sleepless in st kilda...

sleep – a casualty of living in st kilda at the moment…they’re raising the tram lines in fitzroy street between canterbury road and the esplanade and working through the night - i can’t imagine what the noise must be like closer to the heavy machinery – the noise reaching my place is constant and annoying – that pesky beeping of trucks and the rumbling and crash banging of the earthmovers and jackhammers (even shadow isn't venturing very far from home - he sits in his courtyard with his ears twitching and his eyes enormous orbs) – and this is going to be happening for the next week… which means no public transport running to balaclava or the st kilda shopping precinct… what a bummer – it’s going to be very hard psyching myself up for work this week – i’ll be walking – hope it’s not too ‘brrrrr’ chilly… but i’m not as bad off as the elderly people in me mother’s block of flats who have mobility problems due to age - there's no transport to get them to their various hospital and doctors appointments, let alone to the shops…

my weekend has been tinged with a bit of concern for me mum though - she isn’t well at the moment – she had a malignant growth removed from her face a few weeks ago that she's only just 'coming good' from, but then on thursday she had to have her cornea reattached (a quite common outcome apparently months after a cataract operation amongst the aged) - since then she's been really unwell – seems the eye drops they use affect her kidneys badly – she suffers constant nausea and fatigue – all she can do is stay in bed (which she hates) – she was almost at the point of ringing an ambulance saturday night but persevered with her pain instead… she has a fear that if she goes to hospital she may never get back home - at 82 and suffering chronic kidney failure (and her hospital experiences over the last couple of years) it’s an understandable fear…

apart from that it’s been a lovely weekend… i had dinner cooked for me last night – an array of vegies baked in a delicious garlicky tomato sauce… good, hearty winter fare – made even tastier i’m sure by the fact that I didn’t have to cook it - i did make some garlic bread to go with it though…  (nah, this isn't a photo of what we had but it does look similar - just add beans and carrots too)...

to top that off I came across a new recipe for a lemon tart I just had to try – and it was sooo lemony delicious – and so very easy to make (and yes, this is a photo of my version!)…  it comes from the sweet treats section of veggie.wedgie  but i cheated with the base... i just made a crushed biscuit base because i didn't have the recommended oats and spelt flour - but the filling was 'by the recipe' and deeeelicious, so here's how to make the lemony yumminess...

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 400ml light coconut milk
• 2tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• in a pot combine agave, coconut milk and cornflour. whisk until the cornflour is completely dissolved. add lemon zest. bring to boil whisking continuously and once it starts to thicken remove from heat. add lemon juice and continue stirring for 3 minutes. Let the mixture cool completely and pour over the crust. chill until set. enjoy!!

i'm sure this recipe can be adapted with many variations - any other citrus (tangello, grapefruit, lime, orange), chocolate,  vanilla bean, caramel.... yummm, the list goes on - a definite must to repeat in the very near future...

and now it's to the kitchen and a sink of dishes... and then maybe i'll read some more of denise scott's memoir 'all that happened at number 26' - or perhaps listen to a few chapters of ruth park's 'swords and crowns and rings', centred around two young people growing up in an australian country town between 1907 and 1931 and read by deidre rubenstein, a narrator i really enjoy - it also won the miles franklin award in 1977...

what the f*@#...

be careful what you say on the streets in future, because the baillieu government is introducing a new law to parliament this week giving police the power to issue on the spot fines to people using 'indecent language'... isn't swearing part of the aussie vernacular, and if so, doesn't that make this law 'un-australian'? a tad draconian anyway don't you think...

supposedly it will be used to curb ‘obnoxious and anti-social’ behaviour – surely each cop will have their own interpretation of what that means, and what they consider ‘indecent language’ depending on their personal 'moral code' - and then there's the matter of who you are and whether they 'take a shine' to you or not...

guess baillieu and cohorts don't ever swear (yeah, sure!!)... hmmm, perhaps not what it appears though - after all, the fine will be around $230 - with swearing so much a part of our culture that should make the government a tidy little sum - looks like they're onto a real revenue raiser there... a swear tax...

lucky i'm a homebody – the way i swear (just in normal conversation!) i’d be fined often - and broke all the time (unlike just being broke some of the time now)… unfortunately life will become even more frugal soon… my rent is going up $109 a month from august – fuck, that’s the highest rent increase i’ve ever had - now that's enough to make a person need to fucking swear - after all, a 2009 study by british psychologist richard stephens found that swearing is both therapeutic and good pain relief...

on a brighter note, i may have found a new favourite author – well, favourite after reading her first novel anyway – and what a treat it was to read rosamund lupton’s  ‘sister’... it’s hard to define as any specific genre - there's an underlying psychological thriller that takes a back seat to the exploration of relationships between sisters, and between mothers and daughters - her treatment of grief and how we cope differently with it is deeply touching...

