When the toilet seat breaks and a replacement is required, you just know if it’s in this house, it won’t be your average run of the mill white plastic dunny seat. Nope, not here.

After some years of using a handheld bidet, it was deemed time to try something new.

Have amazon, will order…

See what happens when My Lord Doctor King is left unsupervised!

Yes indeed, we are now the proud owners of a smart bidet!  I’m not sure I can convey the changes…

Let’s just say it’s not every day you have to fight with your partner for bathroom time especially being a woman.

I don’t know how long it will take to recoup the cost by not buying toilet paper but I’m in love with the feeling.

We’re fancy asses now!

It was coming. I had been telling the kids for a while that his time was running out, getting old and slow. No more daily walks, he didn’t want to move around much and his appetite had diminished.

But that’s how life goes, and if I’m being totally honest, the circle of life was the reason we got him in the first place.

It’s not news I’m a farm girl, I’ve seen animals in all stages of life and death. I’ve seen my dad elbow deep in a ewe, trying to turn a lamb to help delivery. I’ve seen my mum try to sew a possum back together after it was in a felled tree and hit by a chainsaw, and I’ve buried many pets of all variety and size.

The day we brought him home

I wanted my children to have an animal in their lives so they could learn empathy, responsibility and ultimately, life and death.

That was the premise of getting a dog while living in a New York apartment, but in actuality, Sir Lickalot became much more than a means to a life lesson. He was a member of the family, he was unique in his ways and taught the children so many things about disabilities, happiness and positivity, just by living his life with us for almost 9 years.

He’s still with us in spirit, he’s made visitations to some of us, and is often in our daily thoughts and conversations. While rearranging the furniture recently, My Lord Dr King and I lamented on where he might have positioned himself for comfort and long day snoozes.
We’ve moved things away from the dog door because we didn’t want him to not be able to get in or out.

Adjustment to an absence in your life takes time. Grief is a fickle thing but the children have handled it well. As a first experience of losing a pet, it went as well as can be expected. I’m very proud of them.

During a get together the following evening for NYE, I announced to our gathering that our boy had gone on. So well loved there wasn’t a dry eye at the table. Miss Gremlin had a first when she saw her father cry. If ever there’s a right way to show your children that emotions are totally ok, crying for this dog goes a long way towards that. He was just that awesome.

So go on your journey old boy, and thanks for all the memories.

Sir Lickalot loved the snow, so it was fitting that he got one last walk in it.

Did I just fall into a time warp loop?

Here it is, January 2016. Wasn’t it just January 2015? Time is just going so fast.

Life is marching on, we’re crazy busy and I’ve not been keeping up writing. There are several reasons really.

I have other distractions, I feel like I have nothing to say that won’t get me in trouble. So much is going on in the US right now that it’s all I can do to not turn into some ranting crazy, adding my opinion to the internet.

What’s really sad is that, as a foreigner living in America, I can see what’s happening with different eyes.

We’ve lived through gun control, the implementation of universal healthcare other things America is furiously arguing about…

And so in 2018, we’re still fighting about healthcare and gun control, 10’s of thousands more have died as a result of not fixing either. I’m still not sure I want to delve back into the level I previously committed to, but maybe it’s time to stand up for what’s right and good.

Or maybe I’ll steer clear of the real discussions, it’s hard to tell at this point, being an immigrant and all, do my opinions even count?

I think it’s great because he’s been looking for money more and more. He has had a babysitting gig for a while but now he wants something more. It’s an important skill to learn for teens, they need to start getting out of home to do things for themselves before they’re shunted off to college. (If they go at all). They need to learn how to be productive. We have this short amount of time while they’re in high school to continue to influence them and teach them, all while pushing them out into the world on their own but still providing a safe place to land when they fail, and they will fail because thats how you grow and learn.

Not so long ago, certainly in my lifetime, once high school was done, kids got full time jobs. Not every kid went to college, especially in Australia. I know America is different in this regard but waiting until kids go to college to teach them about independence and going alone, I believe is too late.

