Thursday, March 29, 2007

I love you just the way you are......

Hi All,

This came to me as an email. As I don't have email addresses for many of you, I thought I'd pass it along this way. I suppose that it's a cheater's way of blogging, but I just wanted to share the sentiment with as many as possible!

Imperfections---

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.
Of course , the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house".
The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house. Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding".
You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!
And send this to any or all of your Cracked Pot friends... don't forget the Cracked Pot that sent it to you!

Love to all,

Blogmuggle ;0)





What is......campdrafting???

I'm a city slicker who lives in the country, so when someone asks me about rural and country past-times, hobbies and sport, I have to fess up and and say...I really don't know too much. Especially about horses. I was asked about campdrafting, so I thoughty I'd expand on my own knowledge, so I googled it, and this is what I found.....


Where and when campdrafting started in Australia seems unclear. The more research I do the less clear it becomes. It appears that the time was between 1880 and 1890. One thing we know for sure is this great horse sport was made in Australia. Horses, drovers and stockmen played a huge part in the opening up of this young country and the inevitable competition over who had the best horse and who was the best rider would have been the reason for a more serious and formal contest to evolve.
The very basic idea of campdrafting is when one mounted rider moves into a small yard, called a camp, and selects one beast from a small mob of cattle. He or she then proceeds to move the beast towards the camp opening - which is blocked by either men on horses or two gates with men holding them shut. The mounted rider blocks and turns his beast several times across the face of the camp (the single beast tries his hardest to get past the rider and back into the mob). When the rider feels he has shown the Judge enough of his horse's ability to hold the beast clear of the mob, he calls for the gates to be opened so he can take his beast out into a much larger area to complete a course. The course consists of two pegs (usually small trees) set apart, one on the left and one on the right, directly out from the front of the camp. Some distance out from the two pegs are two more - but this time they are set much closer together and represent the gate. The judge declares at the beginning of the contest if the course is left hand or right hand. If a right hand course is set it means you must complete a circle around the peg on the right hand side first, changeover in the middle and complete a circle around the left peg, then drive the beast out behind the gate - and push it through the gap. This represents a full course.
In early times there were no yards and no pegs. As the sport evolved and more and more horsemen and women participated more rules were needed to clarify different situations. Each competitor is allowed the same time in which to attempt to complete his/her run. The scoring is out of 100 points. The camp section carries a maximum of 26 points, the course, a maximum of 4 points and a further 70 points can be allocated for horsework. The competitor with the highest score wins the contest.


I hope this makes it clearer. Now I know as well!

Love, Muggle. ;0)

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

High on a hill was a lonely goatherd,Yodel-ay-ee, Yodel-ay-ee, Yodel--oo









Merry Tuesday to all!


It is cool, and overcast here today. Absolutely lovely. I am actually wearing trackpants and a jumper, which is a complete contrast to the hot and steamy conditions we endured on Friday and Saturday. Hooray!!
Get comfortable, and come for a ride with me............




The regional show was, as expected, a disappointment, and waste of money. It was $20 to walk through the gate, look at all the rides in sideshow alley, and a small number of entries in the art and craft show. There was a guy who drove around the arena a couple of times in his very loud 1965 Ford Mustang racer, creating a lot of dust and disturbing the horses penned in the centre. There was no campdrafting or events in the arena, no rodeo. The promised circus act must have finished before we arrived, and the Battle of the Bands was on it's last legs. At least the crowds were thin. The rides were expensive; one was $15 a turn, but hey, if you could have a second go for another $10! We payed $3 each for a bottle of water that you could buy at the supermarket for about $2. There were some rather impressive fireworks; very ooh and ahh. And kids were supplied with 3-D glasses to watch for FREE!..... Ahem......

The weekend away almost didn't happen. Beloved had given me a trailer tyre that had gone down to take into the repairer on Friday. Well, I forgot, didn't I. At least until I opened the boot at 4pm.... Zoom...Off to the tyre shop with an extremely apologetic demeanour.... "I need it today, sorry"........ "No worries. What name?". I picked up Beloved, then we picked up the tyre at 5pm, shopped, then zoomed home to pack before The Show. Beloved installed(?) the repaired tyre. 5am Saturday, Beloved and I arose to finish packing, then head off. Except the 'repaired' tyre was flat. As a tack. Completely. Deep breaths...The boys had another hours sleep......breakfast at home. Saved us about $30 I suppose..... The tyre shop opened at 7.30, and we were there as they opened the doors. Half an hour later we were off!!!!





