A very Aussie wedding

My uncle got married out at his property in Yass on the weekend. The bride (and her ring-bearing Border Collie) arrived on horseback and wore complementary Driza-bones. It was certainly a different wedding, but was free of the pretentiousness evident in so many other weddings I've been to. They really did just want to share their ceremony with friends, and then celebrate being married. We headed into the Memorial Hall later for a spit roast and an Elvis performer (which was Lily's favourite part of the day - after getting over her disappointment that the bride didn't wear a big white dress) and lots of catching up with family. A lovely day!

Nice things

A gift from Happy Spider for helping her name her new spinning wheel... Its called Retro Specto and I love it! There isn't enough orange yarn in the world I say.

And a postcard from Melissa over at Operation Nice - how much do I love that blog? And how nice is she to spend all that cashola sending things hither, thither and yon? Thanks chicken!

And so it ends

My maternity leave ends this Friday so its back to work on Monday. I know it hasn't technically been 'leave' but I feel that I've achieved very little since being away from work (apart from raising a beautiful child!). I suspect this sense of frustration at being unable to do everything I want to do in my life will continue for some time, but I can't help getting cranky that I don't have enough hours, arms or resources to do what I want to do with my time.

I recently wrote some 'commandments' as suggested by the happiness project which I'll share with you.

1. Don't overthink or overdo
2. Breathe
3. Realise there are limits to what activities I can maintain in my life
4. I can do anything for fifteen minutes
5. Get dressed and showered and beautified* every day (currently this means 'use deodorant and run a brush through your hair')
   
6. Get outside
7. Be compassionate to myself so I can be compassionate to others
8. Nothing will change, if I don’t do anything different
9. CHOOSE to be positive
10. Be grateful

I'm constantly trying to work out systems to do more and do it better and do it faster so much so that these mini-mantras can sometime be my last defence against self-harm. Sometimes the pathological critic is the only voice I hear all day. And seriously, I'm the luckiest woman alive! I have a wonderful, supporting, loving husband who is a wonderful father to my two healthy, loving children. I have a job, a house, [more than] enough to eat, can afford health care and luxuries. So. I don't really know what the point to this post is, except to say that I will now have work to add too my list of stuff to do. And that I should probably try to be a bit kinder to myself.

Anyway, have a lovely day everyone. The sun is shining (should really get in and fix the garden, plant and fertilise... and then there is the washing to do, and oh my g*d that pile of folding could topple and suffocate one of the kids... then there is the ironing, and the kitchen is filthy, and i've got those couple of sewing jobs for the in-laws that I really should do... why do I spend all my time on the computer?... gee there are some amazing people out there, you could do that if you stopped phaffing about looking at blogs, maybe you should check out flylady, or diy planner.com, they could help you organise your life, surely an hour looking at an organising site is time well spent? Meanwhile the vacuum isn't going to run itself around the house. Shame I can't knit and vacuum at the same time. Watch out cat, geez, we don't look after you much anymore do we? Best check you've got water and food. And when did we last clean the kitty litter? This garage is a mess! I really need to unclutter this place. I'm hopeless really. Where is that unclutterer website again? etc etc etc etc).

Shhh!

Ahh. Paterson has slept well. Up at 5am for a feed but that's ok. Lil was sleeping with me, but now she and Daddy are asleep in my bed. Its 5.30am. Not worth going back to sleep. Maybe do some surfing? Oh, that would be lovely. Its so quiet. You know what would make it perfect? A coffee. Mmm. Do I risk it? We've got two kettles - electric (noisy) and stove-top (slow). Best go with the quiet slow option. Don't want to wake anyone. Creep into kitchen. Fill kettle, prepare cup, plunger etc. Waiting, waiting... ahh, love the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Just take back into study and plunge at your leisure. Nearly time. Slowly, slowly plunge. Pour delicious beverage into oversize blue mug and warm hands (its chilly this time of the morning!!). Oh, this is going to be so good. Craft blogs and coffee - match made in heaven. Open mouth to take first magical sip....

