It's time to bust out the bubbly and kick up my heals because the school holidays have arrived, two blissful weeks of down time with very little to do but sleep in, catch up with friends and family and chill out. So exciting! 
Went over to Craig's folks for a family gathering this evening since his parents are heading off on another whirlwind adventure across Australia and saw my great nephew for the first time. Isn't funny how quickly you forget just how tiny and fragile babies are? Don't worry I didn't drop him or anything, but I was shocked at how small he was, it has been yonks since I held a newborn baby. Generally, I am not known for my baby loving ways, I just don't get into the crying, pooey pants and spewing up milk thing. But when they are sleeping, well I think they are okay then, maybe even, dare I say it? Likable. 
But rest assured, I am not even slightly clucky, in fact handing him over was a relief. I do like sleeping babies, but again short bursts only. Of course it wasn't like that with my own kids, I did all of the obligatory mummy stuff but I just didn't adore the newborn bits. Please don't send me hate messages for saying that, because it isn't that I never loved them intensely, I just didn't find that period of my children's lives a delight. I wasn't high fiving myself over shitty nappies, sleepless nights and undefinable crying (sometimes from me) - but I don't think you have to love that stuff to be good mum, you just have to love your kids and eventually they learn to use the toilet, sleep through the night and tell you why they're sad and everything gets easier. 
Bottom line is that being parent is really hard work and you have to do all of the hard yards even when it is well outside of your comfort zone. It's tiring and mostly thankless work and there is no magic formula for getting it right. You don't just inherently know what your doing, and most of the time you're just flying blinding by the seat of your pants and praying that you're getting it right. It's tough and honestly, I'm glad those baby days of mine are over. 
Now I have the privilege of looking forward to breaks without any of those early day tribulations, I get to fill my time wondering what to do with all my time off......so tough!  So, what will I do with my days off? Well, whatever I'm doing, I know that I will be having myself a baby-less bloody good time! 

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF  
Release Date: 1986
Rating: M
Running Time: 103 mins
I couldn't even hazard a guess at how many times I have watched this movie. Written, produced and directed by teen movie giant John Hughes and shot mostly around the city of Chicago, Ferris Bueller's Day Off  is definitely one of my favourite '80's movies of all time. 
Accompanied by his girlfriend Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and his best friend Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) creatively avoids his principal, his parents and his resentful sister Jeanie and ditches school for a day of fun and mischief in the city. 
I loved the wise guy, 'up to no good' character of Ferris, Broderick clearly had a lot of fun playing his role. From roaring down the freeway in a red 1961 Ferrari convertible, to Sears Tower and the Art Institute of Chicago to the Oktoberfest float rendition of 'Danke Schoen', it is just tremendously good fun from start to end. 
I can hardly believe that this movie is nearly 30 years old now, so it is true, life does move pretty fast! 
FINAL SAY: The question isn't "what are we going to do," the question is "what aren't we going to do?"
4 Chili Peppers

Celebrated another turning of the seasons this weekend. Autumn Equinox struck us as the perfect time to get outdoors, since we will soon be faced with the prospect of Winter and inevitably a lot more cold and inhospitable weather. So the kids, Helen and I packed up a grand afternoon tea of dip, crackers, cheese, fruits, iced fruit loaf and hot chocolate (fanciest cups only thanks) and set ourselves up on the lawn of the Buninyong Botanical Gardens. 
Not a cloud was in the sky, so we sprawled out on blankets with pillows behind our heads, nibbling and nattering the hours away. There was even a spot of poetry reading, some Heaney, Yeats and Thomas to lie back and absorb. Seth turned out to have quite the penchant for reading poetry aloud, so we let him read out a little Sylvia Plath and a section of the anonymous but lovely Unquiet Grave then Zoe gave us a slice of T.S. Eliot to contemplate. 
We walked the gardens and collected a rather large basket of chestnuts that we were over the moon about. We all envisaged gorging on hot buttered roasted chestnuts in the evening, but they turned out to be horse chestnuts; utterly unfit for eating unless you wish to shorten or even end your life, a little disappointing, but they are great for Autumn decorations and Easter baskets so not a complete loss. 
We finished our stay off in the gardens with a spot of charcoal sketching on newsprint paper, not bad for first attempts I reckon. Perhaps it was our relaxed and uncluttered states of mind that helped there. 
Came back to Enfield to enjoy an Autumnal dinner feast of homemade mushroom soup, root vegetable tart and rhubarb crumble, followed by a viewing of two Autumn favourites Sleepy Hollow and Rushmore. 
I have always loved Autumn, it is so mellow and colourful and the balance of warm days and cool evenings are just blissful. Such a great time of the year, and a season to really make the most of. These bright, uncomplicated and simplistic days are the ones that I know will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

