20 December 2010

Home, with No House

20101220 Demolished!

I've had a few requests for a photo of our demolished house.  How does one photograph something that's not there?  Here is a shot of the cleared land -- we've visited it a few times to marvel at the emptiness.  David took some photos while it was disappearing in the week of demolition, but I was out of town and missed the whole thing.

On a different note, I created something recently -- a crocheted slipcover for my Sony Reader, combining my two latest interests.  It's fantastic that it's exactly what I want, in colors that I chose, and was so fast to make. (I can attest that crochet is way faster than knitting!)

Reader case

Half on Holiday

This weekend we had holiday fever mixed with Christmas colds (three of us have sore throats and coughs to varying degrees, with more to succumb, I'm sure).  I also made an absurd attempt to finish off some project work before Monday, futile since not much time is left in the working year.  Anya and Callum were hanging around me while I worked, so I now have a piece of scratch paper with a mixture of work annotations and kiddie drawings.  It was surprisingly not too hard to work and play at the same time, probably because my project involves tweaking a computer model that goes very slowly.

In the afternoon, I tried to teach Anya to crochet, but realised she's still too young.  Left with a half-started project, I amused myself in the late evening by making it into a finger puppet.  No pattern, I just experimented with shaping it using different stitches, making loops for the ears, and finishing with a tuft on top.  It looks vaguely like a Fraggle to me.  I sewed buttons on for the nose & eyes this morning, and Callum has named it "Fa-fa."  Anya naturally has requested one for herself, so a blue cat puppet is in the works.

We've started some new games lately -- Spin the Bottle (at dinnertime), great for getting lots of kisses -- and Treasure Hunt, where we take turns being the treasure hider.  Callum absolutely loves finding the items, and Anya loves giving us extremely specific hints on where to look for her hides.  As with Hide and Seek, they both have yet to learn how to really hide and find things, but I prefer it that way -- less likely to lose them when we're out and about!

Some sweet moments from this weekend:

Callum sidled up to me, hooked his arm around my neck to help himself onto my lap, and said, "We're best friends, aren't we, Mum?"  (My heart melts and sizzles like butter on a griddle...)

Anya wrote "I love you Mum and Dad and Grama and Callum" on our fridge's whiteboard, right behind me, then delightedly pointed out the surprise message to me.  (Later, she got cross with me about something, and erased "Mum" from the message.  But this morning I noticed I was reinstated.)

I invited Anya to sit with me on the bed for movie time because Callum was pestering her too much on the couch.  The next thing I knew, both kids were nestled on either side of me, and I got a great 45 minute snuggle.  David also joined us for part of the movie viewing, but unfortunately, he mostly got Callum rolling restlessly around over him -- lots of bottom and feet action.  I had to threaten Callum with banishment so he would settle down.  Meanwhile, by movie's end, Anya had fallen asleep in her cosy position.

16 December 2010

School's Out, Summer's In

This week is the first week of holidays -- Anya has finished her first year of school.  Anya and Callum have still been going off each day, Anya to vacation care (a whole day at the pool! another day at the movies!) and Callum to his daycare (same old same old, but with tinsel on top).  This being Thursday, it's "Grandma Day," when my mother-in-law looks after Callum.  It's been a long time since Anya has stayed home for a Grandma Day, so both kids have been looking forward to it a lot.

This morning I heard Callum running down the hall, yelling joyfully, "Yay!  It's Grandma Day!"

Yes, Grandma Day is celebrated with as much enthusiasm as birthdays and Easter and Christmas, round these parts.  Meanwhile, here are some exciting bits that happened from an adult viewpoint:

  • Our old house was knocked down in early November.  It was sad to see it go, but we'll have a bigger house in a great location as a result (and custom designed by yours truly!)  We had hoped to see construction start before Christmas, but apparently the plans have still not been approved by council.
  • We had our first summery beach weekend a while ago, and our friends Wayne & Jacqui came up to join in.  Finally, sun and sand!  The weather has stayed unusually cool for this time of year until recently.
  • Bronwyn & I won Runner-up in the Overall Winner category, at the Annual Artforce Awards for the traffic signal box we painted this year.  I made sure to acknowledge Anya's contribution to the TSB design (the little creatures by the dreaming woman's head).  She was quite pleased that I got her to stand up for the audience, I think.
  • I attended a conference dinner by the dolphin enclosure at Sea World -- not only did we have dolphins swimming next to us all through dinner, they performed before and after the meal!  It was magical...  I was rapt for days afterward.
  • My company's tenth anniversary luncheon was held at the Sydney Opera House -- our global HQ is in Denmark, the Opera House was designed by a Dane, and the Danish ambassador came to the luncheon to celebrate with us.  I believe even Oprah (who apparently is now in Australia) didn't stage her event at the Opera House, but at a nearby location.  However, she did have Russell Crowe swing in... as well as Hugh Jackman... (I would have liked that!)

