Well well well, little Devon is happily fucking his way through a cast of minor characters. It's a joy to watch.
*grin* There'll be more from Joules being posted in Dystopia soon. (See, I told you she'd write more in my continuum, than I would! *smirk* Not that I'm complaining, nononono...)

(After Majin Vejiita blew a hole in Buu...)
Announcer: ...and Buu was looking to fill the hole with a Super Saiyan sandwhich!
*cough* Well - aren't we all? *smirk*
Hey!? Buu sounds like Elmo! I knew that muppet was evil...

Things I want at Chez Otter.

A fernery - in pots is fine.
A fish tank and/or a pond.
A bigger bedroom - I'm tired of always having the smallest room.
Bookcases - lots of bookcases, cos then I can make space in my garage.
A lockable garage.
A long, flat space - side of the house maybe - for a skittle lane.
A place to set up a dark-room.
Enough lawn to play a reasonable game of boules or croquet, but not so much I get depressed looking at how much has to be mown.
A room each for the cubs.
A computer chair that doesn't cut off the circulation in my legs.

Well this is annoying, can get into Keenspace again, but some of the comics haven't been updated for a week...
Hm, Megatokyo seems to be ok. Good.

... and thus it came to pass that the school year did begin; and the all parents joined hands in a circle of celebration in the schoolyard, and yea, did dance their joy...

Now, here's a surprise. *rolls eyes*


What Kanji word best suits you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Last day of the holidays.
The cubs and I picked up their book order this morning, then we went to the local shopping suburb for the last minute 'oh-shit-I-forgot-to-get*insert school related item here*. You could tell the mothers there with school-age children - apart from the children tagging along, of course - by a certain wildness about their eyes, and the manic grin that greeted the question/statement 'so the kids are going back to school tomorrow.' I saw my inner thoughts reflected in a lot of faces. : )

It's s'posed to be very hot again tomorrow. Fun fun fun - but the cubs are better of at school in the heat than at home, the school's got air-conditioning.

I'm looking forward to having time to myself again...

Hee, Onna, the Gundam Wing pic makes me giggle, it's so... Hitler Youth!

I re-took this quiz, just to see if anything's changed in the past few months... it hasn't. *smirk*





Are you a Seme or Uke?

Phwooar! Runaway is finished and approved! It makes me feel like a real grown-up writer having someone else play in my continuum, though Joules'll probly write more there than I will! Having said that, Safe from harm isn't far off being finished and the second part of Kitty is ready to be dealt with.
Gods I love Devon, he's almost as compelling as Hijau. Hmmm, they're both red-heads...

There is no point playing Hide'n'Seek with a cat around, they'll give your position away every time!

It's interesting, don't you think, that Majin Vejiita gets cuts up about Gohan copping it. Is it because he knows how the news will affect Goku? Or something a tinge more personal?
*dreamy sigh* You've got to love a noble Vejiita though... 'By the time you wake up, Kakarott, I will be gone but this planet will be safe.'
Waaah!! *sniff*

[smirks at exhausted, snoozing tenshi and shakes head] Tch', no stamina...

The ningen had a brainwave while reading the next bit of Safe from Harm, earlier today. She's very fond of her original character, Devon (so is tenshi. And Carol and Sue. And the Purgatory Geese. So am I - he's tasty...). She decided some time back he was too good a creation to just make an appearance in Purgatory, and wanted to use him somewhere else... Well, he fits easily into Lutra's Dystopia continuum (in the ningen's Darkside pages), so she's writing him into that worldframe, in an initial story called Runaway. It'll probably be finished tonight. If so, and if tenshi approves it, it'll be posted soon thereafter.

Heh, can't wait!

Oh yeah, happy Australia Day.

Rain. Finally. Not a lot - not nearly enough, but it's cooled everything down and it smells wunnerful!

Roast vegetables - an hour to cook, five minutes to eat. *pout*

Fingers crossed, it looks like the piggle who wasn't well yesterday is going to be fine. She's moving around easily and her coat's shiny again. Phew...

Whenever you like, tenshi. Before, after, during...

[*wide, blue eyes* I suppose the pink feather boa is for me? Lemon cheesecake? Mmmm... Before or after judicious application of the rose-scented massage oil? *smirk*]

I've done something that might get me lynched - or not, depends on some peoples moods...
Nope, no hints, you just have to wait and see. (Of course, now that I've drummed up this interest, people will look at it and go 'is that it??' *grin*)

Melbourne's just had the hottest day in 60 years, apparently. It got to 44 degrees today. Bloody awful. KittenKong spent the day as a furry puddle on the floor and the ambient temperature in the house meant everything metal was hot to the touch. Of course, using the computer was out of the question... Worst of all though was I lost 2 of my 4 guinea-pigs. : ( Poor little things. Almost lost a third, but I got her inside to the - relative - cool, and rehydrated and I think she's going to be OK; she was still eating and drinking and grooming herself, even though she was a touch wobbly on her feet. See how we go, it's not going to be as hot tomorrow. We've had days so far this summer that were very hot, but each time it's cooled down enough at night to sleep properly. It didn't last night - 5 hours of broken, sweating sleep. I feel so rested. Not.
But there's nothing like washing your face with a spider to wake you up!
Was just some hapless garden spider that got brought in with the washing I think, but wouldn't you know it, the one time I don't check the face-washer before using it... *grin*

OK, there was something else I was going to mention but buggered if I can remember it. Really should write things down when I think of them...

[folds arms across chest and looks around...] Hn. Distinct lack of pampering around here, tenshi. Perhaps they don't love us anymore...

[retrieves rose-scented massage oil, lemon cheesecake, chocolate fudge ice-cream and a pink feather boa from under the sleeping furs, smirking evilly] I suppose, aijin, in that case, we'll just have to pamper each other...

