Luna

Glory be to Ruby who has broken the Canberra drought this week by painting the outdoor table in "Poppy".

It can't be easy being five years old and trying to get your message accross. Frustrated recently by his inablity to get out the exact right words, Archie has taken to more visual means of communication. Aided by the universal symbol for DON"T (A circle with a slash through it) he has signalled to his family what is acceptable and what is not. I wonder if this would pass muster in all relationships? Someone has a problem with something you've done? Do as Ruby does with Archie now and just tell them to "Put it in writing". Sisters should not share your allocated time on the computer. Sisters should not slam doors -if you do I wont love you. (See love heart on right hand side with a cross through it). When returning home from a party sisters should share out the lolly bag by half. Please don't put honey on my crumpet.

On our break to Dubbo we: - enjoyed two days of amazing animals at Dubbo zoo.... - went down a cave in Wellington and saw millions of years old stalegtite formations (I had people sing happy 40th birthday to me in a cave!).... - took photos of ourselves outside The Dish in Parkes... - ate our combined weight in hot chips.... Did You Know...Dubbo was once the ocean line? In the walls of an underground cave inWellington are fossilised sea shells - their spiral and fan like shapes as striking as if they were the shells themselves. Also should mention Ruby and I had to leave the zoo early, on account of possible swine flu. We were very sick but it didn't last long, thankfully!)

We are off to Dubbo zoo for a few days. See you when we get back!

Thanks must go to Archie for his help yesterday in explaining to the plumber what the problem was before I had the chance. "WE PUT THINGS IN OUR TOILET" he explained before the plumber could even set foot inside the house. "Things you PUT in a toilet" he elaborated delicately, hinting at the whole raison d'etre someone might invite a plumber over. He then followed the plumber around the backyard to see if he might be of any help. I hope he is not thinking of becoming a plumber because as Ruby said plumbing is the "fifth worst job" she can think of. I do think though Archie has some kind of bent for how things work (and I use the word 'things' here in a more general way). For example yesterday while I was hiding in the bathroom he unpicked the lock from the outside with a paddle pop stick. In other household matters, crunch time has arrived. I have asked Ruby to decide whether the thick navy tracksuit pants are pajamas or school uniform. They ...

Only two more sleeps until Col gets his new bike - such a flashy upgrade for someone who has been riding the same old racer for twenty years. It will set us back $850 but I like to pretend it's more like $1300 as a way of coping with the recent discovery our server has been charging us around $200 a month for all our internet downloads. Otherwise I just feel ill at the waste. Am sure someone has been hacking into our computer and using up our bytes. No more buddy, party is OVER.

Sometimes on a weekend when the kids ask what we will be doing that day I say, "Sadly, nothing" in order to prepare them for the brutality of a day that will be spent around the house doing odds and ends and chores. Normally Archie will throw himself down crying "Why nothing? Why? Why?" in amongst his tears but today a new maturity showed itself as he wondered about repeating "Sadly . Nothing " in various intonations to get as much humour out of it at my expense as he could. Wish I had it on video.