Book Catch up

Notes on books I’ve read lately.

Jessica – Bryce Courtenay

Based on a true story of a young woman growing up in the harsh environment of the Australian outback in the 1940’s. It is an epic kind of story about her search for justice against seemingly impossible odds. Although a great story, which kept me engaged, I found it the least well written of the Courtenay books I’ve read. I found the perspective of the narration a bit clumsy at times, but still a rip roaring tale that will keep the pages turning.

The end of the book touches on the issues of the Stolen Generation, and ghastly piece of Australian history that in my opinion is too often overlooked. So, I appreciated that it was written about.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain

I so enjoyed reading this book….I think I may have read it years ago, but had forgotten. A fun read, cleverly written. This is one of those books everyone should read at least once in their life. It so well captures the adventures of childhood, but also deals with coming of age and issues of character.

Absolute Power – Ian Wishart

Hmmm…not sure what I was expecting but I didn’t enjoy this book. Full of digging the dirt on Helen Clark, and members of the Labour party, and while I was shocked at some of the things I read, I daresay there’s another side to the story. There always is. Didn’t sway me either way in terms of our recent vote. (No, not telling he he) I found it laborious to read. And I don’t think I like books about politics anyway. Don’t ask me why I read it.

Honey For a Child’s Heart – Gladys Hunt

A great little book full of age appropriate book lists to encourage a love of reading in young children and as a family. I found that the book list contained a lot of American titles which is fine, but a local equivalent or a more universal list would have been helpful.

The throw-upping is all fishened

My little B4 (can’t believe he’s 4!) woke in the night and after taking himself to the toilet lay down on the floor and whimpered to me…”Mummy, I have a sore tummy”. I got him settled back to bed and a few minutes later he called me again “I wanted to say something to you.” I came and he said “Good night Mum. I love you”.

So, I settled myself back to bed and a little later he called and cried. “I think I’m going to throw up”. Awwww…..so I run to get a bowl and yes indeed he did throw up poor little chap. (I was so proud of him for being able to tell me in time to get a bowl and he didn’t throw up all over the bed….)

His Dad heard the retching and came to help, and my sweet little boy looked up at his Dad in between heaves and said all forlorn
“Dad….I’m throw-upping !”

Awww, my heart turns to mush at his sweet, cuteness. How did I get so lucky?

(Why did I found this sweet and cute in the midst of vomit, I have no idea…just never want to remember these moments with little people)

PS. He’s ok now. No more throw-upping. He’s all fishened. That’s another one of B4’s words. Hope I never forget how it sounds when he says it.

7 things that are indeed random, but not necessarily about me.

I was tagged by Karen Joy from Only Sometimes Clever, to do a 7 random things meme.
I’m pretty sure I’ve done this before, but I can easily think of 7 other bits of whateverness. And I’m not going to follow the rules either. My 7 random things may not even be about me.

1) We have a resident spider and we feed her. Her name is Henrietta and since we named her I can’t bring myself to clean the web away. It’s a great excuse for having a dirty kitchen window. We like her because hopefully she’s eating well and keeping the fly population down in our house. Sometimes if we are in the mood we catch a fly in a glass and throw it into the web. These photos show her enjoying a meal D provided for her the other day.

2) Tomorrow*  is election day in New Zealand. I’ve only just given thought to who I’ll vote for. But I don’t feel like being all serious and going into politics right now. However it seems only fitting to post Something about the election. So how about some Comic Relief? Check out Party Punch Up and you can give ‘em all a piece of your mind. (Well, a virtual punch in the head actually…)

3) My kids are having a birthday party tomorrow*. E5 and B3’s birthdays are only 4 days apart and they have always shared a party. I asked them this year if they wanted separate ones and they didn’t. In fact they are so excited to do it together. It works better actually as they enjoy the same friends. I wish their cousins could be there. (Sometimes it really really sucks when you live a long way away. Usually I get along just fine but there are a few times it really bites – 1) when my kids are sick and I’m tired and not coping and could do with some help, 2) when the kids become aware that their friends for the most part have nans and pops and cousins to see regularly, and the concept is foreign to them, and 3) Christmas time and children’s birthdays. )

Yes, so I digressed a bit there, but having two kids share a party means that I will be up late tonight* decorating not one but two birthday cakes. E5 wants a number 6 and B3 wants a tiger. It will be a nice change from the train cake that he’s had two years running. He did want it again until I showed him the picture of the tiger one. It’s orange too of course which is his favourite colour. Even though here he said white, every single other time I’ve asked him it’s orange. Really. It is. Believe me. I know. I’m his mother.

4) Have I ever told you I still have a couple of baby teeth? Weird huh?

5) I had to spell check necessarily when I typed in in the title. (That does not necessarily mean I’m a poor speller. In fact , I’m not too bad at it really.) I hate it when people misspell divine and ridiculous. If you’re not sure how to spell ridiculous, please go to How To Spell Ridiculous and it will tell you.

