In which I procrastinate in the claw foot...

 

I had my first ever bath in our old claw foot tonight.  Well that isn't strictly true…  I did attempt to have a bath about a month ago only to discover the Mr. had turned off the hot water system.  And then there was the time shortly after we first moved in when I tried to wash my hair in the shower but realised the water was way too hot and I couldn't change the water temperature because the plumber hadn't attached the mixer tap yet.  On that occasion I did an emergency dunk of my head into the bath to rinse the shampoo off, but I don't think that really counts.  This was my first proper relaxing soak.  I seem to be taking more and more projects on lately and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.  Some may call it procrastinating (and they'd probably be right) but I felt a soak in the tub might help melt the stress away.

I've been taking some product photos for a friend of mine that makes hand poured soy candles.  One perk of this job was that I got a few lovely candles for myself!  I lit my favourite coffee scented candle during tonight's bath.  Next time I think I'll add a glass of red and a good book and things will be pretty much perfect!!

In which I'm too lazy to come up with a post title...

 

We had a really lazy day today, pottering about and enjoying the sunshine.  Instead of getting on with my steadily growing pile of work, I made a banana oatmeal cake (recipe here).  I'm not usually a big banana cake fan but I really like this one.  The oatmeal topping and touch of lemon zest make it extra tasty.  Minty dressed herself in this somewhat kooky ensemble and joined me in the kitchen, goofing around and telling silly jokes.  Sometimes it's nice to skive off from the routine and just soak up the day.

And then there were seven...

 

We had some friends from the big smoke come to visit us today.  It was so good to catch up.  They brought me the most delightful bunch of roses.  Aren't they an incredible colour?  I can't tell you how much I love having cut flowers in the house!

On a completely different note… does anyone remember Barry?  Well recently he's been popping up around the place again.  And he has been joined by not one, but FIVE other imaginary friends.  This cast of characters have detailed back stories which Minty relishes in detailing.  First up is a boy named Jessica, who is four and half years old but is allowed to go to school anyway.  Minty explains, 'he's my friend but grown ups can't see him'.  Jessica likes to sing but is mostly tone deaf.  Jessica has a friend called Monks.  Monks is five and half and his nickname is Alison.  Monks and Jessica go to different schools but sometimes their mums let them swop.  Apparently they talk to Minty all day long, 'talk, talk, talk'.  Next up are two girls, Alice and Beauty.  They have mermaid hair and like to snuggle with Minty in the big bed at night.  Jessica and Monks prefer to sleep in Minty's little bed.  Last of all is Circus who apparently has an issue with snoring which can be rather annoying.  Circus sleeps on the floor.

Now that Minty is older she can articulate that these friends are imaginary.  I don't have to save them a seat at the table or serve them dinner (unlike when Barry first joined the family!).  I guess I'm trying to see them in a positive light.  Minty has a vast imagination and her fanciful friends help her to cope in all sorts of situations.  She told me when she feels like crying she 'just swallows them [her friends] up' and then she doesn't feel sad and can smile again.  (I'm assuming she means this figuratively since actually eating her imaginary friends would be a little creepy!)  And frankly I don't think it takes a psychologist to figure out that she's feeling a little anxious about whether she will be going to school next year!

I'm not sure that I ever wrote about it here, but when Minty first started kinder she developed another imaginary friend.  She used to come home from kinder and tell me she had played with a new girl (let's call her Sophie because I can't actually remember what her name was).  For weeks I thought 'Sophie' was real and was quite alarmed to discover her name wasn't on the class list.  I approached the kinder teacher and confirmed that 'Sophie' was indeed fictional.  I was shocked as she had been utterly convincing with all the detailed descriptions she had given me.  At the time it was rather creepy like something from a B grade horror movie, though in retrospect I assume it was just a coping mechanism since 'Sophie' eventually disappeared.

Has anyone else had any experience with imaginary visitors?

In which we get excited about coal...

We took a trip on the South Gippsland Tourist Railway from Korumburra to Loch (thanks Kitty for the tip!).  It's such a quaint little line with gorgeous scenery along the way.  We basically had the train to ourselves, apart from a few elderly couples.  I'm really surprised it's not more popular as tickets are very reasonably priced and it's a great little adventure for kids.  I suspect maybe people don't know about it.

We spent the afternoon at Coal Creek which is a little old fashioned coal mining village.  It's a little bit like Sovereign Hill, only with no gold and less people dressed up in period costumes.  Entry is FREE and again, we virtually had the place to ourselves despite it being a sunny day in the school holidays.  We had picnic lunch and the kids had a fantastic time exploring and trying to pat the emus!