The Year of the Flood

From July / August  2014

Farewell is the song Time sings...

from 2/17/2013

"The Big Over-Easy: A Nursery Crime" - from May 2013

From July / August  2014

Oh my goodness!  What fun! I had grown tired of Thursday Next - though never of her name - but loved both this and "Shades of Grey: A Novel".  Pick up a copy.  You deserve it.  Meanwhile, off to order "The Fourth Bear" from Amazon.

"..Well, there's usually a rule of three somewhere.  Either quantitative, as in bears, billy goats, blind mice, little pigs, fiddlers, bags of wool or what-have-you, or qualitative, such as small, medium, large, stupid, stupider, stupidest.  If you come across any stepmothers, they're usually evil, woodcutters always come into fame and fortune, orphans are ten a penny, and pigs, cats, bears, and wolves frequently anthropomorphize."

...

"Do they know?"
"Do they know what?"
"Do they know they're nursery characters?"
"I think sometimes they suspect, but for the most part they have no idea at all.  To the Billy Goats, Jack and Jill and the Gingerbreadman, it's all business as normal.  Don't worry-- you'll get into the swing of it."

...

"What happened to your last DS?"
"His name was Alan Butcher.  A good man.  He died in a car accident."
"I'm sorry."
"Not as sorry as I was; I was the one that ran over him in my wife's Volvo.  But it wasn't my fault--he stepped out in front of me."
"Was he...tall?" asked Mary a bit recklessly.
Jack shook his head sadly.  "You've heard about the giant killing already?  Sometimes I think the station talks of almost nothing else.  Well, hear it from the horse's mouth: Aside from Butcher, they were all self-defense.  When someone that big comes at you with a knife, you don't stop to worry about using lethal force.  It was him or me.  Same as the other two.  Mind you, only one of them was technically a giant--the rest were just tall. .."

...

"...By the way, how many giants have you killed?  I ask only by way of curiosity and self-preservation, you understand."
"Technically speaking, only one," replied Jack with a sigh.  "The other three were just tall."
"To kill one giant might be regarded as a misfortune," said Brown-Horrocks slowly.  "To kill four looks very much like carelessness."

Look what is new at our house!

From July / August 2014

He started last week Wednesday. I think it is because I dressed him in shorts and his little knees were tender after being covered all winter. (I'd insert evil laughter here if it had been even marginally foreseen.)

Go, Zupe!  Go!

Oh, and it is MOSTLY just a function of the video - that Zombie gait that he's displaying.  He is, however, our son.

Just don't do it.....

From July / August  2014

Am I the only one who puts the accent on the second syllable?

The Bone Bed by Patricia Cornwell

…and I will dance this dance alone and it will be a dance I've danced before….

I'm cleaning house

From January 2, 2013

Well, so to speak.  You couldn't tell by actually visiting my house.  Of course, Kevin would tell you that cleaning is recognised by - damn this autocorrect - it refuses to allow me to use American spellings - an increase in mess.  There are piles of things where there once were none and paper spread over every flat surface.  The dead give-away, however, is that the vacuum is lying about.  Well, that used to be the dead give-away before Zupe.  Now, it might mean that he wanted to play with the vacuum and I was powerless to object.

But, while I am making a attack on the box of papers that need to be filed or followed-up-on or discarded (because the follow-up period has long since passed or my passion for them has waned below the file level), what I'm making an effort at lately has been to clear the draft folder in my blog.  I have an amazing number of draft entries - some of which are only titles many of which no longer stimulate me to remember the event I intended to chronicle.  I'm starting with the oldest.  Sometimes I post them "on" the date that I wrote the beginning of the blog and sometimes, not always on purpose, I am publishing them on the current date.  That's why I'm wishing my friend Diane a happy birthday in June for her January birthday….in 2008.  Yay for me.

Be Mine

If I should I live forever
And all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you.

Happy Birthday, Diane!

From June 2014

Diane, you are another sister. I can't believe my good fortune to find you my roommate that first year at Ohio State. Such a big place to find a familiar and dear face. I treasure those years with you- and hope that this birthday was outrageously special. Maybe sometime we should get together again?

Originally written, and languishing since, January 2008.  Please tell Diane, if you see her, that I love her.

You can't get better than this!

The music! The costumes! The whistle!!

