June 2007

1001 Book Challenge – Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

June 30, 2007

A rags-to-riches tale with both a moral and a heart. Pip Pirrip is standing in a cemetery, visiting the graves of his parents when an escaped convict lunges at him, desperate for food and clothes. This meeting, which opens the book, will resonate in ways neither character could imagine. The convict is caught again and [...]

‘Me’ day

June 29, 2007

Update: You know the annoying person in every class? The person who has to pipe up with such starters as, “In my experience….” or “This is what I do…”. The kind who clunks you over the head with enthusiasm, yes, but also with a kind of unnerving zap that you just want them to shut [...]

Warm and toasty

June 28, 2007

This past weekend we put our electric blanket on our bed. I should state for the record that, honestly, we really don’t need it. We don’t. We’ve done quite well these past few years without it. This year is different. We have decided we MUST have total comfort 100% of the time we are in [...]

Out of commission

June 27, 2007

Wild weather in Victoria, eh? We’re not flooding* but the rain has been wonderful. What I liked especially was this low pressure system came in from the east. The east! Unheard of! I keep looking up in the sky, waiting for Mary Poppins. The kids, bugger it, are sick. How can I tell apart from [...]

Oh, Dear

June 27, 2007

Keira just ran by me, digital camera in hand. “Where are you going?” “To take a photo of dad on the toilet!”

Keira would not be impressed if I was a celebrity

June 26, 2007

The other week, for a laugh, I put on the “Temptation” episode on which I appeared, on the video, to see what Keira would think. At first, she was unsure why the techno-colours of Hi-5, or much more agreeable ABC themes, were not playing. Then, when she saw humble ole’ me come up onto the [...]

I realise this is cheating…

June 25, 2007

But I like Jim Carrey’s schtick. Here’s an example, which I found last night on YouTube. I needed a laugh. This sufficed. Not everyone’s cup of tea; especially if you hate award shows. But as I love them, that’s why I’m posting it here, and you’re probably not!! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyjewnwqNjI]

Who’s mothering who?

June 24, 2007

Yesterday, we were at the shops and having our customary muffin and coffee stop-off. Riley proceeded to take a gigantic bite out of a plastic spoon and half of it snapped off in his mouth. In my jumping up to retrieve the pieces, before he swallowed them and ripped his oesophagus, I knocked my coffee [...]

1001 Book Challenge – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

June 23, 2007

Rather an appropriate choice, as last night I watched Capote (thoughts? I was a little disappointed, to tell the truth). Anyway, considered one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it is perhaps indicative of the stature of To Kill a Mockingbird that most people who haven’t read it are at least familiar [...]