"Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital"

Hollywood must be all over this story.

I mean, it's got the lot: action, pathos, humour, the occult, and (optional) nudity.

I can just imagine some of Tinseltown's big hitters (I'm thinking Denzel Washington here, maybe - or Forrest) jockeying to play the Kinshasa Chief of Police, who obviously would have all the best lines. Like:

"...they tell you that it's become tiny or that they've become impotent. To that I tell them, 'How do you know if you haven't gone home and tried it."

Pick me up off the floor, and wipe my tears away.

Weekly Winners, Sunday Meme

I'm not much of a blogger at the moment, am I?

Well, I'm aiming for a sort of consistency here at the moment. At least I turn up for Sarcastic Mom's wonderful photo meme most every week - and sometimes I even have some photos I'm proud to share with you.

It's school holidays here (as some of you will be very well aware), and most of the week has poured with rain. What a delightful combination! I am heartily sick of dirt, mud and sand and their constant presence on my floor, but can't see the light at the end of the tunnel...yet. The wee man is, of course, in hog heaven...literally.

Miss Mahlia FurPants has had a big week, too, having "The Op" on Wednesday. There I was, feeling like the meanest mama in the world for subjecting her to the terrors of surgery, and ready to pamper her in her convalescence - and she came home so chipper I would have had to tie her down to make her rest for 5 days as the clinic recommended. The resilience of youth!

(For lots of other great photo bloggers, click here:)



Perhaps the only day this holidays it didn't rain...the little man having a private moment with his dirt...




...and the FurPurr soaking up the sun.










He's got one leg, "L" plates, and training wheels...but he can ride.








Things a boy (or a cat) can do inside on a rainy day...












Our poor little girl...






My angel boy? On the outside, anyway...

Small triumphs

It's probably technically untrue to say that the wee man is a fussy eater.

After all, as I was pointing out to a friend yesterday, this is a boy who eats hummous, pesto, balsamic vinegar, molasses, capsicum, whose favourite cheese is Romano, and who loves ginger juice. This is his mama's boy!

Still, like most small kids, he has been passing through a fairly particularly stage ("I hate vegetables etc etc ") for the past couple of years. This has meant a fair bit of under-cover vegetable activity, and occasional blatant bribery to get him to eat at least some of his main meal before tucking into fruit or vanilla yoghurt. So often, he resists eating things on principle, I'm sure. I'm wise enough not to press too hard. I ask him to taste something at least once - often he'll then realise that it's actually quite palatable, thank you very much, and he just might manage another few mouthfuls over the next 20 minutes or so. A win, I think, and gratefully pass over the yoghurt.

Tonight, I tried something that I had read about a while ago (and promptly forgotten about till now...lol). I placed the dishes on the table, and the serving spoons, and told him he could serve himself as much (or as little *sotto voce*) as he liked, on the condition that he has a go at eating whatever he puts on his plate, before any thought of dessert. Guess what? He ate all his first serving (which I would have been quite satisfied with, since it included potato & sweet potato mash which he would not normally touch with a barge pole)...and he went back for seconds! Woohoo! It might not work every night, but what a good start...

Weekly Winners, Sunday Meme

Two weeks have slipped by; how has that happened? Where did they go? And where was my camera?

None of these questions will be satisfactorily answered by this post, but despite my absence and few photos of any interest, I am compelled by love and loyalty to be here for my favourite meme. Go check out Sarcastic Mom and the other weekly winners, for much greater dedication to the blogosphere and some much better photos!






Our little green visitor




New best bud





Evening jewels






I'll be back - I promise. I've got things to say, and tell you about, but I've let the blogging habit slip the last few weeks and just dealt with off-line life for a while. I need to get my broadband connection again - that makes a big difference to my online experience.