Get Around Town

It was my day off today. Eloise went to nursery at 9 o'clock. Nicole very kindly let me lie in and I slept, wedged between the dogs, until 8 o'clock, slowly coming awake to the sounds of the TV coming from downstairs (down the four stairs there are in our house, that is).

After dropping Sproggy off, we took the dogs up to a little-used car park at Mount Coot-tha and disappeared into the forest along a bush track. Then we (sshh! don't tell anyone) let the dogs off, and walked around for a good hour and a half, seeing only one soul. The dogs enjoyed themselves, and didn't misbehave in any way. The going was pretty heavy, as it's a Mount, and I don't relish having to yomp it laden down with a living backpack, but it adds another walk to our armoury. The weather wasn't that hot either - overcast and not very warm.

We got back and I burnt another omelette, which Nicole very kindly blamed on the pan again. Then she went to work, and rather than sit around on my Harris, I decided to catch a bus into the city and have a look around. I got off the bus on Ann Street, and walked down to Queen Street, which is the main road. It was quite busy with lots of busy people being busy about their business.

At the bottom of Queen Street I crossed the river and walked up and down the waterfront there, past the State Library and Centre for Performance Arts (Pirates of Penzance - they're really pushing the creative envelope) then back up and through the South Bank Parklands.

Looking across the river, I realised that the Riverside Expressway - the one that's got the hairline cracks and was closed for a while causing total traffic chaos - is actually built on concrete legs in the river itself. Seen across the river, it twists and turns with the exit and entry ramps swooping quite attractively around it, and a bike track undulating beneath it.

South Bank is where the legendary artificial beach (sorry, the Streets Beach, is nothing free of corporate sponsorship?) is, and I beheld it's magnificence for the first time. It's actually a reasonably sized swimming pool, attractively landscaped with sand around the edges. It even had its own Lifeguard posse.

Through the South Bank runs an Arbour, made up of a covered walkway flanked by steel arches to which cling bouganvilleas.

On a sunny day I imagine it's really very nice. The path is punctuated, naturally, by cafés, coffee shops, gardens, rainforest walks, as well as a concert venue, a college, and many other things I probably didn't even notice.

I crossed back over the river via the elaborate Goodwill Footbridge and walked alongside some Mangoves and through the Botanical Gardens to Edward Street where my bus was leaving from.

I got back home at 4.30, cleared the washing up away, cut my hand open when I dropped a glass, attempted to staunch the dribbling blood with a kitchen towel, and went to fetch Squeaky, who had had a lovely day and was completely cream crackered.

Tea was Spiced Creamy Vegetables with Basmati Rice. I did not burn it, but then, I did not use a frying pan.

Summer Frittata Brulée

What does it mean if a worker's supervisor (or, alternatively, food critic, if you like) blames his tools (that is, the frying pan used to lightly burn the frittata)?

Toddler Mayhem

At Nicole's suggestion I went along and signed E up to Caterpillar Kids this morning.

We drove out to Ashgrove, about a fifteen minute drive, and pulled up at this country club type affair, with swimming pools, squash courts etc. I followed the procession of mums getting out of their Chelsea Tractors weighed down with day bags full of God knows what, sunlight reflecting of their raybans and silvikrin ponytails and looked myself up and down in my worse-for-wear shorts, beaten up trainers and dodgy socks, and white collarless shirt, tails floating freely... at least I had a shower this morning!

Soon we arrived at a large room overlooking the pool, where we were greeted by an athletic gent by the name of Rob, and as I filled in the ubiquitous disclaimer forms, Eloise played with one of his accomplices and the room filled up and filled up until there must have been twenty little toddlers with attendant mothers/fathers/etc.

"Now then my little ones, let's begin!" shouted the previously calm but now transformed Rob and started running around the room like a Whirling Dervish who's overdone it on the Bolivian Marching Powder. "Everybody Stomp!" And all the kids started doing just that. Eloise's eyes lit up.

A succession of highly energetic antics followed, involving running, ball games, hoops, and enormous parachutes, climbing frames, slides and various other playground thingummybobs that appeared out of nowhere. At one point on excellent little bubble gun came out and the effusive Rob jumped around the room spraying bubbles everywhere to unanimous delight. Eloise insisted at every opportunity to escape the games and commandeer the bubble gun which was later left on the side.

Yesterday, I took her to the doctors for some jabs. Over here they immunise for Hepatitis B and Varicella (Chicken Pox to you and me). So she's perhaps not on top form. In fact about half an hour into the Caterpillar action she laid down on her back on the floor with a look on her eyes that said "No more please...!" But she recovered when the playground magically appeared from nowhere and never looked back.

She was out like a light when we got home.

Later we went up to Nudgee Beach and threw some balls into the River for Tiny. I was looking at the map and the river that comes out there is actually a later incarnation of the brook that runs just near our house.

