My house is a mess
It causes me stress
But not quite enough
To clean up, I confess.
I try, I do -
I know you do too -
But all I can manage
Is limit the zoo
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
May 9, 2017
Nov 25, 2016
Living in a Modernist House
I recently caught up with a great two-episode series on the ABC called Streets of Your Town, about suburban architecture in Australia. It's worth a look - you can catch it here until 30 November.
Watching this, I suddenly recognised the first home I remember living in. It was a brick box with sloping roof, exposed beams and bricks, floor to ceiling windows, a split level ground floor and an open staircase, all nestled in a native garden and surrounded with a ti-tree fence. Tick tick tick - all of these are features beloved of the modernist architects of the time.
We have always remembered this house as an oddity - weirdly designed, a menace to small children, plagued with hunstman spiders thanks to being nestled in that native garden. But now I realise it was actually a modernist masterpiece!
Watching this, I suddenly recognised the first home I remember living in. It was a brick box with sloping roof, exposed beams and bricks, floor to ceiling windows, a split level ground floor and an open staircase, all nestled in a native garden and surrounded with a ti-tree fence. Tick tick tick - all of these are features beloved of the modernist architects of the time.
We have always remembered this house as an oddity - weirdly designed, a menace to small children, plagued with hunstman spiders thanks to being nestled in that native garden. But now I realise it was actually a modernist masterpiece!
May 3, 2015
Still here
I'm still here.
I will post something again, but life is busy and changing, my kids are getting older and I can't really blog about them anymore, and work is getting exciting, and so things are a bit different. All in a good way. Life is good.
In lieu of a proper post, here is a quick list of how I've been spending my time. Ciao for now!
RE-ARRANGING FURNITURE
COMMUTING
COOKING
GODDAMN LAUNDRY
KIDS AND THEIR FRIENDS
SWIMMING (a little bit)
DOG
LATE NIGHT STUDYING
NECESSARY PRODUCTIVITY BREAKS / FURTHER BRAIN TRAINING
NETFLIX
I will post something again, but life is busy and changing, my kids are getting older and I can't really blog about them anymore, and work is getting exciting, and so things are a bit different. All in a good way. Life is good.
In lieu of a proper post, here is a quick list of how I've been spending my time. Ciao for now!
CLEANING
DECLUTTERING
RE-ARRANGING FURNITURE
COMMUTING
WORKING
COOKING
GODDAMN LAUNDRY
KIDS AND THEIR FRIENDS
SWIMMING (a little bit)
DOG
LATE NIGHT STUDYING
NECESSARY PRODUCTIVITY BREAKS / FURTHER BRAIN TRAINING
NETFLIX
Dec 24, 2014
The Christmas Meme
My friend Pandora does at least one questionnaire meme on her blog a week, which is a good idea. It means she rarely goes a week without a post, and questionnaires on blogs are often a good read. We do love to read about each other's interests, opinions and foibles, don't we?
She has just done The Christmas Meme - which surprised me, knowing Pandora is not a HUGE Christmassy person... but a quick read reassured me that no, she hadn't had a commercial Christmas epiphany, and all was still right with the world.
I liked the questions, so I thought I would give it a go. Plus, obviously, it's a good day for a Christmas Meme post.
1. Do you send Christmas cards?
Not any more. I stopped about three years ago. But I do feel a twinge of guilt for every card I get in the mail (which is not many - hardly anyone sends them anymore).
The Cranky Old Man has a good post about the slow demise of Christmas cards.
2. How soon do you start shopping?:
October for the kids, November for everyone else. I try to be done by mid-December. Try.
3. Who do you shop for?:
My kids, husband and myself (our gift to each other - usually a token or something we need). My nephew and niece, and my cousins' kids. And a small gift like jellybeans or chocolates that the kids give their grandparents. Well, not "like". It is always jellybeans and chocolates.
4. Do you put up a Christmas tree?:
Yes.
5. If so, is it fake or real?:
Fake. I love the real ones, and I always vow to get one...next year.
6. Do you like tinsel?:
I LOVE tinsel.
7. Do you use homemade or store bought ornaments?:
Mostly store-bought, but with kids you naturally get a few homemade ones too. My mum still hangs the ones my sister and I made as kids on her tree.
8. Do you put Christmas lights outside your house?:
I do! Nothing fancy, just some solar lights along the front garden path, and a string of lights hung from over the porch.
9. Do you put lights on the tree?:
I do - but it took me a long time to come around to it, as I was always morbidly afraid of lights catching fire. I'm still a BIT afraid - I don't have the lights on very often or very long.
10. How about popcorn and cranberries?:
No and I've never heard of doing that either.
11. Is there a wreath hanging on your door?:
Mais oui.
