Three skinks and a rat... was KittenKong trying to tell me something?

So, it's New Year's Eve and the stove still isn't clean, neither is my room, or the cubs' room, or the lounge room. Heh, and as for the garden...? Herds of giraffe wouldn't look out of place ambling across the untamed savannah of our backyard. : )

Is it any coincidence, I wonder, that fiesta and siesta sound so similar?

Joules has finished 'Party'! Posted on time and everything! Lots of fun. <smirk> Go read!

Oh, Sue and GoodTwin, in case I forget to email (it's not unlikely, after all) I really enjoyed 'Eeeny Meeny Miny Mo'. You had me going for a while, too, though I knew it couldn't have been our Smurph. : )

I asked the cubs if they wanted to stay up with us tonight. They happily said yes but now, with over an hour to go 'til midnight, they're both slumped on the couch with huge bags under their eyes. But dammit, they're determined to stay awake 'til midnight. <g> They'll probably want to sleep in tomorrow morning.

Happy (Western) New Year, everyone!

Wouldn't you know it? The car dies and petrol drops below 90/c a litre for the first time in a year. Tch.

And the mystery of the big xmas tree has been solved!
My memories of the tree my parents had is that it towered over me (and this was when I was all grown-up). The tree that was passed down to me is only 4' tall and I thought it couldn't be that one.
It isn't. :) The big one was given to my brother and Soulsis ages ago, and the tree I've got now is the one my parents had when they lived in their little house in the hills.
So there, mystery solved... I feel better now.

Got your postcard, onna, before the ravening snails of doom did! Hah!
Heh, saw a small tv news article a few days ago about xmas and what it means to the Japanese.
I wanna spend xmas in Japan! Looks like so much fun! I was particularly taken by the dancing girls dressed as reindeers... You have to admire a culture which can take what's offered by another culture and run with it in a completely different direction.

For years I've been disgruntled with the whole xmas thing - the unsubtle commercialism/blackmail, and the stupid, stupid and pointless images of snowmen and red furry suits and stockings hung in front of roaring fires. It works in the northern hemisphere where it's Winter, fercrissakes, but down here it's the middle of bloody Summer! 'Traditional' images in this instance, are ludicrous and annoying.
I had a [ping] about the problem though - I could always use Summer symbols instead... So what counts as a Summer symbol? What do you associate with the season? Well, the sun, naturally, and flowers and bees, and butterflies and fruit. Hee, and geckos! <bg> I'm visualising a wreath of rainbow lizards for the front door...
And I can indulge my passion for plastic fruit!
I enthused about this to Penny a little while back and today when the cubs and I were over at her place for afternoon tea she presented me with 2 gorgeous little fabric strawberries she'd made! Perfect! The first of my Summer decorations...

<sigh> The car's finally died. Drive-shaft fell out, apparently, while the cubs' father was on his way to work. This is inconvenient for the cubs and I but it's a nightmare for their father. Wouldn't be so bad if he had regular, permanent shifts at one hospital but as he works for an agency he doesn't always know where he'll end up - makes it tricky with public transport.
I refuse to feel guilty. I deal with everything else (bills, cubs etc) the maintenance of the car is his responsibility. I can't give him any practical help, either, the small amount of money I've managed to save won't be enough to cover repairs let alone buy a new car. So I'm afraid he's on his own this time. All I can do is make sympathetic noises and hope he can sort something out soon - if he can't pay his share of the rent it makes it difficult for me. Ah well...

And the other cub's come out in spots.
Soulsis, you'd best keep an eye on your lot - unless they've already had parvo.
(To answer your question, onna, parvo is more like measles than chicken pox.)

But on the bright side, Joules has started 'Party'! <eg>

Happy Birthday, Sammi!
(Hope it was fun and you didn't get combined Xmas/B'day presents. Having your birthday on Boxing Day must be a pain sometimes... : )

Xmas was relatively stress-free this year. Made a nice change.
Cubs woke me up at 6 in the morning - dragged myself out of bed so I could watch them tear into their presents (Transformers, Neopets and DVDs, all well-received <g> ) then at my suggestion they bounded into their father's room to deliver his presents. (Akira Kurasawa dvds, Japanese woodblock print calendar - can you see the pattern?). I was presented with my gifts - 2 boxes of Guylian seashells, (including the new strawberry flavour), and the Starsky & Hutch movie on DVD - then I staggered back to bed for a couple of hours.
Mum was late getting here but even so we got to the Zoo without much fuss. Spent a few, peaceful hours there (no crowds!) animal-spotting then got home in plenty of time to cook xmas dinner. After dinner with the cubs' father, the cubs and I headed back to mum's and we all collapsed. <g> (Oh, and Mum gave me a pair of pink metal flamingo garden statues. Hee...)

Soulsis and her chicks came over on Boxing day and we had a barbecue lunch that lasted most of the afternoon. I love grazing...
More presents! <happy squeak> Soulsis and Niki gave me some grape party-lights! So, so cool! And then of course there was all the fish-tat Soulsis gave me as well, and the little book about 'Sisters'...

Day after Boxing day was very, very quiet. Hung around at Mum's til mid-afternoon then I drove us home in Mum's car. We watched Shrek 2 and Mum stayed for dinner before driving herself home.
<sigh> I'm knackered though. Some very vivid dreams the past few days. (Including one were I had an appointment with Dr. Johnny Depp and... Let's just say the conduct wasn't entirely ethical. No, don't ask - I'm still blushing. : )

So, the end of the year looms. Eh. I have no plans, and no inclination to make any, truth be told. Might get a bottle of cider or something, but I'm not feeling overly sociable.
New Year Resolutions? Yes.
Couple of things I'd like to do before the end of the year, however - get my room sorted and clean the stove top. That'll be a good start to next year. <nods>

Good gods, it's xmas eve already. Oy vey...!
Still, everything's done - food, presents all organised. Our local shopping suburb has been open 24 hours for the past couple of days; I nipped down there last night while the cubs were asleep so I could get the grocery shopping out of the way without the added pleasure of two bored cubs tagging along. The centre was very crowded, and there was a lot of traffic, but the supermarket itself was nice and quiet and there was traffic control at strategic points to smooth things along. Wasn't too bad actually, was able to wander around quite happily in my own little world, something I can't do when my little loves are with me.
The cubs and I went back down there this morning to finish everything off and it was even quieter than I'd hoped. Plenty of parking and no crowds. Got some bargains, too - a box of 18 flashing TMNT lollypops for $6! ... okay, that's a big deal for me but I'll understand if everyone else is underwhelmed. <g>

One little hitch to the holiday fun though, one of my cubs has come down with parvovirus. (Also known as 'slap cheek' - people with young sprogs will probly be familiar with this.) It's one of those sneaky viruses where you're contagious only before the symptoms appear. But anyway, one of my cubs came out in a rash earlier this week. Started on his legs and within 24 hours had literally covered his body. He's been a bit itchy, but not horribly so, and there's been no accompanying headache or fever though that's not unusual with this virus. A few days on and the rash is beginning to subside - now we're waiting for the other cub to come out in spots!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Oh yes, and other things have been happening as well as me getting presents. : )

Andi and Andrew have had another baby! Campbell was born 26th November (that's Sagittarius... be prepared for brutal honesty with no malice, and many panic attacks cos he wanted to 'try stuff, just cos...') was 48 cms long and weighed almost 8 pounds (yes, Sammi, you were right!). Congratulations! <hugs> Is Alex sick of him yet? <g>

And congratulations Ken and Joules on your anniversary! (Joules was trying to work out how long it had been. You know what she's like with numbers, it was kind of fun watching her brain tangle...)

Aaaarrrr!! >P-} (Pirate emoticon courtesy of Joules. See? It's got an eyepatch...)
The cubs watched Pirates of the Carribean with me the other day. They weren't bothered by the skeletons, giggled in fact but do you want to know when they did cover their eyes?
The kissing scene, right at the end. <rolls eyes> Boys...
One thing that bugs me about 'historical' movies is when modern concepts or parlance is used. Call me a period-nazi if you must but using modernisms in that manner smacks of laziness. I don't buy the 'making it relevant to modern viewers' crap at all. (There are exceptions though. Moulin Rouge, for one, but then the speech was accurate, only the music was modern and that worked. Where was I? I did have a point when I started this rant. Ah yes...) In PotC, Elizabeth uses 'okay'. This grated a bit but I thought in fairness I should check the word/phrase's use. According to 'English through the Ages [William Brohaugh; 1998]) 'OK' was in use as an adjective by 1839. While I can't recall exactly when Pirates is set, (goodness, I'd better watch it again, then, hadn't I? <sunny smile> ) I figured it was probly close enough for accuracy. : )

The cubs and I went to see Deep Blue yesterday. My little loves were less than impressed at being taken to see another documentary, but again they got into it eventually.
I'm not sure why this movie was made, actually. It's been cut-together from the BBC telly doco 'The Blue Planet' - which would explain why it seemed very familiar - but what was the point? True, some of the visuals are stunning on the big screen but there was nothing new in it and seeing the orcas hunt and kill baby seals and whales was a bit confronting. Kudos to the makers if they were trying to get across the message about protecting this fragile, beautiful environment, but I don't think they did a particularly good job. Having only one line at the end about man 'plundering' the seas really didn't have enough impact. Eh well, it was a pretty film. If I was tempted to buy the DVD I think I'd hunt down the series rather than the movie.

Off to make myself a turkish delight flavoured hot choc and paw again through my treasures...

