Tea witch; writer and editor; keen on planetary survival; PhD (Australian steampunk and the environment); parent; gardener and friend of pets. Grew up on a farm, still feel the land in my bones. Menang Country/South Coast, Western Australia
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2026-08-13T15:21:13Z Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec This one is super tasty (and the chef who makes it is wonderful and really understands both digestive issues and also energy challenges): npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec We eat a lot of rice too and for years I made it from scratch on the stove and resisted a rice cooker but then the kids bought me one and it's so good to have. Love being able to just put it on and not have to check on it again until it's cooked! You can make full meals with them too, adding fish and vegies and soy sauce or whatever npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec New family member... npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec It's so unfair that money buys power. I hate it npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I guess I'm being naive when I ask whether there's any regulation on this kind of thing...? npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Ugh, teeth. I'm so glad you're able to see the dentist soon! And what a massive pain in the arse to have to try and sort out stuff with that particular department (hopefully it's properly sorted?) npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec The mess was something else! And as if I need more wet towels to wash. But now the floor is clean (that bit anyway) and the towels are washed and I was able to buy more milk, woohoo! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Some cool garden things: the other day I was looking out the window and thought, oh, the rosemary is flowering so much, and such a dark purple, I wonder why... and then I realised it's because one of the vines I planted on the bones of the lawn has climbed up into the rosemary and is flowering. So there are two kinds of purple flowers together and it's delightful 🥰 npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec The waiting is the worst. And the stress of having to deal with them is enormous. So glad you could get it sorted xx npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Comparative to further south or the northern hemisphere winter, the days are not even that short but wow, they feel short, haha! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Sometimes I wonder if I would prefer to live in the northern hemisphere, somewhere like Sweden or Germany or maybe even Scotland (I spent a summer in those places years ago), where summer is so celebrated for its brevity and its lush green, because summer here is SO LONG and hot and really dries everything out and we're constantly on edge waiting for fire. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Just like him :) npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I just signed up to his newsletter. So hard to be away from home when you're feeling low, and then to get bad news as well npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Aw, I'm so sorry to hear that npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Truly! Such a disappointment! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Bah, started the day with a stubstandard mug of tea. It's my own fault... I was too impatient and didn't let it steep long enough and now it's too milky and not strong enough, but I've had the first sip of the day (and I knew! even before that first sip that it wasn't going to be as good as usual, but I persisted because what a waste to throw out a mug of tea, right?) and I can't redo the first sip. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Aw, I'm so sorry. It's such a shitty thing to go through. I hope it progresses really slowly for her npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Oh, so amazing, all of it! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec The ROI of lasagne is just not great. On the one hand, I'm thrilled that three of the Kids love it so much. On the other hand, it takes me 2 hours to make a double batch and it's gone in 12 hours. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec It's such a gorgeous day here today. Pity I have to go back to work tomorrow, but that's hours and hours away... for now it's blue skies, and the promise of gardening, trumpet practice and making food for the next few days. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Kid2's shift got changed which unfortunately meant I needed to take her to work rather than her catching the bus, but! On the way home I took a slightly longer route to drive past trees and I saw a wedgetail eagle coasting up high above the canopy 😍 What a gift! I actually wowed out loud! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Our little Sebright has died and while she was probably quite ancient in Sebright years (we got her as an older chook three years ago), we're still a bit sad, because Sebrights are SO SUPER and delightful and she was very much my favourite. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I'm glad you're feeling better. And glad to hear that the overheard conversation has resulted in the staff being very clear about how long your mum needs to stay there. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Squeee! As part of the Tree Festival, my little city is giving away free trees for the garden! I've submitted my application for five indigenous and locally grown trees – I did pause on the question, 'Do you have space in your garden for these trees?' npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Kid2 is making a cake for her gluten-free friend and the friend has requested carrot cake. So far we've had two test cakes (it's for a special occasion so Kid2 wants it to be very good) and neither has been amazing. Edible? Yes. But not special occasion-worthy. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Very much so, I'm just so surrpised by the whole thing npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I had a call from my manager today to tell me that one of our colleagues had died very suddenly. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Yeah, ours are also very fond of showing us their butts as well, I feel like there's some cross-species miscommunication going on there 😂 npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I feel so lucky to be able to live with non-human beings. There have been times when we couldn't and I really feel my life was poorer for it. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec These are adorable! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Bird ornaments! They sound so gorgeous. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Happy Sunday to you, friends. I've dropped the middle Kids in town for their respective shifts and on the way home, visited Mum and gave her the flowers I bought yesterday. She was chatty and it's kind of fascinating what phrases and words are still very clear. She gave me such a happy smile when I got there, and said, 'Oh, it's so good to see you!' and then when I got ready to go, she said, 'You're off, are you?' I gave her a hug and wished her happy birthday for tomorrow (I won't see her as I'm working). Sometimes I grieve so deeply for the way things are. But they are that way, so I suppose just... acknowledging the grief is all I can do. