Sunday, August 29thAnother fine day in paradise. The rain has been quite hard, with high winds and no chance of putting out the washing. Ann and I have taken the opportunity to have a relaxing day. Roast lamb for dinner, a few DVDs and time to sort out some clothes. Ah! Domestic bliss...
Ann and I tried (again) to make a home cooked meal for Thomas. We have given him things like bolagnese before, but we have varying levels of success. This time, Ann tried a recipie from the Heinz for baby site, which seemed nice and simple. We simply mixed 500g minced chicken breast, 200g grated cheddar cheese, an egg and herbs, rolled them into balls and coated them in breadcrumbs, then fried. It was fun to do, and if Thomas didn't want them, then we would have had them! Unfortunately, Thomas loved them, so there was none left for us.
I also took some time to put together another 
Thomas
Showcase, with photos from various times in the past few weeks. I hope that
you enjoy them as much as we have.
I also started to play around with one of my old computers, turning it into a Linux software firewall - so that I can carry on learning Linux. The problem with me trying to teach myself anything related to computers is that unless I can actually use the computer for something useful, I only learn how to do an installation, and not anything else - pretty much useless.
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I am 31 today. Thomas gave me a hawthorn (a strainer for a
cocktail shaker), and Ann gave me everything that I had circled in the Target
catalogue for Father's Day (two T-shirts and a pair of short pyjamas).
The weather has cleared up a bit, and so Ann and I went out to the edge of Adelaide,
to the historic township of Old
Tea Tree Gully, intending to go to an old pub called the 'Fox and Firkin'
for lunch. When we got there, we found that not only was it not open for lunches
except for Sundays, but it's also closed for all of Mondays and Tuesdays.
Instead, we went across the road to the Old Tea Tree Gully Hotel. The concept of a hotel is quite different in Australia. Here, a hotel will often have pokies (slot machines - you 'poke' your money in to the Poker game) and the bar will be a very large, open area (unlike the English pub style of small rooms). One good thing about Hotels is that they often have great food at low prices (to keep people playing on the pokies), and so Ann, Thomas and I had a great meal.
To celebrate my birthday, we had a glass of Champagne each. Well, obviously Thomas did not have one - he was too busy flirting with the pretty waitresses. Anyway, sparkling white wine is often cheaper than normal white wine here - and it is always a good deal. From the bottleshop (Off-License to all you English readers), we can get a bottle of Jacob's Creek sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir for $8 - that's £3.20. We had a very good glass of Wolf Blass Eaglehawk for just $7 a glass.
I got a telephone call today from the job interview that I had on Friday. I did not get the job, but I was told that I was their second choice. I don't know what is worse, not getting the job, or being told that I almost did get it. Anyway, at least EDS know that I am available, and can call on me if they have another role that would suit me. I have to keep looking, and remain up-beat about the time that I am out of work. At least money is not a problem yet.
I got some cards from England today; Birthday cards for both me and Thomas and some Wedding Anniversary cards. It's great to have a little touch from distant family from England.
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Ann had a lie in today, because yesterday she got up early to make me breakfast in bed, so she managed to convince me that it was my turn to get Thomas up, fed and changed. It's almost not worth Ann having a lie-in, because the noise of Thomas will get her up. I, on the other hand, can sleep through Thomas' noises and complaining when I know that Ann is around. So, this morning, it was a little strange 'automatically' waking up and getting out of bed when I heard the first murmurs from Thomas in the morning - I think that because I knew that I was looking after him, I was subconsciously listening out for him.
We all went out to the shops today, to buy a net curtain for
the spare bedroom so that my mother can have a little privacy, and a blind for
the bathroom, for the same reason. We also started shopping for Thomas' birthday
presents. What a variety of toys there are! But they are all so expensive -
just for bright coloured plastic and packaging. Based on Thomas' enjoyment of
junk-mail, I will
be wrapping his presents in the supermarket flyers that are thrust into our
mailbox nearly every day.