All I can say is that I must have been a very good girl.
<silly grin> There were two parcels waiting for me when I got back from the hell of xmas shopping today! Gods, where do I start? Thorne's parcel first…
The Two Towers dvd! <happy squeak> Mmmm… Horse Lords…
andandand - I was delighted enough with the glittery fish sticker on the back of the envelope, but wait, there's more! 5 origami fish and the prettiest hand-made card with another glittery fish peeking up through fanned layers of blue and silver! That's destined for a picture frame, Thorne, thank you! <hugs> (And if I can pin the cubs' father down I'll get a scan of the card. : )
Now, the other parcel…
Frankly, Joules, I'm overwhelmed. <huggle>
Hee, the cubs are covetting my Hamham plushies (big Bijou and little Golden Arches of Doom Hamtaro - not released over here! Thanks, GoodTwin!) More strawberry Angel Delight, and more sachets of turkish delight flavoured hot choc than I could count on my fingers (had to take my shoes off <smirk> ) and chocolate and green tea and herbs and seeds and fluffy-pink handcuffs (perfect!) and purple studded wrist band and a purple gel-pen and a lovely book about an otter. Also a fridge magnet ('You can touch the dust but please don't write in it!') and a Dartmoor ponies snowdome and some seaside rock (yum!) and some rose-scented shower cream and a CD full of stuff I can't open in front of the cubs!
Plus there were some guide books for Bristol and Exeter (now firmly on my list of places to visit : ) and a gorgeous otter and pups figurine. Just beautiful! Phew! : ) Was there more? I can't remember! I'll just have to go paw through my treasures again…
Thanks, guys, you made my day. : )

Sleepysleepysleepy... But, it's the first day of the Summer hols and already the cubs and I have gone out and done something. We trekked out to the Astor Theatre to see Microcosmos. It took a bus and 2 trains to get there though it was actually a fairly straight forward route. Lot of waiting about for connections and cos I'm retentive about being on time we left earlier than we needed to (just in case) and got to the cinema almost an hour and a half early. :) Did I mention it was hot today too? Got to 34 degrees...
Movie was good, some fantastic imagery and cleverly done overall - involving without being emotive. There was spontaneous applause when the dung beetle finally managed to push the ball off the twig where it had got stuck. Talk about empathising with the little guy...!
Was completely unsurprised when the cubs pretended to be insects on the way home. Did you know we lived in Melbuzzz, Wasptralia? <g> Don't know where their ability to warp a world-frame comes from...

Found a cheap copy of Pirates of the Carribean! Yay! I'd managed to miss it when it was screening, but I thorougly enjoyed the dvd. Yes, yes, Orli-squee, but barely noticed him for Depp. So gorgeously flamboyant! And as Joules says, I don't look for slash, honest, but if it's there...

Hm. The cubs got their end-of-year reports today. Boiled down they state that my boys are both highly intelligent, that both are more than capable of doing the work required but they need to learn to focus.
Gosh that sounds familiar: 'Could do so much better if she stopped daydreaming…' Heh.

Oh cool! I've graduated to a blue star on eBay! That's for positive feed-backs from 50 individual sellers. What's the next level? Turquoise at 100, I think.
(And before I get growled at for playing on eBay when I should be saving my money, that 50 has taken a looooooong time to reach with lots of little purchases…)

Rhythm is my nemesis.
Not the action, the word. I just cannot seem to spell it correctly without having to look it up. I get the 'r' at the beginning, and the 'm' at the end but everything in between tends to be a random selection of letters with at least 2 'y's. Dammit, if I could learn to say 'phenomenon' without half a dozen extra syllables I can bloody well learn to spell - <concentrating> - r-h-y-t-h-m! (Did I get it right? Cool! I did! And I didn't even have to refer to the bit of paper I have handy.)

Oookaaay… I've cut out nearly all of the bits of material I need for a third quilt. Yes, yes, the first is still languishing, waiting to be quilted, and the second is only 1/3 done but there's a method to my madness. I've had to give hand-sewing a rest for a week or so cos it looked like I'd given myself a mild repetitive strain injury to my thumb that I didn't want to aggravate. But, I really dislike being idle so to fill in the time when I couldn't write (ie: when the cubs are about and using the computer) I decided to make a start on the third quilt.
Having more than one project on the go doesn't only work for writing. :) I'm rarely bored…

<satisfied> The current joint fic with Joules is chuffing along nicely. Only one more chapter – we estimate – and that'll be finished too. The fluggy-bunny's having a wonderful time with it. Make of that what you will. :)

One more week of school to go and I can see the cubs and I barely dragging ourselves through it. Got up late every day last week, can't imagine this week's going to be any better – this end of the year it's very hard to give a damn. : )

So, yes, the AC is finished and now the buzz is (finally) wearing off I find myself wondering what I can get on with next. I'm sure I'll think of something, it's not like I've got a dearth of things on the list. I've kinda sorta given myself the goal of finalising 'Dancing' over the holidays. Not sure how successful I'll be given the utter lack of head-space having the cubs home all the time means but it's something to aim for.
Definitely in the mood for some slave-fic, though. <slaps forehead in an unconvincing manner> Gosh, that's right, I just remembered: Joules has started something along those lines… Hee!

Half-watching the 2nd Charlie's Angels movie on telly. Not seen it before, it's very… um…
It's not just me, is it? The song on the soundtrack changes every couple of minutes. That's quite irritating, especially when it's a song I really like and it's not played through. As for the overuse of freeze-frame and slow-mo? Aaaargh…! Please can we just keep the movie moving along? <sigh> And the whole 80's retro-thing just got a bit much I have to admit.
But it did have a Singing in the Rain reference ("Jason! Jason! O-0-0 h, Jason!" <smirk> ) so that makes up for a lot.

I treated myself to some lovely sparkly material the other day (going to make myself some trousers : ) but of course I had to wash the material first, and now everything else that was in the wash is covered in sparklies. <g> Oh dear.

... I'm letting the fluggy-bunny have ascendancy at the moment...

The Alliance Chronicles is finished and I'm bawling my eyes out. The last three chapters are coded and posted (the last two are the ones Joules' has had finished for ages... : )
Gods, what can I say? It's been fun, I've loved working with Joules, I've learnt so much... All this and so much more I can't begin to express.
Joules started this monster in January 2001 and I leapt in during January 2002 (giving it a new lease of life, if I correctly recall Joules' words at the time <smirk> ) and now, almost 3 years after that it's finished. (Joules has just pointed out we've produced the equivalent of seven novels in that space of time! Seven! Good gods, see what inspiration will do for you?)
Oh bloody hell, I'm going to start crying again. Tch. Running out of hankies, too, let alone my glasses fogging up...
<waves hand airily UK-ward> It's your turn, Joules, you say something profound to mark the occasion...

Cracking thunderstorms over the past couple of days! Though they make the cubs very nervous and I can't use the computer in case of power surges. Eh well, it's worth it for the light-show. : )

Wouldn't environmental archaeology be a cool thing to study? That'd be amazing, tracing back an area, charting the changes and finding out how it used to look.

Blimey, leeches can move fast when they're hungry. Kind of creepy really, watching this icky twig barrelling towards you…

Saturday was the school's Transport Extravaganza Fair. It was okay, not enough 2nd hand stuff for me to paw through – not that I could've spent much time looking anyway, not with 2 cubs bouncing up and down about the rides. Some of the exhibitors were very interesting, (the Meccano club, again? Haven't I already seen them this year?) and given more time (and money) I probly could've had a teeny bit more fun.
The thing only went for 3 hours, fortunately, and we could only stay for 2, but the cubs managed to get 2 rides on the miniature trains, and one on the go-karts so they were happy. There was a helicopter there this year, would've loved to have gone on that but at $40 per person I couldn't quite justify it.
I will be very glad when the school year is over, frankly, I'm sick to death of filling in forms and handing over money. Aaaaargh! Will the torment never end?!
No, it's fine, I'm fine now. Nothing to see here.

I scored a free set of plastic storage boxes yesterday. The shelf price was lower than the scanned price so according to store policy I get the item for nothing. Hee.

Soulsis and I (plus our accoutrements of motherhood) went to Niki's on Sunday for some xmas craft fun. <rolls eyes> Whose idea was this? Actually it wasn't too bad, but then again I hadn't been the one to stay up late slaving over gingerbread. <g> There were lots of little gingerbread houses to decorate, and when they were done there were lots of biscuits could do with some brightening up, too. Making the icing-glue was the easy part.
The children had fun though and it was all relatively peaceful. What more can you ask?

There's a fashion shop (sorry, boutique) at our shopping centre called MNG. No idea what it stands for but every time I see the logo the word 'minge' leaps to mind…

Our ABC has recently held a poll for My Favourite Book. Thousands of entries, apparently. The top 10 was interesting with 'LotR' coming in first. Can't say I'm surprised but I wonder how well it would've done if not for the movies still being in recent memory.
I almost got 'round to voting, by the way, though I was initially stumped by what my favourite book could be. I mean, how do you judge? I've read a lot of brilliant stuff over the years. But then I figured your fav book would be one you kept coming back to, one that meant something to you, one that still moved you. With those criteria it was no contest, my favourite book is 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte. It was the first book where I remember really identifying with the main character, I felt everything she did and more. I was enraged on her behalf, and heart-broken, and ultimately blissfully happy for her at the end.
Hn, okay, perhaps the fluggy-bunny's been around longer than I'll admit. : )

I've had a look at the next chapter of the cubs' father's drivel Romance.
My head hurts. The fact he's a newbie writer is painfully obvious, he hasn't quite got to grips yet with 'establishing scenes' or keeping the time-frame consistent. Important things, in my opinion. I like to have a firm sense of where I am in the story, unless that disorientation is deliberate and done cleverly, of course.
Buuuuut, looking back over my early stuff… I can hardly point the finger and laugh. I've come a long way, no doubt he will, too.