"Good Morning Mummy!!"

Bugger.

Meet Me at Mikes: Mike-ro-scopes - Spring 2008

Meet Me at Mikes: Mike-ro-scopes - Spring 2008

Man, this made me laugh! Tee hee hee. I'm a scorpio by the way - i'd like to think its accurate!

This is... my favourite fabric/craft shop

Upon thinking about this topic I began to realise that I rare buy fabric. More often than not I inherit it from my Nana. So I guess she is my favourite fabric shop. I do get a little from the Quilt Shop at Gold Creek Village but that's about it!

Beech Wood

I've finished my Malabrigo Beech Wood cowl. It's sumptuous.

To finished it off I made a little pin out of an old tortoiseshell needle. I just put it in boiling water and slowly bent it.

I'm not sure which I'm more proud of.

Nice

I've been reading a bit over at Operation Nice and thought I'd have a stab myself. At being nice, that is. I consider myself to be pretty nice, considerate, polite. If I'm rude then it is mostly deliberate. And even then it takes the form of being extremely polite - my friends and family know that its time to duck for cover when I get sugar-sickeningly sweet. Anyhoo, I left a couple of little notes around Gold Creek Village on Saturday while Big Lilly and I were having lunch. I didn't tell anyone (until now), but they were just little notes that said 'you know you can do it' and 'trust yourself'. I love the idea of putting out a little random niceness, like these notes or the wonderful Toy Society project....

My best friend is better than your best friend

I've just had a couple of days with my bestie 'Big Lilly'. She's primarily 'big' because having two Lil[l]y's in the house is confusing, but also because she's got big talent, a big heart, is big fun and is pretty big [tall!]. When Lil was born big Lilly did a picture for her (which I'll upload when I find it) with her name and now its Paterson's turn! Behold the wonder that is his picture...


This little guy is my favourite.

Despite the fact that she, and her beautiful 2 month old bub were sick, sick, sick, she made the simple things special.

I dream that one day we will not suffer the tyranny of distance and be able to see each other more than once annually. We met in 1989 when Lil was my billet for a music festival. Nearly 20 years later and we've travelled, lived, worked and played together and maintained an amazing friendship despite distance and lack of communication (primarily by me!!) I miss you already big Lil.

One of the best things was that on Friday night I had Big Lilly, my sister and Lil all together - all my favourite girls in the one place at the one time. And we laughed (mostly at an extremely wired little four year old) till we nearly cried. Great restorative for the soul.

Anyhoo, I've about 15 post that are floating about in my head, so I'd best get to it before one of the little darlings wakes up. Paddy's been feeding at 5.30 ish so I just stay up and get an hour or so to myself! Woohoo!

Coffee and a Tea Party

I've been tired. My beloved little Paddle-pop has cut three teeth in as many weeks and - for whatever reason - still wakes at least twice a night to feed. So I've become a little 'devoted' to my coffee. Those who know me will attest that I have rather an addictive personality. So imagine my dismay when the other morning i measured my last two heaped spoons of ground coffee into the plunger...


And didn't realise that I'd not replaced the glass canister. I salvaged enough for one cup.

I also held a little tea party for Nath and LilyPad the other day. Avalonne had told me that there was a new French Patisserie in the Belconnen Markets (where the scungy takeaway used to be). So I had to try it, you know, because I might need to recommend it to someone... Anyhoo I got me some pecan pies and set up Lil's little table with the 'good' linen (which gets used all the time) and the wedgewood vase with some pansies, and some coffee for us (natch) and chocolate milk for Lil.

Our coffee ended up mocha because Lil kept serving us 'more tea maaaad am [madam]' .Paddy just got a rusk. Raw deal for him, because those pies nearly blew my socks off. Just devine - and with a slight bourbon flavour and huge chunks of delicious chocolate.

