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Kell
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1) where in the world are you happiest?
Tragically, but honestly, at home with Jerad. Usually home has the ability to be a happy place no matter where it's situated. Beyond that I am happiest in my hometowns of Sydney and Bowral, and in the cold desert air at Joshua Tree. 2) name three things you absolutely love to do (cheatery ahead!)
• I like quiet time to make fiddly things with my hands - creative things, like creative projects, or cooking. I particularly like to attempt intricate and involved things, and I enjoy mundane things like pulling the flesh out of a lobster shell, or making tortellini.
• Travel and walk... together. I will go almost anywhere, and enjoy aspects of travel that many find tedious, like being in airports, riding in trains, and being lost and confused. I love everything about travel - the fear, the homesickness, the excitement, absorbing new sensory experiences. I can easily walk from dawn to dusk in a new place. This contradicts what I said above, doesn't it? I like to travel, and I like to go home, and then I like to travel again...
• I love to think and discuss - I love hypothetical scenarios, talking about possibilities, ethics, proposals, cultures, histories and policies. I like ideas and learning.
• I love to eat amazing food. 3) do you have fond memories of your childhood?
Yes, really great memories. Actually, almost no bad memories. I spent long summers roaming a rural region with a gang of friends, building shelters and avoiding snakes. I had a lovely home life with a family who I loved. My upbringing was strict and a lot was expected of me, but I had a lot of fun, and there were always a lot of magical things to look forward to, like family gatherings, Christmas, and holidays. 4) your ideal vacation would be (unlimited time and money)...
This would be my dream come true. Jerad is coming with me. I would want to pack a backpack well, buy some comfortable boots, and hit the road with no real plans. I would like to travel through South America, Asia and Africa. I want to see Turkey, India, Iceland and Russia, and I'd like to re-visit Malta, Italy and Tokyo. I could probably manage two years of nomadic living... if I didn't have cats. 5) what fruit best describes your personality?
I dunno... banana? Something not everyone likes by itself, but goes great in banana bread and milkshakes? Mushy. My skin is thinner though. |
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The mornings here have been so cold. Not American cold, but really cold to get up, and have breakfast without a heater. Jerad hoodied up this morning - gotta keep those ears warm!   And here I am, with little Henry stuffed up my top, like stolen goods.  Speaking of large things... here is Poly, warming her soft-brie belly in the winter sun  and little Ed, looking handsome  Last week I stripped the spare bed of its sheets, and came back from putting them in the wash to find Poly had made a dumpling out of herself between two pillows. I love that girl. I took better pictures than this one, but I love the crazy glow-eyes on this one.  |
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I've gone all sort of perverse and domesticated. Last weekend Jerad had one clear Sunday off, so I spent the entire day Saturday shopping, cleaning, doing laundry and running other errands so that we could enjoy a Do Nothing Sunday. It was a special, bent kind of happiness - waking on Sunday morning in an immactlate apartment, between fresh, fluffy sheets, reading the paper in bed, cooking a lazy well-catered breakfast and generally acting as though we'd checked into a nice hotel. we were able to say, at a healthily ripe mid-morning hour "What are we going to do today?", and not permit any "But first we have too..." moments. Don't hafta do nothin'.
We went to Tamarama and did the cliff walk, ocean air and sunshine. Later, we drove to Newtown to a new Mexican place called Guzman Y Gomez, which PRAISE THE LORD, actually serves a semblance of Californian-styled Mexican hole-in-the-wall food. Lovely clean flavours, and wonderful things we haven't eaten since being in LA like tomatillo salas and fresh corn tortillas. Food of this kind is so common in LA to almost the poit of tedium, but in a nation where Mexican, or even TexMex means nachos made with something resembling bolognaise sauce, a nice, simple pork and chipotle taco is a happy, happy thing. |
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I feel so tired at the moment. I think little Henry is renovating within, or at least drawing quite heavily on my resources. I picture my interior like the bottle in "I Dream of Jeannie", lots of velvet drapes and upholstered divans. It's probably more like a dark, tropical aquarium. I have had a little trouble sleeping of late, waking in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep for hours. Then last night I went to bed at a ridiculous, kid-ly 8pm, slept for 10 hours, and awoke still feeling depleted. If I don't stay focussed throughout the day, I notice that I can spend a long time staring into the middle distance with just a brain full of static. No... not static, worse. As I was walking upstairs to get a cup of tea, I realised that I had the swelling orchestral music from "Days of Our Lives" circling around and around in my head, like bathwater going down a drain. Has pregnancy melted my brain?
