Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
24th September 2010 (Friday)
Oh most lovely thanks for all the comments – nice to hear from you. There’s a good reason why all the posts appeared at a rush: they were all posted at the same time. Things had slipped a little, you know. A bit off-the-shoulder here and there.
Friday was a bit spaced-out, somehow. I went along to the yoga class that the gym offers (come with the package, so you don’t have to pay any extra for it)… I think it might have been more effective than I realised. Came out thinking ‘well that wasn’t much of a workout’ but actually it was evidently pretty relaxing as a mooched around with no particular goal in mind for the rest of the day, and this morning I find that there’s a certain… soreness… in the general buttock area which indicates it may not have been as easy peasy as I’d originally thought.
Was rather in need of relaxation Friday morning, as what with one thing and another I think Lara was coming up to the top of a small ‘naughty cycle’. A bit of tiredness, a bit of cheekiness, throw in a pinch of growing and a dash of school sauce and you’ve got a nice tantrum, from both mother and child. Yoga should be prescribed to all parents on the NHS, I think. Medicare here, I guess. Would probably save a lot of family bust-ups.
Also did a marvellous amount of getting lost in the shopping centre – on foot and in th car park. I just can’t work it out, it’s like a rabbit warren. You pop down one escalator and seem to come shot out sideways in a different dimension and can never get back to where you started from unless you drink a shrinking potion at Target and nibble a growing mushroom at Coles.
Haven’t been doing a stroke of work, either. Just doesn’t seem to happen. There are loads of deadlines at the end of September, too – oh well. I don’t expect it’ll improve for a good while. The week before last (or last week, more or less) I was manically typing out lots of flash-fiction to send to a project called 50 Stories for Pakistan – it’ll be out soon as a charity book. Sent in six stories, they needed to pick 50 from a submission total of about 200. Not a single one got in. Which means I did worse than the average. Great. It’s always nice to have confidence boosts like that. Onwards and upwards, eh.
While I was out getting lost in the shopping centre and yoga-ing away, the W&W took a trip into Glenrock over the road. I came back just after they had come back themselves, and I think it must have been quite a tiring walk because they were sitting slumped at the dining room table and staring into space, not really saying much. A bit of lunch did seem to revive them a little. Glenrock is a nice walk but unfortunately it does rather go past the sewage works before you get to the beach – usually doesn’t smell too much but it’s rather lacking in beauty.
We picked up the Non from her last day of term (!) and a little later, after a snack, took her off to gym. W&W came and watched. By the time they leave they’ll know every detail of the Non’s life in all it’s routine humdrummingness.
Back home, the nice leg of lamb was quietly cooking in the barbecue. A few veg to go with it and Meg’s your aunt. Pretty tasty, if I say so myself. Another game of Scrabble afterwards, at which the Mr won AGAIN by a margin so obscene it shall be struck henceforth from the record books as something unmentionable.
I’d better get going, as we’re off to Sydney this morning to meet Dicky and Phyl – they’re going to be touring Australia for the next few months and have just arrived. We’ll be there for the weekend, hopefully coming back laden with lots of piccies and stories, so till then, smell-you-later!
Friday was a bit spaced-out, somehow. I went along to the yoga class that the gym offers (come with the package, so you don’t have to pay any extra for it)… I think it might have been more effective than I realised. Came out thinking ‘well that wasn’t much of a workout’ but actually it was evidently pretty relaxing as a mooched around with no particular goal in mind for the rest of the day, and this morning I find that there’s a certain… soreness… in the general buttock area which indicates it may not have been as easy peasy as I’d originally thought.
Was rather in need of relaxation Friday morning, as what with one thing and another I think Lara was coming up to the top of a small ‘naughty cycle’. A bit of tiredness, a bit of cheekiness, throw in a pinch of growing and a dash of school sauce and you’ve got a nice tantrum, from both mother and child. Yoga should be prescribed to all parents on the NHS, I think. Medicare here, I guess. Would probably save a lot of family bust-ups.
Also did a marvellous amount of getting lost in the shopping centre – on foot and in th car park. I just can’t work it out, it’s like a rabbit warren. You pop down one escalator and seem to come shot out sideways in a different dimension and can never get back to where you started from unless you drink a shrinking potion at Target and nibble a growing mushroom at Coles.