SLEEPY HOLLOW
Release Date: 1999
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 105 mins
Tim Burton waves his Gothic director's wand over this fantasy-horror. Loosely based on the 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, Burton cited the Hammer films of the 1960's as a major influence in making this film and the old school Gothic horror style really works well here. 
It is 1799, and the deeply superstitious hamlet of Sleepy Hollow is being plagued by a series of gruesome murders where the victims are discovered decapitated. Police constable and forensic specialist Ichabod Crane arrives to investigate and soon realises that their murderer is not a man of flesh and blood, but rather an undead headless Hessian mercenary from the Revolutionary War riding upon a massive black steed and searching for his missing head!
There is also a lot more going on in Sleepy Hollow than the locals would like Ichabod to know, and the further he delves into his investigations the more disturbing the information becomes in this horror-mystery tale.
A massive ensemble cast including Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Christopher Walken, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon and Christopher Lee bring all of the witchcraft and darkness of Sleepy Hollow to brilliant life. This is a charming adaptation of a classic tale and a true Burton beauty. 
FINAL SAY: Don't lose your head!
3.5 Chili Peppers

Sometimes I escape into music. 
I have some CD's in my collection that I simply could not live without, they speak to me and calm my weary mind. As The Verve sang in Bittersweet Symphony - I need to hear some sounds that recognise the pain in me, never a truer word has been sung. 
There is something so magical about hearing lyrics that really speak to your soul and a melody that hums along with the rhythm of your life. There is a real peace in that space, a private exchange between performer and listener that can't really be explained. 
And music is so personal, what you chose as your 'jam' is your own. No-one is going to have the exact same playlist as you do, but isn't it awesome when you meet someone that has the same taste in music as you do? Rejoice! 
When Craig and I shacked up together, back in the days of cassettes and albums, we were astounded by the amount of similarities we had in our collections. We had doubles of dozens of things, and then we got to introduce each other to the stuff that we hadn't heard yet, and no surprises, we loved a lot of each others music too. 
It is common for us to have our playlists on over the weekend and to be singing along to our faves at the top of our lungs. And don't songs have an amazing power to transport you back to another time or place? Some random moment or memory that was locked away is suddenly re-ignited by a few simple chords from a favourite tune. 
I love the power that music has; the power to set a mood, to enhance an experience or take you back decades in time. I think that music will always be one of my favourite forms of expression (next to cinema - of course!) and I think that you can tell a lot about people from the music that they listen to. 
Not long ago I was asked to list the top ten albums that I couldn't live without. And I tell you, it was a tough choice for me - almost got me to thinking about a Spicy-listen website, but then I thought better of it. 
After much re-listening and contemplation I came up with this ten, but I tell you there were some things that didn't make the cut that I adore too. However, if these CD's were to go missing from my personal collection, I would be fricken furious! 
1. High Violet by The National - probably the most beautiful and meaningful album ever written and one that I go back to again and again - amazing!
2. Tough Love by Magic Dirt - my favourite rock chick album of all time, bought for me as a 30th birthday gift. But it was hard to decide between this and Joan Jett's Greatest hits. 
3. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins - a wonderfully rich double album offering with a stellar mix of music that has been a favourite of mine for years.
4. Dark Horses by Tex Perkins - loved him in the Beasts of Bourbon, loved him in The Cruel Sea, adore him solo. Dark horse indeed! 
5. August and Everything After by The Counting Crows - mellow and moody, meaningful chill out music, I know every word of this album. 
6. God Shuffled His Feet by Crash Test Dummies - fricken love this album, the lyrics are great and I can sing along to every track, reminds me of  my 20's. 
7. Grace by Jeff Buckley - a voice like no other, hauntingly good. Beautiful stuff!
8. Homogenic by Bjork - I am a huge fan of hers, always have been and this album has some awesome lyrics and unbelievable range. 
9. Crystal Visions by Stevie Nicks - magical Stevie, love her! Loved her in Fleetwood Mac and always dug that weird arse voice of hers. 
10. The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails - because it was so new and different in it's time, it introduced me to Industrial music and it's still fantastic to listen to. 
God, I could list another 20 without blinking, but I'll stop there. Have a think about your own collection, what could you NOT live without? It's an interesting experiment. 

SCHOOL OF ROCK 
Release Date: 2003
Rating: PG
Running Time: 108 mins 
This hilarious comedy written by Mike White and directed by Richard Linklater is a winner. The soundtrack is totally kick ass and made it into my own CD collection; the kids are amazingly talented and Jack Black is hilarious as the fake substitute teacher that just wants to get to the battle of the bands. 
Dewey Finn is a wannabe rock star that has been just been kicked out of his band for his over the top behaviours. When an opportunity arises for him to moonlight as a substitute at an uptight private school, he sees it as way to raise some much needed funds. However, when he realises how musically talented his students are, he changes course and decides to take his bunch of fourth graders to the "battle of the bands" competition instead of teaching them. 
This is seriously funny stuff. Joan Cusack is gold as the Stevie Nicks loving principal , the kids are all stellar and rock their tiny hearts out and the overall effect is spirited and thoroughly enjoyable. I think that this is one of the best family movies around, everyone will get a laugh and have a lot of fun. 
FINAL SAY: Dude, I service society by rocking!
4 Chili Peppers

