The Fifty Bookish Questions Book Tag

One of my favourite things to do is read.  My favourite holidays are the ones where all I do is read.  My record on this front:  21 books in 3 weeks.  And yes, the kids did get fed.  At the time I was reading to review for my dear friend Rel, over a Relz Reviewz.  When I began my degree I had to give that away, and a teaching career seems to be at odds with the time required for reading and reviewing as well.  I've certainly slowed down my reading pace.  Except during holidays where I am away from my computer and the internet.  So, here's a tag about all things bookish...50 questions, here we go:

1.  What was the last book you read?
"Enemies Among Us" by Bob Hamer

2.  Was it a good one?
Yep

3.  What made it good?
I enjoy books that are about law enforcement, and this book is all about that.

4. Would you recommend it to other people?
If someone enjoyed books with a law enforcement theme, then yes.

5.  How often do you read?
Every single day, usually right as I hop into bed.  As I mentioned, on school holidays and weekends, any time of the day is a good time.

6.  Do you like to read?
Yes, it's like air to me.  I have to read to stay sane.

7.  What as the last bad book you read?
Hmmmm, a think a few years ago I was handed a book to review that was a US political setting, which usually I love, because "The West Wing" is one of my favourite TV series.  I can't remember the title, and wouldn't name it if I could.  That wouldn't be fair to the author, and the readers who did enjoy it.

8.  What made you dislike it?
It just didn't grab me, and the writing wasn't brilliant.

9.  Do you wish to be a writer?
Nup.  Never even dreamt that it would be a good idea.

10.  Has any book ever influenced you greatly?
Absolutely!  Every book I read has some part of it that I keep with me.  Some significant books include Mary DeMuth's Defiance Texas trilogy, Charles Martin's When Crickets Cry and the O'Malley series, by Dee Henderson are all standouts.  But there are so many more.

11.  Do you read fan fiction?
No.  There aren't enough minutes in my day.  I didn't even know what it was until just recently.

12.  Do you write fan fiction?
Obviously not, LOL.

13.  What's your favourite book?
I really actually can't answer that.  My book shelves are brimming with excellent books that I have adored.  Anything by Charles Martin is a treat.  Also, as a debut author Dorothy Adamek writes absolutely exquisitely.  I don't tend to pursue historical romances (although I always end up enjoying them), but I have been known to pester Dotti to finish the next book in her trilogy.

14.  What's your least favourite book?
Anything non-fiction or study-related.  A sure cure to my insomnia!

15.  Do you prefer physical books or reading on a device?
Physical books, all the way.

16.  When did you learn to read?
I remember choosing readers when I was in Prep and Year 1, so I guess when I started school.    I began devouring books when I was 8yo.

17.  What is your favourite book you had to read in school?
The Harp in the South by Ruth Park

18.  What is your favourite book series?
The O'Malley series, by Dee Henderson

19  What is your favourite author?
Charles Martin, Dorothy Adamek, Lisa Samson, Chris Fabry, Terri Blackstock, Robert Lipurlo, James Rubart, Tosca Lee....oh let's face it, I could name all the authors of the books I possess!

20.  What is your favourite genre?
I'm partial to speculative fiction (The 13th Tribe is my favourite in that genre), I love good fantasy, and then anything you put in my hands will be happily accepted.

21.  Who is your favourite character in a book series?
Marcus O'Malley....swoon

22.  Has a book ever transported you somewhere else?
Every time I open one I go wherever my characters are.

23.  Which book do you wish had a sequel?
Any book that has an ending that leaves you wondering.

24.  Which book do you wish DIDN'T have a sequel?
I don't know...I haven't come across that problem!

25.  How long does it take you to read a book?
A standard 300-ish page novel takes about 6 hours

26.  Do you like when books become movies?
Yes...if it's done well.

27.  Which book was ruined by its movie adaptation?
I don't know whether ruined is a good description, but lots of times the movie is quite different from the book and I have to remind myself the movie is good, in and of itself.  If I'd never read the book I would enjoy the movie.

28.  Which movie has done a book justice?
The Help

29.  Do you read newspapers?
Rarely.

30.  Do you read magazines?
Even more rarely.

31.  Do you prefer newspapers or magazines?
Magazines.  I only read papers more often because of proximity.  They're on the staffroom table.

32.  Do you read while in bed?
Every single day.

33.  Do you read while on the toilet?
No...that is not a comfortable place to read.  That is also not the point of being on the toilet....

34.  Do you read while in the car?
Only on really long trips, and only for a short time.

35.  Do you read while in the bath?
No.  I don't take baths.  The last time I had a bath I was in labour with my nearly-20 year old!

36.  Are you a fast reader?
I think so.  I guess it depends on who you're comparing to.

37.  Are you a slow reader?
I don't think so ... see above.

38.  Where is your favourite place to read?
In bed.

39.  Is it hard for you to concentrate when you read?
No, not usually.

40.  Do you need a room to be silent while you read?
Yeah, pretty quiet.  When I get into bed I always shut the door so I can't hear the TV, because that is distracting.

41.  Who gave you your love for reading?
My Dad was my Sunday school teacher when I was in Grade 3, and he gave me Elizabeth Gail and the Mystery at Johnson Farm by Hilda Stahl as my end of year prize/gift.  I wasn't thrilled with the idea of a book until we moved to PNG 3 months later.  We had no TV, so I gave reading a go.  I've never looked back.

