Today is a gift.

This week I read the following quote ( or along the lines of the quote somewhere and would love to know who to attribute it to. ) My limited searching reveals it may be Eleanor Roosevelt but I would be thrilled if one of my learned blogging and linguistically tlented friends could confirm it for me. and if possible the context in which it was said.

Yesterday's history tomorrow's a Mystery today is a gift. That is why it called the "present."


Ho true! Make the most of each day. If you haven't checked in lately and want some inspiration log into Michaelforbes to see how he is progressing. I am in awe of him and his family. While I am typing this Ahubby is at Royal Talbot paying a visit.

Just a lazy weekend

Like most families our weekends are usually packed with activities and socialising and this weekend was no exception:



Friday night

bookclub dinner invitation - unable to attend as Ahubby arrived back from Sydney at 8.30pm and S was already snuggled up in bed sound asleep. Very upset about missing out catching up with all the girls and the special visitor M who is down from Sydney for the Melbourne Writers' Festival



Saturday- Ahbuuby's run around the Tan, Kingsley's swim lesson at 10.30 am ,Girl's lunch invitation to celebrate the birthdays of two friends Jomo and Grace. Unable to attend as exhausted. While S sleeps on loungeroom couch under a pink blanket Ahubby and Kingsley head to Luna Park to go ice skating. They will visit friends on the way home who need help changing a bicycle tyre, have four similarly aged boys to Kingsley in the family and a brand new dog Kingsley is dying to see. Expecting them home around 4pm if all goes to plan. Tonight there is the blogging dinner invite. Fairlie has arranged a dinner for some Melb based bloggers to catch up at and for M to meet in the flesh. If I get some rest I may make it for coffee.

Sunday is just as busy. Ahuby has been asked to help with the Melb Tri Club duathlon they are running at Docklands then we have to be a school in St KIlda Road from 12.30 to 4pm for a Japanese Speech competition Kingsley is representing her school at! She had to send an inability to a boy's birthday party at the same time. We also have the bonus birthday party/bbq for Michael Forbes at royal Talbot which we will miss due to the Japanese committment. To top it all off we have just heard that friends who are expecting a baby may be parents soon with contractions at 20 mins apart so w emay need to schedule a hospital visit in sometime as well.



By the end of the weekend I will need a week to recover and rest!

IP giveth and IP taketh away

Impossible Princess ( IP) is one of my favourite little people. Teamsak hosted Fairlie, Poolboy and IP for a casual dinner on Saturday night. IP arrived armed with a basket of beautiful origami she had made at local shopping centre that day. There were stars, boxes, balloons and a crane all carefully made in shiny coloured paper. They were all a gift from IP to me!

When I excused myself and headed upstairs to bed at 7.30pm the 2 dozen or so magnificent paper creations were sitting on the Tv cabinet. I intended to take some photos for this blog to show how talented IP is. The next morning everything was gone. My first thought was that we had been burgled but the plasma was still there. A quick call to Fairlie solved the dilemma. While IP had made them and given them to me she decided at the last minute to retain them and as creator of them felt she had rights to do so. Fairlie, Poolboy , Ahubby and Kingsley tried to convince her to leave them all or at least one star but IP stood firm in her convictions and took them all back.

What is that saying ? It is the thought that counts!

It's going to be Wicked

Wicked , it seems , is the in word for the youth. Wicked is also the name of the Broadway musical currently playing in our home town. Teamsak has managed to arrange 3 ( complimentary) tickets to the 8pm performance this Saturday. Let's hope I can stay awake long enough to see the whole show given it starts 30 mins after my bedtime!

If you have seen it what did you think? I read it is best for children over 8 so not sure if there are scary parts in it.

Social experiment- Smile and Hi!

Over the past few weeks I have been conducting a social experiment code named "Smile and Hi!". While the sample size surveyed wouldn't meet any good research standards a strong pattern is emerging. Smile and Hi as the name suggests is just that. Smile at the person coming toward me then offer some form of civil comment. Things like "good morning" "Great day isn't it?" "I like the colour of your coat" "How old is your dog?" "What a gorgeous puppy!" etc etc Nothing threatening - just social greetings and niceties.

The number of non responses or even acknowledgements could be that I am a physically threatening person. All 1.6m of me could , I concede, be misconstrued as the body of a mass murderer or career criminal. Maybe it is my poor command of English that makes me unintelligible to others. Both of those statement should be read with extreme sarcasm!!

To be fair the best response rate comes from mothers pushing prams and the more mature folks. Both sectors of the population who can make time for a chat and probably look forward to the interaction. I even struck up a conversation with one elderly gentlemen who told me was turning 89 the next day and goes for a walk everyday and no one ever speaks to him. I explained my social experiment and he was going to conduct his own so we could share results next time we passed each other while out walking.

DOS and MOS live in a seaside country town when street greetings are common and without fail are responded to . So what is it about my suburb? Is it my post (zip) code or me? I dare you all to try it out and see what type of response you get.

Of course there is the occasional downside. One of the people I say hello to in a coffee shop now detours to join me if he sees me at the table. I have been privy to the saga of the family feud for the last 12 months. It is better than a soap opera. On the other hand I have made 2 very good friends as a result of a casual hello and discussion about a newspaper in the same coffee shop.

Must finish up - time for the next sample in the research project!

Hats off to a 2 year old!

A little friend "Ruby*" turned 2 and celebrated on the weekend. We were lucky enough to score an invite to the "silly hat party". Teamsak wore original creations courtesy of Kingsley and Lottie which are pictured above.

At the party Kingsley was king of the kids as the only child in attendance older than 2! She took on the role of big sister with gusto and spend time helping with activities on the trampoline and assisting with pass the parcel. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon celebrating and catching up with friends.

