We're off to see a wizard

A hopefully wonderful wizard of OZ. (Or Kids & Co as they are called here)

Someone to talk to to help get the family organized and work on the family issues we haven't been able to control for the last (almost) nine years. Its just been getting too much out of control and if I don't get it nipped before it blooms (I think we are past nipping it in the bud stage) we may have a chance at some peace here in the house.
I for one could use a little less stress in our daily lives.

Time to go follow the yellow brick road to Rozelle.

EQ Village Markets

I know that I have been here for a little over two years. I have friends that have lived here forever. Yet no one had told me about this great place.
I was invited to a 'food safari' by the friend of the lady I met at Officeworks. Tawnya and her business partner are giving behind the scenes tours of the EQ Village Markets at Moore Park on Wednesdays and Saturdays in March. They are hoping to give people who appreciate good food a chance to meet some of the artisans who sell regularly at the market.
On the tour today we met a biodynamic farmer from the foot of the blue mountains. I got some amazing pea sprouts. Tawyna said they sell out well before the end of the daily market, so if we wanted anything buy it when we were there, not when finished the tour. Good thing I did since they were packed up and gone by 11.30! Sold out in 90 minutes. Not a bad day at the market for them.

We then met a purely organic farmer who also was basically sold out by the time we went back thru. Listening to him and his father talk about farming the land and the freshness of in-season foods was amazing. Took me back to Gramma Millie and Gramma Shea's farms in my mind and the yummy gardens they would grow every summer when I was growing up.

After that we met two cheese artisans. One has 80 goats he milks twice a day to produce cheese. I have never tried a goat cheese that I liked. Today turned out to be different. I tried four of his goat cheeses and they were all really good. Not sharp or bitter or dry like the ones I have tasted before. Went back and got a bit of his plain rendered cheese after the tour. YUM!

There were lots of bakers around the market. We didn't personally meet any but they looked yummy and lots were offering samples. Our next stop was another artisan cheese stand. They put up a platter with three different cheese for us to try. The stall owner explained the process of making the soft mold cheese and how two of them differed (one processed from the outside in and the other from inside out). We learned that often a good camembert cheese can go 2-3 weeks past the 'sell by date' if properly stored (in paper, not plastic wrap -- otherwise it sweats and goes bad quickly). The last cheese we tried was a three milk cheese (Goat, Cow and Sheep). Figured it would be a really strong cheese, but it was mild and full flavored. Had to get a small wedge of that. So much for me cutting back on my dairy right now.

The last stall we stopped at was Emilia. They do organic pastas and sauces. The stall owner did a demonstration with two of his pastas and a sauce. To my delight it was a duck and truffle ravioli and a duck cream sauce. The 2nd pasta was a pumpkin and mostarda. I declined that taste due to my problems with pumpkin.
He poured the truffle cream sauce into a heated pan and almost immediately I could smell the truffles heating up. Then he added the pre-cooked pasta and it cooked in the sauce and smelled even more divine. The taste was even better than that. Deb and I went back and I got a set of pasta and sauce. Saving it for date nite with Jim -- not something I will cook for the kids, even though I know they have expensive taste and would probably love it (just because of the cost!)
So, after this informative and eye-opening tour, I would have to say I will definitely visit the markets again. Most likely on a Wednesday since I am sure it will be packed on the weekends.
Wish I would have known about it before...

An Irishman's Wish

An Irishman is sitting at the end of a bar. He sees a lamp at the end of the table. He walks down to it and rubs it. Out pops a genie. It says, "I will give you three wishes."

The man thinks awhile. Finally he says, "I want a beer that never is empty."

With that, the genie makes a poof sound and on the bar is a bottle of beer. The Irishman starts drinking it and right before it is gone, it starts to refill. The genie asks about his next two wishes.

The man says, "I want two more of these."

___________________________________________________________________

Thank goodness I am Irish -- anyhoo -- Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

Censorship or Taking Things Out of Context

No matter how innocent something seems, it can always be made to appear totally different that its intended meaning pretty easily.
Case in point (see video below -- Thanks Brian E -- still laughing over this!)