42.  What is the next book on your list to read?
Where the River Ends by Charles Martin.  I cannot even wait!  My current book needs to get finished up!!!  And since we're on the topic of Charles Martin being next up, I am also impatiently cooling my heels for the 12th of October, when The Mountain Between Us comes out in cinemas here in Australia.  The book was magnificent so I know I'm going to love the movie.  Even if it doesn't follow the book as closely as I always want them to.  I mean really, an evening with anything from the hand of Charles is well worth the time!

43.  When did you start to read chapter books?
See Question 41 - about 8yo.

44.  Who is your favourite children's book author?
Enid Blyton

45.  Which author would you most want to interview?
My book club got to interview Charles Martin about 10 or so years ago.  He is the most lovely southern gentleman.  He was just delightful, and we asked him all kinds of questions, which he answered thoroughly and graciously.

46.  Which author do you think you'd be friends with?
Jen Hatmaker and Shauna Niequist (the two exceptions to my non-fiction avoidance)

47.  What book have you reread the most?
I don't really have time to reread...too many books not enough time.

48.  Which books do you consider 'classics'?
I don't really think of books as "classics".  The ones people consider as classics are often ones I don't tend to enjoy.

49.  Which books do you think should be taught in every school?
Since I read almost exclusively in the Christian market, I'm probably not a very good person to ask.

50.  Which books should be banned from all schools?
I like my books clean, and I'm inclined towards that standard for my students as well.  There are plenty of excellent books without them needed to be filled with potty language and adult content.  Those points can be made without taking the reader right down into the gutter.  A skilled author can tell their story and not fill the reader's mind with trash.
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25 Food Questions Tag

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I really enjoyed putting together my Great Aussie Mum Tag last week, so I decided to go looking for other fun tags.  This week, it's 25 Food Questions.  We all like food, so I figured anyone could relate. Here we go...

1. What's your favourite breakfast?
Toast (or a croissant on special occasions) with raspberry jam.  If I'm out for breakfast I often go for something with smoked salmon.

2. How do you drink your coffee?
I don't.  I am a tea girl.  I don't like coffee.  I wish I did...hubby is a roaster and coffee wholesaler.  His coffee is apparently awesome.  But coffee is not my friend.  I find it bitter.  He sells great teas though, so all is not lost.

3. What's on your favourite sandwich?
Ohhhh.... a fresh baguette from The Artisan Crust, with brie, fig jam and salad greens.  Just need to take a moment....

4. Soup or Salad?
Definitely a seasonal answer.  Soup in winter, salad in summer.  Can't have soup in summer cos it's too hot.

5. What's your favourite cookbook?
You want me to choose?  Hmmmmm...anything by Nigella Lawson.

6. No more sweets or not more hearty foods?
No more sweets.  Sugar gives me heartburn and insomnia.  I don't need that kind of help.

7. What's your favourite cuisine (country)?
Asian.  Two Malaysians in the family has trained us well.

8. What's your favourite food movie?
Love a good food movie!  Julie and Julia.  Second favourite is No Reservations.  Third favourite is Chocolat

9. What's your most guilty pleasure?
Tira Misu for dessert.  And then eating the whole pan over the week because someone made it for me, for my birthday.  Not even sorry.

10. What's your greatest inspiration source?
TV cooking shows & Nigella Lawson

11. Cooking at home or going out for dinner?
Going out - even to a friend's home.  It always tastes better when someone else cooks.

12. High end or low profile?
I don't know what that means.  Restaurant quality?  I think some of the best food can be found in little hole-in-the-wall restaurants.

13. What's your favourite restaurant?
Nudle (Knox).  The Cherry Tree (Healesville).  Elevation (Emerald).  Anywhere that does good Yum Cha.

14. I do my grocery shopping at:
Aldi, and then Woolies if I can't get something at Aldi.

15. The tastiest food I've ever eaten was:
A mango, chickpea and feta salad my friend made once.  Oh my goodness, so yummy.

16. What's your favourite cocktail?
I don't drink alcohol past the very rare moscato.  I'm more of a sparkling water kind of gal.

17. Coffee with George Clooney or Heston Blumenthal?
So, it would be a cup of tea, and probably with George.  I was an ER fan way back in the day.

18. What should not be missing in your kitchen?
My oven.  I keel over when the power is out for more than a day!  I use the oven every single day.

19. What's your favourite snack?
At the moment?  Sweet snack is Forresters coconut rolls from Aldi.  This answer changes constantly. Savoury snack, camembert cheese on cranberry & pumpkin seed crackers.

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20. What's on your pizza?
thin crust, homemade tomato sauce, basil, real mozzarella

21. What food do you really dislike?
Stereotypical Aussie stuff:  Vegemite, beetroot, weet-bix.  I've tried beetroot a few different ways, as an adult.  I really don't like it.  And blue cheese.  It just tastes like vomit.  I wanted to like it, but I just don't.

22. What's your favourite food blog?
I don't really follow one.

23. What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
Jellyfish - the texture is nothing to be excited about.  And chicken's feet - they taste OK, but there's so many bones and not much flesh.  It's just not worth it.

24. What's on your food bucket list?
I want to succeed at making a roast beef.  It's the one culinary skill that continues to escape my abilities.

25. I couldn't live without:
Having done a couple of fasts, I have discovered the two things I want most: a cup of tea and crackers with butter.  Who knew?!

What are your food loves and loathes?
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The Great Aussie Mum Tag

Today I'm borrowing an idea that I saw pop up on YouTube recently. I figured there was no reason it couldn't translate to a blog, just as well as a video, right? Right! So here we go - the Great Aussie Mum Tag!

