Monthly Archives: May 2016
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Jeans and Stuff.
Whaddayaknow, Joe? – RRSAHM
Whaddayaknow, Joe?
Whaddayaknow, Joe?
OK. First off, this is not a regular post from me. You’ll get a nice fresh one tomorrow, maybe. I generally hate those ‘blog wars’ posts where I know what I’m talking about, and some of you might now what I’m talking about, but ,ost people don’t have a freaking clue. I have never, ever written one before.
But.. well. Those of you who want the full background story can read both these posts by Sleepless Nights. For the short version, read this…
Blogger tweavesdrops on conversation between another blogger (her mum) and an online art gallery forum thingo. Blogger then screenshots Tweets and posts about it. Art forum thingo people get wind of this a month later- even after having this Twitter convo with the blogger the day after the original conversation- and gets very, very shirty. They threaten legal action. Things get nasty, people do lots of arguing.
I got in on the arguing. I normally refrain, but hey. I had PMS, and I was looking for something to sharpen my acrylic nails on. And these people, Joe and Cathy, commenting on Veronica’s blog, were really starting to bug me. Just the hysterical shrillness of it all.
Your issues, guys. I reiterate what I said- I’m concerned for the emotional well being of Cathy. I’m being quite serious there. Patronizing and condescending, but serious.
Anyway. Veronica has stuff going on in her life, and closed comments. Fair call. She likes to moderate them, as we all do. And the conversation was going nowhere. It was a circle- copyright, an accusation of missing Tweets, accusations of nepotism. Etcetera, etcetera.
So, I think it’s all over. Have a laugh, have a filthy dirty enjoyable cigarette. People are fun to poke, with or without a stick.
And then, today, I get an email from Joe. I’m sure I’m not the only one. Basically- I don’t want to reproduce his email here, lest he sue me and my poor little blog with less than 500 hundred readers. Joe lives in France, I think. A multi-national, cross-ocean lawsuit. Awesomeness. Just call me Reese Witherspoon and give me a little dog in a handbag.
Anyways. Joe basically said that Veronica is withholding the screenshots she took of the original Twitter conversation. I doubt she still has them. I know, if it were me, once I edit something,I delete it, to free up space.
Joe is accusing Veronica of editing these screenshots to show less of the conversation than what actually took place.
Joe also said that Veronica has been lieing to people about Joe and Cathy contacting her web hosting service.
Firstly, I have seen a copy of the email sent by ‘TAS Admin’ (admin@totalartsoul.com) to Veronica, stating they had contacted her hosting company accusing her of copyright infringements.
Believe that, or not. I don’t care. This is probably the time to disclose- Veronica is an online friend of mine. I read her blog, I think she reads mine. I am an administrator for a website she’s involved in, but I was asked to do this by the other owner of the website, not Veronica. We’ve communicated a few times through email, spoken once during a conference call. She is not a blogger who I’d consider a ‘close’ online friend. But she’s a mate of mine.
I’m not really so much doing this out of love for Veronica- although I do respect her, and I respect her honesty and integrity, and I don’t like to see that slandered.
I’m more doing this because Joe seems to think I’m an idiot.
Joe, you have severely underestimated my stubbornness, tenacity and the amount of time I have on my hands today.
Here are the screenshots you’re after. From @frogpondsrock side of the conversation. They are huge, everyone- click to see the larger size, sorry if they take forever to load. But I didn’t want to risk cutting them at all, and being accused of dishonesty.
Two of them, because all the Tweets wouldn’t fit on one. I also missed screenshotting this Tweet, which was tweeted late that day, then reTweeted by Veronica, and replied to by @totalartsoul.
Getting a screenshot of @totalartsoul’s tweets was a bit more difficult. They had actually blocked me on Twitter, so I couldn’t see their stream. After creating a new account (hello, Mrs Winterpepper, you tech savvy thing!), I spent two freaking hours scrolling down and down and down. Only to get to this on the 21st October.
Back to top. Damn you, Twitter.
@totalartsoul Tweet a lot, evidently. That’s cool. But there is only so much Twitter will remember. You can all check out what Google has to say about it here. All the Tweets Veronica mentioned are there, verbatim, and also the one Tweeted later that day, which Veronica didn’t screenshot- I’m assuming because it wasn’t part of the initial conversation, and pretty much irrelevant. Correct me if I’m wrong, but @totalartsoul wouldn’t have seen that from @frogpondsrock anyway. She was already blocked and banned.
As I am. Which, by the way, completely disregards this statemen
t made earlier in the comments section of Veronica’s blog, where all of us were invited to come join Total Art Soul.
So, that’s it.
I think I’m proved my point. There are no missing Tweets.
Joe, you’re annoying.
Now- no legal action, please. Everything here is my own opinion. Stated facts are supported by links to the relevant facts. The screenshots above are of Tweets made by @totalartsoul. The jury is still out on whether Tweets are copyrightable, but probably not. I claim absolutely no rights to the above Tweets whatsoever, and are reproducing them under the request of Joe, if that is his real name, who may or may not be affiliated with TotalArtSoul. Again, these Tweets aren’t mine, I don’t want them, and, depending on who Joe is, I may or may not have permission to use them.
No jellybeans were harmed in the writing of this blog post.
Previous post: “Who Reads This Stuff, Anyway?”
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Fuck You Too.
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: I Can’t F*cking Shut Up Wednesday. With Words And Stuff.
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Jeans and Stuff.
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Brunching With a Tweet of Bloggers.
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Jeans and Stuff.
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Jeans and Stuff.
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Rememories.
Being A School-Mum Is Quite Involved And Kind Of Annoying. – RRSAHM
Being A School-Mum Is Quite Involved And Kind Of Annoying.
Being the mother of a primary school-aged child is so… involved.
Part of me (only a small part, but still, a part), is vaguely nostalgic for the days of last year, when I had two kids at home full time and I had full discretionary control over where we went, and when, and it never mattered much if we were late. Back when my biggest responsibility outside of directly caring for the kidlets was occasionally bringing a communal morning tea to playgroup.
Six months later, and I’m overwhelmed with all this… stuff. The school runs discos and excursions, cake stalls and Mother’s Day stalls. There’s Harmony Day, Easter hat parades, Book Week, and various fundraisers for various things.
And mufti days. Mufti days may be the absolute bane of my existence. The Chop’s primary school has a particular love for them. The P&C, or whoever makes these decisions, declares ‘Mufti Day!’ gleefully every few weeks sometimes with, quite literally, two days notice.
(Does that sound like the kind of bitterness of a mum who’s forgotten a mufti day, more than once? If you think that… you’re absolutely correct. As we’ve established, I’m not good at this being-a-grown-up thing.)
The reason I’ve missed two mufti days (both successfully saved by living only two minutes away from the school) and a smattering of other school-involved activities is, quite simply, that I just can’t keep up with the constant flow of paperwork that comes, crumpled and ominously threatening, at the bottom of the Chop’s school bag. Every. Damn. Day. Newsletters. Permission slips. Information notes. Home reading cards.
And homework.
The kid is five years old, and we spend half an hour on homework every night. The Chop doesn’t mind it, so, I tell myself, neither do I. But, really, I’m not even sure how I feel about that.
Six hours of school, five days a week… at the age he is, isn’t that enough?
Anyway. That’s probably topic for another blog post, on another day.
I’ve discovered that- apart from the skills of someone far more organised than me, who uses spreadsheets and calendars and stuff- being a school mum requires two things. One is a purse full of loose change. With constant fundraisers comes the constant need for one and two dollar coins.
That, I can do.
The other requirement seems to be school spirit and a bit of rah-rah-let’s-get-involved–ness; required for events such as weekend fetes, movie nights, information sessions and family maths carnivals (don’t ask me what that is… I didn’t go).
All those things fall in the same sphere as the dreaded school pick up and being a grown up.
They are all things that I’m not sure I’m very good at. I’m not sure if that matters, or not.
I’m telling myself… probably not.
Leave a Comment
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
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June 23, 2013 at 9:42 pm -
A planner is my friend.
So is giving myself a break and just not making it to everything.
I don’t do the P&C, or canteen duty. I do help out in class once a week, I like that because I get to interact with Bluey’s classmates, and see how the classroom is run. I’m a stickybeak.
Notes get signed and sent off the same day they come home, and any notes with dates needing reminding gets filled into my planner (dates, times, places, things needed etc.). Notes are sent to the recycling bin that same afternoon, so I HAVE to be on top of it that afternoon. I usually take care of it while Bluey does his homework.
Even with all that I still forget sometimes.
Maybe try putting it into your phone with a reminder set for 8am that morning?
Biggest tip though is you do it as soon as you get the note or it won’t make it any place and you won’t remember.
Miss Pink recently posted…Being Mindful
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June 22, 2013 at 1:33 am -
With 5 kids the amount of fundraising… some mandatory and then the folks that ask me to help out (I want to but I really don’t have time when the flow of stuff is coming in at the rate of a freight train and then kids getting sick, cars needing repair… animals needing fed, laundry and then the occasional need for a break for myself?) I’m absolutely wondering some days why I can’t do and then I remember … there is so much to do!!!! I’m not an organizational wiz and I wonder if I could be with all this? Thanks for posting Lori!
