7th May 2010 (Friday)

Ah, hello all. Thank you so much as ever to the Pie for calling - so nice to talk... hope the cleanup operation wasn't too gruesome afterwards. (Potty training - for those not in the immediate firing line).
Over here, Littles continutes to be on absolute fire. I believe she must be on the thrust-end of what is commonly termed a 'growth spurt' and we're currently enjoying the sit-back-and-watch type of zoom in learning, conversation, imagination and sociability that such events entail. Of course, there's going to be the back-lash in a few week's time when she sinks back down into rebuild-mode  - no energy, listless, dull, unresonably clumsy and stupid. However (as Inspector Clouseau would say, all part of the rich taperstry of life). As with all late developers, it's a treat watching her finally unfold. We just sit and chortle.
Today. Hm. Ah. Er.... Well, the Littles made me a very nice card at school for Mother's day over here.... and she'd even bought a Mother's day present at the special stall they set up at school - expect that I got a note with it saying that she'd only handed over $1 of the stipulated $4 they had notified everybody they were going to charge for the presents on the stall..... I sent her off with exactly $4, so she could hand it over neatly... no chance. She's got her father's genes, she'll end up with money in her pocket at the end of the day, no problems. Anyway, I settled up the account easily enough at the office the next day, and it was the first purchase she'd managed to make (one way or the other) in her entire life so I suppose it's laudable. She hasn't even managed to buy a cupcake so far, it's a respectable improvement. She's very proud of it too - quite rightly.
The Mr did plenty of good-sounding stuff at work today, including entertaining (on  a nowl of noodles, I mean how economical can you get, father and daughter alike) a speaker at the Uni today who's also the Shair of the ARC (Australian Research Grants comiitee) council .... handy friend to have! Sounded very friendly and promising, had a good time - all part of what I believe is called 'networking' and as far as I'm concerned sounds like a jolly good day's work. Talking of which... When the Mr has lectures or an important sort of 'official' thing going on he'll usually put on a little of an aftershave-type lotion that the W&W sent him many, many years ago and we still have - I think it's called 'vetivert' or something like that..... it's GORGEOUS! HINT hint hint hint..... if there's any of it left around, never mind presents for him, if you want to get something for ME at any time, that would be FANTASTIC. Well, I know it doesn't smell of him (of course) which should be the best smell but you know, it just gels so perfectly, it's such a great match, really, I think it's admissable. Wish he would wear it more often. I mention it often enough, but he doesn't take the hint. I guess it's better this way, one gets the variation. Must look up what it's actually called. Got some quaint picture of a page or knight or something on a horse on it. In short it's fabulous.
So that's the two of them... for myself, I spent  the day chuntering through details of what publishers were available to send my novel to in Australia. I found, as things stand and without an agent, there seem to be three of them. Hm. Well, one has to start somewhere. Have a feeling it's going to be a long, long haul though. Never mind, always is. Encouragingly, read a bit of said novel again trying to label chapters and was pleasantly surprised that actually I'm still pretty darn pleased with it. That's quite impressive. It's got a natural drawback in that it's got a cast of thousands and the initial chapter is not one that takes you by the throat and drags you into a swirling mesh of intrigue instantly that seems to be the pre-requisite these days.. but there's no way out of that, I'm afraid. So it'll just have to stand. Bah, anyway - got the best new creation myth I've seen in a good couple of decades in the first chapter, no worries. ... Might be another couple of decades before it sees print - never mind. All onward and upward, eh.
Well, we're aparently having our electricity cut off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow, for essential mantainence works. Heavens help us. Ithink we'd better think of a fascinating place to go and stay there. What's going to happen to our fridge? Sigh. Never mind, we don't have much in there, I guess. Lots of lvoe to you all, V xxx