Disco Knitter

We can’t actually know, but we suspect that Ampersands conception occurred on the evening of the Scissor Sisters concert in early February - the same night that Sarah went into labour with Alex.

Lots of things conspired to bring Mark and I together (thanks Richard), and the decision to have a child has had even more twists and turns. We wouldn’t be here if Mark was still teaching, and I’m sure that having a month in Vietnam was also crucial in giving us the time and space to concentrate on our lives together. We’d really like him to have a name that means something to us, and our journey to this point in our lives. Binh means peace in Vietnamese, and if it didn’t mean dumpster in English, we’d have a name by now.

Mark and I are keeping separate lists. Here’s mine.

George
Ford
Algernon - Moustached
Ambrose
Aldous - Old, noble
Aubrey - Ruler of Elves
Harvey
Edward
Mathesar
Hare
Iago
Inego
Finn
Edmond/Edmund
Casper - treasurer
Archimedes/Archibald (Archy)
Argus/Argos
Gomez
Atticus
Orlando
Floyd
Bernard
Tobin
Peregrine

Apparently, Peregrine should only be considered by pretentious nerdy gamer types, Aubrey has become more popular as a name for a girl than a boy, Mathesar is the head alien from Galaxy Quest, and someone will object to it. George (after my beloved grandfather) is excruciatingly popular, Mark hates Harvey, Ambrose would surely have his head crammed in a toilet, Archimedes also has a touch of the pretentious twat, Casper is far too twee, Inego requires a dead father to be amusing, and despite the comic joy of Bernard - the name sucks.

Gomez is far too camp, Atticus too wanky, no-one will be able to pronounce Iago, Ford makes us look like tragic mulleted rev-heads (despite nobler aspirations), and Tobin, Floyd, Orlando and Finn wave the wanker flag, and Edward and Edmund and a trifle boring and common. Argos just looks like a skin complaint.

Hare is a Nettle family middle name, and we like it, but it won’t work as a first name. Apologies if your name appears on this list, no offence intended.

Suggestions welcome, but please bear in mind that I’d like something relatively unusual. Having grown up being the only Lara that I had ever heard of, I liked having an unusual name, and I don’t want anything that appears on this list.

For a while, I was craving fish and chips. Not just any fish, but deep fried shark. The cravings were so bad I could barely concentrate on a book, or driving the car. So for a few weeks, I had fish & chips once a week. The first time, it made me gag, but the craving went away. I’m over it now, and very glad to be - the fish made my skin smell in a really nasty way. I’m sure meat eaters wouldn’t notice it, but Mark did.

But now it’s all about cheese, and eggs. Apparently at the moment, I’m growing teeth and bones, so I need a lot of calcium. When we babysat Alex last, I ate almost an entire block of cheese that Sarah had in the fridge, and wasn’t sick the next day (usually lactose makes me snotty and vile the next day). So since then we’ve been going through about a kilo of (animal rennet free) cheese in a week.

I’ve also been eating more eggs than the girls can lay (about 3 every 2 days), so I’ve been buying Eco Eggs, on the assumption that since they are the most expensive, so hopefully I am paying for a better quality of life for the hens. Trouble is, without actually inspecting the living conditions, it’s bloody hard to know what you are buying, and what living conditions you are supporting with your grocery money.

Examination of the site tells me that each hen gets 0.1 m2 of space to sleep. Doesn’t sound like much to me, especially since these chooks are much larger than our girls.

I won’t go into the horrors of the dairy industry, it is my intention that one day I will stop eating all dairy, but in the meantime, I am living a bit of a double standard.

It’s a difficult feeling to express in writing, which is why I haven’t said anything before now, but today was a rather big milestone for me.

Last monday, my friend Miriam’s grandmother died, and she and her family asked me to conduct the funeral ceremony. I never met Helga, so while I was sad for my friend and her family, the pain wasn’t personal, and I was really touched to be trusted with such a special event.

The ceremony was this morning, and while I can’t say that it went off without a hitch, it went far better than I could have hoped for, and I think the family were happy with the ceremony.

And afterwards, I came home to an email from the AG’s department, telling me I am still on the waiting list for accreditation (I had to be re-assessed after the move for some reason). So hopefully this ceremony won’t be my last.

A huge thanks to Miriam and Malle, for trusting me with this important occasion. It’s a day I will never forget.

I promised a mate I’d go in to his shop and help out today. So I dragged my sorry carcass out of bed before the coffee had fully kicked in, and got onto the M4, dry retching on the way.

I really should have stayed in bed.

Apparently, the parking fine I asked Mark to pay in December hadn’t been paid, and my licence was cancelled in January. Which a kindly policeman pointed out to me on the M4 roadside. After telling me I’d have to appear in court in about six weeks time to plead my case in front of a judge.

Since the law don’t know of my bad character (yet), I hopefully won’t get locked up, and I hopefully won’t have a conviction recorded against my name. But there really are days when staying in bed isn’t such a bad option.