13. Do you hang up your stocking?:
No stockings for grown-ups.
14. Does your family read "Twas the night before Christmas?":
Not as a tradition, but it gets recited sometimes. My kids prefer the Aussie version which I don't love, but whatever - it's all Christmas!
15. Christmas Movie?:
There aren't really any Christmas movies that I love. I have to turn off Twitter when people start live-tweeting Love Actually. I remember finding Jingle All the Way very funny years ago, but I'm sure it is dated and unfunny now. As is Deck The Halls which we just watched last night.
16. Character from any Christmas Movie:
Tom Hanks' conductor in The Polar Express.
17. Christmas Song:
Silent Night is my favourite because it's so beautiful.
The Little Drummer Boy for the sense of shared community - it's naff but I've always loved it.
And for fun, The Twelve Days of Christmas.
18. Christmas Memory:
Best ever: when we were kids we had a few Christmases at my grandparents down at Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula, with our aunts and uncles and cousins, and it was just so much fun. We kids all slept in fold-out beds in the car port - it was perfectly secure, it had canvas sides and a zip-up door (!) - while our parents drank and talked and laughed till late.
On the alternate years, we drove up to the NSW Central Coast to stay with my other grandparents. Those Christmases were a bit more low key but I still have great memories of them as I loved my grandparents and their house, and the semi-rural idyllic spot they lived in (as it was then).
19. Give or Receive?:
Give, of course.
22. Ham or Turkey?:
We don't do turkey anymore but my Dad used to barbecue it over coals and it was fantastic. We still do ham, and I love thick slices of ham off the bone on toast for breakfast on Boxing Day, and every day thereafter until depleted.
24. White Lights or Colored Lights?
Why not both?
25. Blinking Lights or Still Lights?:
Still, definitely still. A couple of times I've set my lights to blinking and felt like I was going to have a seizure. They make you very dizzy.
26. Were you Naughty or Nice this year?:
I was not naughty, but I was not very nice. I was a bit crabby this year.
27. What do you want for Christmas this year?:
I wanted a Fitbit, but then I had a brainwave. The kids are getting bikes this year and they are cheaper than Fitbits. In January I'm going to get a bike each for me and Y. Looking forward to it.
28. When do you open your gifts?:
Christmas morning.
29. What's the best gift you've ever gotten?:
My bike when I was a kid. So exciting. Independence!
30. What's the worst gift you've ever gotten?:
I can't recall. One of my aunts was eccentric and she used to give us weird things she picked up cheap from markets. Sometimes they were great - like one year when she gave me a little yellow transistor radio. Other years they weren't so great. I can't remember the gifts themselves, but I do remember opening something and thinking 'huh?' a couple of times.
31. Who gives you the most gifts?:
Look, we cut out gifts for grown-ups in our extended family a few years back, and it was such a relief. We don't need anything, and we don't waste time, stress and money buying each other things we don't want. I am happy not receiving more than one or two gifts at Christmas these days.
32. Have you ever had a secret Santa?:
We've done Kris Kringle at work in the past. It fell away a few years ago, and no one really wants it back I don't think.
33. Do you like wrapping gifts?:
I do! I'm a very good gift wrapper. Give me any shaped item, I can do it!
34. Do you put change in those red buckets?:
I always have, but I admit since the institutional child abuse horrors have come to light there are certain organisations which I decided this year will never receive a penny from me again, so I have stopped dropping coins in certain red buckets (I know, that's depriving the needy based on my own outrage - I don't feel sure about it). But every year I give to The Smith Family and I buy a few toys or gifts for the Kmart Wishing Tree or the ABC Tree.
35. Do you burn a yule log?:
Burn a what now?
36. Can you name all the reindeer?:
Dasher, Dancer, Donna, Blitzen.... Prancer....
Rudolf!
37. Do you bake cookies?:
Not for Christmas, but other times yes.
38. Have you ever seen your mommy kissing Santa Claus?:
Nooooo.
39. Have you ever gotten a kiss under the mistletoe?:
No mistletoe ever encountered.
41. Do you drive around and look at the Christmas lights?:
Okay, yes we do. But only in our local area. We have a few houses here that do a LOT of lights. I can't get a good photo, unfortunately.
42. Have you ever left Santa cookies?:
Right up until this year.
43. Have you ever sat on Santa's lap?:
As a CHILD, yes.
44. Who do you celebrate Christmas with?:
Family.
45. Where do you celebrate Christmas?:
Usually lately it's been at my sister's house. As my brother-in-law is one of seven kids, he always hosts for his extended family, and they have included us all in that.