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June 21, 2013 at 4:28 pm -
Oh my dog! I am soo feeling it. I have just come back from a school excursion herding 30 wild-kindergarteners around the aqarium. I was emergency back-up-mummy-helper& got the call as we were heading off for the morning school run. They assigned me one kid who was “a runner” & I still had the dog’s lead in my bag- just begging to be clipped on. (that would have been a ticket to the principal’s office 4sure) Now I have to start on my morning chores (3:30pm) I’ve plonked she-who-worships-pink in front of the TV to rest and wouldnt u know it-bloody Mister Maker is comming on. God help, me I cannot WILL NOT, start a craft project….
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June 21, 2013 at 1:02 pm -
I’m hearing you sista xxx
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June 21, 2013 at 12:11 am -
Lori… two words BIG CALENDAR!!!!! Assuming that you’re mostly at home and don’t need it be portable, get a big-big-ass wall calendar and the only discipline you need is to grab those notes as they come in, mark it on the calendar and then it’s staring you in the face every time you walk in to the kitchen. Better still, you start to ask the Chop to look at the calendar tomorrow and thus gradually transfer some of the responsibility over (even if you’re checking too!).
And if you’re smarty pants you could get a coloured texta or whatnot and give each kid a different colour. Or maybe that’s overkill
Miss 8 is the one who checks which are sport days, library days and pizza days for me. Win.
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June 21, 2013 at 3:30 pm -
Is it really bad that I have the big calendar/family planner thingie… I just don’t fill it out…? :p
Lori Dwyer recently posted…Being A School-Mum Is Quite Involved And Kind Of Annoying.
- June 23, 2013 at 6:20 am
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Hahahahahahahahhahahha hahahahahahha ahahhahahahahahhaha. That is all. Having the calendar is the first step
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June 20, 2013 at 7:54 pm -
I worked full time up until this year. I have yet to make it to parent help this year so far <.< I don't do excursions, tuck shop, Parents & Friends….I do buy things for stalls because it makes me feel a little better about not actually giving time. My mother never did that sort of thing as far as I can remember, so I don't feel too bad.
But the stuff…we found out about Book Week (which required a costume) with about 48 hours notice. As a full time worker with little creative skills that was kind of painful.
I find it gets better, you get used to the pattern. Plus my daughter is more proactive about handing over all the paperwork rather than me forgetting to look in her bag more than once a week.
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June 20, 2013 at 7:00 pm -
I here you. I am absolutely there with you and there is not enough wine in the world to cope!!!!
- June 20, 2013 at 7:00 pm
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I here you. I am sbsolutely there with you and there is not enough wine in the world to cope!!!!
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June 20, 2013 at 5:32 pm -
We have a paperless school. Sounds brilliant until you log on to the dreaded school portal and can’t find the calendar! It’s just useless. There are way too many school activities to keep up.
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June 20, 2013 at 5:06 pm -
Oh Lori, I completely commiserate with you on this one… I have that exact same problem but have 2 at full time school and one at 2 days of Kindy and its exhausting! The bane of my existence… school lunches LOL
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June 20, 2013 at 4:47 pm -
You do get used to it. It’s not as bad as kinder was, with constant fundraising and short days, lots of running around. Both of mine are at school this year, nearly end of term 2 and my house still isn’t any tidier than it was when they were both home!
WTF is Mufti day?- June 21, 2013 at 10:46 am
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Ahhh- sorry, I should have clarified!! Mufti day is where the kids wear casual clothes, instead of uniforms. So, if you miss it… it kind of stands out. Like, really.
I think I’ve resigned myself to the unclean house for the next… fifteen years. At least
Lori Dwyer recently posted…Being A School-Mum Is Quite Involved And Kind Of Annoying.
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June 20, 2013 at 12:16 pm -
Today I had a project due in, Crazy Hair Day and an excursion plus a dress rehearsal from some bloody concert. This afternoon we have rugby training. I AM DONE.
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June 20, 2013 at 12:07 pm -
Lol Lori, you know I can always count on you to say exactly what is in my head. Except I am one of those crazy people that says well if I am going to be waiting for miss Ava at the disco, I mays well be working. Cue me doing tuckshop duties for 2 hours LOL …. But I can’t tell you how THRILLED I am that there are other mothers out there who HATE … nay LOATHE the dreaded school drop off and pick up !!! My god… I love my daughter, and would do absolutely anything for her without question. But I really hate school drop offs and pick ups lol mundane shit it is …. Its actually funny at Ava’s school in the arvy (not so much in the morning) but you have different groups of mothers standing around. There’s the Cheer squad parents (as lisa says) there’s the parents who literally are too up themselves to even make eye contact with anyone else. And do it in a way that is actually REALLY rude…. The parents who think they own the place and walk around like their own shit doesn’t stink and their kids shit rainbows…The car park mafia, who get there half an hour before school is out to get the PRIME park and then sit down in the school grounds and proceed to bitch about other mothers (vomit) and then there’s me and one other woman, a friend of mine… who stand wayyyyy back… with a grimace on our faces wondering how on earth 10 years after high school ( actually more for her cause she’s 40 lol) we manage to find ourselves in the high school mentality again? wtf is up with that shit? ok ok .. rant over lol see what this subject does to me?!
- June 21, 2013 at 12:29 pm
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Rant away, K. I’ll be here cheering you on :p x
Lori Dwyer recently posted…Being A School-Mum Is Quite Involved And Kind Of Annoying. - June 22, 2013 at 5:52 pm
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I so want to high-5 you for your post. Especially loved the comment: “…..with a grimace on our faces wondering how on earth 10 years after high school ( actually more for her cause she’s 40 lol) we manage to find ourselves in the high school mentality again?” How true is that?!
I’m a teacher as well as a parent and there was no way in this wide world I was going to be a member of the P&C. Always happy to help out with fete stalls and bits and pieces. But the b*tch*ng behind others’ backs was best left to those that excel at it.
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June 20, 2013 at 11:14 am -
THIS IS MY LIFE!
The bad news is, it gets worse as they get older, and those requests for $2 coins turn into requests for $10, $20…. my daughter’s school recently asked for $20 for an incursion – an incursion! They weren’t even leaving the school and it still cost twenty bucks!Sorry, having a rant. Love this post!
P.S. Don’t worry about the whole ‘school spirit’ crap – a lot of parents will act like it’s the most important thing on the planet, but I promise you, it really isn’t. Don’t let The Cheer Squad parents get you down
Lisa recently posted…Whinge-mail-
June 21, 2013 at 1:43 am -
well, I love being involved in my kids school, but maybe that is because I am a casual teacher and hoping to land work!
- June 21, 2013 at 12:31 pm
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Go Tanya- I’m impressed. I think teaching is the last job on earth I could do!!
Lori Dwyer recently posted…Being A School-Mum Is Quite Involved And Kind Of Annoying.
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- June 21, 2013 at 12:31 pm
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Oh crikey- you mean it gets worse..? Awwwwesssooommmeee :p x
Lori Dwyer recently posted…Being A School-Mum Is Quite Involved And Kind Of Annoying.
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Previous post: The Travel ComeDown.
Next post: It’s that Toy Sale time of the year.
Philosophising Things Up
Philosophising Things Up
Countdown to Borneo: 13 days to take off.
Anxiety Level: Increasing
Organisation Level: Low to Moderate
***
I keep reminding myself- I’ll only be gone for nine days. In my mind it feels likes some kind of forever, an indistinguishable eternity of change.
Fueled by my children’s obsession with death, perhaps, or maybe the other way around (whichever). The thought of dying in a horrible plane crash or ingesting some variety of flesh eating parasite exists in my mind as though it’s already happened. There’s a nagging, uncomfortable anxiety at the edges of my consciousness.
I really don’t want to die. That’s a thought is both unfamiliar and comforting. I find the universe’s inherent sense of irony alarming in it’s extremes- it would fit, horribly, if I were to find some kind of happy, begin to feel ‘normal’ again, only to cease existing altogether at the crux of it.
I put that thought out of my mind, away in a compartment marked ‘Impending Doom’. There’s not much else to do with it.
***
I’ve never been away from my children for such an extended period of time before, and I will miss them.
I’m existing in a heady mix of terror and excitement I’ve never felt before. It’s as though every time I inhale I’m reminded of how very scary this is (this is my first time overseas, I’m effectively going all by myself, I am far too f*cking old to be doing this for the first time…). But for every inhale, there is an exhale. And every exhale is a fizzing excitement akin to rapture (I am doing this, I am going overseas. I am terrified and I’m doing it anyway).
