<deep breath> Right, that's the songfic finished. What shall I do next? (She says carefully avoiding looking at 'Dancing') No, I'll get back to that next week, promise, see if I can get something else finished over the weekend.

Joules has finished her Dystopia PWP (mmrowrr!) and started on the
next instalment of 'l/L. : )

The cubs and I are going to their cousins' birthday party today. Should be fun even though it's very hot and we'll probly be stiff from the sheer amount of sunscreen we'll be slathered in. <g>

Woohoo! All being well I'll be nipping over to Adelaide (by train, hee!) for a few days during the summer holidays. Looking forward to it - always fun spending time with Alarice and Pete.

Feeling kind of manic... Maybe it's the chocolate I just ate?

Greenpeace has released the 2^nd of their 'True Food guide', which is a list of food companies that do - and more importantly - don't use genetically modified produce. You can get a copy of the guide here.
I feel very strongly about such things, it's bad enough we're cheerfully poisoning our air, water and land but to tamper with the food this way as well? <growling> The arrogance of the human race is beyond belief, thinking we can change things around willy-nilly to 'make things easier' (or make more money) and not bother about the consequences...? You can not tweak one string of the web we're part of without it affecting the rest of it. Just because the initial experiments in gene modification haven't exploded in anyones faces doesn't mean it's safe...

<settling ruffled feathers> moving right along...

I suspect my cat is an idiot.
When she brings her catches inside and I rescue them, even if she sees me putting the container down over the hapless creature it suddenly disappears and she has to go looking for it!

Had a very interesting dream this morning. In it I had a dress belonging to Okapiprincess' son (no, I don't know why). It was a very lovely dress and I thought I should return it to him. Trouble was he and his father were out on a boat somewhere with some other people. I had to radio the boat to let them know I had the dress but the line/connection (whatever radios have) was bad and Mr W (Okapi's partner) just couldn't understand what I was saying...
In the second part, after Okapi and I had travelled to meet the boat, someone I know (but can't remember now) pulled out a beautiful gem they'd 'borrowed' from the British royal family. It was spherical and held somehow between flattened rings of silver. It was like a maginifying glass but the clarity was such that when I looked through it I could just make out the Eiffel Tower - not bad considering I was in Australia at the time...

<whispering> Joules has written a short PWP - the Dikdikfic - that she's a bit embarrased about. I don't know why she's embarrased, I think it's as phwoaar! as any of her other delicious lemons. Maybe because it's based on characters from a cartoon that has a lot of fart jokes? <bg>

I obviously had a brain spasm the other day - I've found unpaid household bills and the cubs' booklists in the recycling.

<rolls eyes> All this Dikdik talk has inadvertantly spawned another ficlet, which might possibly be part of something larger.
I really should finish 'Dancing' first though - I'll add the new one to the list.

Ah yes, remembered something else I was going to say about Thomas et al in the last post.
Why would Sir Topham Hat order an engine to go and pick up a load of garden gnomes from an abandoned quarry, in the middle of the night? Eh? Is this some sort of dodgy deal our Honorable Fat Controller's got involved in? Wouldn't the local constabulary think it a bit suss if a shipment of garden gnomes goes astray then suddenly Lower Tidmouth station is festooned with cheery little red-cheeked figurines?
Honestly, the Island of Sodor is a hot-bed of crinimal activity!
(No, I'm not writing any of it : )

Well that was a particularly uninspiring cup of tea.
Got a free sample teabag of 'everyday tea with a little extra' - in this case ginseng and peppermint. Hn. It was a Tetley's product for a start and their tea is frankly awful, the additions didn't help. No thanks, I'll stick to my lovely, fragrant Earth's Harvest organic earl grey and ceylon.

Splitlipboy - as Okapi has dubbed my poor cub - is home today. He slept for 12 hours solid last night and wasn't feeling very bright this morning. His lip was really sore as well so I said he could stay home from school. (Though he had to come into the library with me this morning for a little while, which was fine he sat and read for a couple of hours without a murmur.) He's terribly embarrased too, poor thing, cos everyone wants to see the stitches. <g>

As a writer I have to say that the storylines in Thomas the Tank Engine suck. Illogical, inconsitent and defying even my healthy suspension of disbelief. It's astonishing how many tales there are of someone being told off for something they didn't do or that couldn't possibly be their fault but they meekly accept the drubbing! Aaaaarrrgh! <frothing> The injustice of the Fat Controller's Victorian method of governing makes me so cross! >: I

(nicked from the Meeces' Hole:)

Netted in the pond

She read that comment as "I dont want a calendar of erotic chickens, do I?"

LOL! So did I!

Tch, you lot... one-track minds... : )

<rolling around laughing>
Thank you, onna! That gif's so funny! I like what comes out of your brain when you're tired... <bg> (About the gif though - there's a bit of language in it. If you're bothered by such things don't look too closely... : ) But I still love it, so there!)
Ouch, Talon, that toe of yours looks sore!

I got a call from the school today, one of my cubs had fallen over and split his lip open. I had to take him to the doctor. Poor baby, 2 stitches - but he was very brave.
I wasn't though, I displayed an intense interest in a poster on the wall while he was being stitched. It wasn't so much the sight of the wound that bothered me but the sound the needle made when it punched through his skin. <shudder>
All being well the stitches will come out on monday. Heh, better make sure I write that appointment down somewhere cos I will forget.

After going to the doctors, my cub and I popped into an op-shop and had a browse. I found a pretty green sarong for $2 and a chicken thing. I thought it was a salt shaker at first but there were no little holes, just one big one on it's tail. I concluded it must be some sort of toothpick holder... (And I'm going to keep an eye on that chicken calendar - if it comes down in price then I might get it. Maybe. Unless I come to my senses in the meantime.)

