(*) Team Gherkin

New photos of mah new boat!!!

I even wrote some silly 'verse' about it all! heh heh
http://maljamart.blogspot.com/2007/01/team-gherkin.html

(*) New Photos - at last!

OK OK OK... Here, at loooong last - are some new, recent photos of mah boys! Taken over the past 3 months or so. JD is 13, SJ is 10 and IX is 8. Aint they handsome young men?!? Absolutely!!! (This is a small sample, taken Xmas 2006).
http://server6.theimagehosting.com/album.php?album=22142
JD has grown about 573-feet in height in the last c.6 months... he's now practically as tall as I am (5' 10")!!!!

Here's a few pics of me taken very recently... at the QLD border, and watching a sunset at Carcoar Dam.
http://server6.theimagehosting.com/album.php?album=22145

I've posted some pics of my new boat, a sailing dinghy known as a 'Laser' called, surprisingly - "Wyreema II"
http://server6.theimagehosting.com/album.php?album=22144
So, what aren't there any pics of mah new boat with me sailing it or with it's sails up etc etc? Well... when I took it out for its first sail last Saturday, I got so excited rigging it... I forgot to put the battens in the sail! Whups! I was sooo embarrased! More photos to come in the next few weeks...

Take at look at my various other Photo Galleries along the way as well here:
http://maljam2.blogspot.com/2005/08/photo-galleries.html

(*) Grab one last packet

It's still busy in town this morning, even a week after Xmas - it was chaOTIC then! I tried to stay clear, but failed miserably... I forgot one of the boys little prezzies at the last minute! The big major prezzies I had for months already! Gagh! My brother and his wonderful wife paid me an excellent visit on Xmas Eve - we went out to a beaut Bakery Coffee Shop for lunch, sitting in the shade on an old wooden verandah. Lovely. Always good to hang out with them... my brother and I are so comfortable with each other now we can prattle on for hours non-stop without getting bored! heh heh They showed me piccies of their new place up in Cairns, Far North Queensland (he's moving up himself this week, just to get things ready). The place looks awesome! I saw a version of it when they were 'house shopping' back in May when we went up for 10 days, but I think this one is even better! Wow, a brand NEW house! Sen-sation-al! Three blocks from the beach and all... what a tough life! Plus he landed a job straight off no problems at all (the joys of nursing). Good luck to 'em tho. I *am* really happy for them tho, even tho I'ma gona miss them like crazy.

Today I paid mah rent, some money for the boys' holiday away with their Nan (yay!), picked up a new name sticker for mah new boat, "Wyreema II" (and not "Gherkin" as Geoff suggested! rofl), and finally got those old beach trolley dolly-trailer tyres replaces (pic 'em up tomorrow, hopefully...). Even fishie got some new food... I mix his feed around now and again to give him a change etc. he eats anything I give him... thankfully the change in diet doesn't seem to faze him at all. He wasn't too fussed with his new sea shells in the bottom of his tank that I got him for Xmas either - ungrateful git! rofl. I also managed to find some spare fuses for mah cat too... naturally, they weren't the *regular* ones, so I had to hunt around just a little bit... managed to grab one last packet left in one place! D'oh! I blew my indicator lights fuse towing the boat on the way to sailing last Saturday... thankfully that's all it was. But one side-affect is that, because I replaced one fuse with another etc, I somehow managed to disconnect the CD player/radio. Now it won't play without putting in the right security code... the problem being that I *have* put in the right security code, but it still refuses to co-perate with me! Norty thing. Not a biggie tho... it's not as tho I wont survive a few days until I get someone to figure out how to get thru the code of mah CD-player at the car retailer! heh heh.

Hosting the Sailing Club's webpage has been lots of fun. Lately we've received some old photos from people who used to sail there back in the 1980's and 1990's. That's really great how a simple thing like a website can keep like-minded people together like this. Yay! There's even a hilarious 'alternative' photo someone took when one of our loyal members, Timothy Hone, was receiving a Maritime Medal (for his contribution to sailing, especially with the disabled) a few days before Xmas... gotta love the internet! I'll post them later this evening, when I finish fiddling and adding them to the webpage etc.

