Lockdown 2.0, Day 98

 Another good day today. I got a heap of tidying and sorting done, spent lots of time with the kids and Tony and some on my own, and a friend called in to pick up his fruit and veg and we had a great chat. His son also came and he and Liam went for a walk to explore the island. I spoke to Mum (Dad wasn't having a good day, so it was good to spend some time letting her debrief) and another friend. The Tupperware I ordered a few weeks ago arrived, so I'm getting ready to resort my vegetables into my new veggie storers. Caitlin and I popped in to Yarra Glen to get the mail and send some more parcels (Caitlin received 3 things today, a birthday present and some stuff she'd ordered) and got a few things at the IGA.

It was warm today, the warmest day for a while, and very sunny. Sitting outside to chat was really pleasant, although the boys got a bit hot on their walk. Caitlin and I walked late in the day, around 7pm, and it was really lovely - easy to walk in a t-shirt and shorts. Caitlin cooked a vegetarian butter chicken for dinner - it was delicious!!! 

I'm feeling really good although starting to get a bit nervous about what changes might be announced on Sunday and what the consequences of those changes might be. I imagine I'll get more and more antsy as the week draws on - although I'll try to stay positive and not let it impact me too much.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 82

We had a disrupted night as the helicopter was flying from 2.30 for an hour or so. I had forgotten how loud it is - it felt like it was coming through the bedroom window as it flew over the house block of vines, and the walls of the house were shaking. Somehow Amelie slept through it all, everyone else was awake for at least some of it.

So a cold start to the morning which turned into an absolutely gorgeous sunny day.I sat outside and did my writing in the morning, and it was beautiful.  Caitlin and I did our yoga in the yard and I felt really hot. I sweated a fair bit doing my yard work. I had several phone calls in the afternoon and sat in the yard while I chatted to a friend then to Mum, and to the car salesman and my mechanic. While I sat there I watched the Welcome Swallows feeding their babies in their nest above our back door, and the Willie Wagtails and Blue Fairy Wrens flit around in the trees, and even a couple of lorikeets made an appearance. I haven't seen a magpie in our yard for a couple of weeks - I think the wind may have destroyed their nests. There's still magpies around the property but none hanging out in our gum or oak trees like they normally do, which is a bit disappointing - for them I guess and also for us, I was looking forward to seeing the babies. I had another phone call with a friend while I had my walk in the later afternoon - it was warm enough to walk just in a t-shirt. Weird that that's going to be below zero again tonight after such a warm day - then we head into much warmer weather for the rest of the week.

Only 5 cases today - the lowest since June 12. Such a relief although numbers are usually lower early in the week because fewer tests are done on the weekend. Everyone - well, most people - seem to be feeling a bit cheered by the potential bringing forward of the next step out of restrictions, we can hang on for another 3 weeks.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 81

 An exciting day today as the next step of easing restrictions were announced. I spent the morning pottering around the house and yard, waiting for the press conference at 12.30, then watched that intently for the next hour and a half or so.

So the changes are - from tomorrow there will be no curfew. Groups of 5 people, from 2 households, can gather in public places. The restriction of only 1 person per household per day, in one outing, going shopping has been lifted. Childcare is open and schools will start to go back after the holidays. Those last 2 don't impact us so much (although the childcare changes might mean we can look after Liam's friend if necessary) and the curfew makes little difference, but the other 2 changes will give us a bit more flexibility, so that's good. We're also on track to have more restrictions lifted in 3 weeks rather than 4 - I feel like I can survive 3 more weeks.

I actually woke up looking forward to the day, it's been over a week since I felt like that. It was cold again but sunny for most of the day. After the press conference I did yoga with Caitlin - it was dry enough to do it outside again today, we had been doing it in the kitchen (the best place to fit both our mats). It's so beautiful sitting or lying and looking at the mountains and the trees and the vines, I love doing our practice in the yard. I attended an online tupperware party in the afternoon, we watched a cooking demonstration and then I had a browse of the catalogue, I'll probably buy a new things. There was still time afterwards to go for a long walk - Caitlin had already been, so I went alone and listened to my audio book. It was a gorgeous time to walk, the new vines look amazing, and I felt very peaceful and at ease. The yoga is making a difference too, my hips are much more flexible and walking feels easier. Luna walked off lead with me for most of the way, then was enticed by the rabbits and took off on her own. She didn't come back quickly so Caitlin had a driving lesson and we went to find her. While we were setting off the helicopter flew in - there's frost forecast for tomorrow morning. After a bit of searching and calling Luna came to us, wet and cold and probably terrified by the helicopter. She's currently curled up in front of the fire trying to dry off. 

I had a new beer tonight - a Bonehead Brewing Choc Vanilla Porter. It was delicious - kind of like drinking an iced chocolate, with a beery texture. Caitlin watched the Block, we ate a delicious roast beef dinner, then Caitlin and I went out to cover her tomato plants before the frost - it is SO cold out there already, a very crisp, clear night. 

Lockdown 2.0, Days 62 and 63

 I was exhausted last night after my fortnightly homeschool Zoom meeting and went to bed to read rather than writing my blog - felt a lot better today.

There was a beautiful red sunrise yesterday morning - very different from the clear morning on Monday. The temperature stayed quite warm overnight as well - it was lovely sitting outside on the couch to do my writing.. It was also very windy again, then calmed down later in the day. Really has been some crazy weather lately. The girls did some yoga, I spent time working on my photos. Amelie skyped with a friend. I finally finished the number puzzle I'd been working on! We had 7 people on our Zoom meeting, all the usual people and a couple of others, it was lovely to see everyone. I had planned to go to Healesville to get my milk and do the weekly shopping, but got a text saying that the milk wouldn't be available as the dairy had no power (delivery would be Wednesday instead). It was nice to not have to rush off and instead I was able to go for a walk with the kids (Liam rode his bike). Caitlin cooked nachos for dinner, I did some work on my course then read my book.