This is... a wip

My lovely lace ribbon scarf, for my even lovelier sister. I'm enjoying this pattern, but can't wait to finish it so that I can cast on a new one in my Malabrigo.

Also, my Beech Wood (Rav link) is approaching the end of its first repeat. But I can't be arsed photographing it. Even though its stunning. But join me at SnB today at the Labor Club and you might get to fondle it.

Another wip is a loom that I made using the instructions in the latest edition of Craft magazine. However its been thrown across the room in disgust because I can't get the alternating wefts (attached to the heddle bars) to work according to their diagram. There's nothing for it - I'll just have to buy a proper one...

Love, thy name is Malabrigo Lace...

After my first fondling of this yarn at last week's SnB, I was in love. Bells had been using it for her Pi, and i was in heaven. Its comparable to stroking baby skin. Seriously. So, I got me some. It only took a week from the States. Upon hearing that Kuka was using it for her lace ribbon scarf I got some fingering weight in the most bedazzling colour.



And it is as soft as I remembered it. Lily's rather attached too. Can't wait to cast on for that...

Also got a thicker one which within an hour of getting it in my hot little hands I had yarn caked, and cast on for the Beech Wood cowl (inspired by Avalonne's beauty in Smoothie). Man alive its beautiful.


Was going to do the appropriate links, but Mr Man is up so i'll get back to them later...

Little critters

Something tells me that getting a serious family photo out of my brood is going to be a hard slog...

This is... my favourite poem

I'm still desperately trying to catch up on all my missed 'this is' so here is last week's 'blogger's choice'...

My favourite poem is 'Clancy of the Overflow' by Banjo Paterson. If you've read my blog before then you'll know my son is called Paterson, partly because of my love of this poem (although mostly because I had hayfever caused by 'Paterson's Curse' when I was pregnant). This link is the link to the copy of the poem illustrated by Kilmeny Niland that I read to Paterson every night before I put him to sleep...

"Clancy of The Overflow" is a poem by Banjo Paterson, first published in The Bulletin, an Australian news magazine, on December 21, 1889. The poem is typical of Paterson, offering a romantic view of rural life, and is one of his best-known works.

The poem is written from the point of view of a city-dweller who once met the title character, a shearer and drover, and now envies the imagined pleasures of Clancy's lifestyle, which he compares favourably to life in "the dusty, dirty city" and "the round eternal of the cashbook and the journal

My favourite line is
"And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plain extended,
And at night the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars."

Clancy of the Overflow

I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better
Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan years ago;
He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him,
Just on spec, addressed as follows, "Clancy, of The Overflow."

And an answer came directed in a writing unexpected
(And I think the same was written with a thumb-nail dipped in tar);
'Twas his shearing mate who wrote it, and verbatim I will quote it:
"Clancy's gone to Queensland droving, and we don't know where he are."

In my wild erratic fancy, visions come to me of Clancy
Gone a-droving "down the Cooper" where the Western drovers go;
As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them singing,
For the drover's life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know.

And the bush has friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him
In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plain extended,
And at night the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars.

I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy
Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,
And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city,
Through the open window floating, spreads it foulness over all.

And in place of lowing cattle, I can hear the fiendish rattle
Of the tramways and the buses making hurry down the street;
And the language uninviting of the gutter children fighting
Comes fitfully and faintly through the ceaseless tramp of feet.

And the hurrying people daunt me,and their pallid faces haunt me
As they shoulder one another in their rush and nervous haste,
With their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy,
For townsfolk have no time to grow, they have no time to waste.

And I somehow rather fancy that I'd like to change with Clancy,
Like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go,
While he faced the round eternal of the cash-book and the journal
But I doubt he's suit the office, Clancy, of The Overflow.

Big bowl 'o' coffee

Had brunch with my lovely sister today at as nature intended and order the big bowl o coffee. I assuming it would be a large bowl-shaped cup. Nope. It was truth in advertising...