There has been rain in our part of the world. Everything is surprisingly green. It's been dusty and brown/yellow for so long. The New England Tablelands actually looks like.............. New England!
Two and a half hours after leaving Muswellbrook..........................


Here's a view..............


I just wanted to break into a chorus of "Edelweiss" when drove out of the bushy drive and into this open valley.........


Here are some locals.....As well as these there were some geese, 2 turkeys, a peacock and two peahens(lucky fella), mother hen and her 11 chickens, 2 roosters, boer goats and demarra sheep, who decided that there was gold in them thar hills, and probably some peace and quiet too.... 5 dogs in total; Old black pigging dog, Banjo; stumpy-tail red cattle dog, Bundy; Wolfhounds, Cloudy and Lucy, and last but not least, Great Dane, Rosy......Phew.....and.....

Rodney, the only resident in the former piggery... slept for just about the entire weekend........what a big, smelly boy he is!!!!!!!..............



Here's Pap, the trotting professional who was too good, and ended up with a trotting rig in the belly from a fierce "competitor". He must be in trotter-nirvana now...........


A horse's eye view of the old piggery...... there used be 400 residents.......



Banjo; this girl is a retired champion barrel horse (retired..can you see a pattern here?). She has loads of attutide, and was quite happy to be in my face......... In the background are Susie, the black mare, who is 30years young, and Bianca, aka the white mare, who is overdue to foal, but refused to let us in on the act.........




Beloved and the wolfhounds, Cloudy and Lucy; the most gentle and sensitive dogs imaginable..... Our Clover loved the farm, but was very protective of us..and the piggery...and the barbeque..I think it's because she's still a bit insecure... everwhere she goes is her home, as long as she's with us. She thought nothing of taking on these enormous dogs, especially Rosy, the great dane, and even had a stoush with a visiting labrador... She had them bluffed; they all walked around her. It's an unusual trait in a boxer. We'll really have to be careful with her now that we know this.



Surprise!..... Civilisation at a Mototrials event! Believe me, people; this is a rare sighting indeed! Catering for this weekend was fabulous. Nyrie and Pete and amazing hosts.........
Quite a few riders turned up for the weekend, but it's a male-dominated past-time. It's so good to see so many fathers and sons, and a few daughters as well, have a great time together. Even though I whinge about it, it's a good, healthy sport for a family to be involved in, and most of the people you meet are good souls...... some can be more......interesting........ than others........but you get that everywhere.
Wives and mothers fall into two categories;
the always onlookers, who are passionately supportive and encouraging (add as obsessive as their husbands/sons here), running around with drinks and nourishment in the bush all day, cheering every section,
or like me, grudgingly attentive when necessary. This means that you do your own thing, read, bush walk when wanting to, chatting when and with whom one desires, and occassionally finding where the riders are, and watching a few sections. That's not to say I'm not appreciative of the skill involved in the sport; I get quite impressed at times, but I've just been involved too long, since my own childhood, actually, and as I've said before, I'm the queen of apathy.
One dad bought along a guitar, and spent a few hours with the boys on Saturday night, playing tunes and giving advice.

Thankfully, it rained on Saturday night, so Sunday was a lot cooler, and it started to blow a gale on Sunday evening; the wind just whistled up the valley! Everyone had a good time, and it was with regret that the packing up had to be done on Sunday afternoon. Such regret in fact, that Beloved called work and requested a flexiday for Monday...the boys happily missed a day of school.... I wasn't rostered on anyway.....

A lot of folk camped or slept in the newly-civilised and re-furbished piggery, but Beloved and I slept in the house in a lovely bedroom with a lovely bed, and the boys slept in the original cottage. We were more comfy than most, I'd say. Hot showers, a real toilet, running water, good tea and coffee... it's almost enough to make me keen again....almost.... I know that this weekend was a dream event, really..........