46. Have you ever had a white Christmas?:
I've had one proper white Christmas in Boston as a teenager which was amazing. Every lovely White Christmas visual and experience, all come vividly to life. And we had snow in London on New Year's Eve once during my two years there. And... do the TWO times we got hail on Christmas Day here in Melbourne count?
47. What part of Christmas do you look most forward to?:
Meeting up with extended family in the evening. It's getting to be the only time I see my cousins, which is a pity.
48. Have you ever had your picture taken with Santa?:
As a CHILD, yes.
She has just done The Christmas Meme - which surprised me, knowing Pandora is not a HUGE Christmassy person... but a quick read reassured me that no, she hadn't had a commercial Christmas epiphany, and all was still right with the world.
I liked the questions, so I thought I would give it a go. Plus, obviously, it's a good day for a Christmas Meme post.
1. Do you send Christmas cards?
Not any more. I stopped about three years ago. But I do feel a twinge of guilt for every card I get in the mail (which is not many - hardly anyone sends them anymore).
The Cranky Old Man has a good post about the slow demise of Christmas cards.
2. How soon do you start shopping?:
October for the kids, November for everyone else. I try to be done by mid-December. Try.
3. Who do you shop for?:
My kids, husband and myself (our gift to each other - usually a token or something we need). My nephew and niece, and my cousins' kids. And a small gift like jellybeans or chocolates that the kids give their grandparents. Well, not "like". It is always jellybeans and chocolates.
4. Do you put up a Christmas tree?:
Yes.
5. If so, is it fake or real?:
Fake. I love the real ones, and I always vow to get one...next year.
6. Do you like tinsel?:
I LOVE tinsel.
7. Do you use homemade or store bought ornaments?:
Mostly store-bought, but with kids you naturally get a few homemade ones too. My mum still hangs the ones my sister and I made as kids on her tree.
8. Do you put Christmas lights outside your house?:
I do! Nothing fancy, just some solar lights along the front garden path, and a string of lights hung from over the porch.
9. Do you put lights on the tree?:
I do - but it took me a long time to come around to it, as I was always morbidly afraid of lights catching fire. I'm still a BIT afraid - I don't have the lights on very often or very long.
10. How about popcorn and cranberries?:
No and I've never heard of doing that either.
11. Is there a wreath hanging on your door?:
Mais oui.
13. Do you hang up your stocking?:
No stockings for grown-ups.
14. Does your family read "Twas the night before Christmas?":
Not as a tradition, but it gets recited sometimes. My kids prefer the Aussie version which I don't love, but whatever - it's all Christmas!
15. Christmas Movie?:
There aren't really any Christmas movies that I love. I have to turn off Twitter when people start live-tweeting Love Actually. I remember finding Jingle All the Way very funny years ago, but I'm sure it is dated and unfunny now. As is Deck The Halls which we just watched last night.
16. Character from any Christmas Movie:
Tom Hanks' conductor in The Polar Express.
17. Christmas Song:
Silent Night is my favourite because it's so beautiful.
The Little Drummer Boy for the sense of shared community - it's naff but I've always loved it.
And for fun, The Twelve Days of Christmas.
18. Christmas Memory:
Best ever: when we were kids we had a few Christmases at my grandparents down at Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula, with our aunts and uncles and cousins, and it was just so much fun. We kids all slept in fold-out beds in the car port - it was perfectly secure, it had canvas sides and a zip-up door (!) - while our parents drank and talked and laughed till late.
On the alternate years, we drove up to the NSW Central Coast to stay with my other grandparents. Those Christmases were a bit more low key but I still have great memories of them as I loved my grandparents and their house, and the semi-rural idyllic spot they lived in (as it was then).
19. Give or Receive?:
Give, of course.
22. Ham or Turkey?:
We don't do turkey anymore but my Dad used to barbecue it over coals and it was fantastic. We still do ham, and I love thick slices of ham off the bone on toast for breakfast on Boxing Day, and every day thereafter until depleted.
24. White Lights or Colored Lights?
Why not both?
25. Blinking Lights or Still Lights?:
Still, definitely still. A couple of times I've set my lights to blinking and felt like I was going to have a seizure. They make you very dizzy.
26. Were you Naughty or Nice this year?:
I was not naughty, but I was not very nice. I was a bit crabby this year.
27. What do you want for Christmas this year?:
I wanted a Fitbit, but then I had a brainwave. The kids are getting bikes this year and they are cheaper than Fitbits. In January I'm going to get a bike each for me and Y. Looking forward to it.
28. When do you open your gifts?:
Christmas morning.
29. What's the best gift you've ever gotten?:
My bike when I was a kid. So exciting. Independence!