I was up early again this morning, got my writing done, had breakfast and got going on the dishes pretty early. I managed to get everything washed - it's been a while since I had everything clean! I did yoga with the girls - such a beautiful sunny morning and very pleasant to be outside doing yoga. Amelie stayed outside lying in the sun, then lying on the trampoline, for quite a while. I enjoyed pottering around outside for a while, then spent a couple of hours tidying up inside. Mid-afternoon I headed down to Healesville- half way there I realised I didn't have my mask so back home to grab that. I did my Aldi shop (it was much busier than it usually is later on a Tuesday afternoon - not sure if it's normally busy at 3pm or if it was because it was Wednesday and the new specials are out) then a quick stop into Coles. I got my milk, and on the way home I explored a road a friend had told me about - it's within our 5km radius and it looks like a great place to ride bikes or go for a walk. Will take the kids back there sometime soon.

At home I went for a walk and talked to a friend on the phone while she walked as well. It was a great chat, will try to do that more often. The afternoon was gorgeous and Luna and I walked to the huge gum tree on Houghtons Lane. Just after I got home I heard a helicopter, fairly close - I quickly looked at the weather forecast and saw that frost is forecast tomorrow, so wondered if the helicopter was coming to us - it soon appeared over the trees near the shed and it obviously was coming in to land. Amelie and Luna and I watched it fly down towards the dam and circle around to land - I love helicopters and am always excited in spring when we have one here to minimise the impact of frost. It might be a noisy night if they have to use it.

The combination of yoga this morning and a long walk this afternoon though has meant my legs are pretty sore tonight - will rest up and try to get to bed early. I did a bit of work on my course and we had leftovers for dinner. I got a bit of piano playing in before Caitlin put the Block on. Liam is playing games online with a couple of friends.

The numbers were very low yesterday (low 40s) but back up in the 70s today. One higher day is not a problem in itself, as long as they go lower most of the time. We've been watching La Tour de France and been amazed that it's going ahead even though France is getting so many cases. Last night they announced that the race director has tested positive, as well as 4 team staff members. It will be interesting (and a bit scary) to see if anyone else is infected, and how that impacts on the Tour.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 53

 It was a blustery day again today - mainly sunny although it got quite grey in the late afternoon. Just as the sun set the sky became completely orange, with bursts of sunshine over the vines, and 2 full rainbows in the sky to the east. 

In the morning the kids and I played Among Us, an online game, on our phones - I was reluctant at first but it was really fun and we played several rounds. The kids each tried one of their hot chocolate spoons and were quite happy with the results. I gave Caitlin a manual driving lesson in Dad's car - she got the hang of the clutch pretty quickly and got better at only accelerating as much as she needed to. After lunch Caitlin brushed my hair and then we spent a good part of the afternoon dying it purple - we listened to music and chatted while she put the dye in my hair and it was relaxing and fun. I went for a late afternoon walk and got rained on a tiny bit. A couple of big branches down around the dam. Amelie had a bit of a jump on the trampoline and the other 2 went for a bike ride. Tony watched the Collingwood game, then Caitlin cooked nachos for dinner. I worked on my photos and my course, and the girls watched the Block. I finally got around to making yoghurt (it's been on my to do list for over a week). 

Over 100 cases again today - word is that it's still too high to start talking about rolling the restrictions back. We've still got 2 weeks of Stage 4, at least, so I guess we just keep doing what we're doing... Unless you're flouting the restrictions, then you probably should stop doing that.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 50

 Another eventful lockdown day (or maybe little things now seem adventurous, as a contract to the sameness of most of our usual days). We had a massive wind storm - some rain, but mainly strong, damaging winds, and the power went out. We manage with power outages on a semi-regular basis, but this was just as it was getting dark, most of our phones had little charge which is unusual for us, my car wasn't here so we couldn't use my 2nd battery to charge up things we needed, we'd been just about to cook dinner, I tried to look up the website to see how extensive the outage was but none of our devices would load the site, and it just felt unusually difficult to manage. One positive though is that the water tanks are full after all the rain we've had so we still had water gravity feeding through the taps and we'd be able to flush the toilet. We got camping lights out of the trailer (which was tricky in itself because it was wet and windy while I was rummaging around trying to find them) and our camping stove - a friend had given us one that they'd got 2nd hand, to replace our old stove that was dying, and I hadn't tried it out yet. I couldn't find a hose with it so we disconnected the hose from our old stove and used it, but when we turned the new one on there was gas leaking. It seemed to be missing an O-ring and we tried to replace it with some we had here but they weren't the right size. We thought about going down to Coles to get a new O-ring, then realised it might be easier just to buy dinner, then realised that there was also no power in Healesville. Tony, Liam and Caitlin went for a drive to find food and had to go a bit further than expected - I was a little worried as they didn't get home until after 8, but they found food and got there and back with no trouble. While they were gone the power came back on, I was so grateful for all that that allowed us to do. I was even more grateful when I discovered that Healesville was still out an hour later, and Lilydale still had no power a couple of hours later than that. Very unusual that Tarrawarra gets power back before other places, we're normally last on the list. There were trees down all over the place, and the Black Spur was closed due to trees and a car trapped where the person needed to be rescued by air ambulance - we saw and heard the helicopter go over each way. It reminded me that the little inconveniences we'd had over the past couple of days really weren't that big a deal.

Prior to the storm the day had been fairly quiet, and fun. I pottered around in the morning, the girls watched SIMS videos and The Saddle Club on YouTube, I ordered some things we needed from Office Works, Caitlin and I researched the easiest place to buy cheap yarn so she can keep making her little creatures, Amelie and I did some number puzzles, I had a Zoom appointment with my counsellor, I reset Amelie's Animal Crossing New Leaf game so that she could start from the beginning (she'd bought a pre-owned copy so the save file had someone else's data in it), Caitlin decorated her cupboard with stickers, Liam played Getting Over It, I talked to a friend a couple of times. Caitlin and I went for a walk in the late afternoon - it was already pretty windy and the clouds were very black to the south. We'd had sunshine throughout the day but it was looking more and more ominous as we walked, it was pretty spectacular. We checked out the creek, it's running much lower again now, and walked along the front of the property where we noticed the fields of the Abbey are still covered in water, so we went across the road to get a closer look. It looked pretty cool. At that point, there were dark clouds everywhere and it was starting to rain, but Mt Dandenong was bathed in golden sunlight - that looked even more cool!