Sod this weather! Grrr.. hot, don't like hot. Makes us all cranky and snappy. And it's been so long since we've had any decent rain - even on cool days now you can feel the dryness everywhere. All of our grass has gone and a lot of the plants are on their way out. I get very cross with news readers etc when, during the cooler months and rain is forecast, they make comments about it 'ruining your weekend'. Idiots.
*sigh*

Ok, enough whining.

My follow up chapter to the Joint AC chapter is almost ready, so is Joules' I think, now I can concentrate on 'Safe' - planning on having that finished by the time the cubs go back to school (next wednesday? eep! Where have the holidays gone!).
And after years of avoiding Bubblegum Crisis 2040 cos of the fan-boys drooling unsubtly, I think I'm going to have to sit down and watch it with my new appreciation of anime. Is it me, or is there really not that many adultish animes centered around women?

Onna, I really liked the grape pic : ) Can I have a copy, please?

Mmmm.... Stone's green ginger wine and soda water drunk out of my favourite chunky blue glass goblet - the one I used to take with me to SCA (medieval recreationists) feasts. Very refreshing, and if I have enough of it might be an effective anaesthetic...

I've worked it out, all I need is $2000, then the cubs and I can move. It's not an unattainable amount, really, I can probably have it together before the end of the year. Mind you, that amount is only enough for bond and first month on a new place, plus moving costs, it doesn't include getting a car. But that's not a major hurdle, as long as we're not too far away from the cubs' school and close to public transport we can get everywhere we need to.

Oh goody, I think the wine's starting to work - time for another one!

Oh, Onna and Joules, I'm watching the creation of this new race, the Hyoujin, with fascination.
So much detail! Wow, dead impressed...



.

(nicked off Joules blog:)

And how could I make my patented Potato Soup without real potatoes!? [Cue quick recipe: saute peasant-chopped bacon, onion and garlic in large saucepan, add (instant) chicken stock, fill pan with peeled diced potatoes and sliced Cumberland sausage, season with freshly ground black pepper, ground nutmeg and fresh basil and top up with water, simmer gently until cooked and thick and smelling irresistible and serve with sliced hot crusty buttered baquette... minimal preparation, cooks itself unattended, and lasts about five minutes in this house if you're lucky, regardless how much I make...]

Oooh, Joules! Can I come round for dinner, pleeeeease!?

Joules and I have been furiously plotting and scheming like - like plotting and scheming things and we're knackered. We think we deserve a little bit of pampering... *looks around, pointedly* Well?
*grin*

I've just witnessed a very interesting life and death struggle between 2 spiders.
A little earlier I watched a white tail spider walk across the ceiling near the computer. They're nasty buggers and I was about to bestir myself to get a broom and deal with it, when I looked up again and found it had strayed too close to a daddy longlegs. It took the DDL about 3 minutes to subdue and wrap the white tail before settling down to a well-earned meal. :)
I like DDLs, they're my friends...

Knackered.
Took the cubs to the Museum today to see the 'Mars and Beyond' exhibition.
It was very cool and my little space cadets loved it!
They didn't pay that much attention to the actual exhibits, alas - I would have liked to linger over some of them, I mean there were things like Newton's actual telescope and old film footage of launches, and mini-docs on SETI, as well as rocket pieces and all sorts of wunnerful space crap! But there was a magic little CGI 3D film about flying to Mars and skimming over the planets surface and you know how much I love 'flying' shots. We saw that 3 times. ^.^
There was loads of activities for kids to do as well. The cubs made felt finger puppets of the solar system - if I can I'll scan them, they're great. They also put together small cardboard models of a volcano and decorated a cardboard box that sat over the top of an RC vehicle - to make it look a bit like the rover thing that got the pictures on Mars - which they then took turns at piloting around a 'martian' landscape. In the children's museum they played a while with the best set of Lego I've ever seen (big, softish rubber blocks, the largest slightly smaller than house bricks, I want some!)
And then there was the merchandising. Lots of interesting stuff both at the exhibit and at the regular Museum shop. The cubs chose a stretchy rubber alien each, and I got some postcards for them and their father. I was going to get myself a fishie wind-sock, but decided against it, couldn't really afford it. There were slidey pens available, but they were the most expensive ones I've ever seen and they only had images of Phar Lap (a racehorse - an aus legend *rolls eyes*) in them so I figured I could live without one for now.
Still want one of those wind-socks though... Or one of each, there were 3 designs... Maybe next time... :)

Here is Okapiprincess's contribution to the Cucumber list:

102 Cucumbers don't mind being sliced up and used to refresh your eyes and feet.

... and here's mine:

103 Cucumbers leave you smelling cucumbery fresh, not like day old bread and stale beer.

The joint AC chapter is finished. Gods that was difficult to write (more difficult for me I think cos I'm not an angst-bunny) but it lays the groundwork for a lot of future threads.

*folds arms across chest* Oh honestly...
I made myself a soupy stew thing for dinner today and I fried the onions in oil with a little curry powder. The way the cubs were carrying on, flopping about with their t-shirts over their noses because of 'the smell', you'd think I'd flooded the room with mustard gas! Geez...

Grrr. Cartoon Network isn't playing Hamtaro in order. And that theme song is a bit dodgy:
Do your very best,
Get a hundred on your test,
And all of your dreams will come true!

Because as we all know, true fulfilment can only be had through academic success. Hmmm....

Emode quiz..

Lutra, your true color is Blue!

