Where there's smoke ...

We had much excitement last night when, in the midst of late-night shopping, the fire alarms went off and orders came over the loud speakers to evacuate the centre.

I bundled the babies in to the kitty carriage and took them down the lift  -  contra-indicated in case of fire but no-one had suggested a fire at that stage.  However, soon after we hit the street the fire engines rolled up, blazing red and blue flashing lights and with sirens going full blast.  No-one seemed to know what the problem was and I still don't know if there was a fire or just a false alarm but eventually the all-clear sounded and we sheepishly returned to whatever we had been doing.

As soon as I started wheeling the babies in the kitty carriage I realised that the tyres were flat but didn't have time to pump them up so this morning I collected my bike pump and discovered that not only were the valves badly angled but my bike has schrader valves and the kitty carriage has presta so the pump didn't fit even when I managed to get it through the spokes.  I suspect that the pump could be converted but that didn't make it any easier to attach.

So  -  I removed the wheels and caught the train over to Cottesloe where the man in the bike shop straightened the valves, pumped up the tyres and sold me a pump which, being very small, I can store in the kitty carriage.

I had intended, this morning, to wash my car but there was no water on level 4.  I later discovered that there is a broken pipe out in the street with water bubbling up between the pavers so I assume that is where all the water has gone.  I guess that it will be fixed eventually but I will be going to lunch at the Selfs' on Sunday in a very dusty car.  I don't like using the car-washing area on weekends when there are cars parked close by.

All in all an interesting few hours and the staff of Zoo showed me how to dismantle and fold the kitty carriage if I need to take it in the car.

'ear no evil

I went to my first yoga session today and had to stop about halfway through because I started to feel dizzy and nauseated; my inner ears can't cope with that much head movement and rotation.  I think that the instructor who took the introductory session on Monday was right that if I am going to do yoga at all it will have to be the 'restorative', not the 'vinyasa' yoga. Pity about that  -  I really wanted to do the vinyasa type.

The Restorative sessions are at 12.15pm on Monday, Thursday and Sunday afternoons so I'll give it a go next week and see if I can cope better with the less kinetic version.

Parsifal has eaten a bit of a polystyrene meat tray which I had thoroughly washed and put into a soft, woven plastic-type bag.  He ate a hole in the bag to get to the meat tray.  I am now waiting for it to appear out the other end or he will upchuck (hopefully).  No sign of either option yet.  He is a worry and I am hanging out waiting for the return of the animal behaviorist next month although I suspect that he will not start practising again until next year.

For all that he is a problem he is also a most delightful cat; a real clown and wants to be into everything.  He keeps me constantly amused.  Poppy's aim in life is still to be a lapcat and she is always curled up on my bed when I wake up in the morning, ready for a bit of smooching.  His nibs is out on the balcony sunbathing, since we get early morning sun during summer.  He is making the most of it and I can understand that.  Poppy joins him when I get out of bed.

Senior's moment or do I need a diary?

Would you believe that I didn't just double book the middle of the day of 18th December, I triple booked it.  I have spent time this morning rescheduling my appointments but all is finally sorted out.

Now I need to go out and buy a diary to carry in my handbag so that I don't just assume that things are so far ahead that I am bound to have nothing scheduled.

On Monday I went to a Council sponsored "Introduction to Yoga" and am now waiting for the Yoga Centre to call me back so that I can book myself in for a beginners' course as I would feel more comfortable joining open classes if I already had some idea of what I was supposed to be doing.  The classes take place just across the road so I can even manage early morning without too much trauma.

I have finally bitten the bullet and been measured for a new hearing aid; hopefully the new one will fit better than the current one.  The audiologist is trying to persuade me to get one for each ear and I agree that it would benefit my hearing but unless the second one fits (and I know that the right ear is going to be harder to fit than the left) I won't wear it and they are expensive.  I'll see how I go with the new one and if I can get a good fit I might reconsider.

What the butler saw

Sydney was fun; the long-haul plane rides in cattle class weren't.  

The hotel "upgraded" me to a horrible little room with twin beds and I fell out whenever I turned over but D2 had a chat with the concierge the next day and I found myself in  a four-room suite for the second night.  Very nice.  I have upgraded myself to a "Delux King" room for the trip to Adelaide next month for the family re-union.

Talking to Bro at D1's birthday dinner I realised that there was a lot of contemporary history about the family which he didn't know so I am going to try to get it down in writing so that the wild stories which I was brought up on will not happen in the next generation.  He is several years younger than me and a lot of the goings-on would have gone over his head; best to record it or it will all be forgotten.

I am not quite sure where to start; I guess that I should work through person by person.  Some of the stuff is on my web page but that is mostly the wild stories, not the information about the marriages and divorces, law suits and property division  -  things which I assumed that Bro would know about.  I'll probably start with Uncle Dud, my grandfather's twin brother and work out from there to Great great Uncle Charles and all his works  -  the ultimate money launderer who lost his position as mayor of Adelaide because he was in jail cracking rocks and missed two council meetings without just cause.  I must learn how to copy the information on the National Archives web site for details.  My mother's family really were a shady lot; my father's family were respectable for the most part.

In Sydney, D3 and I visited the Hedrena shop in the foyer of the Wentworth Hotel where we stayed and bought a lot of clothes and again sorted out sizing so that we can buy online.  Then we spent the rest of the morning doing retail therapy at a spectacles shop, shopped for shoes and then dressmaking fabrics.

After lunch we inspected D1's new apartment which is lovely but much smaller than mine.  That night was the birthday dinner and I finished off with a decaf coffee affogato with drambuie; memorable ...

On Sunday morning I met up with Cousin H. and her daughter and in the afternoon we all congregated at D1's place for a party for her friends before flying back to Perth.

The kittens arrived home the next day but will be off to boarding school again in about four weeks for a short weekend stay. I spent some time this morning retrieving all their rubber balls from under the spare bed after which they exhausted themselves and are now asleep.  The balls are probably back under the bed; that is where they always end up.