The dogs are obviously getting used to things here, they are quite chilled out generally speaking although they have a tendency to hang around by the front gate and bark at passers-by. That seems to be the modus vivendi for canines round here though.

Some mornings a Jack Russell by the name of Jeb has been sauntering around in our garden, and sitting on our deck out front and barking. This wouldn't be a problem, except a) it means we have a breach in our garden defences - which I'm pretty sure I've located actually, and b) he does this at half past five in the bloody morning.

I'm not sure about boundary ownership and responsibility here. Yet.

Anyway I was sufficiently irritated at 5.30am yesterday to go and shout at the little bugger. The dogs picked up on this, and, ever sensitive to my state of mind, chased him around the house.

Later on he poked his head out of our utility room where he'd been hiding! It gave us quite a fright, and we gave him one right back - he wasn't back this morning.

Aquatics

This afternoon we went to our second swimming lesson at the John Carew Swimming School. It's on the other side of town at Indooroopilly, but even though Eloise's nap went on a little longer than planned and our lunch of vegetable samosas was a bit of a rush job, somehow we got there in plenty of time.

The classes are a bit different to what we're used to with good old Merbabies - none of that singing and playing nonsense. It's hardcore teaching from start to finish.

First the water wings ("floaties") go on. Then straight away it's grab onto the sides of the pool - the babies that is - then a length, supported blowing bubbles, then a length, support blowing bubbles and kicking legs. Then a length, swimming free, which is where it all goes a bit pear shaped as Eloise is actually much more interested in what everyone else is doing than what she is supposed to be - i.e. swimming towards me, blowing bubbles. Oh well.

Then we play a game of sit sproggy on the edge of the pool, get her to fall in, she then turns around, swims to the edge and holds on. Does very well. Repeat five times.

Then out comes a mat which floats on the surface and we play a great game of get your baby to walk from one end of the wobble wet mat to the other and jump into Dad's arms, which is great fun for Eloise and most of the other seven kids, but for one unfortunate it's all a bit scary and he bails out.

Then a game of get your baby to perform, as above, then jump straight into the pool. Which Eloise does with aplomb, jumping in with the biggest grin on her face and going deep into the water before I pull her back up, coughing a bit but still happy.

Then all the kiddies on the mat are ferried to the side boat style and the lesson is over. Fun fun fun!

Lake Madchester

Some weeks ago, on the day of our visit to "Exciting Ipswich" we detoured on the way back to Brisbane and several miles up a dirt track found a road that led down to Lake Manchester, which is one of Brisbane's reservoirs. On that day time and stomachs were pressing so we didn't pursue it any further.

Yesterday Nicole had the genius idea (and I don't mean that sarcastically) of going there and having a go at it with the dogs, as it isn't in a National Park and we hadn't seen any "Get Those Dorgs Orf Moi Land" type signs last time round.

A trail led up from a cark park into the forest and we were encouraged by the sight as of someone else walking their dog albiet in a different direction. We had the baby back-pack with us so suitably equipped, off we marched. Several minutes of Eloise farting around saw her in the backpack and we started to make progress, but it was damn hard work as the path climbed up and down quite steep little hills.

Soon we came to a dam which held the Lake in, and, bypassing it and walking further up the path we could see the lake stretching out in front of us. Although not very large, it nestles very attractively in the upper hills East of Mount Coot-Tha. We walked along this path which wound round its shores for a while, and it was obvious how denuded the lake is, given the drought (now officially the worst in history according to some) that currently grips Australia. The banks are ringed by layers reminiscent of geological text books, or slowly sipped coffee mugs, or poorly maintained sinks, or vanilla slices, depending on your point of view.

Matilda as usual (well, as previously usual) explored anywhere she could and we whooped as she chased a lizard of some description - apparently about a foot long, quite substantial - up a tree, where it clung to the upper branches.

We were all knackered by the time we got back to the car.

After calling off the bike ride the other day when the storm came over Brisbane, we decided to give it a go. After a mere 2k or so up the Brook to an off-leash area with dogs on leads, an incident involving Matilda and some cockatoos (dog kept under control), an unscheduled toilet stop for Tiny (bike kept under control) we stopped for a rest.

On the way back things started to go a bit pear shaped as we found that even though we were sauntering along, the dogs couldn't keep up! To the point where Tiny, at the top of Agincourt St, decided she didn't want to play this game anymore and slipped here collar to go and do something else less interesting.

This was our first hint that the dogs' enforced 30-day rest time at the hands of the estimable Govt may not have done their fitness the world of good. Of which more earlier.

While Eloise is Away...

...the dogs will play! Eloise is enrolled at the nursery attached to Nicole's work and has been attending on Mondays for a few weeks now, building up her hours. Today was her first full day, which gives me a day off (richly deserved, though I say so myself).