Numbers are staying in the low to mid 100s, deaths are continuing to happen every day, although some days now they are in single digits.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 47

 After a weekend spent mainly sitting on the couch, I woke up (early - 5.20am) this morning with lots of energy and feeling keen to get on with some projects. I did a bit of tidying and organising and made some dents in a couple of areas of the house. I realised that I've been putting off the things I really want to do because they felt like wants rather than the necessary housework - but it's been leading to me not feeling motivated to even the necessary stuff. So today I prioritised those things - namely starting to clean out the walk in cupboard in my room to convert it into a little writing space for myself, and organising the files on my MacBook so that it's working more efficiently and I can work on my photos more easily. I made progress in each area and it felt good.

Liam and I went for a walk in the morning to see the water levels around the property. Everywhere is still very wet (we had 27mL yesterday, as well as 3-10 mLs each day for almost the last week) but there weren't so many rivers around the place. The creek level had dropped a fair bit but it was running fast. We saw ducklings on the dam, swimming away from the shore with their mum as we got closer. So incredibly cute! We had quite a few sunny patches today and it was slightly warmer - I even got the washing dry outside!

I watched Liam play Fall Guys for a while and we chatted about strategy. I had a good talk to a friend. Amelie and Caitlin played games on the House Party app, then Millie spent a good part of the afternoon using it to talk to a friend. They played Pokemon games and she jumped on the trampoline and was so excited to be able to see her friend on her phone rather than just hear her voice. She also started to make some more YouTube videos, and Liam is looking at recording some of his game plays. Caitlin watched YouTube for a while and finished crocheting her next little creature. She and Amelie went for a late afternoon walk then started to watch The Sound of Music. I talked to Mum and Dad on the phone - Dad hasn't felt well enough to talk the last several times I've rung, it was really lovely to chat with him. Tony watched the Collingwood game and the kids watched The Block - I saw bits while I tidied the kitchen and got ready for bed. Liam told me about some of the history of coffee that he'd been learning about - it was fascinating. 

Numbers were low today - only 116! Although 15 deaths. I feel that the new cases will go up a bit again later in the week, hopefully not too much though. It feels maybe slightly possible that we could come out of Stage 4 in another 3 weeks - that would be so great.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 42

 I had a look at the charts of Covid numbers in Australia for the first time in a while - the daily new cases graph has a nice downward looking trend, and the graph of cumulative cases looks like it's starting to flatten out. The number of deaths are still saddening, I really hope that changes soon (I know I keep saying that, and that's because I keep thinking it).

Amelie and I had a lovely time in the morning looking at stuff on the computer - a fox in Berlin who has stolen over 100 shoes (mainly crocs) from people's gardens, recordings of different fox sounds, the squirrel ninja course built by Mark Rober - she hadn't seen it before, and although Liam and I had, several times, we excitedly watched it again with her. Check it out here She's having a hard time at the moment - she has a few friends who she talks to and plays games with online, but she's finding that it's not the same as seeing them in person, they are clashing more and there isn't so much of an opportunity to work things out on the phone. Normally if they have a disagreement they'll change what they are doing and that will clear the air - not so easy at the moment. 

I made waffles and researched oreshki - Aldi have a waffle maker that can also make other things, oreshki included - they sound delicious although a bit fiddly to make, I'll definitely have a go once I buy the waffle maker. Looking at them inspired Amelie and I to turn a tin of condensed milk into caramel. 

Caitlin and I went to the post office - well, I drove and she went in, as only 1 person from each family is allowed to shop each day. She posted off some care packages from herself and from me, then grabbed a few things from the IGA. My car started each time but it was reluctant about it, I really need to get it fully charged, or replaced.

I went for a walk a bit earlier than usual - it had been raining, heavily at times, on and off so I went around 3pm when it was kind of dry. It rained a little on me but not heavily. I had a long walk, through lots of mud, and it felt good. My muscles were all hurting a LOT from my strength training the day before, and I was feeling a bit lethargic, so a walk was great. All day I felt like I was trying to do things and I couldn't quite get to them, other things kept happening that I needed/wanted to do first. I felt like  some weird combination paradox of Zeno's paradoxes, that I'd never reach my target, because I wasn't actually in motion and/or I had to keep catching up and could never overtake the obstacles. After my walk I was going to have a bath - the girls were watching Avatar: The Last Airbender and it was the final couple of episodes. I was really drawn to the final battle scenes and found myself sitting and watching instead of heading to the bath - I'm glad I did, they were pretty amazing and even though I have only seen bits of the series it was exciting to watch it all wrap up. Tony came home then and we chatted a bit and he had his shower then finally I got in the bath and soaked away some of the sore muscles (although there wasn't as much hot water as I'd have liked so it was less relaxing than I'd been imagining. Lying down and reading my book was good though).

After dinner Caitlin and Amelie and I played Monopoly on the Xbox (and ate some of our tin of caramel. Caitlin suggested adding salt to it, so we all had ice cream with salted caramel and it was delicious!)

Lockdown 2.0, Day 38

Another restless night, but no real time awake, just lots of tossing and turning. I woke up early and had a lovely few hours by myself, doing some writing, checking my email, getting the dishes done. My energy feels almost back to normal and my back is much better, so I was able to do a bit of work with the compost and patch some more holes in the driveway, nice to get back into it.

I made a batch of waffles and Tony cooked some bacon and eggs, so we all ate well this morning. After lunch I spent a few hours sorting stuff that we'd dumped into boxes, and clearing a few areas that had built up piles of stuff over the past couple of months. It was fun and I feel like I made some progress. Caitlin and Liam went for a bike ride, Tony joined them for some of it, Amelie played on the trampoline - she's almost got her front flip, her feet hit the tramp just before her bum, so she's SO close. She also spent time chatting to a friend and playing Roblox. Caitlin started crocheting little animals, and Liam played computer games with a friend. I worked on my course for a while then went for a walk in the hour before sunset. There were heavy grey clouds in the east, with an orangey tinge to them, it was very moody and atmospheric, and very pretty. Luna was tired after running with the kids on their bike ride so I walked completely by myself - I haven't done that in a long time and it felt quite liberating!

