do 100 things I have never done

i’ve helped my mum before but never done it all by myself. from buying the ingredients to making, dousing with alcohol, and icing. i hope it tastes nice and doesn’t fall to pieces. it certainly smelled good in the oven. i’ve decided to use only marzipan (yum yum yum!) and not icing (yuck yuck yuck!). still thinking about how to decorate it. it will be something very simple i’m sure.

i’ve been in wagga wagga for a couple of days helping a friend move house. it was hard work but also fun. i learned that to move house you need to…

• try not to own too much stuff!
• be very organised
• have lots of strong packing boxes, packing tape, soft stuff to pack delicate things, a permanent marker or two, a craft knife for opening boxes the other end, cleaning products and cloths, vacuum cleaner, drop sheets to stop mud getting everywhere if it rains.
• a survival kit for the first day or two – clothes, washbag and towel, toilet paper, bedding, food or food plans, utensils to eat food with, wallet and phone. music and a way of playing it is helpful too.
• helpful professional removalists who know your plan of action and preferably friends to help out.
• good weather is a definite plus!

i got to see where s will be working, and also the high street in wagga. we ate at a great lebanese place called ‘nabiha’s kitchen’. highly recommended.

i’m learning a lot… such as the fact that mustard coloured poo is completely normal.

today my beautiful niece was born. my brother took my sister-in-law into hospital last night and she was in labour until early this afternoon when she ended up having a Caesarian section. mother and baby are doing well. i spent the day looking after my nephew and we went in to meet his sister as soon as we got the call. i got to hold her and he kissed her and stroked her hair. i’ve never held such a young baby before. she is so precious. a day to remember.

i made a very cute cardigan in cable stitch. i just need to buy some buttons and sew them on. i’m planning to make a hat to match as well. i learnt a couple of new techniques – buttonholes and mattress stitch. it took ages because i kept on leaving it for ages but it was actually ready in time! now that’s a first!

it was scary.

my sister-in-law and i took my nephew to a colin buchannan concert yesterday. it was a lot of fun.

i saw the poster on saturday and turned up and sang on sunday. no practice whatsoever. it was so much fun. i’d forgotten quite how much i love singing, and how wonderful that piece is. the soloists were very good, the soprano in particular. i met a few new people, including one who knew two people i know. everyone was very friendly, although the average age of those singing was probably about 65, and i was the youngest by far. i’d definitely do it again if i get the chance.

my sister-in-law’s grandparents are in sydney for a holiday and today we celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary by going on a cruise with them. we were a group of 14 family members, including my two young nephews (aged five and 21 months). it was a lot of fun. i asked the captain if i could take the boys onto the bridge and he let the older one sit in his chair and pretend to be the captain. he got to ask lots of questions and honk the horn, which was very loud. the weather was perfect: quite a relief after the dust storm of yesterday.

it’s a lot of fun teaching my nephew to talk. at first it didn’t come that naturally as i’m not a big talker, and talking often in a monologue about what i’m doing or thinking felt strange. now i’ve got used to it, though, and can chatter on for ages without embarrassment. it’s also fun to speak clearly in short sentences when i particularly want him to understand, or to label things he is interested in. he is now 21 months and communicating well. he even tells lots of stories, though i only understand a few words of what he is saying. for example, if we went in the car in the morning to drop daddy off at the train station to go to work then later in the day when i mention daddy he’ll start talking about it and i’ll be able to pick out ‘dadda’ ‘car’ ‘choo-choo’. he has a word for things of interest he doesn’t know the name of: he points and says ‘sana!’ and that is my cue to say, for example, ‘it’s a plane, a plane. the plane is flying high in the sky.’

yesterday i made some flash cards with large lettering to use as a reading game with him. the first set is the names of family members who he knows. i did it twice through with him just reading the names out loud quickly and moving on to the next card. i did it this morning with him and before i could say it he exclaimed ‘Mormor!’ (his name for his grandmother) reading the top card. now i know it doesn’t take long to teach kids to read a few words using this method (glenn doman) but that was amazing. i’m looking forward to carrying on with him as long as he enjoys it.