Wow, this was originally written in 2010.  I cannot figure out why it was still a draft.  I am feeling sad, however, that I don't think the link works and I am dying to know about the whistle!

Australian True Crime - draft from 2009

In the last week Kevin and I have finished "Underbelly" (the 13 part series about the Melbourne gangland murders of the 1990's and early 2000's) and "Chopper" (a movie about another Australian bad guy, Mark "Chopper" Reed.) We enjoyed both: "Underbelly" was both an excursion into Australian television (which, despite having lived here for over 2 years (over 3 for Kevin) we've never watched) and an OK story. "Chopper" was an excellent movie about a very unusual and disturbingly amusing character. You know. The kind of amusement you only feel when you are very far removed from the actual events and people.

So, Australian TV. I'm not sure I can put my finger on the exact difference(s), but (on the basis of watching a single progam series, mind you) there is a palpably obvious dinstiction between American and Australian TV. You can definately turn off the audio and still recognize that this is not a product of NBC or HBO. People are doing Australian things- like eating and DRINKING outdoors- around the barbie, hanging clothes out to dry and driving on the left side of the street. There is, also, something different about the editing - particularly scenes involving cars and car chases. And, in "Underbelly", at least, it takes lots and lots of bullets to kill a person. This may be historically accurate or it may be an artistic decision- or both. Maybe Australians are just really poor shots.

This one goes out to the ones I love

Happy Valentine's Day! to all my friends and family. I dearly love you and look forward to spending time with you.



This post was in draft form from 2008.  I am not sure why I never finalized it!  None-the-less, enjoy!

In my inbox today....

From June 2014

Send a Greeting Card for Queen's Birthday (not Western Australia) on Monday June 9th‏!

Who could resist?? But, where, exactly do you find a greeting card for the Queen's Birthday (not Western Australia)? Though, I suppose, there is a clue there - don't look in Western Australia. AND, once I have the card, to whom would I send it? To the Queen? But, it is a holiday for all of us - not Western Australia....

Since I don't know what to do and a search of Birthday Alarm cards fails to yield a "Queen's Birthday (not Western Australia)" card, I have decided that a short blog post- sending out to everyone -except you-know-who ...what? you don't like a party? - will have to suffice.

And, we will need JUST the RIGHT photo.

PS on the watch-thing

You probably don't want to be the one to buy me my next watch, because even though the watches have only lasted a few years, each watch has outlived the giver. Isn't that sad….

Postscripts are awkward on the blog, as they appear before the original post… Hmmmm.

Out of time

From May 2014

This post title could mean so much. It could refer to the facets of my life that have kept me from updating the blog in months - despite birthdays and a fabulous trip to NZ to visit friends. It could refer to another musing of life and death and how every book I pick up lately confronts this theme. But, it is much more prosaic.

About two weeks ago now, I lost my watch. I love that watch - a Timex that is the third iteration of the perfect watch for work: not digital (can YOU count heart beats while watching digital numbers run past?) and with a second hand. Plus, it had "Indiglo" - push the crown (the once-upon-a-time-wind-me-up-button - I google the name for it, so don't give me any grief) and the face would glow in the dark. Perfect for checking the time in the middle of the night here where my on-the-bed clock only "glows" for a few minutes after the lights go out - and besides, I couldn't see it unless I pressed my face up to it or wore my glasses. My first such watch was a graduation gift from my Grandmother when I finished vet school. The "Indiglo" function died and I exchanged it for a "new one" - at Kohl's. (You can exchange ANYTHING at Kohl's. Take it from a former shoe department employee who accepted shoes in deplorable condition for exchange.) That watch eventually ran down and even a new battery wouldn't fix it. My third watch was a gift from my sister for my birthday a few years back..at least 2 watch bands and a battery ago. This is the watch I lost.

I looked all over the house with Kevin's admonition echoing in my ear - "there are only so many places it could be". Where did I have it last? At work. And, where are my scrubs from work? In the laundry.

I found it. I had washed and dried it. It lost 10 minutes. Ten minutes. How does that happen? Alien abduction was the first solution that came to mind. I reset it and put it on. The band was a little brittle feeling, but …

I noticed it was losing time. One minute every hour. And then, after a couple more days, it just stopped working. It is 8 o'clock.