I'm really not in a 'Dancing' kind of mood - looks like it's more Dystopia then. : )

Gah! Why are lemons so hard to write?
Anyway, my Dystopia PWP is finished and will be posted soon. It's sheer fluff, I have to say, written purely for my own stim entertainment. <g>
Joules has finished her Ulysses 31 ficlet (very different, left me thinking - I'm sure that's a good thing : ). That's posted now in the League of Lesser-known Bishies at The Zone - and she's started her own, wriggle-worthy (I'm quoting : ) Dystopia PWP.
I love the way Joules can effortlessly pick up my characters and translate them to her own work. I sometimes feel a little clumsy in comparison, I admit, but then, looking at it all objectively, Joules and I have very different writing styles. Not so dissimilar we can't mesh easily, but still noticeably mine and hers...

<blinks> Okapiprincess has just told me it's been twelve years (and 2 days) since Freddy Mercury died!
Where does the time go?

(I don't want a calendar of exotic chickens, do I? Be better to stick to the Sports Illustrated, right?)

It was the cubs' father's birthday yesterday. We took him out for dinner the night before, and the cubs made him birthday cards to go with the I, Claudius DVD's I got him. (And for the record, I got those because I know he wanted them, not cos I wanted them!)
I think I'd like to go to a restaurant again for my birthday next year. I like restaurants, not much of a 'party' person...

I need to get a children's dictionary for the cubs. There's been quite a lot of 'look this word up in the dictionary' questions on homework recently and my 1975 Oxford Conscise is pretty hopeless when it comes to child-friendly explanations. Oh dear, <hand to forehead> this means I'll have to go looking in bookshops! Such a trial...

The toe-ring is lovely soulsis, glittering away greenly down there. It's not uncomfortable or anything, I've been wearing it all day and hardly noticed it.
And I forgot to mention the purple xmas-tree decorations you gave me yesterday as well! Good choice, I seem to be collecting purple ornaments this year...

Hee, Nijii (the rainbow bishie) is starring in a PWP with 'ju and 'kami. Which is cool but sometimes I think I should be getting on with finishing things I've already started rather than diving into new.
Eh, what the heck, I need variety or I get bored. : )

I don't normally pay any attention to sport but in this case:
Congratulations England, on the rugby, and well done Wallabies, it was a good fight and honourably lost.
What's especially good about all this is that Australia isn't being sledged by their own for losing, something that unfortunately happens far too often, but I guess we at least beat New Zealand so losing to England is forgivable. <g>

Plans for this week? Finish that sodding 'Dancing' chapter; finish the PWP and the songfic.
There, that oughta keep me occupied.

Tired. Patchy night's sleep and having to get up week-day early to pick the cubs up from their sleep-over.
They had fun, I think, going by the details I managed to winkle out of them. I missed my babies though, kept finding myself listening out for them and creeping quietly past their room so I didnt wake them. Even went to check on them before I went to bed as I usually do. <g> What am I going to be like if/when they spend time at their father's? I spose you get used to the silence. : )

Soulsis and her chicks came round for a visit today. It was good, the children more or less left us alone while we hauled weeds and flung snails. Soulsis and I managed to clear a big section of a chronically overgrown garden bed before play ceased due to rain. <g> I always find it easier to do thankless jobs when I've got congenial, helpful company - thanks, precious! (Oh, and thank you for the toe-ring, the crystal rat, the chocolate and the very glamorous purple plastic bead bag. : )

Ooh! Joules has started her next AC - the thot plickens - and the bishie boy from the program I watched last night now has a name (thanks, Joules!) and a place in the Dystopia universe. Heh, doncha love inspiration?

It's quiet... too quiet... the sort of quiet that has me thinking that maybe I should see what the cubs are up to...
But of course, they're not here, they're at the school sleep-over.
I'm not fretting - wandering aimlessly from room to room is not fretting...

Burke's Backyard - one of our plethora of gardening and lifestyle shows - tonight had a special on Japan. Cheerfully disregarded most of it but smiled all the way through the segment on koi carp. Some beautiful fishies! Big beautiful fishies! : ) I'd love to keep koi but I'd want someone else to look after them - maybe the same person who can cook and give good foot massages? <g>
In another section of the show they had a brief look at 'non-conformist' Japanese, including a glimpse of a beautiful boy with rainbow hair, wearing a short blue cheong-san and black floral-patterned tights. Couldn't see what he had on his feet but from his gait I suspect it was boots...

Inching my way towards finishing this last but one chapter of 'Dancing'.
I will have the first draft finished by the end of the year.

I love the way my cat follows me from room to room. The cubs do it too but KittenKong's nowhere near as demanding. : )

I'm all inspired to try some 'paper art' stuff - to whit, making collage pictures out of paper. <g> Saw a lovely, very simple and effective picture yesterday that got me thinking about some ideas I'd like to try. (And if I start to do this - hee - I'll have to begin collecting interesting bits of paper!) Ideally I'd like to make my own paper, that'd be a great way to get a range of different colours/textures. Gosh, what could I attempt as my first project? Something with scales, perhaps...?

Joules is back writing more First Light! Which is great cos I've been missing my little previews - I want to know what's going to happen next!

Ack! It's only four weeks 'til the end of term! <mild panic>
It's also the time of year where I try to decide if I can make the cubs' school uniforms last through to the end of the year or if I need to get some more. Definitely need to restock over the holidays but I think we can get through these next few weeks with what we've got, especially if I can find another couple of pairs of shorts...

