Spider Man?

Views From a Farm House

Waikato, North Island, New Zealand. Beautifully lit sky, glowing grass, flickering river water. Every day I think, this is a bloody fantastic place.


My cousin Joey - I've only ever heard of him but never met him till last friday. Its his 7th month living in New Zealand with his mum (my mum's sister) at my parent's place. He's a pretty straigh forward city kid who's never really seen a cow before. Now he's caught a cricket. (Dad helped). But he let it go after about half an hour in the nest he built for it. He says he'll probably not have enough time to spend with it. It'll be too emotionally demanding, cost him too much, throw a tanty when he doesn't call or just feels like rolling over and sleep.

My sister - grower, pruner, carer, office manager, boss, tyrant, sweepest, quality controller, over qualified, little girl that likes to throw tanties. More capable than anyone could ever think. Former capsicum addict. Now she wants out. Mad at the first place. Still mad now.

Our cat Cupes - she is sweet sixteen, has the silkiest, flirtiest meow on the planet. Sleeps a lot, like all old cats, purring insanely as she goes. She kills a lot of plants by sleeping on them. Still takes down a bird or two and goes hobbit hunting when she can be bo-vv-ered. She looooooves sardines but salmon's a grade better. She tolerates rabbits that flaunts around the lawn as if they run the place. particularly that black fluffy one with the blinky eye. grrrr. But she's just too cool to care.

Mum's Moving On

Mum tells me she had just hit menopause. Hot flushes, uncontrollable tempers, emotional eating. Surprising to me really, she's just so controlled and lives in such routine, can't think of her like that. Dad and sis has been at the brunt of the hormones, and she does use menopause as an excuse. I think its funny. She doesn't like saying good bye to her old friend. It used to remind her of her body, puts her in a good frame of mind, that she is in sync with her seasons. More excuse to drink carrot juice. So shamelessly new age. But then again periods were easy for mum. Relatively painless and brief. Not like my aunty whom spends days on end in bed. During university I used to turn blue on the first day, stretching out under the library table, having to leave a lecture. Mum is also clinical about periods, getting it down to an art in her calendar. Like her shopping lists and her plants and the alarm clock on her bedside. She says she's going to go to the doctors toremove her IUD. She chuckles at our conversation. I can't believe a piece of wire has been in there for that many years, exactly the same place where I used to be. Where she grew me from two cells to a jelly bean to a pink furball and popped me out. She tells me that the holiday she and dad have been planning for ever is finally going to take place. Leaving her diary and phone behind. No more procrastinating.

A woman is born to bleed. She is to nurture the world and to feed it, but only does it well if she is nurtured in return. She renews and she recharges. She learns and she teaches. She's really born to give and receive like all people, but she always ends up giving too much. Mum's given so much all her life. I hope now her body will tell her that its time to stop just giving, but sit back and take a bit of love in and time off.

RU486 blah blah blah

Anything to do with abortion will always arouses emotions, moral high grounds, and a whole lot of political showdown.

It shows again that the personal is the political. First there was Tony Abbott milking his "reunited with my long lost son" story then having it bite him back on the arse story. And then Lyn Allyson and Nick Minchin also comes out and shares their abortion story. Which ever side they stand and what ever the starting point, I do think it is courageous to take on this taboo. Back say 40 years ago in the first wave of abortion debates it would have been political suicide. Its interesting that it can be turned straight around. And it demonstrates that its pretty obvious that unplanned and unwanted pregnancy happens through out any section of the society, and it can happen to any body. Its not a teenage problem, its not a lower socio-economic problem, it can happen to any body, and any body, particularly the pregnant woman herself MUST have the choice to decide on what is best for her, first and formost.

As far as I am concerned the debate is not about abortion. We had that debate 40 years ago – its pretty clear that people in this country wants to uphold that simple freedom of controlling the paths of their own lives. Its about introducing this drug into Australia and the Its about the administration and control of the drug – which is a fair enough debate.

