are don and carol coming?

still visiting?

2011-11-13T20:43:00.002+11:00

There's not a good deal going on here and very soon it will all go dark.

You should get yourself over here

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reflections: 2

2011-07-24T20:01:00.002+10:00

We've been streamlining / minimalising up a storm this weekend and as part of that, I'm finally moving this blog.

Come visit me at carolbaby.com!

On 30 September, I'll be nuking don and carol, mrshardly and the very underdeveloped food blog (love a deadline!).

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reflections: 1

2011-07-23T20:28:00.002+10:00

I am paying $105 a month to make myself fatter.

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so long, mom

2011-07-18T19:15:00.001+10:00

After stubbornly (verily, her watchword) clinging on for all she could, Mom died early this afternoon.

Mom, signing our wedding documentation.

This weekend, we'll be celebrating her with impromptu readings from Clive Cussler and memorial viewings of Murder She Wrote, Midsomer Murders, Hustle and Pie In The Sky and loads of white wine.

Vale.

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vertigo

2011-07-16T13:33:00.000+10:00

We're at the sold-out Carlton v Collingwood game at the MCG.

Our seats are up so high that I can't look down at the hallowed turf without shaking, dizziness and nausea.

Luckily, am pretty sure a few beers will fix me.

Sent from my HTC

pleasant

2011-07-15T09:04:00.001+10:00

Laying about in bed with a coffee, the InformationSuperHighway and enjoying the spectacular view makes for an optimal morning experience.

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relaxed

2011-07-13T17:29:00.000+10:00

I <3 vacations.

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away

2011-07-13T15:13:00.001+10:00

It was hailing 10 minutes ago.

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nu carol

2011-07-09T21:03:00.004+10:00

Test post.

Am trying to disentangle my Real Life google account from my InformationSuperHighway account. This is proving a little more difficult than I had anticipated.

Previously maintaining separate identities was not much of an issue, but as teh google is becoming increasingly more pervasive and gobbling up everything, I do worry that at some point I'll be unmasked (though admittedly most of you are already well aware of my secret identity).

Perhaps I'd be better advised to migrate the whole shebang to WordPress.

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difficult

2011-07-08T20:29:00.001+10:00

This morning I was awoken betimes by the ringing of the telephone.

Of course such calls are rarely good.

It was Don's bro. Mom is very near the end, a mere matter of hours/days. She's at home, the hospice nurses are visiting.

Don briefly spoke to her, but she was pretty out of it.

Although we had some inkling of what to expect from various friends who have been through this, it is quite frighteningly horrible how rapidly the decline can occur. When we last spoke (around two weeks ago) she was very up-beat and the irradiation to her head appeared to be assisting.

Now we're standing by the phone for that other, final, telephone call.

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like christmas in july

2011-07-01T18:53:00.002+10:00

This evening at SaltMinesLimited there were many drinks to celebrate the almost-but-not-quite meeting of a key target (lessons learned &etc).

Afterward, and drunkenly, NewBoss (to-be-blog-named) dragged me to his office, handed me a glass of wine and unofficially gave me my salary/new role letter.

It would seem that I have arrived.

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purchases: 3

2011-06-29T21:00:00.001+10:00

For a good many years our winter quilt/blanket arrangement has proved rather unsatisfactory in terms of both warmth and comfort.

Joan has long been evangelising the superiority of Sheridan products, so I finally took her advice and dropped a not insignificant amount of cash (fortunately at 40% off) on a new duvet which should keep us snuggly for a good many years.

Based on Joan's recommendations¹ I'd intended to go with the deluxe dream (micro-fibre), and go up a size to King but DJs were out of King, so I went with one made from lambs.

Naturally I was also compelled to buy a cover for lamby, also fortunately reduced by 40%.

We have been sleeping marvellously since lamby made our bed his home.

We flicked our queen sized feather duvet to Joe/Frank who can now comfortably snuggle his rather tall tallness within it - the single polyester weekender quilt (purchased for weekends when he was quite small) was just not cutting it for everyday very grown-up boy use.

Truly, a win for everyone!

¹Is quite astounding to have an adult child to whom you can reliably look to for advice.

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purchases: 2

2011-06-28T18:53:00.002+10:00

$30 well spent via the book man.

These arrived on Friday, we have yet to cook from either, but they tantalise and inspire!

Speaking of matters gastronomique, regular readers would be aware that I've been religiously photographing our evening meal for roughly 18 months now (though in 2011 have ceased the rare dinning out pix).

And what have I done with my oeuvre?

Not at lot!

Up to this point I've posted roughly 17% of our meals to the food blog. Frankly, I was surprised that it was that high.

While actually taking the photographs is no bother, it seems a pointless exercise if I don't actually do anything with said photographs. Thus, I have given myself until EOFY to make the call whether to continue.

If I choose to go on I've made a pact with myself that the photos need to do something other than reside on my camera - though this does not necessarily mean posting them to the blog.

Darn, I hate making decisions.

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purchases: 1

2011-06-25T20:32:00.000+10:00

Joan has indulged her obsession with streamlining and joined the apple cult by acquiring a 27 inch imac.

We helped fund her purchase by buying her old computer and the television she was using as a monitor.

Now we have a quite grunty dedicated, networked, media PC which we've plugged into super-shiny and I have a sexy new monitor!

Zoolander streaming across the home network!

Monitor/television all glowy with marvellousness!

To celebrate Joan's purchase, I snapped up some gorgeous fridge magnets from one of those daily deal websites which I'd intended to present her with when we collected the new (to us) computer.

Unfortunately once the magnets arrived, they bore little resemblance to the advertised item in anything other than that they were square and the images vaguely similar. They were cheap, they were nasty.

This image does not entirely highlight how very shoddy they are. I would not give them fridge room and I really could not give them to Joan.

So, naturally, I cancelled my zazz account and sent them a strongly-worded email expressing my disappointment ... and was thankful that I was only out $13.

In future for daily deals, I will stick to my beloved buyinvite, who never disappoint. I'm currently awaiting delivery of an oval le creuset cast iron casserole which was 1/3 of the retail price!

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bald

2011-06-24T21:38:00.002+10:00

While I did think my new pictsie haircut was quite pleasing, it was with not a little angst and trepidation that I rocked up with the new 'do to the SaltMinesLimited.

In particular, I was expecting some grief from Heather. He is notoriously hyper-critical (in the style of my good self: indeed it is primarily what we are famed for) in these matters.

To my relief he utterly and absolutely adored it.

As has everyone who has encountered me since - even the Doctor's receptionist. Everyone has gushed and raved and marvelled at my gorgeousness.

Rather makes one wonder quite how unkempt and less than optimal I looked prior to the chop.

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correlation does = causation

2011-06-22T21:20:00.004+10:00

Holy goodness! I'm on the tail-end of the worst cold I have had in a good many years.

After 6 horrible days in bed (I had do enlist Don to help me to the Doctor), today I was finally able to crawl my way back to the SaltMinesLimited.

I commented to Don this morning that I could not remember the last time I was so unwell, nor could I remember the last time I was so unheathy.

Coincidence?

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magic

2011-06-12T17:46:00.004+10:00

In preparation for the haus inspection we finally had on Monday (2 years in the making), last weekend as part of a small cleaning blitz, I decided to wipe down the rather unusual mirror and opaque glass light fittings in the lounge.

However as it turns out, the glass was not opaque at all.

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bunch of see you next tuesdays

2011-06-11T18:37:00.000+10:00

Times are, at present, particularly difficult at the SaltMinesLimited.

It's coming up to End Of Financial Year and it is pretty clear that the major target for the year will not be met. Actually it has been pretty clear for a good many, many months, but God will not hear it or allow the target to be revised. So now everyone is very fighty indeed and the scent of impending witch-huntery is in the air.

In addition to that horridness and angst, we have Attempt 4 at new computer system, which of course was doomed from the get-go. The people who decide these matters at SML appear to be taken in by any and every passing snake-oil merchant (those who express any kind of reservation or question the strategy are clearly Negative and must be Managed). The usual result is that $10M later we delivered with whole lot of nothing and continue with the system we've used since 1996.

Because of the preposterous and unrealistic time-frames involved (this is another recurring theme in these IT projects) there is not a whole lot of development time left before delivery of the second (and final) phase - so the massive de-scoping has begun. Until yesterday I had been extremely fortunate to have had limited exposure to the project, but I have heard Very Bad Things from those more heavily involved.

