anyresemblance

The year in total

It's been a good year.  I like to think of this as my transition year.  I know how to be good to myself.  Next year will be tough financially so I'm learning ways to be good to myself without spending a heap of money.

Here's a meme i got via here.

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?

Went horse riding in Maui

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I prefer to think of them as principles to live by, and by and large, I succeeded

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Evelyn, my daughter’s former babysitter in the Phillipines had a son. I haven’t seen her for 8 years but we were still overjoyed with this news

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No

5. What countries did you visit?

Singapore and the US

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
Patience

7. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Sad to say the tsunami on 26 December

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I’d like to say a new job, but I’m still working towards finalizing that.  Still, setting the goal and working towards it has been good for me.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I like to think of it as learning to listen to the emotions behind the words and actions of my children and respond appropriately

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope, too many headaches but I understand the triggers

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My pearl necklace

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My oldest daughter, who despite the onset of puberty, shows herself to be thoughtful and loving

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Too many politicians

14. Where did most of your money go?
Household expenses

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Travelling with my children

16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
Missy Higgins, Scar

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
Happier
ii. thinner or fatter?
Just the same.
iii. richer or poorer?
Just the same

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Walked

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Drunk wine

20. How will you be spending New Year's?
Snuggling with my children

22. Did you fall in love in 2004?
No, I stopped loving someone and I got a huge crush on someone new

23. How many one-night stands?
None, I prefer to think of it as a series of one-night visits which I hope will continue

24. What was your favorite TV program?
I don’t have one, but I love to watch Charmed with my children as a ritual

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Nope, “when you lose, don’t lose the lesson”

26. What was the best book you read?
Maisie Dobbs

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Tom Russell thanks to flop-eared mule

28. What did you want and get?

Hmm, is it shallow to say I got to kiss someone I was very attracted to?

29. What did you want and not get?
A change of government

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Pieces of April.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Forty five.  P cooked a fabulous dinner at her house with friends and my daughters.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
To have finalized my financial settlement

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
Smart but edgy

34. What kept you sane?
My friends

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
None

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The war, stupid

37. Who did you miss?
Anne

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Karen Hemingway

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

"You don’t need no teeth for kissing gals or smoking cheap cigars"

I'm gone to the beach for a couple of days.  Back next year...

Best of times, worst of times

The news across South East Asia continues to be sad.  But the stories of individual courage and compassion are inspiring.  If you want to donate to help the relief efforts, here are some contacts via the smh.  If you can't make your mind up, my recommendation is World Vision but give something.  Amazon has also set up a facility to donate to the American Red Cross.  They've got over $3 million in donations already - just refresh your browser to see how many people are donating.

Donations
The Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and Pacific (AFAP): 1800 007 308 or www.afap.org
PLAN: Vist http://www.plan.org.au or call 1800 038 100.
CARE Australia: 1800 020 046 or http://www.careaustralia.org.au
Australian Red Cross: Call 1800 811 700, visit http://www.redcross.org.au or post a cheque to GPO Box 9949 in capital cities.
Oxfam: 1800 034 034 or http://www.oxfam.org.au
Medecins Sans Frontieres http://www.msf.org.au/
UNICEF: 1300 884 233, 1300 732 240 or http://www.unicef.org.au.
World Vision: 13 32 40 or http://www.worldvision.com.au.
Baptist World Aid Australia: Call 1300 789 991, by mail to Baptist World Aid Australia, Locked Bag 122, Frenchs Forest NSW 2086, or http://www.shareanopportunity.org.
Caritas Australia: 1800 024 413 or http://www.caritas.org.au.

Now that's more like it

Today someone googled VW Vixens MyName to hit this site.  Henceforth, I shall be known as the VW Vixen (never mind the fact that I have a Subaru station wagon...)

It is so cold I am wearing socks and a jumper.  This is Australia at the height of summer, for goodness sake.  I thought I had left that summer sock wearing behind when I left Glasgow.

I pieced a practice quilt. This one is destined to be a snuggly blanket thing for the girls while watching tv as I think it's got too much of an overally laura ashley feel about it for a bed but it is good practice.  I listened to Eminem while I was doing it which struck me as an odd juxtaposition to my diligent housewifery.

I did another long walk and I ache.  I saw heaps of people on their new bikes but no-one else walking.  Odd.

I made risotto cakes with the leftover risotto by mixing the rice with a beaten egg and a bit of mozzarella cheese then frying them in some olive oil.  I ate with a salad of rocket but I don't think that dilutes the calorific value.