Saw some 'new' LotR action-figures today. <shakes head> I didn't think it was possible for this series to get any worse. I was wrong. I've been puzzling over who the Elrond figure reminds me of - it's certainly not the Lord of Imladris - and I think I've got it. Remember the film Dark Crystal? Remember the witch/astrologer creature? The ugly one with the long earlobes and bulbous nose? Yerrsss… Not impressed.
The Helm's Deep Legolas is worse though. Not even pretty for a start, and I know that by that part of the story bathing hadn't been high on anyone's list for ages, but honestly the elf's hair was never faeces-brown!

Last night was the school's annual xmas concert.
………
At least it didn't go for long.
No, I'm exaggerating, it wasn't that painful and the grade 2's put in a rather interesting, rather avant-garde performance where the noises coming from the percussion instruments they were using didn't appear to have any connection with what they were supposed to be performing. <g> Ah, I can make my own amusement…

I asked the cubs what they'd like to get their dad for xmas and they suggested a Transformer or a Neopet. <sigh> I don't think they've quite got the idea that a present should be something the recipient wants. : )

Awww… Brazilian giant otters pair for life…

I saw a really cute hooded top made out of cheesecloth in a shop the other day. The pattern's dead simple too, won't be at all difficult to copy, and for what they were charging for one of the things I can get enough material for three.

Ah… The house reeks of Lush's 'Rock Star' soap again, so much nicer to get a whiff of that on coming inside rather than… well… less pleasant odours. (Odours not produced by me, the cubs or the cat, I hasten to add.)

My mum's suggested she and I go to the Blue Mountains again next year – and take the cubs with us. Actually that could work really well. Means we'll have to drive up – which means we'll have our own transport up there instead of relying on the people we're staying with – which also means if the cubs get too boisterous I can spirit them away with relative ease. Can also take the cubs down to Sydney by train for day-trips to the Zoo and Museums, something I've wanted to do for ages.
Of course, taking the cubs means less of a genuine holiday for me but I'm sure I'll be able to convince their father to have them for a day or so when we get back.

Mmm… Super Saiyan 4… pretty monkey…
Had to giggle during a flashback ep of DBZ-GT though, Vegeta saying he'd tried to be good like Goku, and me thinking that that'd take an acquired brain injury, wouldn't it? Cos that's what turned Goku around. <smirk>

Been happily watching some Captain Scarlet. Didn't realise that the basically peaceful Mysterons became the bad-guys after their first encounter with humans, who – predictably – went: "They're looking at us funny! Kill them! Kill them!" <g>

Heh, well I've written the first chapter of another novel.
What happened to the other one?
…………

Look!

Over there!!

Naked bishies!!

<scarpers>

Gah. Impulse shopping. I shouldn't wander aimlessly around the shopping centre when I'm feeling less than sparkling…

Neon-tetras, the little shiny fish, come from murky waters, that's why they're so bright, so they can recognise their shoal in the gloom. Does that mean that the tetras being bred – and kept – in captivity, in clear water, will eventually become less bright cos they don't need the colours?

It's not often I get the urge to cook anything more than I absolutely have to but I made a cake on the weekend. An apple upside-down cake. (I really wanted a pineapple upside-down cake 'cept I didn't have any pineapple.) Anyway, it was easy and fun, though I ended up cooking the thing just a smidge too long and the sugar/butter goo in the base of the pan didn't so much caramalize as turn to toffee. Mmmm… apple-flavoured toffee… This also made the edges of the cake lovely and chewy. <g> Needless to say it didn't last long, though it was the cubs' father and I who polished it off, the cubs weren't interested. I mean it was different and therefore probably poisonous… <rolls eyes>

Heh – 'self-insertion'. It even sounds masturbatory. <smirk>

It's nestling season again. How do I know? Is it the busy to-ing and fro-ing of the mummy and daddy birds as they bring food to their broods? No, it's the dead baby bird lovingly deposited outside my bedroom door.
Bloody cat. At least it wasn't a native species…

"You don't look like you've been raped. You're sitting down all right. You don't have any bruises..."

This is allegedly what a male teacher said to his 15 year old student after she reported she'd been raped by 4 men while on a study-tour of Italy. She's also stated that 2 female teachers pressured her into making a statement that it was 'consensual' then took her to a hospital so she could be given the morning after pill. Apparently she was then expected to reimburse the school for the cost of the taxi and filling the prescription. She's now taking her school to court for breaching their duty of care.

... speechless...
Our children are so precious, aren't they? So much more important than a school's reputation or the 'hassle' of reporting a brutal crime.

And the cubs' father's barbecue set has seen its first use. I'm sure the thing was designed by boys for boys though. All the utensils are very long - to keep the wielder away from the heat of the bbq - but consequently they're absolute buggers to wash. They don't fit easily into the sink, or on the draining rack. <rolls eyes> Typical...

For a few years now, lured by the amount of money successful novelists are supposed to receive, the cubs' father has been talking about writing a Mills and Boon type novel. Well, he's finished it, all 48-something-thousand words, and I've agreed to edit. I've just finished the first chapter and it was hard work. Admittedly it was the first thing he'd ever written so it was very clunky and repetitions abounded, but fortunately he's highly literate so spelling and grammar weren't a problem. He's pleased with the changes I suggested, saying they lifted the whole piece and gave it a definite polish. Heh. He assured me the later chapters won't be quite so bad, and when I said I hoped not or I'd have to charge him for my services he said he'd planned on giving me a percentage of any earnings anyway. <blink> Ok, that'll be nice but I won't count on it - this genre is notoriously difficult for new authors to break into.
What makes the whole exercise interesting is that he's working to a formula (sorry, house-standard) that I'm not familiar with - or interested in - but if we can get the manuscript to a point where it won't be rejected out of hand by an editor it'll be a foot in the door.

And meanwhile... the next LotR combination-chapter is almost finished. Joules has done the lion's share of this one and it's great! Things are getting very interesting in Edoras...

D'oh! Forgot to say thank you also, to Joules, for hosting that little video snippet of my cat! She's so cute! (Er, the cat, I mean, it's more than my life is worth to risk calling Joules cute... : )

Found this amongst some old papers - it's a horoscope that was in a Simpson's school-diary thing from about <thinking> 12 years ago? It still makes me giggle...

Aries: Assertive, ambitious, brave. Secretly aspires to world domination.

Taurus: Methodical, practical, tough. Thinks spontaneity is a disease.

Gemini: Intelligent, talkative, shrewd. Can't use one word when three will do.

Cancer: Compassionate, homely, sweet. Will possibly never leave home.

Leo: Confident, forceful, proud. Has deep relationship with mirrors.

Virgo: Meticulous, diligent, keen. Complains about holes in doughnuts.

Libra: Easygoing, amicable, calm. Takes both sides in every argument.

Scorpio: Sexy, magnetic, deep. Destined to form own religious cult.

Sagittarius: Vibrant, adventurous, bold. Thinks bungee jumping is for wimps.

Capricorn: Serious, tenacious, firm. Uncanny resemblance to school principal.

Aquarius: Charming, rebellious, aloof. Chief suspect whenever graffiti appears.

Pisces: Perceptive, romantic, kind. Cries when reading greeting cards.

<g> The greeting card thing is only true when the fluggy-bunny's out of her cage. Bit worried about what it says for Cancer though - I can see that being all too likely...

OK, I've uploaded the first Kittenkong movie here. At least, I hope I have, I've never tried uploading a movie before! It's in avi format, so should play OK in Windows Media Player, and it's just over 3 megabytes. You may need to right-click and 'save target as'. If it doesn't work, let me know and I'll see if I can sort it out...

<shakes fist> A pox on eBay!
Fair enough I know it's just asking for trouble to go poking around there, but dang it all...
I was idly having a browse for Two Towers dvds, just to see what's available - you know how it is - and found someone selling one of the gift sets of Fellowship! Aaaargh! <whimper> These sets include figurines of the Argonaths 'that's those two ruddy great statues that guard the entrance to Gondor in FotR' (quote from Joules:) and they're the only bits of LotR merchandise I covet! I wants them! And I can't in conscience think about bidding until after xmas. <grumble pout> Oh well, no doubt there'll be more of them popping up for auction in the future, possibly even some I can afford...

It was the cubs' father's birthday today. I got him a nifty set of barbecue utensils contained in an aluminum case. I figured, he's a dad, he'll be getting a bbq set at some point in his life, it might as well be one that looks like it's being carted about in a pistol-case. : )
Anyway, he seemed pleased and wants to have a barbecue for his birthday dinner.
(He was also pleased with the pair of miniature knock-off terra-cotta warriors I bought for the cubs to give him. I spose 14-ish years with someone must give you some insight into what they'd appreciate.)

There might have been something else I wanted to vent express but buggered if I can remember right now.
<sigh> I want a sleep-in. Only 3 weeks 'til the end of the school year...

<sniggering> Alarice sent me this - Preparing for Emergencies. It's very funny!

This morning I had the <dramatic reverb> final exam... Pretty sure I passed, though as usual I've probly lost marks for careless mistakes. Heh.
Treated myself to some sushi afterwards, and some fresh cherries and lychees with cream... mmmm...

So. The latest LoTR story's been posted (Joules, above and beyond the call of duty - there was 21 pages to code!) and the next has been started. This isn't going to turn into another saga though, there's a definitive ending planned, one that actually, kind of, careens back into the canon universe. Stay tuned...

Roast cherry tomatoes – when dropped from waist height to the floor – go splot…

<grrrr> Well that was fun. Went outside to feed the piggles and found they'd escaped from their cage. Not sure if they'd been 'helped' or not, the brick holding the catbox up against the bulk of the enclosure had been pushed to one side and the catbox itself moved. Hm. Could've been a dog – with the back fence still down (nope, it's not been repaired yet) it's possible one of the little beasts could've got in.
In this instance I was glad of the hip-high grass in the backyard, it meant the piggles didn't have to go far to look for shelter (heh, they were lurking around the mandarin tree 6 inches away from their cage) which made them easier to find and catch.