30. What's the worst gift you've ever gotten?:
I can't recall. One of my aunts was eccentric and she used to give us weird things she picked up cheap from markets. Sometimes they were great - like one year when she gave me a little yellow transistor radio. Other years they weren't so great. I can't remember the gifts themselves, but I do remember opening something and thinking 'huh?' a couple of times.
31. Who gives you the most gifts?:
Look, we cut out gifts for grown-ups in our extended family a few years back, and it was such a relief. We don't need anything, and we don't waste time, stress and money buying each other things we don't want. I am happy not receiving more than one or two gifts at Christmas these days.
32. Have you ever had a secret Santa?:
We've done Kris Kringle at work in the past. It fell away a few years ago, and no one really wants it back I don't think.
33. Do you like wrapping gifts?:
I do! I'm a very good gift wrapper. Give me any shaped item, I can do it!
34. Do you put change in those red buckets?:
I always have, but I admit since the institutional child abuse horrors have come to light there are certain organisations which I decided this year will never receive a penny from me again, so I have stopped dropping coins in certain red buckets (I know, that's depriving the needy based on my own outrage - I don't feel sure about it). But every year I give to The Smith Family and I buy a few toys or gifts for the Kmart Wishing Tree or the ABC Tree.
35. Do you burn a yule log?:
Burn a what now?
36. Can you name all the reindeer?:
Dasher, Dancer, Donna, Blitzen.... Prancer....
Rudolf!
37. Do you bake cookies?:
Not for Christmas, but other times yes.
38. Have you ever seen your mommy kissing Santa Claus?:
Nooooo.
39. Have you ever gotten a kiss under the mistletoe?:
No mistletoe ever encountered.
41. Do you drive around and look at the Christmas lights?:
Okay, yes we do. But only in our local area. We have a few houses here that do a LOT of lights. I can't get a good photo, unfortunately.
42. Have you ever left Santa cookies?:
Right up until this year.
43. Have you ever sat on Santa's lap?:
As a CHILD, yes.
44. Who do you celebrate Christmas with?:
Family.
45. Where do you celebrate Christmas?:
Usually lately it's been at my sister's house. As my brother-in-law is one of seven kids, he always hosts for his extended family, and they have included us all in that.
46. Have you ever had a white Christmas?:
I've had one proper white Christmas in Boston as a teenager which was amazing. Every lovely White Christmas visual and experience, all come vividly to life. And we had snow in London on New Year's Eve once during my two years there. And... do the TWO times we got hail on Christmas Day here in Melbourne count?
 |
| 2011 |
 |
| 2006 |
 |
| 2006 |
47. What part of Christmas do you look most forward to?:
Meeting up with extended family in the evening. It's getting to be the only time I see my cousins, which is a pity.
48. Have you ever had your picture taken with Santa?:
As a CHILD, yes.
Merry Christmas everyone!
 |
| Kevin Dooley/Flickr CC |
Sep 28, 2014
Sunday Selections: Phillip Island
I think it's about time I did another Sunday Selections post.
Sunday Selections is a weekly meme hosted by River at Drifting Through Life.
The rules are very simple:-
1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title
2. link back to River somewhere in your post
3. leave a comment on River's post and visit some of the others who have posted and commented
You may recall my car was written off in an accident about a month ago. Well, two weeks ago, we bought our replacement: a 2010 Honda CR-V. We were on the hunt for a RAV4, but fell in love with this one instead and bought it the day we saw it. We got it at a fair price, which is to say market value. We're not good at price negotiation, but we bought it from a dealer and I do believe they always sell you at the price they intended anyway. At least these days with online markets and so much information about used car values and shopping out there, the prices are fair.
It comes with a hefty loan of course, but I do love my new car.
So last weekend, Y had a rare full day and night off work and we decided to take the car for a spin to Phillip Island.
We hadn't been there in years, though once upon a time Y and I used to drive down there quite often.
We had lunch at a pizza cafe in Cowes, then drove round to the Nobbies to see the seal centre, and to the penguin area to watch the parade.
You can't take photos of the penguin parade, so I don't have any pictures of that, unfortunately. But there is an app you can download with lots of pictures and information in it, which is very good. There are also some great pictures at the Phillip Island site here.
So these photos are all of The Nobbies, looking out over the sea or to Seal Rocks.
All a bit samey, but lovely anyway.
The kids loved the whole place but especially, of course, the penguins. It is truly fantastic, and quite moving too, to see the little penguins tumble out of the waves, huddle hesitantly at the beach under the soft lights, and then make their (surprisingly fast) waddling trek up the dunes to their burrows.
