Team Up Thursday: Water

Welcome to Team Up Thursday (even though it's Friday) which is a blog carnival held weekly and hosted by Megan over at Mental Inventory and the Hippest Momma around, Melody. The idea is that pairs of bloggers collaborate on a theme and produce a combination of photos, which somehow work together. It's a great idea; a slightly different take on Theme Thursday; a photography challenge and a great way to get to 'meet' new bloggers and their blogs.

I have been watching Team Up Thursday with interest but until this week had not had the time or a partner with which to 'team up'. I sadly mentioned to Melody how much I would like to join in, all the time bemoaning my lack of 'time', and blow me down she called my bluff! I found an email in my in-box directing me to 'A Year of Happy' and the incredibly patient (and talented) JoLyn. Of course, being The Week from Hell I failed to get my photo to her in time and so we are a day late posting and she had to do all the processing; but I am resolved to be a better partner next week.

So, what do you think? Have we shown you 'water'? Have we made you think, feel, experience 'water'? How clever is her shot with the light behind the glass and the movement of the water as it is poured? It makes me think of 'macro/micro' as you see the motion and power of water in two distinct sizes.

If you are intrigued by the idea, click over and check out a few more diptychs. In particular I have to give this series a shout out. What a brilliant concept.

Thanks for being a sport JoLyn and look forward to working with you in the future!

The Chronologically Challenged Angel Checks In

As you can see I totally missed Carrie's Crafty Tuesday. For my pathetic attempt at craftiness in between craftily catching cats, I have added lightning flashes to our house banner. The Sports Carnival was Wednesday. I did get the banner finished on time but I was late getting my photo to my new partner for Team Up Thursday! JoLyn and I will be posting a diptych of photos each Thursday (theoretically) on a theme of our choosing. If she is still speaking to me after this weeks poor performance!

But being late means I can post this other photo of the banner at Sports Day which, we STILL don't know if we won!!!!!

We were leading for a good portion of the day but near the end the lead kept flipping back and forwards between East and West (funnily enough). We ran out of time to run the 800m which will now happen on Monday, and the PE staff are giving nothing away until then so, fingers crossed and GO all you amazing East House 800m runners!!!!!!!!!
The last time our house won a Sports Carnival was 2003.

Back Yard Genocide

I feel awful.

Remember those feral kittens/cats that were camping out in our laundry? Well, predicatably the female has had kittens in between our fence and the neighbour's shed. (This is not her but the look in her eye is identical)

A week or so ago, Himself spotted them playing in our garden; four beautiful balls of fluff gamboling under the watchful eye of their very young mother. Of course if we tried to approach them they disappeared back between the shed and fence as quick as a wink and there was no way we could reach in there and grab them.

So here was the dilemma: lovely cats but becoming wilder by the day. Any hope of finding homes for them soon to be lost if they couldn't be handled and 'domesticated' quickly. The prospect of more breeding: inevitable. They were unable to be grabbed by human hand and I had no time to sit around waiting for them to come to a lure, like a tin of cat food in a box . What to do?

On Monday, Mum and I went down to the RSPCA and hired a cat trap. By 5pm Monday afternoon we had the mother in the trap. She thrashed about like a wild thing until we put a blanket over the cage. The RSPCA didn't open until 10am Tuesday morning. The condemned prisoner was left, covered up, outside on our back porch. At about 10pm she started crying. It was awful.

Now I know in my heart that she can't be just left to breed; she is way too wild to try and domesticate; but the sound of that crying broke all our hearts. We shut the window and turned up the TV.

I feel like a resident of Germany in 1944.

I was only following orders.......

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Post Script: Tonight we have bagged the father and he is much wilder and more aggressive.

It is now his turn to sit on Death Row (aka our back porch). I still feel awful.

Never Work With Dogs or Kids

The scene is church last Sunday morning. I am doing my twice monthly 'Kidspot' in the service. The reading for the week was about the Hebrews worshipping a golden calf and forgetting about God. I had decided to run my little interactive segment as a mock 'game show'.

