Monday, September 30, 2002

Took the cubs to a lolly shop today and didn't get anything for myself.
Given the depth of my sugar addiction, this is significant. : )

And one of the cubs today found a pair of chopsticks, put my PowerPuff Girls waste-paper bin over his head and proceeded to 'make music' by hitting the bin arythmically with the chopsticks... *bangs head on keyboard* I was trying to write at the time, it was a little distracting.



Saturday, September 28, 2002

Kids can be divided into two groups - diggers and climbers. Climbers are the sort of child you find cooing happily at you from the top of the cabinet before they can even crawl, and diggers are the ones that if they go missing inexplicably you check inside the cabinet and sure enough...
My cubs are diggers, they love being in or under things, and their behaviour today was a prime example. I went to the supermarket, leaving them alone in the car with the usual instructions not to leave the car, or let anyone else in. When I came back they glowingly showed me how they'd discovered how to pull the backs of the seats down so they could crawl into the boot. *sigh*
(Um, in case you're wondering, the seats were designed to do that. :)

I watched the first part of Rayearth today, and I really enjoyed it, here are some reasons why:
It made me laugh - at some point there was a titanic battle between, um, titans, massive beings formed from the fused spirits of humans and deities (I think) but the bad one was a giant bunny in a mecha suit! *rolling around laughing* (and that whole fight scene was awfully reminiscent of the Power Rangers anyway - "oh no, it's the bunny monster! RRRRR!!!")
The ice-witch, Alcyone, was very tasty, though that might have had something to do with the thigh-high pink boots, and her really cool cat who could form ice attacks. And speaking of cats, the fiery Aslan deity thing was just gorgeous, love to snuggle up in that kitty's floaty red mane.
I noticed that the 'rogue priest', Clef, looked a lot like Harley from the Boy meets Boy comic, and there were two other bishy boys, who were 'not from our world' - no? really? - I've no idea who they are were but within seconds of seeing them onscreen together (the brunette had his sword to the throat of the white-haired one) I mentally had them fucking each other... ^.^

And-and-and, I finally got to see the Raditz episodes of Dragonball Z, in the form of the movie 'Arrival'. I now feel completely justified in my wide-eyed and softly growly appreciation of the big ape. Phwooaarr!!



Onna? Tom of Finland newsletter? *big sparkly blue eyes*

[Uh, Talon, let Ryu Sage go out and play for the moment - still debating the wisdom of opening that lock...]





Bit of an adventure last night.
Dragged myself away from the cubs for an hour or so and soulsis and I walked up to the local shops to get some dinner. It was a little cold and it rained on the way up, but we didn't worry cos as I explained to soulsis, they were large rain drops which meant it wouldn't rain for long (think about it, there's only so much water up there, and the larger the rain drops the quicker it'll run out!).
Anyway, while we were waiting for our take-aways (yaki soba vegetarian, and chicken teriyaki and salmon handrolls for me. mmm...),
it started raining again. Soulsis laughed and said something about 'large rain drops' - I looked out of the window and saw it was hailing, BIG hailstones that quickly covered everything in a layer of white. Needless to say we ate in the restaurant. It was very amusing though, watching all the idiot drivers trying to drive as fast as they normally did except over hailstones. I'm surprised there weren't any accidents, saw quite a few cars sliding...
Soulsis and I finished our meal, it had stopped hailing so we decided it was time to go home. Stepped outside, took one look at the slippery, hail-covered pavement and got panicky. A few weeks ago I was up in the snow with the cubs and I slipped and twisted my ankle, it's still not completely healed and I'm near phobic of doing it again. Add to that the fact the shoes I was wearing had almost no tread and suddenly the short walk home seemed very, very long.
Enter Suu-per Soulsis!
With bright blue cape flapping and teeth shining in the night, she leapt to my aid, clearing a path through the hail for me, and letting me hold her arm to support myself while crossing the roads. *grin* What would I have done without her?

Friday, September 27, 2002

[growl grumble pout sulk....]

[*pout* Does anyone have sufficient fine ki manipulation to safely open a lock that's placed in an, um, delicate area? Or can anyone pick a lock, or at least know a reputable lock-smith? Just don't ask why, OK...]

Hey, Joules, does Sue rollerskate? Cos I had this really interesting dream last night...

Every year on a specific day - like Mother's day, I think it was - Sue (who I've never met, and I can't recall seeing a pic of her) and a bunch of her women friends, pick a hill and go rollerskating down it. They asked me to go along with them. I was going to pike out, that's my usual response to fun things that involve leaving the house, but I girded my loins, changed my mind and went. Had to borrow someone else's rollerskates and it took a wee while for me to get the hang of it, but rollerskating was easier than I recall from my childhood, and I had fun.
Now, I'm wondering what precisely my subconscious self is exhorting me to do? While learning to rollerskate could be a blast, I don't think it's as simple as that. Hmm, what is it that I secretly want to do, that I think could be liberating but also makes me afraid that I might fall down and hurt myself?

Before I started writing I used to have some amazing, vivid dreams. Then I started writing, and the dreams stopped. Bit disappointed, but since I'd obviously found another outlet for that creative energy that had to manifest itself in dreams, I wasn't too upset. And then after I'd been writing for a about a year, the dreams came back! AYA! Very happy about that.

More on dreams later, the cubs are circling for their breakfast... *grin*

Thursday, September 26, 2002

[smirk]


[Yes, very tasty, thanks.. *picking fur out of teeth*]

Oh Oh Oh!
Go here! (thanks for the link, Joules!)
Naked bishie boys! mmmm..... My favourite is Impassioned in the 'R' rated section, while Joules really likes The Offering in the NC-17 section. I reckon she likes that pic because she's seme. *smirk* Check it out and you'll see what I mean.



[growls and glares...] Don't push your luck, zk'vissin...

[frowns] Actually, that's an intriguing thought. A lizard/monkey cross makes a big pussy cat.... Nah, can't see it myself.

Enjoying the small furry creature?



[Thank you, 'lestrel, tearing into something small and furry would help my mood enormously! ^~^

That is such a cute pic, onna, but you don't need to be that afeared of Alestrel - she's just a biiiig pussy cat, really... OK, a biiig pussy cat with attitude and biiiiig teeth, but hey, the principles the same...]