And yeah, now I've got a different type of boat, I've gotta figure out how to sail it properly! I managed to pick up a brand new book on sailing that class of boat (a 'Laser') for just cost price down in Melbourne, and lately I've been cramming as much as I can into my brain, trying to remember some tips and hints on sailing it more efficiently. I've just gotta get out there and practise practise practise! Too bad there's not enough water at Carcoar to do that at the moment... bugger! :( Ya, I can read and read, but it's not until I actually start *doing* it all out on the water that it's gonna make any difference, in reality. Like I said yesterday (?), sure, it's still 'sailing', but it's like the difference between a car with manual and automatic transmission... same result, just different ways to achieve that. Anyways.... I'm really looking forward to it. There's a whole weekend regatta in 2 weeks' time nearby, so I'll sail my butt off then, and come home in an exhausted heap, I'm sure of it!

Mah flowers are growing again, like wonderfully! Isn't it amazing what a few drops of water every day can do, hmmmm...? rofl

Glad the weather's been good for 13-yo JD working out in the cauliflower paddocks over the last 2 weeks... well, he's seemed to have missed the major rainstorms of the last few days anyways. Now, if only it would keep raining... gotta break this drought and fill the dams up again... for the sailors... oh, and for the farmers and stock, of course [cough cough] lol.

And, oh yeah... there *ARE* new photos on the way... just gotta get around to editing and uploading 'em...

(*) Sunny Afternoon's Sail

I spent yesterday and today (Sunday) pottering about on my little boat. Here's some updated photos for you to check it out. There wasn't much wind, but that's OK... gave me the opportunity to get used to sailing again after a few months of hibernating thru the winter. My new (snd-hand) sail sounds so crinkly and new! Sets really nicely too. What a gloriously sunny day tho - perfect for sitting beside a quiet lake under an umbrella with a picnic lunch! What a life, huh? heh heh. Two solitary seagulls, obviously lost 300kms' from the sea, pestered me the whole time I was there... screaming for a feed. I told them in so uncertain terms to 'shove off'! A wonderfully relaxing afternoon. Mind you, I spent like 45 minutes straight practising my 'tacking', because I was so rusty at it. Now my legs ache from all the jumping about! Talk about a couch (computer?) potato? heh heh

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Speaking of photos, here's a few newer ones I've taken recently too.

• The boys - growing up fast!
• Sydney revisited - some of the places I grew up around, and some other bits...
• Carcoar Dam Sailing Club - where I sail from.
• I took this one coming home... just an interesting image of a hedge along a lonely country road...
  

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Week 191
I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Taxes :: Yeeeeah, I'm the Taxmaaaan...
   
2. Hooray :: for Everything!
   
3. Justification :: of sinners
4. Shocking :: Blue
5. Bureaucracy :: cobwebs and strange
6. Porn ::pron
7. Silly :: reality
8. DJ :: JD, my eldest!
9. Swing :: Factor, a local Big Band
   
10. Anti- :: Ads (Doug Mulray, Sydney radio, 1980's)

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(*) Wyreema sails onwards

It's been a good week... I'm physically tired but emotionally fine. Launching my little Wyreema last weekend was awesome - what a great experience for me... made me feel really alive! Click on the thumbnail to see the bigger pic...

Yes, that's really ME out there! Sailing again has really be a deep soul-uplifting experience for me again. I mean, I 'christened'/launched my little boat in memory of my dad, but I'm doing it for me - it's given me a sense of doing something socially and physically again... I've been stuck at home brooding for 4 years too long, hey?! Funny side-effects from going out on the water after a 10-year layoff were having sore buttocks from sitting on the boat! hahahaa! (NB. Here's a thumbnail gallery of all the pics...)