And the highlight of the weekend? Pete assembling his massage table after we'd cleaned up on Monday....... He and Nyrie are regulars on the rodeo circuit, with their table and coffee van, easing away the aches and pain of the cowboys...... First, He worked on Nyrie, and then had Rhys on the table. That was funny; he's rather loud, my vegeboy......Nyrie is a Reiki master, and then Pete favoured me with some Shiatsu...... or somethjing along those lines. He started wityh my calves, and worked his way up. Aha, no pain there..... feeling good... into the sacral area and buttocks...sore, but not too bad... then.....HELP...my neck and shoulders... You know thaty song by the Divynils "THERE'S A FINE LINE BETWEEN PLEASURE AND PAIN"............ Oh, Yeah...... Holy cow...... but it feels soooooo much better now....... I can move so much more freely..... even in my hips and groin, and I needed to arrange some Bowen Therapy for this. But not just yet, now. Crunch, crunch, crunch, goes my back..........and then.."that's enough", says Pete.... Aww Geee....says me........

Homeward bound, we were after that.......

Unpacked the car, started the washing machine, cooked some tea. Read some blogs in between hanging out loads of washing. Then I showered (it was cold!!!! Brrrrr!) and headed off to bed. Today, the clothesline is full, I've run out of pegs, and there's still a load or two to go... Gee; I'm so pleased that I washed on Thursday......Plurgh......

Today, I have been working off and on on this post; the photos have been difficult and tiresome to load; blogger just doesn't seem to love me today, never going where I want them too, and have houseworked in between. I really have to go. Reluctantly. Centrelink calls, as do groceries, parent teacher interviews for Vegeboy, and football training. So, I guess I'd better finish. I'll post more piccies later...including some motorbike shots so you know that I really was there.......

Just one more thing........

How can I get Pete and Nyrie to run EVERY TRIAL?????????
Hooroo for Now!
xoxoxoxoxoxox


Friday, March 23, 2007

It's good news week.......

HERE'S A QUICK ROUND-UP OF THE BLOGMUGGLE WEEK
  • SUNDAY; Beloved, Scorpaboy, Vegeboy and I travel to Newcastle, sns motobikes for a change, to help celebrate Uncle's 70th birthday lunch. The boys travel home after wards while I stay with GG to bring her car home for Beloved to fix this week. GG and I see not 1, but 2 movies at Glendale on Sunday night; "Razzle Dazzle" and "Music and Lyrics". We had a fun, chiccy night out.
  • MONDAY; GG and I go to Uni. While She attends lectures, I enquire about re-enrolling for my Bachelor of Nursing later this year, then visit Boyfreind Tricky, who lives in a nice little unit (with 4 others) on campus. We drive back to Gateshead to pick up parts for her car, then head up to Charlestown Square to eat and peruse things we can't afford. We drop-in on the lovely Lisa, who is always gracious when we drop in, then GG headed back to lectures, and I headed up the highway, grocery shopped at Muswellbrook, then arrived home in time to cook tea at about 6.30pm.
  • TUESDAY; Work as usual, then into the Brook for VB's footy training. The numbers have swelled to 17, so the guys are off and running...literally. "Oh, and by the way, mums and dads; bring all the boots and stuff to training on Thursday, as the representative selectors will be here. First game is against Scone at 5.15"....... These kids have never played together...and VB's boots are too small...by Thursday afternoon...puhleeeease.....
  • WEDNESDAY; Start work early and work through lunch so I can leave work at 3 to pick up VB from school, drive to Maitland to buy some footy boots and meet GG who is being driven up by the Grandies after work. It was a good plan....until...... a massive storm hit halfway between Muswellbrook and Singleton. Cars were lined up all along the roadside until there was a break in the weather. I didn't get too much farther along until I had to pull over again. Waiting....Waiting..... It cleared again, so away we went..... until the car started to aquaplane a little too often for my comfort. So we stopped again. It was becoming obvious that we wouldn't make the shops at Maitland. VB suggested that we shop at Singleton instead. Clever boy. It took us about 50 minutes for what is usually a 30 minute drive. And I purchased a great pair of boots for $49.95! I had time, so I called in on a friend ( yes, I am a serial dropper-inner) at Louth Park that I hadn't seen in a while, and we chatted solid for the 40minutes that I had........ It was an unexpected bonus! I met with GG and the Grandies at Macca's East Maitland,and then headed off home, via Hungry Jacks for what was loosely described as dinner (YUK!!!), then into Muswellbrook so GG could catch up with her friend who was celebrating her 18th birthday. Salutations and gift were/was exchanged in a dark RSL carpark..... Home by about 9.30pm...bed by 11.30, I think.
  • THURSDAY; The day started with a nice little drive to take Beloved to work. Plurgh on GG for going home in HER car today..... Work, (another no-luncher) then into town; bank, no mobile phone battery, buy drinks and cakes so that I had change to use a public phone (why else...), then met Beloved and we did the absentee vote thing for Saturday. Then it was off the watch the rep footy trials. Our boys were hammered in two games... absolutely.... They'll need to pull their socks up on the 31st..... VB's new boots lookes pretty schmick, though. Home just before 8pm... a stunning dinner of 2 minute noodles for all..... and then 4 laods of washing... There was a dang tissue..in the darks... of course....
  • TODAY... FRIDAY; I started with a lovely drive into town at 5.45am.... read some blogs.. now I'm blogging. I have to hang more washing out, have a shower and then head off to work. This evening is the Upper Hunter Regional Show on Muswellbrook..I hate these boring events... They're a waste of my hard earned money. I'd rather buy 10l of "Blue Ridge" paint for the outside of the house.... But the boys want to go. Then it's home to pack, as we're heading off for a "family weekend" of motorbiking in the foothills of the Moonbi's, up the road from Tamworth tomorrrow. Beloved is determined that we will all spend time together; it just always seems to be that we do it with a couple of them on motorbikes while the others wander around the bush, occasionally seeing the ones on wheels...... There are some lovely people hosting this trip; Pete and Nyrie have been desperate for me to come up and see there spread... I'm just over the motorbike thing. I'll go, and will probably have a good time anyway. If the return to uni happens, then I won't be going anywhere too often.

