Show Day

For the last few weeks, every time an ad for the Royal Hobart Show appeared on TV, a certain young child would call me into the room with some urgency, only to ask, "Can we go there???"


Alright, so off to the Show.  We decided to go on the Friday as that was fireworks night.  We got there about 1.45pm & started with the animals.  We worked our way around the various displays & rides.  The favourite activity was trampolining with a harness & bungee cords - something she was more than happy to pay with out of her own pocket money.  We still ended up spending more than planned, but it was worth it to see Jasmine enjoying herself so much.  Here's some happy snaps.....

September - October 2011

  Again, life has got in the way of blogging, but I at least had the foresight to make notes along the way this time ;)

OK, here's a summary of the last 7 weeks.....


- Upon our return from Darwin, we decided we needed a fun family day.   Having enjoyed her time in the motel swimming pools in Darwin, Jasmine was insanely keen on going to the Hobart Aquatic Centre.  She has gained so much water confidence lately - although not enough to enjoy the large water slide.  Still, the fact that she was willing to try was a huge step for her :)  I think we'll be at the local pool a fair bit this Summer!


- A few weeks ago, the movie 'Hairspray' was on TV.  Jasmine was questioning some of what she saw, which lead to a lesson on racism & segregation.  Such concepts were quickly deemed to be "stupid", which was a proud Mummy moment.


- She's been gorging herself on Mathletics, particularly counting by 2/5/10, probability, mass, data and capacity in the 'Rainforest Maths' section.  She found most of the Gr 1 level too easy, declaring, "I'm a little bit older, you know". :D  So she's sitting somewhere between Gr1 & Gr 3 concepts.  Mind you, I tried suggesting Mathletics & Spellodrome to her today & she stormed off because I was "trying to make her do spelling", after which she had no interest in maths, either.  


- Jasmine has discovered Science and LOVES doing experiments.  She particularly liked the 'peeling a raw egg' eggsperiment using an egg & vinegar, which was a good chance to talk acids, bases, CO2 production & ion transfer.  

We also grew a stalactite & stalagmite using epsom salts.  I'll have to get some copper sulphate crystals to make some pretty blue ones like I used to do as a kid :D  We also tried making a cloud in a jar, but that was a flop, unfortunately.

Other adventures include....

Making lotsa lasagne 
                                                                             

 Losing teeth (with another lost since this pic)

                          

                                 Random pheasant visitations

Playing with slaters (wood lice)

Slightly overcooked Gluten free pizza base for a picnic lunch

Playing with grasshoppers

The solar system model we painted months ago has finally been assembled, sans Saturn.    I think we'll need to get a replacement as I can't find it anywhere.

Sales Assistant at my market stall

Amongst all that frivolity, there has been more sadness for our family.  Jasmine's Nonno passed away, 2 months & 1 day since the accident that killed her Aunt & Uncle.  We travelled to Sydney last week for the funeral.  Despite being a sad occasion, it was great to see Jasmine playing with her 8 cousins.   They are all early-mid teens, but throw a jumping castle into the mix & age is irrelevant ;)

Now we're settling in at home again & just hoping that there are no further tragedies for some time!  Jasmine has changed from trampolining to rhythmic gymnastics this term & is absolutely loving it.  Another new activity is gathering with other unschoolers at the Hobart Natural Learning Co-op.   This group is the brainchild of some lovely Owlets and I think it's going to be a great addition to our weekly schedule.  Our first meet went really well & we took advantage of a gorgeous Spring day to make & fly kites.  The wind was slightly lacking, but there were occasional gusts to get them airborne.

  

An August not to remember, but never to forget

On the morning of Sunday 7th August, hubby got a call from his sister in Darwin.  The other sister who lives there had been involved in a car accident.  Their car was hit by a fire truck.  She & her husband were in a critical condition & one other man was killed instantly.  Another walked away physically unharmed.

It was one of those surreal moments no one ever wants to encounter.  The shock, the denial, the worry.  An hour or so later, the second call came.  SIL had not made it.  It was the 13th birthday of their eldest son that day & they have another who turned 11 only a few weeks before.  We prayed that they would still have a father to care for them, however over the next couple of days, it became apparent he was losing the battle.   Hubby wanted to go to Darwin ASAP to say goodbye   Four days after the accident, the machines were switched off & our BIL also died.  Oh, those poor boys!