I cooked a curry for dinner - vegetarian, but there was chicken in the fridge so those of us who wanted meat added some to our bowls. The girls watched Avatar: the Last Airbender on and off throughout the day, so I saw bits of that too and continue to really enjoy it. After dinner Caitlin and I watched Top End Wedding. I started a new blog where I'll review tv shows, movies and books (https://readingandwatchingjoyously.blogspot.com/).

I briefly saw the numbers this morning and it was around 300. Feels steady, although it also feels like a long way until things feel ok in Melbourne. I don't even know how long we've been in Stage 4 lockdown, but there is a long way to go. I'm not feeling down about it, more resigned (and a little bit bored - but I can still have good days, like today, so we'll be ok).

Lockdown 2.0, Day 36

 I slept badly - although I got up and did some writing which helped pass the time and I was much more relaxed when I went back to bed. My back was a bit twingy during the day but an improvement on the past couple of days. I had hoped to do another strength training session with The Compound - wasn't quite up to it today, hopefully I'll manage one next week.

I got a good handle on the dishes today, they've been mounting up a bit, as our dishwasher still isn't working - I significantly reduced the pile today, listening to my favourite music and chatting to the kids, and it felt good. Caitlin and I had a loud and fun game of Spit - I thought she was going to beat me in only 3 rounds, but I fought back and we played for ages. Amelie and I did some number puzzles, and Caitlin brushed and braided my hair. I spent some time sorting stuff in Amelie's room - we were looking for her DS and eventually found it, after finding a lot of other things that we'd been looking for as well. The girls and I watched 10 Things I Hate About You, and I made roasted almonds and a Raw Paleo Fudge. I went for a walk across the creek - a beautiful sunny afternoon although a little windy. I chatted to a friend on the phone for a while then listened to my audio book. Caitlin dyed the bottom of Amelie's hair purple - it looks fantastic!Caitlin and Liam went for a bike ride. Amelie watched some Avatar: The Last Airbender and we all watched bits of it with her. I did some work on my course and Caitlin cooked nachos for dinner - delicious.

I had a look at the graph of new cases for the first time in about a week. It looks better than last time I looked at it - the trend does seem to be heading down. I started to worry though, it feels like we'll be in lockdown for a good while longer and even once restrictions ease, the virus is still going to be around, there doesn't seem to be a good options for the future. I got a bit down about it all, then felt really bored and restless for the rest of the evening. I've been feeling really good for a while now, so a bit of a slump isn't too bad. I'm hoping a better night's sleep tonight will help.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 28

Numbers were bad again today. Record number of cases and deaths in Victoria (725 and 15 respectively). The word is that it might get worse before it gets better. I know that it could take a while for each lot of new restrictions to have an impact. But numbers like that are hard to sit comfortably with.

Tony has his permit for work and there's a few changes in his workplace so that everyone has less contact with people. Caitlin and I have started taking our masks with us when we walk on the property, in case we have to talk to one of the vineyard guys (we'd mainly been walking after they left so it didn't matter, but we're walking in between the rain this week so it's been during working hours mainly.)

I had another good day today, even though I got tired easily and needed lots of rests. I played Kaboom with Amelie, had a great walk with Caitlin, chatted with Liam about the games he's been playing (mainly Getting Over It), watched Gilmore Girls (we're getting so close to the end), chatted with Mum and 2 different friends, worked on my photos and my course, had an afternoon bath and read my book. It was another cold day, with alternating rain and sun. Late in the afternoon Amelie saw a rainbow that looked like it was in the vineyard, so we went chasing it. As we got closer it was consumed by the rain clouds to the east - disappointing to lose the rainbow but it was so beautiful out there. The sun was shining from just above the western horizon, and there were thick grey clouds to the east and south, and there were water droplets on all surfaces. The three kids and I hung out towards the front of the property for a good while, talking, laughing, climbing trees (well, the kids climbed, I took photos of them and of the vines and mountains). The big kids went in and Amelie showed me her favourite places to climb and explore.

We had beef stroganof for tea and watched The Princess and the Frog then all headed towards bed.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 10

217 cases overnight. That's better news than the last few days. I know that it doesn't mean that things are definitely better, or that things are trending downwards - but it does give me hope again. It's possible that things could improve.

Had a very low key, quiet day today. Lots of Gilmore Girls and playing on my phone, some writing, chatting to Liam, trying to stay warm - it was a cold day. In the afternoon I went out to Tony's work to help him collect wood that he'd been chopping, I hadn't been way up the back on the hill before - fantastic views of the valley in several directions, and a really fun place to walk through. Lots of little trees that are less than 11 years old - that area was burnt on Black Saturday. Lots of big old trees with fire scars too. I took Luna with me and we had a walk on the hill after loading the ute with wood.

I took Caitlin to work then had a wonderfully long chat on the phone with a friend, now settling in for more quiet evening time, and planning a similarly quiet day tomorrow.

Lockdown 2.0, Day 9

428 cases overnight. That's alarming. Really not good news. The next few days will be an indicator I guess of whether the lockdown measures are starting to have an impact. It's really quite scary.

I'm pleased though that despite the bad news I stayed in a good mood all day (I'm tired now and ready for bed - I'm in the middle of making yoghurt though so want to wait up until that's ready to put in the jar. Everything else is done, so I can write here for a while then I guess I'll read my book until the yoghurt is ready).