Is all this why I'm as tired as everyone else?????

Anyway all, I've got to go. Have a good weekend. I'm GOING to....

Love, Muggle ;)

Friday, March 16, 2007

Proof of Life.......SKINJACK

He Did It!!!
Hey, it's not so bad........

But then again.......


Nah, it's all good mate!

He had a huge day. First, he played rep soccer for the school, in 30+degree heat. Note the fab t-shirt sunburn. He has a matching shorts-to-sock burn as well. He set up his team's 1st goal. At full-time, the score was 2-all. Golden goal in 10minutes of extra saw SOCCERJACK take a penalty kick, resulting in a goal and win for our boys! They were on the paddock for 2 hours!!!!

It was back to school as normal until ShaveTime! He was the second last one shaved, and unfortunately there was only 1 hairdresser to perform the cutting, so all the younger boys were cut first, then Laura, a female teacher and then blonde, afro-haired Scott. By this time, the bell had rung, and the 800 or so onlookers had gone, leaving Dougie, a teacher and Jack to be shaved without moral support. But what the hey, they continued on. You can see the result; voila...SKINJACK

It was a great afternoon's fundraising for the leukemia foundation. It's estimated that at least $6000 has been raised. Fabulous effort by all!!! And Laura shouldn't be too sad to see her hair gone; she had very safe, straight brown hair that never really did much for her. Her shaved head has revealed a lovely heart-shaped face with amazing, enormous blue eyes. She's a head-turner now; very striking! She has very conservative parents. I expect that as soon as it has grown long enough, it will be very stylishly cut, and will probably not be quite as interesting as it is now.

Then the poor boy went off to work stacking groceries at the IGA store; SHOPJACK

And then......

He and Vegeboy went to a band gig at the Muswellbrook PCYC and had a great time. His head was rubbed a lot, which probably accounts for its red appearance, and the boys danced and sang all night. They're friends with most of the band members, as the acts are all local kids. He laughed and told me that quite a few people didn't recognise....MOSHJACK.

Hot, red, tired, and blistered, after I'd photographed him, he went off to bed. He has to work in the morning and be ..THRIFTY-LINKJACK...

But right now he's..........SLEEPYJACK!!

See you all again,

Love from the mother of a lovely young man

Goodnight and good dreams ;-D

Thursday, March 15, 2007

We love football, meatpies, kangaroos..........

G'Day Bloggers.

As I sit here and type, I'm feeling a little chilly. I'm wearing jeans, t-shirt, a three-quarter-sleeved cotton shirt, and shoes, and I'm not warm. I was cupping my hands around my cup of nice, hot tea until I started to type. I can't believe this odd feeling.. It's been such a l-o-n-g, hot summer. It's good. Autumnal, actually. I had a discussion with someone once about whether "autumnal" is actually a word. Maybe it's an adjective. Whatever. It describes exactly how the weather feels at the moment. Right at this moment anyway, because the weather gurus tell us it will be 30 degrees later today. Yuk.