02 October 2010

Edible (Almost) T-shirt

20101002_IceCreamDesign (2)

Anya and I made this the T-shirt yesterday, combining my ideas and Anya's concept drawing. Below is Anya's original drawing. I asked her for it, when I was thinking about making an ice cream cone T-shirt. I'm glad she did this because it changed my concept of how the scoops should look, and also intrigued me with the heart-shaped cone. I really loved her heart-shaped cone but wanted a waffle cone effect, so we decided to make a heart-shaped cherry on top instead.  It's interesting, too, that although she drew this a month ago, she picked out the same colors for the ice cream scoops (without reference to the drawing) when I showed her my set of screen printing paints.

20101002_IceCreamDesign (1)

25 September 2010

Gallery of Modern Art

Douglas Kirkland @GoMA
I went to the Gallery of Modern Art to see the Douglas Kirkland exhibit with my good friend Mel.  It was also a chance to catch up and see how much her daughter Jessie has grown.  Raema and the kids came along as well, and Mel's husband Craig joined us at lunchtime.

Craig, Mel & Jessie @GoMA


Kids @GoMA GoMA Takashi Murakami @GoMA
I tried in vain to capture a good candid shot of the kids wandering around the Takashi Murakami exhibit.  I have no idea why Callum looks to be getting ready to open a can of whup-ass... I do like this shot of Anya looking out the window next to the Valentino window poster, although it doesn't look anything like the image I had in mind.

GoMA

19 September 2010

Tripping Through VA, WA & LA

20100906 Mom & Elaine
So I went to the US to visit my mom in Staunton, Virginia.
20100910 Dad & Elaine
Then to Seattle, to visit my dad.
20100911 Jill & kids
I also caught up with some old high school friends, including my best friend from literally forever, Jill, and hung out with her kids (who are not shy at all).  It was really great to see everyone -- it felt like we just picked right up where we left off.
Elaine @LACMA
On the last day of my trip, I had a long layover in LA.  Luckily, my good friend Kevin had time to hang out with me.  We went to Santa Monica, The Ivy, the LA County Museum of Art, Manhattan Beach and last, Encounters restaurant at LAX.

20100912 Kevin@LACMA

20100912 Encounters restaurant, LAX

01 September 2010

Bird Frenzy, and Balloon Crazy

Some photos of notable moments in the last few months.  We went to the Samford Show on July 18th, enjoyed a tethered hot air balloon ride, and treated the kids to a few amusement rides.

After waiting for holidays to be over, then getting over the whooping cough, we finally finally had a play date mid-August with Anya's best friend from kindy, Amelia, and her best friend from school, Annika.  Anya was so excited by the idea of having her best friends meet and play together.  I was bemused by the fact that all their names begin and end with A.  I proposed to Anya that they could call themselves the "A" Bunch (referencing one of her favorite books, The Lunch Bunch).
Balloon Crazy
Balloon Crazy at the Samford Show
Friends Reunited
Best Friends, Reunited












This past weekend we had my Aunt Jo (my mother's cousin) staying with us, so on Sunday we all went to O'Reilly's to feed the birds and have a little walk in the tree tops.  Everyone had a great time.  Callum made me laugh by gruffly commanding the birds, "Get on me!"  Anya impressed me with her nonchalant climb up a tree to 30 meters off the ground (in a caged ladder, but still!)
King Parrot on Board!
Wow! A king parrot on my shoulder!


Crimson Rosellas
Crimson Rosellas


Regent Bower Birds
Regent Bowerbirds


Anya, Aunt Jo & Callum in a Tree

09 August 2010

Sibling Solidarity

"You don't do that to my sister!" Callum bellows at a boy on the playground, who'd just made Anya cry.  (To be fair, she was going slowly down a tubular slide, and he'd had no idea she was there when he started sliding down.)

