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Saturday 25th June 2005

Last night we went out to dinner at the Rising Sun at Kensington. It's an English Pub atmosphere, with great food. We had plenty of reason to celebrate; Ann's new job, being in Australia for one year, one month in our new house, being married for longer than when we were together but not married, etc, etc.
Liam and Shirley came up to our house to look after Thomas, who was in bed before they arrived, and then Ann and I headed off to the restaurant.
The menu was good, but very limited. Unfortunately, there were many dishes that sounded great, but then there was one ingredient that neither of us like - for example the fish dish was with capers. Ann had booked last week, and only managed to get one time slot, and it was busy with every table full. This had impacted on our meal, as it took 80 minutes for the main course to arrive, but luckily the bread rolls were very nice. When it arrived, Ann's 'delicately spiced' chicken was very strong and spicy, and my steak was overcooked and the vegetables were cold.
Having said that, it was a great atmosphere and I loved the place - it's a pity that it did not work out well.

I've been busy today. I finished the paving (at last!) and finished cleaning the gutters and putting gutter guards in to stop then filling up with gum leaves again (at last!), and we went out and bought a heater for the bedroom (at last!). I also managed to sweep up some more leaves and put them on the compost heap - we should have a large amount of compost for spring or next autumn!
Thomas has been getting a bit more of a cold today - he's been grumpy and had a runny nose - but Ann has been looking after him.

In the news today was a horrible death of a teenager at the Adelaide Zoo. He had been stealing from the ice cream and chocolate vending machine, smashing the glass, and then he got caught up on his escape. The railings at the entrance have fleur-de-lis pointed tips, and he slipped when he had his legs either side of the fence. The spiked tip cut a main artery in his groin, and he bled to death only 2 metres from the fence. The police think that there was another person with him, from the number of empty wrappers that were spread around - the 'accomplice' must have just left his friend to bleed to death.

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Sunday 26th June 2005

Another busy day. It started early (for a Sunday!) with breakfast with Cathy and Julia at Va Bene - an Italian restaurant on Lower North East Road. We had a bit of a chatter, and I spent a while following Thomas around the restaurant, where he was walking around looking at the fans, and getting very excited at the cakes display case, as there were biscuits with faces made from icing. Julia was half asleep and Thomas was very well behaved. On the way back, we wanted to look at dishwashers and rugs and baby seats, but it was too early - the shops were not open yet.

So we headed off home, and Thomas went straight to bed as he was falling asleep in the car on the way back. So I got on and finished painting the laundry (at last!) with the second coat of yellow to cover the grey, and then I cleaned up in the garden and did some more pruning of the more wild and woody plants. If I do anothre 3 hours of pruning every weekend, filling up the green wheelie bin to the top, I should have the garden under control within 6 months.

Then it was off to Chris and Sheila's house for a roast. It took a little while to navigate through lots of small roads in Elizabeth to get up to their house, but luckily I recognised their car to find their house. It's quite a large place and it looks really well established - their furniture from England seems to fit in really well. Chris had cooked us a corn fed chicken and there was plenty of it (Sheila is a vegetarian).
We have lots in common, we are very similar couples. I spent a bit of time with Chris on his computer, where we were exchanging experiences and technical knowledge, and Thomas and Julian were playing with Julian's toys, and Ann and Sheila spent the afternoon chatting away. It felt like we were only there for a short time, but we were there for 5 hours. Definitely something we will do again.

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Monday 27th June 2005

Ann's first day at work meant that I had to drive Thomas down to his grandparents for the day. Thomas had a great day, riding his trike around and around the garden, and thoroughly enjoying his day with Liam and Shirley.

Ann also had a great day, taking the bus in to the city. She is sharing a desk, and so does not have her 'own' area, and she has aleady got down to work doing a few tapes. There are new procedures and processes, and Ann is not up to her maximum speed yet, but she likes the office and the environment.

Thomas woke early this morning, and I looked after him so that Ann could get a full night's sleep, so that means that both of us are tired tonight - just enough energy to watch Desperate Housewives and then collapse into bed.

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Wednesday 29th June 2005

Ann's second day at work started early. Ann was almost ready to leave for work by the time that Thomas and I were up. Thomas was in a good mood when he woke up, which meant that I could take him in to daycare, and would not need to take the day off to look after him.
Thomas is now on antibiotics after Ann was called by daycare yesterday to be told that Thomas's cold was too bad for him to be there. Ann then called the doctor and was given a cancelled appointment where the doctor put Thomas on a penicillin substitute after Thomas' bad reaction last time.

Ann had a good day at work, and is being recognised around the office now - one of the solicitors thanked her by name for some work that she was delivering. After just her second day, Ann was pleased to be given a payslip - they pay every fortnight and it's just coincidence that it's this week.

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Thursday 30th June 2005

There has been lots happening in the news today - floods in the drought areas of Queensland and New South Wales, and protests about changes in employment laws.
There was 400mm of rain overnight in some places, but the same areas are still in drought. It shows how much rain is needed when the area is under 2.4 metres of flood water.
There have been protests in all the capital cities, with Melbourne completey brought to a standstill by protestors. The new employment laws have many good points, but there are some parts that many people don't like - particularly that companies that employ less than 100 people are exempted from unfair dismissal laws. It's good for the employer as they don't have to keep staff on for a fear that they will be taken to tribunal and fined - but employees don't like that they can be dropped for any reason and they have no comeback.

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Friday 1st July 2005

Suprisingly, the new Internet connection became active today. When I called then on Wednesday to ask when it was going to happen, they were very dismissive and told me that it could be 20 days. The most annoying response that they gave me was that the equipment that I need to connect to the service would not be delivered until after the service is activated - so I would be paying for a service that I could not use, instead of having the equipment ready for when the line becomes active. Luckily, I still have the equipment from my old connection, so I get a [slow] connection for now.

It's been wet and rainy in Adelaide today, with wind and overcast skies. It makes it feel very dark and miserable - but being Adelaide it's still beautiful and welcoming.

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