*Not her real name

Winter walks

I don't know what it is but I find something aesthetically pleasing about the contrast of the bare branches against the blue winter sky. The photo/pocket digital camera doesn't do it justice


You just don't get the same impression when viewing a tree against the duller background. For the out- of- towners the river is always that colour - summer or winter




Took these photos on one of my daily winter walks. I now have them perfectly logistically timed so that which ever direction I go I "mysteriously" manage to be in the vicinity of a reputable coffee shop at the right time for a rest.

The Absence is Over

I was having a little blog break enjoying the brief respite in the treatment protocol but didn't realise just how " long" the little break had been until I checked my blog email! Thank you so much to everyone who had emailled concerned about my absence. It has been due to nothing more dramatic than laziness, the lure of the warm coffee shop I pass on my daily walks and the Olympic telecast !

Healthwise I have been up and down. The good news is that a recent MRI shows that while there is still tumour it has not grown since the last MRI and the dreaded IV chemo doesn't need to be started just yet. For those that doubt it , it also shows that I have a brain!

While I haven't been blogging I have been reading all yours! Watch out- the creativity is returning, the digital camera is charged, the wet weather is settling in this week so there will be opportunity to get back to the PC.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

There is always someone worse off

Was having a particularly flat and feel sorry for myself day last week when we heard the news about a Melbourne triathlon club friend who is a skilled and careful cyclist being seriously injured in a bicycle accident. He is now most likely quadriplegic after enjoying an active and competitive lifestyle. There is an update on his condition on a website friends have set up to help keep others updated and take some burden from family in answering questions. Mitch Anderson , well known successful triathlete and doctor also has some updates on his site with more medical details.

While it has certainly shocked us all - we can't even begin to imagine the impact on Michael and his family. Certainly puts a lot into perspective and makes you realise how precious and fragile good health is.

Our love, concern, best wishes are with Michael Forbes, his wife, young daughter, family and friends. Take care out there and treasure every moment!

Sovereign Hill, Snow and Cold

Yesterday Kingsley spent the day with Fairlie and Co exploring Sovereign Hill. I'll refer you to the report and accompanying photos over at FairlieAroundthetraps. I had been keen to take Kingsley there for her first time but circumstances just didn't allow it.

She had a fantastic time and was full of stories and recounts from the day and went to bed very tired. The CD of photos were great and the fudge they bought home for me was yummy. There is still heaps of fudge left as I controlled my steriod cravings and resisted the binge approach I applied to the chocolate teddy bear biscuits the other day!.

It was the drugs!

Have been too busy eating to blog lately! The oncologist put me on steriods to help with the post radiation brain swelling /headaches and they really work! Actually understand why people may be tempted to use illicit drugs with the buzz these give you. I am only on low dose but am talking at 100 miles an hour, on the go the whole time, and have an appetite that is going to bankrupt our house. Probably not a bad thing about the weight gain but if it keeps on going I will have to start running . Up from a desperately low 46 kg to hovering around 51 so I guess I am still safe from a bad BMI reading .

I am confessing to eating 4 dark chocolate teddy bear biscuits in one sitting. Unheard of from me even though I have a sweet tooth and love chocolate. We are a low GI , wholegrain , fresh fruit/vegie, good carb type household but I just couldn't stop myself. It was the drugs that made me do it!

You know how moreish chips can be- well I had the same reaction with the Arnotts TeddyBear biscuits. Then to top it all off I found a Lindt chocolate ball and devoured that too.

I had forgotten how good chocolate can be!

Double Century!! Not quite out !

If I managed to count correctly - I made it- 200 posts since starting the blog. Probably only 10 worth reading - so thanks to my long suffering readers for your continued support, comments, feedback and insights into your own world via your blogs. Big thanks to my blog mentors Fairlie and M for convincing me to give it a go last mid last year. It has been welcome relief while being house bound recovering- to the point I am becoming addicted to reading everyone else's fabulous , witty, interesting and creative blogs. Just because I haven't listed your blog in my roll doesn't mean I don't read it! I had to cull the list or else you would think all I did was stay online each day!

All I need to do now is learn how to archive the blog so a copy can be kept in my memory box for Kingsley. I started to print it out page by page so at least a hardcopy is kept but surely one of you technical gurus can give me a basic lesson ( IT for dummies 101) on how to put it on disc? Or at least point me in the right direction so I can learn to do it.

Pre Tween piercings

Thankfully not nose, eyebrow, lip , tongue or belly button but just simply her ears.

Guess which 8 year got her ears pierced on Saturday? I finally gave in and let Kingsley get her ears pierced but was not brave enough to watch it being done so sent Ahubby along to sign permission slips.

A very early birthday present which had to be timed around not missing too many swim lessons ( there's a break over the school holidays) while the hole healed. The earrings are only cubic zircona but kenz is already angling for real diamonds for her 18th!!!

Kid's Parties-

TeamSAK places strong emphasis on birthdays. It should be the most exciting and special day - especially for the kids. We don't have big celebrations each year but every alternate year or so Kingsley can have a party. Last year it was a quite friendship afternoon with 5 close friends over to make healthy pizza watch a video then eat their gourmet delights. Low key, fun, quiet and relatively inexpensive. This year I have promised her a real party. So now the time has come to arrange the day.

Ahubby generously suggested hiring a gold class ( private - seating 18 to 24 people) cinema and arranging food to watch a film with friends. I enquired about a party booking at Luna Park , including an hour session on the ice rink followed by a feed in the historic tram room. My major concern was how I would be able to supervise the group if they were heading off in different directions on rides and the fact the location is a public venue so other members of the public would be there. My latest idea is the Brashes Soundhouse at the Arts Centre. It is a sound recording house, using 15 computerised consoles where you create and lay music backing tracks as well as voice tracks. It is run and supervised by music experts and at the end of the session all participants can get a CD copy of the output. There are also plenty of cafes in the area where you can arrange refreshments for the group after the activity. Kingsley and her friends are all going through the musical , singing, drama stage associated with 8-10 year old girls and this would be a great, semi educational and productive way to spend some time together celebrating Kingsley's birthday. To my knowledge it hasn't been done before by any of her peers.