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I want to read it but I suspect it will just make me angry about what I can't (or won't, I guess) change. Sigh/grrr npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Finally the weekend – and I say finally, despite having just had a week off and only working three days this week. I was really happy to go back to work, too! And now I'm tired already. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec 43.4 – but also I was too inept to work out how to share my score 😅 npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Maybe if she tucks herself under the doona near the pillows, nobody will notice that she's there npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Wheat is not my friend, so whatever ones I get, I'll have regrets later – might as well make them as tasty and buttery as possible 😂 npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I really enjoy the occasional one, but it's traditional all the way for me... although apple and cinnamon are probably the best out of the alternative flavours on offer. And definitely toasted with butter, no matter the type! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Yay for making a start, and in my long experience with digestive discomfort, dramatic moaning (and dog cuddles) definitely helps! Hope your body gets used to it very soon xx npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec That's a great find! I love your cut – I'd absolutely have short hair if I had a good hairdresser close by npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Nurses. Absolute gems. Dad has gone for a scan so I'm waiting here for him to come back and the nurse just asked if she could get me a tea or coffee (no, but thanks for asking!) npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Back at the hospital again, thankfully it's not super busy and Dad is OK and getting tests. I'm masking of course but also hoping very much that the puking child in the nearby bay is not contagious. I'm feeling a bit rough but I'm fairly sure that's just being awake at 3am. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec It is a calm Sunday morning here and in an odd coincidence, there is only one teen at home (the others are away on holiday and at sleepovers) and it is quiet and a little strange for the house to be so empty. Not terrible, just different. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Just wow, that's a lot npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Happy birthday to Mia, who turns 20 today. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec As an editor, I feel this in my bones. It's so disappointing npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I took Dad home from visiting Mum yesterday and we dropped into the supermarket on the way, which meant this morning I was free to do whatever I wanted, hooray! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I did attend my graduation after I did honours, so I feel as though one is maybe enough?! I can understand the significance of being the first in your family to graduate though, and wanting to celebrate in that way ❤️ npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I'm feeling bolstered by so many people telling me they didn't go to theirs! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I just got an invite to my graduation and I decided I'm not going to go. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec It was produce swap at the community garden today. I picked Dad up and we cut some of his rhubarb to take with us; I brought along plums from our tree, and one of the older gardeners helped me identify it, which was exciting and helpful! It's a Santa Rosa plum – it was well established when we moved here so I didn't have any info on it. She said it's a good jam plum, which is what I had planned to do this afternoon anyway, but it's great to have confirmation. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec The holidays are progressing well – today involved grocery shopping, trumpet practice, taking Dad on some errands and sorting out a birthday gift for a friend ( I bought a kitchen thing I thought she might like, and potted up some peppermint for her windowsill). npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Now I'm super invested in who it was and also what the olives are like 😅 npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec 😂 Here it's black cockatoos and sometimes my arthritic foot (depending on how bad the weather is going to be!) npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Oof, poor little thing. Hope whatever is causing the pain is soon resolved! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Ahahaha, same. YOU might spend most of your time in the bar car socialising @npub12cj…hqkq 😂 npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec The not-cheapness is the thing that's stopped me so far 😅 npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Welcome to the West! Enjoy the Indian Pacific... I would love to do that trip one day... npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec One of the potato plants was looking a bit yellow so I decided to dig them up. Not the biggest haul since I grew them in containers and probably needed to wait for longer to get more potatoes, but given the cost of spuds these days, it's more worth it to grow your own than it used to be npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec #caturday post from last Saturday. We enclosed the patio to make a catio a few years ago and it's been such a good thing for everyone involved. Since we've stopped them going outside, we've not lost any cats to road accidents, they've not been in any fights, and they get to enjoy watching the birds, not killing them. I mean, I'm sure they enjoyed killing the birds but obviously the birds weren't fans of that, and neither were we! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Oh yikes, less of that kind of thing, kitteh! I think those sorts of near misses use up some of our lives too... npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Sunday night: I'm doing the shopping list for the next fortnight. The last month really kicked my butt and I've been skating by trying to wing it with meals every night, but that's stressful and also means I often take forever to decide what we're having, so we eat super late. So this fortnight will hopefully be better. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I'll be crossing everything for you and hope that it's sorted really soon and you can start bartending as soon as possible! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec What I learnt from years of freelancing is that if my gut was telling me that something wasn't right about the job/client/scope of work, then I should listen to my gut. Every time I failed to do that, I got burnt and it ended up being a terrible job (they wouldn't pay, awful scope creep, etc). npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec On the advice of a good friend, I took the day off today – no freelance stuff, no PhD edits, just usual things: went to the markets for soup ingredients, took Dad shopping, came home and made soup, and then a good hour and a half in the garden (the sun! it shone!) npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec We've got strong winds and heavy rain forecast for tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday so I got into the garden this afternoon for a bit and wrestled with the kikuyu. It is so damned persistent. But I won't give up until it's all gone! And even in writing that, I realise I've managed to get rid of at least two thirds of it. I have been focused so much on what there is left to do that I forgot to take stock. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec 😢 I was at the hospital with Dad last week and the lack of masks was upsetting, to put it mildly npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Oh wow, that's some nasty heat! Take care, won't you? npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec In the interests of distracting us from all the awful, I would love your input on this item. It's a contraption/stand usually made from wire and metal tubes that folds out for you to dry your clothes on. Sometimes they're made of wood (my parents have a wooden one still). npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Also I took Dad to a garden centre, one I'd never been to before. Such a cool little nursery with very decently priced plants. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Today I went to visit Mum and took a posy from the garden. She seemed to like the flowers. I'm not sure she knows *who* I am but she knows I'm familiar (I'll take it; it's expected but I guess another sign of decline). npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec A day of being near plants. First stop, the community garden for produce swap day, where I took peppermint cuttings and swapped for a cute little posey (posy?) in an old Vegemite jar. Also took two figs and some silverbeet, the latter of which I will add to the pea soup I'm making tomorrow. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I have been proofing my thesis and novel one last time today and this evening I'll send it off to my supervisor to check. Tomorrow I meet with him to go over any final things and then... submission?? I will keep you posted!! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Friends! The orange tree is growing oranges! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Wow, this week has wiped me out. We're short staffed at work (as predicted) so it's just been go, go, go all week. Tomorrow is a public holiday for WA but I work to the NSW public holiday schedule, so it's back to work for me while everyone else gets to laze about at home around me. Meh. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Today the tap stopped working, meaning it was stuck in the on position. Problematic. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Today I did some copyediting and references (aka the bane of my life right now, it's fine, this too shall pass) in the morning and then this afternoon, put the laptop aside and just... did fun stuff. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec #3GoodThings npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Stewed nectarines with cream (what a delectable and luxurious dessert) and the nectarines are ones from our tree, which I accidentally grew from seed. So lucky! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Does anyone remember the children's author Richard Scarry? We had a few of his books and I adored the drawing style, even read a couple to my own kids when they were younger. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec A warmer than expected Sunday. We saw my brother and his family at the beach and despite having to stand in the sun and watch their kid (she's younger than my kids so needs a bit more supervision) it was a nice time. I did get a headache from the sun though, despite wearing hat and sunnies. This sun. It'll getcha. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Happy morning at the community garden today. It was produce swap day so Dad and I took along rhubarb and I was hoping for zucchini and flowers – and both were indeed there! Now our tea is sorted: zucchini slice (as long as the chooks have laid). Chatted to the coordinator about volunteering there this year and he was keen. Can't wait to go more regularly and get my hands dirty. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec It's hot here today (34°C, which is like 90-something F, and quite hot for us here on the south coast) and I have a headache thanks to poor sleep. I watered the garden early and will check on the pots later to make sure they're doing OK. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Indoor plants probably prefer to be re/potted when it's cooler weather but right now is when I have the time to do it, so right now is when it's getting done. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Had a discussion about AI with Adam today, who told me I sounded like a luddite, and I can understand why he would say that, but also I'm just so sick of people using ChatGPT as a substitute for thinking, and also that it's integrated into every damn platform without us even asking for it, and that it's creating literal tonnes of CO2 while doing that. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Neither apple tree had much fruit this year... not sure why. Possibly the late winter, or the lack of good rain. Between the two trees we got four (!!!) apples. I don't love these apples anyway so I left them on the trees for the birds. Seemed to take ages for them to notice but today I saw that they're tucking in, hooray! npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Sending sympathy. Ours went for nearly 2 hours. Ugh npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I don't give Christmas presents to many people outside my family. I like it that way -- it appeals to my anti-consumerism -- but there is one friend with whom I always exchange gifts and even though she has a lot of cool interests, I don't always know what to get her. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Proof that my children are chaos demons: Kid2 went on a week-long camp today and told me cheerfully when she left that she had deliberately taken 14 different socks so that not only would she have odd socks every day while she was away, but we probably would too npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Dad asked if I could bring him some beans and peas from the markets today so I parked up after dropping Kid2 at work and walked over in the sunshine to get them. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec I'm spending the day and night with Dad who had a day procedure. The upside to this has been being able to chat and drink tea with Dad; catching up with his resident skink; admiring and picking ALL THE RHUBARB which I will take home tomorrow npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Nearly finished editing and writing in a thesis chapter, which I'll send tonight – this means tomorrow I'll be starting on the final one... npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Things I like about Mastodon compared to other places: npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Took Kid4 to meet a friend at the pool this morning and forgot my phone at home! Ack! What to do... especially since I had not met this friend or the parents before. Luckily, I had my laptop so I messaged Kid1 on discord, got him to keep my phone by him so he could relay messages. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec The community garden had a festival today... it looks like nobody was there but I promise that's not true! Lots of people coming and going, just not in the pictures. npub1lgjjvrw75ya48pfknqhvt4ypp9ssxaf7wr8yw9afyrt6a2dja90s4wea76 Bec Woke up after a sleep in, the sun already well high above the horizon. Outside to check on the sunflowers seedlings I planted yesterday... more fool me for not checking them last night, as the snails and/or slugs have had a grand time. I'll sprinkle some coffee today and go out with Kid1's headlamp tonight to check on them.