My bigger-picture consciousness runs on the same undulating, up and down waves. I bounce from maniacal organisation- packing, sorting, photocopying, planning; to lazy apathy- smoking cigarettes, drinking copious cans of V, randomly surfing longform reads on the web. I’m thinking it’s a kind of self-regulation; my mind effectively shutting down the Big Preparing To Go Overseas process at regular intervals. Lest it overwhelm me and I begin to feel as though I’m drowning in it completely.
Deep breaths. Just seven days to go.
***
Sometimes weird stuff just happens.
I had the pleasure of taking my mum on a BridgeClimb for Mother’s Day (more on that coming soon, and you can check out the video on YouTube).
It wasn’t until the end of the climb that we really got chatting to our instructor, Nicole. As it turns out, Nicole’s dad runs a tour company in Borneo. Working with orangutans.
Nicole’s dad is Garry, the owner and organiser of Orangutan Odysseys, the company that’s taking me to Borneo.
I like to think these things happen for a reason. I’m not sure what that reason is, as yet. But what are the chances, of a coincidence like that?
{ 3 comments }
My children appear to have some kind of obsession with death lately.
It’s not so much an obsession with their father dying, or having died, as with the whole concept in general.
I’m not sure if it’s entirely normal, or ‘normal’ for children who’ve had to deal with death so close up at such a young age. I’m not sure if it’s healthy for them to discuss it so much. I don’t encourage it, but nor do I discourage it or shut them down when the topic comes up. I find myself watching keenly in order to see if I actually do hear the words ‘dying’ and ‘death’ as often as I think I do, or if I’m just overtly sensitive and tuned to the sound of it.
The characters in my daughters dollhouse- a mixture of porcelain nic-nacs, Barbie dolls and Maccas toys- are constantly dying, their whole families perishing in terrible hot air balloon accidents. The make-believe games that the Chop and her play often end in death, and my son makes dramatic declarations about what would happen, exactly, should he step into the gas heater (“Goodbye, family…” he roleplays, a mimic of seriousness attempting to squirm itself into a smirk on his face).
Part of the reason for this phenomena has to lay in the testostor-isation of my boy-child, the newly found roughness that’s come with Big School and Skylanders, Ben 10 and being five. And if I compare one child with the other, the Bump at this age to the way the Chop was two years ago, then her questions and discussions around death seem comparative with his. She still asks questions, about Heaven and death and Daddy. My son rarely questions anything anymore, and acts as some form of instigator of truth and their reality as he sees it. Generally it’s kind and gentle corrections, filling in the potential gaps in her knowledge with what he already knows. Only occasionally does it take a more fervent, aggressive tone (smacking his sister in the head because she dared to argue the topic of whether or not people can come back from the dead- the Chop obviously on the side of the negative- was a particular low point in sibling instruction).
As I do with most everything I’m not quite sure about, I’m leaving this one to run it’s course. I’d rather they talk about this stuff than didn’t. I’d much rather them mention it when they feel they need, than not be able to mention it at all.
{ 9 comments }
Countdown to Borneo: 13 days to take off.
Anxiety Level: Moderate
Organisation Level: Moderate to High
***
I’m existing in a bubble of my own self-inflicted anxiety. The things I’ve been meaning to do before I left for Borneo are piling up, one atop another, in a heap marked ‘Later’. (Visiting both the shrink and the dentist, toilet training my daughter…. all the best of good intentions that can certainly wait).
I am going overseas for the first time (kind of) in less than two weeks. The days are toppling onto one another like a pile of dominoes. A clicking, sliding house of cards that disappears flat into itself with such startling rapidity you barely have time to catch your breath before the next rows fold into each other.
Don’t think about it, just do it. I’m terrified. But, if nothing else, I’m an expert at just putting one foot in front of the other. And that’s how I’m choosing to approach the next thirteen days. One thing at a time. One task at a time, as it becomes important. Try not to forget anything. Especially breathing, in and out, and reminding yourself you will be fine.
I’m in a good head-space for it. I know this feeling- it’s bizarrely nostalgic, reminiscent of a another time when I was so terrified all I could do was one moment at a time, one task as it became important. But this time around, it’s laced with magic and adventure and excitement. I’m focusing on that- the exquisite, exciting apprehension of it. Because if I don’t, I may just find myself paralysed with crippling fear. And that won’t do, not in this situation. Not at all.
***
“”You are exactly where you are supposed to be, in this moment, right now,” Our yoga teacher said to us. My racing mind immediately came to a screeching halt to digest this new and profound information.”
Paula’s Story, published at Carly Findlay’s blog
“You know, I’ve been thinking, everything is…just comes together. It’s me. I chose this. I chose all of this. This rock…this rock has been waiting for me my entire life. It’s entire life. Ever since it was a bit of meteorite a million, billion years ago. There, in space. It’s been waiting, to come here. Right…right here. I’ve been moving towards it my whole life. The minute I was born, every breath I’ve taken, every action has been leading me to this crack on the out surface.”
I like to think sometimes the Universe presents you with tiny nuances, recurring themes to remind you that the world is much bigger than you can conceive. Signposts, perhaps. to tell you that you’re on the right path. To present you with tools you may need to do what you have to do.
Or maybe I just look too hard and put far too much significance in the blog posts I read, and the movies I watch.
Whatever.
I am exactly where I need to be, right now.
Things roll out the way the do for a reason.
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Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Not OK.
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Things I just do not get….
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Lucky.
A Post To Make You Go "Aww!" – RRSAHM
A Post To Make You Go “Aww!”
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!,
We may have discussed this before- actually, a quick check of the archives reveals we haven’t discussed this before. Well, there you go. Stuff you don’t already know about me– but I love Taronga Zoo. If it’s possible for a commercial institution to be your soul land, then this is mine.
If you live in, or have been to Sydney Australia, chances are you’ve been to Taronga. It’s all part of the quintessential Sydney experience. Trying desperately to spot a platypus in the dark. Walking your legs off. Giggling at the beermats meerkats. Trying desperately to spot one of those bloody tiny coroboree frogs. Nearly killing yourself falling off a park bench, attempting to shoot that perfect photo of the giraffes graceful neck and head, with the harbour in the background.
Ahh. Excuse me, I’m having a moment here. I can almost smell the sunscreen. And feel the terror from the ferry ride.
The Man and I actually got engaged at Taronga Zoo, a coupla years back. Awww. Romantic, huh? Yuhuh. On the cable car, you ask? At the bird show, with the eagle dropping a diamond ring into my lap? A quite, serene park bench, overlooking the water…?
I pinched this picture from here. Because we didn’t quite get there ourselves…
Why, no. In the old elephant Taj Mahal. Down on bended knee, on the packed dirt, where the elephants used to stomp around, before they were moved to their groovy new digs. Another “awwww”, everybody. A slightly confused one, this time. You’re not sure if that’s a romantic location or not, are you? Me either.
It’s OK. There’s a few more “awww” moments coming up.
Anyhoos, where was I…? The Man, the zoo, writing my blog… ah yes. My blog.
I get invited to some cool stuff with my blog sometimes. This was one of the coolest so far. An invite, to Taronga Zoo, for breakfast with the giraffes. To check out the Zoo’s new iPhone app. Yes, I said iPhone app. I was seething with iJealousy. Until the luuurvely people at the Zoo told me I could come even though I didn’t have my own iPhone. They would lend me one to play with. Oh my, oh yes. Total awesomeness.
And we just had the most fantastic day. Despite my lovely, overtired, feral, tantrum throwing, almost-three-so why-are-we-still-having-terrible-two’s Master Chop. Who would have thought that, as much as toddler’s love to wake you up at gosh forsaken hours of the morning, they themselves get extremely grumpy when woken up at 5am. Heh.
Whatever.
As I said, the most fantastic day. I love any breakfast I don’t have to prepare. I got to meet some awesome bloggers like GoodGoog and FatMumSlim (uh… starstruck much, me?). And we got to walk around the Zoo before it opened. No crowds. And we got play with aniPhone.
The Zoo’s new iPhone app, again, sent my iJealousy meter into overdrive. It’s like a Zoo map, but so not, and so cool. It’s targeted at kids. And the Chop, bless his grumpy pants, could drive it all by himself. And loved it. As you can see.
The point of the game is to complete your Zoo “sticker book”. As you walk (endlessly) round the zoo, you snap piccies of the animals. You can put cool borders and stuff on your pictures if you like. Once you put your piccies in the virtual sticker book, you unlock cool facts about the animals. (Such as, did you know giraffes tongues are blue so they don’t get sunburnt…?). It was so easy to use. You can even get online once you get home, and download any animals you happened to miss, or that happened to be sleeping (WAKE UP MONKEYS!).
iJealous. iWant. All you lucky iPeople can download it, for free, here.
I can deal with the green-eyed Apple monster of iJealousy, though. Only because we got to feed the giraffes carrots for breakfast. Check it out. A huge thanks to aforementioned Chantelle from FatMumSlim for this fantastic photo. My new favorite family portrait. Awwww.
You have not lived until you’ve been licked by a giraffe.
Or seen a baby pygmy hippopotamus. So cute I nearly vomited. Again, can we say.. awwwww?
