I am in the process of making a lizard cake. And here it is. Ho ho. No, this is some state fair winner that was the beginning of my lizard cake inspiration. Oregon state fair...amazing isn't it? Though it looks barely edible. Mine looks nothing like this by the way. I have just realised it's probably because I am not a state fair cake making person but just a lady who likes to express love through cake. Will post pics on completion - it's for my niece's 2nd birthday on Sunday.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Happy BIrthday Una Pearl
Yay
xxx
And to celebrate, I FINISHED RISE!!
You know, balloons and streamers really ought to come down from the ceiling when you finish a novel. Someone should do something about that.
We celebrated both these auspicious events with a souvlaki in the park and a spectacularly pink sunset.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
A year ago
Actually this photo was taken on the 14th September, the day before my due date. Una was born two weeks later, on the 28th September. I stopped taking photos on the 14th - clearly disheartened. This year I realise how long two weeks is, we've been to Tassie, among other things. It's a long time to be so heavily pregnant. Una was 10lb1oz when she was born and 58cm long (I'm on the small side of small, five foot nothing). No wonder I was so tired. Labour was difficult, compared to Fred, but it was a natural drug-free birth and I watched her being born in a mirror that they'd set up to encourage me to push, so I could see the progress I was making. She was posterior, which meant she descended facing forwards. Her face was sealed in a thick layer of amniotic sac and the umbilical cord was wrapped twice around her neck. But the rush of love that came when she was born was amazing and I would go through it again for that feeling alone (and we plan to, sometime). They cut the sac from her face and heaved her up into my arms. I held her against me. Martin took off his t-shirt and they passed Una to him as I bled heavily and they wanted to get me up onto the bed in case I fainted (I went to the toilet later and fainted - the midwife caught me).
This time last year labour hadn't started but would by 10pm. I was worried about how Fred would cope with the change (she didn't really, not for the first few months). I couldn't imagine life expanding to accomodate another little person, though I didn't worry about love - I already loved her. I ate lentil dahl, made by Martin from his Bill Grainger cookbook (last year's father's day present). I watched some of Tales of the City on video. I went to bed early. This time last year, we were a family of three. At 3am, after we'd called Zoe and she'd driven to our house, Martin and I set off to the hospital on a deserted freeway, startling a rabbit.
Now Una completes us all. And tomorrow, when she wakes up, she will be one year old.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
A Baby Blog Milestone
Back from Tassie. Jeez Hobart's a beautiful town. Lovely stay with Grandma and Grandad. Will post some piccies soon.
Meanwhile, while I was away I was tagged! Oh happy day, I feel so blogafied now! Thanks Janet. She thought I probably had a bit to say about books. I do rather like them. I am too lazy to hotlink all these books so you will have to google them yourselves. At the moment I mostly use the library for reading material, though I do buy new books too - people who live in glass houses and write books need to buy books too! Garage sales, op shops, 2nd hand bookstores, books acquired through work, borrowed books, books from home...I'm not fussy about how I get my hand on them. If there's nothing else to read, I'll read cereal boxes. When I read I totally switch off to the world around me. Drove my mum batty when I was a kid, drives Martin batty now.
A book that changed my life
Well, although it seems odd to choose it, no book changed my life more than my own first novel, Undine, in a practical sense, particularly once it was contracted to the US which meant I could make a (sort of) living as an author and create a chance for Martin to study full time. By other people though (!)... the one that springs to mind is a picture book called Whose Mouse are You? which was the first book I ever 'read' all by myself (I can still quote it word for word now).
A Book I've Read More Than Once
I have many many books that I have read many many times. Some immediately memorable ones are The Secret History by Donna Tartt, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper...though there are so many that I would say it's the exception for me to read a book only once! I have some books I read once a year or so, I am a big comfort reader. Seven Little Australians, Little Women, Wind in the Willows...
A book I'd like with me if stuck on a desert island
Poetry. It lends itself so well to being reread. And there's lots of blank space on the page so I could write my own too, or keep a diary. Maybe Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes, I've been meaning to read it again. Actually, I think I need a giant, comprehensive, 20th-21st century anthology.
A book that made me laugh
Um, there have been many but the first I thought of was The Secret World of the Irish Male by Joseph O'Connor (Sinead's brother). Oh, Kiffo and the Pitbull which I pulled out of the slush pile at Allen & Unwin. BArry Jonsberg is hilarious.
A book that made me cry
Skellig by David Almond. I cried writing the epilogue in Breathe (and again every time I read it). A few of Fred's picture books make me cry, like Jenny Angel by Margaret Wild - I can't get to the end of it dry-eyed. And Fox, also by Margaret Wild. Oh and Hello Baby by Jenni Overend (a beautiful book about a home birth that I bought for Fred when pregnant with Una, though we didn't birth at home because we lived in a house I wanted to forget).