I keep thinking about a sweater this person knitted me a long, long time ago.  It was in mohair stripes (as was the craze then) and the colours were pinks, lilacs and pale blues.  Someone commented that they were the colours of sweet peas and it struck me that all the wool I buy lately is in those same shades.  I keep thinking about that sweater and wondering what happened to it.

Big events, small events

It's hard to write of the sum of small things in my everyday life with the news of the tens of thousands dead across South East Asia with the tsunami.  I had to turn off the news, unable to watch for another second distressed parents searching for their children.  If you have something to give, give now to help the relief efforts since many more will die with the outbreak of disease in the aftermath.

I talked for a long time to older daughter last night.  It's cold at the beach - she said my step-son's girlfriend bought a pair of slippers in Bateman's Bay and my step-son bought the last, hideous jumper in Target because he was so cold.  She doesn't feel well , she says.  Code for, I miss you.  Only 3 more sleeps till I see them.  If the weather stays cool, we'll just stay at the beach for New Year's Eve.  I suggested we go up to Sydney next week for a look around at suburbs.  She cheered up at that.  I knitted you something today.  What, she asks.  She hates surprises.  A cosy for your mobile phone.   That made her laugh.

It's true, I finished the scarf yesterday (very wintery but suited last night's cold snap), knitted two mobile phone covers and listened to the rest of Grass for his Pillow.  Like the middle of most trilogies, I found it a rather unsatisfactory bridging episode.

Last night, given the chill, I made risotto with lemon, prosciutto and black olives and ate it watching Summerland.  What an enjoyable load of tosh.  While it can't compete with Charmed, it will serve as a satisfactory bit of girls' tv for the next few weeks.  I bought my daughter the Charmed soundtrack for christmas.  She also wanted Nirvana's greatest hits which is a satisfactory step forward.  She does tend to roll her eyes at too much Lucinda Williams listening by me but she loves Passionate Kisses.

I went into Lincraft yesterday to buy some velcro as closure for the mobile phone cases.  I ended up buying poppers like on jeans but when I got home, I realised that was really silly since the pressure would probably crack the face plate so I am rethinking that one.  The shopping centre was full of sales shoppers.  Yuk.  I was going to go to Sydney today but decided to put it off to tomorrow since the crowds might have abated some.

I confess I did a small amount of work last night.  A business partner I am working with called me on Christmas Eve about some unsettling developments and the need to do something in a hurry.  I agreed that I would review a proposal he had written so had to log on to my e-mail to read it and comment last night.  They are great people, have a fabulous offering that makes a real difference to their clients and good fun to work with, so I didn't mind doing it but I got a bit distracted catching up on the Archers archives (the updates get delivered to my work email) and deleting spam emails.  Despite working for a large technology company, our firewalls still don't block out between 10 and 20 spams per day to my work email.

I did another long walk yesterday, the other way round which is more uphill, and my shins were aching all day.  I should do it again today since it obviously working unused and atrophying muscles.

What kind of christmas was someone having (and what the hell was I writing about) for them to google my blog for the phrase "transvestite parramatta house"?

While it would have been my preference to spend christmas day with my children, I have to tell you I had the most peaceful christmas ever.  I had a respectable pile of presents.  My big sister sent me a whole box of violet creams from Jenners in Edinburgh and I'll get to eat them all to myself since there are no children here to whine and beg.  Claire gave me some beautiful L'Occitaine smelly stuff and a whole bag of swiss chocolates (ditto not having to share, anyway she gave the girls some too).  My father had given me money which I spent on the groovy golden pearl earrings.  I got the dearest little glass bowl and tiny spoon and some beautiful Liberty hankerchiefs from AB to add to my ladylike wardrobe and lots of other cute things.  One present was hideous but that is to be expected from any set of gifts.

This is the pot my daughter made me.

I had bought some wool to make something from my youngest daughter but found an unfinished scarf in the knitting basket so have set myself that task to finish first.  I watched lots of DVDs and knitted and read.

For my christmas feast I made lobster thermidor.  Hmm. To be honest, lobster is not that much of a luxury food for me, I think I would rather eat good fish.  And since I was stoked up on chocolates, I skipped dessert.  I had a good bottle of french champagne but it seemed a waste to drink it alone, so I stuck to some osyter bay sav blanc I had in the fridge.

And that was it.  Quiet. Peaceful.  Except for my sister who called at midnight having stuffed up the time differences, but I was glad she called me.

