Day one was Friday (day off work, re-sult!) and as Sal and Harrie were off to pick up Mara in Randwick I decided, after a bit of umming and ahing, to grab a lift so AJ and I could have breakfast out east. Sal dropped us at the very top of Oxford Street and we headed toward the City, first searching for a cafe. The one we found was called Cafe Cafe (I think) and is in a side street and we sat outside in the early morning sunshine. Alex had banana bread and a hot chocolate (marshmallow - of course) and I had an Israeli Omelette which was pretty much like any other omelette without bacon or prawns - nice though. Alex and I goofed about and had a great old time before heading onwards towards the city. When I stop to think about it - which I do occasionally - I am amazed that I can go out with Alex as a sort of equal. Of course I need to look out for her and she does not fully grasp all the stuff she says, but we can have the sort of laugh and joke that I would have with anyone. Slightly less profanity. I'm not kidding when I say she's my mate.
I thought about getting a bus, but we were doing OK and foot and just kept on going. The emerging plan was to walk to Circular Quay, so shopping en route, then jump on the ferry to Manly and from there get a bus home in time for the lunchtime snooze. And that is pretty well how it turned out. We had a bit of a rest in Hyde Park, chilling out near the fountain before heading towards the opening shops in the Pitt Street Westfield. Idea here was to grab a couple of Christmas presents for Sal, but AJ was tiring some and I felt border-line physically sick inside that shopping centre. So we kept on moving. At Wynyard, which must have been about 4km in, AJ had had it and I carried her a couple of hundred yards so she could have a bit of a rest before we boarded our ferry.
After a typically fabulous trip on the ferry - come on, is there a better deal in this city? - I figured it was snack o clock so we headed to the creperie (sp?) for a top up. A quick stroll down the Corso and I finally managed to get the Christmas shopping stated. But with Alex laying on a shop floor I could see I needed to get a wriggle on and get her back for a snooze. We jumped a bus up the hill, then at Seaforth I stuck the little lady on my shoulders and hoofed it home where she promptly passed out for two and a half hours.
I, of course, arsed around and probably wasted most of my time looking at online auctions at cameras I'm not going to buy and checking Facebook for status updates that I can't remember because let's face it, no one cares. Really, they don't. Should have had a kip.
With a shortish afternoon left we wrapped presents and then headed out to the local play park and for a fish and chip dinner. Showered and pyjamaed the little lady zonked and I had a couple of cans of Guinness before heading to bed feeling it had been a job well done.
Hang on, I've forgotten something...we, of course, phoned Sal. Our conversation before the call went a little like this (reproduced from a Facebook post with permission of the author)
OK Alex, we need to keep the presents a secret from mum so we can surprise her on Christmas day, got it?
YES!
So if mum asks "what did you and daddy do while I was away" what do you say?
SHOPPING!
And if mum asks "what did you buy?" what do you say?
PRESENTS!
And if mum asks "where are the presents?" what do you say?
(pointing) They're in there!
Just in case Sal is reading and does not remember, I shall censor this bit...I called Sal and handed the phone to Alex who immediately said "mum, we went shopping, we got a 'purple aardvark' for you!" Oh dear.
Fortunately for Sal there are 3 presents she (AJ) does not know about. So even after she (Sal) interrogates the little lady, something which will surely happen, possibly with Alex tied to a chair, a table-lamp in her face and a slapping glove nearby. Sal does not await Christmas with much integrity. I guess it is the Catholic thing; if she apologises enough anything will be forgiven.
Chances of completing posts for Saturday and Sunday are slimmish, so to summarise. Had a great time, Alex was tops, we went to see Puss in Boots, her first cinema trip. She was transfixed, any fear of her being a pain and/or us having to leave early was utterly unfounded. Had a couple of breakfasts by the beach (Dee Why with Jason, who we bumped in to as he was returning from a dawn photography trip, on Sat) and the Manly on Sunday (with added scootering), we caught up with JCJ and Susan, we walked Rowlf around the block, we played on the trampoline. We did not watch any television. We read Jack and the Beanstalk. And in the meantime a fucking great wall (quite large, but also tops, so "fucking great" in both senses) went up around our front garden. I've run out of Guinness so I'm on the red.
It has been a fantastic weekend. One on one with Alex is...and this will come back to bite me in the arse...easy. Free of the logistics of two kids and able to give her the attention she deserves she is a complete pleasure. I'll be honest; there are times when I want to rip her head off. But we've had none of them this weekend.
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