I woke up a bit before 6 after sleeping all night (from 11.30. That's later than I'd normally go but the football was in Perth last night so finished late, and Caitlin was lying in bed chatting and laughing with me while Tony watched the end of the game and the press conferences etc. Amelie joined us for a while and by the time the girls headed off it was quite late). I love being up early and I'm usually in a really good mood if I get an early start to the day. Liam was still awake then so we had a good chat about his game and the animals and other stuff and had breakfast together. I pottered around all morning, chatted to my mum, helped Amelie find fabric for some sewing she's doing, helped Caitlin get the lego out (she was inspired by watching the Try Guys doing a lego challenge on YouTube), ticked some things off my to do list (admin type stuff (including ringing to see if Amelie's phone is ready - it might be back by Tuesday. Or Thursday. Next week.)). In the afternoon I did some work on my creativity course, then the girls and I walked to the end of Houghtons Lane and back. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a walk - everywhere I looked was so beautiful. We talked to some cows, saw wattle trees in a whole range of stages of blooming, admired our favourite gum tree, looked at reflections in puddles of water - it was fantastic. Tony came and picked Amelie up when she got tired and Caitlin and I walked the rest of the way home. She had some food and I re-dressed her burn (it's mainly looking good, except for her middle finger, it's still very red and sore) then took her to work. I then took myself on a date - I bought some boiled lollies from the new lolly shop in Yarra Glen, bought a spearmint hot chocolate (SO delicious) from the ice cream place, then drove down to the showgrounds and found a place to park near the river. I hopped out and took a few photos, then sat in the car and read my book until it got too dark to see easily, so I played on my phone for a while. I picked up pizza on the way home and felt very relaxed and recharged - but really really cold! I had a lovely hot shower then spent the evening tidying things up and making yoghurt, talking to a friend and rescuing a very large huntsman spider from Liam's room.

Hopeful for a drop in numbers tomorrow and hoping that people really start to do the right thing and stay home as much as possible.

Helicopters and frost

Last night I was relaxing in the bath after a big bushwalk, and I heard a helicopter overhead. Nothing unusual about that - but it kept getting louder and louder as if it was coming in to land  - then I remembered that there was frost forecast for this morning, and the grape vines have started to bud. I was hoping they'd have to send the helicopter in - both to save the vines from the frost, and because I LOVE helicopters. I called out to the kids (by this stage the noise was directly above the house so I figured they'd probably heard it but maybe not realised what was happening) and they ran outside to watch it land. Luna was terrified and was happy to have their company. Tony and the kids chatted a bit to the pilot before he headed off to wherever he stays on the frost nights.

The helicopter has come most years in spring, when there's a frost forecast for the next morning and there are already buds or leaves on the vines. It's job is to fly over the vines and created enough wind that the dew can't freeze and destroy the crop. Some other vineyards have big fans installed to do the same job, or have a sprinkler system installed which stops the water from freezing. If the new leaves are damaged in spring, the wineries will have to wait for a secondary crop which would mean that yield would be down significantly. Usually when the helicopter comes the temperature doesn't end up dropping enough to form a frost, so the pilot gets a good night's sleep somewhere and comes back and picks his helicopter up in the morning.

Last night we went to bed as usual and I woke at 2.40am to a noise I couldn't identify. I'd put the washing machine on timer so that it would wash overnight and at first I thought it was the spin cycle, although I couldn't ever remember the noise taking over the whole house. There as also what sounded like an alarm going off. Then I remembered the helicopter and jumped out of bed to see it - I went out into the carport (where it was pretty cold, just below zero I later found out) and could see the helicopter getting ready to take off (it was over near the sheds). The noise was phenomenal, echoing through the carport and practically shaking the house. The alarm sound was just the high pitch of the propellers whizzing around, and there was a deep throbbing sound as well. I watched it take off in the dark night (it had lights) which was exciting, then watched for a while as it flew back and forth over each area of the vineyard, under an almost full moon. It was totally worth getting up at 3am and standing in the cold to see it.

Luna was once again terrified and when I opened the back door she raced straight into the house (she's usually reluctant to come in). She curled up on the couch and was much happier. I watched the helicopter for a bit longer (from the warmth of inside) then went back to bed - it flew for half an hour then landed again and the noise was pretty loud the whole time. Tony and the kids didn't wake up - I was surprised. I heard it take off two more times through the night - a big night for the pilot this time. The temperarture hovered just below zero for most of the rest of the night, then warmed up quickly once the sun came up. I slept in a little due to being up in the middle of the night, so the frost was gone by time I went outside.

I love living where we do for so many reasons, and this was one that I don't think of very often - it's like a little value add to have the excitement of the helicopter on our property, and I also enjoy the strong reminder of how much agriculture is at the mercy of the weather. I'm grateful to live here and be surrounded by grapevines and that the company is in a good enough position to protect their assets - which helps with Tony's job security and income.

A very hot Friday

Yesterday was hot - exceedingly and unexpectedly so. The forecast was in the low 30s, although apparently that was revised up by about 9 degrees overnight! It got hot early and the temperature kept climbing. By the middle of the afternoon I didn't feel motivated to do anything, I lay on my bed playing Hungry Babies for a while which was fun and relaxing. I was frustrated though that I felt no motivation - until I went out and got in the car and the thermometer said 39 degrees - it means our house would have been sitting in the low 30s and I do find it hard to do much in those conditions - our house gets very stuffy with all the windows closed and usually on a day that was going to get that hot I'd plan to be out of there by 2 or 3pm at the latest.

As it was we left at 4 and it was much more pleasant in the car. I dropped LiAM off at K's house for a trip to the pool and then an evening playing video games, I dropped Amelie off at E's house for an afternoon of unicorn games, Wii games and a zombie apocalypse game (and a run under the sprinkler), and I took Caitlin to acting. While she was there I got a new screen protector on the iPad (I can stop hassling everyone about being careful with it now), did some grocery shopping and hung out in Ringwood library for a while, borrowing books and DVDs and reading my book for a lovely half an hour. While I was in the shopping centre apparently there was a storm - the ground was wet when I came out and I couldn't figure out why, since it was still hot and sunny, and I found out later there'd been a storm and then it had cleared to become more hot and humid.

