The Pimpernel's Pen..

Mother's Day...

2009-05-11T06:05:00.000-07:00

a day to have fun (run):

(He came 118th out of ~1, 890....beep beep - yeah!)

a day to see mum (in-law):

and a day in the sun (and surf):

Victoria

2009-04-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

- I did indeed love (every) a piece of it!

However, it is abit of a relief to be back home, not only to be back at Blogger HQ and to sleep on my own firm mattress but also to see my husband ;-)

I have had a great time in Melbourne, Knoxfield to be precise, learning about a particular group of bacteria (Xanthomonads for those of you playing at home) from a world renowned 'expert'. Moreover, I've enjoyed the welcome cool temperatures and lack of humidity in Victoria - sweet relief!! However, two weeks is abit too long to be with one group of people, in a hotel without consistent internet (Oh the woes!) and punishing my back with a terribly soft sunken-mattress each night.

Top 5 Melbourne highlights:

1) The weekend spent with my husband in Melbourne!

- catching a comedy act as part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival (we wanted to see Danny Boy or the guy Amos but ended up with Reginald D. Hunter instead)

- eating my way around the arcades and hidden laneways of Melbourne aka: Cafe heaven! ( I recommend Koko Black chocolates and "Little cupcakes" cafe's highly!!)

- spending time with Andrew's friend and Melbournite- Kerryn, who once again showed us some hidden gems! i.e roof-top restaurants and cosy art-deco inspired bars with terrific views over the Yarra.

2) Cold weather and NO HUMIDITY!

- although a downside here is the necessity for moisturizer! Not having a facial regime of any sort (see previous posts about horrified beauticians who have had to deal with my ravaged facial waste-land) I realised with pimple-ridden shock, the need to keep up moisturer on a twice-daily basis.

3) Catering

- an unexpected perk of the course! We were provided with sumptuous morning and afternoon teas along with lunch!! My food baby is now in his 7 month and growing well....

4) Autumn leaves!

- the joy of actually getting distinct seasons! Glorious red-leaves on chestnut trees and the the vines in the vineyards were also changing colour....which leads me onto...

4a) Yarra valley!

- hmm we may have had a daytrip as part of 'work'.....what stunning countryside! (wine tasting? ofcourse not!;-)

5) Meeting great people

- in particular one girl, Rachael, whom I really had a blast with on the course - and who plays a mean air-guitar rendition of "Pathogen City" (sad sad scientist nerds that we are)...

and the pictorial highlights in no particular order:

My partner in crime, and much hilarity - Rachael - looking sterotypically 'scientific'

Trying to stifle a laugh as I pose 'thoughtfully' as we inspect our diseased plants on the course. The 'expert' (inverted commas!) lecturer flown from US is at the front.

The great 'Birds of Prey' show at Healesville Sanctuary
(visted as part of a 'sample collection' trip).

The raptor here could break the egg using a small stone in his beak! First hit! This isn't a learned behaviour ie. trick - it's genetic! Amazing.

The stunning countryside of the Yarra Valley

(taken from a vineyard as part of the same 'sample collection' trip)

The view from a great bar in Federation Square overlooking the Yarra

and the view from the other end of the bar looking back towards the city!

I not only felt but saw the signs of autumn all around! Beautiful!

Two loved up types in the botanical gardens....

Bake off!

2009-04-02T01:42:00.000-07:00

Something's going on this week and I'm as confused as my poor dishpan-hands-husband as to how it started!

Sunday - exhausted from the remainder of the cold that is still hanging on for grim death - I decided to bake. And I haven't stopped since!

I remember a friend of mine, Min, once mentioned the 'nesting' feeling expectant mothers experience close to the time of delivery. If that's the case, then I have a food baby that's about to be delivered!!

So the menu this week:

Sunday - melting moments
(for work morning tea - the stakes have been upped in the snack department with the arrival of our new entomologist who buys something for us all to share each week. Well two can play that game sonny!)

Monday - macaroons
(in-laws dropping round may have been a prompt - look how well I look after your son! Every day is baking day here! etc.)

Tuesday - chicken casserole and tropical dessert
(Niti came round for dinner so I love a chance to try new recipes)

Wednesday - break!
(Hey, it was Farmer Wants a Wife!)

Thursday - orange and poppyseed cake
(for bible study group)

Friday etc.....Enough is enough! I think I've reached my peak for one week!

p.s. I'm not hormonal either, my only explanation is the weather. Perhaps it's the flo(ur)ers! :-P

Sing low, Sweet Shuffler...

2009-03-27T14:44:00.001-07:00

The other day, at Bible Study....

There was talk of a non-biblical nature about the songs of our generation. A member of the group was playing the piano for a church event and was bemoaning the repetoire to be sung. Which then beggered the question -

"When we're all old (in nursing homes)- what songs would we sit around and have a 'sing-along' too?"

That question came to mind the other (other) day as I listened to the radio while driving home from work and concurrently taking my blood pressure measurements for the third time, to dissuade myself of the notion that blood could physically boil! Oh yes, you'd be surprised by the things I carry in that home/garbage facility-on-wheels!

I imagined a nursing home with the chintz recliners all arranged in a semi-circle around the piano in anticipation for a night of reminiscing. An arthritically-affected, folically-challenged old man leaning precariously over the piano keys then begins manically pelting away in-time to a JT classic of our youth! The cracked voices from the recliners all raise in choral carcaphony to the strains of,"I'll make you believe in love and sex and magic"....ah sweet innocent days of yesteryear!

My goodness, all the songs I hear nowadays (you know you're getting old when you use a term like nowadays) I don't believe could even be played on a piano! Aghast I thought - we've sunk the sing-along! Banished by the gen-X'ers and the synthetic computer gen-Aters!

Would we have our own X-gen sing-along game instead perhaps?

The scene then shifted to our nursing home's open-plan, semi-partitioned living space. Twenty to thirty year old looking lads and ladettes with arthritically -affected hands laze on swedishly-designed and chinese-made imported bean bags, around the "NewGen Shuffleupagus 7000". All jostle to be first to sing along to the randomly-shuffled selection of greatest hits from the 01's - on voice-activated, camera-captured, siren-simulated and fast-tracked direct from the US - karoke. The sing-along of our generation - everyone's a sing-star - Karoke!

Alternatively, with our disdain for social interaction inbred since Facebook, we would twitter our current bed-ridden status for the 50th time that day to our fellow twits. To accomodate our bed-ridden state we would therefore not even have to leave the comfort of our automated existences. Instead, programming a virtual sing-along experience in a social-networking cyber sense, as we downloaded an 'app' on our lap to 'Rate our Sing-Stardomness'!

Ah for those melodic strains ..it's a long way to Tipp-er-ary, it's a long way to go.....

sent from an i-dont-phone

(by a Facebook obsessed, computer addict :-P )

An unexpected delight...

2009-03-04T01:50:00.001-08:00

I have to admit, we should be at the Heidari's tonight, but in a blessed piece of 'luck' (thank you Lord!) - they weren't at home when we duely arrived at 7pm.

So as an unexpected delight - we have a night at home and a chance to cook a proper meal (not the usual late wed-night pizza!).

It feels bad to be rejoicing in not seeing people you actually like and whom I imagine rarely get visitors....anyway...

How is everyone?!

I realised that once I'd done those past two month reviews I sort of lost steam and never came back! Now March is upon us and I haven't even blogged once during February! I know, I know - the heaven's haven't collapsed yet, but it's a bit of a worry that my attention span is so short!

February was a bit of a blur but I do remember a lovely Valentine's Day spent at a French restaurant in Flaxton (near Mapleton in the moutains around the sunshine coast). I also remember a truly stupendous dessert for said restaurant which consisted of five 'samples' of each dessert listed on the menu. It included a creme brulee, a profiterole, a poached peach, fruit (which I did eat!) and a chocolate cake. Oh my!!! That on top of the snails for entree and the duck leg for main! I'm such a glutton - french through and through then!!!

Talking about food - drool - we've discovered a fantastic cafe in New Farm! I love hunting out great eats especially on a lazy Sunday (I don't know why those tops no longer fit really - clothes sizes these days aren't what they claim ;-) ). This cafe, is "Au Cirque" on Brunswick St and is DIVINE! Reasonably priced, great service and the food is so flavoursome and fresh! If you had to classify it I would say the food is french-australian. The only downside is the small size of the place which means quite literally an 'intimate' dining experience (not necessarily a downside if you enjoy a good eavesdrop and a laugh).

Hold those salivating horses Jen I'm going off track.....

February
- we watched Dad stare at the same four walls for another month which creep ever more sedantly towards completion. You can't rush a master - or my father!

- Andrew's work continued to dry up to the point where his hours have now been cut back. We are the lucky ones though at least I am still employed (woohoo for public service security) and Andrew is okay for the moment.

- my godmother had some major mental illness issues which has affected not only herself but her friends, especially my mother who had to admit her to hospital. Things are on the improve though but your prayers would be appreciated!

- my DNA sequencing work progressed with one step forward and two in opposite directions (the way of science - one way works which then opens up more avenues to explore!). I am loving having the opportunity to do some research (shhh) and making a worthwhile contribution to the job.

And now March has marched right on in....as has my dinner.
Time to eat again!

life, it's uncertain,
eat dessert first!

Let's recap....January

2009-01-31T23:33:00.001-08:00

Dad continued work on our "Great Wall of China" downstairs....

Price of materials: $2K+, Price of labour: $0 (and a few dinners), Watching Dad's dedication to building the strongest and most perfectly braced laundry/cyclone shelter known to man - Priceless!!!

Our beautifully handcrafted leadlight window was installed in the toilet (original design and work by Dad). Best seat in the house! Dad comes up every visit to admire his work ;-)

He is now trying to persuade us to think of a design for another window - our home will soon be a showcase to Dad's leadlighting passion! What have we started!!!!!

We celebrated New Year's with Anna, Adele and Adele's sister's family at Rainbow Beach. Blistering heat, fighting a flu but an otherwise great time away with lots of sand, surf and Israeli dead-sea mud madness. Adele's sisters' two children, Sam and Zoe were absolutely gorgeous and Sam took a particular shine to Andrew - jokingly referred to during our stay as his 'best bud'.

Three members from our afghani refugee family became AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS on Australia Day! The two sisters: Roya and Nasimeh and brother: Akbar. What better way to celebrate Australia day than seeing the two girls take their oaths, as we 'renewed' ours :-)

Just wonderful to see them so happy and feel a sense of belonging at last! They have and continue to have, an amazingly inspiring journey. A real lesson to us all in how they handle every hurdle with such courage and thankfullness! (yes that's Premier Anna Bligh with the two girls).

Andrew and I returned to work after a relaxing 2 week christmas break. A few weeks back at work and I was then off down to Melbourne for a week, to get to know all-things Phytoplasma related (they are bacterial like organisms which cause disease in plants - just look at the red leaves at the top of your pointsettia plants for an example or these grapevines).

A re-Juvenating January full of joyous laughter and new horizons...

Let's recap... December

2009-01-31T14:57:00.000-08:00

We had a christmas party - and it was good fun to see everyone and share a bit of christmas spirit!

"We" won the office christmas decorating competition (Vanessa my boss did all the work)! Our theme: Calvin and Hobbes inspired (ofcourse) "The Twelve Treatments of Christmas". The 'treatments' related to AQIS approved means of eradicating diseased or pest ridden items that we discover...ie. gamma irradiation (see example below), Methyl Bromide fumigation for insects, Heat Treatment etc...

I had great fun decorating the house and tree for Christmas...one week to put up, one hour to pull down :-)

Our respective families had a joint christmas at my parents place.

A Delightful December full of sharing and rejoicing..

It's beginning to feel alot like Christmas...

2008-12-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

Yes, with only one sleep to go, I can truly say it's beginning to feel alot like Christmas!

At last, Christmas joy has awoken in me and stretched its bent wings..

I'm feeling abit more Christmas jubilation today. The reason - good hard labour!
Labour of love that is. Just as I was decrying my lack of creative inspiration this christmas...lo and behold, I made some cards!

Alas, too late to actually send them to you my friends! My apologies...and now just to rub it in, here's what they looked like! (Ok, so I'm a little proud of my first proper attempt with stamping)

Plus, I'm making chilled carrot soup for Christmas day (taste better than it sounds!) and have experimented with some ginger, citrus and green-tea (ie. I had left over ginger and added to a teabag of citrus green-tea - oh I'm such the culinary genius!).

So now I'm feeling like I've contributed more to Christmas, than propping up the languishing economy!....and talking about languishing, here's a little word from the silent blog partner

Joyeux Noel (eat, drink and follow Andrew's lead!)

Brooklyn, Paris, Cleveland?

2008-12-22T00:23:00.000-08:00

Today I went to see my Mum down in my 'hometown' of Cleveland.

Situated 45mins east of Brisbane by the bay (Moreton Bay) the Redland Shire used to be a sleepy farming district but alas has blossomed over the last 20yrs into a thriving mini-metropolitis! I still feel the charm, but it has certainly been lessened somewhat with the mushrooming housing developments on the subdivided farming land. Each visit, I find more land being consumed by developments and it does break my heart alittle. Bring back rural living or at least larger home blocks with a less monotonously-rendered appeal!

Anyway, off my anti-development soap box!

My visit today took me back to other years, where about the same time I would be enjoying the delights of christmas shared with my parents and grandma. The days when I lived at home and toiled long and hard over handmade christmas cards and gifts! The days when my wonderful grandma was still alive and joyful, and sitting with me watching King's Choir on Christmas Eve. Glorious memories!

My grandma two years ago, at her home for one day only, and a special day that was.

Each year out of home reminds me how I have slipped more into laziness with store-bought cards and gifts and seemingly the joy of christmas diminishes just a tad each year too. Now this is quite an admission for me, as I LOVE Christmas! I adore the decorating, the gift giving, the carolling, the midnight church services, the visiting of friends and celebrations with family. But to be honest, I think the older I get the more I wish I was younger for Christmas sake! It also makes me wonder if children bring out this joy again at Christmas time. What a delight!

Anyway, off my self-indulgent soap box.

On a merrier note, I took great delight today in other aspects of getting older - observing and aiding your parents adopting new technology! Notably my mum and the woes of the computer age! I am apparently a computer wiz according to my mum's high IT standards and so I am called in to explain all manner of error messages and broken internet connection problems. Today was no exception! Mum was confused about a 'drive error' (and I have to admit, so was I) that appeared as she failed to connect to the internet. Donning my IT whiz-kid robes I strode into the room and looked quizically at the screen in a most thoughtful IT-superior manner- then I did the failsafe routine of checking all buttons and then if all else fails hitting the computer. Thankfully, I was able to avert stage 2 violence when I realised Mum had not actually turned on the vital link with the internet - the modem! With a flourish of satin robes I departed. Another disaster curtailed by IT girl!

Later that day I had another chuckle - this time at the strangest children's name I could possibly imagine hearing - and in Australia, nay, the Redlands! Now, I'm quite au-fait with the latest celebrity trends of naming your children after the city in which they were conceived...case in point: Victoria Beckham and her son Brooklyn. Au-fait, if not bemused! So strike-me-down speechless if I didn't hear a woman calling her child "Cleveland" at Victoria Point today! Cleveland?!! What next?! Ormiston for his sister?! Oh that gave me a good chuckle!