I drove Beloved to work this morning. This happens a couple of mornings a week since GG took my car (well, she says it's hers) and drove off into the sunrise. I can't say sunset, as she travelled east...... Anyway, we drove through the dark.... and FOG......... It was the first time this season. It's ethereal, magic. Maybe it feels a bit like we're travelling to Brigadoon. Well, Muswellbrook anyway. Our drive takes through a bit of farm land, and it's quite green here at the moment due to the bit rain that we have enjoyed lately. A lot of this land is river-front alluvial flats that have recently been re-stocked with cattle, or sheep, or it might now be used for grapes or olives. There's something very .... I can't find the word... exciting, nice, .. I don't know... anyway, I like to see the farm animals shadowing in the foggy paddocks. There's horses, too. Until we get to the part where the open-cut coal mines start. But that's a post all of it's own. It takes about 50 minutes for a round trip. Luckily, the boys are reasonably self-sufficient these days, especially Vegeboy. Scorpaboy is more like a normal, sluggish, night-dwelling teen, but he's had more practice than Vegeboy.


Vegeboy is the reason I needed to have the car today. He has his first run at footie training this afternoon with Muswellbrook Rams. He's played his last two seasons with the Denman Devils, but this year, Denman weren't able to field a team. Out of the 13 kids that played in VB's team last year, only three wanted to sign up again this year. Even Muswellbrook is struggling for numbers; VB is only number 12, and they need 13 to run on the field. I guess we'll find out whether or not they'll be playing over the next few weeks. It may have something to do with the relationship between the cost of petrol and the travel to Newcastle to play ever other week. But even the younger age groups that only travel around the Upper Hunter area are struggling for numbers. It's so sad to see this lack of interest when footie has always been an integral part of the country kids walk through the world... It's a cultural necessity up here... We were going to change over to rugby union if the league option didn't come to fruition, but they're struggling to field a team as well, even though they're combining 13's and 14's. It was a bit sad to disappoint the eager faces as they welcomed and urged both the boys to join the Rams on Tuesday afternoon. There were very blokey claps on the back, and questions "What age group are you playing in, son?" . Scorpaboy, who's never had any interest in playing rugby league, felt very flattered and validated, yet apologetic at the same time. I don't think heard the slightly nervous, desperate tone in the voices........ Vegeboy's just pleased to be able to play, and will be sharing my $80 with the football club today, so he will officially be a Ram. I'm not sure why, but the president and vice president of the soccer club were there at training as well. Anyway, hopefully Vegeboy enjoys his first real day at training.


TOMORROW IS SHAVE DAY!!!!!!
Lovely Lisa has offerred to make a donation on behalf of the girls at RC, so you can pass on any donations to her. People seem to be reluctant to donate; coin is money too, and all the little bits add up. Do you think that peopole think that they might look a bit miserly if they can't donate a sizeable sum of money? The way I see it, it's no different to buying a raffle ticket, and if you'd only buy 1 ticket, then that 's just fine. I am seeing Lisa on Sunday, but final banking will be April 12, and I will bw travelling backwards and forwards to Newcastle in the next few weeks, so I will collect from Lisa during these trips. It gives me a good excuse to see her..... Anything that we can do to help meet these diseases head-on is a good thing. I know too many people fighting the good fight to let these fundraising things go... GG and I are participating in "Relay for Life" here in April. Beloved and the boys will probably do it too..
Anyhoo, it's off to work for me!
Have a good day,
Cyndy ;)

Sunday, March 11, 2007

She's like the wind..........