This is about the time I got sick. Zupe had a fever for two days and was waking at night unhappy for two more. But me? I've had a non-stop, no sleep cough for 2 weeks. It really sucks the SECOND week you have to go to work with such a cough! I woke up Friday morning early dreading a fatigue filled work day and listening to the garbage pick-up. I plastered my face to my bed clock and turned on the light of my Kindle. Four AM. Wow. Early. More sleep (potentially) for me. I lie awake willing for sleep to return and recognising that sometimes my thoughts were a bit too bizarre and must be dreams. I open my eyes again and the bedroom has a soft glow of early morning. Experience tells me it is about 6:00 AM. I grab the clock and hold it level with my nose. The time is 4 AM.

Or,maybe it is 4 PM.

Life lesson #422

A croissant ceases to be a thing of beauty after microwaving it for 50 seconds. How did I let that happen????!

I'm famous!!

From walk through West End

Check out this entry in Bored Panda. What is currently entry number 6 - submitted by Anonymous Panda - It's me! It was a beautiful day of wandering around the West End in Brisbane and being pregnant with Zupe. You won't see the pregnant, only the "mouse hole" and mice.

"The Beginner's Goodbye" by Anne Tyler

My friend Luke told me once that he'd been considering my question about whether the dead ever visit. It was true that I had asked him back around the time I had asked Nate, but this was weeks and weeks later. Apparently, he had been deliberating the issue ever since. "I've decided," he said, "that they don't visit. But, I think if you knew them well enough, if you'd listened to them closely enough while they were still alive, you might be able to imagine what they would tell you even now. So, the smart thing to do is pay attention while they're living. But, that's only my opinion."

INGRID MICHAELSON - "The Way I Am" - (official music video)

Kevin is a wonder at getting things that one of us thinks we need or might enjoy. He recently found he had a discography of Ingrid Michaelson though neither of us knew WHO she might be - OK. Yeah, we knew she'd be a musician. This was NOT the song that he eventually figured out that had spurred his interest. Nor was it the song that was featured in the HBO program we both loved, "Enlightened". The special song was one about breathing. I should find it for you…. or maybe Kevin will.

From Kevin:

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Being dead is not worse than being alive, it is different though. You could say the view is larger.

"The Lacuna: A Novel" by Barbara Kingsolver

From February 24, 2014

"For any homeless wanderer, he is a miracle of instruction. Now that he is exiled from every place on earth except a desert wilderness, he declares a passion for cactus."

From November 6, 2013

When I was a kid walking home from school (35 miles, barefoot, through the snow), I had a lot of time to observe the world and ponder. On three or four days EVERY YEAR, the snow melted (spring) and the world leaped out of its monotone cloak into vibrant brown with greenish hues and on these days, as I left the empty lot and crossed into my friend Joyce's backyard, I was confronted by white dog poo. Yes, Snowflake the Alaskan Spitz was a white dog, but so was the poo that coloured (not the best choice of words here) the grass under the clothes line on which he was frequently chained. Even then I thought it was odd because my dog, Peanut, had brown poo.

I still think it is odd. I've now lived with dogs and picked up dog poo for close to twenty years. Poo is white only when it is stuffed with kleenex. What was Snowflake eating? Granted, I have figured out that it didn't leave his little white bottom as little white poo but aged and bleached into these calcified nuggets. Still, did he have a metabolic condition that over-mineralized his excrement?

Zelda has been dancing on the other side of the rainbow bridge for 4 months now and gross as it may seem to you, I have been watching the few and scattered fecal boluses in the back yard. I couldn't bring myself to scoop them up and dispose of them. They were what I had left of Zelda and maybe cloning technology would take a leap into easy affordability in the next few days and then I'd want that poo! Anyway, there's still a couple of pieces left - under the clothesline though she was never chained there - she just knew it would be a most inconvenient spot - and now they are white. I still don't understand Snowflake, but these, I've decided, must be angel-dog poo and it brings me a little explosion of joy to think she's still checking in on us.

I miss you my princess. Even though you had been confined to the kitchen for your incontinent ways for the last year, I expect to see the blinds stir and then you to meet me at the door when I come home. I keep the screen door closed when I close the sliding glass doors in the kitchen so you can see the closure and not run headlong into the glass. As the days then weeks roll by, in my heart you get younger and are once again in your prime. You tear through the house chasing a balloon. You dash around the backyard playing soccer with me. You pause for minutes to meditate with your peace lily. You leap over and over again at the table while we eat hoping to attract a scrap. Your chin is on my knee when I sit on the couch or lie in my bed. You never give me kisses. Zelda, there is SO MUCH FOOD on the floor these days. I am so sorry you aren't here to enjoy it - sometimes, it is even watermelon!

