Auf wiedersehen Triple Ms

The Triple Ms are flying back to Germany tomorrow and we are feeling sad. I detest the last day of a holiday even when it’s not mine. Maybe a quiet last dinner and a bottle of chardy tonight will be cheering. And of course we are going to see them in Europe in July.
Mere, Matt and Mads have caught up with a lot of people and been to a lot of places over the last few weeks but the highlights from our point of view have been:
the airport reunion,
the first dinner at Hil and Rob’s,
the Grand Prix weekend in Anglesea,
the belated 40th celebration dinner for Mere featuring Hil’s magnificent meringue gateau – probably the best cake I’ve ever had - and a 1999 Moet,
seeing Mads and Caspie playing together,
helping Mads with her reading and blussing,
having breakfast with Mads while her mum had a sleep-in,
and simply coming home and finding them there.

Mads has arranged the Easter decorations beautifully






Note how the addition of carrots to this tableau makes it so much more acceptable to grownups.

Our lovely long weekend at the beach.

The entire family escaped the Grand Prix in Anglesea: Right and Left Foot with both daughters, sons-in-law and grand-children. The photos are entirely out of chronological order but who cares?

Multiple personalities – Katie, Bernadette ‘n’ me

Since Monday I’ve been channeling Katie Cage. It wasn’t my idea and it wasn’t hers. Katie’s phone independently decided to divert all her calls to me and there’s been dozens – Katie works in Marketing. The Unhelpful Desk just think I’m a crazy lady and haven’t done anything.

So it was a delight to leave work yesterday and hie myself off to the famous Spiegeltent to see the multi-talented Bernadette Robinson. She sang in the style of Julie Andrews, Billie Holliday, Patsy Cline and Edith Piaf as well as using her own beautiful voice to cause me to tear up during ‘One perfect day’.

When I arrived at work this morning I found my phone had developed 2 more personalities overnight; not Patsy or Edith but Kali from Hospitality and Glenda from Sociology. And by the end of the day I had become Associate Dean as well. But I’m not alone in my craziness any more: the 3 colleagues who share my office have also taken on a couple of aliases each. The noise of four phones ringing constantly is unnerving. What’s worse I’ll be going home to the Grand Prix.

Early tomorrow, however, we’re off to Anglesea to escape the whole wretched cacophony. One perfect day.

On Saturday we hung out with Mads and Ol at Monkey Mania. The kids had a fab time and worked off many, many kilojoules.





This morning I achieved a cherished dream. I dropped Mads off at school! Sure she was only going for 2 hours but I got to pack her lunch box and take the traditional first day of school photos.




Naturally we were all ready hours before necessary so here’s another pic of Mads in the park next door to the school waiting for siren time.

Fun-filled and action-packed long weekend of family reunion

Bubbling Beamish Boy 2

If I am to be humiliated by being seen in my bathers, Right Foot is too.

Bubbling Beamish Boy

Pillow Talk
We went to buy a pillow for Mere who'll be sleeping in our bunk bed come Thursday. I expected to chose from firm, medium and soft a la the three bears. But no, these days pillows come in side-sleeper, tummy-sleeper and back-sleeper then are subdivided by anti-asthma, anti-dust mite, anti-snore (oh yes!), anti-back pain, anti-neck pain,etc.
Having lost track of my first born's sleeping habits I was paralysed by indecision until I spied one simply labelled 'pillow'. So that's what we got. Poor Mere will probably be so tired after spending the previous night on the plane that she won't be too fussy.

FebFast Finale

Remember that recruit in ‘An officer and a gentleman’ who endured 11 out of 12 brutal weeks of boot camp then dropped out, thereby forfeiting his career and the girl of his dreams? What can be said about a person like that? And what can be said about a pair of FebFasters who endure almost 4 weeks of lemon, lime and bitters only to fall off the wagon on Feb 27?

Here’s how it happened. Entering commitments into my diary I realised with horror that the Big Day, March 1 coincided with my first online tutorial in Open University this year. I take this at 8pm, after dinner. They’re final year students and many are hotshots. I need to have my wits about me so a tipple is out of the question.

March 2 is banjo night for Right Foot and swimming for me. That’s no time to break our fast – we have to do it together. On March 3 I have my second year students and their online tute. That brings us to Friday March 4, practically an extra week of deprivation. Unthinkable.

So last night we settled in with David Attenborough, tarragon chicken and a glass of de Bortoli’s Best Box. Right Foot was asleep within minutes. I struggled on to the end of Miss Marple. Clearly, I’m a long way off match fitness but, unlike the poor devil in the movie, have not lost my job or my squeeze and the charity will still get its money.

The following is an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of sobriety
Pros
Weight loss
Evenings are longer and much more productive
Sounder sleep at night and freedom from the mid-afternoon slump next day

Cons
I have become boring, smug and sanctimonious
I have lost the will to live

Caspie laps it up at MSAC

Casp had his first trip to MSAC yesterday. He was a little uncertain for a minute or two then loved it. And so did we all

Caspie visits Queens Road

FebFast
Right Foot and I along with our fellow faster, Colleen of Hippo, have reached the half way mark in our month without hooch. Neither of them is especially bothered but I am. The only positive is I do now see the beginning, middle and end of TV programs which came in handy watching Poirot last night.
Another 2 weeks of lemon mineral water is not appealing but I am determined not to weaken. I have a vision of sitting up in bed at 12.01 a.m. on 1st March with a glass of chardy. Yeah!

Caspie is turning three-quarters today. So 9 months in and 9 months out - zero sum.

Unfortunately he has a cold and a new tooth. But he did say, 'E-Dad' which seems such an appropriate first word for the current E everything generation.

Cyclone Queens Road
We went to the Como on Friday evening, for a meal, movie and coffee only to come out and find the cyclone had struck. We had to wade through muck up to our fetlocks to get to the car. At home the garage was flooded but fortunately Right's Foot's love of putting everything on castors kept a lot of stuff out of harm's way. Some of the ground floor apartments had water inside and the scene in Queens Road was amazing as these pictures from 'The Age' show.