Vegemite or promite?Neither. YUK. Dad tells me I'm a really bad Aussie kid, cos I don't like weet-bix or beetroot either. I buy Vegemite for the one child who eats it. Does that count?

Neighbours or Home and Away?
I wasn't allowed to watch Neighbours, but we were allowed to watch Home and Away (I was about 14 or 15 when it began). In its early days it was more family friendly. I gave it away when my kids were teeny tiny, because it just wasn't appropriate for them.

Woolies or Coles?
If I had a choice it would be Coles. But Woolies is the only one within half an hour of me. Luckily we have an Aldi in Our Town, so I go there first, before I decide if I need to go to Woolies.

What's one thing about raising kids in Australia that you love? 
I love that we laugh at ourselves, and don't take ourselves too seriously. Humour covers a multitude of sins, and diffuses a bunch of potentially sticky situations.

Is there anything you would want to change about Australia for your childrens future?
I would love us to be able to discuss tricky things without one side yelling at the other because they don't agree. It's so important to ask questions that help us understand others, rather than fling attacking words around. I would be appalled of my kids or my students behaved the way lots of adults are behaving at the moment.

What do you wish Australia had that other countries do?
Hmmmm...totally random thing: bison burgers. We had them in the States and they were sooooo good!

Whats your favourite city, town or holiday spot?
Tassie. Hands down, every time. I first went there as a 5yo, when my Dad flew us down there to visit his family. I have been love ever since. I would take a trip to Tassie over Queensland any day of the week.

If you had a choice, would you continue to live in Australia? (or we could ask, what is your heritage?)
I'm ridiculously Australian (my kids are 7th generation Aussies). I love Australia, it's home to me, but if I needed to live somewhere else that would be OK with me too. I lived overseas as a kid, so there is a whole bunch about my identity that is at odds with Aussie culture.

You're not Australian unless……? You head to the coast for a camping holiday in your caravan or tent.

How do you like to spend Australia Day?!
Having a bbq with friends, with homemade lamingtons for dessert (and hence we are a no-jam-lamington family, because jam just doesn't work when you make 'em yourself).

What sport do your kids play?
None. We had zero money when they were at an age to play sport, and they've never raised the issue.

Fave Aussie movie? It used to be The Castle. Now, I think it's The Dressmaker.

Fave Aussie Celebrity/Musician and why? Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham, especially when they perform together. Showing my age, huh.

Which Aussie Celeb are you sick of hearing about in the media? I don't know that any of them get an oversupply of air time, do they? Maybe I just don't listen to enough media to hear about them.

Favourite typically Australian past time? That camping holiday by the sea.

Favourite Aussie slang word/phrase? I'm gonna go with "Fair Dinkum".

Favourite Aussie animal? Echidna. They are the cutest little prickle balls on the face of the planet. Up close and personal they are even cuter. Just make sure you pet them going with the quills, instead of against!!

Favourite Australian Childrens book? 
Anything by the amazing Mem Fox

Favourite brand of nappies? We're well beyond this phase of life in our house. Back in the day it was Huggies at night, and I bought day nappies in bulk from a place in Ferntree Gully.

Favourite family meal? Anything I cook, apparently. Tuna & Rice, Bacon-wrapped chicken, lasagne, chicken casserole, bbq's in summer when it's too hot to cook inside...my lot eat anything.

If you decide to take on this tag, please be sure to let me know. I'd love to read your answers.

Three reasons why I don't colour my hair

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Disclaimer:  I shouldn't need to say this, but the internet being what it is, I thought I'd make it clear from the outset:  This topic is totally about people making a choice for themselves, based on what works for them.  There is no right or wrong, good or bad, or judgement to be made.  What I choose for myself is not a judgement about anyone else's choices.  

Now....back to our scheduled program.....

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"You should think about colouring your hair," was the not so subtle suggestion I received from a hairdresser some 10+ years ago, now.

You see, grey hair runs in my mother's family the same way that male baldness runs in my Dad's.  Since I'm not a boy, I'm fairly safe with that one, but not so much they grey.   My maternal grandfather was absolutely white in his 50's.  My mother was not quite as white, but not far off in her 60's.  At any given age, she has been more grey than I have been.  I first noticed my own one or two greys in my early-mid twenties, and they've been gathering steam ever since (my mother noticed her own in her teens - I had a good 10 years on her!).  Right back then I knew I needed to make a decision.  To dye, or not to dye.

I chose not to dye my hair.  Ever.

Back then it was simple reasoning:  if I go grey one hair at a time, it won't be quite so obvious, compared to if I dyed my hair and then decided to stop.  That difference would be quite stark.  Since then I have developed a more considered reasoning.  So here are three reasons I don't dye my hair (or intend to start!).

1.  It's expensive
I am nothing if not practical, and I have experienced numerous times of financial stress in my life.  It was not long after that comment from the hairdresser that we had to buckle down and hold our financial breath.  Spending on anything that was not absolutely necessary just did not happen.  In fact, I think I had my Mum cut my hair a time or two during that season of our life (she had cut half the town's hair when we lived overseas - it was a safe, cheap option).

2.  It's a time commitment
Not only the sitting in the hairdresser's chair, but also how often you need to visit the hairdresser.  I have long hair, so I don't need to go any more often than once a quarter and can get away with longer if I cut my own fringe.  Again, the practical side of me is inclined to shun anything that requires upkeep more often.  It's also part of the reason I've never been able to have my hair in a short style for more than about a year.  Hair appointments every six weeks?  Nope.  Too much like hard work to my way of thinking.  I'm terrible at being a girl sometimes!  And again, the money.

