What's that there, can you see?

We had a fantastic adventure today. We skipped school (:o) and went to a very colourful, very energetic, very fabulous concert.

Thanks Justine, we love you.

peace and love xxxx

p.s. am I the only one who thinks Justine is the "Kasey Chambers wannabe chick" of Playschool? Although she may be more kooky than country.

Love is a tune you hum-de-hum-hum

Oh Bang! A boom-a-boomerang is love.



We're having a BIG ABBA festival around here lately. The DVD is playing endlessly :)

Ruby is love obsessed so of course her fave ABBA song is Bang-a-boomerang. Her fave ABBA chick is Agnetha - of course, because she looks like a princess. Max (who can never decide) loves all the songs and all of the "ABBA people".

I wish I could remember all the ABBA dance moves - *sigh*.

In other - non ABBA news - Max believes he "will be a man when he's 5" and that he accidentally ate a monster while he was asleep last night. Scary stuff. Ruby believes that daddy gives the "best hugs ever" and that she knows all there is possibly to know about money. She's pleased to have "5 pieces of money". She might have a bit more to learn yet. ;)

We've also bought a new car which we'll pick up in early August.

I'm back at work now after a short but super fabulous break for school holidays.

Be happy and well.
xxxx

The photo is from www.abbasite.com

I'm wearing purple today :)

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

I think this was written by Jenny Joseph.
I wish I had a red hat.
xxxx

Thursday, Thursday

I knew I couldn't keep with a post a day every day for a week. But I have taken a few photos every day :)

Thursday:

We went to New Farm Park. Hooray! It was on the holiday list so it was a must do. Both declared it is probably the "favourite park" now. It is rather fabulous. And on the river, so glorious. And with a most magnificent rose garden. And when we visited, there was an orchestra playing (so Ruby said), but it was really just a handful of people with instruments, including wild drums, who sounded amazing.

We ate canoli in Italy. Well at Cibo anyway -which is an Italian cafe, so it's almost the same.

We went to a gorgeous bookshop and looked and looked and looked. When R+M realised it was not a library, they became a lot more focused on the task of choosing. Lying on your tummy reading books in the middle of a bookshop is probably not bookshop etiquette but that was before the discovery that Mary Ryan's is not actually a library. We came home with a very small but greatly treasured box of Kung Fu Panda books and a glittery, sparkly book about a rabbit who becomes a fairy. Of course.

The only high drama in our fabulous day was Max showing off at the playground. Seeing me coming towards him he started going crazy on the fort, then threw himself at a "sliding down pole" only to cop a whack to the head and land on his stomach, because he forgot to hold on and slide.

I'm loving school holidays. I wish I could have 13 weeks off every year........*sigh*

peace and love xxxx

p.s. I need to add - Ruby has started styling her own hair. Her favoured look is one low pony. It takes her about 15 - 20 minutes to get it looking exactly how she wants it - as shown above. :) Not my style of choice, but so be it, she's her own girl.

Wynnum Plaza - we love you

It's a cold and windy wintry day in Wynnum. Too cold to go to Italy. Or even to go to New Farm Park. Our plans of catching the Citycat across to the park were quickly discarded when we realised how freakin' cold it is today. So we went to the place we love to go for treats - Wynnum Plaza.

We came home with donuts (!), a fire engine, a teensie eensie Lightning Macqueen and some new Barbie clothes, including a wedding dress (complete with veil, shoes and a bouquet). Since we've been home Barbie has married Chelsea and had a post wedding ride in the fire truck. Happy days. All the wedding guests dressed up for the occasion, including the cars. Sadly, the wedding photographer missed the action because she was having a hot cup of tea.