I’m not the bank, when kids want money they need to earn it. So far we’ve provided all needs for our kids but when they start wanting entertainment money and larger purchases, it’s good to show them that nothing is handed to you and to get what you want you need to work. An after school job is a great way to begin the transition of learning to live within your means, learning to budget and learning how long it takes to get what you want.

I know already that once Grand Master D finishes high school , he will want a gap year before he decides on a college education, actually we’re insisting on it. The school he’s at now is already talking about college to them, stressing the importance of this and that and how they must compete in this college driven world. But he has his whole life to decide what he want to do. One year will not affect the outcome of his entire life. Putting things into perspective is part of our job as parents.

The world is a big place and there are so many things to discover, travelling and working overseas is a great way for young people to figure out their life’s path. Learning now as a teen how to be part of an adult workplace, to have the confidence in yourself to be able to do a task well and get paid for it sets you up to understand how life works.

We won’t always be there to help. We certainly won’t always be there to assist financially, nor is it our responsibility. Getting a job now will help him save for what he wants to do after he finishes school.

I find it amazing that parents are still fully supporting their 25-26 year olds and older while they study, and these ADULTS have never had a job. How is this helpful to the child adult? How is the college grad whose been given everything along the way going to handle getting a job when the employer expects an adult?

We’re already seeing colleges complaining about how their students aren’t ready emotionally, how they can’t cope with the rigors of college life. As parents we do a disservice to our kids by NOT teaching them how to get out and do it on their own.

It may be odd to you to think of your kid getting an after school job but I believe it’s an important step along the way to adulthood and that’s our job, nothing more nothing less, to raise successful adults.

I couldn’t be more proud of this kid. I know he’s gonna fall on his face, we all do, but he’ll learn how to pick himself up and get going again and as a parent that’s all you can ask.

Do your kids have after school jobs? Is this something you’ve even thought about or discussed with your children? I haven’t heard any talk here among my friends about their kids. Tell me your thoughts, I’d love to know.

Well this story is just weird enough that you guys need to know, I’m living with a crazy person

First a little back story. I love to do laundry, it’s a thing.

Moving on….

I use all the good products, no corner cutting in this house, tide and downy all the way. Well, some time ago My Lord Dr King mentioned to me that people were commenting on his clothing smell. I thought this was weird but whatever, people are weird, it happened a few times and so we decided that the fabric softener was to blame and I eliminated it from my laundry routine. I’m nothing if not flexible with my obsessions.

Things went along normally, nobody really noticed the change although the weird smell comments stopped, or he stopped relaying them to me…

Sometime later and completely unrelated, My Lord Dr King was being annoyed by the pillows rubbing on the bedhead and making a squeaky sound and disturbing his sleep. This turned into a full blown thing that went on for months and eventually our bed was pulled apart and the sides and foot are now in the basement, just so the bed can be a few inches away from the bedhead. He built a contraption to keep it apart no matter the active movement in the bed. It’s mildly annoying because now things can fall down and to retrieve them I end up doing all sorts of super human contortion moves.. Nevertheless the issue was fixed.

However, after some time the squeaking returned, and My Lord Dr King once again became obsessed with stopping this noise… Oh the joys of living with the sonically sensitive!

The bedding squeaks… No really, that was his discovery. Especially since he’s spent quite a bit of time away from home and in hotels and friends spare rooms of late. “No one else’s sheets and pillow squeak, what are you doing to make ours squeak like this?”

Of course at this point I think he’s losing it because really? You can’t sleep because the sheets squeak? Give me a break. Don’t let anyone ever tell you people don’t get weirder with age.
So Sunday morning he proved to me that we had squeaky sheets and we had a discussion on the products used. Now remember, I gave up fabric softener some time ago because he said it smelled weird on his clothing…

I don’t buy cheap sheets, they are all cotton and high thread count, thick and a little stiff but more crisp than anything, certainly not uncomfortable or scratchy. Crisp, clean, good quality linen like Grandma used to have. You know before you used them for 6 months and put your feet through the bottom of the sheet.

