Screwed up Tunes-day

With a nod to Misstress B and her Screw-Up Tuesday brigade... (and because we are ALL mightily sick of the tune 'Salina is belting out on the old coughometer)

I present to you an inanimate object and calling it - I have got the c-r-a-p-p-i-e-s-t car stereo in the whole wide world!!

Last year I bought a new car. Well, rather, I got a new car (for me) from family connections (don't ask).

As cars go, it has got some great points. Its green. It goes. (Already waay ahead of its predecessor).

But as cars go, it has got ONE MAJOR drawback, and that is the stereo.

For a start, its not - its a mono, as only one speaker is working. It is the rear-left speaker - therefore to achieve quality sound in the driver's seat, one must blast the passenger-du-rear-left (which would, most often, be 'Salina).

I know, stereo with only one speaker - crappy but liveable.

Ah, but it has dual purpose - not only does it receive radio (if you are directly beneath the transmitter) but it offers a slot for casettes (yeah, like that is SOOO useful). I actually have some old casettes (thanks to my amazing hoarding abilities) but time has left the sort of impression on the tapes that evoke deep voices and intermittent squeals.

It has been built with an anti-theft device. With the push of a button you can remove the front panel. The button is located strategically directly above the drinks holder - this way whenever you take or deposit your water bottle, that button will be pushed. Oh yes, no drink swizzling burglar will ever get past such security.

But the blinding feature that makes this stereo the absolute bane of my driving existence is the volume/tuning control.

There is only one button for the whole function - very mod-con. Apparently the zenith of technology, one push UP should send the volume up, LEFT and it will seek (and seek and seek) the next station down in frequency, DOWN for the volume to decrease and RIGHT for it to seek (and seek and seek) the next station up in frequency - theoretically.

Unfortunately, the UP works sporadically, the RIGHT not at all - but the DOWN will work most effectively EVERY SINGLE TIME - straight down to ZERO.

Do you know what that means, people who read my whining?

That means that on the very occasional moment when the UP works (and generally it is the 50th or 100th time you have cursed at the muted sound from the left rear speaker) you take it to where it will be most comfortable on the station you are listening to. I have three (three tuned in blood and guts) stations preset on the stereo. What is okay on one station will still be mute on another, and blast the third - but you learn to live with that.

What you can't live with is when strangers enter the car (either by invitation or some payment system - say a mechanic) they can't stand the blast and will ever so helpfully turn it down for you.

I had three days of silence (and cursing and pushing that darned thing UP insistently) as a result of that little experiment recently.

Of course, I could have been smart and turned it off before taking it to the mechanic.

Sure, the off button doesn't really work, but if I had flicked the anti-burglar button it would have effected the same result - but I live in hope somewhere out there the stupidest burglar in the world will find this stereo and take it off my hands.

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Oh - and courtesy of the most recent trip to the doctor with 'Salina - she may have Whooping Cough (some call it diagnosis, I call it shooting blindly into the barrel) and all I can say is, if an immunised child has a milder version of this goodness help those who get it bad.

Happy moanersMother's Day

Yay - the batteries and the camera have come to the party that is my moaner's Mother's Day, so I will walk you through the feature of my life at the moment.


Here is the reason I get to wear the Martyr's Crown. This was last week. She was well last week. Well enough to beg me to put curlers in her hair. She has a combination of genetics that lends itself to putting curlers in her hair for absolutely no gain - both she and I occasionally hope that something will take, and we have fun trying. I try not to blame this exercise on her being at death's door current malaise.



Here she is after a bout of the most effective treatment available to her. As mother's (well in my family) have in generations past, I put a bit of eucalyptus in some boiling water, stick my kids head over it and a towel over her head. It does actually cut the coughing - and even when it doesn't, coughing is far more pleasant muffled with several layers of towel and scented with the odour of gums. Sickroom smell sure does permeate the house otherwise!


See, she can put on a happy face - that is what makes this motherhood gig so worthwhile, that she makes an effort.


I make an effort too! See - some SUPER mothers CAN whip up a batch of playdough when their children beg - and look pathetic - for long enough and hard enough.


Because I get the joy of jaunting off to work for several hours a day away from the constant hacking, I felt sorry for her and bought her some flowers. I felt sorry for V too, but he won't be bought by flowers - I made him muesli bars. She loves her flowers.


She actually said to me last night (in her weakened voice with just a trill of pathetic sickly child) "sorry I couldn't get you flowers for your Mother's Day, Mum. Sorry I have been so much trouble." awwwww - I responded it was her job to be annoying and my job to look after her with as little complaining as possible. I didn't mention it is an insurance policy for old age. She is smart. She will work it out.


This is the view from my back window. I call the one on the left "my Birthday present" and the one of the right "my Mother's Day present".

Hey - where do you THINK she gets her ability to generate total pathos from?

