#774 Saturday 28 December

Yesterday turned out a bit differently .... we went shopping etc but came home early afternoon .... and then had a sick girl!  She had a temperature and was vomiting .... she slept for ages .... she seems to be ok now though.  She wasn't a happy chappy!

Evening:  She has been a good girl ... fully recovered and giggly.  We've been out and about .... now we're at Gardenia for tea.  One day left.

While driving around we passed through a couple of vintage motorcycle groups.

This one is a BSA ... 50's

#773 Friday 27 December

A dry night again! Yay!  Kaylia has been sleeping on a folding bed next to ours and this morning she sat on it and the bed collapsed!  The metal frame has welded joints and these have torn.  Not surprising given the heffalump that has been flopping onto it.  Anyway ... I have disassembled the bed and sent Ketut off to get the offending parts repaired.  These beds are quite expensive so it's worth getting it repaired.

Breakfast at Gardenia .... pretty coffee.

Chris and Lara have gone off on a diving trip today .... so Naomi, Kaylia and I have the day to ourselves.  Hyper-mart!

#772 Thursday 26 December

It was another good night.  Today?  We will probably go hunting for a stone mason.

The living area has two large panels of carving on the wall ... and these have both deteriorated badly.

We had them fitted in the early days and since then we've become much more 'worldly' in the ways of Bali .... and we realise now that we were ripped of badly .... we probably paid about 4 times the correct price.  Ce la vie!

We will go to Batubulan where the carvings are made ..... and incidentally has a warung that makes the best nasi campur in Bali ... I think.  

We can stopped there for lunch.

The search for replacement wall carvings has been put on hold .... all the carvings are made of the same material and will suffer a similar fate!

This sort of thing is a possibility .... it will last and not be destroyed by the weather.

While out we passed the Bali Reptile Park ..... this was on Chris and Lara's 'to do list' ..... but when we were about to buy entrance tickets we found that the price was US$23.50 each!  For 5 of us that's a lot of money!  So we gave it a miss and headed for home.



And speaking of reptiles ...... not far from our place is the Hyatt Resort ... set in large gardens.   Last night one of the security guards found a python in the garden .... not unusual .... but he put he snake round his neck ...... and the snake killed him!  The silly man was from Java ... not a local.

#771 Wednesday 25 December

Happy Christmas to you!  Kaylia has given us a nice present .... a dry bed!

This is what the fairies leave around the place in Bali on Christmas Day .... it happened to us in 2007 and it has happened again here.



Christmas day for us has been relaxing at home .... a small trip to Hardys for shopping followed by J-Co for donuts .... then down to the beach for tea.  Kaylia knows exactly where she wants to go and charges off with all the adults trying to keep up.  When she arrives at "Bobbys" on the beach, she waltzes in and goes to 'our' table.

As usual, her sense of location is unerring ... she knows where she is and where she wants to be.

..... and we continue to be "gob-smacked" by how happy and calm she is.  No "nagging" for this or that ..... the routine behaviours that have been a pattern in the past .... pool - bath - shower -pool - play - bath ... it's all gone.  We were remarking today that it is so easy to look after her now ... so enjoyable.  In the past it has been 'enjoyable' because she is our child  .... but it was B*&^% hard work at the same time.  Now it is just so easy to care for her.  I just hope this isn't a dream that we snap out of next week.

Matching thongs and toe-nails!

#770 Tuesday 24th December

Christmas Eve .... we have booked to eat tonight at the only German restaurant in Bali .... since we have lots of Germans again this Christmas ... as we did a few years ago .... we will celebrate Christmas in the weird German fashion.  They have Christmas on the 24th - not the 25th!  They're a weird mob too!

Breakfast:  ..... and it's raining. Yesterday the rain was heavy enough that the villa plumbing drainage almost stopped working .... and the new villa being built in front - it has a below ground garage - this was completely full of water.

The day has been one of very heavy rain .... and when it rains, seems that you head for a massage or a pedicure!  So we did!

This is a girl who is really enjoying her pedicure!

