Colour Saturation Issues

I must read the manual for this camera. Apparently there is a saturation setting I need to adjust.

These are fund raising ribbons I was making with the Bestie and her parents this weekend.

We made one thousand of them! My fingers are quite calloused from the effort.






One of the topics of conversation was the school fete. The three of us had trooped off that morning to support Baby Angel's school. The BA was on her class stall from 11-12pm and the Bestie and I dutifully did the rounds spending the odd dollar here and there for a good cause. Now I may have mentioned this before but the Bestie and I do not share religious beliefs and it is with raised eyebrows, rolled eyes and pursed lips that she dutifully attends all events, functions and celebrations which contain any whiff of Christian fervour.

So this morning when she announced via phone call to a mutual friend from Melbourne, our fete plans, she was greeted with hoots of derision and the suggestion that she may be able to purchase a nice crucifix made of play doh (I think she refers to the lovely baked salt dough which is oft favoured for items on craft stalls). A rather unkind jibe to my mind.

Regardless, we made the sojourn and; observed Baby Angel on her 'Golddiggers Stall' (pick a pop stick out of the sand and see if you have won a prize); picked up a pot of coriander for me to attempt to grow in this drought; found a book of
Pam Ayres poems for 50c; bought this outrageous (but practical...after all it is reversible) hat for $1.00 and finally made our way into the craft stall. And what do you think we found there?
YES!!! It was the ubiquitous baked saltdough cross, cunningly decorated with cloves and topped with an attractive ribbon for easy display purposes!! The Bestie was thrilled.
She immediately purchased said cross, and could not leave behind these other delightful works of art although I feel her derisive laughter at the checkout was a trifle unnecessary. Still at a total outlay of 60 cents they gave her great pleasure and therefore value for money. We are still trying to work out exactly what the other two works of art represent but, after all isn't that the purpose of art: to make you think?
Interestingly, the fete also raised something of a Flaming Sword issue for me. Baby Angel was on her stall with her friends for an hour but after The Bestie and I had finished shopping she was keen to try everything there and wanted to 'stay on' with her friends. Now one friend lives within a few blocks of the school and walks to and from each day without supervision. She was at the fete on her own and the other part of the 'Best Friends Forever' Trio also seemed to be without a parent presence. The school is on an enclosed site and there were plenty of staff, pupils and parents around all of whom know both the Baby Angel and I and so I felt reasonably comfortable in leaving the three of them together to enjoy the fruits of the fair: listen to the school bands play; pat the Police Horses and other fete type activities. My Bestie lives a little over 5 minutes away from the school so it seemed sensible that we retired to do the ribbon thing while BA enjoyed herself with her friends. Without me. (*insert deep calming breathing, the type you do when you're in labour*) I would pick her up at 4pm when the fete had finished.

Now I have held off on the mobile phone thing for BA as I feel they are actually tools of the devil designed to lead children away from real relationships and into the swamp of cyber bullying (I am only slightly kidding here). They also cost a fortune and I don't think they are necessary. After all, there is a phone at the school office, she is at school with her friends anyway and they do NOT need to be texting each other during the school day and she has MSN and My Space at home so she has plenty of technology with which to send ludicrous, superficial messages in appalling 'textspeak' to her friends when they are cruelly separated by the torment of evening and family. She can also use the landline (what a concept).

So it was with an ironic spasm that I realised at about 1.30pm that I was feeling twitchy about what was happening over there without me and that I would rather have liked her to have had a phone on her so I could give her a quick ring. The weather was deteriorating with 30C heat under nasty, threateningly overcast skies and gathering gusts of hot north winds. What on earth had made me agree to 4pm? What if she was bored? Had run out of money? Needed something? She had strict instructions not to leave the school grounds and there was a phone in the school office after all (have I mentioned that before?) so she was sure to be alright. Wasn't she?

The ribbon making gang reassured me. I turned my thoughts back to the greater good and continued folding and pinning.

More time went by. 2.30pm. What was she doing over there for all that time? Perhaps I should just go and get her early. Again the gang assured me that if there was any problem she would get in touch...unless it was that I didn't trust her! Hmmmm. Was that it? Did I think she was up to 'no good'? No! And anyway, what kind of 'no good' are we talking about here? No! I thought, she would be fine. She's got a good heart and loves all her friends. There's people that know her all around her.

In hindsight, I think my feelings were more to do with guilt at having left her without informing any other adult. If something had happened, there was no adult there to whom she could turn who knew the full story, that I was only minutes away and easily reachable. No, I had simply left her on her own. By 3.30pm when a huge gust of wind carrying nasty, red dust tore through the Bestie's back garden, I downed ribbons and announced I was going to get her.

In truth I was glad to have the excuse of the weather. When I reached the school, nearly everything had been packed away and the place was looking pretty deserted indeed. After a quick search I found the Baby Angel up in the 'fort' at the top of the slide on the playground with about 4 of her friends. All boys. To be fair, they were all boys I knew and they have been in the same friendship group now for three years so I was not too worried but I also realised that with the exception of one, all their parents were there helping pack up. They had not been left 'on their own'. Also disturbing was the absence of her two friends who had 'left' ages ago.