Bother! I want to talk about xmas presents but I can't cos some of the recipients read this. <bg> Oh well, I'm a pisces, it's not like I can't keep a secret.

Mmmm.... asparagus is in season again. I love asparagus, love its pretty green spears, love the way the colour intensifies when it's cooked juuuuust right. Absolutely delicious.

<whinge> Was hot yesterday and muggy today... Don't like hot and muggy... But, we had a cracking thunderstorm last night, wonderful thunder and lightning, I'm surprised the cubs didn't wake up.

I did a word count for 'Dancing' and was pleasantly surprised to find it's coming up to 38,000! There's another 10,000 words have snuck in there without me noticing. : )

Watched one of the foodporn programs last night (cooking shows) and thought how nice it'd be to have a partner who can cook, and who enjoys cooking... and if they're good with footmassages too that'd be points in their favour...

We got the cubs' booklist for next year. Ouch!
The school will be getting a proper sports teacher next year as well, and the cost for that (not much, admittedly, but when you have 2 children...) was included. The sports teacher will be taking the classes for only an hour or so each a week but this is on top of the normal PE activities. I think it's a great idea (even though I understand how much the cubs detest sport - I mean, I did too) and any opportunity for them to get structured exercise is a good one.

We got the next 2 issues of Horrible Histories in the post today. I told the cubs and they weren't that impressed. Tch, didn't take long for that interest to die down in the face of the obsessive train onslaught.
Eh, 's ok, I like the magazine, I'll keep collecting it, and knowing the cubs their interest will swing sporadically back that way soon enough.
With this month's issues we got our 'free gift for subscribing' which was a set of Egyptian hieroglyph stamps. Very cool, the cubs not surprisingly, used them to spell out the names of their favourite engines...

Picked up the first of my new tidja midja nidga's today from lay-by. I do like Donatello but I'm aiming to get a Leonardo next. : )

<does a little dance> Finished the stars! Only a few days past the original start date a year ago. : ) It's not going to take long to baste the paper into the hexagons then I'll have nothing to distract me from finally having to make the decision about how it's going to go together.
No help for it, going to have to clear some space and try laying out different patterns to see what works.

Thank you for the gift certificate, soulsis, I got the cubs another Thomas the Tank Engine DVD. They're dead chuffed, naturally. : )
They had their meningicocal innoculations today, poor things, I thought they deserved a treat.

Wow! Joules has just shown me a scan of some embroidery she did a couple of years ago when she was at school! It's very cool, I'm dead impressed. There's a pic of it on her blog.

The cubs' father took the cubs and I to Smorgy's for dinner tonight.
It's far more satisfying to be half-full with good food than to be chockers with
mediocre...

I went to visit Okapi today. : ) We 'show and tell'ed our latest treasures and swapped stories of really dumb amounts of money we have/we almost spent on our obsessions. <g>
She also gave me the snowdome she found for me while in Perth - it's lovely, and sitting proudly now amongst its peers.

Heh, I was told this morning that because the school will be doing testing all this week I won't be needed as a classroom helper.
Yay! That's the last of my 'volunteer' days for the term, thank all the gods. I'm going to be strong and not put my name down for this next year - I'm more than happy to spend a few hours a week in the library but the classroom work is no fun at all.

Hee! Soulsis and her chicks will be coming down for a visit on the weekend. The cubs are looking forward to that.

And Joules is tearing along with her next AC chapter! It's a great chapter too, I'm eagerly waiting for the snippets she's giving me. <g>

You know that song It ain't necessarily so? Well I was humming it this evening (the Jimmy Sommerville version) and at the bit about Jonah in the whale ( '... he made a home in that fish's abdomen...') a new, partial line slipped into my mind:

'...he [somethingsomething] Baron Harkonnen...'

I'm sure there's a filk in there somewhere...

Heh, I've finally started the Dystopia songfic I mentioned. It's interesting, I think, how it came together. After listening to the song umpteen times to get the 'feel' of it I was left with a very strong impression of a (new) character and their state of mind. I wondered how they'd got to that point in their lives. There were clues in the lyrics and after listening, and pondering, gradually the story wove itself into being...
Shouldn't be a terribly long piece though I'll be curious to see if I can effectively convey the way the song made me feel.

You know, I'm beginning to get the teensiest bit annoyed with the way the cubs' father can just waltz out of the house to have fun whenever he wants. Nice for some - he doesn't have to worry about finding a babysitter. >: (
(Don't mind me, it's been a tiring weekend.)

The cubs - prompted by me - finished their projects today and there was much rejoicing. Not too bad, I guess, we spent 3 hours in total on the assignments and the cubs actually did quite a lot of work.

I cleaned my room this afternoon. Kind of. Managed to clear out the rubbish and make a small space in the middle of the room. Not a big enough space to do anything much with other than stand in and smirk triumphantly at clearing some space. <sigh> The problem is I have waaaay too much stuff in there and nowhere to put it all (you may have heard this whinge before). There is however, the hall cupboard which is filled to eye-ball height with stuff that should go to an op-shop. I could empty that then at least I'd have somewhere to put the teetering tower of material I'm amassing - which would clear the end of my bed, then just possibly I could think about getting a proper bed? The mattress-on-the-floor scenario is getting very old... (and there'd be storage space under the bed!) <g>

(nicked from Onna's blog:)

.... no comment...


Your soul is bound to the Solitary Rose: The
Alone.

"When I wake up alone, the shades are still
drawn on the cold window pane so they cast
their lines on my bed and lines on my
face."

