Month: March 2006

A Lovely Weekend

On saturday my parents came to help us get ready for the house inspection on wednesday. The housework has been a low priority whil I was ill, and now that I am recovering, it is still a low priority after getting myself to work, working a full day, and getting home. Recently I have started to cook again, but spare anergy for cleaning toilets has been thin on the ground.

After Mum and Dad left, we drove to Wisemands Ferry to visit Barry and Cath and to celebrate Barry’s 40th birthday. I met Barry because he had a bunny, Bunyip, and Bunyip has come to stay with me a few times over the years while Barry and Cath had holidays. Early this year Bunyip was diagnosed with a tumour, and about 3 weeks ago he went to the Rainbow Bridge.

Here is a picture of Barry and Bunyip that I took in January.


This is the view from our car as we crossed the river to Rivendell.

A Wee Rant

Politicians Want to Filter the Internet

Now, I am sure there are some very bad things on the internet. I have seen a lot of them. Mostly, because I was young and curious, and I wanted to know what goatse was, despite knowing it was going to be disgusting.

That was informed consent. I am sure there are a few people out there that haven’t seen the image I am talking about, and may be curious. Google at your peril – but rest assured that the information is there for those that wish to open their minds to a rare and little known hobby.

This is a hobby I am not interested in, and I am sure I will never want to get any more information on the subject for the rest of my life. But I do have a sense of security knowing that the information is out there for those that do wish to know about it.

Goatse is an interesting image to think about in the light of this whole “let’s save the kiddies from the evil intertron” palaver. Yes, it’s not for the weak hearted, but neither is it going to send me off to the nearest crack dealer for a hit. Information is power, and I am very, very frightened by our politicians continually ramping up their controls over what goes into my head.

Firstly, who decides what is porn, and what is not ? Who decides what is clean and what is dirty ? Do we cover up the rude bits on the Knitters Olympics Medalas one of Franklin’s readers seemed to want ?

Who decides if I can talk about my left wing politics, my knitted uterus, my desire to perform gay weddings, my friends breast cancer scare ?

You can’t legislate good manners, and you can’t control the internets. Nor should you try.

And a Post About Knitting !

These are the socks I didn’t quite get finished for my mother’s Christmas present. She was very gracious about it, even though dad got his. I finished knitting them over New Year, but I did the kitchener graft on sock one after a few too many shandies, and IT ALL WENT HORRIBLY WRONG.

Two months later, the socks were still languishing in my knitting bag as a mocking reminder of my multiple failures, and I decided to take the bull by the horns, and DEAL WITH IT. I was not going to let a pair of socks get the better of me. No, I am bigger than a kitchener graft, and what does not kill me will make me stronger.

So I took the socks to the pub, determined to get them finished. And….

Emma didn’t show up !

Of course, I had tied myself up in knots so tight that I couldn’t deal with it without Emma, so I waited another week, Emma showed up, undid the horror, put it all back on needles, and I did a neat, but spineless, three needle bind off.

The point of all this, is that

1. Emma is a superb human being.
2. Knowing your limitations can be a strength if you have support and can learn from experience.
3. It is good to put down a project and revisit it with fresh eyes.
4. You don’t need fresh three months to gain perspective on a knitting problem.
5. Three months can easily turn “perspective” into “terror”
6. Emma is superb, and everyone should have one.

McMahon Update

Some of you will already know that Brendan McMahon was in court again on Tuesday, asking that the case against him be dismissed because he was insane at the time that crime was committed. The judge ruled that he is fit to have the case heard by the courts, and he will be appearing again on the 23rd of May.

I thank the Judge for understanding that this matter is a serious one for many of us, and for treating it as such.

And here is a kiss from Grasshopper.

After the Fire

I took this picture the day after New Years Day. We had spent New Years Day protecting the house, packing valuables into cars, and preparing to evacuate. We were lucky, but homes were lost that day, and this burnt bit of eucalypt was a reminder to me that we Aussies live in a wild and beautiful place – and that we can’t take our responsibility to the earth lightly.