But my darling found them to be unacceptable because of the squeaking. Seriously? 1000 thread count not enough for you? I’m living with the Princess and the pea!

But as I mentioned, I am nothing if not flexible, it’s a gift. And so as we lay in bed Sunday laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, I promised to try to remedy it for his sonic sensibilities. *eyeroll*, I’m an excellent wife like that.

First thing Monday morning, I stripped the bed, ran out to the store, purchased the best quality fabric softener and went about washing 5 sets of sheets, putting on the extra rinse cycle and adding fabric softener to the mix. With every load that came out, I took it to him for a test to see if it still squeaked. I also brought other clothing for the test… And yes they squeaked when the top of his fingernail was dragged over the fabric. We laughed and laughed. Who even has this issue?

Monday IS washing day after all.

When everything was finally washed, fabric softened, rinsed and dried, I remade the bed and waited for the ultimate test.

Experiment outcome:  Sheets do not squeak when fabric softener is applied.

Who knew fabric softener was so important?

And now my friends when you see My Lord Dr King, if he smells like fabric softener you’ll just have to deal because squeaky sheets and loss of sleep is more important than how you smell…

Apparently.

Can you top this quirk? Come on share your partner’s crazy… we’re all in this together.

Remember back when you did high school? I bet you didn’t do algebra in 6th grade and I’m almost certain you didn’t do chemistry and trigonometry until the last two years or wasn’t that what just the brainac dungeons and dragons kids did?

I hear the argument all the time that we all need to have an understanding of these things but do we? I am learning chemistry for the very first time as a 48 yo simply so I can help Grand Master D pass. To date in my life I have honestly never needed to know any chemical equations ever, not one single time. Don’t even get me started on trigonometry, COS, TAN, SIN… dafuq?

I completely understand that these subjects are highly specialised and required for many fields of expertise and we need scientists and physics experts to continue inventing cool stuff but making every kid do them, younger and younger each year does nothing to actually teach them anything but to hate those subject if they don’t have the aptitude. It doesn’t mean you’re not intelligent if you can’t grasp the concepts of these subject, not everyone can paint or sing, dance or play an instrument either….

I also get the fact that we want a well rounded education for our children. Can we not just touch on each of the 4 math subject, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and calculus in a basic sense through the first years if only to light the spark in those kids who feel this is their jam and they go on to do the more difficult courses in 11 and 12? Why make the english and language lover struggle with something he’s never going to use just to feel like a failure? And why make every kid do an entire year of it?

Same with the sciences, I get that earth science, life science and basic genetics are interesting topics but in depth chemistry and physics if you have no intention of becoming a pharmacist, doctor, scientist etc is borderline torture!

Whatever happened to Business Math?
Math 1&2 or applied science for the math/science geeks is awesome for future STEM industries but for those kids who will never use it and struggle to even comprehend it, why not teach them finances and balancing cheque books and compound interest and how to fill out taxes and shit. Those children may excel in the language arts, or may be brilliant with their hands instead. But how would we ever know anymore? Nobody takes wood work or metal shop or the culinary arts anymore. We’re not all cut out for academia or dare I say it, college, and I really think it’s unfair to force every kid  into a cookie cutter education that they’ll never use and can’t succeed in.

When I look at the grades Grand Master D gets across his subjects, it’s completely obvious where his strengths lie. He’s getting honours in Film, Computer Tech and Art, high grades in english and global/social/geography and Spanish but he’s really struggling with chemistry and geometry. He’s a smart kid but his aptitude is shown to be more creative than analytical and it feels wrong to force extra pressure on him to just pass the tests and forget it anyway. Staying up until 2am to finish homework is so counterproductive that I can’t even begin to explain. Teach him something more useful, a more general science and math course….something he will draw on throughout his life.

