Per-Tay-Ters

Notes on pertayters - or Potatoes in the Queens' English...

- If there's more than one 'eye on the spud you want to plant, cut it in half and allow it to dry out for a day or so. ie. Allow the cut section to form a layer otherwise moisture will get into it and rot once you've planted it and are watering and it just won't grow.

- when they start to grow, build a bank of soil around so only a very small amount of green leaf is showing.

More notes and photos to come on this one...

xJ

Do we really want a return to the Howard years?!

Early in the noughties, at least I think it was then, the second time Howard got voted in to power... I remember being at my boyfriends house at the time and the only person in the household rooting for that guy was my boyfriends sisters boyfriend (Bueller?!).

He actually came out of their room, where they were watching the telecast also, chanting "four more years".  

I'm pretty sure the rest of us opened beers.  For we knew that for us, low to middle income earners and students, that we were all screwed.

I mostly ignore polls in the media, especially the big media, because it's all owned by the same rich guy and seems rather biased.  And somehow I don't believe that Abbott would win an election if there was a vote today.  So far, not a single person I know has indicated that they support Liberal, the views of the party, and their absolute ignorance about things like climate change and providing their members with conscience votes on issues that may be important to their electorates (a prime example being gay marriage).

So if we think about just that for a moment... a Government that has policies yet doesn't let it's members choose to vote in either the Senate or the Lower House genuinely, and with the voices of their constituency.

Sometimes when I hear Abbott interviewed I get particularly worried. Here is a guy who has obviously never seen a documentary about water; conservation or use thereof.  Countries around the world are pulling right away from putting up dams, and yet this guy wants to put in 150 of them in Australia.  Who is advising this guy?! Obviously not a climatologist, scientist, conservationist, or anyone with any knowledge of the subject.

Growing up in South Australia, we always conserved water. Our State has always been the one that has suffered, being at this end of the Murray River. Cotton farmers are allowed to pull water out of the river systems at alarming rates in a country that is so baron and so dry and with so little agriculturally viable land.  My father piped the water tank into the laundry sink, as well as the bathtub, in the 1980's. Why do I remember this?! Because I almost lost a toe helping him install the pipe from the shed to the tank.  We would bucket water from the bathtub out on to the lawns when there had been little rain, and use the cold water from the water tank to half fill the tub or to do hand washing.  It absolutely boggled the mind when moving up to Queensland in late 2004 only to find people whining about newly introduced water restrictions.

I was thinking "what?! you're only just getting them NOW?" - when us Southerners have had to always think about it. At least for the last 30 years.

Ranting aside, I'm freak;n scared. I hope Australia does not make the wrong choice.

Our most important issue, in case you hadn't noticed over this summer period, is the violent change in our weather patterns.  Thinking about this yesterday; I don't recall these insane weather events happening throughout my childhood, and even into my teen years. And yet if you look at this summer, watching the news whilst they say "well there's 300 fires in NSW at the moment and 95 of them are uncontained..." you have to wonder... what's going to happen next?!

Can we not simply take the lead in a Green Energy Revolution?! Show the rest of the world how it's done. Push clean energy industries and make our exports again competitive ! Help the third world evolve, without the use of fossil fuels??!

I'm certain it can be done. But will Australia take up the challenge.

We shall see.

Stand strong, Australia.

xx

Terry Goodkind - I think you're pretty awesome...

yeh so I do... and I'm ridiculously behind with the series I know, I know...

So I just finished reading Chainfire... there are at least two if not more books beyond this I am yet to read, and have just seen a new Richard / Kahlan book will arise in 2011.

I also didn't know there was a television show made out of the story. I mean, come on, have I been living in a bubble?!

Oh right, I was living in Brisbane.

Chainfire was a great read, once again, I hadn't really recalled the final parts of the previous book, perhaps a re-read at some point in the future, but you know you always get those little snippets of past events whilst reading, therefore it all made sense.

And so it begins... a great battle I am sure is about to ensue. And yet I am at the end with the answers to the puzzle, but not the battle to proceed it. ARGH! I hate it when that happens.

So anyways I will order the book to arrive before me in Banff, but am on to Chris Carlsson's NOWTOPIA, which he kindly signed for me at the group discussion a week or so back.

Oh... here is my 2010 list in case I have not posted it thus far... in fact I probably haven't... and you know, actually, I am not going so badly on some items:

1. Volunteer on at least 10 festivals - thus far, 1. Laneway (Brisbane), 2. Soundwave (Brisbane), 3. In The House (Vancouver), 4. Car Free Vancouver Day (Commercial Drive, East Van), 5. Vancouver Jazz Festival (starts today, my first shift is Sunday), Upcoming: 6. Victoria SkaFest (second week July), 7. Van Folk Fest (16-18 July), 8. Calgary Folk Fest (August)...

