Long time no blog ...

Again it's been a coon's age since my last blog ... I should prolly confess that I've been extremely uninspired in the writing department of late, but I won't say that lol I'll just say I've been really busy - which is also true!

The most exciting news today, is the purchase of my new puter chair! My bottom is thanking me even as I write this, for making this investment in it's future comfort. I'm still unsure as to whether this desk is a totally ergonomically viable setup. but I'll give it a good run now that I have a decent chair methinx. The mouse setup is still pretty lousy tho' whichever way you look at it ... OK it'd be alright for just the odd session at the puter, but for a diehard like me, there may need to be some modifications made at some stage ... Anyhow, we shall see eh? : )

It's been a year now since I went to the UK - can you believe that?? I certainly can't believe that it's been so long ... tho' in many ways it feels as if the whole trip must've happened in another lifetime! I had well and truly 'arrived' in London by this time last year and was enjoying meeting so many wonderful friends whom I'd previously only known from online - what an amazing time that was for sure! There were some people I didn't get time to meet .. and others still whom I met but didn't get to spend alot of time with ... perhaps that gives me a good excuse to go back??

... sadly, that will not happen for awhile I'm thinking ... as the kids move towards secondary school and expenses in general continue to increase. I clearly need a full time job to support my wanderlust : )
posted by Sookie LaSooke at 6:02 PM

The Prodigal Blogger.

So I attempt to blog again, yes it has been awhile I know. Life sometimes gets in the way, you know?? I mean, it's not uncommon to start out a day with a million and one ideas of things you might like to get done or at least make a start on ... all too often tho' that same day ends with you only having bitten off the tip of the proverbial iceberg and well so it goes on, days turn into weeks ... etc etc ... 'Time stands still for no man' so 'they' say ... Well from personal experience I can tell you it gives no preferential treatment to women either! Time marches along and mostly I feel as if I am just barely keeping pace with things, and positively never getting ahead of them...

But that's all to do with the general stuff of life ... the day to day ho-hummery that plods along like an elephant in a parade ... it'll get there eventually and we might get a bit impatient with it all at times - but don't expect anything too soon!

But oh well, sometimes that's just the way life is, you know? Of late I've found that by the end of the day when I've done all I need/have to do, I've had little inclination to do anything much in the way of blogging. More often than not I've just felt so worn out that sleep has taken me quickly and left me with not alot of time to think about the bloggable things that might (or might not lol) have happened in my day. So anyhow, perhaps that explains somewhat my lack of content lately on here ... Over the years I've been online I've come to really dislike websites that are never updated - and now my own is at risk of being precisely that! So I'd best make an effort and see if I can do something to at least keep the site a little aligned to my daily life ... Excitement? I can't promise you that! But over the next week or so I'll try to update a few things on here generally ... add a long overdue chunk to my 'travelblog' and perhaps update the photos of me and my family as well (these children of mine think they are much older and better looking NOW it seems! : ))

By the end of the weekend perhaps, I'll hope at least to have the site fairly 'current' : )

posted by Sookie LaSooke at 8:32 PM

The stowaways last ride ...

My dog Polly was hit by a car tonight and killed instantly : (((
posted by Sookie LaSooke at 12:08 AM

Thinking about poppies ... and Flanders Fields ...

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Written by John McRae.

How it all began The areas of Northern France known as Flanders and Picardy, saw some of the most concentrated and bloodiest fighting of the First World War.

There was complete devastation. Buildings, roads, trees and natural life simply disappeared. Where once there were homes and farms there was now a sea of mud - a grave for the dead where men still lived and fought.

Only one other living thing survived. The poppy, flowering each year with the coming of the warm weather, brought life, hope, colour and reassurance to those still fighting.
posted by Sookie LaSooke at 8:17 PM

a highlight ...

There really was one quite bloggable event in the Sook household, which infact, took place just last Thursday. I'd had email from some friends of mine that I've known online for quite a few years now and they were coming to visit some family here and wanted to drop in here as well! So we organised a day together last Thursday : )
Peter (my virtual little bro') and Lisa, ( aka siabod and cherry blossom) came over with their 2 yr old son Timothy. The last time I'd seen them here (when they stayed with us for about a week) was just over two years ago, because Lisa was pregnant with Timmy then! (She now has about two weeks to wait for the birth of their second child!)

