It's Australia Day. Go us. :)
Monty Python sums it up nicely, I think. (Quoting from memory so possibly not entirely accurate:)

Australia, Australia, Australia.
Here is the wattle, the symbol of our land.
You can stick it in a bottle, or hold it in your hand. Amen.

<g>

Well, the gardeners came back yesterday to tackle the backyard, but had to abandon the project when they disturbed a wasp nest. Oops. I rang the council to see about getting rid of it but they don't come out to private properties any more. The couple of quotes I got from professional pest control companies were all over $100, which we can't afford, so looks like we'll be dealing with it ourselves. The cubs' father has volunteered. Probly just as well. I don't have anything resembling protective clothing, not even boots.

Awww, my cubs are growing up. They started their first lay-by yesterday, with their own money and in their own name. :)

Heh, we've xmas candy canes all over the house at the moment, far more than there were during xmas. Why? They're so cheap right now as shops try to clear their xmas stock!

Hee! Last week's Shakespeare Revisited was Taming of the Shrew! Definitely the best of the series so far! A good, workable adaptation of characters and plot - though this Petruchio wasn't nearly so horrible to Katherine as the original was - and so funny!

He's going to taunt me with a week's worth of clean knickers, then throw them in the pool, isn't he?

<g> Definitely one for the library.

Squeee! I would love to have a tent like this...



(Snapped at last weekend's Medieval Festival in Launching Place.)

Some time late last year I mentioned that my neighbours had organised (and paid for) someone to come and tame the front garden for me. I also mentioned that they didn't consult with me first - cos they'd obviously had enough of it being a blight on the street and so decided to take matters into their own hands. Even though I was horribly intimidated I can admit it was a fair cop, honestly, I know I was never going to get 'round to doing anything consistent about it. So anyway, the gardening people were back again today (again without consultation) but I spoke to the woman in charge and - long story short - they'll be here regularly and I'll be paying for the service. Very reasonable rates, too. Once the backyard is under control (and at a suggested $50 that's much easier to stomach then the $200 I was quoted by someone else) it'll be $25 a fortnight for front and back. Manageable, and I won't feel like I have to skulk when I leave the house in order to avoid the neighbour. :)

On my list of 'Things I Need' is a new doona. I've had mine for 20 years, and while it's done sterling service it's getting a bit fragile. Coincidentally one of the shops in the local emporium is having a 25% off bedding this week! I've got a brand new doona on layby - and as all my sheets are getting a bit tatty - a 100% cotton bed sheet set as well. (They were a little bit pricey but I'm awfully fussy about my bedlinen. Poly/cotton is just not acceptable. <g> ) I could start thinking about new pillows, too...
As for my old doona, it won't be going in the bin. Oh no, I'm sure I could do something useful with the remains.

Cubs and I have just spent the weekend at Mum's, and it was better than I anticipated. To clarify, I was so cranky on Saturday - because of the gods-awful weather - I was thinking that being forced into close proximity with the cubs and my mother for 3 days would be a nightmare. <g> It wasn't - in fact it was kind of relaxing. Helps that the weather cooled right down, of course.
Didn't do much on Saturday, just a little shopping, but on Sunday we traipsed along to a Medieval Festival at the local archery park. Lots to see, lots to photograph (heh, 134 pics later...) The jousting was fun to watch, and, oooh! Pavilions! Now that's what I call camping in style! Yes, they're bulky and a pain in the arse to transport, but I want one!
Cubs had a ball. They loved looking at the weaponry and armour, were dead impressed with the jousters, and got to fire a crossbow! That was the highlight for them, I think. <g>
We stayed for a few hours then, as promised, I took the cubs swimming afterwards. I only stayed in for an hour - all the earlier walking combined with not-quite-warm water made my feet feel twitchy and pre-crampy - but the cubs kept splashing around for another hour at least. I really like the pool near mum's; it's not stupidly crowded like the ones around here, even on hot weekends, and the staff are not stingy about letting the patrons play with the centre's equipment.

Today, Monday, the cubs went swimming again while Nana was at her exercise class. I stayed out and kept an eye on them while I did some sewing, listened to music. After that we drove to a friend of Mum's to check out her furniture. She's moving from a smallish house to a miniscule unit and has to downsize: I've been given first pick of the loot. <g> I've earmarked a desk, table and benches, kitchen unit and bookshelves - all in varnished pine, my favourite. Mine, all mine, for free! Now I just have to organise transport. (Niki? In case you read this before I ring you... Do you still have the trailer? Oh, and thank you for the bread. :)

Normally, well recently, coming 'home' was always a bit of a downer. Perhaps it's the prospect of being able to clear some of the clutter soon, but for a change I was quite cheerful walking into the house this afternoon. Let's see if I can keep the positivity going long enough to get my teeth into cleaning and clearing the crap...

