#2062 Thursday 31st December 2020

 New Years eve ..... and we toured the op shops as usual.  For a change we went to the op shops in Belmont ..... Kaylia had a ball!

She always "trys it on" to see if she can have more than the allowed number of DVDs.  I went to check on her and found her with DVDs loaded all the way up her arm!  Today she was allowed 4 DVDs per shop .... and obviously this shop had a DVD collection which was particularly tempting.  She took a lot of convincing before she would put the arm load back on the shelf and then select the 4 that she could have.

For those of you who are following the progress of the building project, the interior lining is now complete downstairs and upstairs.  It's ready for the painter who will be coming soon.  After that the electrician will be finishing the wiring while I add the timberwork shelves, architraves and skirting. 

The new ceiling in the main house is very successful and the house is staying cool in this hot weather.  It's been very worthwhile. 

#2061 Sunday 27th December 2020

Heading home.....

Teddy is asleep on Naomi's lap...... he's snoring loudly.   Kaylia is singing away with music on her headphones.  We're halfway home 

#2060 25th December 2020

Christmas Day

Best wishes to you and your family! 

The day began with a sleep in..... unusual! For once Kaylia allowed us to sleep.  Then it was present time.... Kaylia hides her excitement but she really enjoys this. She usually saves them till later. 

We're now at a catered luncheon..... 

..... and at the last minute, Kaylia spied one of the other children being served chicken nuggets and chips!  Of course that was it.... she is now having that too.  It will be the most expensive nuggets and chips ever!! 

As time drags on she's becoming impatient..... she wants to go into the kitchen and get her nuggets. 

2 hours in and we've just finished the main course.  Kaylia demolished hers and now she wants her Icecream NOW. 

Time to abort! 

#2059 24th December 2020

Christmas Eve in the bush..... we're staying at a little bush retreat at the rear of the Island Brook winery in Metricup.

youcan just see Teddy in the front..... it's pet friendly so he's with us.  While here we've been doing our usual op shop visits and Kaylia is amassing a huge number of dvds. 

It's been a very pleasant Christmas eve... I hope it has been the same for you. 

#2058 Saturday 5th December

Kaylia has been sick.... home from school for three days this week.... and she's hated it! Everyday she has asked "School?"  Fortunately she seems to be well again this morning..... it's 10am and she's still asleep with a clear nose.

We have the office Christmas party this evening and she is VERY excited. 

#2057 Wednesday 2nd December

It's the first post in over a month..... I'm being very lazy!  Kaylia is home from school today... she's got a cold and shes not well.

The building project is progressing well. The gyprock fixing is nearly finished. 

#2057 Friday 6th November

Aaaarrrgggghhh!!  Kaylia is now able to search YouTube and find vids that support her fantasies!  She's decided that she will have Santa at Christmas time..... and she's found Santa at Myers. Now she has decided that she will have Christmas at Myers.

#2056 Friday 30th October

KIt's 5pm and Kaylia's in the bath as usual.  Since it's Friday night we will be having Chinese food as a treat.  Kaylia always has "chicken noo noo"  (noodles).p

?..? Ok. 

It's been a warm day here.... in the high thirties.  It's a taste of the coming summer. 

I hope that all you that follow the saga of Kaylia..... are well and safe in these troubled days. I think that many read this blog but we don't hear from you so we just hope that you're OK.

#2055 Monday 26th October

It was a therapy session this afternoon..... Kaylia does well and we can see what she's capable of.  The goal for us is to insist that she shows that level of speech all the time. Too often we accept a sort of mumbled language.

I've had a session of acupuncture today.... for the pains I have been getting in my left leg.  Western medicine tells me what causes the pain.... but no cure is possible.  3 sessions of acupuncture and the pain is gone. 

With weight loss of 16kg I feel good these days. I'm having to buy smaller size clothes.  I'm nearly down to normal body weight and this is a big help in the physical activity of the building project. 

#2054 Saturday 24th October

Life chugs along.....   Kaylia has grasped the concept of more self-control equals more dvds! This week she hasn't lost a single DVD and so this afternoon she will have 10 dvds.  She's stoked. 

#2053 Friday 16th October

 Things have settled down a bit and Kaylia seems to have realised that she will be rewarded if she controls her looping and nagging!  Hooray.  At the point she can get 8 DVDs tomorrow.