By the way - I would actually LOVE it if we had a beautiful Mother's Day and I wasn't moaning TOO! Its just that I do it so well, and it is the only string to my bow after being woken at 5.20am - no sleep-in and breakfast-in-bed option to tick apparently!

The whole world is a better place that I didn't chose nursing as a profession.

I would love to send a shout out to all the Mother's who HAVE done this, either newly or forever - some do it without complaint. If that one is yours, give her an extra special hug - mine will be getting her extra special hug down the phone line now.

The Birthday that just keeps on giving

Sorry guys, I seem to have mislead you.

The party was 10 years ago.

My birthday was 2 weeks ago.

I still have plans (well, not well formed, but wispy ideas) of celebrating the 40th at some unspecified date in the future - hopefully by the time I am 50 I will have done so!!

The day itself was not so crash hot, and with work and 'Salina's current misery I STILL haven't sat down and worked out even a dinner with my family - let alone such excess that I organised in 1999.

However, I HAVE received some great gifts - when I have a day and a non-coughing fashion assistant I have some serious shopping to do with vouchers and greenbacks; we now have a DVD/Video - I know, many of you in technologically advanced centres will go "que?" but given our recent bout of electrical implements having toe-curls, it is extremely welcome, expands our viewing repertoire by a factor of 2 (very handy with a sick child) AND the luxury of thinking "I will tape this" when the television stations stuff up my viewing behaviour by moving programs to 10.30 (the resting place of decent television) is better than shagpile; and my BIG present got delivered yesterday afternoon.

Now, I was going to give you a picture at this point - but the camera OR its batteries have decided to play dirty, so I will give you some clues.

• it is no wonder they were playing dirty
• V has a job ahead of him involving a shovel and a wheelbarrow
• I won't mind it if people give me shit

I am hoping to give you a blow by blow photographic extravaganza on the project, we just have to cross fingers that the technology will work - or I could get Sicky 'Salina to draw it for us!

I know what I was doing 10 years ago

Yes - I may have less than nothing to report on the post-less last few days.

I could summarise - work, work, work, tend to daughter's cough, work, work, tend to daughter's cough, work, work, tend to daughter's cough, work, work, tend to daughter's cough, work, work, tend to daughter's cough - notice the complete lack of housework? - work, work, tend to daughter's cough, create a few fabulous dinners (not catering for childish tastes because she is sick and doesn't want anything, her tummy hurts, her throat hurts, can she play on the computer), work, work, tend to daughter's cough - I could go on for the requisite 1,000 words but I think you have the picture painted. (Oh, and please note - the "work, work" component meant that V had more than a fair share of the "tend to daughter's cough" end of the deal!)

But I do remember exactly what I was doing 10 years ago.

I was cleaning my house, cooking up a storm, organising friends with chairs, tables, crockery, cutlery, salads, ingredients, ovens, menus and getting ready for tomorrow.

Because tomorrow was the celebration of my 30th.

We had 50 of our nearest and dearest come to a sit-down four-course vegetarian feast under our house to help celebrate.

The only set-back to the whole meal was when the non-capsicum version of the spinach gnocchi in roasted red-pepper and blue-cheese sauces was all scoffed before P could grab some.

Still haven't organised my 40th - but I found the invitation to my 30th the other day (and promptly lost it again, otherwise you would have the picture...) and smiled.

That was also the day we announced to the world that we were expecting a 'Salina shaped surprise.

What is your "ten years ago" memory?

My blogging quest

Some time ago, Jen at Semantically Driven offered this challenge - at the time, I had a few challenges (note the silences and occasional posts begging for mercy) and so put it on the backburner.

But here were are - and Jen wants to know the whys, whens and wherefores of the blogging journey.

Waa-ay back when (in late 2006) I had recently moved to a new town where I knew no-one, was forming a new long-distance relationship with a new man, dealing with a child who was incredibly sad about being taken from her best friend to a place where all the kids were mean, with myself who is someone who loves to work and be social where there was very little of both.

In those days, I knew nothing of blogging - in fact, it was not until I googled "diabetic recipes for children" in frustration due to a family visit (that has a whole back history worthy of its own blog post) and found a blog with a recipe.

And when the said blogger very soon after that put up a post about people googling her with strange phrases, such as some weird critter wanting to cook diabetic children, my first ever blog comment was born.

After that, I immersed myself in the world of other people, finding out many who blogged for many different reasons. I finally dipped my toe into the water in December 2006.

I have never had a blogging vision or any idea where I was going with this - it was an outlet when I had none, it is my link (and in some cases lifeline) to a lot of friends, new and old.

I see great potential in blogs used the right way for business or community or purpose - but this blog is a bit like me on a lot of days - sometimes inspired, sometimes tired, occasionally amusing and occasionally very yummy (well, that isn't me, but if you come by for dinner I do try to aspire to yummy) - and a firm believer in saying it in 1000 words as I never have a decent camera to hand!!

So what about you - why, how, what and whatever... If you want to take part in Jen's Challenge, go to this link and learn all about it!