I saw this at a playgroup a little while ago, and thought it would be fun to do with our doctor friends who were visiting. Nailed it!
Category: Stuff
When mix-masters go bad
Frith bought me a Kenwood Mix-master for my first mothers day. As I’m sure you can imagine, I have given it quite a workout in the last seven years. Lots of birthday cakes and yummy desserts and even the odd savoury treat.
Last year, it started to lose some mojo. It just wasn’t beating as fast as it should have been on the highest speed, so Frith and our neighbour had a look at it and tried to fix it. It was also slightly off centre so it didn’t pick up all the mixture on each rotation. They did their best but it didn’t really improve on performance.
It still worked fairly well, so I just put it on the list of “once it breaks I’ll get a new one.” And since my Mum has had hers for decades I wasn’t expecting anything to change any time soon.
Things changed on Friday when I was mixing the batter for Julius’ birthday cake. It’s one of those really runny cakes (and literally the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made) and it was on the very lowest setting while I was pouring in the hot water at the end. All of a sudden, it found the mojo it had been missing, and sped up out of nowhere, spraying me and the kitchen with cake batter.
I screamed and Dad came down to see if I was okay. I honestly nearly cried, but then decided it would be best to take photos instead.
It’s what bloggers do I guess 🙂 And you know, it does mean I get to put “new stand mixer” on my wish list! I’m lusting after a KitchenAid of course, but that might have to wait a wee while. In the mean time, I always have my trusty hand mixers to keep those cakes rolling out.
You can find me here
I’m making a habit of this. On a Tuesday, if my wonderful nanny and friend Vicky is available to have the boys, I’ve made my way to my favourite coffee shop, tethered my phone internet to my laptop, and spent a couple of hours catching up on this and that. Mainly replying to emails, looking at houses, working on wedding ceremonies, and blogging.
I’ve even officially become a regular, with the barista asking “the usual soy cap?” but I’ve been mixing it up a bit lately, and have been ordering a long black with hot soy on the side.
Gosh there’s a lot going on at the moment. But what’s new? I am appealing the fines I got the other day, so I’ve been drafting the letter for that. Plus I’m very close to buying us a “new” car (new to us) which I’m hoping will be finalised next week. Then I need to start thinking about our trip up to Rocky which is only five weeks away. The three boys have had ear infections and have been on antibiotics. I have made three trips to the doctors in the last week with them, with Chance’s flaring up again and another course of antibiotics starting yesterday.
I’ve been sick for over three weeks – well I haven’t felt sick (thankfully) but I’ve had a chest cold with a sore ear and in hindsight might have benefited from antibiotics as well. Everyone has been coughing and sneezing in our house for weeks, and of course mostly during the night. But having a “baby” I’m used to the constant sleep disruptions so it hasn’t made a huge difference to be honest. More of a nuisance than anything. And I haven’t gotten back into exercise since the school holidays. Once I feel better I have a plan. It’s always good to have a plan.
It’s Dad’s birthday this weekend which means cake and presents which is always nice. And then next week it will be June. That’s just how the year has been going. Flying by at warp speed. And we’re all just along for the ride.
An open letter to Missy Higgins
Dear Missy,
Gosh I don’t even know where to start. You have been such a huge part of my music life for such a long time now, and you still continue to amaze and excite me. Ever since you were Unearthed back in 2001, I have followed your career. I was at your very intimate album launch at The Zoo for The Sound of White in 2004/05 with just you up on stage. What an incredible gig.
I also saw you at The Tivoli among a few other places over those early years. Your songs All for Believing and The Special Two actually inspired me to get back with my ex in 2006. As it turned out he wasn’t “the one” though, I don’t blame your songs for me giving it another go 🙂 I came to see things more clearly, in hindsight, when I heard your cover of Stuff and Nonsense. It could have been written about that relationship.
It was your song Steer that reminds me of the man who ended up being “the one”. It was played a lot on FM radio at the time we got together, so whenever I hear it I think of our early days, all loved up with nothing but time on our hands and dreams in our hearts. We married at the end of that year.
Though we were very limited in our musical abilities – we both played bass (poorly) and karaoked for fun (I used to do a pretty mean rendition of Scar that still gets talked about) – we always had music playing in our home.