I feel stupid really. I should have known that I had no licence, and I should have dealt with it myself instead of keeping my head in the sand. No-one to blame but myself, and no point feeling sorry for myself - but of course, there is a certain amount of that
But in order to distract you from how miserable I am, check out this amazing list of knitting links. Thanks to a very old friend….

Apparently, today is not my day. I came close*, but not yet.

But if this law comes in, I’ll surely be put away.

*More on this later, when I feel stonger.

but this makes me really wish I were…

I love Japan, I particularly love the quiet self effacement of Japanese humour, and this is superb. And makes me miss Japan rather a lot.

I didn’t go to the Stitches and Craft show as planned today, instead I spent nearly three hours on the phone to a girlfriend in Melbourne. Time much better spent

Who’d a thunk it!

Well, me, for a start, but you know how I hate to blow my own trumpet….

Edited to add - a handy form letter, requesting his resignation here.

WINTER WORKSHOPS

FULLY BOOKED

Using Alpaca – “Fibre of the Gods”. 1st & 2nd September
Tutor: Jenny Hopper
A 2 day workshop concentrating on exploring the advantages and particular qualities of alpaca fibres so that spinners, felters, weavers, knitters and other users of alpaca can create yarns, fabrics and garments/articles which use the best of alpaca’s features to greatest advantage.
Detailed facts of alpaca fibre varieties, structure, characteristics, qualities and handling will be covered in depth. Comparisons will be made with other fibres, also blends of other fibres together with alpaca and the resultant advantages or disadvantages. Cost $70 per day. ($140) which includes morning tea and lunch.

Fully booked. Damn.

First they put it on at midnight, now it’s not on at all????

Frack.

This Sunday is Innominata Concert Day. This concert is “Brilliant Baroque“, and is quite likely to be Mark’s last concert for 2007, since the next concert will be two weeks after Ampersand is due to join us, and it may be a little tricky to get to rehearsals.

I had a sneak preview of the concert on Tuesday night, as I had to bring supper for the rehearsal. For this concert, Innominata are joined by an orchestra, and the music will be quite special. Tickets are about $30, 3pm, Sunday 19 August 2007 Saint Scholastica’s Chapel, Glebe.

Do come - and if you do, come early. I expect this concert will be a sell out.

PS. I knit during the concerts. I know of other knitters who attend, but don’t knit. Feel free to come “out”.

Lots of people have asked whether I am going to use cloth or disposable nappies for Ampersand, and the answer (so far) is that we’re going to try cloth - with a nappy service.

Largely based on a assessment by Choice Magazine, that using a nappy service with cloth nappies is the best environmental choice, due to the economies of scale in laundering the nappies commercially. Apparently, according to this article, you can also get a slight edge over disposables if you wash at home using cooler temperatures and larger loads.

So I’m still thinking cloth nappies (babies in cloth are apparently easier to toilet train), but we will probably seek out 100% biodegradable nappies for outings.

PS. This happened in Granville this morning - actually South Granville, miles away (well, further than I would like to walk anyway) from us. We did look at a few places in South Granville, but then the Merrylands house came up, and we’re thrilled to be here. And not at all threatened by one shooting - especially not after a cabbie was murdered in Epping a few months ago, and just last week a priest was attacked in Marsfield! Granville looks much safer in comparison.

My three day experiment going drug free is a failure.  I was ok for two days, but this morning it came back to bite me in the arse.  I woke early, before Mark’s alarm, and by the time he was ready to leave for work, I was ready to drive him to the station.  All good, until I got home, and barely made it to the bathroom to lose my morning coffee.

I couldn’t keep anything down till about 11am when, still queasy, I ate some salted pretzels (food I thought I was well and truly over - thank goodness I still had some in the house!).  The rest of the day has been spent limping about feeling sorry for myself, and guilty for not getting more done.

I did finally block my major project for the last few months.  If your name is Christine, stop reading now, and please don’t look past the first two pictures.

Here is Custard, having a nap.  He is not dead, honest.  There is something about loppy eared bunnies, when fully relaxed, they tend to look like roadkill.  Extremely cute, but slightly disturbing nonetheless.

Here is the gorgeous cockatoo.  Sometimes known as “Cockalicious”, which if it weren’t so pornographic sounding, might be her permanent moniker.

She has decided that Mark is her “Special Friend”, and was following him around the house on the weekend, rubbing her head against his calves in a rather too affectionate manner.  The bird whisperer has decreed that I should henceforth be the bearer of treats (instead of Mark all the time), so that she shares her affections.  Here she is with her afternoon corn cob.  Just prior to this shot she was holding it in one foot and going nuts, but she is a little camera shy, and dropped the treat.

And here is the big project (iPod included for scale).  It is the first two charts of the Swallowtail Shawl (that has become a bit of a favourite with me), doubled, with a wide moss stitch border.  I did a provisional cast on in the round, and used two “centre” stitches instead of one so that I could knit it on two circs.

The yarn is Patons Jet, a bulky wool/alpaca mix, in a mixture of reds, purples, and a little but of a rusty colour. Pattern modifications are my own, and yes, I do feel a bit clever.