To be honest Kingsley and I would be just as happy with an an old fashioned (in my day) party but we don't have a big enough yard to keep the kids occupied outside. Recent school related parties included : a mini bus picking up kids from the school, transporting them to Melb Cricket Ground to watch an Australian Football League game from a corporate box.

Will keep you posted with the organisational developments and final format selection.

In my day

This is the start of a number of conversations at TeamSAK when trying to make a point about how lucky Kingsley is to be growing up in today's world. In my day we were only allowed to have a lunch order at school on your actual birthday. As my bithday inevitably fell at the end of summer holidays I always missed out. In my day birthday parties were simple at home affairs with the obligatory lopsided sponge cake and one small party bag with a jelly snake and chocolate frog. In my day I did chores but didn't get pocket money unlike today when $ are transfered via direct debit into Kingsley's bank account.

Of course in my day we had to walk 5 mile through rain and snow in bare feet to get to school - not driven in an European convertible with inbuilt entertainment system.

I am in the process of planning Kingsley's birthday for later this year so have plenty of material for some party related blogs over the next few weeks. Think I have come up with a great reasonably cost effective idea which is unique

Tadpoles to Goldfish to Dolphins

Kingsley has been encouraged to do swim lessons/water familiarisation since a toddler. Long gone are the days of Ahubby or me getting in with her during lessons , singing nursery rhymes and diving through hoops. Kingsley is now a Dolphin having mastered all the skills of each fish/seafood level since Tadpoles. She has been a catfish, barramundi and then barracuda. Now she is nearly at squad level. Well done Kingsley!

The Show must go On

And so it did last night. KIngsley's year level had been studying a unit of enquiry as part of their junior IB PYP program which culminated in the staging of a Vaudeville production last night. The 29 kids ( all aged 8 or 9) did a fabulous job and the assembled parents( S ), nannies ( Lottie) and grandparents ( MILI) thoroughly enjoyed the 60 minute production.

There was singing and dancing and slapstick and magic. Entertainment with a history lesson of this form of entertainment. Ahubby missed it as he was interstate so I tried to video for him. Over the weekend I need to learn how to copy it to disc.

Cost of Fuel

Despite the fact Teamsak owns 3 cars between 2 homes we do very little driving. Ahubby commutes by bike to work, Kingsley walks to school and I public transport when needing to go somewhere local. So despite watching the global price of a barrel of oil head higher we hadn't really been affected by the bowser price- until the weekend. Granted it was a public holiday Monday but even I was shocked by the AUD $120 bill to fill the tank of the Mercedes 4 wheel with premium unleaded petrol.

Snow season skating

The Queen's birthday long weekend traditionally heralds the start of the snow season in Victoria. While TeamSAK are not skiers Kingsley has taken to ice skating. There is a temporary rink at the Waterfront City during winter. On Sunday Ahubby took Kingsley and her friend Elouise skating. This was followed by bungy jumpy and a visit to the Golden Arches. How great is it to be a kid? The girls were fearless and took to the ice and bungy with great gusto.

Ahubby on the otherhand, quite wisely chose to stay off the rink and the bungy!

The new low- tv viewing

As if being housebound was not bad enough I have just spent an hour of my life watching Parliament . It was that or Oprah and Dr Phil- both of which I have no watched before. To be honest - Parliament was actually quite entertaining- drama, attempted humour, grandstanding, waffle and plenty of scratching , preening and shuffling of members seated behind the speaker. To top it all off the ticker tape at the bottom of the screen has just advised the Reserve Bank has left offical interest rates on hold at 7.25 %. Very interesting to see our taxpayer dollars at work. Now, according to newspaper reports , if only our new Prime Minister Mr Rudd would stop working so hard the public servants would stop complaining about having to do extended hours!

I can't wait to see if parliament is sitting tomorrow- that will make my daytime entertainment an easy choice.

Hair today - gone tomorrow

I knew it was going to happen. Radiation does that to living cells but it doesn't reduce the impact of seeing clumps of your own hair in your hand, on your pillow and all over your shoulders. Last year I had a huge bald patch the size of a saucer which grew back 3 months after treatment. The regrowth was thick, black and no hint of grey. That regrowth , about 4 cms long is now on my pillow.

I will hopefully be able to manage moving my part further left and doing a comb over to the right until the growth starts in spring. A small price to pay but very demoralising when you are already at the lowest ebb

The colour chart

Not surprising given the fact I had been poisoned by some pretty strong radiation and was on drugs to help with side effects that also suppressed my immunity that I have been hit by "the bug" that seems to be doing the rounds. Nothing like infected sinus, throat and ears to add to the post radiation hangover headache and general malaise.

Ahubby took me off to the Dr. Now I am not a prude or squeamish in any way. I served on a human medical research ethics committee and saw and read alot. I cut the umbilical cord at Kingsley's birth and inspected the placenta, I have spent time in ICU where there is no false modesty and I have had my brain exposed on an operating table twice. However there are still some medical questions that make me uncomfortable. Without wanting to gross my limited readership out my fabulous GP was interested in the colour of my nasal discharge. When I obviously failed to give a detailed specific answer he suggested I could do what another patient does and bring a paint colour chart sample in to show him the exact shade. I kid you not. Who would have thought to be that prepared for a medical visit and the Dr swears it is a true story.

Band Camp

Kingsley is currently at band camp. The school are calling it a camp but technically it is a May music festival held on school grounds during the day on Friday and Saturday for an additional fee of $80 to cover food!. No sleeping bags or bunk rooms but an extended music lesson/ choir sessions for 8 hours in total.

Kingsley came home last night around 7pm thrilled to have won a mini mars bar in the talent competition held at the end of the day. Unbeknownst to us she had done a solo clarinet performance and Ahubby and I are proud of her for taking a risk in front of her peers and having a go. I need to advise there were only four prize categories .