..... and this is me with rainbow coloured toe-nails!

In the evening we went to the only German restaurant in Bali for a German style Christmas.  Kaylia had a foot long hotdog! She loved it.

One of her presents was a necklace ..... do you think she liked it?

#769 Monday 23 December

Boring .... another wet bed.  I got her up at 11 and it was already wet.  She sleeps very deeply.

The day has been shopping .... Hypermart, Gramedia, Ace.... then Biaritz .... Carrefore.   Mostly villa stuff but some fun stuff as well.

Some amazing doodads .... electronic mosquito bats!  The guests will love them.

We got home and the skies opened. It poured.  We're now having tea ... close by so we don't get too wet.

#768 Sunday #2

Padang Bai

This spot is accessed via many very steep stairs that have a deep tread.  I knew from a previous visit that I would have trouble with the stairs so I took it slowly and then found a perch at the warung above the beach.  From there I could take photos and play on my harmonicas ..... I had a very appreciative audience.

Chris and Lara on the beach

The moody bay .... it was a very overcast day ... almost a mist

                                                                                           Chris snorkelling

Experimenting with filters on the iPhone

 This is the end of a straw in a glass!

Lara and Sandra

Kaylia and Naomi

Once we were back at the villa it was 'chill time' .... then a driveto "Downtown"  .... a restaurant near Hardys that I had found on a previous trip ..... excellent food.  Kaylia has chicken schnitzel and she just seems to breathe it in!

Naomi had a kebab par excellence!

Note the "writing on the wall" behind ....... the place has guest comments all over the walls.






.... and note Lara hugging the table .... she isn't really exhausted ... and she hasn't "had too much" ..... she's just trying to escape being in the photo! 

#767 Sunday 22 December

It was another wet bed night.

This is our circular sent to family and friends .....

            Christmas 2013                                

Greetings of the season to you all!  I'm at a bit of a loss about what to tell you because I know that most of you read the blog (team-kaylee.blogspot.com) and so a lot of the "news for the year" is not really news to you!  So it will be a summary for some and news for others.

The high point for the year just has to be the wonderful progress that Kaylia is making in overcoming her disability.  This year she has really blossomed and as a result she is such a happy and contented child.  Naturally this means that we are happy and contented parents too!  What form is the progress?  The most important factor is her improvement in thinking, listening, understanding and speech.  This improvement is really striking and although she is still far from being "on a par" with her peers, we now can feel as though we can relate to her in a 'normal fashion' ..... what an amazing difference!

Most of the improvement is due to her therapy program .... but the success we have had in "fine-tuning" her medication has meant that  we can get the maximum benefit from the therapy.  ..... and getting the medication right means that her anxiety attacks are almost a thing of the past .... she's a very happy child.  I'm writing this while we are in Bali for the Christmas break.  This trip has been amazing as Kaylia is such a different child this year.  It's as though she has woken up .... she is aware .... attentive .... responsive ..... and above all she is happy.  It really is a delight after the years of living in the autism nightmare.

She is not at the end of the road yet ..... but things are looking pretty good.

The family business (The Child Wellbeing Centre) has been a continuing operational success with many appreciative clients .... and at the same time it has been a financial battle.  I'm told that the first three of four years of a new business are always the hardest .... and this is true for us.

Naomi has battled with her massive work load .... full-time professional work plus 2 days a week of study at uni.  (You do the maths ... how does that compute?)  This year she has had practice placements which are rewarding at the same time as being very hard work.  Naomi has had a real battle this year.  Next year should be better with just a thesis to write.

The year has been a battle for all of us and I'm no exception.  Last year the state government announced a program of making compensation payments to the victims of abuse at the country hostels in the 60's and 70's ..... the actual process of preparing and making the claim has been extremely hard and it has reopened many wounds which had been under control if not healed.  The conclusion of the claim process has been very healing ... for the first time in my life I sleep without nightmares.




I hope your year has been good to you too ....  and that the next will be even better.


Best wishes from Ian, Naomi and Kaylia