On occasion I try to think about having a dog again one day but my mind struggles. In my heart - having a dog again - means that somehow I open the door and Zelda is back. Where have you been, dear friend? I love you, so. How I have missed you!

From February 1, 2014

From February 1, 2014

Happy Birthday Dear Renee- ee

Sunday is your birthday. You could be 51. You won't be. You'll always be 50 and, not really. Really 49. Why are you letting ME get older by myself? Isn't the little sister supposed to do that with you? Are you sure you read the fine print?

Sorry Renee. I'm still so angry about this. I'm angry about a lot of things. And, sad. Angry and sad. You name it: angry and sad. When will it stop? How will it stop? Damn it all.

And, I feel so bloody (salute to my new land) selfish about it all - because I want you to be there for me. I miss you. I have a list of projects I need your help with - not the least of which is raising a boy. A BOY, Renee. What do I know about a BOY. And, he doesn't make it easy by possessing a shared language with me. Doesn't he realize I don't know what I'm doing? That, I need some sort of break, here?

The most recent issue of BH&G (Australia) had the audacity to publish an article called "now Paint Your Own Art". HOLD IT. That was your job! I am surrounded by too many, too white walls. They taunt me.

And, who's going to laugh with me about this idea - cutting an Elvis image into your lawn? Laugh and then DO IT!

Gotye, Somebody That I Used To Know -

This is going out to everyone!

Only four weeks now until I need to be packing for New Zealand! Maybe I should be packed already. No, there's still Thursday!

Aloe Blacc - Wake Me Up (Acoustic)

This is here - not because I understand the lyrics, which has been established - but because the tune struck me as beautiful - and I didn't want to forget it.

Suck-cess!

My vacuum cleaner sucks! Which is to say, it no longer sucks. By that I mean, it USED to suck because it didn't suck but NOW it doesn't suck because it does!!! Woohoo! I feel like such a success! Thank you You Tube!

Edited: When push came to shove and I attacked the living room carpet, I was sadly surprised to find that my lack of suction had returned. Cleaned the filter again - and ta-da! - we were back in business. But, again for only a few strokes. It took an embarrassing amount of time and repetitions to figure out that there was a hole in the vacuum bag that was blowing debris around in the canister which was then obstructing the filter. I reserve judgement on my success and am still assessing the probability that I'll be buying a new vacuum cleaner.

I think I needed to pull up the blanket…

From January 1, 2014

Last night I had another of my taking a long trip through Ohio dreams. Well, at least that was part of it and by long trip, I don't really mean great distances by car - but usually I"m on foot and I've found a new way to run and I think, "Why don't I do this when I am awake?! It is so easy!" This time I had a silver tricycle - a little silver tricycle and I was traveling between Columbus and Piqua (on small back roads as you would with a little silver tricycle - or when you are practicing your special new running style) through the dark and through the ice and snow. I had an appointment in Piqua. I had to be there early. By 6 AM. Oh, and Zelda was running along with me.

So, I go to this appointment. I was on time but I was not expected. I had failed to call ahead - alerting the medical team with my special toothbrush. And, I had a dog. What was I going to do with Zelda during this appointment. Then, again, I needed to get home and I was not going to be able to travel back on my tricycle.

I was feeling like it was a good thing that this needed to be postponed since I was obviously NOT READY when a nurse or doctor or technician came out carrying a tray on which sat three Easter eggs and three frozen embryos and I had to either make it work or walk away.

Zelda, meanwhile, was donning a white coat. She was fitting right in.

Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood (9/9/2013)

From January 2014

What a marvellous, marvellous book… and wonderful, wise and witty prose. Drink it in. Some of my favourites!

(And, let it be know that this damn computer is an Aussie and corrects all my spelling. That last word up there, the one before the exclamation point, it didn't have a "u" when it came off my fingertips.)

The persistence of material objects is becoming an amazement to me. It's the same door. The one I used to go in through, out through, year after year in my daily clothing or in various outfits and disguises not thinking at all that I would one day be standing in front of this very same door with my grey-haired little sister... but all doors used regularly are doors to the afterlife.

