Life in an American TV Legal Drama

I used to think that scriptwriters took some dramatic licence when drafting American Legal Dramas (eg Boston Legal, The Good Wife, Ally McBeal, The Practice etc). Every episode there is a scene where the protaganists have to work very late so that they can file documents to a judge just as the deadline occurs. In 8 years of being married to a lawyer that has never happened (maybe because most deadlines are 4 or 5 pm). But I was wrong....

John just worked all night to meet a 7AM deadline. And unlike when he was at university and could hand in his assignment and then go home and sleep he still has to work (in court) all day, meaning he'll be at work at least 32 hours straight. The longest day I ever worked (for money!) was 16 hours (but my employer has a policy about that sort of thing...).

Or maybe we just woke up in a TV show

Tomorrow when the war began

I am conducting a war on Entropy. Entropy is winning - either they have recruited terrorists to conduct assymmetric warfare. or the gremlins are letting of stuff bombs when I leave the house.

Perhaps I need a new battle plan - a new plan of attack, or reinforcements. Perhaps I will conduct a seige and deprive them of supplies.

Maybe I should just surrender... You just can't beat thermodynamics

The world according to Alex

Alex loves our camera - posing for photos, watching them afterwards and taking pictures himself. He has taken to "borrowing" the camera from where ever it is (and given his ability to work the step ladder it doesn't seem to matter where that is...) and photographing EVERYTHING in his life.

So we get bizarre pictures of peoples feet, everyday objects and the things that Alex deems photographable.

• Apparently James gets photographed.

• As does dinner

• And Daddy is a looong way up!

Slightly Elevated Tea

In the quest to find entertainment on cold winter afternoons, Alex and I occcasionally have a "proper" afternoon tea. We make a pot of "proper tea" drink tea from small espresso cups and have mini-muffin sized cakes with them. (That we baked earlier in the week...)

It makes a change from the usual "milo in sippy cup with rice crackers and fruit" afternoon tea that we normally have. Alex quite enjoys the ritual of choosing which colour cup to use, pouring the tea and then drinking from a grown-up style cup.

It is a pleasant spot of calm for me in the day and probably good practice for sitting in European Cafe's. Just a pity that cleaning up after eating takes as long as the afternoon tea....

The Joy of Bedtime

Joyful for all (including Mummy!)



Alex asked me to take this photo with his Teddy. BTW Teddy has apparently had a name change from Teddy to Sammy...

Optimism

op·ti·mism 
 /ˈɒptəˌmɪzəm/ Show Spelled[op-tuh-miz-uhm]
–noun
1. a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome.
2. the belief that good ultimately predominates over evil in the world.
3. the belief that goodness pervades reality.
4. the doctrine that the existing world is the best of all possible worlds.

Origin: 1730–40;
an·ti·op·ti·mism, noun
o·ver·op·ti·mism, noun
—Synonyms 1. confidence, hopefulness, cheerfulness.
—Antonyms 1, 2. pessimism, cynicism.

Case in point: Hanging out the washing when the forcast is "cold, windy, showers. Maximum 10oC"

Just spent....

...a lovely hour playing in the park with the boys. But, oh that wind is cold!

I think a hot lunch is in order. (and hopefully a rest of B1)

In which Katherine attempts to summarize 2009 two full months after everyone else has

(My Apologies to all (is there anyone left who reads this...) for the scant posting in the last 1/2 of the year and the rather lame attempt to catch up with this...)

2009 was a very full year which seemed to get busier as the year went on.
There were good things:

scottish ball and a memorial dinner

• Visits to the Farm - which the little boy loves as it has all he wants; animals AND mechanized equipment.




• Visits away with friends (apparently it is necessary to light a v. large bonfire everytime we have visitors come away with us)

There were some not-so-good events, including the death of John's grandmother in August, and the death of some friends in a car accident in October. The ramifications of the second are still being felt as the custody arrangements for their little boy are not yet established.

There were birthdays, some of which were more "milestones" than others. We now have a combined family age of 62. (and yes, I did have a birthday party and no, there are no photos to show).

There was some card making and crafting - including this effort for Father's day. (Alex did the stamping and provided hand for outline.)

The latter half of my year was preoccupied with "baby-growing" which meant lots of sleeping (for nine months) and nausea (for about five months). The "baby-growing" project (the external part of which begins any day now... I hope) has meant that sleeping and "(unsuccessfully) trying not to throw up" have superceded "writing about life on the internet" on the to-do list.

We spent Christmas in (rainy) Sydney housesitting for relatives. Cricket, swimming and lazy around their pool were the order of the day.

Alex watching Aunty Jenny attempting to bat with 2 year old sized equipment.

One on One swimming lesson tuition with Daddy.

Somewhere in there we nearly bought a house, but reconsidered due to the building report.

2010 is shaping up to be just as full as 2009 with the much-anticipated addition to the family, John being committed to additional work responsibilities and extra-curricula activities - the latter of which includes a probable family trip away for a month in Europe - and the usual trips away. It remains to be seen if being on maternity leave gives me sufficient moments to update you on our life! But bear with us, we are still here, peering into the windows of your life, even if we don't quite manage to draw the curtain on our own that frequently!

Five things in May

This is what I did in May (not the extraordinary things, just the normal everyday things):

Listened to Classic FM. My radio was retuned to fuzz one day so I tuned it to Classic FM instead of the news in the morning.
Read Mao's last dancer. I won't talk about this too much because I want to save it for a book meeting but if you get the chance to read this do. (Although parents might want to read first to work out what age/if their child should read it). It is the autobiography of Li Cunxian who was plucked out of his commune in China in the late '60s to study ballet. In the early '80s he defected to the US. He now lives in Melbourne with his Australian wife. It really made be realise how blessed we are to live in the time and place that we do.
Made the invitations to a birthday party and crochet squares for a quilt.

Drank tea. My sister gave us a box of T2 sampler teas which we are working our way through. I am particularly fond of the spiced black teas - one or two cups of creme brulee is a good substitute for dessert!
Watched Yes Prime Minister. This is one of my all time favourite british comedies and we have been watching part of an episode before we go to sleep (we can't quite stay awake for the full half hour).

What everyday things have you been up to this month?