Besides that I feel so well, and realised this morning that I love being pregnant. It's really such an exciting and nice state to be in, and to share with Jerad. It has a lovely anticipatory aspect to it like the wait for Christmas. I have to go to the hospital a lot to see the midwives, and I love it because I always come away with new news about Henry's growth or development. I just hope that he born a healthy kid.
Jerad started a new job - he's the Sous Chef at a pub called the Paddington Inn which the new owners, having remodelled extensively hope to transform into a gastro-pub. They're allowing Jerad some creativity, which is wonderful news. He's already added a Braised Beef Cheek to the menu, and I'm certain has many more ideas. I just want him to be happy, and they seem accomodating about his need to be home three weekdays starting later in the year to look after kid. He's always happier when he's in a position to be creative. I think most people are. I once read an abstract of a study with the claim that people in rote, repetitive jobs can be the most depressed and suicidal in the workforce. For example, people who work processing food on conveyer belts in factories can quite often suffer depression, because very little personal satisfaction can be extracted from an experience with very little self-determination. I think this is why you can see people investing special, personalising flourishes to mundane jobs. A friend of mine at UCLA worked for a few years tiling roofs to save for college, and he told me he used to sign underneath the last tile he lay down on each roof. He felt proud of the job he'd done on each one - they guy is going to be a great animation director in the not-too-distant future, but I guess the point is, he applies creativity and care to everything he does.
In my research work I'm discovering that Deign for children is not so much a field which is currently in existence. There are few books or points of reference to how design can be crafted to appeal to children. I guess that the field isn't saturated is a blessing. |
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Our little un-born junior is of the male description. A little boy! So yes, we can't wait to meet Henry sometime in late September, early October.
I attended an ultrasound yesterday with Jerad and my Mum - 'twas lovely. Henry was just relaxing in there, sucking on his fingers, crossing his ankles, rolling around. He even did a funny little Marcel Marceau with his hands against the uterus wall at one point. I love him. The visit was almost two hours long, with the sonographer measuring all his internal organs, checking that everything is as they should be, which I can happily say, they are.
His little heart is beating, beating and it looks like the machanism in a watch - a hummingbirds heart. Jerad said "If all goes to plan, that little heart will be beating like that for the next seventy or eighty years..." an amazing thought. Once set into motion, life is a perpectual motion machine of sorts.
He has a lovely profile, with a pretty nose and lovely hands and feet. By the grace of god, his feet have arches, which Jerad's don't ;) I have never seen such flat feet as Jerad's - long, thin and flat, just like a rabbit, perfect for running. But Henry seems to have little arches, which is preobably a good thing! I hope Henry is as nice looking as his Dad is though, and if we're lucky, he'll inherit that illuminating smile.
I wish we could have has pictures from the ultrasound, but it wasn't possible. My new due date is September 30. Today, Henry is 15cm long. He's not destined to be a tall man, but certainly a loved one.