Somewhat unreasonably I think, I gave her a hard time for not calling me when her girlfriends had left. She was understandably miffed and told me I worried too much, I was too overprotective and that nothing was going to happen. She then informed me that she had been very good when her girlfriend had run out of money and decided to go home and get more. She had told the friend that 'Mum had told her to stay on the school premises' and she could therefore not go with her. Good grief. Something else that could have gone wrong.

At the end of the day she was fine but I am left with a quagmire of emotion. What am I concerned about here? Is it her safety or is it what other parents will think? Is it the nagging sense that I am being a neglectful, lazy parent (hard on the heels of last nights events) or a reluctance to 'let go' of my girl and embrace the teenager? Hang on! She's only 12. She's not a teenager yet!!!!!!!!!! Was I neglectful? Was I just taking the easy route? I am unsure.

Perhaps it would all have been ok if I had simply spoken to one other person there and let them know I was leaving her. I am having to face my own convictions, which were so clear cut when she was young, and query whether I am being true to them or whether I am simply being a controlling, over bearing mother who is not giving her sufficient room to develop her independence and autonomy. I dunno. What do you think?

Supermarket Follies

They're at it again on the radio. Should we allow manufacturers to promote foods by putting cartoon characters on the packets? It makes supermarket trips hard work. After all it is not fair on parents that they have to say 'No' to their kids.

What? NOT FAIR? What's fair got to do with it? Its our b****y JOB!!!!!

No, you can't touch the hot plate. No, you can't get in the deep end without an adult. No you can't go to bed without brushing your teeth. No you can't hit the little boy who has your toy. No, you can't stay out til midnight when you have school tomorrow. No you can't date the a**hole with the tattoos. (OK sorry, got carried away with the last one)

Too many parents are frightened of
a) their children not loving them
b) other parents judging them as they deal with a tantrum.

Just quietly, the second is more likely to occur than the first and those 'judgers' are usually either people who've never had children or .........no, that's it. How many times have I smiled empathetically at other parents in the supermarket queue as they restrained their squirming, squealing toddler/child/teenager. Well, ok not many on the last count! Real parents know and understand. We have all been there.

People who 'tut' in supermarkets and mutter things about 'discipline' under their breath, have got the wrong end of the stick. What do they think the tactical ignoring and removal of a child from a situation is? That is discipline!! Unfortunately for them, since the removal of thumbscrews, the rack and the wooden spoon, discipline occurs in public. Not giving in, saying what you mean and maintaining boundaries by delivering consequences are the strongest forms of discipline necessary for most children. They are however, at times, the most difficult to implement.

The whole cartoon characters debate is a flawed one. Children have always nagged parents for the 'sweet' option. Some of the better quality yoghurts and cheeses here have 'names' selling them: The Wiggles, Thomas the Tank Engine, Teletubbies. The issue is not what is on the packet but whether parents are consistently discerning purchasers. If you cannot bear the fight, buy the good food and top up the 'guilt' factor at the counter with a comic or Shrek colouring book. At least they will be reading or being creative and their teeth and fitness will thank you.

Better still, don't give in to guilt at all. What have you got to be guilty about? Your child is loved, fed, clothed, housed, educated and kept healthy. If you still feel bad, there is an underlying issue which needs resolving and best you do that rather than buy them a 'Pot O' Chocolate'!!

Mean Mums

This is one that's been around on the internet for a while but as it goes to the subject of my blog.........here it is again!

Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent,

I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:

I loved you enough . . . to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.

I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes.

Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.

I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.

But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it.

Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.

And someday when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.

Was your Mom mean? I know mine was.

We had the meanest mother in the whole world!

While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.

When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.

And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.

Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times.

You'd think we were convicts in a prison.

She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them.

She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work.

We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs.

I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.

She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head.

Then, life was really tough!

Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up.

They had to come up to the door so she could meet them.

While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.

Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced.

None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime.

It was all her fault.

Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults.

We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.

I think that is what's wrong with the world today.

It just doesn't have enough mean moms!

Over The Top

This is what's left of the party bag Small Boy brought back from yesterday's orgy.

The bag measures 240mmx160mm (9x6inches).

It currently contains (I didn't see the full bag), 4 lollipops, 2 party poppers, 2 pirate balloons, chocolate money, assorted soft sweets, 6 mini chocolate 'Celebrations' and a packet of Whizz Fizz. As I said, this is only what's left.

What are people thinking? What message does this give? What's wrong with 1 lollipop, 1 balloon and 1 party popper?
I am incensed! I am currently so appalled I cannot even begin to describe philosophically the objections I have to this excess. Never mind what implications it has for Small Boy's teeth and temperament during the day (he is highly sensitive to sugar...triggers tantrums and inexplicable rage ending with a big sleep)....it just sends a Gordon Gecko like message..."Greed is Good".

Subject: ChildDiscipline1960~v~ 200

This from a like minded flaming friend.



Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.

1960 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end
up best friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.

2006 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark.
Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.



Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.

1960 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal.
Sits still in class.

2006 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School
gets extra money because Jeffrey has a disability.



Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from Halloween,
puts them in a bottle, blows up a red ant hill.

1960- Ants die. *

2006 - Fire Department and police called. Johnny charged with
domestic terrorism, Government investigates parents, siblings removed
from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list.

*(Johnny having sensibly stood well back from the ant hill and worn protective goggles)