This is... what gives me goosebumps

Strong, powerful music gives me goosebumps. If it has heartbreaking lyrics then I'm all the more goosebumpy. For example 'On my own' from Les Miserables - "But I know its only in my mind...' or from Paul Kelly's 'From little things, big things grow' - "If we fall, others are rising". Lots of others that I can't remember... but you get the idea!


Photo credit: Mervyn Bishop 'Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into hand of traditional landowner Vincent Lingiari, Northern Territory' 1975. Collection of the National Gallery of Australia

This is... what makes me happy

Ah. I'm big on searching for happiness. I don't often consider that I'm happy, but I think that's because I'm constantly pursued by the black dog and only catch the happiness in glimpses as I bolt past... I strive to be happy, by reading books like 'Choosing Happiness' by Stephanie Dowrick, reading sites like Authentic Happiness and the Happiness Project. But ultimately, these things make me happy...

1. Listening to Lily tell me stories before we go for a lunchtime sleep
2. Watching Paterson's face light up when I enter a room
   
3. Seeing a flower in the vase beside my bed, knowing that Nathan has left it there
4. Seeing plants begin to flower, or sprout, or produce fruit.
5. Certain foods - I apparently do something that Nath calls the 'happy dance' when I have something that I think is particularly yummy.
6. Spending time with two special people; my sister and Big Lilly.

(NOTE: The picture above will one day be the cover shot for a book I'm planning to write 'How to keep your house clean and look after the children'.)

London - a memoir

I found this in an old Word file the other day. I don't remember writing it, but it certainly still resonated.

London

What is it I miss so much about that city? It was frustrating, dirty, superficial and over populated. But there is a security in all these things and the belief these things will never change. Things have always been the same and will continue to be so.

I miss walking through Covent Garden and hearing an Australian inflection with a stab of pride. The street theatre and drunkenness on a rare sunny afternoon gave a feeling of comfort and wellbeing. Experiencing the claustrophobic crush upon leaving the tube station made the fresh air on the outside seem glorious and pure; all the time knowing the air was probably a carcinogen.

Drinking latte on Fulham Road gave a feeling of affluence - the clothes and lack of possessions not withstanding. Staying of the edge of the lifestyle which I would like to become accustomed. I would never assimilate of course but we could watch and see those who lead the lifestyle and feed vicariously from them. Taking tit-bits from them and their ways.

Strolling aimlessly and deciding, on impulse, to ‘get some culture’ as if it were unobtainable elsewhere. Staying at the address with the good connotations. Seeing places millions of others have seen in ages past and feeling they were somehow over rated. Finding something obscure and believing it better than all the 'sites' put together.

The feeling you fit in. Being part of a brilliant minority; transient and visible. Being someone totally different, reinventing. Liking the invented person better than who you thought you were. This is what I miss.

I don't so much remember the smog, rudeness, crowds, superficiality, cold, poor plumbing, accommodation and cuisine - although I’m aware of the contribution they made to my perception of the city. I remember me. Being me. Liking me. All because of London.

Ironically I don't think I was really any more comfortable in my skin in London than at home. Maybe less so. I was going to include a photo, but thought it best not too - primarily because I was much larger, had even less fashion sense than I do now, and was seemingly always swathed in a driz-a-bone...

Didn't we have a lovely time

Yesterday we went to Currockbilly. Nath's Aunt and Uncle have a little property out past Braidwood and yesterday we took LilyPad and our nephew Marcus out to see the cows and have a BBQ. It was such an adventure for the kids, even if we had to resort to Dora-esque type distractions toward the end of the long trip (ie First we go over the little bridge, then onto the dirt road, then through the watery creek. Bridge. Dirt Road. Watery Creek. Say it with me...) We saw the cows - one of whom rudely poked out his tongue. We wandered around the tall grass. We played together. I played around with the macro setting on the camera. We had a photo shoot on top of a windy hill (cut short when I was setting up the camera on my 'pile-o-rocks' tripod and spied a nasty spider about 1cm from my eye... much scrambling from me. and amusement from those looking on.) Then we headed for home. I did the driving (in the dark and the rain - erg) and the rest of the tribe did the sleeping...

k2tog

How wonderful is this???