As any bank robber can tell you, Nell would say, the best thing to do when running away is not to run. Just walk. Just stroll. A combination of ease and purposefulness is desirable then no one will notice you're running. In addition to which, don't carry heavy suitcases or canvas bags full of money or pack sacks with body parts in them. Leave everything behind you except what's in your pockets. Lightest is best.

"I am a cannibal", she thought with odd detachment.
Maybe she would grow cunning up here on the farm. Maybe she would absorb some of the darkness, which might not be darkness at all but only knowledge. She would turn into a woman others came to for advice. She would be called in emergencies. She would roll up her sleeves and dispense with sentimentality and do whatever blood soaked, bad smelling thing had to be done.

She would become adept with axes.

In the end we'll all become stories or else we'll become entities. Maybe, it's the same.

Batman eats a chip! (11-6-13)

From November 6, 2013

FRENCH FRY!! All the other kids were doing it - so after 30 min of intense peer pressure, he relinquished. And, as of today, Jan 29, 2014, he has had no more…though I would have stopped at McDonald's today if I had seen it.

Sushi! Sushi! Sushi!! (Mid November - I must look before I edit!)

Sure it was just an avocado roll and he didn't actually eat any avocado and not much rice, but he enjoyed the nori wrap and sucked down plenty of pickled ginger.  I'm so proud!  My big boy!!
Edited Jan 29 - He's doing much better with the rolls and will eat everything except the avocado. ?? What's wrong with the avocado, Zupe?
Anyway, I what I really wanted to add here is that I have no idea what   means or where it came from. Perhaps, it is code and something cool will happen when this is published. We shall see.
Hmmmm - it disappears. ( )

January is almost over

From January 2014

And, how go those fleeting-on-the-edge-of-consciousness resolutions? I've made myself ONE green smoothy - a chocolate/banana/almond butter smoothy with a mix of spinach and arugula… interesting combo. I would do it again. Maybe next year. I've managed to do my exercise maybe 3 times. That's close to weekly. And, on one day I didn't look like a slob - though I needed a haircut. That is coming. February 6. I just can't keep my hairdresser in the country! Oh, and the blogs. Could be worse. I wrote a series of twelve just to get to a one word punchline. And, despite my camera dying, I have managed to get a few photos published. I'd say, 2014 looks like it is on the road to success!

Finally - On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

FABIO

From christmas 2013

As you see, Zupe was suitably impressed!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

FAMILY!!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014

Santa brought gifts. Santa and the Grand One, and Auntie, and Uncle Sam, and Cousin Elaine, and Nana Linda, and Aunt Carolyn and….

From January 1, 2014

From January 1, 2014

From christmas 2013

On the Ninth Day of Christmas

From christmas 2013

SANTA!! This photo was taken at the Piqua Mall. Santa didn't have much of a lap and Zupe was not impressed. This was the only non-tears photo. Gone is our happy to sit with Santa boy. Maybe that is a good thing. Men with long white beards…. suspicious.


Because I wasn't overly pleased with the photo and, why not- Santa was in town- we took Zupe up to the Eagles' Club in Versailles. Daddy and Zupe and Santa had a much better time there. (Love the North Pole Coors Beer sign!)

From christmas 2013

And, sometimes all you need for a great Santa photo is the right hat.

From January 1, 2014

On the Eighth Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014

Shopping and exploring Bear's Mill. Bear's Mill is always on my list of things to do when I am at home - especially when there are gifts to buy. Kevin had never been there before - though Zupe had. So we explored the upper "working" levels of the mill and then took a walk along the water. This was the first time that Zupe enjoyed being out in the snow. He was smiling from ear to ear as he bumped along in his stroller/sled. Way too many photos here. I'll make a slide show. Enjoy!



I can't believe I didn't take a photo of the great little penguins I bought for Christine… What was I thinking?

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014

More lights…but these get separate billing as "nativity scene".

From January 1, 2014

On the Sixth Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014

My favorite - the lights! Christmas lights really shine on a snowy night!

From January 1, 2014

From January 1, 2014

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014

my mother said to me
the time has come
to put up the tree!

From January 1, 2014

We were concerned how our short man would handle a tree with decorations and so my mother decided not to "put up a tree". That really meant not to use breakable ornaments or to put up a tree in the living room. There were, however, three trees in the foyer and countless small trees adorning mantels, and tables, and window sills (oh my!). We were not suffering from a deficit of holiday color!

