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 |  My Blog. Generally Intended for Reading-Not Eating!. |
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Rose-Tinted Ramblings ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** A Little of What You Might Expect & A Lot of Everything Else that You Don't!. My writing style for my blog is invariably 'snarkastic'. This is because I am a nice, unassuming and quietly-spoken person IRL-and this blog is where my innermost moments and torments happen. Trust me, I am no exception to that delightful rule. Greetings! Welcome to my THIRD blog here on WDC. A re-incarnation of my earlier version of my Blog, here "Insanties and Sensibilities" this v.03 should prove to be equally...challenging and hopefully, entertaining. That said, life often weaves through our writing in mysterious ways, and this Blog will probably prove to be no exception to that. We are very likely all quite different, yet the same, us writers and our collective little whims, fascinations and insecurities. |
| April 01, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 51 (F) Mostly sunny. Events of Note: A pinch and a punch...kidding  In the Nudes: Mugabe exiting Zimbabwe?.  Floral motif is particularly pertinent today, because I planted out another 12 flowering plants. Ordinarily, marigolds ain't my scene, jellybean. But, I planted out a few zesty lemon-colored ones, which look quite impressive alongside my bright yellow and deep violet hued pansies.  Our plans to be up at the mountain today, were quickly, unfortunately overtaken by widespread family illness. Disappointing, because I was craving just one night away from this old villa and all of it associated complications. Still burdened with a disgusting lot of laundry. I barely have energy to load the machines. Refused to hand-wash our New Zealand woolly sweaters yet-they need a flat surface and an uber-warm day to dry themselves in the Spring sunshine. Smell far better afterwards that way, too. I'm a purist when it comes to lambswool-particularly New Zealand lambswool-I take it personally. One of those lambs was probably the 16th cousin, four times removed, of my pet lamb that I nurtured as a child. Nevermind that my said pet lamb later became another family roast dinner   No apparent zaniness in our household today, except that someone vandalized my husband's work vehicle here overnight-cut the fuel line, wrecked the gas cap, and siphoned gasoline. We're putting up security cameras (more). What else can we do to avoid such constant predation?. Oh, yeah, how about going to New Zealand?. That oughta do it nicely. |
| March 31, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 47 (F) Sunny Events of Note: Well, March is in the toilet, already In the Nudes: Royals were not involved in plot to kill Diana.  Still suffering from this everlasting viral illness. Complicated by having to forcefully evict half a hundred dust bunnies that are cluttering the floor underneath our furniture. Living in close proximity to a timber mill, lets dust bunnies breed like-well, dust wobbits. On the subject of fertility, Ms Slurpie (yes, she's a ...hmmm-whatever you call ..lady ducks...mallards?). Anyway, she's now the proud producer of four infertile eggs, and has a wicked version of PMS (so my darling husband is keeping a VERY low profile, in case he loses a hand, lol. She's extremely angsty at the moment. Thankfully, "Beanie" is presently more interested in watching re-runs of The Pink Panther on DVD-all four DVDs worth. Frankly, if I hear that quirky theme song once more, I'll probably break the DVD player. With four feet high sound speakers, there's literally no escape from that zany music.  Some relations who are re-locating to here from Canada, have agreed to house-sit for us, while we are in En Zed. We'll be there from the beginning of June until the end of July. Eight weeks away should be quite enough. We already own a car there, so transport is no difficulty, but the price of gasoline at the bottom of the world runs at NZ$1.77 a liter (there are 2.2 liters in a gallon, if I remember rightly). So, slightly more expensive than here. Exchange rate is pithy, but we'll just have to eat it.  For the past month, I've managed to drop my soda consumption down to zero. Broke down today though, and got myself a small bottle of Coke. No, I'm not cleaning motor vehicle parts (best metal stripper around, according to my late father, as well as my husband, the ex-helicopter mechanic). However, neither am I complaining too much. Besides, it's only one bottle, right?. How can my blog have had 11 views yesterday, and then 73 today?. Makes no sense to me. Have a balmy day-I am!. |
