Monday, December 19th, 2005

Felt a bit feverish when I got up today. Couldn't seem to get online at all with the wireless so work was limited to creating an online photo album for Elliott that I uploaded from the laptop. This set off a bout of homesickness that lasted for much of the day because I really missed them all. It's kind of weird having Christmas with another family - even if it is a really wonderful family like this one. But being on the other side of the planet from your own doesn't make it any easier, either.

In the afternoon we went to Ikea to pick up a proper desk for Gabrielle's computer. While we were there I thought I'd be sneaky and pick up some glasses her and Euan as a Christmas present. It was hard enough trying to rush ahead of them at the cash register, but what made it even harder was that the glasses weren't packaged very well and made a lot of noise in trunk on the way home. I was worried they'd break the whole time. Luckily, they were fine.

Upon returning, I decided to paint for a while though that was hard because of the wind. The rest of the afternoon and evening were pretty uneventful though we ate some cheese and chocolates and I went to bed with a bad headache. I couldn't get to sleep and worked on the travelogue until about 1:30 in the morning.

Tuesday, December 20th, 2005

Today was supposed to be hot and it was bright and sunny when I got up. The throat thing seemed to move to the other side, which is usually a sign of improvement for me. Euan and Gabby were out, so we fended for ourselves for most of the day. I decided to get some much needed sun and did a bit of sketching outside. Eventually Sea came out and talked about going for a swim. It wasn't until after lunch and we baked in the sun a bit before getting in the pool (which was still a bit chilly) and I invented the jellyfish stroke.

When Euan got back we went to the store (including the cheap liquor store Dan Murphey's) to pick up some things. Sea bought some Asahis which are much cheaper here than at home. Btw, Canada was poorly represented in the imports section with only Labatt's Blue and Kokanee. Ugh.. Anyway, I was happy to be feeling well enough to enjoy a much needed beer on a very hot day. We had a quick dinner and rushed off to watch King Kong at the Jam Factory. One interesting observation about the theatres here is that it's all assigned seating when you get your tickets. You can't sit just anywhere. Well you could, but you might have trouble keeping your seat. There were a ton of ads and then the movie was about 3 hrs! It was roughly midnight when we got in and we just went to bed.

Wednesday, December 21st, 2005

It was hard getting up this morning, but I was feeling better when I did. I predicted rain, though the forecast didn't call for it. Did a bit of graphic work then started on the paintings (for Kate and Zoe.) A thunderstorm hit at lunchtime and stopped for a bit, then started pouring down with gusting winds like a mini-monsoon. Turned off the computer and decided to wait it out. When it stopped, the birds went nuts!

Didn't really do a lot else today. Sea put together the computer desk. Gabrielle made couch covers since Mort has been naughty and claws at them to get our attention. Couldn't remember if we did anything else significant upon writing this. Probably not.

Thursday, December 22nd, 2005

Another quiet day around the house but the weather was nice and I painted outside for a while. We set up the desk in the back and decorated the Christmas tree. Euan and Gabby wrapped most of their Christmas presents. I found a piece of wood for Mort to use as a scratching post (to date upon writing this, I still don't think he's used it.) Sea made burgers for dinner and for dessert we had chocolate ice-cream with a vanilla heart in the centre. Not a lot else happened other than I got a long update from home about all kinds of family drama. Still it was good to hear from mom anyway. Went to bed early to go to the market in the morning.

Friday, December 23rd, 2005

Went to the South Melbourne Market today. Things were very cheap here and pretty nice. The market got quite busy by noon and we went to "Nick's Corner" in the food court for some HOT cappuccinos and bacon & egg sandwiches. The bacon was very much like Canadian back bacon, and the eggs had orange-coloured yolks. We found a nice little giraffe rattle for Bridget and that was about it.

Sea wanted a picture of this silly thing we saw at a pet supply shop in the market.

Nick's Corner - Cappuccino w/Bacon & Egg sandwich for $5.

We then headed into the city - past the casino and over the Yarra then up Market St.

On a bridge over the Yarra.

We did a bit of shopping - both Christmas and otherwise - and basically did a big figure 8 through the city, looking for Chinatown (missed it on the first pass) and passing by (but ultimately avoiding due to crowds) Vic Market. After getting most of our shopping done, we were terribly thristy and looked around for a pub. We settled on the Sherlock Holmes pub that we passed on our way in. It had air conditioning and Guinness and that was good enough for us. We probably should have eaten somewhere but we were in a hurry to finish our shopping and get home. It was so hot and we didn't get the winds we were expecting, so we finished up at Myer's department store and took the tram home. A nice gentleman help me and someone before me figure out our fares and then it took about 30 mins to get back to Malvern. I was hoping it would be air conditioned on the tram, but it was probably just as hot as outside. I sweated profusely.

Some kind of crazy animatronic lego hiphop band that plays when you jump on the footpad thingy in front of it. (Which is what the kid belonging to that head in the foreground is doing.)
I have video of this which I will put up at some undetermined point in the future.

When we got back we found out Chris & Audrey (Jason's parents) were stopping by with Kate and the boys. They got there just as were were sitting down to eat our pitifully late lunch. We had a nice visit with them then Chris, Kate and the twins went for a swim and eventually Jason stopped over. After everybody left, I went for a quick dip to cool off. It was still a little cold, but compared to the hot air it was nice. Later on we got pizza for dinner and and watched a movie. At some point I noticed that Euan and Gabrielle had bought new glasses. Oops.

Anyway, I stayed up late working on the paintings and that's that.

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