"He didn't do anything!" Anya protests, saving Callum from unjust punishment, even while blubbering about an upset that we thought Callum was responsible for.

"And one for Anya?" Callum always asks when we give him a treat.

It's nice to see that no matter how much they annoy each other, Anya and Callum do look after each other as well.

03 August 2010

Breaking My Heart Already

Callum's latest trick: he says, "Kiss?" – then puckers his lips up to me, saying, "Mmmm..." – and just as I get to kissing range, he turns away quickly saying, "Too late!" and cackles.

Anya, thrilled by a movie moment, re-enacts it for me at bedtime: "Her breasts went like this!" and jiggles her bottom at me.

Callum saunters off, "I'm going to cuddle Grandma, and then I'm going to cuddle you." As I start to follow him, not sure if I am expected to escort him, he turns, looks over his shoulder and says, "I'll be back in a minute."

Reading Hop on Pop, Callum remarks, "That rhymes!" We've been pointing out rhymes to him for ages but he never seemed to take notice, before. At the end of the book, Anya got inspired to read the endpaper, which features lists of the rhyming words used in the book. Hurray for Dr. Seuss!

We put together our glitter balls pretending they were magic, and each got a wish. Anya whispered, "I wish I were a mermaid." Callum, following her cue, whispered, "I wish I were a king." On hearing this, Anya re-wished, "I wish I were a mermaid and I was the queen of the mermaids."

01 August 2010

Top Thoughts


After going to Melbourne & Bendigo for work, then Darwin & Litchfield & Kakadu for school holidays, I felt like there was a lot I could blog about, but so much that I spent way too much time thinking about what to write. At the same time, I spent several weeks fighting off the whooping cough and the horrible effects of megadosing myself with antibiotics (my first antibiotics since 1991), so I also wasn't in much shape to compose anything readable. Now I feel like it's probably too late to go back in time and describe everything we did, but suffice to say, we loved Litchfield & Kakadu and definitely want to see more of the Top End.

Gunlom Falls (top), Kakadu

The top of Gunlom Falls was probably the most picturesque of all the gorgeous swimming holes and waterfalls that we visited – I would include it on anybody's "must-do" list for the Top End. There were a whole series of approximately rectangular basins cascading down to the lip of the waterfall, all quite generous in size. Above them were a series of rounded pools, fed by a carved miniature gorge. The water was clear green over a sandy bed; I felt like I was swimming in glass. The top is reached by a 2km ascent from the campsite. We also swam in the plunge pool, which was the only time we went past a "swim at your own risk" crocodile warning sign. (Everyone was swimming, so it seemed pretty safe.) Someone camping near us offered us the use of their pool noodles, which helped us to swim all the way across the pool to the base of the waterfall with Anya and Callum in tow.

Yellow Water Cruise - crocodile basking

Our cruise of Yellow Water ("Ngurrungurrudja") at sunset was also a great experience. It was the only time we actually saw any live crocodiles, despite a myriad of "swim at your own risk" signs throughout the parks. I read that the estuarine crocodiles ("ginga") have largely displaced the freshwater crocodiles ("madjarrki") in Kakadu, which is why there are so many warnings now. The estuarine crocodiles (also known colloquially as "salties") are larger and more aggressive, whereas the freshwater crocodiles are shy and tend to leave people alone.

I wish we'd had time to see Butterfly Gorge, whose walls are apparently home to countless butterflies; The Lost City, a spot which our rented 4WDs were not allowed to go; Jim Jim Falls, which we missed in favour of Nourlangie Rock; and all the other waterfalls and rock pools we missed. We did go to Florence Falls, Tjaynera Falls, Buley Rockhole and Howard Springs, which is a pretty long list considering our limited time. I am glad we went to Nourlangie Rock, where we got to see an ancient rock shelter (possibly 40,000 years old), lots of rock art, and a beautiful view of an escarpment.

Nourlangie Rock - rock art

We came home already thinking about our next camping holiday. Anya and Callum adjusted to the camping and 4 wheel driving life quite readily, so that's one obstacle cleared. Anya did ask me mid-week, "Can we go home now?" but it turned out the reason was, "I want to use a computer." Now we just have to pick a time and place, and go.