The building is going well.  The electrical wiring is nearly complete and the electrician comes next week to finish it off.   Then it will be time for plumbing .....  then gyprock!

#2052 Monday 12th October

Kaylia goes back to school tomorrow......  just as well!  My patience is wearing very thin.  She is obsessed with the calendar for next year..... it's all we hear about......  and at top volume.

I think it's partly due to dysmenorrhea..... the poor thing.  At least I'll have a rest from the nagging during the school hours. 

I'm learning about pain again..... the wrist which was fused in 2011..... is giving me intense pain again.  Even if I could face another operation, there's nothing more they can do.  I spose they could remove the hand..... but I don't think that's an option. 

#2051 Thursday 1st October

We're in Busselton for a break.... we came down on Tuesday and go home tomorrow.  Kaylia has been very well behaved and it's made it into a good time.

Tonight we're having tea a a beaut little spot. 

#2050 Saturday 26th September

Hmmm..... Interesting!  I've noticed lately that when something is happening in the near future, that Kaylia seems to have a built in timer.  If she knows... from routine or from being told..... that an event is coming, then she seems to be ready in time.  If she's in the bath, then 5 minutes before the car ride, she's showered and waiting.   ...... and all this is without any external device or reminder.

Since noticing this I've tested it many times and it's consistently so.  I wonder how she does it? 

#2049 Sunday 20th September

It's been a day of routine. sleep in.. ...  breakfast..... then off to op shops!  Kaylia has restrained her looping this week so she could buy 6 dvds. She was very pleased..... and so were we. Not only does it mean a bit of a rest from the looping, it also means that Kaylia spends the afternoon watching the dvds..... so we get some time where we can do our thing.  This means gardening for Naomi and building for me.  It's very welcome time. 

#2048 Friday 18th September 2020

A major milestone in the project has been passed....  the construction of the stairs.

..... and Teddy approves. He came in and went straight up. 

#2047 Monday 14th September 2020

This post is about the "bungalow" that many readers will remember from your time in residence.

Since you were there the room has been moved 3.5metres toward the house and the house roof has been extended to cover the room.  The space between the house and the room now has a small balcony at the ground floor level and a larger balcony at the upper floor level.... with a door onto it from the main house and from the upper floor of the bungalow.

.... and inside the room.... looking toward the sink.... 

The large window has been filled in and a staircase will rise from the new door to the top floor.  Looking from the sink end.... 

The old linings are being gradually removed and a new raised ceiling will be put in. The opening to the left will be the entrance. 

I hope you enjoy this progress report. 

#2046 Saturday 12th September

The looping is still a problem..... she's down to one DVD this week.

I've had some fun...... digging with the Kanga..... If it ever rains properly again, we'll have a nice pond down there. 

#2045 Sunday 6th September

Happy Father's Day......

Look at this tool box that Kaylia has made for me! 

..... and the card.! 

#2044 Saturday 5th September

Well!...... that was certainly a great success.  It will be a very strong memory for her for a long long time.

(.... which prompts the thought "What's the difference between memory and imagination?"

The reports were that she danced every dance. When we walked away from the dance she was on top of the world..... Sooo excited! 

It was a long time before she settled to sleep. 

This morning she's still asleep at 9am.

#2043 Friday 4th September

The "semi-formal" dance is on tonight.  Kaylia is very excited.  She's going to have the full make up thing.

...... getting her hair tizzied up

Photos to come

Naomi and I will be close by in case things go awry..... and we'll stay the night at a resort so we don't have to drive. 

The building is progressing well..... the cladding of the outside walls is nearly done.  The balcony is fairly cosy now with the decking complete and the railing in place. 

#2042 Wednesday 2nd September

 School activities!

.... walking on a balance bar

On a trampoline

.....  climbing a wall!

#2041 Sunday 30th August

 We had a "meet and greet" with a prospective adoption dachshund today ...... it didn't go well because Teddy was too frightened of the other dog.  We'd love to have another daxie so we're on the list of people interested in adopting a dog that needs a new home.  Maybe next time?

Of course Kaylia is supremely indifferent to such matters.... her only concern was that we get to the op shop so that she could buy some more DVDs.

#2040 Thursday 27th August

The new kitchen was finished today.