The Solitary Rose is associated with loneliness,
melancholy, and patience. It is governed by
the goddess Merope and its sign is The Sword,
or Unrequited Love.

As a Solitary Rose, you may be summed up as a
hopeless romantic. You desire love and have so
much love to give, but thing just never seem to
work out the way you want them to. In life,
you can be very optomistic, even when things
are gray and nothing works out to your
expectations.


What Rose Is Your Soul Bound To?
brought to you by Quizilla

I've been contemplating what colours I'd paint the walls in my house (if I owned my own home, that is, and didn't have to worry about fascist agent/owners freaking out if anything's changed - even if it's an improvement.) I really like the idea of a bright, eggyolk yellow for the entrance/hall way, something bright and cheery to walk into. Maybe a softer yellow for the kitchen? I think I'd stick with off-whites for the bathroom, but possibly something brighter (aqua?) for the toilet. Hmm.. though aqua would work in the bathroom too... Lounge-room? I'm not sure - it would depend on the furniture, I guess, but there's a creamy pale orange I've seen that I like. For my bedroom I thought something like a strawberry mousse colour but I know I'd get sick of that pretty quickly. Avocado? Pale olive/gum leaf? That'd be nice and wouldn't compete with my prettyshinys.
<sigh> I think I'm nesting again.

Yesterday was fraught - not only was it really hot (39 degrees! In November! Ack!) but I had to make the cubs sit down and work on a school project. My own fault, we've had 4 weeks to do it but instead of sensibly finishing it little by little I let it slide... I should point out that, unfortunately, I can't leave the cubs to do things like this on their own, it just doesn't happen, they have to be supervised. It's frustrating, especially when there's loads of other things that need my attention, but there's not a lot I can do about it.
So anyway, I figured I could maybe push the cubs for half an hour then let them have a break. Nope, had to push for half an hour before they got started. The morning session was bad, had a headache by the end of it. I had to try and field questions from 2 directions, (both cubs talking/shouting over the other unless I exercised rigid control) and try to keep them both on track and focused. My brain felt like mush by lunchtime. The afternoon session wasn't too bad because we were doing the more fun things - drawing, cutting and pasting - but it still felt like an uphill slog.

<bg> Joules has started the next AC (so good she's feeling well enough to write again!). As for me? Will do some more Dancing this week, that's a priority now, but for the rest? I have no idea. I think I'm fighting against the end-of-year lethargy. But I better make the most of these last weeks of term, going to have precious little time to myself once the summer holidays start...

Waaah! <sniffle> Vengeance pt 3 is almost finished... (Joules mentioned in passing she might go for the angst crown, to complement her Queen of Casual Torture title. She's got my vote! : )

It was hot today. Not damn hot, but hot enough - our first taste of summer and I wanted to spit it back out. Got some more gardening done after dinner, and for a wonder the cubs were actually helpful. True, I had to tailor the help required to the game they were playing but they did do a good job all told. <g> I'm slowly clearing the ridiculously overgrown garden beds and using some of the metre² lawn clippings as a weed suppressing mat. I'll whack some more aesthetically pleasing mulch on top of that when I can afford it.
Poop, it's going to be hot again tomorrow. Heh a good excuse for not leaving the house...

Oh good, I'm safe for the moment then - if she's not got the energy for Zabon then she won't have the energy to ... chastise me. : )

..... uh oh.
Better start looking for a hiding place... or someone to hide behind. <eg> I wonder if I threw Zarbon in her path it'd distract her long enough for me to get away?

Yay! Joules is feeling better enough now to start writing again! (Heh, she's still quite ill but she wasn't kidding when she says she 'lives to write'.) Vengeance pt 3 is being written right now! <happy squeak>
Though you're not going to push it, are you sinam? <stern look> It would be bad if you made yourself worse by not resting when you need to...

204 stars completed but I've voluntarily set the count back by 10 cos I've found a beautiful dark-pink pansy pattern I have to use. So I'm substituting the new material for an earlier batch of pink I'm less enthusiastic about. : )

KittenKong had a traumatic experience today.
This morning, while I was rushing about getting the cubs ready for school, I suddenly realised I wasn't tripping over the cat. Thinking the worse – as is my wont when one of my feline companions goes missing – I was on the point of venturing outside to see if I could find her mangled remains when I remembered I'd gone out to the garage yesterday afternoon. Given madame thunderpaws' habit of making a beeline for any open door (how many times has she been shut in a cupboard?) I checked there first and sure enough... <g> Bloody cat – stuck in the garage all night... She's been very cuddly today too, poor traumatised creature.

There was a suggestion I read in a magazine recently that instead of buying an entire dinner set, you could pick a colour/theme and buy individual pieces as you come across ones you like. Great idea – not only would you have an interesting collection but you wouldn't have to worry about breaking a piece cos they're all different to begin with!
Anyway, I've been thinking about getting some new crockery for a while and in one of the local homewares shops I saw some very nice green dinnerware. Green was a colour I was considering for my new crockery so I put a few pieces on lay-by. : ) Those - and a sugar themometer so I can have a go at making some turkish delight sometime. (Thanks for the recipe, Soulsis!)

I love browsing around the homewares shops even though I live in fear of knocking something over. Little miss clumsy (me) – who's proprioreception hasn't changed from the time when she was younger, fitter and considerably thinner – makes sure she moves slowly and deliberately in places where it's expensive to break things.
Needless to say I don't take the cubs into shops like that if I can at all help it. : )

One of the things I sporadically collect is paté knives. On a whim I decided to paw through my collection and count them all.
I have 15, which isn't that very many considering how long I've been collecting them and how many of the damn things there are around. But I only buy the knives I really like, not all that I clap eyes on so that's ok. : )
Like to know what I've got? (Let's see if I list them without having to go and check...)
Lamb, 2 chickens, trout, lobster, cockatoo, cheese wedge, aubergine, 2 grapes, xmas tree, striped candy-cane, paper lanterns, 2 flamingos. Neat, eh? <g>
I still haven't worked out a way to display them though - any suggestions?