<astonished> Fed the cubs some pumpkin mashed in with potato tonight and they ate the lot! Cor! I don't doubt the lashings of grated cheese in the mix didn't hurt, either.

Counted all the bits of the 2nd quilt into neat, row-sized bundles and at the end there was none missing, or left over. Hoorah!

The school has put up metal roofs over the walkways around the portable classrooms. With summer coming on the extra shade will be more than welcome. As a bonus the new, temporary school now has more parent-shelters than the old one did.

For ages I've been craving Honey Smacks, a sticky-sweet breakfast cereal from years ago. The closest available substitute is something called Honey Weets (different company, I think) but I've resisted buying them cos a: they're full of suger, and b: they're reaaally expensive. But, I succumbed the other day…
Gee, they're yummy. : ) I've been enjoying them immensely.
It'll probly be a while before I indulge myself again, but at least I know they're close to what I remember the taste of the original cereal to be.

Well, okay, yes, I have been writing a sort of LoTR fanfic and to do it I've been using a style of language that's much different to what I normally use. It's been remarkably easy to fall into the cadence though. As Joules said, this older form of English is beautiful, rich and very descriptive and it's a pleasure to work with. I couldn't see it meshing well with something like Dystopia but there's a couple of fantasy type scenarios pending – I could try using it there, see how it feels…
But then again, I've seen older styles of language used in modern, or futurisitic plots and settings and they combined brilliantly. Hm…

Ahah! Found a copy of Matrix – Reloaded for less than half-price in a department store sale. I'll nip in and put a copy on lay-by later this week. : )
Couldn't find a copy of The Two Towers anywhere though. Tch.

The cubs and I went to soulsis' over the weekend so I could look after all the bratlings while soulsis ran around attending meetings and conferences and getting stressed. It wasn't too bad, actually. The children are all old enough now they don't need constant supervision (and they can make their own breakfast and sandwiches) so I was left to my own devices for a good deal of the time. Got a lot of sewing done… (Could've managed a wee bit more writing than I did but I'd forgotten my ear-plugs.)
Slept in both mornings though, horribly. The problem is that soulsis has curtains on her bedroom windows and I don't. I usually wake up when it's light and go to sleep when it's dark. That normally works for me but when – because of the curtains – it's dark all the time… <g> Ooops.
And finally, soulsis found me a gorgeous purple plush gold-fish! It's got a fantail! So cute!

(… okay, this is 'finally')
On Friday night as we were trying to puzzle out how soulsis' digital camera worked, I inadvertanly made 3, 10 second movies of KittenKong. Hee. I thought I was taking a still picture, but the camera was on the wrong setting… Live and learn, eh, live and learn.

(And an addendum: the owner of the property adjoining ours at the back, just came round about the fence. We've given her the contact number for the estate agent so she'll be dealing with them. Funnily enough she used to rent our house 4 years before we did. Heh.)

<grumble> It's happened again - Joules has written something engrossing enough to make me want to play in the universe as well. I stress that this is not a Tolkien fanfic I'm writing, but another JAT derivative fic... about elves, gods help us all. <sigh> Flight and Fancy, Alliance Chronicles, Haadri and now LoTR slash. <assumes melodramatic Elrond-pose> I'm doomed! DOOMED!
But it is fun, it's always fun. : )

Trotted off to class this morning, all psyched-up for the revision test (the actual, counting-towards-my-marks test is next week) to discover that – ready for this? – the huge wad of revision exercises I’d completed on the weekend was the test paper. <rolls eyes> Oh well at least I got to go home early…

Finished the next Dystopia chapter! In a day! (It's titled 'Bitch', and been posted already, thank you, Joules. : )
It’s only short, but still it’s been a while since I’ve been able to have something finished so quickly. And, I think, it’s the penultimate chapter. Leading on from this one I can tie up several of my story threads in the next. Heh. Then apart from a few one-offs that are essentially side-stories, the bulk of this universe is done with. Unless some other, involved plot-line wheedles its way into my consciousness.
Hm, might look to finishing Elga next.

glochidate: (botanical) barbed at the tip. [from the Greek; glokhidion - arrow head.]

Isn’t that a cool word?

OkapiPrincess sent me this. (Wait for the pictures to load.) As she said in the email – not quite sure what’s going on but it’s good for a giggle. They look like a happy family to me and I love the bunny suit… : )

Right, unless I've miscalculated again - not an impossibility - now I should have all the pieces for the second quilt.
And I didn't set foot inside a shop to do it. : ) See, there are advantages to having a stash of material...

Aaaand Joules is writing a sequel to Hidden Hero. (Power to the people! Ask - or drop pointed hints - and ye shall receive.) Two paragraphs into the snippets and I was already sniffling, tch. She's promised me more lemon this time though I still don't think it'll end up counting as a PWP. Hee - don't care, I just want Horse Lord smut!

Okay, so I'm rubbish at maths. I don't actually have all the pieces ready for the 2nd quilt, I'm 70ish short. Ooops. Oh well, that means I'll have to go find some more material - tra la la. (In all probability I can make up the number from the material I've already got but it's so much fun material shopping...)

Soulsis was sposed to come around today but the weather was icky so she couldn't. I wasn't idle though, got done all the homework and revision I need for next week's test on the solitary subject I took this semester. I have a talent for filing, it seems, not sure what that says about me. That I have an ordered mind, perhaps? Hah! Not from where I stand.

My latest AC is finished and posted. (Thanks, Joules!) I'm quite pleased with it, for a change.
This series is definitely winding down. Sad in a way but the stories have just about played themselves out. It's been good, though, very satisfying. The characters have all become real to us over the time - I've fallen in love with half of them! I've learnt a lot, also, about fiction writing and I have to thank Joules for that. : ) Don't think I'd have had the courage to tackle my own stuff without her encouragement.

And hey, the lounge-room's still clean. Neat, eh?

To quote Kenny Everett (in a high-pitched, overly campy voice):

"Oh, wot a day I've had..."

The car's brakes have been squealing for the past week, having been worn down to the metal. The cubs' father had an attack of 'Y' chromosome and decided to fix them himself so he dropped the cubs and I off at their school this morning then trotted (screeched) off to get the parts. While he was doing that I puttered around the shopping centre paying bills and staring wistfully at the neat stuff I can't afford before heading home on the bus.
So far so good.
Now, to complicate matters, the school was having its annual prep-grade 3 dinner this evening which was due to start at 5. The car wasn't anywhere near fixed by mid-afternoon so I nobly suggested I could take the bus to meet the cubs after school, which meant - because of the dinner thing - there was no point us coming home by bus cos we'd have to pretty much head straight back out. So I had to keep the cubs amused for an hour or so before they were due back at school. <rolls eyes> Cue milk-shakes and 'oooh'ing at the interactive Neopets in the shops. Was I having fun yet? What do you think...?
Got the cubs back to school on time, just as their father texted me to say the car was fixed. Hoorah! Headed back to the shopping centre full of hope that I could go and see a movie.
<grumble> Cubs' father had prior plans so he couldn't pick the cubs up so I couldn't stay to see the movie. And I had to get the bloody bus home again! Was in such a bad mood I stamped off to get fish and chips and lollies for dinner and ended up with a stomach-ache. And then as I was heading out to pick the cubs up in a car whose brakes were technically fixed but not exactly safe (3 inches of dead air before you get anything approaching stopping power is not safe) it started to rain. No, actually it pissed down and we all got soaked.
But the cubs had a good, fun evening and at least the car doesn't sound like it's unroadworthy (so we're not as likely to get pulled over and canaried) but damn, I'm tired...
Can I stop now?

Heh, well I've got all the pieces I need for the 2nd quilt cut out ready to go...
I've noticed that when I'm buying material I tend to go for florally patterns over geometric every time, no matter what the colours.

It's the time of year when all the pretty-shiny calendars start appearing in the shops. I've already got myself a mini one with Australian frogs but I'm keeping an eye out for a chicken one. Haven't seen any yet but there was a really cute guinea pig calendar. As I was cooing over looking at the pics I couldn't help thinking it'd be so much easier to take photos of piggles. They tend to stay where you put them, unlike rats who're very 'ooo, whatya doing? What's that? Bored now, I'm going over here...' <bg>

I had a lovely dream the other night. The household (as is) moved into a new house. A huge, old, creaky colonial thing we have a lot of in Victoria. It was lovely! Decorative pressed tin ceilings, springy floorboards that needed restumping, clean, fresh paint. We essentially moved into a set of rooms at one end of the house leaving several enormous ballroom-sized rooms empty at the other end. I felt so light there, it was almost like I was flying as I zipped about exploring rooms, opening doors, making all sorts of fascinating discoveries (the attic had a big slot-car racing track, intricately landscaped like you find with train sets.)
<happy sigh> This isn't the first time I've had a dream like that. Wouldn't it be lovely if I found a house in reality that had the same sort of vibe as the ones in my dreams?

Heh, The Two Towers was on telly night before last and for the first time ever I managed to stay awake during the Lothlorien bit. I kid you not, I've seen the movie twice before (at the cinema and on dvd) and both times I fell asleep just as the party was stumbling into the wood. Was quite surprised to see Haldir...
Speaking of which...
<grumbles at Joules> A PWP you said! Hidden Hero is not a pwp - by definition! Yes there was a little bit of elf-smut but there was also a plot! One that'll keep me thinking (and sniffling sadly) for days yet.
Hm, I spose it's something like the difference between pornography and erotic art, the first merely arouses or titilates, the second engages your emotions.
<grumbles some more> Yes, that was a compliment...

OkapiPrincess has once again saved my sanity. I was wondering about the origins of a quote I tend to use a lot, "life's rich pageant" but neither I nor Joules could find anything online. I thought it was a line from something Shakespeare wrote but I was wrong.

