Ye Olde Blog

Hello again! Things are pretty boring and blah so I figured I may as well post write a blog post to keep you entertained. So let's do it.

Aaaaaaaand...

Clearly I didn't think this through because I have nothing scintillating to report. Oops. 

Sydney is in lockdown so no library shifts for me. Sigh. However, I've been able to continue my permanent part time job doing end processing of DVDS for libraries. It's great cause I get to indirectly do work for various libraries all over Australia without going to the actual libraries. It's like magic! This past week I had to stay home but I'm back again this coming week. 

Our fabulous and favourite furry friend Chandler continues to become more lovable each day. Needless to say he loves lockdown. Plenty of walks, pats and company. Pets have really come out the winners here, that's for sure. Except those unfortunate pets who were obtained by eejits who were bored and impulsively got a pet without thinking it through and then dumped them when it got difficult. GRRRR. Not cool. 

The boys are keen to get Chandler (see above) a playmate and I like the idea but I have to convince Mickey Blue Eyes. We shall see. 

Mr 12 and I have binge watched a few series such as Superstore, Kim's Convenience, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the later being our favourite. This is one of our favourite songs from the show:

Oh yeah, it's a musical and totally rad and underrated. Can you tell it's my current obsession? 

When I think about it they always start with C: 

Cakies, Carpenters, Crazy Ex-girlfriend...

Oh wait, books and dogs don't. Except our two most recent dogs are the late beloved Cookie, and our current cutie pie Chandler.  Both of their names begin with a C. I didn't actually choose the names but there they are. Interesting coincidence. 

There's definitely one thing starting with C that I passionately LOATHE. You guessed it: Cancer. Fuck that shit.  Related: A friend of ours passed away recently. May he rest in peace. 

Also; Covid. Kindly go away and leave all of humanity alone, you  nasty virus, you! Yeah, just fuck off. I think this situation warrants an F word. 

Continuing the things beginning with C theme, I've done a bit of cooking because we like eating. That's truly the only reason I cook. Not a fan of the process. Here's some chocolate chip cookies I prepared earlier. They are literally the only thing I cook that my boys like and ask me to make. 

That reminds me. When I sign off I have to go and peel potatoes for dinner. I loathe peeling potatoes. I  adore eating potatoes. The eternal dilemma. Doh.  

Last week I got my drive thru flu jab but they didn't give me any fries with that. Rude. I prefer chips anyway, but still. At least I took a rare selfie because I was bored and anxious (see below):

What can you say about lovely old lockdowns and the pandemic that hasn't already been said?  I will say this: 

You know how back in the 60s hippies sang about a new world coming? Well I don't think this is what they had in mind. You know how Patsy Cline sang Stop The World and Let Me Off? Yeah, THAT.

Next week I get my first Covid vaccine jab. I would have had it sooner had it been possible but this is the first opportunity I've had to get it. Not my fault! Meanwhile Mickey Blue Eyes is fully vaccinated. 

In the midst of all this madness, it became obvious that I need to start to practice some actual real self care of the not inhaling cake variety. Turns out that's self-indulgence NOT self-care. Who knew? 

So anyway, I'm exercising a lot (well, most days)  because I got lazy about it and then this pesky little thing I call Agnes (aka anxiety) started to tap me on the shoulder. Oops. Plus, I figure it might be helpful to actually ingest some vegetables, get adequate sleep and practice some mindfulness. With this in mind I've even busted out the old adult colouring in again. Nice.

Whilst doing this I also burned a lavendar candle. I know lots of people loathe lavendar but I think we've confirmed that I've always been a bit of a Nanna at heart so I love it! 

Speaking of nanna's (or grandma's as my mum prefers), my beautiful mum turned 80 on the 26th of July and I couldn't see her. Wahhhhhhh. But we had a virtual cakie and a toast which was nice. Let's be thankful for technology I guess. 

Is it truly August? I can barely remember what day it is let alone what month. Mickey Blue Eyes will also have a lockdown birthday on the 11th. At least there will still be CAKE. It's a birthday so I'm allowed to be self-indulgent! Shut up. 