So Merry Christmas one and all! I hope you have a little child inside you that takes great delight still in celebrating Christ's birth. If not, I hope you enjoy it through your own children or other's or in whatever way you can! (I find a good verse or two of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" works wonders for me ;-)....

Jingle-all-the-way Jen xx

Blue will just not do, warm-white is the winner!

2008-12-11T02:58:00.000-08:00

Ah tis (nearly) Christmas!

Ah tis a bad girl who has been buying christmas lights instead of blogging.....

but they are so pretty (sigh), especially when you can make them do different flashy things (so sayeth the three yr old child that I've regressed to).

The other night I made a desperate search of Big W to find another set of these gorgeous star -shaped fairy lights which hang in our doorway. These lights which see me sit mesmerised on the sofa just staring at them with a silly grin on my face repeating to Andrew "aw they're soo pretty!". He turns his head fractionally and "mmm's" at me. Why I am surrounded by such an unappreciative audience! And alas, the search proved fruitless. Big W has sold out of the warm-white star lights! (I made the poor sales assistant ring half of QLD just to be sure).

Blue will just not do! And multicoloured?! Well christmas light etiquette you do fall behind in, for they are only for the christmas tree ofcourse!

Now onto the tree......time to deck the halls and tinsel-trim the tree....

Word-of-mouth advertising..

2008-11-28T03:45:00.001-08:00

We live in a 'modern age', so I'm being told. But our thinking is not necessarily advanced it seems, when it comes to age-old values such as customer relations!

I value word of mouth. I wish more companies did!

Case in point - IMPULSE Solar Panels.

Background:
I took a cold call this week from IMPULSE who were promoting solar panels and a deal to become a 'display home' for a discounted solar installation package. I, for once, showed some interest. Their speil included the phrase "would I be willing to pass on favourable comments to my friends and colleagues about IMPULSE if I was impressed by their service". I was indeed willing to do this, as I value word of mouth as an effective and often incredibly persuasive means of advertising. I am all too willing to help out those who value their clients and giving them quality service.

So after arranging a time, during my day off, they came to give me a quote and some information about this discount deal. Their speil on the phone had also included the phrase "this will not be a hard sell". I also appreciate companies who do not force their product on potential customers, but respect their customers enough to let the product sell itself.

Today:
So at 1pm today, after arranging my time around this appointment, the salesman from IMPULSE arrived. He chatted about the neighbourhood, enquiring about the neighbours and what the percentage rental vs buyer was like in the area.....'hmmm' thought I. He then asked where my husband was - to which I replied truthfully, that he couldn't come as he was too busy. At this point, having not even given me any information he shut his books and said he couldn't proceed as it was 'company policy' for him to talk with both husband and wife. I stared incredulously at him! Excuse me! What about the 'quote' of how many solar panels I would potentially need etc???

He then proceeded to talk AT me about how information would not be passed back accurately to my husband about what IMPULSE had to offer and that my husband would OBVIOUSELY have questions to ask. I then stated, truthfully, that I would have more knowledge about Solar electricity than my husband and that I was quite capable of passing back information to my husband. I was happy to take all their brochures and pass back all quotes to my husband for our joint decision.

The salesman then told me they had NO BROCHURES!???? What company has no brochures about an area of their business?!

He said they had only a select number of properties that could take advantage of their 'discounted' display home offer so "usually customers made a decision yes or no on the spot". Oh, now the alarm bells went off! This was a hard sell through and through!!! The salesman however said "Oh if that's how YOU want to see it - you do have the option of saying yes or no". Yes or No ON THE SPOT that is!

I stated as such to the salesman! By no means would I or my husband be making a snap decision ON THE SPOT regardless of whether it was just me talking with him or us both together. I consider it an affront that he thought I was incabable of passing on information to my husband and that he considered me less worthy than my husband of asking pertinent questions about solar electricity.
Aside from the fact that I was specifically told on the phone that this was;
1) NOT a hard sell
2) no mention was made of a 'company policy' to only talk to husband and wife together
3) no mention was made of a limited time frame in which to make a decision about this 'discount deal' - ie. ON THE SPOT!

I am still very angry at this outrageous, outdated, hard-sell tactic and the prehistoric attitude of the salesman. I can't believe they would think, in this 'modern age' that alienating customers would somehow guarantee a sale?!

Plus we are not talking about a small amount of money here either!

As my mother said later, I could have told him to leave then. But it was the principle of the matter. Another age-old value I consider important. I was promised a quote for solar paneling and that was what I had set aside time to obtain. I was very annoyed that they would not even do what they said they would come to do - and that was look at our situation and determine how many solar panels would be needed. Regardless of whether we were buying into this 'discount deal' they surely would want to sell their product???? Does this not seem a logical sales tactic?

But no, the salesman would not give a quote. However, he rang his manager and I then talked with him and the manager conceeded that I could be given a quote. Conceeded to a quote? Again, am I totally behind the times? Do companies not usually WANT to sell their product?!

After scribbling figures on a rough pad of paper. The salesman told me that they sold "top of the range panels which had numerous small panels interconnected which was more efficient than a solid single panel". Naturally interested in this sweeping statement and its basis, I enquired why this was so much more efficient. He could not answer! Indeed he even said "I don't know why. I was just told they were more efficient than the single panels". Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!! First rule of sales - KNOW YOUR PRODUCT!

So all in all - I was very dissapointed at the underhand, shoddy tactics of IMPULSE and their sexist, chauvanistic attitude. I am not a fan of policitical correctness on the whole, but my dealings with IMPULSE could be described as nothing short of sexist and patronising.

For a company that wants word-of-mouth promotion so badly... Then I am happy to oblige!

I advise all - stay well clear of IMPULSE!

Sequins and Shenanigans

2008-11-22T05:25:00.000-08:00

My goodness I have been slack!

I know it seems unbelievable, but I have actually been able to prise myself away from the computer of late (read addicted to Facebook now instead). So alas, my blogging has suffered as a result. Therefore I am well aware that my few loyal readers may have given up on the Pimpernel and her supply of ink!

Refilled I continue with:

1) J and A'isms:

Oh I wish I remembered them all ;-)

A: rushing into the room in a loud indignant manner - "I don't belieeeeeve it!"
J: turning away from the computer screen (shock horror) - "What?! What is it?!"
A: holding aloft newly acquired cough syrup - "The measuring cup off the cough liquid starts at 25ml! I specifically went for the one cough mixture that had a measure for the amount I needed to take". Letting the breverity of this statment sink in - "The dose says 5ml! And the b"%$y measuring cup starts at 25ml!!!"
J: Obviously speechless at this cunning plot by the manufacturers, and waiting to see what was to follow from this DASTEDLY set back to my man-cough-suffering husband's recovery.
A: "I mean, if it had started at 15ml then at least it would have been closer to 5ml and I could have taken a shot at it."
J: thoughtful "hmmm" (I may have been distracted by someone's status update on Facebook)
A: silence
J: attention now piqued by the lack of ranting and raving from indignant man-cold suffering husband
A: "Ah, I see......"
J: "yes?"
A: "it's actually 2.5ml, not 25ml"......sheepishly eyeing off measuring cup and slinking out of room
J: satisfied that the danger had passed and settling herself back infront of her Facebook profile for the evening. "Jen is..bemused at her husband's antics - again!".

2) Plagarised posts (part A):

'Why do you blog?'
- this comes from a recent post by Min who outlined her reasons and emotions behind the desire to blog.

Perhaps - I blog, therefore I am. Which means I haven't blogged, therefore I am not?!....hmmm.

Actually I think it's a stock standard reason of wanting to have an outlet for all these tit-bits of life you want to share with others but seem too trivial to actually call someone and tell them about. As we don't have children, it's not about updating relatives with news of what our mob has been up to but rather a creative outlet for myself. I find I read so little of late that I feel my vocabulary slipping. Take normal conversations - I forget words. Common words! Like 'sequin' (aka: that circular shiny thing - as I described it to my boss while gesturing hopelessly around the room, as if that would somehow pluck the word from a corner in which it was hiding). So blogging is a form of mental exercise for me, allowing me to dabble in creative writing, which I love so much, while hopefully resoldering a few frayed neural connections!

Okay, so soldering torch aside, it's good to be back posting!

I have so much to tell you, but will save it. I know others have been frantically posting all November, so my excuse is that I'll let you all catch your breaths before I too join the fray again!

Step 1 - admit your problem...

2008-10-25T02:25:00.000-07:00

Hi I'm Jenny, and I like killing plants (mostly herbaceous ones).
At last I can admit it!

Step 2 - admit defeat....
I'm no green-thumb - however hard I try!

While my sherlock-style sleuthing has improved since I've moved over to the 'dark side' of plant physiology, my pot plants have suffered long-torturous deaths as a result.

Plant pathology = pathos = laziness = death.

See it was inevitable that when I walked hand in hand with the scalpel, my love of the secateurs was lost.

But redemption is at hand!

Well, nature has a sneaky way of showing she's still there to pick up the dry, withered pieces and go forth and be fruitful!

That's right - it's Spring - trees are blooming. Even in my garden!

Infact it feels like Eden to me in my garden as I witness trees that I thought were so deprived of nutrients, flowering and then ...... producing fruit!!!!

I'm like a little kid, I'm so excited to see my avocado, mango and lemon tree all with small growths that indicate that maybe this time:

- the voracious possums haven't eaten all the new growth on every accessible tree limb

- the bronze-orange-bugs aka: stink bugs haven't sucked all the juice out of the citrus buds

- the mysterious flowering pattern of the avocado has come together in magical synchronous dichogamy!

I just had to share the wonderous bounty of our poor neglected garden!

I think that sole bucket of laundry grey-water obviously pushed the avocado over the line this year. Plus the talk of demolition scared the mango into reproduction! And the lemon tree - well she's a stayer!

"And that's your bloomin' lot, but just for this week!"....

Multicultural Festival

2008-10-13T01:41:00.001-07:00

Ah, now the regular readers may have picked up on a very saliant point already..

(Clue: read the previous post)

Yes, this was not on my list of forthcoming blog posts! Surprise! Ah, spontanaeity is the spice of life! (And, yet another example of how far short I fall when it comes to goal-driven behaviour!)

So, for those of you who missed it, the Multicultural Festival was on this past weekend. Andrew and I got ourselves out of bed just in time to - not go to church - and head over to Roma Street Parklands and enjoy the festive atmosphere! We were going to meet our refugee family there, but alas that never eventuated.
What we did end up doing was enjoying the delights of:

a) Lagos = Hungarian deep-fried yeasty flat bread. Delicious! Excellent source of three essential vitamins (O, I and L) and helps provide essential padding for any traditional thigh-slapping behaviour which may follow.

The well-satiated male of mine!

b) Donuts = not American but another Hungarian delicacy. They looked like a hollowed-out, thick french stick with cinnamon. I'm thinking aesthetically pleasing cuisine is not a Hungarian forte (but hey, it's taste that counts according to my stomach).

c) Angels of Fire = awesome threesome of kiwi sisters whose voices were so rich and powerful. Great rock/pop set from so young a group! The eldest would have been 16 yrs, if that, but very mature arrangements
(says the consumate performer herself! Like I have an idea about music?!).

d) Sudanese dancers = displaying their traditional dances in vibrant costumes. I particularly loved the little girl who instead of holding one of their 'traditional weapons', held a multi-coloured feather duster! Hilarious! Obviously warding off those dreaded evil dust spirits!

e) Greek dancers = another traditional display of fabulous costumes and a very polished performance all round.

f) Mauritius dancers = very flamboyant latin-looking dancers of all ages. Particularly enjoyed the little girl intent on playing in the sandpit despite all this dancing occuring around her.

So much variety!

Great to get a taste of other cultures in every sense of the word - and every sense was covered by the festival. So glad the rain held off and encourage everyone to go next year!!!

post-it note

2008-10-11T05:55:00.000-07:00

post-haste I shall write this post-it note (el husbando on patrol - Blogger patrol....)

So 5 sec blog post -

Coming Soon:

1. "Degradation and Rejuvenation"

2. "Mixed Tape"

3. "Photo of the week"

4. "J & A to the rescue"

5. "Top 5 ...."

edge of seat stuff, eh.

"I have a Cunning Plan"....(Blackadder)

6 random ramblings...

2008-10-04T21:37:00.002-07:00

Yes, again I must admit to stealing this idea from Min. It seemed a very fine way to sum up a very fine day - and to collect my fragmented thoughts..

6 random recollections for today:

1) It's good to be alive! - Despite the racket of last night, as our neighbours directly across from us (of the burn-out fame) celebrated their imminent departure from our fine suburb, and thereby (our) lack of snooze time. I thought this morning in Church, how good it was to be alive! I think this was obviously influenced by the uplifted voices of the congregation at St Phillips Church (Annerley) and the glory of a gorgeous morn. There's something to be said for a congregation who enjoys singing, even if I can't, at least with all voices raised it's hard to tell those in-tune from the tone deaf! I love a good hymn! Especially those I remember from my Anglican childhood! Who can go wrong with "All Creatures of our God and King" and my favourite "Lord of the Dance".

2) Christening the day - Felicity Isabelle Smith. Thanks to Matt and Steph who kindly invited Andrew and I to the christening of their daughter Felicity. It was lovely to come and share in the warmth of their special day - apologies though for leaving before cake! As mentioned above, I really enjoyed the service! Promise! Particularly the Franciscan element and the enthusiasm of the congregation. In the church hunt that Andrew and I are on at present, it's always nice to find somewhere with potential - and I think St Phillips may warrant a return visit!

3) Soul stirring stuff - pass the caffeine please....hot on the rosary-tails of the spiritual start to the day I met up with a friend for a caffeine injection and some more soul stirring stuff in a 'girly-get-together' way. Now as I've mentioned before, Bronwyn is someone who blows into town like a tornado (as Karen so accurately said) and leaves as fast - but leaves not havoc in her wake but a shake-up which can be the basis for a new life (re-evaluating) direction.
So it's always good to see her and this was no exception! Our venue was the local Ned's cafe, on the basis that Bronwyn LOVES the butterscotch pancakes (she even rang in advance to make sure they were serving them after a previous DISASTER breakfast date sans pancakes). As a result of our catch-up - we've decided to only go to Ned's when Dave the chef is on (cause his pancakes are the proper ones) - and she reawakened my passion for craft, travel, gardening and writing - all in one morning! She's a dynamo that girl ;-)
Did I mention she's also started up her own business in Time Management?! If you need a girl to organise your life, (and I'll attest to her powers at this), I'd be happy to pass on her details!

4) Mother nature - wildlife warriors to the rescue. "Apparently" I am a wildlife warrior! I don't know how I came by this title - certainly not by any merit that's for sure! The only thing I've fought for is...hmmmm. I do love nature and have been forced to hold many creepy crawlies thanks to my entomologist/terrorising father. Anyway, basically to Bronwyn I'm a lover of wildlife - hence I'm a warrior.
Me strong fearless lady..Me go take eggs from hens for Bronwyn.. Me beat chest, as me fearless wildlife warrior...Me surrounded by hens, me not fearful... Me see beak of hens, me laugh...Me see toes, me see beak....Me run! Me hang head in shame.