A book I wish had been written
In a general sense, I'd love to see more poetry books for teenagers. Notoriously hard to market so it doesn't really get published, but I can't help feeling when it comes to poetry that sometimes 3000 books have to be published to create five poetry readers. It's like...a community service.
A book I wish had never been written
Weeeellll...I think writing is a highly personal act and I would never say something shouldn't have been written, but I can think of quite a few books that shouldn't have been published simply because they weren't of a high enough standard. But it seems a bit mean to name names and it's not like I'm offended by their existence.
A book I've been meaning to read
Good lord, there's a massive list. But from where I sit I can see The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, which I did start a while ago and I drifted off to other things. Also I'd quite like to read Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes because I like books about world war 2 that aren't actually about soldiers or fighting or extreme, violent situations, but rather how individuals were affected, how daily, ordinary things were altered.
A book I'm currently reading
I just finished The Lovely Bones. It was good, very engrossing, quite challenging in places because it made me feel as if I and my girls were vulnerable. But ultimately I have to say I was disappointed. I didn't feel that the perspective (the story is narrated by a dead girl) was explored to its full potential and the culminating scene was so frustrating, she's basically given an opportunity to revisit life (that's not strictly a spoiler because it says it in the blurb) but does nothing with the opportunity...it didn't quite ring true for me, though it was an ambitious premise to work with.
I have Maria's War by Amy Witting to read next, but I'm thinking I might go to the library and look for something else, I'm in the mood for something a bit meatier, grittier, possibly written by a bloke. I'll also be reading The Happiness of Kati over the next few days and I am really looking forward to it, it seems very light and airy and elegant (this is entirely based on the cover and the first page by the way). I have to finish writing Rise this week (eek) so I may have to ban reading for a few days. Oh I do have American Gods by Neil Gaimon to read, Martin enjoyed it immensely, that might be a good antidote to Rise.
So I guess how this works is I have to tag other people to do the same questions on their blogs. I am tagging Zoe, Dustykisses and TLSC.
Meanwhile, while I was away I was tagged! Oh happy day, I feel so blogafied now! Thanks Janet. She thought I probably had a bit to say about books. I do rather like them. I am too lazy to hotlink all these books so you will have to google them yourselves. At the moment I mostly use the library for reading material, though I do buy new books too - people who live in glass houses and write books need to buy books too! Garage sales, op shops, 2nd hand bookstores, books acquired through work, borrowed books, books from home...I'm not fussy about how I get my hand on them. If there's nothing else to read, I'll read cereal boxes. When I read I totally switch off to the world around me. Drove my mum batty when I was a kid, drives Martin batty now.
A book that changed my life
Well, although it seems odd to choose it, no book changed my life more than my own first novel, Undine, in a practical sense, particularly once it was contracted to the US which meant I could make a (sort of) living as an author and create a chance for Martin to study full time. By other people though (!)... the one that springs to mind is a picture book called Whose Mouse are You? which was the first book I ever 'read' all by myself (I can still quote it word for word now).
A Book I've Read More Than Once
I have many many books that I have read many many times. Some immediately memorable ones are The Secret History by Donna Tartt, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper...though there are so many that I would say it's the exception for me to read a book only once! I have some books I read once a year or so, I am a big comfort reader. Seven Little Australians, Little Women, Wind in the Willows...
A book I'd like with me if stuck on a desert island
Poetry. It lends itself so well to being reread. And there's lots of blank space on the page so I could write my own too, or keep a diary. Maybe Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes, I've been meaning to read it again. Actually, I think I need a giant, comprehensive, 20th-21st century anthology.
A book that made me laugh
Um, there have been many but the first I thought of was The Secret World of the Irish Male by Joseph O'Connor (Sinead's brother). Oh, Kiffo and the Pitbull which I pulled out of the slush pile at Allen & Unwin. BArry Jonsberg is hilarious.
A book that made me cry
Skellig by David Almond. I cried writing the epilogue in Breathe (and again every time I read it). A few of Fred's picture books make me cry, like Jenny Angel by Margaret Wild - I can't get to the end of it dry-eyed. And Fox, also by Margaret Wild. Oh and Hello Baby by Jenni Overend (a beautiful book about a home birth that I bought for Fred when pregnant with Una, though we didn't birth at home because we lived in a house I wanted to forget).
A book I wish had been written
In a general sense, I'd love to see more poetry books for teenagers. Notoriously hard to market so it doesn't really get published, but I can't help feeling when it comes to poetry that sometimes 3000 books have to be published to create five poetry readers. It's like...a community service.