The culmination of today's activities is a rehearsal version of the music concert the school puts on each June. It is usually held at Melba Hall and the University of Melbourne as we didn't have facilities on site. This year as our new high tech hall is completed it will be held at school. Tickets are usually limited so today Mili and Phili are joining Ahubby at the 2.15 finale performance. I am home, rugged up in front of the gas faux fire trying to shake a dreaded (cold) bug I have managed to pick up while recovering from radiation treatment.

I did send the camera up with Ahubby so may be able to post something suitable later.

It will do your head in!

Sorry for the confronting photo but I needed to explain the recent break in transmission. As some of you are aware I have been on a rollercoaster journey since Feb last year battling a war against brain cancer. No history, perfectly healthy non smoking non drinking just turned 40 year and then diagnosed. There is too much medical drama for one blog entry but suffice to say not even a five hour craniotomy, 7 weeks of combined radiation and chemo followed by another 6 months of chemo last year did the job. A second craniotomy occurred in Feb this year with the devastating news there was more tumour in post operative checkup at the end of Feb.

For the last week I have been undergoing stereo tactic radiation surgery ( I let you google that if you want to know more) . To do this you need to be immobilised- don't want those dangerous radiation beams hitting the wrong spot and causing blindness! They used to do it by screwing a metal brace into your forehead ( after administering local anaesthetic) but now they custom make the mask.

I thought you might like to see some of the pics from when my face mask was built for this treatment . The strips can see underneath are heated to 70 deg and stretched into place as a brace under the mesh cover. Yes it is quite warm going on your face! I had to wait for them to cool aided by the technician who placed damp towels on my face. The top layer has tiny air holes but being constricted like that is not pleasant especially when the nose and mouth are covered and you can feel and taste the warm plastic against your lips. Again it had to cool and the whole process took an hour. I then had to have a CT scan wearing the mask. This mask has a full back which was also made by a mould ( which is why my hair is in a hair net) . ie my head is fully covered front and back during treatment. This clips into the front half you can see and both sections are hooked into the radiation machine to immobilise you. Each of the three sessions was around an hour duration with the usual side effects ( nausea, brain swelling, fatigue, hair loss etc) and the 20% chance of permanent damage to my eyesight as they went very close to the optic nerve. So far so good but the damage can be delayed up to 3 months so keep your fingers crossed.

Yes - there was no mouthpiece/opening and while there are holes in in the mesh when you are anxious and already hyperventilating you really don't get full oxygen intake. The mask is that tight that you can't move your chin to lick your lips . Sure you can open your eyes but the view is not clear. You can see light and outlines but no definition/detail.

I promise that the next post will return to regular non medical programming! Thanks to everyone for their concern and best wishes. Now that I am getting stronger I will be back checking out and commenting on your blogs regularly again.

Standing By

TeamSAK apologises for this break in transmission. We will return shortly.

I couldn't find a picture of television test pattern to put here!

Dog Spam

We have all seen the variety of spam emails that hit our inbox despite the best security software and not giving out your email address. Now I am being inundated by something closer to home. Ahubby and Kingsley have undertaken a concerted campaign for an addition to TeamSAK.

Not the Australian Government baby bonus kind but the four legged canine kind. For the record I have nothing against dogs but we don't have a big enough yard, travel interstate too regularly and currently don't enough quality time to commit to raising a puppy. That hasn't stopped Ahubby. I am getting hit with emails showing brown pleading eyes of 8 week old puppies accompanied by captions like "i don't eat much" , " I'd love to stay at your house", "Don't you think I'm cute?" etc.

I was even taken on a "hot date" between medical appointments last week that "just happened" to be at cafe near a Pet Shop with a litter of Golden Retriever pups! You have to give him points for trying. No - a puppy is not a suitable gift for Mother's Day next week!

Photographer's nightmare

I am never normally one to rise to the challenge of a dare so it has taken a while to join the ranks of my blogging teachers Fairlie and M in posting a self portrait. OK - technically it is not a self portrait but it is of me! It is casual, it is fun and it is far enough away that you can't see the wrinkles and grey hair tied back in a ponytail! Not sure horizontal stripes do much for my (lack of) figure but there it is. Trinnie and Susannah would be mortified! I took the dare.

Maybe one day when I am older and wiser I will post a close up photo.

It's Over

Finally the Easter chocolates are gone! Taken a while and only through the strong conviction of S and her rationing technique which was applied across the entire TeamSAK household , but now the kilo joule ridden cacao delicacies are gone.

Better start dropping hints about gourmet chocolates for Mother's Day!!!

Best foot forward

I love my socks that M from Eastern Max knitted for me. As the weather starts to cool down the socks have come in very handy to keep my feet warm. We have jarrah parquetry floors downstairs which, while looking great, don't really go well with bare feet in the middle of winter.

Photo courtesy of Kingsley.

H2O plus

In my day water was always 2 parts hydrogen, one part oxygen. Maybe there might have been a bit of added flouride thrown in or in worst case some unwelcome bacteria. Seems those days are well and truly over.

It is no longer just milk or orange juice that comes with added extras. Water now has vitamins added.

It goes without saying : nutrients added at a cost $$$$$$$

The Final Day of School Holidays

Not sure if it was M or Fairlie who commented on the inverse relationship between the amount of school fees and the days spent at school. Kingsley enjoyed the last day of her first term holidays today and heads back to school tomorrow ( Tuesday).

Had a bit of luck at the school uniform shop today. We needed to invest in a new school blazer but was trying to delay the purchase to get maximum wear out of the current one. We went in resigned to having to pay full price ($250) but struck gold when a fantastic condition, perfect fit and $40 blazer was discovered in the second hand rack! Then the day got even better!