Me: Good morning everyone! Welcome to 'Decisions, Decisions' the exciting game show where you get to win great prizes depending on the decision you make! Now firstly I need a contestant.....Ah yes, young man, and what is you name?

James: James

Me: Alright James, are you ready to play? Well then, here is your dilemma:
You are trapped an airtight bank vault.
With you in this vault, you may have one of two objects: Object A is a mobile phone; a very expensive mobile phone with internet connectivity and a qwerty keyboard, or you could have Object B which is a Mystery Box! Now here is Object B; you can hold the box if you like and get a feel for what might be in there....

(James 'hefts' the obviously empty box)

Me: Alright James. What's it going to be, the mobile phone or the mystery box to help you
escape from the locked bank vault????? I'll give you five seconds thinking time....

Well, James didn't need any thinking time. He practically ate the microphone as he replied without hesitation:

James: The mobile phone!
Me: Ah hah! And WHY would you choose the mobile phone?
James: Because I could log onto the internet, create a web page and let people know I needed rescuing!

....was NOT the answer I was expecting! What ever happened to phoning the police?????????

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For those of you who are interested in the 'point' of my little scenario, the mobile phone was of course the wrong choice........because it was broken! Expensive, impressive to look at but useless. The empty box on the other hand held fresh air which you would need to sustain you for those last 30 secs as the fire brigade were cutting through the door with their oxy torches :-D. Can't be seen but meets your needs.
And if you can't see the connection to the golden calf in that you're going to have to come to Kidszone to find out!

Tiny Blogaholic Fix

It's 2.58pm. In about 20 minutes I have to pick the BA up from school and then go to the gym. I must do this second part because my clothes do not fit me any more. At 5.20pm or so, I will be retrieving my parents from the airport after their trip to Tassie. After that we'll go back to my place and one of us (perhaps Himself) will make dinner and we will talk about their trip. I will take them home later. I will help the BA with homework and see her off to bed. Then, somewhere between then and tomorrow morning, I will prepare work for my 4 classes tomorrow, mark homework, make a spreadsheet for Sports Carnival next Wednesday and hopefully sleep. Whatever, I will not have time for blogging. Which is why I'm getting my fix now........

A small note on the BA's Swimming Carnival last night. My alma mater is not a swimming school it appears. We had one first place the whole evening and many lasts :-) Oh well. The BA was only in one race, the 4x50m freestyle relay, and she held her own. As I said to her, imagine what you could have done if you had been training!!!!! I'm trying to think of a way to get her into a training pattern. Maybe early morning swims at a local pool on the train line and a train trip to school afterwards? It would get me up earlier too. It would not get me into the pool however.

Adios Amigos!!

The Hollow Sound of Bankers' Laughter

Have you ever tried to redeem points on a credit card loyalty scheme? I have a theory about this. I suspect there are 4 dusty reward items, nailed to the floor in some window display. They are photographed, occasionally updated and never leave the building. There are no other items waiting for redemption! There is no happy rack of sparkling cordless phones; no cupboards full of steak knives and plasma TVs, NO! the whole thing is an elaborate front to encourage you to keep using your credit card to pay for everything!!!!!!

I know this because in the last two years we have tried unsuccessfully to redeem points, on a relatively low point item I might add, via a website. In the first instance we couldn't even log into the blasted thing. Then, after Himself rang and shouted obscenities at the recorded prompts, he spoke to an operator who assured him the site was about to be updated and gave us a temporary password. We duly logged in and went to 'look' at the items available for redemption (as per the mailed out catalogue). We selected the one we wanted and clicked. Nothing. And again. Nothing.
Another phone call assured us that it was a glitch that was being sorted. We didn't bother for a while.

Tonight we tried again. The website is brand new and shiny! I had to create a totally new username etc but we got in and navigated to the 'redeem points' page. There were three overpriced items on the homepage, all with clickable links. That was all there was; no button directing you to the catalogue; no neatly arranged photos of the other items in question. But wait! On the side bar there is an animated marquee with alternating pics of all other redeemable items. There is a button exhorting you to 'redeem now'.