Up until 5 years ago, today would have been my birthday. It
is a very strange thing, but when I had my passport stolen from my office desk,
I needed to re-apply with my birth certificate to prove my age and identity.
When neither I nor my mother could find my birth certificate, I had to request
a copy of my original (quite a simple procedure, just call up and quote the
date, place and name, and they sent out a copy).
Anyway, the replacement birth certificate had a different date on it from all
my other documentation. This caused (and still does cause) some problems for
places where my date of birth is recorded. When I call up a UK bank, and they
ask me my date of birth for identification purposes, sometimes I get terrible
problems. So, I had to go through the process of notifying every institution
of my new date of birth - not all that complicated, considering that the change
is used as my "security" information.
The biggest confusion was my driving license. The driving license number is
made up from my date of birth, and so this meant that I had to have a new driving
license number too.
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So now I am officially "in my 30's" and not just 30. It doesn't feel any different - appart from that strange visitor that came in the middle of the night to remove my ability to dance and my desire to go to nightclubs, not that they were a big loss...
I really need to get back to work. I am getting under
Ann's feet, and she has been a bit tetchy. I am also finding the days flying
past. Today I did nearly nothing. I spent some time starting to compile some
links to websites that I have found interesting and useful,
and been doing some housekeeping on the
discussion forums
to change the bit in Linda's message where she says that their new car is better
than our new car.
Ann and I went out for lunch to the Golden Grove Village, and it ended up that we did a bit of shopping too. Just some basics, but it still added up. We have been planning for the weekend birthday party, and looking at barbeque ingredients and cake parts. It is the next big focus for Ann and me, and it's keeping us sane.
I called a few agencies today, and they are all saying that there has been no progress. Things are going slowly here, and it's getting frustrating.
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Thomas had another trip to the physio today, just to check on his slow development of crawling and walking skills. They all sang happy birthday to Thomas at the beginning, and then carried on with the excercises with the other babies - all to encourage development of movements and muscles that are required for crawling and walking. Apparently there is a waiting list of over 30 other babies in the local area that want this sort of attention. They are pleased with his development and think that he has come on leaps and bounds in the last 4 weeks. Thomas is now able to stand, with support, for 2 or more minutes.
I washed both the cars and did some washing, and called a few agencies, but as usual no developments or improvements. We are very lucky that money is not a problem at the moment.
We had a lovely walk around the local area - it's really beautiful
with plenty of places to go. I am really looking forward to summer, when we
can go out to the
public
barbeques and have a picnic.
Thomas has been a bit tetchy today, easily upset and not being
very good with his food. I hope that it is just a phase and will not become
a bad habit. We are trying to keep him amused and occupied, which calms him
down. Of course, whenever someone comes over to visit - he is like
an
angel.
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Lots of preparations for Thomas' birthday barbeque today! Shopping for meat and salad stuff, and all the ingredients for Thomas' birthday cake - including a "one" candle!
We were lucky enough to get a birthday card for Thomas today from our friends Oliver and Jo from England. It was a really big card that sang Happy Birthday to Thomas - he was most impressed! We had to stop Thomas from eating the card, so it's a bit crumpled now, but he loved it. We also got a lot of other cards, and the house is now lacking surfaces where we can put the cards on display - Christian's birthday, Thomas' birthday, father's day, and our second wedding anniversary...
We have now filled Liam and Shirley's fridge with meat and alcohol, and will still have stuff to take tomorrow morning. Ann is making a bean 'salad' - but it can be eaten hot or cold. It's fine beans (boiled) with crushed garlic, balsamic vinegar and a touch of olive oil. I am making a potato salad with half plain yoghurt, half sour cream and some chopped chives over boiled new potatoes.
Linda (Ann's sister for all you non-family readers) came over
to
help make the cake. All of us
chipped in, with me whipping up the icing, Ann putting the sponge together,
and Linda giving the all-important advice (needs to be whipped more, add more
sugar, put some jam there...). It was great fun, a bit messy and enjoyed by
everyone. I hope that it all goes down well tomorrow.
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Thomas's first birthday!
