And now that the Holidays are here and I have 6 weeks until I go back (barring one little maths exam on Wednesday, and having to make up 3 days worth of teaching as well), I have a to-do list.

( For the benefit of ME! )

Most Importantly

• Hang out with AWESOME people such as kerravonsen and carolinelamb and red_day_dawning and fluidsparkles and splodgenoodles and silverblue and an awful lot of amazingly awesome types, some of whom will actually be there in real-person-style person!
  
  So what have I forgotten?

It's the blog of a tall, incredibly sexy red-headed woman living in Melbourne, who is:

Wife of lederhosen, mother of da_norvegicus, natural mother of quatranoctal, and owner of dogorcuton and Basil.

Enjoying living on top of basaltic plains, especially after the boringness of Sydney Sandstone

Trying very hard not to buy any more knitting and sewing stuff until she uses what she has

Versed in IT, Customer Service and Cooking.

Recently diagnosed as a high-functioning Aspergers person, but then I've always been weird...

Writer of fanfic and currently trying to write my first serious novel.

I'm cool with people I don't know reading my journal - serious stuff tends to be friends-locked to various degrees. I'm also fine with people dropping me - I don't manage to keep up with as many people as I wish I could, and besides, that's your own journal and you have the right to decide who is and isn't reading stuff. But if you want me to read your stuff too, please comment on this post if you haven't elsewhere.

"It's not whether you're a wizard or not. It's about whether you identify as one."
My son trying to make me snort orange juice all over my keyboard.

And in case you're curious, that's about the level of conversation we have in this house. Especially after reading Harry Potter Suefics.

Last year a friend in a fic-fest needed a legend about pine cones. I wrote a couple of short ones, but then this one fell out and may yet become something more.

( The Pine Tree )

One of the lovely things about Live Journal is meeting up with people of similar interests and then discovering, to your surprise, that they actually live close to you.

One of the sad things of life is that one day it will come to an end, and sometimes far too early.

The lovely leni_jess, who wrote Muggle Studies for the Mature Student for me last year in the sshg_exchange, has died suddenly in hospital in Canberra. There is now a great big Leni-shaped hole in the HP fanfic writing world, and it will always be there. She brought smiles and very silly giggles, and she will be missed. She already is.

Stolen from turnerwolf...

One of the "who are you and what are you doing here?" ones. Most of the answers I do actually know, but if you feel like re-introducing yourself, feel free.

And don't, despite the last question, feel it's necessary to put it on your own journal if you don't want to.

( Questions below )

In other news, slept for 10 hours last night and still feel like crud. Have taught the little sweethearts about volcanoes, Cuton and the DUKS!!!!, the planets of our solar system, the concepts of probability and chance and how it relates to Richmond's chances at the AFL cup, and of course, the letters GL. (Not all on one day, though). Have received hugs, chocolates, slaps, yells, shy confidences and big smiles. And cold germs.

... a certain poetical entry, full marks for those who guessed "words with the letters gl in them", and a point to fluidsparkles for picking the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" reference - I was trying to think of a name with "gl" and "Gloop" came to mind immediately.

Bonus points for originality to beowabbit for his suggestion that I'm teaching the 6 years olds Leon Trotsky’s perspective from abroad on the development of the Cult of Personality in the Soviet Union, and its influence on later Marxist thinkers’ attitudes towards Stalinism.

That's tomorrow's lesson.

It's the full week of teaching this week. I teach year 1 students, who are aged between 5 and 7. ( Read the poem below and try and guess what I am teaching today. )

Guesses in the comments, please!

In the meantime, my apologies if I've missed catching up with anyone, or missed a major announcement.

... is when you're impressed with a minor character in the novel you read (and his representation in the film you see) so you write him up as he is several years later.

And you populate it with another minor character from the same world.

And then you read the second in the series, and find that your second minor character is actually the protagonist for half the second novel, and dies rather messily at the end.

Bugger.

Bugger.

*Delete* *Delete* *Delete* *Delete* *Delete* *Delete*

So now I'd better read the third in the series and make sure that my main subject doesn't end up badly there as well.

(Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and its sequels, for those who are interested. And hopefully I've not spoiled anything for you.)

If Microsoft Powerpoint is the Great Evil Satan, then Open Office Impress is the tinpot dictator jumping up and down, waving a missile and going "SEE! I'm evil too! REALLY! I can be big and nasty and FULL of BAD!"