Check out this talented artist here and here...

This is... my best find

We found this buffet/side table thingo left out on the road with a 'free' sign on it. I'd originally thought that my pseudo step-sister would like it, but Nath thought it was worth us taking home. He was right. Its beautiful. It needs some new handles, but its otherwise structurally sound and gorgeous.

This is... my most favourite outfit that expresses my individual style

I don't have one. I generally feel uncomfortable in my clothes. I felt ok when I was pregnant, mainly because no one is critical of the belly and bum of a pregnant mum (hey, that rhymes!). I dream of being on Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, or How to Look Good Naked (UK version - not that Carlson crap) where wonderfully witty gay men tell me how to dress for my shape and then buy me a wardrobe so I don't have to shop ever again. Then maybe I'd look like this...

Dear Mr Randall MP

RE: Your comments regarding Canberra being a 'cold hole'
I'm afraid your comments just mark you as another ignorant member of parliament whose only experience of Canberra is the road from the airport to Parliament House and down to Kingston to smooze at The Holy Grail. If you or any of your colleagues would deign to leave the Parliamentary Triangle you would find an interesting and vibrant city - but of course it is much easier to just label it a hole and keep in step with everyone else and leave on the last flight out on Thursday nights. I'm just thankful my local member is not so small minded.

This is... where I create

Better late than never, eh?

I've hesitated to show this, but it seems universal that our creative spaces are usually cramped, or multipurpose, or transient. I'm just happy I don't have to put my machine away after I use it.

I've also got a little shelf with some cool pictures on it, and a little inspiration board and a couple of pictures (embroidered and 3-d). Looking at it now there seems to be a strong tree/growing things theme...

Unfortunately there is also the ironing board, heaps of folding, the sleeping bag (for when my snoring gets me kicked out of bed) and [out of camera shot] the computer and all its paraphernalia.

Bye Beppe

This is my paternal grandmother, my Beppe, who died on Saturday aged 84. She is the first of my grandparents to pass away. I love this photo of her; she is about 18, pumping water in her clogs (as one did in the Netherlands). We were never particularly close and I'm sad and sorry that we never shared more about ourselves. I think we both missed out. Bye Beppe.

Pictures...

So the baby shower went really well... here is a [dodgy] picture of the nappy cake. It was fun and easy and came out pretty spectacular if I do say so myself.

And a finished little rainbow hat. My daughter is terribly shy and hates posing (NOT).

A while back Lily asked me to do a rainbow hat for her. I baulked at the idea of having to shell out for a heap of different rainbow coloured yarns, so the lovely Spidey dyed some gorgeous self-striping for me. Its so yummy.

And finally, for no reason, a picture of my son. He's too cute when he eats his toes.

This is... my travel memory

In 2000/2001 I went to Viet Nam with some friends to visit a friend who was on posting in Hanoi. It was such a wonderful experience (so much so that Nath and I went there for our Honeymoon two years later) and I loved every bit. But the girls I went with were not as interested in some of the cultural aspects and I, and given that I was still a little nervous about going off on my own I tended to go along with them on shopping expeditions or lay by the pool when I'd really rather have been off seeing something interesting. Anyhoo, after three weeks I finally got the nerve to go off by myself. We were in the mountain town of Sapa, near the China border and we'd been going to this little familyrestaurant fairly frequently. The owners son did little motorbike tours around the town so I booked him and we headed off. No helmets. Scary-ass roads. No idea where he was taking me. And it was wonderful. We went into Hmong village houses, witnessed (or rather heard) mourning songs, got a bit lost finding a shortcut back from some waterfalls, and saw a cave (pictured) that went through to China (or more likely vice versa). I felt so liberated.

