Last days of new years break

Checked out a new op shop, which was good. There are some church ones in the area that I’ve been to, the type that only open once or twice a week and generally when you’re at work. There’s one on St Georges Square, next to the church that’s around the corner from the Greek Orthodox blue domed church.

Also went to on in Largs Bay on Jetty Road. Today’s op shop was a Vinnies one, I bought 4 cushions (2 for use, 2 for their cushion inserts), the book about work by Elizabeth Wynhausen and the Australian Book of Ocean Writing, edited by James Bradley. As I typed that, I imagined my sister saying something disparaging about him, due to her university friend having an intense but platonic/unrequited romance with him. University days are great for that sort of thing :) But really, he’s managed to be erudite and support himself as a full time writer. Can only envy that.

Then I came home and sorted and filed bills, placed books on book shelves, washed and “styled” the yellow cushion covers that I’ve had for 3 years now that I finally have decent inserts, cleaned the couch upholstery of dust mites from all the sleepover guests,  reorganised the kids toys (told the husband that the back room can be a study or a playroom, but not both. He asked if I wanted to have kids toys sprawled across our lounge room instead. Yes! They are colourful and amusing.

I made mental travel plans. WA-Margaret River (where Gilgamanesh by Joan London is set) and Esperance; Sawtell NSW where I spent 2007-2008; Dodges Ferry TAS where fires are wreaking havoc (Sabrina’s update says they hung out in the Sorrell Shelter where the kids were amused by a balloon artist. House okay); Melbourne and St Andrews, Victoria, where Petra’s parents used to have a house before they moved to the city again and then the bushfire terror occurred. All of the bushfire terror places are spots I’ve holidayed at... In actual fact it was nice to be safe at home. The kid found the toilet rolls he painted and stared through the hole at me and then picked up his wooden tractor and tried staring through a tiny pin hole in that he discovered. When I demonstrated how to clean teeth, he perfectly mimicked my teeth baring grimace and I saw his gums for perhaps the first time in the 18+ months that he’s had teeth. He woke me up this morning with the sounds of him doing dishes...

We finished our day by visiting the beach. A few weeks back we met Adam and Rachel and walked from Semaphore to Tennyson and back. Adam was mightily impressed that Andy got the kite surfers to “move further down the beach”, just before we turned around and walked away.  Now Andy and I have started thinking of Semaphore Surf Club as “our place”, because it’s cheap, it’s like the 1987 version of the Summer Bay surf club, and there is a great view from the redecked balcony.