Renovation Concept

This perspective drawing shows how our house will look after renovation. We intend to raise the house, make most of the existing interior into an open-plan kitchen+living, and have 3 new bedrooms+rumpus downstairs (an existing bedroom will remain in place upstairs). A deck will be added as well as a paved area underneath the deck extending out to a spa.

For photos of the house as it currently exists, please go to flickr (i.e. click on the drawing above).

Fingers 18-Nov-07

Callum's latest hobby... chewing on fingers and growling happily while doing so.

Our Lovely Boy

"Before"


"After"

David wanted to capture the mega-poo experience but missed seeing this one, so I photographed it for him. Then I thought, why not share the excitement?

Bath 14-Oct-07 (4)

Callum loves his baths! It's lovely to view this photo's set in flickr as a slide show.

Big Smiles 8-Oct-07

Callum is 8 weeks, 2 days old today. Last week he weighed 5 kg and was 58 cm long (gains of 1.3 kg & 7.5 cm since birth).

You're not imagining it, yes he's got BIG hands.

Heavy Weather

After living here for ten years I'm still not used to Brisbane's heat. I just can't take the sauna effect:

• Brisbane's high today is 30 C (86 F) with 66% humidity.

Compare this to my last city and my home town:

• Los Angeles is the same temperature but with 12% humidity.
• Tucson is a little cooler with 8% humidity.

The mad part is that it's supposed to be springtime here right now... with weather like this, I'm really dreading summer!

Cycle Crazy

Today David got up at 5 am and rode 100 km along with 5000 other people in the "Wilson HTM Brisbane to Gold Coast Cycle Challenge" (here's a map of the route). I managed to pack a bunch of necessities and hit the road (with Callum and Anya) by 9:30 to meet him down there and pick him up. He was done by 10:30, similar to last year's effort, despite worries that he'd lost fitness.

Afterwards, we met up with my friend Mel, who recently moved to Miami Beach. I was amused to note that she lives on Santa Monica Road (intersected by Redondo Avenue). Mel is Australian, but like me, lived in LA for a few years. (I even lived in Redondo Beach for a while, but never lived in Santa Monica.)

It's been a pretty big visiting weekend -- yesterday we also visited both David's brothers Don and Rob at their respective homes. Both families have been away together, camping on Fraser Island and finishing with a few days at the Peregian Beach units.

Anya had a great time swimming in Don's pool and playing with him (Ann Maree and the kids had gone out before we arrived, but came home in time for the latter part of our visit). She loves going to different places and looking around. In the evening we were at Rob's, and Anya ran around the house with her other cousins at a mad pace.

Everyone enjoyed holding Callum and "chatting" with him. I'm continually amazed at how much all the kids love babies. The day really brought home to me, as well, what an easy baby Callum is compared to how Anya was. He (gasp!) goes to sleep by himself sometimes when you put him down!

He's getting really big -- long, not fat, that is. At his first checkup this week he measured 58 cm long (head to toe), which apparently puts him in the 75th percentile for his age. I've noticed with dismay that he's already outgrowing the baby carrier which he sleeps in (rather than a bassinet). It was my plan to have him in it for about 4 months, but it looks like I'll have to come up with a new plan.

Pumpkin Moon

Pumpkin Moon 30-Sep-07
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

This moon was out while the fireworks were on. Too bad I couldn't get them in the same photo...

Mitchelton Turns 150 Fireworks

Mitchelton Turns 150 Fireworks 30-Sep-07
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

Our hilltop position is great for seeing fireworks in all directions! This photo was taken from our driveway.

Mystery Pest, Kaffir Lime

Mystery Pest, Kaffir Lime
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

We just noticed these infesting our kaffir lime tree this week. The young are the same green as the leaves; as they get older and bigger, they gradually turn this bright orange. We have no idea what kind of beetle this is. (Please comment if you know!)

Fat Little Fruits (Pawpaw)

Fat Little Fruits (Pawpaw)
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

This the same tree as I photographed on 8-Sep for my daily photo.

Baby Stories

At present, I don't have any Callum stories that don't involve poo. So I'll just leave it to your imagination... and if you have no idea what I'm talking about then you should feel lucky...

By the way, Callum is now 4.65 kg (10 lb 5 oz), which is 60 g more than Anya at the same age.

As for Anya stories, she is getting so grown up. We have such involved conversations that I sometimes forget that she's only two years old. Here is a David and Anya story from last week:

David: Can I have a hug?
Anya moves in close as if about to snuggle his chest, then bites him.
David: OW!
[pause]
Anya: Sorry, Daddy. We should take you to the doctor, so he can put ice on your nipple.
David laughs heartily at this very cute idea.
Anya bursts into tears at this inappropriate reaction to her sincere suggestion.

Gum Tree, Late Afternoon

Gum Tree, Late Afternoon
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

The golden light on the white bark looked so elegant. I'm not sure this photo really does it justice.

Hail + Rain

Hail+Rain 22-Sep-07
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

Our roof had hail rocketing off like a slippery slide, but I wasn't lucky enough to catch one in a photo (unless you count the streak of airborne white).

Night Owl + Moon

Night Owl + Moon
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

This looked cooler with the naked eye (the house's roofline also was visible). I'll have to try again later.

Mango Tree (My Neighbor's)

Mango Tree (My Neighbor's)
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

These mango trees grow all over Brisbane.

Peregian Beach Rock Pools

Peregian Beach Rock Pools 13-Sep-07
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

I've skipped some daily photos as we were on holiday up the coast. (That's David in the water.)

Bunya Pines

Bunya Pines 13-Sep-07
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

This is the view northward from the family unit at Peregian Beach.

Beach Path Under Water

Beach Path Under Water 11-Sep-07
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

Our usual beach access path is thigh-deep under water. My mother-in-law says she's never seen it flooded like this, and she's been going to Peregian Beach for 20 years! David took this photo. (I tried taking my own the next day, but my camera settings were wrong and I got nothing good.)

Water Tank

Water Tank
Originally uploaded by jaguarish

This 7000 liter water tank was delivered this morning. We will install it when we renovate, but we needed to order it now to qualify for the government rebates.