Houdini Hound...or....Look out Lassie!!!

Mark and I were taking a short weekend break in Bangkok this weekend just past. We were awakened by a frantic phone call on Friday morning  at 6 am (7am in HK) from Number 1 son. It seemed , the story went, that a certain female "employee", had accidentally managed to get Jasper stuck inside the lift- her on the outside -and the lead jammed in the door which was now stuck closed ( I don't know, just don't ask!!!).

I was in a state of blind panic as I recalled a similar situation in our old building with someone else's dog, same scenario,  that had a tragic outcome when the lift changed floors. 

Anyway at the time of Cal's  call it seems Jazzy had been incarcerated for 45 minutes and had given up barking for help. Keep in mind Jasper does not normally ever bark. However he was due to go out to the bathrom and he must have been in the right frame of mind (after his long night time nap) and hence rather uncomfortable aside from the fact the steel doors were seemingly holding him captive.

Cal had the presence of mind to go down to the security booth and watch Jazzy on the CCTV whilst the building staff and lift specialists talked non-stop in Cantonese about the solution to said dilemna. It seemed the problem was that if there is a person in the lift they can over ride the jammed door by sliding their fingers into the edge and it would spring open. This same trick does NOT apply to outside the door, so the staff were unsure what to do.

Whilst Callum watched Jasper apparently got tired of waiting for help to arrive and then proceeded to wriggle out of his fastened harness. It goes around his neck, both legs go through the holes then it buckles over his chest. (how did he get it off?)

Free of the harness and therefore away from the doors he rested for a few minutes and thought about his predicament. It seems he then walked over to the jammed doors and started sliding his paws in and out of the small gap trying to pull the door sideways (the same as  he does when the kitchen door doesn't fully close) until , low and behold, he managed to trip the mechanism and the doors slid open (I am sure to the overwhelming delight of everyone concerned). Lassie, eat your heart out!!!!

Below is our beloved Jasper with his reward...Mum and Dad found him a lovely BIG bone in the market in Bangkok.

Our darling nieces....

OK, so technically these two cuties aren't mine to brag about but  I can't help it, they are just too lovely to not show you.

When we were in Australia for the July break we were able to share a marvellous day of Oriana's Christening  and there is also a little pic here of Aurora and Oriana on 4th July.

Just had to share

this one is a cute pic Maddie snapped of Master Jasper last week.

Clever picture and him looking all innocent....this was before he dragged Riley down the hill and took all the skin off his poor hips and ribs (OUCH!!!) on the weekend.

Day 10- Tuscany and Florence

Today we drive north through the beautiful countryside of Tuscany to Florence. One quick  stop along the way at a highway services  and we arrive around late morning. We drive through the hills and the wind our way up to the lookout which has lovely views over the city. It is a quick stop at  the lookout for a  group photo then into town. We get caught in our first and only rain (actually it HAILED) for a few minutes whilst we were waiting in the town square for our guide to round up the lost lady from our bus. We went as a group   for  a fascinating leather embossing  demonstration. The boys got to be right up front with the artisan and it was great to see the way they make the beautiful gold inlay and embossed patterns on the leather. We chose to go on all but one of the “optional extra” tours during this vacation. The one we opted out of was in Florence- the visit to see the Statue of David and instead we chose to have  free time this afternoon. Maddie and I headed out in search of shoes whilst Mark and the boys have lunch at a lovely little pasta restaurant  then shop. Mark buys a leather jacket, me shoes, Maddie a lovely book with Da Vinci sketches on cover.   Whilst wandering the streets Maddie and I stop for her to have some gelato and I buy a lovely dish of fresh summer fruits- raspberries, blackberries, kiwi fruit etc- so incredibly YUMMM. On our wanderings we ran into the "adventurous boys" in another gelato shop getting their treats as well. Te he he - the family that "gelatos together....." LOL

Some gold Florentine  paper  for souvenirs then back to the bus and drive to Montecatini for a little late afternoon wandering  then a hotel dinner.

Florence is one of my favourite cities- so easy to get around, the cobblestone streets, the horses and carriages , amazing statues everywhere, great food and wonderful shopping …..truly what is there not to like?

I am so pleased with our decision to have some free time here and after hearing from the other tour members of their experience on the David tour I am completely reassured we made the correct choice.

We did see the “replica” David in the town square so the kids hopefully won’t suffer  the loss of the opportunity J to see the real deal.

We are now moved......

A tiring week it has been, and not yet completely unpacked but we are in our new apartment.

I arrived back Friday night from Australia with the children and on Sunday morning amid a Typhoon warning the removalists came in and started taking the apartment apart. As the day wore on there were more boxes and more removalists. Each time I looked there were a few extras, funny......