Unfortunately my serenity was rendered un-serene yesterday, which saw a 1.5 hour meeting at lunch. I had heard that these meetings were adversarial, but I was utterly unprepared for exactly how adversarial it would be. The MO appears to be calling a meeting at short-notice at an inconvenient time (usually over lunch - so you are hungry and weakened by the end), refusing to issue an agenda so that you are unable to adequately prepare and then bully, belittle and insult you and your work until you succumb to their demands. Other techniques include presenting options at a highly conceptual level and refusing to discuss or explain how these concepts might work in practice, misdirection and totally playing the man (not the ball).

Quite possibly the highlight of the meeting was the lead developer loudly stating that I clearly did not understand maths, because obviously there would be no remainder when equally apportioning monetary amounts into hypothetical buckets. There was agreement from many of the other participants. Wait? Wut? DishyBoss, AnxiousMum and I felt like we were in some sort of alternate, very frustrating, universe. $10 into 3 buckets goes how exactly?

Another highlight was my very calm statement that, "You are completely misrepresenting this process which is outside of requirements and which works perfectly to meet our needs. Why are we spending so much time on this? Could we please just move on to the many issues we have with your design?". Which they naturally completely ignored, but it made me feel better to have it out there. And yay(!) for personal development and getting my (future) managerial on!

I held my own for a very good while, but finally could take it no longer and walked out in fury just before the end (boo(!) for losing the managerial). Then I sat at my desk, called Don¹ and cried and cried. My cube neighbours were all "now you know what we have been put through in these meetings, try not to let it get you down, you've got no hope".

Holy Goodness!

Afterward, I went to escort our wonderful auditor (a Partner whom I adore and who appears to very much appreciate my m4d sk1llz) from the building after he'd completed some work for us. Co-incidently he'd been in the next room from the meeting from hell. He told me could hear most of what went on (walls are paper-thin), saw me exit in fury and he remarked that they sounded like a utter bunch of tools. I, in my chatty, friendly way, explained precisely what had been going down with the system development. He remarked that it was fortunate that I'd mentioned these issues, because his firm was going to be auditing the new end-to-end process.

As for management? They appear to be complicit in the whole process. Our new Evil Overlord (previously my manager in Dept cool-until-you-are-in-it) was present and sat passively by and occasionally joined the pile-on (but she has a very, very long history of not taking me seriously - which is a lengthy post for another time).

Unfortunately I've been letting this cloud my THREE DAY WEEKEND! The blogging, it has been cathartic. Hopefully we can move on from here.

¹who suspected I might have been over-reacting until I arrived home and re-enacted highlights of the meeting for him.

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bump in the night

2011-06-08T19:54:00.002+10:00

When I heard the smash at around 3am I thought it must have been all a (not quite beautiful) dream and promptly returned to my slumbers.

But no!

After a quite long spell MIA, it would appear that Joaquim is back with a vengeance and, after decimating the parsley, had attempted to climb the small avocado tree (which, you may recall, we grew from a wee seed) and knocked over the pot.

Bastard native animals.

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garage a trois

2011-06-08T19:13:00.002+10:00

Finally made it to the small bar (well over 2 years in the making) behind our fave local bottleshop.

Totally civilised! Will totally be back!

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pictsie

2011-06-04T18:23:00.002+10:00

Hacking at my fringe last evening turned out to be a stellar idea, as it encouraged me to get radical.

If it had not been for seeing how cute the very short fringe looked, I would have gone for yet another variation on the same yawnish haircut I've had for the last 10 years.

I very, very much adore it! However it will require a little bit of a wardrobe re-fashioning because some items (such as what I wore today) look really quite stupid with this hair, so I was compelled to buy a cute dress to kick it off (and grabbed the wrong size and had to return to exchange it - the second time I have done that in a month!).

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life lessons 2

2011-06-03T21:23:00.003+10:00

The fabulous cast-iron casserole might be astoundingly heavy, but it is quite important to remember to remove it from the oven before taking off the lid.

Else you might end up with yet another quite large and horrid burn on your arm ... just a wee bit higher than the last one, which was just slightly higher than the oven gloves (just as the brand new burn is ever-so-slightly higher than the brand new, ever-so-slightly longer, oven gloves).

If I cannot obtain gloves that reach my arm-pit, I need to change my behaviour because ouch and ewwww.

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life lessons

2011-06-03T17:25:00.003+10:00

Possibly not the best idea to come home from work and decide to give yourself a short hipster / Scandinavian-architect style fringe (bangs for those Americans reading).

Oh well, it'll grow back.

And now I can rid myself of the horrid hair clips I was using to enable me to, you know, see.

From some angles (and in low light) it even looks kind of cute (or so the wine tells me).

<edited to add> Wineless Don is quite keen on the kicky fringe (must visit fave korean hairdressers tomorrow for a wee straightening)
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geosand max

2011-06-01T08:14:00.003+10:00

Will be late for work because of the Giant! Boat! I was compelled to watch depart. So Giant! that it required four tugs.

I do so love a working harbour, but unfortunately these sights are becoming increasingly rare. Gentrification of the waterways?

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a bit pokey

2011-05-30T22:56:00.000+10:00

Some people take their phones to bed, my adorable dorky husband brings his calculator.

Sent from my HTC

view from a bus

2011-05-30T08:07:00.003+10:00

So rainy and windows so fogged that it is quite difficult to gauge where we are on the route.

Sent from my HTC

<edited to replace photo which was oriented incorrectly, it would seem that app only goes for landscape>

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samsung: just don't

2011-05-28T22:06:00.003+10:00

Friday last, which coincided with my long awaited annual leave/chillaxing day, I telephoned i-cure, the television fixer, to check on the status of super-shiny.

After a good deal of time on hold I was met with: "our system is down, could you call back in a couple of hours?" |"They might have to order the part which could take a lot of time and they they'll have to test it" | "I don't know who you could contact to complain ... ummm ... maybe you could check the website?".

<sigh>

Fortunately working at SaltMinesLimted has made me infinitely more patient when dealing with customer service folk - and so I was nice and not at all stabby.

Anyways, after a week incommunicado, this morning I called i-cure to check on the status of super-shiny.

"Let me check ... is ready. Didn't we call you?"

Ermmmmm - no.

And so we trekked out the suburbs for collection (which interfered with my plans no end).

Now super-shiny is back in his rightful place on the stereogram.

We've had a number of Samsung products over the years and, on reflection, they've been less than satisfactory.

I think now after having gone through a warranty service, rather than writing an inexpensive item off as a bad loss and buying a new thing as has been our practice, I'm confident that I will seek out other brands in future, especially after my stellar experience with Amazon (so very good that I've purchased two more kindles).

Really, I would recommend that you stay away from Samsung altogether.

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trouble at mill

2011-05-27T21:46:00.001+10:00

There have been interesting recent developments at the SaltMinesLimited.

You may recall that around two months ago I was offered another role. You may also recall that I agonised very long and hard about it and after much advice, including that of an imaginary Internet Friend whom I admire greatly, decided I was going to accept.

Of course things are never that simple.

The CEO (henceforth: God) did not want me to take the role. For, as he explained, DishyBoss would be sad and TeamCareerDeath would fall apart (whatever you are thinking and WTFing, believe me, I thought that too).

CFO and my ex-boss from way, way back in Team Cool-Until-You-Are-In-It then concocted an elaborate scheme whereby I might be shared between the teams, gradually transitioning fully to Team NameToBeDecided.

And then nothing happened for a good while.

And so, miserably, I resigned myself to an infinite period of micro-management.

Then, finally, after I had abandoned all hope - late last week something did eventuate. The transition plan will be actioned!

As part of this whole refocussing, DishyBoss is being effectively demoted - ex-Team Cool(&etc) Boss will now manage him (rather than him having a direct line to God). This was all handled spectacularly badly as is the SaltMinesLimited way. He is verklempt. We all do feel very badly for him because he is a lovely man. Though in between feeling terribly badly I'm wondering why we are all cosseting a very grown-up man/person so.

CFO, who I'd previously thought of as very unhinged has been brilliant and actually treats me as an adult! I have started doing some work I'm delighted with. It is immensely refreshing - though I am sure it will become progressively more challenging.

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refreshments

2011-05-22T16:48:00.000+10:00

I brought soda water and sliced limes to the footy.

Both wanktastic and refreshing!

