Justine Clarke comes to town

We've had a long-term 'thing' going with Justine Clarke - in case you're out of the children's entertainer loop she's a multi-talented actress/singer/playschool presenter. The kids love her (and I admit I've always had a soft spot for her too).

We've seen her in concert umpteen times from small venues when she was starting out on her solo singing career to the latest performance where she filled the Canberra Theatre for several sell out shows full of singing/dancing children.

I bought tickets to see her some months ago (April or May I think) as soon as I saw that she was coming to Canberra and my keenness meant that I was the first through to the booking office and secured us tickets in the middle of Row AA. Amy and I were looking forward to the show - she always teased me about my infatuation.

Sadly as you know Amy didn't make the show in December. A friend of Audrey's took her seat. I wrote to Justine to request a song in Amy's honour. Justine played it for the three of us even though it wasn't on her set list for Canberra. That's just the sort of person she is.

Audrey's friend was well versed in all the songs and we danced and sang throughout the concert. I'm not sure how many more the kids will get in as it feels like they're a bit on the cusp of being too old and no doubt the switch-over to boy-band will happen before too long.

It'll be a sad day when the kids don't want to go any more and much as I admire/love Justine I think it would be a tadge strange to go on my own!

The view from Row AA

I like to sing!

Racecourse Beach

I joined a group of Dads (there were six of us in all) and headed down to Racecourse Beach (near Bawley Point) on the South Coast for a short 3 day break. Initially planned as a camping trip we all changed at the last minute to cabins.

It turned out to be a wise move as the rain beat down on the roof on the Friday night, it would have been a very soggy morning if we had awoken under canvass.

It drizzled throughout Saturday, but it didn't really curtail our fun - the beach was a 100 metre walk over a ridge was beautiful and we splashed in the pool despite the rain. Sunday was much brighter and so it was late in the afternoon before we turned to home and arrived back in Canberra happy but weary.

Here's some pics

beautiful 'unspoilt' Rainbow Beach



Audrey on the flying fox



Blow up tyres - courtesey of Aldi ($7.99)

Proud of my children

We had a hectic (and expensive) afternoon on Tuesday with trips to the podiatrist and dentist. When we arrived at the dentist both of the kids told me that they had been to the dentist “recently” with Mummy. Neither could tell me exactly when it was - whether it was in the last year or which dentist they’d been to! I took it on the chin and thought there’d be no harm in a second visit(!)

After handing over half my wages (the dentist looked in Elijah's mouth for about 10 seconds and charged me $79) the three of us headed to the nearby supermarket.

Just before we reached the self-service check out I asked the kids, “We’re doing ok, aren’t we?”. 

Rightly or wrongly I’ve occasionally found myself “checking-in” with them to make sure they’re ok and they’re coping with our new “normal”. Amy is ALWAYS in our life, we often talk about her and I feel her presence and power so often.

On this occasion Audrey was surprised that I had asked the question. The two of them were mucking around and hanging from the side of the trolley in typical fashion and she turned to me with a surprised expression and replied, “Of course we are!”.

Moments later when we reached the checkout both her and her brother obediently jumped down from the trolley and without prompting started unloading the trolley for me, scanning it and packing it into bags (they didn’t have the ability to pay for the shopping but I’m sure they would have done!)

 

They are such lovely children.
 

Still Numb

It’s been a difficult week. I dropped the kids at school this morning and sat in my car and sobbed.  I miss you so much dear Amy.

People tell me that things get easier, in truth the last few days have felt harder. I can’t exactly tell you why.

In part I think it’s because I read this week that one of Amy’s friends, Sheree (from her internet circle) died earlier this week from cancer. I didn’t know her, but I know Amy did; she was 39 and had two small boys. Another life lost to this horrible disease, another little family wrecked and two more kids left without their Mum.

I think what I find hard is that I know that thousands more will die and I can’t do anything to stop it, absolutely nothing. We all go on with our daily lives while the oncology ward of every hospital is packed with young women living with this insidious disease, many many of them with young families like ours.