Work driving a laundry van about town has been great - I'm really getting into the swing of it all. It's pretty physical work at times (lifting big bags of laundry etc) but it's not 'hard' at all... my body's complaining a bit... i'm just not used to so much lifting and some muscles that haven't had that kinda workout for a few years are reminding me they're still around lol. The start of this week was pretty manic (it was a 4-day week, so we were behind the gun from the start!) as it's Race Week up here... Mount Panorama kinda explodes with car racing fans from all over the place... but by Friday arvo at 3pm we had *all* completely finshed at work... so much to the point that we were able to play cricket in the laundry carpark waiting for knockoff time! So that's cool. Tho next week'll be busy - picking up about 5 billion sets of laundry from various hotels around the place after all the visitors go away again! Not to worry... I'm feeling quite happy with it all - enjoying going to work evey moring. Speaking of the 'Great Race', I was up at the track yesterday doing a delivery, watching the V8's hurdle around the curcuit... which is quite funny, as normally it's a plain local road that I drive on about 4 times a week!

JD & SJ had a blast at their school holiday camp last week... they had all four seasons in one day, but - that's to be expected at 1,000 meters up! My brother and his missus got back fine from their holiday up in Cairns - glad to have them back nearby. Still no news about mum's place being sold at this stage, but it's not as though we've got any timelines to meet with it all.

So generally I'm feeling pretty happy. I had a nasty dream early this week... woke me up feeling suddenly really angry and moody in the middle of the night (negative feelings about my ex and the whole situation) - I was a bit shocked how there are things that, way deep down, still must be bugging me (that'd explain my bizarre health issues sometimes!) Alas, I was able to pretty quickly shake it off and get on with feeling back on track with an hour or so... thanx to the meds which stabilize those kinda emotional upheavals from time to time. Of course i've got some emotional baggage (geebus I hate having to say that, but it's true I know), but I'm getting on with things as best I can. I'm generally pretty happy being by myself... to be honest I'm too timid to get emotionally involved with someone else again at this stage - I don't wanna get hurt again, to be honest. Sure, I may be missing out on some things life has to offer me in my 40's, but generally I'm going pretty OK. Not perfect, nor anything like the 'old' me, but pretty OK.

Ooooh... lookit! hahahaa!

Cyalayta
Mal :)

(*) Sailing - wOOt!

What a great weekend! Sat saw me towing my little boat and getting it ready for the season, practising rigging it and checking every detail, rope, knot and connection in glorious warm sunshine. Yesterday saw me actually 'christen' my little 'Wyreema' and I went out for about a 90-minute sail in moderate winds - wOOt! Amazingly easy little sailing dinghy to rig and sail too... I had an absolute ball. I'm feeling pretty weary today tho... using muscles i'd forgotten I had tho... hahahaa. But well worth it. Someone took some photos of me while I was out on the water... I'll post them when I download them off my camera - some look really great! A really great day all round.

My brother got home fine from his holiday up in Cairns yesterday, and they'll be coming out to visit me in a week or two. Not next weekend tho... it's the 'Great Race' here, and everything and everyone goes slightly potty while it's on... plus I'll be sailing again next Sunday too! hahahaa. Gotta get as much practise as I can... yeah, it's like riding a bike - I hadn't forgotten, but the skill level was pretty low! hahahaa! At least i didn't capsize... but the club scretary capsized his boat instead! hahahaa.

Good win by the West Tigers last night oo... go the Tigers.

(*) Bloomin Marvellous

I'm feeling a whole damn lot brigher now... thanx to putting myself back on a very mild anti-depressant. My GP (doctor) is a good man and asks the hard questions, and I'm comfortable enough with him to be able to answer them too. My 'black dog' is basically a simple chemical imbalance in me noggin, and it seems if I don't keep on top of it it creeps up on me and takes over... holy shite... it's fine now tho. One side affect is that it just makes me feel so tired (that always happens for the first few days... just my body/system getting used to it again), but it's fine.

Hopefully it won't be too cold to go on the Edgell Jog with JD on Sunday... it's a local community fun run, but the weather might be an issue... last year it sleeted beforehand! They're predicting storms for Saturday, so - finger's crossed. Also hoping that JD's foot will be fine... we're sure it will be. He's up and running around chasing girls again with no after affects of having his leg in plaster.