Firstly you wonder if you have to wait til your desired item flashes up before you click 'redeem now'. Wait, wait, wait....there it is! Click now! Go on, go on.......CLICK!!!!!!!!!!!
Drat. Missed it.
Then you figure it can't be that hard and just click on any picture. And click. And CLICK. The download bar lights up, the page reads 'done'. It is unchanged.

Someone, somewhere in their little programmers' hole is having a HUGE laugh!!!!!!!!!!!

Sssshhhhhh. I Am Meant To Be......(pick something)

Augh. This blog posting gig is suffering badly this year. I am trying a little thing called 'time management', an experiment which is mostly failing due to facebook, but that is the main reason for my absence.

This year at school I am teaching Year 7 Maths, a newy, as well as Year 9 and 10 Maths and Year 11 Numeracy for Work and the Community. Year 8 Maths is also lurking in the wings but should be a swap for Year 11 in Semester 2 so I won't worry about it yet.

As always, something new lands on my plate every year and nothing is a simple case of 'trotting out last year's course'. I've never taught Year 7 Maths; in NSW where I trained as a primary teacher, we only went to Year 6. The Year 9s are not too bad although they are significantly worse than last year's bunch so everything is having to be slowed down and repeated; the Year 10s are an Applied class rather than a General (like last year) and Year 11 is a completely new course which we are running in order to get some of our worst babies through the new SACE (SA Certificate of Education) requirements of 'at least a C in maths'.

Don't start me on the SACE. It is basically an attendance certificate. A method of keeping kids out of the dole queue :-(.

The week away at Year 10 camp, 3 weeks ago, set me behind the 8 ball I'm afraid and I am still catching up with myself. Add to that; the BA's new school and new focus on schoolwork; Kidszone at church and an invitation from a network leader to join a new State Kid's Ministry vision group; sailing; my mum and dad trying to sell their holiday house here in Aus and the rest of regular, lifely things and you will see why my Time Management needs work.

But news! The Baby Angel has a JOB!!!!!! She has become the latest slave in the McDonald's chain-gang and spent an hour on her laptop last night, undertaking an online training package. With quizzes. Who knew?

Other BA news. School is going well. She is in the musical (Oliver), has joined the volleyball team (woeful but fun) and has been selected to swim for the school in the local interschool carnivals. The first one is tonight although I don't think she's going to do too well as she is full of cold and I can hear her coughing from the bathroom as I type. She played drums at church again last Sunday and is still enjoying her lessons although doesn't get enough opportunities for practice. (I still won't have a kit in the house.) Oh and her netball team are in the semi-finals this weekend. Hmm.....do you think she is taking after me in doing too much?

Himself is excited by the prospect of a new crew and frantically busy with work. After our wonderfully bonding sailing experiences I am resigned to once more passing him in the corridor as I wake and he goes to bed. I am trying a new regime which includes going to bed at 10pm and getting up at 5am to do school work. Unfortunately blogging got in the way this morning.

No 2 Son continues to vague his way through life. Conversation at the dinner table last night
Me: So, you did some washing I notice. Didn't you have to go to TAFE today?
Him: mumble mumble mumble, that lecture in the city.
Me: errr.....so did you go to the lecture in the city or not?
Him: I tried.
He did not elaborate and frankly, I was too confused to pursue the matter any further.
On the weekend he came upstairs from his pit and asked if I had any books on 'The Northern Renaissance'. Errr, surprisingly, no! Why did he need it?
"Well, I've done a visual critique on an artwork and I've just realised I have to include references to two books as well as the internet, so I just need a couple of titles."

Why doesn't he just google the titles? Might as well.

Must go and do WORK. It's 6.30am but it's my late start morning so I don't have to leave until 7.45am!!! Tonight at the swimming I am 'timing'. Will try to take pix of my girl........