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