Okies - Joules, via Ken, has asked me to let everyone know she's got the flu and (this is a quote from Ken) '... may not be able to interface with the Internet on her usual, almost 24/7 basis.'
Ack! All I can say is it must be dire if she can't drag herself over to the computer like she normally does when she's ill. <disapproving frown> (And to clarify: I'm disapproving of Joules pushing herself like that when she needs to rest, not disapproving cos she's not killing herself to stay online. <blink> Did that make sense?)
So anyway, don't expect anything much from The Zone for the moment, but normal (hah! Normal?) service will be resumed as soon as possible.
Sending happy vibes to the Taylor household, and I hope you're all feeling better soon. <hugs>

Oh no! I've just read on K. Sandra Fuhr's lj that Boy Meets Boy is finishing sometime in January! : ( Dammit.

Ouchouchouchouch.
It's costing a lot of money to get the lawns hacked back to something less than wilderness. My own fault, I shouldn't have let it go so long (and no, even with my own lawn-mower I wouldn't have been able to tackle it.) Might not have been so bad if it was just grass but 2/3^rd of the back yard was a mat of baby wattle trees and a runner-type plant with a very tough, fibrous stem. Took 4 hours to do and poor Ursie had to stop every 5 minutes to not only clear the catcher, but the blades as well. She's earnt her money today.
But anyway, I've put a big note on the calendar for a month's time to get the lawn's seen to - I literally cannot afford to let it get so bad again. (Heh, and a big garden is probably not something I'll be looking for in my next house! : )

Our school has several traditions that I know of, one of which is the term 4 dinner/sleepover. This is for the preps through to grade 3 and usually happens about the time the grades 4-6 are away on camp. Actually, it's only the grade 2 & 3 that sleepover, the preps and 1's come to the school for dinner and games. But my cubs are in grade 2 this year so it'll be their first school sleepover.
Waah! My babies are growing up!
They're quite excited, which is great but I won't hold my breath about their wanting to stay the whole night. I'll have to make sure their father is home too so the car's available to pick them up if they decide it's all a bit much. (But then, if they can't be picked up then they can't come home. Hn.) It won't be the first time they've slept away from their father and I but the last occasion was a long, long while ago.
Eh, you never know, they might surprise me and be perfectly happy away from home for a night...

I've never been able to get the hang of scoring for bowling... a high score is good, right?
<bg> This is fun!

The above link was sent to me by Peter, ta!
So was this...

IRB Rugby World Cup 2003
Following complaints made to the IRB about the All Blacks being allowed to motivate themselves by performing the "Haka" before their games, other nations were asked to suggest pre-match rituals of their own.

The IRB World Cup Organising Committee agreed to the following pre-match displays:

ENGLAND will chat about the weather, wave hankies in the air and attach bells to their ankles before moaning about how they invented the game and gave it to the world, and how it's not fair that everyone still thinks that New Zealand are the best team in the world.

SCOTLAND will chant "You lookin' at me jimmy?" before smashing an Iron Bru bottle over their opponents heads.

IRELAND will split into two, with the Southern half performing a Riverdance, while the Northerners march the Traditional route from their dressing room to the pitch, via their opponents dressing room.

ARGENTINA will unexpectedly invade a small portion of opposition territory, claim it as their own "Las In-Goals-Areas" and then be forcibly removed by the match stewards.

SOUTH AFRICA two members of the team will claim to be more important than the other 13, whom they will imprison between the posts whilst they claim the rest of the pitch for themselves.

USA will not attend until almost full time. In future years they will amend the records to show that they were in fact the most important team in the tournament and Hollywood will make a film called "Saving No.8 Lyle"

Tee hee hee... : )

Hee, 190 stars...

Today, for the first time in several days, I didn't need to have a nap, cough medicine, paracetamol or aspirin. A good day. : )

During daylight savings I don't so much become a creature of the night as a creature of the late afternoon. It was still light enough after the cubs had been fed to head outside and do some gardening, so that's what I did. Cleared a small patch in one of the front beds and transplanted some of the beautiful echevaria that was growing abundantly down the side of the rocks into the bare patches of earth. Really need to get some more mulch though, and repot the sage plant OkapiPrincess gave me years ago - and do some pruning. (<sigh> That's just the front garden, someone's coming round tomorrow to slash out a lawn from the waist-high jungle around the back!)
Thankfully it looks as though the tree-fern has recovered from my neglect of it last summer, it's shooting out new fronds all over the place, (I promise I'll pay more attention to it this summer) and the kangaroo paw Niki gave me when I moved in is currently a mass of gorgeous, hot deep-pink flowers. That's coming with me when I move again - I'm very fond of that plant.
Weeded a little bit of the path as well but I suspect that at least one of the plants I was pulling out from between the bricks is/was a native grass. How do I know this? It came out very easily and the exotic bastard imports don't come out without a fight (or lacerated fingers : ). The cubs were out there with me but no earthly help at all being too freaked out by the thought of bugs. They relaxed a bit when I explained that it was good having lots of insects because it meant our garden ecosystem was healthy - I don't use pesticides or herbicides. Heh, such nature boys my cubs. Not.