"The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations attributes the phrase to Arthur Marshall, British journalist and former schoolmaster, 1910-89, who said, in 'The Games Mistress,' a recorded monologue from 1937: 'What, knocked a tooth out? Never mind, dear, laugh it off, laugh it off; it's all part of life's rich pageant.'"

So there you go. Thanks, Okapi!
Now, does anyone know where the 'life's rich tapestry' quote comes from?

There's been a lot of heavy, consistent rain over the past few days and unfortunately it looks like we've developed another leak in the roof. It's in the middle of the lounge room ceiling, smack-bang between the light fixtures. And I don't like the spongieness of the floorboards around the toilet, there's probly a leak there too. <sigh> I suspect this house is going to fall down around our ears sometime soon - I'd rather not be here when it does.

Ah, Duel Master, (another one of those animated half-hour commercials, like YuGi Oh) is owned by Wizards of the Coast. The crass commercialism makes so much more sense now...

One of my cubs lost another of his teeth, the second in a few months. His brother, who hasn't lost any teeth for ages, wanted to 'borrow' it so he could get the money from the tooth-fairy. <shakes head> I suggested we hang onto the tooth until 2nd cub looses one of his own then they can both be given to the tooth-fairy at the same time.
Then I hid the tooth - out of sight, out of mind. :)

Got half-way through my next AC and then realised the events I was writing about didn't fit within the timeline. Cue banging head on desk. Okay, I can wrestle the dates, squoosh them so they fit with only a little bit of rewriting needed for the chapter.
Not a total cock-up then. Heh.

Made a deal with the cubs today that if they helped clean up the lounge room, and had it done before a certain time, we could do something interesting for dinner.
<g> Wot a surprise, they chose Smorgy's. But it meant I didn't have to cook so I'm not complaining too loudly.
Wonder if I can offer them the same deal for their bedroom?

Heh, tomorrow (November the 5th) would've been my 11th wedding anniversary. Funny how some things work out, isn't it?

Saw something very cool on a garden makeover program that was showing while I was waiting to renew my drivers license - big terracotta plant pots shaped like snail shells! I want some! (And comparing the photos on my old and new license it appears I've lost some weight but I'm not as happy. :)
After dealing with that I snuck off to one of my favourite fabric shops that was having a sale. Ok, perhaps I was a little incautious with my money but I did get what I went there for as well, which was the batting for my quilt.
Hee, now I've got no excuse not to get on with it.

You know, if people were more accurate typists I wouldn't have anywhere near as many interesting words on my typo list. I use this list when I'm stuck for non-standard names or words - it's invaluable!
Here's some of my favourites:

camelflagued.
quitre
chirtle

... and my all-time favourite that sounds like a Mexican masked wrestler:

Roflamo

<g>
(Please don't anyone use these cos they'll likely find their way into something I do.)

The Golden Arches of Doom have just finished a run of mini plush Neopets, the toys that went with their <snort> 'happy' meals. The cubs loved them though, and thanks to their father mangaged to get a full set each. I have to admit the critters were very cute - I liked the Techos in particular but why colourful little lizards would be appealing I just can't guess.

(The cubs and their father share one very annoying trait, that of calling me to see something/what they're doing right when I'm in the middle of something myself. Grrr, I think it's the expectation that I'll drop whatever it is I'm doing and rush over to them that aggravates me more than anything else...)

A funny thing happened to me in the fish-shop on Cup Day evening. The telly was tuned to one of the commercial channels news broadcast and I saw the female news anchor was wearing something that looked like an aggregation of insects in her hair. That'll be a nod towards 'Cup Day Fashion' I thought, rather cynically, then I noticed what was behind her. To be fair I didn't catch the very beginning of the broadcast, nor could I hear what was being said but I really hoped the channel wasn't trying to pass off the footage of a bright, sunny Racecourse teeming with people as 'live' footage cos sure as cupcakes by that time of the day Melbourne had been grey and wet for hours.
So, I emailed the details to Media Watch a program that examines the 'innacuracies' our media baffles us with. Should be interesting to see what/if they have anything to say about it.

Soulsis, Niki and I had an interesting discussion on Tuesday as well, about taking allll the kidlings out of school for a couple of weeks, or a few months, and doing a road-trip either interstate or around Australia. That'd be amazing! But it'd cost a fair bit and would need some serious organising. <bg> Fortunately Niki's good at that sort of thing.
The idea of a short trip to Tasmania end of next year has been put forward though and I think that would be a great start. :)
We shall see, I guess, we shall see...

Heh, it was a public holiday today because of the Melbourne Cup and I still don't know which horsie won the race...
Had fun though, the cubs and I went to Niki's for a barbecue with Soulsis and her chicks. It rained heavily (we were watching the nearby creek rise) and it briefly blew up a storm but by then all the food had been cooked and we could eat inside.
Soulsis gave me some material! A good length of a rich, plain purple fabric, and <happy squeak> another piece of purple with silver stars! I have plans for those.

Sort of started the next AC this morning before going out - basically getting some things straight in my mind. This'll be another 'fill-in' chapter, as it's not directly connected with the main story arc, but it'll bring a few characters satisfactorily up to date...

Ahhh, the Aquarium is always so much more fun when it's not crowded...
The cuttle fish were very active today, squishing their tentacles right up against the glass, and we watched the widdle dumpling squid (1 1/2 inches long) hunting brine shrimp. So cute! So fast! Didn't see the water rat at all but more of the tadpoles are growing legs and the froglets are definitely getting bigger. Very pretty, too, the froglets are, browns and greens and gold. :) I want some!
Had a couple of go's on the Aquarium's latest 'interactive entertainment' (ie: you watch a movie while getting thrown around on a hydraulic platform) The Ice Ride. Occupational Health and Safety would have issues with the way the 'Antarctic Ice Company' gets its staff around - all those bone-jarring landings, things falling down around you - but as Soulsis said, it looks like a really boring place to live and work, perhaps the employees are making their own entertainment? <g>

<narrowed eyes> Joules has threatened to write some elf-lemons.
Hn, I'm torn. Yay! Lemons! Butbutbut... elves... <shudder>
(Also, given how Joules can convert me, through the medium of her lemons, to things I normally wouldn't look at twice...Not sure I'd want to read them - despising elves is well within my comfort zone :)

Tch, 10.30 at night and we get trick or treaters. Wasn't going to give them anything (we don't do Halloween over here, remember? No matter what the telly tells us) but they were polite and said nice things about my children so I changed my mind. Luckily I'd been to the supermarket earlier, eh? The cubs were thrilled about it all though <rolls eyes> Easily entertained, my two...

Finally got 'round to watching the Dune DVD extended version today. The added prologue does help a little, explaining some of the basic background info but it still doesn't make this a good movie. The SPFX are extremely hokey and with a couple of exceptions the performances are dreadfully overacted or laughably wooden (thereby setting the trend for Kyle McLachlan and Sean Youngs future work). I'll have to watch the original version to confirm but I'm sure the editing on this new version has been butchered further. There's odd pauses and cut-aways and while I didn't watch every minute I'm sure the scene where Baron Harkonnen attacks the young, scared servant was cut. The costumes, sets and some of the spaceship models are gorgeous though! There's some beautiful visuals in this movie and that alone makes it worth another look.

Pooh. Looks like the cubs and I won't be able to go to the Botanic Gardens tomorrow, the bit I want them to see isn't open on Mondays, so we'll go to the Aquarium instead. :) Hee.

Hn, been longer than I thought since I'd updated. It's not that there's nothing much happening in my life, it's just that it's more of the same.
I have finished the final linking AC chapter though (13 pages, woohoo!) which Joules will probly post sometime this weekend.

Oh yes, we had some very strong winds the other day - our back fence blew down. Very exciting. The piggles' cage was out of the way, fortunately. A fence-fixing person came 'round this afternoon to get the details of our landlord. I just hope he (the landlord) doesn't take it into his head, again, to turn up unnanounced to check the damage for himself. Hate it when he does that, it's so intimidating. Of course, it doesn't help that our 'lawn' is hip-height again...

And we've got a four-day weekend coming up: a curriculum day at the cubs' school on Monday and a public holiday (for a horse race) on Tuesday. Planning on doing sod-all Saturday and Sunday, but Monday I thought I might take the cubs to the Botanic Gardens in the city to see the new Children's Garden, and Soulsis suggested a barbecue on Tuesday. Sounds like a plan to me. : )

Heh, advertising works. The past few times the cubs and I have been to the movies there was a 'piracy is stealing' ad being shown. The other day one of my cubs was looking over my shoulder while I was online and noticed what I was doing.
"Isn't that piracy?" he said as I clicked the 'download' button for an mp3.
"Um, technically..." I replied then went on to explain why I downloaded material. Most of the music I hunt up is stuff I've got on vinyl and haven't been able to find on CD, or newer, more obscure tracks I haven't found the CDs of yet. Or it's just copies of things I do have on CD but like to have on the computer. See, only technically piracy - I have every intention of buying the CD versions of things when I can find them. Honest!

(Grrrr... the cubs' father's just come in and told me he saw a movie tonight. Nice for some, being able to go out at the drop of a hat and not have to worry about baby-sitters.
Grumpy? Me? Humph.)

Have you seen the scary 'Wolves at the door' tv ad El Presidente Bush is running? (Yes, even here in the antipodes we've seen it. Probably not surprisingly we're watching the US election closely.)
This is a reply to the ad found on Ghandi's 'Bush Out' blog.

Hn. There's an awful lot of bribery and emotional manipulation on FFnet.

'If I get enough reviews I'll write some more...'

<grumble> Oh please, spare me. It's not as if the standard of writing there is generally worth going back for anyway...
(Yes, I'm a snob but dammit, someone's got to have standards!)