After we all got home it was still warm outside but pleasant enough for Amelie and I to go and lie on the trampoline and look for patterns in the stars. She can recognise the Southern Cross now, and the Pointers, and we discussed the difference between planets and stars, and why our sun looks so much brighter than the planets, and why we share our sun with other planets, and how far away various stars might be, and what makes one star brighter than another, and whether the brightest of the pointers might be the Second Star from one of the Tinkerbell movies, and whether it's ok to share your wish when you wish on a shooting star, and whether the moving lights we could see in the sky were aeroplanes or satellites... It was a lot of fun.

Earlier in the day
- my sister came to visit and the kids showed T the chickens (he loved them and kept wanting to go out to see them again) and played lego and cars with him, Caitlin and F played the knock-Buzz-off-the-wall game, F and I had a good chat, and we took T over near the shed to look at the tractor and the grape picker (he was thrilled)
- Amelie and LiAM read the latest Guinness World Records book, which has a special section on gaming records
- Caitlin did some more painting - she drew a Manga style girl and painted her, I was impressed. She wasn't happy with how the mouth turned out - for her first attempt at painting a person it was amazing
- We did some Harry Potter quizzes, including a very tricky 'who said this quote' quiz, which was hard but we got most of them
- I did some more geography quizzes
- Caitlin fixed our little fan that sprays water and was able to help cool everyone down

The forecast for the next week is for every day to be 30 or above, with some high 30s later in the week. Normally I don't mind hot weather (although it is a challenge to keep our house cool enough to hang out it) but the fact that it's now March makes this seem really bizarre and a bit harder to cope with. The leaves on the vines are turning yellow and red - the weather is supposed to be getting cooler, not hotter... We're going up to Yea for a few days next week, I wonder if it will be cooler or hotter up there (could go either way).

A hot day at home, and Guides

LiAM had been looking forward to yesterday for a few days, as we had most of the day at home and he would have the chance to play Lego Marvel Superheroes for a nice long chunk of time, rather than squeezing in half an hour or an hour between other activities. When I got up around 7.30 he was already awake and playing, said he'd woken up at 7. He really enjoyed his long play, was able to really work at some of the difficult levels, get a heap of new characters, and really become immersed in the game. He chatted away the whole time he was playing, telling us what was happening, what he was thinking, talking about the characters and how they react to situations and whether he thought it was true to their character or not, or things he would have done differently if he'd made the game. The girls and I watched, commented, looked up walk throughs when he got really stuck (I love that I can read an instruction that makes no sense to me and he immediately says 'oh yeah, that would work!') and the girls both played with him on and off.

When Amelie woke up she curled up with me on the couch and we watched LiAM for a while then we did some quizzes - one on the Disney Princesses, (we got all of them except Merida from Brave), and one on the planets. Amelie is fascinated by the planets at the moment, we chat about them most days and we've talked about the difference between a moon and a sun and a planet, and the names of the planets in our solar system, and why Saturn has rings, and which planets are hotter, and why Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet (I still need to look that up). She has a little model of the solar system with the sun and the planets revolving around that, and we play with it a few times a week - she grabbed it yesterday to help remember the names of all the planets - all the names are familiar to her now, and she's starting to associate more of them with the correct planet and remember some without looking at them. It's cool to see an interest develop that's completely hers, not something that has grown out of things the others were interested in.

We also all spent time looking at an alien book we'd picked up the day before, lots of great pictures and discussion starters about whether there really are aliens, what they might look like, what they'd think of us and so on.

Amelie watched some more pokemon and I watched with her for a while and played Hungry Babies, then Caitlin came and joined us. She played some Coolmath-games while she watched, and discovered one called Coffee Shop, where you have to buy supplies, set a recipe for your coffee, and sell it to make a profit over a fortnight, as well as get a good reputation for your store. She really loved it and asked me to play a round of it - it was fun and challenging (and I made a profit of $184, I was pretty happy). There were so many factors to think of, Caitlin was fascinated and it started a great discussion about all the decisions and planning involved in successfully selling products.

I spent a good chunk of the day catching up on some of the housework that had accumulated from us being out and about so much lately and me not having the energy when we got home to do much about it. I got quite a lot done and felt happy that it wasn't too much to handle.

It was another hot day and we had an unexpected power outage in the afternoon (which brought a stop to Lego Marvel Superheroes). We got ready to go out as there was no way we could stay in the house for very long without cooling. The girls had Thinking Day activities at Guides and were dressing up as someone from a country they'd chosen (out of the countries that have World Centres for Guides). Amelie was England and wore a pretty dress to be a princess, and Caitlin was Mexico, we found a flowery, swirly skirt and an embroidered top, and Tony's sombrero. Once the power dropped out the girls got into their costumes and I gathered up the library books and we left as quickly as we could. (Still not quick enough to avoid feeling hot and sweaty and cranky before we left, but once we got into the car and got it cooled down everything felt a bit better). The power came on just before we left but seeing as we were ready to go we kept going. The girls were asked to take food from their country as well, so we went to the IGA to buy supplies - and it was closed due to the power outage. We went to Coldstream IGA and Caitlin got corn chips and salsa, we couldn't find anything that Amelie wanted to take. We really wanted scones but I hadn't felt up to making some. We went back to the Yarra Glen bakery and the best I could do was a tea cake, so at least we were taking something. We dropped the girls at Guides then LiAM and I went to the library, he watched some youtube videos and I read my book and it was lovely and cool and relaxing.

Once the library closed we sat outside and read/watched for a while longer, then went to the bakery again for LiAM to buy an apple cake - they didn't have any so the girl helped him decide what else to get (the girls who work there on a Wed afternoon know and love him) and he got a French Vanilla Slice instead. I also bought some chocolate milk for Amelie as she'd been wanting some all day. We picked Amelie up and went home to a house where luckily the air con had worked enough to cool it back down again (enough to be inside anyway). The kids played some minecraft and some more Lego superheroes, until Big Bang Theory was on at 7.30. We taped it so that we could watch with Caitlin when she got home, and it was a relaxing hour after a bit of a full on afternoon out. When it finished we watched a bit of Degrassi, which had some full on issues being discussed, so we talked about that a bit - standing up for people who are being victimised, and how hard that can be, especially when the person in the wrong is someone you are close to - and then watched Heartland. Caitlin was also playing a game on her iPad which requires amazing dexterity and quick reflexes, I love watching her because she's so calm and so good at it. I had a try and I'm a lot clumsier. She was trying to get to 10000 gems to buy a new sub-game and worked hard at it for ages yesterday, and eventually got there - she was so happy and really enjoyed the new game.