Had an interesting dream while I was at Mum's. Joules came to visit! Which was fabulous as it was the first time we'd actually met but I'd forgot she was coming. So not only did she have to find my place by public transport instead of me picking her up from the airport, the house was completely unready (read: filthy) for visitors, plus I had to find somewhere comfortable for her to sleep! I was embarrassed, knowing I was letting myself down as a good host, and under the circumstances her bad temper was entirely reasonable. :)
(And the house itself was odd: a pastiche of the past 3 places I've lived with added bits from a couple of other houses I've visited in dreams. An awkward, uncomfortable place, but - I knew - with so much potential to be warmly quirky and welcoming, if I just put in a little effort.)
Strangely enough, this dream has the same feel about it as the other 'travelling' dreams I'd had recently, only this time it was someone travelling to me. But, there was the same debilitating sense of unpreparedness. I'm sure my subconscious is trying to tell me something...

[Edit: The Blogger spellcheck threw up coasters for jousters; Ares for arse (thinking of Xena, that's spot-on); travesty for traipsed; and pica for pics. Hee.)

Bleurgh. It's been hot and humid for a few days now. Don't like it at all; sweating when you're expending no energy whatsoever is unnatural. <grump> We've had some rain at least - which is good, it's desperately needed - but it only cooled things down a bit while increasing the humidity a lot.
Well, according the Bureau there's only one more day of ickyness before we get a break. <sigh> I'm really not wishing for Winter to get a move on - don't want to wish away half the year before it's even really started!

Speaking of which... Egad, the cubs go back to school in just over a week! Not fair! I've only just got into the swing of being on holiday!
My babies are going into Year 6... which means High School next year... which means - ah, crap - I'd better get cracking on sorting out some of the little niggling questions I've been managing to ignore for the past few years, like, where are we going to live? (Cos that'll determine which High School they go to.) And, I need to take their father and my mother into consideration as well. Ideally (for various reasons) we'd like we need to be close to both of them... <head->desk> Too hard. Right now, a cool, dark cave - with internet connection, 'puter and full bathing facilities - is sounding reeaaally nice.

(Right, can I find something to not whinge about? Let's see...)
While lying sleepless the other night (not a breath of wind to relieve the stifling heat.. oops, I wasn't going to whinge, was I? Hah!) I managed to firm and expand the basic plot for my next story - oh yes, I'm writing another book; set in the Dystopia Universe. What happened to the first book, you might ask? Well, you can ask, but I'll probly be skittish and evasive.
Dammit, got distracted again. Yes, started another book. Woohoo! I'll finish the Snupin one day, an' all.

Cubs and I spent the day at Soulsis' yesterday! Was hot (<growls warningly at self>) but fun. We left the boys playing video games for a wee space of time while Soulsis, girlie and I trawled some op-shops and a second-hand place for furniture. Didn't find any furniture but got loads of other good stuff. :)
Andandand I've now got a biiiig plush Hello Kitty courtesy of Soulsis! Thank you!

And I found this, too, in an op-shop a couple of days ago!


Neat, eh? It came with an appallingly cheerful yellow teapot. (Not pictured, cos the cosy didn't really fit it properly, so I used one of my other teapots to model. Tra la la.)

Right. Is it bedtime yet? More importantly - will I sleep?

Cubs went to a birthday party today, their first for the year. <g> It was hosted at the same 'indoor recreation centre' as the last one, so they had a ball playing laser tag and cruising in the go-karts again.
Party ended at 2.30 but we didn't leave there until gone 6! We hung around to watch the Robowars finals. Was more entertaining than I would've given it credit but half my enjoyment came from observing the engineering/mechanics geeks interact [the funky rainbow faux fur shorts were a winner in my eyes]. It was all very friendly, too, with good sportsmanship shown by everyone - winners and loser. There were some spectacular clashes. In one, a 'bot with a vertical blade was flipped and ended up gouging a big hole in the floor. That was exciting. Another 'bot used a CO2 fueled ram/flipper - some of its victims went a metre into the air. :) The sheet steel and polycarb enclosure took a fair amount of damage during the afternoon, too, not to mention the carnage inflicted on a defenceless vacuum cleaner (and old printer) in the 'demonstration' bouts. Heh, needless to say the cubs are terribly enthusiastic about it all now.

