Awww, that was so sweet!
In todays episode of Teen Titans, Raven and Starfire magically swapped bodies - the Puppetmaster's doing, he'd already transferred the other 3 Titans into marionettes. At the end of the ep when the Puppetmaster's power was broken Cybord, Robin and Beastboy went directly back to their bodies but Raven and Starfire's souls twined around each other first. <squinch> The yuri potential in this is so cute... : )

I've decided to call my feisty wooden dragon Rupert. : )

(Joules has suggested the last line of my little birthday poem could scan better if it was 'So pass a bishie to me.' <g> That works, as I said to her earlier, I've always been rubbish at poetry!)

I had a great day yesterday. We christened Soulsis' new tea-set! It's gorgeous, very bright and colourful and the 3D roses are so cute! : ) There was an awful lot of food, too, all of it delicious, and we almost finished it up. (Hee, I have 3 plastic containers full in the fridge.)
After a couple of hours we left off eating and went to see a movie. Big Fish, one from Tim Burton. An excellent movie, very good performances - and soppy enough that the fluffy-bunny was in her element. : ) Thanks for organising it all, Soulsis and Niki, <cuddles> I have the best friends!
But wait, there's more...
After the movie we went back to Niki's place and continued eating, and watching movies! Strictly Ballroom and Emma, and the last episode of Buffy, which the fluffy-bunny thought was wonderful... soppy cow...
Niki gave me a few strands of decorative vine-leaves - to go with my 5 kilos of plastic grapes, hee! - and Soulsis gave me a ceramic prawn platter. I also got a hanky from Penny, that she'd embroidered grapes on, and ecards from Okapi, Sue and Onna (and a gorgeous oekaki of the tenshi, which hopefully'll go here sometime soon.) Mum gave me my birthday present when we were up there last weekend, a carved wooden dragon. He looks really feisty, I haven't decided what to call him yet. <g>
Heh, almost forgot... saw a preview of the Starsky & Hutch movie yesterday. Hn, I'm not sure I approve of the mickey being taken of the series but I'll go watch the movie to see the car. The Torino is sooooo preeettty! Oh! And there was another pretty car in Big Fish - a red Charger... <dreamy sigh>

Happy birthday to me,
I want to live in a tree,
I look like a fangirl,
So pass me a bishie!

Hee!

The cubs' father gave me a box of my favourite chocolates (Guylian seashells) and the cubs - after whispered instructions from their dad - presented me with volume 2 of X! <happy squeak!> (Yes, I knew it was coming but still, <happy squeak! g>)
And I'm off to Niki's this afternoon for tea with Soulsis, Okapi and possibly Penny. : )

Now, about that rat Kittenkong brought in last night. There's no sign of it this morning so if it's still in the bathroom then it's behind the cupboard, but seeing as rats are resourceful creatures it wouldn't surprise me to find it had got itself outside last night. The bathroom window was open and it would've been an easy jump up onto the bath, then the cupboard then the windowsill - not a hard thing for a rat to accomplish. Actually I hope it got itself out, I really don't fancy having a live rat lurking about the house...

I managed to get a whole 2 paragraphs of writing done last night, not a bad effort considering I was thoroughly distracted by the first 8 eps of Excel Saga. Oh gods this is so funny! And so damn cute! Not Ham-ham cute, the other sort, the quirky, wickedly cute. ES pokes fun at all sorts of anime and pop-culture conventions and I'm sure I'm missing more of the references than I'm getting, but it's so much fun! It could be called a show for fanboys - the 2 female leads are ultra-perky (hey, I don't have a problem with that) - but the evil overlord Mr Ilbaratzo is gorgeous! Very droll, I like him, and you've got to love a secret underground base that only has those push-in button locks on it's door handles for security <rolling around laughing> The opening theme is great, very bouncy and lots of fun, not just musically but visually as well, and the closing theme is poignant but still makes me laugh. I couldn't explain it here, you'd have to see it, but it involves a puppy singing about being eaten, and salt. My favourite AV store has ES on DVD... I'll add it to the list. : )

Weee! Joules wrote a little lemony piece for me, based around my favourite Haadri character! <girly squeal> It was just yummy! Thank you, Joules! <GLOMPS>

Sodding hell! The cat's just brought in a live rat! It's cute an' all (bright little black eyes distended with terror) but ack! Mice are one thing, wild rats are not something I'm game to deal with. Heh, it made a dive for the bathroom and kittenkong followed... so I shut the door on them both. With luck she'll dispatch it, then I'll just have to watch her for abcesses. <shakes head>

380 Zone members now, eh, Joules? Only 120 to go then we can hold ZoneCon! Hee!

Heh, almost finished the Haadri fanfic and I have to confess it's pure mary-sue. But this happens a lot with Joules work I've noticed, her universes are so compelling and inviting I just have to leap in. : )

(Rat update. I let Kittenkong out of the bathroom but there was no sign of the rat, I think it's got itself wedged behind the cupboard. Damn.)

