesn't dissolve into an anxiety attack over it!
4:03am Coffee time
Warranty .... there've been a few issues to do with faults with the villa .... which have been covered by the builder's warranty. The main one is probably the doors! "Green" timber has been used to manufacture the doors and as it ages, it dries and shrinks. So .... doors no longer fit the opening, locks no longer lock, timber panels have strips of unvarnished wood showing. Not good! It seems the builder bought the doors from a manufacturer .... so he hasn't created the problem .... but he has to fix it.
The stove fitting is not complete ..... there is no pipework from the cooktop to a gas bottle! (The builder's man said "... oh it's an electric stove ... no gas." I don't th.i.n.k so!!!
There are other issues but we'll get on top of them. The big problem is that we're not here often enough .... gee .. isn't that tough!
8:30am Coffee time
I'm the only one up! I've been working on the plumbing. Very strange. It has pipes going in unusual ways ... it will demand study!
Story of the day (at breakfast)
"If it looks like .... and it tastes like ..... then it probably is .....!!"
Sally and Naomi both ordered fruit salad and yoghurt for breakfast. It duly arrived and Sally devoured hers while Naomi was dealing with Kaylia. When Naomi took a mouthful, she immediately stopped and said "This is not yoghurt .... it's mayonnaise!" "Oh" said the waitress "We have a trainee cook! So sorry!" Sally thought it tasted a bit strange but this is Bali!
The rest of the day has been busy with fitting of all the bathroom items, the paintings, the key-safe ..... the place is taking shape! The pump has been fixed and now works perfectly. It worries me because I don't know why it went wrong!
This is a tired girl! (On the way home from shopping.)
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