KittenKong is once again a happy cat. The cubs and I finished house-sitting yesterday and now I'm back home to pay full attention to her needs - as is only right and proper.
As a thank-you, Niki gave me a jar of delicious rhubarb chutney and a slab of the best smelling peppermint soap I've ever had the pleasure to snuffle! And as a thank-you for keeping an eye on an eBay auction for him, Richard gave me a beautifully tacky lobster fridge magnet. <g> Its feelers are on springs! They wobble!
It was good to get some time away from home, just the cubs and I. Gave me a chance to get some perspective on my current domestic arrangements...

Our ABC is currently showing a series of reworks of some Shakespeare plays. Last week was Macbeth, and while it was fabulously brooding and angsty, I'm not entirely convinced that setting it in the cut-throat world of top-class restaurants really worked all that well. It was a great adaptation but it seemed to be labouring in parts. Though having the 3 witches as garbage men was inspired! James MacAvoy was particularly good in the lead, and no wonder he was familiar - it wasn't just the incidental (numerous) UK telly productions I've seen him in, he was Mr Tumnus!
This week's offering was Much Ado About Nothing. This version was updated to a TV studio, and it seemed to have a more natural flow than Macbeth. A very good cast, which unfortunately, didn't do much to relieve my ambivalence about the story. This isn't one of my favourite Shakespeare's; much as I love the Benedick/Beatrice thread I always want to smack Hero & Claude (especially Claude) over the back of the head! Gods above he's so infuriatingly gullible!
Didn't catch what next week's production is, but I know Midsummer Nights Dream is on the list somewhere. :)

(Oh, and the cubs have decided they want nicknames. The S cub is now Rocket and the M cub, Badger. Yerrss.)

Le Frog: We leave immediately!
[strides off screen]
Henchfrog #1: What about supper?
Le Frog: [strides back on screen] We leave in five hours!

<rolling around laughing> That's a quote from Flushed Away - which the cubs and I went to see yesterday. It's been a long time since I've laughed so much during a movie. Oh, the frogs! Oh, the slugs! Oh, Ian McKellan the villain! <giggling>
It's an Aardman production - in conjunction with Dreamworks - and is peculiarly British. Which means toilet humour. Which is probly why it's not doing as well as it should, especially in comparison to the 'technically good but a trifle mechanical' Happy Feet.
Definitely one for the DVD list, even if we don't see it again at least once more at the cinema.

January! Calendars are on special! 75% off in one particular place. I treated myself to a 'manga art' (one I would've bought at full price but couldn't afford); a Van Gogh (with bonus fridge magnets!) and a very pretty Australian Birds diary. Oh, and the cubs got a calendar of Australian trams. All for $16. Bargain!

I saw on the news last night there's going to be another inquiry into Princess Di's preference for well-built poles er, tragic accident. Between my hearing and the noise the cubs were making I was sure I heard that the chief-person-in-charge-of-it-all's name was Lady Elizabeth Bucket Slops. <snerk> I was almost disappointed to find out her name was in fact Butler-Sloss...

You can keep your Xmas/New Year sales, it's the Back to School sales I look forward to.
Sure, I don't need that 3 kilos of stationary but, damn, it satisfies some deep-seated, primal urge. :)

(Nicked from Rakina)

Hee... I like daisies...

I am a Daisy What Flower Are You?

"You are just a sweet person. When a friend needs a shoulder to cry on, you are happy to offer yours with a box of tissues as well. Once in awhile, you wish you could be a little more dramatic but then sensibility sets back in and you know that you are perfect the way you are."

As I mentioned, I'm house-sitting for Niki. Niki has a lot of really interesting books lying around. Just read 'The Book, The Film, The T-Shirt' by Matt Beaumont. 'twas about the trials and tribulations of shooting a mega-expensive ad with big-name stars, and it's one of the funniest things I've read for a long time. Neat format, too: The story progesses through snippets from individuals rather than a continuous narrative. Of course, this means we're seeing events from several different - often conflicting - points of view. There's miscommunications, and frantic leaps to conclusions - hilarity ensues.
The only people we don't hear from are the two protagonists, which is intriguing cos you're never quite sure what's going on in their heads. It leaves several key factors in the comic-drama open to interpretation...

Excitement, adventure... I can be doing without any of that, thanks.
Long story short: the cubs and I are housesitting for Niki (yay! Air-conditioning!) but when we got back this afternoon from feeding my cat and shopping, I couldn't find the key! Eeek! Fortunately we found it in the first place we looked - the supermarket, where it must've been turfed out of my bag as I was rummaging around for my purse. Phew.
(<shifty> Uh, Niki? Best p'raps if you overlook this bit, eh...?)