I’ve been blown away by people’s love over the last couple of months. So many school Mums (and Dads) offering help, friends who I didn’t really know before Amy’s death have become closer.

Aside from the emotional weight it’s been a logistical headache over the last few weeks ensuring that the kids get to school, get their teeth brushed, have food to eat and that I get to work to ensure some semblance of normality.

Some people have risen to help, whereas some who I thought would help, who I thought would be there for me and the kids have vanished. Odd.

I’ve been to a few ‘family’ things recently with the kids and we’ve laughed and joked with everyone else, but I look at the other families and realise that our family is incomplete, my best friend isn’t here to share the jokes and it just hurts like hell.

Graffiti!

My nephew, Daniel has discovered that there are a large number of legal graffiti walls in Canberra - the local government actually publish their location. It's a good thing - the walls are not overlooked by anyone (they're mostly storm-water ditches) and provide great canvasses for people to spray their art.

He headed down with a friend of a friend to do some 'graff" on Sunday morning and the rest of us went along to see him after a swimming trip.

He'd just wrapped up as we arrived, so Audrey and Eli got to spray their own 'tags'. Audrey chose 'A1' and Elijah 'George'.

Here's a picture of them at work.

Audrey was a bit torn afterwards as she kept telling Daniel that graffiti was bad even though she'd been a perpetrator herself.

Eli goes to work

George

A1

Audrey with her silver paint can

A side to Canberra you don't often see!

Daniel's work

Yankee Hat

A few weeks ago I was introduced to Yankee Hat by our neighbour Phil who took me and the kids for a day trip there. It’s an area of the nearby Namadji National Park with a large hill that looks (unsurprisingly I guess), like a Yankee hat.

I took a day off work yesterday and allowed the kids a day off school and together with Dan (my nephew) and Anja (his girlfriend) who are visiting us in Canberra at the moment, we headed off to explore the Namadji.

The Gudgenby Valley which Yankee Hat forms part of is beautiful – rolling countryside segmented by a couple of streams and populated by hundreds or maybe thousands of kangaroos who sit and scratch themselves while watching you nonchalantly from under the shade of trees as you walk past.

Sadly since we visited a few weeks ago the flies had also multiplied and so they numbered vastly more than the kangaroos and provided a constant hum in the air and meant that you were regularly flicking them away from your face.

It’s a nice and tranquil place though. After a 3km walk in a complex of boulders is a small copse containing a small area of aboriginal paintings. Some of the paint making up the pictures have been carbon dated to 3,700 years but it is thought that some of the earlier paint there could be much older.

The Ngunnawal people are thought to have been the most prevalent in the Canberra region, but it was also a significant meeting place for other clans, including the Ngarigo, Wolgalu, Gundungurra, Yuin and Wiradjuri people. Ceremonies, trading and inter-marriages took place during gatherings.

The kids walked at their own pace (slowly) and on our return leg Dan and Anja went in a fruitless search of a waterfall which a local guide informed us was nearby. Nevertheless (and despite the flies who buzzed around us all afternoon) we had a really enjoyable time. The kids took their time over the walk but didn’t really complain about the distance or terrain. It helps that the return trip is mostly downhill.

When we got home I chatted with Eli. We’ve now been to Yankee Hat twice together and enjoyed it both times. I said that it was a shame that we never went there with his Mum (we ‘discovered’ Yankee Hat a week or two after Amy’s death).

He told me that his Mum had walked alongside us for the whole day. His words brought tears to my eyes, but thinking about it I am sure he was right.



Perspective does funny things sometimes!

Rock art



The slow walk back to the car



kangaroos



crazy cousins

Flower on our Yucca

We've got (what I think is) a yucca palm in our garden. I really like it (it gives the place a tropical feel!) and it's really thrived since we chopped down two ugly pine trees which were cramping it in. It's now well over 6 metres tall

I noticed this morning that it had a beautiful flower on it. Here's a picture.