A giggle for Joules - copyright 2002 bakayaro onnaThe neko-jin made this for my ningen alter -ego. It's Talon and Onna in the lemon tree, trying to hide from me... I think it's very funny!

Thanks Onna....


[frown] Poor Tenshi... can I do anything to help? Would a couple of small furry animals to munch on improve your mood? [glomp...]






Do I really want that SS Maijin Vegeta action figure - or is my desire for it merely a feeble attempt to cheer myself out of this less-than-sparkly mood?
Can't afford it anyway, problem solved. (Tch. talk about Madame Misery... Could be worse though, I could be face down in the sugar bowl. :-/ )
There's nothing actually wrong...
Well, that's bollocks. There are several very definite somethings wrong, but I don't want to talk about them when I'm in this sort of mood because, inevitably (and I'm speaking from experience), when I'm feeling more like my usual cheerful self these little problems will fade into insignificance next to the more important problems such as paying the rent and feeding the cubs.
*sigh* Thank all the gods for imagination but I still need a holiday.



Wednesday, September 25, 2002

*giggling*
Gorgeous pic, onna!

The cubs and I went to see the PowerPuff Girls movie. Lots of fun - I love those little heroes. ^.^ So cool!
Next we're going to see Stuart Little 2. Tch, maybe I can con their father into taking them to see that. gods know I don't want to see it..

Dragging myself by the fingernails towards the end of my next AC chapter. I have no idea why it's taking so long, maybe cos I'm treading water with my few chara's while Joules is getting cramps in her hands writing up the volumes of plot. *smirk*

One of the cubs has made something out of lego, something he calls a 'Sponge-bob Gundam'.
Ooookaaay...

*evil grin* Joules tells me that member number 232 has joined The Zone.
So where in Bristol/UK would you like to hold the AC convention, sinam?

Rompled with the cubs in the park yesterday. ('Romple' - isn't that a great word? So evocative. Thanks, Joules!) We took a picnic lunch and spent about 3 hours there... and then I had to come home and have a sleep cos I was plumb tuckered out. No stamina anymore.

Had a dream about BatCat last night.
BatCat was my kitty companion of 14 years, he died almost a year ago and I still miss him.
'Kitty companion'? Who am I kidding? 'Grumpy old sod' would be more accurate. I swear that cat had a permanent scowl - except when we were alone. I was his human and woe betide anyone who got in the way. Needless to say, Batty and the cubs' father didn't get on.
Anyway, in this dream I picked Batty up and cuddled him; I remember thinking with some surprise that it'd been a while since I'd seen him. He was a bit thin, and there was obviously something wrong with his hips - arthritis probably - because of the way he was sitting. I spent the rest of the dream running around making sure I had everything I needed to make him comfortable -
and then I woke up cos KittenKong was sleeping on my bladder. :)
And it wasn't until after I'd been to the loo I remembered that Batty wasn't around anymore. Bummer.

Got more fish-tat in the mail. AYA!
A lovely big (4 inch long) pair of blue cloisonne articulated fish feng-shui ornament things that are currently dangling from the shell-ship key rack on the wall behind my moniter. Gorgeous! ^~^
My lobster salt and pepper shakers stillhaven't arrived though. Humph. They were sent by surface mail from the US - should get them around xmas time. *grumble*

[Warning: here follows a small rant about the United States Snail Service.]

Why does it take so long for mail to get to and from the States? Even air-mail - which is supposed to take a lightning fast 10 days - can take up to 3 weeks or longer, and in a few instances I've been waiting 4 flipping months for something that was sent by surface mail!
Is it as bad for US residents, I wonder?
What is the problem? Air mail from Canada - which is next door, for heaven's sake - takes 3-5 days, the same amount of time it takes to send something airmail between Aus and the UK!
AAAARRGH!
*panting, settling ruffled feathers* OK, OK - I'm calm now...

Heh, I've decided to try and actually make a start on some of the drawing projects I've got in mind.
Let's face it, if I waited until I was happy with what I laughingly call my 'drawing style' nothing would ever get done! So, I've set myself a deadline - end of the school hols - and I plan to have the first of the somethings done by then (-ish, maybe. If I'm overly embarrased by what I've produced I'll probably extend the deadline).
I'm still flummoxed by this 3/4 profile business though - I suspect that everyone will be drawn face-on or in profile for the time being. :)


(What? No links in this update? Try this, it'll make your eyes bleed! And if you can get past the background, read the text. :)


Tuesday, September 24, 2002

Hey, onna, don't quote me, but I think I saw that 'how to draw Manga - couples' book in a shop down here. There were a few titles from the series on the shelf, but not the one I was particularly interested in. Probly just as well, $45 (aus) is - while not excessive - not readily available either.

[yawns and smirks - sunlight gleaming on sharp canines - and gazes up at eyes staring down... pulls self upright from hours-long comfortable sprawl beneath lemon tree... *Heh, I think that's long enough, they're probably hungry by now...*]

OK you two - you can come down now. I'm not going to bite. Or claw or explode your heads or do anything else painful. [*for the time being, anyway*] I'm not annoyed anymore. [points] Look. Tail all smooth and relaxed....
And thanks for the snack - very tasty...

[lopes off to check on Ryonan]



Monday, September 23, 2002

Hey, cool! There's a lemon tree here! Lemonade...mmm.... lemon wine...mmm...
Thank you for the fish, Talon, they're lovely - and very clever of you to
offer food as an apology to Alestrel, smartest thing you could do.
Speaking of which.. *prods sleeping lizard sprawled over rose petals*
Oi! You didn't eat all of those furry things did you?
You'll get a stomach ache!

mumfle [sleepy grin]

tch, you could have saved some for *me*.

can they come down out of the tree now?

[yawn]..... sorry.... shall I go hunt something up for you?

Oh.... I suppose so....


*glompnuzzle*
I'll come hunting with you, and then we can have a swim, ne?

[smirks] Sounds very good to me... I'll groom your wings afterwards...

Talon! Onna! you can come down now!




Sunday, September 22, 2002

[smirk]

One bower. Shall we have that swim now? And do you need a hand grooming the wings, afterwards?



...someone's still going to suffer, though...


