baby boy

Our much adored and very favourite son reached the advanced age of 17(!) on Wednesday. And by golly(!), where did the time go? &etc.

We had planned two celebrations - dinner on Saturday evening at a restaurant of J/F's choice (Al Mustafa) with the entire fam (Joan & Bessie) and a meal with the immediate hausly-fam on the evening of the actual birthday (either Saigon Saigon or the Ancient Briton).

Sadly, on the Big Day, J/F was afflicted with the sore throat/cold that is plaguing half of Sydney and did not feel like venturing out so, verily, we settled for Perry's pizza. Fortunately I'd sorted a wee interim cake - surprisingly yum.


Still rockin' the "boy" candle.

Last night we all gathered for the birthday dinner proper (which was marvellous and made us resolve to learn how to make hommus for our own selves).

We retired afterward with a Nigella Malteser cake (as requested).



Both babies commented that it was not the best or the worst cake that they had ever eaten. Bessie noted that it tasted like something we might have bought from a cake shop. Am sure this is a testament to the superior quality of our usual cakes (because I thought it very edible - but we all care little for icing).

Next birthday is our adored Joan, who has requested birthday dinner at Quay. Fortunately we have already commenced with the savering.


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early & often (nsw edition) ii

It took a few weeks, but finally (and slowly) the out stickers were being removed, leaving a wee ghost of a circle:



Obviously the removal and superior adhesion was becoming too much, so a new strategy was employed:



Then today, the obviously easily removed ins had vanished, to be replaced by:



In other election news I received a phone call from Verity's mum this afternoon. No! Really!!

Mum (Barb?) wanted to know how I'd be voting. I told her that I thought Verity had been an outstanding local member, but that unfortunately I'd be voting Green because I was really very disgruntled with the Labor Party. She replied that Verity understood (and she was a little disgruntled too) and had I thought about how I might direct my preferences? We had a nice chat, what an exceptionally lovely woman!

Had to venture to Newtown on Friday for things of a tedious medical nature and noticed there are loads of Greens posters everywhere (you may recall it is also an extremely marginal seat) - we've had nary a one, Verity is simply everywhere. Although she may be facing a challenge to the poster dominance - two posters for the Liberals recently appeared on Bridge Road - the candidate is of the very polished, silver fox variety and looks like he could totally rock one of those Just for Men commercials.

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stuff on my balcony: marsupial edition

This is Joaquim, he likes to chow down on our parsley.



Last night it was mind-numbingly, unbearably hot (at least in the Heat Sink Haus). At about 9pm we heard a very loud scrabbling out on the deck and looked out to find one possum chasing another all about the place, leaping over the fainting couch, barbeque &etc.

After a while Joaquim had obviously chased the other, smaller one off and had taken up residence as ruler of our land. He warily watched me water the garden and then braved coming close and drinking from the resulting puddles on the deck.

I felt for the poor, hot beastie and so chopped up an apple and put it out for him (thinking this might keep him away from our herbs), which he summarily devoured.

His antics (he was so afraid and so unfraid) entertained us while we enjoyed The National's programming of Rage - until we took our enervated selves to bed in the wee small hours.

We awoke in the morning to find that, in addition to that apple, Joaquim had consumed a great deal of the leaves from the parsley.

Bastard.

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early & often (nsw edition)

The state election we NSW-ites have long been longing(!) for is now only weeks away (hurrah!)!

The first election posters appeared a couple of weeks ago (seemingly overnight) on every available vertical space in the 'burb. Note the very subtle nod to political affiliation in the bottom-left corner - I don't blame her, I wouldn't want to be associated with those clowns either.



It would seem that the whole "keep x" might be a bit of an inner-west (electorally super-marginal to the Greens) marketing strategy, because there's also a keep Carmel twitter account (though no "keep Verity" one as yet)

Then a few weeks later, again quite literally overnight, the stickers appeared. Persons unknown had been very, very busy with a ladder.



It is difficult to find an election poster in Glebe that is not thus appended.