Unnecessary Censorship: Sesame Street - watch more funny videos

Sacrifice

Or when one little girl gives up chocolate or Lent, we all give up chocolate for Lent. I know, what doesn't kill us will make us stronger. Its only 40 days, its just a sacrifice... yadda yadda yadda
Honestly we are proud of her for making this sort of choice by her self. She went to girl guides last week on Fat Tuesday and they talked about Lent and sacrifices and she chose to give up chocolate all by herself. Didn't actually expect her to stick to it very long (more than a day or two to be honest) but here we are on week 2 of Lent and she is still going strong -- giving her chocolates from her party bags to daddy and Andrew.
But it is a bigger sacrifice on us here in the house. Usually we work on the positive aspect of Lent -- doing something good or better during those 40 days. Not usually sacrificing something. So this lack of chocolate on her dietary part means no banana bread (with chocolate chips) for breakfast -- a staple in the house, no chocolate chip cookies for snacks or for school, no granola bars, brownies and so much more. I am having to be more creative in the snack/dessert area and with a bit more selective (ie choosy) kids, we don't have alot of choices besides ice cream and fruit which they are getting tired of.
Oh well, word is the Easter Bunny will be bringing a Ginormous Chocolate Bunny...

Walking in a Fog

Coming back from vacation you would think that I would be relaxed. In fact, more than relaxed since it was just Jim and me. But it seems like some things never change.
Here I am back day three of reality and the running around, the yelling, the fussing, the whining -- it all is happening. Same soundtrack, different day.
I have been having issues with Emmalee or maybe she has been having issues with me. Its like every week my patience with her has been growing thinner and she has been learning more tricks to make things around the family less than harmonious. Most often Andrew gets caught in the cross-hairs and it just hurts. Both physically and mentally for him. But he is so good that its like whatever she does it just bounces off of him.
Me on the other hand, I have a much harder time letting things slide. It takes alot of energy (at least on my part) to absorb and deal with it. I try not to internalize things. I have been talking to my friends about it. Even gone as far as to schedule something with someone to talk to about it. But its just so draining. Don't know what to do.
When I see the acupuncturist, he talks to me about my chi and my vitality and how its still rather low (slightly improved yesterday when I went--Hopefully that was because of the weekend away.) but it still needs alot to be improving. I try to breathe in, breathe out. I take deep cleansing breaths before I open my mouth to say anything to the kids (especially something I might regret). But my buttons get pushed so easily. I am really trying to be a stronger, calmer person. I wish that would help her, but we haven't had that such luck.
So now I just walk around in this hazy fog. Not happy, not sad. Just kinda feeling numb.

Uncle Jack

Yesterday I got an email from my parents letting me know my great Uncle Jack passed away. He was my Gramma Shea's brother.
I will always remember my visits to South Dakota. Every summer since I can remember, we would always go to visit the grandparents in SD. That would always include visits to the extended relatives in Winner. What in reality is a 10 minute drive from Gramma Millie's house seemed like it took an hour to a child. Anyway, we always made time for one or two visits to see Uncle Jack and Aunt Martha, my dad's aunt and uncle. They lived in a house with the steepest driveway I had ever seen until I moved to Australia. As a teenager I remember thinking, no way would I park my car on it, especially when I was driving the Probe with its manual transmission.
Jack would always greet us with a warm hearty hug, coaokies for us kids and stories about my dad, 'Elroy' (LeRoy) and all sorts of stuff about my aunts, uncle and Grandma and Grandpa Shea. Jack and Martha were always welcoming.
I even stopped by when I didn't head to SD with my parents. They welcomed me with open arms especially one night when a particularly ugly tornado decided to rush between Winner and Colome. No matter what, they kept me safe in their house until it was all clear to go.
Uncle Jack will be missed. By me, by everyone he touched. So our prayers go out to my Grandma Shea-his sister, and all of his family during this time.

Singapore Trip 2009

Make a Smilebox photobook

Autumn is in the air

and in the homework. March 1st is officially the 1st day of Fall (or as they call it here, Autumn) Andrew has been working on homework to learn about how Autumn affects people around here. It is funny because one of the expository sentences that he had to write was about what happens in Autumn.
Andrew's response was: Birds fly south during the Autumn to prepare for winter.
I told him I thought that now that we are on the other end of the planet, they probably fly NORTH for the winter towards the equator. Hmmmm.... He is still holding onto his American roots. Good boy!