Happy New Year!

Just been to see Meet the Fockers which I have to say I loved. Of course it helped that we were in Gold Class - the last of Rory’s free tickets - but even so - lots of laughing out loud and boy do we need that in these times.

Anyway I found it a very amusing movie. Barbara Streisand and Dustin Hoffmann were hilarious as the Focker parents and Ben Stiller doesn’t disappoint. Robert de Niro is great as Mr Burns and the other two are ordinary and really immaterial to the script. Lots of Focker jokes which I must admit are pretty puerile but very funny and the baby is cute too.

While we were stuffing our faces in Gold Class the kids were practising independence by watching The Incredibles which they seem to think was “good” (Imogen) and “alright” (Hugo). More exciting was the 15 minutes they spent sans parents but with $10 each to spend in Timezone.

I continue to be impressed with the relief effort happening in Western Australia for the Tsunami victims - just when you think we’ve become a selfish nasty society something happens to show you that really we are good people just waiting for the opportunity to make a difference. The question is why do we have to wait for a disaster to happen?

Trivial Matters

Everything seems pretty trivial in the face of the devastation unfolding in the wake of the Tsunami and I am struggling to understand it.

But life goes on… You feel as if there is a wide gaping screaming hole in the world and that everyone should stop and, well, appreciate it - but life doesn’t stop.

My own days seem very mundane but I have been having some lovely times reconnecting with the kids - in particular Imogen who I spent the day with today while Hugo went off to Adventureworld with the Boyles.

I have been going for long walks in the morning - walking my iPod - and discovering that not all my music is good walking music.

And today Miss Immy and I went to see Polar Express - which was charming - and we managed to lure Rory to the table for a game of Cadoo which was fun - he won of course! He also set up my automatic weather station which Cath gave me for Christmas - now I can tell you the temperature outside/inside and a forecast - it’s currently forecasting rain - unlike the Bureau of Meteorology who are forecasting a mostly sunny day of 27C - Ah well - give it time to settle in.

Thinking about it I guess all we can really take from the disasters that surround us is an appreciation of our own lives and the people in them. And I do. With love…

Life Quake

So while I was clearing out my house - cleaning things up after Christmas - loading up my iPodmini (thank you Rory) - and playing with the kids - millions of people have been picking up their lives - wading in floodwater - waiting for the next wave - lamenting their dead or desperately trying to find the living. A sobering thought.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1272496.htm

We have been watching the SBS/BBC World Service reports tonight - the only channel to provide half decent coverage - and the pictures are grotesque - if repetitive. Plainly it is difficult to get pictures out of these devastated areas as we are seeing the footage looped over and over.

And as we watch we are thinking - is anyone we know likely to be there?

Christmas Eve

We are either drinking too much alcohol or getting old and losing our memories. What on earth did we do for New Year’s Eve last year? My mind is a blank. Did we go to Abi and Evan’s - we did two years before? The year before we went into Northbridge… Last NYE Cath and Georges were around - did we go somewhere with them? I don’t know. If I haven’t written it down it is lost. And despite copious blogging I didn’t. Better start wearing purple.

Anyway it’s Christmas eve. I just went out for a walk - a holiday resolution - to pick up a couple of coffees and stopped to have a chat with two little unintelligible three year olds. Very cute. Their grandma came out to translate for me. Apparently they have a blocked drain - poo poo water - but the plumber is coming out.

Today the last of the gift buying and then drinkies at Melissa and Bevan’s and then on to Philippa and Ron’s. We’ll walk home.

Then it’s time for Christmas.

I’m sitting here typing away while next to me Rory plays some shoot-them-up game on his computer - it’s very weird. Sort of companionable and sort of not. Is this our future?

So it’s me

So here we are on Day two of our mini-Seachange. Well we’re still on holidays really. Still being paid by work. Still on the run-up the hill to Christmas.

Thankfully this year we have adopted the sensible position of not buying everyone a present. Just a lucky dip, a secret santa, and then one for immediate family and Mandy (our houseguest), Sandy (our soon to be leaving us cleaner) and L (my nephew). And I’ll also be sending something to my niece and nephew in the US when I get my act together.

That’s still eight presents but it’s a lot less than last year!

I have been so busy this year up to this point that I haven’t written a Christmas Letter or sent cards. I do love you all - I’m just a slack tart. And anyway what more could I write - you know all the intimate details of my life this year - and there are always the archives if you have forgotton - I’m sure you’ll have time to trawl through that! :) Okay maybe not.