Jasmine & I got to Darwin a couple of days later, after organising someone to look after our pets & making all the necessary arrangements.  Days & nights were filled with phone calls, text messages, emails & car journeys as we made all the necessary arrangements.  Hubby is a co-executor of both wills, so there was extra pressure on top of the grief he was feeling.  I really felt for Jasmine, being caught up in this whirlwind of emotion and activity and being dragged all over the shop.  It was 2C when we left Hobart & 32C in Darwin, and Jasmine was pretty well overwhelmed by the tropical climate. There were a couple of days I just had to stay at the motel with her so she could chill out & have a bit of down-time.

BIL & SIL were both architects & had their own architectural company.  Darwin's a small place & they were astoundingly well known, having designed not only private homes, but also many public buildings & recreational areas.  We visited some of their buildings & got to really appreciate the depth of their talent that saw them win 6 architectural awards only a few weeks before the accident.   We'd talk to people in shops or at the markets & they'd start to cry because they had known one or both of them.  That sense of community there was awesome!

The funeral was on 15th of August - hubby's birthday.  I feel sad for both him & our nephew that their birthdays will now forever be linked to those memories.  The service was long and Jasmine did so well to sit through it.  She did have a meltdown afterwards - a combination of no breakfast & sensory overload.  I was on my way to get some food for her when she lost it.  She was fine once she'd eaten something, but still preferred to sit away from the main crowd of people.

That evening, there was a get together for family & colleagues at the Darwin Entertainment Centre - one of the buildings they had refurbished.  There was a poster up for a show that was playing - "My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch" based on the book by Graeme Base.  Jasmine & her Dad talked to a couple of the staff there & ended up buying tickets for the show.  It was really enjoyable family entertainment & a nice distraction from the rest of the day.  We then went across the road to a Chinese restaurant & had a lovely dinner with just the three of us.  It was much-needed & I wanted to make sure hubby got to celebrate his birthday in spite of everything else.

We stayed on for a couple of days with plans just to have a bit of R&R time, but there were still lots of things to take care of.  Jasmine & I came home on the Thursday as planned, albeit 7 hours late due to flight delays.  As we were stuck in Melbourne for 6 of those hours, rather than be bored senseless at the airport, we caught a bus it into the city.  We grabbed a visitors guide once we got there & debated whether to re-visit the Museum that we'd been to 2 years ago & she'd always wanted to go back to, or whether to go to the Melbourne Aquarium.  The Aquarium won...and she loved it.  I was just kicking myself that I hadn't brought my camera with me, figuring hubby had his.  There would have been some great shots.  Her favourite part was being allowed to lift a sea star out of a small display box & place it back in the main tank.

After we'd finished there, we headed to the Crown entertainment complex to find what was called a circus, but was in fact, a games arcade (AKA casino 'lite').  We had a game of air hockey (yeahhhhh!!!), had a look around & decided it wasn't really what we'd expected.  The next trick was to figure out where we were to walk back to the bus station.  After a false start, we found our way back & hopped on the bus back to the airport.  Jetstar had given us each a $10 voucher, so we got some dinner then headed to the gate to wait to board our plane.  Having been awake since 4am after only 3 hours sleep, we finally got home just before midnight.  Oh, how nice it was!


On the Saturday, Jasmine had her 'end of year' dance concert.  Normally held in November, it was brought forward this year as the teacher is moving away.  She really enjoyed performing & did well.  Thankfully, there was enough time between the Dog Dance for Contemporary and her Ballet performance to change costumes.  We're going to miss her teacher, but the new teacher comes highly recommended & a couple of my friends who know her tell me she's absolutely lovely.


I was a shame hubby couldn't be there for the concert, but we have videos & there'll be plenty more concerts to come, I'm sure!  He was due to fly back on the Thursday after us, but took a detour to Sydney to see his Dad.  We'd received a phone call at 12.30am on the morning of the funeral from the nursing home to say FIL had been coughing up blood & he was heading off to the hospital.  After a few days of a fever & pneumonia, he had improved enough to be discharged back to the nursing home.  A couple of days later, he relapsed & was back in hospital.  They were talking morphine to keep him comfortable until the end.  So after more wrangling with airlines, we got hubby to Sydney for a few days, where his Dad cashed in another of his nine lives & was sent back to the nursing home once more.  His end is drawing ever closer, but thankfully, we will have a bit more time to mourn the passing of two family members before losing another.  As it is, I don't think our eldest cat (just turned 17) has long to go before her body is overwhelmed by cancer & we'll be burying her in the garden next to Crusty.

