the wee baby Finn is here!!!

It wasn't an easy birth - but after problems and intervention he's arrived... he's beautiful... everyone's in love... kudos to Sailor Lil 'n Cap'n Chris... he looks like a real sweetie... he has a good set of lungs apparently... Lil's milk came in today so she's a happy (and, no doubt, more comfortable) woman, Finn's an even happier wee babe, and Chris is ecstatic... all are doin' well... but I'll bet emotionally overwhelmed at the moment!!!

... click here to read more at BabyNamesPedia.com

bet you want to see more pictures of him - and the proud parents...

just a quick post tonight - had to share Lil's happiness with the world!!!!

it's a generational thing...

March is a big month to say the least in my family...

Matthew, my great-nephew, turned 16 on the 6th... Rebbecca, my niece and Matt's mum, turned 35 on the 20th, and Judy, my mother, Becc's grandmother, and Matt's great-grandmother, turns 80 on the 30th...

meet Matt... he has the 'distinction' of being the first-born great grandchild... he seems to have had a 'growth spurt' since the last time I saw him (not that long ago) - he's really starting to fill out... and he's a typical hormonal 16 year old teenage boy - you know, brooding, temperamental, non-communicative... he's a really lovely young lad, can be a right dag - but having a conversation can be like getting blood from a stone!!! same as taking his picture - there was a lot of 'cajoling' in between these photos!!!!

this is Rebbecca... she's the first-born grandchild... my first and, yes, favourite niece... and Judy, the matriarch of the 'clan'... and here's 3 generations of us womyn... the 'lad' makes it 4 generations of the family - and you don't get 4 generations of us under the one roof very often...

There was an addition to Irene's family (my friend, Rebbecca's mother and Matt's grandmother) ... the wee Gigi (she's soooo sweet - a real little cutie)... she gets 'tuckered out' really easily though - she's only 11 weeks old...

and of course Irene's boys (Louie's country cuzzins - Luscious Lucky and Handsome Harry, with the wee Loudle on the end) are a tad 'put out' at the moment...

and it was also the autumn equinox - sometime between the 20th and 24th according to the planetarium... 12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of darkness - this, of course, makes for the perfect harvest time... and, of course, that means the bottomless pit munchies!!!! oooooh - take the chocolate away... and sooooo many cakes because of soooo many birthdays!!!!

and then there's Sailor Lil... playing the 'waiting game' - getting ready to give birth... 5 days to go and counting down... and 'Lil's Capn Chris must be 'sailing' the emotional waves too...

Their babe (it's a boy) is going to be an Aries (or Aries Rising - ruled by Mars - first sign of the zodiac) - just like his mother - Lil's birthday is on the 18th April - Rebbecca and Judy are both Aries ... oooooh, scary!!!! and this is an interesting 'interpretation' of those born under Aries from AstroImage...

Positive Expression:
People born under the sign of Aries are energetic, spontaneous and outgoing. They are often courageous, ready to go bold-headed and willing to take risk. Their optimistic and enthusiastic outlook makes them exciting and stimulating company. Since Aries needs to forge ahead, individuals born under this sign generally act on impulse, enjoy challenges and the spice of danger. They excel in sport and are virtually unstoppable.

Negative Expression:
Since Aries 'acts first and thinks later' he/she often regrets his rash action at a later stage. Their impulsive and hasty nature makes them impatient, tactless, quick-tempered and aggressive. Their 'me-first' attitude sometimes turns an assertive Aries into a rude, pushy and in extreme cases a thoughtless 'bully'.

Physical and Sexual Characteristics:
Because Aries is ruled by the 'red' planet Mars, they often have a ruddy complexion with freckles and reddish hair. Aries natives' strong sex drive makes them passionate lovers, but their desire for conquest and the need to prove themselves can lead to a 'Casanova' or 'Femme Fatale' syndrome. However, they able to form stable relationships with those who respect their great need for independence.

or, if you're of the celtic tree cycle persuasion, Rebbecca, Judy, 'Lil and 'the babe' all share the Alder tree...

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.
- Albert Camus

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all.
- Stanley Horowitz

a (very) quick snapshot of my 1963

Check this out...



I look like a fucking child bride - obviously a christian form of barbaric, ritualistic (paedophilic?!) sacrifice (being given over to christ - to be submissive and subservient??) I would have been 7 going on 8 years old here, and having had no choice in being christened a catholic, it appears I also had no choice in making my 'first communion' - huh, the brainwashing didn't succeed as I got older though!!!!

the religious landscape was changing - vatican ii was bringing (supposed) radical change within the church, it's hierarchy, and women's place within the church structure was becoming less regimented - now they were going to be able to get out of their cloisters and into the world - some were going to cope, some weren't - even their 'habit' was going to change -

From this... to this... to this...

(and then of course they were able to throw off the 'shackles' of the habit and wear 'civilian' clothes). Now that could be freaky to some who had spent most of their lives totally covered from head to toe (not unlike the Arabic hijab, or the Iranian / Pakistani chador and all the other variations in between, hey??!) - they hadn't had to make 'life' decisions since entering the convents and their days (and very loooong days they were spent in menial labour - cooking, cleaning, tending the sick, teaching - you know how it goes - same old same old where women were concerned!!!) were totally structured, and some hadn't had to deal with the outside world in decades!!!

If you've never seen the ABC mini-series "Brides of christ" it's well worth watching... it's a 'glimpse' of what it was like going to a catholic girls school in the 60s & early 70s - it's just like I remember - although some of the nuns could be a lot more violent!!!! Some of them loved their corporal punishment!!! (and let's not forget the christian brothers and priests here - or their paediphilia and child abuse that finally came out into the open - sorry, is still being 'uncovered'!!!)

It's not surprising that kids growing up in this era were the ones who walked away from the catholic church in droves in the 70s...

a nun tending the 'medicinal crop'???

I couldn't resist this because it (graphically) flowed perfectly from catholicism into another 1963 'happening' - the "Hunter Valley cannabis infestation" - ha, it took the New South Wales government 9 years to eradicate it.

"The cause of the infestation has never been positively identified. One theory suggests that the cause was the sluicing of waste products from chicken farms in the area which were using imported chicken feed containing a small proportion of cannabis seed which was then washed into the Hunter River and its tributaries. Another theory suggests that some seed was deliberately planted by United States military personnel who were stationed at the Singleton Australian army base."

Of course women were still fighting for their own identity, and 1963 was a perfect climate for Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" - in which she offers a critique of Freud's penis envy theory - to be published.

"The book became a bestseller, which some people suggest was the impetus for the second wave of feminism, and significantly spurred the women's movement".

1963 also saw John Kennedy (JFK to most) announce that America's commitment to Vietnam would be scaled down with the immediate withdrawal of 1,000 advisers. He was assassinated a week later - funny 'bout that - apparently it wasn't time to lessen involvement , but to ramp it up!! Australia had sent 30 army instructors in 1962 to assist in training the South Vietnamese Army but with Lyndon Johnston 'inheriting' the presidency, and calling on the allied nations to become more involved, the war was about to escalate - American involvement in the Vietnam War went from 16,000 American soldiers in 1963 to 550,000 in early 1968 - which of course led to mass demonstrations, the save our sons movement and an expanding consciousness of the horror of war - left-wing politics was on the rise - but that's in 1964 and 1965 so we'll get to that next time.

Unfortunately, this was also the year my parents split up - I went to live with me mum and me 11 year old brother went to live with me dad - with every weekend at me dad's for me, and Tuesday's with us for me brother.

What changes lay in store??? My life was changing dramatically.... whether I wanted it to or not!!!