June 7. Day 188. Run free

Right now, my mother and son are in the heated spa in an area of the house most people would put the recliner chair. It's just a few paces from the perfectly stylish galley kitchen and right by the indoor pool, because who wouldn't want a pool in the middle of their house? Actually, while I admit I am totally in awe of the owners of this abode for their ability to think outside the box, the overwhelming smell of chlorine in the house's living areas is probably a good reason not to do it. And call me a prude, but massive clear glass sliding doors between one of the master bedrooms and the pool/living area of the house seems like a curious design feature. To be clear, I am not complaining. I am totally in love with my decision to spend this week at the beach and this house has to be experienced to be believed. Also, I love people who dare to be different - and if you fancy a house with five TVs including one you can watch from the indoor pool and you can afford it well why not? Still, while my family laze in the heated spa the big draw card for the fur friend and myself is the beach. We'd barely unpacked before we hit the sand. I'm not sure what distance I walked but I am totally sure how ever far I walked, Rumple covered 10 times the distance. Up and back he charged chasing the ball, or other dogs or his tail. For both of us, this is about as good as life gets

July 6. Day 187. Colourful characters

 For reasons I will never fully understand, my Drama Teen often decides to speak with a Russian accent. It drives me crazy which, surprisingly enough, I don't even think is the prime reason he does it (although it is very likely a happy side effect). But not today. Today he spoke relentlessly with an accent I believe has its origin somewhere in the north of England. I decided to try and cut this one off before it took hold but he explained it was already too late. Apparently during the 12 or so hours he was at the Convention Centre for performances of Cats - during which time I was off photographing birds - all the performers in his section of the cast decided to speak like they were from Billy Elliott. Colourful characters those theatre types. But despite my annoyance at the positively irritating accent, this piece of information really brought a smile to my face. Literally hundreds of young performers were involved in Cats and the reasons their families signed up would have been many and varied. But mine was simple - because I like to extend  every opportunity for a very theatrical young man to mix with others with a similar outlook on life. And clearly during this performance birds of a feather did in fact flock together. Yep, that's something to crow about.

July 5. Day 186. Put on your happy face

When  I was a child I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. Sometimes I still wonder but that would mean a) I would have to grow up and b) the thought of actually changing career path does my head in. But there are times - times which generally coincide with peak marking season strangely enough - when I wonder what else I could do with the talents such that they are. My mother once suggested I should be a politician a concept which nearly made me gag. I explained to her that I really don't hate my family that much. Something creative would suit everything but my desire to retire to a luxury beach house. But if there's one thing this past week has taught me it's that I could never go into a commercial face painting business. For most of this week I have outsourced the face painting required for Drama Teen's Cats role but today I did it myself and let's just say there were eight-year-old cast members with better feline faces and I suspect most of them did it themselves. Some jobs are best left to the experts. And I have to say I am always in awe of good make-up both of the evening wear and the fun fair variety. Would you look at this masterpiece that was created at the Wonder Day at South Bank today? Now if that isn't enough to bring a smile to your face nothing will. I look at this and any desire to grow up disappears completely.

July 4. Day 185. Frozen

Anyone with a child of a certain age will be very familiar with Frozen, THE biggest Disney film of recent years. There is every chance that the soundtrack is also on repeat in your head. Or perhaps it is just me. Still, I rather like Frozen and the way it debunks the idea of women being saved by handsome princes, love at first sight and happily ever afters - at least in the cliched storybook form. But best of all I like the feisty independent heroines and the cast of oddball extras especially Olaf the snowman who dreams of how good it would be In Summer. I felt like Olaf today at the Snow4Kids activity at Brisbane's Riverstage with the hot sun beating on me as I watched children play in the man-made snow. Of course it's winter but the weather gods and laid on a spectacular hot, sunny day of the type people in some other parts of the world would happily take during summer. In any event, it will be a cold day in hell when it snows in Brisbane. Sure some people (okay me) have whinged a bit about the cold this week because some days it was five degrees overnight and only in the low 20s during the day but we don't really know what winter is. Which is what makes the prospect of a snow activity in the centre of the city so exciting. So it was for my niece Cleo and her friend Renee today as they threw snowballs and slid down the toboggan slope in the artificial snow playground that is Snow4Kids. And in the tradition of Frozen, Did They Want To Build a Snowman? Of course they did. And knocking it down was even better.

July 3. Day 184. Pussies Galore

July 2. Day 183. Beneath the surface

Probably the most glowing reference I ever received from an employer came from my boss when I was about to head back from Australia from the UK (it may be that she knew I was leaving the country and she wanted to make sure someone in Oz would employ me so she'd never have to deal with me again but for whatever reason she said very nice things).
I no longer have a copy but one phrase sticks in my mind. I was, she said, "unflappable in a crisis" and let's face it news rooms are hot beds of crises. Now one should never look a gift horse in the mouth but might I say this is crap. What I am, clearly, is good at faking it. I am the proverbial duck - calm on the surface but just below things are churning like mad. This is why I like this photo of this dusky moorhen at South Bank this morning. Because of a bit of self reflection you can actually see what's going on beneath the surface  and this little bloke has both feet firmly on the ground. Nice

July 1. Day 182. I wish

I wish you'd clean your room without being nagged
I wish they had these shoes in my size.
I wish there were more hours in the day.
I wish things that tasted good were also good for you
I wish someone other than me knew understood that floor-drobes do not exist
I wish for a lot of things. But the things I regularly say I wish for wouldn't even make the short list should a Genie appear out of a bottle at my place any time soon (apart from that one about hours in the day, that would have to go close).
Of course health and happiness for my nearest and dearest would be the obvious ones but what about something more Out of the Box? Perhaps what I should be wishing for is a child-like imagination when it comes to the big picture items such as wishing.
A visit to the Out of the Box festival for children under 8 today had me pondering this question.
As well as the drumming and Bollywood dancing workshops, the storytelling tent and the monster hotel, I checked out the wishing tree where children had written or drawn their wishes. I love their big dreams and even bigger imaginations. The cards included the following wishes:
I wish I could slide down rainbows
I wish I had a dinosaur for a pet
I wish the world was made of lollies
I wish to be a fairy
I wish I was famous
I wish I could fly
Sure some of these things are never likely to happen but nor is my son going to clean his room without nagging and that doesn't stop me wishing ... I think what I really wish for is more time to dream