5) Oh to be a man - and no that isn't a direct link with the hens! I doubt Andrew would have had better luck than I did in the chicken coup. I tell you that was one beefed up mother-hen sitting on her clutch of eggs and her bevy of bantam bouncers were just eyeing off my toes! It was purely because of my exposed toes that I was alittle 'cautious'! Anyway, so Andrew has been in bed ill with the flu for the past three days - and I'm realising what a bad wifey-wifey I am. As I was discussing with Karen and Bronwyn, it must be because as women we try to 'soldier on' even if we lose a limb! So to me, three days in bed doing nothing is not on! Yes, I'm terrible I realise this - I guess if I have a day off when I'm sick I'll still fit in housework and other chores and then when that's done go and rest for abit. Yep, I really need some lessons in wifely compassion and understanding. Oh to be a man instead..

6) Craft central - rock, paper, scissors - origami! It's time to get those pinking shears out and get a decorating! All these ideas and pieces of wallpaper I have floating about the place - and all this lack of will power! What's a lazy, un-compassionate wife to do? Well, join a craft group I say! We say infact. Bronwyn and I (yes, this girl features heavily in my day today) have struck gold we feel, with the idea to start a craft group with our joint friends. We all seem to love crafty stuff and have lots of good intentions - but follow through needs companions it seems. So come join us!!! Here's what we are thinking - one day a month we go to someone's house and they provide abit of food and we all bring our latest craft project and sit about and do just that - get creative! Anyone keen to dust off those paints and get productive?

Grow old along with me...

2008-10-03T16:26:00.001-07:00

Well while I'm technically behind, it was indeed for those playing at home - Wednesday - when we celebrated our second wedding anniversary, I'd like to dedicate a few moments to what we've achieved.

1) Matrimonial bliss, obviously comes in at number 1 - why, I don't know! It would be impossible to achieve, let alone in two years! Who do you think we are?! Have you not been reading this blog?!

1) Matrimonial harmony, instead comes in at number 1 - much more realistic!
yes I don't count whinging to friends about my dearly-sedated, man-cold sufferer as a sign of disquiet on the home front, merely therapeautic, in the quest for conviviality!

2) Computer envy. Andrew clearly needs to organise his time better rather than whinging about my frequent forays into the 'facebook office' - how rude!

3) Domestic bliss. Yes clearly this is possible to achieve in two years. All you need is a residence (and yes we achieved home-ownership status in 2 yrs) and to rid yourselves of those pesky guilty feelings (programmed in by your parents no doubt) that dust/grime/uncleaned dishes are your enemy. Relax those standards, hide that duster and all will be well. Embrace the heat-saving benefits, of the dust carpet that enfolds you.;-) Aaah choooo.

4) Responsibility freedom. Two years.. and counting...;-). Although technically a mortgage the size of katmandu could be a slight impingement to the term freedom, and designate us as responsible - home-owners (nothing else).

5) An incredible (and deepening) love for an incredible man.
Andrew's cue to say vice-versa but he's in bed still with the lurgy so his coughs I'll take for aye aye's of confirmation.
In his many roles as friend, teacher, nurturer and entertainer, alongside that of husband, he has been such a positive influence on me and on our marriage! So that would make el husbando Mr Incredible, and by association - just call me Mrs Incredible! Together we are - The Incredibles! (it all comes back to Pixar).
Do I hear a cough of affirmation?

Grow old along with me
the best is yet to be...

and now the post you've all been waiting for....

2008-09-29T18:54:00.001-07:00

TOP FIVE CHOCOLATE BARS

Come on down:

1. Bounty

2. Moro

3. Picnic

4. Violet Crumble

5. White Knight

any other contenders?

When I get older...

2008-09-28T03:23:00.000-07:00

I'll become a - ?

So what did you want to be when you were/are all grown up?

I never had a burning ambition as a child to 'be' anything in particular - apart from dessert taster (this I am still working hard on) and an annoyance to my father (success!). I did enjoy the thought of archaeology at one point until I realised that bones = dirt = digging = heat. End result equals sweat and not necessarily equal archaelogical achievement of monumentous proportion (unless sweat marks the size of a small wading pool can be called an achievement of modern wonder).

Then with such sustained logic now driving my career endeavours I shied away from the sun and into the shade. The shady bone-chilling world of pathology - forensic pathology. Just call me Kay Scarpetta. Like my grandmother before me, I loved a 'good murder' and was (and am) a dab hand at guessing a 'who dunnit'. With stellar qualifications such as these my career path seemed obvious to even the dumbest schmuck! However again, I overlooked a fundamental piece in this career puzzle - bones = body = scalpel. End result equals surgery and a surgeon/pathologist inserting scalpel into aforementioned body to excise and extract pieces for puzzle. Hmm, did I mention I'm a little squeamish at the sight of operations?

Logical compromise: Plant (no blood and guts) Pathology (mysteries to solve - Elementary my dear Watson!). And it's turned out to be brilliant!

Although, as my friend Adele once asked me - what have you always wanted to do? And I wouldn't say either Archaeology or Forensic Pathology now but these would be my top 5 choices:

1) Photographer:

I spend so many moments (especially after a fabulous photographic foray around Byron Bay on our hols) thinking the immortal line "that would make a wonderful photo". I am in the car and in between clutch, brake, swear at inconsiderate drivers, clutch, ...(notice the lack of accelerator - there's never much use for one on Kingsford Smith Drive between 7.30am and 6pm!), I see the warm afternoon sun playing on the city builidings or the Brisbane river and delight in another gorgeous photographic moment - missed. If not professionally, I'd certainly welcome doing photography (scenic not people) more regularly and certainly with some proper professional equipment (and training!).

2) Writer:

Non-fiction. I've always wanted to charm and delight people as a witty novelist (like the other 49 99999 billion people worldwide) not necessarily extrememely popular a la Steven King but more Bill Bryson - stimulating and entertaining all in one. For someone who's well on the way to stardom in this respect, check out Clever Girl Goes Blog - she writes so well and is endlessly amusing!

3) Restaurant Critic:

This was the one I told Adele when she asked! As another friend Anna, and my husband comment upon, I am already a bit of a self-proclaimed critic. I have a healthy (ahem) love of food, a good set of discriminating taste buds and I err towards pessimist [and humility ;-) ]. Restaurant critic = fait accomplis!

4) Travel Writer:

Love 1 = Travel
Love 2 = Writing
....spelling it out would be humilitating for us all.

5) Aged Care Nurse:

Yes, this has crept in recently to my top 5 displacing but not necessarily replacing psychologist. I have always been quite different in that I relate better to the older than the younger generation. This may have been caused by a lack of siblings and exposure to many adults from a young age. Plus I feel it is terrible to see the treatment of our older generation, especially in western cultures where our traditions do not place as great an emphasis on care for our elders. I know the arguement before with forensic pathology may come up here - and with due cause - I'm still squeamish! However it would be worth working on this perhaps and integrating my psychology background to maybe adapt aged care nurse to social worker come psychologist with senior citizen emphasis?

Anyway - they're my top 5 - how about you all?

Watch this post - my top 5 chocolate bars coming soon....

Grumpy Old Women...Top 3

2008-09-17T00:15:00.001-07:00

Hot on the heels of that controversial little segment from the previous post, concerning essential pointers to be on the lookout for in your nearest and dearest male, comes...

"you know you've become an old woman when...":

1. You're number one gripe is service and the lack of it from most shop assistants.
My big gripe here is that a smile doesn't cost anything (oh my goodness that distinctly sounds like a phrase my mother would use!) yet it is the hardest thing to obtain from an assistant. Is surly now a selection criteria? Gone are the days of customer service and the assumption that the customer is always right (that's how I was raised in my youth - oh those many years ago- when serving at the Newsagency).

Case in point: I've just had a run in with a woman at Kmart yesterday about poor quality photo reprints who was determined to talk over me at every single opportunity. Hence, what could have been sorted out quite easily and quickly, if the right attitude was taken to start with, escalated quite rapidly as my temper simmered then reached boiling point beneath my calm exterior (well let's hope that poker face was serving me well for once). I couldn't seem to get a word in edgeways with the Kmart lady and we reached a stale mate with her line "the machine prints them" - from which I wasn't able to move her. Today - Holster loaded (with reprints of the same photos from other stores) I then marched myself up to the photo counter in Kmart, mind brimming with possible scenarious she may counter with from her ammunition belt, and prepared for an all down show down (think guns of Navarone). Outcome: boy with pleasant attitude sorted it out in 2 seconds, refund took 5 mins, lady wasn't to be seen. All OK at the OK Corale!

2. You utter lines your mother/father would have uttered at you in your youth:

a. Is that a belt or a skirt?!
b. How does that keep her kidneys warm?!/ She'll get kidney disease with all that exposure?!(referring to short shirts with short skirts - for those as slow as Andrew out there)
c. Would a smile kill her/him?! (that's my own addition)

3. You get overwhelmed by crowds:

There is no longer joy associated with a Saturday spent shopping. Instead I find myself tired before I'm even there and once there turn into a grumpier old woman with every passing minute. Goodness knows why considering the:

a. struggle to get to the shopping centre as the rest of Brisbane goes shopping at my particular mall
b. struggle to get a car park with the rest of Brisbane because of the lack of public transport options and the lack of car spaces at shopping centres in general
c. struggle to tolerate the throngs of pre-teens/post-teens and teen-teens who swamp in their twittery groups every travelator, shop entrance and walkway that you need to get through.
d. struggle to comprehend once you've reached each store, as you madly cross off chores (no longer do you pleasure shop), where the day has gone?!
(Amendment: Andrew would like it to be noted for the record, that I am a great participatant in the 'pleasure shopping' category - bah!)
e. and don't get me started on the customer service ;-)

J and A to the rescue..

2008-09-12T22:52:00.000-07:00

Have you missed me? Us?

The collective 'we' of the Hargorrisons?!

Oh I see, it's like that is it!

I'm away for a few days and suddenly it's the silent treatment. Well, as I learnt from my cat -once I bang the tin you'll come a running again! Hmm or else just let sleeping cats lie?!..

Alternatively, I'll take the humming silence as your collective indrawn anticipatory breaths...

and release.

Jazzy Cat is back.

It's been, goodness me, nearly four days since we've returned from our Bryon Bay escape and I've been remiss in not reporting in to my cyberspace minder. But what I truly have been remiss in doing, is filling you (my stalwart cyberspace bloggees) all in on a few more classic conversations between my beloved and I.

J and A to the rescue! So without further adieu:

1.
Andrew: "Is that a recruitment place?" - (referring to a building with the sign: "Extra Staff") - Me: "that or a chinese"

note: I'm so glad I chose the alpha male?!

2.
Andrew: "..didn't recognise you" (as I 'surprised' him one day in the house)
Me: "yeah 48secs can do that to you"

note: that and removal of prescription lenses at close range

3.
Andrew and I were watching the crap movie, (Crap with a capital C), "Something's Gotta Give" the other night. As the two main octagenerian's begin to get it on in the movie, (while I cower), Andrew pipes up from the opposite couch:

Andrew: "..my polyps are up!"
Me: "ah that's great?...." (and collapse into paradoxies of laughter)

note: Andrew has polyps in his nose, large obstructions basically, which cause him and thereby me grief. He can't breath quietly, and I have to try and sleep beside a rasping jet engine each night.

and for a new segment:

"You know you've married an old man when...":

a. he can't walk in a straight line
(He says I was going in the wrong direction - the direction we had both agreed on - but he seemed to want to pursue the path of most resistance ie. direct into me!)
b. he collects soap in his ear and takes great delight in telling you about it each day
(we've taken economising to new lengths)
c. he can't hear you when you're right beside him
(He says I'm a mumbler - I say that's true - to an extent. TO AN EXTENT ANDREW!)

....any connections here. Connections?

Holidays are for..

2008-09-05T00:09:00.000-07:00

..planning lots and doing nothing! aka: Pampering and Eating!

Well that seems to be how mine are going thus far!

As Min so rightly suggested, it is time for an update on my holiday 'to do' list and to share with you what exactly has been happening this past week. I'm sure everyone is dying with excitement to read of my ever-so-thrilling adventures at Bunnings, with Bpay and with the dreaded dusting - but I'll save you that excitement, alas, to another day.

Holiday Highlights - Part I

1. Pampering!

My goodness my skin has never been so well cleansed, exfoliated, rubbed and buffed for many a year! Even the toes got a look-in, with a pedicure to make them look pretty-in-pink. Then to round out the week, today the girls (Helen, Anna and Elizabeth) and I went to the Korean Bath House for some spa action. I bought the necessaries - aka: togs, champers and chocolate and Apollo Day Spa provided the hot and cold spa pools, sauna and naked women!!

This spa is not for the prudish! Hence we four swimwear-clad girls, stood out amongst all the nakedness, like a pimple on a nude bottom! Our rather feeble excuse was that we didn't want to scare the other spa devotees with our rather 'womanly' bodies! If we too had had flat abdomens and well sculptured thighs, then it would have been a free for all ;-) In another 10kg....

2. Eating!

And what a seemless segway that was!
Yes, it has to be said, eating and pampering seem to have rated equally highly in my accomplishments for this week. Who would have thought?! After all, the stomach is the furnace, fueling me and my well-manicured feet as they tirelessly pound the pavement crossing off the essential 'chores' on my 'to do' list. So I must stoke that furnace at every available opportunity!
And what better places to refuel and restoke than:

1. New 'chocolaterie' in Paddington - this new chocolate place is next door to my favourite shop on La Trobe Tc. My favourite shop being the Antiques Market in the old cinema, which I also took much delight in scoping out this week (and may have made a purchase or two).

2. French Patisserie in Fresh on Melbourne, South Brisbane - Oh my goodness!!!!! I have a new love! The delights of the cabinets here made me swoon in a rather loud way the other day when I went there with Sal. Andrew had talked about taking me here, but alas we had never discovered where it was hidden....until this week. Oh my! I was in heaven at the sights and sounds of this authentic francophile cafe! I will be returning next week!!! (avec camera and beret).

3. Swiss deli cafe in West End - I must have walked past this before and never seen the wonderous delights of this heaving deli! Helen recommended it for lunch today so we all had a scrummy time there and I would love to return to buy a few deli items for a rather decadent picnic hamper!

4. La Belle Journee Cafe on Gladstone Rd Highgate Hill - have driven past numerous times and exclaimed at the sight of a new place which looked 'just me'. So, with no other reason than I wanted to try it out, I had a cuppa there one arvo. Lovely service and good coffee but it's location and limited menu were detractions. Don't think I'll return in a hurry.

5. Cafe/restaurant precinct in Martha St, Camp Hill - this is relatively close to us and where I had my 21st dinner infact! However, I haven't returned to this quiet surban street since and it was to my surprise when Mum suggested going there one day because it had quite a few eateries! I also realised when we got there that it was where Andrew and I had come one other night recently for dinner at Rapide (very good modern Australian). So in daylight hours I discovered that it indeed is quite an eating mecca for the suburbs, with two lovely cafe's (we only tried one), three or more restaurants and a GREAT art place! This art shop has classes and displays of the locals handiwork - well worth a visit! I may even enrol in an art class ....

Anyway enough for one day - I'm going to cook dinner and continue on 'scrapbooking' all my pictures and ideas for decorating/renovating our house (which is waaayyy in the future). This way I can fool myself into feeling organised, if all my scrambled ecletic thoughts are colourfully represented by cut out images from numerous mags and rags in a collection of scrapbooks. One day some poor salesman is going to have such a book shoved under his nose with the ominous words "something like this! is what I'm after "....