Most recently, your album The ol’ Razzle Dazzle got played a lot. So much so that our three eldest children (of four) got to know the words and would sing along to Hello Hello, among other songs. It wasn’t until months after I’d started playing that album that I really listened to the final song, Sweet Arms of a Tune. I was in love. It is so beautiful and it touched me so deeply. The bitter sweetness of it is truly marvellous.
I’m sorry to tell you that I lost my beloved husband, Frith, on New Years Day this year to suicide. There have been so many songs that I hear now that remind me of him and our wonderful 11 years together. But the other night, driving home from a friend’s place, with my sweet children snuggled in their car seats, I put that album on. When that song came on, it hit me really hard.
He told her when she played
Wings sprouted from her shoulder blades…
Frith used to call me his angel in our early years together.
…Â oh and how she’d longed to say, that she’d missed his troubled ways
and if she could she’d do it all again
Sometimes every word has been used
and there’s nothing left to do
but hold the one you can’t have in the sweet arms of a tune
…Â now he’s sitting on her floor
she’s playing all the minor chords
wishing so damn hard he’d kiss her like before (I wish this more than anything)
… Cos sometimes every inch of you is bruised  (I wish I knew how he was feeling)
and there’s nothing left to do (was there something I could have done?)
but hold the one you can’t have in the sweet arms of a tune
yeah hold the one you can’t love, in the sweet arms of a tune.
Your words just floored me. I’ve heard them a hundred times before, but the other night I heard them in a new way. I’m holding on to Frith so tightly with every one of “our songs”, and I can tell you, there are so many. And this one just got added to the list.
I’ve been a bit out of the loop with new things this year as you can imagine, and I just saw that your new album came out last week. And ironically the first song I listened to from it, while writing this, was Cemetery. It’s a great song by the way.
Thank you for sharing your gift with the world. I will keep listening and will make plans to come and see you live again some time.
Yours in the sweet arms of a tune,
Renae
Nanna is 100
I’ll let the photos tell the story… (mostly…)
My kids just love running around with their cousins, and their cousins are incredibly loving and generous with their time and enthusiasm. Such a gift.
Jules taking Uncle Jacques for a walk (one of many!)
Cousin love (second cousins? I don’t know. They’re all cousins to me!)
Nathan and Chance just hanging out together. This was roughly the age gap between Frith and Nathan (nephew) when they were growing up. My heart swelled watching them together.
“Quinn can I please take a photo of you?”
“Yep hang on while I get ready.”
Such a poser!
We had such a lovely afternoon, and as Darby lay asleep in my arms at around 4pm, I counted many many blessings in my life. Family, cousins in particular; all of whom came into my life, or were brought into my life, because of my love for Frith. Although he wasn’t there that day, he was never far from all of our thoughts, and he certainly brought a smile to my face and warmed my heart on a few occasions. He truly is always with us.
Worrisome
A few years back, Frith and I started asking the kids some questions each night.
“What was your favourite thing about today?”
“What was your least favourite thing about today?”
And more recently,
“Was there anything about today that worried you?”
We would normally do this at dinner time, but as of this year, obviously, it’s been a bit hard to keep on top of our usual routine. And I certainly haven’t had a lot of opportunity to ask these questions of Chance or Quinn on their own.
Tonight, at 8pm, Chance sidled up to me and said he wanted to go to bed. I took him upstairs, he brushed his teeth, and I tucked him in to bed. We had some cuddles and I asked him what his favourite thing about today was.
“uuuuummmmm playing my switch?” (Nintendo)
Whaaaaaat? He had had the day with his uncle Jacques and cousin Josie and his Poppy (Frith’s Dad) mostly in the pool or on the beach! I gave him some curry about it, but realised he was joking a bit as well.
What was his least favourite thing? Nothing. He said “absolutely nothing.”
The third question. “Was there anything about today that worried you?”
Chance:Â “There was one thing that worried me.”
Oh my gosh. What is it? What’s happened? Did you overhear my talking about Dadda? Has that made you sad? Did someone say something or do something to upset you? Did I upset you? Are you hurting? Is your heart breaking because you miss your Dadda? Tell me. I’m here for you sweetheart. Oh my gosh I want to protect you. I need to protect you. Tell me anything and everything.Â
All of these thoughts rushed through my head in a second. I asked my boy, my sweet not-so-little boy, what worried him about today.