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sunday arvo

2011-05-22T16:45:00.000+10:00

Glorious day for the footy!

Half of Sydney also seemed to think so too - is crazy-crowded. So crowded we were forced to the lower levels of the noble stand.

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hausy-mausy update

2011-05-21T18:34:00.002+10:00

Today was super-productive!

Productive happening 1: Busted open the 3D Mouse Telephone (henceforth known as HW-2032) packaging:

Plugged HW-2032 in. Nothing.

Rebooted. Right button works! But otherwise: nothing!

Installed drivers via complicated process of J/F (only computer in the haus with a floppy drive) sharing his A:\ drive and copying contents across to my PC. Maus works! Unfortunately maus only works horizontally - there is no vertical movement.

Searched InformationSuperHighway for XP drivers. Discover that the maus-phone is still being manufactured! Unfortunately no XP drivers to be found.

Decided to disconnect from computer, plug HW-2032 into phone-line and call Joan. Success!

Sure, I was confined to the kitchen (where the phone line and splitter are located) and the tres-stylin' call-centresque head-set gave me a subsequent, persistent ear-ache, but I was using a maus-phone!

Unplug. Consider options.

Time was I would have searched and searched for drivers and then would have spent considerable time to discover how to bend the existing drivers to my will (and all manner of insanity - busting out a ye olde PC running an elderly OS). All that I might have a wacky mouse.

Now? Not so much.

I came. I tried. I photographed. I admitted defeat.

Will repackage and drop back in the St Vinnies bin.

Productive happening 2: rocked down to the local coffee purveyor for some compare/contrast photographic opportunities.

I feel ridiculously delighted with my discovery!

Quite marvellous coffee too. If you are in the neighbourhood you should totally do yourself a favour&etc.

Productive happening 3: Walking to our fave purveyor of meat and then up to GPR for veggies - we're endeavouring to support the locals and are trying to eschew the horrid Broadway (apologies to Harris Farm Markets, whom we adore without measure).

Productive happening 4: snuggling with Albert Campion via my beloved kindly. Go! Obtain one for your own self! You can thank me later.

All in all a quite delightful day.

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franken-maus

2011-05-21T09:43:00.003+10:00

I recently made a huge effort to rid myself all manner of unnecessary/obsolete computer equipment (I know! I couldn't believe it either - yay! me!)

But I just could not resist the lure of the oddest computer peripheral I have ever seen when I found this at St Vinnies yesterday.

Yes, a mint-in-box (bargain at $6) 3D mouse telephone!

Yes, I said, "wut?" too.

Let me share some of its features:

This product is a combination of a mouse and a telephone that will enable you to use the mouse and the telephone and the same time. The 3D roller will ease your reading by screen-scrolling
The screenscrolling function of the roller will ease your operation
A soft click on the flat button will enable you to enjoy the operation
The streamline shape and the flexible cover make it more attractive
You can make or receive calls when you are using the mouse.

I know when I've been sitting at my computer, I've long wished (as I am sure have you) that I had a had a way to take/make telephone calls at the same time as I've been using my mouse. Sure, I could use the cordless phone or my mobile, but where would be the futuristic, high-tech fun in that?

I plan to bust it out of the box later today.

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$200 pushbikes in the park

2011-05-20T21:30:00.001+10:00

It started with Ireland's fabulous ear-wormy Eurovision entry and progressed to Duran Duran, Haircut 100, Hall and Oates and finally Australian Crawl (who I adored during my formative years).

It was then that I discovered that the video for Beautiful People was filmed roughly 200 metres from our haus!

At Bellevue, which after a long, long, long hiatus feat. mucho decreptitude has finally been reinvented as our fave breakfast spot!

(via Bessie in early 2010)

Must go back and get precise snap (interesting that they've added more supports.

Truly a testament to my m4d detective sk1llz! (The haus is not the only clue, the giant cementy-towers at White Bay in the back-ground at about 40 seconds in totally give it away).

I feel I should really update the wikipedia article to reflect this vital info.

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what about my ....... corsican?

2011-05-15T21:57:00.002+10:00

I'm sure you will all¹ be relieved to hear that although super-shiny television is dead, a mere $50 investment has ensured we are able to access essential television.

Yay for the Gadget Geek USB TV Tuner² from Dick Smith which has enabled Eurovision!³ ⁴

Viz:

Paradise Oscar!

We were forced to trek out to Granville (and what an endless trek it was - highlighted by utterly horrendous traffic) on Saturday morning to drop super-shiny off at the Samsung service centre. It will be at least a week until he is repaired and then we will repeat aforesaid trek to collect him.

On the way home from Granville we braved the always utterly horrendous Inner West traffic and stopped by the Essential Ingredient and, amongst other things, picked ourselves up The! Most! Awesome! Oven! Gloves! Ever!

Leather!

Holy Goodness! So superior to anything I've used before! Do yourself a favour &etc!

Luckily after super-shiny broke, I was able to repair to my computer to continue the Hart to Hart goodness. And verily, thanks to Jonathan and Jennifer, the Mom blanket was finally completed:

Now all wrapped and waiting for posting with a couple of snaps and some L'Occitane hand creme.

¹ Well, all of you except for rickybollinger, who is more concerned with the length of my penis and performance of same.

² Totally does what it says on the box. Highly Recommended! A++, as they say on teh eBay.

³ Anyone else seeing that pulsating heart as a giant, scary epiglottis?

⁴ Despite my best efforts, I unfortunately found out the winner before the broadcast (screw you, smh).

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first world problems

2011-05-10T18:32:00.003+10:00

Feeling rather poorly, I took a sick day yesterday, which conveniently happened to coincide with the blind repair. This was good, because that Australian flag was becoming exponentially less amusing with each passing day.

After the repair and the completion of some chores, I snuggled down on the couch to continue the Mom blanket - accompanied by the kitschtastic Hart to Hart s2.

And then, in the middle of a gripping scene in episode 3, our shiny-television went pop and was no more.

Now we have to ferry it to Granville for repair - which is quite a distance away.

Annoying.

<edited to add> This means no Angry Boys, no Masterchef and no Eurovision!

The Humanity!

Especially annoying when we so rarely watch television - if it had happened at any other time of the year, we'd barely notice.

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scythe

2011-05-08T21:30:00.000+10:00

Don called Mom yesterday. She's keep(ing) on keeping on as best she can. Latest is that, in addition to the super-strong chemo, she's now having radiation to her brain.

All this horrible illness really does make you consider how you'd react in the same circumstances. Honestly, I'm not sure that I could keep raging against.

In my internetly meanderings in the past week, I've come across two items which have also made me confront my mortality and which made me (and will make you) cry buckets and buckets.

Despite that warning I highly recommend you click through:

Don and Iris

Last Post

Tissues (and reflection) all round.

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linen

2011-05-08T19:45:00.001+10:00

After the very, very nice luncheon¹ and promenade about the shops with Joan, I repaired homeward in dire need of a rest. Truly, she is the fastest walker on the planet, I almost have to run to keep up - exhausting!

I took a break from the endless crochet for a brief sewing interlude:

Linen bag for my shoes. I estimate I've had this tiny bit of fabric (which cost less than $0.50 - a remnant from Reverse Garbage) in the stash for 9-ish years. The buttons I made from fimo when I was 15-16 (what hoarding issues?). The drawstring is from the handles of a paper shopping bag.

I've been compelled to store all of my new flat shoes in fabric bags (mostly Aesop bags which I had on hand). I am unsure why, but it does make me really very happy and makes them easy to transport. I'm now planning to purchase some dried lavender and make wee de-stinkifying sachets for them.

And on the subject of linen, I've been long dissatisfied with our tea-towels, so decided that linen was worth experimenting with. I acquired some rather gorgeous (and not inexpensive) retro/vintage specimens via eBay and they do indeed live up to the hype.

There is something very satisfying about using an item (which has been kept pristine as part of a collection for years and years and years) for its intended purpose

I had another small remnant of equally elderly white linen from Reverse Garbage which I'd intended to craft into a shoe bag or two, but realised I could probably get two slender tea-towels from the length.

Behold and admire my superior tiny hems (makes the scorched fingies totally worthwhile). Am thinking of either embroidering or silk-screening to finish.

I have now binned those inferior tea-towels.

Viva Flax!

¹highly recommended.