As if Covid wasn't bad enough, I've also got another crisis on my hands.  I'm not reading enough! GASP

I knowwww. Tragedy! The problem is that I don't wanna read depressing or gruesome stuff but generic romance or whatever doesn't hold my attention anymore. I started reading The Family Doctor but abandoned it because it was pretty intense and graphic from the first chapter. Following this I switched to a historical romance but the male characters were so awful I just couldn't deal with it.

Anyway, I picked up a paperback I'd got at an op shop called Everything Is Beautiful and I'm reading it verrry sloowwwly. It's kind of sad because it's about hoarding brought on by trauma or loss, but I think there may very well be a hopeful ending. Fingers crossed. 

You could say the same thing about podcasts. I need to dial back the murdery ones and listen to something else. But what?  Audio books are good idea. Duh.  And I'm supposed to be a library professional?! Ahem.

Podcasts for me are basically just a way to force myself to do dull stuff like dishes, cooking or folding washing. I need something in my ears to get it done. Otherwise I will poke my own eyeballs out with boredom. I mean, you can tell I'm just dithering here to avoid the afore mentioned potato peeling. 

As expected I don't have anything of note to report, but nevertheless it feels good to just type some random words. Just as randomly I began using instagram again. My account was sitting there forlornly, sad and dejected, just like this blog. The thing is, I have no idea how to use hashtags so if someone could explain it I'd be grateful? Never mind I'll just google it myself like a normal person. Me? A normal person? Bahahahahaha! Normal is overrated, right? 

Do you ever find yourself wondering why someone reacts with an angry emoticon to a fairly innocuous comment you made in a Facebook group? Definitely a sign that lockdown has gone on tooo long and you need to get out more and off Facebook. Once again I've gone off on one of my tedious tangents. But you get that. The pointless dithering, that is. Done!

Ok people, stay groovy (and safe!). 

Until next time,

Ness 

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Something Anything #LifeThisWeek

Greetings earthlings. It is I, the one and only Ness of Nessville, back to thrill you with the monumental happenings of my grand existence.

For instance, today's highlight involved cleaning out the fridge. This is a phenomenon known as 'living the dream'.

In other news, I also made some beds, folded laundry, patted my dog and cooked fried rice. (Auto correct wanted me to say I cooked friends, but I can assure you I've never done that).

Anyway, as you can imagine, I certainly needed a lie down after all this, to recover from all the excitement. Especially considering that for much of the past week I have resembled what can only be described as a human slug.

A snotty, sniffling, sneezing, snivelling, sooky human slug. This is what happens when your offspring decide to generously share their germs. Rude.

I endured unimaginable suffering for DAYS. Gallons of water were consumed. Copious piles of tissues were disposed of as plaintive piano music moped piteously in the background. Well, it should have been anyway. Sniff.

I mean, I was most certainly DYING from this hideous Man Cold. If I got it from my boys that makes it a Man Cold and therefore dire and tragic. In desperation I turned to my faithful husband, the marvellous Mickey Blue Eyes.

"Can you please get me some Sudafed or Cold Eze tablets?" I implored. Dutifully he set off, traipsing to the chemist on foot. He's one of these people who walk a lot, not a sloth creature like yours truly. Ahem.

He left me languishing in my sluggish state. Some time later I heard a loud clap of thunder. Oh dear, I thought, hoping he wasn't caught in a downpour. Or worse still, struck by lighting. The sky lit up at that precise minute and I shuddered fearfully.

I am prone to catastrophising. Oops. Minutes later I heard the gate clatter and a breathless Mickey Blue Eyes arrived, wet but triumphant. I had my drugs. I fell upon them as if they were cake, my preferred drug.

I am now slightly less slug like. And let me just add that this is what true love looks like, people. Do you understand what I'm saying?

Things have been a tiny bit gloomy to be honest. In a sad turn of events, a friend of Mickey Blue Eyes passed away unexpectedly, two weeks ago, leaving him despondent and adding to a general malaise.