Haven’t been doing a stroke of work, either. Just doesn’t seem to happen. There are loads of deadlines at the end of September, too – oh well. I don’t expect it’ll improve for a good while. The week before last (or last week, more or less) I was manically typing out lots of flash-fiction to send to a project called 50 Stories for Pakistan – it’ll be out soon as a charity book. Sent in six stories, they needed to pick 50 from a submission total of about 200. Not a single one got in. Which means I did worse than the average. Great. It’s always nice to have confidence boosts like that. Onwards and upwards, eh.
While I was out getting lost in the shopping centre and yoga-ing away, the W&W took a trip into Glenrock over the road. I came back just after they had come back themselves, and I think it must have been quite a tiring walk because they were sitting slumped at the dining room table and staring into space, not really saying much. A bit of lunch did seem to revive them a little. Glenrock is a nice walk but unfortunately it does rather go past the sewage works before you get to the beach – usually doesn’t smell too much but it’s rather lacking in beauty.
We picked up the Non from her last day of term (!) and a little later, after a snack, took her off to gym. W&W came and watched. By the time they leave they’ll know every detail of the Non’s life in all it’s routine humdrummingness.
Back home, the nice leg of lamb was quietly cooking in the barbecue. A few veg to go with it and Meg’s your aunt. Pretty tasty, if I say so myself. Another game of Scrabble afterwards, at which the Mr won AGAIN by a margin so obscene it shall be struck henceforth from the record books as something unmentionable.
I’d better get going, as we’re off to Sydney this morning to meet Dicky and Phyl – they’re going to be touring Australia for the next few months and have just arrived. We’ll be there for the weekend, hopefully coming back laden with lots of piccies and stories, so till then, smell-you-later!
Friday, September 24, 2010
23rd September 2010 (Thursday)
A day slightly ungeared for wimps.
Went out in the late morning under somewhat cloudy skies, striking out for Nobby’s Point. The idea was that if it rained we’d got that out of the way at least.
Luckily it didn’t rain, and a jolly good walk was had up the pier all the way to the end. There was some talk of turning back but I wouldn’t hear of it until they’d ‘touched the point’ and could thoroughly tick the ‘been there, done that’ box. At the very moment the Whale reached out to touch the rocks at the end of the jetty, a HUGE wave came splatting all the way up the sides of the pier and cascaded in a great shower on the both of them… Oh dear. Really shouldn’t laugh but it was quite a picture, wish I’d had the camera. Anyway, it all dried off pretty quickly.
After that there was a walk up and down Hunter Street Mall (not that there’s much to see but if you’re asking for downtown Newcastle that’s probably about it.) Crossing the little footbridge and going up Queen’s Whaft Tower mas a bit of a step too far for the Woofie, who stayed at the bottom while the Whale and I went up to the top – it was further up that I’d anticipated, have to say. However, good views to be had. Bak down then and off home for a very late lunch, and the smallest of breaks before the Non was brought back home, together with a Thursday Lillian.
And so there were stickies, and fruit, they danced, they played with mooses, drew some pictures, made a mess cutting things up, spread glue around, played leapfrog on the stairs, did some yelling (and some screaming), climbed up and down the bunk bed a few times, raised hell, and then we all walked Lillian home.
By this time it was a little late, and I had boned a chicken and had meat to stuff and barbecue it but it was so late we decided to spatchcock it instead on the barbecue, and do stuffing balls in a separate dish. All turned out rather nicely, actually. Really ought to post it on the food blog, I guess.
There we are. It’s all a bit slapdash but I guess maybe better than nothing. Snogs all round.
Went out in the late morning under somewhat cloudy skies, striking out for Nobby’s Point. The idea was that if it rained we’d got that out of the way at least.
Luckily it didn’t rain, and a jolly good walk was had up the pier all the way to the end. There was some talk of turning back but I wouldn’t hear of it until they’d ‘touched the point’ and could thoroughly tick the ‘been there, done that’ box. At the very moment the Whale reached out to touch the rocks at the end of the jetty, a HUGE wave came splatting all the way up the sides of the pier and cascaded in a great shower on the both of them… Oh dear. Really shouldn’t laugh but it was quite a picture, wish I’d had the camera. Anyway, it all dried off pretty quickly.
After that there was a walk up and down Hunter Street Mall (not that there’s much to see but if you’re asking for downtown Newcastle that’s probably about it.) Crossing the little footbridge and going up Queen’s Whaft Tower mas a bit of a step too far for the Woofie, who stayed at the bottom while the Whale and I went up to the top – it was further up that I’d anticipated, have to say. However, good views to be had. Bak down then and off home for a very late lunch, and the smallest of breaks before the Non was brought back home, together with a Thursday Lillian.
