Post-Hypnotic Suggestion Backfires Horribly?

After Nicole had gone to work, I put the swollen-eyed one to bed telling her that we were going swimming tomorrow and that she'd better make sure she had her eye fixed by the morning or it would all be off.

I reminded her that the best fixing-room is the one located in the Land of Nod and that you could only go there when asleep.

"Yes" she said. "Swimming."

She got quite enthusiastic about swimming then, as we read our books and got ready for bed.

I sang twinkle twinkle to her and she said "Swimming!"

"Night Night."

"Swimming..."

We were up at 6.30am the next morning. I don't remember if the S-word was actually the first one of the day, but it didn't come far off it. I had no idea she was quite that enthusiastic about it.

Anyway, the eye was better (which was a bit of a relief given the stakes), so we went swimming. I'm sure Eloise loved it, but it was crowded with make-up classes like ours because of the Ekka holiday today (this was yesterday, in case I didn't make that clear). You'll remember that "make-up classes" are nothing to do with cosmetics.

Anyway what with the early start (down at the brook by 8.30am after a very shaky start from your truly), Eloise was in bed early, and so was I.

So imagine my glee when the dogs got up at 5.45am and woke Eloise up. This morning that is.

I decided to go to the beach with the retinue in tow. We were actually back home before Nicole went to bed. The beach was a bit cold to be honest with a slight wind. And I'd forgotten the dog leads. Still it was nice in a serene calm dogs-haring-around kind of way and we went to the playground afterwards.

At around 9.30am, wishing to keep active and not start to flag and all that, I thought we might go up to the Glass House Mountains for a spot of rainforest mountain fun. "Climbing a mountain" she said. Such insight.

Except fifteen minutes before we arrived, she fell asleep, and the car park for my Glass House Mountain of the Day, Mount Tibrogargan, was full.

So I thought "I'll not wake her" and just kept driving until we (I) took a random turn, drove through Peachester and took another random turn and drove through Woodford and came back via Mount Mee, stopping off after Her Holy Royalness had woken up to go to a playground where she offered a crunchy bar to some children and got the cold shoulder in return.

Still not to be put off we stopped off at a random scenic lookout with cows and said Hello or Moo to Lassie, Blackie and Petra. They would be cows, by the way. We fed them grass, and Eloise find their enormous tongues hilarious.