I think it goes without saying (or would do, if I could manage to shut up for three seconds) that, after a very early start (because giraffes eat early, donchaknow),
both kidlets were thoroughly exhausted by 11am. And Mum and Dad- especially Mum- had well and truly had enough of our screaming child could have stayed there all day. Quite sadly, we didn’t even return to the venue of our romantic enganemnt. That’s OK. Next time. After all, this time, we were carrying this very heavy cute Bump of a thing round the zoo for the last 20 minutes…
One more time… all together now…. awwww!!
And that’s what’s making me iJealous iHappy this week. Come on over to Mm is for me and link on up!
Leave a Comment
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
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October 7, 2010 at 7:55 pm -
Hi Lori,
I love your site, Can't help myself but to tell all my readers about this post, given I have a travel site.
Feel free to stop by, I now follow your posts as I love your 'this is how it is' attitude!
Mandy. - October 4, 2010 at 10:55 pm
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What a fantastic day you look & sound to have had. My eldest 2 kids are going to Taronga Zoo this Thurs with my wonderful mother in law. (youngest still in nappies so she misses out – no, with another 2 of the grandkids in tow it is too many for Oma to confidently cope with). They are being picked up at 6:30am to catch a train (we are south of Wollongong). I am NOT looking forward to getting them coherent at that time of the morning! I am sure they will have a fabulous day though! Wait until I tell them I read about a family who got to feed the giraffes their breakfast!
- October 4, 2010 at 6:50 pm
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Awww, so cute!
- October 4, 2010 at 5:38 pm
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Awesome. I haven't been to Taronga Zoo since I was about 8 or 9. I wore a bright orange dress and fake clog sandles. Oh the memories …
- October 4, 2010 at 2:25 pm
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Awwwwwww….! Sounds like a wonderful day! I love going to the zoo! Feeding giraffes would be awesome! Cool picture!
- October 4, 2010 at 1:45 pm
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wow – last time I was at toronga zoo was in 1996. might have changed a bit…
that app sounds pretty awesome. anything that keeps kids entertained and educated has my vote. - October 4, 2010 at 1:38 pm
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I love the zoo too! We haven't braved it with both kids yet but it's on the to-do list!
- October 4, 2010 at 12:56 pm
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Ahhhhhh. Lovely.
Lovely husband and I had a date – a very early on in the relationship date, at Taronga, a 1000 years ago. I loved it.
I am so envious – you sound like you had a great day….xx
- October 4, 2010 at 11:20 am
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oh my god that is too fucking cute!
- October 4, 2010 at 10:55 am
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Oh, I'm all 'awwwwwed' out now! Those photos were fantastic. I totally have 48 shots of giraffe heads with the harbour bridge in the background, how did you know?! And hey lady, iJealous of YOU! Brekkie at the zoo?
- October 4, 2010 at 9:03 am
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You have say AWWWWWWWW after reading that post! What an awesome morning! AND you got to play with an iphone…I jealous. I'm a bit ashamed to say we haven't been there yet, though we've been to Sydney a few times! Will have to go and show Will some African animals as it'll be a while before we can take him back to Africa for a visit! Thanks for linking up! x
- October 4, 2010 at 8:02 am
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AWWWW, that sounds like a wonderful day! And you got engaged there? Totally cool!
- October 4, 2010 at 7:20 am
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Soooo cute! I may or may not have been the one mostly playing with that app.; )
- October 4, 2010 at 7:10 am
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What a fun morning!
We're zoo friends and go there all the time but have NEVER got to feed a giraffe. Don't the giraffes have just about the best view in Sydney??
Have to download that app for next time we go. I'm dying to see the bubba hippo. x
- October 4, 2010 at 6:03 am
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Aww :). That's a very cool app. I'm jealous that you got to feed a giraffe!
- October 4, 2010 at 2:43 am
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Adorable. Every single bit. I wanna go.
- October 4, 2010 at 12:43 am
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Wow, what a great day!! You know, I actually have been licked by a giraffe (through the sunroof of my car). Their tongues are HUGE!!
- October 4, 2010 at 12:01 am
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Yup, me too! Aww! And major jealousy here, I wish I could have gone.
- October 4, 2010 at 10:01 am
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I am so effing jealous of you guys! What a fabulous day! Did they let you keep the iPhone though as a thank you pressie? That would be awesomeeeee …
x - October 3, 2010 at 10:26 pm
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Okay, you got me. Awwwww!
- October 4, 2010 at 5:50 am
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Count me in for iJealousy.
And the last pic? AWWWWWW-tastic!My Aww just went through the ceiling :DOOH,shiny! I see my Taj Mahal! - October 4, 2010 at 1:21 am
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AWWWW….Sounds like quite a day. I'm sure the little ones loved it.
Previous post: I’ve run out funny titles- it’s FlogYoBlog Friday!!
Next post: Dudes Reading Books and Eating CupCakes
May 2010 – RRSAHM
May 2010
And another one… seems I can’t stay on my own blog. I’m guest posting over at Little People Books right now. Come check it out.
{ 0 comments }
And you can read all about over at Lucy’s place, where I’m guest posting today!
And another bad thing- piccie pinched from here
{ 2 comments }
If I were a month, I’d be December.
If I were a day of the week, I’d be Tuesday.
If I were a time of day, I’d be way past bedtime.
If I were a planet, I’d be a star.
If I were an animal, I’d be a stretched out pussycat.
If I were a direction, I’d be the good witch of the East.
If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a huge, comfy ottoman.
If I were a liquid, I’d be Coca Cola.
If I were a gemsotone, I’d be a pink diamond.
If I were a tree, I’d be a flame tree.
If I were a tool, I’d be a Swiss army knife.
If I were a flower, I’d be a daisy.
If I were a kind of weather, I’d be the dry heat of a bushfire summer.
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be an acoustic guitar.
If I were a color, I’d be purple with pink polka dots.
If I were an emotion, I’d be childish exuberance.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a watermelon.
If I were a sound, I’d be the last hurrah.
If I were an element, I’d be Cu Co3.
If I were a car, I’d be a clapped out VW beetle with a peace sign on the bonnet.
This image stolen from Car Domain.
If I were a food, I’d be jellybeans.
If I were a place, I’d be right here.
If I were a material, I’d be skinny corduroy.
If I were a taste, I’d be fairy floss.
If I were a scent, I’d be lavender and cigarette smoke.
If I were a body part, I’d be the ankle.
If I were a facial expression, I’d be a tongue stuck out.
If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be my old Converse sneakers.
Image pinched from Flickr
Way cool meme, huh? I don’t know where it started which is annoying, so if it yours and you’d like to claim it, please do so. Kristin at Wanderlust tagged me. Because, really, after I run out of my humongous backlog of drafts, I’m gonna be totally stuck for ideas.
Whatever-o. Tagging the usual suspects…
Lucy @ Diminshing Lucy
Mel @ SugerCoat It.
TeacherMommy @ Diapers and Dragons
Sarah @ Just Me
Brenda @ MummyTime.
Enjoy the weekend, blogoroonies.
{ 15 comments }
Happy Flogging UnFriday! – RRSAHM
Happy Flogging UnFriday!
Gesundheit!
And a very happy Friday to you all. Unless, you’re a Stay At Home Mum like me. In which case, Friday would be enjoyable, I’m sure, if I worked regular hours and had a weekend to look forward to.
As it is, Friday is just the day before the two days when I have one extra exceptionally large child person to clean up after. (Hello, Man).
So a very flogging unFriday to you all, instead. Or something.
Remember Mrs Winterpepper? Cranky old bitch. She finally put down her knitting needles for long enough to telegram me the winners of the Cocktails at Naptime giveaway. Congratulations Aly and AussieMumBecc, you are getting your very own copy of Mrs Winterpepper’s least favorite book! Yayness! I’ll email you for details. And, much to my dismay, Mrs Winterpepper plans to guest post again very, very soon….
Righto. That’s enough waffle from me. Almost. I also want to say thanks for the vlog love yesterday, jellybeans. I felt all nude and lame and exposed and, as usual, everyone loves me anyway. Being me is awesome.
*Ahem* On with the flogging!! No, wait- in case you missed the exciting news last week, the linky code now works with WordPress blogs! Apparently. Not that I’d know, because, evidently, I’m on Blogger. Whatever. Mr Linky says to just make sure you’re grabbing the correct code- top one for Blogger, bottom for WP. OK? OK.
Now- on with the flogging!!
The Rules.
- Follow my blog, the Random Ramblings of a SAHM. I never seem to get to reading all the links here. But believe me, I try. Not that any of this is my idea anyway- FYBF is MummyTime’s brainbaby, I’m just minding it for a bit.
- Grab B’s bubbly button and post it on your sidebar.
- Link your First Name and/or Blog Name and URL of your linked post (not your homepage) below.
- Add a short description (max of 125 chars). It could be a description of yourself, your blog or a teaser to your latest post. .
- Follow at least 1 linkyer/blogger (Be nice and spread the love).