On Monday they started ferrying the boxes and furniture whilst Mark patched up any nail holes at the old apartment.  The removalists came in at 9 am and they finally finished at about 9.45 pm....such a long and tiring day for all of us. 

Removal days , not unlike wedding days, always seem to have their fair share of "glitches" and this one was no different.

There seemed to be plenty going wrong not the least of which was that the telecommunications company came out to install the phone and internet but left again because they couldn't find the "box" which is apparently the brains of the telecom for the house. Obviously we didn't know where it might be, the landlord had no idea and so two days later they came back again and finally found it, after two hours of searching every nook and cranny and manhole,  hidden behind a glass mirror with a fake door (of course, so obvious!!) why would there not at least be a little sticker or sign?

Two of our pieces of furniture wouldn't ft in the lift so had to be hand carried up to the 9th floor (ouch again!)

Add to this the one room in the house that sees constant action (the kitchen) which is the thoroughfare to the service lift and the rest of the house  has a door handle that comes off in your hand every time you close it. Annoying and frustrating?? Yes, absolutely- especially after the 3 millionth time .

My office keys were nicely packed away in a bag at the bottom of a box somewhere, so when Wednesday rolled around I had no way to get into the office early, so I had to sit outside and wait for the cleaner to "rescue" me. 

Add to this that the gas hot water system in the Master suite failed on the first day- 2 days with cold showers (brrrr) and the air-conditioning is working INTERMITTENTLY throughout the whole house (and yes, it is SUMMER) and my week has been filled with frustration. 

Still, on the upside we now have the house 90% unpacked, our lovely rosewood bedroom furniture arrived after a 3.5 month production time and all the whole house-full of curtains arrived perfectly the way we ordered from China (no small feat on a big order in a different language) and they are all hung and all the artwork is on the walls........yeah

So in short it is finally coming together as our new home.

There are still plenty of odds and sods to take care of but I should hopefully get to those this week. Lists, lists and more lists :)

The children start back at school on Monday (after 6 weeks at home - 2 weeks home schooling due to swine flu school closure then 4 weeks of holidays) and Mark is off to Thailand and then Shanghai this week. 

I will send on our change of address very soon...........

Day 9- Rome. The Vatican City, Colosseum and the Forum

We leave the hotel for an early start for our 8.30 am entry into the Vatican city with our local guide, Amelia. The Vatican doesn’t open for general public entry until 10.30 am. Our guide ushers us through the Vatican city museum which is simple overwhelming, with its priceless artworks and  incredibly ornate surrounds . We arrive at  the Sistine Chapel, which is still comparatively empty. With the aid of our little headset devices Amelia further inform us of the history of this amazing chapel and its very famous paintings and recent restoration. The guards are relentless in “shushing” the small crowd gathered inside each time the noise begins to climb a little. After about 20 minutes of intense “history” Master Riley decided it was all too much for his little neck and did the sensible thing (remember he is 7 years old , and it seemed sensible enough to me too) of stretching out  on the  floor to gaze up at the beautiful artwork which is Michelangelo’s greatest . Of course that lasted about 38 seconds before the guards shushed him to his feet (wait a minute, I obviously was not allowing him to be in harms way and he really wasn’t smack bang in the middle of the floor….still they thought it unwise…..) We finally refocused our gaze down at people level and took the back passages through into the amazing  St Peter’s Basilica. Mark and I had been here before but it is an awe-inspiring environment regardless of how often you see it. After our history tour and a little free time to wander and photograph we head to the backstreets and get a bite to eat. It is still overwhelming trying to order for us all, but I think I am getting the hang of it, at least I am less PANICKED by the process. Maddie buys herself a really neat sweatshirt with the Universitia de Roma  on the front. After lunch we reboard our bus then drive the streets of Rome to reach  the Colosseum and the ruins of the Forum. We drive past Circus Maximus, along the Tibre, across the oldest bridge on earth, then enjoy a walking tour through the Colosseum.  Needless to say this is what Callum has been waiting for. He listens intently to our guide and loves the chance to carry her little flag designed to keep our tour group together. Imagine, our Callum, a tour guide in Rome J Some more free time and we head out of the gates to get some  “Gladiator” photos  for each of the children. We negotiate a good price of a few Eoros and they each take a turn being photographed  with a rather knock-kneed Gladiator (but hey, it was an absolute highlight for them). Back at our  hotel we prepare for our optional tour and dinner. It is an amazingly  fun night out with Paul and Liz and the whole group with music and crazy waiters- kissing the guests and having lots of fun and laughter.  We  drive to the Trevi fountain  (shoe shop still there, super, amazing,fabulous shoes, great prices and closed!!!) I am very tired and more than a little disappointed, but I will say no more……brave little Mummy…………

Back to the hotel. Nightly rituals follow, camera batteries, repacking, clothes laid out for the kids, downloading photos…….Early start tomorrow