Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Posting On The Run

Well, the Old Folks are here. That's hardly a term to apply to them, though. My dad refuses to acknowledge his late-sixtyish situation. He's a good deal more fit than I am, and stronger than most men twenty years younger than he is. Scary sumbitch; always has been.

So - he's wandering around the place, doing all kinds of gardeny/yardy stuff I haven't found time for. Meanwhile, his partner Rose has brutally cleaned the residence topside and bottom. It's all a bit alarming.

The kids like 'em, though, and with the grandparents in residence, I've been able to put in a bit more kid time too, which is lovely. So in the last few days:

-- we took a day trip to Reliquaire, in Latrobe. Grandparents and all. There were a lot of cherries involved, too.

-- the kids and I took in Fantastic Mister Fox at the cinema. And yes, it's fantastic. Wonderful stop-motion animation that beautifully lifts the story. Sharp dialogue and screenwriting. Top-notch voice-work. Good soundtrack. Very respectful to the original Roald Dahl story, while adding complexity and depth to make a film out of what was quite a short, simple book. And altogether entertaining, both for children and adults. Unlike Avatar, just to grab an example, Fantastic Mr Fox is a film I will very readily see again, and possibly again. You should make the effort now to catch it at the cinema while it's still available.

-- prepped for school

-- picked up a functional sewing machine, hemmed Mouse Guard cloaks. Have to make another one for the Mau-Mau, though.

-- cooked. A lot.

-- cleaned. A lot.

-- discovered that the chainsaw doesn't start, despite recent cleaning and tuning.

-- edited. Not as much as I should.

-- set in train events leading to what should be a return to higher education for your humble scribe.

Gotta go now. It's hot, and the power supply fan on my old computer, here, is singing soprano. Not good, because I've got a lot more work to do.


7 comments:

  1. I took The Little Bloke to see that Mr. Fox movie over the holidays, at his suggestion. I was enjoying it - but I'm afraid TLB is a somewhat sensitive fellow. He was a bit frightened by the big nasty farmers attacking the foxes et al, and insisted we leave. So I've only seen half of it.

    He gets a bit 'thingo' when the goodies in movies are set upon by the baddies. Mind you, we got through Star Wars The Phantom Menace last weekend...

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  2. Oh, and I'm sure if my folks came to stay I would be driven mad within a day. Luckily they only live about 5 minutes away...

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  3. Bondi -- there was a time we couldn't read "Humpty Dumpty" to Eldest Son. When he was about one-and-a-half, the little picture-book version of Humpty made him burst into tears.

    It got worse. He visited his Gran in Queensland. She made him a boiled egg. She put it in an egg-cup. She drew a happy little face on it.

    Then she attacked it with a spoon, and he SCREAMED.

    I'm not sure she's over it yet.

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  4. We have somehow picked up the sewing bug at the same time. I finished a bright purple wrap dress today. On my Janome. Freaky.

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  5. I can imagine a Gran having a heartie at that scream. Kids, eh.

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  7. OMFG..You left me out to FKN dry at Biminghums over CAKE DEcorating FFS and here i find your are FKN SEWING!.....

    Parents are great like that....I wouldn't swipe my old man either...he'd still break me in half

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