Thank you strangederby2 for the excellent vege sushi for tea.  It deserves it's own post.

Meh,another meme infection.

For the record I don't like operatic sopranos, adore Dorothy L Sayers and Ursula Le Guin, and have a low level guilty liking for Georgette Heyer


Based on the lj interests lists of those who share my more unusual interests, the interests suggestion meme thinks I might be interested in
1. maria callas score: 4
2. beverly sills score: 3
3. joan sutherland score: 3
4. the culture score: 3
5. birgit nilsson score: 3
6. dorothy sayers score: 3
7. georgette heyer score: 3
8. donizetti score: 3
9. richard strauss score: 3
10. jessye norman score: 3
11. c s lewis score: 3
12. p g wodehouse score: 2
13. noel streatfeild score: 2
14. astrid varnay score: 2
15. anna moffo score: 2
16. ursula le guin score: 2
17. nalo hopkinson score: 2
18. steeleye span score: 2
19. avram davidson score: 2
20. nicolai gedda score: 2

Type your username here to find out what interests it suggests for you.
Popularity Ceiling: (Please be patient!)

changed by ouwiyaru based on code by ixwin
Find out more

I admit it,

I am not a logically consistent pacifist, I like big fast war machines.

Minorviolence and I are going to see the planes at Farnborough next weekend.  And while I hope he is absorbing the message that killing people is bad, I know I am also passing onto him the idea that fast warplanes are admirable.

strangederby2 and I have returned from the former colony.  Once I have recovered from the jetlag I will probably make a longer post, but for now.....

Pasadena-outdoor swiming pool, botanical garden, Minorviolence playing for longer with Cosima than I've seen him play peacefully with any other kid
Morro Bay-suprisingly liberal taxi driver, sea otters, enormous sea anenomes
San Francisco-cable cars, old trams, aquarium with tunnels, Golden Gate Park
Austin-cool cinema, hot weather, thunderstorms, beer

Many thanks to the_sybil and drcosmos for their hospitality in California, and to cydergoth for making us welcome in Texas.  It was wonderful to see old friends again.

Minorviolence is, thanks to cydergoth, telling everyone about visiting the rocket museum (Houston Space Centre). 

Me to Minorviolence "Don't poke people with your lightsaber"
Parent of the child that was at the pointy end of the aforementioned weapon "No, because you don't get an impale with a lightsaber, technically it counts as a bludgeon."

Japanese railway staff work 24 hour shifts (with a 5 hour sleep break when the railway is closed at night).

I can see the advantages of this...no shift work to mess up your sleep patterns.

Minorviolence "Can I have a computer in my room?"
Me "Why?"
Minorviolence "So I can watch things on it"
Me andstrangederby2 in stereo "No"

Naming Meme

It expands further

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
cut

2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
pushchair

3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
tiffin carrier

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in
my mother's kitchen (we're vegi/vegan at home)

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
sofa

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
drainpipe

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
pub

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
soft drink

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
pancake

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
baguette

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.
swimming trunks

12. Shoes worn for sports.
trainers

13. Putting a room in order.
tidying up

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
glowworm

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
pillbug

16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
see-saw

17. How do you eat your pizza?
by hand.

18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
car boot sale?

19. What's the evening meal?
tea if its bread and cold stuff, dinner if it's the main meal of the day, supper if it's a hot snack after the kid is asleep

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
cellar (I dream of having a cellar with machine tools in)

21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
water fountain

added by absinthecity

22. A chair on wheels used to transport toddlers and young children?
pushchair

23. A garment worn by women for swimming?
swimming costume

24. Thing that you use to unblock your sink drain?
plunger

25. The place you go when nature calls
loo

26. Adhesive tape you use for wrapping presents?
sellotape

added by the_sybil

27. Washing crockery and cutlery
washing up

28. Toddler cup with lid and spout
trainer cup

29. Baby's bed
cot

30. Small items of food with high sugar content eaten for pleasure
dates (I've never been keen on sugary snacks, give me more crisps)

added by drcosmos

31. The small orange fruit often used as a stocking filler at Xmas
tangerine

32. The container into which you put refuse
compost heat

33. When food is cooked outdoors over an open flame
campfire

added by titaniccapybara

34. The piece of cloth laid on the lap while eating a formal meal
napkin

35. The room where #5 (and possibly other comfortable seats) is found, possibly also a coffee table?
sitting room

36. The sweet course eaten after the main course of a multi-course meal
pudding

added by me

37. A small loaf of bread, usually served split and filled, eg with chips
Cob

38.
Railway vehicle
Car (designated as power,trailer, freight as appropriate)

I am very pleased to have finished this. I reknitted it from a very big, baggy, second hand cardigan.

Some pictures of things I've knitted/crocheted

scarf knitted as Christmas present (one of three)


crocheted shoulderbag

Strangederby has finally accompanied me to see the Blue Horses. (folk tunes you can headbang to). An excellent night out.

I have just been asked by minorviolence
"Do you love Cthulhu? Daddy loves Cthulhu."

1) Minorviolence and two young friends have won a "design a rocket" competition at the local theatre with a fairly impressive 5 foot long model. I have misgivings about the awarding of the prize, since, in addition to the boys' work the build was project and engineering managed by two mothers who are CEngs.


2) Worrying statements from Minorviolence, while playing, "You be the shark with a gun!", and later, "I'm going to shoot all the person bits of you and make you into a robot." I think he may have surreptitously learned to read and started going through the less edifying areas of our bookshelves.

Strangederby is suffering withdrawal symptoms. Our big PC is broken, so he can't play Bioshock

So where do 30 something mums go for loud music and alcohol?
A colleague and I went to a metal/punk night at a local club on Friday, good music, good crowd....but....everyone there was young enough to legally be our children, and we left early, feeling ancient.

I've decided to start keeping a record of everything I knit, so here is a pic of me wearing the top I've just finished. It's all in garter stitch, knitted without a pattern. The back is a rectangle and the front is two triangles which cross over and tie at the back. The crochet on the sleeves is there because they were too narrow when completed and it was easier to crochet to fill the space than reknit them, but I like the effect.

The picture was taken at Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival, where I have just spent an enjoyable weekend (and moved further towards atheism).

Some people's children make incisive comments which trigger off heated philosophical discussions;

I get the following conversation:

"Mummy, you're naughty, you flushed a spider down the toilet"

"No I didn't, I always throw spiders out of the window"

"You're naughty, you threw a toilet with a spider in it out of the window", followed by maniacal laughter.

Following dr_cosmos

Link: The Greek Mythology Personality Test written by Aleph_Nine on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

I am worried

And there weren't even any questions about the TOPS classification of UK mainline rolling stock....but I think the score was skewed by me using strangederby's high spec PC and answering questions accordingly.