We had the school Twilight Sports this evening. This event is usually held on the school oval but seeing as that's now full up with portable classrooms we had it in a nearby park. It wasn't a bad evening, really, the cubs didn't win their races but one of them at least beat someone. <g>

There's high fences up all around the school now, and they've been covered with hessian so you can't see into the site. Annoying, really, I want to see when the site's being cleared...

Glad Kai enjoyed his birthday!

(... and speaking of birthdays...) Thank you, goodtwin, for the card. <bg> I laughed - it's so true on so many levels... (and I know the cubs and their father got me a present tonight but I'm not allowed to see it until friday. Heh, won't be much of a surprise though, got a phone call while they were in the shop to double-check what it was I wanted! : )

Soulsis has this amazing ability to unearth the coolest things. When I saw her at Mum's on the weekend she handed me a 'free anime' DVD. No idea where it came from (though considering there was an advert for a kids magazine on it, I'm guessing that was the source) but it was essentially an hour-long Madman commercial. Not that I'm complaining, it had trailers for half-a-dozen different shows, including Witch Hunter Robin, and the first episodes of Final Fantasy Unlimited, Initial D, and Last Exile. Not overly impressed with FF, and even though Initial D is about street car racing (and we've already established I've got a soft spot for powerful cars...) it's not something I'd consider spending money on. I get the impression it's aimed at teenage boys; the characters' artwork is very basic, not all that attractive but the cars are all CGI and more detailed than anything else. Also there's an overt sexual interest fixed on the only female character to be seen.

[school girl gets into car – panning shot up her thighs to her very short uniform, to linger on her crotch.
Unseen (adult) male's voice: I've always liked you in that outfit.
Natalie, smiling: It's just my uniform.

.... riiiiight....
If this show turned up on cable I'd watch it, I guess, but Last Exile...? Now that's something I could get interested in. Fascinating worldframe – think of a cross between extrapolated Victorian era flying machines and Napoleonic-style conflicts complete with the totally pointless, brutal tactics and the rigid reverence for 'traditional warfare'. I've seen this as a box set in my favourite AV store – I'd be very tempted if they'd let me lay-by it. <g> Probly just as well they won't!

First days back at school for the cubs since the fire. They seem to be coping fine, it's me who keeps getting weepy at odd moments. Heh. The grades have been set up in temporary classrooms in the community centre – which has a large sign taped to the outside wall with the school's name inked in big, defiant red letters - and while it looks pretty chaotic there at the moment I can see there's already been a massive amount of organisation undertaken. A lot of stuff has been donated from local businesses and other schools – books, furniture, computers – and the portable classrooms were all sitting on the oval by the end of the afternoon. Couldn't hazard a guess as to when they'll be ready to use though – no doubt we'll be told in good time. Life goes on, eh? : )

(From an article "Howard condemns ACT gay adoption laws")

""I think it is incredibly important that people have role models of both sexes."

Fair enough, but they don't have to be married... <grrrr>

The cubs and I went up to Mum's this long-weekend. As always, it was tiring but fun. We drove out to Alexandra (another hour on from where Mum lives) to visit the little steam-train museum there. Very cute, it's only small - the engine runs a few times around a circular track, takes about 10 minutes in all - but we all enjoyed ourself, and having bought a family ticket meant we could go on it as many times as we liked (4!).
And today we had a ride on the Healesville trolley again. Hee! : )

For the first time today, as the cubs and I came home on the bus, I didn't feel that warm little rush of homecoming. I know I've been getting awfully restless this past year but my reaction, or non-reaction rather, was unsettling. Maybe it had something to do with me deciding I really like Healesville and could all too easily see myself living the writer's life out there in the hills.
But there's lots of things to consider in a move like that. For a start I'd definitely need a reliable car and what about school, both mine and the cubs? How would my boys take being shifted so far away from what they know? Getting to and from my own classes would be trickier, but not impossible, especially if the cubs' school has before and after school care. Instead of a five-minute walk to the bus it'd be a 30 minute drive to the train station. Heh, it'd test my dedication, that's for sure.
By dint of subtle questioning ("Hey, guys, would you like to live in Healesville?") I discovered that one of my cubs was cool with the idea but the other one - my little nature-boy, not - wasn't.
Eh well, no point chewing over it, a move anywhere isn't likely for a while yet.