And for something else. It's 14 years today since Mark and I met. 9 July 1994 was a special day. This photo isn't from then, but it wasn't long after. 14 happy years. We're hoping for many more. :)

peace and love

xxxx

A list for today

1. I like the name "Sunday Rose". Even though she may be called "Sunday roast". Poor wee poppet.
2. I'd like some sunny days now for the rest of the school holidays. Rainy days are tedious.
3. Today we went to Spotlight. I think they purposefully recruit the most gnarly, growly, child hating, unemployable people ever. It certainly seemed like that today.
4. We bought rugs and fabric for curtains today. Hooray.
5. We had an afternoon tea picnic with day old cupcakes - it was fabulous.
6. Ruby is insisting I call her "Elizabeth" and Max wants to be "Mary".
7. Ruby has been on the phone calling all her friends to a party she's hosting for herself (Elizabeth) and her brother (Mary).
8. Elizabeth and Mary are having a birthday party today. We've just sang happy birthday for both of them.
9. Elizabeth is Mary's mother. I'm Elizabeth's mother. We live in Japan. Elizabeth has another mummy who lives in England. She likes to call her "mother". Elizabeth's husband is dead. He was eaten by a monster, a sad way to go.
10. The jonquils I bought last Friday are still deliciously fragrant and divine. I miss buying flowers every week. It was a "pre kids" weekly treat that I greatly enjoyed.
11. We've danced to the ABBA DVD again today - good fun. Ruby thinks ABBA may possibly be better than the Bee Gees, although she's still deciding.
12. Oven baked pumpkin risotto tastes so much better when you load it up with fetta. Elizabeth says it's "famous".
13. Max has not yet overcome his fear of hairdressers. Both had haircuts (well trims really) today. It was dramatic. *sigh*
14. Ruby has reluctantly conceded to having some purple in her room to save us from pink pandemonium. Thankfully. Because there wasn't enough pink twill curtain fabric at Spotlight today. The lilac twill is beautiful.
15. Today was the first day of my serious diet. I refuse to cut out my daily coffee though. And my glass of wine. And and and. Perhaps it's not a "serious" diet afterall.
16. I'm angry about what's happening with Dennis Ferguson. I wish the judge had tried him. It's going to cost a lot more to supervise him in the community than it would have in gaol.
17. Tomorrow we're going "to Italy for a day to eat canoli". I think Italy is in New Farm. I expect that New Farm Park is probably part of Italy too.
18. I'm loving time off work. I'm especially loving sleeping in till 7.00am and sitting around in my jarmies in the morning drinking cups of tea. Heaven.
19. In the last couple of weeks I've read Geraldine Brooks 2 most recent books: "March" and "People of the Book" - both magnificent. I was anxious about reading them because I loved "Year of Wonders" so very much and thought I'd be disappointed with her subsequent books. But I think her writing is getting even better. If that's possible.
20. There was an intensely beautiful sunset tonight. Magical even.

And some pics from our day:

Blogger is being dysfunctional today and I cannot move the sunset from the top to the bottom. I'm OK (well OK'ish) with the day not being perfectly chronological. Hope you are too.

peace and love, xxxx

Week 2 of the school holidays

Day One.

Today we:
* ate strawberries for breakfast.
* saw Kung Fu Panda. Scary for Ruby. "Not scary enough" for Max. So he said.
* played with Madeline. We looked for bugs, but only found a grasshopper. Ruby quickly threw it into the chickens who devoured it with delight.
* baked banana cupcakes. R, M and M decorated 4 each - colourful butterflies and flowers and pigs and some just plain sprinkly ones. Beautiful. And delicious.

A perfect day.

peace out.

xxxx

Happy Birthday Jan

Our dear and beautiful Jan celebrated her 40th birthday last Thursday. Saturday night was the birthday bash - we had a fantastico time at a gorgeously grown up cocktail party.

Happy Birthday party girl, we love you. xx

It's been a long while since Mark and I sipped on cocktails all night. I know Jan would say that she was disappointed I didn't drink the cocktail list with her (and maybe I did have a few soft drinks and a lot of water) but the bartender's list was 400 cocktails long - apparently. Too much for me! Although I was brave enough to drink the cocktail that no one else would drink - and I loved it.

It was a good fun night. Thanks Jan and Col.

xxxx