The Snupin Lurve Secret Santa has been finalised and the authors have been revealed!
Here's my contribution - Iron Snupin written for Electromoon. It's a bit of a laugh, a crossover 'tween HP and The Iron Chef. I got a fair few happy comments about it, too, which was pleasing.
[A warning though: if slash (m/m) smut isn't your bag, baby, this may not be the best thing for you to read <g>]
Big huggles to Joules for the beta and Britlish. Thanks!
(Here's the master list for this year's exchange. There were some excellent fics posted. I spent probly more time there reading than I should've. Hee, gotta love that Snupin.)

And, thank you, onna! Your parcel arrived quicker than you anticipated. <g> The potholders will clash with everything, they'll be perfect!

It's too hot to sleep so I'm skulking about online, in front of the fan...

So, 2007, eh? I'm a bit ambivalent about it, to be honest. I've written a list of things to start/finish/get/do etc. I'll check it at the end of the year and probably laugh. Though, I do solemnly resolve not to let this coming year go to waste as well. Cos let's face it, I did a lot of farting around last year.

Just spent a couple of uncomfortable days up at Mum's. Uncomfortable cos of the heat, and sleeping on the sofa.
Had an odd dream last night. I was trying to get myself ready to fly to China but was coming up against all sorts of delays. Not being able to find things I needed, or get online to sort my finances before I left. And - this made me giggle - the promised police escort to get me to the airport on time almost fell through but I was offered the services of another policeman. But, at the last I couldn't go anyway cos I'd forgot to renew my passport. D'oh.
Actually, I think I was also going to China in the last dream like this I had recently. (Gah, grammar. Sorry...) What could my subconscious be trying to tell me? That though I would really really like to do something exotic and outside my comfort zone I have to be better prepared? Or just not try getting to China cos it's just not going to happen...

Went to see Happy Feet with the cubs, their father, Soulsis et al.
What a shnookums of a movie, I enjoyed it. Can't fault the animation but the 'messages' couldn't have been less subtle if they'd been applied with a brick! I didn't get into it as much as I expected but it was still money well spent. (The Latino penguins were the best! <g> )

Mum and I took the cubs to Hedgend Maze in Healesville. That was loads of fun, though it was really too hot, and one of the cubs was having problems with claustrophobia by the end. :)
We didn't attempt the mini-golf, or the frisbee-golf - maybe next time. It's not cheap to visit but the entrance price includes access to everything.
(There's a few pics up at my Flickr page, too.)

... Tch. Drifting. Am I tired enough to sleep? Time to find out...

Eeeee! A snowdome kit! Thank you, Soulsis! <huggle>



The cubs' and their father gave me a copy of Pixar's Cars DVD, and mum made me a cushion:



Flamingos! I like flamingos... :)

We had xmas dinner at a pub/restaurant this year - Terminus Hotel in Healesville. This was my dessert. Tiramisu mousse and a chocolate butterfly. Mmmm...



The rest of the meal was delicious, as well, and it was lovely not having to cook and wash up. Mind you, we did that all on Boxing Day anyway when we met Soulsis and her chicks at Mum's.
Been a busy few days, driving hither and yon, I'm ready for a rest now. <g>

Egad, xmas is 2 days away! I do believe I'm almost ready, while the cubs are almost manic with anticipation. They know they're getting Hornby model railway bits but their father refuses to be tricked by their subtle <snort> questions and won't tell them what. <g> They'll just have to wait...

Eep! My phone's headphones broke! I checked though and it's all still under warranty so today I nipped in to the shops - nice and early, before the last-minute chaos really got started - and got another set. For free! Happy now.

I was trying to quantify exactly why it is I've never much liked the Top Twenty sort of music. With a few notable exceptions over the years, I've found that listening to the mainstream stuff (or 'hits and memories', which is old Top Twenty anyway) is like drowning in beige. Really really uninteresting. Give me Indie any day, at least that sounds alive.

Speaking of shudder worthy, Joules found this site a wee while ago... Worst Album Covers of All Time. Go and look - it'll make your eyeballs bleed, I promise! The most disturbing one for me is 'Julie's 16th Birthday'. I dunno, looks like there's some unsavoury coercion going on there...

Can't remember where I found this, but, ye gods!
"...He growled in a venimous whisper..."
Bwahahahahahah! Would a venimous have larger than normal fangs for a rodent? <snerk>

And finally - tee hee hee. My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Her Most Serene Highness Lady Lutra the Lackadaisical of Walk On Water. That's quite lyrically appropriate, methinks.
(There was a thingy on the Smart Bitches site a couple of days ago. The above was my second attempt as the first wasn't terribly inspiring.)

Anyway, chances of me doing another update in the next day or so is remote, (far more likely to put photos up at Flickr. Link at the top of the page...) so Happy Solstice! Happy Holidays! Eat well, stay safe and remember to say 'thank you' even if you don't like what you got. <g>

<blink> The S cub told me tonight that for next year's xmas list he's going to wish for super powers. He was serious.
(I should mention that both the cubs still firmly believe in Santa Claus - despite my gentle hints to the contrary.)