March 29, 2008. Two entries in one day...I know, I'm on a roll, lol. A lot of emotion happening for me at the moment, as I consider the implications of going back 'home' to New Zealand. Loose ends, old memories (some haunting ones), family relationships, friendship reunions, and getting to be everything that I haven't been since re-locating here. When we were driving through Vail, Colorado, last year, I thought that I'd finally discovered what would be my late father's version of 'paradise'-that, and the Rocky Mountains - which reminds me of that John Denver song he loved. I was living a dream and creating a memory that he never got to, but always aspired to. As my husband pointed out, I was taking the trip on my father's behalf, and he would have been incredibly proud of me. Half a hundred questions are dominating my imagination. Will I feel like a Stranger in my Own Homeland?. Kind of has me thinking of Kåre Enga in Montana   's thoughts on living in America. New Zealand is not once what it was-whatever that was. It has become a Pacific paradise and a private eco-escape for celebrities and international billionaires, as well as a replacement Hollywood film production destination dream-scape. Johnny Depp can wander down to a local beach, go for a quiet surf, and afterwards buy himself a cup of coffee in a remote little village cafe, and basically be left alone. John Travolta can choose to eat lunch in a riverside restaurant in Christchurch, and not be bothered by pesky photographers. Suddenly, more than before, you need money to live, or rather, scrape by down there. The average 25-year mortgage rate there, runs at NZ$800-$1300 in minimum repayments a week, with a minimum of $NZ122,000 deposit down for a house before a bank will even talk with you. The bottom of the world has become the rich folks newest, trendiest, shiniest slice of "heaven", and sharing places with the 'angels' of this newly-discovered paradise comes at a significant cost. It is not the 'untouched' group of isolated little Pacific islands that I so fondly remember, where time didn't run by clocks, calendars, or even by sunsets and sunrises. Still, it will be memorable and wonderful to 'christen' my daughter in the waters of the part of the Pacific where she was conceived in love, and for her to finally know and appreciate the New Zealand half of her heritage. Even if only for a little while... |
| March 29, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 46 (F) Mostly cloudy. Events of Note: Very cold here-got down to 32 last night-BRR!. In the Nudes: George Bush meets Aussie P.M. Gosh, it's so cold here at the moment. Too much like Mid-Winter for my liking. In addition, I'm coughing like mad (as is "Beanie). We all sound as if we should have the Plague or something like it. No, unlike Mavis Moog  we don't have any rats in our belfy, but still...Mr. Spit Spot is a superbly smelly cat and needs a bath and a dee-flee, only I don't feel like wrapping the poor unsuspecting moggie in a towel for the purposes of freshening him up. Rained on him yesterday-not that it made any difference. Was browsing Blogville for a lighthearted blog, and couldn't find one (not yet). Too much sickness, too many serious questions and publishing dilemmas. I'm not up for it, I'm afraid. We were up in the night to "Beanie" at 1:00am, 2:30am, 3:45am-and she crawled into our bed three times after that as well. At 9:20am, I gave up and followed her downstairs so she could curl up on the couch and watch The Pink Panther on DVD by default, while I did paperwork. "Beanie" had a doctor''s appointment yesterday. She officially weighs 42 pounds. Good news is that her chest is clear and no sign of infection. She does however have a viral illness, compounded by a pollen allergy. Has been prescribed an antihistamine to take at night, so we can all have some sleep. Doctor strongly suggested that we pull her out of all daycare from now until June, and we will probably find that she's a lot healthier and happier for it (as well as ourselves).  My BIL will be visiting here from SF (via Brussels) in about a week. Renting a little holiday cottage on the local coast. It will be good seeing him, again. Maybe even some jeans, this time around?. In fairness, I just got myself a new pair yesterday, so I shouldn't be acting like a spoiled brat.  Meantime, we're tentatively planning a trip to En Zed for three months beginning in June. Yipppee!. Everyone needs something worth looking forward to. We can live fairly frugally, so accumulating what we need, and shedding what we don't is really simply a matter of practicalities. So, if you don't see me around here much, I'm either blipping around my MySpace page (same username as here) or I'm working on "The Fambily Project to Go to New Zealand". |