Amelie and I went to bed and she was going to watch Pokemon but got distracted talking to me, then the others came in and they were playing a game on my bed, and massaging my feet while we all chatted. We'd been talking about starting to read Brisingr again as we hadn't done so for ages, with the big kids doing more things in the evening they hadn't been wanting to stop and listen when Amelie was ready for bed. So we read a couple of chapters and it was great to get back into the story - we could all remember different bits of what had happened so far, so we were able to keep going from where we were up to and piece together the story.

A day with friends

(I forgot to publish yesterday's post until I came to write this one, which means there'll be 2 published today).

Yesterday Amelie was up early and continued watching Pokemon Diamond and Pearl while I checked my email, did some quizzes, blogged, did some work on my photos, did some Auslan learning. LiAM got up around 10am and wanted to play Lego Marvel Superheroes, so negotiated with Amelie to be able to do that for an hour before we went out. Caitlin got up and watched them for a while and played on her iPad.

We left a bit after 11 to go to the H's, on the way we played the car game we've been playing on all our trips lately - counting makes of car rather than colour. LiAM loves to be Mazda, Amelie is usually Toyota (although yesterday Caitlin was and she saw at least 5 times as many as the rest of us.) I usually agree to be whatever the next car that passes us is - on the way to Yea on Monday I therefore got Maserati as my car to count - the kids agreed to let me pick the next one instead, so that I didn't get stuck on 1 for the whole trip. When we arrived LiAM and A immediately started discussing Minecraft and things they'd done in their worlds recently, and then played on and off during the day. Amelie and J went into the front room to play duplo and Caitlin chatted with us and then went to play on her iPad and play with O.

I had a counselling appointment so headed off to that after a cup of tea. The session was helpful and exhausting as usual - the exhaustion will pass and the help will continue to become more beneficial. On the way home I stopped in Lilydale to buy a birthday present for our friend S, because it was her 11th birthday. I also found some swimmers for Caitlin (although I think I bought a size too small, she's growing so quickly I keep underestimating her size when she's not with me). I treated myself to an eclair from Donut King - haven't had one of those for many many years and it was exactly what I felt like - and I'll probably be happy now to not have another one for many many more years.

H had just finished work so I gave her a lift home. When we got back Amelie and J were still playing duplo, LiAM and A were having a sword fight and then went outside to the trampoline and the hose, Caitlin had helped L move furniture around and fill the shelves. I stayed for another cuppa and a long chat, while the kids played.

Eventually we went home, and it looked like it was going to start raining - would have been such a relief on a 41 degree day. It fizzled out pretty quickly where we were, although when we got home there had been enough rain to leave the roads wet, it had stopped by then though.

I cooked dinner (pasta alfredo) and we watched the new episode of Big Bang Theory. I did some surveys on the computer and Amelie came and snuggled with me and helped me answer some of the questions. Tony came home while we were watching 'Here Come the Habibs' and I took Amelie to bed to watch more Pokemon - this series has lots of Piplup in it, who is my favourite, so it's an extra fun one to watch.

The day after our big day out

I was surprised that I didn't feel more tired on Friday night after our big day - I saved it up for yesterday where I felt tired and kind of sleepy for most of the day. There wasn't a lot I needed a great deal of energy for though so it wasn't too bad.

Tony started work at 9 so we had a bit of time with him in the morning. It was surprisingly hot quite early in the day, I was really feeling the heat - a couple of weeks of lower temperatures has meant we're not used to the 30+ degree days anymore. When Amelie woke up I joined her in our room to watch some more Pokemon, and we talked about our favourite pokemon (Piplup for me, Maluetta (sp?) for her) - she gave me a great description of her favourite and I could picture who she meant, I just couldn't remember her name. I love hearing Amelie's descriptions of things, they are detailed and accurate, and the types of information she includes gives a great insight into how her mind works.

Once the other kids were up we sorted through a couple of bags of clothes that a friend had handed on to us, and found something for everyone to add to their wardrobe. Everyone was fairly quiet and subdued after our day out on Friday, so we just chatted and watched tv for the morning. In the afternoon we headed out - LiAM went to the movies with V to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens again (3rd time for LiAM), Amelie went to her friend E's house - she hasn't had many plays with friends where she was dropped off on her own, without siblings or parents staying, so she was quite excited to be going to her OWN friend's house, and Caitlin and I went to H's 19th birthday party. We had a lovely afternoon tea, all girls and chatted about lots of things, the younger girls played cards and went outside to play on the trampoline, the rest of us mainly stayed inside and talked. The boys came home later in the afternoon and Caitlin and S played with them for while and we kept talking. I played with H's hair and did some braids I'd been wanting to try, it was fun and it looked beautiful.

Around 6 we headed back to pick Amelie up and then dropped S and R off. LiAM wasn't back yet so S came home with us, to be picked up when LiAM came home. On the way home we picked up a desk from hard rubbish that will work under Caitlin's bed, much better than the one she has at the moment. We also got a new scratching post for Winky, and a little filing shelf that I'm hoping will work better for all my paper work than my current system (which is basically just a big pile on the kitchen table that keeps growing and falling over).

The girls played outside on the trampoline and in the paddling pool while I tidied up a bit and made toasted sandwiches for everyone. I did a bit of work on my photo sales - I was too tired to concentrate much so I didn't last long, I did some quizzes instead, much more fun. Tony does quizzes with me sometimes when he's around - we did a Summer Olympics host cities quiz recently and we got them all right - well, Tony did. We both used to know the whole order and I had forgotten chunks, but he remembered nearly all of them and I filled in a couple. I love knowing/remembering stuff like that, it provides so many little hooks for more knowledge to grab on to.