- The list will be open for linkyers on Fridays (and for the foreigners Friday as well).
- A new and fresh link list will open every Friday. And you will have to link up AGAIN. The previous link list does not carry over to the following week.
- And lastly, have lotsa fun. I mean it. If I detect anyone not totally loving the awesomeness, I will bump you off the linky list. (Joking) (Kinda).
Leave a Comment
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
- October 24, 2010 at 11:47 am
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Hey Lori
. Thanks for the comment and let me now pay you for it 
. Nah, not really…kinda…sorta…not….um, YOU HAVE WON a bread voucher :p . Please come past and collect it when you can lovely lady. xoJen @ http://www.jemikaan.blogspot.com - October 23, 2010 at 5:47 am
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I love your blog. Thanks for sharing with me, glad to be here.
I'm here from the Blog Hop. I'm your newest follower, please follow me back.
Also fee free to join my Typing Together Week Long Link up! You can find it under the Blog-hop button - October 23, 2010 at 2:45 am
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I can't wait to read another post by Mrs Winterpepper – maybe something on genital piercings?
- October 23, 2010 at 2:38 am
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HI there! I am your newest follower from the Friday Linky:) I love finding new blogs and yours is lovely:) You can find me at http://www.bouffeebambini.blogspot.com
Be sure to check out my giveaways. I only feature gorgeous handmade stuff:) - October 23, 2010 at 2:33 am
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Yes, Fridays are good too if you are a SAHM because that usually means The Man comes home. Well, it's a good thing if he is helpful, right? Hope you have a great weekend!
- October 23, 2010 at 12:35 am
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I'm a new follower from Boost My Blog Friday.
I hope you'll come check me out at PS Mom Reviews and follow me too!
I have a great 1,000th follower giveaway going on now too for my followers! - October 22, 2010 at 11:50 pm
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hi! i found you through "boost my blog" friday hops! i hope you'll come visit me and follow back!
best,
april - October 22, 2010 at 8:38 pm
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Thank-you Mrs Winterpepper!
I'll be sure to share my thoughts on the book!
Aly x - October 22, 2010 at 8:25 pm
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Happy FYB Friday Lori! or maybe Saturday for you by now and you are busy clearing up! boo hiss. Go on strike and let it all be this weekend…
Mich x
- October 22, 2010 at 7:23 pm
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Yep, Friday is the same as any other day to many of us SAHMs!
Have been forgetting to link up… shall do it now
- October 22, 2010 at 5:50 pm
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Haffy FYBF punkin.=)
- October 22, 2010 at 5:16 pm
- October 22, 2010 at 1:47 pm
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I love Mondays!
- October 22, 2010 at 1:46 pm
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Happy unThursday from us underachievers on the wrong side of the date line. xx
- October 22, 2010 at 1:32 pm
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oh my god cant believe i won!!!:) i never win!!
thankyou to you Lori n the cranky old bag!! Mwah!!!
- October 22, 2010 at 12:33 pm
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Thanks for hosting, hon! xxx
- October 22, 2010 at 11:19 am
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Oh I hear you on the Stay at Home Mum Friday thing…our house becomes even more chaotic on the weekends which kind of means that I have more work to do that usual…!
Gill xo
- October 22, 2010 at 9:35 am
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hey i tried this linky thing on my blog today just for the 1st time as im chicken ive wanted to try it for mths so i gave it a go woohoo worked lol… No dont ever want to take you otta your spotlight just trying new shit out ok . Just had a few peeps ask if i took over lori's blog/ "i said No way!! well i like yours better anyway might try something else new next week ;-P
Previous post: Get Vloggy Wit’ It.
Next post: Mummy Blogging 101- Corporate Whorism.
Sunshine. – RRSAHM
Sunshine.
I’m low on sunshine, the doctor says. It’s funny because that’s exactly how I feel.
I have blood drawn, thick and sticky-red, and the tests come back saying I am low on Vitamin D
I don’t know how, says the Most Amazing Man. You sit in the sun more than anyone I know.
And that’s true- I am a reptile, a cold blooded mammal. I am a sun seeker. I crave the warmth soaking into my skin. Without even conciously realizing it, I trace its path across the backyard, sunning myself whenever I can.
I bask in the warmth and sunshine of Sydney while I’m there, and the few hot days we have in Melbourne on my return.
***
I feel a bit like myself again, after days spent with my family and friends. There’s something replenishing about being with people who know you, know all your nuances and downfalls and quirks, and love you any way. Right now, I feel sunny again.
I’m trying to have faith in the universe. I’m hanging onto a thread of feeling ‘normal’ again, hoping it doesn’t disappear.
But the ground feels shaky. And they say the rain is going to set in again.
Leave a Comment
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
- November 22, 2013 at 10:43 pm
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Being low on iron makes you feel lousy – get some into you & feel better soon :0)
Suzy Mac recently posted…Christmas Rush Part 1: Pass the Lemsip -
November 20, 2013 at 4:52 pm -
Hi Lori!
Hope you feel better soon…I remember when I was pregnant that you need iron (I think??) to help your body absorb the vitamin D. So it might be that you’re getting the vit D but your body’s not absorbing it properly.
Something to check anyway x
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November 20, 2013 at 4:06 am -
Me too. I think it’s the newest craze right now….Vitamin D. I am a sun worshipper too and don’t understand it. Love reading your blog.
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November 19, 2013 at 9:43 pm -
I’m sorry it’s so tough. Thinking of you x
Sarah K Reece recently posted…Blissfully happy in Melbourne
Previous post: Travelling.
Next post: The Brickworks.
Snake. – RRSAHM
Snake.
Still…no….internet. Dear God. It’s been six days already. Not sure how much longer I can take this.
***
All kinds of triggering. Discussing suicide, method and all that jazz. Consider yourself warned.
***
In my head, that long piece of orange rope (eight foot? Nine…?); it’s a snake.
It sat, coiled in the darkness of my garage for months. Unseen. But watching.
I know that sounds insane. Maybe it is. But I can’t drive that image from my head. A thin orange snake, coiled in the darkness, in a box or the back of a shelf. Harmless. Just a goddamn piece of rope.
But playing on whatever darkness was in Tony’s mind to start with.
Someone who has known Tony his entire life told me that he was always fashioning ropes into the noose knot, whenever they were in his hands; for something to do. That might sound odd, but knowing him as did, it doesn’t seem odd to me. His hands were always busy doing something, making and moving and sorting and fidgeting.
Did I never see him tie a rope into a noose knot, or did I just never notice?
My mum tells me that my step father saw that orange rope, with a noose tied in it in our shed months before This Happened. He mentioned it to Tony, who shrugged it off… and they assumed it was something for the car he was working on. I would have thought the same.
Did I not ever see that snake coiled in my garage… or did I just never notice?
Charlie the shrink suggested buying a length of orange rope, tieing it just so, then just leaving it sit there. Desensitising myself to it. Proving that a rope is not a snake. It has no control over one’s thoughts. It cannot get into a person’s head and eat away at the decay in a big dark hole, exposing the raw flesh underneath.
As we know, access to method and means is prime risk factor for suicide. But it’s not the only risk factor. It’s not the thing that makes you take your life, right?
It’s not rope that does that.
***
The jury’s still out on the “Do I go to Bunnings and buy a big-fuck-off rope?” issue. I’ll keep you posted.
For immediate help, please call LifeLine on 13 11 14.
Leave a Comment
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
- September 21, 2011 at 8:03 pm
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Mmmm Lori – so many thoughts going through my head, so many questions for you to pose to yourself about this, so many good suggestions by those who know you better than I do. I'm thinking "Do you need to desensitise just yet", "Can you settle in a bit longer & feel more familiar in your surroundings?", "Are your support network close at hand if you need them"? "Can you look at the colour orange (forget about the rope)"? "Can you look at a piece of thread"?. Mmmm…. yes, there a lot of questions to think about before considering a rope. Time, my dear, give yourself a bit more time. (X)
- September 20, 2011 at 3:53 am
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I'm sure your therapist knows more than I do, but I don't think I could desensitize myself to a rope like that. I don't think I'd want to leave a rope with a noose tied in it laying around for my children to find. Not that I have kids, just thinking, and knowing I don't know what's best. Praying for your healing.
- September 19, 2011 at 2:52 pm
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I'm not gonna lie, sweetheart. The idea of you having a long piece of rope in your home at this point terrifies me. Utterly leaves me cold.
I can understand what he's saying, about desensitising. But as someone who has more than once contemplated suicide…it feels like tempting fate (not that I'm a believer in fate, but the expression fits).
Love to you.
- September 19, 2011 at 10:07 am
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Glow, as always, is right on the money I think. Baby steps & if you feel like you can't do it yet. Don't.
Hoping the internet gods shine down on you & you're back online very soon xx
- September 19, 2011 at 9:39 am
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it's strange sometimes what the mind chooses to hold onto, that serve as reminders of pain. Do what you feel is right – and I agree with glowless, take baby steps. Confronting the rope is hard and you can take it slow. go gently, lori. thinking of you. xxxx
- September 19, 2011 at 7:36 am
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No, it most certainly isn't the thing that makes you take your life.