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I bought a Baby Bjorn last night so that we can strap our baby to our chests while out in the city. Something about these makes me think of Hezbollah extremists.  |
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It's been a while since I posted any pics, so here are a few from the last month or two in random order.  This remarkably vivid blue picture is of our dear friend Jen Yu, cooking us a wonderful Chinese meal while visiting with us in Sydney. Come back soon Jen.  After having his second bike stolen, Jerad just kind of gave up buying replacement bikes and built this one from scratch. Personally, I'm amazed that a person can build a bike from bits and pieces.  Last Saturday was one of thoise grey, drizzly nights so Jerad cooked up these lamb shanks for dinner - slow roasted with vegies and served with polenta. The meat was so tender that you could have eaten it with a spoon. I love winter food.  A blurry photo of the best smile I know.  This is my Dad on a boat. He looks happy, doesn't he? He's on the boat because it's his 60th birthday in June, so we got together with my Mum, brother and sister-in-law and hired this boat to go sightseeing on the harbour for the day. I think Dad loved it. The weather looks grim, but it was actually perfect - cool and grey to start with, clearing to a lovely sunny afternoon.  Here I am helping my brother, Cam, navigate out of Rose Bay. The mission was to complete the day without striking one of the multi-million dollar yachts on the way. Or at least to not get caught. I jest.  I don't know if they recommend steering with one hand and your head out the top of the cabin. Oh well. Cam did well all day with the sailing.  The lovely Heidi.  Is there a happier sight? We putzed around to the Fish Markets and picked up some fish and chips for lunch. Here are Mum and Dad ferrying the greasy goods to the dock. I like how the plate is bulging out at the bottom. Yum.  Heidi and Dad - I have the best picture of Jerad on the boat, but it's on Mum and Dad's camera. Once I retrieve it I'll post it.  And here I am, ten minutes ago, with some evidence of pregnant tummy. I must say, this dress is not so bump enhancing, so it may look like I'm not all that big but I have a fair-sized belly now. |
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Rage is an amazing Australian TV show where they play music videos all night on Friday and Saturday. Friday is new music and randomness, Saturday is a guest programer. It's so great top see the videos that certain musicians pick, and currently they're running a compteition where you can program Rage, if you submit 20 songs they like. Here's what I entered:
September Gurls – Bigstar Hot Burrito #1 – Gram Parsons Enjoy the Silence – Depeche Mode Oliver’s Army – Elvis Costello Before Too Long – Paul Kelly I’m Almost With You – The Church She Digs Her – You Am I Lord of Overstock – Guided by Voices No Aloha – The Breeders LA – Elliott Smith Eon - Supergrass Down Like Me – Ken Stringfellow The Concept – Teenage Fanclub Hoodie – Lady Sovereign That’s Entertainment – The Jam Elevate Me Later – Pavement London Calling – The Clash William, It Was Really Nothing – The Smiths Underwhelmed – Sloan Picnic By the Motorway – Suede |
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It's been a while, and for those who have noticed, my apologies - I've had a lot to do and think about in the last couple of months, and have been busier than I ordinarily would be. I'm pretty sure everyone is aware at this point, but I am four months pregnant, and happily so. Jerad and I have no idea whatsoever what to expect, which is probably a good thing, because it's too late now!
I have a little belly too, which is (mostly) new for me, so I'll have to take a picture. At week 17, I have no real symptoms, except tiredness, and a lust for carbs, and I'm well on my way to my next scan at 20 weeks, when we can find out the gender. Or find out an approximate gender - you see this scan caused trouble for my friend Juuj, who recently gave birth to her baby daughter "Elsie", except "Elsie" turned out to have additional boy bits, and therefore insisted upon being called Oliver. A little surprising for all concerned, so as to whether we feel comfortable sharing the gender... undecided.
Last week was an extraordinarily bad week for me. Nothing very serious happened, for which I'm thankful, but enough little and worrying things happened in a small period of time to make me feel really miserable, and in no mood to start posting again. I also have a pretty tenuous grip on my emotions at the moment, which pretty much guaranteed tears at all the small and frequent barriers I encountered. I seriously lost my sense of humour.
But it's a new week, and life is good.
I'll post more often - thanks for reading. Also... I have been cooking... it's autumn here, so I'm making lots of soups and things which may not be of interest to my Northern pals, but I will post about the experiments anyway. |
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tinysqueak's journal