28 July 2010

Life in the Single Lane


This week, David is away in Canberra, so I've slogging it alone since Sunday afternoon. He's been calling just before bedtime each night, to say good night to Anya and Callum, so it's been relatively painless for them. It wasn't until this morning, when Callum was romping on the bed with me before breakfast, that his absence was really noticed. Callum looked at David's empty pillow and said, "Where's Dad?"

I've had a lazy several days, in reality, as I'm still recovering from my various illnesses (still a mystery to me how I got whooping cough, and whether the following sniffles were related or a new infestation of my lungs), so I've allowed myself to sleep in a bit (kids permitting). Today I had to actually roust Anya out of bed – she's still recovering too, I think, although she's seemed happy and bright enough.

Yesterday was Anya's first day back at school since last Wednesday, so I also indulged her a bit when dropping her off – then as I appeared to be sticking around, her teacher suckered me into showing all the kids how to do some origami! It was a frantic half hour of helping 6 or 8 or 10 (the group seemed to be growing by the minute) each fold their own hopping frog. Fun for me, actually, but not sure if the kids actually learned anything.

The next thing I knew, I was rolling into the office at around eleven, just in time to find out that all the managers were there in force for a managers' meeting. This could have been embarrassing but instead I was invited along for the lunch, so I got a free, fancy lunch at the Pink Piano instead of my usual hurried gulp at my desk. It's just as well I don't have any pressing deadlines at the moment.

I think perhaps I'm still on Darwin time... (half an hour behind Brisbane/Sydney).

13 July 2010

Our Top End Tour


I love maps, so here is a map showing everywhere we stopped on last week's holiday.  I will progressively link some photos to each map marker - just click and you'll see!  Alternatively follow this link to view the map in full screen: NT Top End 4WD Holiday

30 June 2010

Anya, You Have the Power

From the back files of my mind...

The set-up: Anya has just had a fight with Callum because he was being naughty and physically pestering her.

The usual answer: I force Callum to say sorry to Anya, and I force Anya to gracefully accept his apology and hug (not what she wants at all!)

Theory: Making them say sorry and hug should either (1) teach them manners and/or (2) avoid annoying each other, so they don’t have to go through the apology dance.

New approach: Afterwards, I take Anya aside and try to lay things out for her. First, I say, “Look, you know you’re like a little mother to Callum.” She looks sulky but agreeable to this idea. (Later we notice her “giving him a little mothering.”) Next I say, “So, you have the POWER.” She looks intrigued. I continue, “When he is naughty, you can tell him how to behave better. Instead of shrieking about what he did, you can say calmly, ‘Callum, that’s wrong.’ And he’ll listen to you.” Anya likes this idea, I can tell. Last, I shake my finger for emphasis, “But, you have to use your power for good and not evil.” She laughs.

16 June 2010

Ten Useful Uses for One's Children

Someone to...
10. Fetch and carry when my grown up legs are feeling lazy.
9. Give me cuddles on my birthday.
8. Eat the random mouthfuls of leftovers lurking in the nooks and crannies of the fridge.
7. Walk over my back to give me a massage.
6. Say out loud what we're all really thinking.
5. Need me to bake some cake.
4. Render my alarm clock useless.
3. Give me practice at folding multitudes of tiny, tiny pairs of underpants.
2. Lick the cake bowl clean.
1. Appreciate their father's comic books.

14 June 2010

David's birthday weekend

David's Yum Cha Birthday Lunch

David's birthday was this weekend.  I think he had a good time. 

31 May 2010

Photo Roundup

Just catching up on uploading some photos from the last few months.  This is from April when we lucked into a local fair while we were staying up the coast.
Green Heart Fair Green Heart Fair

This is from a day when my old rollerblades disintegrated, so I walked up Kedron Brook (in the water, wearing thongs) while David took the kids for a bike ride:
Kedron Brook

Kedron Brook

This is from a few weeks ago when we were out for a walk in the neighborhood, and found a tree in full autumn glory.  My heart filled with pure gladness to see it.  Most plants around here stay green year round or simply become brown or bare branched instantly, so it was a rare and wonderful sight.
Autumn

Last of all, here is a photo of my current knitting project in progress. I'm making a baby blanket and this is one side of it, half finished. I also intend to knit a strip of a different pattern (maybe cables) to go in the center.
Autumn

26 May 2010

The Super Life

The Super Life
Superkids can fight crime with anything, even teapots.

