The Royal

On Friday 25th September we decided to cycle to East Perth and back (from the Lake House).  We headed off late at 10am after buying a couple of doggy toys and bones for Mum’s 6 month old pup Bonnie so she would did up J&P’s garden in our absence.

The round trip was 40kms and we stoped near the river in East Perth for lunch at “The Royal”.  Pol had the seafood risotto, Jules had the cajun chicken salad and I had the tasting plate (which scored a 10/10) and probably took me the 40km cycle to work the calories off.

Stuffed Prawns at Joe

Bike Ride Friday and J, P and I decided to do a longer ride today seeing as I was finally over my flu.  We set off at 9am from Brentwood and followed the river to Fremantle.  We had lunch at Joe’s Fish Shack.  They advertise a lot on the tv and their menu looked pretty good.  We had trouble deciding what to have.  Normally we try to stick to non-fried food for lunch (too hard to cycle home on a stomach of fried food!) preferring salads.  However, as we were at a seafood restaurant we decided instead to have seafood!  J ordered a salmon steak which was served on peppery mash with vegetables.  It looked great and she said it tasted lovely.  P and I couldn’t decide so we each ordered a meal and thought we’d share.  I ordered the stuffed & battered prawns and P ordered pepper squid.  The photo is my meal with 3 prawns (gave 3 to P) and some of the pepper squid.  There was a mountain of chips on mine and I only managed to eat about 10 of them.  The prawns were very nice and stuffed with spinish and bacon but after two of them I started to feel the icky oily affect of the fried food.  The squid was mostly ‘baby octopus’ and unfortunately the peppery batter was not the least bit battery. 6/10.

B turns 21!

B is 21 today!  It is amazing that 21 years have passed since the day she arrived in this world.  My pregnancy was fairly awful with her, having already lost several pregnancies prior to hers and then having all sorts of issues for until 32 weeks when, finally, the specialist said the baby seemed ok… though had short legs for her gestatioinal age!

Her birth was no less drama than the pregnancy because at 32 weeks she decided to rotate so that her head was up under my ribs with one foot down in my pelvis and the other one up near her head.  The doctor at this point did not realise this and indicated that I was obviously a neurotic mother who just “thought her baby wasn’t kicking” and sent me off to King Edward Memorial for CTG testing.  The nurse strapped on the baby monitor to my stomach and told me that I would see the babies kicking as marks on the paper coming out of the monitor.  Half and hour passed and there was no mark on the paper.  After a couple of hours eventually it appeared the baby was alive however, strangely lethargic and definitely something was wrong.  It is amazing in hind sight that I was not sent for an ultrasound, instead once a week for the next 9, I had to return to the

Brother & Sister....B & M - B

hospital for another CTG to check for movement.  My specialist met with me every fortnight and still he would not believe that ’something was not right’.  I could hardly breath when I was standing, let alone sitting down B was so high up under my ribs my diaphragm almost didn’t allow me to breath.  When I sat down it was as if I was sitting on a stick for the sharp pain that would occur in my pelvis.  Apparently “just normal” said the doctor.  At this point he told me B would be a “whopper of at least 9 1/2 lb”.

Finally at 39 weeks at my constant “whinging” Dr Turner said “ok, I’ll just do a quick ultasound to check the babies position because something does not feel right”.  Yeah well I told him this 8 weeks ago!  I couldn’t believe that the ultrasound was in his room all this time and instead of just doing a quick check weeks ago.  Of course, he was totally shocked to see the position that B was laying in….. big head up under my ribs with a foot up next to her face and a foot down bouncing off my cervix.  Yes, well… I could have told the specialist this if he had bothered listening to me 2 months before.  Having a foot bouncing on your cervix does cause ongoing pain… particularly when you sit!  Having a babies head the size of a rockmelon wedged up under your diaphragm can cause difficulty in breathing!

Me & B

Dr Turner said not a word to me but picked up the phone and rang SJofG hospital to book a caesarean.  It seemed that B’s grand finale also was going to be difficult.  Dr Turner put the phone down and explained that it was impossible for the baby to be born naturally and that I was to pack my back and be at the hospital that afternoon for a caesarean the next afternoon and that I needed to be in hospital in case labour started.  After months and months of exercise classes for a ‘normal birth’ I was shocked that I was sitting there being told my baby’s exact arrival date and time.