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day of mothers

2011-05-08T14:39:00.000+10:00

Lunching / shopping with Joan

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gastronomique

2011-05-07T14:00:00.000+10:00

Satay chicken for luncheon.

Saltbush lamb rack, heirloom tomatoes & pink fir apple potatoes for dinner.

Smoked ocean trout for snacking.

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lovely saturday afternoon

2011-05-07T13:19:00.000+10:00

After both having perfectly rotten work weeks, Don and I celebrated finally having some time together by getting out and about.

Walked to everleigh markets, bought some produce and back via at our fave local pub for a quick lunch & beverage.

Test post via email from gorgeous new phone (which I am still working out)

Sent from my HTC

crochet like the wind

2011-05-01T18:45:00.002+10:00

The blanket is coming along quite well.

No matter what stage it is at, it will be posted next Monday.

Fortunately this blanket is very soft and snuggly - unlike the previous crocheted acrylic blankie which is all scratchy and horrid.

I can totally recommend Panda Magnum Soft 8ply as a yarn all of your (super-inexpensive) terribly-horribly-ill-mother-in-law blanketing needs.

And yes, as you can see in the background, the tablecloth is still in situ at window. The irony of the Australian flag at the window is wearing very thin indeed. I'm sure you will be shocked to learn that despite two emails, the Property Manager From Hell has still not contacted us regarding repair. It really is no surprise that people get themselves into ridiculous debt to no longer have to deal with the ghastliness of renting.

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in which we are SAD

2011-04-30T20:48:00.003+10:00

Mom called early this morning.

I answered the phone and she was delighted that I knew who she was as soon as she spoke. I'm glad of that, the other-to-last time she called I said, "oh! hai! smila!". Oops. Just like that time I thought Don's step-father was his father. Damn those American accents.

Mom's doctor told her yesterday that the very aggressive last ditch attempt at chemo hadn't been successful and the cancer has now spread to her brain.

There's not a good deal of time left.

I hope I said the right things, but of course I cried and cried.

Don cannot visit her Because Of Reasons¹, but I've said I'll go and represent if he needs/would like me to.

I do wish I had been more industrious with the Mom Blanket. As it is am going to spend all day tomorrow and at down-times next week trying to complete it and priority ship it - because Don says she will love it (and include family snaps, which we generally do not take, but which she loves to receive).

¹shout out to the wonderful ThirdCat
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rinse. repeat.

2011-04-26T18:14:00.003+10:00

Tomorrow afternoon I meet the new Mental Health Professional.

If I said I was unconcerned I would be very much misrepresenting reality. The trouble with seeing a therapist, I have found, is the great amount of thinking that it requires. All the mental prep for the first visit has been quite harrowing.

I'm in the unfortunate situation where I know precisely what I need to do to to get our of this, but I just cannot seem to kick-start myself to get there.

But hey, if nothing else, at least I get to leave the SaltMinesLimited early to get to the appointment!

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leary

2011-04-24T19:50:00.001+10:00

After a very long run of completely marvellous successes at the local St Vinnies recently pickings have been quite slender.

Aforesaid successes include: 5 years of Demons [Bessie's second fave AFL team] scarves with original price tags on, my $7 pure silk Diane von Furstenberg dress, utterly brilliant and wildly inexpensive board games, too many books to mention and many, many other wonderous items, &etc, &etc.

Despite the current dearth of goodness there are still some gems to be had if one looks hard enough (and is sans impatient, eye-rolling husband).

I managed to acquire this kitsch-tastic queen-sized chenille bedspread for $7.50. Originally I had planned to desecrate it by chopping it into bits and crafting a washable cover for the fainting couch. But it was in such good condition that once I threw it across the bed - despite (or because of) the ultra-dagginess - it was not going anywhere.

And then there were the four napkins - which filled my wee heart with extreme joy:

Because who wouldn't want to wipe their mouth on the American flag?

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primitve

2011-04-23T18:38:00.004+10:00

On all-too-frequent trips to our local supermarket/shopping centre/mall we pass a rather Melbourne-esque (Melbourne seems to be much more about the confronting/challenging/~~ghastlty~~ architecture than Sydney) building which is currently under construction.

The architect's muse is quite obvious:

Though perhaps the interpretation is a little too literal.

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inescapable

2011-04-23T14:30:00.000+10:00

I'm really starting to develop an irrational hatred of social media.

Or perhaps it is not entirely irrational.

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covetous v.547

2011-04-23T13:30:00.004+10:00

Last weekend we ventured out in the torrential rain to Bing Lee to replace some very unsatisfactory small appliances.

We now have a shiny new 2 slice toaster (replacing the terrible and terribly expensive 4 slice one), a sandwich press (to replace the jaffle maker which no bread seemed to fit), rice-cooker (despite vigilant use of plastic utensils, the non-stick coating was flaking off the existing one - which, though adding a splash of contrast to the rice, really can't be good for one) and an immersion blender (to replace nothing, but Don's been wanting one for years).

We also picked up a supplementary heater in preparation for the colder months, because our current oil-filled beast takes such an age to heat that the room finally becomes acceptably warm once it is time for bed.

We're now in possession of an old-skool utter fire hazard of a radiant heater - on wheels!. I desperately wanted one of those kitschy faux-fireplace numbers, but Don is unfathomably completely and vehemently opposed to them.

So it was with immense jealousy that I beheld (beholded?) Joan's latest purchase.

Don remains unconvinced.

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ye olde lady

2011-04-23T10:02:00.003+10:00

Our beloved Joan celebrated her 23rd birthday yesterday.

She and I agonised for an age (she will claim I nagged her incessantly) regarding suitable giftage - back and forth between a nice piece of jewellery or an ebook reader (then between the sony [touch screen!] and the marvellously wonderful kindle), then back to jewellery. Rinse. Repeat. &etc.

Eventually, the kindle won out (truly, the evangelism is working) and was accompanied by a rather pretty case.

Other gifts included a stash of her favourite comfort food (chicken massaman curry) for her freezer (and some basmati rice - for her haus was riceless and we have an enormous bag) and a batch of Bessie's famous brownies.

Given that her birthday fell on the most boring public holiday of the year, it was proving quite difficult to find a restaurant which would be open for dinner, so we trekked down the hill from her haus to the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel for a pub lunch. It was a glorious autumn day and utterly perfect for the occasion.

It is a little disconcerting to have a child of such advanced age and such an eminently sensible one. We're very proud of her.

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vindicated

2011-04-21T21:31:00.002+10:00

A conversation, last weekend:

"Darling, look, I think the track for the blinds is falling out of the ceiling".

"No, I'm sure we just haven't noticed that it sits down that far".

"Are you sure? It looks strange to me".

"I'm sure it's fine, don't worry about it".

"Really?"

Arrived home today to find:

After we returned home from (the completely hellish) grocery shopping it had completely fallen out.

Because of the super-super long weekend (yay!) some bodgying was required until someone could come and re-affix it.

We channelled our inner bogans by duct-taping up a tablecloth ... and then the pièce de résistance - which fit the remaining gap to perfection:

The only consolation in the whole affair was that it was indeed falling out.

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packaging fail

2011-04-17T17:51:00.004+10:00

The hot pink is gorgeous and all

but when it comes to scrabbling under the laundry sink for a product it is impossible to distinguish the stain remover from the carpet spray from the upholstery cleaner &etc.

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shiny

2011-04-16T18:22:00.003+10:00

My iphone contract expired on 7 April and I was keen to move to a less expensive phone plan.

I took the opportunity to save $35 per month (!), get a new (free) handset and extricate myself from teh evil apple¹.

I was dead-keen on Donaldo's HTC Desire HD (also possessed by two of my favourite Imaginary Internet Friends) but unfortunately my current provider does not offer it - and there was no way I was moving to Vodafone.

Behold the HTC Aria - which I think is pretty rocking:

And tiny!

And takes lovely pictures:

Am still working out the intricacies of it, but am so glad to be no longer in thrall to itunes. Yay for organising my own music (though I need to remember exactly how to do that)!

¹straight into the hands of teh evil google.

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interrupted

2011-04-16T17:44:00.003+10:00

Behold our pauvre, forlorn football snacks lying about all lonely on the table with nowhere to go.

Unfortunately I failed to inform Joe/Frank that these were football snacks and he ate half of the atomic tomato chips while we were out.

The snacks are fornlorn because of this:

The weather has been perfectly ghastly today - rain and rain and rain and then more rain. Biblical-style rain. The smh tells me this is the wettest April day since 2001.