'sister' is written as if a letter - from beatrice to her sister tess, whose baby died soon after birth after 'being cured' of cystic fibrosis in utero - tess disappeared not long after and was found dead six days later – the cause being ruled suicide due to post natal psychosis according to 'the experts'... knowing her sister better than anyone, bea doesn’t believe this and sets out to find what really happened to tess and her baby… there are a number of twists and turns which kept me engrossed –  it was haunting and mesmerising - definitely a gifted wordsmith with a refreshing writing style…

i can’t wait to read her second novel 'afterwards' (although 'sister' could be a hard act to follow!) - it's due out this month (and i’ve just reserved it – the library has it on order and i'm second in the queue, yay!!!)

the same fight, a different name...

the first melbourne  SlutWalk hit the streets this weekend - heartening that an estimated 2500 took part...  the SlutWalk demonstrations began in canada after a toronto police official said that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised"…

there are varying views on the controversial name, but the SlutWalk is nothing new - its themes far too familiar... we used to call them reclaim the night rallies - i went to many over the years - we demonstrated in support of womyn's fundamental right to freedom from violence, rape or fear – i remember the feeling of empowerment and the camaraderie of the sisters and supporters as they chanted ‘yes means yes, no means no, however we dress, wherever we go’…

which makes it even more frustrating, angering and unbelievable that we are still fighting the perception that womyn are to blame for their own rape - that we get raped because of what we wear - that we ask to be raped because of where we go and what we do... the facts certainly don't bear this out - but unfortunately the myriad rape myths overshadow the fact that rape is about power...

sadly, as Hilary Beaumont so rightly states... 

"Society teaches 'Don’t get raped' rather than 'Don’t rape'"

who was that masked man?

the lone ranger was a popular television show when i was growing up in the late 50s-early 60s - let's not forget, television itself was still new, only having been introduced here in australia in 1956 - consequently viewing was limited so really, anything and everything on telly was popular! at this stage in our technological development we were served up mostly american and british shows, with a sprinkling of local content hitting our screens...

getting sidetracked here, so back to the point... the show would end with the lone ranger 'riding off into the sunset' on his trusty stead silver, accompanied by his native american friend and sidekick tonto, with someone always posing the question "who was that masked man?"

why am i writing about the lone ranger? well, i'm not - but i did have a 'who was that masked man' moment yesterday when i went with my mother as moral support while she had a growth removed from her face...

it was a fascinating process to watch - i'm sure i wouldn't be saying that if the needle was massive, or if the incision was any larger and fleshy growth removed any bigger though!! - there was cutting and cauterizing and puffs of smoke - she actually had to be 'earthed' so as not to suffer an electric shock from the equipment! - but that's not what i'm writing about either!! what amazed me the most was the silence everything was performed in - the surgeon perhaps uttered a dozen or so words behind his mask in the whole time the procedure took (about 20 mins) - the most worrying utterance, well, a question for me mum, was "are you on any blood thinning drugs?" - now, i thought perhaps it was a question that may have been best asked before the procedure started - but it was asked halfway through - what the fuck!!! her answer was in the positive - 'yes, aspirin' - hmmm... i guess he at least knew then why she was bleeding so much!!!

once he'd finished and stitches were in place (he did seem extremely adept surgically), he put the removed material into a container to be sent off for testing and left the room (with mask still in place) - he never returned but left the poor young (20 year old, new to the job) nurse to try and answer our questions (guess he's not so adept with verbal communication)... i couldn't help but wonder "who was that masked man?"