Today I went for a longish walk and passed the GovGen on his way to some official function.  Well, I was walking down the road leading to his mansion but it's the second time I've seen him in 2 weeks never having seen any of the previous incumbents.  It was a good walk since it was much cooler than of late.  Apparently, it was cool at the beach and my youngest daughter and my step-son's dog were the only ones game enough to go in the icy cold sea.

I'm planning to hack a branch off the apricot tree to deter possums from congregating there and to stop the branch from scraping loudly on my roof in the wind.

And since I am in a picture posting frame of mind here is the diorama my older daughter made and the farm model made my younger daughter (she actually had a french word for it but it's gone completely out of my head).

Quiet please

Night time summer sounds I like:  rain battering on my tin roof.

Sounds I don't like: possums line dancing on the roof, indulging in bacchanalian feasts on my apricot crop.

My friend told me her husband's favourite christmas gift last year was the super-soaker with which he would go out on the balcony and douse possums when they start their noisy, old men's catarrh, partying.

Peace and goodwill

Today was really good.  Well, for a start I am on annual leave until 10 January.  I have changed my voicemail message, left an out of office reply to anyone who e-mails me at work and shut down for the holidays.  I am sitting here drinking tea and eating a slice of excellent stollen made by the inestimable "mutti", mother-in-law of my dear friend, P.  Not only did Mutti spare me one of the stollen she was making for friends and family, but she wrapped it in blue paper and tied it with a red ribbon.  P said she sewed little cases for the others she made.

Claire-the-international-human-rights-lawyer has been staying with us the last couple of nights on her whirlwhind trip back to Australia from Geneva where she now lives.  My girls are more keen to have Claire as an audience for their dance moves or to watch Garfield (dreadful) with them than hear about her glittering career but I am, as ever, impressed at her focus on her goals and how much she achieves with such modesty. It was great to catch up even for a brief time.  We talked about this blog.  She's one of the few readers I have that I already knew. 

I delivered the children to their father's this morning and have spent the day cleaning my house and doing laundry but it has been enormously peaceful.  They are excited about a family christmas with their big brother and aunt over from the UK so I am sure that they will have a good time. They are off to the beach tomorrow and I will go down on New Year's Eve.

My older daughter wanted me to open my present before she left.  It's a beautifully painted and glazed pot in pastel colours with small iced buns decorating it.  Quite, quite beautiful.  It's on a theme since my wonderful PA bought me 4 pastel coloured espresso cups with illustrations of wild handbags on them.

Despite my misgivings, I have a respectable pile of presents under the tree for my solitary christmas.  I got out 6 DVDs today to watch over the weekend and bought a pile of books:

• Petros Markaris, The Late Night News (new to me, translated from Greek, featuring a grumpy detective)
• Henning Mankell, Before the Frost (love his books and this one introduces Inspector Wallander's daughter as trainee detective)
• Louise Erdrich, The Master Butchers Singing Club ( dunno about this one, it had a good review from Time Out)
• Mary S Lovell, The Mitford Girls (don't know I missed this since I was obsessed with the Mitfords when I was 16 and I'm sure ganching mentioned it to me)
• Ann-Marie MacDonald, The Way the Crow Flies (loved Fall on Your Knees)
• Diane Johnson, Le Divorce (I think I may have read this years ago but it's been reissued and I confess I loved the movie)
• Pamela Jooste, People Like Ourselves (don't know anything about this one but had a good review from Barbara Trapido)

It is still very hot but it looks like a storm is brewing. 

Can't. speak. too. hot

Yesterday, I drove a hundred kilometres delivering children to parties - pool and indoor rock climbing - at opposite ends of the city.   In the morning, we did some successful toy shopping for friends and wrapped and posted parcels (our local video shop doubles as a post office and offers a weekend service - for me the biggest shock about moving to Australia was to discover there was no postal delivery on a Saturday).  I roasted a chicken on the weber and we ate courgettes with garlic and tomatoes and potatoes roasted with garlic.

It was my evening for calls since my dad called.  He was obviously concerned about my move towards popery with the talk of a catholic school.  Oh well, he agonised, I suppose you're not a practising Anglican.  My other call was from my bestest friend who never calls me.  She was obviously concerned her christmas parcel had not yet arrived.  She was correct to be worried since I have not posted it yet.   This despite hers being the second card I received and a prompt and well wrapped parcel. Bugger.

