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School’s back

Feb 3rd, 2010
by muser.
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For Christmas I gave Matt tickets to the Twilight at Taronga concert featuring Katie Noonan singing the songs of Lennon & McCartney. I bought three tickets – one for me because I like Katie Noonan, and one each for Matt and Fraser because they both love Beatles Rockband. Lincoln would have been able to get in for free but we decided to leave him with Nanny and Poppy so that he wouldn’t disrupt Fraser’s enjoyment of the music, or the other patrons.

Twilight at Taronga

We arrived about twenty minutes before the show and were lucky to find a corner of grass on a highpoint, on which to spread our picnic blanket. Whilst the songs weren’t instantly recognisable in some cases, having been given the jazz treatment, Fraser enjoyed hearing the different instruments and seeing the big double bass. The singing was beautiful, (I love Katie’s voice), and the lit stage was spectacular in front of the city backdrop and ominous-looking grey clouds.

The rain held off for the most part until the last few minutes where we made for shelter to watch the end of the show before heading back to the car. Thankfully, we didn’t need to break out the emergency poncho which we would have, somehow, had to share between the three of us.

When we go to Twilight at Taronga in future, we’ll make sure we get there much earlier for the primo view. And bring extra emergency ponchos.

In other news:

Fraser started back at school last Thursday. He’s in a composite year K/1 class with most of last year’s classmates. Some have gone into a composite year 1/2. He hasn’t yet got into the groove of being back at school. He won’t tell me much about his day except to say that he’d rather be at home than do “art stuff” and he keeps asking for days off. I hope he’s just taking some time to settle back in and that the teenage-surly isn’t starting early.

He turns six this Friday. He’s requested spaghetti for dinner, just like last year. We’re planning on taking him rock climbing this Saturday and on Sunday we’ll have a little party at home with a few of his friends and his two cousins.

I’m still wrapped up in university study. I just submitted my second essay and assignment this week. My next milestone is the exam on 5th March. I did well in my first essay and assignment, (D and HD respectively), so I hope the trend continues.
Meanwhile, I’ve enrolled for the next unit which is through Macquarie Uni.

Happy hump day!

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Posted in: Fraser stuff, Other stuff.

Lily Allen

Jan 22nd, 2010
by muser.
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1.Lily Allen (51) by mystifyme07, 2. LA-7 by billchant, 3.LA-29 by billchant

A friend offered me a spare ticket yesterday to see Lily Allen that same night at the Hordern Pavillion in Sydney. My default position is to say no to these last minute things. I like Lily Allen but I wouldn’t drop everything like I’d consider doing for Kristin Hersh or the Throwing Muses. I don’t like to burden the people that rely on me with my unexpected absence.
So I told Matt about it and said I didn’t think I could be bothered going. He immediately jumped in to remind me that I had the next day off and it would be a good show and I should just do it.
So I did.

I’m glad I went. It was a different group of people I wouldn’t ordinarily socialise with. The conversation was hilarious and a dinner out amongst adults is always a bonus.

After walking through the line of security personnel, where all headache pills, gum, and water bottles were confiscated and tickets scanned, we made our way in just in time for Lily Allen to start.

The Hordern isn’t my favourite venue, it’s a quagmire of general admission where it’s often hard to see anything, but we found a nice pocket about 2/3rds back from the stage. (The last time I was at the Hordern was for Garbage back in 1996—my prolific gig-going decade.) There was no way I was standing up the front, in the stinking ‘mosh’ with all the jostling and the sweaty armpits, and I could see well enough as long as the tall people I was behind didn’t speak to each other.

I say ‘mosh’ because it wasn’t really one. There were teens and right up to people who were in their 50s. I guess that’s what happens when alterna-pop goes mainstream. So, it was a lightweight crowd and therefore, easy for this 30-something bird to enjoy the show. It wasn’t a lighting spectacular. There were no massive props, no fireworks. Just Lily and her musicians, and for one song, a dodgy rapper.

She sang well enough and looked great. (Though the British press is reporting on her cellulite—strike one against the Women’s Movement.) I think it’s the first time I’ve been to a gig that involved three wardrobe changes. It was entirely enjoyable—I knew all the songs, even if I didn’t know most of the words—and I’ve since read that this may well have been the last time she tours.

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Posted in: Other stuff.

It doesn’t take much

Jan 11th, 2010
by muser.
2 comments

It doesn’t take much for me to have a great weekend.

I got the sunlounge out of the shed on Friday and cleaned it off. By Saturday it was dry and ready for my lazy arse to be parked on it with a book–or in these Modern Times, the Kindle. At 10 am I slip-slop-slap’ed the kids and sent them outside for recreation while I lay on the sunlounge, on the lawn, in the shade of the solitary wattle tree. Fraser was bored in about five minutes and said “I don’t like outside”. I advised him to take a look around.