3.  Sensitive Skin
Perhaps the most persuasive reason I don't dye my hair is because of my skin.  I am so sensitive to normal chemicals people use.  Things like dishwashing liquid, hand soap, household cleaners, perfumed hand creams.  You name it, I avoid it.  As an example, my current hand moisturiser is a non-frangrance one, and if you're read here for a while, you know I've had a major eye sensitivity to something in make-up this year.  Given all that, frankly I've been too scared to try dying my hair.  If I'm that sensitive to regular stuff I can only imagine I'd been on The Project or A Current Affair as an extreme examples of chemical burns and rashes and swelling everywhere.  If regular people get a little irritated, I don't want to think about what that would look like for me.

So I don't even consider dying my hair.  I think more than a choice, it's probably just not an option.  And I'm totally OK with that.

What about you?  Do you colour your hair?  Or not?  Do you wish you'd made a different choice at some point?

The Downside of Clean Windows

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We are now two days post window washing, and my eyes have been having a not-so-fun party.  Miss Sunshine thought they were puffy on Wednesday morning.  On Thursday it felt like there was a weight sitting on my eyelids.  Apparently if you are washing window fly screens you should beware of the dust, and you should be very careful not to touch your eyes if you've had your hands in water with dishwashing liquid.  Especially if you are sensitive to said liquid.  Maybe I should have waited to wash all the screens with the gerni?

Note to self.  Do not touch eyes when cleaning.

Shades of Pink

It's not often I do a load of laundry.  Hubby is the washer-man in our household.  Every now and then I do gather up a load of whites or delicates, or in this case, pinks.  I realised, only today, how many of my tops are pink, when I had hung everything on the line.  I had one delicate top, so threw in a handful of coloureds to make the load slightly worthwhile.  You can see one apricot-coloured shirt behind the front line.  Otherwise, they're all shades of pink, from light to very dark burgundy.

Despite what this looks like, I do own other colours.  Like a green and blue.  But mostly pink.

What's your favourited clothing colour?  Is it deliberate or purely accidental?

Dear Facebook....

Dear Facebook

It seems to me we are at an impasse.  One that neither of us seems willing to negotiate our way through.  I am a fierce abstainer.  I know your aim is to connect people, and that makes me look like a snob.  But actually, I've watched family members and friends who are so attached to you, they forget to live their real, actual lives.  And they lose hours and hours of time scrolling through I-don't-know-what-garbage that other people have liked.  I don't have people in far away places with whom I need to keep in touch.  All my people are close by - a text or an email away at most.  I also don't feel the need to post events in my life for the game of seeing how many people "like" what I'm doing.  Or maybe that's just my competitive in-law family.  But I don't think it's just them.

The problem here, dear Facebook, is that you are very bossy.  You demand that I sign up.  Every time I want to read what one of my four favourite personalities have written you pop up a little screen, through which I can see nothing, that says I need to sign up to see more.  I don't want to see more.  I just want to see today's post without clicking those stupid screens away multiple times.  It's not my fault people have moved away from friendly blogs that accept anyone who wants to read them.  I have no intention of commenting or liking or whatever else people do with posts they like.  I just want to read and move on with my day.  That's it.  It takes me about 5 minutes.  Or it would, if you would stop making me click those annoying screens, and then clicking that I want to "see all" posts rather than a summary of different media that person has posted.  Quite frankly, I am starting to resent the fact that you insist that I sign up.

I have a proposition for you.  If you could remove those pop-up screens that remind me I am not signed up, and just let me read those four people's pages, we could probably live quite harmoniously.  I won't demand anything from you, and I would love it if you didn't demand anything from me.

And The Shopping is DONE!!

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Today I completed all the necessary clothes shopping required to begin working next term…just three weeks away.  If you've read here even for a little while you will know what a relief and triumph it is for me to be able to say I'm DONE!  Can you say "excited"?!

It took quite some searching and frustration to find suit-style trousers.  No one seems to sell classic trousers suitable for a business (or more formal education) environment.  And when I did find them they were simply NOT cut for my shape.  No amount of being a different size was ever going to fix that problem!   Success eventually came from a corporate work-wear supplier.  Who you know sometimes just works better than what you know, and in this case a friend who works in a work-wear and embroidery place that supplies uniforms and the like was my clothing hero.  I walked in, tried on the pants I had found online (pictured above) that gave a description that sang my song, and I walked out with something that fit perfectly.  PERFECTLY!  Do you hear me?  This happens to me exactly NO TIMES!  Ever.  At the very least I have to make a little tuck in the back to deal with the gaping.  They were so perfect that  I have a second pair and a skirt on order.  So, so happy.  And it was just so easy.  Not like retail shopping at all.

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This afternoon I ordered some merino wool fine-knit tops from Wool Overs.  I'd never heard of them before, but after finding them (thank you Google!) a parent at school was singing their praises.  So I took the plunge and ordered.  Without trying them on….but the measurements online fit the merino top I bought last week.  And the prices were excellent.  And free shipping.

My little wardrobe capsule now consists of:

2 skirts
2 trousers
2 jackets
2 blouses
4 knit tops
1 dress shoes
1 pair knee-high boots

The knit tops are in the same colours as one of the blouses so I'm all set.  I'm about to go pick up some boots I needed to have re-soled.

And then no more shopping for a long time.  Happy dance anyone?

