#1641 Saturday 2 September

Last night she took herself off to bed at 6:30pm! ....... and she went straight to sleep.  When I think back over the years, a lot of the time has been marked by the difficulty of getting her to sleep.... and the unsettled sleep during the night.  Fortunately these problems have greatly improved and Naomi and I can concentrate on our own sleep!

It's now 9:30am and we are still in bed..... iPhones Rock! ... and while Kaylia surfs on YouTube, I can do the blog and some political activism ..... GetUp has requested submissions to a Senate inquiry into how such organizations are funded.  The "big people" don't like the fact that the "little people" at last have a voice ... via things such as GetUp.  GetUp is funded 97% by people like you and me.

I wrote: "I am a 66 year old age pensioner living in Darlington WA 6070. I feel that in the rise of instant media, the political process has failed to grasp the opportunity to implement true democracy. With current technology we could have a system where the "people" speak on every issue.... instead the political process is mired in fear of losing power and face.
I support Get Up with $3 per week paid by an automatic debit. Getup is the closest thing we have to a true democracy..... please don't allow the power and the money to silence my voice."

Have your say!

10am and we've been up and breakfasted .... and B+S have taken Kaylia off to the coast .... they haven't seen the WA beaches yet.

While upstairs I tested the so and so blue car to see if it would start .... and it behaved perfectly!  Drat it!!  ..... while it has no fault, the mechanic cannot diagnose the fault ..... and so the fault cannot be fixed.

12 noon .... just heard on the radio .... California is to change "Christopher Columbus Day" to instead celebrate the First Nations people who were in North America loooonnngggg before Chris arrived!  Yay! 

I think there is a growing movement to rename Australia Day .... or move the date .... or something .... anything which will recognise that our own First Nations people did actually exist when the ships arrived in Botany Bay in 1788.

#1640 Friday 1 September

It's 3am... I think I've caught a viral bug..... all the usual symptoms but not severe.  I'll dose myself with the usual stuff and hope that by catching it early, I will avoid the more nasty symptoms.   

Much later!  I did the morning reports then went back to bed .... and slept most of the day!  Whatever the bug is, I don't like it.

#1639 Thursday 31 August

Wet bed at 5:30am .... What a way to start the day! ..... and the night time routine had gone really well with Kaylia doing the 10pm loo run without prompting..... Sigh! 

8:10am  Yikes!  .... the blue car won't start!  It cranks over fine but just doesn't fire ..... and this NEVER happens with this sort of motor .....  so the most likely explanation is that the "coil pack" has died .... which can happen.  After ringing round the wreckers, no-one has one .... and a new part costs big $$$ ..... so it looks as though the blue car is probably dead.  The expense of replacing this car is the last thing we need at the moment.  (Sigh) Does anyone have a car they don't want?

Later:  maybe not.  A mechanic is coming to look at it soon. 

2pm   The expert came and checked it out.... it worked perfectly.  Sheesh! 

6pm ... Potted pies for tea.... Yummy.  Kaylia polished off her pie.... and wanted mine! Fortunately I'd made extra so she was happy. 

Later:  Time for a DandM? I spend a lot of time playing solitaire.... and between each game, they try to suck you into some game or some form of gambling.   I never give in..... but I guess many people do get caught..... otherwise it would not be a profitable exercise!  So then I thought to myself that I'm really swimming round the edges of the teaming mass of humanity.  I'm not the average Joe at all. 

#1638 Wednesday 30 August

The school bag came home saturated .... from her water bottle.  The message was that she needed a new water bottle .... yet when I tested it, the water bottle didn't leak at all!  This means that Kaylia has not pushed the lid down on the bottle.....  she is a beaut for things like this .... she just brushes something and says "That's good enough." without making sure .... in other words, behaviour typical of a 5 to 10 year old child.  In many ways this is what she is .... a young child in a teenager's body!  It is so easy to assume that she will behave as a teenager ... instead she behaves as a young child and then we see the result ..... a water bottle that has not been closed!

Tonight she was dehydrated and really upset as a result.  We have to make sure that she has a BIG drink after school.

#1637 Tuesday 29 August

After her performance on Sunday night, she was very tired last night .... so much that she skipped "Dr Daddy" and just went straight to sleep..... and she slept all night.  It was very nice for a change. 

Naomi is currently preparing for a presentation in November at an Autism conference... it is to be about how parents need to look after themselves if they are to do the best for their children.   Hmmmm

9:30pm  it's gonna be a bad night.... she's still awake..... 

Earlier I was listening to her happy sounds and thinking... "I don't remember ever being happy like that..... is it a stim?  ..... or did I miss out?"  I hope  it's the latter  ..... it would be good if she is simply being happy. 

9:50....  I think she has finally gone to sleep.....  as I lay there.. waiting for her to give in and sleep......  I thought again about our smartphones......  the technology came in just as we started on this saga.  I don't think I could have coped without it.  When you're lying there in  the darkness, you can't read a book..... that was my escape in the old days..... but now I can write the blog, read the news, do the banking..... all while trying to persuade her to sleep! 

#1636 Monday 28 August

6:30am  I've just come upstairs... Bad night.!!  I heard her at 2am and she was in a fidget mode....  I remade the bed and tried to settle her.... she wanted to go to sleep but she just kept twitching.... so I don't really know if she was awake or asleep.  The twitching continued till around 5am.  During that time I just dozed.  She will probably be fine today.

8:30am.... driving along "kangaroo road" on the way back from school..... there are so many kangaroos... you can hardly see the grass! 

It's amazing what you see as you drive along! 

Later:  Going by the images on Google, I'd say that this is circa 1898!  It appears to be a real one..... not a replica..... as it even has the correct Renault branding on the axle hubs.   Researching the car further, this is an example of  the first car that Renault produced.  It's amazing that it should be seen on Reid Highway in Midland!

#1635 Sunday 27 August

Little Red Ridinghood

This afternoon Kaylia was having a story session and I managed to record it.  I hope to get better versions at another time.