We had some friends over this morning. Ayako wanted to learn how to make my cheese and onion bread, so I showed her how I do it. We made some butter rolls as well and baked them for lunch. Sara had fun playing with Asana and Mihaya, but by the time they were leaving, I guess they were all tired and not particularly harmonious. Sara then proceeded to really test my patience for at least an hour and I did blow my fuse. Thanksfully, she is quietly watching TV now.
I'm tired.

I attempted to clean the house today. I did some cleaning.
I am just not efficient when it comes to things like this.
There are parts that are clean, but the overall impression has not changed.

Sara speaks non stop from the first moment she wakes to the moment she falls asleep.
She sometimes also talks in her sleep.
Yes, at this very moment she is saying "I want my black scarf." about 56 times in the last two minutes while I write this.

A historical annoucement.
My beloved husband has finally put the Landrover on sale on the internet.
I know that at one stage I was getting rather desperate and cynical aboutit all and feared that it may just sit there for eternity. How wrong was I? It merely sat there for 15 months and now it is for sale. A miracle! Thank you Richard. Thank you angels. Thank you.

Sara's nose is red from a red crayon.

I took Dad back to Sydney yesterday and stayed the night at my sister's with Sara.

On the way to Sydney, we stopped off at IKEA and it was unbelievably crowded.
No wonder the owner of IKEA is the richest man in the world.

Today, I took Dad into the city to pick up a video camera from Richard's office.
It was the first time I visited him there.
Dad and I went our separate ways to do our shopping.

Richard knocked off early so we could all drive home together before the traffic jam. We were fine for the first half of the journey, but when we got to the junction where M7 meets M4, it took us half an hour to clear it. Sara was having such a lovely time with her aunty and cousin, she refused to come home with her parents. She had to be bribed with a chocolate to get in the car. She tried to talk me into sitting next to her in the back saying "I need you to sit next to me mama, because I love you." I was not so convinced after her earlier performance and refused.

It's a cold, but sunny day in the mountains.
Sara had another bout of growing pains last night, so a restless night for mother and child. She is fine today.

We are going out to dinner tonight with Dad. Tomorrow, I will drive him back to Sydney.
It has been great having him around play with Sara, vacuum clean every day, clean and set the fireplace, chop wood, carry wood, etc etc etc.

This morning, Lisette came to visit us with Ellie for a cup of tea. Due to her catching a cold last week and us being busy this week as well as it being the school holidays, we hadn't seen each other for a couple of weeks.
This afternoon, we ordered some more firewood which got delivered straight away, so my dad and I stacked them in front of the house.

It is another beautiful and sunny winter's day.
Sara is having a wonderful time with Toshnii.

It was the hotteset July day in record yesterday. 
It began to rain in the late afternoon and a little windy, but the sun is still up this morning.

I am trying to decide whether to go to Aldi in Lithgow or in Emu Plains today.
Emu Plains is closer, but the road to Lithgow is prettier.

Choices, decisions.

Sara is at Andrea's today. She was reluctant to go as her cousin was still here this morning, but upon learning that he was going back to Sydney this morning, she consented to go.

My uncontrollable husband bought a green house on the net which got delivered this morning.
We have discussed it many times and I have never agreed to get it for a number of reasons.
Anyway, he gave up trying to convince me and bought it anyway.

He left me a note in the morning two days ago (when he thought the thing was going to be delivered) to inform me that it was coming. Fait accompli.
I rang him up and told him to get rid of the Land Rover in exchange. He said he'd put it up for sale that night. Needless to say, it is yet to be done.

We have been bush walking two days in a row. The weather has been marvelous.
This morning, we went to the big fall at Wentworth Falls.
Sara is quite a good strong walker now. She got quite a long way down and managed to walk all the way up while my nephew and Tosh kept on going down. They did not come back for at least one hour.

We had lunch in Katoomba and did our grocery shopping and came home.

TIRED.

We have my dad, sister and nephew staying with us and Sara is in 7th heaven with so many people to pay her attention. However, it is her cousin who is most definitely Sara's favourite.
Earlier, the boy nextdoor came to visit and the boys ran off without Sara for a moment. Sara was totally devastated and her distress was so impressive, the boys came back and got took her next door to play with them.

We went to do a little bush walk in the Conservation Hut in Wentworth Falls today and had lunch there. We then went to Evans Lookout. The day was as clear and beautiful as it ever gets up here. Stunning.

We went to Sydney again yesterday to attend my sister's exhibition opening.
We first drove to Marrickville for Vietnamese lunch and to get there, we had to drive along Parramatta Road for a while. The traffic on Parramatta Road has not improved over the years and most of the streets we took to get to Marrickville were narrow and congested. Our residential street up here is far wider than some of the arteries in Sydney.
The opening was a great success. Lots of old friends turned up and it was like holding a party in a strange place. I think at least half the paintings were sold during the two hours we were there. It was great to see everybody. We took my dad and nephew back to my sisters and waited there while my sister attended to the post show matters.