MOS and DOS journeyed up from the Arctic coast to spend the day with us. Kingsley went for a return 10 km bike ride along the river into the city with her grandparents. MOS had a run of bad luck. There was crash in the peleton bringing down both MOS and Kingsley. Thankfully no bikes sustained any damage but MOS suffered nasty gravel rash on her hand and legs. Then , in another bout of bad luck , while MOS was walking her bike through a gravel detour she slipped and ended up on the ground again.

In typical MOS fashion that didn't stop her. After I met the cyclists for lunch we headed to the pool for the next activity. It was an hour "squad" session with plenty of laps completed by all ( except for S who was doing a coffee taste test with the new barista in the pool cafe).

Hopefully MOS doesn't pull up too bruised and sore after her adventures today.

Exclusive designer handmade Socks

Imagine my surprise and excitement to arrive at breakfast and see a beautifully presented gift in front of me. There was a momentary fear that I had forgotten something until I opened the card. We have a policy at TeamSAK of opening the card first. The minute I saw the sign off from M, I knew what lay inside.

It was a piece of art, pristine workmanship of a calibre I never had the pleasure of witnessing before, a garment much admired by the blogging community and footwear of a quality so great that I was unsure if my chemo affected feet were worthy of making contact with them.

The very first pair of socks ever knitted by M were perfect in every way and made even more special knowing that a good friend had sacrificed her first attempt to keep my feet warm while treatment continues.

How spoilt am I? Not only to be the recipient of these socks but to be blessed to be surrounded by great friends and family making this medical journey a little easier!

Ahubby caught up with Firegazer on an interstate trip last night which is where the parcel exchange took place. M was not going to take any risks with this precious parcel not making its destination.

Erratum

It has been pointed out to me that I may have inadvertantly breached (child) copyright! Kingsley took the photo of the spider web on the previous blog entry and I failed to acknowledge her work.

( Kingsley,aged 8, has now advised Ahubby and me that she intends to be a lawyer ( or a financial advisor) when she grows up. Going by tonight's effort I hope she goes for the latter or else I won't be able to use any more of her photos for fear of legal action. )

Little Miss Spider

If only tradesmen worked as fast as the spiders in Queensland! Each morning another arachnid has spun a new home somewhere around the (exterior of the) house. Walking down to buy the paper this morning at 7 a.m. Ahubby and I marvelled at the engineering genius of the spiders. They had suspended huge mansions high in the trees. Good to see some "building developments" have not been affected by interest rates and economic conditions!

House Gifts

We are lucky to have our beach shack and while we are not there are more than happy to let friends and family use it for holiday breaks. I have prepared a detailed guest information book that includes details about all aspects of the home. It covers items like how to turn the gas on, storm kits, rubbish collection night, locking up checklist and in fact every conceivable question a guest may ask.

Obviously though I was not clear enough. I had to have words with our last guests about the state of the house when I arrived. No where in the detailed manual did it mention gifts and yet , when we arrived, there they were! Two fabulous CDs, a beautiful hardback coffee table book on beach houses and a good food/wine guide. The best part was a terrific hand drawn picture by their children depicting their holiday experiences. How lucky are we??

On the Hunt

Kingsley and her "cousin" Autumn enjoyed a wonderful Easter Egg hunt last Sunday , complete with clues, educative information about the tradition and underlying religious holiday and , of course, enough eggs to feed the entire street! The most exciting aspect was the evidence that the Easter Bunny is real.

Check out the footprints on the back balcony that the girls discovered that morning. He/She ( we still have not come to a conclusion about the gender of the Easter Bunny) had obviously been to the beach prior to arriving at the TeamSAK beach shack if the trail of grit and sand was anything to go by.

Holiday break

No prizes for guessing what the photo above means! Sort of typifies our new decadent approach to spending time on the Sunshine Coast. Coffees, muffins and smoothies combined with some of the below and you get the drift:

It's a difficult thing to do having to 'put up' with that view each day but someone has to do it!

The main beach is still suffering from erosion after the recent storm season but has been packed each day of the Easter break. Being north facing the water is fairly protected and the smaller waves are perfect for family boogie boarding and children learning to body surf. We head there early each morning before the tourist crowd does.

Swimming between the Flags

We are lucky to have so many fantastic surf lifesavers patrol our beaches in Australia. Some are council employees but many are volunteers who undergo training and give up their time to make the beach experience a safe one for locals and visitors alike.

It never ceases to amaze me how so many people can show such blatant disregard for their safety and not obey the flags and surf conditions. Thought I'd post this photo to remind us all what each of the flags means.

TeamSAK have now joined as supporter members of the local Surf Lifesaving Club with the intention that when we are more permanent residents we will look at training to become active members.

Easter on the East Coast

Happy Easter ! By now the hot cross buns have been devoured and the kids are all excited in anticipation of the Easter Bunny visiting tomorrow morning.

TeamSAK is currently on the Sunshine Coast enjoying a short break with Elle ( Ahubby's sister) who has flown from the West Coast to see us. Also joining us for the Easter break is one of Ahubby's cousins KStar and her daughter Autumn.

The rest of the house have gone to the beach for the afternoon while I am meant to be resting. I have taken plenty of snaps to download and blog about upon my return.

Good Friday was a great day. The Cul de Sac end of the street now have a tradition where a house hosts a long Noosa lunch. There are four houses involved and we each take turns. It is a casual affair with friends, good food and wine and yesterday's meal was no exception. Five hours of hospitality , enjoying the sea breeze and watching the water with wonderful friends is a perfect way to start a holiday break.

One with the Lot

I hate terms and labels when it comes to referring to people so feel uncomfortable introducing our new nanny to friends. Owing to my medical condition TeamSAK needed additional help with school pickups. We have been blessed to have been introduced to a wonderful new part time nanny courtesy of a friend of mine on a voluntary committee I belonged to. For the sake of the blog let's call her Lottie - because she is a complete package- fantastic personality, energetic, punctual, good cook and baker, artistic and most importantly has formed a strong respectful bond with Kingsley.