From christmas 2013

Zupe did really well with the trees and hardly ever took the golf ball ornament off my "father's" tree to hurl it across the room. (But, could you really blame him? It WAS a ball.)

From January 1, 2014

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014

I decided I really wanted to take photos of trees that stand alone in fields. I also wanted to get my shopping done. In fact, I wanted the latter first. It was on the drive between Versailles and Piqua - with my mother driving and the forecast calling for white-out conditions - that I was inspired to want the tree photos. I tried taking some shots through the closed car window (my mom thanks me for that) while driving probably less than 55 mph (road conditions). Remember, I was not doing the driving.

From January 1, 2014

This shot, you'll note, lacks the solitary tree motif which was the whole point of the entry. But, I wanted to share with you what I discovered and loved as a kid traveling the country roads between my house and my grandparent's farm. Anywhere you looked, in the back of that field that was fronting the road, there was a forest. Maybe they aren't "real" forests, but only moderate stands of trees. The point was that even though they were not physically contiguous, they formed a ring around any place I was. The frontier of Ohio stands on the edge of the present day.

On the Third Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014

It snowed. There will be other days of Christmas with snow - but the snow won't keep Christmas from coming. (I promise. I have seen the future and it is off-green.) In the meantime, some photos to enjoy of the snow around my mother's house.

From January 1, 2014

From January 1, 2014

From January 1, 2014

On the Second Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014

This should really have been "the first day" - but I was too amused by the turkey. On the Second Day of Christmas …. TRAVEL: by plane, by car.

From January 1, 2014

To LA, to Dayton, to Versailles, to Cleveland, to a BIG OLE VIRUS that kept us in Versailles with only excursions to Troy and Piqua. Then, of course, it was back to LA and Home. The second day of Christmas lasted 5 weeks.

The First Day of Christmas

looked a lot like Thanksgiving…….

From January 1, 2014

My research on flight prices revealed that traveling from Oz in November was significantly less expensive than in December. Fortunately, I have a very accommodating boss who was willing to let me go for 5 weeks - making it possible to be home for both Christmas and Turkey Day. And, Kevin, has so many holidays that he probably surprises his coworkers on the days he shows up at the office. Yay! Let the festivities begin!

It's a brand new year - so let's wrap up the old one….

I get so excited about the new year… the buying of a new calendar, a new date book, maybe a new pen… resolutions, a do-over. The time is rife with possibilities! I even start thinking of getting some Christmas cards out. This year I felt particularly ambitious. Maybe it was all the difficulties and losses of the last two years. Maybe it was jet lag. I was giddy and ambitious and remembering when Mondays used to be my favourite day of the week. (Yes, really - for the same reason - you never knew what wonder laid ahead.) Anyway, I thought I'd get back on my qi gong horse, fix up my diet, get on a "photo a day" program, write my blog, write old friends, clean off the table, get a new desk, clean the shower…. Nothing has really gelled - yet. But, I do not despair. Tonight, I will start cleaning up 2013. I will start at the end of the year and maybe later I'll attack the 42 draft entries that lie in wait. Tonight we begin with the 12 days of Christmas. (I must admit to being a bit anxious about this project - I think it is because my outline only contains 10 days!)

The Power of the Heart - Peter Gabriel

Book of Love - Peter Gabriel (Lyrics/Pictures)

Happy New Year!

There are at least 20 unfinished posts in the "draft" status from 2013. I'm trying to get back to this project - and several (many?) others. A new year. A clean sheet. The possibilities are endless and I can almost taste success. But, as it is already after 9 PM and it is a "work night", I need to keep this short. Short is do-able. And, so, here are two of my new favourite songs from Peter Gabriel's 2010 (I believe) album "Scratch My Back". Happy New Year! Enjoy!!

Hoping to be

Dear Dr

I would like to begin by stating that we have been very satisfied with your care of our son, James O’Brien. Thank you for your thorough and conscientious attention.

I am having a problem, however, which I am hoping that a letter can rectify since attempts to address this via the telephone have failed miserably. My name. I appreciate that I am no longer Mrs. O in your records. I must assume that the number of mothers in your practice who have a surname that differs from their children is small as I never would have completed any paperwork identifying myself by that name. My name is DA***E. That is a very unusual name in Brisbane, I realize. I’ll spell it again.