To Twist or Not to Twist - Bread Bag Issues

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I am a pretty pragmatic kind of person.  I don't like to waste time or energy doing things that are unnecessary and I am pretty good at finding the most efficient way to get things done.  My mother used to say "give the laziest person the hardest job and they will find the easiest way to do it".  I think she was onto something.  I will happily change my habits, routines and procedures when I feel like the changes will improve efficiency.

So, every morning when I go to get some bread out of the freezer for my toast breakfast you can imagine having to untwist the top of the bread bag 40 million times is a little annoying.  It takes ages and anything past about two twists doesn't really add any benefit.

I finally figured out who the heavy-twisting culprit is.  Mr Busy twists that bread bag, after use, like his very life depends on it.  Twist, twist, twist, twist.  I dunno…five or six times.  What a waste of his energy.  I've hinted and asked and told him straight out:  twice is enough!  I don't want to spend all that time untwisting the top of the bag because you're obsessed with I-don't-know-what.

And then I discovered Dh does the same thing.  Those men-people are like peas in a pod.

There is no hope of me ever being able to open a bread bag without waiting half an hour for it to unwind itself.

Form Avoidance Tactics

Because doing a jigsaw puzzle all by yourself is sometimes the most productive thing to do, when procrastinating on filling out All. The. Forms.

Or when they threaten your sanity.

Drowning in Paperwork

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This is the posture of every single human being who has to deal with Centrelink.  *Deep Sigh*.  For those of you who don't know, Centrelink is the Australian Government social services department.  They are a pain in the butt difficult to deal with, to put it generously.  But we need them.  They help us financially and when it's all sorted out things are good.  For all my frustrations, Centrelink has made it possible for us to survive through some very difficult times.

A few weeks back we went in to our local office to get Miss Sunshine all identified and her study claim under way.  The slobby man, who sat chomping on gum (so I have a "thing" about gum - it grosses me out), informed us that the Youth Services office would send us all the extra forms for family income and such and that we should wait for those to arrive.  He also told me that if I had a question I was unsure of (these are inevitable - they ask questions that are from Mars) to just leave it, but make sure to sign the form so the claim could be processed.

He was wrong on both counts.  So.  So.  Wrong.  He should have given me the forms.  He did not.  I have to fill in ALL the questions, or the claim will not be processed.  Because of this man we have to start over and payments will be delayed for quite some time.

So now, after a long phone call with the most helpful person on the planet, I have printed the reams of paper with all the forms and I am wading through them.  Miss Sunshine emerged, briefly, from her safe cocoon of a bedroom, and asked if she should be filling them in.  I looked about me, at the piles of old bills, insurance paperwork and about a billion other pieces of paper about every cent we possess, spend and owe and asked "Do you really think it would be possible for you to fill these out?"  She lent over, hugged me and said thank you.  And then she hurried away.  No child of 18 years should have to do this.  It's too hard for the very best of form fairies (ie, mothers), let alone an innocent new baby adult.  This is one of those things that parents are willing to do for children, like laying down your life.  I think she'll owe me more than a chai latte for this one, though.  Maybe a week of her cooking meals.  Or something significant.

If I don't come up for air for the next year or so, you'll know I got buried under the papers.

Beware the Flight of the Kookaburra!

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For all of you Aussie Mums who are thinking about taking your kids on picnics these school holidays, beware!  These otherwise proud-looking birds that seems so jolly when they are laughing away at the break of day?  These are thieving, opportunitists that will steal your food from your very hands!

Last week when I was teaching in Prep we had an excursion with all the Lower Primary children, and it was a wonderful, wonderful day.  Except for lunch time!  Well...a few moments at lunch time, to be fair.  The children needed to have a good run and play, so before they ate lunch they had a good hard play on the playground at a local reservoir park.  While they played, I thought I would eat my lunch, as did the mums who had joined us for the day.  Little did I know a sneaky, conniving kookaburra (of which there were many in the trees over the picnic area) was watching me eat my sandwich.  There were a few really.  And I have seen them swoop in and steal a sausage off a barbeque and then wack the thing to death before eating it.  Because, you know, a cooked sausage is clearly alive and going to bite back (they think they are snakes)!  So I was wary.

But this one kookaburra that I had not seen?  He waited until my sandwich, held between both my hands, was poised close to my mouth and then he swooped.  I felt a soft brush of feathers on my face and a hard tap of its beak on my hand, and then half my sandwich was gone!  He landed on a branch in the tree above me and proceeded to eat my sandwich!!!

We had words, that kookaburra and I, about his thieving ways and how this was the last little bit of my sandwich he would be getting.

And then I warned the children.  Keep you food in your lunch box with the lid closed.  Hold the piece of sandwich you're eating tightly and hold it close to you.  Put your other hand over it so the kookaburras can't see your food.  See?  They're watching your food...they want to eat it!

Only one other child lost some of their lunch, to my knowledge.  But they had left their sandwich next to them on the group (on glad wrap).  So whatever.  You can't win them all.

But beware the kookaburras when next you take your children for a picnic!

Back From Internet Siberia

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We are back from Internet Siberia.

Internet Siberia is where you end up when your family has outgrown its data limits.  It is a dark, cold world in which you have little to no access to....anything.  No access to emails, university enrolments, job advertisements and applications, favourite blogs.  Nothing.  We have been living on a restricted diet of hot-spotted data off our phones for the twice-a-day email check and a couple of other urgent things.  Our plan had us paying extra for exceeding our limits, rather than just going slow.  The extra costs are exorbitant. 

It has been about two weeks.  We were desperate people!