You're blue — the most soothing shade of the spectrum. The color of a clear summer sky or a deep, reflective ocean, blue has traditionally symbolized trust, solitude, and loyalty. Most likely a thoughtful person who values spending some time on your own, you'd rather connect deeply with a few people than have a bunch of slight acquaintances. Luckily, making close friends isn't that hard, since people are naturally attracted to you — they're soothed by your calming presence. Cool and collected, you rarely overreact. Instead, you think things through before coming to a decision. That level-headed, thoughtful approach to life is patently blue — and patently you!

No. NO tutus. I don't care how much you like shiny-sparklies, I am not wearing a rhinestone studded tutu. Or any kind of tutu. Though I won't mind if you want to wear one...

[glower] Tell your neko she's in trouble...

Rex Dupain? King of the bread? Strange names the ningens have...

I am not happy with KittenKong.
She ate my flashing uke-bunny ears. I woke up this morning to puzzle over the little bits of down spread all over my bedroom... and then I noticed the sad remains of my bunny ears next to the boules set.
Hmmm. Maybe KK ate the ears because her feminist soul was offended by them - or maybe it was because they were made of maribou...

Niki has found me a lounge-suite! : ) This means I now have all the furniture I need (except for a fridge) when the cubs and I move.

I was having a look through some of my 'funnies' files and found these couple of gems.
The first is an actual description of an item I was sighing over on ebay...

The Shitajiki = Pencil Board of Japan.

The Shitajiki pencil board is the healthy plastic board that the animation image etc. of the popularity was printed.
The mania who is collecting the Shitajiki pencil board is throughout the world.

The child of Japan likes the Shitajiki pencil board that the animation image etc. of the popularity was printed very much.
The school children of Japan spreads the Shitajiki pencil board under the paper, to make completely flat description and use.
The Shitajiki mania of Japan is doing the shitajiki pencil board, that the animation image etc. of the popularity was printed the collection carefully.

As for the Shitajiki pencil board of Japan, there is a characteristic in the animation, color, gloss, beautiful image of the popularity.

... and speaking of Japanglish, in the Gravitation oav, when uke-boy has a funny turn at the empty night club and Hiro says 'oh no, he's going into a fantasy coma!' - does that mean the same thing as 'day-dream'?

Soulsis sent me this next one ages ago...

101 reasons women prefer cucumbers to men

1. The average cucumber is at least 6 inches long.
2. Cucumbers stay hard for a week.
3. Cucumbers won't tell you size doesn't count.
4. Cucumbers don't get too excited.
5. Cucumbers never suffer from performance anxiety.
6. Cucumbers are easy to pick up.
7. You can fondle a cucumber in a supermarket.... and you know how firm it is before you take it home.
8. Cucumbers can get away any weekend.
9. With a cucumber you can get a single room.... and you won't have to check-in as Mrs. Cucumber.
10. A cucumber will always respect you in the morning.
11. You can go to a movie with a cucumber.... and see the movie.
12. You can go to a drive-in with a cucumber.... and you can stay in the front seat.
13. With a cucumber you can always wait until you get home.
14. A cucumber won't eat all the popcorn.... or send you out for Milk Duds.
15. A cucumber won't drag you to a John Wayne Film Festival.
16. A cucumber won't ask: "Am I the first?".
17. A cucumber doesn't care if you're a virgin.
18. Cucumbers won't tell other cucumbers you're a virgin.
19. Cucumbers won't tell anyone you're not a virgin anymore.
20. With a cucumber you don't have to be a virgin more than once.
21. Cucumbers can handle rejection.
22. Cucumbers won't pout if you have a headache.
23. Cucumbers won't care what time of the month it is.
24. Cucumbers never want to get it on when your nails are wet.
25. Cucumbers won't give it up for Lent.
26. With a cucumber you never have to say you're sorry.
27. Afterwards, a cucumber won't:
...want to shake hands and be friends.
28. ...say, "I'll call you a cab".
29. ...tell you he's not the marrying kind.
30. ...tell you he is the marrying kind.
31. ...call his ex-wife or therapist.
32. ...take you to confession.
33. Cucumbers don't leave you wondering for a month.
34. Cucumbers won't make you go to the drugstore.
35. Cucumbers won't tell you a vasectomy will ruin it for them.
36. A cucumber a day keeps the OB-GYN away.
37. A cucumber won't work your crossword with ink.
38. A cucumber isn't allergic to your cat.
39. With a cucumber you don't have to play Florence Nightingale during the Flu season.
40. Cucumbers never answer your phone or borrow your car.
41. A cucumber won't eat all your food or drink all your liquor.
42. A cucumber doesn't turn your bathroom into a library.
43. A cucumber won't go through your medicine chest.
44. A cucumber doesn't use your toothbrush, roll-on, or hairspray.
45. Cucumbers won't leave hair on the sink or a ring in the tub.
46. Cucumbers won't write your name and number on the men's room wall.
47. Cucumbers don't have sex hangups.
48. Cucumbers won't make you wear kinky clothes or go to bed with your boots on.
49. Cucumbers aren't into rope & leather, talking dirty, or swinging with fruits & nuts.
50. You can have as many cucumbers as you can handle.
51. You can eat cucumbers when you feel like it.
52. Cucumbers never need a round of applause.
53. Cucumbers won't ask: "Am I the best? How was it? Did you come? How many times?"
54. Cucumbers aren't jealous of your Gynecologist, Ski Instructor, or Hair Dresser.
55. A cucumber won't want to join your sports group.
56. A cucumber never wants to improve your mind.
57. Cucumbers aren't into meaningful conversations.
58. Cucumbers won't ask about your Last Lover.... or speculate about your next one.
59. A cucumber will never make a scene because there are other cucumbers in the refrigerator.
60. A cucumber won't mind hiding in the refrigerator when your mother is over.
61. No matter how old you are, you can always get a fresh cucumber.
62. Cucumbers don't leave whisker burns, fall asleep on your chest, or drool on the pillow.
63. A cucumber won't give you a hickey.
64. Cucumbers can stay up ALL night.... and you won't have to sleep on the wet spot.
65. Cucumbers don't leave dirty shorts on the floor.
66. A cucumber never forgets to flush the toilet.
67. A cucumber doesn't flush the toilet while you are taking a shower.
68. With a cucumber, the toilet seat is always the way you left it.
69. Cucumbers don't compare you to a center fold.
70. Cucumbers don't count to 10.
71. Cucumbers don't tell you they liked you better with long hair.
72. A cucumber will never leave you ...
...for another woman.
73. ...for another man.
74. ...for another cucumber.
75. A cucumber will never call and say "I have to work late, Honey", and then come home smelling like another woman.
76. A cucumber never snaps your bra, pinches your butt, or gives you a snuggy. [what's a snuggy?]
77. You always know where a cucumber has been.
78. A cucumber never has to call "the wife".
79. Cucumbers never have mid-life crises.
80. A cucumber won't leave you for a cheerleader or an ex-nun.
81. Cucumbers don't play the guitar and try to find themselves.
82. You won't find out later that your cucumber ...
...is married.
83. ...is on penicillin.
84. ...likes you - but loves your brother.
85. A cucumber doesn't have softball practice on the day you move.
86. Cucumbers never tell you what they did on R&R.
87. A cucumber won't ask for a promotion just when you're up for a promotion.
88. Cucumbers don't care if you make more money than they do.
89. Cucumbers won't wear a leisure suit to your office Christmas party.
90. A cucumber won't leave town on New Year's Eve.
91. A cucumber won't take you to disco and dump you for a flashy outfit.
92. Cucumbers never want to take you home to mom.
93. A cucumber doesn't care if you always spent the holidays with your family.
94. A cucumber won't ask to be put through Med School.
95. A cucumber won't tell you he's outgrown you intellectually.
96. Cucumbers never expect you to have little cucumbers.
97. Cucumbers don't say "Let's keep trying until we have a boy".
98. A cucumber won't insist the little cukes be raised Catholic, Jewish, or Orthodox Vegetarian.
99. It's easy to drop a cucumber.
100. A cucumber will never contest a divorce, demand a property settlement, or seek custody of anything.
101. No matter how you slice it, you can have your cuke and eat it too.