And so there were stickies, and fruit, they danced, they played with mooses, drew some pictures, made a mess cutting things up, spread glue around, played leapfrog on the stairs, did some yelling (and some screaming), climbed up and down the bunk bed a few times, raised hell, and then we all walked Lillian home.
By this time it was a little late, and I had boned a chicken and had meat to stuff and barbecue it but it was so late we decided to spatchcock it instead on the barbecue, and do stuffing balls in a separate dish. All turned out rather nicely, actually. Really ought to post it on the food blog, I guess.
There we are. It’s all a bit slapdash but I guess maybe better than nothing. Snogs all round.
22nd September 2010 (Wednesday) Part 2
Lara’s first tooth is out!
Oh the excitement. Yesterday we went en mass to pick her up and one by one the kids ran out of the classroom and ran towards us like minnows escaping a shrinking pool, yelling ‘Lara’s lost a tooth!’
Well never mind the tooth, where’s Lara we think so eventfully venture in – and there she is, on the floor, surrounded by classmates and holding bunches of ‘cards’ they’d made her, sighing and looking all starry-eyed like some diva at the end of a performance with bushels of roses. Seems the event had taken place only a short while previously. ‘My tooth came out, and they all made me letters and cards!’ she kept breathing, evidently very pleased with the way everything was turning out.
We’ve decided that the tooth fairy’s first name is Gappy and I have a feeling she’s going to bring Lara a two dollar coin and a ‘fat mighty bean’.
You haven’t heard about the mighty bean craze? Oh, you will soon!
Oh the excitement. Yesterday we went en mass to pick her up and one by one the kids ran out of the classroom and ran towards us like minnows escaping a shrinking pool, yelling ‘Lara’s lost a tooth!’
Well never mind the tooth, where’s Lara we think so eventfully venture in – and there she is, on the floor, surrounded by classmates and holding bunches of ‘cards’ they’d made her, sighing and looking all starry-eyed like some diva at the end of a performance with bushels of roses. Seems the event had taken place only a short while previously. ‘My tooth came out, and they all made me letters and cards!’ she kept breathing, evidently very pleased with the way everything was turning out.
We’ve decided that the tooth fairy’s first name is Gappy and I have a feeling she’s going to bring Lara a two dollar coin and a ‘fat mighty bean’.
(Lara just before her end-of-term disco... with W&W)
You haven’t heard about the mighty bean craze? Oh, you will soon!
22nd Sepember 2010 (Wednesday)
A week? It’s been a week since last Wednesday? Well blow me down with a Milky bar and call me Lola, I don’t know where it’s gone.
In line with the last post (I notice) it was Kinder Hell again today. Was stuck this time on the chalkboard… the computers were out so that was the worst one to be on, and of course I got it. Covered in chalk, kids rolling all over the place in it, felt like a brandy afterwards but alas of course not to be. The W&W came along, mainly to watch, and I’m not sure they’re going back in any hurry. They walked out quite quickly at the end of it.
Then there was shopping, lunch, and hey presto I’ve had a quick go at writing something but just can’t get down to it .. my head’s in a whirl.
The W&W have settled in with incredible ease, they really seem to have hit the ground running. Took a snooze in the afternoon when they arrived, all of about three hours, and haven’t really been off-kilter time-wise since then. It’s very impressive. They’re way more lively in the evenings than we are, and we up just as early this morning – well, they came to Kinder Hell with me, didn’t they.
We went down to Burwood Beach with a picnic on Saturday, and forgot the suntan lotion so some of us got a little toasted but not too bad. Very pleasant, we took a picnic, rolled around, spent quite a ling time there.
In line with the last post (I notice) it was Kinder Hell again today. Was stuck this time on the chalkboard… the computers were out so that was the worst one to be on, and of course I got it. Covered in chalk, kids rolling all over the place in it, felt like a brandy afterwards but alas of course not to be. The W&W came along, mainly to watch, and I’m not sure they’re going back in any hurry. They walked out quite quickly at the end of it.
Then there was shopping, lunch, and hey presto I’ve had a quick go at writing something but just can’t get down to it .. my head’s in a whirl.
The W&W have settled in with incredible ease, they really seem to have hit the ground running. Took a snooze in the afternoon when they arrived, all of about three hours, and haven’t really been off-kilter time-wise since then. It’s very impressive. They’re way more lively in the evenings than we are, and we up just as early this morning – well, they came to Kinder Hell with me, didn’t they.