We got started early, cooking the potatoes and the beans (see Friday's entry above), and getting the car packed with the presents and garden chairs. Thomas had a little play in the morning, then we put him down for a sleep so that he would not get grumpy later on. It worked out quite well, because Thomas was a little angel all day - not a single complaint or cry.
To get down to Liam and Shirley's house (Ann's parents; my
in-laws, for all you non-family readers), we had to put the potato salad between
Ann's ankles, the beans on her lap, and the Birthday
cake
on top of the beans. Thomas was in his baby seat in the back, surrounded by
boxes.
Liam and Shirley had prepared the house, cleaning spiders from under the garden table, and cleaning the barbeque for it's first use of the year (every Australian has a barbeque, it's a condition of citizenship). Linda's tribe (Ashley and the kids, Marie, Victoria and Brendan) turned up on time, and we got started on the barbie. I got stuck in to my first ever barbie in Australia, cooked over a gas grill and hotplate as is common here. By the time I had done the sausages, some of the steaks and some of the chicken kebabs, Kyle, Heather and Anna arrived. The weather started to get a little warmer, and so everyone came outside, laid the table and then we got stuck in.
Chatter and news bounced across the table like a game of tennis,
with heads turning from left to right to follow the latest news. The noodle
salad that Linda had brought started to be demolished, as did the garlic beans
and the potato salad. The bubbly flowed, and everyone had a great time. Thomas
even had some of the bread that people were having around their snags.
Everyone ate their fill, and it was a bloody
good success, so we all retreated to the house to have
cake
and enjoy Thomas' presents.
Thomas was marvelously polite. He got very excited at every
toy, and he had a look of delight as he opened each gift graciously. As the
grown-ups tried to put
his toys
together, Christian cut up the cake. Thomas had already blown out the candle,
and managed to not put his fist through the cake. Unfortunately, Thomas did
not seem very impressed by the cake, and turned his nose up at it, but everyone
else enjoyed it immensely - thankyou Ann for your hard work! Once Thomas had
had a little play with each toy, the bigger kids went to town and started on
them. The Lego
Quatro blocks were a success, everyone managed to have a little build -
Thomas seemed more interested in the bucket that they came in.
As everyone trickled away, Cathy and Katia arrived, having been to Cathy's brother's wedding. Thomas was starting to wind down, and was in the middle of having his tea, so the glammed-up Cathy (Ann's old school-friend) and Katia did not stay for long. Just long enough for them to give Thomas a funky new outfit, and for Thomas to express his affection through a very smelly fart. (Maybe that's why they left so soon?)
All three of us were really tired, so after we crammed most things into the car (we ran out of room!), we all went home, and all went to bed.
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Father's day (Australia)
It's unusual and strange, but I missed out on my first Father's day. After Thomas was born in England, the next father's day for me would have been in June, but we left England just before that, and so I lost out on father's day, to be replaced by Dad's Day in September.
Thomas had gone out and got me a card, a DVD (Ice Age) and
a home-brew kit
for making Australian Coopers
Lager, famous in South Australia.
Thomas must have had a trouble carrying the homebrew concentrate back from Big-W,
as it weighs nearly 3kg. I think I will ponder that question once I have sampled
the fully brewed drink.
Ann and I drove to Norwood, where we enjoyed The Parade, full of fashionable shops and funky restaurants. I then found out why Ann had taken us there - there was a shop which was listed as a stockist for Baby Einstein DVDs and books. So, Thomas now has some more entertainment - he loves his books.
Now I have the homebrew concentrate, this will become my next hobby for the coming few weeks. Last week, Liam and Shirley had given me an astronomy book, with star charts that identify the Southern Hemisphere (normally astronomy charts are geared around what you can see from America and Europe). Once I had that book, and nearly read every word off the pages, I wanted to go out and get myself a telescope, so that I could see better. But, after investigating the costs, and looking around the Internet at what to get, I have decided that it may be a bit of an expensive hobby to persue. But brewing can actually SAVE me money - I already have most of the equipment.
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