6) I want to write a book. (don’t laugh)

7) I’m going away next weekend. For a girls night. Lucky me, but I’ll miss my little family

*This post was written yesterday, so references to tomorrow are in fact today, and references to tonight are in fact last night. I’ll post today’s birthday photos tomorrow, which by then will be yesterday’s photos.

Oh, shoot I have to tag someone. I never know who likes these or not, so if you’re reading consider yourself tagged and  let me know in the comments if you post.

Cry, The Beloved Country

Cry, The Beloved Country – Alan Paton

This was one of those books that when I’d finished, I wondered where it had been all my adult reading life. (Or prehaps where I’d been, or perhaps why hadn’t my High School English teacher set this as a required text?) I’d borrowed this book from a friend, but it one I definitely want on our shelves.

Published in 1948 about aparteid South Africa. This is a moving story about a black pastor Kumalo who leaves his village for Johannesburg to find his son who had gone away to work, but had stopped writing home. As he follows his son’s trail to find his whereabouts, the news is increasingly grim.

The novel also tells the story of a white farmer whose farm is near the same village. His son, an engineer in Johannesburg was murdered by a young black man who’d broken into his house. The murdered man Arthur Jarvis was an advocate for black people. 

I found it an intelligent and unbiased look at the injustices of the time. So very beautifully written in the Zulu oral tradition, the story and the characters engaged me and the issues were addressed with sensitivity and understanding. The central themes are the land, justice and fear.

A paragraph I’ll take away with me and have been giving a lot of thought to, comes from a document the murdered man had been working on at the time of his murder. It was found among his papers by his father. He is writing here about the problem of the breakdown of the family and the tribe because of mine workers being away from the villages and their wives and children…

What we did when we came to South Africa was permissible. ….

…

It was permissible when we discovered  gold to bring labour to the mines. It was permissible to build compounds and to keep women and children away from the towns. It was permissible as an experiment, in the light of what we knew. But in the light of what we know now, with certain exceptions, it is no longer permissible. It is not permissible for us to go on destroying family life when we know that we are destroying it. It is permissible to develop any resources if the labour is forthcoming. But it is not permissible to develop any resources if they can be developed only at the cost of the labour. It is not permissible to mine any land, if such mining and manufacture and cultivation depend for their success on a policy of keeping labour poor. It is not permissible to add to one’s possessions if these things can only be done at the cost of other men. Such development has only one true name, and that is exploitation. It might have been permissible…before we became aware of it’s cost…. But now that the cost is known, it is no longer permissible.

I can’t stop thinking about that sentence above which I’ve highlighted.

Loved, loved, loved this book.l loved how it told a great story that made me cry, examined real issues which despite being based around the events in SA in the 40’s are just as relevant today (in fact are universally relevant), and it made me think!

Chicken Pox is a nasty horrible little virus

I suppose you’re all really fond of me by now. You know….Absence makes the heart grow fonder..yada yada..

I’m still here…just fell off the blogging wagon for a bit so to speak. All of my kids have recently had chicken pox. I’m not sure if it was better or worse that they didn’t get it all at the same time. It has meant that our quarantine had been longer, and I’m a bit starved for adult company and sick of the walls of this house. But, at least it wasn’t too hard going looking after them. (Except for yesterday)

E5 got it in the first week of the school holidays. Actually the first day of the holidays so that put a swift end to her sleep over and play with lots of friends plans. She had a mild dose and didn’t suffer too badly. She was such a brave girl throughout and tried so hard not to scratch. She did well…and was always a cheerful patient.

B3 got his spots exactly 18 days after his sister. He was also very brave. He was slightly worse than his sister, but still well enough to be up and playing. SO like him, he didn’t want his photo taken, so I had to sneak this.

Oh, but poor poor baby R. 2 weeks after B3, he too got the pox. This is day 2:

This is how we spent most of Thursday…in my arms with teddy. Tears and snot if I dared go to the toilet.

Cheerful moments were few and far between, but we made the most of them.

And yesterday was utterly horrible.

He was not a happy camper. Neither was I. He’d been awake until 2:30 am the night before and again at 6am and after starting his day at 8am didn’t sleep a wink until 4:30pm for about an hour. He was up until 10pm last night. Poor poor baby. So miserable. Lots of crying. I camped out in his room last night. (On The FLOOR! Yes, on the actual floor because I was oh so clever and moved the spare bed to the other room and one of the kids was sleeping on it! It wasn’t too bad really…I did have a pillow and a duvet. When I tried to leave him sleeping to sneak into my bed in the middle of the night, he woke and screamed loudly for me to stay. Grrr….how do they do that!?)

Today is not much better. He’s hopefully (fingers and toes and eyes and arms and legs crossed and holding breath and touching wood) sleeping right now. It’s been quiet in his room for about 5 minutes so far. If he does, I’m off to read a story to the big kids and try to plough my way way through the mess that has accumulated the past 2 days.