Veronika Wild

The Teapot Just for a change I am not complaining. I just got my parcel from Suck. It's not their fault. Due to the Ash cloud etc. there had been two attempted deliveries already and it had also been opened by customs. Bet the terrorist teapot got them going. I am relieved that they didn't call the bomb squad and destroy it before looking at it. Not sure how good it will be for making tea, but its sure to be a conversation starter! Thank you for your tracking efforts Alexandra and friends. I look forward to reading more of your catalogue. It's more entertaining than the paper!

I must confess to a little road rage – or more precisely petrol station rage, this last week.  I’d forgotten what it was like to meet so many schedules. On Monday after dropping off the girls, I was sent to drop off the borrowed baby monitor and pick up the rented one. A baby monitor beeps loudly when the baby stops breathing. I’m glad we picked Mum and the baby up on the Sunday because on a weekday the traffic was murder. After the third time around the block looking for a parking spot, I pulled into the line for 5 Minute Pick Up and Drop Off. It didn’t move for twenty minutes, so I asked the lady behind me if she would mind if I ducked in and made the exchange. “Not at all,” she said. “I don’t think we’re going anywhere for a while.” The first part was easy. I dropped the borrowed monitor off on the 8 th Floor, but the rented one had to be collected from the 3 rd Floor. It was like being given directions by the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. First I went to Paediatrics, t...

My friend Tiina  has just written about her despair regarding the treatment of animals in Spain. Some of you have already had firsthand experience of this. Yes, money and more adoptions would help in the short term, but what I am hoping for is pressure to change the laws. Even a dog tax, or licensing system would help as, much as we may dislike them, it would discourage ownership of up to 17 animals at a time as is presently the case. I have written to  aavez and PETA to see if they have any suggestions, but if anyone can think of other ways to help or to add pressure for attitude change, would love to hear from you. Some pictures would help. So might letters to newspapers. I haven't been there myself, but I have heard this from others too, particularly German tourists. My cousin came back with a little Spanish dog as well. Here is an extract from Tiina's letter minus the greetings, love and kisses. Sent: Wednesday, 22 June 2011 3:49 AM I've been here in Andalusia fo...

I have been home exactly 24 hours. My daughter has phoned to ask if I am missing the family yet? What can I say? I am still waiting for my head to catch up with my body, though I have at last had nine hours sleep. I expect it's a bit like maternal amnesia, you know that euphoric post partum state where you forget how awful the birth was. OK I am starting to recall some of the really nice moments like the smaller fairy saying "You're a fastcoach, Grandma!" (i.e. the opposite of a slow coach) as we were racing down the highway to pick up Dad from the airport. Or, following our discussion on rainbows, explaining to her older sister that when you get rain and sunshine together, "Any minute you'll hear a rainbow." Or maybe her older sister explaining carefully to the boy next door that she is wearing a "Leotart" not her underwear. However, at the moment my memories are far more closely embodied in the wonderful little book by Adam Mansbach ...

On some days The Force just isn't with you. It seems that the ash cloud from the Chilean volcano that disrupted air traffic last week has done a U-Turn and caused another lot of flights to be cancelled. I know it's far worse for the Chileans, but it would have been nice if someone could have told me that before I turned up at the airport bleary -eyed and coffeeless in the wee hours of the morning, along with about five hundred other disgruntled passengers. The late bulletin yesterday said all airports would be open and there was no contact from the airline. Long queues of irate passengers A sign goes up saying the Estimated Departure Time is now 13.50. A collective groan goes up. The Avalon Plane next to us isn't leaving until 15.50. Thank Goodness I didn't choose that one. From Mark in the smoker's pit I heard that this one was cancelled on Monday. His boss has footed his hotel bills but he's not looking forward to the parking fees he'll have run up ...

It must have been that bit I wrote last week about the appalling state of water in WA, but I have just been punished by the water Gods. Now we have none. On Friday, it was the toilets with one of them not flushing and the other threatening to overflow. It was too late to call anyone, so I went to bed and prayed. Miracles do happen. By morning they had had a spontaneous remisssion and I didn't have to call the plumber. Possibly just a case of excessive toilet paper. The younger fairy is just getting the hang of it and is quite generous with the stuff. On Saturday, amid much giggling, the girls managed to lock both bathroom doors from the inside and still get out. I didn't want to worry their Mum who was still in hospital with the baby and I couldn't reach their Dad who was working underground about 700 km away. The hinges were all on the inside too, so being unable to think of anything else to do except perhaps breaking the windows, we all went out for the day.  When Dad...

  Our fruit bowl has been looking a little strange lately. Since the Queensland floods we have  hardly seen any bananas and never for less than $ 13 per kilo. This makes exotic imports like Mexican Mangoes seem cheap at only $ 3.95 each. We've had pomegranates and persimmons, melons of three different kinds, mangosteens, paw paw and tamarilloes. We 've had passion fruit and fejoas and Aztec fruit (creamy white and slightly sweet, not unlike avocado in texture), custard apples and two kinds of kiwi fruit,  but still no bananas. While fejoas have been a hit with the girls, they are getting tired of all this exotica and long for the fruit  we used to take for granted. Anyway, on Friday to my delight there was a stall on when I went down to pick up one of the children from school. Nestled among  the cupcakes and crafts, were some perfectly delicious looking pears. The trouble was that I hadn't brought my purse and didn't have a cent on me. When I asked the woman i...

Dear Suck.UK, It's another rainy day in paradise, so where is my amazing colour change umbrella? It's been nearly a month, Cheers, Veronika Later....... Thanks Folks! Look forward to getting my umbrella when I get home. Sure could have used it here, but it will be even more essential in Tas. Greetings!

At least for the time being!. Given that my life totally sucks at the moment and I am unlikely to be doing anything exciting for a while and I am not feeling wicked or witty or wise, I beg to be excused from writing this blog for a while. Check in with me in September or maybe Christmas, just so I don't bore you to death in the meantime. The littler pink fairy and I have been to the shops. It sounds like a frog pond in there. Here a croak, there a croak, everywhere a croak croak. Or maybe a pack of performing seals. I am one of them and shouldn't be here, but we do need to eat and I am out of cigarettes. I try to keep my mouth closed and am thinking we should all have those blue masks which people in Korea wore when I got there in the middle of the first SARS epidemic. They look scary. I am sure people do stay away, but do they actually work? In case you are wondering what these exquisite pictures are about, the girls and I have been playing head body and legs. Basically ...

Tell me you missed the blog. No, I haven't died, but it's now official that we all have whooping cough and that's why we have all been feeling so miserable. Even the baby has it and has had to go back into hospital, along with Mum. It is very sad, seeing a tiny baby covered in tubes and struggling to breathe, but she is getting better now and so we hope, are we. There is a virtual epidemic on. I don't know how many cases have occurred here but there were  4 - 5000 cases in NSW alone. The doctors blame all those alternative types (of which I was one) for the recent outbreaks because many of them failed to immunise their  children and have thus  reduced overall (herd) immunity. This can't be true though, because we did have all our shots, including the recent grandmother one.  Increased mobility is another possibility. Too many people travelling and picking up exotic strains of old scourges. That sounds more plausible to me, but deep down I fear that nature is fig...