Reflections on fiery matters

How the cattle moan!
The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;
even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

To you, O LORD, I call,
for fire has devoured the open pastures
and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.

Even the wild animals pant for you;
the streams of water have dried up
and fire has devoured the open pastures.
Joel 1:18-20

I have been reluctant to post anything for the last few days, because all the thoughts in my head seem so trivial compared with the suffering that those in Victoria have been experiencing. It is a good reminder that we cannot control the world around us, not matter how hard we try, nor can we escape the inevitable judgement.

I am however slightly annoyed at some of the surrounding events:
1.The media who ask people who have lost their family, friends or homes "How are you feeling about this?".
2.The fact the the media can get access to these people (to ask inane questions) when their family can't.
3. As there is little new "news" to report, and the enquiries will now take months to report, the news is that.... Australia made the news in the US and Australians have donated so much money to the cause.
4.Confidence tricksters who use the tragedy and people's generosity for their own gain.
and lastly, and perhaps most heartbreakingly, a Christian pastor claiming in a press release that the bushfire happened because of Victoria's abortion laws. While I don't support the laws in Victoria, I think that the application of a passage in Chronicles is very poor exegesis. A better application would be that of the tower of Siloam (Luke 13:4). Jesus asks his listeners if "those killed were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?". His answer to the rhetorical question is "I tell you no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

That is the lesson that we all must hear, that we all, poor sinners, must face death - and we never know when or how it will come.

What we do on our weekends away, Part V

Visit Friends and socialise

Ok that explanation is really nor sufficient - what I really mean is travel away for the express purpose of visiting friends to socialies (attend parties or events of some description). Here are some photos of the more recent trips!

Here is our little family walking down the red carpet at our brother-in-law's recent birthday party.

This party was on Sydney harbour and had the theme of the "red-carpet". They had even arranged for a photographer and a reporter with a video camera to take photos as people arrived!

And here is Alex having a lovely time playing with his cousins at a family Christmas party in Sydney


(I should point out that at this point it was after 10pm and our sleepy little boy who is normally fast asleep well before 8 was still partying despite NOT having a sleep earlier in the day.)

Beating the Heat

Unless you've taken up residence in a cold-room for some bizarre experiment, or hail from the Northern hemisphere, then you would have noticed that it has been HOT. The only people who are not bothered by this are either
a) cold-blooded (these people can be identified in winter as they insist that the heating should be set at 25oC) or
b) have air-conditioning.

Unfortunately, the majority of our family fits neither of these two categories (and the one that does fits both when he is at work!) so we have spent the time working out ways to "beat the heat".

1. One of the effects of this warm weather is that no one finds it easy to sleep so there have been a lot more lethargic games played.

2. In the evening before dinner, Alex waters the garden (but not just the garden of course)

3. Playing with ice. (I discovered this one when Alex got into the freezer and pulled the tray of ice out and tipped it all over the floor



4. Not cooking, but eating salads, sandwiches and BBQs

5. Eating ice-blocks/cream


This is actually frozen yoghut that I made earlier this summer. It comes from The low GI Family Cookbook. I also made iceblocks using pineapple that had been blended. (better than juice as it retains the fibre)

Makes 10 iceblooks

250g fresh or frozen fruit (berries, mangoes work well)
600g low fat vanilla yoghurt
2 egg whites
2 tbspn honey

1. Blend fruit and yoghurt together in food processor until smooth
2. Whisk egg-whites until stiff peaks form. Add the honey, a tablespoon at a time,, whicking well after each addition until thick and glossy
3. Fold eggwhite mixture into fruit yoghurt mix until just combined
4. Either
a) Pour the mixture into 10 1/3 cup capacity moulds. Tap the moulds to settle the mixture. Freeze for four hours or until set.
or
b) Pour the mixture into an airtight container and place in freezer for 4 hours or until frozen. Break the mixture into chunks with a metal spoon. Blend again in the food processor until smooth. Return to the airtight container and refreeze for 3 hours. Serve in scoops.

And the Winner Is........

The winner of my giveaway is......



Catherine

Your bookmark will be arriving soon.

PS The only other entrant Bethany will also receive a handmade cross-stitched bookmark

Giveaway Reminder

Just a reminder that My Giveaway ends in 26.5 hours!

To enter you must leave a comment on the Giveaway thread by 7pm AEST Monday 02/02/02.

What we Do on our Weekends away, Part IV

Play in (John) or Watch (Alex and I) Kendo (a Japanese martial art)

Well John trains for this on the weekends (and during the week) that we don't go away, but occasionally (3 or 4 times a year) we travel to tournaments, gradings or seminars.

Just before Alex was born we went to Melbourne to the Australian Championships (John came 3rd in his grade, and his team came first). We spent a couple of days either side having a holiday.

They had also won a teams competition about a month before that.


We've also attended competitions in the ACT and in NSW.



Alex has so far been pretty good - especially as it is not a quiet sport! - sleeping in the pram when we've been places and charming everyone when he is awake. Maybe all that time listening to Kendo in utero, and then being made to sleep while Band of Brothers was playing when he was a newborn actually worked!

Organisation Fever

I have recently been hit by a recurring bout of organisation fever. This reoccurs several times a year - perhaps triggered by searching vainly for a document for 3 hours, or being unable to close a cupboard door, or external factors like tenancy inspections.

This particular bout was triggered by the combination and the New Year and my return to work for an extra day a week. The symptoms included
a) cleaning out the pantry and typing up an inventory and map for the door
b) tidying Alex's cupboard and inventoring his books and toys.
c) putting together a household folder

Here is Alex's cupboard after being cleaned




Here is most of the teddy bear collection. [As a side note, how can one child, who has had 1 birthday and 2 Christmas's - where on all occasions his parents purchased nothing - have so much stuff?)


Now it may seem like a good thing to be organised - and there are definite advantages - but personally I have found there is a limit where one can be too organised (and this is a heavy admission for someone who is strongly J on the Myer-Briggs scale).

1. It can cause conflicts - my husband is more "lets take if flexibly" regarding routines, and being hyper-organised tends to annoy him, while I have a tendency to get irritated if my carefully constructed plans are thrown into disarray.
2. Getting and staying organised takes effort and, once the organisation fever subsides, I cannot continue the effort to maintain the high level of organisation that this fever brings on. (and I present exhibit A: >10 unfinished projects in the last seven years). Maintaining the effort of staying organised means that I don't spend time doing more important things - like playing with Alex!
3. It makes you think that you can control everything around you. This is particularly insidious, as most of our lives are beyond the scope of our control.

Unfortunately the only cure for Organisation fever that I have discovered is getting organised, so I shall go off and benignly organise something else (arrange my wardrobe by colour, or alphabetise the music collection)