Well, here she is.....before the nose job, as she looked in "Dirty Dancing".....and as she looks now...after two nose jobs, that is. Evidently, the first one was a bit of a failure, and didn't bring about the escalation of her career. It's a shame that the second one didn't either. She looks pretty, though, don't you agree?
Here are some 'Jen' Facts;
* She was born on March, 26, 1960. This meant that when she made "Dirty Dancing" in 1987, she was 27yrs of age, playing a 17 yr old
* Prior to DD, she played minor roles in a few movies, but her most memorable was as the nasty sister, Jeannie, in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
*The only movie that she has performed in of any merit, according to just about everyone, was "Bounce" (2000), starring Gwenyth Paltrow and Ben Affleck. All other movies have been B-grade, made-for-TV movies. The most recent was a hack-fest , "The Ritual", in 2001.
*She appeared in a TV series in 1999; "It's like, You know"........
*She has been engaged to Matthew Broderick, Johnny Depp in 1990 (lucky girl!!!), but is married to Clark Gregg, who starred in the sit-com, "The New Adventures of Old Christine", with Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, who played Elaine in "Seinfeld"
* She and Clark have one child, Stella, who was born in December 3, 2001
I wonder if Stella has her mama's nose?
That's your trivia for the day folks. From the Blogmuggle, anyway. You can always rely on sunflower bee to provide you with more. And angel without wings, too. It's funny isn't it, the things that can make up a blog, ...........
Cya, and enjoy your Sunday!








Saturday, March 10, 2007

Another Saturday Night...


G'day Bloggers.


This is how my vision was this morning. Or it could have been. If I was awake, that is. I was aware of pain before I was really even awake at 6am. The light was peeping in through the window on my side of the bed. Beloved asked me why I was hiding under the covers. I explained how I felt, and as he knows that I like my drugs, could he get me a panadol ? No thanks, I need to go to the toilet anyway, says me. I returned to bed and hid until after 8, and Beloved asked in a hopeful tone; "had the panadol worked?" Ever the optimist, my Beloved. He took one look at my face, arose, and turned the fan on and removed the doona as I looked a bit hot to him. Then he left me alone. I didn't really sleep, but it was 10 to 11 when Beloved arrived with toast and tea, but was still a bit taken aback when I sat up in bed with my sunglasses on. I'm not sure why. This man has been my beau for 24 years this July. He thought I just had a headache.........



So my day has been a very quiet one, even though Vegeboy has had 2 friends sleeping over since yesterday after school. Their numbers swelled to 4 this morning, but it's back to 3 again as they're staying tonight too....There are benefits to a migraine; Beloved has done the washing up, and cooked the boys the pancakes that they had been asking about since last night. They've spent a fair bit of time down at the river today, which is scary for me, but it's a testament to my improved health this evening that I can look remotely interested and impressed with their tales of belly-flopping backflips and double-forwards off the swing. Scary. Very scary. We usually have quite a number of kids arrive in our casualty department over the summer after having come off second best in an engagement with the river and it's environs............


More drugs enabled me to watch "Dirty Dancing" late this afternoon. I was sniffling whilst Beloved was snorting at the dialogue on the other side of the curtain. I love this movie. I bought it for myself for my birthday when GG and I were at BigW one day after Christmas, for the princely sum of $5. I had put it into the sideboard for a surprise (not me, everyone else) as my birthday doesn't usually involve too many gifts, and then forgot about it. I had to take it out of the plastic wrapper to watch it. Beloved wanted to know how old Jennifer Grey was when the movie was made. I'm not sure. Any ideas? I'll google her later. I don't remember seeing her on screen too often after that. I watched the features afterwards, The narrator stated that the movie was set in 1963, and that the music in the movie was a blend of 60's and 80's music, and that the 80's were in fact a celebration of the 60's, with shows like "Grease", "Happy Days", and restaurants like copying the styles of the 60's. Maybe, maybe not. I just think that it's amazing that I was watching a movie that was made in 1987, 20yrs ago, about a time that was over 20 years prior to that. I was 1 year old in 1963, and the DVD was a 15th anniversary edition. So I guess that the DVD had been on the shelf a while. Hence the $5 price tag. I think we should be on the look-out for a 20th anniversary sometime soon. Anyway, as I told Beloved, Patrick Swayze has an amazing back.... even if he was a bad boy.....great back, bad, bad boy..... naughty boy....
Sorry......I was carried away for a bit there....

Beloved and Scorpaboy will be home soon. They've been out riding, and Beloved's bunged up his bad knee. He's bringing home a heap of chips from the local chippo for the younger boys, and I need to cook some tea for the rest of us. There's a few episodes of "The Family Guy" to watch since there is so much testosterone in this place..........