I went back to Sapa on our honeymoon - it had become so much more touristy, and had lost alot of its charm in exchange for cheap tourist bucks. But we went to the restaurant. It had burnt down in the intervening years, taking the lives of some of the family. The owner had died, and his son (who had been studying at University) had come back to the isolated mountain town to look after his family and the business. I thought that was pretty sad that he'd given up his dreams - but he was pretty philosophical about it. It was expected. I guess fighting against it wouldn't have made it any easier.

Flickr Game

1. Naomi - Fuel Alley - 1996, 2. Orecchiette with broccoli, 3. Two Globes, 4. Fields Of Fire, 5. Being John Malkovich, 6. Sil0031922, 7. Distance, 8. Panna cotta, 9. valentines day, 10. I can't think, i can't breathe..., 11. wistful, 12. nightsky

via Meet me at Mikes

How to do it:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker and make a lovely mosaic to put on your blog or flickr! Simple pimple!

The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Bliss

My current definition of bliss...

• Going out for dinner on Saturday night with my lovely husband (despite dinner taking an inordinately long time and us having to leave before it arrived - and grabbing Rolo's pizza instead)
• Going out to see Keating (again) and then coffee at Starbucks with my sister (where we saw spidey's monkey *waves*)
  
• Knowing my bubby boy took formula in a bottle so I didn't have to imitate bessy the cow.
• Lily having a sleep over at Nanny and Poppy's
  
• Getting to bed horrifically late (12.30am) but not having to get up even once until 6.30am - THAT'S SIX STRAIGHT HOURS SLEEP PEOPLE!!!!
• After putting little monkey back to bed, making a french vanilla coffee, white bread with real butter and homemade marmalade and sitting down to watch the first episode of the Gruen Transfer. Then knitting. Photos to come.
  

Also, I'm hosting a baby shower here this afternoon and I made a nappy cake (diaper cake) so I'm full of crafty pride too. And the sun is shining on a lovely crisp Canberra winter morning. Ahh - I haven't felt this good in months!!!

This is... my pet

Just before the 2003 Canberra Bushfires, Nathan and I went to the RSPCA to get a cat. We found a little cat, about 6-12 months old who was likely to be put down because she wasn't a cute little kitten anymore and decided to take her home. Turns out she would have been burnt to a crisp in the fires even if we hadn't taken her home. She was a big-looking cat, but was actually just really furry. We called her Rosie.

Rosie was the apple of our eye. She spent long hours beside me on the couch when I was learning to knit, and long hours laying on my tummy when I was pregnant with Lil. She'd get a little pissed when Lil would kick her. She's still a valued family member, but doesn't get the billing that she once used to!


Rosie was never a scratchy cat... although she has never liked being touched on the belly. But now I find that if she's been recently persecuted by Lily then she takes it out on me! I'll casually walk past her and she'll give me a not-so-friendly pat with her paws... She also does that when she wants more food, or to be let out or just cos she wants to let me know that she doesn't forgive me for letting not just one, but two little folk into HER family.

Oh, and we have fish too. And snails.

Me me me me me (A gripping case history of a narcissistic opera singer) *

1) What was I doing ten years ago?

I had just started my first 'real' job and re-moved out of home (I'd been asked to leave home at 18 and allowed to move back in at 23 after I got back from overseas).

Looking at it now, it was a significant year… that year I met some wonderful people who are still my friends, did a lot of stupid things, made some poor decisions, grew up a lot and learnt heaps about myself, and met the man who introduced me to my husband (he’s now my brother-in-law).

If you’ll allow me, I’ll just recollect for a moment (tilts head to left and looks skywards).

