April

A big month for us. The ending of our wonderful holiday to Heron Island, a Covid infection,

easter school holidays and a school camp.

Definitely ready for it to be May.

Images

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As a parent, there really is no better feeling than seeing your kids grow. Prior to this trip we have practiced snorkelling in the pool for the past couple of months- and it paid off.
It gave the kids the confidence to be comfortable.Watching them snorkel with sea turtles and stingrays and reef sharks (safe to swim with),pushing themselves to swim further and discover their own strength was the best part of our travels.

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There were tens of thousands of these beautiful birds all over Heron Island when we visited. There were platform like nests made from Pisonia leaves and poop, often with dozens of nests in one tree. The Noddy’s are the soundtrack of the island, a seemingly never ending chorus, and added to the feeling of being submersed in nature.

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The novelty of seeing these land dwelling birds everywhere never got old on our visit to Heron Island. They would zip in front of you when you were walking, run under your chairs in the restaurant and wander unabashed into your accomodations and rifle through your clothes. Every so often they would make a noise that sounded like a fart, and we would giggle and blame each other every time.

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Last night,after walking Penny, we discovered that we couldn’t get the front door and that someone had engaged a lock that we never used and didn’t bring a key for. I am guessing that we will never know who that someone was, as the after hours, Sunday call out to the locksmith was extremely expensive, and the general mood was pretty chilly. No yelling or accusations, just a bit frosty. Most expensive dog walk ever.

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We have our first COVID positive family member. My husband tested positive this morning and we are all in isolation. He is staying in the spare room. The laundry separates the main body of our house from the guest area and makes a somewhat easy way to deliver him what he requires without any contact or opening any doors. He sends me a text or calls to ask for things, and I send him a thumbs up emoji when I have delivered them through the doggy door. He has cold and flu symptoms now, hopefully he recovers quickly.

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Red zone= COVID positive. Orange Zone= Parent access with PPE. Green Zone= COVID Negative. Day 2 of isolation. Patient showing slight improvement.

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Penny doesn’t understand self-isolation. All she knows is that she doesn’t get to go on walks and it isn’t even raining. I have been playing with her more in the backyard but she isn’t really into it. She just really wants to walk and sniff-I guess she is having withdrawals just like we do when there is no wifi.

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Delivering my husbands dinner through the doggie door as he isolates in the guest room. No one else has any symptoms at this point , so fingers crossed that they won’t develop.

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I can talk to my husband face to face if I stand at the farthest point of the veranda and he talks through the fly screen. At night, when his room is illuminated, he looks like a lion in one of those old dreadful concrete cages that I remember from zoo visits of my youth. I know that we are so very fortunate to have the space to quarantine him separately to the rest of us, but the comparison is not lost on me. He says he is lonely and we are too without him. It is day 5 today and no one else is exhibiting any symptoms, so hopefully we can have him back with us early next week.

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So glad that this is an option. We were one of the last deliveries for the day, just in time for dinner. When you complete your order online, there is a check box asking you if you are unwell or in isolation. If you checked it, the whole delivery could be contactless, how smart is that. Instead of you signing for delivery, the driver takes a time stamped photo of your shopping and sends you text that it has been delivered.

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The area of the house that my husband is isolating in also contains my studio space. This is me staring longingly at it through the window 🤣.I am very fortunate to be working digitally at the moment, so can work pretty much anywhere, but I do miss my studio. Missing my Phil is a given. I do my second RAT test today, and if that is negative, tomorrow morning at 8 ( which will be 7 days since his positive test), I will have my husband and my studio back.

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A celebratory walk with Penny after a second negative RAT and the completion of compulsory 7 day home quarantine. We were both so happy to be out.

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We are not a super touchy feely family. We hug the kids good morning and goodnight, and I kiss and cuddle my husband when he leaves for work and comes home,but outside of that we all tend to like our own space. During our isolation, my husband was completely seperate from us ( he was covid positive, we weren’t). I was the go between and had to look after everybody, so in an effort to minimise risk to our children, hugging was off the table. Now we are all back together. We don’t spend all of our time hugging, but it sure is nice to have the option if you want or need one.

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I was so impressed with the maturity of my children on our recent holiday to Heron Island. They challenged themselves and were adaptable and open to new experiences. They swam with turtles and rays and sharks ( nice ones).They woke early for dives and adapted all day every day. They were even ok with no WiFi. After checking in our bags for our return to the mainland on the ferry, I was reflecting on how quickly they are growing up. I turned to see them come out of the gift shop with their Dad, each carrying a soft toy, and I smiled big. I loved that they didn’t sensor themselves and think that they were too grown up. I also love that their Dad didn’t tell them that they were too old for stuffed toys. It was a clear reminder that whilst they are big on the outside, they are still forming on the inside. They reminded me not to self sensor. I love soft toys, so maybe next time I’ll get one too.

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Last night I was privileged to be invited to the reopening of the refurbished Hervey Bay Regional Gallery. It was a beautiful evening, made even more stunning by an incredible sunset. It was wonderful seeing all of my fellow artists again and it made me realise just how isolated the whole covid experience has made us. I have work in the Wildflowering by design exhibition currently showing ( which is how I snagged an invite) and will be at the gallery from 11 to 2 on Saturday, the official Opening Day for the gallery.