Let's see - what day is it today? Oh, two more days until we're NUDE, totally newd! ;-)

"To Do"

2008-08-29T04:10:00.001-07:00

How I love a good list - and now that I'm ON HOLIDAY it is the perfect time to get the pen out and some dot points down!

Here's what I hope to (and will not) achieve over the next two weeks:

... because hey, while the list is good for the listee it's not exactly a stimulating form of entertainment. But I'm stuck for what to write on short notice - so with glazed eyes or otherwise, attempt to read on:

1) Clean (properly) the house - this includes the dreaded dusting
2) Put tools into garage into organised unit, that currently reside in box in second bedroom
3) Fix plastic storage unit to door under sink to organise plastic lids from takeaway containers (don't know where they came from since I cook 7 nights a week ;-) )
4) Speak to next door neighbours re: tree removal - yes our disgusting palms are going to be removed one day in the near future to make way for a 'proper' garden of natives and such like
5) Craft projects including: painting, putting saved fabric pieces into picture frames, blackboard
6) Draw up sketch of new improved laundry for Dad - whose wonderfully agreed to build for us
7) Draw up plans for my new improved garden (minus palms and chinese elm weed tree)
8) Phone Claire o'seas!!!!
9) Visit Mum
10) Arrange pampering get together with girls
11) Buy much needed household items - ahem, read excuse for shopping
12) Enjoy the delights of coffee out!!! How I love an excuse for a free mag with some caffeine!
13) Go to Byron Bay for three days with Andrew and avert eyes from nudist beach we are 50m from!
14) GET FIT! - which is not in any way hindered by a "31 days of chocolate" buffet I have planned. I must, I must, decrease my distrust, of exercise.
15) Research and cement ideas for my company!!!!!!!!

In a nutshell...

2008-08-28T04:19:00.000-07:00

You know I must be tired if I'm saying I have nothing to write!

Well. I have nothing to write.

Or to be more precise, I have plenty of conceivable blog ideas in my head but not enough energy to manoeuver my fingers over the keyboard long enough to convert to written form.

So instead I'll just summarise succintly -

I AM ON HOLIDAY AS OF TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!

So to prove Adele right - first thing ticked off the 'to do' list for my two week break done -
1) written on blog!
2) facebook action....
I'll be baack..

Winter hues and Scenic views

2008-08-18T02:50:00.000-07:00

I was hanging clothes the other afternoon and looked up at our Jacaranda tree to see it bathed in this lovely soft light.

Was one of those wonderous moments where I was just awestruck by the beauty of Mother Nature!

Meme...(continued)

2008-08-17T02:13:00.000-07:00

After initially posting those 6 Un-remarkable things in the previous post, I have mulled over my responses all this afternoon and decided I could have done better. Yes, it's that perfectionist tendency (6) coming through! That, or I have too much time on my hand in between my strenuous Olympic viewing activities.

So Mark II - 6 (more) Un-remarkable things about me:

7) I LOVE the EKKA with a passion! Each year I go to the Ekka with my Mum, not once but at least twice! I have the advantage of getting in for free thanks to Mum's RNA membership, which is certainly a benefit! As the unrecognised ambassador of this event, I try and 'convert' lots of lapsed EKKA goers each year to the merits of this fabulous institution. My favourite things - the cows (get in early they go by Mon), the FOOD (strawberry icecream, dagwood dog, coffee, honey puffs, cupcakes (that's another story in itself) and the list goes on!) and the photography and art. There are so many free things to see and do and always lots of inspiring creative work to aspire to! Only 365 more sleeps!

8) I could potentially be a very annoying traveller. That is because of my love of photography and the tendency to always exclaim on day trips, "just a sec" and "that would make a great shot" with annoying regularity. I also tend to take my camera wherever I go and 'record' the moment, also with annoying regularity.

9) Dessert is my favourite meal - yes, it's can be a meal, not just a course! I love nothing better than making a 'pud' during winter.

10) I have dreams of a fan-forced oven and sleek all-in-one cooktop - ah yes, it's sad but true! Then one day maybe my cakes will bake properly again!!

11) I detest = Summer = humidity = sweat. No more needs to be said.

12) When it comes to a well rounded diet, I fail miserably on the main pyramid level. Fruit is my foe and not my friend. Basically I'm lazy. If it would come cut up and peeled I'd eat it. As it is, even an apple is a stretch! Shocking!

Meme...(I have no clue what it means either)

2008-08-16T01:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, Min has tagged me for this meme. It seems it's meant to be 6 not-so-great things about yourself. This could be revealing......

First, the rules......
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 5 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Okay, here goes.... 6 Un-Spectacular things about me.

1) My outer extremities have been refered to as "Icebergs"!! [followed by intake of breath and loud exclamations of ah..love ;-) ]
Now I thought my friend Min had poor circulation, when during school days her fingernails turned blue at the mere mention of winter, but it looks like she may have a rival. Apparently "I have no circulation" according to a 'close' source whose exposed skin I like to torment. I say I'm just sharing my affection - Andrew may say I'm using him for his warmth. And he may just be right, especially with the winter we've been experiencing.

2) I can't stand dry cracked skin or scabs or anything rough on the surface of my skin - hence I pick everything to death and have the scars to prove it. Logical? Disorder? I know not of what you mean?!

3) I am a compulsive day dreamer. Nothing is better than long car rides to cultivate the imagination! This may also be related to why I'm hard to surprise! (I've usually already imagined the situation and all possible scenarios around it!).

4) I love surprises!!!! Getting them or giving them! However it does make it hard for others, ie. Related to (3), with Andrew finding it incredibly frustrating that I tend to guess most/all surprises he does try...but hey, practice makes perfect I say!!!

5) I overanalyze/overthink nearly everything! Innocent remark? Throw-away comment? Disorder? I know not of what you speak?!

6) My plans are grand and numerous but when it comes to completion, my momentum fades towards the finish line! Hence I'm terrible at taking shortcuts with nearly everything I do. It's one of my most frustrating traits, especially when in other aspects I'm a perfecti...

* 5 people to tag (play along if you want to):1. Tracey 2. Bronwyn 3. Renae and the last two who don't have blogs but whose responses are sure to be interesting: 4. Andrew 5. Murray

It's GOLD..

2008-08-12T01:31:00.000-07:00

for the MORRISONS - the golden girl of the computer screen, Jennifer Morrison, has at the tender (ahem) age of 28 taken out the Sofa Scramble, to secure her place in Hargorrison History.

How good are these Beijing Olympics?!!

Much to my own chagrin, and Andrew's excitement, I've embraced these games of the 29th Olympiad as feverishly as Laurie Lawrence clasps a proffered microphone!

Since Saturday, I've stolen many a moment in front of the 'other' screen - that being the TV - and sat enthralled watching of all things -

cycling road race (I told the aussies they should have broken earlier!),

slalem (gripping! Good on Togo!),

synchronized diving (if it isn't hard enough!),

equestrian (allergic to horses normally but not thankfully to televised ones)

and

judo (Please Explain!).

I've even considered taking holidays around the Olympics so I can steal more time increasing my blood pressure! I just hope this form of exercise is more profitable than my ailing attempts at the active variety!

..."and the aussies are going crackers!" (idiotic slalem commentator tonight)

One word only ...

2008-08-05T00:48:00.001-07:00

My friend Min guessed that I was the most likely person to re-post this exercise she put on her blog - and she was right! So as to not dissapoint, here we have it, an exercise in one-word association:

1. Cell phone? dying
2. Significant other? yes
3. Hair? chameleon
4. Mother? garden
5. Father? Hargreaves!
6. Favourite thing? Husbando
7. Dream last night? weird
8. Favorite drink? coffee
9. Dream/goal? many
10. Room I'm in? study
11. Church? hunting
12. Fear? freedom-less
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Earth
14. Where were you last night? Adele's
15. What I'm not? Manager
16. Muffins? Baking?!
17. Wish list item? Creativity
18. Where did you grow up? Redlands
19. Last thing I did? TRAFFIC
20. What are you wearing? uniform
21. TV? One
22.Pets? possibility
23. Computer? Addict!
24. Life? Yes!
25. Mood? Tired
26. Missing someone? Yes
27. Car? Old!
28. Not wearing? Tiara
29. Favourite store? Loot
30. Summer? Sweaty
31. Love someone? Yep
32. Favorite color? Blue
33. Last time you laughed? Today
34. Last time you cried? Recently
35. Who will repost? Murray

Et toi?

And so endeth another week...

2008-08-02T20:32:00.001-07:00

Top 5'ves for the week ending the 3rd August:

1) Skipping - is not something you see every day. But it should be, I say! Why relinquish this joy of self propulsion at youth, when you could be lightening your load with this joyous frolicing of the feet, at any age!

The other day I witnessed a Sudanese teenager skipping merrily down a street of Moorooka (the place for the young at heart) and it got me thinking - when did I last skip? He seemed blissfully unaware that this may be unusual for most western kids of his age, and I thought how intersting that was. Then I saw it again today - another african teenager skipping lazily along! Is this related to the Kalahari warriors who jump on the spot, or the loping strides of the african marathon runners?

Regardless, it is such a fascinating example of the differences in culture. And more importantly, it is such good fun when you give it a go (yes I may have skipped around the house and had a good laugh)!

2) Fire up - and we have, at last, managed to light and sustain a fire for more than 10mins! Thank you kindling and a forward thinking Mobile servo! Mind you, this also coincided nicely with a warm spell this week! I didn't let a few extra degrees impeed me though, in my efforts to create an impressive marshmallow-toasting environment. Instead, turning our place into a sauna on Friday night, regardless of hot flushes and stampeedes to open windows.

3) Hargorrison Happy Hour - debuted on Friday night, where it was great to have a relaxed drink with friends from overseas and closer-by. Indeed, it was a double billing that night with happy hour at our place, followed by drinks for my friend Sal's birthday afterwards.

4) Funbags - Only 8 more sleeps till the EKKA!!!! Yes, devotee as I am, I am going twice to this great institution with my mum and maybe even Andrew! Nearly two years into marriage and at last I'm exerting a positive influence over my husband.

5) Moorooka - it's the place to be! I'll get the debate between those north of the river and those south started now, shall I?! Well as you're clearly aware, the southern suburbs are the place to be. You need look no further for examples than the African Festival on Saturday held at Yeronga park. As part of the Brisbane festival, which apparently ends today (glad I got onto it yesterday then!) they held celebrations for African culture at the park - which included fantastic live music and some good traditional African food and souvenir stalls. Quite amusing to see a number of aussies getting up and shaking their booty -african style - to the encouragement of the band members. The kids stole the show though when they got up on stage and wiggled it very impressively with no practice nor encouragement needed!

Low note:

- The responsibilities of management -

My boss is away for three weeks this month, so I've taken the helm in the pathology department (ie. consisting of me, myself and I). This means the unfortunate batton of responsibility is passsed over and I now have the frightening power of release and destruction in my unsteady hands.

With that, is the ever disturbing problem of justification - you mean my word isn't law? - when decisions are questioned by irrate importers! And alas, that has already started! One week in - and I'm ruing the time I daydreamed away in those middle management courses!

On a lighter note - one of the guys in the nursery stock unit, with whom we work closely, actually called me Boss yesterday which made me question, not only his sanity, but the degree of knowledge he mistakenly thought I held!

Vanessa come back soon!!!

My mum's garden...

2008-07-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share the tropical "jungle" that is my mum's garden. I loved it as a kid, and still love coming down to visit them and seeing what's new and what's flowering.

It's always staggering to think of the time she puts into the garden and how it has evolved over the 20+ yrs they have been there. They planted everything from scratch on the bare block before I was born and it has grown into the 'jungle' (as my friends used to call it) that you see today. Full of gum trees, shade loving plants, rainforest trees, natives and a few vegetables (that's Dad's turf!).

And it's not just the flora! In terms of fauna - she regularly sees koalas in the gum trees, lots of birds due to the natives planted, blue tongue lizards, pheasants and a few snakes!

Here is the newest part - the little pond area:

Wordless Weeknight..

2008-07-21T03:02:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit lacklustre in all respects tonight.

So you can breathe a sigh of relief - no wordy post to follow!

Instead ponder on a few random photos -

Candice, Carlene and Rachael @ Chalk Hotel - Girl's Night Out

Steph's Hen's High Tea

Southbank by moonlight

Drinks @ Jo Jo's (aka: Photo Fun for Jen)

Leo - the lionhearted burmese (not ours unfortunately)

My man!

Mt Glorious - it is!

2008-07-18T23:25:00.001-07:00

Today was a Sunday.

Technically, you may be right in reminding me that the monks may say otherwise, but I say in all other respects it felt like a Sunday!

And what a delightfully fine day it was too - for celebrating, belatedly, my mum's birthday. Andrew and I had organised lunch, at the cafe we discovered on our last trip to Mt Glorious. So, together with my godmother - Murph, family friend - Ted and Mum and Dad, we all trooped up to this glorious mountain retreat for a leisurely lunch. And, unlike last time, I had my camera with me to capture the moment (and the view).

The birthday 'troops'

The Birthday Girl's Sparkler Moment

My Godmother - Murph the Magnificent

The cafe has a spectacular view over the valley and you can see, on a fine day, all the way to the islands in the bay. We had a table on the verandah to take in the view to its fullest - and I was delighted to see they had made an extra effort for our birthday group - with lovely additional touches, such as flowers, tablecloth and candles!

A bird's eye view!

A few quintessential Hargreaves-isms from the day:

1) The heated horticultural conversations - One particularly extended conversation involved what the prolifically-fruiting citrus tree in the garden was. Mum swearing it was a Tangelo and grilling the waitress on this (not to her satisfaction) - while everyone else swore it was a grapefruit (Andrew, wisely, abstained from the heated discussion!). Dad brought up the leaf structure being closer to an orange in his debate (good point Dad), while Mum used the 'pimply' appearance of the skin and size of the fruit for her counter argument (hmm). Ted then disappeared to 'borrow' a fruit from the tree to take home for confirmatory testing - ie. taste testing! I tell you - I have no idea where I got my love of science from!

2) The Trivia King - aka: My Dad sharing with me his tips for remembering over 80 countries' flags! Apparently he's decided that 'flashcards' are the way to go - makes it a lot easier to train your memory that way. He's neatly printed out (all in work time of course) these flags and plans to test Andrew and I next time we come down to visit them...hmm now when is that again? 2009? Would love to see the government big-brother IT department looking through Dad's IT usage and seeing 'Azerbajahn, Quebec, Turkmenistan' and 'flags', coming up continually in his search records! I tell you - never a dull moment!

Actually, I have to admit that I'm secretly very impressed with Dad's mental ability and his voracious reading habits. Also, I'm continually awed by Mum's horticultural knowledge and wish I remembered half the things they told me. But alas, I've got the dreamer side of Dad's genes and the impatient side of Mum's genes - mix well until an even consistency, bake on high for 9 months and voila: a day-dreamer who loves to create and seek out new projects, but doesn't retain much from any nor really get a substantial lot done in the process!

Talking about projects - the beautiful rambling garden at the cafe inspired me, yet again, to look at my own poor backyard and get 'stuck-in'! Plus, the warm and cosy enclaves inside inspired further day dreams a la Martha Stewart!

