Sunset at the Corrugated Magpie

Yesterday while not suffering silently from my first day of hay fever I was heard to ask jokingly "Does anyone else want to cook dinner?" Seeing as how it was the teens, the animals and myself I did not honestly expect an affirmative answer. However, the gorgeous, marvellous and oh so in the will Dynamic Daughter offered to do just that. The meal was carbonara and salad. She may have forgotten the garlic, snow peas and mushrooms and the carrots tasted suspiciously like they had not been peeled but it was a great meal. Anyhoo, while she was cooking the meal I went and photographed the sunset, fooling with different settings to change the colour dominance. Pretty darn pleased with the results I can tell you!

Rag Weed = Hay Fever. *%#$@ it!

Autumn is such a lovely time of year, when you have the urge to get out into the fresh breeze, sort out the garden in time for winter, enjoy the milder weather. But unfortunately it is the worse time for me and many, many others for the dreaded hay fever. Every year around now it hits you like a Mack truck. Out come the antihistamines, nasal sprays and the complaints. Fatigue is two-fold, irritability kicks in, you feel like you are getting the flu at first. Eventually the meds kick in thoroughly, after about two l-o-n-g weeks and it is under control. It is going to be a bad season this year, the excessive rainfall we've had has aided all manner of weeds. Fortunately I have inadvertently discovered a little secret that helps.

I started taking 3g of fish oil capsules daily about 18 months ago and it turns out that because of their anti-inflammatory properties they are a major asset when it comes to irritation of the eyes and nose. WAHOO! By no means does it cure you but it makes a significant difference to your suffering. I have upped the dose (allowable by the label instructions) for the beginning of the hay fever and will reduce it once it is under control. Magic. Share this with anyone you know who is a sufferer please.

Greyhound Breaks in to Drink From Toilet

Layla, Layla, Layla. She is such a scaredy cat. She broke into the herb garden today to drink from the water feature toilet and then discovered she did not know how to get out. I tried sending her out, I called her nicely but she did not realise that all she had to do was jump the fence. I think she snuck in through the back way where the fence is almost non-existent. An offering of breakfast was the ultimate answer. Food with her wins every time.



The reason the greyhound went to such extremes for a drink of water is because of these two warty lovey dovies. Layla is very wary of frogs and toads and these two copulaters in the dogs' water bowl was just more than she could handle.

Meditation - it can work....sometimes

I have recently gone back to using meditation as a means for relaxing and/or going to sleep and I find it excellent. I am reminded though of a time when the children were small and had trouble sleeping. "I can't sleep" became a catch phrase I heard occasionally. In my infinite wisdom as a new age parent I decided to use meditation with them, to relax them, to send them into dreamworld so I could, once again, enjoy some child-free evening (gold).

The Young Negotiator was very receptive. I would lie down next to him and very calmly and quietly ask him to relax his body one bit at a time, starting with his big toe on his right foot say, followed by the other toes, foot, ankle, leg etc. He took to it like a vegan to tofu and was soon off in la-la land.

The Dynamic Daughter turned out to be a different pot of loose leaf green chai on soy. Again I would ask her to relax her body bit by bit, asking her to 'breath' through them and imagine them heavy and tired. All was quiet and relaxed when I was finished, myself being ready for the futon free fall and for about 5 seconds the earth was balanced. Then a young but strong voice piped up and said "Is that it?" Is that it? My God I had put all my energy into such a beautiful experience and she asks Is that it?

The Dynamic Daughter has trouble sleeping still at 14 but refuses any meditation CDs and will fight like a environmentalist not to be inflicted with them.

Parenting. It is not all calm waters and free range eggs.

Fast Shutter Speed - Lucky Shot

The Young Negotiator pulled the trigger at the same time as I depressed the button and voila! I am happy with this frozen water effect but it was not a photo I planned on using, it was just an experiment. Cool eh?

Fatigue Continued

Yeah yeah I have been tired. No big surprise there. I am hoping to be back in form this week.

To update:

Dynamic Daughter is in her third week back at school since her spinal injury and is relatively pain free. She has what is called a spondylolisthesis in her spine and confirmed three fractured vertebrae. Apparently she is missing some small bones in part of her spine that keeps the vertebrae in alignment. There is a possibility of 9mm movement - youch! I have taken her to the physiotherapist and she will continue to go until she is fully educated on back care and core strengthening exercises. The Lovely Husband and the Damaged One have taken up swimming at a local indoor pool. They have to do warm ups, structured exercises and more swimming and they are each other's motivator. Nice father/daughter time actually.

The Young Negotiator is about to partake in his mid year exams for his final year in high school. He is relaxed, cool, calm and collected and not studying nearly as much as I think he should. But he is not me. He is nearly 18 and there is only so much a parent can do for them at this age. The Young Negotiator has signed up for field hockey and no doubt will be just as thrilled when I sit on the sidelines to watch him play again this year. Aah the embarrassing parent, may they continue.

The Lovely Husband has a job to do and is focused. Our fences are falling down and he is organising materials, post hole digger type person and fencing type person. I am really up to date with the technicals as you can see.

I have finished my photography course and the Soul Sister and I are planning on joining a local camera club. I am hooked. I got all fit and enthusiastic recently and mucked out the chook pens. Two barrow loads of manure to spread onto the garden beds, fruit trees and the Sorry Row of camellias. I always wear a gas mask when dealing with the manure and so was puffing like an old chain smoker in the end. I made myself get the manure onto the gardens because I knew rain was coming. We have had days of rain since so all that goodness has been washed into the soil.

It is going into autumn now and the air is cooling a little. We still have some significant humidity though the nights are nice.

I hope to have some thrilling yet fascinating posts on the way just as soon as the brain kicks in again. It has been so long that the old noggin is not producing the gold that is my blog.....yet.

Pride in My Photos