Dr Turner’s “bed side manner” was just shocking - he did not explain about epidurals and generals and the pros and cons of each.  Instead he insisted I book an epidural for the caesarian.  At my doctor’s disgust I booked a general anaesthetic and that I wanted B’s dad to be there at the birth.   Apparently this was against regulations for a general anaesthetic!  In the end B’s dad was asked to stay out of the theatre until moments before she was lifted out of me.  One of the nice assistants took photos - she was born on a Friday at 4.29pm.

When I woke in recovery I was handed B bundled up in a white cloth.  She had a heap of dark hair and she was just perfect.  B, unlike her pregnancy, was the perfect baby in all ways.  She was a very content and happy baby.  She grew into a content and happy toddler who did not go through the terrible 2’s but was placid and smiling.  She walked on her 1st birthday.  By the age of 2 her hair was long down to her waist.  She happily went off to pre-school the year she turned 5 and not a tear was shed.  In fact, B’s past 21 years as followed this pattern…. now as a young woman she is not only my daughter, but also my friend and she brings much happiness into my life.

Viet Royal Restaurant

Today was cycling day.  J & P and I decided to travel a litle further afield.  We headed off at 9am from the Lakehouse along the freeway cycle path to the CIty and then turned right towards the South Perth Foreshore.  We stopped for coffee at the Dome.  P & I shared half a BLT and J had a very tasty pumpkin, coriander savoury mufin that had pepitas on top.  It was quite unusual in taste and it reminded me of punpkin soup!

We then headed off past Burswood casino and on to East Perth.  It was a beautiful day, sunny, not yet 30 degrees and the river was as flat and still as a millpond.  We decided to keep cycling and kept to the paths along the river and wet areas through to Maylands and eventually almost to Guildford and if we ran out of time catch the train from the city to Brentwood rather than tackle the fierce side wind along the hot stretch of the freeway.  It was now 11.50am and we decided to head back towards the city for lunch.  P suggested Vietnamese at a restaurant she’d been to some weeks before.  It was a excellent choice!  The Viet Royal is at 81 Royal Street, East Perth.  It was already after 1pm and there were only a couple of tables in use.

Lunch!

We ordered Phad Thai (bottom left), Chilli Garlic and Tofu with veges (top left) and Ginger Chicken (top right).  We also had steamed rice and ate with chopsticks.  J & I had a glass of Amberley Chenin Blanc and P had a Beer.  I decided after my lunch cycle day when I had had a beer and felt awful on the ride home that I’d have a wine instead!

The lunch was delicious although the vege dish was very salty and J found it very chilli hot.  The Phad Thai was just great but lacking in veges.  The Ginger chicken was J’s favourite… phad thai is my favourite all time noodle dish and I always use the lemon squeezed on top when I eat it.

After a leisurely lunch we got back on our bikes.  Our odometres where showing 40kms travelled so far that morning and as it was no around 2pm we decided to cycle back into the city and head to The Esplanade train station.  We caught the train 2 minutes later and stood near the doors with our bikes for the 10 minute journey (much more pleasant than cycling along that stretch of the river… my least favourite part of every cycle!).  Getting off at Bullcreek station we then rode the 10 minutes back to the Lakehouse with enough time for a cold drink before we all head off to pick up kids from school.

I took M to get his hockey gear after school as his first training session is Thursday night.

Car, Kids Tents & Camper Trailer

A few weeks ago we decided that we’d go camping over the Labor Day long Weekand even take the kids with us!  The camping trailer has made camping so easy.  We keep it packed with all the essentials - kid’s tents, chairs, camp table, gas cooker, air matresses etc.  So all we need do is back the car up and hitch it on and do some shopping for food to take with us.

We decided on Dwellingup as it is only about an hour and a quarter away (South) and the camping ground is in the State Forest so it is beautiful any time of year.  We last camped there in July 08 when it was very cold and the ground was nearly vacant.  The camping however in July was just brilliant and there is nothing better than sitting around the camp fire at night.  Camping in March however is another story!  As it was a long weekend the camping ground was

Camping Trailer set up (kitchen side)

absolutely packed with campers, caravans, people and dogs!  We had to drive around a few times to be able to find somewhere to even set up.  It wasn’t an ideal spot right next to the access road, but good enough for a couple of nights.  The camping trailer’s tent sets up quickly and the kids all had their dome tents up within half an hour.

