late Nov 07

Nicholas and I went to my Mums for 3 nights to help her out with some jobs at her place. It was the first time I'd left Sami and AJ for so long. I felt a bit strange doing so, but knew the time would go quickly. They ended up having a great time with Cary and going to a couple of parties. Such a great time that they hardly ever called me. I'm glad it went well. Apparently it was very quiet around here without the little guy's constant chatter.

Nicholas really missed everyone (and so did I). He stayed very close to me the whole weekend which made it a little hard to do much, but it was lovely. I got to drive our new truck on the trip. It went great and I loved cruising along the highway with the sunroof open, the windows up and the music on. Nicholas was a happy traveller on the 3 hours there and back.

I love driving on the roads here. Cary calls the main highway a country road. Ok, it is only one lane each way for most of it, with some overtaking lanes built in along the way. But to me, they are interesting. The curves, the hills, the countryside. It's so beautiful and interesting. Old, abandoned buildings, full of history - I can just feel the pioneers who first brought their families this way. I can imagine how the area looked back then, I wonder about the women and think about how hard they must have worked and wonder "were they happy?"


I was very happy to get back home to our little camper. We have arranged to move further north on 22 December. So we're started to prepare for that - using up the excess food, taking the winter clothes to storage and really thinking about what we've been using and what we will need for the hot summer ahead. Cary did buy a mobile air conditioner for the camper which isn't too bulky. AJ and I could be comfortable in the summer just with a fan when there is no breeze. But the rest of the family really feels the heat so the a/c will make them more comfortable. Hmm, maybe I should keep some of the winter things with us for AJ and I.


It feels good to have a plan. I am trying to think of some creative things we can do for Cary's and Sami's birthdays which are coming up soon, as well as Christmas. We won't be doing much in the way of presents as we simply don't have the space (or frankly, the desire to get any more stuff). So we might put tickets to Australia Zoo under the tree (or whatever we use in place of a tree) for Christmas with some favourite foods and that might be it. Decorations will be minimal. I'm aiming for a Christmas that has more meaning, more family connection, less "stuff" and less stress.

So far so good. I'll let you know how that plan goes!