We have had good luck with our previous babysitters who are now successful in their careers- one is a doctor and the other a lawyer while last year's nanny is studying psychology. Lottie is aiming to make her name in a creative field and from what we have learned about her to date we are sure she will make it . Just as long as she is still available for child care while we need her!

Hop to it!

The Easter Bonnet parade at school brings out the best in the creative mums ( like Fairlie and M) and the worst in me! For the past 3 years Kingsley has worn an old straw hat decorated with tulle, eggs, little baby fluffy ( fake) chickens and the odd rabbit. This year she wanted a change.

I would love to take credit for the above creation but all I can say is thank goodness for the clearance bin at the local Spotlight outlet. The hat and matching bag took TeamSAK 3 minutes and a mere $5 in total to procure. How is that for creativity within a tight budget?????

Super Fish

No apologies for being a proud mum ! Kingsley had her school house swim carnival today and had a great time. Her House ( team) won! Ahubby and I were among a small group of parents sweltering in the heat and cheering the kids on. Kingsley won blue ribbons for the freestyle, backstroke and the relay race for her age group. She had to fill in during races in the year above her as her house were short of girls to compete. She won another blue for the mixed relay, second for freestyle and third for backstroke in the higher age group.

It wouldn't have mattered what colour or how many ribbons she came home with as she tried her best all day and TeamSAK are extremely proud of her!

Melting Moments

Before I get reported to the RSPCB ( Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Bunnies) I will confess. The Gold Bunny had a nasty accident with some heat. He was sitting safely on top of the SAECO automatic coffee machine in full view of the house hold. This was for his own protection as if he slept in the pantry he may have been devoured.

Ahubby offered to make me a cappuccino after dropping off Kingsley to school choir practice early this morning. He put the machine on to warm up during breakfast at 7 am. I decided , at the last minute , to go along to school drop off. Ahubby and I then had a 'hot date" at a local coffee shop where we had our morning coffee.

Back home then Ahubby headed off to work and I started some domestic duties. Around 5 hours later I was in the kitchen trying to decide on a lunch and dinner menu when I saw the bunny. He was lopsided and covered in an oily chocolate sweat. His little legs had turned to a soft fondant . The end was near. I rescued him and placed him on a stretcher ( saucer) in the fridge trying to revive him so he could continue his career as a glamour model.

He didn't make it and will be sacrificed tonight at supper.

Beat the Boat

What better way to spend a fabulous Sunday morning than cheering on hundreds of wonderful people participating in Beat the Boat to Help Beat Stroke. TeamSAK discovered this fundraising event by chance while reading pamphlets at the council swimming pool yesterday where Kingsley has her lessons.

According to the Stroke Foundation pamphlet, stroke is Australia's second single greatest killer and one of the serious risks I faced while on the operating table for my brain tumours.

The event offered various challenges: Fun Run -10km and 3 km, Walk -3km and catered for all fitness levels. The event is unique in that it challenges participants to race a boat along the Yarra River. It is held during the Moomba Festival ( which I'm sure will be the subject of other posts by Melbournite bloggers this weekend).

TeamSAK walked to our favourite cafe called Kanteen which is on the banks of the Yarra and Beat the Boat course. We got an outdoor table, decaf coffee or fruit juice each and raspberry muffin ( to share). S is well versed in cheering on athletes having supported Ahubby in his triathlon career , including a few times at the holy grail the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon World Championships. Some of my better chants today was : Going great number 8 1 8!!!

Disappointing that I was the only one of the latte sipping crowd clapping runners, shouting out encouragement to everyone and especially to those who needed a little help. The reward was the acknowledgement from the competitors with a friendly wave, a smile of thanks or raise of the arms! A small child on the table next me finally joined the action and clapped as well. He was thrilled when people waved at him. Giving support to those fantastic people raising funds for research into stroke prevention was the least TeamSAK could do given we didn't run ourselves.

Gold Bunny Glamour Shoot

As part of my 2008 resolution to become more creative I am going to enter the Lindt Gold Bunny competition. The added benefit is that after the photo shoot the Bunny can be an edible treat for the photographer!

Check out the entries on the website link above. I think my first attempt is a little too cerebral. Here it is - with the title of "Family Tree".

All suggestions gratefully received and if I win I'll send you a postcard from Switzerland!

Looking down at the Yarra

Ahubby works hard and spends some of his time when he is not travelling in a tall office building in the CBD . On the weekend Kingsley and I went into the city with Ahubby. Kingsley took these photos of the view from his office.

For the out-of- towners this is the Yarra River and to the left near the bridge is the tennis centre where the Australian Open is played. The blue at the horizon on the right hand side is the water in Port Philip Bay. The photo below shows the detail of the tennis centre - Melbourne Park- with Rod Laver Arena and the blue of some of the outside courts.

Unfortunately for the cricket buffs the MCG - Melbourne Cricket Ground- is just out of the picture to the left of the tennis centre. If you are ever in the area and want a good tour guide let me know and Kingsley would be interested to help out!

MILI on the Move

There's no rocking chairs and woollen rugs for the grandparents on either side of the TeamSAK family. They are all active ; playing heaps of sport, tennis, cycling , kayaking, swimming, table tennis competitions, golf and daily walks etc.

On Sunday we discovered that MILI has been hiding a hidden talent. Check out MILI on the move

A two leg Weetbix triathlon

Kingsley was all psyched up to participate in her second ever triathlon. The Sanitarium Weetbix Try-Athlon was held today in the Catani Gardens in Melbourne. There were 3200 competitors and an estimated 8000 spectators with the event supported by 350 volunteers ( mainly from local tri clubs).

It was an early start so Ahubby took Kingsley down to register, get her competitor bag and put her bike into transition. I waited for Mili and Phili to pick me up closer to race time. It was bitterly cool near the Bay and the wind had whipped up the waves. Not sure whether it was the cold , swell or the EPA warnings that led to the swim being cancelled.