We dropped her off at around 9 this morning with dogs in tow and headed up to Nudgee Beach where they chased balls slung from our ball slinger and sticks lobbed into the river. The tide was high and the waves lapped into a little forest of what I, with my lamentable knowledge of Aussie flora, can only describe as trees. We padded through the mud around the trees for a bit then got back to the beach and Tiny was at sixes and sevens deciding whether she wanted to chase the stick enough to get wet to fetch it - which she invariably did, keeping afloat not through any natural bouyancy but my batting down the water hard enough with her front legs to keep her head above water.

We marvelled at how unfit the dogs have become and reflected on the status dogs seem to have here; whereas we regard our dogs as keeping us fit with long walks etc while keeping themselves healthy by running about ten times as we walk exploring, as they do, every available nook and cranny, the general attitude here is not to walk dogs at all in many cases, and if you do, to walk them on-leash to the off-leash area then let them empty themselves and toss them a couple of sticks for ten minutes before returning home feeling perhaps a little saintly.

We might a guy from Indooroopilly who walks his pair up on the remote tracks of Mount Coot-tha and gave us some pointers which we might take him up on. Perhaps things aren't so dismal after all.

Eloise had a great time at nursery. She was there until five o'clock.

Thunderbolts and Lightning; Tiny Finds it Frightening

My glee it being awoken at five this morning by the dogs was beyond measure. We had hoped that buying them doggy beds similar to the ones we had in sunny Ipswich might have solved the problem we've been having but may not have mentioned here with Tiny in particular getting up in the night and scratching at the door (which is a sliding door on that room) until she manages to get it open - then the dogs swarm onto our bed. Generally around three in the morning we can't be bothered to do anything about it.

Nicole's first night shift was the test and they went through most of the night but go out quite early - I'm not sure of the time.

This morning Tiny was scratching at five am so I went and remonstrated with her firmly, and as I was as parched as a parched thing I went for a glass of water. A few clinks and a splosh later, monkeynuts was awake. Deep joy.

Nicole got back around 8am, and I had been up for three hours already. We had had three breakfasts by then and individuals were getting impatient to go out. This as usual was signalled by sitting in the pram and moving around the baby rucksack, along with meaningful stares.

So out we went and up the Kedron Brook. For a laugh I though I would let E roam free and no sooner was she out of the bag, as it were, than she was making a beeline for a playground just over the brow of the slope to our left.

So the poor doggies got tied up to a post while the munchkin slid her little heart out, swung for England, and wobbled herself into a playground frenzy. Then it started to rain, requiring an orderly withdrawal back to Agincourt Street via a flock of ducks inconsiderately waddling across the path - which Matilda seemed to enjoy in a shrill, anxious, "Let me at them" kind of way. Irritatingly the rain stopped shortly thereafter, and we hardly even got wet, but we were committed, and the skies looked sort of morose and vaguely, damply, limply threatening.

Back at the gaff we had a fourth breakfast, or what you might call an early elevenses, around 9.30 and the batteries gave out around 10am.

I retired to the al fresco reading area and the sun came out so it was only right that I should retire further to the hammock, there to read my current library book "The Eighth Day" which is a slightly silly rompy thriller thing (not that kind of romp).

Tiny joined me after a while. You wouldn't believe that a gangly dog like that could get into a hammock, let alone be actually keen to do so, but as you can see we have photographic proof.

After a while I started to sense the dangerous onset of slumber so in the spirit of sun safety I attended to a few chores until Squeaky woke up around twelve.

Nicole was duly awakened and pasta, pesto and salad made for quite a pleasant lunch. I even guessed approximately how to make a salad dressing. You might be proud if you were that way inclined.

We jiggled around in the afternoon - went to another playground, visited a "child-friendly" cafe in Ashgrove, collared a helium balloon - result... then went to Homezone to do some shopping and get the dog's nails trimmed.

The dog's nails for previously unannounced scheduling reasons was not performed. However a bank of cloud was hovering ominously to the South, and it seemed to take up half the sky. "Shall we walk the dogs then" said Nicole. "No" said I.

Back at the house we compromised. In the sense that I gave in. The advocated strategy was that we would get on our bikes (no, really) with Eloise on the back of mine. Nicole would take the dogs on the leads and we would cycle down to the Brook and a good time would be had by all. I suggested, and here is where the compromise comes in, that it's bad enough riding with one dog on a lead let alone two dogs, both of which are indecently interested in ducks, especially those that waddle over paths, and ibises which are a new kind of bird in our little canine world, and well worthy of a chase. So I would take Tiny and Nicole would stick with Matilda.

So out the bikes came. The sky was three-quarters ominous now, by the way.