"Fashion" spotted today at the shopping centre: short, filmy shift things belted over black leggings. <rolls eyes> Let's party like it's 1986...

Heh, in the second last week of their second last year, the cubs finally have the proper sports uniform. That must be some sort of record.

It's taken me 6 years but I've finally realised that school concerts are not for the enjoyment of the audience, they're for the children. The kids have a great time... the rest of us just have to smile and clap like it's the best thing we've ever seen.
And this year's xmas concert was made even more special for me because I got an effing huge cramp in my leg. My own fault, I'd been sitting on the ground for a couple of hours without moving and I'd let my legs get cold.
It was agony - the muscles in my calf and my shin were cramping, as well as the ones across the top of my foot threatening to join in for good measure. It didn't matter how I stretched my leg something seized. Fortunately the cubs' father was there and he knows how to deal with cramps. He got my leg straightened out enough that I could stand, and from there it was just a matter of slowly working the muscles back under control.
I would've been embarrassed - writhing and moaning on the ground, making a spectacle of myself - if I hadn't been in so much pain. I swear, it was like childbirth: the awful inevitability of pain and knowing you can do nothing but ride it out. <g> It feels like I pulled a muscle in my calf; that'll take a little while to heal. Let that be a lesson to me! Take my slippers next time if it's going to be cold!

<suspicious> And how long will it be 'til I have to sign in to Blogger through Google...?

I got home this morning, from dropping the cubs at school, to find our front lawn being mowed by a professionally equipped person. It transpires that one of our house-proud neighbours organised the service - probly cos he finally got fed up with my laissé faire attitude to gardening. <sigh> I'm sort of used to the neighbours tackling the lawn for us themselves, but this... this was unsettling, and it took me most of the day to work out why. I have no problem accepting acts of kindness from friends and family. They're there for me, I'm there for them, it's reciprocal, it's what kin does. When non-kin are kind I get nervous cos I don't know what's expected of me. Probly paranoid, but, I like to have some idea of what the reckoning will be - and I don't believe for an instant that there won't be a reckoning of some sort. Even if this time it's just me being guilted into taking care of the garden myself. Heh, it'll be less traumatic if all I have to do is pay the bill.

Only two weeks 'til the end of the school year. Tch. I swear it was October only 3 days ago.

Sometimes, I just can't resist the lure of the merchandise...

Fortunately I think I can get a bigger memory chip thingy for my phone. 256 mb really isn't enough, not when I've joined 3's music club which means I can d/l items for $1.50 each instead of $3. That's cheaper than itunes! Excited? Oh yes... :) It's fun to browse the music lists - the new stuff is kind of patchy (considering I pretty much only listen to/am interested in indie) - but there's some really interesting older stuff lurking about.
Like tonight I checked what they had for Adam & the Ants, just cos, and - blimey! - not just the 'hits' I expected but the B-sides of those singles and tracks from the Dirk Wears White Sox album. See? I need space so I can nab all this good stuff.
[Currently listening to Beat My Guest which was the B-side of Stand and Deliver. (Shame on me I had to look that up. Tch, call myself an Antperson? Heh, not for a good few years, though I still think the logo would make a cool tattoo... I did remember all on my own however that another song I nabbed - Physical - was the B-side for Dog Eat Dog. {and poking around for the lyrics I find that Nine Inch Nails covered it! Neat, have to track that down as well. Bet it's a real sleazy version. Hee})]
In the past couple of days I've also grabbed copies of Kate Bush's Sensual World single (gorgeous!); Starlight - Superman Lovers; Rip it Up - Jet; Belleville Rendezvous from the soundtrack; Dear God - XTC and Chris Rea's Let's Dance. That'll do to go on with, don't want to blow out my phone budget. <g>

December 1st we put the xmas tree up and now KittenKong has something else to threaten to get my attention. <shakes head> Little madam.

Eeep. The Snupin Lurve Secret Santa has started. The entries are apparently being drawn from a hat and posted at random so I have no idea when my piece will go up.

And I finally got to watch 2001: a space odyssey. Wow. My gods, the detail - it really deserves to be seen on a big screen. (preferably as a double with Alien. <g> The fantasy and the - likely - reality of space travel.)
The ending didn't make a lot of sense but, from memory, neither did the book, and I was surprised at how visually dated it wasn't. Well, dated, but only on a very superficial level. There was a lot of tech that's familiar now. Need to see it again...