Look at this view! The fluffy white clouds, the blue sky. There’s a tiny plane flying across the sky! The green patch work quilt of the paddocks. Oh! there’s a ladybug. Did you see that huge mushroom under the stairs to the cubbyhouse? It’s huge! When we move house we won’t have all this to look at, son, so take it in while you can.

Eventually, they started amusing themselves and I got around an hour of quality reading time in.

Sunday was just as good with a family picnic in Mittagong. We found a refurbished park area with new play equipment, a lake, cycle paths, and plenty of shade trees. We took the scooters, ate vegemite rolls and read the paper. Read the paper! It’s been an age since I could sit and read the paper while the kids are up and around. As the kids get older there’s a sense of freedom and liberation gradually welling up within me.

Earlier today, I was repacking Lincoln’s daycare bag and noticed he was running low on summer clothes. So I pulled down the storage bag of Fraser’s old size 3 clothes and we’re all set. I looked at him and how he’s getting taller, wondered with amazement at how much his language has improved since we ditched the dummies and considered the size 2 clothes that will have to be passed on soon. I was wistful…for thirty seconds.

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Posted in: Family stuff, Lincoln stuff.

2010: The year of Big Things

Jan 8th, 2010
by muser.
5 comments
Christmas 09

Christmas 09

I think we’re just about all back on deck and back to work by now. I hope you had a smashing Christmas or, at least, a lovely break from mundane routine.

We had a small family gathering prior to Christmas with lots of fresh seafood and sunshine followed by the last couple of days at work and then we hit the road for Batemans Bay. We had a holiday rental house at Long Beach, five minutes north—great for a couple of families. We had a view right out to the water and just a bit of backyard before the beach. Fabulous position! It was a quiet, unpatrolled beach with small waves and shallow water.

Our Christmas Eve was another feast of fresh seafood on the balcony and then we prepped for Christmas morning. Dummies were surrendered into a bowl for Santa to collect and redistribute to all the new babies, cookies were put out on a plate, kids put to bed (with a few tears from a dummy-less Lincoln) and presents were wrapped and placed around the coffee table under the plastic Christmas tree.

The kids woke up super early every single morning, (that’ll happen when they share a room), so we were awake before 6am and cloistered the boys in our room until a more respectable 7am. Santa made an extra special visit on the local RFS fire truck, throwing bags of lollies out to the kids, Matt and Fraser played with their new remote control cars, Lincoln and Zara tried out their scooters, I charged up my new Kindle, wore my new necklace, and Bindy and I waited until a more respectable 10 am before we popped the champagne.

I bought a half leg of ham thinking we’d be bringing home leftovers but would you believe we had to buy an emergency portion of ham a few days later?! I guess we just love ham. And who doesn’t?

The first few days were rainy so we fit in a visit to Mogo zoo, a trip to Moruya to catch up with some ex-neighbours and some mini golf. Finally, on the second half of the week we hit the beach. The boys loved it and I loved it, not having had a proper swim at the beach for years. (Loved it so much we’re already planning our next resort holiday!) The men got some fishing time in on a few nights but didn’t manage to bring any fish home and I managed to get most of my uni essay done. At least I was productive.

On New Year’s Eve we tidied up, swept up, locked up, said our goodbyes to Bindy and co. and headed back home via lunch at Nowra and a NYE bbq and sleepover in Bowral.

Am I glad I took an extra couple of days off work before going back on Wednesday! I needed a bit of wind down time after all the unpacking and washing. And the celebrating. (I slept off all New Year’s day.)

So here I am at the start of another year. A new year with grand plans.

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Posted in: Family stuff, Fraser stuff, Friends stuff, Lincoln stuff.

Last minute preparation

Dec 22nd, 2009
by muser.
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We’re off to Batemans Bay for Christmas this year. Kami is in the cattery, we’ve had a family Christmas last weekend and tomorrow we’ll be packing our stuff to head off Thursday morning.

When we get there we’ll pick up our boot-load of seafood, and relax with champagne in hand with Bindy and family. We’ve rented a house together for the weekend and we’re looking forward to having a lot of fun.

Among my last minute preparations was throwing together a Santa sack for Lincoln. Bindy made Fraser one for his first Christmas and I never got around to organising one for Lincoln. Until tonight.

Need a last minute Santa sack?

  • Buy one pillowcase – $4 on sale
  • Buy contrasting fat quarter and length of gold ribbon (or check your stash) – $4
  • Use adhesive stuff together with your contrasting fabric and cut letter shape with pinking shears (‘L’ is easy)
  • Iron, peel off backing paper, iron again onto the pillowcase.
  • Crazy freehand machine-stitch around letter
  • Stuff with gifts and tie ribbon around top. Voila!

I wish all my readers and persistent comment spammers a lovely, peaceful Christmas. May your 2010 be blessed and fulfilling, and may the spammers get better paying jobs.

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    Posted in: Crafty stuff.

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