Soulsis sent me the link for this little movie - The Meatrix. It's funny, in a serious sort of way.
Enjoy the beauty that is Moo-pheus... <g>

I was napping on the couch this afternoon and - without prompting - one of my cubs pulled a blanket over me. <soppy g> Moments like that make being a mum worthwhile.

Catalogues are dangerous things. The last DVD volume of Yu Yu Hakusho I bought had a Madman catalogue included. Spotted 'Wolf's Rain', thought it looked kinda interesting and decided to have a look in my fav multi-media store just in case they had it...
<sigh> They did, but only the first volume.
Aside from a couple of niggles I can't quite get my head around I'm enjoying what I've seen of this series so far. Animation is very good (done by the same group that produced Cowboy BeBop, I believe) and I've watched enough nature docos to find the characters' mannerisms wolfy enough to be believable. There's been some intriguing glimpses of the apparently decadent Nobles and clues abound that this is not a happy happy universe. I'm already emotionally involved with the four main charas who - with the exception of the 'leader' - all have well-developed personalities. (I want to smack a couple of them over the head, always a good sign <g> ) Hopefully I won't have to wait too long for the next volume, but I won't be looking for any fanfic just yet. Though I have to admit I'm curious to see if/how yaoi is justified amongst a pack of wolves.

I had kangaroo for dinner tonight. :) It was kind of like beef only more so - very rich. Very filling.
The cubs, naturally, made faces when I asked if they'd like to try it as well...

This was also nicked from Onna's blog: (http://www.thebigview.com/pastlife/)

Your past life diagnosis:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know how you feel about it, but you were female in your last earthly incarnation.
You were born somewhere in the territory of modern Yukon around the year 950.
Your profession was that of a preacher, publisher or writer of ancient inscriptions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your brief psychological profile in your past life:
Timid, constrained, quiet person. You had creative talents, which waited until this life to be liberated. Sometimes your environment considered you strange.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:
Your main task is to make the world more beautiful. Physical and spiritual deserts are just waiting for your touch. Keep smiling!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you remember now?

No, that wasn't my last incarnation (which I think was early 20th century, somewhere in Europe being bombed during WWII) and my environment considers me strange this time 'round!
Interesting though.

(nicked from Onna's blog:)


tee hee hee...




You're a SCARY yaoi fangirl.


Are you a yaoi fangirl?
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Gah, been having problems with the internet, specifically not being able to use the browsers with any consistency. Thought at first it was heavy internet traffic but turns out the cause was the new version of Zone Alarm I downloaded recently. So, after advice given <bows in direction of UK> I've disabled ZA and started using the firewall that came with XP. Feeling a teensy bit vulnerable at the moment...
Anyway, now at least I can read the blogs, and update my own, and catch up on the comics. :)

Finished attaching the quilt borders! Now I can't do anything else until I've got the wadding but that's okay, it's not as if I don't have anything else to get on with.

I did say there was only going to be one more linking AC chapter but in fact there'll be two. I've started the second one and for a wonder it seems to be rolling along nicely, compared to the grinding effort the past several have been.
What has been fun, though, is organising the creative explosion of ideas for another novel. <g> I think this one will be fun to write as well...

The school had a fund-raising thing this afternoon so after lunch the cubs and I trotted off to the Malvern Town Hall for a combined school choir/Stonnington City Brass Band performance.
All of the town halls - in Victoria, at least - seem to be built in the 'Victorian' style, full of marble and gilt and decorative plaster 'accents'. Pretty, in an overblown sort of way though I don't like them very much.
I'm not fond of brass bands, either, and 'middle of the road' music bores me to tears... The afternoon seemed to drag a bit in places and at times the need to hear some Queens of the Stone Age was acute but I survived - and the kids were cute to watch. Only one of my cubs had wanted to join the performance today but judging by the long face and drooping shoulders when he came onstage I guessed he'd decided he didn't want to take part after all but hadn't been given a choice. <rolls eyes>
There were a couple of fun moments though, most notably when the band played a medley of favourite tv themes including the 60's Batman and the Cruella de Ville song from 101 Dalmatians sounds remarkably like a sleazy strip-tease anthem when played by a brass band. <snigger> Kept myself amused for a little while there with some lurid mental images... (Matrix Twins in Dalmatian skin coats? Don't ask... :)
The event wasn't too painful but dang I was glad when it finished. Hope it raised a reasonable amount of cash for the school...

This 'fill-in-the-blanks' idea comes from Onna's blog via Joules':

If I were a month I would be: March (Northern Hemishpere – Spring)
If I were a day of the week I would be: Tuesday
If I were a time of day I would be: twilight
If I were a sea animal I would be: cuttle fish
If I were a direction I would be: up!
If I were a piece of furniture I would be: coffee table
If I were a sin I would be: cowardice
If I were an historical figure I would be: Portia (Caesar’s wife)
If I were a liquid I would be: ginger beer
If I were a stone I would be: clear quartz, with internal fractures that flashed rainbow.
If I were a tree I would be: a willow
If I were a bird I would be: a sparrow
If I were a flower/plant I would be: ivy
If I were a kind of weather I would be: cool yet sunny
If I were a musical instrument I would be: a flute
If I were a colour I would be: purple, or green.
If I were an emotion I would be: pleasure
If I were a vegetable/fruit I would be: lychee
If I were a sound I would be: a happy squeak
If I were an element I would be: iron
If I were a song I would be: Ballroom Blitz (The Sweet)
If I were a number I would be: 12

Heh, Joules says the only one she agrees with is the musical instrument.

The cubs and I have just spent a couple of days with Mum after she came back from Queensland. It was fine, not too energetic (she was tired) and I still managed to spend more money than I'd budgetted for. Ah well - I have some lovely material to add to the stash I was never going to make...
It could simply be a reaction to me not wanting to be where I am at the moment, but over the weekend I found myself thinking it would be kinda nice to live out near my Mum. It's a pretty area, rural with mountains, quiet and relatively cheap. I'd definitely need a car though and I'd have to take the cubs' futures into consideration before I made a decision. There's high youth unemployment in the area and from what I've seen not a great deal for kids to occupy themselves with.
It may not be a practical move - perhaps I'm just yearning for some peace and space?

This would have to be a first. Got myself the Kill Bill Vol 1 soundtrack, and for a wonder it's got all the bits of music on it that I wanted! Happy now.

Had an amazing dream the other night. I'd unknowingly ingested something - a magical substance, I think - that turned you into a were-creature. (I got the impression it was sposed to have been a practical joke.) The form you took echoed your true nature and once the ability to change had been initiated you had it for life. To start with the changes would be unpredictable and uncontrollable but as time went on you'd be able to control them.
What was my form?
<bg> A dragon...
Only human-sized (something to do with weight-to-size ratio) but the prettiest orangey-gold colour, very similar to some breeds of koi carp...
I woke up from the dream thinking 'and this change is a bad thing because...?' :)

Yay! Finally finished the next AC. I figure there only needs to be one more chapter from me linking the two parts then I can get on with some of the later side-stories.
And Joules latest chapter is very sad...

<sigh> Picking mum up from the airport tomorrow, driving her home then staying overnight for a couple of days. I'm going to miss having the use of her car. Oh well...

Now I'm concerned.
Not only have the Liberals been returned to power (with an increased majority, for gods' sake!) but it looks like in conjunction with the National Party and the Family First party they'll have control of the bloody senate! In the past, government policies (especially stupid, dangerous ones that have the potential to infringe people's liberties) which had been passed by the House of Reps were frequently stopped by the Senate. We don't have that safeguard now. Howard has already stated his intention to resurrect policies that 'have been stalled for months'...
Be afraid, be very afraid.

It’s been a very busy weekend… can I stop now?
Yesterday - Saturday – I went and voted in the Federal Election, taking the cubs with me (they were very interested in the process), then we trotted off to the annual Meccano Club exhibition. After 20 minutes I’d reached the limit of my geek/small boy (there’s not a lot of difference) tolerance and was more than ready to leave but the cubs wanted to stay for a bit longer please, mum…
Got home in time to cook their dinner then get myself ready to go out. Hee. Went to see a Kill Bill double at the Astor with Aaron and some of his friends. I’d not seen either of the movies before (I think I was the only one in the audience who hadn’t! Vir-gin! Vir-gin! Anyway…) but thoroughly enjoyed them both. Once again Tarantino left me impressed and tingly. : ) Dang I like his work. He’s got a phenomenal eye for detail and can genre-hop so smoothly you don’t notice he’s mixing his metaphors, so to speak. And his films always have the best soundtracks! Volume 1 and 2 are very different movies but I think 1 is my favourite cos it made me giggle, and the whole Tokyo sequence was just so cool! Absolutely shits on any attempt at coolness the Matrix movies might have been groping for. <g>
Then today, armed only with a sugar hangover (similar symptoms to an alcohol hangover, just the poison is different) I took the cubs to ScienceWorks. It’s odd but in the last quarter of the year, once the weather starts warming up, ScienceWorks tends to be very quiet, getting busy again in the summer holidays. Not that I’m complaining, this place is way more fun the less people in it. Cubs enjoyed themselves, especially as the ‘do it yourself’ weather reporting thingy was fixed. They love seeing footage of themselves, little hams… :)
The new exhibition about sports and athletes was very interesting, had some t’riffic interactive displays to explore, and the High Voltage show was great! It gives some background info about electricity, explaining how it works, then demonstrates a Van der Graff generator and ends with the firing up of a Tesla coil (!!) to simulate lightning! Cooooool! Now that was fun! A very graphic demonstration about why you shouldn’t go golfing when there’s lightning about. <g>
Heh, I’m ready for a rest though, didn’t have a chance to sleep in or nap this weekend…

Hey, Val, I noticed on the news last night (or the night before, can’t remember) that there was some guy in Dunedin found standing naked on his roof, peering through a rolled-up magazine while claiming to be a pirate.
:) You get the more entertaining loonies in NZ, obviously…

Murphy’s Law of on-line auctions: If you find you’ve bid on more items than you can comfortably afford, don’t assume you’ll be outbid on at least some of them (and so can more easily afford your purchases) because you’re going to win every one of them…
(Just stating this is an observation made on previous experiences, not my current situation. :)

Joules has written some Twins lemon! Aya! <big happy grin> Not that I’ve been hanging out for some or anything… <smirk>

<boggling at weather forecast> It’s going to be what tomorrow? 30 degrees is not spring weather, thank you very much, we’re not sposed to get temperatures like that until late November. <grumble>

It's daft but I've been avoiding rewatching Cowboy BeBop cos I knew the Jupiter Jazz eps would make me cry again.
Heh, I was right. <sniffle> Poor Gren, so beautiful, so tragic... (there has to be a Gren/Vicious backstory, I can taste it!)
Ed's still a hoot, though, I like her. : )

And I thought 005 (from Cyborg Soldier 009) sounded familiar: he's voiced by the same guy (English dub) who did Jet Black in BeBop - John Billingslea.