The best part is walking back up the boardwalks and passing the little penguins on the way. Some of them zoom straight to their burrows, some take their time and seem to enjoy the commune with other penguins on the way. Some sit and stare up at the people staring down at them. A pair we saw obviously had gone the wrong way, or too far, and were waddling back towards the beach, looking around them and making little sounds and conferring with each other as they went, looking just like a couple who has forgotten where they parked their car.
They were still wandering around, not seemingly distressed and still stopping occasionally to trade low squawks with others heading up from the beach, when we finally left. It's such a treat of a thing to see - you just want to stay there all night.
But evenutally we made our way back to the carpark, and made the trip home, the kids happily snoozing in the back, Y relaxing in the passenger seat, and me enjoying the quiet drive home in the dark, in my awesome new car! (Last time I go on about it, I promise - but I had owned my last car for 9 years).
This Sunday, a less relaxing fate awaits. When Y gets home from work this afternoon, we are stupidly, regretfully, unbelievably... taking the kids to the Royal Melbourne Show. Ugh!
Dec 29, 2013
Sunday Selections #152
It's time for Sunday Selections!
Sunday Selections is a weekly meme hosted by River at Drifting Through Life.
This week's photos are another ode to "the beauty of everyday things".
1.
Where was this shot of beautiful pampas grass taken, do you think? By a beach, or in the country?
Would you believe on an embankment on the side of Dandenong Road near Malvern? I don't know if it is always there or has been temporarily left to run riot, but it is pretty big - a veritable field of gorgeousness right by the side of the busiest road in the suburb. And I'd never noticed it before. I was happy when we got a red light so I could take this photo.
2.
Here is a "shell sculpture" my kids made today. Isn't it lovely?
They also tried to con me into paying them $2 each to see it. Nice try kids.
3.
Someone was very relaxed yesterday.
4.
It's still Jacaranda season. Here is a set of images from our backyard.
One of the best things about our house is the backyard. It's not huge, and it's unkempt, but I love it. It is a little patch of green (and purple!) relaxation.
How was YOUR week?
Sunday Selections is a weekly meme hosted by River at Drifting Through Life.
The rules are very simple:-
1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title
2. link back to River somewhere in your post
3. leave a comment on River's post and visit some of the others who have posted and commented: for example:
Andrew at High Riser
Gillie at Random Thoughts From Abroad
This week's photos are another ode to "the beauty of everyday things".
1.
Where was this shot of beautiful pampas grass taken, do you think? By a beach, or in the country?
Would you believe on an embankment on the side of Dandenong Road near Malvern? I don't know if it is always there or has been temporarily left to run riot, but it is pretty big - a veritable field of gorgeousness right by the side of the busiest road in the suburb. And I'd never noticed it before. I was happy when we got a red light so I could take this photo.
2.
Here is a "shell sculpture" my kids made today. Isn't it lovely?
They also tried to con me into paying them $2 each to see it. Nice try kids.
3.
Someone was very relaxed yesterday.
4.
It's still Jacaranda season. Here is a set of images from our backyard.
One of the best things about our house is the backyard. It's not huge, and it's unkempt, but I love it. It is a little patch of green (and purple!) relaxation.
How was YOUR week?
Oct 2, 2013
Family Affirmations
Good friends of ours recently adopted a child, and are applying their endless love, energy and strength to the process of building their family. They are the most wonderful, deserving parents ever and they are doing a magnificent job enfolding their beloved and lovely son into their lives.
It's been hard, at times, of course, for all three of them. But what you feel coming off them all, in waves, is love and determination.
My friend is making a family affirmations list, which she will make into a large poster or artwork in their house. She is still working on it, but she posted her first draft on Facebook the other day and I found it so moving I asked her if I could post it here.
Now that's a family on the right track.
It's been hard, at times, of course, for all three of them. But what you feel coming off them all, in waves, is love and determination.
My friend is making a family affirmations list, which she will make into a large poster or artwork in their house. She is still working on it, but she posted her first draft on Facebook the other day and I found it so moving I asked her if I could post it here.
In this family:
We do real
We do mistakes
We do I’m sorry
We do second chances
We do fun
We do crazy
We do laugh
We do rest
We do help
We do care
We do dreams
We do prayer
We do respect
We do polite manners
We do hugs
We do forgiveness
We do gratitude
We do honesty
We do bravery
We do really loud
We do our best
We do family
We do love
Now that's a family on the right track.
 |
| IngridTaylar/Flickr Creative Commons |
Sep 12, 2013
Farewell to Cal Worthington, and his dog Spot
This week Cal Worthington died aged 92.
For non-US readers, Cal Worthington was the used car salesman who came to epitomise both used car salesmen and the type of funny/annoying, hard-sell, earworm-jingle TV ads that he did so well.