Woohoo! Way to go, Kai! Your very own web-site!
(In case I don't remember...) Happy birthday for tomorrow, bratling! <bg>

[...< a flutter of soft wings is the only warning before a moping 'lestrel is bowled over and soundly shuggled by a returning tenshi...>]

... and here's a news article about the fire. Just let me know if I start getting obsessive about this, 'k? : )

The cubs' school burnt down last night. (Thanks, Penny, for ringing me with the news this morning.) Bit of a shock - heh, bit of an understatement. There's only 2 rooms left, the art room and admin, everything else is gutted, or in the case of the wing that contained the cubs' room and the library, just... gone.
There was a meeting in the Community hall next door this morning - classes will be held there for a couple of weeks until the portable classrooms are delivered, and eventually the school will be rebuilt. Going to be a long time, though there's a lot of support for us in the community and with local businesses.
Not sure how the fire started yet - the family who lives across the road from the school heard an explosion around midnight - but it's being treated as 'suspicious'.
Eh well, guess we'll find out soon enough. Needless to say, the cubs are home today, and it's a long weekend (Labour Day) so no classes until Tuesday.

On a brighter note...
<HUGS> Congrats, Joules! FirstLight's finished! Dead impressed... : )

(nicked from Onna's blog:)

<smirk>


Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me videre?
"Is that a scroll in your toga, or are you just glad to see me?"
You're smooth, okay, but you also need a girlfriend. Bad.


Which Weird Latin Phrase Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


Heh... Haadri fanfic...
Problem is, I don't think anyone's going to be able to see it until First Light has been released. : )

The cubs had fun on the excursion, and there were no tantrums (I asked).
There's a teacher's strike on Wednesday but it looks like the cubs' teacher is the only one not involved. <sigh of relief> This is good, I don't feel up to the task of finding alternate care for them while I'm studying.

<grumble> We've got a few days in a row of really hot temperatures coming up. Tch, it's Autumn for goodness sakes, it's sposed to be getting cooler. I shouldn't be surprised though, I know from experience there's always a last hoorah of heat around my birthday. Eh. It'll be cold soon enough.

Right now - in an alternate universe - I'm fuss-arsing about the climate controls in the Verbank library. <happy sigh>

Mmm... paté and toast for lunch...

I wonder how my cubs are? They're on a school excursion today, to ScienceWorks, but one of them is really, really tired and he can get a bit... emotional when that happens. Maybe I should've volunteered to go with them after all? But no, I'm really tired as well, not a good combination.

Hee! Joules has started the next Gremlins fic, though this one is lemony so it'll be going into the Darkside. <smug smirk> I'm getting snippets as she's writing...

Eeeep! (refering to the last post)
What? I can't even watch? <pout>

(nicked from Onna's blog:)

lutra Feeder Goldfish Agility 2 | Strength 6 | Stamina 0 Battle Rating 8 Origins lutra was hatched from an ancient egg, uncovered in the arctic Can your fishy beat lutra ?

'Can your fishy beat Lutra?'
Humph, with that score anybody could... (But why would you want to? That's such a pretty fish!)

Oooh! The cubs' father took them swimming this afternoon so I indulged myself and watched the first four eps of 'X'. Oh man this is so much better than the squished together edits that comprised the movie. Though having seen the movie the first ep is one big spoiler. <g> But then again, maybe it's not. We're briefly introduced to the main characters but not told which side they're on, or how the story itself is going to end - plus there were some characters I don't even remember from the movie.
Going to save up now and get volume 2! There's some intriguing bishies - er, characters - that I want to know more about. : )

I overheard a conversation on the bus the other day. Heh, difficult not to overhear it as the guy (it was essentially a one-sided conversation) was speaking very loudly. From what I could gather, he was thinking about entering a Stand-up Comedy competiton and was trying out his material on the hapless person sitting next to him. For a start he only had 3 jokes, that were desperately unfunny, and he insisted on trying to explain why they were sposed to be funny which blasted to atoms any hope of funniness they had. <shakes head> And then he asked his 'audience' how he'd rate the material if he was one of the judges! Very glad not to get involved in that conversation - it's usually me that sits next to the weird ones!

<big eyes> Joules showed me the gifty-pics she received from Onna and Thorne. Cor! As Joules said, Thorne draws a very sexy Butch, and Radittsu is completely wriggle-worthy! (Though I'm observing from a distance, with my hands behind my back, cos the big ape is one of the few bishies Joules is homicidally possessive about. <smirk>)

mmm... fishies... : )
The cubs and I went to the Aquarium today, nice and early so there were no crowds. I got to spend a decent amount of time with the cuttle(cuddle)fish, watching them change colour as they glided about their tank - just lovely, such interesting creatures...

My next AC is teetering on the brink of being finished (hoorah!). Gods it felt like I needed a crochet hook or something to pull this one out - sheesh. Now I'll tidy up another chapter of Dancing then think about doing something else. Right, what's clamouring to be written? Heh, what isn't...?

Soulsis, her boychiks and a friend popped round this evening and we all trooped down to Smorgy's for dinner, which was fine, but the discussion Soulsis and I had later about the sort of mini-commune we'd live on (in an ideal world) was much more satisfying. <g>
One day, perhaps... (or failing that I'll just write about it.)