And speaking of the cubs...
Operation get-the-cubs-to-try-something-anything-new-on-a-regular-basis went into affect today - to whit, sweet potatoes mashed up with their regular plain potatoes. After some wrinkling of noses (and threats of no dessert if they didn't eat at least half of the pale orange mash) they ate it happily enough, so I'll spring it on them again in about a week. : )

Yesterday I bought a perfect avocado with the intention of having avocado nori for dinner tonight. Made up the vinegared rice, let it cool, then discovered I'd run out of seaweed sheets! Aaargh! Dammit, I was all geared up for rice and avocado wrapped up in green stuff, but being a resourceful creature I remembered I had a butter lettuce I could use instead. (Not hard to remember - the thing was sitting on top of the microwave looming at me like some, squat, round tryffd...) Anyway, my dinner was delicious and I'm now happily chock-full of healthyons...

The cubs got their books today that we ordered from the school's bookclub - the latest Captain Underpants and a Finding Nemo joke book. I've avoided the CU (cos this one is about snot monsters) but it was fun sitting down with the cubs and reading through the joke book. It's basically full of fishy-based puns and some reasonable limericks:

There once was a tang called Dory,
Who had a short-term mem-ory.
When asked why this was
She said, "Oh, because..."
And couldn't remember the story!

It was interesting trying to explain to the cubs the jokes they didn't get. Funnily enough, this one they got straight away:

Why is the sand wet?
Because the sea-weed.

<sigh> Gales of laughter at that one. Tch, boys... : )

Bad Lutra! The Saddle Club is not Dystopia!
<eg> Can't remember exactly how the scene went (only caught a few seconds) but...

first teenage horsey-girl: I've managed to get [someone] to agree to [something apparently unlikely]
second teenage horsey-girl: Gosh! How did you manage that!?

.... cue Lutra's sordid reasoning coming up with all sorts of unsavoury activities. I wonder about myself sometimes. : )

Just stumbled across a fascinating word in the dictionary (Oxford Concise - 1975) while I was looking for something else:
desquamate - come off in scales. Hence desquamation, desquamative, (and this made me giggle) desquamatory. Is that last like defamatory, only for fish? Or defaming someone by saying their scales are falling off? <silly grin>

I love dictionaries, so many interesting words...

Woke up this morning to the realisation that cos I'd spent the weekend languishing on my bed of pain (okay, I'm a exaggerating a bit) no washing had been done and the cubs didn't have any clean school uniforms. Oops. Managed to hunt them up a pair each of not too grotty, not too holey trousers but decided enough was enough they really needed new uniforms. So I trotted off to the costumeuniform shop after assembly and picked up 4 pairs of trousers and 2 pairs of shorts, all second hand and in good condition, for the same price as one pair of new trousers. : ) Feeling very pleased with myself now.
(Hn, spose I'd better get on and do some washing then, I don't have any clean clothes either...)

Heh, another Joules-Lutra Dystopia chapter is almost done. Came together quite quickly too though they usually do when the pair of us put our heads together.

Right, catching up: Talon, that's a fab start to the story, where's the rest? <eg>
Onna, I love the way you draw Eiri! (D'oh, and I left him off my list of blonde semes!)
Joules: you know the drill, rest and lots of fluid! <hugs>
Okapiprincess: are you back yet?
Soulsis: I haven't attempted that mammoth list of quizes yet, been feeling quite daunted by it all. : )

Hm... Fluffy Vash, yes, James, yes - if Jesse can play too. : ) Okio? Don't know her but I'm happy to play on recommendation... <bg>

Mmm... now this is what cough medicine should be like - thick, black and syrupy...

Eeek! <bites nails> Joules has posted Vengeance pt 2... We'll just barricade ourselves in the castle and await the angry mob carrying pitchforks and flames, shall we? <smirk>

(nicked from The Zone - about Legato:)

[grins] Ah, you just need a strong mind - or your own mental powers - to handle him... He is pretty though, isn't he? Lovely golden eyes - and that voice...

Oh well, I'm stuffed then, I'll go find someone... fluffy to play with instead. : )

Eeeep! Joules, Legato is all yours!
Yes, very pretty but I like the illusion of autonomy at least... : )

........... umm.

Bugger, I thought I had more to say than that. Maybe when my brain isn't trying to leak out of my nose...

Yay!! Okapiprincess should be home soon!

Heh, well the cub has decided he doesn't want to go to the wedding after all. Not a problem for me, really, I'm feeling decidedly dodgey. Had an extra 5 hours sleep today and I'm still bone-weary - and craving salt and carbohydrates! Gah, even asked the cubs' father to bring me home some take-away from the Golden Arches of Doom tonight! I must be ill... : )

<bites nails> Joules has started the next 'l/L chapter!

185 stars finished and I've cut out all the hexagons needed. : ) Very pleased...
Now, do I finish putting all the stars together before I baste the paper into the hexagons? Hm, I think so, let's get one job completely finished before starting the next.

(nicked from the Meeces' Hole:)

So... I can summon lightning with superhuman strength, have impenetrable skin and am protected from twisted plans... No evil overlord can take me on <BG>

Ahah! And with those superhero powers you'll need a superhero costume! Now, let's see.. what goes well with green and purple with spangly fringing? (Cos that's my - ActionOtter's - costume, and we can't clash, the villains would laugh...)