| March 27, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 45 (F) Clear and BLOODY COLD!!. Events of Note: Life's difficulties. The usual gar-bage. In the Nudes: Let's see ... Jessica Simpson married?. Robin Williams divorced?. Facing life's difficulties and challenges isn't something that's new to me. We all have to, in our own ways, at some point or another. For some (and they are either the rare exceptions, delusional or just untruthful) it's possible to glide through their lives seemingly untouched by issues that de-rail the most 'ordinary' of us. However, I'm not going to wax on, long, lyrical and philosophical concerning What's Bothering Me. "Beanie" is sick. Again!. Once again, pulled from daycare. She attends for a maximum of three days, and she's just so miserable afterwards. That's the dizzy end of that particular pre-school for her, I'm afraid. I'm at the end of my rope, and she passed the sickness back on to me, besides. I'm very worried about her. Her immune system has nothing left to fight anything off with. So, it's off to the doc's office tomorrow, or the E.R-whichever takes priority. Did tax^&*#@#$%T^ today. New Zealand and U.S state and Federal. I'm so good, I squeak!. *Burp. Guess Wot?. Slurpie laid a BFE, today (BFE=Big Fat Egg)!. |
| March 26, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 50 (F) Mostly cloudy. Events of Note: Carrying On... In the Nudes: Five missing as Norwegian building collapses. Living here on the coast, we're well accustomed to rolling fog, mist and coastal breezes (invariably not as romantic, nor as pleasant as they sound). Unfortunately, this makes the weather really susceptible to rapid changes in temperature and precipitation. Some years, the rolling fog blanket lingers on for weeks, and sometimes months, while as little as an hour's drive in either direction basks in blazing sunshine and balmy temperatures. Today is another cold, foggy day, and nothing resembling anything close to Spring. Snowing up at the mountain, too. I'm wearing four layers of clothing and I'm still cold!. Saw "The Myst" last night, a film based on Stephen King's novella. The ending was highly insulting, quite frankly. What a waste. It blew chunks!. My health isn't great, today, either-but that's for me to work on. Think "Beanie" smacked fewer boys at school, yesterday. Generally more placid, too, which makes her a much nicer little "Bean" to be around.See you around Blogville. Congrats to Scarlett and contributing writers for putting together another ***stellar*** issue of the Blogville News!. EDIT: As if to prove my point about fickle weather, I just glanced briefly out my window to see snow flurries!. |
| March 25, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 47 (F) Mostly cloudy. Events of Note: "Beanie" Gone Wild (yes, you read that right). In the Nudes: Heavy fighting in Southern Iraq. Yesterday afternoon, I had to pack "Beanie" off to a dance class, so she could work off some energy, and so that Mr. Rainbowapple and I could pause for a moment's breath, and say, "What happened?". "Beanie" has been impossible lately. Now, whenever you ask her what she did at school, she'll say defiantly, "I spent all morning Smacking Boys." Our otherwise placid, peace, love and vegetable soup child has become a playground poser. Some aggression is inevitable, I suppose. Late yesterday afternoon, Slurpie the Duck was quacking up a storm-turns out "Beanie" had Slurpie by the neck, and Slurpie was desperately trying to say, er, quack, "Don't break it, don't break it, don't break it!" Love preserve me. She then tried to put the duck into the fish tank. We have five tanks, and three have water and lots of little fish (fry) in them. Fortunately, she dumped the poor duck into the hexagonal tank that didn't have water in it.  Suffice to say, "Beanie" is at school this morning, and we have until 12:30 to right the house again, and soothe Slurpie's ruffled feathers and shattered nerves. Ours included. We're also in the throes of making a list of ex-restaurant equipment to sell, like four foot tall griddles and cold pans, and stainless steel sinks. One has become quite usefully recycled as a potting table/shelf for me, but everything else definitely needs to go.Have a productive day!. EDITED: When will people understand that they are not just electing the next U.S President (or, at least, the potential contenders), but they are really choosing the whole administration, by default. "Inner Circles" of advisers, toadies and corporate lobbyists have far more say than they should, but this is a stark reality of the U.S presidency, no matter what potential candidates may claim to be to the contrary. After all, who funds their political campaigns, and writes their speeches for them?. The Tooth Fairy?. |