Next year we are going to be part of Mr Cha Cha’s Ballroom. We are very excited about it. Well that’s not quite true. I am very excited about it. Groover is humouring me. Mandy is still looking for a partner… (okay I’m just putting that out there I am NOT matchmaking…)

Also J and I are going to do a Painting with Pastels course - and again I am very excited about it and I suspect she is humouring me… We’re also doing a course with UWA Extension on Leonardo da Vinci which will be interesting given our big trip to Italy this year.

I’m also right into making jewellery - or I suspect I could be. I’ve been inspired by three friends. K in the UK (used to live down the street) who is a “proper” jeweller. She sent me some gorgeous earrings earlier this year which I wear constantly. Anna - who we visited yesterday - she is a well known Perth artist - she has just got about $1000 worth of beads from India and when we visited yesterday she was creating some fabulous brooches. She also gave Dippity a few beads to take home. Well we took them to A’s house - my Bali Belly Buddy - and she has been making jewellery this year inspired by these beads she found by an artist called Lily - and she helped Dipp turn them into earrings. They are gorgeous. She then made me a pair - divine! So I’m thinking… maybe I should have a go!

I think I might have a spare hour or two to devote to the craft…

So the summer stretches before me - a long glorious summer… I’m just hoping six months will be long enough!

Quotes

Life is either a daring adventure,

or nothing.

Helen Keller (1880-1968)



I seem to be talking in quotes a lot at the moment and I’m not sure if it is because I am lacking my own words (on previous form, unlikely) or just finding that others have said it better before me (more likely).

It does feel as if we are on the eve of a daring adventure. My last proper day at work today and it seemed to go by very quickly. I have just come home to get changed for the Christmas Party and then I have to go to do a last minute interview and editing job before tomorrow.

I am thinking it won’t be too late a night tonight as I don’t want my last show to be a blur.

And I don’t know what is in store. Will I come back to my Saturday show? Maybe it won’t be there to come back to. Or maybe I will be offered an enticing career change. Who knows. The thought that this could be my last show ever is quite daunting.

I am looking forward to trying out a few things though (like housework… that’s a joke Rory). I spoke to my favourite cafe owner today and told him I could be looking for work - I don’t think he took me seriously though. C’est la vie. Does anyone need an ex-broadcaster to do some odd jobs?

Feeling it now

Being the Change

Two great quotes which sum up our new life (due to start in five days).

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. - Andre Gide

be the change that you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Change is never easy. We are changing so much in our lives at present - changing schools, work, possibly the house - and there is no guarantee that it is change for good.

But the driving force for change is strong and we are determined to ride this wave and see what shore we end up on.

Just got home from the Christmas Concert. A curious blend of regret and excitement.

A difficult duty

Today I had to let our cleaner go. She has been a member of our household for five years and she does a terrific job. Indeed without her we may not have lasted as long. But with Rory leaving work and me on half pay, we simply can’t afford her.

So if you are looking for a first rate hardworking reliable and honest person to clean your house - let me know and I’ll pass on her details.

She did our laundry too and that I will REALLY miss. There is nothing so satisfying as opening your wardrobe on any given day and seeing flat clothes. Not to mention coming home after a tiresome day in the office to a clean house - it is a joy. Although I guess I won’t be coming home from the office either.

PHAT

Now I could be jumping to conclusions or getting the wrong end of the stick but I get the feeling that people around me think I’m putting on weight…

First Rory yesterday at the beach points out one of the larger women and says “That’s what you look like in a bikini”, and then when I point out that “Excuse me, I’m not that fat!”, says “I never said you were fat and anyway she’s not fat - she’s curvy.” Yeah. Right.

Then today I have a massage with mum - fantastic by the way - and being my mother she is not one to pull her punches - is this unconditional love to be completely honest? “I think you’re putting on weight”, she says. Followed by “Yes I definitely think you’re bigger.”

I am so blessed to have such observant people around me - obviously I hadn’t noticed my expanding girth, my ballooning thighs, my exaggerated middle. Plainly any difference in how my clothing fits had simply been explained as inappropriate laundry technique.

So rather than race out and buy that bright red two piece with tie-sides in my favourite swimwear shop I think I will bow my head to the inevitable and sign up for weightwatchers.

After I finish this last pack of Violet Crumble bites.

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