And on the flip side of that, what about the kid who’s a whiz at math and loves all the sciences but can’t write an english paper to save himself. Sure there are minimum standards but not everyone needs to be able to write a 100 page thesis on Shakespeare at 16.

We’re setting kids up to fail, we’re running out of skilled workers in the practical industries, builders, plumbers, electricians and the list goes on. Mike Rowe harps on this all the time. You really wanna make money? Learn how to be a plumber, a mechanic or a carpenter…

You wanna make America great again? Train the workers to rebuild the infrastructure, teach kids to weld and fix trains and cars and trucks and toilets and build houses and install solar and wind technology and cook our food. Then you can stop complaining that the illegal immigrants are taking all the jobs.

But for the love, stop making kids hate school because they are struggling to learn useless shit they’ll never need.

*End Rant of Frustrated Parent*

Am I wrong? I’d love to hear what you think, especially if you have a child struggling with the impossible pressure placed on them at school.

It was my first ever time in court, well ok I went because of a licensing fine on Sir Lickalot years ago but this was different. I was asked to give my account and truths about a friend whose life has been ripped out from underneath him. What a horrible place family court is. It’s so sad and intimidating and feral and gross.

As it turned out I wasn’t required to enter the courtroom and didn’t have to speak but the judge was informed there were 6 people waiting the attest to the good character of this person. That seemed to be enough to swing the case his way in the best way possible.

The things that kept running through my mind for the 4 hours we sat in the lobby of the courts. How does it come to this? How do people who once loved each other enough to make a life together and produce children end up hating each other and making up lies just to score points? It makes me sad.

But it also makes me glad I have a secure, loving relationship. It makes me grateful for all that I have and all that we sacrifice to enjoy this life together.

I will never take it for granted.

Then he became the front runner, even though every time he opens his mouth he’s spouting hate speech against someone. Everything he says proves he cares little for the actual successful running of America and more about stroking his ego. Tell people what he thinks they want to hear. And by some accounts he’s correct, unfortunately America has been in decline for some time and the hurt people are feeling is aimed at those in office, rightly or wrongly accused of not doing enough to help.

Last night, he won the New Hampshire Republican primary by a large margin. That means more republican voters chose to support a man who has bankrupted his companies several times just to get out of paying his debts, in doing so he’s put people on the unemployment line.

The same man who has taken money and done developments in partnership with sheiks and other mega wealthy muslims but has turned on them all by saying ALL muslims must be temporarily banned from entering the US. He employs undocumented Mexican workers for his high rise projects and yet wants to build a wall to keep all the Mexican rapist and murderers out. The same man has directed his clothing manufacturing businesses off shore to Chinese sweat shops but believes China is our biggest threat.

This man, who stamps his name on everything he touches doesn’t care about America, he doesn’t care about the poor, the sick, the mentally ill.

This whole thing is a joke, an ego boost for himself. He’s a bully and a danger to the international reputation and security of the United States of America. I can’t vote as I’m a resident alien and not a citizen but I like to live here and I hope that the only thing this crazy, selfish, megalomaniac gets is his ass handed to him sometime between now and November….PLEASE

Because if this dick get control of this country, becomes the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD, then we’re all doomed and we should all make sure our passports are current because leaving is the only option.

It’s been lovely to enjoy some warmer weather but starting tonight, we’re in for a snow storm, they’re naming it Jonas. The weather people are hyping it up so much that it’s just ridiculous. Ok D.C. and Virginia are going to be buried, but they’ve been buried before and the governing authorities know how to handle the snow.

Here in NYC the Mayor is saying stay inside, don’t go out. It’s all a little alarmist. In these days of 24 hour news and weather, all those channels need content to keep their channel going, so they just whip people up into a frenzy. Supermarkets are sold out of essentials but here in the city it’s not a problem, we can all shuffle through the snow a block or two for milk and bread.

It’s all such a joke.

But I’ll prepare, because why not. I have a fridge full of food and a netflix list for of suggestions….

See you on the other side….

12 inches of snow does not an Armageddon make.