Out of the frying pan and...

Gossip needn't be false to be evil - there's a lot of truth that shouldn't be passed around. ~Frank A. Clark

First things first. Please visit Heidi, a sweet blogging sister, who has a heart for others & a houseful of littlies & wants a little help with a competition she is entering. If you can help out at all I know she will be more than delighted & it won't take more than a few minutes of your time. Please leave a comment for her encouragement.

You'd never believe Autumn started 5 days ago. It is so stinking hot out here! Yesterday Ditz & I wilted climbing the big hill up to the school for Ditz's flute lesson. And this is so interesting! Well it's interesting if you have a trivial mind, as I do. Ditz's grade 4 books have arrived so the lesson was spent looking at the set pieces & these are lovely! Michel Blavet's Giga; Gordon Jacob's Cradle Song & a traditional Chinese song arranged by Howard Hanson. This last was super. Even Ditz likes it. The best part is the spitting. Yes, I know it sounds disgusting; flute is disgusting but spit is what Ditz has to do, more or less... sort of. Hmmm. Let's see, you blow but don't sound the note while hitting the keys. It makes a really odd sound that completely charmed Ditz. Now what charmed me is not the spitting, which is totally disgusting, but I got Ditz to show me the score & the spitting passages turn all the notes to xxxx's on sticks! How cool is that? Seriously. They tell you when to spit. They even have a symbol for it! I really do have a trivial mind but this has just totally charmed me. Jan is pleased with Ditz too & it is always a good thing to please Jan.

Then we headed overseas for choir. Choir always gives me adrenalin rushes I don't need & panic attacks & general meltdowns. Last night was no exception. We are still feeling the rumbling reverberations from The QPAC row which would be fine only that row is going to cost me money. I shouldn't complain. It was costing me money any way.

When Ditz joined this choir last year amongst the long list of requirements was her own make~up supplies. I dutifully bought Ditz the bare minimum & as I replaced it got her non~allergenic stuff because my beautiful Ditz has a red head's creamy skin with delicate honey freckles across her cheekbones & like her mother make~up gives her itches & rashes & general allergies. Ditz was going through a fair bit of make~up because most of the other kids either didn't have their own or didn't bother to bring it. Enter The Row. Result, make~up kits from VM will be mandatory this year & they won't be cheap. I have to replace a roll of hair ribbon because no~one ever brought their ribbon & bobby pins ditto & hair spray....the list goes on & on.

Alison, understandably, is huge on presentation & the first gig of the year, which is this month sometime, is for the Firebirds, the national netball team.

Before we get there we have to replace most of Ditz's uniform. The polo got so small & tight I was embarrassed & had been asking for months if we could order a new one. The shirt was never right & she has outgrown the pants. The sad part is the child has enormous feet & hands so there is no way she has finished growing yet & I am liable to have to do this again in the not so distant future.

Last night the kids were popping in & out to be fitted for uniforms but the sizes are so odd & the kids' shapes so odd there was no hope of a fast reconciliation! We were running so overtime I thought we might miss our boat & didn't have time to feed & water Ditz. She was ravenous when we got home & Liddy was cross because she'd spent the evening trying to get Iss to play with her & all he'd do was mope but as soon as I walked in the door he romped round like a mad thing tying himself in knots. My kitty loves me!