I was living with two people I went to Uni with – a guy and a girl. The guy was a frustrating individual (think OCD, HDD and Tourette’s all in one person) but a talented photographer and the girl was a twisted warped excuse for a human being who happened to be a rower. Of course I didn’t know this when I moved in. But the frustrating photographer began to grate on the twisted rower. So rather than moving out herself, she decided to begin a reign of harassment against him including playing loud music at 4am when she and her Neanderthal boyfriend got up to train, bagging out his job, making cruel and unkind comments for no apparent reason and generally being a bitch. When I asked her about it she said she had nothing against me, and that I was welcome to stay in the house (which ironically the guy and I had found). Anyhoo, it all came to a head one day – photographer was trying to vacuum and she kept pulling the cord out of the electricity outlet. He’d come to see why it wasn’t working. He’d plug it in and walk away. She’d unplug. Eventually they were facing off and she hit him. He called the police and she called her coach; petrified she’d lose her scholarship. Anyway, the police came and mediated and got agreement that she would move out in a month. Not before her Neanderthal arrived with a car-load of male rowers to try and intimidate us. Photographer didn’t press charges, knowing that she’d lose the scholarship (he was a sweet-natured frustrating photographer at heart). And for the next month the photographer and I lived with our parents rather than cross paths with her. Which was hard for me because my job was 100m from my door. SO she left – didn’t pay a whole lot of stuff and left the place filthy. I subsequently moved on, didn’t see the photographer, but was really close to his then girlfriend so we re-told the story often and composed what we’d say to her if we saw her. Which we never did. Which was odd being she still lived in Canberra.

Fast forward to late 2007 when I attended the inaugural (and so far, only) craftanoon held in Hackett. I had been looking forward to it for ages thinking how great crafting get togethers seem to only happen overseas. I knew that Kathreen Rickson (of whip up fame) would be there and it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to being a groupie. So I turned up, met Kathreen and her daughter and some other lovely people. And then the rowing skank turned up. She recognised me, smiled, then must of realised that I would not be similarly pleased to see her and her face fell. My immediate reaction was to get the hell out of there. But I’d looked so forward to it. And there was Kathreen. And people with sewing machines. And ideas. So I stuck it out for a while and tried to ignore her. I’d nearly bitten my tongue off from suppressing witty and catty slurs against her. I didn’t want to seem small and bitchy in front of godess Kathreen. But she’d sucked all the pleasure out of it for me. So I just left. Anyhoo. Hardly a story of hardship and suffering, perhaps more impotent rage management.

That year I also met (through internet dating – but that’s another story) a man called James Brown. Not the Godfather of Soul. In fact, he was a tall, muscular, fair-skinned, blonde ex-military type. James Brown loved to exercise, and did not drink or smoke. He was as close as I came to finding my complete opposite. But the thing that struck me was that he chose to stop drinking. I was at the height of my drinking then, and I couldn’t fathom how anyone could voluntarily choose to live their life sober. He told me some sob story about ‘losing control’ and I couldn’t understand it any more than I could if he were speaking Mandarin. Needless to say, the relationship was not long lived. But he was a lovely guy, and I wish I could meet him now and tell him that I understand. And that I wish I’d been ready to listen to him then and saved myself a few more years of alcohol abuse. Having said that, he also said I should exercise and stop smoking, which I've also chosen ignore.

2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today? Go for a walk (done), iron, fold clothes, clean the bathroom, cook dinner. I’m on maternity leave so they aren’t really ‘non-work’ as I consider what I do here at home to be work. I probably won’t do any of those things though. Just surf the net. Or watch Foxtel.

3) Snacks I enjoy? On-again-off-again chocoholic, hommus, hot potato with sour cream, cheese, mushrooms and chargrilled sweet potato, chocolate icecream – I could go on and on and on and on…

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire? Anything I want. Pay off houses and travel for me and family. Definitely not work. Lots of random acts of kindness. Sponsor guerrilla gardening initiatives. Fund programs for addicted mothers. Buy lots of plants.

5) Places I have lived? Canberra. Many suburbs, always Northside.