The cricket's on again... the fifth ashes test, it's the 'grand final'! Aussies are doing pretty good after the first day (it's evenly poised at the moment, I'd say), with the Aussies at 7-319. We *need* to win this game to win the series, and the ashes! Carn aussie!

Wierdness... the things people search for on the net... and somehow stumble across my blog! "enhancing sudafed "... or what about "pregnancy myth busters string" - strange stuff!

Got my last thing on eBay yesterday - my second lifejacket (now I've got one for the boys and one for myself)... perfect for sailing in my little boat... only cost me $46.50 incl. post - considering they're like $75+ new!
- the new one, which I'll wear in the boat

- this one'll be like a spare the boys can wear when they come out sailing with me, or with the sailing school they have thru the club too.

I'm still hunting around for one of these... haven't had any luck so far tho...

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I've been doing a bit of poetry doodling again too... nuttin' too serious, just experiments.

(*) Slowly rising

Seeing the boys tomorrow - huzzah! Picking them up at 10am and going to one of the local large schools who's having an Open Day, with a fete and games and displays and stuff. Thinking of taking them to very quickly visit Norm before I drop them off at 2.30, but will see - depends on how SJ reacts at the time, not to worry.

JD got the cast off his leg on Wednesday no worries. Speaking with him yesterday, he's getting about fine but still has to take things easy - he's getting about in crutches still for a little while. So obviously, we wonlt be able to run together at the annual Edgell Jog in 2 weeks... we didn't do it last year as it was sleeting! A broken ankle is a pretty good excuse eh, JD? lol.

Hoping the working bee at the Sailing Club goes ahead this weekend (Sunday)... the weather's looking pretty hopeful to be climbing about on roofs and things like that! The water level is slowly rising... can't wait until the sailing season starts in a few weeks... gotta christen the Wyreema yet too... my lifejacket I bought on eBay should arrive early next week too. That'll complete my sailing kit (or 'clobber' as us Aussies would call it! lol) at last.

On This Day...
Born: Macaulay Culkin (troubled youth, 1980).
Died: Stevie Ray Vaughn (muso, 1990).
Events: Ganesha (not Homer J!); Jimi Hendrix plays his last gig at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.
Useless Trivia: Chris Smith (UK) flug a wellington boot 175-feet in 1975.
My Soundtrack: Elvis Costello; 'Abbey Road' The Beatles; ABC Radio National
Footwear: fluffy gray sox
Weather: gloriously sunny, very light winds - almost Spring mid-winter's day.

(*) Kiama Break

I had a really relaxing, refreshing break away in Kiama over last weekend. It snowed on the way down - not just a loight powder but a good coating thru Trunkey and Crookwell - it looked really pretty. The bush is so quiet when it snows... it's not something I see too often in these parts. Thankfully the roads were quite clear and my trip down to the Southern Highlands was relitavely incident-fee. I enjoyed the gentle country driving. After a short detour (okok... I took a wrong turn slightly! D'oh!) I found "Little Forest", the Bead-&-Breakfast country property at Alpine near Bowral in the Southern Highlands - the gravesite of my fav Aussie writer George Johnston. I couldn't believe I'd actually found it. I knocked meekly on the door, and I introduced myself meekly to the lady who lived there, telling her what I was looking for. She was more than happy to let me have a look and take some photos. It was a very very surreal experience. I've been reading his writing and biographies for years now, but it was very surreal to actually touch a piece of actual reality in connection with this man's real life - I mean, I was like 6 when he died. It's a very pretty quiet spot, and I stayed for about 20 minutes just saying over and over, "This is really weird! This is so weird!" It was a special moment, making a real-life connection with someone I'd only ever experience thru his writing.

From there it was only about a slow hours' drive across to Kiama, down the amazing Illawarra Escarpment (no, an 'escarpment' is not a rare Aussie bush creature either, as in 'Beware of the Escarpment'... mind you, I did see a Lyrebird standing in the middle of the Jamberoo Pass road! Amazing - they usually are rather elusive, but I saw one! nah nah nah! lol) thru Jamberoo. I couldn't help but pull straight up at the address my searching had found for George Johnston's wife's Charmian Clifts' first home, and took some pics. Kiama's a pretty little coastal town, but very touristy in its small way too. I stayed in an en-suite cabin about 100-feet from the ocean's edge - a gergeous spot with breathtaking views... I realised how much I missed the sea, with it's smell and sounds and feel.

