Sleepless Nights

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  • Happy Birthday to me!

    This is my present from Amy.

    It’s her and Isaac, outside throwing a ball, while ducks fly overhead.

    It is absolutely the best birthday card I’ve ever gotten.

    I’m twenty three today and feeling good about the whole thing. I think I might have finally caught up to my mental age (a screamy baby and no sleep, like ever, makes you feel much older than seventeen) and I think twenty three suits me.

    Amy also did Nathan a drawing.

    On his back.

    When he refused to wake up.

    It’s a parrot. You can see it’s beak to the right and the eye at the top (including a pupil). And then it’s “all curled up” according to Amy. Made me laugh anyway.

    And, I tried to take a photo of myself, for a record of how I looked at twenty three. But the camera wouldn’t play nicely, so this is the best you get:

    I didn’t realise how weird my hands looked until I checked the photo out on the computer. But you know what? That’s actually a pretty accurate representation of me lately.

  • This Uncharted Hour #uncharted2011

    I was lucky enough to be invited to a preview performance of This Uncharted Hour today, which is set to be playing at The Theatre Royal this weekend. Once I got over my excitement that there were THINGS happening in Tassie and inviting interested people from twitter to attend, I RSVP’d and got quietly excited.

    “While driving, a young man kills a dog. This accidental event steers him unexpectedly to the house, now abandoned, where he grew up. As he moves from room to room, he releases memories and ghosts of the lives lived within its walls and exposes a long held family secret.

    A secret which stopped time – leaving a woman trapped by memory; a son groping for answers; a husband with his lover; and a revelation that blasts their world with light.

    This moving drama is written by the astounding young Tasmanian-based Finegan Kruckemeyer who in 2011 will have 14 productions playing on five continents.

    Complemented by a live performance of Matthew Dewey’s original musical score, and elegantly staged by eminent Tasmanian director/designer Robert Jarman, this graceful and profound play will resonate with you long after you leave the theatre.”

    The lighting and cello combine to make this a hauntingly beautiful production, and there was not one word spoken by an actor that was unbelievable. The writing was sublime and served to draw you into the story and keep you there.

    We had been warned previous to the performance that this was a dress rehearsal only and to expect scenes to be re-run, or things to be tweaked mid-performance, so I was a little stunned to see a perfect run through, with everything going to plan.

    It was truly a spectacular way to spend an afternoon and I urge you, if you’re in Tasmania, buy tickets and go along. You will NOT be disappointed and I dare you not to cry during it.

    You can download the program here, which has ticket prices and times, or you can book tickets online here.

    ***

    I was not paid for this post and while I was asked to tweet about it, I wasn’t obliged to write a blog post. I’m writing one anyway, because the play is truly worth seeing and I’d like to share that with you.

  • Justifiable Homicide

    “Nathan, I swear to god, if you do not stop snoring right now, it will be justifiable homicide and I WILL NOT DO TIME.”

    It was just before 5am and I had two hours until my alarm went off. None of that meant anything when the animals woke me up. The absolute worst sound at 5am is a cat fight happening in your loungeroom, with two dogs joining into play “referree”.

    I had stumbled out of bed to let them all outside – some of them with a shove, before climbing back into bed and having my ears assaulted by the sounds of a suffocating elephant.

    “NATHAN! SHUT UP!”

    It wasn’t working and I had tried all of my tricks that I use, including but not limited to, kicking, swearing, poking, elbows and leg hair pulling. The last one usually worked a treat, but not this time.

    It took nearly 15 minutes of increasing grumpiness of my part and then finally, just as I’d threatened to murder him, and was contemplating getting back out of bed to grab a glass of cold water to tip on his head, he rolled over and shut up.

    I would like to have it on the record that I didn’t punch him in relief and despite being really very grumpy, I kept my elbows to myself.

    He’s very lucky that I love him.

  • Showcase Tasmania: Joanna’s Jams

    I’d heard good things about Joanna’s Jams from people I know, so when I was down at Salamanca Market a couple of weeks ago I grabbed her business card and emailed her, to ask about Showcase Tasmania. Luckily, she was keen and a week later, I headed down to have a chat to her and collect some of her jams to try.

    Joanna usually makes three types of jam – raspberry, blackberry and strawberry, but I was lucky enough to also get to try her boysenberry jam (limited availability).

    When I brought the jam home, my children thought it was fantastic. I was a little slow in putting it in the top cupboard and when I turned around, the jars were being rolled around on the floor “like cars mummy!”

    First bonus: A very good lid seal.

    The next day, we opened the strawberry jam to have on toast. An hour later, I discovered Isaac sitting on the kitchen floor with the teaspoon and the jar, eating it straight.

    Second bonus: Appeals to toddlers.

    Slowly, we worked our way through the jars, as the children declared it delicious and Nathan and I agreed.

    Third bonus: Tastes incredibly good.

    I’ve been meaning to go blackberry picking in order to make my own blackberry jam, but each year I want to and each year time slips away from me and I don’t get any blackberries picked. I think maybe I’m just going to keep buying the blackberry jam from Joanna, to reduce my own guilt!

    I had meant to finish this post with a gorgeous picture of scones, jam and cream, but I’ve been so hideously busy that I haven’t had time to make any scones. Which is a shame, as I think Joanna’s jam would be perfect on them.

    Joanna can be found at Salamanca markets every Saturday – or you can buy jam online here.

  • And there went the last shreds of my dignity

    Yesterday, I took my children to the Brighton Show. An institution for as long as I can remember, when I was a kid I would beg to be taken, as it usually fell on the same weekend or close enough to my birthday.

    I was a little worried about how they would cope with the heat, the noise and the crowds, but they both did really well.

    Except for Isaac and the jumping castle.

    Now, to be fair he hasn’t been on a jumping castle before and he wasn’t prepared for it to be so hard to walk around. Nor was I impressed that in the middle of the 2-6yo set jumping, there were two boys who looked to be twelve-ish, jumping around and bowling over the smaller children. It might even have been okay, if they both weren’t very large for their age and completely oblivious to the little ones.

    It didn’t take long for Isaac to fall over and start to cry and refuse to walk back to the entrance where I was standing.

    So I did what countless other mothers have done before me, I kicked off my shoes and braved the dodgy terrain to go and rescue Isaac. It was all going well until we got to the exit and my ankle dislocated and down we went in a tumble of limbs, sliding down the inflatable ramp.

    Isaac thought it was hilarious, but of course, he wasn’t the one wearing a dress and flashing his knickers to the crowd of waiting parents and teenage hanger-ons.

    Not my finest moment.

    Not at all.