DA***E

The most recent version of my name, Duporth, was attached to the letter dated 26 September 2013 referring us to Dr A. Unfortunately, that is also the name that was attached to the letter to Dr A’s office. I hope I have corrected it successfully when they called me to set up an appointment for James in March – only time will tell.

 It is both an annoyance and a source of mild amusement to me – these various misnamings – but I fear they would be making a poor impression on other professionals to which you communicate on our behalf.

 Hoping to be Ann Da***e ever onward.

 Sincerely,

 Ann

Don't call me tomorrow

Really.  I know you haven't heard from me in more than 6 months and just the idea that I still exist probably induces an almost irresistible urge to call me - even though you've never called me before and there is a really significant possibility that you don't even know HOW to call me - and, therefore, I should not have even mentioned anything.  Who calls me, anyway, and yet - there I did it.

So, I must repeat.  Please don't call me tomorrow.

I'm trying to leave the line open so I can be informed that I have won $5000 and my book "Llamas in Lampshades" has won the picture book competition and is about to be published.

Don't call me and I'll send you a copy.

EDITED:  Sigh.  You all did a great job of not calling.  Unfortunately, the competition notifier didn't call either.  Instead, I have a tooth ache.

Happy Mother's Day!

From USA tour

Wishing love and comfort to all mothers and children of mothers.

Springing in Ohio

Friends of the Fliegen

Note: This is a work in progress. Additional friends to be added. Also, note, these only include US friends. Thirdly, note, there are many friends for whom I lack a photo. With apologies. It is a very big task to compile "Friends of the Fliegen".

Jim and Diane O'Brien (and Megan and Katie), Tim Beeker, Don Solosan, Marianna Hunt, Marge Dapore, Sam and Renee Dapore-Schwartz, Andy and Brittany Hunt, Todd Hunt, Linda Rice, Sandra Love, Earl and Louise Sloniker, Steve Herminghausen and Georgia Blum, Stephen and Sharon Newell, Mizzie Misko, Xan and Chris Sprouse, David Zecchini, Sharon and Jeff Stahlman, Barbara Revard, Andrew Penry, Sarah Rhodebeck Kreis, Johnda Kapteina (and Melissa), Timothy Rice, Steve and Mary Rice (and Renee and Edward), Steven Brey, Debby Miller, Diane Ray, Meg Morrison, Robert and Gina Saunders, Elaine Fagan, Martha and Maggie Fagan, Carroll Hunt and Karen Schindler, M. Heather Hartley, Robyn Thompson, Blanche Ostrander, Liz and Bob Byers, Nancy Decker, Marcia Decker, Leigh Davis and Richard Rynes, Christine and Nina Good, Ken and Gail Spontelli, Steve Hunt, Abby Holmes (and Alex and Olivia), Dixie Wehrkamp.

This is the plan

Once again I am in the position of trying to (quickly but thoroughly - or at least to my satisfaction) record the past while (at least being open to, should anything happen!) documenting the now. Oh, and probably worrying about the future. So, here is the plan. I'm going to do it like I did our last US trip with highlights - heavy on the photos - though resizing them to smaller files is pretty time consuming in and of itself. This is in contrast to a "day by day" approach like I did in NZ. I took 765 photos on our American tour. I promise I won't make you review them all. BTW, if you are anxious to see photographs, I have already started publishing daily photos from the trip on my photoblog. You can see that here (Looking @).

Many thanks!

From USA tour

On behalf of (the) Zuperfliegen and his staff, we wish to thank everyone who came out to see us on our Great North American* tour. Tour details and images to follow. *Note we consider this a continent tour because we did both include a Canadian person (and a quick trip across the border by Kevin) AND a lunch at Chiptole.

Coming to a town near you!

From Singles 2012

OK, yeah, I'm slow getting this published. There's still time to buy your ticket! Happy smiling faces NOT guaranteed...

Confession from a terrible mother

From Singles 2012

The pear.

It was meant for you, my dear.

But, when I peeled it, I had a taste. It was the sweetest and most juicy pear I'd ever found. I ate that quarter.

And, then I ate the next.

The other half...

I put in the fridge and gave to your Daddy.

Someday, maybe, you'll understand. Someday, maybe, you'll see it was out of my hands. It was Eve. It was the Serpent.

It was Phil Collins.

50 Reasons I Love You #50

From Singles 2011

You like dark chocolate (and mint)!