Letter 23 / 7 / 83
The kitchen is painted at last, and what a difference that makes. We are just waiting to get the floor painted and the ceiling up now. So we are just continuing slowly with our house-fixing - waiting for Peter Dunstan to come and help in September - and concentrate on language for a bit.
Peter had a discussion with a (drunk) Anglican fellow yesterday, and was being criticized because we haven't been joining in with "Hoy!" and darts sessions - we see it as encouraging gambling, they see it as supporting the church in their fund-raising. Drunk or not he had a point and we feel we must start being a part of these activities.
I took James to Kindy the other day. Its been closed lately for renovations, but just opened again. The (new) principal's eldest daughter, 3 year old Marissa, had been going, but with a new teacher there who "makes you do things" no longer likes it. They are supposed to only take 3-5 year olds, but they are fairly flexible. So, anyway, I took him down there and came back after an hour - and he loved it. They let him paint! The next day was a holiday, so we have to wait until next week to give it another go. We are all looking forward to him being down there a few hours each day for some companionship and mental stimulation.
He loves the daily "Kindy of the Air" - sits riveted to his seat and stares hard at the radio! I try hard to remember the rhymes and songs to do with him later, and we've been trying to tape the programme too.
Alison is growing fast. She rolls over at will now - in her cot, I never put her down on this floor - and she spends a lot of time in her bouncinette. And she grabs everything. And she's teething, so everything goes straight into her mouth and gets thoroughly dribbled on. Fortunately we have some 'Bonjela' for her gums as she's been pretty miserable with the pain. A spot of Bonjela soon brings back her sunny, smiley disposition!
Father Tabo's sister died in Cairns on Thursday, so half the village, all the relatives, are in mourning in the "Parasol" (shade house) next to our place, eating together, "sitting quietly" (except for the drunk ones) until the body arrives and is buried.
James is finally toilet trained. He comes running in and says:
"ananya" (ie negative, shaking his head) "di" (wee) "ga" (grass), "di" (wee) "bleh" (dirt).