So it was great to finally see my 'virtual nephew' hehe as I'd long been known to him as his 'virtual Aunty Sook' LOL sounds a bit old maybe but hey I don't care : )) He is a truly gorgeous little fellow ... and has grown up sooooo much (well of course he would've seeing as the last time I saw him he wasn't even born eh? heh sheesh ) Ahh but just amazing to see how really fast those very early years with kids do go ... People often tell you they will at the time (and you think to yourself sure sure sure) but guess what? They're right dammit - they really do fly by .. and before you knowit these tiny people who were once so totally dependant upon you start developing their own personalities more and more and before you knowit, they're off to uni, work and living in the suburbs with five kids of their own! (lol ok so I'm going a little overboard here : ))
Well anyhow Tim was a great little lad and it was soooo nice to see Peter and Lisa again ... We seemed to all get along pretty well when they'd stayed here last, being that we are all fairly easygoing ppl and so there were really no hassles ... This time they were staying with family as Pete's gran is quite sick :(( But it was a good break for them to bring Tim here too I think as he'd mostly been surrounded by adults since they'd come down from Sydney a week before. My kids also were just soooo excited to see them and especially Timmy who they found hilariously entertaining and cute ; )) He is just at that age where everything you say gets repeated, repeated .. lol so one does haftabe kinda careful about one's choice of words! But the kids had a great day with Tim and all played together until way too late for kids but hey it's holidays here so ...

Here's a few pics tho' they're not too good lol ... they were taken in a mad hurry and no one was really ready for me and my digicam tehee!

posted by Sookie LaSooke at 5:25 PM

And a Happy Easter to you all ...

Well Easter has come and gone and all the Sook chilluns have had their share of choccies for a few years I'm sure ... Tho' I'm also quite sure that they would disagree with me on that point! I'm not really sure what chocolate has to do with Easter really, 'cept for the 'egg component' ... tho' I tried to buy a bottle of Advocaat today as a gift (well, at least there's an egg in it somewhere and at least the egg is more symbolic than a chocolate!) But alas there were none in the brand that I was looking for, so that little plan went awry ... and if one doesn't celebrate the religious aspects of the day then largely it seems little more than another holiday ... but here in Australia it is the last 'big break' many workers get before the winter sets in .. The next real holiday of course is Anzac Day on April 25th - then a long dry spell until the Queen's Birthday weekend in early June (... God save her!) which also marks the start of the ski season here in southern Oz. (tho' usually there's very little decent snow around that early into the winter.)

But the past few weeks have contained quite a bit of activity and i haven't really had the chance to pen it all down. Even now I'll prolly leave out most of the really engaging stuff! (you don't seriously want to know how much laundry I've done, (nor how much I still have to do!) ... how much Vegemite I've consumed ... or how many designer meals I (haven't) cooked do you? ) Life is challenging for sure, when you have one foot in the oven and the other caught under the ironing board... No one truly appreciates how dangerous 'the home' can be ... I mean seriously, Bathrooms, Kitchens and yes even that innocent looking laundry - all accidents just waiting to happen ... Yikes! TO play it safe one should prolly completely avoid such places altogther! But hey it's a hazardous job that calls for a certain kinda person ( incidentally, I've been calling that person for years, but somehow just can't quite seem to find 'em!)

*sigh* ... Then again, do you really want to know any of this? : ))
posted by Sookie LaSooke at 7:11 PM

... feeding, once again, my obsession regarding bandwidth!

CNET.com - Web Services - Bandwidth Meter
You (that means me!) 494.5 kbps
posted by Sookie LaSooke at 12:14 AM

Busy ...

Well it been so long since I've blogged, I barely know wear to begin, so I'll just start in the middle and blog down whatever thoughts as they come to me from over the past few weeks. : )

Wow, going right back to the week after my birthday, or somewhere towards the end of March ... I got a package in the mail from my dear friend Frooty! She has been SO busy and had so much going on in her life that to be honest I was really surprised and rather honoured that she'd remembered me at all, so far away! Not only that, but she sent a pair of the cutest jammies that she'd accidentally bought in a wrong size some time before, and had told me they'd possibly be nice for one of my kids ... (photos to follow teehee!)
In the package also was a card from the Frootmeister and ahh well, she really is a very special and dear friend of mine - thanks Froooty! : )))

posted by Sookie LaSooke at 10:55 PM

a must have item! ...
I suppose the real question is, do I want the bra or the poster? tehee ; ))
BBC News | UK | 3-D bra ads hit the streets Monday, 9 April, 2001, 05:35 GMT 06:35 UK
3-D bra ads hit the streets

Eye-catching posters advertising a new "engineered" bra go on display in major cities across Britain on Monday.
The ads will feature a 3-D image of a woman's chest to publicise the bra - which aims to provide better support for women with fuller figures.
The advertising company says it is the first time that three dimensional posters have been used in the UK.
They will be on display at bus stops and other sites across London, Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham, Edinburgh and other cities.
posted by Sookie LaSooke at 5:08 PM

Bandwidth Speed Test Results Your line speed:
354.8 Kbps
43.5 K bytes/sec

Well today I am going to try to prepare the room I want to paint .... which involves alot of moving and sorting and general shuffling of things ... and hopefully some clearing of things too ... Perhaps I'll blog this evening ... ciao : )

posted by Sookie LaSooke at 10:16 AM