Meanwhile, school holidays arrived in all their glory. This means that three ravenous boys demand food incessantly from the minute they awake until they again succumb to slumber. On the plus side, Mr 17 is keen to cook pancakes quite frequently. Winning.

In the midst of my man cold, I made myself some restorative soup, and I think we can all agree this is fascinating information.

Unfortunately, I missed a planned excursion to the city with my TAFE class. ( TAFE stands for Technical And Further Education for any non Australians playing along). Can't remember if I have mentioned the course, but yes I am doing this for two days a week until December. Then if all goes to plan I will proceed to study for a Library Diploma thingy via TAFE digital.

Meanwhile, I've applied for several jobs, getting a politely worded rejection email from one and crickets chirping from the rest. Is that a thing now? You don't hear anything unless you progress to interview? Oh well. It's all a learning process. I'll get there.

What does this week hold? Some boring appointments and shopping. Then next week I am catching up with some girlfriends for lunch. Looking forward to it! With the added bonus that I should be completely germ free by then. Yippee!

And that is all I have to report. We are perpetual plodders. So until next time I'll be over here plodding along. 

As Mickey Blue Eyes would say, take it easy and I'll catch up with you later. Adios.

What's happening in your world? 

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If I Could #LifeThisWeek

If I could talk to the animals! Just imagine it! Or something...

Well actually, I DO talk to my dog. And she just looks at me like I'm nuts for some inexplicable reason.

Anyway, that was the first thing that popped into my head for this prompt. Because that's the way my brain works. Then I'll jump to the next random thing.

Which is THIS:

If I could, I would register for The Carpenters 50th Anniversary celebration thing happening in California next April. Then I would go, combining it with a family holiday. Sounds awesome, right?  Unfortunately, I would have to rob a bank first. So if I could please  borrow someone's balaclava?

Just kidding.

I could never rob a bank. Sigh.

First of all, I'd have to use a toy gun. Just like an old episode of The Golden Girls when they get held up by a dude in a Santa suit. (Random brain thing again. Bare with me...) Oh wait.

Random cute bears for no reason. 

Now my random brain is pondering if the expression is bare with me, or bear with me. The latter seems to imply there's an actual bear with me. But the former implies nakedness, and I really don't wanna go there. My random brain has backed me into a very awkward corner.

Moving on.

So where was I? Oh yes, the robbing a bank thing. Silly. I can't do that. Can I?

I'll have to win the lottery instead. Easy peasy. The odds are only astronomical, but meh. Why worry about inconsequential things like logic?

What I'm actually getting at is, if I could, I would go on a holiday. I'm sure it will happen soon. Except it'll be somewhere like Coonabarabran instead of California. Which is fine. I'll go anywhere at this point. Sniff.

Meanwhile, I am in the process of trying to make some changes but I don't want to talk about them at this point because then I'll talk myself out of it, or it won't happen, since I have a habit of announcing things and failing and this is a terrible run on sentence and I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.

And now for some more random 'if I coulds':

If I could, I would skip summer. Or go somewhere cooler. Or better still, make it perfect spring weather all year round, with some rain as well.

Yes, I would definitely make it rain, if I could. Maybe I should try a rain dance, but I don't dance. So magical thinking it is. Make it rain! Pretty please? Pretty please, with sugar on top? Does anyone say that anymore? I just did, so there's that.

If I could, I would lie in the sun all day like Cookie. But I have some stuff I wanna get done. Stuff that actually involves moving. Shame about that.

If I could, I would reinvent the human body so you could get exercise while sleeping. That would be SO much more efficient.

If I could, I would become a speed reader. Then I could read ALL THE BOOKS.

Presently I desire a cup of coffee, but it won't make itself. I find that frightfully rude. If I could, I would WILL the coffee to make itself. Furthermore, the housework should really do itself as well.

If I could, I'd create a magical land called Nessville (just came up with that name off the top of my head...) where cakies are good for you, cancer doesn't exit, everyone is kind and has a pet unicorn. Did I mention that logic is overrated?