So, though it is the first ducks game at the SCG this year, we'll be enjoying it snuggled under blankets on the couch.

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decorative

2011-04-14T16:49:00.001+10:00

Neat giant paste-ups of vintagey photos on ye olde brewery site on Broadway.

post via phone

antithesis of thrift

2011-04-14T14:21:00.000+10:00

Reasons I should make more of an effort to bring my lunch.

Behold the $7.50 tiny salad.

what random photo will this try to post now?

2011-04-13T21:36:00.001+10:00

death throes of an iphone (collect new phone tomorrow)

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fiddling

2011-04-13T21:31:00.002+10:00

Well the posting via email worked, but the posting via email via iphone via camerabag was a complete dud.

Tried to mail a photo from camerabag and it attached a completely random screenshot from a page I had open in safari. I've since deleted that one, but I rather like the crows (or as Bessie will insist, ravens) in the post below.

Experiment complete!

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test post via email

2011-04-13T21:20:00.003+10:00

does this email address still work I wonder?
<edited to add> why yes! it does!

Will this gif post?
<edited to add> no! it won't!

What about if I attach a photo?
<edited to add> a very highly compressed version sits at the top of the post!

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pithlessness

2011-04-12T21:30:00.004+10:00

I remember how difficult it was initially to cram what I wanted to say into 140 characters and then how effortless it all became.

Am now (still) on a twitter break and I really am enjoying it (though occasionally I do peek to see what my favourite Imaginary Internet Friends who are not blogging <dark looks> are up to).

But often I really do want to share a quick link or photo. I think twitter has spoiled me for short blog posts, but I am going to attempt to bust them out more.

In that vein ... I very much enjoyed this article about six months spent on the wagon. You should read it, I thought it very well written. Even the comments were shockingly thoughtful (well except for that one guy).
Now am enjoying the related posts at hello sunday morning though I have no plans to sign up for such an experiment.

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the long catch up

2011-04-11T22:02:00.002+10:00

It wasn't until we were back amongst it that I remembered how perfectly ghastly Year 11 and 12 are for everyone involved.

We were called up for a meeting with the Principal the week before last - while Joe/Frank is above the average for the majority of his subjects, he has a very heavy subject load and they are worried about his ability to organise himself (aren't we all?) and concerned that his current approach to his work/study leaves a good deal to be desired (also, aren't we all?). They feel he may later become overwhelmed and not achieve optimal results unless we intervene now.

After a good deal of discussion, we all agreed on a system for him to take / store / organise his notes and these holidays he is trying to transcribe everything from Term 1.

We're also trying to get a handle on everything that is due next term - hopefully this will result in a reduction of the mad-panic of assignment writing the night before the task is due.

The most challenging thing of all of this is the sheer amount of micro-management required. This is not at all my forte. I feel as though I should have DishyBoss (who, you will recall, has micro-management as a super-power) to come over and nag and boss him about.

So far things are going well. There have been dozens of schedules and check-lists drawn up:

There have also been rewards and motivations put it place. One of which includes me sitting with him to keep him company and updating the food blog (he is forever nagging me to update it) while he works on his notes. That little project should easily keep us going for the rest of the year. If nothing else, a rather nice lesson in what happens when you put things off.

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gnarls-y

2011-04-09T17:36:00.000+10:00

Really, it was naive at best to think that an intensive programme of muffin baking was going to solve my mental health issues.

There have been a good many muffins, and things were a good deal better for a while (though through lack of vigilance I found myself drifting into the old, bad habits). Unfortunately the underlying crazy was just waiting for a chance to bust out.

Far, far, far too much wine was consumed last evening, a stupid, stupid (stupid) argument where very loud harsh words were exchanged ensued, followed by yet another breakdown by yours truly. Once again, it was bad.

This morning (after we first apologised to the sprogs for them having to hear it all) I picked up the telephone and made an appointment to see SuperHappyFunGP on Tuesday afternoon.

I need a new referral to the shrink - stat - to sort this out.

While I can identify what the triggers are - hormones and too much alcohol being the two biggest - being able to identify what causes this and preventing my reactions are very different things indeed. I need some tools to help me manage. In the interim I'm hoping to introduce things I know will help, first of which is avoiding the over-consumption of wine.

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spaceless

2011-04-07T19:32:00.004+10:00

Yesterday was completely and utterly hellishly vile, so I was very pleased that I had previously organised to have today off.

I do enjoy these random mid-week days where I am free from SaltMinesLimited enslavement. I had a facial¹ organised for the afternoon, and a good deal of sloth planned for the morning - that was until last evening when Don was dragged off to the ballet(!) and I worked very late and Joe/Frank had yet another assignment left to the last minute and so grocery shopping fell by the wayside.

I shopped today and along with all the extreme bargain weekendly clothing items (yay $19 jeans!) I acquired for myself, there were the groceries and more groceries.

I'm not entirely certain how I am going to fit these plastic bags full of meat (currently stored in the refrigerator)

into this rather small freezer?

I foresee a good deal of cunning (or salmonella) in our future.

¹DishyBoss et al had gifted me with a voucher for a beauty treatment after my surgery in September and shamefully I still hadn't redeemed it by March and time was running out. I had not been for a facial in, like, forever, so decided to chose that. Am now a convert to regular visits. And am so soft and glowy!

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immobile forehead

2011-04-02T22:16:00.000+11:00

Everyone I've cast through the wringer in the past few days, vis my decision to take on the new role and who is aware of the ghastliness and micromanagemently-ness which is working for DishyBoss has asked why the goodness I am even dithering about it.

The most excellent Joan pointed out: slackerdness and a new focus on crafting muffins isn't really a viable career choice. Adored Heather commented: everyone needs Finance. Beloved ex-cube-neighbour noted: working for DishyBoss is simply and utterly beyond terrible.

Just why am I dithering? I know not (save for sloth and me comfort zone).

It is at times like these I desperately need a mentor / life coach. Verily, I'd be willing to throw lots of cash at the problem.

Does anyone have a mentor?

How has it worked out for you?

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hobbesian

2011-04-01T23:20:00.002+11:00

Yesterday I was waylaid by the CFO who apparently is very keen for me to take a job he has recently invented.

This would mean more money, infinitely less micromanagement - though infinitely, infinitely more crazy.

I have the weekend to consider ... though when I read the above I wonder why am I even taking the time to pause to think?

I want Dishy Boss's job more than anything, but it will be ridiculously expensive for SaltMinesLimited to get rid of him (though depending on who one speaks to, it is on the cards ... at some point ... in some future) and I don't know how much longer I am willing to stand in the queue.

Maybe I just need to settle for the challenging Finance role and get the hell out.

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FAT (2)

2011-03-29T19:01:00.002+11:00

You may recall the unFATtening project upon which I have recently embarked.

I deliberately did not weigh myself at the beginning of this project because frankly, I care little for how much I weigh, I am all about my size. I was also planning not to measure myself for a month after the initial measurements because I'd only be setting myself up for disappointment.

So far I have been really very good with portion control, eschewing snacks, not eating a single one of the dozens and dozens of muffins I have made for Don and Joe/Frank, walking to work and staying off the booze on week-nights.

Today my skirt was a little loose and when I put my hands on my hips (as I am prone to do rather a lot when standing) my waist felt a little smaller. So I thought it really couldn't hurt to just check my progress a teensy bit.

I dragged out the tape measure and Holy Goodness!

I have lost 2 inches (5 cm) from my chest and hips and 3 inches (7.5cm) from my waist! I have now checked this 4 times.

Of course I have no expectations that things will continue at this pace and there is still a very good way to go.

But what a pleasing outcome! I feel very encouraged to keep this up.

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no problems, just solutions

2011-03-29T17:16:00.003+11:00

My Leprosy Foot is nowhere near better, but last week I'd really very much had enough of 1. wearing my runners everywhere and 2. people asking me why I was wearing runners everywhere.

I was desperate and determined to find a solution. Even if it involved old lady shoes. Even if it very much contravened the rules of the MSP (massive savings project).

And verily, I found some not-too old lady shoes with squishy insoles (on sale even!) - which do a stellar job of highlighting my cankles.

Then it occurred to me that I might be able to locate some super-squishy insoles which I could insert into my barely-worn loafers (the current insole feels as though it is crafted from concrete). And so I found some very squishy lambswool ones at a bargain price.