Awww, you're so considerate, 'lestrel! [snuggle]

Right, having conferred with the be-tailed one, we've come up with some necessary (if there's not going to be an unholy mess in here) guidelines...
Anyone is welcome to play here (nicely, remember) - the pond, after all, is a lovely, restful place - Okapi's and Priskitten's are especially welcome, however it's probably a good idea to stay away from the bower unless you are specifically invited. OK? Besides, there are some other lovely sunny/shady spots to doze in. Under or in the oak tree by the pond, for instance, or on the patch of invitingly soft moss by the waterfall...

[Oh, and if Alestrel's growling, or her tail's lashing, you might want to keep your distance - it means she's angry and/or hungry. *grin*]

As long as I have your permission to disembowel anyone else who dares set even a tailtip in it.

(Not in the bower itself, obviously - I'll take them far enough away that you don't hear the screams...)



[phew]

I'm glad that's settled - can I have the bower back now please? *chibi eyes*

[growls]

Very well, zk'vissin - I'll make sure anything I do is done out of your sight. And I'll clear up the blood myself.

The swim sounds wonderful. I'll forgo the shampoo though - strawberries are for eating, not washing things.




Uh-oh...
Have I ever told you, Alestrel, how much I dislike any sort of conflict? Sets my feathers wobbling, very unpleasant.
Come and have a swim with me! The water's lovely and cool, and I've got some wonderful strawberry scented shampoo - I'll wash your mane for you, how does that sound? There's some of that nice, crisp cider you like too, and I'm sure we could rustle up something tasty to eat...*winning smile*.

No, I'm not angry. Trust me, everyone would know it if I was angry.

I am very very annoyed though. I spend hours of my precious writing time trying to make something pretty for you - and what happens? They waltz in, assuming they're welcome, without being invited, without even fucking asking. Your bed, for gods' sakes.

Pissed off? Damn right I am - and someone's going to suffer for it.


Ah...
Well, I can't say I didn't specifically not invite them. Sorry, 'lestrel, hope you're not too angry. *hopeful look*

[it might be politic to point out now, gentle readers, that Alestrel is a hybrid R'ren'nkh'ian/Saiya-jin, and much as I love her, it can't be denied she tends towards the worst traits of both races - most notably, the Saiya-jin posessiveness. Might be an idea to bear that in mind in future, ne?]

Lutra, I've moved the bower over to the private blog for some peace and privacy. See you there later.

[Stops... stares...]

Lutra, did you invite them here?


Cat's true Identity quiz.
Winnie the Pooh!?
Soulsis, does that sound like KittenKong to you?

Saturday, September 21, 2002

[squinches up nose] Can't stand cherries - but small furry creatures make excellent midnight snacks....

Hey I've got a question: how did the word 'gimp' get into BDSM parlance?
Cos in the dictionary gimp (gymp/guimp) is defined as - [origin unknown] silk, worsted, or cotton twist with wire or cord running through it - used especially as trimming; fishing-line of silk etc, bound with wire; coarser thread outlining design of lace... a secondary definition is listed as - courage [20th century, origin uncertain]. I also know that gimp is a slang term - not very common nowadays - for cripple. Can't see the connection myself...

Grapes and cherries, onna? Ooh yes please! And a neko always give a place that warm, homey feel. ^.^ Though if I catch you tormenting the fish there'll be trouble.

According to the superpower quiz, I've got flight, Alestrel has telepathy, and GoodTwin has telekinesis.
AYA! Sounds like a superhero team to me!
Now, what will my costume be? Hmm, green bodysuit (as a superhero, I will, of course, have a suitably buff body and anti-grav breasts so I won't mind being seen in public wearing something that leaves nothing to the imagination) - purple gloves, purple thigh-length boots, and purple half-face mask, and silver fringing - yeah! - on the gloves. Mmmm, can see it now, me hovering in the air, scanning the streets for evil-doers, the silver fringing rippling in the breeze...

Uh, oops...
Got off-line this morning about luchtime, made lunch for the cubs and myself, pottered around for a bit, then thought I'd have a wee nap before doing some writing. I should have set my alarm clock - I woke up just in time to cook dinner. *sigh* Another afternoon gone...

I read a few online comics regularly. Boy meets Boy, GlamourLust and The Pantheon being the main ones.
I love these three strips, highly reccommend them. Joules put me onto them, and incidentally - in case you were wondering - they all contain yaoi (m/m relationships).
(Heh heh heh, Panthera, a long time friend of mine, can't abide yaoi, or slash - she says it's an appalling waste of 'good man flesh'. *grin* Each to their own, dear, each to their own.)
I've also recently discovered Ghastly's Ghastly Comic - tentacle monsters and the women who love them, and that is also, very, very funny, but then there's this one - Sexy Losers.
Frankly, I don't know whether to recommend it or not.
It's hysterically funny, but it squicked me as well. It's written by a guy, and it shows, I just don't get some of what he's talking about. (Tch - men are aliens anyway. :)
It's a good bet that if things like necrophilia, incest, coprophagia (look it up) aren't your bag, baby, then you probably won't enjoy parts of this comic, but then again, I was howling with laughter even as my stomach was churning. Weird.
This isn't to say that the strip is made up entirely of the above mentioned practises, it also covers masturbation, anime/manga (the 'Madame X - hentai artist' story thread is very funny), dating angst, and does some beautiful parodies of pop-culture nonsense.

Er... read it, but don't say you weren't warned.

[several hours later, grinning happily, smelling of roses and jasmine and licking strawberry juice from lips....]
Heh.... I'm glad you like it.....



[Oh, 'lestrel, that's just beautiful! Thank you! *flinging self onto rose petals and wriggling ecstatically*]

Mmm... kiwi-fruit and bananas for breakfast.. how appallingly healthy of me.

Oooh-kaaay, I took the emode IQ test (hey look, I can do links!) that onna spoke of on her blog (tch, like a kid with a new toy) and i got a score of 120 points.
This is what they had to say..

"...we can tell your Intellectual Type is a Word Warrior.

The first thing we can tell you about that is you are equipped with a verbal arsenal that enables you to understand complex issues and communicate on a particularly high level. But that's just scratching the surface."

Of course, then you have to buy the full results if you want the indepth analysis. Tch.

[.. and while I'm showing off my newly acquired html skill.. here's Joules' blog, and Talon's blog... WEEE! *giggling*]


Can't do much about a real life bed, tenshi, but hope the bower helps, a little...