The triathlon turned into a duathlon with very small waves being staggered in each age group to avoid congestion on the bike course. The picture above is of Kingsley exiting transition to commence the bike leg. The shortened race didn't matter to the thousands of kids who tried their best. As in most kids' races it didn't matter who came first it was about participation. At the end of the finish chute each competitor received a finisher medallion and certificate.

The excitement of the day was captured professionally on video by Uncle M, ably assisted by WStar on the digital camera. Ahubby's photographic outcomes proved impressive but that may have been more to do with the new Nikon D300 he was using!

Plastic Fantastic Grass

Can you spot the fake versus real ? In our current drought conditions TeamSAK have given up trying to save the remainder of the courtyard lawn and let nature take its course - both on the grass and in the garden beds!. The area in question is only 30 square metres so we considering laying artificial grass if the price is right. Neighbours down the road did their backyard with the most life- like fake turf I have seen. A $30,000 AUD quote for the front lawn has put the rest of their plans on hold.

This is now my current project to get quotes and have the area rectified by the end of March before any rains we do get turn the area into a mud bath. The first supplier arrived on time with a sizable sample (noted above) and answered all my questions:
Was it dog proof, wine proof, paint proof, UV protected so it wouldn't fade, can I rake it , how do I clean it, is it toxic to kids, will the rubber filling choke a child, how does the water drain off, how long will it take to lay, where is it made and so the questions went on?

The second supplier arrived 1 hour early , without calling and left the tiniest 8cm x8cm sample of prickly plastic. Yes he was cheaper but so was the product and service!

I was worried the current sample was looking too artificial but visitors yesterday didn't even register that there was fake turf on the ground.

Staples are not my favourite stationery!

Those who know me , understand that I am pre-occupied with stationery. There is nothing better than quality writing paper, diaries, journals, scissors and precision made writing instruments. However, I draw the line at staples- particularly when they are in my head.

If you heard a faint ( or even loud) moan today it was me. Nothing like having 28 staples removed from your scalp. My surgeon is renowned for shaving very little hair off and the loss was limited to a 1 cm wide strip in the shape of a large letter C. It started at the temple above the eyebrow, hooked toward the back and then bottom of my head then looped over my ear, ending in front of the ear near the lobe. The downside of losing little hair in surgery is that the remaining hair and dried blood gets caught when the staples are removed!

In the interests of Fairlie's delicate sensitivities after the blood test post, I won't post a photo of the staples in front of the ear or of the scar line which is currently visible when my remaining hair is pulled aside .

Escape from Hospital

Hello and thanks for the very flattering photo of my ted hose compression socks that Fairlie has placed on her blog. Imagine me topped off with a bandage turban and you have a complete fashion statement.

Surgery ( craniotomy) was Wednesday , spent the night in ICU then to my own room on Thursday. Walking , talking and generally being an ideal patient, even reminding my nurses about the regulation observations that were required. Yes, as Fairlie points out the demarcation of job descriptions was amazing. Home today ( Saturday) at least 2 days ahead of the very short stay I managed last March. Only 3 nights in total post surgery. Pretty amazing that I can be home ( albeit with staples in my head which come out Monday) after having my brain exposed in the operating theatre for 3 hours on Wednesday.!

Thank you all for your positive thoughts and best wishes. I am so lucky to have come through this surgery without any apparent physical or cognitive impairment. Over the next few weeks I'll continue to recover and gather more strength ready for the forthcoming 12 months of chemo and a future of blogging!!!!!

Science Lab

Kinglsey loves school and was so excited to discover there would be set homework handed out every Monday which needs to submitted to the teacher each Friday morning. She has already almost completed all of her tasks the class were given this morning.

The week before last, in readiness for homework, she set up a science lab on her desk.

There were specimen jars with bugs, spiders, beetle and ants collected from in and around the house. Research included studying the insects under the microscope, reading nature history books and googling on the internet. It culminated in the Ant Exhibition and lecture by the chief scientist, Kingsley. The invitation only display required presentation of the flyer pictured above to gain admission. The second half of the week was devoted to the study of dolphins which was a little harder to try to see under the microscope!

Rated M ( medical) A Little Enforced "holiday"

Been a bit sidetracked lately and slack with my blogging and checking out all your blogs . I will be offline for at least another few weeks while recovering from surgery. After the recent MRI news on 29 Jan I head to hospital tomorrow for a visit with my favourite neurosurgeon for another craniotomy . Maybe I should ask for a frequent patient discount?

There will be lots more blood tests and rides in the tunnel. Kingsley took this photo at my recent blood test and is going to help maintain a photographic record of the next stage in the journey.

Wining and Dining Queenslanders

Two of our dear Queensland neighbours headed south to attend the tennis last weekend before heading out to New Zealand to visit relatives. With June celebrating a birthday on Sunday and S's one later in the week it was great excuse to host a lunch at Donovans in St Kilda.

As usual the service and food were exceptional. After fabulous food and champagne we decided to skip dessert and just have coffee/tea. I then secretly asked the waitress to arrange a treat for the Birthday Girl and it was wonderful to see the surprise on June's face when the staff came out singing and bearing a platter of assorted treats.

At the end of the meal I had the good fortune to chat with Kevin Donovan himself. If you have time check out the website link. The restaurant is located on Jacka Boulavard in St Kilda and decorated in an eclectic homely style the defies the exemplary standard of food and service.

Tennis anyone??

With Gold pass corporate tickets, seats behind the baseline 8 rows from the court and the chance for a family outing who could say no thanks!

Kingsley, Ahubby, Queenie and I headed off in the drizzle to Vodafone Arena to watch The Australian Open tennis on 19 January. Luckily the roof was closed and play went on as tennis was abandoned for most of the outside courts . It was Queenie's first time at the tennis and what a great way to experience it.

We left before the end of the Fedderer match which finished well after the time the night session usually started. We finished off the day with a casual take out meal at Chez Fairlie.