(hey, look what I learnt to do!)
[No tutus? *pout* But I've got a turqouise one that won't clash with your colouring... *wheedling* It's got rhinestones on it...]

Soulsis and I went out this afternoon. We went to Borders a book barn that has a cafe where you can take the books to read.
While I was scoffing my dried tomato, pesto and chives muffin and sipping my mocha latte, I browsed through a Rex Dupain book. I love looking at books on photography, makes me wistful to have a camera again, and a darkroom. Maybe my next house (tentatively pre-named 'Chez Otter' remember?) will have a space I can use as a darkroom...
The next book I picked up was one of Jamie Oliver's (you know, 'the naked chef'; though that's a misnomer if ever I saw one) cookbooks. Mmmm, lovely recipes... It was half-way through that book that Soulsis and I decided it was time to get something to eat.
We wandered around the - one of three - food-courts in the shopping centre, spoilt for choice as to what to eat, eventually choosing a little japanese restaurant. I had vegetarian tempura and soulsis had a big serve of meat. Nummy.
Then we met up with Niki and the three of us went to see The Two Towers.
This sequel was as good for a laugh as the original. But you can keep your poncy elves, some o' them burly Horse Lords will do me - just give them a bath and brush their hair. As soulsis put it: 'Bathe that one and bring him to my tent...' *grin* I like the Horse Lords as a people but then they're based on Saxons and the white horse as a symbol has always tugged at my soul. I was blissing out on the 'landscape' shots, lots and lots of mountain scenes, I love mountains - and I could see myself being quite happy living with the Ents.

Have I told you how much I despise elves?

These came from Okapiprincess's journal...

Hee, it's purple!

This is my little bit of the Mandelbrot set. I got it from the mandelbit generator. You can get one there too.

... and then not actually knowing what 'Mandelbrot set' was - and being terminally curious - I found this website.


I wanted to get the 'Hindi Wedding' costume...



Which Moulin Rouge Satine costume are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

[thoroughly evil smirk] Ah, you noticed...

[How? How can I embarrass you? *grins* You have no shame!]

[smirk].... OK.... [licks lips] There's something very cute about a squirming (with embarrassment) tenshi.... How's about we use Ghryff as a screen? I feel like showing off, he breathes towards the lemon tree: you want to do something embarrassing to me [grits teeth... no tutus, nono], we have him plonk himself between us and the tree?

[SULK]

[*squirmblush* meeep!
*strangled voice* 'lestrel! We've had this talk before about privacy...]

[pout] Hn. [brightens a little] Heh, perhaps I could prune a few branches so they'd have a clearer view. [smirk] And arrange for Ghryff to beathe gently in the direction of the lemon tree, he's better than the wind on a good night... [twinkles evilly at tenshi] After all, it's our duty to share knowledge - and expertise - with others, isn't it...?

(nicked from Talon's blog - Onna speaking:)

Yep, the view IS pretty up here in the lemon tree and no, we cannot see the bower from here because of both distance and the foliage blocking the view at that angle. It does not mean we cannot hear certain sounds if the wind is blowing just right and the pitches are within our hearing range. We just crank up the anime when that happens.
*smirks*

[Oh... *faint blush* Maybe we could buy you some earphones...?]