I did lots of walking - just taking in the endless ocean views, cooking BBQ beside the beach at dusk, fluked a bit of whale watching too (2 humpback whales migrating north about 1km out to sea from the bench on the headland I was sitting on!), and managed to watch the sunset from a heated spa at one point - laughing at my outrageous decadence! pmsl! Both the main Blowhole (and the lesser-known 'Little Blowhole') were 'working' delightfully the two times I dropped by... what an amazing sound of the 'whoosh-thud' of the compressed air exploding out thru this small hole in the rock platform - very kewl! I took lots of pics of the area - usually in relation to Charmian Clift's childhood and youth spent growing up there, and had some great conversation with some very interesting contacts thru the local library, Visitor's Centre and museum. After the snowfalls on the way down, the weather was amazing for mid-winte - warm, light winds and endless blue skies. The surf was freezing tho - it's easy to spot the European tourists, pretending to enjoy splashing about in the ocean when the water's only like 12c or something - fools! lol I got my toes wet, but apart from the heated spa, no surf for this little black duck.

On the slow relaxed drive home on SundayI dropped past the Carcoar Dam Sailing Club and happened to meet the 'Commodore' - it's a lovely rural relaxed place where formality isn't at all neccesary. There's a working bee there this coming Sunday, so I'm planing to go and meet the others there then - along with some snags and a cold beer to boot, I'm sure. Half-way betwen there and home I re-visited a lovely little cottage 27km's out of town that's for sale... [sigh!] It's be lovely, but in the long run it'd be too far out of town. But the reality is - mum's place hasn't sold yet, so it was nice to dream all the same.

On Tuesday I finally got around to print out some of the digital pics I'd burned to CD recently - some beauties of the boys, my brother - and one of my new boat too [blush!]

I'm still pretty excited about my new little sailboat, you know... I had a special stick-on name for the stern so I can name-and-christen the 'Wyreema' sometime soon, and I went to the local Op Shops and got myself some old wolly jumpers to wear while I'm out on the water (wet-bum sailors don't dress for fashion just practical warmth, alrite?! lol) And I've been hunting for a Life Jacket thru eBay too... I might be able to get one cheap thru the club tho - I'll ask on Sunday.

Hey, by now you've realised that the Photo Galleries have been updated, but did you know you can also report those awful sick websites you accidently stumble across too?

Cyalayta
Mal :o)

(*) Mal's Own Wyreema

For the very first time in my life, I actually own my own boat! Let me introduce you to the Wyreema, the next in a long line of small sailing boats called this - my dad named most of his boats this for years and years. It was totally natural that I call it "Wyreema" without hesitation! I am like sooo excited!
It cost me a total of $757 - thank you mum and dad. It comes with a fully registered trailer to boot. It's a 'Solo' class, a small single handed dinghy that'll be perfect to sail around the freshwater lakes around here. It's very light, 3.78m/12' 5" long, fibreglass, easy to rig and sail, and easy to maintain too. Hey, I've been wanting to do this ever since I moved out here like 10 years' ago! This is really exciting for me - like really! Plus eventually I'll be able to introduce the boys to sailing too (once M gets the hang of the thought) - there's a special sailing club especially to introduce children to sailing out here - how cool is that? So, it's another opportunity to actually build an ongoing rapport with the boys - share my love of sailing with them.

Hey, it's a bit of a change from the last type of boast I used to sail - 16-foot Skiffs in and around Sydney Harbour!

It's an absolute spin out to own a boat of my very own... all the boats I've ever sailed were either my dad's or belonged to someone else! I can't wait for the season to start in September now, out at the Carcoar Sailing Club. I've met two of the locals from the club already, and I'm planning to go to a working bee at the clubhouse beside the lake on Sunday - a chance to meet some of the other sailors as well.

Stop Press: Here's the new addie for the Wyreema webpage! http://clik.to/wyreema