Ow, ow, my throat hurts... I know when I'm genuinely not feeling the best cos I become even clumsier than normal, my patience and tolerance evaporates and my language becomes - um - freer than usual in front of the cubs. : )

One of Rik Mayall's series, Believe Nothing, has just started showing here and it's hysterical. Far, far funnier than anything else I've seen of his, and a lot of it has to do with Michael Maloney's character, the faithful retainer, Albumen. His relationship with his employer is not at all subtle.
<eg> In tonight's episode, Prepare to Meteor maker, Adonis Cnut (Mayall's character), Albumen and the female lead are in a hot-air ballon (don't ask). Cnut orders his man-servant to 'go down' and Albumen immediately drops to his knees in front of his master and says - hoarsely, hopefully - 'Oh sir, does this mean we're friends again?' <rolling around laughing>
Of course, that's not what Cnut means at all though there's a beautiful little pause where we're left in no doubt that that's been the case in the past. The show is peppered with moments like this and I love it, looking forward to next week's ep. : )

Took the cubs clothes shopping after school - what fun! They're going to a wedding on saturday and they've got nothing to wear that isn't made of fleecy or t-shirt material. : ) But what to get them? What's suitable for 8 year old boys to wear to a wedding? (The last wedding I went to was my own, I think, and that was medieval so no help there.) Settled on a pair of reasonable trousers and bright shirt each, that'll do, at least they'll be clean and unchewed!

(And speaking of clothes...) Hee, I've got an old seersucker tablecloth that Soulsis found - it's bright purple and emerald green check (3 inch squares). Do I dare make myself some trousers out of it? I really need some new ones and let's face it, my clothes rarely look 'good' so I may as well go for 'idiosyncratic'!... : )

(And about the monkeys? Don't worry, it was just me parrotting what I'd seen on last night's Life of Mammals episode. <bg> Though as the grazing monkeys are herbivores they're probably very tasty...)

[suspicious look] aijin, why this sudden interest in monkeys? Is this some kind of research? Saiyans are a variety of ape, not monkey. As for eating monkeys... [fastidious shudder]... I think I might draw the line there. Too much like cannibalism...

Well I only managed to get a page of 'Dancing' done but more importantly I know where this chapter is heading now (thanks to Joules for letting me bounce ideas : ) and I've been making notes as I go for the second draft.

Yesterday, Niki gave me a Richard Scarry book in german, and today I sat down with the cubs and we had a look at it. I studied german for a couple of years ages ago and it was encouraging that I could puzzle out some of the text from remembered words. Of course, the bright, clear illustrations didn't hurt either. <g> ('OK, the children are playing with marbles so I guess that word underneath the picture means... marbles.)
I think I got my first Scarry book when I was four and I remember spending hours poring over it by myself. Learnt a lot of vocab from that and my Dr Seuss illustrated Dictionary. I've still got them, tucked away in the garage, they're two of my childhood books I haven't passed on to the cubs. : )

Did you know that infants are protected in baboon society so it's not unusual for an adult baboon, who's feeling threatened, to grab a baby because they know they're not going to be attacked while they're holding it. Smart, eh? And there's tribes of baboons that live near the soda lakes in Africa that have learnt in the past few years to catch flamingos. And there's a species of grazing monkey in Africa that lives in huge 'herds' but because they spend so much of their time sitting down, their sexual characteristics (ie: dominance, virility, social standing etc) are displayed on their chest rather than their hindquarters. Oh, and the bigger the social groups monkey species congregate in the bigger their brains tend to be... I think there's something in that for all of us.

(... yes, I'm sure monkeys are delicious - though that would depend to a degree on what they eat... : )

I think I've finally worked out what's been bothering me about the Thomas the Tank Engine movie.
It's like really bad fanfic, where the author has some great (they think) ideas or is attempting an unlikely cross-over, and all the way through they seem to be madly justifying what happens even though the new ideas just do not mesh with the original story!
I can't believe how badly this movie sucks, or how much it still pisses me off after all this time. What was the reasoning behind the 'additions' I wonder? Was it purely an attempt to make the product more palatable for the US? Was it an effort to 'revamp' the program? Whatever the reason, it didn't work and Britt Allcroft should be forced to watch this crap for hours on end for letting it happen...
Just because a show is designed for little kids (and train-mad older kids <rolls eyes>) doesn't mean you can skimp on the quality of storyline. Even if the kids don't pick up how bad it is, spare a thought for the poor adults who have to sit and watch it with their offspring...

The cubs' father approached me this morning while I was ferreting around for school clothes and asked with a smile if I could remember what we were doing this time ten years ago. Oh, I remembered even though the memory had been overlaid with more relevant bits of information. November 5 is our anniversary - we would've been together 15 years in total.
I still find myself wondering if the marriage could've survived if I'd made more of an effort, but honestly, I don't think it would've, not without me continuing to suppress great chunks of myself. If I'd been completely honest with myself beforehand it's unlikely we would've gotten married anyway, but then I wouldn't have had the cubs... Heh, it's not like the time was wasted.
Sometimes I think it'd be nice not to be on my own but - I have a life, I don't need a partner...

The four-day weekend was very slack, ultimately, the only time the boys got out of their pyjama's was on sunday, when we went swimming, and yesterday when we <gasp> left the house. : )
First, we went to Penny and Sarah's for lunch then sat and watched 'Spirited Away'. (Or rather, Penny, Sarah and I watched the DVD while the cubs played in Sarah's room.) Very interesting movie with a fascinating, detailed world-frame. The animation was pretty good too, though there were times the lead character looked way too much like a monkey. : ) I'd like to see it again sometime.
When we got home from that in the late afternoon, Soulsis came and picked the cubs and I up and we went to Niki's place for dinner. I am so glad the bratlings are all of an age to play more or less harmoniously together now - Niki, Soulsis and I were left pretty much in peace! Very nice, and I sewed some more stars together - I've now completed 174. : )

Well I was sposed to get straight back to 'Dancing' but distracted myself with some more Dystopia. Far too easy to do! Heh, but once I get started it'll all tumble together pretty quickly.