A scorcher today.  At 8:30 this morning I had Miss S helping me net the fig tree and we were both sweltering.  Breakfast at Bees in Yarralumla with assorted friends.  I drank watermelon, apple and ginger juice which was divine.  Then I dropped Miss S at the movies in Civic while Miss I and I did some more deadly christmas shopping.  This has not been a year of inspiration on the present front.  More enjoyably, we went to the garden centre and I bought 3 new lavenders and two ivy geraniums.  My youngest daughter was so helpful.  Her sister would have been in agony at being forced to go to the garden centre but she loves to potter around choosing plants and sticking her hands in all the fountains and water features.  We put them in bigger pots on the front deck and watered them copiously.  Since it's an odd numbered date we were allowed to water with the hose today but we used just the watering can just the same.

I made cinnamon rolls from the recipe from this inspiring person who got it from another  (these two were the first blogs I ever read).  I did one batch of rolls with cinnamon and the other I used cocoa and sugar for a chocolate effect.  I am amazed that they looked just like the picture!  Tasting comes tomorrow.

I need some inspiration for reading.  I am only extended to blogs and magazines these days.  I am reading Jonathon Strange and Mr Norris and I just can't get into it.  In the first ten pages I thought, too clever by half and in love with its own cleverness.  I'm too irritated to read it.  Given me some suggestions please as I need an enthralling book to see me through christmas.  No, I am not ever going to read that stupid Dan whatshisname, so nothing to do with knights templar, renaissance scholars, blah, blah; no chicklit and no science fiction...

I've also updated my links.  Deleted some blogs which are no longer there, aren't being updated or that I haven't read for a while.  Added some new favourites:  azura who is beautifully quirky and has great illustrations (and beautiful, check out her hair cut), raraavis (though she is on a river somewhere) and lawyer guy whose liver must be taking a beating...

Being so totally vain and self-centred, the first thing I do on logging into typepad is to see how many people have been reading my blog.  Phew, someone has been idling away a Friday afternoon reading my archives.  I hope they enjoyed it as I have been feeling completely uninspired the last couple of weeks.  Still, now I feel like I can continue to post my random thoughts with alacrity.

I went to Sydney today.  I had to drop the girls at a friends so I could get an earlyish flight which was fine except I had a last minute fashion crisis thinking I looked horribly fat in my suit so ripped it off and put on another one, my slimming Lisa Ho number.  Unfortunately, it is winter weight jersey so I absolutely boiled all day while my colleagues in Sydney looked elegantly crumpled in cream linen.  Bitches.

I had three "executive interviews".  I said to my boss that I am feeling like chicken licken.  I tell my story and they all say "you should go and talk to X".  And I race off and tell the next person.  But no-one ever offers me a job.

I also went to check out two high schools in Sydney with a view to looking organised if I have to relocate.  The first was a groovy, inner city, strong in arts, free for all place with no uniform policy.  I know that elder daughter likes the idea of this but also know she is hopelessly disorganised and needs lots of structure so not sure this is right for her.  The second is genteel finishing school catholic girls school in stunning location with prim uniform and big focus on pastoral care, art and music.  I think this would suit her well but she will find it hard to see past the uniform.  As a strong supporter of public school education, I am torn between choosing to live in well-heeled suburb to ensure child goes to achieving school and living wherever but sending child to fee paying school.  Anyway, it's all theory till I get offered a job.

This weekend is christmas gift shopping, cooking and brunch with friends on Sunday.

Honour redeemed

I came home at lunchtime to meet the man who was going to clean my carpet.  I was sceptical but he has removed the encrusted filth and stains my children had ground into the family room carpet.  And he left me two lindt chocolates.  While he was here I made bread.  Successfully.  So I can climb out of my self-pitying swamp.

The low point of the day was driving into the back of a 4WD at the stop sign in Manuka.  In my minimal defence, it was bucketing with rain, my shoes were soaked, the car in front moved forward then stopped, my wet foot slid off the brake pedal and contact was made.  He had a tow bar so I have a small dent but I'm not precious about my car so all was ok.

I picked up my pearls which I had restrung.  They had been  on a suede thong but the suede was stretching so now they are on dark brown leather and they look really cool.  My friend, M, had picked out two golden pearls for me at a pearl sale week before last and I discussed how I could get them made up into earrings.  I'm getting them to hang off two gold hoops I already have.  I also tried on two pearl bracelets but since I did not have a spare $2000 was not tempted.  The shop owner has just opened a homewares shop in the same arcade.  She is selling L'occitaine products and other yummy things.  I admired a cashmere throw she had but was open mouthed that it was $1100.  I'm not sure who is going to spend that in this town but maybe I just don't move in the right circles.

In between all this domestic indulgence, I did a lot of work.  And now I have to compose a letter to my ex which I have to pass through my lawyer.  Yuk.  He is out of the country, however, which somehow always make me feel better