The Gambler

How proud did I feel watching those words come up on the Tattersalls screen at the local newsagency? I made the retail assistant turn the screen around so the people behind could see while I captured the historic moment on film.

I then pocketed the massive $5 windfall from the $1 investment in the scratchie and went straight to the nearest coffee shop to spend it on a celebratory morning tea with Kingsley.

The Reservation Con

Ahubby and I have a theory. We were looking for a suitable bistro/casual restaurant for dinner while on the Gold Coast. Not being locals it was hard to determine what might represent tasty food at reasonable rates. We happened upon a small strip of predominately indoor/outdoor eateries near Broadbeach. In the end we chose an Italian eatery because of the proliferation of reservation signs. We figured if it was that booked it must be good.

Every table except for one had Reserved Signs placed in the centre. Given its alleged popularity due to the prebooked tables we were thrilled to be able secure the last non reserved table. It was when we seated that we decided it was a fabulous marketing ploy. Look popular, act popular and the patrons will come. During the course of our meal we witnessed many patrons walkup without bookings yet get shown to another "last remaining" table with its reserved sign removed.

For the record the food was passable but really nothing to write home about ( or write a blog about!)

Flying Mammals

Yes - that is 2 dolphins high above the water as if they are flying through the air. No - I did not photoshop the picture! The keepers were at pains to reinforce that the dolphins were only exhibiting traits on command that you would see in the wild.

Back in business now with all the necessary equipment to blog. The photo of the dolphins was taken at Seaworld on the Gold Coast. TeamSAK left the Sunshine Coast for a weekend on the Gold Coast staying overnight at SeaWorld Nara Resort.

The only reason we chose that establishment ( as opposed to one of the thousands of rooms on the high rise tourist strip) was that it provided an opportunity to do a behind the scenes tour in a small group before the park opened to the public. This was the highlight of the trip as we all got to feed and then pat a seal as well as enter shallow water to feed a dolphin. The hotel also offered a room and park entry package at a slight discount to rack rates which appealed to my thrifty ways. That and one entrance to the park is onsite with direct access to the monorail train that circles Seaworld.

Of all the theme parks on the Coast we chose Seaworld as it appeared to offer us the best mix of water sport, popular culture, child / S friendly rides and nature ( and hence educative focus!)

Public warning - With 30 photos from Seaworld there may be a few posts to come over the next weeks on this topic!

I was 21 - Once!

But I can't remember being out that late or bringing home such souvenirs!

There are plenty of stories from the 8 family visitors who joined us at Noosa but unfortunately only a few are publishable to protect those involved!. It was great to catch up with the relatives and spend some quality time. One of Ahubby's cousins, her hubby and little girl travelled with her brother and his mate to visit their sister , her partner and daughter on the Gold Coast. The Melbournites hadn't visited Noosa before so the invite to visit us on the Sunshine Coast only 2hr 20 drive away was quickly accepted. It was a far too quick 2 day visit but lots of fun.

The older girls played together beautifully as there are only a few months difference in age. Baby K , at 14 months , kept us on our toes with her fascination with the stairs but it was the 21 year old boys that entertained us the most.

The younger cousin and his mate who was staying with us managed to locate the "in" nightspots until 4 am and arrived home with a small property for sale sign and a stool. Don't even ask me why but I guess it made sense to them at the time? The boys had fun checking out the local talent and the souvenirs did found their way home again.

Seems like years ago that I was 21 !

The Snake Man

For the very reasonable price of a $45 call out fee John the Snake Man visited us. The Snake Man must be the cheapest tradesman on the coast and the most daring. Armed only with a torch and a canvas bag he ventured into the unknown searching for our "friendly' python.

The python visited us at our pool. He wasn't exactly swimming- just popping up from under the decking surrounding the pool to see who was swimming. John the Snake Man found plenty of evidence of our visitor but not the reptile itself . In his expert opinion the snake has found a new home in a drier environment.

Let's hope he doesn't have any mates who decide to visit!

Surfs up

Those of you familiar with the Sunshine Coast would know that Noosa main beach , which is north facing, is quite protected and known as a child/family friendly beach with safe small waves.

The recent weather , which has bought flooding further south and into New South Wales, whipped up the waves and closed many beaches along the coast. Noosa remained open, with mainly the experienced board riders braving the rips for the ultimate ride near First Point.

This morning at high tide sandy beach was at a premium with the tourists enjoying an early morning dip under the careful watch of the wonderful members of our local surf lifesaving club.

"Sealed' with a kiss

Despite the fact we know the "Seals Behaving Badly" performance almost word for word we love watching it when visiting Underwater World at Mooloolaba. At the end of each performance there is a chance for 10 children to participate in a Seal Kiss experience.

This time, with military precision only an ex project manager would have, TeamSAK were in prime position for Kingsley to get to the front of the auditorium in time. Of course they position the seal and child so that proud parents left in the seating can't take their own photo and need to purchase a professional one ( which we did get for Kingsley as a special momento). It was a wonderful experience for Kingsley . For the record no seal or child was hurt during this experience!

Happy New Year - Hello 2008

So much to say but so little time on a borrowed laptop and wireless broadband! Wishing everyone a safe and happy 2008. Hope that your celebrations last night went well and that you are in a good condition this morning. Given we were all in bed by 9 pm we were up early beating the tourist rush to our favourite coffee shop. TeamSAK's break on the Sunshine Coast is providing plenty of material and photos for future blog entries. Hope to be back regularly blogging in a few weeks with my own laptop and camera download dock. Will keep you posted about the interesting slants of:

1)weather details- not quite the Sunshine Coast at present
2)an amazing surf report-
3) sightings of a "friendly" carpet python
4)tales from the family house guests' stay
5) the perfect marinade for BBQ prawns
6) best value muffin and coffee deal on Hastings Street
7)catching up with friends and neighbours
8)shopping for clothes that actually fit
9) and much more!