So - the cubs and I cleaned up their room today, including sorting out their shelves (but not the soft toys). Took a couple of hours but we got rid of a few bags of stuff and cleared their floor. Of course, now it's covered in train-track and is still a death-trap for the unwary... <g>

(nicked from the Meeces' Hole:)

It's Cup day on Tuesday (yes, one of Melbourne's public holidays is because of a horse race)

Now, I knew this. (At least, not that it was Tuesday, precisely, but that Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday.) Dick Francis set one of his books there and did a bit of B&E while everyone was busy <g>

Yes, that happens quite a lot, so I hear. : )

I need sausages! ...

...or haddock! (haddock sausages? <shudder> No, hang on, that'd make them fish fingers. With tartare sauce or fresh lemon juice - and chips! Mmmm.... Where was I? Oh yes...)

There's a completely new fic bubbling and I'm not sure where it could go, into which universe. Though, I guess it doesn't need to slot into anything else, it could work as a stand alone like Cat-house Ellis. (But then, that universe is only loosely defined - the fic wouldn't be entirely out of place there. Hm...) Plus Cloudie's next chapter is nagging to be written, as is the Dystopia songfic. But I'm not doing any of that until I've written some more Dancing - be silly to let that slide now it's so close to being finished.
Actually I don't need more time to write all this I just need to be more organised with the time I have. Or be able to type faster, that'd work too. : )

Awww! Sammi's cat, Ginger, has had kittens! 2 tabbys, 1 dark and 1 light ginger. So cute! <squinch>

Okapiprincess has run away for a week - which is good, she deserves a break - but I don't think she's got computer access. Poop. Oh well, have fun, Okapi!

Yay! And I've read the first couple of pages of Joules' next First Light chapter and I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for snippets. : )

The cubs and I went swimming this afternoon, which was lots of fun as always (except for the getting them out of the pool and dressed part - which is never fun). Anyway, once we got home I invoked my authority in an attempt to have something other than Thomas the Tank Engine and said it was my turn to choose something to watch. Suprisingly, the cubs agreed, though they vetoed Moulin Rouge because there was a picture of people kissing on the front. <sigh> So we watched Singin' in the Rain instead. : ) The cubs appreciated the slapstick, squealed at the (minimal) romantic stuff and watched 'Make them laugh' half a dozen times, lauging uproariously each time. <g> Heh, just cos their father thinks musicals suck doesn't mean that they will...

The next Dystopia chapter is ready to go and should be posted sometime soon (thank you, Joules!), and the next 'l/L (Joules, with a little bit from me) Vengeance pt 1 is already posted. Not bad for a fairly quiet week, I think.

The results of the Amazing Kiss art competition that onna and Joules entered... (scroll down and click on the fanart link.)
3 entries and onna won, rightly so, it's a beautiful pic, but what's this chibi crap that came second?

'Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another.'

Is that an actual quote from somewhere or just something Madonna wrote? Just watched her 'Justify my Love' clip. That's so tacky. : ) I love it, makes me giggle...
Oooh cool! Timewarp from the Rocky Horror Picture show! I have fond memories of this - the form 6's performed the musical when I was in form 3 (I think). First time I saw a real girl in a real corset. <g> Created an indelible impression...
LOLOL! Alex the Seal! Well, Our lips are sealed - the Bangles.
(I'm watching a video-clip show, just in case anyone was wondering.)
Ok, if the next song is crap I'll go to bed...
Yes, it's crap - off to bed now. <g>

Were swap cards purely an Australian 70's thing, or did other countries have them? Silly of me, I know, but I've been browsing ebay and come across a few sets of old swap cards on auction. Gods, just the sight of them brings back such strong memories from my primary school years it's like I can still feel the cards in my hand. I think swap cards were one of the first things I obsessed over. Had some lovely ones, lots of horses and foals, (cos I was pre-pubescent and that was what I was into) flowers, cats.. typical stuff really. Wonder what happened to mine?
Heh, I grew out of them - do I really want to go back there?

<happy sigh> Anime night tonight. My yaoi-set brain is coming up with all sorts of scenarios for the 'issues' Orphen has with his old teacher (though I'll be stunned if it turns out they're not related somehow). Vash's nose is still really cute and Legato appeared in the previews for next weeks ep. : )
Last night I began watching Legend of the Demon Womb. I'm just confused now, this is sposed to be the sequel to Legend of the Overfiend but it seems more like an AU. The reviews I've read of it haven't shed much light either. Eh.

Listening to lyrics from recent Indie (youth culture) songs and it seems the messages haven't changed much at all over 3 decades. Does each generation have to have their own versions of 'rebel' songs? The music changes but the words are the same... I'm sure there's something deeply philosophical I could say about that if it wasn't too much like hard work ordering my thought. (<g> Yes, that was 'thought', singular, not a typo; it's late, I'm tired and distracted... : )

Hee, the next 'l/L chapter is underway.
Poor Ry... <eg>

Tch, I know that pets/owners can come to resemble each other but what about gremlins/victi - er, hosts? I ask because it seems that Carli, my computer gremlin, is a pack-rat and she hates having her pretty-shiny's deleted! : ) I tried telling her clearing out the temp internet files meant there'd be more room to move... I'm not sure she's convinced so I'll continue the job later, when I'm offline and her freezing the 'puter only means I have to reboot, not reboot and log-on and restart IE and ICQ etc. : )