So yes, it's been one Hell of a month.  I'm just waiting for this cycle of deaths to end.  So many people have passed this year.  There has to be a turn-around soon.  There have been good moments in there, like getting to know my other SIL better & seeing people & places we wouldn't have otherwise, but I'm ready for the Universe to switch gears a bit.  It's hard trying to meet Jasmine's needs when the cup runneth low and I'm feeling guilty that she's not getting as much time from us or as many opportunities to learn & interact with people as she needs right now.  She's going through another growth spurt & there is definitely developmental progress happening, so this is an important time for her.

I will sign off with a photo of the last time we saw SIL & BIL.  They travelled to Tassie in December 2008 & spent a bit of time bushwalking around Cradle Mountain before staying at our place for a few days over Christmas.  Hubby had been here for a little while, but Jasmine & I had only moved into the house the day before they arrived here and we had MIL & FIL here, too - all bunked on the floor in Jasmine's empty single bedroom.  It was squishy....and challenging.... but we have some lovely memories of their time here.  They were devoted parents who loved sharing adventures with their kids.

Riposa in pace xxx

More July happenings

Jasmine & her Dad cracked out the marble run and had fun trying to work out which configurations of blocks would result in marbles reaching the end of the run.  


Different coloured blocks allow different paths, so if you get it wrong, it just won't work.   









We've also been in decluttering mode this Winter.  Although there's still lots to do, we did manage to get rid of a lot of stuff we no longer need & I've listed heaps on Facebook.  We've got extra storage units & shelves installed, and we rediscovered the floor in Jasmine's room.  We also removed 'The Fairies' wall mural at her request ("too baby'ish") and replaced it with a selection of her artwork from the last 3-4 years.  

I was trying to work out what the strange cracking noise was from across the road one day.   There are two large old pine trees.... which were filled with a flock of black cockatoos having a feed on the pine cones.  Jasmine got with in a few metres & was in awe :)




And of course, endless conversations about the human body, geology, gardening, bill paying, recipe planning & all manner of things.

And the winner of Junior Masterchef 2018 is.....

Chicken & vegetable stack on Mountain Bread rounds (a snack at 2am)

Sesame & Sweet Chilli Chicken Salad

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls with two dipping sauces
and Jaffa Muffins (no recipe used)

The muffins get the 'official' thumbs up :)

Spring has sprung!!!

And I've just realised how much I've neglected this blog of late.  I always have good intentions, but life tends to get in the way and, ya'know, sometimes I actually have to sleep :-O

So hopping in my time machine to pick up where we left off....nearly 2 months ago.

The next thing I'd planned to tell you all about was the NAIDOC Week Aboriginal Art Workshop we attended at the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery.  As soon as I heard about it, I though it would be something Jasmine would love to do, but it was aimed at school groups.  Never fear!  Thanks to the power of Facebook & emails, I managed to round up enough kids to form a group & off we went.

It was a great day!  There were 23 kidlets participating, between the ages of 3 & 14, with parents/carers in tow.  Judith-Rose Thomas took the kids through some basic techniques that she uses in her landscape paintings before the children each got to have a turn creating their own masterpiece.  Here's some of them drying ------>

Jasmine's is on the far right, second from the bottom.  Judith-Rose was really impressed with her work :)

More importantly, Jasmine loved learning a new skill!

Len Maynard then spoke to the group about his clay sculptures and the use of symbols in Indigenous art.  He told them there were many symbols used, but no one today knows the true meaning of these symbols.  They look quite like Egyptian hieroglyphs - almost "other worldly" even - and there are large pyramids on the Eastern Shore of Hobart (which we have yet to visit).  The mind boggles what the actual link is  ;)

Using the same colour wash technique they learned in the landscape paintings, the kids then painted bookmarks which were pre-coated with a texture medium which then had copies of the hieroglyphs scratched in.  Once the bookmarks were dry, they added a piece of string with a bead on the end and it was time to go home.  Here are the two pieces that Jasmine created:


As if that wasn't enough excitement for the day, we just happened to be experiencing one of the coldest Winters in a few decades, so we just HAD to pull over & stop in the snow on the way home!

