Short and Sleepy

(Edited to add this photo)


My sister, who lives on the property of my childhood in Central Queensland, managed to take this "snap" of the Red Moon last night - our view was obscured by clouds.

But one BTW - isn't she an awesome photographer? Helps to have a subject like that - but this is what she could do - her comment was "just hand-held and with my little zoom lense, so not award winning" - I still think it is quite stunning!!

I can see the rabbit - although I can't make out the stars she advised me of...

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I forgot to tell the alarm clock I wanted to wake early this morning.

So instead he woke me at my usual time as he was about to leave for work (the joys of a job that finishes about 3 - but starts at 7) - eeek!

There is nothing worse than the sleepiness that comes from waking at your usual time and being on FULL PRESSURE ALERT from that moment.

So of course I turned around and did the same thing to 'Salina. She reacted much better than I!

I am still suffering the aftershocks.

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Despite the horrific start, I actually had quite a good seminar this morning.

When I first went in, the room was like a morgue. I have realised that it is not me - it is just that a lot of the local businesses don't do the schmooze and I will have to learn whatever their networking skills are.

I engaged the "run comments through the filter before opening mouth" sequence and didn't embarrass myself. Well, most of the time, anyway.

I was able to hold a fairly coherent conversation with several of the folk holding the seminar, managed to interweave their business goals with my own and give out my own material to their positive comments and get a few new contacts for myself.

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I was inspired - of course, since arriving home the lethargy has hit me big time so am relying on my list techniques to grind on through. Just drawing upon dashes of that business inspiration in small doses to perk it up here and there.

More there - its not coming through here, hey?

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Leave you with something I thought was hilarious last night.

In my previous poetry life, I gathered several collections of taped performances - Democracy by Leonard Cohen (just realised it is his piece - how about that) is on one that 'Salina put into the player yesterday. (From an Anthology recorded for what looks to be an awesome documentary series put out in USA a few years ago - The United States of Poetry.

It is really well read and has a great backing track. Do click over and read it - an amazing piece.

Found several Youtube clips with the same soundtrack.

Here is one guy's cool animation - this one is only short (30 odd seconds of it):



OMG - and here it is used as a trailer for March of the Penguins (this one is much longer - about 2 minutes):



Hey - and there are 8 used copies of the anthology at Amazon!!

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Anyhow, a line that is repeated at the end of each verse is (an ominous) "Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

'Salina's reply to that?

"Well, thank goodness its not here"

This is not the Monday I prepared

But it has turned - and is turning - out quite well despite the derailments.

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Upon verticalising myself this morning to wave a vague farewell to V, I quickly jotted down the plan to my day.

It was a beautiful plan. The first section devoted to shipshaping the start of my day and get it aligned; the second section one with business-like intention and the final bit fun and not too draining of my intellect or soul.

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I must say, first section was executed splendidly - not only did 'Salina leave the abode fed, clean and with a balanced healthy lunchbox in her backpack.

Even more astonishing was the fact that beds were made and (drumroll please) I was dressed!!!

I know, quick, get lotto.

On a roll, I myself ate nutritious fare (including the wonder fruit, grapefruit), pegged out washing, cleaned the kitchen ALL BEFORE THE HOUR HAD CHIMED NINE.

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You know there is a but coming up, don't you? Things cannot go that well on a Monday.

Well, for reasons that I will not elaborate on as it is not my story, I received a missed call as I was hanging out the washing.

This is the reason that I got to tackle the rest of the back yard today during the middle session of the day, planting, digging, weeding, mowing and generally "putting in a big effort" with my darling, who then fed me fine foods and gave me coffee and kept me amused.

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Well, as a derailed day it went very well. 'Salina arrived home from school with not only the normal weekly homework load, but also several pages of a classroom book that she needed to finish and a mysterious homework sheet from last week. Hmmm...

Last week she assured us that, due to the Year 3, 5 and 7 testing that was done throughout the nation no homework was given or expected. The teacher does occasionally pull that on us, so it is possible. Or is my little girl learning how to pull a fast one?

She also came home with the "Student of the Week" award - from last week again, although this we can lay blame with the teacher as she had to prepare for the said exams and did not hand out last week's awards.

'Salina was commended for "Very Fluent and Expressive Reading" - the first part being a feather in her cap, as until late last year her natural desire to get everyone to do everything for her had lead to a strong dislike of reading off her own bat - but since we have discovered pony books, fairy books, magic books and (new this week) magical pony books her enthusiasm knows no bounds. I can assure you that the "expressive" part would have come through even if she had no fluency whatsoever.

