jetlagmama

Tuesday, 3 June 2008

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

Today the rain was really getting Jack and I down. It was cramping our style big time. We spent the morning exploring all 3 floors of the Manor, which is kind of like walking through the house of fun due to the warped floorboards and winky, wonky stairs.
Jack has been watching a DVD about a little pig called Peppa (oink!) whose favourite activity is to jump in muddy puddles. So with that in mind we hit the chichi baby shops in the village (I have discovered one and a half more shops) and managed to purchase a very pleasing rain wear ensemble. Not half as pleasing as jumping up and down in muddy puddles. Just ask JD.

Monday, 2 June 2008

Jack's friends part 2 - Ramon

Another of Jack's friend here at the Manor is Ramon and he is from Venezuela. Jack's not the kind to only hang out with skippys when he goes OS. The Manor provides ample opportunities to meet people from all over the world: France, Spain, Brazil, China, Switzerland, Italy, Wales...you get the idea.
Ramon very kindly donates his watch at meal times for Jack to play with even if Jack has a big piece of squidgy banana in his hand. Ramon just smiles as he wipes the dribble off his watch before he puts it back on.
I'm trying to teach Jack to say 'Hola' but no luck yet.
Actually I think I'll have better luck teaching him to say 'Ciao Bella' as a pretty italian girl has just moved into the Manor and caught Jack's eye. At breakfast she said to him 'Ciao Bello' and I thought he might swoon.
Tonight we went back to the thai restaurant with the lovely waitress who played with Jack while we ate our dinner. She was very taken with him and used to give him lots of cuddles, but she has left to work somewhere else.
Never mind, the pad thai was still good.

Jack's friends part 1 - Amber

Jack is making a lot of friends here at the manor. Who could resist his charm, his curls and his loud piggy noises? He prefers women to men, but will talk to the male residents if there are no women in the vicinity.

Unfortunately one of his special friends, Amber has just left to fly home to Brisvegas. Jack went to great lengths to attract Amber's attention in the dining room. Waving and smiling like a loon as soon as she got close. He also liked to help Amber when she was looking for her food in the fridge, pointing to the right shelf.
I'm sure Jack will miss her. As they say in Victoria she's ace.

He does seem to be trying to move on in his own inimitable fashion. Tonight at dinner he twisted around in his chair so he could poke some poor girl in the bum. oh dear.

Doodley Bugs

When we went to the local budget supermarket the other day I found a flyer for a little kids art group promising lots of messy fun. This sounded very much like a Jack activity. So we went this morning.
We were a tad late due to my trying to take a shortcut across the common, through some brambles (ouch! watch those stinging nettles!) so the little geniuses were already creating. Everything was well set out. There was a table with large items (paper plates and cardboard tubes) for each child with a name tag. Then 3 tables set up for each separate activity: windmill, glitter hat and sunflower. Then there were tables with crayon, paint and textas and a big tub full of oats (!!) with scoops and spades. Oh and a playdough table. Phew. Jack gravitated towards the sunflower table so we decided to make one of those. It didn't take long to work out that the attraction lay in the green paint, which is not as yummy as it looks.
Now when I did storytime at the library, part of the session was a craft activity. I always found it so amusing watching the kids cut and draw for 5 minutes before running off leaving the mums (and dads and grandparents) to studiously and meticulously finish the task at hand. It was very serious. I could see parents wrestling with themselves as they saw their kids cutting the wrong line or using the wrong colour.
I thought of that today as I constructed the sunflower (which was a very good craft - it even had real sunflower seeds). Jack did eat some green paint and scrunch the tube to give it that personal touch.
He also made a hat, though this was a messy business because he kept getting little butterflies stuck to his hands. After that he tried some painting, but this proved to be disappointing as the pink paint didn't taste any better than the green.

We used the special tub for washing little peoples hands and then he played with playdough and the oats (not at the same time). By this stage the oats were everywhere. Flying through the air. A little girl who decided she liked us, kept on filling her shoes with oats then walking over to us and tipping the oats out. Obviously this is not a good thing (what would happen if her feet were sweaty and her shoes filled with porridge?) but can you tell a child that doesn't belong to you to cease and desist? She almost did belong to us because as we were leaving she held onto Jack's 'pushchair' and started walking out the door with us. This was only several minutes after we had found another little girl strapped into the pusher calmy waiting to leave. And still they asked us back.
The mums were quite nice. A little bit yummy but approachable. I think they are village mummies (but not in a mosman way) rather than ym's. Obviously they can't be too yummy if one of them has the same pram that we do.