Jasmine declared it to be the "best day of (my) ENTIRE LIFE!!!!!!!"  Ahhhh, to be 6 again   :)

Happy Solstice!

Mt Wellington, 2010

And BRRRRRRRRRRR.....what a chilly one it is.  I've been in Tassie for 9.5years and in the last few years I've noticed a biennial pattern with the weather, particularly the cooler months.  Whereas we had 6 months of Autumn last year, this year it's all about freezing our behinds off, much like the winters of 2009 & 2007.

The upside of this for Jasmine is the likelihood of good snowfall on the mountains in the next 4 months or so.  She really enjoyed playing in the snow on Mt Wellington last year & has been waiting to go back ever since.  I just need to get new tyres on the car first - balding tyres, snow & a steep, narrow road do not work well together!

I'm struggling a bit to write this post.  Sometimes, words just flow, but tonight I keep drawing blanks.  It's just been one of "those" days & even as I write this, at 12.30am, Jasmine is testing boundaries.  There's been a bit of it lately, compounded by dramas interstate with extended family, so blogging has slipped down the priority list a little.

OK - take 2.  A few days has passed since I started this (and even more since I wrote this bit, so take 3) & I'm slightly more in the frame of mind to recall recent events.  Some of the things we've been up to include......

Cirque du Soleil
Being a lover of performance & acrobatics, Jasmine was SUPER excited when she saw an ad on TV for Cirque du Soleil's 'Saltimbanco'.  Thankfully, we had some money come through a few days before it started, so we booked 3 tickets & went to see a fantastic show.  Jasmine had been watching clips on YouTube for days before hand and was REALLY looking forward to seeing Elena Lev & her hula hoop/contortion routine, but that was not part of the show.  I was looking forward to the Hand to Hand routine that was supposed to be in the show, but wasn't for some reason.  I do wonder if there may have been an injury preventing them from performing the night we went.  I know they were in town as they had apparently performed a demo in the Mall earlier that day promoting the show.  Still plenty of WOW moments & amazingly talented performers, though.

Speaking of amazingly talented, here's Jasmine on the left, aged 3 in June 2008 with 4 hoops and again on the right in June 2011 with 8 hoops.  It's really no wonder she was disappointed not to see a hoop act.  Still, Circus Oz will be coming to town in October, so we'll see what acts they have ;)


Jet Streams
Jasmine was amazed to see a white line forming in the sky the other day, which triggered learning about jet streams, air currents, condensation, exhaust emissions & such.  Finished with a spot of cloud watching :)


Conception (human & feline)
Her obsession with online videos of human - and now feline - reproduction continues.


Life
We're watching a doco on Channel 9 / WIN called 'Inside the human body' & really enjoying it.  The CGI technology used produces awesome images of the internal workings of the body.  We've also got a chook sitting on one little egg, which should be due to hatch any day now.  Just hoping it's actually fertile - haven't had a chance to check it out.


Death
One of the subjects covered in the doco last week was death & what happens to the body as we die.  A couple of years ago, Jasmine saw my grandfather in his last days, as well as viewing his body at the funeral.  She really connected what she was seeing on the screen with what she saw in real life.

Also, this week saw the passing of our dear cat, Crusty.  At 13 years old, he was the youngest of our 3 feline family members.  He was a gorgeous gentle giant who loved to walk right where you need to step & specialised in acupuncture.  

I noticed a couple of months ago that his kidneys were swollen & he just wasn't quite himself, but it settled after a few days & he picked up a bit.  I figured I'd still take him to get checked out as he wasn't quite right.  I was going to ring up & make an appointment at the vet the next day, but about 10 mins before I planned to make the call, Jasmine called me to the bedroom with real urgency.  Crusty was having a seizure & frothing at the mouth.  I touched him & he settled down a bit.  I picked him up, rang the vet straight away & took him in.  The receptionist at the clinic was surprised with how quickly we got there ;)

The vet took bloods but was unable to obtain a urine sample.  We took Crusty home & he had another seizure not long afterwards.  Once it was over, he was clearly dizzy & disorientated.  All we could do was keep him hydrated & wait for the results.  As suspected, he had kidney failure - the most common killer of cats.  The vet said nothing could really be done & to figure out when to put him to sleep.