Our Knight-in-Shining-Armour (Dh) has organised us into unlimited data and, with a computer techie friend, managed to bring us back from the brink of our desperation last night.  These, my friends, are the heroes of the modern world.  The people who do crazy things like double degrees and PhD's in computer stuff and then they come riding along on their bike on just the right evening to weave their knowledgeable magic and fix all the things.  I don't know what things.  But just all of them.

During those two weeks life has been whizzing along, as life does.  Here's a quick update...

• Miss Sunshine has her driver's license and is now driving herself off to work.  Without me.  I'm not ready for this development, but she seems to think it's perfectly reasonable.  What would she know?
  
• I've had my first day in the classroom as a bona fide teacher, doing relief teaching.  I spent the day with a gorgeous little group of Prep/Year 1's, one of whom was my niece.  Adorable.  It just felt so completely right.
  
• We have begun our 40 Day Fast at church, which ends just before Easter.  Fruit and vegies and wholegrains are to be our best friends for the next little while.
  
• My foot is nearly 100% healed from its snarling little allergic reaction.  I am now a lover of 'old lady' shoes that have good arch support.  Scoff if you will.  Feet are important.

And I have been applying for jobs.  One of which is in the school where I did my rounds at the end of last year.  I am praying with all the fervency I can muster that this is "the one".  It is a maternity leave position in a Prep classroom.  In a Christian School.  This is my dream job and my God is in the business of answering the deepest prayers of his children's hearts.  So I am believing for good things.  But 53 applications (and counting) has a way of knocking the confidence out of you.

I'm off to catch up with all my favourite blog friends, and everything I've missed over the last two weeks...

School is Back. Properly.

Finally, today it has all come together in our house.  Miss Mischief is back from her VCE retreat and I took both her and Mr Busy to school together.  At the same time.  And we made it before the first bell today.  Tomorrow we're aiming for 8.20 - it seems like moving our departure back 10 minutes a day is more do-able.

Because I have lost the ability to leave the house effectively and efficiently it seems other members of the family are struggling with this skill as well.  I discovered Mr Busy's sandwich on the bench when I got home this morning.  *sigh*  It's rubbing off.  It was a good excuse to go an visit everyone at an off-site location where the whole school was doing fun stuff together, so I drove his lunch over (not far away) and he was on me before I reached the group.  Grateful, and hungry!

Tomorrow's goal:  leave the house at 8.20am with everyone lunched and snacked up for the day. 

Shouldn't be too hard should it?

I'll Sing You to Me

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It was Australia Day yesterday.  Around here it was a very quiet day.  Just us.  No BBQ.  No lamingtons, although I seriously considered making some. 

The most "Australian" thing we did was for Miss Mischief and I to watch the movie "Australia", all the way to the end, last night.  Apparently I always falls asleep just after those "fat cheeky bulls" get driven up the wharf into the ship.  Not because I'm uninterested in the movie, but because it's long and staying up til midnight is not normally in my realm of do-able things.

As I watched last night I realised this movie is full of incredibly special moments and beautiful themes.  And heartbreaking ones too.  What were people thinking, back in 1939, to imagine that it was ever going to be OK to steal indigenous children from their families, to "breed the black out of them" because they would be better off?  How appalling and shameful!  Our past is not one to be proud of in this regard and it makes our present so tricky.  A present for which there are no easy answers or palatable solutions.  The hurt goes too deep for either.  Sadly I don't know any indigenous people because we live in very different locations, but I know I would have a lot to learn from them.  And the first thing I would say is "I'm so sorry".

What surprised me, watching the movie this time, was the way Lady Ashley embraces all those she encounters at Faraway Downs.  They are all immediately worthy of her protection, appreciation and solidarity, regardless of colour, race or creed.  Her only exception is for those who do the morally wrong thing.  Like stealing.  I love her fierce loyalty.

What endeared me most in the movie, was Nulluh, played by Brandon Walters (pictured above).  Is that not the most angelic, gorgeous face you've ever seen?  Well, apart from your own children of course!  Nulluh straddles two worlds with wisdom and intuition that just feels ... right.  I feel like no matter how I say this I'll say it wrong.  But Nulluh learns the ways of his indigenous roots from his grandfather and he learns the ways of his non-indigenous roots from the Drover and Lady Ashley.  Both are embraced by Nulluh and the adults around him embrace them too.  This gave me hope for us, as a nation. My hope might be naive and simplistic, but it is hopeful nonetheless.

My favourite line in the whole movie?  "I'll sing you to me".  It is a thread that resonated with me and I'm having trouble putting into words how those few words impacted me.  It's a picture of what I imagine God does for me.  I always thought about it in terms of God pursuing us.  But maybe he sings us to him.  He sings to our hearts and calls to us in the deepest places of our being.  A song that speaks and calls, and connects.  A song that tells me I am safe and loved and wanted and cherished.  That no matter how far away I get, that song will guide me back.  Nulluh told Lady Ashley that he would "sing you to me" as they were being separated.  A promise that they would be reunited and reconnected in the deepest of ways.  And their song guided her back to him.

How beautiful to be so known and so loved. 

Radio Silence...aka...internet ran out

Apparently we are now heavy internet users.  Well...four of us at home, not much to do, lots of interesting things to look at and read...you know how it goes, I'm sure.  Unfortunately our internet download limits need to be upgraded and Telstra don't seem to want to talk to us (read, Hubby) about fixing our little internet problem.  Four months after this became an issue we're still waiting.  Ugh.  If only we had another option, we would dump Telstra in a heartbeat.  But we have no choice and they seem be taking advantage of this aspect of our relationship.