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for regular readers, you will have seen my pleas to help free tony the tiger from his steel and concrete prison - the perseverence of all of those who have championed tony's cause over the years has paid off finally... the animal legal defense fund action has resulted in the louisianna department of wildlife and fisheries being prevented from renewing the truck stop owner's permit to keep tony as a roadside exhibit...

there is a downside though - the current permit stays in place until december (read more about the ruling here) - it's not ideal, but there is some 'light at the end of the tunnel' for the boy - now the search is on for a suitable sanctuary for this beautiful creature... hopefully boy you will soon experience some wonders of this world, rather than abuse, torment and sheer boredom...

this has been a long, hard battle - it's a long, slow process trying to change attitudes - but people can make a difference, we can change lives... we have voices that can speak up for the voiceless - but we need to continue to speak out, to 'persevere in the face of adversity'... as margaret mead said  "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world... indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"...

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and why am i blogging during the day on a wednesday? i've got a cold thanks to a friend who came around at the weekend for dinner which was lovely, but unfortunately they were already feeling unwell (and obviously highly contagious) when they arrived - guess sharing the bong was an added guarantee of coming down with it! - the 'aftermath' sucks though (echinacea and ibuprofen are my best friends at the moment) - so i decided to stay home while feeling like crap and not spread anything to my colleagues... oooh, hopefully i wasn't contagious yesterday when i saw me mom (definitely no bong shared there!) - colds and flu are dangerous for her...

one pissed off mother...

floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis… you have to admit, the mother (nature that is) has one helluva way of expressing her outrage – we (humans that is) continue to rape, pillage and plunder her while mutilating, torturing and murdering her other children, the ones we consider less than equal to human animals, (that’s every other animal in the world!) – so many atrocities committed against her, and yet still she only gives warnings when she could so easily wipe humans off the face of the earth (like we’ve done to so many others)… a forgiving mother trying to teach us to respect our family and our home…







mother nature by saya kodachi


'mothers day' – what does it actually mean? marla of vegan feminist agitator has written a wonderful post – universal mother – i love this sister’s posts, always poignant and articulate… it’s well worth the read, her views expressed eloquently as she states in her final paragraph “... one also doesn’t need to be a mother to be deeply driven to protect another … for mother’s day, i propose that we honor this natural drive within all of us to protect the ones we love, the ones who depend on our consideration, by not consuming the products of exploitation and cruelty. this common thread of wanting our babies to thrive is natural and noble, a key part of our essential being. whether we are men or women, children or adults, human or hen, that universal mother is in all of us. let’s celebrate without exploiting another innocent mother who had not only the autonomy of her body but also her babies stolen from her for our appetites. let’s connect to that profound mothering spirit that links us together. she wants her babies to be well and protected from harm. i think we can understand." (thank you marla, so beautifully stated - such a way you weave words!!)

it's been a 'frenzy of death' for horses unfortunate enough to be forced to participate in jumps racing here in victoria, with 5 magnificent creatures dying in 6 weeks - victoria and south australia are the only 2 states that persist in allowing jumps racing in australia - with 90% of victorians against jumps racing perhaps dennis napthine has a vested interest in it continuing - according to him "the victorian government will continue to support jumps racing." so please take a moment to check out animals australia unleashed and the coalition for the protection of racehorses...

perhaps something will change now that there have been 'human casualties'... although that doesn't seem likely after an abc interview where napthine stated "the incident has nothing to do with the controversy over the sport of jumps racing." - surely he's not that naive - it was a jumps meeting for fuck's sake, it wouldn't have happened otherwise (although other forms of horse racing kills as well!!) nah, more likely he's heavily invested in the jumps racing industry and has 'too much' to lose...

no animal should die in the human 'pursuit of entertainment' - let alone any other 'pursuit'!! - so at the very least we should all shed tears for casa boy, hammerblow, squire rex, java star and shine the armour...

from the rspca website

on that note, i'm going to do some reading - it's just a 'lazy' day for me after working yesterday - well, the back is a tad sore, has been on and off for a few days - problem with getting older and having a physically demanding job at times - i feel every day of 56 sometimes!!! so i'll be relaxing and recuperating rather than lazing!! i have favourite authors and long awaited books to catch up on... i've recently finished lisa gardner's latest psychological thriller "love you more" - brilliant, as usual lisa! as with this one, i seem to have a spate of highly reserved books coming through at the moment - which of course means a 2-week borrowing period... and my next read is no exception...

many people, like me, have been waiting a long time to read the final book in jean auel's epic earth's children series - a story that has been 6 books in the writing and three decades in the telling  - the first book, clan of the cave bear - was published back in 1980, when i first read it!!! needless to say i'm hanging out to get stuck into the land of painted caves!