I say buy the damn rope, bring it home, and cut the entire length of it into 4-inch pieces. Leave them all in a pile to look at. You are STRONG, stronger than you ever thought possible, and this would be a visual reminder of your power to live.
- September 19, 2011 at 4:13 am
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I don't think I could take the rope home with me. I could see myself buying a rope and then taking it to the beach and burning the bloody thing but I'm not sure I would want to take all the feeling home with me again. only you will know what may or may not come from it, so many mountains you keep having to climb. XXX
- September 19, 2011 at 2:08 am
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In thinking NO on the rope. That would just serve as a BAD reminder of what you are alreay reminded of each day already. Why poke the bear? And I also hope that you are not feeling horribly bad, if you are, you know where to go! And if you are not on some meds, I think it may be a good idea to try.
I cannot live without them.
xoxo, Lisa - September 18, 2011 at 9:58 pm
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Glowless took the words out of my mouth.
It holds no power on it's own, the thoughts, ideas need to be there first. It is just the weapon, you make it do what you want, good or bad.
If it were me? I wouldn't go the whole hog. I think it would be too…easy for me to want to use it the same way Tony did. But that is me, and I am not you, and I do not know where you are at and what is going on in your head.
*hugs* - September 18, 2011 at 8:45 pm
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I think this time Charlie's idea is not so sound. But if you feel you must follow instructions, use something much smaller than a rope. Still orange, but maybe a short length of wool or cotton thread, something that can't possibly harm you.
- September 18, 2011 at 8:37 pm
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I'm with Lyndal – are you okay Lori? Please call someone you can reach out too if you are feeling the dark thoughts. Sending you love xxx
- September 18, 2011 at 7:33 pm
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I had a visceral reaction reading that suggestion just based on how you feel about the rope, not surprised the jury is out! Best wishes while you decide how to tame the snake.
- September 18, 2011 at 7:25 pm
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What about instead of doing it on your own, could you try it with your therapist in the office?
- September 18, 2011 at 7:12 pm
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You always leave me speechless with how you express yourself in your writing. And I never know what to say. Except that I think of you often.
- September 18, 2011 at 7:12 pm
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You always leave me speechless with how you express yourself in your writing. And I never know what to say. Except that I think of you often.
- September 18, 2011 at 6:34 pm
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You're right. A rope doesn't lead to suicidal ideation. It has no power… unless we let it have power.
How about baby steps of desensitization?
You don't have to go the whole hog straight away. Go to bunnings and just look at the rope, then leave. When you can do that without having a panic attack, buy it.
Then just let it sit there. When you can look at it without freaking out you can tie it just so etc and realize the power is with you and all you have done to SPEAK.
Baby steps, lovely, baby steps. xxx
- September 18, 2011 at 5:02 pm
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Lori, are you thinking these suicidal thoughts ? ?
Call for help, lady, where are your people ?
I hope I misread something…. (Lynda@LMI.net)
- September 18, 2011 at 4:53 pm
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That's a big one. Do you think it will help you?
My view is you have faced the worst, so the damn rope can't hurt you anymore.
xxx - September 19, 2011 at 2:07 am
- September 18, 2011 at 7:45 pm
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I so get what you're talking about. Fucking stupid rope. Plastic piece of shit.
Previous post: Off The Grid
Next post: Ghosts
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: Fuck You Too.
Random Ramblings of a SAHM: The ‘Yay For Spring’ GiveAway
Bonsai. – RRSAHM
Bonsai.
Tony and I were both into bonsai- I blogged very briefly in the Before.
For my 25th birthday, a month after we met, my future husband bought me a tiny bonsai made from Swarosvki crystal, and I still have it… it’s one of my favorite possessions, one of the few material things I truly cherish.
I had two bonsai when we met, tiny ones that I kept inside, on the window sill of my little shoebox flat. I tended to them with ridiculous amounts of care, water and fish fertilizer.
Tony had been the owner of many bonsai in the years past- and had the photos to prove it- but had only one remaining- a huge, glorious fig tree that he’d been pruning, repotting and caring for for the last fifteen years.
 |
| Tony’s fig before…. |
When we moved in together, all our bonsais came too. Mine two tiny ones- a white cypress and a tree of a thousand stars- both died, as did the trident maple I bought for Tony on our first Valentine’s Day together. But the fig never showed the slightest sign of ill health, and the cuttings we took from it flourished. I still have three of them now, as well as the original fig, which is somewhere around twenty years old. Two of those cuttings are growing to be full size figs, and I think I’ll plant them in the backyard here at the Tiny Train House. The other one is another bonsai, crafted to grow over a rock from Tony’s discarded fishtank. It’s beautiful. Tony was excessively patient and good at growing things, but bonsai still seemed a strangely feminine hobby for such a big bloke.
When he died, there were a lot of people who seemed eager to take Tony’s big, old, gnarled bonsai off my hands. I wasn’t sure if they were worried I’d kill it with kindness, or own purpose; or if I’d just get rid of the bloody thing altogether. The thought of someone else taking care of it distressed me- I had watched Tony and his cruel-to-be-kind bonsai technique for the last four or five years now. I could take care of this plant.
‘Taking care of’ the bonsai really meant no more than watering it every few days and preying like crazy every time I moved it. This fig tree was a work of art and had been one of Tony’s most treasured possessions… I had joked, only half joking, many times, that if I killed it, he’d haunt me.
Maybe he still will.
It’s beyond time for the bonsai to be cut back. I noticed a few days ago that the thick, malleable wire Tony has used to train the bonsai’s limbs was beginning to cut into the flesh of the bark, scar the tree’s limbs. As I remove it, I wonder… when had this been put on? Just days before Tony died…? I think so.
I get out my secateurs and take a deep breath, saying a small prayer to the garden gods or my husband or whoever. Then I prune this damn plant the same way my husband would have.
 |
| …. and after I hack it. |
I hack it to pieces.
When I’m done it looks bare- not as bare as Tony would have left it, but as napalmed as I’m prepared to go right now. I’m not really expecting it to die… I think I know enough about cutting plants to have left it enough to grow with, but who knows. If recent luck is anything to go by, the fig will wilt and harden and all I’ll be left with is a stick.
But it’s been four days and it’s not dead yet, so you never know. I’ll keep you posted.
To be continued….
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
- January 19, 2012 at 12:03 am
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Will keep my fingers crossed for the lovely fig
I kill everything except spider plants – black thumb… - January 18, 2012 at 7:09 pm
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It's beautiful… I've never managed to keep mine alive so I will stick with the little crystal one I have.
I'm glad so far that its okay. xx
- January 18, 2012 at 7:08 pm
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Does it fruit tiny fruit as well? It's a lovely plant, even hacked.
- January 18, 2012 at 9:53 am
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Ut's a gorgeous tree. I love Bonsai too. What a beautiful lasting memory of something you enjoyed together, something for you to nurture, and hack! I hope it survives, but I am thinking if it lasted this long then it's in for the long haul.
Previous post: Moving On is Letting Go
Melbourne, Part Three- St Kilda. – RRSAHM
Melbourne, Part Three- St Kilda.
I’m slightly in love with St Kilda.
I’ve always wanted to go there- something to do with Paul Kelly, and The Secret Life of Us. And it didn’t dissapoint.
Beautiful coffee. Every type of food you can imagine. Cake shops that look like they were made by Willy Wonka. Funky op shops, hippy shops, clothes and shoe shops. People and babies and dogs and bikes and trams and buses.
Melbourne is a living, breathing space, like any major city. But it’s different to Sydney. Well set out, organised. The traffic flows smoothly, motorbikes park on the footpath. People use public transport because it’s abundant and easy.
This city works like clockwork.
It’s clean and it smells divine. Cold, yes, but again, different- without the wind coming straight off a huge open harbour, the cold is not as bitter.
And Melbourne doesn’t pretend. They know it’s cold here, and they work with it, unlike Sydney, where we all seem to ignore our discomfort for four months a year because we are, after all, a summer city. People in Melbourne dress for the cold. Cafes are equipped with well working cas heaters, and plastic enclosures to keep out the chill.
And it is a beautiful city. Sydney is dirty and grey, only it’s spanning bridge, fanning Opera House and the sparkle of blue water as it’s backdrop that makes it beautiful.
Melbourne makes itself pretty. Artwork is everywhere, quirky things to catch the eye, to entertain, whimsy to make you smile. Even the freeways are dotted with artwork, rather than a long stretch of grey carpark, no joy to be found in overpasses and green signs and graffiti. All of this on a 40 kilomtre drive that takes half an hour at 9am- in Sydney, it would be a two hour drive. I only wish I were exaggerating .
And the result of all of this is, I think, people in Melbourne are relaxed. They dress to match their background- rugged up for winter, but colourful and stylish. No one is overly friendly, but everyone treats you as if you visit their store every day. I apoligise for bumping against people in stores, and they look at me strangely. It takes me half an hour to realise this is not so much of a custom in Melbourne as it is in Sydney- personal space is not so revered, interfering with it less likely to cause tension.