#2039 Wednesday 26th August

The old kitchen was successfully dismantled and removed over Monday and Tuesday ......

.... and then today the installation of the new kitchen began.  By 5pm it was largely complete and the finishing off will happen tomorrow.

Kaylia has new loops.  Now that Daddy's birthday is past, she is now fixating on "Fathers Day" and the school ball.  Both these happen on the weekend Friday 4th to Sunday 6th of September. 

#2038 Sunday 23rd August

Sad day...... a stray dog from the next street arrived and after saying hello to us in a very friendly manner, he proceeded to attack the chooks.  We managed to rescue two but one of the chooks is nowhere to be found.  The only hopeful aspect is that we don't have a dead chook..... so I hope that she will be able to return....

And through all the drama, Kaylia watched dvds and was oblivious.

Update..... the lost one is found.  We had shut the remaining two into the coop..... so we let them out.  In about 15 minutes they had found the missing one who had been hiding. 

#2037 Friday 21st August

Kaylia has really grown up in recent times.  Her understanding of instructions and questions is almost at her age level.  It certainly makes life easier when we don't need to work hard to gain her understanding of things we say.

The building project is progressing..... the window in the house has been removed and replaced with a sliding door. 

#2036 Wednesday 19th August

I'm exhausted at 6pm...... it's been a big day on the project.  I've constructed the last two wall frames

and it's now a complete room. 

Then this afternoon I removed the window in the entry area of the house..... so that an aluminum sliding door can be installed. This means that the outside balcony can be easily accessed from the house. 

#2035 Monday 17th August

Today's progress on the building....

This is the wall frame on the street side of the room.  Now I can order the exterior cladding. 

#2034 Friday 14 August 2020

Phew!  It's Daddys birthday today...... so Kaylia can find a new loop.  

Here is Kaylia with the Big birthday present. 

Kaylia nearly spoilt our birthday meal at Hogs Breath..... she continued her looping at shouting volume.  Fortunately the arrival of food quietened the problem. 

#2033 Friday 7th August

The "looping" is still driving us mad.....  the control systems are sort of working... but not enough.

I wonder what she will change to once "Daddy's birthday" is past.... maybe she won't change?  It will be a test of whether the words have meaning for her..... it may be that the words are just a sound.

The building is still going well.  I'm laying the floor for the upper room at the moment..... then I can build the wall frames.

#2032 Thursday 30th July

The building project has advanced.  The decking on the balcony area is largely complete so I can now work on a proper floor.... it's much safer.  I've opened the side of the room where the big window used to be......

This will be the entrance to the room and the stairs to the upper room will rise from here going to the right. At present I'm building the framework of the stairway as this will be a key support for the upper floor. 

note the floor..... when we moved into the house in 2002 the room had walls painted chalkboard black with this purple floor..... it was quite a sight. 

#2031 Wednesday 29th July

Life flows on....   Kaylia has had therapy this afternoon after school.  She loves it and does very well.  It shows us what she can do with her speech.... so we know how much she is "dragging her feet" with us!

She's still looping.... this week she has lost 6 of her 10 dvds already. 

In the garden this evening. 

Sweet peas..... growing about a cm per day

#2030 Saturday 25th July 2020

Kaylia's looping is driving both Naomi and I to distraction!   Having a quota of DVDs.... that are a ransom against her deliberate loops.... it's good but she still loops in her room.  This is allowed as she has to have some outlet...... but she has taken to shouting it out in her room.  

As a consequence we now say to her that if she shouts it out we will do one blast on the bugle.  She hates that...... so it might work.

The garden is growing well and the chooks are a delightful set of characters.  They are fascinated by the sparkly jewelry on Naomi's fingers and try to peck at it.

The building is progressing.  I'm fitting the decking to the upstairs balcony...... a bit early but it's a safety measure as the temporary floor is a dangerous thing. 

#2029 Tuesday 21st July 2020

Kaylia had a good day back at school.... singing all the way home ..... and then straight into the bath!  She has "body doctor" this afternoon.

The roof is off the bungalow ..... now I have to bag up all the insulation!  Lovely job.

Then I'll start on the floor structure for the new room.

#2028 Monday 20th July 2020

Alberto and Rebecca left today.... they leave Australia in the near future.... Alby to return to Italy and Bec to continue solo travels. 