Friday, September 20, 2002

Hey, onna!
Love the pic! Those wings are so cute! ^~^
Alestrel and I both would love copies of the pic, pretty please with bishounen on top!

Right, I've seen the bed I want and I can afford it if I pay it off over 6 months... but I have to stay away from ebay...
Damn.
Oh what the hell, I've been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for almost 2 years, another few months isn't going to hurt. :)
..............
No, no, be sensible. You need a bed, you know you do! (*sorry, arguing with self*)
It is a very pretty bed, and it's been a loooong time since I've had a pretty bed... Hn. Let's get the rent paid first then see if we can get a deposit together.
Excellent idea!
... good, I'm glad that's settled.

Heh, it's almost full-moon tonight, and the cubs' father - who is a nurse - is doing a shift in a hospital emergency. He should have some tails to tell tomorrow morning. :)

School holidays started today.


Thursday, September 19, 2002

Talon's 6', tenshi.

It's a terrific pic - I like the neko-onna!!


LOLOLOL
wunnerful pic, onna, (can I have copy, pretty please?) and you've guessed my height pretty accurately... though the wings make me look taller, of course...
Blimey! How tall is Talon?

[... blinks.... GLOMPS...]

Aww, tenshi....

[glowers at twins from under wing] You do realise that I could do very nasty things to Tane and Dari in retaliation, don't you...?

[from Talon's blog...]
//*yanked from a conversation with nuzzleful twin*

Me: "Oh, did I tell you Joules has a Vash action figure?"
Twin: *gasps* *whispers* "Shall we kill her and take it?"
*grins*//

Grrrrr..... Excuse me?! That's no way to behave!
Besides, kill her? Hah! You'd have to get past Radittsu and Jeice (and Zha'haabron) first!
(I would have included myself in that 'cept I'm a wuss, and basically useless in a fight... : ) But I'd be reaaally sad (heartbroken/devastated/sack-cloth and ashes time) if you killed her *big soulful chibi eyes*, and then I'd be forced to exact revenge on you in a needlessly vicious manner - understand?

[And in a completely unrelated aside...] You know, sometimes I think there would be advantages to living by myself (with the cubs, of course)... not having to share the internet connection for one thing... only having to clean up mine and the cubs mess for another...

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

*girly squeal*
My deck of Yu Yu Hakusho cards arrived! WEEEEE!! Not nearly enough pics of Botan, but some very shibby ones of Hiei and Kuwabara.
And-and-and *flapping hands* Borders, the mega-bookstore here, has four copies of the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack!
Happy Happy Joy Joy *grinning, singing: 'baby's on fi-yah, better throw her in the wa-terrrr'*

[Telepathy, Alestrel? Now there's a surprise. *grin*]

Oooh! The cubs' father and I took the cubs to see the 3D 'Space Station' doco at IMAX yesterday.
Biggest flipping ViewMaster I've ever seen, and so viscerally involving. Cor!
It was absolutely brilliant, I want to go see more movies there!

One of the cubs told his father about KittenKong discovering the guinea-pigs.
Daddy: What did she think of them?
Cub: Tasty!
*rolls eyes*
2 days until the school hols...

I got telepathy.....
hey, tenshi, that 'flight' description sounds a bit like Zha'haabron...

And this quiz result was a complete surprise, not...

All the great heroes can fly. And thats what I am, a great hero. I am well rounded. I have a good sense of right and wrong. I seek to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people, but my friends always come first, especially if it's a romantic interest. Despite my amazing gifts, I prefer a quiet position away from the limelight, maybe among the clouds.

What's your superpower?



Keep up the good work unearthing these quizzes, Talon *cheesy thumbs up*



Cor, thanks for posting my AC quiz results for me, Joules.
Heh, I'm about to set up my own web-page, learn how to do all this posting stuff myself. Should be fun but don't expect anything useful soon. :)

It says something, I think, when the most comfortable seats you own are the ones in your car.

The Fearsome Outdoor Cat discovered the guinea-pigs yesterday. Totally fascinated, such a lot of fun! Until she got tapped on the nose and told to keep her paws to herself. She's been learning how to climb trees too... I'm watching her climb the old cherry tree in the courtyard as I type. Very cute, so long as she leaves my windchimes alone.

I tried to explain to the cubs a little while ago, when they were looking at one of Joule's pics of Zha'haabron, what a hermaphrodite was. I didn't think they paid any attention until last night when one of them wriggled into my bed and annouced that he was Zha'haabron and he was about to have his babies. *blink*
He called the babies Zha'zack and Zha'pack, by the way, and then the other cub got in on the act and 'had' his babies, calling them Zha'poo and Zha'pee... and then it all descended into little boy toilet humour. *rolls eyes*
Curriculum day today, that means the cubs are home - which is really daft, cos they're on holidays at the end of the week. We're sposed to be going to see the Powerpuff Girls movie (AYA!) today or Stuart Little 2 (not-AYA, I know which I'd prefer). Hn, spose I'd better check and see what's on...

Here y'go, tenshi!!


AC Quiz result!

Serene and self-possessed, you are held in awe by others, and you take your responsibilities - and your pleasures - very seriously. At ease with your own power, you are happy to let others take control in private. You are the soul of the family.
(copyright 2002 Joules Taylor)


Tuesday, September 17, 2002

I'm Zha'haabron! *falls over laughing* And I answered the questions honestly too. :)
Tell you what, Joules has done a brilliant job with this quiz!

Monday, September 16, 2002

*tee hee hee*

One of the online comics I sporadically read has a 'gift shop' and they've just got a new item in, a t-shirt that says 'will yuri for anime merchandise'.
BWHA-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!
I think I'd like one, if only to see the looks on peoples' faces when I answer the question - "What's yuri?" *snigger*


[Popped over to see Ryonan - from a distance. It was gorgeous seeing her curled protectively around her clutch; I would love to have one of the hatchlings but dragons can be very territorial, I don't think Ghryff would like it very much.]


The cubs have started interspersing their speech with fuck and fucking... I probably shouldn't have let them watch Billy Connolly.