In the meantime, when our data download is used up we turn off the modem and use our iPhones as hotspots.  Beats the mind-numbing excess bill we get otherwise.  My phone won't talk nicely to my computer, so while I can do some stuff on my iPad, I am too impatient to try and make blogger work for me.  Technology!!!

So what have I been doing while I've been radio (or internet) silent?

I have been reading.  Three books in three days and then I found Momestary.com, so I started reading through archives there.  I love Glennon's fragile, cautious, brave writings and have found myself challenged and entertained.

I have been getting a bit silent.  Quiet.  Asking Big Questions and letting God speak to me and answer them.  Having figured out the whole notes/highlighting thing in my Bible app is helping me keep track of what I'm learning and understanding.

I have been sleeping in.  Oh. My. Goodness!  Did you hear that?  I've been sleeping in!!!!  I didn't know I could do that.  And to be really truthful, the sleep-in comes after a bad night with little sleep, so really I'm just catching up before I have to get out of bed.  But 9.30am is about when I wake up the second time.  The first two times this happened the kids wondered what was going on!

I have been noticing my house.  Ok, so this is seriously a first-world problem.  But it's also a stewardship issue, I think.  But my house needs painting.  Desperately.  I didn't notice how many chipped paint spots we have until I've had nothing much to do.  And I've been noticing how dark and unfriendly my kitchen looks (black benchtops, dark wood cupboards).  My friend, who just moved house, has pristine white cupboards and a caesarstone bench.  I'm in kitchen-love (not envy...not choosing envy).  One day I want to go and cook in her kitchen just because it's so beautiful.  I'm sure she won't mind if I leave her all the food.  Right?

I have been applying for the few jobs available that are in my area.  Feeling a little hopeless with this one, but God keeps whispering that he has something in store; that something is coming.  Is it wrong to wish for the perfect 4-day-a-week job that someone has and maybe, like, pray that teacher out of that role?  Yeah, maybe that's a little bit not OK.  Alright, patience and rest are my lessons right now.

And the other day I was an overcomer.  About once a week (or maybe twice a week, or maybe every day when I'm busy and tired) I hit a huge big wall and I CANNOT COOK ANOTHER MEAL, EVER IN MY LIFE.  We got some Village vouchers for Christmas so we went to organise tickets, because who wants to pay the man on the phone $25 when I could walk in and do it for free?  I could have that $25 for movie food!  Anyway, we went to organise tickets and Dh decided the line was too long so we should get a cuppa.  And shop for shirts for him.  Now he knows I am the world's worst shopper.  I rarely win in this game (although I did win when I had to buy orthotic shoes and new 3/4 denim pants at the last minute) and so it all just goes bad so fast.  I got home and the kids said "Dad, I think you broke her....what will do for dinner if she's all broken?"  I sat down and iced my little plantar faciitis foot, because, well...pain.  And I thought about buying dinner.  Really, seriously thought about it.  And then I thought about the roasted vegetable salad I had intended to make.  And that won out after 15 minutes of ice.  And less pain.  Dinner was super late but teenagers are less concerned about that than toddlers.  It was really, really yummy, and I definitely won.

Except Miss Sunshine has a thing for hot chips and well...she lost.  The cafe at church opens up again in February and she can have hot chips every Sunday if she wants.

More from Miss Sunshine

Miss Sunshine posted her sketches on her Facebook page (something she signed up for when told she should move out rather than get a pet.  Apparently Facebook is a sufficient alternative to having a pet) and got lots of family love.  Amongst the "Oh, you get that from our side of the family", as if my genetics are meaningless, there were requests and challenges issued.  Frosty was a request.  The oldest cousin in that family was issued a challenge when he suggested her efforts were below par.  His offering was "sad and pitiful" and Miss Sunshine remains the queen of the sketch.

As for the genetics, my mother is quite skilled with sketching.  Dh's family may have some artistic skill, but Miss Sunshine and my Mum surpass them all.

This one is my personal favourite, because Hugh Jackman.  I've never watched Wolverine or X-Men, but still. 

Our school receptionist suggested we should frame and sell Miss Sunshine's works.  When she asked why, we responded "because money!"  Miss Sunshine hadn't thought of that!  I think she should sketch a picture of our Principal.  They have a little morning routine that has been lost with her departure from school.  I think he misses her cheery "Hi Mr R---" every day.

Miss Sunshine is bored....

Miss Sunshine's sketch of Bilbo Baggins

I've not had much to say lately so I thought I'd share some of Miss Sunshine's sketches.  This is the product of her I've-just-finished-school boredom. 

Miss Sunshine's sketch of Jack Sparrow

They say pictures tell a thousand words and I have none of my own to share.  Miss Sunshine is a freak of nature when it comes to sketching though, so I thought I'd share these instead. I really want her to email me a picture of today's sketch of Hugh Jackman.  Because if I wasn't married to my husband I might be all about the gorgeous Hugh.  When she sends it and Frosty I'll post those too.

In the meantime I've resigned from work and will officially be unemployed in January.  There are just no words.

A Leibster Award!

Yesterday I received a comment from Danica at Danica's Thoughts blog to let me know she had bestowed upon me a Leibster Award.  Somewhere along the line Danica has found my little corner of the blogosphere  and decided it worthy of recognition, despite a small following of less than 200.  Thank you, Danica, for your vote of confidence and support.