Hee, soulsis bought me a Cernunnos pendant! : )
And soulsis and Niki and I had our regular girly night tonight (though possibly the last for an unknown amount of time cos my brother is sodding off up to Queensland so soulsis won't be able to have her fortnightly weekends off). We went to a small, cheap but good quality Vietnamese cafe that is kinda sorta a regular haunt. I had rice paper wraps with shredded pork (my favourite thing, I always have that) and vermicelli with grilled beef rolls, which were more like spiced mince sausages but still nummy. : )
Then we went back to Niki's place for cheesecake and a movie - Much ado about nothing.
I know I'm awfully cynical about relationships at the moment but was Shakespeare always such a sap?

The joint chapter is almost done. *sniffle* Feeling very sooky - the fluffy bunny is rattling the bars of her cage in agitation...

So, tell me about Cowboy BeBop. Cartoon network will be playing it in Febuary. Worth watching?

Soulsis and chicks came round today for a loverly surprise visit. She was bemoaning to me that she'd been up til 5am reading the Chronicles! Heh, like that's my fault? *smirk*
We herded all the brats up to the local shops to go and get some lunch and at one stage the boys amused themselves by having a look into a hair-dressers window... I'm sure it was very disconcerting for the women in there to suddenly find themselves being peered at by 4 little boys, all in a row, with their faces pressed up against the glass...
Then we all went off to an op shop and I got a really nice glass bowl and a bunch of pretend tulips made of purple silk...

Heh, when Babidi possesed Vejiita not only did he tattoo a funky 'M' on his forehead, he gave him some killer eye-liner...

Not enough sex though.
What there was was... gggnnnnhhh! *sounds of biting knuckles* but there wasn't enough.
Uh-oh, this may take some time... *drifts off into pleasant little fantasy centred around Iason's eyes...*

Goddamit, that single solitary romantic bone is giving me hell!!

[cuddles soggy tenshi, handing over handfuls of tissues...] Yep. Same reaction as the ningen...

AnK.
[*gratefully accepts box of tissues then cuddles into hybrid, bawling my eyes out...*]

(nicked from Talon's blog:)

{caught in Lutra's Pond}

//[smirk]//
Tell me...why does this simple little...facial gesture make my spine go all cold?

[Um, guilty conscience? ^-^ And you never answered my question about just how good a view of the bower do you have from the lemon tree? (All right, you were sick at the time I asked it, but it's sort of an ... important question. :) ]

(...and nicked from Onna's blog:)

Okay, first Lutra needing fanning, Alestrel is a puddle of goo and now Talon needs to be re-animated from the dead.
Why is this sounding more and more like a D&D adventure?

Interesting party dynamics there'd be in that group!
Heh, is 'fan' a cantrip? Sounds like it should be. Could do with a few dozen 'clean' cantrips though...

Hee hee hee. Soulsis has joined The Zone and started reading the Alliance Chronicles.
In her words - 'I'm hooked!' *smirk*

The joint chapter is coming along nicely, but honestly these Saiya-jin are so melodramatic!

[smirk]

*grumble*
Haven't seen pt 2 of AnK... yet. *growling* I like to view my smut in private, which is hard to find at the moment...
I did however, get to see the Grav OAV (what does that stand for, btw?) and that was very sweet, especially the very last scene (sook sook). It's frustrating, but the second disc of Grav - eps 8 -13 - will not run on my machine. *pout* Going to have to install Divx on this machine and try it here...

The joint AC chapter is under way. It's fun working like this! Very immediate. : )

[*snuggles hybrid* I love it when you go all seme on me...]

[prepares buckets - for the drooling into - and piles of sleeping furs - for the swooning onto - and (glancing around to check no-one's watching) secretes a box of tissues near at hand under the petals... Glares briefly at neko-jin before deciding a brush of tail over ankle doesn't constitute trespass, then settles down to see if tenshi's reaction to AnK part 2 is the same as the ningen's...]

...holey moley... *swallows*
I've finally got to see AnK, the first ep at least. Having a definite uke moment over Iason...
Nice (timely) grabbie, btw, Onna :), and Joules, Lull was just perfect...

In the material shop today, while buying cotton tape to finish off the cubs aprons, the little lights of my life discovered a biiiig display of scented bath-bombs. They sniffed all of the types available and decided which ones they liked, so I got them one each. One of the cubs had a bath tonight and was delighted with the fizzing purple water and how smooth his skin felt... ^-^

What's Your Monster Match?

Lutra, there's a Mummy lurking inside of you!

You've been dead for 3000 years, but you are still the life of the party because your monster match is the mummy. Has anyone ever told you that you look sharp in linen, and white is definitely your color? From head to toe, you are the best dressed of the zombie clan. You throw the best parties this side of the Nile, whether you rented out a suite at the Luxor or you're just chilling in your tomb, you know how to unwind and have a good time.

You put the "Rahhh" back in Rock and Roll and forget hip-hop, you're the original wrap artist. But mummies, you may need to get outside more. You could use some sun and that sarcophagus is starting get a little stuffy. Go for a walk (like an Egyptian) or maybe even a jog. It's important to have an outlet so life's details don't bury you alive.

[*scowls at the intrusive neko and Saiyan* Shoo, get away from there! How can she write with you lot piled in her lap?]

... 'bookworm' hamster - Maxwell; 'baby' hamster - Cappy; 'handy' hamster - Panda; 'gypsy' hamster - Jingle; 'gymnastic' hamster - Snappy...

Gods I'm bored.
It's not that I don't have anything to do, oh dear me no, it's just that with one or two exceptions, everything I can do is of no interest to me at all. I wouldn't be bored if I could sit down and write, but I can't do that cos the cubs are home and I'm 'on call' to their demands 24/7. Don't get me wrong, I love my boys and it's wonderful that they like to be close to me but for my sanity/equilibrium I need solitude every now and again.
And it's hot, and the hotter it gets the less likely I am to tolerate life's little mishaps.
'Only boring people get bored.'
Whoever dropped that pearl of wisdom (I suspect it was a nun) can go screw themselves.