I'm going to go and swallow a few more pills; the little man in my head has taken off his tap shoes and has switched to his clogs. I need to prevent him from putting on his hob-nail boots and dancing a very insistent cha cha. I think I need to book in for some Bowen Therapy this week. I'll try for Friday. I'm not working, and will be going to see Jack and his friends participate in the "World's Greatest Shave" in the morning, then he's playing soccer representing the school afterwards. That'll be interesting. He hasn't run onto a soccer field since last year. His fundraising is going well. So far, he has raised around $370, and we estimate he will make over $4oo. His aim is to raise $500, so hopefully, he'll get there. Laura, the only girl who is shaving her hair, has already raised over $1800! Go Laura!!!

Oh, and by the way, kudos to me for finally managing to place a photo into my blog where I wanted it moved to, instead of all of them at the top with the writing underneath.... I hope I can do it again... I took me ages... and I thought I lost it all in the process.... not good when there's a little man doing a clog-dance in your head..... And I will try to make the font a bit bigger this time, too....I'm still having trouble with my spacing, though.....

Another blog about nothing..... If "Seinfeld" was still on, you might see this blog featured in a lap-top on Jerry's coffee table, next to the coffee table book on coffee tables, whilst the show about nothing was playing on the telly........

Maybe my next post will be more compelling.......


Love,
The Blogmuggle ;0)

Monday, March 05, 2007

There for the grace go I.........

It's a beautiful night up here in Walnut Grove. It's raining. It has been showering intermittently all day. It eased off this afternoon, but the showers started again tonight. It's wonderful.....

I've heard three rather un-nerving stories over the last few weeks, and I'm going to share them with you. All of them involve people that I know, so I'll change the names, and their 16year old children. All families are loving, stable families, so it's hard to comprehend why and what has gone on in each situation.

In the first one, Nicole and Peter have three children; 16yr old Tonia, 14yr old Shaun, and 12yr old Cameron. Last month, in the 1st week of Yr11, Tonia had a sudden fit of temper, and unexpectedly moved in with her 20yr old boyfriend, Tony, moving out with only the clothes on her back, and her schoolbag. Tony and Tonia have been going out for over a year. Nic and Pete allowed the relationship because there really wasn't an option. Unfortunately, as time moved on, it became apparent that Tony was very controlling of Tonia, and some issues arose between Tony and Nic. In a series of text messages, Tony even admitted to Nic that he didn't really love Tonia, but he wasn't going to let Nic and Peter win. Of course, Tonia didn't believe her parents, and sided with Tony. As we all know, parents are usually never chosen if push comes to shove. Her whole attitude towards her parents had become aggressive and hostile, even to the point of telling her mother that she had involved the police, who would call around to Nic and Pete's house to pick up Tonia's things. Nic contacted the police, who related that they were unable to help, as Tonia is 16, but that Tonia was lying in regard to their involvement. They did however, believe the messages that Nic said that Tony had sent her. So far, things are at a stalemate. Tonia has a part-time job as well as attending school. I have known Tonia since she was 6; this is very unlike her, and I have to wonder what other influences Tony has had on her. It is all particularly worrying as Tony has had a rather unstable family life; his father has been gaoled on a number of occassions for drug-related offences. Is is offensive to me that he uses the feelings of another individual to shore up his own ego and to maintain control. It is especially hard on Nic; she and Tonia have always been very close. Nic and Pete have decided that, in an attempt to keep the peace, they will just allow Tonia to make her own decisions, and hopefully , the consequences of her actions won't be too dire. Difficult times are ahead for them for sure.

Sue and John have been living in their own private hell over the last year. Evan, their 16yr old son, has been running away, living wherever he can and has become involved in drug taking. They have been riding a roller coaster, as they never know when Evan will leave again, or where he will end up. Luckily John has a very understanding employer when John phones to say he's going out to find Evan, or has to leave work in a hurry. Another victim in this is Evan's 13 yr old sister, Erin. John and Sue now believe that Evan has developed mental illness due to his drug habits, or it may be the other way around. It is really difficult to cope with, as they saw Beloved's nephew behave in the same way, and our James died not long after his 18th birthday. James had been very erratic in his behaviour from about age 14, graduating to stealing cars and living in shelters in between stints in Mount Penang and drying out at home. I had suggested to the family that James may have been schizophrenic, drug taking or both. I was told not to be ridiculous; they had asked him whether he was taking drugs and he said "No, of course he wasn't".........We thought that he was finally sorting himself out, but was facing charges related to stealing, this time as an adult. James had disappeared ten days prior to his body being found, and it's never really been clear whether he committed suicide, died accidently, or was a victim of foul play. This is one of the futures that John and Sue can see for Evan, and are desperate to find another........ Evan is extremely resistant to intervention. John and Sue are good people, and this is taking a huge toll on their family. John was a bit of a teararse as a teenager, and everyone always jokingly wished him to have a son that was was just like him. Poor John sadly admits that they've got their wish and more. It's so hard to hold onto this tiger by the tail......