The Super Life
Superkids have their own special seating.

The Super Life
Superkids wear goggles in the bath.

The Super Life
Superkids don't have to worry about safety barriers.

Superdad
Superkids have Superdads.

25 May 2010

Arty Partying

So much to tell, so little time.  Do I give a ginormous report, or throw together a tossed salad of amusing anecdotes?  It's very daunting to think of trying to catch up to where we are now, but for you, my loyal readers (I know there are at least two of you), it's my duty to try.

10 May 2010

Guest Post: Good morning, cars!

[this post was written by David]
My son usually gets up early each morning to go to the toilet. He always wants his mum to take him, but Elaine and I alternate. It's always a struggle to stop him from crying, "I want Mama!" and waking everyone up when it's my turn with him.

12 April 2010

Three Great Cakes

Lately I've been trying new cake recipes and lucked across a few really good ones. So, I thought I'd share. Warning: I tend to prefer cakes that are intensely flavored and moist. If your favorite cake is angelfood, these recipes are not for you.

CHOCOLATE BANANA CAKE (from Brisbane News)
150 g plain flour
25 g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
115 g unsalted butter
200 g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 medium-sized bananas, mashed
120 g sour cream
115 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
250 ml cream, softly whipped

Preheat oven to 175C. Grease a 23 cm round cake tin, dust with flour and line with baking paper. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 1 minute until pale. Add sugar and beat until creamy and light. Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla and banana, mixing on speed 1. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream. Stir in chocolate, and pour batter into tin. Bake for 1 hour. The cake should be firm to the touch and an inserted skewer should come out clean. Cool in the tin on a rack. Once cool, top the cake with the whipped cream. (Also nice with ice cream.)


PUMPKIN CITRUS SYRUP CAKE (from Womens Weekly cakes cookbook)
250 g butter
2 Tbs orange rind
2 Tbs lemon rind
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup mashed pumpkin

Preheat oven to 190C. Cream together butter, orange & lemon rind & sugar. Add eggs, flour & mashed pumpkin. (To make 1 cup, boil 350 g cubed pumpkin until tender.) Pour into 23 cm round cake tin and bake for 1 hour. The cake should be firm to the touch and an inserted skewer should come out clean. When the cake is ready, combine 2 Tbs ea. orange & lemon juice with ¾ cup sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to medium heat and allow to thicken (approx 1 minute). Pierce cake all over the top with a fork or skewer, and pour the hot syrup over the cake while it is still hot (in the tin). Stand at least 10 min. This cake lasts four days (if you don’t eat it all right away!) and tastes best the second day.


PUMPKIN SWIRL BREAD (from allrecipes.com)
224 g cream cheese
¼ cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1¾ cup all-purpose flour
1½ cups white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup water

1. Blend cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 beaten egg. Set aside.
2. Combine flour, 1½ cups white sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
3. Combine pumpkin, butter or margarine, beaten egg, and water. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, mixing just until moistened. Reserve 2 cups of the pumpkin batter. Pour the remaining batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Pour cream cheese mixture over pumpkin batter, and top with reserved pumpkin batter. Cut through batter several times with a knife for a swirl effect.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 70 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. [Note: as muffins/cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes.] Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then remove from pan to cool completely.

11 April 2010

Easter Week

Once again, we spent our week of holidays “up the coast,” as we say – that is, at the family units at Peregian Beach. Usually, we share our beach holidays with Don’s family, who have two girls and a boy; this time we were with Rob’s family, who have two boys, much to Callum’s delight. It’s been a bit frustrating for Anya as the only girl, while the boys rough-house and say naughty things, but Callum has been completely and thoroughly enjoying himself. Anya isn’t totally left out, as she and Jayden do have in common a great love of drawing and pretend play. I brought a big pile of paper and it’s been all used up along with good quantities of pencil, crayon, sticky tape, staples, and prolific scissoring.

Easter morning the cousins were up at four a.m. with excitement, but thankfully were held back from visiting us until six a.m. I’d hidden some eggs around the unit to start Anya and Callum off, then all four kids moved outside and found more scattered around. I do miss the Easter activities of my childhood such as dying and decorating hard-boiled eggs, and making up little baskets with grass and chicks. Here the focus is very much on chocolate and it’s like having Christmas where all the presents are made of chocolate. We gave Anya a Lindt bunny, and Callum a Buzz Lightyear chocolate figure; they also received a large egg apiece from our in-laws and sacks of chocolate eggs and bunnies from their grandma.