We had just jumped out the car when the March flies found us! (another reason why March is NOT the best time to camp in Dwellingup!).  I reckon over the course of the 3 days we swotted and killed about 200 March Flies…. nasty buggers that hurt when they stick their proboscus into you and then make you irritable from having to smack yourself a lot in order to kill the blighters! (They are about 4 times the size of a blowfly) Then as the sun goes down and the March flies head home to bed the mozzies flock in to feast.  Insects aside, the weeked was fantastic.  The kids spent hours riding bikes around the gravel roads in the forest.  It is a nice and easy ride into the Dwellingup townsite and they always do this within about an hour of arriving to buy a magazine or puzzle book and and icecream.

My hybrid bike

I’ve had a mountain bike for about 8 years.  It has knobbly wheels and a comfy seat and is great for any off road cycle.  It has been on the Munda Biddi track, gone on just about every camping journey with me and has done a lot of cycling around town too.

But…… last year my sister’s J & P and I decided to have a ‘girly day’ every other Friday.  In order to substantiate taking a day off of work we thought we’d use the excuse of excercise.  We all enjoy cycling and at the moment it seems to be almost all the excercise I get on an ongoing basis.

For our ‘girly day’s cycles we plan which direction we are going to head where it will be between a 25 and 40km circuit that has a cafe of some description along the way where we stop for lunch.  As these trips are all roads and cycle paths I

Rest time - Evening cycle along Swan River.

found keeping up with J & P was exhausting as they had ‘road’ bikes that had slick wheels so trying to stay up with my knobblies took be about an extra 25% effort.  On top of this my mountain bike does not run on when I’ve been peddling and when the other two stopped peddling and free wheeled it, I needed to keep peddling or lose ground.  It seemed a good excuse to buy a hybrid bike!

Cliff and I also cycle quite a bit on the weekend.  We generally do around 40kms per trip but sometimes do a longer 70km trip to and from Fremantle using cycle paths both sides of the river.  Recently we cycled from our place to Cannington which has about 10 kms along the freeway or roads and 28kms using cycle paths through river and wet reserves (which have no lighting at night).  It is quite beautiful cycling on the cycle paths through the wet reserves and cycling at night was just amazing and so relaxing.  We try to keep our speed at around 20kph so that it is not only enjoyable but good for us too!

Swans on the Swan River

On Sunday we decided to go for a bike ride.  Usually we choose a circuit of between 20 and 30kms that, if it takes place around midday, includes a stop at a cafe somewhere for lunch.

We headed off from at 10.30am towards the Swan River near Mt Pleasant and followed the river along to the “Raffles” at the Canning Bridge.  From the Canning Bridge we swapped to the other side of the river and continued along the edge of the road to the yacht club before getting back onto the cycleway.

We decided to lunch at the Point Walter cafe on the river “Walters Cafe”.  Cliff had a steak sandwich with wedges and I had a BLT with chips.  We also had a couple of ‘Red Backs’ each, which at the time seemed like a grand idea, however I always have trouble cycling on a stomach filled with bubbly beer.  Obviously the beer must have gone to our heads because we decided rather than heading home (we’d already travelled around 20kms) that we would continue on to the Fremantle E Shed.  Unfortunately a kilometre after heading off up the hill through the bush and re-joining the river we hit a head wind.  Head winds are the cyclists enemy as far as I am concerned.  I don’t enjoy cycling into a strong head wind… in fact it tends to make me tired and quite grumpy!  We arrived at the E Shed and ate an (unpalatable) ice cream each and then turned East to head home again.  In what has become a bizarre phenomenon we hit a head wind again heading in the opposite direction to the head wind we’d arrived on (how does this happen?).  For some reason we were both extremely tired by this time and the trip home seemed extra long.

At this time of year there are always lots of Black Swans on the Swan River and on this trip we encountered a group of a dozen of them following an unhappy Pelican.  The Pelican kept turning around and flapping his mouth and wings at the Swan unhappily when they gained on him.  In the end the Pelican gave up and flew off in disgust and the swans continued on.  Black Swans are the reason the main river here in Perth IS the Swan River.  In fact the Black Swan is the emblem of Western Australia.  WA gave Queen Elizabeth Black Swans as a gift on WA’s 150th so England also has a flock of Black Swans (which are smaller than their native White Swan).

The round trip from home to Fremantle and back with the stop over for lunch was 53kms!  When we got home we showered and decided to “rest our eyes for half an hour”…. I woke up two hours later when it was dark….. at 9pm!  We got up for a few hours and watched tv and read so we would be able to get a good nights sleep for work the next day.  No chance me not sleeping that night however, I was totally stuffed!