I did a lot of research online & found some natural therapies to help.  I also tried some Reiki with him, which he really seemed to enjoy & always relaxed with.  For a few weeks, although clearly not well, he perked up & his spirit was strong.  Then last week, he stopped eating & drinking.  He had mouth ulcers & gagged every time he tried to swallow anything.  Jasmine was very matter-of-fact about it in a way only children can be, telling everyone she met that Crusty was dying.  She knew from that doco what was happening inside his body & we discussed it any time she raised the subject.  I slept on the lounge with him last Thursday night as he was better for company.  I knew it was nearly time, but he wan't quite ready to leave his body.  On Friday night, he didn't come inside.  I went for a walk along our road trying to find him, to no avail.  D went out a little while later & found him.  I was soooo relieved to have him inside.  Again, I slept on the lounge with him, or rather, tried to sleep.  He was awake meowing/crying ever half hour to an hour.  I asked him to let go, but he was determined to hag on every last minute he could.  I had my stethoscope with me & his heart beat remained strong, despite his obvious discomfort & dropping body temperature.

At about 7am, he went into the next room & snuggled in with one of Jasmine's soft toy dogs.  We were supposed to be helping friends move into their new house, so D spent the morning doing that before ringing the vet arrange THAT appointment.  Just as we were about to leave home, Crusty wet himself & was most displeased.  I grabbed some tissues, dried him off a bit, then lay him on a towel on top of his bed.  He was happy to travel like that & I was glad he didn't have to spend his last half hour in a crate.  He barely made a sound on the way there.  Occasionally, he'd look around, but then his head would flop back down.  His heart rate was only about half of what it had been during the night, so he was already losing the fight.  He did meow a little when we were a couple of minutes from the vet, but then seemed resigned to it.  Once we were there, the vet tied the tourniquet & administered the injection.  I felt him go pretty much the moment she untied the strap.  I've never known an animal to succumb so quickly.  The vet let us have a few moments alone & we all cried together.  Jasmine wanted to hold Crusty on the way home.  When we got home, we laid him on the bed & prepared to bury him the next day.


We were originally going to plant him under a new tree, but ended up deciding to use a rose instead.   "Loving Memory" was one of the first roses I found at the shop & it was perfect.  We decided on the weed-infested garden bed marked for rehabilitation as a rose bed.  It's a place he used to sit on occasion, as well as walk across when he headed off to visit the neighbours.  It felt right.  We gave him one last cuddle & said our final goodbyes.  Jasmine handled it better than me, but that's not really surprising.  Watching doco's really seems to help her comprehend & accept what's happening.  She keeps saying it feels like Crusty isn't really dead & only seems to well up when she sees me cry.

Our eldest cat, Bonni, aged 17, has also recently being diagnosed with kidney failure plus hyperthyroidism.  I'm starting to think she hasn't got long to go either, so it's an emotional time here in the valley.  Our other cat, Sabre (Crusty's mum) seems to be in pretty good shape, so fingers crossed she'll be with us for a while yet.  Jasmine is already hassling for a kitten, but I think we'll just wait a while.




Evaporation, transpiration & molecular structure
We could almost say this subject is turning into a year-long unit study.  Lots more talk about water, clouds, rain and as of this week, snow!

Gastronomy

We've implemented a roster for cooking to make sure everyone gets a turn in the kitchen.  Jasmine gets to choose meals & cook on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I'm relegated to Sous chef (or is that kitchen hand?) on those nights ;)   There's also lots of late-night experimentation in the kitchen, often resulting in something inedible, but sometimes turning out really awesome like this Moroccan spiced chicken & vegetable stack, albeit at 2-2.30am.  I guess her sleeping habits would be well suited to a career in the kitchen ;)

Astronomy
The questions keep coming about planets, stars, the moon, the sun, gravity & rotational forces.  Can't wait for the nights to warm up again so we can do a bit more stargazing.

Skating
I'm impressed with her commitment to her roller skates.  Still a way to go with technique, but she's not giving up.  She really wants to try ice skating & has been watching YouTube vids of figure skating.  A friend of ours asked recently if Jasmine would be interested in going ice skating as she was going to organise a time with the rink.  It's been a lonnnng time since I've donned skates, so it should be interesting!

OK - that's probably more than enough for one post.  Will save the other couple of things for the next post in the next few days :)