Changes

Eloise must be growing.

She slept in until 9am again, and has been, or has at least given the appearance of being tired all day.

This evening after Nicole left for work I was the witness of a force 10 tantrum, with screams echoing around the house for the pettiest of reasons - dress coming off, shoes coming off, getting into the bath, hot chocolate. You name it, it was screamed at. I maintained an aloof calmness throughout, naturally.

We went to the beach this morning and spent a pleasant couple of hours there. I waded around, Nicole was going to do some swimming but the water wasn't deep enough. She put on her bikini though I'm not allowed to share any pictures due to some strange body dismorphic thnig going on. Otherwise she and Eloise sat in the shade of a mangrove tree.

On the way back there was a bang and a crash from the back of the car then a deeply unpleasant grinding noise. A tyre had blown out. Whilst I got the tyre changing kit out of the back of the car, Nicole walked back down the road to see what we'd run over. There were all sorts of little pieces of metal by the side of the road, which we figured were because the road is on the way to the landfill site.

Nicole got back after a while and soon after a guy pulls up in his Ute, having seen Nicole walking down the road and asks us if we're in need of help - what a nice chap! No sooner do I ask him whether he thinks I've got the jack in the right place than he says "I love changing tyres" and who am I to deny a not-dying man his wish?

He beavered away for about five minutes and then got up, job done, and drove away back the way he came from! As they say in these parts, but I don't, "Good Job!!"

So in the afternoon I nipped up to Beaurepaires and got a replacement tyre, only just finding somewhere that was actually open on Christmas Eve Eve after lunch.

I can't believe it's Christmas in two days time. It was 28 degrees here today and glorious sunshine. I think I caught the sun on the back of my neck.

We're debating whether to have our Xmas Barby here in the back yard or at the beach. Decisions decisions. Oh, and shopping, shopping.