Normally takes about six weeks, I think. Talon was interested in taking one, and I want to keep at least one myself (there's room at the Oasis)...
GoodTwin wondered what noises baby dragons make: it's a kind of cute high-pitched squeeee burble (which will no doubt drive me even more nuts by the time they're ready to leave home). But they should be very pretty. For those who don't know, Ghryff is a most magnificent Earth dragon, all rich greens and metallic bronze, while Ryonan is a hybrid Ice-Moon dragon, all silver and electric blue...

And I'm sorry if I scared the fish. I was just looking, honest!
And yes - the quiz is looking good....
And please don't squinch your nose up like that - it's just too adorable....

[Ryonan's laid her eggs already? Wow, that was quick! Wonder how long til they hatch? And incidentally, hovering above the pond is a great way to view the fish, but it makes them nervous.]

*snigger*
The AC quiz is under construction, just thought you'd like to know. LOL some of the questions are quite - direct, and as for the answers? Well...

School hols start the end of this week, should make an effort to get some fics finished while I've still got the time to myself. What needs to be done before then? Ideally, my next AC chapter, maybe another Silk & Leather installment, there's a couple of Professionals pieces I'd like to finish too - Carol, can I still send those to you for beta'ing? And of course the M/Zo/T pwp which is coming on nicely *smirk*.

And in RL...

KittenKong has had her stitches out so now she can be an outdoor cat. And what a fearsome outdoor cat she is! She certainly showed those leaves blowing around in the courtyard last night what for! But it's raining today so she's curled up asleep on the sofa, not silly, my kitten. ^~^ (does that emoticon look appropriate for *nose squinched up at the cuteness of it all*)





Lutra! Ryonan's laid five eggs! [excited Alestrel...]

Sunday, September 15, 2002

[Alestrel suggested that Ghryff, my dragon, could sear the steaks. Decided against it, we both like our meat still bleeding :) ]

Smorgys Family Restaurant - a review...

My soulsis and I, having nothing better to do, took the cubs to Smorgys for dinner yesterday.
................
It's not often that I - the Tsarina of tat - am left speechless by the decor of a place. Let me set the scene...
Smorgys bought out the restaurant chain Island Trader years ago, and I'd only ever driven past the vaguely Polynesian styled/decorated buildings, never went inside. The facade of the Smorgys we went to is landscaped with waterfalls and tropicalish plants, and the entrance is flanked by two huge pseudo-stone Easter Island type statues that spit into huge, matching pseudo-stone cauldrons, but more delights awaited us inside.

I admit I liked the salad bars set in the small sail-boats, but the fake trees, the 'cane' styled furniture and the tropical lagon waterfall thing that dominated the dining room was a bit overwhelming. It also looked like someone had raided the Zoo shop judging by the sheer volume of plush 'wild' animals stuffed all over the place; it was a bit unnerving eating my meal while being watched over by a plush vulture of all things.
The waterfall deserves a special mention. It was quite nice in an artificial sort of way, the pretend plants were good quality at least, and the vaguely (sporadically) animatronic ibises standing in the 'lagoon' were amusing. And then there was the music...
When the music starts up in these theme restarurants, something usually happens, for instance, in the LoneStar restaurants the staff do a line-dance, and in Johnny Rockets the staff used to do a 50's type dance. So, suddenly there was music and I froze, nervously anticipating a line of Smorgys' staff in grass skirts doing a haka at the patrons.
But no, we got a couple of flashing lights, and bubbles...

There was a bubble machine near the ceiling that spat out a minutes worth of stuff when the music was on. I thought this was a bit... lame, until it occured to me that when the music started every kid in the place, that was mobile, made a bee-line for the waterfall to try and catch the bubbles, thus leaving the parents in peace for a little while. Cunning. And I swear the music was from the soundtrack of Miami Vice, thus adding to the impression of being caught in an 80's time warp (I saw several 80's hair-do's, including some guy who had a classic Rod Stewart cut, dead set!).

Smorgys is one of the 'all you can eat' style of restaurants - you just don't expect the best quality food from them and I wasn't disappointed. The variety wasn't all that good, not a great selection of salad things, but along with the ubiquitous chocolate mousse in the dessert trough, there was also a quite nice strawberry mousse, though even that palled after 3 serves. *smirk*

Not in a hurry to go back there, but the cubs loved it (there was a talking tree which I'm convinced used to be in the 'Lost Forest' shop). I'd give Smorgys a 6/10 with an added point because it's within walking distance and it's cheap. : )

[lays out furry rug scattered with soft cushions near the pond's waterfall, places antique silver goblets and engraved plates to one side, hot-box full of barbequed chicken, honeyed spare ribs, steak and marinaded mushroom kebabs, and cold-box of chocolate and toffee ripple ice-cream (with a very small tub of mixed salad), to the other - and sits and waits for Lutra...]

Saturday, September 14, 2002

AYA!
Kitty and Joules' sequel, Retribution is posted in the Darkside section at the Wordwrights site. Zone members (as they'll know once they read the update) can use their Zone passwords to access Darkside, but others will have to have apply for a membership (it's FREE!) - or email me for a copy of my fic at least.

Heh, and I've started the M/T/Zo pwp...



I've signed the petition. :)

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/petition-sign.cgi?KEEPNC17

Oh, and c/p'ing your comments on 'care and feeding of your Saiyan', onna. :)
Anyone else want to contribute suggestions for 'years of trouble-free enjoyment of your pet'? *smirk*


OK, now this was just *weird*, but the outcome was appropriate, I think.






find your element
at mutedfaith.com.
<º>


Where do you get this stuff from, Talon?

I got a wonderful piece of fish tat yesterday, something I got off ebay. It's a tasteful (don't snigger) little gold clock made up of two pretty fish, belly to belly, with the clock face set between them. : )
Well I like it.
And just got an email saying that another piece of fish tat I've bought is on it's way to me! Weeee!
But I'm not going near ebay again for a while, promise.

Watched the first part of 3x3 Eyes. Wasn't overly impressed - not keen on characters that have their eyes shut all the time (Brock annoys me intensely, I only watch Pokemon for Jessie). But there was some interesting ideas in it - I was especially intrigued by the bar where Yakumo[sic] works, cross-dressing for fun and profit :), going to have to knick that idea - and Joules says it gets better, so I'll borrow the next bit next week.

Heehee. Kitty is being coded as I type...