This is to be a blankie for my new neicephew, who is due on the 13th of December, to Mark’s sister Christine, and her husband Matt.  I hope they like it, it was made with much love, and great hopes for a very wanted child.

Here.

I’ve joined an online pregnancy forum, one group is women who are due to give birth from the 15th-30th of November, so we are all around the same stage of pregnancy.  The other group I read is mums who live around the Parramatta area - I thought it would be a good idea to get to know some locals, and possibly get some tips on child friendly resources in the area.

I don’t post much, but have been out to dinner with a group from the Ryde area before I moved, and found them to be nice, if not exactly the sort of people I would normally gravitate towards.

Since moving, I haven’t had much time to catch up with the forums, but this morning I logged on for a read.  And I found a post that really disturbed me - a woman complaining about a car crash she was in, apparently caused by “a bloody asian”.

Now, if this happened in conversation, I would quickly, and hopefully with some humour, jump on the offender, pointing out that racism is not OK, and ask them to consider the feelings of someone who might not be around to stick up for themselves.

But this is online, and it isn’t possible to deal with it in the same way I would an offline conversation.  I don’t want to start a flame war, but nor can I stand by and allow this person to think that racism is OK by me.  And by not saying something, I feel like I am complicit in the abuse.

So I’ve posted a response, pointing out that I believe the comment is racist, but also hoping that it wasn’t meant that way, and leaving an opening for an apology.  It doesn’t feel right that I should be so conciliatory to someone who believes in racial superiority, but I’m also not comfortable attacking someone over an offhand comment that might have been ill conceived and thoughtless.  Still racist, but without evil intent.

Well, I suppose I’ll wait and see who gets attacked - the racist, or the *political correctness police.

*Because we all know that political correctness is evil, right?

Daisy moved in last night, so now the whole family has moved in. The chickens moved in the day before, and Liza escaped into the storm-water drain behind the house. If you weren’t me, and were watching me, and you aren’t upset by gratuitous profanity, you might have found the following hour very amusing.

If you are me, and are concerned for the welfare of your errant chickens, to the detriment of your lower back and without regard for your changing shape and shifting centre of gravity, you would have had a pretty horrible time. But the girls are fine (and now have their wings clipped to prevent further escapades), and the passenger is also fine. I am buggered, and am taking a rest day today - despite the mountains of shit that needs putting away. I had the first decent lie in for a week, put on a few loads of washing, am watching Oprah, and have made the internets work.

So now that I have taken the time to stop and breathe a bit, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who was there to help out last weekend, and since - and this weekend too!

Candy tackled the kitchen with her signature style and humour. Mandy brought cake (Mandy, you are developing a reputation!). Leefe and Ginevra brought their very cute baby, as did Adam and Sarah. Mum and Dad were amazing, Ted orchestrated the construction of an all new Palais du Chicken (with Mark and Richard), Jane drove the van which meant that we could actually spend sunday night in our new home. And Sally, Oliver, and little Benjamin did great work at the new house while the deconstruction of Denistone was tackled.

As well as all the practical help, the overwhelming feeling was of gratitude that I have so many people in my life who care about me enough to be there when I really needed the help. It made me feel very loved, and I realise how lucky I am to have such good friends and family. And I am very grateful - for the chance that our parents gave us to build a home for our new family, and for all the practical and emotional support of all you guys. I feel like there is a huge amount of work to be done, but we’ll get there.

I’ve had a plumber install the dishwasher, fix a tap and move the laundry tub so we could fit our huge washing machine into the laundry - and he also fixed the bathroom door as an added bonus! The old house has been cleaned, the lawns have been mowed, and I am currently washing the curtains which will be replaced tonight. Tomorrow I have to be at the old house to let the carpet cleaners in, then I can return the keys to the real estate agent, AND BE RID OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS FOR EVER. As long as there is no hassles getting our bond back of course….

Thanks to Donna for giving me a heads up about the Remo General store free t-shirt offer, I just got a fab t-shirt (in extra large, passenger carrying size) that says “us=them”. Thought it might be good to wear on election day
Here is an offer that won’t help me, but might help someone else -

Subject: Free $10 Book Voucher

I’ve been using a new online shop called Sarah’s blog and wish my nephew Alex a happy half birthday - he’s 6 months old today!

PS. “Ampersand” is the Sydney Morning Herald’s Target word for today.

Apparently, one of our new neighbours has an unprotected wireless network (bless them), so we’re borrowing some internets till we get hooked up on Wednesday.

And here you can see our newest family member enjoying the new house.

Spending out first night at the new house tonight. Just about to move the creatures, and home is where the creatures are.

Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to help out this weekend - a proper thank you to come.

And apparently, this is where it all happened.  I arrived at 1:50pm, to find this empty room, looking somewhat like a scene from the movie “Brazil”. 

The credit union person showed up, the vendors solicitors person showed up, we swapped some paperwork, and now we are the proud owners of a 40 year commitment.

And I thought having a baby was a big deal - they only hang around for 20 years…

PS.  Thanks Sally for the promo :)  And yes, owning a home was always a goal of mine, far more so than having a baby!