The cosy enclave inside

So, all-in-all, the warm weather, the good food, the great company, the gorgeous surrounds combined to make me feel that Sunday had come early!

Mt Glorious - well worth the drive!

"The Wedding God's....

2008-07-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

have conspired against us" (direct quote from Groom-to-be)!

Would you believe, the only two wedding invitations we got this year....and they were on the SAME day! July the 12th to be exact!

So it was with much delight that we attended Julie and Keir's wedding yesterday, but with much regret that we had to decline Steph and Roger's invitation.

I'll quickly share with you some photos from Julie and Keir's wedding. The ceremony was held at St Mary's Anglican Church at Kangaroo Pt (overlooking Brisbane river and city - gorgeous!) and the reception at Brisbane Golf Club at Graceville. I'm very tempted to go back to St Mary's as the priest seemed particular good - sincere yet humorous - which could bode well for his sermons! The church itself was visually stunning, small and cosy with English-reminiscent interior ie. lovely stained glass windows and fresco ceiling.

The night went off well, with particularly good speeches from all the bridal party and relatives. Julie's speech 'ticked all the boxes' our table noted - emotive, sincere, humorous etc. - which not only drew tears from her but from everyone listening! Lovely to see both her and Keir so happy!!

Julie looked STUNNING in her vintage inspired gown as did the groom in his silver vest-tie combo. I'm going to have to ask Julie the name of the dressmaker she used for the bridesmaid's outfits, as they too wore simple yet stylish dresses.

As Andrew and the rest of our table noted (I may have spent a while taking photos - length of time being effected by my new camera which refuses to take anything in focus!), I was full of admiration for all the attention to detail (hey, been there-stressed over that) in the decor at the reception. I loved all the personal finishes by Julie (and Keir) which tied everything together. As an art teacher, her creativity was clear with personally designed and made invitations (just GORGEOUS), place cards, menu's and bonbonnier boxes. Wish I had half her talent and flair!

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Le Soeur (not pronounced as "Le Sewar" as foot-in-mouth Jen did, but instead "Le Swerve")!! Congratulations also to Roger and Steph! Best wishes for your married lives together!

and this little piggy....

2008-07-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

went umph umph umph umph, through her chocolate cupcake...

While her excited piglet sidekick, took many an atrocious photo!

So this, you may have already gathered, was my foray to the Cupcake Parlour in West End. Having tempted my friend Elizabeth out of her pj's (at the respectable time of 3pm), with images of pure icing-laden decadence, we moseyed on down to the CP at WE.

Now I had high hopes for these delectably decorated treats, but alas, they fell short of the mark (the mark being set by the cupcakes from the Ekka - never has a finer-textured, more flavoursome cupcake been tasted).

I would give them top marks for visual appeal, both the cupcakes and the cute candy-striped surrounds, but low marks for actual taste. I have been told I"m a harsh critic though, so read no further if you don't want to hear my cupcake post-mortem....

Date Of Birth - approx 2 days old - not the freshest specimen I've seen

Weight - on the heavy side

Height - impressively tall for width. Suggest attractive headress may have attributed to this.

Cause of death - I believe weight may have attributed to hardening of the gut. This was followed swiftly, by a terminal failure of the taste metabolic rate. Once headdress was removed, I observed signs of flavour fall-out...all in all - a sad demise for one which showed so much promise!

Bollyfunk...

2008-07-08T04:51:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I just found not only the music to the dance routine we're doing at Bollywood dancing lessons at the moment, but also a video on You Tube! It's fantastic! Check it out below..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhLm_IZpnP0

Now, at last, I may be able to remember some steps for more than an hour!!

Tub thumpin' and a floor shakin' it -here I'll come every night to practice my moooves.. with a very patient, and rewind-able teacher! Poor Andrew, he and the creaking floorboards, won't know what hit them!

...ofcourse I'm as polished as those bollywood pro's! ;-)

Jen - foot in mouth syndrome sufferer...

2008-07-06T04:34:00.000-07:00

I'm just back from Bollyfunk and what better lead in than my two left feet for some foot-in-mouth funtime.

Last night, at dinner with good friend Murray, I had a foot-in-mouth episode - one of many in my salubrious conversational history. Here it is - with a few others thrown in for good measure:

1) Referring to a visit to the physio (my one and only) in which I was alittle shocked to find they needed me to be nearly naked:

J: "So I was there naked, bending over, and doing stuff"....hmm you can see where the two boys minds were going as they broke down into fits of laughter!

2) Domestic bliss -

A: "I think we should get a little jug thing, for the iron - you know to fill it with water easily"... (pausing thoughtfully) "So, have you ever filled the iron with water?".

J: "mmmm (guilty sideways glance), I did once"...

A: (gasping for air while laughing) "ONCE!" A: "Have you noticed it has been empty for the past TWO weeks?!!. Here was I thinking it was a mexican standoff!".

J: "Well I only iron the collar of my work shirts and work pants!".

A: (again shocked) - "Are you a woman?".

J: (taken aback) - "What?! Is loving ironing supposed to come genetically with the X chromosome or something?".

A: "No, it's just that's something a guy would do - only iron their collar".

J: (affronted) "But I wear a jumper all day, every day, in winter over the top of my shirt!".

A: (struggling hard) - "that's exactly what a guy would do!". A: "So here was I thinking it was a mexican standoff, but it's more that you're just too darn lazy"....

J: "hmmmmm maybe?! "

(Ah, Andrew - he's my Iron Man!).

3) At Ahmet's restaurant - talking with friends about a rather disturbing massage by a male masseuse:

"J: So there I was with my legs akimbo wondering what the hell was going on. The masseuse had not spoken a word to tell me why he was lifting up my leg and shaking it all about, nor why his fingers kept on steadily working up my abdomen and my hands kept on creeping lower to prevent an increasingly uncomfortable meeting!".

My friends looked a little, empathetically I thought, uncomfortable.

"Ahem" said the waiter standing behind me. "Can I take your order?". J: (aghast at yet another foot-in-mouth episode) "Oh I'll just have a large serve of humiliation - to go"....

Soundtrack to life...

2008-07-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

I just had a "Movie Moment".
I've had them before, and wonder if anyone else ever has times when they too felt as if you're looking at life, from a director's point-of-view?

Scene 1: Take 1:
This afternoon I was driving back from visiting my parents in the Redlands and feeling in a 'sentimental, joy de vivre, possibilities-are-endless' sort of mood. On the radio was a song (don't ask me to name it because I can never remember bands or singers) that matched my mood perfectly, and which I imagined as a fitting soundtrack to the scenes passing me by as I drove. Every action of the passerbys, from the kids throwing back their heads with laughter as they fooled around on their bikes to the softball team playing in the park, just fitted so well into this 'soundtrack to life'. The world felt such a calm, free-spirited, joyous place in the three minutes the song set the tone for the muted actions around me. The warm setting sun of a winter's day as it bathed everything in that glorious soft red hue, also added to this surreally beautiful scene. I felt that excitement, you had when young (yes, I'm sooo old now), of the potentially endless opportunities out there to pursue and quite simply, the joy of being alive! Yes, this was the weekend! Time to revel in the freedom! Ah, but wait - it's Sunday afternoon...Doh! Why does that always happen!

Anyway that got me to thinking...what songs would others pick as a good soundtrack to life?

One that I like alot at the moment, which may do the trick, would be Coldplay's "Viva la vida". Although it will be overplayed soon and hence ruined, there's something about those staccato strings and the orchestral accompaniement that is so stirring....

Lyrics Viva La Vida lyrics

Music can be so evocative can't it! Anyone else care to share?

A change is as good as a holiday..

2008-07-04T18:27:00.001-07:00

Before:

After:

Have had a few classic reactions to the reversion to my (near) natural colour, after four years as a blonde. The funniest being the people at work who didn't recognise me! They stared at me through the glass into the laboratory where I sit, and I waved back. Still looking perplexed they looked around me and then headed off...to then call me on my extension and see if it was me! Hilarious!

My boss asked me if a change was as good as a holiday....well, we'll have to see. Apparently blondes have more fun, but hopefully that isn't the case - I do miss the blonde, but felt like a serious change - or change for the serious!

Hump Month..

2008-07-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

It's like this I feel...

Wednesday = Hump Day of the week, June-July = Hump Months of the year.

The public holidays are over, the only prospect of a decent holiday is 6 months away and I'm in a slump! Hence I've decided that currently it feels like a Wednesday at work, and has done for the past month... You're glad to see it come, but my goodness it seems to go all too slowly when all you're looking forward to is the weekend.

Is it just me? Or is anyone else out there, in the eerie echoing vastness of cyberspace, also feeling sluggish at present?

As Andrew can attest to, I'm having particular trouble getting out of bed each morning at my alloted time of 6.10am. Seemingly with the advent of winter I have chosen to ignore everything apart from the doona, including the alarm clock and Andrew shaking me at regular 5min intervals. Aaaah sweet doona, bringer of warmth and just 5 more minutes slumber..

When I do drag myself to work, missing breakfast and some serious makeup needed to disguise my hideousness, I feel exhausted by 10am. On the positive, I think I've managed to bring my colleagues down with me! At lunch time my small group of 4 coworkers in Operational Science (2 x ento's and 2 x plant path's) sit around the table and just look blankly at our lunches..too lethargic to even bother with trivial conversation on the appalling state of the traffic (always a hot topic!).

So.. now I'm home from work, and exhausted once again. Tonight, as per usual, I'll resort to the computer, the sofa and the TV for entertainment to distract me from the chores that are just tooooo much for my tired body. Then some more computer time before hitting the hay at 11pm...

I tell you, it must be hump month, there can be no other explanation! ;-)

p.s. Bring on the Ekka Show day!

Sweeet!

2008-06-29T02:55:00.000-07:00

Last night I had an enticing conversation with Steph Smith. Enticing to my senses, a taste sensation no less, in a single sentence - "There's a new cupcake shop in West End".
Whoa - sensory overload! Did you say CUPCAKES! As in delectable decadence in a small well-decorated package??!!!! Why did I not know about this!!!!!

Thankfully I managed to keep all this internal and played it cool with a casual, "Oh really?". Followed not so cooly with a menacing, "Where!". Steph being a trooper, didn't flinch as I salavated in front of her, and filled me in on all the necessary calorific details.

Which neatly leads me into another topic of culinary delight that we touched on...BAKERIES! Oh the big topics were covered at Murray Henman's 40th celebrations!

So this suitably stirring topic is perfect for a blog me thinks. Steph had a neat list of top 5 bakeries/patisseries of renown which I'll now share...and please feel free to send me your own! I love nothing better than an excuse for coffee and cake, so should you need a dining partner.......my services are available (all for the small price of a sweet treat ;-) ).

Top 5 Bakeries (mix of Steph and mine):

1. Patty Cake place at West End
2. Toowong French Patisserie (Cat and Fiddle Shopping Centre)
3. Balmoral Bakery
4. Flour Power at Highgate Hill
5. Bakery near Ashgrove? (sorry you know my memory!)

Any takers?..................................

Mu'Ooze Magic..

2008-06-26T01:20:00.000-07:00

Another great dinner at the local Eritrean restaurant in Moorooka - Mu'Ooze. This time a group dinner to catch up with Andrew and Jane (friends of Andrew M's) who were visiting from Hong Kong.

Andrew, Jane and Murray get serious with an SLR and a bottle of vino.

The share platter for mains - great curries and vegetable dishes all served together on this crepe style bread. Fingers welcomed!

The speciality of the restaurant - freshly roasted and brewed coffee while you watch! The BEST coffee I've had!

Ah good food, good wine and good friends! Bellissimo!

Another week endeth..

2008-06-23T01:46:00.000-07:00

Top Five's for the week ending the 22nd June:

1) RDO's - I love government jobs! I get a rostered day off every three week's and boy, does it make the difference! I saved up two and used them to make this a four day weekend. Bliss!

2) Sharing a day off with Andrew for the first time. Today we lazed about in the morning (read sofa time) and then went for a drive up to Mt Glorious which was, wait for it, glorious! Beautiful winter weather meant that we were able to see down into Samford valley and across to Moreton Island clearly from the lookouts. Yet, all this beautiful scenery - and no photos! Yes, you heard right, today I was sans camera. I ditched the digitals (who were under-energized) and instead had to savour the experience with my other senses...which leads me onto lunch, and the Mt Glorious Cafe and Restaurant. I cannot recommend the view from this cottage cafe enough along with terrific fare. All in all, I was inspired to do more day tripping, and, take the SLR on a much-deserved outing in future.

3) Cold Feet - are there any other fans out there of this phenomenally good British TV series? I'm/We're addicted. I made the mistake of buying the whole series' on DVD. 36 x 1hr episodes later.....and hence far too much sofa and less computer action! (ah the mental deprivation!).

4) Workmates - I have such a great workplace. Not only is my boss an utter gem who made me a birthday card - isn't she the sweetest - but the guys whom we work closely with in another section (Nursery Stock) are hilarious fun! The other day I was doing an inspection with Craig from nursery stock, and we were discussing children. He was mentioning the 'presents' he and his wife received from their in-laws - that being a children's cubbyhouse! (they have no children). Hmm, said I. Subtle!

He laughed and said that will be me soon - and I said something along the lines of "I've heard children have been raised by wolves.." (meaning to finish the sentence) and he broke down into fits of laughter. I didn't want to kill the moment with the rest of the sentence, so needless to say he now thinks of my maternal side in terms of rare, medium and well done! .... Anyway, good to see we share a good sense of humour!

(No animals were harmed in the delivery of aforementioned jokes).

5) And what would a week be without another set of inane J & A conversations. An avid reader (thanks Paula) said she "wet herself with laughter last week" so I take that as encouragement enough!

Scene II : A rare dinner at the dining room table -

1) as we begin our meals and with no lead in - A: "Trrific". J: "What?". A: "Trrific". J: "I don't get it?". A: "I'm Adam from Cold Feet". J: "Ah, no, you're Andrew from Moorooka - who alas isn't a cool sexy scot from a British TV series. Can I eat now?".

2) A: "Do we have any garlic?". J: "Yes in a bottle labelled Garlic". A: "Is that the bottle with the labelled rubbed off?" . J: "aaah does it say 'Garlic' "?!

3) A: "So we don't have any Garlic then?" J: "Well did you taste the contents of the jar with the label rubbed off?". A: "No, I think it's Ginger". J: (thinking to herself - Watson strikes again!) "But did you taste it?". A: "Jen while I didn't discover the Garlic, I did discover that we have three different types of Mustard - Seeded, Dijon and ofcourse Hot English. Very impressive!". (Andrew it seems is not only a garlic conniseur but a mad mustard fan too).

4) A: "Stop looking at me like that". J: "Like what?". A: "Your too good with those eyes". J: (what can I say, I've got a knack with my cornea's) "that's just because you can't outstare me!". A: "Okay here goes" (begining his penetrating stare at me above his glasses). J: (staring back with my mesmerising cornea's).

A: "Where are your eyes??, I can't see your eyes". Ah the benefit of a staring competition with a blind man who can't see above his glasses - J: "There right here staring at yours". A: "Are you looking down, I can't see them when you look down (sounding afronted and confused at the same time) , they just look like two moths on your face". Ah romance isn't dead!

Gold for the Morrisons again!