Friday, September 13, 2002

Hey, Joules, we could put together a 'what AC character are you?' quiz, couldn't we? Wouldn't that be fun?!
Wouldn't it?...
Why are you looking at me like that?

And, Talon, I heartily approve of that as Gohan's new crime-fighting costume... *happy smirk* None of the crinimals would laugh at him if he was wearing that - stand there with their jaws on the ground maybe, but not laugh. Hey, I could be tempted to a life of crime if it was guaranteed that Gohan-as-crime-fighter was going to be the one apprehending me... and then of course I'd have to be made to see the error of my ways...
What am I saying? *shoving the uke-bunny back in her box* This is obviously a reaction to Kitty...

What was I thinking? A McDonalds breakfast? bleuch!

And that parcel that my cub got from the clown contained a couple of the little Bionicle toys that the Golden Arches of Doom have been flogging. I'd forgotten the cub had emailed said clown asking for the ones he'd missed out on. Of course, now the other cub has sent an email as well...

Oookaaay. Kitty is finished and it'll be posted soon. My first original fic, I think, well, that's been finished at least. It's interesting, Joules was majorly squicked by it, but I wasn't. Does that mean she's overly-sensitive? Or am I desensitised? Or did I just need to keep some distance/perspective while I was writing it? Hmm. I would, of course, love feedback on the story, very interested to see how others reacted to it. (Alarice, if you're reading this, I'd especially like your comments. Er... can you email me so I've got your address again? *sheepish grin*)

I think I need to do something fluffy now. How about some Mahrayne/Zorun/Ti'aasaan pwp? How does that sound, Talon? *smirk*

Thursday, September 12, 2002

One of my cubs got a parcel from Ronald McDonald.... Should I be worried?

Wednesday, September 11, 2002

Right, I wanted to prove something to myself so I hunted up the 'are you seme or uke' quiz...





Are you a Seme or Uke?


*sigh*
I was seme last time I took it...

'Flying rats'.. that's what we call seagulls downunder...

Cool quiz, Talon!

Which Koi Variety Are You?
You'll probably love fallenlights.net.
Which Koi Variety Are You?



... and as for this one...

Who's your DBZ guy?

Who's your DBZ guy?


What the f..?
Goku!? Euuuwww!
It was bad enough getting Goku as the 'which DBZ character are you' quiz without this result adding insult to injury.
I wanted Vegeta *pout* ... going to sulk now...

*narrows eyes suspiciously at Alestrel*
And just what does this mean?

//[evil grin] You don't like birds? I love birds - after all, we come from the same ancestors (sort of...). Heh - something else to torture you with...//

I'm not keen on birds. Yes, they're very nice and pretty and stuff outside but I'm uncomfortable being near them.
Have you ever looked into a bird's eyes? Really looked? They're insane! OkapiPrincess says - and I agree with her - that birds remember being dinosaurs, they remember the ripping and tearing and consuming of bloodied flesh, the snapping of bones and the playing with entrails and... they'd do it again at a moments notice!
"Pretty Polly"? Pretty Polly'd have your eye out before you could reach for the cracker!
They're evil I tell you! EVIL!

And look! The fish Onna sent me has found it's way into the pond! :)

*glaring at Alestrel* Can you see where it says 'play nice in the pond'? Are you paying attention?
... don't you smirk at me!

(thanks Joules for the html stuff :)

I haven't even finished Kitty and Joules has already written a sequel of sorts.
WEEEE! My first fanfic! *wriggle*



Tuesday, September 10, 2002

Onna sent me a fish! So cool! Thank you :) Um, it'll be plopped in the pond any time now...

So... I'm breeding superheroes and Joules is breeding a crinimal mastermind, eh? Hmmm. Synchronicity in action perhaps?

Crawled 2 - almost 3 - pages closer to Kitty being finished today. Could I finish it tomorrow? Possibly, unless I get distracted again.

2 of my fav DBZ toys are the little figures from the Secret Saiyan range of toys. Have you seen these? The idea is that you stuff the little solid figures into rubber SS shells (which are grotesque!) and presto-chango! Instant super saiyan. Yes, well, I've given the cubs the awful outer shells while clutching the inner figures of Vegeta and Trunks to my bosom.
Someone has put a lot of thought into these little figures, they're proportional to each other for one thing (Trunks is taller) and I was surprised to notice the bodies are true to type as well, not something I expected with small figures like these - they're maybe 4 inches tall. When I say 'true to type' I mean Vegeta is stocky and broad, he looks strong, and he's got the cutest little round bum... *prrrrr*... and Trunks - mirai, long-hair - is slimmer, has no arse to speak of but looong legs and nicely muscled thighs. All very yummy. :) They are posed - Trunks facing me, Vegeta with his back to me - beside my monitor, next to my Great Saiya man figures, on the opposite side to my southpark Botan, above my plush Pip and Pop...

Monday, September 09, 2002

So there I was doing the washing up, minding my own business when suddenly behind me comes the fearsome cry...
'Undie Man!'
I turn around to find my cubs in their underpants prancing about the house yelling 'Undie Man to the rescue!'
And then there was a sign on their bedroom door that said: 'Undie man's lab.'
Do other people's 7 year old boys behave like this, or am I singularly blessed?

I was all set to get to work on finishing 'Kitty' today while the cubs were at school, but I went to visit OkapiPrincess instead. *sigh* I'll stop procrastinating tomorrow.

Pris, my soulsis, called me an evil woman cos she'll never look at Bert and Ernie in quite the same way again. Welcome to my world, sweetie! :)

Talon always has some interesting quiz things on her blog.
Here's a couple I prepared earlier...




Take the What Color Dragon Should You Ride? Quiz

Made By: myway and teza



Gold rider? Well, der...








Go Faeries!!


Take the What Faery Are You? Quiz!

This quiz was made by lia


Yes, I'd say this was pretty accurate. :)




LOOK WHAT SHE DID!!

Distracted me with Hijau, distracted my dragon with a dragoness (see that bunch of trees rustling in the forest over there? They're still at it!) then she bloody ate my fish!
All right, fair enough, she restocked the pond so I can't grumble too much, but still.. bloody cheek!
And neither of the dragons have been neutered so we're going to be inundated with hatchlings...
I don't need this on a monday!