It’s the custom in our household to let Callum and Anya have a little snack just before bedtime – sometimes candy, other times cookies, or even cheese and crackers if the mood strikes. This week, that became an excited look through their enormous array of Easter chocolate to decide which bit to eat next. (Amusingly, looking at Buzz Lightyear, Callum asked, “Where’s his head?” I had to unfold the wrapper to show him the face and remind him that he’d eaten it the previous evening.)

A new addition to our household this week is Maddy, a small mixed-breed dog who belongs to our other in-laws. They went camping this week, and asked us to look after her. She’s about the size of a cat, but very self-assured and tends to snap at small kids. Anya and Callum have had to be very patient with her and approach her very softly. Rob’s family recently acquired a dog as well, a small poodle, so it’s been a very doggish week. The poodle’s name is Minnie and she is amazingly patient, putting up with anything the kids want to do with her.

Another custom we’ve adopted this week is “happy hour” with drinks and snacks on the upstairs veranda or down by the barbecue. It’s a little awkward because we don’t want our kids getting full on chips and junk just before dinner, but it’s been really nice to relax with our in-laws and simply chat. The kids come and go, playing ball or other games, in between sitting with us sometimes to participate in the conversation. We had a good one today that started at 3:30 and carried on until 5:30! I did some sketches of Travis (my nephew) and Anya, and then Anya got inspired and got her own book to do some drawings of me.

Anya’s been learning to read, with “homework” each night of a different reader. The rhyming games, and other word games we’ve been playing with her for the last several years (just for fun without any educational goal) seem to helped a lot with this. She’s really got the hang of sounding out words. The only thing holding her back is her own tendency to get frustrated when faced with something new and difficult. I think as she continues, her confidence will grow and she won’t be so easily frustrated. On the holiday we haven’t pushed her to do much reading, except for one afternoon looking at Dr. Seuss’s “Hop on Pop.”

She also received a list of “sight words” to learn just before the holiday started. (Sight words are those you recognise immediately without having to sound them out.) I haven’t tried to drill her in them – I don’t find flash cards very appealing – but I did use them. I had to make up a board game for her to play with her cousins one afternoon, and I decided to base it on the sight words. Milton Bradley would never buy this game from me, but I do think with a little polish it could work as a real game. My first version involved spinning for a word and moving to the closest square with that word. My second version involved collecting letters until you had the ones that would make a word on the board, so you could move to its square. Her cousins also got me to help them make a snakes and ladders style game with drawings of animals, but I imagine that could also be adapted to sight words.

Meanwhile, Callum is speaking in quite elaborate sentences. For example, today he said without pause or hesitation, “Can I have a drink of water and when I drink it all up, you give me a cup of juice?” (This is a sort of rule I’ve introduced recently, that you only get juice after drinking a cup of water.) He also made us laugh this morning at the beach, as Anya refused to take her hat (she wanted to swim some more), and he scolded her, “Put your hat on, young lady!” Our in-laws have taken to calling him “Mr. Galumph.” I guess this kind of rhymes with our pet name for Anya, “Miss Gump.”

31 March 2010

The Wow Moment

TSB Work in Progress (Feb 2010)

TSB Work in Progress (Feb 2010)

I made a new friend at the annual Artforce awards where she was nominated for one of the award categories. (I wasn't -- just attended out of interest to see the leading designs.) We decided to collaborate on a new traffic signal box (TSB) design. This is really exciting and fun as I've never collaborated with someone before. It's a different way to work, bouncing ideas off each other and changing things around like a sliding Chinese puzzle.

I've learned some new ways of composition from her such as tracing, photocopying, cutting and gluing. I typically do things the hard way -- freehand sketching with old-school erasing and starting over if I don't get it right. Last night we even used whiteout to "do over" some areas and cut apart white paper and a spare color copy of the image to do over other parts.

We've gotten together several times now -- usually I head over to her place after the kids are in bed. Last night I went over to help finalise the design, thinking that we just had a few things to firm up, and we ended up changing the design some more... and I stayed until one in the morning. The design is now finally ready for submission -- it already looks different from these photos -- keep your eyes peeled for the final result!