And then there was the clever commentary on the recent (utterly and completely ridiculous) scandal.



Actually, much to my extreme surprise, Verity has been a very, very good local member. She's also been a pretty decent education minister.

I'll still be voting Green.

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good habits

This year may prove quite trying in the academic arena.

Joe/Frank had been beavering away at a report (due tomorrow) and asked me to proof-read his draft. "Were you not supposed to write how subject x is portrayed in film y and not just write about subject x?" I asked.

You will not be surprised to learn that I was correct. Apparently there were a bunch of questions to answer and he hadn't answered them at all <sigh> This has now been resolved - although the job was rushed and of not-great quality.

I see a good deal of supervision, nagging and facebook banning in that boy's future.

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unpossible

This afternoon I'm attempting to replace an ipod touch battery. Bessie's ipod touch is quite elderly, has been dropped in the toilet (but still kept on keeping on for a good long while) and generally well loved and finally gave up holding any sort of charge, so was been recently replaced with a shiny new one.

I figured that a $6 outlay for a new battery from eBay and some time might make for a nice weekend project, because as well all know, my love of pulling things apart knows no bounds and if we have yet another spare ipod at the end of it all - more the better!



The replacement process is proving equally as challenging and ridiculous as I had imagined, infinitely more difficult than ipod battery replacement (which is rather easy) and will involve soldering (a task which I will second to my husband). Already I have almost stripped a very tiny screw head.

But I refuse to be defeated¹, though think that I do need to take a little walk and revise my strategy.


¹it could be that I will admit defeat later in the day - and I will be totally okay with that!

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<edited to add> after displaying much patience and stripping a couple of screws (despite having a set of jeweller's screwdrivers, we don't have one quite small enough for these very, very wee screws) I have achieved disassembling nirvana!

Don will attempt soldering over the coming weekend (though given my penchant for fixering, I really need to grab the soldering iron and teach myself for future projects).

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immunity is compromised

Today I visited the dermatologist for my foot pox.

It speaks a good deal to my current dedication to my new working hours that I slaved at the SaltMinesLimited for a couple of hours before my early morning appointment rather than rocking up post-appointment (which would have been my former M.O.).

The good news is that I do not have Morton's Neuroma!

Hurrah!

Dermatologist is convinced it is a plantar wart, but that, given my complete lack of pain with the freezing, it is a very, very deep plantar wart. She's given me prescription for foot burning creme and explicit and complicated instructions the take-home of which is Not Touching while applying.

Given that she was a dermatologist, she wanted to perform a skin check and that is how I have ended up with a large chunk cut out of my back for a biopsy.



I blame all that slathering with baby oil and laying about in the sun in the 1980s.

Yet another scar to add to the biopsy collection!

Truly, the health fun just keeps on coming.

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pleased

If you've been reading for while, you'll be aware that late last year I negotiated to work from home for for 2 hours, 3 afternoons a week.

I gave it a good shot, but it really wasn't working out for me. I'd pack up from SaltMinesLimited, arrive home and start work again for another two hours - honestly, it was becoming like homework <shudder> and I was beginning to really resent the intrusion of work into my space (plus I felt guilty every time I'd get up to chop an onion or put the dryer on or to boss Joe/Frank about).

So, after a good deal of though and chatting with DishyBoss, this month I'm trialling coming in super-early, having a short lunch and leaving at 4pm with no working from home.

So far I'm back in the haus by 4.30 (and miss the worst of the bus traffic) and let me tell you that it has been completely and utterly wonderful!

I am in heaven. I'm getting so very much done both around the haus (my cupboards are looking wonderfully organised already) and with various projects and I feel fabulously content!

Time to make the change permanent I think.

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you're sure it isn't leprosy

On my way home after my changed hours¹ this afternoon, I popped in to see SuperHappyFunGP for another foot zapping.