Strauss, she is nearly 8 now - her messy handwriting, distracted manner in class, inability to concentrate on the work at hand and strong desire to help all her classmates rather than herself have thus far meant that she is an "enigmatic" student rather than a constant puller of teacher's praises. I sort of know where she might have inherited such tendencies.

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So the "fun" stuff for the latter part of the day sort of ended in a lengthy homework session. Which can be fun all depending on the manner in which you approach it.

For many moons, I was the taskmaster whip in hand, she the recalcitrant clown, eager to distract and dissuade - it generally ended in tears of frustration (for me) and overbearing limits on freedom (for her).

This improved greatly when V arrived on the scene - he didn't clash head to head with her (on homework issues) and on the occasion when I needed to go to the shops, I would return with homework completed, valuable lessons learned and a game of baseball in progress.

I must admit that my need to go to the shops thus increased greatly when V being home coincided with her homework load.

But motherhood being what it is (and previously wearing the mantle sole parent, doubly so) guilt got the better of me and I worked out a way that I could be part of a positive homework experience with my child.

How, you ask, have we achieved this? Well, now everything gets timed and I count down to the beginning of tasks and give her times to beat. I know, fairly infantile but we both enjoy!!!

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After completion of the homework slug (as she has activity for one afternoon and after school care one afternoon, she likes to do most of it on a Monday) we then went down to contemplate the fine work undertaken during the morning and clean up the last few tasks.

I had already planted out spinach and eggplant seedlings (joining our crops of pumpkin - okay one pumpkin - sweet potato, carrots, silverbeet, lettuce, peas, zucchini, capsicum, chillies, basil, parsley, coriander and lemongrass) and V made a new bed and seeded some corn in the morning. Only the chillies, herbs and lettuce are bearing at the moment but we are looking forward to abundance once it all gets under way. 'Salina and Boy Next Door planted petunias around an old tree stump (where toads are rumoured to live - at least in the minds of small children - so the bed will either suffocate them or the watering drown, here is hoping) and I put in the broccoli seedlings.

Heck, so if my plans for fruitful self-employment are derailed too often, at least we shall have the fruits of our labours to enjoy!!!

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Tomorrow the plan is all that worky stuff, make surprise Father's Day (or significant adult male or female in your life) gifts with the kids at school (as I was such a sterling minion on the Mother's Day project) and make surprise Father's Day (or significant adult male or female in your life) gifts with the kids at Guides in the afternoon.

And it being Tuesday, it will be Taco night - someone else cooks - woo hoo!!!

Here is to the Tuesday plan going clockwork - I loved today and the sense of pride and achievement as I walked the bastions and feel the tenderness of my muscles - but I think there is a need to tend to the worky stuff before the self-flagellation brings new stress...

Another Wonderful Weekend in Paradise

ahhh, it feels GREAT to be back in the land of the living!

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'Salina's game was great fun for about 1/2 an hour on Friday - luckily her attention span is a smidgeon shorter than mine, so I was able to deviate her a bit.

BTW - the springy things were apparently to do "boings" on. Always an important factor in a game board!

She then went on to create (with only a little bit of input from me - I was on a date with her SO I sort of had to lend a hand and not wander off to do all those jobs that always seem to waylay me) the following:

Spaceship console

There are buttons for stop, go, turbo, food and drink. There is a microphone to put your orders in, a phone that can be hands free or pick up, a female computer to tell you everything (of course) and a keyboard that contains at least half of the alphabet. Oh, and a steering wheel.

We went to Mars to see the King and Queen - I then got waylaid by dinner stuff, so she came in to tell me she had shot them as (a) they had beautiful coats, and (b) they would kill and eat anything so she got in first. Where does her imagination come from?

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We went to town yesterday for haircuts and to spend up big in groceries. As is a young child's wont, she wished for some money to buy herself a gift. As is a mother's wont, I was unwilling to shell for some more crap to clutter up my environment keen to use this as a lesson in economic policy and prioritising dreams and needs.

As she only had $3 to spend, we went in to Big W to find what goodies were available. $3 equates to bugger all in such shops although her eye did fall upon:

MY LITTLE PONY Ponyville Pinkie Pie House

This is the child that I sheltered from such mass marketing appeals in her childhood - and it has scarred her. Nothing more heartbreaking than a 5 1/2 year old tearfully pleading with you to buy her a My Little Pony as she was "the ONLY girl who had none" - and she has done plenty to make up that shortfall in the subsequent 2 years!!