On a brighter note, we had a brilliant storm last night. The lashing wind and rain woke me up briefly at about 3 a.m... but on reflection, it could have been the dragons...

This is Worlds Apart, Joules' comic strip based on some of the ICQ conversations we've had. It's very cool! Only one panel so far but there will be more, won't there, sinam?

I'm tickled with the way she's drawn Lutra - uh - me, though I was in the bathroom last night and Iooking in the mirror (as you do) and I noticed that my nose stud was on the opposite side to the pic. D'oh - thought I - she's drawn it on the wrong side!
Then it dawned on me that I was looking in a mirror not at a picture...
Tch, sometimes the blondeness goes all the way down to the bone.

And then I felt so guilty for eating Lutra's fish I just had to restock the pond...

(actually posted by Alestrel...)

Sunday, September 08, 2002

Hn. This holiday I'm supposed to be taking in November is actually becoming more concrete... Dates have been set and tickets are about to be bought. I wonder if I can get hold of a laptop and a camera before then?

You know when you tidy up and it's nearly all done but there's always a pile of stuff that doesn't belong anywhere? Very annoying.

This drawing 3/4 faces is harder than I thought. It's not so bad with established characters cos there's plenty of material to copy the face shape from, but it's harder with original characters, especially when I haven't quite decided precisely how they look. No matter, I am undaunted...

The Ikea catalogue arrived the other day. Yay! I said grabbing it with glee and settling down for a good read. But I was disappointed.
Has Ikea's stuff always been this sterile and I just haven't noticed? Where was the fun? The colour? Even the kids' products were lifeless... and honestly you can take this 'being organised' nonsense a bit too far...

Saturday, September 07, 2002

Mmmm, I love steak, you don't need to cook it to enjoy it...

I cleaned the cubs' room today. Four flippin' hours!
I can't say I did it all by myself, I had 20 minutes worth of help from the cubs in 2 and 3 minute increments.
But, they've decided they don't like DBZ anymore. Do you know what that means?
I can loot their toys!
MWHAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!


" Ernie and Bert decided to swing.
Bert pumped and pumped as hard as he could.
Ernie let his legs dangle. He hardly moved at all."


I love quoting things out of context...

(that was from 'Ernie and Bert's Different Day' - a Sesame Street book. *g*)

Friday, September 06, 2002

KittenKong seems to be recovering well. She's sleeping a lot, but in between naps she's tearing around and vigorously disemboweling her pink fluffy mousie. :)

Two weeks til the school holidays apparently, better get some of the unfinished fics completed before then, cos sure as sheep shit I won't have time while the cubs are at home...

It's always a little disturbing drinking something that's the colour of urine, but the Golden Circle (Aus company) Creaming Soda is very yummy.

... and have I mentioned I like my car?

Oh oh oh! I glimpsed a Trans Am on the road today! Red.. later model, '90 - something I think, but still cream-making. :) Those cars are made for long distance driving, and guess what? Australia has lots of loooong roads... *dreamy sigh thinking of fanging down the Hume at 3 a.m. on a clear night - full moon - empty road - loud music... mmmmm....*
'Petrol-head'? Me?

Thursday, September 05, 2002

*dead chuffed*
One of my cubs has been invited to join the G.A.T.E.WAYS program at school next term, which is (reading from the blurb) 'an independent organization offering challenging and enriching activities and experiences to develop and extend highly able children'.
[The G.A.T. part of the name stands for 'gifted and talented'. :) ]
Interestingly, only one of the cubs has been invited, which isn't a bad thing because he's the less confident of the pair and has somehow got it into his head he's not as smart as his brother. Which is nonsense, of course, they're as intelligent as each other, and if anything, Sean (the one who was invited) is more flexible in his thinking/reasoning. I need to ring the organiser today to find out if the money for the program has to go in with the application. I hope not. Generally speaking we can meet any costs above the everyday expenses, but we need plenty of warning to plan for it. I'd hate to have Sean miss out on this simply because of the filthy lucre.

Wednesday, September 04, 2002

Weee! I might be going on holidays in november... real holidays, leaving the house and going somewhere different type holidays! Blue Mountains in New South Wales, hopefully. *happy sigh* I need a holiday. :)


Lessons I have learnt.

Bubblebath is an acceptable substitute for dish-washing liquid, just don't use too much of it.

Ooh, I'm in such a pooh with my kitten! : (
Not only did I take her to that place, I left her alone there in the hands of callous strangers to have part of her vitals ripped out, AND THEN I wouldn't let her lick her stitches. It was an hour (and a good wash and something to eat) before the poor, bedraggled, hollow-flanked creature would even give me a purr.

Hn. All being well my next AC chapter should be finished tonight(ish).
Tch, angst gives the fluffy bunny in me indigestion... *rolls eyes*


I don't mind shopping when the money's tight, it makes me a bit more canny about what I buy. Instead of skipping merrily down the aisles singing "I'll have that, and that and that!", I have to think about what I'm buying and if it's really needed. But no matter how little money I've got to play with, I usually manage to get myself a treat. Like today, as well as the essentials, I bought myself some semi-dried tomatoes and some bocconcini - they're little yummy bite-sized balls of fresh mozarella in case you're not familiar with them - with the intention of having them in a salad. Well, didn't get as far as putting them in a salad, I just ate them out of the containers as I usually do.

Took my kitten to the vet this morning after I'd dropped the cubs off at school.
As the vet nurse was taking our details she asked me if I'd like to pay a little extra and get the top-up analgesia for Tilda, to help her through the 24 hours after the de-sexing.
Well, der!
If I was having a total hysterectomy I'd want pain relief too!


Prisca, my soulsister, nicked this off a list somewhere and sent it to me...

CHOCOLATE BUBBLE BATH - do not eat!!

200 ml./1 cup of unscented bubble bath (as sold by Meadowsweet, Dolma and Honesty)

75 ml./third of a cup of unsweetened soya milk

70g./3 oz. of dark chocolate

optional - add some cinnamon or ginger for a stimulating bath

Heat the soya milk and add in the chopped chocolate, stir well until melted. Do not boil. Allow cooling down. Mix with the bubble bath and pour into your bath and enjoy...