“I was worried when Darby hurt himself.”
Relief and gratitude and pride and joy swept over me in an instant. Darby had stepped on something sharp near the pool and his toe had bled (a fair bit) just before dinner. (He’s fine now.) I gave Chance the biggest squashy cuddle, just overjoyed at his empathy and concern for his brother, and he started giggling like crazy.
“What are you laughing about?” I asked innocently.
“You squeezed me so hard that I farted!!”
A job well done I’d say.
The big chop
Our new normal
Life is currently very strange. My family and friends are nearby and for that I am grateful.
The kids and I have moved in with my parents at Woody Point for the time being. And not that it’s a bad thing, far from it, but it was not part of any kind of plan we ever had. The kids are keeping things “normal” for me and for that I am grateful.
We set up the kids bunk beds and toy cubes and they are surrounded by familiar things. We have the downstairs area of Mum and Dad’s to make our own, and for that I am grateful.
I’m feeling very conflicted at the moment. The sadness and fear and strangeness that washes over me regularly can be suffocating, but I’m not quite ready to deal with my new reality so I’ve been acknowledging, but also pushing those feelings aside. For now. In time and in space I will deal with things.
I’m heading to Rockhampton on Friday morning and staying for the night and most of Saturday. I want to have a chance to thank everyone up there for their love and support. I imagine it will be quite confronting as I haven’t been back there since this all happened and have almost separated myself from the events up there, in the safety of my family and friends down here.
I know I have so many wonderful friends to lean on up there, and for that I am grateful. In the midst of this tragedy, everyone has opened their arms and hearts and homes to our families and I want to say thank you. I’m still here. I’ll still be writing. Thank you for reading.
Road trippin’
We are here. We arrived in Cairns last night at 8pm. We left Rocky at 2pm Friday and after stopping in Mackay for dinner (and a pee stop somewhere before that) we arrived in Bowen around 10pm. 565km in 8 hours. Not bad going with four kids and a couple of stops.
The kids set up
Ocean View Motel just outside of Bowen
We pretty much just got up and left on Saturday morning and started heading for Townsville around 8am. It took close to three hours to do the 200km drive thanks to roadworks but the kids did so well! We got there and let them loose in the water park while we caught up with friends and family there. It was 2.5 hours very well spent.
After buying sushi and iced coffees we left close to 2pm and were half an hour out of town when we realised we needed fuel. So annoying! So we stopped and of course the kids needed to pee and Darby woke up from his deep sleep he was in. After some stuffing around we finally made it to Innisfail around 5pm and stopped for dinner.
We were all getting pretty much over it by this stage but still had 120km to go!
We had to keep going! We got back on the road around 6 and I ended up sitting in the back seat with the kids. Jules was inconsolable but happy with me there.
Frith and Jules having a quick break in Innisfail.
That last leg was a doozie bit we made it! So day two was 523km in 12 hours. Yes 12. It was pretty crazy towards the end but we made it and it is glorious to be on holidays with our people. Our incredible friends who we adore and wish we saw more of. So we are just soaking it all in. And enjoying the amazing Air BnB house. Seriously. The main bedroom and cot are nicer than our own bedroom at home!
It’s going to be an amazing 10 days. I’ll keep you posted!
Fat and fit
It’s all relative I know, but I’m feeling quite big in my skin at the moment. I really thought I would have shifted some of this baby weight by now, as I’ve been back at the gym for 7 weeks. But it ain’t budging.
Sure, it may have something (everything) to do with what I’m shoving in my gob, but I do still feel a bit cheated! Everything is hard at the moment with my spare tyre sitting around my waist; even exercise. Actually especially exercise.
My knees have been screaming at me the last few weeks and I’m sure it’s because of the extra weight. It’s so easy to say that I need to start eating better but it’s so hard to do.
We are starting our next challenge at fit mum’s in 10 days and I really want to try my very hardest to match my food efforts with my gym efforts. In the meantime, if I’m going to be fat, at least I’m going to be fit!! And hopefully I’ll fit into my jeans again soon….