Alby and Bec left the bungalow in a spotless state..... this was very impressive..... and gratifying as the previous aupairs had left the room in a disgusting mess when they departed.

Now that the room is not occupied I can start the next stage of the building project where I remove the old roof..... and construct the walls of the "new" bungalow.

A floor will replace the old roof. 

#2027 Friday 17th July 2020

The day is cold ..... with alternating sunshine and rain.  Each time the sun comes out and I think I can get something done, the rain returns.  Ah well.

Kaylia is counting the days to "Daddy's birthday" .... that's the current loop.  As usual she is is really fixated on it and we have to manage the frequency.  She would literally do a continuous loop if we cooperated the way she wants us to!  We have to hide the calendar to stop it.

Fortunately, it's just a few days till she goes back to school again ..... yay!

#2026 Wednesday 15th July

The hot water system has been a saga!  I'm glad it has reached a satisfactory conclusion.  After Friday when I thought it had decided to work again, it turned out that it was just the sunny days giving us some solar hot water .... when the clouds came again the cold water came too!

It turned out that the heat pump had died ...... a new one costs $850 and takes a week to build ..... so no hot water?  Disaster!

Fortunately I managed to get a second hand heat pump and I was able to modify it to fit.  So we have hot water after all!

Kaylia has been enjoying drives with Alby and Bec.

Ably and Bec are leaving us on Monday.  We are not going to look for a new aupair at this time.  We plan to just have an after-school carer for a while and see how that goes.

#2025 Friday 10th July

Today has been one of those days from hell!  If it could go wrong, it did!  The day began with the hot water system failing..... cold shower.  Then Kaylia was having a really bad day and just making everyone else miserable. 

Then the computer was doing weird things in the accounting software.....  I had to lodge reports with the ATO twice.....  I still can't understand how the errors could have occurred.  I'm just happy that I was able to fix it.

After lunch Kaylia wanted a long drive so we drove to Northam and back.

When we got home I found that the hot water system has decided to work again! %$#&!

#2024 Thursday 9th july

Exciting day!

I'd taken Kaylia to Fremantle for "Friendship Club"...... a 9.30 to 2.30pm session..... and after 2 hour stint of payroll preparation (sitting at the library), I headed fo Bunnings for a bit more time killing.

At Bunnings, I always have a look at the tool chests..... I have a yearning for one and my birthday is coming up!  I walked into the store and a staff person was working in that area.... so I asked him for his opinion of the best value item.  "This one" he says "cos I'm about to mark it down by 50%" .!!!

SOLD! I sez! 

On my birthday I'll be able to post a photo of the bargain. 

#2023 Wednesday 8th July

We're home from our mini break in Busselton..... we're eating out to celebrate.  This is Kaylia in the Nepali restaurant in Glen Forest. 

The time in Busselton was largely a visit to all the op shops. ...... 10 dvds! 

#2031 Monday 6th July 2020

We're at Busselton!  It was a wild and wet drive down ..... and it's freezing here.  The room is warm but it's a looonng walk to the car park.  Bbrrr!

Tomorrow we'll do the obligatory  chocolate factory and visit the attractions of Cowaramup.  I hope the rain lets up for us.

#2030 Saturday 4th July 2020

Seems like ages since the last entry in this blog..... in the interval I had the pleasure of a drive up to Bruce Rock .... with Maxine in her late model Subaru Forester.  The car is a delight and it has all the bells and whistles.  We stayed with our cousin Rob Butler (and Gwen!) .... and had a mini family gathering with cousins that I hadn't caught with for a long time!  ..... including a visit to Tom Lewis.  He's building a Ford model A hotrod.

Tom has invented a beaut device which pulverizes  weed seed behind a harvester..... 

Kaylia begins two weeks of school holidays today.  We (Naomi, Kaylia and I) will be driving to Busselton on Monday for two days at the Broadwater Beach Resort......  Kaylia will love the heated swimming pool as usual.  We will have our usual op shop crawl ......

The building project continues ...... the roof is protecting us from the rain ..... and I've begun framing the west wall. The other walls will have to wait till the bungalow occupants depart so I can take the room to bits and reconstruct it.  This will mean adding a top floor with stairs.

Our little family of chooks are growing up!  Two of the three have begun laying eggs.  They are all real characters.... they like to stay close to us.  When I'm in the workshop they will stand close by and watch me.