Sure, I still need the runners for walking to work and for any sort of distance, but at least I can cavort (okay, hobble) about the office decently shod.

In other footwear news, I have decided that I am totally and utterly over shoes with heels and have resolved never to wear them again (just like that period in the 1990s when I only wore men's shoes [infinitely less expensive, infinitely better quality, infinitely more comfortable]). Though at the current rate of Leprosy Foot healing this will be no great issue.

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election: fin

2011-03-27T21:41:00.000+11:00

Last evening the whole fam¹ celebrated the State Election with hummus with lamb and pine nuts (Absolutely To Die For!), tzatziki and Totally Oz party pies and sausage rolls² and lashings of wine (or coca-cola if you are Joe/Frank, or water if you are Bessie - who has given up soft-drink for Lent).

Donaldo and I ventured out betimes (owing to Don's golfing commitments) to get our suffrage on.

On the way we stopped by our new local coffee joint (long may it prosper!) for brekkie.

Perhaps it is the child of the 70s in me, but I truly respond extremely well to this orange (and wish we had managed to obtain cast-iron cookware in the same colour-way).

Baked Beans. So! Very! Good!

Ex-boss from batshitcrazyorg was very, very high on the upper house ballot <shudder>. Call me deluded, but my hope is that the populace might one day realise the utterly revolting extreme rightwinged-ness entrenched in certain (dominant) segments of the NSW Labor party.

Any-hoo, we've a new Government and lets hope they are better than the last lot, because they could hardly be worse!

¹Our beloved Joan joined the celebrations.
²Truly, Villis Pies are the most magnificent in the whole entire multiverse, their sausage rolls are less superior, though still very good indeed.

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pretty

2011-03-25T20:38:00.004+11:00

An autumn evening from the balcony.

Beautiful, beautiful colour.

Double rainbow! And yet there had been no rain.

What a lovely place we live in.

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stuff in my letterbox: nsw election

2011-03-25T20:26:00.000+11:00

Apart from being inundated with the expected Verity and Jamie propaganda, we've received some interesting election related material in the letter-box¹ over the past week or so.

A personally addressed letter from Anne Summers citing Verity's various achievements on (primarily) women's issues. This was addressed to me and Don did not receive one (obviously the patriarchy does not care for such trivialities).

Letter from various union-types. This was addressed to both of us. I was thankful that batshitcrazyorg was not namechecked - else I would have been forced to set fire to it.

Pamphlet urging us to oppose the Glebe Social Cleansing (wut?).

The source of the out stickers on the Verity posters becomes clear! And the "authorized by" person operates a printing company - which might explain the superior adhesion qualities of the stickers.

I was feeling not too ill-disposed toward the Liberal candidate until I received the how-to-vote (addressed to both of us). Anyone who suggests I put a 2 in the Fred Nile² box earns last place on my ballot. Interestingly, Joan's candidate for the Libs had no direction to Fred in the upper house.

And then today we had the pamphlet which changed everything...

Okay, not really.

Tomorrow, we'll be indulging in our usual electoral feasting and celebrating the end of these clowns.

Remember fellow NSW-ish-imaginary friends: Vote early! Vote often!

¹As an aside, I was shocked to learn via Phil and Smila that in the US it is illegal to put anything other than actual mail into a letterbox! Instead, this material would be placed on the doorstep - freaky!

²Ultra-ultra-ultra right wing "christian" for the un-initated.

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treasures

2011-03-20T17:50:00.003+11:00

During her less-extremely-horribly-ill times Mom has been on a bit of a decluttering frenzy. She is very keen to pass the heirlooms along to us, which is really very lovely of her.

And so it came to be that there were four rather large boxes for collection at the post office.

We've already received the gorgeous china and family silver and now it was time for the glassware.

There was so very much glassware! Which, being in a very tiny flat, we have nowhere other than the garage to store.

After the unpacking (and mad props to shipping company in the small Pacific Northwest town in which Mom lives for their utterly magnificent packing job) I decanted the contents into one of the large boxes and, prompted by the overflow, we decided that we should probably keep some of the glasses out of the box to actually use.

Once, I would have thought this quite fussy, but now I am really rather fond of it and look forward to regular use.

We're now contemplating acquiring some sort of small china cabinet so we might have the china and silver accessible because it is ridiculous to have such lovely things and hide them away.

Amongst the goodies was a quite wonderful small wooden chest to store some of the previously shipped silver and various Donaldo baby treasures - such as hair from his first haircut! and prints of his tiny baby feets!

And a sword!

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msp

2011-03-18T22:06:00.000+11:00

This week we've decided to shake up our whole manner of living (see previous FRP post).

As part of that we've also decided to focus on a MassiveSavingsProject [MSP] for the next 12 months.

To that end, the cost of every bottle of wine we don't drink and every weekday lunch we don't buy will be transferred into the newly opened Saxobank¹ high interest savings account. Is a v. nice, tangible reward for Being Good.

Hopefully this (and good health [no moar Dr billz plz!]) will enable us to take that trip around the Rivera we planned a good while ago (but which Life interfered with).

¹not its real name

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confronting

2011-03-18T21:17:00.000+11:00

As part of my FAT reduction project I forced Donaldo to photograph me in my underwear.

I won't be sharing the horrifying (and mismatching bra+undies) images with you, but, through the magic of photoshop, please be utterly aghast at my silhouette - I know I was. You'll thank me later for not sharing the real thing.

ZOMG! Those thighs!

Also as part of the FAT reduction project (FRP), I took some measurements:

41 (104cm) ZOMGWTFBBQ!¹
33 (83cm)
41 (104cm) ZOMGWTFBBQ!¹

Ackk!! Though I guess I should be glad that the hourglass is still intact.

This week, I have attacked the FRP. I have walked to and from SaltMinesLimited (round trip of 7km) each day. I have eaten a proper breakfast of healthy cereal. I have consumed a lunch of a capacity of no greater than 350ml. I have not consumed non-healthful snacks post-work or in the evenings (or indeed, at all). There have been no seconds/thirds/fourths. There has been No Winez During Week Nights (which also forms part of the MassiveSavingsPlan[MSP]).

I feel pretty chuffed with my efforts - but the very, very long haul is to follow.

¹It was only upon conversion to metric that I realised the full horror.

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crafting for sanity

2011-03-12T22:36:00.000+11:00

We've discovered that elderly teenage boys are in dire need of long-ish pants rather than boxers for lounging - lest we all poke our eyes out! ZOMG! The Horror!

I'd estimate that I've had this fabric for around 8 years. Originally it was intended for lounging pants for Joan, but we purchased way too many lengths of various fabrics and eventually grew tired with the making of pants.

I bought way too much of this tape many years ago from kikki.K for precisely this purpose.

Truly, lounging pants are one of the quickest sewing projects in the land.

Please ignore the mismatched plaid at the arse. The sides and front are perfect, but matching plaid all over is hard!!

And, verily, our eyes are safe until washing day!

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FAT

2011-03-12T21:21:00.001+11:00

Regular readers may recall that I mentioned recently that I was Piling On The Chub.

Unfortunately since that post there has been a good deal more Chub Piled On.

So very much Chub that I have been forced to acquire some size 14 (US size 10¹) garments so I do not go about naked. Today I was forced to purchase size 14 jeans from Kmart (they were inexpensive [$19], and I desperately needed a pair) and they were quite snug.

While processing this dire development, I realised that I have never been this size in my whole life when not Extremely Pregnant. When I first hooked up with Donaldo I was a super-fit size 6 (US size 2¹). Bloody hell. I remember when I thought a snug size 12 (US size 8¹) needed extreme intervention. Bloody hell indeed.

All this chub is proving very, very,very physically uncomfortable and I Desperately need to do something about it.

My key Mucho Chubbo issues as I understand them, are:

Extreme lack of exercise because of stupid, broken pox foot
Portion control (I eat enough for someone who does manual labour for 10 hours per day. Sadly, I am sedentary to the max and my manual labour totals roughly 10 minutes per day.)
Way too many wines, way, way too regularly.
Ill health & hormones coursing through bod.

Did I mention that I desperately need to do something about this?

Come Monday (it will be alright ... holding you tight &etc):

I will manage/cut portions.
I will walk to work (and work through 3xtr3m3 foot pain) & get in some other exercise.
I will cut out the winez.
I will measure/weigh/photograph self to get a handle on how ghastly this is.