As we got on the bikes and opened the front gate, the first rumble of thunder ooyahed out of the bank of clouds. The odd spot of rain was felt. "This is barking mad" I said, "it'll start really raining in five minutes."

Nicole insisted, and I can't quote verbatim, that that was an incorrect assumption, and that we should press on regardless. If I could raise only one eyebrow, I would have done. So we set off instead.

I heard a call from behind us. It was a neighbour from across the road. "You do realise there's a storm coming don't you? There's a cell rotating to the west and it's going to hit real soon." Feeling the start of what I hoped might be a protacted period of smugness I said "Oh yes, we know, we're only going round the block."

Kedron Brook safely aborted, with its ducks and ibises, we rode around Agincourt Street and did a two minute circuit and came safely home. The intensity of the rain built up considerably as we rode round.

"You were wrong anyway," Nicole said, "the rain started only two minutes after the first thunder." She so hates when I'm right. Need I say more? Anyone for a sentence with the word "always" in it?

Nicole then proceeded observe the storm as the lightning began and the thunder rolled around the sky above us. The heavens opened.

The metal roof on the house made it sound worse - or is that better - than it probably really was, and Eloise and Nicole frolicked around, Nicole putting out plants for natural water and generally getting very excited. Both were drenched with a few minutes. For me, discretion was the better part.

The dogs of course hated it. Tiny particularly hates unexplained outside noise, and thunderbolts and lightning is up there with fireworks.

So it was a bad dog day really. Never mind eh, it turned out to be a good day for being smug.

Gridlock

Hairline cracks found in a concrete overpass feeding onto the main motorway running through the centre of Brisbane have closed the road and resulted in gridlock in the city centre. Bus routes have been changed and people are flocking onto trains - the whole system is apparently at breaking point.

It seems that Britain isn't the only country with a groaning transport system.

My experience of driving over here is that the system is based on a grid system with traffic lights at many junctions. So it's a very stop-and-start affair. The sequencing of the lights doesn't seem to be particularly intelligent - that is to say that you can sit at a set of traffic lights on red whilst no traffic whatsoever is there to go through which light is green at that time.

Also something to get used to is choices of lanes. Sometimes a left lane will turn left, sometimes a right lane will turn right, sometimes not. Lights will allow a left or right turn only sometimes, leading to irritation when you want to turn right, say, but someone is in the right hand lane in front of you but wants to go straight on, but can't because the straight-ahead light isn't lit. Often it's necessary to predict what lane you'll need to be in two or three junctions in advance.

Locks and Ticks

Nicole is on nights tonight, so I am blessed with the pleasure of her company today. This morning we went to Nudgee Beach and the dogs frolicked - actually Matilda frolicked and Tiny barked haughtily from a distance - and swam in the river chasing other dogs' sticks. Eloise became obsessed with the dog water stations to the point where she was putting her feet in the
trays, and soaked her shoes and socks completely. "A good time was had by all."

I had to call out a locksmith yesterday as for the last couple of days the front door has refused to open. It seems that the latch mechanism internal to the handle-catch arrangement had broken and needed replacement. Another ton leaves the premises.

We are slowing discovering the value of money, in the sense that what with unplanned expenses such as new specs, vet bills, nursing books, daily gourmet food shopping (by yours truly, naturally) etc, we are burning more money than we are bringing down! So adjustment is required, and adjustment will, I am sure, be made.

You're probably goggling at the vet bills if you give a damn about the dogs, but don't worry, they just had a check-up, a top-up vaccination for kennel cough and the shock realisation that Matilda is weighing in at a hefty 25kgs whilst Tiny is a little lean at 17kgs. I have been standing guard at mealtimes to make sure no dirty tricks are being perpetrated.

The other insteresting factette that came up in our vet consultation is that Kedron Brook, where we have been walking our dogs in the mornings of late due to its length and off-leashishness, is a hot bed for Paralysis Ticks which are in season at the moment. One in ten dogs who get these buggers end up dead! So to overcome that we have to Frontline the dogs every fortnight, and we will also be frisking them every so often for ticks just to be sure - not that it's reaqlly all that much of a risk... probably....

Oh how we laughed when the Vet talked about "Tick Toxin" and we thought "The mouse runs up the cloxin." How we laughed.

Kroll Park

Took this snap at Kroll Park, which is a decent dog walking area at Redcliffe where we went the other day on our drive up the Sunshine Coast.

We put up our hammocks out back the other day - the ones we bought in Sydney - and are very pleased with them. We now need to get hold of some canvas or something to make some sunshades with, then it's iced coffee and Tim Tams out back.

We went out to a little walk up the Aguilar Mountains drive and walked around up there for a while, which was nice. It's still proving very difficult to find decent dog walking locations as all the National Parks, of which there are many, ban domestic animals, even though there seems to be very little to protect from them.