When I was nine my family moved to Los Angeles and I vividly remember Cal Worthington. He was all over the TV all the time. I am sure he was extremely annoying, but to kids (and probably my America-besotted dad) he was fantastic. I still remember my dad calling us over to the TV when we had only just settled in LA and saying "You've got to see this guy, come and look at this!"
Australian TV ads in the 70s could be strident ("From K-Tel, record $3.99, cassette $4.99!"), but we had never seen anything like this before.
The ads started with a booming voice-over: "Here's Cal Worthington....and his dog Spot!", as Cal jogged through his car lot wearing a cowboy hat and suit and leading an exotic animal on a leash (or on roller skates, or in a sidecar). It was a different animal every time; once he even rode an elephant.
Quite rightly animal protection laws would not allow such ads these days.
The ads were also often LONG and would itemise tens of cars and deals, with Cal's sales patter throughout ("I will stand on my head till my ears turn red, to make a deal"). There was often a give-away such as steak dinners, or kids' toys, or random crap like "this umbrella hat you can wear on your head", on offer whether or not you bought a car (but I wonder how many people got away without buying a car?!) At the time we were there (1979-1981), there were similar car dealer ads on TV, but Cal's were the best (or the worst!). I don't know whether others imitated him or if he was just part of a trend at the time, but whatever it was, he nailed it.
And the jingle.... I've had the jingle stuck in my head for the last two days:
It was impossible not to like him. He seemed so happy and good-natured, and there's something admirable about those super salesmen who will happily and regularly make themselves ridiculous for success.
He had quite an interesting life, as I've learned this week. He was also a quintessential American success story, rising from childhood poverty to a huge business that owned multiple car lots and properties and even a studio which produced all his ads. (I was surprised to read in the New York Times article where I learned of his death, that he recently said, "I never much liked the car business. I just kind of got trapped in it after the war. I didn’t have the skills to do anything else.")
He was also part of my childhood. In 1979 Australia was a very different place - not worldly and not acculturated to the US the way it is now. So when we arrived in the US it was honestly like a different world. There was little that was familiar, so that was hard adjusting - but at the same time we all loved the outgoing, relaxed and ultra-friendly style of the culture there. It's hard to convey now how fresh and different it all seemed.
Cal Worthington was one of the defining icons of my childhood America. (He shares this honour with Peter Popoff, Phil Donahue, Geraldo Rivera and John Davidson). He personified America to us.
Here is a tribute combination of a whole lot of his ads from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Rest in peace, Cal Worthington. My sister and I still love you!
Oh OK then, here are some more:
http://consumerist.com/2013/09/10/7-reasons-wacky-used-car-salesman-cal-worthington-will-never-be-forgotten/
http://www.mydogspot.com/video.htm
For non-US readers, Cal Worthington was the used car salesman who came to epitomise both used car salesmen and the type of funny/annoying, hard-sell, earworm-jingle TV ads that he did so well.
 |
| Cal Worthington image by Mntbloom / Wikimedia Commons |
When I was nine my family moved to Los Angeles and I vividly remember Cal Worthington. He was all over the TV all the time. I am sure he was extremely annoying, but to kids (and probably my America-besotted dad) he was fantastic. I still remember my dad calling us over to the TV when we had only just settled in LA and saying "You've got to see this guy, come and look at this!"
Australian TV ads in the 70s could be strident ("From K-Tel, record $3.99, cassette $4.99!"), but we had never seen anything like this before.
The ads started with a booming voice-over: "Here's Cal Worthington....and his dog Spot!", as Cal jogged through his car lot wearing a cowboy hat and suit and leading an exotic animal on a leash (or on roller skates, or in a sidecar). It was a different animal every time; once he even rode an elephant.
Quite rightly animal protection laws would not allow such ads these days.
The ads were also often LONG and would itemise tens of cars and deals, with Cal's sales patter throughout ("I will stand on my head till my ears turn red, to make a deal"). There was often a give-away such as steak dinners, or kids' toys, or random crap like "this umbrella hat you can wear on your head", on offer whether or not you bought a car (but I wonder how many people got away without buying a car?!) At the time we were there (1979-1981), there were similar car dealer ads on TV, but Cal's were the best (or the worst!). I don't know whether others imitated him or if he was just part of a trend at the time, but whatever it was, he nailed it.
And the jingle.... I've had the jingle stuck in my head for the last two days:
If you want to buy a car go see Cal
For the best deal by far go see Cal
If you want your payments slow
If you want to save some dough
Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal
He had quite an interesting life, as I've learned this week. He was also a quintessential American success story, rising from childhood poverty to a huge business that owned multiple car lots and properties and even a studio which produced all his ads. (I was surprised to read in the New York Times article where I learned of his death, that he recently said, "I never much liked the car business. I just kind of got trapped in it after the war. I didn’t have the skills to do anything else.")
