Author: Isolde

The Christmas tree was a bit mutilated this year, but it still smells good. Steve cut off too many lower branches so that it would fit into its stand, so it’s got a trunk that is clearly visible instead of having greenery down to the ground. Lucky all the presents provide a bit of camouflage, and the decorations, initially by my girls, then re-modelled by the older cousins, are top notch. The girls had a long long list of things they wanted from Santa. I took a photo of it so we could convey the essentials when we went to…

1. Steady Our lives continued as they had been travelling: peacefully, uneventfully. The financial markets recovered, and ordinary citizens rallied and were empowered. Democracy was apparently stronger than any one person, even when a dangerous lunatic was in charge of the most powerful nation on earth. 2. Suboptimal This was the time when climate change trends really started going backwards, refugees and illegal migrants in the US suffered as they were harshly discriminated against, and further instability in the world increased. ObamaCare was watered down, inequality grew even further globally and the US’s poor foreign policy and conflict choices made…

I do like a good fête. What’s not to like? It entertains the kids, often in a familiar environment. Interesting food, the smell of clover daisies and freshly cut grass, bringing the community together. . . Last weekend I took the girls to a church fête where they had a go at some medieval rope and stick games and played the apparently centuries-old ‘whack the rat’ (quite a violent concept involving a ‘rat’ made of a stuffed, square of material which is slid down a tube that you have to whack with a stick. Lara got a certificate of achievement…

Yesterday was the first day of the school holidays. Usually we leave town as soon as possible but we were staying for mum’s 70th birthday dinner celebration, and during the day I took the opportunity to spend some time with a good friend I’ve known for a long time. She also has two girls who bookend our girls in age: one two years younger and one two years older. Lara and Rhea usually find younger children a bit annoying (apart from babies of course, who are endlessly fascinating). The older girl, Frances, they get on really well with. She greeted…

It’s Book Week again. The girls dressed up as Tinkerbell (Lara) and a ballerina (Rhea) at school, and had a special parade which they described with excitement (‘Do you know who Karim dressed up as? Miss Strong. He wore red but it wasn’t square.’) The girls have started to learn to read this year, and I have been listening to children in the girls’ class read to me most weeks, so I’ve been part of this learning for other children too. The children in the class are at wildly different stages: some read few words very haltingly (Level 1), some…

‘Mummy, why can’t you tell us who came out of your tummy first? I think it’s Lara because her tooth fell out first.’ One of the most exciting things about our winter holidays at Smith’s Lake and the big city was the thrill of Lara’s tooth loss and consequent visit from the Tooth Fairy. Unlike the pattern of some of their other more regular bodily functions, which can be almost concurrent, Rhea’s tooth loss was a relatively long way behind: it fell out two-and-a-half weeks after Lara’s. Lara emailed, called and texted everyone she knew to share the big news…

Approaching Lara and Rhea’s sixth birthday, we tossed around ideas about where to go in the cold weather – we have a small house for winter parties. We ended up ruling out all of the indoor party venues because they are too commercial and/or too expensive, and decided that if there weren’t too many invitations, we’d be able to hold the party at home. Concurrently we were working on an invitation list with the girls. A few months ago I wasn’t sure if there were any ‘friends’ that the girls were playing with in particular, but gradually a few consistent names emerged.…

I started a new job in the last month. Also we swapped over and redecorated the girls’ room with the study, so that the girls would have their own space: their old room only just had room for their beds, whereas the study, which was rarely used, had acres of space. The switch was a very satisfactory exercise, and the new job was a good move too, but all in all it has been very busy and rather exhausting. This weekend we had some time out. My weekly ‘time out’ always involves watching Gardening Australia, which I love for its…

I recently caught up with a friend from school who I hadn’t seen for many years. Our conversation included me telling her of my latest tactic for getting the girls to school on time. ‘No problems’, I told them. We don’t need to go to school now. We can go when you want to, and we’ll be late and have to go through the front office.’ Because I don’t work on my drop-off day it shouldn’t matter to me whether we are late or not. My friend asked how that tactic had worked. ‘Not too well. They have no sense…

I have a list of goals for 2016. Cleaning out the shed isn’t on it. But with the prospect of four days at home over Easter, I decided it would be very satisfying to sort it out. The resident possums had kicked down bags and boxes, and spilled small containers of keys, rubber bands and odds and ends. I had kept some oversized pieces of plastic as dust protectors but they were just another layer of mess over the girls’ bikes seats. The shed had become so messy that you couldn’t find or reach what you wanted anymore, or even…