Hopefully that will go some way to holding back the size 18 (US size 14¹).

¹It very much speaks to my vanity that I need to qualify that.

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review

2011-03-11T21:55:00.000+11:00

The week has been very calming, if not a little exhausting.

I've felt a good deal better about things and have not missed twitter (or metafilter) At. All. - which is a good, good thing (okay, I do very much miss keeping up with my favourite imaginary friends' doings - blog moar, people!).

The past few days in a nutshell (apart from SaltMinesLimited doings):

Tuesday: hand-sewed waistband back on skirt from which lining was ripped on Monday. Then ventured out to see The Hold Steady at the Metro. As always, they put on a wonderfully fantastic, very tight, show. Craig spoke between songs of having a soul-sucking office job at 30 and how he started a band (man) and how, eight years later, it has proved to be the most absolutely best job of his life (much food for thought). My foot is still recovering from all the exertion.

Wednesday: meal planning / grocery shopping / mucho-exhaustion. Crocheted Mom's blanket a bit. Read some genteel murders for a bit. In bed before 9pm (what pauvre, sad olde people we have become).

Thursday: Joe/Frank had Modern History essay due Friday - mucho proof reading & editing suggestions required (oh the HSC years!). Also made cottage pie - which was tres magnifique!

I'd very much like to learn how to balance the necessities of life with those things I'd love to do. I'd love to be about less chores, more crafting/cooking/reading/resting.

How on earth do people manage it?

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patsy cline

2011-03-07T19:17:00.005+11:00

I had a bit of a breakdown on Friday evening. There was wailing and gnashing of teeth. There was a very good deal of despair.

I'd really like to make light of it, but I can't bring myself to do so - because it was rather serious.

What brought this on, you may ask? I have absolutely no idea. All I know is that I was utterly consumed with unhappiness (stupid brain).

So on Saturday I decided to take matters in hand:

I have resolved to obtain a referral to Iman the Mental Health Professional - primarily to refocus on the sanity and mindfulness &etc.

I have resolved to make positive changes in my life - which mostly means more doing actual things and less (tres addictive) mindless internetting. To this end:

I crafted a tote from an old dress

I experimented with Kerry Apple cake muffins (tied with cute ribbons)

I experimented with blueberry muffins for my lovely husband (who adored them)

I commenced crocheting an afgahan for Mom to warm her while she snuggles on her couch.

I read books (other than silly needlecraft murders) on the Kindle.

I snuggled on the couch and watched Grand Designs.

I researched fish tanks (so that I might be calmed by lovely, wee fishies)

I culled the blogs in my google reader (no, not you!) to those people I truly want to read.

I did not look at twitter At All (I'm thinking of cutting out teh twitter entirely - but am giving it a one month ban).

I resolved to blog more and composed posts in my head.

And it all felt pretty marvellous.

Tonight I ripped the torn lining from a skirt (to make it a little more comfortable) which I can now barely fit into and repaired my favourite umbrella ($5 and still keep-on-keeping-on after 3 years).

And I am starting to feel a whole lot better.

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fashion crimes

2011-03-02T21:58:00.003+11:00

Although they are fabulously comfortable, when my foot-leprosy is cured I will cheerfully burn these shoes.

I'm currently wearing them everywhere - including all day at the SaltMinesLimited, because they are all that I can wear without extreme agony/limping. Stupid foot.

In other dermatological news, a dashing scar and all-clear from the biopsy.

In other fabulous news - is finally autumn! Hurrah!

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baby boy

2011-02-27T18:28:00.003+11:00

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

2011-02-26T17:07:00.002+11:00

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

2011-02-20T18:37:00.003+11:00

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)

2011-02-17T19:16:00.003+11:00

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

2011-02-14T22:27:00.002+11:00

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

2011-02-13T12:50:00.006+11:00

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

2011-02-11T19:10:00.004+11:00

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

2011-02-08T19:43:00.003+11:00

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

2011-02-04T23:59:00.000+11:00

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

2011-02-02T19:37:00.003+11:00

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

2011-02-02T17:48:00.004+11:00

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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out with a bang

2011-01-30T21:41:00.003+11:00

After a enviable summer break, school begins this week for the wee poppets, which of course means book covering time!

Well, book covering time for Bessie, Joe/Frank goes into senior school and they tend to be all about the lever arch folder.

Long time readers will know that book covering is always a big deal in CasaDonaldoYCarole. This year, Bessie and I spent a good deal of time work-shopping, deliberating, discussing options, caucusing &etc.

We were torn between using cut-down kitschy record album covers and an retro-postal theme.

Eventually, we decided upon retro-postal - purely for cost/simplicity, though we plan to totally source inexpensive album covers for some manner of project this year.

We went with brown paper and cute labels from the newsagents, a packet of cancelled collectible stamps from the Post Office and combined them with whatever postal labels we had laying about on packaging in the haus (airmail, customs and the like).

Each book has stamps related to the subject - English has the Queen, Maths has stamps with only numbers ... Occasionally it was a bit of a stretch as there weren't a great deal of thematic stamps in the packet.

Adorable! Bess used the hipster typewriter for the labels.

We completed the covering this morning, then Don and I visited Joan to pick up the boxes/cast-offs mentioned in the last post. Whereupon we found a huge, huge envelope and an album of hundreds and hundreds of completely wonderful 70s, 80s and 90s stamps (so much better than those in our packet from the PO).

Bessie and I laughed, shook our heads and decided we'd save the wonderful stamps for another project!

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stash

2011-01-30T19:56:00.005+11:00

While I was in the Nation's Capital, Joan received a phone call from her male parent (with whom she has not spoken in roughly 4 years) to tell her that her step-mother was pregnant with twins and to invite her to lunch.

Joan took the opportunity to ask them to deliver her "stuff", which had been stored in less than ideal conditions for a good many years.

Today, Don and I visited her to collect those items which had saved the very thorough cull.

Though Joan would not let me bring home the photographs for fear that I would tear them up, I did manage to score my brownie certificate which was contained within the boxes - for reasons unknown to any of us.

Precisely why I affixed the "Smile, God loves you" sticker to the certificate has disappeared into the mists of time. It may have been because I was utterly delighted by the colour and design. And I still am! And how about the "welcome to" typeface in the certificate? Fabulous!

But enough of me, everything contained within the boxes needed a good airing, cleaning and proper storage ...

There were dollies:

Bessie, Joan & Joe/Frank cabbage patch dollies

And dolly clothes made by mummy all those years ago:

And a Very Large Box full of dollshaus furniture (which we thought had been discarded).

Yes, that large box. You can just spot a wee Persian Carpet.

And a cross-stitched birth sampler, with which I whiled away the long hours while confined to bed rest in late pregnancy:

There were also many trophies, which I (of course!) will keep, but one wonders if they will ever leave the box again.

And several other treasures, including a chucky doll destined for Heather and badges (including one from Bessie's fave AFL team from the year she was born), brooches (there is no other name for them) I wore in the late 80s and a very incomplete coin collection.

And many, many postage stamps! But those are for another post.

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removal?

2011-01-29T22:56:00.001+11:00

In an exiting news, I have developed balloon-like qualities over the past week. Clothes that fit me two weeks ago are now ridiculously and uncomfortably tight (and in many cases, un-do-up-able).

I've been rather good about the exercise/diet and after a bit of lamentation and passing conversation with CrazyHyperGP during my footzapping, I decided this was worth investigating a little further ...

Could it be the very thing which was supposed to be my salvation be my undoing?

Mirena side effects

Change in menstrual bleeding, such as frequent, prolonged or heavy bleeding, spotting, lighter bleeding, irregular bleeding or stopping of bleeding
Development of fluid filled sacks (cysts) in the ovaries
Excessive fluid retention in the body tissues, resulting in swelling (oedema)
Weight gain
Headache
Depression
Nervousness
Mood swings
Nausea
Lower abdominal pain
Back pain
Breast pain
Painful menstrual bleeding
Acne
Vaginal discharge
Inflammation of the cervix
Hair loss or hair growth
Skin reactions such as rash or itching
Genital infections, including pelvic inflammatory disease
Decreased sex drive
Migraine
Abdominal bloating

Yay! I score 14/22. Though I will leave it as an exercise to the reader to establish which ones.

I guess I should be really pleased that my hair is not falling out.

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here she comes

2011-01-24T19:59:00.002+11:00

Arrived home this evening to find a rather distressing missive addressed to my lovely husband from the ACT Government.