LiAM came home after 9 and all 5 kids had a bit more of a play while R and I chatted some more, then after they went home everyone went pretty much straight to bed. Caitlin is between books at the moment so was reading some French books and learning useful phrases and jokes in French.

Lots of friends and water

It's raining this morning!!! It feels so lovely and refreshing and I feel a great sense of relief. For the last 48 hours the forecast has been for a very high probability of rain - and it has rained lots in some areas of Victoria (and around Melbourne even), but we kept missing out. I've been watching the radar and the rain has moved just to the north or south of us, or died out before it got this far east - it's been so frustrating, and the humidity has been building... So it's wonderful to finally wake up to steady rainy this morning.

On Wednesday morning we still had the kids over from the sleepover the night before. The boys crashed in the early morning after staying up so late, and slept for a few hours each. The girls were surprisingly happy and active. They played the Harry Potter Scene It game for a while, and went for a bike ride next door to pick blackberries, came back and filled up the paddling pool with water to cool off, played on their iPads for a while, and were fading by about lunch time. I took them home on our way to meet up with some other homeschooling families at Lillydale Lake. (We called in to the op shop on the way through and found some more My Little Ponies for Millie, she was very happy).

We got to the playground and I couldn't believe how hot it was! Very oppressive heat and not really fun for playing in the sun. We set up a picnic blanket in some shade and for most of the afternoon the kids (mine and the others) lay on the rugs and only occasionally ventured out into the playground. One family had brought their dog along so she provided a bit of entertainment. I had a good chat to the other mums and one dad. Most of those who were there have only been homeschooling for a short while so it was good to chat about how things tend to progress. As most of the others were leaving our good friends the Hs arrived, and after a while we and one other family moved down to the lake where the kids could swim and cool off. The parents stood in water about shin deep, and the kids played for ages, the big kids as far out in the lake as they were comfortable, the smaller ones in and out a bit and playing in the sand as well. It was such an improvement to sitting in the shade and feeling exhausted!

We headed home when the storm clouds threatened. I was thinking my washing would get wet so I grabbed it off the line straightaway but we didn't get more than a few drops. Tony worked a few extra hours at work then raced in for a quick shower and a bite to eat before heading off to darts - he hasn't played competition darts in over 10 years so was excited to be getting back into it. LiAM and Caitlin fell asleep early so Millie and I played games and then made a tiger mask of paper plates and pipe cleaners.

On Thursday LiAM woke early and came on my walk with me. Instead of going around the dam we went down to the water's edge and looked at the plants growing there and the types of animal footprints we could see. We came back and he played his monster game on the iPod . When Millie woke up she played on the computer for a while, then they watched some tv. It was still hot and muggy and no one felt like doing much. We popped into town at one point to return library books (but the library wasn't open) and to get Millie some chocolate milk which she'd been craving all week.

In the afternoon our friends from Sydney arrived in their bus to spend the night at our house.  The girls went blackberry picking and then spent the afternoon dressing up and playing role playing games. The boys played Halo on the xbox and after an initial discussion about who was going to play first, quickly figured out a way for the 3 of them to happily play with 2 controllers. I had a wonderful chat with L. Once the sun had gone behind the clouds the girls and L and I went down to the dam for a swim. It was so lovely to be in the water. I didn't stay in long, L and I sat on the shore and watched the girls play and swim and cover themselves in mud, it was a lot of fun. Back at the house the girls set up a graduation ceremony for Caitlin and Millie - they made outfits and hats and certificates. There was also a wedding, and then lots of craft, the girls made some really pretty and creative creatures.

We managed to convince everyone to go to bed around 11.30 - they were all exhausted and so were we! It's so great how easily our 2 families fit together, we only see each other a couple of times a year but it's as if no time has passed when we get back together.

Hanging out with Grandparents

I had an appointment at 8.30 yesterday morning, so Mum and Dad came down to look after the kids for the morning. Tony ended up still being at home with his sore back, though we figured it would still be easier for Mum to be here to help get breakfast etc and Tony could still rest. It was a foggy, cold morning when I set out, which turned into a beautiful sunny warm day by late morning.

I went to my appointment then called in to see a friend on the way home. Her boys were initially disappointed that I had turned up without my kids - then they were excited that they could show me where they were up to in their games, and they sat next to me and showed me their progress in all their favourite iPad games - it was lovely, and I realised that I don't always have a lot of interaction with them when my kids are there - I might try to check in on their games each time I visit from now on.

When I got home everyone had had a lovely morning. Caitlin and Dad had been doing some multiplication, LiAM and Mum had cleaned up the kitchen and LiAM and Millie had made more patterns on the peg boards. The girls decided to get in their swimmers and go on the trampoline with the hose, and LiAM was meeting a friend at Maroondah Dam for a picnic and to do the Aussie Backyard Bird Count. We left Dad in charge of the hose and 2 happy girls on the trampoline, and Mum and I dropped LiAM with his friend and then went out for lunch at Mocha and Lime in Healesville - lunch was my christmas present to Mum from last year, and we hadn't managed to find a day that suited us both until now. We ate great food and had an enjoyable chat and it didn't matter that it had taken us 10 months to organise it. We had a little bit of a walk around Healesville afterwards, then went back to pick LiAM up.

Back at home, Millie and Dad were playing Skylanders Guess Who and Caitlin had been to visit our neighbour and done some practice on her cursive writing. Mum and Dad headed home and the kids went back outside with the hose and played in the water and the mud - Caitlin caked herself in mud and called herself the mud monster. Tony had been to the doctor and was told that his back pain is muscular so should get better over the next couple of weeks, and he is better to be up and about as much as he can be.

Once everyone was clean, Caitlin and I sewed the green stripes on our karate belts (and LiAM's), and LiAM played Terraria. Caitlin went back outside to practice her cartwheels for a while - she's getting really good. We watched Big Bang Theory and Auction Hunters and Top Gear. Everyone was tired and ready for bed by 10pm which is unusual in our house. Tone rubbed the big kids backs and everyone crashed pretty quickly.