Last night one of the cubs had scared himself sleepless with thoughts of 'what if' (what if the house burnt down? etc). His brother cheered him up by reading him some of their favourite Thomas stories. I think he was embellishing them with funny voices and rude noises. That would explain the shrieks of laughter... :)

Night before last I dreamt I was getting ready to travel to America. I only had a short time to prepare so I was charging around digging out clothes and things, always conscious of the time ticking away. In the midst of the chaos an old acquaintance wandered in to the dream, someone I haven't spoken to for years. We caught up, briefly, and I was pleased to hear he had a partner and was looking towards the future. (I suspect my subconscious gave him a happy ending out of guilt for not keeping in touch. Because, yes, that's the way my mind works.)
I woke up from that dream frazzled and not at all rested, funnily enough.

Mum's dysphasia manifests in a few ways. Most common - and the most frustrating for her - is not being able to remember the word she wants at all. Next most likely is using the wrong word, but being aware she's made a mistake. Least common is where she uses the wrong word but doesn't realise it's wrong. Chatting with Mum is always an adventure now, never know what she's going to come out with. <g> For instance she was talking about getting a new 'fridge and mentioned she only needed one with a 'small giraffe'. <giggling> Oh, we laughed...

I was lurking on HP Essays recently where someone was discussing threesomes in fanfic. In amongst the fic recommendations (and there were some happy hours of reading there, let me tell you! Wasted loads of time...) the author dropped the comment about 'where in canon does it say that Draco is attractive'? She has a point, the only physical description we get of the Slytherin Prince is 'pale and pointy'. But then, considering the series is written from the viewpoint of a young/teenage boy (whose author is on public record about her dislike of slash) Harry would be unlikely to notice any potential male phwoarness anyway. <pats him> That's all right, the fangirls make up for that blind spot.
[Edited after spell-checking: Bwahahahaha! Blogger suggested 'threshings instead of 'threesomes'...]

Hee, and still rabbiting on about HP... Can't remember the fic but this struck me as a particularly odd use of 'ameliorate'.
"Silver and gold dust combed liberally across the lush foliage that ameliorated the halls..."
True, the word means 'to make better; to improve' but, um... <scratches head> I don't think it's in quite the right context here.

(And my latest Snupiney thing has been posted in The Zone. Thanks, Joules!)

Awwwww!
Usually KittenKong wakes up long before I get this close...

Hehehe. Xmas cake makes me fart...

Oh, whacko, it's State Election day tomorrow.
... I did have something to say about that but for the life of me I can't remember. Eh well.

Been a pretty full-on kind of week - I've spent roughly 11 hours in the car, driving Mum to and from hospital appointments. But it's all coming on nicely - her therapists are very pleased with her progress. Next week shouldn't be so hectic, though, with only one day of appointments.

Stone fruits are back in season, at last! Still hideously expensive and likely to remain so cos there was a freak frost not long ago that destroyed a large proportion of the crop. This follows on from the cyclone that wiped out the banana crop earlier in the year. Not that I eat a lot of fruit anyway - prefer veggies - but they're more of a special treat now than chocolate. <g>

Haven't done much of anything these past several weeks - probably not surprising given the disruptions - but I have finished another installment of the Snupin plot arc. Well, more SnOMC, really - Snape/Original Male Character.
Hah! And I just remembered what it was I had to say about the election!
Our next door neighbours have a Family First placard in their front garden. I doubt they'd be impressed to know they're living next to an avid reader/writer of queer smut. Hee. Good thing I don't advertise my predilections.
Speaking of queer - I finally got to see Brokeback Mountain. Waaah! So sad. I'm glad I didn't catch it at the cinema after all, even though it means I missed the opportunity to immerse myself in the scenery. (That's real scenery, mountains and such, not bishieish ambulatory 'scenery'.) Bawling one's eyes out should be done in private. :)

International Buy Nothing Day. Dem good idea, and surprisingly hard to do. Spending - even on the small incidentals - is insidious.

Gah. Tired. Not sure how much sense this is going to make...
Mum's home at last and I've just got back from spending 5 days with her, helping her settle in and - frankly - seeing how she copes. Cubs came with me (cos it was too much effort to try and organise something with their father) but they had no objection at all to missing a few days of school. Little buggers. :) But they were very well behaved, I have to say, and Soulsis (thankyouthankyouthankyou!) had them for a sleep-over on Saturday night.