| March 24, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 50 (F) Overcast. Events of Note: Pondering my blogging. In the Nudes: Heather Mills mulls over cashing in on divorce. Periodically, someone in Blogville pops up, and starts re-considering the purpose of blogging, or not, or what. Just recently, I set up a web-page and web-log on MySpace, and I now get more views on my MySpace blog than I do, here. Granted, the audience is vastly varied, and considerably larger. So, too, with my WordPress blog. I'm probably more graphic and introspective in those blogs, compared with here. Something to do with the psychological effect of spilling your guts out to a total stranger. Whereas here, I feel more...restrained..and I realize that there are certain 'elements' here who are conservative, and so much of my serious writing material in some blog entries will inevitably have a narrower audience. Mainstream writing can be extremely formulaic that way, and by nature, I'm anything but that. So-why are daily views so important, anyway?. No, not for kudos, virtual bouquets of roses, nor for the sake of popularity. Because I feel that it's a reflection on the quality and value of my writing as a form of communication. Some may say, for my particular brand of activism, and that's a perfectly acceptable statement, too. What it basically all comes down to is the fundamentals of writing to/for an audience-and for ongoing feedback from regular, interested readers. Otherwise, why write at all?. The flip-side of this is that my hum-drum daily moments in my blog are viewed just as much (sometimes more) than my detailed reflections and observations. Which tells me that blogging and the art of, can be all very visceral and basic. It's like gossip, really. Maybe it's just a question of reinvention, or self-resurrection?. Either way, my mood can best be described as being restless at the moment, which probably means that there are some fundamental, background changes lurking somewhere on the breeze. Yeah-that's it. |
| March 23, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 56 (F) Overcast Events of Note: No more chocolate and marshmallow, please. Recycle your rabbits!. In the Nudes: Marking the Son-Rise. Easter isn't the real holiday weekend here that it is in N.Z. Commercialism is such here that no-one could possibly bring themselves to close down completely from Good Friday through to the following Tuesday. After all, where would people go, if they couldn't access their daily narcotic-style fix of Starbucks, or their drive-thru bank teller?. Days without commercialism entirely?. Not possible. For such a so-called "Christian" nation, this seems to be a surprisingly contradictory attitude. Servitude for all of the wrong reasons, in my personal opinion. I was raised in what was once a staunchly religious household (my mother taught Sunday School), however my parents always impressed upon me that once I was an adult, I could make my own choices where observing religiosity was concerned, and be respected for whatever my individual views happened to be.So, while today was mildly festive (hence the scatteration of plastic eggs on the living room floor, and the sickly tummy aches from a vastly excessive consumption of cocoa), there were no new clothes, no new toys for "Beanie", no family dinner together, no phone calls...just the three of us playing ball in our yard with Slurpie the Duck. Quality, non-religious family time, with intimate observances uniquely our own. |
| March 21/22, 2008. Whether the Weather be: 46 (F) Clear. Events of Note: Buckets and buckets of buckets and buckets...of buckets!. In the Nudes: Mediation possible in Darfur?. Since "Beanie" is now accustomed to giving us daily reports stating in a shrill little voice of, "What I's did To-Day" at preschool-I thought, well, if it works so charmingly for her, her poor old Ma oughta give it a go...(with a little LESS emphasis on the old, if you please). Cleaned out the front garden and porch. Well, made a beginning clearance anyway. Said Spring Cleaning featured clearing out 100, four gallon white plastic buckets with handles, and a 12 foot high stack of black plastic planters. Planted out 36 pansy plants for instant and immediate color. Unfortunately, while the sun was mercifully warm, the coastal breeze was about as charming as a polar rodent. That, and the perils and thrills of negotiating with "Beanie" about the dos and dont's of sound horticultural preparation. One of our ducks returneth from the death!. Yay!. Slurpie is bright and bawdy, and did a superbly splashy poop on the back "dick" to demonstrate that she definitely had not ended up in the Big Duck Pond in the Sky. Although, I sensed that she may have been seriously reconsidering that, once "Beanie" welcomed her with a belly-hold that would stun even the most unsuspecting of pets. Dunno what hole the "Dead Dork" crawled out from underneath, but she was greeted with great aplomb and joy, nonetheless. My arthritis is playing up now, something wicked. Way past time I hopped in the hot tub. Oh, I forgot to report the load of dishes, four loads of laundry (washed, folded and put away), the tub scrubbing...and the paperwork. Yeah, the paperwork. Can't you just FEEL my enthuse on the subject?, |
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