Hope you had an equally enjoyable week!

Sunday shenanigans...

2008-06-22T02:02:00.000-07:00

Love.

&
Laughter.

This was my Sunday.

Morning motivational -
We managed to convince one member of our Afghan family, the eldest daughter Roya, along with her husband to come with us to the World Refugee Day celebrations at Annerley. As one of my friends Adele, who also met up with us, mentioned - it was confronting, yet exhilerating, to feel in the minority for once. Murray, Tom and Cathy also rounded out a great group of friends who came to celebrate the diversity and soak up some new cultural experiences with us.
The celebrations were well under way when we arrived, with great performances on the stage including Iranian dancing (the little kids were amazing!), Congo choir and and African rap group called "No pain, no gain". There was a rock climbing wall set-up for the kids (one of which flew up the wall leaving us all gasping), henna painting, stalls and lots of great food! Ofcourse, you may well guess what my main motivation for coming was...

Roya (from our Aghan family), Cathy, Adele, Murray, Andrew and Massoud (Roya's fiancee).

~~~~~~~~

Afternoon delights -

I accompanied two other classy laaadies, Helen and Candice, to Gold Class (ooh la lah) for Sex and the City - mandatory indulgent chick flick viewing. It left you wanting to walk out of the cinema and straight into a shoe store...or atleast sashay out of the lobby surrounded by a great gaggle of gal pals, in search of a walk in wardrobe to overtake. Very deeply disturbing film - who has that much money? - and when do we start a similar awesome foursome ?! (I bags Miranda's role).

let there be...

2008-06-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

..thunder!!!
Can I dare to hope?! A proper thunderstorm!

It seems ages since we've had a good thunderstorm...and take it from me, I'm no great fan of thunder normally but there is something to be said for only missing something once it has gone. And gone have been the good old summer days of thunderstorms each afternoon - when all through the day the humidity steadily thickened and you raced for your cars before the encroaching clouds erupted and emptied their stores in sudden, loudly energetic bursts.

I love the build up to a storm really - that's more what it is. The clouds suddenly taking on a blue hue as the sky darkens and the wind begins to chase leaves around on the ground. You sense the electricity in the air and smell the approaching rain. The soulful call of the Coel (storm bird) then guarantees something is afoot. It's almost as if the electricity in the air sparks with my neurons as I feel a real frission of excitement.

Ah huh...no thunder, alas, but the downpour is upon us and it's ferociously refreshing!

World Refugee Day ....THIS SUNDAY 22nd

2008-06-19T01:06:00.001-07:00

Yep I'm back on the Refugee bandwagon!....

As most of you probably know, for the last year and a bit Andrew and I have been working as volunteer tutors/ community support with a family from Afghanistan. This Sunday there will celebrations for World Refugee Day from 9am to 4pm at the Annerley soccer fields near Juliette and Ridge streets, Annerley.

The day is being organized by the group who we tutor through i.e. VoRTCS. On offer on the day will be music, markets, a soccer and volleyball competition, cultural and art exhibitions and no doubt some pretty interesting food.

If you have any free time on Sunday, it would be great if you could come along and show your support for refugees in our community. Andrew and I will be heading over there about 11am - hopefully with some of the members of our Afghan family.

If you want to meet up on the day, just give me a call/ text.

Bollyfunk - Jennysunk

2008-06-18T05:47:00.000-07:00

As some of you may or may not know, I've finally got my booty into gear and donned the appropriate attire to 'get down' with those in the hood. If those hoods be sequined and in vibrant-hued colours...

Inspired by "So You Think You Can Dance" and pushed by my friend Niti, I'm now attending Bollywood and Funk dance classes. I can 'crunk' it with the best of them, and my shimmy is quite a sight to behold (sunglasses optional).

I refer to Hamish and Andy when I say I'm "doing" bollyfunk. Now that I've gone to more than two classes, I feel I can technically qualify for participation status. The only downside, apart from being winded on the warm-up and having to invest in some garish gym wear, is not going often enough. I find I'm not alone here - doing a well balanced survey of two - in having the memory of a goldfish when it comes to remembering the previous weeks' dance moves.

My husband is no help in this regard either, as he has yet to ask what I actually do each Monday night! So there's no-one to show off my classy moves to and hence reinforce the endless melange of steps, which fade as quickly as my aspirations to become fitter.

So this Monday was the third week of our dance routines for Bollywood and Funk and the final for each particular genres dances. I was determined to remember at least ONE dance in it's entirity so, if only to prove to myself, I could see what I've spent all this money on (and also to show off my skills, for charitable endeavours, by say entertaining the troops in Afghanistan (ahem)!

Alas, this was not to be...The third and final trying week introduced the element of partners!
Okay, if looking like an uncoordinated startled bear on prozac wasn't enough, I now had to meld these thuddings and thumpings with someone else in some semblence of rhythm. The instructor had gone one syncopated-step too far! Introductory classes people, introductory.

My poor partner turned out to be, ironically, the only male in the class and Indian at that. So one distinct advantage, being a Bollywood dance, offset with one distinct disadvantage - that being paired with me, not male ofcourse ;-) . Anyway, needless to say I was a knockout. My poor partner was, dare I say it, worse than me!

I look forward to next week and a set of two new routines and two left feet with which to perform them!

Hope

2008-06-15T03:40:00.000-07:00

Today I saw a movie.

http://www.hopedocumentary.com.au/hope/index.htm

It was a documentary. A tragic story about Hope.

It was about Amal. Her name means hope - but it should, and will now, be synonymous with courage.

Amal Basry watched The Titanic at a cinema in Baghdad the night before she fled Iraq. 18 months later the people smuggling boat she was on sank between Indonesia and Australia. 353 people drowned. Amal survived by clinging to the floating body of a dead woman for 22 hours. Now Amal fights to ensure that the disaster is not forgotten, reunite her family and 'find what it was I lost in the ocean'.

I do not remember this tragedy. If I did, I would have only remembered it as 'another lot of asylum seekers' trying to get to Australia.

I am now ashamed of my own narrow-mindedness.

I don't know alot about asylum seekers, refugees, illegal imigrants - but I know more that I used to - and I have Andrew to thank for my new-found awareness of social justice issues.

For your interest, from reading the VORTCS site (our refugee tutoring association) -

1) Because boat arrivals receive much publicity, it is often thought that the number of asylum seekers entering Australia is increasing. According to the Refugee Council of Australia, the number of asylum applications lodged in Australia decreased from 12,366 in 2001 to 5,766 in 2002.

2) Australia received fewer asylum applications than just about any other similar country between 1997 and 2003. And Australia only granted 17.8% of these asylum applications – compared with 57.8% in Canada, 34.7% in the United Kingdom and 28.8% in the United States.

3) Arriving without appropriate papers should not be interpreted as an attempt to defraud the system. By definition, refugees and asylum seekers are people who are at risk of persecution, most often from their government. Applying for a passport and/or an exit visa can be far too dangerous for some refugees; so too can be an approach to an Australian Embassy for a visa. These actions can put their lives, and those of their families, at risk. In such cases refugees may have to travel on forged documents or bypass regular migration channels and arrive without papers. In other situations, refugees have to flee immediately and do not have the opportunity to gather the correct paperwork before they leave their homes.

Today I saw a movie.

I didn't enjoy it - instead I was moved to tears.

And I thought how lucky I am!

And so endeth another week...

2008-06-08T04:29:00.000-07:00

Top 5 Fave's for the week ending the 8th:

1) The stupid conversations I have with Andrew - in particular trying to mime a sudden brilliant plan I had tonight of going to Freestyle Tout for dessert. Let me recreate the madness...

So to get the ball rolling, I introduced him to the fact I may have had a cunning plan! This involved Andrew's favourite "Kia eyes" (the explanation will take too long) and once hooked (I took the bemused frowning as encouragement), I followed this winner up with silly arm movements, to indicate my 'freestyling' dance. After guesses of Bollywood and serious psychiatric disorder - I had an inkling that I may be floundering alittle - so I tried to break it down into 'style' (involved pouting and puffed out chest?!) and.....well, there was no And, as I finally shouted FREESTYLES FOR DESSERT at his blank face. Needless to say he put me in my place straight away, "Why didn't you just mime swimming?"...hmm, damn my neglected Articulate practice.

2) Andrew/Jenisms:

A: "The steak took 17.5 minutes, only turned it once, with 7 mins on the first side and about 9mins on the other" J: "Oh there's no 'about' it Andrew!".
J: "Did you notice the echo?". Andrew looking quizzically at me over the table.."No". J: "Huh, huh, huhhh.. see that echo with the wine bottle". A: "Ah yes, another glass for you Mrs Morrison!". (nb: there was an echo with the empty wine bottle when you directed your voice at it!...good experiment should you get bored with your dining partner at the table!)
A: "That pepper says best by 2002!". J: in supercilious scientist voice "Andrew pepper doesn't go off!" (my standard response to anything with a due-by date suggesting we should be dead by now).

Gold for Morrisons!

3) Sundays, relaxing ones (in this case with in-laws up the coast), where you finally get your spiritually starved souls to church in the morning and follow that up with some serious journalism - well, we searched for it in the Sunday papers for quite some time anyway! Then another good serve for the soul, in the form of Songs of Praise. Yes, you heard me admit it here first! I might as well go the whole hog and say that, not only am I a fan of Antique roadshow, but I do enjoy abit of Songs of Praise on the side! I'll search for the appropriate group to associate myself with on Facebook and truly come out of the vestment closet. I have to say there's something really nice about visiting (with Aled no less) historic churches from all over the beautiful English countryside, set to some well-sung hymns, to make you feel like it's Sunday! (put away those aghast expressions!)

4) Getting through presenting 3hrs worth of training on Quarantine Diseases and not blowing it! Even the curly questions I got from the participants didn't throw me too much (no I'm not 100% sure that the fungi found in Tuttenkhamen's tomb would be viable after 5000yrs!) nor the fact that some were nodding off right before my eyes!

5) The anticipation which gets you through the week because it's a LONG WEEKEND...need I say any more!

Thumbs down:

There not being four days to the long weekend, so you can fit in seeing friends AND the dreaded domestic duties!

NB - WATCH THIS SPACE for exciting news concerning a joint venture with a friend...
NNB - Actually it may not happen overnight, but it will happen! (we hope)
NNBB - aaah, that DOESN'T have any reference to babies!...well, not the obvious one you might think!

Did I mention rambling?.....

2008-06-06T03:09:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, never one to scrimp on the side serve of words, is old McWaffle here!

It's an egotistical thing obviously - the need to draw people into alignment with your own (dis)illusions of mastery. I admit, I'm a lover of wordplay and she is being used and abused by me, well and truly! Min can attest to the beginnings of my foray into fraternising with the flourishing font of imagery. Ah, those were the good years!

But alas, the font has succumbed to the drought too and it is now no more than a recalcitrant bubbler. No more do I put on my foppish hat and delve deep into my soul, pouring out twisted tributes to anything and nothing.

....now I am a surface dweller, a bubbler without the lever. But, in the begginning there was:

Penetrating

Deep down,

below the shell of skin,

further still,

past the barrier of bones

guarding organs

within.

(within) a twin lies,

sheltered, seldom ever shown

never exposed, leads a life of its own.

Deep down,

dark lined walls

of the tunnel,

of the well,

beneath the surface.

(surface) memories and events,

line the raw surrounds

Deep down,

Deep down

gaining momentum,

spun wildly

out of control.

A downpour of emotions,

awash

floundering, reaching

towards the inner sanctum

of the twin.

In black troubled waters,

slowly drowning,

Deep Down.

;-)....woohoo for the Q's b'day

Horizons

2008-06-05T02:16:00.000-07:00

"I wasn't looking at the horizon. I know that it's all around me, but I wasn't looking at it."...."But two days ago, I got used to looking into the distance. And I saw that besides tables, chairs and objects, my world also included the mountains, clouds, the sky. And my soul - my soul seems to have eyes that is uses to touch those things."

The Valkyries (Paulo Coelho)

"But you are forcing me to look at wealth and at horizons I have never know. Now that I have seen them, and now that I see how immense my possibilities are, I'm going to feel worse than I did before you arrived. Because I know the things I should be able to accomplish, and I don't want to do so."

The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

This would have started a good ramble about the limitlessness of our horizons and where they can lead us, should we be aware enough to look outward. It would also have touched on how realisation of the limits we impose on ourselves can occur when we take our hands away from our eyes. The pleasure and overwhelming limitless is at once awe inspiring and frightening.

But now that all seems trite for a topic that sprun to mind as I noticed the beauty of winter in the warm rays enriching the Brisbane city-scape one afternoon. The same afternoon I had one of those moments when you dissasociate from consciousness and realise - I am an ant.

You have to look no further than those quotes above to get a good idea of what I would have said anyway. Instead I'm going to recount some reflections on others journeys - small stories of others horizons and how they have stared at them and expanded their souls.

Bronwyn

When I think of liberation of the soul, I think of Bronwyn, and in particular her recent journey overseas (http://butty22.blogspot.com/). When I think of a slogan for her I also think "just do it". Uncertain that her job was giving her fulfilment, she didn't just keep on thinking what could be, but thought -what next! I admire her so much for taking leaps and bounds where I would fear to take the first tentative step across the line from comfort to uncertainty - to the horizon and all it holds. Her driving force is not comfort and complacency but discovery and compassion....oh and a good shot of demestos to clear the way forward ;-). This gloved crusador, for all things experiential, gives me hope that one day I'll remove the shield of fear and go forth and conquer those ambitions - one Machu Pichu at a time.

Roya

When I think of altruism I think of the elder sister of our refugee family. Roya is the "hostess with the mostest". She cooks, cleans and struggles to keep her orphaned teenage/early adult siblings living together harmoniously as they struggle against her seemingly 'imposed' authority. Every Wednesday Roya and her family greet us with open arms and bottomless cups of spiced tea as we attempt to offer whatever feeble english tuition we can give - usually in the form of 'conversational' english! Every Wednesday they thank us profusely and we leave (stomach's moaning and bladder's bloated) overwhelmed by their fortitude and our own easy fortune. Their gratitude for something we take for granted is so moving and humbling, and their belief in the rewarding horizons so encouraging.

Roya who realises so well the situation at hand, yet is so powerless to stop her family breaking apart thinks her engagment will be the salve that is needed to heal wounds. She thinks nothing of herself, nor her happiness but of her family and their needs. I was moved to tears, when she was talking about her engagement and her response to my question of whether she loved her husband-to-be " .....no....but he's a good man.. I think".

If I think my horizons are limited by fear, I think of the actual adversity this family has seen and endured and yet continues to look outward and ever forward with keen eyes and feverent hearts. They believe in Australia, the land and the people, as just and fair. Persecution has not stopped now they are here, but it takes another more insidious, unaccountable form. Yet still they believe in the prospect of golden soil and wealth for toil, in the home of the young and free.

Personally, I take great stock not only from these people, but from all my friends, family and whomever I have shared, even fleetingly, a connection. I see in others what I yearn for myself and thereby adopt parts of all these connections into who I am and want to be. Nature vs Nurture doesn't begin and end in the womb, that's for sure! I often marvel at how little 'me' there is in myself. I am so much a collection of others, good and bad. Like my hair colour, which I have tried to so vainly to disguise for so many years, do I really remember anymore what is natural, intrinsictly me? But that's for another 'non-rambling' blog :-) ...