I had 10 months in England in 1996 where I lived for 3 months in Elton near Peterborough and in 2001/2 I lived in a hotel in Brisbane and Coolum for six months while working for PMC on CHOGM.

6) Jobs I have had? Retail (shoe shop), café staffer at Cockington Green, Carer for an elderly lady in England, Synopsis Writer at Media Monitors, Political Information Analyst, Public Affairs and Research/Information Officer for the Minerals Industry Association, Media Adviser to a Senator, Media and Publications officer for CHOGM, Public Affairs Officer at the Department of the Environment and now a policy officer for the Department of the Environment where I managed a database on threatened species information. Also currently the Minister for Treasury, Family and War at home.

7) Peeps I want to know more about? Everyone. Everyone has a story.

* From Frasier Episode "Dad Loves Sherry, The Boys Just Whine"

Stuff I learnt today

You should listen when your gut instinct says 'don't let her play with the glitter. it will only end in tears (and a huge mess)'

It doesn't do your credibility as an authority figure any good when you laugh at your child's insolence. Eg 'I'd like you to go straight to sleep please' - response 'Certainly your majesty'

My daughter thinks that she can't watch Law and Order because its about dinosaurs fighting. What is with the dinosaurs lately?

*Squeal*

You may remember a while ago I mentioned that I won a competition over at Funky Finds and today another gifty arrived.


Are these not the most gorgeous shoes you have ever seen? They are for Paddy (waaaay in the future) and are from See Kai Run. I can't wait for him to wear them. I'm just disappointed that I discovered them too late to buy a heap for Lil (they only go to size 9).


I just realised too that I missed my two year blogiversary. Phew. Where did those two years go? I note that I still haven't completed many things on the to-do list I posted either.... !

This is... x2

This is... how i recycle

Apart from your standard home recycling we tend to do a lot of transferring/sharing/recycling. My husband and I both worth for the federal environment department and it has a really active online bulletin board so we often put things up on there like baby stuff and household items we don't use anymore. The department also has active recycling within the department so we can recycle at home and work (when I'm there). We share lots of things amongst our group of friends, like children's clothes, books and toys so we've always got enough 'new' stuff without having to purchase new stuff. We also compost - great recycling! And I don't mind using our old clothes in my craft either. So there you go.

A catch up from last week
This is... what reminds me of my mum

My mum is a classic for mixing her metaphors. A short list of her more memorable ones:

• Beauty is in the eye of the tiger
• He's the head poncho
• You've made your cake and now you have to lie in it
• Knocking on death's doorstep
• He's barking on thin ice

You the stinkiest I ever seen...

I was just surfing the net and overheard Lil in the shower. She plays in the shower by herself for a while after the water's been turned off so it can be entertaining to hear her chatter... Tonight she had a little posse of dinosaurs and they were saying 'You the stinkiest I ever seen' 'Pwah, you even more stinky' and ' poohwee you stink, move away..' As Nath went to get her out of the shower, I stopped him so that he could listen to her banter too. We giggled, but agreed we should probably tell her not to say mean things like that to others (it starts with taunting the dinosaurs and next thing she'll be bullying everyone at daycare).

But upon investigation we found the storyline behind the game.

She had pooed in the shower. She and the dino's had huddled in the opposite corner of the shower throwing insults at the offending item. Like it was the poo's fault that it smelled.

Parenthood is sooo glamorous.

This is... me pre 1985

I love this photo. Its me and my sister, just kicking back with the swans and ducks at some park in Wagga Wagga. I'm guessing its probably 1983 or 84 judging by our sizes. I love that our hair is exactly the same colour. And - given that neither of us has had seen our natural colour for at least a decade - I wonder if it still is...

This is...the pair of shoes that I would sleep in if I could..

Actually I'd prefer to sleep in them because they are sooooo bloody uncomfortable.... but they are pretty... the Freudian Slippers would be great too!

How cool is this???

Terrorist Tea Pot! At Suck UK.