I brokered a deal with her to enter the world of lay-by - and we now have a willing slave to small tasks to gather enough small coins to pay her 3.50 per week to have it freed and in her care by her birthday - sort of win-win all around!!!

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Using this newfound labour supply, my own refound health and energy and harnessing V's OCD tendencies, today we hit the garden with passion and enthusiasm.

This morning, I mowed the front, 'Salina trimmed shrubs and V muttered and attempted to make a whipper snipper work. It is the only time I have ever heard him express a desire to be a "car guy" when the (expletive deleted) whipper snipper did not comply with his demands. Mind you, he did a lot more mechanical dillying than I would have been capable of, so I will shut up now.

Then (laying down the (expletive deleted) whipper snipper), V and I absolutely annihilated the front garden that has been growing unidentified succulents unencumbered for the last 25 years - even found newspapers dating back to the 1990s (when houses were around $100,000 - sigh) and sunglasses in the mire - we have plans for that patch of dirt that do not include such species.

We hit a wall and 'Salina took her revenge by making us do exam papers she had prepared for us.

By 2 I was recharged enough to make patty cakes with her, restart the mower and do 1/2 the back yard and rake out 15 years of pandanus leaves and lawn clippings from the waste at the back of the garden.

While I was doing this, 'Salina and the boy next door just played and played - it was really good to see both just enjoy each other's company. As only children of single parents (which 'Salina was until recently), another child is always a new continent - it can be an exciting and/or scary prospect.

One game I overheard involved 'Salina being a shopkeeper - a favoured role for her - and boy-next-door was busy buying weapons from her. Another win-win, hey?

Although my butt has muscles aching that have not had that sensation for many a moon, I have a sense of achievement tonight that makes me punch the air (tenderly) and say "Yay us!!"

How was your weekend?

Hot Date This Afternoon

and no, its nothing to do with the fact that for the 5th day in a row V has been rained off and, due to some crazy interaction of the stars, there were actually enough helpers in the tuckshop today that my lurgy-infested soul was not required for all hours.

Although that would be a good idea - cough cough - except for this lurgy-infested soul knowing that, while it is good for many things, afternoon dalliances don't get the blog written. (And hey - 5th day in a row - V is presently snoring resting peacefully, saving himself for (the double-header of football action) tonight). **

No, as at 3.05pm this afternoon, I will be having a date with 'Salina, playing with her on her latest invention.

Presenting 'Salina's Super Game Board

Apparently there are hours of fun to be had here. Look at all those noughts and crosses fields she has put in for our first hour - and then there is dot-to-dot joy. I am not sure about the rest, but she spent hours creating this yesterday afternoon (while I was busy reading blogs creating healthy and nutritionally balanced delights), and we did express joy at her completed project (isn't "Oh, that's nice" enough) but she REALLY, REALLY, REALLY would like more than ANYTHING IN THE WORLD (except a pony) to have me play with her with it this afternoon.

And I always go on dates when there is begging involved.

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** Disclaimer - before he passed out, an offer of alternative entertainment was made.

Brand New Day

and you gotta be happy about that.

I thought I was all set to blog last night - I was inspired, my medication was fooling me into thinking I was Jeanie and I had a topic.

Then I started to write. Pure bloody drivel.

Oh, the introspective pain that was coughed up on this screen would have been enough to stop me reading my own blog, let alone the 3 of you.

I was at least wise enough to tiptoe away from my computer when I thought it wasn't looking and watch mindless tv instead.

But today - ahh, a brand new day. Head is not so fuzzy, antibiotics are kicking my lungs into producing less stuff all around and I actually moved forward on my life today.

Well - part of the moving forward I must give Bloglines thanks for - they were down all morning, so I actually filled in some forms that had been snarking on my desk for some time.

Do you know what that little "filled in some forms" means? It means that the 10 year nightmare that has been my goal to "sort out my superannuation" has finally be kicked!!! Woo hoo!!! I have actually managed to track down the 12 super funds that I got during my 20s working all over the shop and put them all in one place.

And I also went to the printer and collected brochures and business cards so I can start my massive (ha ha) direct marketing campaign to entice lots of local businesses to use my services, put money into my account and fuel other dreams!!

Oh, I so much like my life more in the glow of optimism than bathed in the pathos of pessimism, don't you?