The last story I heard two weeks ago was the most incomprehensible. Eileen and David are parents to 2 extremely intelligent and very pleasant children, 18yr old Will and 16yr old Elisha. I don't really know these people on a personal level, but have been involved with them through school. Both the kids were involved in the school band, fund-raising activities, and generally well-known members of the school community. Eileen and David were supportive and indulgent parents, but it was fairly common knowledge that in their family, Elisha was regarded as the golden child. Will seemed to succeed regardless, receiving many awards, including a special government award last year. He left home to attend uni in February. Trouble seemed to have developed between Elisha and Eileen towards the end of last year, as Elisha decided to assert her independence, partying without her parent's knowledge, drinking and knocking about with an older group of teenagers, who probably weren't too good an influence on Elisha. Elisha had earlier had a few issues with other kids, who had labelled her a "try hard', but my kids had said that she was settling down, and was generally well liked. There was an incident in January when Elisha attended a party that she had told Eileen about, but the parent supervising the party, Julie, didn't realise that Elisha and 2 of her friends had arrived as they had entered through a side gate, and hadn't entered the house to say hello as was the custom. At midnight, when Eileen arrived to pick up the rather drunk Elisha, a screaming match ensued, which resulted in Eileen hurling abuse at Julie, saying that she would call the police and report Julie for supplying alcohol to minors. Gobsmacked, Julie just let her rant, and Eileen left in tears, Elisha stayed, and we began to realise that there were problems. Julie was extremely upset about this. Elisha had not been invited, and it was only a small gathering. We suspect that Elisha was drunk before she arrived. Nothing much else was heard of until a couple of weeks ago when Eileen confided to another friend, Gail, that Elisha had left home. OK, you say, it was probably on the cards. Hmm, but it's the circumstances that are really odd. Elisha had been keeping in contact with a boy who lives at Bega, over the Internet. One afternoon at the end of January, Eileen answered a knock at the door to find a boy and his parents at the door, who had driven up from Bega to take Elisha home with them to live....... Elisha went with them that afternoon. The only contact that Eileen and David have had with her that I know of was a text message that Elisha had sent to Eileen requesting "the recipe for that chocolate cake" followed by an impatient voice message left on the home phone by Elisha for "that recipe for the chocolate cake!", with no please, thank you, or "I'm ok Mum and Dad". Elisha had a part-time job, as well as attending school. Hopefully, she's been on contact with them or Will by now. Hopefully, she's well and happy, maybe working and/or attending school. But...Who are these people? Are they really a family? What gives them the right to take away someone else's daughter? We have to hope that their motives are good and honest, or else the alternatives are too awful to consider.......

So you see, even though my kids can be difficult and a pain sometimes, I am extremely grateful that they are settled and happy... for now, anyway. I haven't been able to stop hugging them over the last few weeks. Maybe it's because GG left as well. Luckily, both the boys are indulgent of my need. They have all been told about these kids; they know them too. They're not sure why Tonia, Evan and Elisha have made the choices that they have. Hopefully they are happy with their lot in life so far, and that they are secure in the fact that we love them, and will deal with problems when they arise, together, rather than making poor decisions that may change the rest of their lives.

Yes, definitely, there for the grace go I....... Please give the ones you care about a hug.

Love, The Blogmuggle xo

Thursday, March 01, 2007

RubyLove; for Kristy-Lee, Kade and Ruby

This picture came into my head last night; well this is an approximation of it anyway <3
RubyLove
Who'll be my love?
You'll be my love
You'll be my sky above
Who'll be my light?
You'll be my light
You'll be my day and night
You'll be mine tonight.
Ruby my love
You'll be my love
You'll be my sky above
Ruby my light
You'll be my light
You'll be my day and night
You'll be mine tonight
Thanks to Cat Stevens
<3> Congratulations to Kade and Kristy-Lee <3>
Hello and Welcome Ruby Jane; it's a pleasure to meet you ;)
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