Again, it’s that colour in the people. No arrogance or rudeness, living a bustling city life, but not constantly stressed by the grind of it, when the city works so well. It’s not quite the wet-dishrag-on-Valium relaxed of Perth or Darwin, but it’s lovely.
I don’t feel like a ghost here. But I’m not sure why.
I’ve spent months feeling like a ghost, as if I died the same time Tony did. (The day after he died… automatic doors, refusing to open for me. “Am I dead?” I ask my friend, “Did I die too, am I ghost?”).
A dose of Melbourne is making me feel alive again. I’m not sure why- there’s just a feeling that in Melbourne, every person has colour.
And I’ve been grey for quite a while now.
Leave a Comment
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
- October 13, 2011 at 10:57 am
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Glad you're having such a good time in Melbourne Lori, it's a wonderful city. However, this is another Sydney vs Melbourne post, with amuses me. Why do we keep comparing the two? They are both great cities in their own right. And no, the people are not entirely different, generally speaking. You get good days and bad days in both. You bring your sunshine with you honey, and Sydney is many things, but certainly not a grey city!
- August 2, 2011 at 7:35 pm
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Mr. Rugby and I have regular 'Melb vs Sydney' discussions. Melbourne is awesome. There is a reason it won' most liveable city' so many times.
It is one of my favourite cities.I am so glad you like it, and it treated you well. It has energy.
- July 30, 2011 at 8:43 pm
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What a great post! I'm going to share this one on my facebook so all my friends and family scattered throughout the world can see why I was so happy to come back here after 6 years in grey London! And I live right next to St Kilda too! xx
- July 30, 2011 at 12:48 pm
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It was so great to read this post Lori, nothing like a little colour.
- July 30, 2011 at 12:24 pm
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Ohh Melbourne is my favourite city in the whole world. I used to live there, and I will love it forever.
Enjoy it, it's a real healer
- July 30, 2011 at 11:30 am
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I'm glad you're having such a lovely trip – you totally deserve some happytime. You are such a powerful writer, no matter what the subject is. I have never been to Australia at all and your descriptions are so good I feel like I'm living vicariously through you a little, seeing it all through your words. Thank you!
- July 29, 2011 at 8:47 pm
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Melbourne is a divine city. I think it is relaxed where Sydney is try-hard. I've never liked Sydney, despite its beauty. Melbourne had me at "hook-turn".
Soak it all up, all of its colour and quirkiness. Enjoy!
- July 29, 2011 at 5:55 pm
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I'm glad you are having fun, we are about 50 minutes from the CBD in the hills of the Dandenong Ranges. Melbourne and Victoria are very rich in culture – love it too!
Rach xx
- July 29, 2011 at 4:05 pm
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Melbourne IS the bees knees
Ya like Melbs? You'll love the regional centres! Next trip come down to Sth Gippsland – where the refugees from Melbourne flock. I'm very happy that you are shedding your invisibility cloak, Lovely Lori. - July 29, 2011 at 2:36 pm
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I was born in Melbourne and lived there for 24 years oblivious to how beautiful Melbourne is until I moved to Brisbane. I cannot wait to return and show my children the wonderful sights of Melbourne when I drive there for Christmas. You have made me miss it all over again
Enjoy my hometown Lori xxx - July 29, 2011 at 2:35 pm
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I was born in Melbourne and lived there for 24 years oblivious to how beautiful Melbourne is until I moved to Brisbane. I cannot wait to return and show my children the wonderful sights of Melbourne when I drive there for Christmas. You have made me miss it all over again
Enjoy my hometown Lori xxx - July 29, 2011 at 11:59 pm
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I'm so happy for you, Lori. I'm glad Melbourne has made you feel like you have colour again. Keep having an awesome time!
- July 29, 2011 at 1:48 pm
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Really great to hear you are enjoying the week and its special City. Keep looking up !~!
- July 29, 2011 at 1:18 pm
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Beautiful!
- July 29, 2011 at 10:25 pm
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Hi Lori…we are in sync on this…I am so in love with Melbourne after my 50 years living in Sydney I posted about it today on memoriesbydenyse
I LOVE it…
Glad we "had a good excuse" to find out, hey! - July 29, 2011 at 12:03 pm
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Melbourne sounds amazing you make me want to visit! Glad to see u are enjoying yourself even for a moment.
- July 29, 2011 at 11:42 am
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I loved Melbourne too. It's just such a wonderful urban place to be. I'm glad you are walking tall there, Lori. x
- July 29, 2011 at 11:16 am
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I grew up in melbourne. And I miss its busy-ness. Perth is by far so much more relaxed and where Melbourne, there is always somewhere to go or something to do, no matter what time of day.
It was a massive shock to me when I moved here 11 years ago. It was so quiet, no one was rushing anywhere, trains were clean and not filthy and overcrowded.It sounds like travel is soothing your soul.
xxxxxPS. Melbourne has THE BEST hot jam donuts. they sometimes sell them out of caravans/stalls at some of the train stations and markets.
- July 29, 2011 at 8:04 am
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I lived my first 34 years in Melbourne and the last ten in Brisbane. Your post made me ache on the inside for home.
- July 29, 2011 at 7:11 am
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Sounds like its doing you the world of good! I find people polarise to either Melbourne or Sydney: I'm definitely more into Melbourne(did you find the cakes in St Kilda don't taste as good as they look. I think its the time taken to decide which one to choose, they've decomposed a bit by then!).
I also see Melb as similar to Wellington, and Sydney as more like Auckland but thats my personal perception/projection.The ghost feeling is horrible – I'm not you and have different experiences but I have felt that too
- July 29, 2011 at 7:03 am
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I am a huge fan of Melbourne and not-so-much a fan of Sydney but I could never really explain why. You have summed it up very eloquently – thanks!
- July 29, 2011 at 6:28 am
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Wow…. I'm an Aussie (perthie) living on the other side of the world…. But tonight, after reading that…. I'm in Melbourne!
- July 29, 2011 at 2:30 pm
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Isn't it GLORIOUS! Sigh.. I'm a Qld girl, and have only been in Melbourne for 2 years, but I LOVE IT. I could never really put my finger on why, but there are a lot of points in this post that help! Good city. I'm glad it's good vibes are making their way into your brain
- July 29, 2011 at 3:57 am
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Wow, Lori, what an amazing description! If I had the money, I would be packing my bags now.
I'm so glad you're having a wonderful time.
- July 29, 2011 at 9:41 am
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What a brillant description of Melbourne. Glad that we melbournians are making you happy Lori. Enjoy the rest of your visit…..the sun is even shining here for you this morning
- July 28, 2011 at 10:41 pm
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I'm guessing its not windy there today… that wind comes in off the bay in the winter, its FREEZING… and I live in canberra and found it cold when i lived there!
I love melbourne. its my kind of town. St kilda is awesome.
- July 28, 2011 at 10:27 pm
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It's great to know that you are feeling so alive there. Like Robyn, your words want me to visit as well.
Enjoy your time in Melbourne.
- July 28, 2011 at 9:56 pm
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You make me want to visit there! Glad you are enjoying it
- July 28, 2011 at 9:53 pm
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Lovely! I was in Melb. Exactly four years ago for my 21st, so chilly! But a wonderful city! So much to do! Enjoy!
- July 28, 2011 at 9:51 pm
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I love seeing that tag at the end of your posts:
Stuff that makes me happy <3 - July 28, 2011 at 9:46 pm
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Soak it up, Lori
I'm so glad you're enjoying the trip – you've painted an amazing picture with this post.
Previous post: Melbourne, Part Two…. Shopping.
Next post: Melbourne, Part Four- The Reason I’m Actually Here.
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
*sigh* Despite telling me he wouldn't contact me again, I have another email from Joe.
Again with the missing Tweets. No, actually this time he's saying there are *extra* Tweets.
Once again, Joe, show me the money. Please, show me the missing- or extra- Tweets. Please.
I say it again- Bring it on, Joe. That's not a threat, Joe, darling. I'm asking. Bring it on.
Oh, and, you are correct, I did mix up my P's there. I correct myself "If P1 came out looking so good in the original post, what's the problem?"
Just for anyone who happens to be playing along, it seems our last anon commenter scared Joe quite badly. He doesn't want his response to that comment shown, but for some reason chose to email to me instead. The email contained the usual drivel about how Veronica faked a blog post, he's getting personal attacks and threatening emails, blah blah blah.
No one's fault but your own, Joe. You play with fire, sometimes you get burnt.
He has promised me this is the last contact I'll have from him. Huzzah!!
Joe, I sincerely hope both you and Cathy do some self actualising, take a deep breath, and get a bit more zen. As I've said before, for an art site you really aren't very zen. It's sad.
Whoa!! That last anonymous person, Ijust deleted your comment, then reposted it without Joe's phone number.