2. Get paid on at least 5 festivals - thus far, 1. Melb International Comedy Festival...

3. Pay 2K off credit card.... NEXT!!!

4. Lose 10 kilos... I have no idea how much I weigh so who knows

5. Travel to Canada, USA including Alaska.... part 1 complete!

6. Knock cholesterol down to 5.5 - yay hereditary illnesses!

7. Don't take jobs you don't care about!! - well i did one shitty job for the first couple months of this year but it was a means to an end (getting to MICF and getting OUT of Brisbane and getting TO Canada, so i kind of forgive myself for it)

8. Learn some french.... NEXT!!!

9. Plant some trees / learn about horticulture.... been researching this one... standby...

10. Read lots more books!! - 1. The Tale of Genji, Lady Murasaki (in progress) /2. Chainfire, Terry Goodkind / 3. Nowtopia - Chris Carlsson (currently reading)...

standby i said, standby...

foxtrot uniform charlie kilo... breaker breaker, do you read me?!

xx

things i've noticed about Vancouver...

There are LOADS of community gardens. They are everywhere. The lovely lady I am renting my head laying place from has one. They are just everywhere. And as you walk the streets you can often see into yards with fruitful gardens. Good on you Vancouver for trying to be super sustainable.

Also there are LOADS of cyclists. Which is also very cool. I mean not to the extend that they outnumber cars. But yeh it's pretty awesome. They do things like critical mass midnight bike rides and they had naked bike day here on Saturday. Hehe.

There are also quite a large number of homeless persons of all shapes and sizes, which makes me sad, and whilst I can somewhat understand it, I'd like to understand more why the help isn't getting to some of them. I think we all acknowledge that there will always be a portion of street persons who do want wish for assistance, but a few times i have seen the same lady with a particular sign, and it makes me kind of sad.

East Van is totally the place to watch the world cup right now if you're into that kinda thing. I mean I'm not but I may go watch a game or two, just to drink it up I guess.

Vancouver also has can and bottle deposit recycling like South Australia. Woo! (Why ALL Australian states don't have this I will just never know! It's up to 10 cents in SA, I mean catch up Australia!)

The weather is very unpredictable. We had a stunning sunny day here and a few hours ago it started to hail! I was kind of like hmmm... what's that... opened the blinds and low and behold it's bouncing off the window sill. Ha!

Buses are largely electric which is cool. I haven't been on the skytrain yet but I will eventually when I need to.

It is an expensive city, apparently one of the most expensive in the world. But it's all relative. It depends on how you want to live really. I'm more than happy in my current situation. Allowing me not to work and just concentrate on building my festival/arts network here.
Though there are little things you notice here and there that are more expensive, and then some less. Like berries of all descriptions are always cheaper than I have seen in Australia. But laundry powder is more costly, and I think toilet paper too.
The bus is certainly cheaper than Brisbane!! $2.50 for 90 minute transfer. There are other cheaper options I haven't quite sussed out yet like 10 trip saver type things and monthly passes.
If you wanted to buy a house round here though you'd be looking at a cool million but!

Canada, eh?!

xx

pappy smurfday to Tor... pappy smurfday to Tor...

Sammi, Tor, Moi

we went for a little adventure to the Merthyr Bowls Club to have some bevs for Tor's birfday on Wednesday night... we had fun.

Sammi has loaned me a hair straightener so I'll have a play with it later today and see how random my self hairdressing skills are!

Have been playing on ebay, putting up some books et al. Also still waiting for my roof to be fixed and it's getting worse and worse by the day. Eek!

Planted some capsicum (pepper for you americans), basil and poppy seeds, hopefully they'll all come up trumps. Not going too badly for someone who has never grown Broccoli or Carrots before. I have had to erect a make-shift shade structure for the broccoli because they do get too much sun in the afternoon. Darn it I thought I had sussed it properly. Oh well we shall see how they go!!

Oh... and I got a 280 phone bill for all the confused calls i made after shitty shitty bang bang with boy. grrrr. double grrr.

but i'll get a new phone next week with a bonus PSP so that will make me smile momentarily.

have a gorgeous day.
xxJ

on with the show...

so i've transplanted my two broccoli plants that were sitting in a pot getting big enough to move into the garden bed... we shall see. go broccoli go!!

seem to be about 3 carrots going great guns as well. don't quite trust growing things under the soil in the garden bed so am keeping these in their pot. yay.

might try germinate some basil. basil is goood.

new hairdo looks fab but of course i wet it this morning in the shower so it's back to whispy mcfly away randomness so i will have to work out how to keep it managed without buying expensive hair drying implements!

haha.
have a gorgeous day.
xJ