#1718 Monday 11 December

Well .... the office party is over ..... there weren't as many people as expected so we have a fridge full of left-overs.  We won't need to cook this week!

Kaylia coped with the party quite well.  When the noise and people were too much for her she took herself off to her room and closed the door.  Then after a while she would venture out  ..... I think it was largely to keep an eye on what food was on the table!  When the cheesecake and icecream came out, she was right onto it and very excited!  She had personally chosen the strawberry cheesecake.

I think I was a bit jealous of her being able to hide away .... it was a bit much for me.  The past week of working on the roof repairs has really "taken it out of me" and I'm happy to potter around doing little jobs that have been put off.  Of course the weather doesn't help  .... the mercury is climbing early in the day and I only get a few hours before I need to find jobs inside .... or at least in the shade.

Kaylia has a school outing today .... the school has arranged a trip to the "Maze" .... it has a waterpark so Kaylia will love it.

She has adopted the expression  "Good Girl!" into her routine ..... after each action she completes, she wants "Good Girl!" to finish it off  ...... I'm not sure if this is wanting praise .... or whether it's just a routine that she has decided must be included.  One day in the future, I hope that she will read this blog and be able to tell me what it all means in her head.

Evening:
She's come home from the outing ... very tired but very happy.  It was a good day with lots of time in the water.

9pm  despite being very tired she was having difficulty getting off to sleep .... so I went in to do the settling routine.  This largely involves insisting that she stop talking!  She "loops" on 'school tomorrow'....  I had cut short her words several times.... and then I heard a very faint whisper 'school tomorrow'! .... and then she was asleep.  She's a funny thing.

#1717 Saturday 9 December

Another one bites the dust!  Yesterday and today I have completed the spa roof repair...... this was the scary part of the repairs as it was right up high with little access.  It's probably the part that scared off the builders.  The problem was that much of the surface is the plastic sheeting ..... which you can't walk on!  I solved it by laying a sheet of steel roofing over the top of the plastic .... I could then walk on this to reach all the places that were being worked on.

So .... the bulk of the storm damage repairs are now completed.  I can now get back to the room moving project.

Yesterday Kaylia came home from school with very good comments.  I'm rapt with the positive experience that she has of school..... it's such a huge difference from my own experiences.

Today she is at Bilgoman Pool.

#1716 Thursday 7 December

We're on the countdown to the CWBC Christmas party that will be here on Sunday afternoon .... the "grand tidy up" is in progress ..... Nita and Sverrin have done marvels with tidying the yard and the balcony. This morning they have painted the bathroom ceiling.   On the day, people will need to enter through my current workspace for the room move ...... so  I've cleared away all my tools to make the entrance presentable.

While I was working, I heard a noise and looked up to see two of the large black King's skinks running into the garden area .... very fast moving.

I've included this detail for Chris .....  the specimens we have in our garden are around the maximum size (if not bigger).... they are nearly the width of a doorway so I think they are bigger than 55cm.
Teddy was very upset and barked very loudly at them.

In this photo, the lizard is just behind the scaffold leg near the centre of the photo.  It's a fair distance away so you can see how big it is.

#1715 Wednesday 6 December

There's an article in the news about how to deal with tantrums and melt-down..... it took me back to the bad old days.... but the article didn't mention ASD type behaviours.... a bit strange I thought.

Evening....   Naomi and I are relaxing.... Kaylia is in her room droning away.  The "droning" is a very convenient and comforting thing.... when she is droning we know that she is happy and so we can relax.  Every now and then, she adds in a loud screech for good measure!  But we can tell from her voice that is a happy screech.

This afternoon we took Teddy to a prospective "dog sitter"   .... we need someone to care for him while we're in Busselton.  This place is good and I think he will be well cared for.

No action on today with the roof repairs.  I was tied up with a meeting for business.....  but in my imagination I was planning every move... every screw.  The next part is difficult and scary.... I'll be glad when it's done.

#1714 Tuesday 5 December

The second part of the storm repairs has been completed.  The tractor shed roof and the bungalow roof have been finished .... now to replace the four sheets on the spa roof .... and to rebuild the garden walls and roof.  The repairs are going well but I'll feel much better when the spa roof is done ..... two of the sheets are the translucent plastic ..... I can't put any weight on that area.  Hmmmm ......

#1713 Monday 4 December

Phew ... the school week has begun ..... we no longer have to keep reassuring Kaylia that school is on Monday.  Now it will just be "School is tomorrow." for the rest of the week.

I'm well into the storm repairs now.  The repair to the tractor shed is complete and I'm now working on the spa roof repair.  This is the hardest part.  It has three roof sheets to be replaced .... but they're in a precarious part.  I've already erected 2 sections of scaffold and I think a further two will be needed.  I'm having a rest now .... I have just dropped a ladder on my head and I have a big lump on my forehead.  Naomi insists that I have a 'repair' that befits the wound.



"Cheese" she says!

#1712 Sunday 3 December

In the light of the current Bali flight cancellations we have decided that it is a good idea for Kaylia if we make a firm decision about our plans .... she can't really handle the uncertainty.  So we've decided that we are now going to Busselton 21 to 26 December.  We have been able to book into the same place we always go .... the one that Kaylia l-o-o-v-v-e-e-s-s!      We can manage Kaylia's anxiety much more effectively this way.