Yes, yet another speeding fine.

If you follow me on teh twitter, you would have been a victim of my tirade (which featured mucho! swearing!).

After the last fine you may find it difficult to believe that I really do not have a lead foot. Honestly, I usually am quite the keeper of the speed limit! No! Is true!

In NSW I get a $90 fine for 53 in a 40 zone (word on the street says they don't issue a fine for within 10 of the limit), in ACT $157 for 89 in an 80 zone, immediately coming off a 100 highway.

When I looked at where the offense occurred (see between red X's above), I remembered commenting, "oops! am going a little fast" and easing on the brakes. Obviously, I should have slammed them on and whiplashed my passengers.

I console myself that I am taking the rap for people like my husband who routinely speed and never get done. And I am quite terrified of the fines accumulated on the return journey, which we've not yet received.

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chewy

2011-01-24T19:53:00.002+11:00

Y'all know we have idealistic (unkind people might call them deluded) visions of one day moving to the country¹ and growing our own foodz &etc.

Unfortunately, oftentimes, reality kicks in.

Our garden has been less than successful this year. We've had the usual invasion of thousands of caterpillars (who consume our crops overnight) and lately possums(!)² and the output of the tomatoes and cucumbers has been really rather sad (both in volume and in quality).

In good news, we've had an absolute bumper crop of herbs (the basils! they go crazy!) by keeping them undercover - where they still receive abundant light/heat.

Really, I think it is time to accept that is way too hot out on the deck in the middle of summer for anything but the hardiest of (non-food) plants and that we should focus on the herbs - which are exponentially yummier than store-bought.

Our planting experience this year has given us a bit of a reality check re: the bucolic vision - we can't cope with caterpillars/possums, what would we do with bunnies/kangaroos & other wildlife invading our poor plants? And has immensely increased our admiration for farmers, particularly those of the organic variety.

¹of course, the consumption of a large amount of peaches would be mandatory
²They leap all over the deck in the very wee hours! They leave little possum poos everywhere! They ate our parsley! We're on the 4th floor!

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roadtrip!

2011-01-23T16:45:00.000+11:00

A whole week in the Nation's Capital proved most interesting.

TheProfessor, DisneyPrincess, Ghost and I stayed at Capital Executive Apartments, which at $99 per night, for location and amenity, was quite the bargain! A+++ would stay again.

The brain, it was severely taxed! But I think overall the experience was useful and even successful - if only to pass on my knowledge to Don - because I am really unlikely to be called upon to do linear discriminate analysis, quadratic discriminate analysis or tree-based regression any time in any sort of future.

TheProfessor is insisting I attend the next usergroup meeting for the obscure open-source software we were learning and I found, while "researching" on the InformationSuperHighway during our last day that Dr Bob will be also be in attendance. When I arrived home, found DrB had sent an email to Don suggesting he attend same. World's colliding - argh!

It was most strange to be away from home with limited internet connection for a whole week, it gave a good deal of time for pondering and thinkering. I took along the sleeves of the Accursed Jumper and my gym gear, but despite my very good intentions, those things did not leave the suitcase. I did, however, make full use of a bathtub which, unlike my own, did not have an enormous patch of peeling enamel¹. There was lots of lazing about surrounded by bubbles drinking glasses of wine while reading very silly needlecraft murders on my kindle.

It's really quite interesting being away for an extended period with colleagues, but those observations definitely deserve a post of their very own.

The real highlight of the week was finally meeting up In Real Life with the divine curiously minty after being Imaginary Internet Friends for many, many years. She whisked me away to a most gorgeous part of town and who was even more fabulous than her blog would suggest. If you are all as nice, we should meet for a drink or seven

¹Yes, despite the re-spraying is peeling worse than ever.

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protecting my aura

2011-01-15T10:23:00.003+11:00

I'm on an apparently exclusive mailing list for buyinvite.com.au¹. This means I get all manner of crazy discount offers for stuff I probably don't need or really even want.

I have bought some mucho-cheap Bond's sweaters² for Don and some mucho-cheap very cute ladybug havianas for Bessie - both of which I have been very pleased with. Things take an age to arrive, but the customer service is quite good.

The daily email mostly contains clothes, shoes, bags and occasionally homewares. Today however, one of the items on offer was something very, very special:

The Infinite Holograms are technologically designed to provide waves to the body that act positively on us.

These holograms have been programmed to restore the energy balance we have lost because of the widespread contamination of frequencies that surround us, which we can't see or feel, but they unbalance our body daily.

When Infinite Holograms contact with our aura, the information sorted in the hologram acts as a shield against such frequencies and also supply us with natural energy. This natural energy helps our cells to communicate much better.

Several tests or Kinesiology Test prove that the user increase his / her core strength, balance, flexibility and resistance to the cell phones, Wi-Fi's and computer frequencies.

In each box you get a free hologram to stick on your phone or lap top for added protection.

These are 100% genuine holographic wristbands.

A wonderful bargain too at only $24.95 - down from $60!

¹If you want an invite, give me a yell
²Jumpers, I mean jumpers - my vocabulary is slowly becoming Americanified, I blame my husband.

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milly

2011-01-14T20:10:00.000+11:00

She told me earlier in the year that she would be here over the Christmas/New Year break, but I totally put it in the back of my mind. I would occasionally remember and kept meaning to email, but you know how it is when someone is far, far away - there is so much to say and emails become so very time consuming to write.

AnxiousMum enquired about her yesterday and I mentioned that an age ago she said might be visiting and that I really should send her a quick email to see if she actually was. But, as always, I became distracted (truly, my attention span is that of a gnat - must have been all those drugs I did at the turn of the century) and promptly forgot to hit send.

My phone rang today and lo! there was MiLLy's name on the LED phone display¹. We met for coffee this afternoon and it was like she never left - there was nary a pause for 1.5 hours. She looks wonderful and is having a fabulous and most enviable life.

It made me realise how much my current colleagues do not measure up to her for conversation, company and friendship.

I really do miss her in my life.

¹apparently the SaltMinesLimited doesn't delete names/mobile numbers from the phone database because she has been gone for over 3 years.

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three to go!

2011-01-11T22:08:00.000+11:00

Part of Bessie's not-resolutions was making gifts for her friends.

First cab off the rank was making a bag for her best friend. Last year we whipped up a silk-screened tote - which BestFriend apparently carries everywhere (yay! for crafted gifts!).

This year, after work-shopping some options, we decided on a More Improved Bag with a subtle Harry Potter theme.

We had some black drill left from the 2010 birthday tote (I am a terrible over-buyer of fabric - I also used it for the Aunt Christmas tote and there is still a little left), bought some yellow fabric from Spotlight and a couple of buttons from Lincraft. Then we found a hufflepuff patch on eBay (which has yet to arrive and will eventually be added later to he centre of the front flap).

Entirely of our own design and we are completely delighted with it!

I'd want one for my very own self if I did not already have the hideously expensive designer bag with my very own name, but we may make a couple more for the rest of the fam (or padded for our various laptops).

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2011: not resolutions - carol

2011-01-05T17:52:00.002+11:00

My list of not-resolutions was always going to be rather longer than everyone else's

More Blog
Less Twitter
Achieve saving goal
Claw back my health / Lose that pesky 5-10 kg / fit into my clothes
- No more second (or third!) helpings at dinner
- More walking home from work
- More eating proper meals
- Less snacking on junk
- Take vitamins regularly
Make at least 2 camping trips
Spend more time on self-maintenance / grooming / pampering
Keep up the diversity in all things cooking
Add a few more non-meat meals into the rotation
Take more of our own food to the footy
Change work hours (again!) for more time away from the ghastly SaltMinesLimited
Stress less about the SaltMinesLimited. Accept that I'll be there for another year at least because there is no way I'll find the flexibility elsewhere
Procrastinate less
Act more like a lady
More projects / less computer
Let go of perfectionism
Complete Don's accursed jumper!

2011: not resolutions - joan

2011-01-05T11:53:00.000+11:00

save money for a holiday
go to the gym and shed pounds
get career direction
stress less
keep my home in order

2011: not resolutions - don

2011-01-04T19:40:00.002+11:00

Get a golf handicap (however bad it might be)
Complete 4 post-grad nerd subjects
Play guitar four hours per week
Repeat another magnificent victory in fantasy baseball comp
Achieve savings goal