Started attaching the quilt's 3rd border, won't be long now before I have to hunt down some wadding. That's kind of an intimidating thought, actually - there's an awful lot of quilting to be done...

Thanks, Joules, for posting 'Summer' (my latest Dystopia chapter) for me. At 17ish pages it's the longest thing I've done for a while, I can appreciate the time you've spent. : ) On with the next AC, I guess.

<grump> Just cos I don’t like elves doesn’t make me a dwarf.

Power Puff Girls – The Rock Opera…
I loved it!

”Townsville’s, going downsville… tonight! Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!”

<giggling>

As it happened I didn’t spend the last of my holiday money on food (well, not entirely) I picked up vol.6 of Yu Yu Hakusho instead. Mmm… Suzaku, now there’s a bishie demon for you. : )

Yay! Finished the Dystopia chapter! Another linking AC chapter then the next Dys, I think. That should keep me occupied this week.

The cubs are very excited about the upcoming Federal Election this weekend, to the extent they’re cheering when they see Opposition Leader Mark Latham (Aus. Labor) on the telly, and boo-ing when it’s Prime Minister John Howard. <proud grin> That’s my boys. They’re going to be disappointed if the Liberals get voted in again. According to the latest polls it’s going to be very, very close with the Green’s party preferences likely to have a significant impact on the result. Not surprisingly, both the leaders of the two major parties have been courting the ‘green vote’ assiduously. Not that I believe either of them…

Forgot to mention that I didn't find any snowdomes in Warrnambool, though I did get a slidey-pen from Cheese World. : )
And, Soulsis, the name of that Richard Gere movie is Internal Affairs. <g> I was right!

While I was away the cubs' father was introducing them to role-playing games. <g> Apparently they took to the concepts quickly, not even having a problem using percentile dice or deciphering the character sheets. What can I say? Born gamers...

Back. : )
Fun weekend though not long enough. Just started to properly unwind then we had to come home. Ah well.
Took us about 6 leisurely hours to get there, with a few stops, a nice easy, unhurried journey along the coast. The scenery along the way is gorgeous, and I got a squeaky lobster from Apollo Bay!
We stayed at a lovely little caravan park just outside of Warrnambool, essentially next door to a Golden Arches of Doom with a ship-shaped playground. Niki, Soulsis and I shared a really cute little cabin that had a double bed, 2 sets of bunks and a tiny ensuite bathroom. So tiny, in fact, I was concerned about knocking the door open with my arse while brushing my teeth! <g>
It was good catching up with people - been far too long, as usual, between meetings. We didn't have an itinary as such but we managed to meander our way around to a few things, like a fuge antique place (it had a train carriage as part of it's showroom! <big eyes> ), and down to Logan's beach for a spot of whale-watching! That was amazing, the critters were quite close to the shore and wonderfully active. Visited Cheese World 3 times but only because the first 2 times the place was either closing or closed. <g> It had lots of cheese, funnily enough...
Ate a lot, almost giving myself protein poisoning from all the barbecued meat - hee. : )
We came home via the inland route, quicker but not as scenic. Niki and Soulsis dropped me off a little before 6 p.m. The cubs were glad to see me, so was the cat. : ) I managed to come back with some money despite the squeaky lobster, and the squeaky puffer fish, and the chicken-shaped money box, and the fish-shaped paté knife, plus stuff for the cubs. Quite pleased about that, means I can go opp-shopping or even do something sensible like buy food for my cubs.

It's both good and bad that going away for a few days gives me a chance to take stock of my life. It can be unsettling to confront the pile of unpleasant stuff normally concealed by the everyday getting-on-with-it activities...

[<unhappy sigh>... Pointed comments and thwapping over the back of heads with wings doesn't seem to work... I'll try nagging. Back soon, hab'lan...]

Fine dining in a romantic atmosphere… <sigh> I’ll experience that one of these days. The cubs and I went to Smorgy’s for dinner last night. I had wanted to go see the Thunderbirds movie after we’d taken Mum to the airport, but turns out it was only showing earlier in the day. Sooo, Smorgy’s it was…

Yay! New episodes of Ultimate Muscle. Finally I get to see the Chojin tournament!
And the only female Transformer has put in an appearance.
The cubs thought she could’ve sounded ‘tougher’…

Haven’t managed to finish this latest Dystopia chapter yet but the cubs are back at school next week, fingers crossed I can stop faffing about and get on with things. Wasted too much time already this year.

Going away for the weekend (sans cubs) with Soulsis and Niki and Alarice and Peter etc. Along the Great Ocean Road down to Warrnambool and CheeseWorld. : )
I’m looking forward to it, have to admit, even if it does mean I’ll be without my computer for - <counting on fingers> - 55(ish) hours.
Hee, I’m taking the necessaries to start my neko hat though, just in case I find myself with a moment to spare.
Avagoo'weegend!

Soulsis and her chicks came 'round for a visit on Sunday. They brought me a lovely bunch of flowers including some freesias! I've got them in the lounge room now, can smell them when I walk in the house. <happy sigh>
(Soulsis also gave me a gorgeous old biscuit tin, decorated with dragons and phoenixes, and my first, very own, fluffy bunny. He's pink - and he's sitting on top of my 'puter. <g>)

Cubs and I went to see the Holy Rodent Empire's latest animation extravaganza, 'Home on the Range.'
I don't expect much from this company anymore, saves being disappointed...
The movie was... inoffensive, with a couple of entertaining moments (I especially liked the psychedelic cows sequence). It's a kleenex movie, view and forget.
Tomorrow we're off to the Aquarium! Been a while since we've been there, actually, I'm looking forward to it.

Haven't really done much writing these past few weeks, for one reason or another, but I've almost finished the next Dystopia chapter. That'll be one thing to strike off the list. :)

Aaaand I've finally cut out the border strips for my quilt and started attaching those. I've already got the backing material (courtesy of Mum, via Soulsis) so all that's left to buy is the wadding. Oh, and reels and reels of thread for the quilting... Heh.

I was strangely reluctant to take the Reloaded dvd back to the video hire place last night - but, they’re having an ‘ex-rental’ sale. I asked the clerk if there was a copy of Reloaded available. He found 2 copies of Revolutions but that was all. He did suggest, however, that I come in and ask the boss who would probly be happy to sell me a copy. Hee. :)

I convinced the cubs to try a supermarket brand of one of their favourite sugar-spiked cereals. There is absolutely no chance that I’ll be pinching any of it, it’s foul! Cubs don’t seem to have noticed the difference though. <shakes head> They’re quite happy to eat bowls of the stuff. Bleurgh.

‘Jesus is coming – look busy.’
<snigger> That was tattooed on the buttocks of the fake Archbishop of Canterbury in Johnny English. Ridiculous movie, but that was to be expected – it is farce, and it did make me chuckle.

Hn. Elga is a finite story as well – I could finish that up soon. Then, with that, Dystopia and the AC out of the way I could concentrate on something else, like the Superhero universe, or the fantasy. <g> (Novel? What novel?)

<giggling> This pic is by Joules, inspired by comments attached to the 'My cubs are knackered...' post (Sept 22rd).








<still giggling> Yes, this pretty much sums up our relationship...

The cubs and I went to the Royal Melbourne Show today, which is an annual biiiig carnival/agricultural show thing that’s been going on for years. We got there just after 10 a.m so there weren’t that many people to begin with, but by the time we left at 1.30 the crowds were annoying. It was fun though, in an ouchie-expensive sort of way. Rides ranged from $3.50 for the ‘baby’ rides, to $7.50 for the really cool ones that give you bruises and nausea, while showbags (sample bags) went from $2 - $30. And then there was the cost of getting in to the place. I blew my budget, but I kind of expected that, so’d brought some extra cash just in case.
I love ferris wheels! The cubs and I went on both the medium-sized wheel and the big one that takes over 5 minutes to load/unload patrons. Weeee! You get a great view from the top of the big one. The cubs also got a ride on the dodgems and a miniature railway, which satisfied them though they would’ve quite happily had a go at several other things. Maybe next year, when I’m unnecessarily wealthy...
I’d researched the showbags before going to the Show, discussing with the cubs the 2 I thought they’d be most interested in. That worked, they were primed for those and mostly ignored the hundreds of others available. :) They got a Thomas the Tank Engine showbag each (which came with a back-pack, so they could carry their own food – bonus!) and there was enough stuff in the Garfield bag that they were happy to share one. I love it when my cubs are reasonable... As one of the bonus toys in the Garfield bag, they got an Odie marionette puppet thing. It’s... disturbing. It’s only got 2 legs, so it looks like the dog has either had its front legs amputated, or its backlegs, and it’s dragging itself around by his forepaws. Weird.
One of the things I insisted on doing today was going to see the animals and the art/craft displays. Naturally, there were complaints about the smell in the animal pavillions but the cubs managed to hang in there long enough for me to get a look at the chickens. <squinch> Fluffy feet! (I don’t have a thing about chickens, I don’t!) Saw some Bengal kittens in the pet pavillion – spotty cats! So cute! – but my heart is still set on getting a Maine Coon at some stage. There was some amazing feline furniture for sale as well – love to be able to get one for KittenKong. Heh, the company will do lay-bys...
The use of cross-stitch pattern maker software was evident in the needlework section of the art/craft. Not that that’s a problem, I’m just used to seeing x-stitch that looks like art, not photos. I have to admit I was expecting more from the hand-made dolls, they didn’t seem to be particularly imaginative – Soulsis, yours would romp all over the competition. :) In the ceramics, though, was a beautiful, simple, green-glazed teapot that had a frog as the lid handle, that made me smile.

