Appliance Change-Over Year 2

... and now the washing machine is leaking rust-coloured water.

Great.

Oh, and our Foxtel box is playing up. Foxtel can't figure out what is wrong over the phone so they are sending out a technician sometime between 7am-12noon NEXT TUESDAY.

I'm completely fine about the TV being out of action. I am not completely fine about sitting around for 5 hours on a Tuesday waiting for the technician to fix something I don't even like.

Appliance Change-over Year

2007 must be small kitchen appliance change-over year. In July my kettle (age: 7 years) died, in August my Sunbeam Mixmaster (Age: 5 years) died and this week my toaster (age: 3 years) died. I'm just hoping the things-happening-in-threes thing applies and no more appliances die. Oh, I forgot - my 12 yo food processor had a little accident (I accidentally thought it would be okay to put the bowl in the microwave, oops).

Of course none of these things are designed to be fixed. I now know to look to see if an appliance has screws in it. If it is just banged together it ain't designed to be fixed. I hate throwing out appliances. As far as I know my Mum's Mixmaster is still going strong after 40 years and I can confirm that her sewing machine is because I still use it. I hate that we don't design things to be fixable (at a cost less than a new one).

Today I bought a new toaster and Mixmaster and made sure they were ones that could be fixed. I hope. I probably should've looked on eBay for items that were 40+ years old just to be sure.

*image of 1967/68 Sunbeam Mixmaster from here

Cat Wrangling: because Tara Says So

KelpieBlossom (9) is a big fan of Tara Dennis and Better Homes and Gardens. Come 7.30pm Friday she is glued to the Plasma hoping to glean whatever domestic pearls of wisdom Tara has for her that night. This is why we only have OMO washing powder, why this week we had to cut up plastic bottles to make scoops (actually quite handy, see pics below) AND why we had to BATH OUR CATS today.

While our older cat, Biggie, was introduced to the pleasures of bathing at a young age; our 18 month old Marble had thus far avoided the dreaded bath. Apparently this week on BH&G Tara instructed KelpieBlossom to bath her cats, and to do so at least once a month.

Excellent.

Luckily, Firegazer is an experienced and capable cat wrangler and managed the job without loss of eye or limb.

Baby Romper Suit: Access Denied. Reason: Dating theme.

A few weeks ago I upgraded my online security which included a program that limited access to "unseemly" websites, in theory making the Internet safer surfing for the kids.

Bl**dy boring more like it. This program uses two Internet safety programs to decide whether a site's contents are kosher and resulted in me being unable to access half of the blogs I like to read.

I'm sorry Stomper Girl and Melinda but you are too "Adult" for this parental control program (what have you been up to!). And, hilariously, I was denied access to a page on http://www.gimos.com.au/ which illustrated a baby romper-suit with the word "girlfriends" on it because it had a "dating" theme! I'm convinced this program is controlled by the Conservative Religious Right.

Warning: Offensive Outfit Above. Contains Dating References.

I have managed to dig deep into the "advanced settings" and have now got a password which I can input to "over-ride" these denied accesses. That'll show'em.

Fractured Holidays

Aaah holidays. I don't know why I should feel different when the kids are on holidays. I mean during term time the kids are at school for five hours a day. Isn't that a holiday? But no; term time means hurried breakfasts, the dreaded packed lunch, homework and horror of all horrors - after-school activities. And that's without the Last Minute Project, the School-Play Costume and We Need a Parent Volunteer for [add activity here]. No holidays are bliss.

What is it with all the Play Dates? I have mentioned before that I deliberately planned a quiet, in Sydney, holiday. No major events planned, no over-scheduling, just wake up and lie around in jammies until lunchtime. Ha! I didn't plan on the kids being invited on play date after play date. It's not that I mind them disappearing for several hours, and the kids love them, it's just that I feel that I should reciprocate - and I JUST DON'T WANT TO (for the Jammies Until Lunchtime reason). So I will be Bad Reciprocator this holidays.

Still, apart from the play dates it has been quite relaxing. The kids have been trying out a new swim school by doing their SwimVac program and I'm REALLY IMPRESSED. This school (Carlile Swimming) actually focuses on stroke correction; the last two schools I've tried just pump out the laps.

I get to read books, yay! I finished Carpentaria just before the holidays started and have since finished March by Geraldine Brooks (which had being laying unfinished for some months) and Theft by Peter Carey. All good reads so far.

Now I am onto Antony and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough. This is the eighth book in the Masters of Rome series and is definitely up to Colleen's usual standards (Although she has annoyed me with her apostrophe use eg. Octavianus's - I prefer Octavianus'). Colleen is one of the world's great experts on the Roman Republic and her point of view on this stuff is really worth reading.

Here's the bit about the fracture. Yesterday the kids went to a Baseball clinic - Baseball being their chosen summer sport this year (Hilariously, Firegazer is their Match Coach! I think he may have once watched a game of baseball). During catching practice (without a mitt), where balls were fired rapidly from a machine, KelpieBlossom sustained a green stick fracture to her Pinky and now has it strapped up. Great look for her upcoming ballet exam...

What is a holiday without some sort of fracture anyway?