Unable to bear anything else against my pauvre foot, I've been wearing my well-padded runners (with vibrant pink laces) all week and let us just say that matching them with any sort of outfit is problematic. I cannot count how many comments/mockery I've received regarding my footwear during the week (is amazing the straws at colleagues will grasp for kitchen conversation) ... then we have to go into the whole plagued foot thing - ewwww.

Though having no issues when SHFGP was using the scalpel to hack away at a good deal of skin from my foot, I was in such untold agony when he barely laid pressure on the ball of my foot that he was utterly intrigued and declared "this is so weird" and "there is this unusual condition called morton's neuroma, I think you may have it".

SHFGP's very weighty dermatology book did not contain any reference to morton's neuroma², and I was pleased to see that he, a proper doctor and all, resorted to researching the condition via the InformationSuperHighway. And there it was! Matched my agony a good deal. SHFGP was pretty excited at his first possible case.

So now I have a referral to a dermatologist (appointment next Friday) to hopefully deal with the excruciating pain I feel upon walking/standing.

SHFGP felt confident though, that in addition to the mortion's neuroma, I totally have psoriasis. After me claiming that there was NoWay that I was so afflicted last visit (apart from the a small poxy spot mid-foot, I had no symptoms - no itching, no pox on forehead or elbows), over the past 10 days the spots became worse and the itching commenced and he was happy to prescribe me some cream and I railed against the injustice of it all and curse my left foot.

Verily, the body is falling apart.

¹the subject of a future post
²He may be a nutcase, but seriously, how could you have random rare conditions in your head? My admiration for doctors increased a hundredfold!

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get out of the kitchen

I'd never really understood the difference between hot heat and humid heat until we were in the Nation's Capital. I thought Hot was Hot was Hot, but DisneyPrincess pointed out that it was cooler in the shade in Canberra - and verily, it was! And I was terribly envious - cold in the shade while the not-shade was sweltering? What? When can I move?

Back in the Emerald City, shade or no, last night was disgustingly, unbearably hot. We decided to roll with it and enjoy a couple of bottles of wine & pizza on the deck and not to move about At All and enjoy the view (which we do not do near enough of!). We've decided that if we are going to live in this environment we should just suck it up.



But last night was truly unbearable. No, really! According to The BOM it was 33.9^oC (93.02^oF) degrees at 2.59am!

No wonder sleep was a rare and wonderful thing, assisted by multiple damp face-cloths (chugging many litres of water at 2 hourly intervals) and pedestal fans on the highest setting.

This morning much time at TheSaltMinesLimited was occupied by discussions as to how we handled the disgusting temperatures (and those few people with air-conditioners were looked upon with scorn, as is our way).

Also this morning, as predicted, there were those of us who dropped a good deal of cash acquiring multiple evaporative coolers/air-conditioners, but tonight (despite the heat of the day) is a rather lovely, balmy summer night and I am glad I still have that $600 in my pocket.

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chillax

February already? Say it ain't so!

Not a great deal was accomplished in January, which was okay because I am, like, totally chilled and not putting any pressure on myself. Okay, chilled with only occasional remonstrations at myself for Not Achieving.

February, on the other hand, is shaping up to be Quite Hellish Indeed (work-wise for both Don and I), so I will need to summon all the chill I can muster.

My lovely colleagues gave me a post-op gift voucher for a ... beauty salon, I guess ... and I've only February left to redeem it (yes, so much for that "no procrastinating" non-resolution). Because there is so little time remaining, I plan to reward myself at the end of February for making it through the month unharmed/still hinged, though I have had some difficulty deciding upon an option/s.

I am avoiding anything to do with my face because I am quite happy with it (apart from those 3 pimples which developed overnight - stupid mirena), so am stuck with massage or body-wrap (either with manicure). I have had wraps and loved them, but never a proper massage.

I would have loved, loved, loved a feet treat (because I am all about the pretty feet), but the plantar wart (*ick*) combined with the leprosy I seem to have developed (psoriasis + newly-developed heel fissure - double, nay, quadruple *ick*) on my left foot really do preclude that!

Must call tomorrow and make arrangements.

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