But its also very interesting that the debate is only happening now. RU486 has been available in New Zealand since 2001. Why has it taken so long for the health system to finally get the paper work going? Red tape in a regime controlled by Christian Fundamentalists.

Its not even a debate about late term abortion. RU486 is a pill (or 2 pills) that can only be used to terminate pregnancy in the first NINE weeks of pregnancy. It reduces the trauma and complication and risks of a surgical abortion. see http://www.ru486facts.org/ or google it for more info.

And then Dana we-are-aborting-ourselves-out-of-exisitence Vaile comes out with that stupid comment about Australia being over populated by Muslims and white women (I'm pretty sure Asian women are having too many babies too) are obviously out-competed in the baby popping race. (cos you know, they have the freedom to work, walk down the street without having to veil themselves head to toe, own property rather than being owned as property, choose who they want to marry, enjoy sex, use contraceptives, and god oh god have abortions!!)

If people do not think abortions are part of their moral lifestyle, then its their CHOICE (as in, I'm not referring to the free market). Don't use your moral/religious values to govern other people’s moral values. We are a much more secular society than many others, its just that the religious few seem to still want to have their say for everyone else. So they loose the abortion debate and are still trying to make it harder for other people to have more safer choices incontrolling their own bodies.

There's only one line I've gotta say: "Get your rosaries off my ovaries Mr Abbott!"

Here Again...

at Sydney Bloody Airport.

I told you I like, live here. Its so much calmer compared to three weeks ago. Every one's worn out. They ask me if I am bringing anything for anyone. What? "You know, did anyone ask you to take anything for them?". What-ever.

Today was another fine cutting it fine days. Can't continue to do this really. I had to call Freedom to tell them that I'll be there about 1 hr before the departure instead of the 2.5 hrs recommended. Dashing in on the train from Central after my bus was delayed by hail storms. Blame it on the bloody misleading bus info cos i could have got an earlier one. Raising the hair on the back of my neck as scenes of missing the brisbane plane haunted my head.

But here I am. I dodged all bureaucracies and their what-evers and I am here. Just 'nuff time to say, "neh neh neh neh" on my blog at the samsung e-lounge I've had very little trouble loving since July '03.

God I miss my mother.

Under Construction

Hey guys I am really sorry about the recent deshevelled look of my blog. Due to a series of personal and professional committments I have not been able to think or blink properly.

I have however many interesting drafts saved. Look out in about a week's time for rants on the RU486 debate, a fantastic boat launch by Lake BG, pics for the tofu burger, Templeton's rant about brick removal, "Who Is Templeton", and posts from a whirlwind tour of a farm house in NZ - yep, I'm coming home!

Pink Heart Tofu Burger

WaWa & Templeton's Valentines Day Nibblies

You'll Need:
200 g firm tofu, mashed
50 g each of shredded carrots, cabbage, onions, cheese
1/2 cup raw or canned beechroot juice
2 eggs
3/4 - 1 cup bread crumbs
3/4 - 1 cup almond meal
2 tsp curry powder
1 Tsp shredded basil and/or mint leaves
1/2 cup extra breadcrumbs mixed with some flour
Oil for shallow frying

Hands on:
Mash tofu, carrot, cabbage, onions, cheese together. Pour in beechroot juice and mix. Let them dye for about 1/2 hr to 1 hr in the fridge. Throw in eggs, almond meal and first lot of bread crumbs, curry powder and herbs and mix well. Hand shape them into flat hearts on a plate, possibly with glad wrap, add more bread crumbs if not shaping well. Coat in breadcrumbs/flour. May refrigerate further if desired. Shallow fry in med-low heat till golden brown.

Served with:
Champaign, middle eastern eggplant salad (courtesy to Sydney Morning Herald), ciabatta, followed by dessert of black sticky rice with condenced milk and greentea ice cream.

GPT

Slice half of a peach into sizable chuncks, enough to fit into a garlic crusher. Crush the stuff into a tumbler. Place ice, gin and tonic into it. Try not to overwhelm it with gin as it over powers the peach. Let it sit for 5 mins or so for the flavour to seap. YUM!