Anyway, nothing warms my heart more than new perspectives and random bursts of totally truthful moments. The smile from an unexpected source, the handmade card from an overworked colleague, the small yet natural conversation with a stranger, the discovery of knowledge you thought was beyond your emulsified memories, the stirring of the desire for neural wealth, the softness and warmth of the setting sun on a winter's day, the opportunities we can only chance upon and never properly express, and the joy of our natural world - life being lived all around me, interconnecting with me and continuing without me - for me to observe and enjoy and contribute to.

"The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and marvel of his wisdom."
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

Quotation of the week..

2008-05-24T21:42:00.001-07:00

in homage to my newly bestowed maturity - I have finally found a new quotation that ranks alongside that of the great philosopher Garfield Esquire...

'A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.'

William James

It's my Birthday and I'll cry if I want to...

2008-05-24T05:29:00.000-07:00

not that I want to! I'd prefer to laugh instead, as I did in abundance tonight! Check it out! What a wonderful day!!!

It started with breakfast with my family and then progressed to afternoon tea and a clairvoyant reading with friends at cafe at Woolloongabba. Back home to light the fire and start the wine and cheese tasting! A game or two of Taboo and a DVD of POTP later and we were set! I'll let you see if you can guess what POTP stands for..hint, look closely at one of the pictures!

Thank you my friends, I had SUCH A WONDERFUL DAY!!! I was thinking this was one of the best birthdays I've had, companionship (old as that sounds) RULES!!! YOU GUYS RULE!!!!! (yes any hint that I'm now 28 evaporates as quickly as the alcohol in Candice's glass ;-) ).

Breakfast at Kiss at Cooparoo with parents and godparent

Arvo tea with friends at Caro Mio Cafe at Woolloongabba - has gone down in my opinion but good to see what it was like.

Great night in with friends around the fire and a few marshmallows for company too...

Fire-stoker Sal to the rescue...

And nothing is taboo....

Opening presents! Such fun and when you draw it out, all the better! Loved my fetching apron and the other goodies! Check out the necklace Adele made me!!

FRIDAY

2008-05-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

F is for freedom. The joys of the public service with an RDO today.

R is for rugs and rrrrozen feet. As winter approaches the crevices between our old queenslander floorboards become all too apparent!

I is for Ikea. A late night trip to obtain aforementioned missing screw. And then, some placemats, a laundry basket....I should be for Idiotic Expenditure at ingeniously marketed franchise.

D is for domestic and I don't mean goddess, but, goodness does it never end!

A is for aaaaaah at the sight of my new haircut in the morning. In hairdresser speak a 'messy layered look' in disgruntled customer speak, an ugly boys haircut!

Y is for YEAH! Only one more sleep till my birthday and the delights of time with family and friends!

Oh the joy of...

2008-05-19T01:46:00.000-07:00

1) A weekend to myself! Now that doesn't mean I don't adore my husband, but a bed to myself, time to work on my own projects and potter around the house unkempt with no-set plans was devine!

2) Late night DIY - noooo that doesn't relate to 1) but instead to an IKEA table I had put off assembling. I was very impressed with myself for being able to follow the instructions and having an item that actually resembled a table. Until, I was about to build the finishing touch, the draw for said table, and I found they had left out a screw! AAAAGGGHH. No doubt it will be another 4 weeks now until I look at the thing again! However the sense of accomplishment, however fleeting, was good.

3) Setting the place ablaze - with heat from our Pot Belly Stove! Soo nice to have a crackling fire, although quite scary for someone who is used to an insulated stove! Ever since our 'housewarming bonfire' I am a little paranoid about the fact that our house is all wood and all too combustible! Hence, when the fire got going and the stove was very hot to the touch.. and I could smell burning..I did have a little panic attack. Thankfully, it was just the fact that the armchair was too close to the stove and the stuffing was getting warm...hmm only that little matter!

4) Friendship - the comfort and comraderie of close friends who know you well and with whom you can relax. Realising how lucky I am to still be in touch with people from school days despite our diverging lives. And, the delight at the friendships which have developed through many different avenues - to those whose friendship have touched my life in many unique and wonderful ways I thank you!

5) Cool weather! Nothing like a crackling fire, a cup of cocoa, a warm doona and a returned hubby to snuggle up to.

xx nighty night off to grab some of that sweet chocolate goodness and try out the fire extinguisher ;-)

Did I mention....

2008-05-17T21:11:00.001-07:00

..that for one-night-only Ms Frequent Flyer 2008 aka: Sally Colquhoun was in Brisbane on Friday?

No?

Well just for the record it was great to see Sal back in her 'home' town, even if only for a limited time (she flew off to Noumea the next day). A few of us: Candice, Brian and I caught up with her for drinks at the Bowery Bar (yes, second time in a week!) to show her the impressive cocktail menu - and the delights of our company which I'm sure she was desperately missing!

Cheers to Sal!

ABC, doe ray me..

2008-05-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

Howdy! I am having a nice weekend to myself as my hard-working half is off on a buck's weekend. Now there has been no contact, as are the strict conditions of a buck's weekend, so I have no idea what activities they may be engaging in....
I on the other hand have been engaging in the exciting, but much needed endeavour, of house cleaning. However, I"ve put down the gloves for a moment to reflect on something I saw on a friend's blog. Well, when I say reflect, I mean steal and use for my blog. Looked like a good idea for a Sunday morning (as would Church if I was good) so here goes....

ABC's Of Me

Accent: Australian as it comes...until you talk to someone in the UK and they don't believe you're not british!
Book that I like: As poor Murray, who started a book club recently to which I am invited would bemoan, I don't read much/at all anymore! It's truly terrible! However when I was in Bamaga I did read the Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (I didn't make that up she is Nigerian). I also love The Alchemist by Paulo Choelo and a few of his other books too. For a good laugh Nick Earls novels or the hilarious Bill Bryson (esp. A Walk in the Woods).
Chore I don’t care for: Washing up/folding clothes/ironing...hmm I'm not a natural domestic godess.
Dog or Cat: I hunt both kinds (Brilliant Answer from Stuart) but i would go Cat. No surprises there. I love a good border collie though - but we are NOT getting a dog anytime soon due to very small back yard. Despite my friends and refugee family thinking a dog would be fun...as they (refugee family) think us having a child would be fun, so they could babysit all the time (which hey, I'm not going to say no to should it ever happen!).
Essential Electronics: ooh toss up between computer and PCR thermocycler...
Favorite food: Whoa where do I start or stop! EVERYTHING including, in moderation ofcourse; chocolate and desserts of all varieties.
Gold or Silver: Both - why limit your options (eh Andrew).
Handbag I carry most often: One my friend Niti persuaded me to buy..the trouble of shopping with good friends! It is a tanish coloured big bag that I can lose just about everything in..ah that's where the camera tripod went.
Insomnia: Zzzzzzz
Job Title: Who am I: I enjoy squashing poor unsuspecting organisms between glass, I am the Kay Scarpetta of the plant world - loving nothing better than a good dead body and a good post mortem examination, I try and identify nasty organisms that try and sneak into our country and aprehend them, I am the poor cousin to Entomologist's........I am a Plant Pathologist for Quarantine!
Living Arrangements: Usually I share a house, that will in 35yrs be ours, with a male, sometimes a crazy cyborg from outer space, and a few other insects that won't take surface spray for an answer.
Most Admirable Trait: I have no-one to ask for this one atm, so personally I like the fact that I"m loyal and have a joie de vivre!
Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: I stole some 5c pieces out of my parents spare change collection and with a friend up the road we road down to the local shops and bought....fruit..ok, lollies. On the way back though, who should be coming down the street but my parents! So, that heady adventure was cut short and I couldn't even enjoy the profits of my crime - hence my sweet-seeking behaviour ever since.
Overnight hospital stays: When I was 6 to get my tonsils out.
Phobias: None that I'd admit to my readers who, like Sal, would make use of this information for evil purposes (muh ha ha ha haaa). That or I've been burnt by my father who took advantage of the fact that I didn't like cockroaches and chased me round the house with the things! See, the evil of Entomologists!
Quote: "Life's uncertain, Eat Dessert First" - my ever enduring Garfield quote. However, now that I"m nearly 28 I should move on...but there's nothing that springs to mind yet.
Religion: Christian - lapsing by the Sunday!
Siblings: Nope and if my friend, Sal is anything to go by then that would explain everything!
Time I wake up: Weekdays 6amish. Weekends - 6amish (doh)!
Unusual Talent or Skill: I have an unnerving (to Andrew) talent for guessing surprises and endings to mysteries - which comes from living in my own world abit and daydreaming lots of possible situations. I can blow and pop bubbles in my sleep - poor Claire and Andrew can fill you in on that.
Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Squash and brussel sprouts are not my dining buddies of choice.
Worst Habit: Picking scabs, pimples, dry skin on my lips - I can't stand them so they have to go. Leaving lots of red, raw infected areas instead = makes complete sense to me!
X-rays: Teeth..boring.
Yummy Stuff: Give me anything sweet...
Zoo Animal I Like Most: I'm not a fan of zoo's with those poor animals kept in such tiny confines..however I do like the free range zoo's abit more, so I'd go for a wombat or a hippopotamus. I obviously have something going for big stomached beasts! No relation to my life that I can equate.

A do run run run, a do mother's day fun run..

2008-05-10T23:12:00.000-07:00

We woke up in the morning at a half past six,

cause Andrew about-do a fun run run, a do fun run.

He was in quite good company with the premier and lord mayor,

all doing a fun run run, a doing a fun run.

His wife, parents and mother-in-law all cheered from the sidelines,

as he did run run run, all 8k's he run run.

At 8.37am as the crowd (of four) went wild,

he finished the fun run run, 36mins he run run!

May is THE Month..

2008-05-10T04:24:00.000-07:00

THE month for Birthday's! And a joy filled month indeed.
Those born in this esteemed Month (of which I know anyway) include:

May 4th - Saminda Fern (aka: Min)
May 8th - Candice Grimes
May 10th - Carlene Scott
Not to forget Mother's Day on the 11th!
May 12th - my Dad
May 15th - Alison Jones
May 24th - ME
May 26th - John Harvey (my deceased friend)

Hip Hip Hooray!!

So tonight my family, godmother and family friend went to dinner to celebrate my Dad's coming of age - that being stone age! We had a wonderful time at Mu'Ooze, an eritrean restaurant located in Moorooka. It was chosen because my Dad has a fascination for other cultures and loves experiencing anything different (no I don't know where my genes come from at all!). The meal was fantastic with share platters of curries on a bread which resembled a crepe in texture, and a delectable panna cotta for dessert. Yes, strange to think but this African country was actually occupied by Italians at one stage - hence the lasagna and panna cotta on the menu!

The atmosphere in the restaurant was terrific, with a highlight being the roasting of coffee beans in a traditional manner on a stage in the restaurant. You've never seen a 63yr old man so excited! The little child that came to watch with his mother was pushed aside as Dad moved in to examine and quiz the poor woman on ever possible aspect of the proceedings. If you know my father, then you know this is not unusual. He is a man that loves knowing the intricate details concerning anything and everything and is therefore a great man to have on your Trivia Quiz team as he knows SO MUCH! One of these days I really must listen more to what he actually says.

Needless to say his next project involves making a roasting pan (yes, why buy when you can make and use those metal working Tafe class lessons at last) and coffee beans freshly picked from his own trees. The secret is seems, as I'm sure you'll want to know, is in the high heat and quick turning of the beans as they roast. Dad apparently was leaving them for too long on a low heat and wasn't regularly turning (imagine as you say that a pointed finger being wagged at me with a gleam in the disclosee's eye and you'll have Dad).

I was also so impressed by the fact that the restaurant is run and staffed by african women, many of whom are mothers. This is an outlet for them to gain experience in hospitality and therefore future skills for other careers beyond the home.

Anyway, I recommend Mu'Ooze to you all! The staff were very warm and welcoming and the coffee DIVINE!!! I wish them all the best - if tonight was anything to go by, the full tables say it all!

Long Weekend Part I: A good scrub up

2008-05-05T04:49:00.001-07:00

Ah the long weekend draws to a fast close. It has been fun, frantic and friend filled. All of which are good...gooood as Andrew would say.

On Saturday I indulged my poor moisture-deprived skin in an hour and a half of self-indulgence care of a soon-to-expire 07 birthday voucher. Half-way into the pampering session, the beautician enquired about my beauty regime. Well, first of all I like a good splash of water, (rationing in mind always), followed by a scrub with my hands and a generous refresh with ....water. Obviously, no expense spared when it comes to my skin - I even throw in a good dollop of the finest home-brand soap money can buy, if I'm feeling particularly regime-minded. Needless to say, I should have seen that curve ball coming and neatly caught it instead of rushing in for a strike. Do I learn? No!

So with that gem of information gleaned, the beautician fell silent and proceeded to explore the ravaged surface of my enduring epidermis under bright UV. This providing what illumination of my facial terrain I do not know, but satisfied, she fell upon the cleanser. Apparently, from her exclamations, my poor stressed skin soaked up everything she could slap on from cleanser to exfoliant to putty filler. My "Indulgence Package" also included a surprising service - bursting blackheads. Now that was not written up in the advertising material!

Cleansed, exfoliated, depolluted and moisturised I emerged from the session nicely refreshed and relaxed. The new transformed me must surely have been transfixed by the plumpness of my collagen-toned skin, to have then fallen for the tried-and-true sales pitch at the door. Expecting this attempt to extract money after mention of a non-existent beauty regime I nevertheless succumbed! Do I ever learn? No! No! No more products!

This being said, I felt like Venus for the next half an hour with a spring in my step and a new sexiness in my stance. I was sure every eye in the Myer centre must have seen the transformation. That, or they spotted the remanants of eyelash tint under my eye that no amount of scrubbing could remove - I believe otherwise ofcourse, and it was instead a victory for feminity that simpering Saturday.

- cleanser used three days in row and counting....

Mental spew...

2008-05-02T06:41:00.001-07:00

and a big thanks to Anna Banana for that imagery!

So good to be back in Brisbane yet so good to see Melbourne again. Give me a home which is historic, a city gastronomic, a gallery or two, a pastry or three, a tram to travel round, and an old bric-a-brac market.

I heart Melbourne!

Andrew and I spent the long weekend and Monday (which was Andrew's birthday - and he's not letting anyone forget it) wending our way down the delightful streets of Melbourne - enjoying the sights, and sampling delights in every second store. Our accomodation had the most amazing views over the city and was within walking distance of the city centre, so it couldn't have been better. The weather, while fantastical chilly, was not too unkind and we spent a glorious day in St Kilda on what was predicted to be an overcast day with hail! We also managed to squeeze in trips to the gallery (I love Melb gallery), a night out with friends, a long trawl through Queen Victoria Markets, a visit to Max Brenner's chocolate cafe and a stroll along Brunswick St in Fitzroy.

Top Picks:

1) Absolutely amazing bar (got to know a local to find it, no signage) which was like a 1920/30's jazz club complete with art deco furniture, amazing views of city and sublime (but expensive) cocktails! = 10/10 . THANK YOU KERRYN!

2) "Top Bread" - shop selling pastries of every variety sweet and savoury for around $2. What a choice for breakfast! = 9/10

3) Melbourne Art Gallery - while I'm sure there are many galleries in Melbourne I always love seeing the variety of things on display here aswell as the permanent collection items. The shop sells great cards too = 8/10

4) Queen Victoria Markets - FOOD SECTION. The clothes and other things are nice but the food section on Sat/Sun is quite a feast for the tastebuds. Even better would be to do a foodies tour but alas they are very popular and book up fast! = 8/10

5) The parks - so many and the foliage in autumn is so reminiscent of the northern hemisphere proper 'fall'. Infact Melbourne reminds me very much of the UK and it is nice to be able to wander through large parks and see many families and school kids taking delight in the natural surrounds = 8/10

