a beautiful friendship...

my friend irene just sent me this video - it's grouse so i just had to share it... heartwarming, inspiring, beautiful - i shed a tear of happiness, amazement, wonder and sadness...

learning new 'tricks'...

apart from working yesterday, i've been busy 'enhancing' my knowledge of all things blogger this weekend...

we've been talking about a parenting / kids blog at work for ages now and even exuberantly set about creating one (with many 'test runs' on different hosting services!) - but with one thing or another (people involved with the project leaving or going on extended leave, unfamiliarity with applications 'trialled' - some of us always wanted blogger!! - rfid tagging taking priority, etc. etc.) enthusiasm waned rapidly and input became half-hearted, so it never really 'got off the ground'!

but (hopefully) that's all about to change... we've finally decided to go with blogger because it wins hands down for its ease of use!!!!! well, according to Sailor Lily and me anyway - we're both very comfortable with blogger and enjoy 'playing' with it and as we're now the ones responsible for the initial design and content of the blog we're really happy with that decision!!!! did i mention 'free without ads'?? even better - especially if it turns out not to be utilised by its intended audience!!

i've learnt how to create navigation tabs (still working on multi-layered tabs - they're a bit more 'fiddly')... you have to work within the template css code to do this and it can be really frustrating trying to find where the new bits of code need to go!! thanks to bloggersentral - i checked out a lot of different websites for this information but their instructions were the 'easiest' to follow...

once that was done the tabs had to be 'styled' in the design template (static colour, hover colour etc.) and a html gadget added with specific 'navigation tab' code and then the individual page addresses had to be added to link to the right pages - that takes quite a while...

i also learnt how to 'trick' blogger so that we could have a static landing page - not usually a blog feature and really not necessary in a personal blog but definitely needed for the library blog so that newcomers get information about what the blog is rather than stumbling straight into the posts!

all this took time and effort - but it would have been so much harder trying to do it at work - concentration was imperative and constant interruptions just disrupt the thought processes!!!

with that said though, i have spent hours trawling through information on how to 'adapt' blogger for what we needed... no, i don't get paid to work at home (unfortunately!!) so i look on it as a personal learning 'odyssey' because the knowledge i've gained will help with my own blog - and hey, it's not like i go out a lot these days - i certainly can't afford it - being solo-with-animals and living in st kilda is very expensive - i'm surviving on a band 4 wage working 4 days a week (no - i don't want full time work - i'm 55 and have been in the workforce 40 years - cutting back my hours is something i dream of - and allie & shadow deserve more companionship and the opportunity to get in and out when they want / need to a tad more often!!!) - oh, there's also the fact there aren't many people i want to socialise with anyway - and apart from that, being vegan limits the options for 'wining and dining' - we're just not catered for in so many venues!!

anyway, i'm happy with what i've done with the blog and think it's looking good - it'll soon be 'open to the public' so i'll put a link when it's viewable... now all we have to do is get the children's services team enthused about - and posting to - it!!!

you could say i'm a tad blogged out now though - so i'm just going to leave you with some music - haven't done that for a while so here's an aussie band i really liked years ago - the baby animals 'fronted' by Suze DeMarchi - they formed in 1989 - split up in '96 - they reformed in '07 and released an acoustic cd of their hits called il grande silenzio in 2008 (a fact i've only just discovered after watching the video - so i'll have to see if i can get the album!!) enjoy... (i just checked chaos.com and they have it so i've ordered it - you can even check out the tracks to see if you like it - and it only cost $11 - an affordable price!!!)

bring back Buffy...

because the new breed of young, nauseatingly broody vampires need a good slaying!!!

not having read the Stephanie Meyer "Twilight" series - nor having had any inclination to - they're aimed more at the younger adult - i don't know what possessed me to listen to a recommendation by a patron a few weeks ago - but I decided I'd get comfy, snuggle up with Allie and Shadow, give the movie a view - and hopefully enjoy some good entertainment... huh - what a disappointment... guess I was expecting a vampire like Angel - not Edward, who appeared to have watched too many daytime soapies, which is where I suspect the young actor learned his extended 'broodiness for the cameras' look... as for a strong female character like Buffy - Bella was so very different...

a very clever person put the following 'twilight remix' clip together - If Edward stalked Buffy instead of Bella - it's very good - it's been referred to as a 'feminist mash-up' and there's a really interesting piece on it's impact on young girls at WIMN's voices, a group blog on women and media... it does make more sense though if you've seen the movie, but it's a nice dose of Buffy if you're a fan - and Angel was a far superior vampire portrayal - but then I loved "Buffy the vampire slayer" and the "Angel" spin-off!!!!!!