Can't do any of those things.

But there is one thing I CAN do.

Bring this bewildering, babbling post crashing to its end.

DONE.

The End.

What would you do if you could?


Image credit: https://www.pexels.com/

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Eccentric

Hello again! It's me, the one and only Ness behind this here Nessville thingymajig. 

Well, what can I tell you?  

I'm chiming in at the last minute for Friday Reflections. The prompt was: Eccentric.

And I'm pretty sure I am. Eccentric, that is. 

Also; boring. Boringly eccentric. Or eccentrically boring. Or something. 

Here's why: 

I write a pointless blog about myself that no one reads. Meh,  I prefer to think of it as inventing my own little world. Whatever. 

I decided to shave my hair off and keep it in a 'silver pixie' style right after having it grow back after chemo all curly and Leo Sayer like, and then it finally looked normal and I did that. The silver pixie thing. 

Me with my pixie hair and a toblerone cocktail. 

I can't seem to form sentences (see above), but that doesn't stop me from pretending I'm a writer/blogger.

I went on a road trip and one of the most exciting things I did while away was hit the op shops because I'm wild and crazy like that. WHOOOOOOO! 

I have eccentric offspring. May as well pass on the weirdness. Related: When we were away Mr 9 desperately wanted a skull ring and a pink flamingo money box. That's my boy.

I don't really talk.

I wear granny clothes, to go with my silver pixie.

My current fixations are true crime and Jane Austen novels.

I like to leave my tea bags IN. Might as well live dangerously. 

Most things that delight others bore the bejesus out of me. I'm thinking sport here. And vice versa. The things that delight me bore everyone else. I'm thinking Carpenters music here. 

I keep a 'bullet journal' that is, in fact, more like a bullshit journal. 

I have tonnes of paper and notebooks about the place, but they don't even have to be all pretty and special. I can't even throw the boys old school books out if they have spare/blank pages left in them. But at the same time, I'm bewildered about the endless plethora of 'printables' available on blogs and what the point of them is. I dunno. I'm weird. 

I get about feeling decidedly strange and yet never speak of it. Strange, as in this weird dizzy, spacey, shifting feeling in my head thing that's hard to explain, hence my never doing so. Sigh. 

I get jealous when I see people on social media out and about enjoying life. But it's not typical jealousy in the same way someone else might be jealous. It's jealously of other people's apparent lack of anxiety (and dizziness and anxiety about dizziness...). This is something that permeates every single thing that I do almost every day, so I crack the sads now and again and do that poor little me sooky la la thing. 

But at the same time, I can take pleasure in simple things. I don't necessarily need to be out and about and on the go all the time. Just last Saturday night I was sitting in my living room with all my mismatched, secondhand furniture, feeling quite contented with my Christmas trees twinkling at me, my cuppa tea, and my hard cover Jane Austen three-in-one I bought for two bucks fifty at the Sal's (op shop). Pride & Prejudice/Mansfield Park/Persuasion for any Austenphiles playing along. 

Yeah, so that's me. Eccentric. 

And just to continue the eccentricity I am also linking this up for Life This Week and Open Slather because I won't get around to writing something else because I have to have a blood test in the morning and go shopping and it's nearly Christmas and I'm rambling and I seem to have forgotten what punctuation is and.... 

That's enough from me. 

What about you?

What makes you eccentric? 

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Taking Stock - September Edition

Making: You know what? I don't really make things, unless you count breakfast, lunch and dinner. And even then it's often toast. 

Cooking: Dinner. See above. What exciting and delectable delights have I concocted of late? Um. Yeah, just the toast thing. 

Drinking: My usual cups of tea. Sometimes I mix it up and have coffee. But mostly tea. Also GALLONS of water because I'm just getting over a cold. 

Reading: Just finished a novel I borrowed from the library called Beside Myself by Ann Morgan. It was SO GOOD. Now I'm having trouble letting it go and moving on to another book. What am gonna DO??? *starts reading ten other books* 

Trawling: Through all the mess and dust and cobwebs. Related: I began cleaning the other day and thought I was making good progress until I paused to put on my glasses so I could actually see properly. Big mistake. 