So here it is in a pictorial nutshell - Our time in Melbourne:

Federation Square - really innovatively designed open area for people to bring deck chairs and watch open air big screen movies etc.

Ah sweet chocolate -Max Brenner cafe:

Queen Victoria Markets: Food Hall

Queen Victoria Markets: Doughnuts made fresh before your eyes - aaargh, drool

St Kilda: Street Markets (bought some 'essentials' - scarf and some ceramics)

St Kilda Pier:

Birthday dinner with Andrew's friends: Mike and Kerryn

The absolutely awesome (and I don't use that word lightly) bar that Kerryn showed us: cocktail heaven!

Melbourne by night - as beautiful as by day (gush gush):

The view from our hotel room:

Introspection...

2008-04-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

Stop Press! - Naomi and Neil (2 friends of mine) have had a baby boy, Nick - a big public CONGRATULATIONS to you both. Lots of fun times ahead!

Alas it has been a short and largely unproductive week for me at work. After an RDO on Monday I went straight into a training course for 2 days on my return. If you didn't hear my exclamation - TWO DAYS - of Client Services Training. Now I find most courses which aren't technical based and therefore not of direct relevance to either my field of work or knowledge base, unnecessary. Those which I am 'obligated' to attend as part of 'middle management training' I have even less time for, as they are purely a means of fulfilling 'quotas' - in short a w__k.

So it was with great delight that I and 8 others of equally passionate service mentality, fronted the class on Tuesday. What could have been a dull course was made bearable by my compatriots who with huge levels of experience in the job (~21 - 31yrs) were told how to suck eggs and had great fun at asking how hard! Meanwhile I sat back and took everything in, in my quite manner, and observed the trainer. Beware the quiet ones! I was still participating in the course and was not overtly (let's hope my poker face was working) negative, yet even so I was singled out by the trainer.

Now this isn't the first time this has happened, and yet I still find it extremely interesting how it exemplifies how threatening some people perceive silence to be. The trainer obviously thought so - and decided he needed to befriend me to win over this girl from the mute side. Now for someone who does training regularly, (10 years he proported), and has a fair grasp on social interactions (if his training outline was anything to go by) - he should know better! So as I sat down after morning tea before the others had come back into the room, the trainer sidled over to me and planted himself down, smack bang in my personal space (issue 1 - closer is not necessarily better). With an intent air he leaned forward to show his willingness for a close exchange, and asked where I had studied (a question I had answered before in the 'ice breaking' session). I gave my short and courteous reply and gave him no room for expansion. Yet he persisted, telling me how much he had disliked entomology (which he'd mentioned during the 'ice breaking' session) and I said a very offhand single sentence in affirmation (issue 2 - people who don't listen). Looking at me intently as if I would feed him some great pearls of wisdom and grinning far too broadly for the exchange, he stared at me. Ah yes? I thought - and you would want what? A question on my part? Sorry but this fishy isn't biting and didn't want to be fed in the first place. Then looking lost for things to say and with no rescue line from me moved off as quickly as he had come.

Now you may think me rude, but I was not. I was polite and gave more than a single word reply to what was a lengthier exchange than I described, yet I was fuming internally. I knew exactly what he was doing and why, and I didn't appreciate it nor would it aid the class dynamics thereafter. I knew he wanted me to talk more during the course - and the man who had just prior explained his knowledge of psychology and the introversion/extroversion scales thought ambushing me was the way to do it! It may be one way but it certainly isn't an effective one - any deer, pig or bear can tell you that!

It amazes me how confronting someone who listens well, is polite and does not offer up huge chunks of either personal history or opinion, can be to others. Man the barricades here cometh the mutanous mutes! Now I'm no mute though - as most of you would be aware - and I certainly have no great problems interacting in a social setting yet I do enjoy my silence. Obviously I'm a bit of an elephant when it comes to the subject as I just remembered my grade 12 english 'thesis' was on "Solitude - Alone not Lonely"! Aaah the life of a hermit for me ;-) I can certainly understand how someone who is extrememly hard to engage in conversation would be frustrating to deal with - but someone who is genuinely eager to learn and just not overtly forthcoming when there are other more extroverted people around, I do not see as a problem.

So yet another dazzling lighthearted piece to ponder! I really am getting bad at this - blogger not soap box Jazzy Cat!

So I say adieu for now - off to sample the delicious delights of fair Melbourne for Andrew's birthday weekend away. I will come back with lots of tall tales but this time of much more digestible pursuits!

Lest we Forget - tomorrow and always.

Bamaga and beyond..

2008-04-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

Well the City Kid is back on the block! I had my excursion up country and into the back of beyond and boy was it a blast! I learnt so much and was so glad I had the opportunity to visit a place I may otherwise never travel to (yes you heard right, glad not bad) and interact with the locals of the Cape. It gave me a new appreciation and insight into aboriginal and torres strait affairs and highlighted how little I knew of Northern Qld - not only the flora and fauna but the general way of life.

While I may not think that I'm racist - when you discover how little interaction you have with anyone of non-european background, in my case aboriginal background, you also discover that you are indeed unwittingly alittle racist. I kept on remembering something I learnt during an anthropology course at uni - you experience, you don't insert your own view and beliefs onto others. That was certainly hard when it came to treatment of animals in Bamaga and other villages - there are so many dogs in poor condition it was hard not to think badly of the owners. However they don't view cats and dogs as pets as we might, unfortunately keeping them underfed so they don't misbehave and other such things I won't mention. Desexing is also not practised and the animals multiply rapidly and pretty much fend for themselves. Obviously this isn't the case for all - but it was hard to witness those who were so lifeless and underfed - especially one left in the bush which tried to follow us but we couldn't coax into the car to take back to town it was so mistreated. Apparently pig hunters take dogs with them out bush and if the pig gets away and only four dogs return out of five, they don't bother looking for the other one but leave it to find its own way back - if it can.

However, as I experienced in Vanuatu and Tonga, the people of Bamaga and Seisa (where we stayed) were so welcoming and helpful. The kids were inquisitive and so eager to learn what we were looking for in their back gardens. It was great to see how aware everyone in the Cape and Torres Straits were of Quarantine and what we were trying to do - much more so than anyone in Brisbane it seems!

So what did I do you may ask - as I did for most of the trip - basically I was a tag-along. I was with two very experienced scientists from Northern Quarantine who have done many surveys before in Northern Qld and Irianjaia and was absorbing all their knowledge. We visited villages around Bamaga which is located about 2 hrs south of the Tip of Cape York on the west coast. Over 5 days we went into people's backyards and looked at particular plants which are known to host exotic and unwanted pests and diseases ie. Mangoes, Bananas and Citrus. We also collected specimens (insects and disease samples) from other plants, which while they may already be in Australia, it is good to know the extent which they have spread.

I learnt a huge deal and was blown away by the beautiful countryside! I felt I was a true Aussie having stood on the 'Tip' as the lyrics "I come from a land down under" played in my mind. I marvelled at the towering termite mounds dotted amongst the tall bright green grass. I laughed along with a very exuberant entomologist with a mad sense of humour and a remarkable capacity for VB as he pulled fun of us poor plant pathologists and botanists and everyone in general. I also took back with me a new car game - "Did you know?..." - which was started by the ever entertaining entomologist nicknamed appropriately "Ant". Did you know that an echidna has a forked penis?!! Did you know that a fruit fly....well no one needs to know anything about blasted bugs!

Top tips from the tip - to know when you're a city kid:

1. You have no idea what 60 refers to on an outboard motor let alone if that 'is big for a dingy'.
2. Your idea of weekend activities include a trip to the movies vs a trip up the highest mountain in Qld for a relaxing bushwalk.
3. You drink a glass of wine vs a carton of VB in one sitting
4. You don't own a 4WD and have no idea how to drive in 4WD mode let alone what to do with a second gear shift?!
5. You have never seen or can not identify a - Cocky Apple bush, spear grass, snake weed or a taipan, at first glance.
6. You have a fear of picking up huge grasshoppers and do not engage in the pastime of pulling of their legs infront of aghast city kids (that may just be a personal one!).
7. Your greatest stories of wildlife gone bad are huge black 'killer' cockroaches which don't die vs loss of limbs and life to killer crocodiles!

Now I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Some fauna:

Views of the glorious coastline near our accomodation:

Traditional net fishing in crocodile infested water:

Where the rainforest meets the sea:

The 'tip':

Cairns - the little I saw from my hotel room:

The entomologist "Ant" (with beard) and botanist Debbie in action:

The plant pathologist (back view) in action and his inquisitive helpers:

Illuminations (of the week)..

2008-04-11T22:29:00.000-07:00

Now that I've alientated at least half of my blogger readers (of which I no doubt assume there are vast quantities - hence leaving a sole/soul one) with such a philisophical and controversial previous posting - let's get light hearted. Truly! No thinking necessary - today is reflection and illumination..

Week of the 13th

High 5's (in order and merit of no intended consequence):

1. Andy Warhol Exhibition at GOMA = 7/10
2. Movie - Before the Devil knows you're dead = 8/10
3. Afghan family visit and 'learning' amazingly incomprehensible farsi phrases = 8.5/10
4. Discovering the 'stamping' craze (and I ain't talking dance) and simultaneously promoting myself to most desirable guest to have at a stamping party (ahh,because of my charm Andrew!)= 9/10
5. Bargain ebay shopping payoff - welcome one dining room table to our abode and thereby open invitations to one and all for dinner at our place = 9/10

Down Low:

1. Forthcoming trip to Cape York township of Bamaga for work, leaving Sun 13th. I shall be participating in survey work with NAQS (Northern Australian Quarantine Service), looking for lurgies of the mycological, entomological and botanical variety ie. fungi, bugs and weeds. NOT looking forward to this as much as I should be - the prospect of a week in the beating sun with my incompetence being outed to older, esteemed scientist funnily enough doesn't fill me with much excitement = 2/10.

To procreate or not to procreate, that is the (light-hearted) question...

2008-04-11T01:50:00.000-07:00

..directed to us all as a human race!
Never fear I'm not turning the blog into a reality version of Big Brother and I don't welcome phone in votes on what our Friday night activity should or shouldn't be!!

I am hoping though for some interesting debate on the topic, which I half heartedly tried to initiate on Facebook. It could however be seen as quite confronting, particularly if you do have children already. I do not intend this to be derogatory to anyone who has a family but merely want to ruminate on some points raised by environmentally aware workmates in one of our stimulating (yet quite depressing!) morning tea climate change conventions ;-).

As a friend so rightly stated - There are so many issues and philospohical struggles in exploring the question, let alone attempting to answer it - but I hope some people do! To get your minds cogitating I have used the quite brilliant response of a friend to this very question on procreation - as a stepping stone for others thoughts and opinons....I think he covers everything I would have liked to discuss and more!!

1. What is the implied link between impending doom and procreation? You specified global warming. Does this mean the link is that less people means less (polluting) activity and therefore less warming? Or is it that even though the dire warnings about what will happen by the "end of this century" don't seem so far away for a newborn, and you don't want to commit someone else to a life living through such circumstances.

2. Selfishness V Proceation. I'm intrigued by the not-having of children being defined as selfishness. This seems similar to the reasoning of the Catholic church decades ago when they frowned upon contraception as effectively being a pre-emptive abortion, as it was preventing life from occurring. The trick is when this theory is expanded, then any married person of child-bearing age would have to be either pregnant, or "actively pursuing" pregnancy to be deemed anything other than selfish. I find that a bit harsh (especially once a family gets to it's 15th child).

3. Selfishness AS Procreation. I sometimes see people whose main goals in life is to raise some children. While it's necessary to have a desire to have children (to avoid extinction) i feel that some people fall back on that as a psuedo main purpose for their life. I sometimes wonder if procreation in this case can be some self-indulgent, if not selfish, in that lives are being created just to fill a void in someone else's life. Contrastingly, we have people like the deputy PM who have foregone the opportunity to have children to serve the country (and been criticised by a certain senator for being 'barren') and i think it would be more selfish for her to rob the country of her skills (presumably she is the second best leader in the country) so that she could have the joy of taking kids to playgroup.

4. Right to life V Earth's resources. The question use the phrase "allow a life to enter the world". That in itself is an interesting topic. Who is in charge of who can and can't come in to the world. It's an issue a friend of mine faced. He is genetically blind, so does he choose to have children, knowing that he is passing on the possibility of the condition? It's a hard call to make, to seemingly decide whether someone "deserves" a life (echoes of the "supreme race") or whether the quality of that life would be worth living. This is where the earth comes in. Clearly there is a maximum number of people that the world can sustain (eg. with food) but in the past this was not a problem because we were nowhere near it. But now that we adding a billion people every decade or two, it's becoming more of an issue. It seems cruel to "not allow" life to enter the world, but it would seem equally cruel that thousands of people die each day from starvation.

5 Train tracks dilemma. This is the one where a train is heading uncontrollably (ie no brakes) towards a village where it will kill 100 people on impact. You are in the engineer's control box and you have the option to flick the switch that diverts the train to the other line, where it will do the same to 10 people. Do you flick the switch? Essentially the issue is what is the best solution, versus what one's conscience feels easier about. Some people choose to let the train go, on the basis that by taking action they would be "killing" 10 people, whereas the other 100 are seemingly dying of "natural" causes, and it is not our fault (even though we had the power to stop it). There's a variation where the 10 people are friends and the 100 are strangers - often our conscience is swayed by the "closeness" of the damage. There's another where the 100 are very seriously injured, but the 10 would die. Sometimes the severity affects the decision. All this may sound vague, but the connection is that adding more population is like sending the train to slightly inconvenience the 100 (or in the earth's case 6 billion) for the sake of 10 lives (or in the case of a family, maybe 2). Of course the difference with global warming is that the train does have brakes, if only we would apply them soon enough.

In these great footsteps I doth follow...

2008-04-06T00:30:00.000-07:00

Okay so I'm no Robinson Crusoe, no Burke minus the Wills but I do dare to go where every other man/woman and Facebook friend has gone before me...into the blogger's brigade!

The inclination was there but alas Facebook took my Wills. Now with plenty of procrastination time on my hands, since I've given up the educated pursuits of reading and other self improvement endeavours - it's onto Blogger I must go.

The thrill of Facebook is waning and after collecting an inenviable amount of virtual bosom buddies, arming myself with enumerable applications of self agrandising neccessity, and having no other avenue left with which to relate/collate/compare myself to others - I must move on. Now the prospect of actually writing more than a post-it note message is quite daunting, yet quite thrilling at the same time.

Never one to let my thoughts be managed into concise statements, blogger seems my ideal outlet (you lucky things!). So basically, that's it - I'm here and happy to be!

Be alert but not alarmed - I'm about to blog!