#570 Saturday 21 April

Now ... what can I report on today?  Yesterday I was able to rationalise the purchase of an "Old Man's Chair" for here .... the same as the one in Bali!  Twice the price ... but it feels good.  (Naomi gets to spend an equivalent sum on clothes.) 



Today we were advised of another villa booking .... that's three bookings now.  It's starting to move! The new bookings are the result of Naomi's marketing efforts .... so it feels especially good.
Today Kaylia has been in fine form .... but she has a rash that fits the description of Chicken Pox!  She's had this before so we're not sure yet.  Research needed.

#569 Friday 20 April

I've heard comments today about how happy Kaylia is looking ..... it's good!

Kat is finalising her arrangements for the start with Emirates.  This will be in early July.

A significant event has occurred as I write ..... Kayia was standing behind me drinking from a bottle of ice tea .... she managed to spill the tea over my desk and the paperwork.  I didn't yell at her .. just said urgently to go and get the red towel from beside my bed.  She understood and did it!  (This is significant in itself but not the important one!)  I then proceeded to mop up the spilled drink and as I did this, both Naomi and I heard her say "....sorry. "  It was completely in context.  This is a big step in her awareness of social situations.

And then.....after pestering Naomi for one more "blue blanket", Naomi started making up a song with all the reasons why Kaylee couldn't have the blue blanket. Just as Naomi was about to finish the last line of the verse, Kaylee chimes in with "chocolate egg" - which rhymed perfectly with the line in Naomi's song.

The child is a genius!

#568 Wednesday 18 April

Ooooo wot a nite!!!! After sleeping most of the afternoon on the plane, Kaylia was wide awake and played till well after midnight. We suffer.

Evening:
We survived. Kat got home from her trip at about 1am and says that Kaylia was still up and going at 2am.
Kat has been selected to be an air hostess with Emirates! Wow! 'On ya Kat.

It means that we need to find a new "Kat" though. The search is on.

#567 Tuesday 17 April

Last day.
After some last minute painting ... and packing all our Bali stuff into the cupboards ready for next time .... it was time to pack for the airport.
Kaylia has picked up an aversion to escalators ... but she makes a game of it. She says "I want escalator" and takes us to the escalator .... then she says "Bye" to us while she runs up the stairs! Its a race between us on the escalator and her on the stairs.
The sense of humour that Kaylia is developing can be a lot of fun. There are so many little things that at first glance seem puzzling or even annoying ..... then something clicks and I realize that she's making a joke! It's not obvious because the autism makes her seem very deadpan ... but I think that's what she is doing.
Kaylee has had one song that she has wanted to listen to this trip. Sort of a road anthem. "rock me" by ABBA - over and over again. We finally just set the iPod on repeat! I think Made was happy see us go home this time!
The airport was trying with long waits before departure. The flight is good. Kaylia has developed a habit of sleeping the whole way. Sanggar will be waiting for us in Perth with the car. Tomorrow will be back to work for us ... but another week of school holiday for Kaylia. She's going to be annoyed!

#566 Monday 16 April

Progress photos

Generator- the big grey box on the wall below the swichboard is the automatic switching from external power to the generator .... highly complex internals in this box!  The hoses in the corner are attached to 4 bottles of gas .... enough for 12 hours running.

Feature wall in bathroom 1

Passage wall
Today's funny story?  Kaylia was at Peekaboo with Naomi this morning.  Another family arrived and the mother came to talk to Naomi.  She spoke with a strong US accent .... and Kaylia was quietly saying "Kat ... Kat" !!
While at breakfast today we noticed that Gardenia also had a small display of bags (in amongst all the other things for sale).   My antennae quivered wildly and I rushed over .....  (I have a serious bag addiction).
The bags were 'Kipling' brand!  (My current favourite.)  So I have a new bag and Naomi has a new bag.




Mine is the purple one .... its the same colour as a 10,000 Rp note .... so I call it my "sepuluh ribu bag"

In the Jalan Mertasari (in front of the villa) is a small wooden 'room'  .... a "Tourist Police" post.  In the past this has only sporadically manned but with the current push to improve tourism, this post is now manned 24/7.  This morning I went over and introduced myself .... nice blokes and we had a good chat.  Later they invited me to accompany them on a patrol.  I said that I'd like that and next trip I'll see if it can happen.

#565 Sunday 15 April

This morning we headed down to the Green Water Park near Pecatu. A real success.



Hours of water fun with slides, fountains and a flowing "river" that you can float along. Good value! It took it out of us and we headed home to rest afterward.

Then later Kaylia and I left Naomi to her painting and we headed off to Peekaboo again.



Kaylia had an absolute ball. She had all the attendants entranced. I had a long talk with Viorry who is studying English and is familiar with autism.



The interaction between Kaylia and the attendants was excellent.