Wanting: New clothes. I hate all my clothes. 

Looking: Mournfully into my wardrobe and sighing. See above. 

Deciding: I don't know anything about everything in the whole entire world ever. Also, I can't make decisions. So, I can't decide what I'm deciding. I've decided.

Wishing: That I could afford an entire wardrobe of new clothes. Because I hate my clothes. Did I mention that? 

Enjoying: Oh! I actually started bullet journaling and I'm ENJOYING it. I suspected it'd be more like bullshit journaling to scatty old me. But blow me down and woosh me all the way back to ancient Egypt if I didn't surprise myself by liking it. I mean, I'm still a hot mess, but I have a pretty book and pens with lists and symbols and shit in it, so that's something. 

Waiting: For the wheels to fall off  my bullet journal experiment. Metaphorically speaking. It doesn't actually have wheels. 

Liking: Bullet-journaling! See above. 

Wondering: The first thing that came to mind was the Wombles theme song... I wondered how it went. Haven't heard it for YEARS. I thought it said something about wondering wombles or wombles are wondering... Or something. Anyway, I was wrong. But at least I get the important issues resolved. You're welcome. 

Loving: The sunshiney spring weather. I want it to linger before the seventh circle of hell that is summer arrives. 

Pondering: How long it will take to get the Wombles theme song out of my head... 

Listening: To the voices in my head. It's chatty up there. Too bad that never translates to real life situations. Oh,well. Meh. 

Considering: Having a go at NaNoWriMo. Starting a strenght-training routine like I did YEARS ago. Doing yoga (also been years...) . Meditating. Failing yet another attempt at becoming veggo. Just considering all this, mind you. Probably never do any of it. Except the failing thing. I can manage that. 

Buying: I totally SPLURGED the other day and bought a two dollar shirt and journal in KMart. I know! What am I like? SO frivolous. 

Watching: Ummm. Offspring (finished now). The Wrong Girl and Pulse. Also, SBS Insight... And other random shit. 

Hoping: That we might be able to go on one of our glamorous holidays some time in the future. Denman, here we come! Don't ask...

Marvelling: At the juxtaposition of how complicated yet boring as batshit life can be. 

Cringing: At my weight that is creeping up and up and up.... eeeeek...

Needing: To lose weight. Sigh.

Questioning: Why I can't just buy all the clothes. I REALLY hate my clothes.

Smelling: My signature dish: Toast.

Wearing: Revolting clothes that I HATE. Also, more clothes that I hate. And then I have to wear clothes that utterly repulse me. Yeah. Cause I hate my clothes. 

Noticing: I'm pretty sure I hate my clothes. 

Knowing: Yep. HATE. MY. CLOTHES. 

Thinking: About all the clothes I would buy, but then I'd probably just hate them too.

Admiring: Other people's clothes. 

Getting: Well, I'm certainly not getting any clothes. Sniff. 

Disliking: Do I really have to answer that? Okay, then. Books with dumb or disappointing endings. There! Tricked you! You thought I was I gonna say my clothes! So ner.

Opening: Books. I still love a good old-fashioned paper book.

Closing: My wardrobe doors. It's too utterly devastating and soul-destroying to look at the ATROCITIES in there. Now would be a good time to Konmari the f@*k out of my wardrobe. None of my clothes 'spark joy'. But then I would have to walk about naked and nobody wants that. 

Feeling: Fat. Also, like I want to eat all the chocolate. Is it possible the two are related? Hmmmm...

Celebrating: My yearly mammogram results were ALL GOOD! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Pretending: That the washing up will do itself if I wait long enough. I don't think it's gonna work. Sigh. 

Embracing: Bullet-journaling, clothes-hating. My children. Well, Mr 8 - the other boys are less huggy these days. It happens.

Done! That's my stock-taking for September.

What are you celebrating in the month of September? 

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