While preparing for my ration challenge, I had a lot of trouble finding a suitable ration book template, so I created my own. It isn’t perfect (and it is 2 sheets rather than a booklet), but it suitable for my… Read More ›
Recreation
Q & A Revisited (Again)
It has been a while since I took this survey. Since I have several new readers and since my answers may have changed, I have decided to take it again. I have provided a link in the related articles for… Read More ›
Jokes
…every time there is a tragedy, it will invariably spawn its own set of jokes. Allan & Barbara Pease in Why Men Lie and Women Cry
If I were an animal…
I reckon that if I were put in a position where I had to be an animal, I would want to be a (well cared-for) domestic cat. Think about it. Think about every cat you have ever known. Sure, you… Read More ›
Bungee Jumping or Sky Diving?
If somebody were to ask me if I would like to go bungee jumping or sky diving, I would say no. Uh-uh. No way. I am terrified of heights. I hate flying. I don’t climb ladders. I even get dizzy… Read More ›
plates, phones, scooters but no bones
We’ve all seen the ads. Child/husband/baby-sitter/house-sitter mucks about in the house or has a party without permission. Mum’s favourite vase or ornament gets broken and the offending person searches frantically for a replacement, which ends up costing a mint. Yellow… Read More ›
Food
This is my fourth speech from the Competent Communicator Manual. I gave this speech on 25 May 2010. The exercise is ‘How to Say It’. The title is ‘Food’ and the time is meant to be 5-7 minutes. I came… Read More ›
Barry Rubin in ‘The Tragedy of the Middle East’
“Bad policies can always be justified by good excuses, and solving problems can be made to seem very crass in comparison to defending noble ideals.” ~ Barry Rubin in ‘The Tragedy of the Middle East’
Harold Schechter in ‘Fiend: The Shocking True Story of America’s Youngest Serial Killer’
“…there is some abiding human need to imagine the past as a paradise – a golden age of innocence from which we have been tragically expelled. But a dispassionate look at the historical facts suggests there are few, if any,… Read More ›
Diane Setterfield in ‘The Thirteenth Tale’
“People disappear when they die. Their voice, their laughter, the warmth of their breath. Their flesh. Eventually their bones. All living memory of them ceases. This is both dreadful and natural. Yet for some there is a exception to this… Read More ›
Mini Gaol Cell or Much Needed Break?
[juiceboxjungle height=”396″ width=”320″ video=”iframe/embed/162831_2009-09-22-205021?amazon_id=juic04-20″] More parenting videos on JuiceBoxJungle This is a tough issue. I’m not sure that I would categorize a playpen as a ‘mini gaol cell’. In some families they are actually necessary (when there are other children… Read More ›
Peter Hellier
“What kind of world do we live in when we euthanise a whale but let Gary Glitter live?” —Peter Hellier
From the inside flap of ‘Four Past Midnight’ by Stephen King
“Past midnight, something happens to time, that fragile concept we employ to order our sense of reality. It bends, stretches, turns back, or snaps, and sometimes reality snaps with it. And what happens to the wide-eyed observer when the window… Read More ›
Fat Cat – A Danish Folk Tale
Synopsis:Have you heard the saying “your eyes are bigger than your stomach”? Well, Cat’s stomach is bigger than his eyes. He is always hungry and manages to eat everything in sight, including the washlady and her washtub, a troop of… Read More ›
The Humble Milk Delivery
I remember when I was a child visiting my grandmother in North Rocks, NSW. Staying over in school holidays was a coveted treat because it gave us the chance to be there on ‘milk day’. Milk day came two or… Read More ›
Scarlet’s Witch
This is great. You have to watch this 🙂
Pigs Might Fly by Emily Rodda
Opening Sentence:“I wish something would happen!” Synopsis:‘I wish something would happen!’ said Rachel. ‘Something interesting!’ Afterwards, she would remember what she’d said and how she’d felt that rainy Saturday morning, and she would think: ‘That was really the beginning.’ And… Read More ›
Bygones
Things you don’t see as often anymore. Horse troughs Though I’m sure there are plenty in the country Brushed nylon sheets Bellows Cakestands Football pools coupons Milk floats I had to look this one up! Inkwells Nightcaps Three-wheeled cars I… Read More ›
Camp Out and Water Wise
Well, the kids are home and they are full of news about their day. Annelise had her year two camp out on the oval today. She tells me she was in the biggest tent and they had damper and a… Read More ›
Rafferty's Rules is Closing Down 