Happy Birthday, Joules! <tackleHUGS> Health and happiness this year, sinam... and please let me know what's in the mystery parcel! : )

Found a (very scarce) copy of the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack in my favourite multi-media shop yesterday. I swooped upon the longed-for item, and, clutching it to my breast, decided there and then to treat myself. (I've been reading Dickens again, can you tell? <g>) I only really wanted the CD for one track, 'Baby's on Fire', by the Venus in Furs. It's a cover of a Brian Eno (?, Joules?) track, which I'm not familiar with, but I love this version. It grinds on in a deliciously sleazy/erotic way, this image helped of course by it being the background music to the orgy scene. Hee... <smirk>
Ooh! Reminds me... There's a beautiful little snippet of a scene in VG that I remembered today and it's started something bubbling. Not sure what I'm going to do with the idea yet but I've made a note of it - we'll see what happens.

I got the best showbag today! (For those not familiar with the term, a 'showbag' is basically a sample bag).
In Collection Maintenance we had a practical demonstration about book-coverings (paperbacks & hardbacks with/without dustcovers) from a library specialist supplies company. The class was given sample bags of different types of covering material and tapes, but best of all the samples were substantial enough for there to be heaps left over. Plenty for me to play with at home. : ) I have plans now for covering alllll my books... better start stock-piling the materials...

Tch, unfortunately I've not been able to finish the AC chapter I've been working on (sorry, Joules) but it's not far off completion. I really need to organise myself a little better so I can do everything I want. Heh, now the first flush of enthusiasm for studying is out of the way I can be more objective about my goals.
And speaking of goals...
The cubs and I have been talking/planning our next house and they've decided they want to paint their rooms. I explained that they probly wouldn't be able to do that unless we owned our house rather than rented it, which led to a discussion of how we could afford to buy a house. To cut a long story short, we decided that one of our strategies will be a collaborative effort at writing children's books. <bg> You can look forward to the adventures of Sharky - the weird shark sometime in the future...

(Thank you to Joules for posting this - I can't get into Blogger atm - grrr...)

So there we were, the cubs and I, having dinner at Smorgys when one of my little loves casts a solemn gaze at me over his dessert.
"I'm going to sacrifice this jelly." he intones then plunges his spoon (which he'd been holding dagger-style over the bowl) into the quivering pink heart of the sweet...
<blinks>
What? Don't look at me - I've got no idea where they get it from!

Okapi sent me this quiz. It's cute, but way too easy to manipulate. (Though I did answer the questions as honestly as I could, the first time, and came up as an American Mink, or something. Eh, otters 'r cuter. : )


Your weasel is the American River Otter. Fun and
playful, you're the life of the party! Talk
about an animal that knows how to have fun.
Good news: You're the only animal, besides people,
of course, to have built toys! How cool is
that?
Bad news: As fun loving as you are, some people
think you eat too many damn fish, and water
pollution's no spring picnic either.


Which weasel are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

What can I say? <g>

The good thing about the cubs having their own backpacks is that when we go out for the day now my backpack is so much lighter cos I'm not carrying all the food.

<happy sigh> Fishies in 3D...
The cubs and I went to see 'Ocean Wonderland', the new IMAX movie, today. It was lovely, worth getting up ealier than usual on a weekend for. : )
We wandered around the museum afterwards, or rather, I trailed after my cubs as they tore off to explore. There's a new exhibit, the Virtual Room. It's essentially a 3D, 8 sided screen thingy that you walk around (wearing your 3D glasses) and it's like looking in at something, the orientation of the object/scene changes depending on where you're stanging. Tch, didn't explain that at all well, but it was very interesting. There's a dinosaur movie coming on there in March, could be fun. <g>

When the wind is in the North, that's when the pilchards do come forth.
When the wind is in the East, that's when there's a pilchard feast.
When the wind is in the South, pop a pilchard in your mouth!
But when the wind is in the West that's when pilchards are at their best...

Don't mind me, just reliving SCA highlights...

I am enjoying this series of Wire in the Blood, I love crime programs that get inside crinimals' heads. I'm annoyed I didn't see the first series though, but eh, it's available on dvd if I really want to hunt it down.
And Crime Team last night was fun too (they get modern day 'investigators' to try and solve decades old crimes). Of course, my enjoyment of it was fuelled by me guessing the right suspect again. Hee.
(Oh, I didn't pick the murderer in Death in Holy Orders last weekend but my excuse is the cubs were being little sods and not trotting off quietly to bed so I missed most of the important, clue-laden dialogue while I was 'negotiating' with my children.)

Heh, with Joules' help chapter 3 of Dancing is now finished (more or less, there'll inevitably be small changes later... Never satisfied, can't help fiddling with things, tch...)
Might be able to get the next AC finished this weekend, with any luck. : )