When I began my blog I think I intended to write about things domestic...parenting, organising and running a home, menu planning, recipes, maybe some crafty stitching type stuff.  And initially that's what I did.  Then I started working and my children are much older now, and I've been studying for what seems like forever.  Things have changed.  I have changed.  As a result the things I blog about has changed a bit too.  I've often thought perhaps I need to be more deliberate and planned about blogging, and then my life gets in the way, assignments need to be written (which is what I should be doing right now) and children need to be whatever-it-is-they-need in the moment.

Anyway....apparently I need to answer some questions Danica has set for me and I need to pass this award on to 11 other people whose blogs, like mine, are special and have only a small following.  I'm going to need to do the passing on after my assignments are done but I'll answer the questions now...a two-part award response :)

1)  Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
I have pondered this question from time to time, because wow...anyone in the world!  I think in this season of my life it would be Jen Hatmaker.  Jen is hilarious, incredibly real, wise, and asks hard questions about how faith in our culture could and should work.  That's a seasonal response because of my current journey.  Outside of my current season I'm going to say my dear friend Frances.  We have shared so much of our lives through our blogs and she is just the most amazing woman.  She is also an incredibly real person, quiet, thoughtful, wise and she is a writer.  Seriously....a writer!  She's my kind of people! 
2)  Would you like to be famous? In what way?
I don't think so.  Big fame comes with people pestering you and commenting on how you live your life and the mistakes you make and everything you do is public domain.  I'm an introvert.  That would be so stressful!  Small fame that comes from doing your ordinary life, which contributes to making the world a better place?  Maybe.  Maybe one day I will be the most amazing teacher and some precious small person will grow up and say "She's the one who changed my life".
3)  Before making a phone call, do you ever rehearse what you're going to say? Why?
Sometimes.  More likely I make a list of the things I need to remember to ask or convey.  If I'm phoning someone I know well I don't.  I don't pick up the phone "just because"...there's always a reason behind the call.
4)  When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?
I sing to myself all the time.  Often in the car.  I don't sing to other people.  Really, you gotta be able to sing and not scare someone off to be willing to do that!
5)  If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?
I have no quibbles with the way I was raised.  How we, as a whole family, coped with reverse culture shock is a whole other story though.  I would want to get us all some help with that so we could have recovered better and quicker.
6)  If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one quality or ability, what would it be?
I don't know.  The ability not to become frustrated when my family do things that bug me?
7)  Is there something that you've dreamt of doing for a long time? Why haven't you done it?
It seems like I've been dreaming about being a teacher for a long time.  Completing the darned degree to get to do that takes about eleventy billion years.  Well, when you're impatient that's how it feels.  Maybe I need patience?
8)  What does friendship mean to you?
Friendship is the glue that keeps me from falling apart.  My most dear and precious friends are the ones to whom I can say anything I need to vent and they will just love me through it, pray me through it and support me with wisdom, care and a advice to see me into a better place.  They're the people who walk the hardest, darkest paths of you life with you, and celebrate the most joyous seasons of life.
9)  When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?
This week.  Both.  Assignments will be the death of me!  Miss Mischief was the poor soul who caught the last "in front of another person".
10)  Would you be willing to have horrible nightmares for a year if you would be rewarded with extraordinary wealth?
Nope.  Wealth isn't all it's cracked up to be, apparently.  So if that's true I'm going to value my sleep.  Good sleep is priceless.
11)  Complete this sentence "I wish I had someone with whom I could share..."
I can't answer this question.  I have an amazing husband, incredible kids and the most precious friends.  Between them there's nothing I can't share.

Alright, I've procrastined enough.  Two assignments (hopefully for the rest of my life!!) to go and I need to get on with it.

Am I the Only One? Of Vegemite, Weet-Bix and Shopping

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There are many, many days in my life when I know I am "not like the others."  It began when I was a child, I think.  I hate Vegemite and I detest Weet-Bix.  These are two Aussie breakfast staples.  Vegemite on toast or Weet-Bix with milk and sugar are pretty much what my father and brothers had every single day, between them.  Weet-Bix with warm  milk....gag.  My Dad used to tell me I'm not a very good Aussie kid, because "Aussie kids are Weet-Bix kids", you know.  In that ad (click on the link) you even see a man eating Vegemite on toast.  Really, I should have been born in some other country at some other time in history!!

A couple of recent conversations have reminded me I'm not a normal 'girl' either.  Not when it comes to shopping.  I shop like a bloke:  Get in, get the thing you need from the place that sells it, and get out.  These are decisions made well before you even enter a shopping centre of any kind.  When our senior pastor's wife begins a sermon talking about needing an inordinate number of shoes and that one shops for these at whim, my eyes glaze over.  I'm sure it is a form of torture.  Shopping tours, therefore, are the ultimate torture.  A whole day of shopping for things you don't need as a form of entertainment?  Oh just kill me now!  My kids know they get about a two-hour window of opportunity for shopping, first thing in the morning, when we need a whole bunch of stuff.  After that I start murmuring things like "why are we here" and "I can't do this". If we go in the afternoon that window of opportunity significantly decreases.  Like, there is no window in the afternoon. 

Living in a "third world" or "developing" nation as a child has surely contributed to the way I view shopping.  Where we lived you only shop for what you need.  If you can get it.  Chances are what you need isn't available and must be ordered from "down south" (aka Australia) and you had to wait a long time for it to arrive.  This idea of shopping for entertainment was simply not part of my world until I was nearly 15.  By then it was too late.

I have passed some of these things on to my children.  Only one eats Weet-Bix.  Only one eats Vegemite (not the same one).  None of them are inclined to shop for fun unless one of their friends insists this is essential for spending time together.  That's rare.  It takes half an hour to get to this version of entertainment from where we live so it's not all that enticing after all.