I think Mum's going to be all right; she'll never be the same as she was but it could've been so much worse. She's not happy, especially without her car, and with the ongoing outpatient appointments at the rehab hospital she says she doesn't feel like her life is her own yet. It's going to take time, and I'll probly have to keep reminding her of that fact.
It was encouraging to see her putter about the unit. She had no problems using microwave/washing machine etc. (I won't mention the green tea made for me with sugar and milk <g>) She has problems with numeracy now, unfortunately, which is going to make shopping interesting, but if I can't be there to help then one of her friends will.
Meals-on-Wheels has been arranged for her. The service delivers one main meal a day - and Mum's quite happy cos she's never been that keen on cooking. :)
We've made a start on decluttering her unit, but only a start. It's a big task. But now the microwave is within easy reach, the table and kitchen unit have been (mostly) cleared and I went through one of the cupboards and got rid of a lot of old, old food - the earliest use-by date I found was 1997! <shakes head> - and culled some of the surplus canned goods she tends to hoard. Neither of us are anticipating with any pleasure the fuge stack of craft/quilting magazines that need to be cleaned out.

The best thing for Mum about being home is that she's got her cat back. He was very, very pleased to have her back. So pleased that for the first couple of days he was actually quite nice. Didn't take him long to get back to normal however - Mum and I both have scratches...

The thing I like most about Mum's car is that when you drop in $10 of petrol it makes a significant difference. Unlike the big old Ford we had, which, much as I loved her, $10 went nowhere, even with the slightly lower prices at the time.

I was a little late picking Mum up yesterday and when I eventually hurried into her room she said she was worried that something had happened with the car.
Hah! So that's where I get it from! If someone's late meeting me then they've obviously had an accident and they're dead. <rolls eyes> I can blame my mother for that slightly less than optimistic personality trait anyway. One night, many many year ago when I was about 14, Dad was at work and Mum had taken my brother to ballet. I was home alone, supposedly doing my homework but in reality trying not to twitch at every noise, but that was fine cos I knew Mum would be home soon...
I started getting worried when she wasn't back half an hour after she was due; by the time she and my brother rocked up - two hours later - I was frantic. Oh, everything was fine, she'd stopped off for a cup of tea with a friend...
That was the first time, I think, I ever told my mother off. Yes, I was worried, she should've let me know she was going to be late! <g> Of course, the shoe was on the other foot a few years later when she was berating me for staying out late and not letting her know.
Lessons learnt? Probably not. I look forward to similar exchanges with the cubs in the future.

I received notification in the mail yesterday about a change in a payment schedule for one of the bills. I thought it was for the gas and I was outraged! A hike from $20 a fortnight to $72! How was that justified?! Then I read the letter again and realised it was for the electricity and that it was, in fact, a slight decrease. <head->desk> Then I calmed down.

This morning, while routinely deleting the spam that'd wriggled through the filters, I noticed one that had the subject line - [SPAM] Dear friend.... Truth in advertising? I approve of that.

Another oddish sort of dream recently. Only remembered the tail end as I was waking up. Myself and nebulous others (sometimes the cubs, sometimes 'dream friends' ie: not known in r/l) were on a trip somewhere foreign, hot and dusty. We bought tickets for a famous local attraction, a ride of some sort. We hurried on to that to find it was like someone's cluttered lounge room filled with shabby but comfortable sofas all lined up neatly. Before the ride began - and I still have no idea what it was actually sposed to be - a frantic woman stood up and asked us if anyone had seen something important that she'd lost. People obliged by standing up and looking under their seats etc, and I spotted a collection of objects off to one side. I pointed it out to a friend who relayed the info to the woman. The thing that'd been lost was there but obscured by the other stuff. So, though it was me who was sort of responsible for finding the location, my friend got the kudos.
<eyebrow> I'm sure I've got no idea what that could mean.

I thought at first that I was feeling like crap cos of the stress, but no, I have actually come down with something, a mild respiratory viral thingy the cubs brought home from school. Of course, the reason I haven't been able to shake it off is cos I'm stressed. Heh.

So how's it all going, eh? Mum had her surgery on Friday morning and that went well. She's recovering quickly and it looks like she'll be going back to the rehab centre on Monday for, hopefully, just a short while before going home. When she's home, though, that's when life will really get interesting. The half hour trip to and from the various hospitals isn't so bad and I can visit her every day, more or less. The hour long trip there and back to her home is something else entirely. I'm fighting the feeling that I have an obligation to see her just as often but the reality is that I can't. First, I do actually have a life of my own and frequent two/three hour chunks out of that will lead to nothing but resentment on my part. Second, dear gods the petrol.
Eh, we'll work out something mutually agreeable, I'm sure. Mum has friends up there who're willing to drive her around and if I can see her at least once a week that should mitigate the guilt. :)

Now, the cleaning for the rental inspection. Haven't done as much as I feel is necessary but the house is better than it was a week ago. My bed is clear! Yes, fine, the garden's still a jungle, the cubs' room is dangerous to navigate, but my bed's clear!