Menu for the week

We had had plans to go away last weekend due to another function being held at the Manor (poor sods). In the end we decided to stay put because lots of rain was forecast (do these weather people get their qualifications out of cornflake packets?) and the function was not a wedding but a 60th birthday. S seemed to think that should be fairly subdued. I pointed out that there are several 60 year olds renowned for their partying ways eg. Cher, Bill Clinton and Ros Diffey.

Luckily none of the above were the birthday boy or girl. It wasn't too bad. We snuck through the foyer as the guests were arriving. They ignored us but you would wonder what was going on, all these casually dressed people sneaking through your party. We managed to resist using the plastic chairs and tables that we had been strictly forbidden to use and really the only noise came from people walking past our window, leaving early and discussing where they could get a decent bite to eat in town. Poor things. Actually they were probably the lucky ones.
We've checked out the menu for the week and I have to say are saddened by the return of some old favourites. Tonight is the lamb burger, which is what we had for our very first meal here. I'm sure it had been lamb once but not by the time we got it. Then there's pork curry tomorrow night. Soggy pasta on Wednesday and fishcakes again on Friday. Don't get me wrong I don't mind a good fishcake, be it Thai or conventional. My mum used to make great salmon ones, but these are dreadful. Salty and stodgy.
And then the week ends with Sausages and Onions. Sigh. I better get to the supermarket.

Ta-da! The laundry

I'm not a person who gets excited about laundry. I know this is odd but it's the truth. My mother loves washing. Loves it. She was relieved when I told her about the laundry here and has demanded photos every time we talk. Surprisingly, considering the quality of the food and the godawful pillows (I think they are filled with sawdust), the laundry is very good - if you like that sort of thing.
There are 2 machines, 2 dryers and a sorting table which is a nice touch (better than a disused bathroom vanity full of crap). there are also drying racks for the clothes in case it rains (which is of course almost all the time. I think S may be suffering from SAD, seasonal affected disorder, which normally affects people in winter when there aren't many hours of sunlight. S keeps on glaring balefully at the sky and muttering," what is it

with this bloody weather?Why can't I see the sky?").
Actually most people just put things straight onto the racks and never use the lines in the yard. The racks are lowered and raised using pulleys which I find strangely enjoyable to use. Don't ask why.
There is a kind of etiquette, due to there being 2 machines and about 40 residents. If someone else's washing has finished it is okay to remove their washing and leave it on top of the machine. I feel uncomfortable just dumping things like that so yesterday I put a piece of lace, 1 knee high stocking, a voluminous pair of knickers and some thermal pj's on a rack. When I returned later they were gone. Hopefully with the right person. There's also a big tub that we can put Jack in to contain him but he's not so keen.

And just when you think that the manor has outdone itself providing a fully functioning facility, you try to use the iron and the ironing board. The board has seen better days (hard and lumpy and impossible to put down once it's up) and the iron I would say has been dropped from a great height. As you pick it up water gurgles out over your hand and down the cord. We've opted for the unironed look (don't tell Garn!) in the name of personal safety.

Return to Big Space

On Sunday Jack and I thought S should be introduced to the chuckle fest that is Big Space. I think S was dubious (especially after dodging all the expensive cars in the car park) but a good time was had by all.
We all had a go on the big slide and lots of other bouncy, padded things. S had a huge hot chocolate that was too chocolately (??!!) and I had a panini. Jack had fun.

There is a different vibe on the weekends. More kids parties (which means lots of red cordial, screaming and the slightest whiff of vomit) and no YM's. They must all be at home with their flash cards ("No, Ollie this is an Audi TT not a BMW M3! We've already been through this!Eat your manchego cheese and duchy oatcakes").
Jack finally had a go on the scootery whatsits which were almost deserted and therefore safe. There was just one little boy going around and around and around Jack yelling, "You've got to use your feets!" All Jack wanted to do was watch the boy.