Babysitters

"D'ya reckon we'll still enjoy this Pimms drink when we get back to Sydney David? Or will we think it's an old lady drink?"

"Yeah, a Nana drink" said David, though I noticed he took another swig of it as he did.

We continue to have a good time in Noosa, though the shonky internet connection is cause for complaint (you pay in two hour blocks and recently it's been chucking me off after twenty minutes). In any case, there's been a good amount of red wine drunk around the pool, so perhaps it's better I haven't kept my daily blog.

Yesterday Pippa and I went back to the markets at Eumundi. The damage to the credit cards was such that we spent most of the journey home rehearsing what our purchases actually cost and what we were going to say they cost.

Then David came up with a great idea - they'd have Ella over for a movie and popcorn and we could go out for dinner, and the favour could be returned tonight.

So that's what we did, though after the home-made pizzas and cookies this evening, I can reveal that babysitting a two year old girl in return for two boys of four and six (they took the baby with them) is hardly a fair swap. Have you any idea how much noise two boys make?

Anyway, tomorrow's our last day in Noosa and we'll be reluctant to say goodbye, not just because we've made some new friends but because the flat we're staying in has all the home comforts of being, well, at home. It's always a bit of a downer returning to the flat in Sydney when we've stayed somewhere homely because the flat in Sydney has no curtains in the sitting room and no pictures on the walls. Whenever we leave a holiday we feel like we ought to be going home, so turning up in Sydney again can be a bit unsettling, though you can't quite put your finger on what it is you're feeling.

And after Noosa - possibly one or two more trips before Christmas - then no more.

"Thank God we can stop doing this" I said to Darren over dinner last night.

"Doing what?"

"Going on holiday. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm so sick of it. I feel caught up between wanting to pack it all in and wanting it all to stop, it's exhausting and living from a suitcase is much more draining when you do it every month".

Every month, almost. January we flew, March we went on holiday, April, May we went on three trips. In July we went to the barrier reef, August was Darwin, September was Orange, October Noosa. I realised tonight I can recognise the smell of the stuff they clean the toilets with on planes. Time to stop.