He was also part of my childhood. In 1979 Australia was a very different place - not worldly and not acculturated to the US the way it is now. So when we arrived in the US it was honestly like a different world. There was little that was familiar, so that was hard adjusting - but at the same time we all loved the outgoing, relaxed and ultra-friendly style of the culture there. It's hard to convey now how fresh and different it all seemed.
Cal Worthington was one of the defining icons of my childhood America. (He shares this honour with Peter Popoff, Phil Donahue, Geraldo Rivera and John Davidson). He personified America to us.
Here is a tribute combination of a whole lot of his ads from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Rest in peace, Cal Worthington. My sister and I still love you!
Oh OK then, here are some more:
http://consumerist.com/2013/09/10/7-reasons-wacky-used-car-salesman-cal-worthington-will-never-be-forgotten/
http://www.mydogspot.com/video.htm
Aug 14, 2013
Spaghetti with love
When I met Y in Santorini many many years ago, he was working as a cook in a friend's restaurant. He used to make us pizza for lunch with feta, kaseri and cheddar cheese, oregano and spinach. In Thessaloniki he cooked us beautiful stews and soups and made wonderful salads - just as he does now. He always joked (but also meant it) that you had to put love in your cooking.
If I made a new dinner and it didn't turn out well, he would say, You forgot the love!
Tonight I'm making spaghetti bolognese, on request for M.
We don't eat spag bol very often, because A hates mince meat. In fact she is not keen on red meat at all, and never has been. When we have spaghetti she has hers plain with oil and cheese, and will not even try a mouthful of meat sauce, though every time I give her a bit in a separate bowl and hope that one day she will.
M loves spaghetti bolognaise.
Lately we've all been sick and M has been hit the hardest, with headaches and sick tummy coming and going. I kept her home one Monday, and then on the Tuesday after I did reading help in her class, I took her home with me again, just an hour into the school day.
We spent the day relaxing and chatting and she watched TV while I got on with some of the household admin that had lapsed while I'd been sick (do not leave an overdue electricity bill unattended for two weeks).
Since then she's been spending a lot of time in the sick bay and I know there's nothing really wrong; she is trying to get the school to call me to come and take her home. Her teacher confronted her gently and so did I, and last night she came clean and hugged me and cried and said she wanted to stay home with me again "just the two of us."
Over recent months A has had some iss-yoos, and we've been working through them and she's going well. But I always knew we ran the danger of neglecting our resilient, capable and confident M. She is so together and independent and mature that this is easily done. I am always mindful of it and I don't think we do neglect her at all - but I think she's been feeling a little squeezed out of the parental energy supply just lately.
Last night she asked me to make spaghetti bolognese, so tonight I am. We'll have it for dinner tomorrow.
You won't usually catch me cooking the night before Y's day off. His days off are my days off housework and cooking, yay!
But tonight I am cooking the best goddamn spaghetti bolognese I can make. I am cooking it slowly from fresh whole ingredients and minding it well as it simmers and reduces to just the right consistency and rich tomatoey goodness.
And it is FULL of love.
Aug 13, 2013
What we argue about
They say that couples argue most about money, children and housework, and that does sum up MOST of the arguments Y. and I have. But it does omit one category, and that is "important things that my husband forgets to put in the school bags or take to the school office on his day off."
I leave lunch boxes, drink bottles and school notices on the kitchen table, where Y and the girls will sit and eat breakfast (or will walk past on their way to before-school care). The lunchboxes are often sitting with the school jackets the kids put on before they walk out the door. Sometimes I put the school bags themselves on the table and the lunchboxes and drink bottles and school notices next to the bags. I put out the notices and non-lunch things the night before, and I say "PLEASE don't forget these," and he says "Okay". I get the lunches out of the fridge in the morning and put them on the table, and I wake him up and remind him again: "The lunches and drink bottles are on the table, PLEASE don't forget them," and he says "yeah yeah, go, go, you'll be late for work", and I say "but PLEASE don't forget them!" and he says "I won't forget. Go!"
I remind the kids the night before, and tell them the bags are their responsibility and they have to help Daddy by getting ready and checking their bags.
I used to put things directly IN the bags, but sometimes they need to note what's going in so they will know to take it out again, and also on Y's day off HE should be doing the preparing and worrying and lunch-making, so I am trying to get him doing at least PART of the task. He's made lunches himself a few times but it can still lead to the same result, which is:
I come home at dinner time to see forgotten lunches/drink bottles/notices/whatever on the kitchen table, and to be informed by the kids that the notice is overdue and we owe $6 to the school office for lunch money.