I took Sara to a Japanese playgroup in Blackheath yesterday. We've never been before as it is held on Thursdays when Sara is at preschool, but given it is school holidays, we could go for the first time yesterday. There were kids aged from 0 to 5. There was one girl who was only one month younger than Sara, but they did not get on at all well. Each coveted whatever the other was playing with. Sara had about 28 crying fits during the 4 hours we were there.
It was interesting to meet the other Japanese mums (all married to white caucasian Aussie husbands). I knew some of them already.

Yesterday, Sara and I went to Katoomba to rent some DVDs.
Once I told her we were going to go out, she was very eager to get going.
I was on the pc and she was saying,
"Come on mum. Let's go shopping. No more computer. I switch it off."
Then she was trying to reach the monitor switch.
I laughed. It was very amusing.
My little girl is growing up.

I actually did try to update my blog yesterday, but the PC froze and I gave up.

Yesterday, we went to Leura to pay off a red reclining chair Richard had put a deposit on a year ago.  You would be familiar with my beloved husband's tendency to leave transactions uncompleted indefinitely until the people around him jump up and down fiercely enough for him to shake out of inertia.

Anyway, the chair is now proudly sitting in the living room and Sara has claimed it as her indoor slippery slide.

Sara and I went to Sydney yesterday and stayed the night at my sister's. We both had a haircut yetserday and this morning Tosh arrived. Sara got lots of gifts from Japan and she was ecastatic. We all had lunch at Sea Treasure restaurant in Crows Nest and drove home in the afternoon.
Richard had a wonderful quiet time by himself for the first time we moved here.

Sara has an ability to repeat herself indefinitely until she gets what she wants.
When I pick her up from the preschool or the daycare, she goes "I'm hungry I want something to eat. I'm hungry I want something to eat."in the car the whole way till we get home, have her hands washed, and have presented something for her to eat. Then when she finishes that, she goes "I'm hungry I want something to eat." till I produce yet another plate of food. Then when she finishes that, repeat the above several times overs.

At the moment, she appears to be expanding sideways. I am hoping that she will strech vertically soon.

It's raining a little today which is good.
We haven't had a rain for a while.

Yesterday, when I went to pick Sara up from preschool, there was a large rock inside her lunch box.  I guess she found the rock and decided to keep it.  I have to say that it is a good rock.  A common garden variety rock, but a good one.

It was another challenging day with Sara at home.
Lisette and Mia did come for a short while, but the girls were at each other's throat constantly. I think Sara was in a particularly grouchy mood yesterday.

This morning, she was very happy to go to preschool and so was I.
However, it is the last week of the term and I'll have the pleasure of Sara's constant company for the next two weeks. Fortunately, my father is arriving this weekend in Sydney. He'll be at my sister's for the first week and here the second.

It is bitterly cold.

We've all had a lovely weekend.
Kanako and Dom arrived in the late afternoon yesterday and they brought a bottle of champagne (not an Aussie sparkling, a real champagne) and a good Barossa red as well as a box full of top class gateaux from the city.
Sara had a marvelous time with two new adults paying her lots of attention as well.

Today, we went for a walk to Wentworth Falls and the weather was cool, but very sunny and brilliant. We had a lovely lunch at the Conservation Hut cafe. It was just a lovely day.

Look! a rare photo of me and Sara. I got Kanako to take it for me while Richard went to get the car.

Sara has gone to the playground with Richard, so I am enjoying a moment of peace.
I spoke too soon, they are BACK.

We are expecting Kanako and Dom to arrive later.
They are staying the night.

Sara and I have been to Penrith for shopping today.
She quite likes shopping now, but she still rolls on the floor if she is bored waiting for me at the cashier. It happened, perhaps 5 times today.
I seem to be forever shouting "up up up. I don't want you on the floor."

Lately, I have been spending too much on Sara's things like new clothes, new pink cups, new dvd, new clothes, new toy, etc. I really must stop.
The red top she is wearing is a new one I got her this morning.

Funny things Sara said:

1. As she was walking around with her Purple Giraf, she said to it "hello gorgeous."

2. When I switched on the TV yesterday and the screen was static, she went to the DVD drawer and took out "House (Richard's favourite medical drama)" and said "you want to watch doctor?"

Now, this number 2 was really funny for Richard and me, but I don't expect anyone else to find it funny. I can't quite explain why it was funny, but after being off the air for a month, it was going to be back on channel 10 last night. Richard was really looking forward to it.