Last Friday I also brought a pile of the working materials and the mock-up to Anya's class and gave a short talk (after morning tea and before the teddy bear's picnic... but that's another story...) The aim of the talk was to illustrate how you go from imagining a design, to planning it and working it out. I'd downloaded Hokusai's The Great Wave and a swath of paintings by other artists who inspired us, like Lin Onus and Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It was the best moment when the first image flashed up (projected on the wall from the teacher's laptop) and all the kids gasped, "Wow!" They continued to "Wow" each successive image as if watching fireworks and I felt thrilled to be connecting them to the wonders of art. Anya had a proud moment as well, when I mentioned that some of the animals in the design were from her drawings.

11 March 2010

APT6


Liminal Air – descend – 2007-09 by Shinji Ohmaki

I was lucky enough to have a spare hour yesterday and spent it speed-walking through the 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT6). I love the APT, as there are always stunning and exciting works, although this time around I have really struggled to find time. At the 2002 APT, I was thrilled to discover Yayoi Kusama (originally one of Andy Warhol's contemporaries). This time, the Liminal Air installation, pictured above, was another thriller. Another gallery-goer agreed with me that it felt like water, upside-down. Now I'm dreaming of how I could install something like this at home... complete with a reflecting pool featuring some Yayoi Kusama silver balls...

Check out my snapshots here and the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art photos here.

23 February 2010

Acrobalance

Yesterday, I learned to do this:




Someday, I dream that I'll be able to do this:























Queen of the Ziploc Bag

I'm feeling like such a MOM lately. My parents used Ziploc bags a lot, but with my green tendencies, I was trying to avoid them. You know, less plastic, save the planet, etc. However, as a parent, I now find that these bags are just the thing. (And to salve my green conscience, we wash and reuse them until they are totally worn out.) I started off using them only for food -- an easy way to take along snacks on the go. Then I branched out into other useful kid-related items, like a handful of wipes (so I don't have to lug around a whole container). Now I've gone bag-crazy and use them for: wet/squishy toiletries (amazing how often I need to bring sunblock, shampoo and soap!); hair elastics; tampons (men can avert their mental eyes here); mobile phone (when it's raining); pills; band-aids (my mini first aid kit)...

11 February 2010

Rolling Along


I spied Callum rolling this giant ball around as I came into kindy to
take him home. He told me gleefully, "I was getting in and out of it!"

08 February 2010

The Ultimate Abs Workout

So forget your Wii Fit Plus; forget your pilates devotions; forget your fit ball. THIS IS IT: hula hoops. After doing this for just 20 minutes in circus class tonight, I swear I can feel washboard ridges forming already.

02 February 2010

The Next Learning Curve

Now that Anya is attending school, I have been introduced to a whole new level of bewilderment. After living here for over ten years, I generally have the hang of how things are done in Australia, as opposed to the US, but now I am hitting another learning curve.

Kids here don’t catch school buses – their parents usually drive them in, although they are encouraged to take public transport. I think this will be OK when Anya gets older, but at this tender age, we have been dropping her off personally. I rather miss the school bus idea, actually, since you could then be sure that your kid was safe(ish) and set for the day once they got on the bus.

There is something called “tuck shop” available two days of the week, and it’s there for kids who want to buy their morning tea (mid-morning snack) or lunch, also sometimes called “little lunch” and “big lunch.” Today Anya ordered an apple slinky for morning tea and fish fingers and a corn cob for lunch. I had to learn to mark her name, order, and total amount on the outside of each bag which contains the required money; they return them to the classroom with food inside.

Mysteriously (to me), in addition to a requirement that we purchase a particular set of supplies for the year, the same info sheet also specified other things we had to supply, including one box of tissues and two reams of copier paper. I’m assuming these are NOT to be marked with Anya’s name! I didn’t actually notice this extra requirement until today when I was glancing over the info sheet again (we have already purchased the supply packet). Surely there would be some more efficient way of garnering these supplies rather than getting parents to bring them in individually?

Last, there was information about “Voluntary Contribution,” but the exact amount and deadline was specified. I don’t mind contributing, but this just seems like Orwellian double-speak to me...

3-Feb update to this post: Anya has been selected with a few other kids from her class to be moved into a "Prep-One" class combining Prep and Year One kids. The curriculum will be a hybrid between the two levels and generally will be a chance for these kids to go at a faster pace. Wow!

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