Please, do not do that again.I appreciate you trying to help, and I'm guessing the number is publicly available if you found it, but I don't want it on my blog.
OK? OK. Thanks.
Why not call Joe? His phone number is ***Removed by blog owner**
(sorry Joe, don't complain, your phone number is out there for people to call)
If Joe does not think that all of this is correct, he should write it all out clearly, minus any personal attacks so we can all see what is going on about. Maybe then it would be clearer. Because right now: he just sounds like a raving lunatic.
But Joe, from a complete outsider on this one I have to say that the original post written by Veronica was pretty clear and she didn't appear to be taking sides at all (infact I would say she was kind of amused her mother had found herself in hot water). You have actually made yourself look incredibly lame, attacking what people have said with no accurate rebuttal (except a lot of ranting about it being incorrect).
C'mon Joe. What do you have?
Seems to me that you just want to protect Cathy, your partner. Fair enough, almost everyone would do that for their partner. It's time to take a step back though and realise this is all pretty petty. Especially since you decided to make it all very ugly and start attacking others.
And Tenielle, it's a community art gallery forum thing of some type…. I think
Joe, the Tweets were P2- that'd be Kim- have said "Bugger" are visible both here and in Veronica's post. I don't see what that has to do with anything?
Secondly, I haven't provided any more information here than what is available to anyone, via a Google search.
Veronica reTweeted a Tweet, by her mum, mentioning TotalArtSoul. A public Tweet, that anyone could have seen. If that shows collusion, there is an awful lot of it going on on Twitter.
If P2 came off looking so good in the original post, what is the problem…?
Again, you keep mentioning these missing Tweets. Now you're even saying that Tweets that are there (Bugger) are missing.
And I say, again, show me the missing Tweets. If you can show me them, I will not only retract I will post a picture of myself in the bloody nude.
Bring it on, Joe.
Bits of the twitter conversation are missing from the original blog post, or maybe I should say, creatively edited, so it has been seemingly 'faked' to discredit the other party, person 1. This is one of many major issues of what is going on here.
P1 doesn't think they are the 'be all and end all' of anything, they just said that active members on their site get publicity, and it was pointed out to P2 that P2 isn't an active member, so isn't promoted, which P2 doesn't seem to like, and on the actual tweets (not the over-edited ones), P2 finally realises this by saying "bugger".
A twitter conversation between person 2 and her daughter are linked above showing them seemingly already starting to 'gang up' on person 1, which was the lead up to the 'faked' blog, posted the next day.
They have vehemently denied this, but Lori has unfortunately outed them by mistake on this blog post, which is hilarious.
By the way, in the other blog in question, no mention is made that P2, who comes off looking much better than P1, is in fact the mother of the blog post writer. (of course)
Hence the fracas.
Joe
Tenielle, totally correct. Bizarro.
Joe, I was blocked from your Twitter account. Not your site. I'm not sure if English is your first language, plase read the post again.
I also never said you were an idiot (in this post). (Even though you are). I said you seem think I am an idiot.
This can't be good for your blood pressure.
Goodness gracious, I can't even make sense of what happened, yet people are getting this riled up about it? (Then again, pregnancy brain + lack of sleep tends to do that to me…)
Am I right in thinking that basically:
1. Person 1 (a company? Forum of some kind? Help me out here) tweeted something about not wanting to give free publicity to members if they unfollow.
2. Person 2 jokingly tweets that the people Person 1 was talking about won't see the first tweet because they've unfollowed.
3. P1 assumes they're the be-all and end-all of Twitter and blogging, and snarks that the unfollowers will soon get less traffic.
4. P2, still in a joking mood, points out that they don't get any blog (?) traffic from P1.
5. P1 cracks the poops and decides to block P2 because they took P2's comment to mean s/he wanted more publicity for nothing.
Did I get that right, or are people jumping up and down about something unrelated? o.O
One other thing, thanks Lori, for proving one of our main points.
The tweet by Kim and the re-tweet by Veronica that you have shown in this blog, with very handy links (thanks also for that), saved me the work.
It definitely shows that there was collusion, and a vendetta against Cathy, and it is interesting to note that the blog was created on the day after, funny that.
As for credibility, it all seems to be falling apart, er, even more, but I am not talking about mine, if you didn't realise.
Joe
PS If any of you lot also want to prove me wrong, by digging an even bigger hole for yourselves, you are most welcome.
Wow!
*Flashbacks to high school*
Except there was no Twitter when I was in high school (THANK TWEET!)
Maybe some people need to sit in the naughty corner and calm down a little!
And if you are reading this Joe, you lost all credibility (or whatever you had left) when you posted anonymously. Man up and put your name on it or shhh up!
Her Highness has spoken…
That is all!
This is all getting a bit silly. Legal action? Really? Can you honestly say that you've been wronged to that great an extent? How about letting it go and getting on with your life?
Comments from 'Anonymous' or left with invalid details aren't worth the pixels they're rendered with. Go back to trolling the forums and leave the grown-ups alone.
I'm so glad you didn't harm any jelly beans writing this post. That would have been giving in to the bullies.
Well done you – nice post.
*sigh*
Anon Number One: Hi, Joe. You keep saying this. I've produced, as far as I can, proof on Veronica's behalf in the form of screenshots and Google links, to show there are no missing Tweets.
Either put up,or,please, shut up. The onus is on you to produce the 'evidence'.
Anon Number Two- If one blog post can 'ruin my reputation', I have far bigger problems, eh? I haven't lied. Everything there is fact, as I see it. And I don't 'constantly' write negative posts about anything except my husband and my mother in law, and possibly my poor, neglected children (getting in first with that one). Gesundheit.
Sue- Thanks for not being Anon. Had you had left a valid web address or email address, that may have helped. Another one who thinks I'm an idiot. I'm well aware of the content of the initial post. And yeah, maybe Veronica should have stated that FrogPondsRock is her mum, but it's considered common knowledge amongst her readers. I think maybe both Kim and Cathy were having a nasty moment on Twitter. It happens. We're human.
Honestly, I was going to leave all this alone, apart from having some fun in the comments section of the original post. But then Joe emailed *me*. So, I felt the need to respond. Publicly, because that's what I do.
I'm not quite sure what sycophantic means, but maybe you should see a doctor about it…?
Good gravy – i saw something about this on Wanderlusts blog too.
Why do some people have to take everything so damn seriously? Take a chill pill Joe….
I can see my house from here!
If you all could put your cringe-worthy sycophantic behaviour to one side for a minute, maybe you would realise there is no smoke without. This is how it started:- Kim, Veronica's mother was being unpleasant on Twitter, then Veronica decides to write a blog about that making the other party look bad, why do that? And then blame the other party for bad behaviour, your logic is underwhelming.
But there are still tweets missing?!!!!!!
This can't be doing your blogging reputation much good. Tut tut, bad netiquette to constantly write negative blogs about people. Especially when they're full of lies.
The screenshots prove nothing, I'm afraid, Veronica's blog post was still faked in favour of her mother
Wtf?
Must be something in the water, i've heard of quite a few "adults" turning into babies this week :
What a great post!
Good on you, Lori!
I'm very relieved that no jellybeans were harmed in creating this post. Hopefully this is the last desperate attempts before they stop harassing Veronica and everyone else.
Excellent post and well done you for going back through all her tweets. I wasn't up to it, so used the google archive tool to make sure I didn't miss anything (which, I didn't).
The worrying thing is, I don't know who else he emailed to tell everyone what a liar I was, etc. Frustrating.
Also, the bad reviews of the twitter post on stumble. Man, those hurt because they were full of lies stated as fact.
Wowsers, what a kerfuffle! They've damaged their own reputation far, far more than Veronica ever could have. What a total art soul.
bahahaha! "Patronising and condescending, but serious". Perfect.
Not as much as a fool as you look, there are still tweets missing from your screenshots Lori, so it doesn't make me look like an idiot at all.
The extra tweets on Veronicas blog at the end was from another tweet, no one seems to know where that came from, and was only put there to discredit Cathy, it certainly was nothing to do with the original conversation.
Also, I do not know which site you are banned from, can you explain it to me?
If anyone wants my email address, they can have it, one of your blogging friends has already emailed me, left a string of foul language, and also threatened me, hmm, interesting behaviour. She also claimed that she hasn't commented on all of this, but she has. Yet another lie.
And you claim that I am an idiot with no credibility? That is truly laughable.
Joe
"Joe, you have severely underestimated my stubbornness, tenacity and the amount of time I have on my hands today."
hahahahaha Lori that REALLY made me laugh!
Joe — seriously — give it up. You're looking like a fool. I took not one scrap of notice of the original blog post that 'started' all this, because it didn't interest me. (Sorry, Veronica. No offence.) But you can bet I'm taking PLENTY of notice now. And what I see is ugly. You've damaged your credibility and for what? Pathetic.
I have had issues this week as well, Exhausting. Am taking the high road though. Do not read me if you do not like me. PLEASE. PS Anon Comments piss me off more than the kids treading in dog shit then running it through the house. xox