On the plus side, I did manage to get a wee bit more of 'Safe' done, and I almost finished the cubs' aprons (for their restaurant, Toby's, remember) and I was allowed to sit down and watch what I wanted - eps 3 & 4 of the BBC's 'Elizabeth R' (thanks, Okapiprincess :) - while I pinned, then hand-hemmed the equivalent of 2 1/2 metres of chocolate brown cloth. Good job I enjoy hand-sewing, eh? Yes, I could've used my sewing machine, but it's a hassle setting it up and it's technology after all... a needle and thread is so much simpler. (Tch, reminds me, I need to go to Niki's and hijack her rotary cutter so I can cut some more pieces for my quilt.)

Oh, and it looks like the cubs will eat baked beans again. This is good, that means there's something to take the place of omelettes - now deleted - on the (very short) list of things they'll eat...

Hn, it's sposed to be hot again tomorrow, then cooler for the next couple of days. I'll have to take the cubs out somewhere then or cabin fever will set in with a vengeance...

Mmmm.... Hornblower.. such an evocative name, don't you think?

2 days ago I was in the supermarket and there was easter eggs and hot cross buns for sale...

[growling, trying hard to peer at the screen through spikes of mane and waving neko and Saiyan tails...] Heh, how is the ningen supposed to type with a lapful of danglemates?

This made me giggle. Got it from Okapiprinces.. kinda sorta, it was a link on another page she sent me.

Congratulations on getting a new mattress, Joules, but please don't fall out of bed and give yourself concussion, you've got work to do!
Interesting that you should talk about colours too, cos only yesterday I was looking - with some amazement - at the amount of pink I've got lurking about, and reviewing my choice of colours throughout my life. I remember really liking mauve when I was younger, and blue, but not green cos both my primary and secondary school uniforms were green so that ruled that out as a recreational colour. When I left school I did black/grey for almost a year with little forays into pink accents - well, it was the eighties after all - eventually sequeing [sic] into teals and purples and electric blues as well as black. After the cubs were born I went very dark and dowdy in my colours, sort of an attempt to not draw attention to myself, I think, but I got better after a couple of years and started using brighter colours again, greens and purples primarily. The pink thing only really started a year or so ago, much to my surprise, and started with the PowerPuff Girls. I'd always viewed pink with deep suspicion seeing it as unbearably wussy and girly, but I like pink now, strong pinks anyway, still not keen on pastels (of any description, unless they're used imaginatively/quirkily like the flashing uke bunny ears) and I just can't come at blue anymore, with exceptions for a couple of shades of it, it feels like such a weak colour. Odd, eh? Blue is obviously not a colour I need right now...

Just keep those lollies coming, Onna, they're much appreciated. : )

And Soulsis got Gohan as her quiz result I see. Hee hee hee - see, still related, even in quizzes. (ok, soulsis, seeing as you don't watch DBZ... Gohan and Goten are brothers, 'k?)

Weee! Another page written for the new fic (tentatively titled Safe from Harm) and the first bit of the joint AC chapter done. Mind you, I barely had any contact with the cubs today... There has to be a happy medium between time with the cubs and writing, ne?

Did you know in England you need a license to keep a lunatic?
Wonder which department you have to apply to?
(Thank you, soulsis)

Pssst! Onna! Just thought you'd like to know that one of the postcards you sent me has inspired a fic. I'll get on with that now that my next AC chapter is more or less done. With luck (and the cubs giving me some time to myself) I'll be able to finish the new fic soon, then Joules and I can get on with the joint AC chapter. I have to finish something before I start something else because, unlike some talented people *looks in Joules direction* I can't multi-fic...

Weee! Got the shell-shaped cookie cutter now (from the chocolate biscuit kit) only the fish and star-fish to go!

The cubs and I went to Scienceworks today. It was fun, if tiring, and pretty cheap as a Museum Member - it was only $15, instead of $50, for the 3 of us to get into Scienceworks, Planetarium and Body Odyssey (special exhibition about the human body, the cubs love it, we've been twice and they went again with the school). Surprisingly, I bumped into my brother and Kirsty, his partner. They were there with the chicks and Kirsty's aunt and her kids. Not that we spent much time with them, the cubs had their own agenda...
We even had a little money to spend in the gift shop today, the cubs got a soft toy 'Tycho' (the dog who stars in the Planetarium's kids show) and I got a slidey pen! Yay! This one is pink and it's got the space shuttle moving back and forth from the earth. :)
Next week I'll take the cubs to the Museum to see the Mars exhibition, and probably the 3D 'Santa versus the Snowman' movie at Imax cinemas.

Tch, shows you how much attention I pay to things. I noticed yesterday that I'm included in Onnna's list of 'thank yous' on her blog. Joules said I'd been there for a while...
Oh, and I loved this, Onna!

Heh, guess what - not Goku! But...

[Lying on stomach on the grass, tail lashing, pounding ground with fist, choking with laughter] ningen and tenshi as elves! Ye gods what a thought... what an image... what a comic...

Happy birthday, Onna!

Possums in the kitchen, soulsis? Oh dear. I'm glad you managed to catch it before it got into a cupboard full of clothes. Kittenkong brought in her first mouse the other day (alive). I had to catch it and put it back outside, I did not want a live mouse loose in the cubs room.

Tch. Oh please.
Chaotic good - yes, Bard - acceptable if story-telling is included in that but an elf?? I don't think so...



Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.


Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.


Primary Class:
Bards are the entertainers. They sing, dance, and play instruments to make other people happy, and, frequently, make money. They also tend to dabble in magic a bit.


Secondary Class:
Mages harness the magical energies for their own use. Spells, spell books, and long hours in the library are their loves. While often not physically strong, their mental talents can make up for this.