We went down to Burwood Beach with a picnic on Saturday, and forgot the suntan lotion so some of us got a little toasted but not too bad. Very pleasant, we took a picnic, rolled around, spent quite a ling time there.
Sunday we spent an equivalent sort of time at Blackbutt, fed the emus, saw the kangaroos, birds and so on. Place was pretty packed. Comedy highlight of the day was when the Woofie had her sausage (quite literally) pinched out of her sandwich by a marauding kookaburra. Swooped down from behind her, picked it right out of her bun and was away before she understood what was happening. Said she didn’t even see it has a bird, just felt a rush of air around her head. Ha, we saw it though, don’t know what was more amusing, the shock on her face as it was happening, the skill of the bird, or her indignation when she realised what had happened. I think it’s put kookaburras in a bad light for her for ever more. It was surprising but I guess they’re kingfishers, you’d need to be pretty precise to scoop fish out of the water, wouldn’t you. He was sitting up on his branch with the sausage in his beak, beating it on the branch to ‘kill’ it with great whacks, and then gulped it down (presumably) in what he reckoned was a ‘head first’ fashion. Then he had to spend quite some time getting the tomato ketchup off his beak.
Then Monday… do you know, my memory’s a complete blank. It’s really too bad, I must post more frequently. Anyway I’ll leave it at that for the moment and pick up the Littles – if anything else pops up I can always add later.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
15 September 2010 (Wednesday)
Wednesday, and I got stuck on the bloody computers again at the school help-out. I studiously avoided this one but the other mums there were wandering about and out-avoided it, so I was morally forced into it, kicking and screaming. I really needed the whole excursion like a streptococcal infection, so much to do and no time at all. By the time I’d ordered the thousandth kid to put their legs back on the floor and look at the computer, stop poking their neighbour, read the text and copy it, remember the capitals and full stops and FOR F***’s SAKE DON’T HIT ENTER the whole time
Because you
End up
With an oddly
Free-verse-like
Transcription of a very
Boring story
and it doesn’t do any good for your punctuation, understanding of computers or your self-esteem,
well by that time my head was quite spinning and I felt like a stiff drink and cursed the fact that it was only / already 11:30.
The Non did very well with her work today, finished it all before she went to school. It’s not bad really, about 1.5 hours worth of good concentration. An addition and subtraction sheet, a reading comprehension with a little story and a few questions, a page of handwriting practice, a page of random writing puzzles, and she read two books. Not too shabby. If only she were always like that. In fact, it must have been a good day in general because she even behaved herself at dinner. We had spaghetti sauce and she barely needed to be shouted at at all – in fact I think I moved her elbow from the table once, and that was it. Not even a sauce-splash to be seen, and she had seconds. Heavens to Betsy, it must be going to snow tomorrow, it’s so unusual.
The Mr seems to have had an incredibly productive day as well – I can’t remember all that he said he’d managed but it was something like two meetings, one review, the Wednesday practical with the students he got finished up at 2:30 instead of the 4pm it’s meant to be, more student directing in the lab, and several other bits and pieces I can’t quite put my finger on. Came home nice and early and I think he’s ready for an early night – as am I. Damn that reminds me, it’s my turn at the gym tomorrow so I’d better borrow the family alarm clock (Barbie from the Non’s room – our other one has gone into early retirement). Ribs still a little sore from the sit-ups yesterday, hate to think what they’ll be like when I get back.
Ah well. Got masses of work to be doing but I’m flumped. Tomorrow is another day, if I live to see it.
Because you
End up
With an oddly
Free-verse-like
Transcription of a very
Boring story
and it doesn’t do any good for your punctuation, understanding of computers or your self-esteem,
well by that time my head was quite spinning and I felt like a stiff drink and cursed the fact that it was only / already 11:30.
The Non did very well with her work today, finished it all before she went to school. It’s not bad really, about 1.5 hours worth of good concentration. An addition and subtraction sheet, a reading comprehension with a little story and a few questions, a page of handwriting practice, a page of random writing puzzles, and she read two books. Not too shabby. If only she were always like that. In fact, it must have been a good day in general because she even behaved herself at dinner. We had spaghetti sauce and she barely needed to be shouted at at all – in fact I think I moved her elbow from the table once, and that was it. Not even a sauce-splash to be seen, and she had seconds. Heavens to Betsy, it must be going to snow tomorrow, it’s so unusual.