... so here we are, several hours later. All the lollies have been eaten and the cubs are about to go out to the Golden Arches of Doom for dinner with their father. Tired now - I think I’ll have a nap...

I am desirous of a pink neko hat.
I have the fluffy wool - I have a basic pattern, somewhere, and the ears won't be difficult to fashion. I can do this! :)

The Garfield Movie.
...I've seen worse.
It works, sort of, but I can see why Garfield purists are not pleased.
Not the most rivetting of cinema though, 30 minutes in I found myself desperately wishing it was over...
Cubs enjoyed it.

Hee. I have a new wallpaper, a screen-cap from Reloaded - you'll never guess of who... (Mmmm... snake skin boots...)

Saw a really cute t-shirt in Queen of Wands (which, by the way, if one of the few comics that's made me laugh and cry). Blank, white rectangle with the little red background/white 'X' symbol in the corner - the thing you get when a pic hasn't downloaded. <g> Neat, eh? It says so much on so many different levels. I think I like it even better than the one that has 'Insert Ferret Here' printed above a large, downward pointing arrow...

<g> My cubs are knackered. The movie session finished at midnight last night but they insisted on getting up to see Transformers as normal this morning. They were quite impressed with The Astor, though, as an old suburban theatre it’s very different from the mega-plex movie houses they’re familiar with. Both of the movies were subtitled Japanese, something I was a little concerned about. But the cubs coped easily – they can read fast, and accurately, and were able to see the screen through the gaps in the audience so it wasn’t a problem. :)
Some anime, at least, deserves to be seen on a big screen – there’s so much more detail to be seen. Loved ‘Tortoro’, it went beyond cute to levels of imagination I could identify with. And that would have to be the most accurate depiction of a four-year old’s energy and mannerisms I’ve ever seen animated! : )
I had seen ‘Nausicaa’ before, but it was on video close to 15 years ago when I was dismissive of anime so last night was like seeing it for the first time. Again, the detail was amazing, the plots and characters believable… Somehow I don’t think the Garfield movie tomorrow is going to come close.

Found out we can play audio cds through the dvd player. The sound is so much better through the telly than the on-it’s-last-legs cd player. I’m even having geeky thoughts about speakers and surround-sound systems now. Tch, technology is insidious.

<sigh> And the cubs have slipped back into Thomas the Tank Engine. Don’t know why but after weeks (months!) of ignoring it in favour of Transformers suddenly all the videos and toys came out again. Could be worse, I suppose, could be something I actively dislike.

Her! <points finger at Joules> I blame her for this obsession with long legs and snake-skin boots! Wouldn’t be so bad except I can’t quite get my head around a fic idea so I can work it through. <smirk> Mind you, I can’t complain, she is sharing with me her stash of nummy Matrix Twins pics…

Cool word of the day: (no reason just cos) [Concise Oxford; 1975]

Intussusception: (Physiol.) taking in of foreign matter by living organism, & it’s conversion into organic tissue ; taking in (of ideas, etc.) ; … (L. intus within + susceptio … take up.)

Okay, calming down now that I'm back online after 24 hours. Apparently there's been 'server problems' in Melbourne, again. Annoyed? Stupid question...

The cubs and I went to see Shrek 2 this morning - 9a.m. session. It was fun, I enjoyed it more than the first, mostly cos of Puss in Boots. You have to love a cold-blooded killer who chases butterflies...
Tomorrow evening we're off to see Nausicca and the Valley of the Winds, and My Neighbour Tortoro ('scuse spelling if it's wrong - couldn't be bothered getting up to check it) with Penny and her daughter. Should be fun, though I suspect allll the children will be very tired by the time we get home. <g>

Finally got 'round to seeing Matrix – Reloaded.
I don’t remember being impressed with the first one, either…
My interest would almost engaged by the ticklings of an embryonic plot, and then there’d be another fight scene. Honestly, it was like any of the combat-driven anime at their worst. I can understand the drive to make the fight scenes ultra-crisp and cooly stylistic but to me they just seemed over-worked and wooden with none of the energy you find in a really good Hong Kong flic.
The Twins were definitely a highlight, but they had – what? – 4 or 5 sentences between them? Sheesh. Nice boots, though…
Aside from the pale dudes (<smirking at Joules>) there were a couple of things I enjoyed about this movie. It is an interesting world-frame; I love the idea of programs as ‘little gods’, overseeing the small things in life.
Couldn’t help but notice that no fat or ugly people had been rescued and sent to Zion. I wonder why…?

It occurred to me today that Dystopia really is finite, and the end is in sight. There’s more than a handful of threads, admittedly, but they’ve nearly all run their course. Joules has suggested we could try to wrap this up by Yule as well as the AC. <g> See how we go, I guess.

Talon directed me to this online comic. Queen of Wands. It’s giggle-worthy, and while not the most sophisticated of art, it’s very expressive. It's on my list of regular checks, now. :)

Soulsis sent me these. They’ve been around for a few years but they still make me laugh. :) (I've high-lighted my favourites...)

~ Cat Haiku ~
You never feed me.
Perhaps I'll sleep on your face.
That will show you.

You must scratch me there!
Yes, above my tail! Behold,
elevator butt.

I need a new toy.
Tail of black dog keeps good time.
Pounce! good dog! good dog!

The rule for today.
Touch my tail, I shred your hand.
New rule tomorrow.

In deep sleep hear sound
Cat vomit hairball somewhere.
Will find in morning.

Grace personified
I leap into the window
I meant to do that

Blur of motion, then-
Silence, me, a paper bag
What is so funny?

The mighty hunter
Returns with gifts of plump birds
Your foot just squashed one.

You're always typing
Well, let's see you ignore my
Sitting on your hands.

My small cardboard box
You cannot see me if I
Can just hide my head.

Terrible battle
I fought for hours. Come and see!
What's a "term paper"?

Kitty likes plastic
Confuses for litter box
Don't leave tarp around

Small brave carnivores
Kill pine cones and mosquitoes
Fear vacuum cleaner

Want to trim my claws
Don't even think about it!
My yelps will wake the dead

I want to be close
To you. Can I fit my head
inside your armpit?

Wanna go outside.
Oh, no! Help! I got outside!
Let me back inside!

Oh no! Big One
has been trapped by newspaper.
Cat to the rescue!

Humans are so strange.
Mine lies still in the bed, then screams!
My claws aren't that sharp....

Cats meow out of angst
"Thumbs! If only we had thumbs!
We could break so much"

Litter box not there
You must have moved it again
I'll crap in the sink

The Big Ones snore now
Every room is dark and cold
time for "Cup Hockey"

We're almost equals
I purr to show I love you
Want to smell my butt.

Thanks for that, Soulsis, I’d lost my other copy.

Forgot to mention - Joules has posted the Dystopia chapter (Foundling Pt 2) for me. Thank you!

Heh, sometimes I think of myself as one of those squeezy, 'stress-balls'. I can get all scrunched up tight and uncomfortable but once the pressure's off I spring right back into shape. :)

My current motto is 'I'm not sedentary, I'm dancing on the inside...'.
I'm thinking of adopting a new one: 'What's wrong with sunshine and fluffy-bunnies...?'.
<bg> I think that's apt.

You've been quiz-bingeing again, Soulsis? <g>

I had a dream the other night that I was able to study in the UK. Not sure what, or where, but I had my own lodgings, my own little space. I was sharing custody of the cubs with their father which meant a lot of travelling and disruption for them so regretfully I decided to give up study cos my children's well-being came first...

I got metres and metres of a fabulous fabric braid from Soulsis! It's over an inch wide and it's hot pink! I'm thinking cushion covers - appliqueing the braid diagonally across a backing material. Hee! :)

You know what annoys me about some sellers on eBay? (Don't growl, I'm only looking.) When they say: "This would make a great addition to your collection!!!"
Excuse me? I'll be the judge of that.

Finished the Dystopia chapter. :)
Had a major [ping] (look, I can remember how to change the colours!) for a novel.
Heh, I'll add it to the list...

The old dial-up number has finally died but so far the new number appears to be holding up. This is good cos I'd be one step away from homicidal if I'm denied internet access again for no good reason.

Yesterday was the last day of term 3, 1 more term to go. The cubs haven't enjoyed this year at all - consequently neither have I - but we've had a talk and they've agreed to try really hard in the last quarter. Of course, pointing out to them that if they don't do well enough they'll have to repeat the grade was a great motivator. They don't like their teacher and the thought of another year with him is scary. (Okay, they probly wouldn't have to repeat anyway but I'm not above putting the frighteners on them to get them moving in the right direction...) Tra la la, where was I? Oh yes...
Lots of things planned for the holidays, we'll see how my energy levels (and the money) holds out, though having been given another bribe by the Government (just before the election, too. How selfless of them...) that should make the latter less of a hassle.