Deity:
Hanali Cenanil is the Chaotic Good elven goddess of love, beauty, and art. She is also known as the Heart of Gold and Lady Goldheart. Her followers delight in creation and youth, and work to spread happiness, love, and beauty. Their preferred weapon is the dagger.


Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail)




Hee, Malkavian eh? *manic laugh* Though I'd rather be Garou than Vampire any day...




Your clan is a dysfunctional one. That is because you are a Malkavian. Something is poisonous about this clan's blood that drives all those embraced to madness. However, in this madness, you tend to have great insight. Unfortunately, people just take it as senseless ramblings. In every family there is an insane one. You're it.

What Vampire Clan Do You Belong To?

Test Created By

The cubs and I are off to Scienceworks tomorrow, all part of the 'keep the cubs amused' plan...

I had to do this, it's a pisces thing...

Which toe are you? o_O~?

Err... OK...

You are NORMAL! You're what some people call an "all-rounder". On the surface, there's nothing all that special about you, but once people get to know your unique personality, they are charmed by your charismatic ways.

What Kind Of Pokémon Are You?

[watches, grinning, as ningen stalks off, trailing glitter and grumbling about how long it'll take to get out of her mane] Heh, grumpy thing... She hates being called cute almost as much as I do. [smirk] But don't worry, she appreciates the compliments really (I'll make sure she does). She'll be OK after after a shower and a bowl of prawn flavoured ramen... not at the same time, I hasten to add...

[*peering under desk* She's so cute when she does that...]

(nicked from Onna's blog:)
//Fan Girl here, too!
Yes, Lutra, I am definitely a Joules fangirl too! Now, can we pull her out from under the bed, dust her off and shower her with pink and purple glitter while dancing around her and singing off-key? Talon and Dasia can lob green and blue glitter at her too!//

Oooh, pretty! And I can do off-key, no problem there...

//While watching the anime I kept wanting to slap the cig out of Eiri's hand and give him a lecture about his lungs.//

*nodding* I had the same reaction. Lucky he's just a cartoon character then, eh?

The cubs bounced into my room this morning with a parcel for me!
*squealGLOMPS* Oooh, Onna! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!
The cubs 'helped' me sample the strawberry pocky (YUM!) and the lemony goodness (the looks on their faces were a picture when they tried the sour lemon lollies). I love the little fishie rice bowl and the chopsticks are so pretty! My fav of the yaoi postcards is on display next to my bed (surprisingly, it's not the one with the handcuffs, that's my second fav) right next to the gorgeous brass tag embossed with the stag (and I was looking for a 'horned-god' symbol *grin*).
Oh, and the ribbons were beautifully curled, very professional looking...

[frowns, peers under the desk, growling] Come out, baka ningen. You have to learn to accept compliments. Just smile and say thank you....

I can proudly say I'm a Joules Taylor fan-girl.
Joules let me read some more of her original fiction and before I was a third of the way through I realised I wanted to play in this universe too. Joules writes with a gorgeous sensuality that I find completely addictive; her characters - nice or nasty, damaged or whole - are immediately compelling to me, and her worlds, dark and dangerous as they can be, live and breath. They're alive and I want to be there!
I've learnt so much from working with Joules, including belief in myself, and occasionally now in my own writing I catch a flash of the sparkle that pervades her work. Yes!!
Got a ways to go yet before I could dare to call myself an equal, but hey, I've only been writing for a couple of years whereas Joules has been writing all her life! So for the time being I'll content myself with learning at her feet, making her nervous with my adoring gaze... heh heh heh.

The cubs and I used the chocolate cookie kit today. I managed to get 2 seahorse shapes done before being ordered to use my 'tiny teddy' cutter instead - the cubs thought it looked like a hamster. So the biscuits were cut, cooked, decorated and eaten (all of them except the four I managed to save for their father) within an hour. Needless to say, the cubs didn't want lunch...

Speaking of hamsters - the cubs and I watched the second episode of Hamtaro today. I think the the makers of Hamtaro have just taken the Smurfs and put them in fur coats, the difference being that so far (we haven't met everybody yet) there's 3
female characters - Bijou, Hashmeena and Penelope - rather than just 1. You see, we've got 'brainy' hamster - Dexter, 'clumsy' hamster - Oxnard, 'sleepy' hamster - Snoozer, 'bossy' hamster - Boss, and, um, 'yeehaw' hamster - Howdy. Hamtaro, being the star of the show doesn't fit in to the 'Smurf' mold, but then he's a lot like Pikachu.
Omigod! I know their names, I know their names!
Ack! It took me longer than this to get the main DBZ characters down!
I am not going to fall under the evil spell of the ham-hams!! *pant pant pant* I'm not!

'Lutra's lollies'.. Mmmm... sweet and suckable... *smirk*

Oh I give up.
No matter what sort of DBZ quiz it is, I always get Goku as my result! *pout* (However.. the description is reasonably accurate...)

Ah, the basic. You're simple, but you have unlimited potential. You get along with everyone, but only few can bring out the very best in you.
Which DBZ Attack Are You?

Nice grabbies, Onna! *fans self* I have, of course, nicked them.
'Lutra's Lollies', eh? I like that...

The cubs and I sat down to watch the premier of Hamtaro on Cartoon Network today.
It's an anime about hamsters.
Riiiight...