A book I wish had never been written
Weeeellll...I think writing is a highly personal act and I would never say something shouldn't have been written, but I can think of quite a few books that shouldn't have been published simply because they weren't of a high enough standard. But it seems a bit mean to name names and it's not like I'm offended by their existence.
A book I've been meaning to read
Good lord, there's a massive list. But from where I sit I can see The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, which I did start a while ago and I drifted off to other things. Also I'd quite like to read Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes because I like books about world war 2 that aren't actually about soldiers or fighting or extreme, violent situations, but rather how individuals were affected, how daily, ordinary things were altered.
A book I'm currently reading
I just finished The Lovely Bones. It was good, very engrossing, quite challenging in places because it made me feel as if I and my girls were vulnerable. But ultimately I have to say I was disappointed. I didn't feel that the perspective (the story is narrated by a dead girl) was explored to its full potential and the culminating scene was so frustrating, she's basically given an opportunity to revisit life (that's not strictly a spoiler because it says it in the blurb) but does nothing with the opportunity...it didn't quite ring true for me, though it was an ambitious premise to work with.
I have Maria's War by Amy Witting to read next, but I'm thinking I might go to the library and look for something else, I'm in the mood for something a bit meatier, grittier, possibly written by a bloke. I'll also be reading The Happiness of Kati over the next few days and I am really looking forward to it, it seems very light and airy and elegant (this is entirely based on the cover and the first page by the way). I have to finish writing Rise this week (eek) so I may have to ban reading for a few days. Oh I do have American Gods by Neil Gaimon to read, Martin enjoyed it immensely, that might be a good antidote to Rise.
So I guess how this works is I have to tag other people to do the same questions on their blogs. I am tagging Zoe, Dustykisses and TLSC.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
A lost day
All day today Martin and I were thinking it was Monday. Fred didn't go to creche today, instead Martin took Fred and Una to the museum this morning, then to the pool this afternoon, happy to have such a jam-packed day thinking creche was tomorrow. I looked at the weather forecast online and made loud scoffy noises about the fact that the Age had skipped Tuesday (at this time of the evening they put up the weather for tomorrow) and then Martin and I simultaneously noticed that our computers said Tuesday. Sheesh.
In other news:
I knitted a jumper for Fred and finally have a photo of it. Notice Fred sitting at Mama's puto (see below for details about what she gets up to)
We've discovered noggin. Fred loves it. There are games there and Fred enjoys playing them but even better for Fred, there's kids music videos, which she loves - she was on the site for about 10 minutes when she discovered them and that's what she rocks out to. She uses the mouse pad on my laptop and has become very adept with it, it's great for her fine motor skills. She also plays at the sesame street website. Martin also wants to get Kid Pix which he has been using in schools and thinks would be great for Fred.
In other news:
I knitted a jumper for Fred and finally have a photo of it. Notice Fred sitting at Mama's puto (see below for details about what she gets up to)
We've discovered noggin. Fred loves it. There are games there and Fred enjoys playing them but even better for Fred, there's kids music videos, which she loves - she was on the site for about 10 minutes when she discovered them and that's what she rocks out to. She uses the mouse pad on my laptop and has become very adept with it, it's great for her fine motor skills. She also plays at the sesame street website. Martin also wants to get Kid Pix which he has been using in schools and thinks would be great for Fred.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Falling off the blogosphere.
We have the plague. Or a plague. Pestilence anyway. Some sort of resilient bug that won't leave us alone. Fred's been sick since last Monday. Sleep doesn't live here anymore. Fred has been known to carry a large bowl around all day. In fact it's become her comfort item.
Things that have happened:
Fred mastered her puzzle
Then took some photos:
(Fred 1)
(Fred 2)
We also received our Chariot which we ordered on ebay from the US ($500 cheaper than buying it locally). The girls love it.
I am still writing Rise. The characters are going in their own interesting directions and I am having a lovely time playing with them. My favourites are Phoenix and Liv, both new characters. But Grunt, Trout and Undine are still there. There's some kissing (oooooohhhhh). There's some powerful hoodoo. It's going to be a pretty big finish, I tell you.
Things that have happened:
Fred mastered her puzzle
Then took some photos:
(Fred 1)
(Fred 2)
We also received our Chariot which we ordered on ebay from the US ($500 cheaper than buying it locally). The girls love it.
I am still writing Rise. The characters are going in their own interesting directions and I am having a lovely time playing with them. My favourites are Phoenix and Liv, both new characters. But Grunt, Trout and Undine are still there. There's some kissing (oooooohhhhh). There's some powerful hoodoo. It's going to be a pretty big finish, I tell you.
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