Hee, I was chatting with the After School Care coordinator the other day and she was telling me about the study she's been doing for the job. She was expressing amazement that she'd managed to finish a 750 word essay about Piaget's Theory. I had to physically stop myself saying: '750 words? That's nothing!'. I used to be daunted by 500 word projects. I wonder how I'd go now that I've got some word-smithing experience? Hmm...
[Edit: the Blogger spell check suggested 'smiting' instead of 'smithing' <snerk> True, sometimes you do have to beat those words into submission...]

Odd dream last night. There was a (bear with me, this is going to be sketchy) sort of Hollywood actors competition where groups were formed around different themes and they had to do... something. Can't remember. Anyway, I looked over the groups, trying to decide where I'd fit best but didn't much like the look of most of them. There was one group, however, that looked eclectic (and more interesting than the Barbie wannabes) and I thought they'll do. But then I indulged in some pathetic passive/aggressive behaviour. Instead of marching up and asking if I could join I performed so badly in the audition that no one else would take me. I was completely unimpressed with myself, but I got what I wanted.
Let's see if I can remember who was in the group. A middle-aged Japanese actress; a handful of older negro actors/actresses; a really gnarled Caucasian actor, and me. And I think they were in Deadwood style costumes. By far the most interesting bunch, but not at all popular and unlikely to win anything.

Moly: Fabulous herb with white flowers and black root, endowed with magic properties; [Oxford concise; 1974]
No reason, I just thought it was interesting...

Oops, been a while...

Well, Mum's scheduled for surgery this coming Friday. She's understandably apprehensive but determinedly not thinking about it. Still not sure how long she'll be in hospital. The plan was, initially, that she'd be going home at the end of October but apparently her therapists are making noises about keeping her in rehab for another couple of weeks beyond the surgery. The not knowing, not being able to make plans is very annoying for my organised mother. :)

She was allowed another day outing last weekend so the cubs and I picked her up and drove her home. She picked up some more bits and bobs, and met up with a couple of friends, then we trooped up to the Patchwork Teahouse for a coffee. Amazingly, I didn't buy anything! I did take a couple of photos though, and they'll be up at flickr soonish.
Had to have a nap when I got home - sooo much driving... Half-hour to the hospital; hour up to Mum's; another half-hour there and back to the Teahouse. Repeat in reverse. <shakes head>
The previous weekend's outing to the shopping centre was exhausting as well, but that was mostly cos of the crowds, I think. And then of course the cubs were clamouring to go to the Meccano Club Exhibition afterwards - which was half an hour away in the opposite direction from home. No wonder I was knackered.

On top of all this to'ing and fro'ing for Mum, I've got a rental inspection due. That's been tough. I generally choose to ignore housework - and it is a choice - but that choice is swinging 'round to bite me on the bum. <shrugs> I'll ride it out, I always do, but I'm not very pleasant to be around at the moment. Eh, at least my house will be thoroughly clean, for a little while.

Cubs' school had its official opening this morning, with dignitaries in attendance an' all. It kicked off at 8 a.m. which meant getting up at stupid'o'clock. Very, very glad we had the car. Would've been a nightmare getting down there on time by bus.
So anyway, speeches speeches blah blah, including a particularly simpering example from Federal Treasurer Peter Costello.
I overheard the person next to me say: 'He plays the audience like a violin.' Yes, but any idiot can pick up the instrument, doesn't mean it sounds any good. I've never much liked violins anyway...
I took a lot of pics but as my woodgie camera wasn't able to get decent shots of anything happening more than 10' in front of me I took a lot of shots of shoes, and shadows. <g> Had to disable the 'boing' sound effect on the camera; it was very loud.
Mercifully, the 'official' part didn't go for too long then we were able to stampede to the free food. Oh yes, the event was catered. We were each given a carry-bag of breakfast type comestibles. A plastic bowl and spoon; a carton of low-fat yoghurt; mini pack of cereal - Special K or Sultana Bran; small container of low-fat milk, and a muffin, which was probly low-fat/high GI/low sugar (I gave mine to the cubs). There was fruit, too, in baskets on the tables. Lots and lots of fresh fruit. Disgustingly healthy start to the day - I should probly do it more often.

Sue found this badfic reference!
I think my fav has to be:

"Remus allows Sirius to pick their new flat. If you're against slash assume it's for financial reasons..."

Against slash for financial reasons? <choking>
Or this little beauty:

"Draco 'ruins' Hermione's reputation by seeing her in her underclothing while a ferret and is forced to marry her."

Wait, what? Hermione turns into ferret as well? Or can her underwear metamorphose? <snerk>
Thanks, Sue!