The Mr seems to have had an incredibly productive day as well – I can’t remember all that he said he’d managed but it was something like two meetings, one review, the Wednesday practical with the students he got finished up at 2:30 instead of the 4pm it’s meant to be, more student directing in the lab, and several other bits and pieces I can’t quite put my finger on. Came home nice and early and I think he’s ready for an early night – as am I. Damn that reminds me, it’s my turn at the gym tomorrow so I’d better borrow the family alarm clock (Barbie from the Non’s room – our other one has gone into early retirement). Ribs still a little sore from the sit-ups yesterday, hate to think what they’ll be like when I get back.
Ah well. Got masses of work to be doing but I’m flumped. Tomorrow is another day, if I live to see it.
Monday, September 13, 2010
13th September 2010 (Monday)
Yet another hoop to jump through in the writing market. Seems nowadays one has to be proficient at ‘flash fiction’ – fiction typically weighing in at under 500 words. Any idea how short that is? I think even the average blog post here is probably about 800 words. One’s (apparently) meant to get powerful characterisation, paint a picture, create and resolve a conflict, and of course stun the reader into submission, all within that word count. Did they want a bit of moon-dust on that as well?
Ian had his first go at the gym today. Got up at six, back by about 7:30, wincing and rubbing shoulders. Was horrified to find that 10 minutes on the treadmill apparently only burns 100 calories. Actually I thought he did rather well – I set the same target the other day on the cycle machine and it took 17 minutes. Quickest way to get thin is definitely to eat less. Unfortunately this doesn’t mean the weight’ll come off in the right places – usually exactly the opposite. That’s why Satan gave us gyms. Officially sponsored by the Spanish Inquisition.
Can barely remember what we did at the weekend. There was some village fete involved down in Merewether, and we eloped with a trio of sausage sandwiches down to the beach. Weather breezy but warming. Sand undiminished. Lunatics in bikinis here and there.
Talking of which, on Sunday Ian had to do a little more prep for his lectures so I took the Littles out of the way to what I assumed was an indoor pool. Not in the least, as outdoor as you like. Blimey. Apparently the water was 22 degrees but I refused to go in. Lara did, and seemed to enjoy herself but it did take a good ten minutes for her to stop shaking afterwards. I hope there are some indoor pools on the list of ones we can go to with our new ‘fitness passport’, but I’m beginning to have my doubts.
On Saturday Lara was invited over to Lillian’s place. We jumped at the chance and dumped her there while we drove off to get the spare mattress from the lock-up. This is the one that we kept RIGHT at the back because we reckoned we wouldn’t be using it… The storage unit is 3m long and filled from top to bottom with Stuff: you have to shuffle sideways to get through. All of it had to come out, and then go back in again, but it was great not to have Lara running round the place ‘being useful’ and alternately putting herself right under the heaviest boxes or running out in front of unsuspecting passing vehicles.
Ian had his first go at the gym today. Got up at six, back by about 7:30, wincing and rubbing shoulders. Was horrified to find that 10 minutes on the treadmill apparently only burns 100 calories. Actually I thought he did rather well – I set the same target the other day on the cycle machine and it took 17 minutes. Quickest way to get thin is definitely to eat less. Unfortunately this doesn’t mean the weight’ll come off in the right places – usually exactly the opposite. That’s why Satan gave us gyms. Officially sponsored by the Spanish Inquisition.
Can barely remember what we did at the weekend. There was some village fete involved down in Merewether, and we eloped with a trio of sausage sandwiches down to the beach. Weather breezy but warming. Sand undiminished. Lunatics in bikinis here and there.
Talking of which, on Sunday Ian had to do a little more prep for his lectures so I took the Littles out of the way to what I assumed was an indoor pool. Not in the least, as outdoor as you like. Blimey. Apparently the water was 22 degrees but I refused to go in. Lara did, and seemed to enjoy herself but it did take a good ten minutes for her to stop shaking afterwards. I hope there are some indoor pools on the list of ones we can go to with our new ‘fitness passport’, but I’m beginning to have my doubts.
On Saturday Lara was invited over to Lillian’s place. We jumped at the chance and dumped her there while we drove off to get the spare mattress from the lock-up. This is the one that we kept RIGHT at the back because we reckoned we wouldn’t be using it… The storage unit is 3m long and filled from top to bottom with Stuff: you have to shuffle sideways to get through. All of it had to come out, and then go back in again, but it was great not to have Lara running round the place ‘being useful’ and alternately putting herself right under the heaviest boxes or running out in front of unsuspecting passing vehicles.
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