And I round on Y and say "Really? Really?!" and he says, "I know, I'm sorry" or "OK, so I forgot!"
And I say "HOW is that even possible? They are right there where you all eat breakfast!" and I say "Do I really have to get up half an hour earlier than I already do, and wake up everyone and put everything in the bags myself and show you all what's what?"
And the kids say "It's not his fault Mum!" and sometimes I say "It's OK", and sometimes I say "Yes it is!" and sometimes I say, "It's ALL of your faults!"
And the conversation often ends with my signature line, "Do I have to do EVERYTHING in this house?" which is an unfair line because I know that I don't, but it's satisfying and self-righteous and cathartic and it's my signature line.
It's too bad Y doesn't have a blog to complain about me. If he did he could probably talk about the number of times I set my alarm at 5.30 and then turn it off and get back into bed and wake him up every 20 minutes with the snooze alarm. Because I'm sure that is quite annoying.
But he doesn't.
I leave lunch boxes, drink bottles and school notices on the kitchen table, where Y and the girls will sit and eat breakfast (or will walk past on their way to before-school care). The lunchboxes are often sitting with the school jackets the kids put on before they walk out the door. Sometimes I put the school bags themselves on the table and the lunchboxes and drink bottles and school notices next to the bags. I put out the notices and non-lunch things the night before, and I say "PLEASE don't forget these," and he says "Okay". I get the lunches out of the fridge in the morning and put them on the table, and I wake him up and remind him again: "The lunches and drink bottles are on the table, PLEASE don't forget them," and he says "yeah yeah, go, go, you'll be late for work", and I say "but PLEASE don't forget them!" and he says "I won't forget. Go!"
I remind the kids the night before, and tell them the bags are their responsibility and they have to help Daddy by getting ready and checking their bags.
I used to put things directly IN the bags, but sometimes they need to note what's going in so they will know to take it out again, and also on Y's day off HE should be doing the preparing and worrying and lunch-making, so I am trying to get him doing at least PART of the task. He's made lunches himself a few times but it can still lead to the same result, which is:
I come home at dinner time to see forgotten lunches/drink bottles/notices/whatever on the kitchen table, and to be informed by the kids that the notice is overdue and we owe $6 to the school office for lunch money.
And I round on Y and say "Really? Really?!" and he says, "I know, I'm sorry" or "OK, so I forgot!"
And I say "HOW is that even possible? They are right there where you all eat breakfast!" and I say "Do I really have to get up half an hour earlier than I already do, and wake up everyone and put everything in the bags myself and show you all what's what?"
And the kids say "It's not his fault Mum!" and sometimes I say "It's OK", and sometimes I say "Yes it is!" and sometimes I say, "It's ALL of your faults!"
And the conversation often ends with my signature line, "Do I have to do EVERYTHING in this house?" which is an unfair line because I know that I don't, but it's satisfying and self-righteous and cathartic and it's my signature line.
It's too bad Y doesn't have a blog to complain about me. If he did he could probably talk about the number of times I set my alarm at 5.30 and then turn it off and get back into bed and wake him up every 20 minutes with the snooze alarm. Because I'm sure that is quite annoying.
But he doesn't.
This scene is a dramatic re-enactment
Aug 11, 2013
Housework: the eternal battle
I absolutely loved this piece in The Guardian Comment Is Free today:
Housework: let's come clean about who does the chores by Barbara Ellen.
The gist: even though people are doing less housework than they used to, women are still doing more than men. (I know, you're shocked, right?)
First up, I liked that she makes no apologies for tackling what is so often derided as a middle-class or privileged women's issue, but straight-up calls the housework battleground "this incredibly important arena (equality in your home – where you live)".
Ellen's main point: It's as unfair as it ever was, when women are doing more housework than men, no matter how many minutes or hours that is.
What of "the future", when most chores will be done by robots and machines? She is doubtful (as are we all), but:
Sing it, sister.
Housework: let's come clean about who does the chores by Barbara Ellen.
The gist: even though people are doing less housework than they used to, women are still doing more than men. (I know, you're shocked, right?)
First up, I liked that she makes no apologies for tackling what is so often derided as a middle-class or privileged women's issue, but straight-up calls the housework battleground "this incredibly important arena (equality in your home – where you live)".
Housework is not about the amount of hours: it's about ratios and percentages – the true mathematics of domestic parity. Even self-described housewives should not be working nights and weekends if their partners aren't.
What of "the future", when most chores will be done by robots and machines? She is doubtful (as are we all), but:
Even if it does happen, it's obvious who'll be doing all the button-pressing. Even if we get that farcical two hours down to a preposterous two minutes, it's evident whose preposterous two minutes they'd be.
Sing it, sister.
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