Oh, oh oh! Niki gave me my xmas present today, a set of coloured boules!
Cool! Now that'll get me outside in the fresh air. : )
And soulsis gave the cubs and I a DIY chocolate cookie kit which has pre-rolled sheets of chocolate cookie dough, a tube of icing and a sea-theme cookie cutter! We - I, rather; I'm claiming the biscuit cutter - got a sea-horse shape cutter in this pack, and I noticed there was also a fish, a shell and a star-fish shaped cutter in the set. I can envision lots of these cookie kits coming into the house over the next few weeks until I have the complete set... : )

The cubs have decided they're going to open a restaurant when they grow up - not surprising, they're cancerians after all. (Well, one of them has decided this, the other thinks it's a great idea, however, and is happily going along for the ride.) The establishment is/will be called 'Tobys' (from Thomas the Tank Engine) and tomorrow we're going to experiment making 'aussie-oz's' - sweet buns in the shape of a sun-hat (his idea entirely), and on monday we're going shopping for the material to make them the 'store' aprons - we'll stencil 'Tobys' on them later. Fun, eh?
I love my cubs' imaginations...

KittenKong and I have a ritual. After I've hung the washing out, she hops into the laundry basket, purring loudly - her, not the basket - and I carry her inside. Sometimes she hangs around looking cute, waiting until the basket is empty, but today I started to head back inside before she'd gotten into the basket (well, she wasn't around while I was hanging the washing out and while I'm completely wet where my kitten is concerned I wasn't going to hang around waiting for her to show up) so she suddenly appeared, trotting after me, purring extra loudly, making sure I noticed her so I could put the basket down for her to get in to. ^~^

Just keep those Gravitation screenshots coming please, Onna! Close-ups of Yuki (those eyes, those eyes) always appreciated. *grin* Oh, and Hiro, of course.. and K.... I don't spose any of them get naked in the series do they?

I would really like about 3 hours of complete solitude so I can finish my next AC chapter. Make that 4 hours. Wonder if I can persuade the cubs' father to take them somewhere for an afternoon...?

Freud was a dickhead...

The Freud Test

Lutra, Freud would say your strongest unconscious conflict stems from events that happened when you were a Toddler.

He would also conclude that relative to others, your personality today is moderately affected by the events of your childhood. It appears that your biggest unconscious conflict that still afflicts you stems from what Freud defined as the anal stage of development that occurred when you were between a year and a half and three years old. Freud would say that this conflict can manifest in your personality by giving you a tendency to be especially orderly or clean, or "retentive." You may also harbor a strong rebellious streak. This normally happens when parents toilet-train a child on some kind of schedule, rather than at the child's natural pace and the child naturally reacts by struggling for their autonomy and the legitimacy of their needs.


*rude noise*
I would like for things to be orderly and clean, but as for being 'retentive'? Hmmm. A 'rebellious streak'? Yeah, I guess so, but it's kept firmly under wraps most of the time seeing as I have a tendency to cock things up majorly for myself when I 'rebel'. *rolls eyes*

[thank you for trying to fix the time thing anyway, sinam *nuzzles*]

Oooh, nice pic of Yuki thanks, Onna - I went a little squidgy at that bit of the story... Got any more grabbies from Gravitation, by the way? *Lutra rapidly assuming the status of fangirl *rolls eyes*.

The idea today was to swap my bedroom furniture around, but first I had to tidy up so there wouldn't be great piles of stuff on the floor to move the furniture around. So that's what I did today, all day. 3 bags of rubbish, a couple of bags of miscellania to go to the 2nd hand shops and 2 boxes of books put out in the garage (I found room), plus turfing the cubs crap back into their own room. But progress was made and I should be able to shift the furniture around now without too much hassle.
Didn't get any writing done though, which is annoying cos there's stuff itching at my fingertips... Soon, precious, soon...

I'm rather annoyed with my inner brat (the bit of myself that stopped growing emotionally at 12 years old), she's having a case of extreme sour grapes at the moment. Won't go into the boring details, suffice to say it's about a relationship (aren't all the best sulky pouts about relationships?) I had to speak to her sternly last night about bloody getting over it and getting on with things, whereupon she cracked the sads and cried herself to sleep. Sheesh, kids...

You know, Joules, your desk looks similar to mine, though mine has a distinct purple/pink tinge to it...

[GLOMP] Happy 2003, zk'vissin!!

And to the Okapi, the danglemates, and various dragons, kits, koi and other denizens of the Pond...

AKEMASHITE OMEDETOU!

I tried to correct your time, tenshi, but it was having none of it...

(Tch... it was after midnight here when I posted that last message, even though it says it wasn't.)

Are there any mp3's out there from the Gravitation soundtrack, or better yet the cd?

Happy New Year!
How has 2002 rated for me?
Absolutely flipping fantastic in some respects, less so in others. Artistically/creatively it's been an eye-opener (hey, guess what? I can write fast and in volume reasonably well!), but emotionally it's been very up and down. It would have been a lot more down if I wasn't writing, I know that for sure.
Speaking of volume... I tallied up what I've produced this year - cos I'm obsessive like that.
33 chapters of AC and 2 side stories ('Catch of the Day' & 'Captive');
2 other short stories ('Kitty' & 'Wish fulfilment');
3 parts of the Silk & Leather series;
and 2 other short stories for the Prosfanfic list (I checked, 'Knife' was written in early 2002) - 3 pieces if you include the page I did for the tag story.
That lot is certainly an improvement on the half-dozen or so (if that) things I did in 2001. *smug smirk* I'm kinda proud of myself...
(I don't want to hazard a guess at how much Joules has done though, and at this point I have to say I couldn't have done a fraction of my lot without her help/advice/gentle hints/outright thwaps. *sooky grin* Thanks, sinam!)

Do I have any New Year's resolutions? Does the Pope shit in the woods?
Of course I have resolutions, the primary one to be kinder to myself, to try and remember to pamper myself occasionally cos I deserve it. Oh and to spend more fun time with the cubs, not stress over things I have no control over and have a good think about ways to financial independence so the cubs and I can move...

Yay! I can put up the new calenders now!