Actually very nice and makes such a great gift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hmmm, nice idea, but you'd want to have some eating chocolate on hand or you'd go insane from the unrequited wanting of chocolate induced by the smell. :)
It'd be the perfect gift for the chocoholic you hate, that and a book about cooking with chocolate. A chocolatey gift, but no actual chocolate. *evil grin*


And now a short rave about the car (sorry).
Creamie - not her official name, that's just what I call her - is sweet to drive, though she's big and I'm not used to the power steering yet. (see Lutra take a corner - see Lutra oversteer - see Lutra grin sheepishly as she goes up onto the curb...)
Nice car. [patpat]

Tuesday, September 03, 2002

We've got a new car, a 1989 EA (I think) Ford Sedan. She's theoretically off-cream in colour, with just the barest tinge of salmon pink through it - though we had a dust storm yesterday so it could be dirt. :)
I wanted to call her Creampuff but that was vetoed by the cubs and their father. *hmph*
The names Elizabeth, or Beth are currently under consideration.

As you can imagine, getting a new car is a terribly exciting, especially as this car is a/ registered, b/ roadworthy, c/ insured, and d/ working. It's been a while since we've had all of the above in one vehicle. :)

Waaaay back in the pre-history of B.C. (before cubs) we had a little Mazda wagon. Lovely little blue car, took us all over the place, but she broke down just as we had to move house and we couldn't afford to get her fixed. Maggie sat in our backyard for years before we finally admitted we weren't going to do anything with her, and regretfully got rid of her. In the meantime, we'd finally bought another car from a friend when the cubs were a year old. (Imagine, if you will, twin babies and public transport - we didn't go out much that first year.) KimCar was a blue Mazda 323 hatchback, zippy little thing, loads of personality, (the only car I know who'd play hide'n'seek with me in the carpark). We drove her for a number of years, but she was never the same after she'd towed a tonne of metal lathe machinery; she broke down as we were moving house, and again we had no money to fix her. I cried when she was towed away after sitting in the driveway for months.

But fortune smiled, shortly after KimCar stopped working - like within days - we were given a beige Mitsubishi Sigma, christened Vejiita by the cubs. Given as in for free. Sure this car was unregistered and unroadworthy, but we managed to sneak around in it for 18 months, before she stopped working in June this year.

So there we were without a car, and no immediate prospects of one. Getting the cubs to school wasn't too much of a problem, the bus that runs along the main road we live just off goes very close to school, but getting their father to work was a logistical challenge.
But again, fortune smiled, and after a week or so of no car, a work mate of the cubs' father said 'my daughter is overseas at the moment, would you like to borrow her car?'
Would we!?

There was/is a time-limit on this car - a ford Laser hatchback, very similiar to the Mazda 323 - she had to be returned by the middle of september and the cubs' father was getting very stressed. He's a sagittarian and the thought of no transport makes him nervous. But as luck would have it, another friend of ours had a car that was surplus to their requirements. They agreed to sell her to us, and voila!
We took our first trip in the new car this morning, taking the cubs to school.
Nice car, big, well-mannered and friendly. I like her. :)

Monday, September 02, 2002

...as I sit here with my second glass of creamy, chocolately alcohol... (oops, sorry Niki and Pris, I hope you weren't expecting me not to drink it? I'll have some more in the next time you're here, promise!)

I feel the need for the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack, it's one of those things I've got on vinyl that I've been meaning to get a CD of. No spare cash this week, alas, maybe next week.

Lesson's I've learnt.

You know when you've got chicken breasts in the fridge and you know you should have cooked them the day before yesterday? They're probably still usable. If they had the skin on them, it was most likely the fat in that going off while the meat is still ok. Take the skin off, give the slabs 'o' meat a rinse in cold water, then have another sniff. If they're not too far gone, cook them very well, just in case, and if you're worried about the finnicky ones you're feeding going 'eeuuwww! there's something wrong with this chicken!', cook the chicken in a nice, pungent and spicy Roman sauce.
Bugger. I was going to include an authentic Roman recipe here, but my Roman cook books are still in boxes out in the garage. *sigh* I need a bigger house...

I wanted to put links on this blog, but it appears I've chosen ("in my innocence"? Joules?) the only template that doesn't have slots for them.
Typical.
Oh well, gives me an opportunity to play around with html...

My kitten's going in for de-sexing on wednesday. The cubs are sad, but they sort of understand the 'environmental responsibility' of it. Plus, it's starting to warm up here now, and soon we'll need to have the windows open. Tilda's not been allowed outside at all, (except for last saturday night where she Schroedinger'd herself through the door somehow) which is fine over winter, but come summer we need airflow in the house, and there's no screens on the windows anywhere. Better she was neutered than us being over-run with kittens... no matter how cute I'm sure they'd be.

One of the cubs had a nightmare last night and wanted to sleep with me. Fine, except I still hadn't cleared my bed, so at 1am there I was, shovelling a space out for myself next to my blissfully sleeping child. :) Maybe I should go clear the bed now?
Nah, lunch first...

Sunday, September 01, 2002

Am I the only one that can see Hiei and Kuwabara as a couple?
Not a very loving couple granted, but I'm sure the sex would be fabulous...

1st September and my supermarket has all sorts of xmas decorations on the shelves. I couldn't by any stretch of the imagination be called a christian but even I'm boggled at the rampant, cynical merchandising that goes along with the 'holiday season'.
However, having said that, I did buy something. 3 metres of hot pink, metalised plastic beads and un-clappered bells - 3 metres of pure class in my opinion......

BWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!!

Sorry, just couldn't keep a straight face while I was saying that. :)
The garland is now gracing the venetian blinds in my room.

Fathers' Day: I gave the father of my children a 'bi-polar robotic t-rex' (his words, not mine). One of those robo-chi pet things. Wanted to get him a t-rex for xmas last year but I wasn't quick enough, they'd all gone off the shelves by the time I got my finger out. Anyway, he seems to like it - the cubs *love* it, and it is sort of cute in a pretend robot way. The cubs gave him a small keyring torch and a retractable metal ruler with an attached level - always handy. I had to prise the gifts away from them so we could wrap them...

I think I've got the hang of drawing profiles now, though it's amazingly tricky trying to draw exactly the same nose and chin everytime. 3/4 views next, then maybe I'll stop procrastinating and get on with attempting to draw bodies.