I also started reading the novel "Evolution of the vampire : the Australian story : the beginning" by Juliet Peniston-Bird on the same persons' recommendation - i couldn't get very far into it - there were way too many 'christian vampires' references - you've got to be kidding - maybe 'mills and boon' vampires next??? very disappointing!!!! one i definitely don't recommend...

needless to say, the patron and i obviously have different interpretations of the genre...

yet more illness and sadness...

one of my mother's oldest, dearest and closest friends - Alison (aka aunty Al) is ill and receiving palliative care at home... she's part of my extended family - if it wasn't for her and me mum I wouldn't be here now, having contracted pneumonia when I was born... the hospital sent me home to die... I couldn't be laid down so 'aunty Al' and me mum took rotating shifts for a number of weeks to keep me upright and alive (and we're talking keeping me upright 24 hours a day!!!)

She's had a long battle with many illnesses - I saw her in hospital earlier this year but she's never really been well for years... I spoke to her the other day and she just didn't seem to be with it at all... my heart goes out to Jenny (her daughter and my childhood friend)...

this is Jen, with me dad at me brother's wedding way back in the early 70's...unfortunately I don't have a picture of aunty Al so will have to check me mum's stockpile of photos...

we've drifted apart over the years, different lifestyles, living in different areas, but that doesn't mean we haven't kept up with what's happening in each others lives - and we're always there when needed - we're 'family' (and family to me doesn't mean blood - the nurturing environment makes the family - blood ties really mean very little in the scheme of things - just because you're related by blood doesn't mean you automatically like someone - most of the closest people to me aren't related by blood, but are more important to me because they've been there for always, regardless of my 'follies'!!!)

unfortunately my partner doesn't understand that - his comment to me the other day when I told him it's not looking good for Aunty Al - he feels sorry for her but what the fuck is my problem? why the fuck am I so upset... it's not like we're close... blah, blah, blah... so much support!!!! but then he doesn't even bother to ask how my mother is (and of course aunty Al's illness is really going to impact on her)...

then there was the 'bombshell' he dropped the other morning when I was leaving for work... he's 'going away' for 6 months and he'll be RENTING OUT HIS ROOM...

going away - fine, still paying his share of the rent - fine, but renting out his room (what, they wouldn't be using the kitchen, bathroom, etc. etc.) - not fine... I was shaking and distressed by the time I got to work... thanks Sailor Lil for your shoulder to cry on (literally) and the cuddle you gave me when I really needed one... a friend indeed!!!!

thought we had a commitment when we moved in here... we signed the lease for 12 months... regardless of anything we were committed for that time at least because neither of us could afford to be left in the lurch - that was spoken about before we signed the lease... and accommodation's hard to come by when you have animals, 3 actually - 2 dogs and a cat - hence this house - animals were welcome... apparently commitment means nothing... the animals mean nothing...

guess if it comes to it we'll just have to live really frugally, me and the 'kids' - the house isn't exactly cheap - nearly $1700 per month... then there's all the other bills - but no stranger will be moving in here!!!

just what I need - more crap, more stress!!!!

feeling slightly betrayed... and very depressed...

okay, while I'm being a tad sad, here's some music I listen to when I'm down - no, I won't 'burden' you with Barnsie - here's the Badloves... enjoy...

More YouTube stuff!!!

I know, I should be looking at downloadable audiobook titles but I just got caught up in YouTube (again!!!) and came across these two videos - one's a little gem from Mary Poppins called "Sister Suffragette" (I prefer Suffragist and you'd know why if you read my "Politics of language" presentation), and the other one has old images juxtaposed to more contemporary images of women... Hope you enjoy them...



there are so many good (and extremely bad!!) videos to watch on YouTube (of course, that's dependent on the search terms you use and what things are actually 'tagged' with - as we know, that can be problematic, and then there's 'individual taste') - but you can lose track of time!!! ooh, my animals are hassling to be fed - is it that time already? I will get around to the next task soon... if I can only stop playing with other toys

#20 - YouTube

Couldn't resist this when I saw it...

the Medieval Helpdesk... the trials of new technology!!

and the book... perhaps the 1st edition of the witch-hunter's 'how to' bible... the Malleus Malificarum ??