Seth has had his bike out of action for a while due to the need for some minor repairs, and this week it has just returned into his life after a few months hiatus. He has rekindled his love for riding in a big way  by getting out every night and hitting the road for some wind at his heels freedom that comes with a good bike. 
There really is nothing like it, and I do feel bad for people that never had a bicycle growing up because it is one of the best freedoms you can have as a kid. The feeling of control and independence is second to none, and I recall my first serious bike with great fondness. It was bright yellow with a long glittery seat and colourful streamers that hung out of the handle bars. It came with training wheels, and I remember being so determined to learn to ride it without them that I had more than my fair share of epic crashes in the early days. 
But that was part of the thrill, nothing like a good fat scab to pick at when you're a kid! Anyway, I used to cruise the court that we lived in on that yellow machine like a pimp on the prowl, always on the look out for another kid in the neighbourhood to hang out with. And given the fact that no-one had an Ipad or a Playstation at that time, most kids were hanging out on the streets, equally keen to hit the road and get up to no good. 
Boy did I do some miles on that bike in my primary school days, I even recall pimping my ride with some funky beads on the spokes that made melodic clanking noises as I rode, they were so "trendy" at that time and I thought that I was so cool. 
When we finally moved out of the neighbourhood I remember that my bike was utterly decrepit with a torn seat, rusty frame, worn rubber handle bar grips and sad faded tyres, needless to say, it didn't come to the new house with me. Besides, I was on the verge of being a teen and I was too big for that bike.
But that yellow bike will always be a treasured memory for me, it was the bike that I learnt to ride on, it was the bike that I found my childhood freedom upon and it was the bike that I had a thousand childhood experiences on. 

THE BICYCLE THIEF 
Release Date: 1949
Rating: PG 
Running Time: 93 mins 
This must see Italian neorealist movie directed by Vittorio De Sica is a masterpiece of cinema that speaks volumes about the human condition in Rome post World War II. The Bicycle Thief has received a swag of awards since its release some 65+ years ago, and it was ranked #4 in Empire magazines "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010. 
During the depression of Post-WW II, Ricci has found himself a job that will help him to support his wife, son and baby. However, when Ricci's bicycle is stolen he faces the grim possibility of life without a job again and this desperation leads him to desperate measures.
This is heart wrenching stuff, set amid the clearly war torn backdrop of Post War Rome. The performances are passionate, emotional and deeply stirring; it's an altogether moving experience that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled. 
FINAL SAY: You live and you suffer. 
4.5 Chili Peppers

Had the most productive day in the garden, harvesting the last of my vegetables and getting the beds prepared for the next plant, even got a spot of weeding done. Then we all decided to have a go at making our own bee hotel. 
I had never heard of a bee hotel until recently, and I have always wanted to keep bees, so having a place for them to hang out in the yard without the responsibility of ownership was very appealing to me.  
Only a couple of hours of foraging, chopping and drilling and tadah! We have a bee hotel perched in the tree overlooking our vegetable patch. Anyone that sees it and has no idea what a bee hotel is, may just think that it is a pretty little wooden piece of art hanging up in the tree. It was actually fun to make and Seth enjoyed gathering the wood and drill the little bee holes immensely. 
Who knows if it will actually attract any bees, but it looks cool and if it is successful the bees don't have far to go to the fruit trees and veggies. A pretty nice way to fill in an Autumn afternoon if you ask me. 

The good old saying 'life begins at forty' has certainly had a grain of truth in it for me. I honestly believe that things in my life have been a lot better, more straight forward and generally a lot less confusing since I turned forty last year. Maybe I am finally getting my head around this 'life' thing, perhaps after 41 years on the planet I am finally evolving to become a more complete human being. 
I know that I don't feel so worried about things anymore, I mean I still have concerns from time to time, I'm not dead! But I rarely worry unnecessarily these days and I certainly give less and less of a shit about the bullshit of others. In fact, things that would have kept me up less than five years ago seem really trivial to me now. 
Maybe when you get to your middle years you just have some kind of silent epiphany where you realise that you are wasting your time - your precious and rapidly diminishing time - worrying over bullshit, most of it not yours or completely out of your control anyway. 
How will I pay that bill? 
Do I look fat today? 
What are they saying about me? 
Do people think I am a failure?
Why did they stop calling me?
Are these shoes ugly?
Fucking hell, you can really do your head in with all that 'inner talk' shit. I think that I have been indulging in a lot less of that crapola since I hit the big 4-0, and boy is it liberating! Yes only one full year into my 40's and I'm agreeing with the saying, life does begin at 40 because by then you should have the sense to stop beating the shit out of yourself and the nous to realise that time is of the essence. And God knows that I would hate to think that I had seen the best that life has to offer me just yet, and I'll be stuffed if I'm going to waste it bashing myself around! 

WYRMWOOD
Release Date: 2015
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 98 mins
This low-budget, Aussie homage to B grade zombie movies is an all out gore-fest. Dubbed as the Mad Max of zombie movies, there's enough undead apocalyptic mayhem to sate even the most die-hard zombie fan's appetite. Directed by new comer Kiah Roache-Turner and co-written with his brother Tristan, Wyrmwood took four years to complete since they only filmed on weekends, and it has all of the makings of a true cult classic. 
After his wife and daughter both fall victim to the zombie virus, Barry teams up with Benny in an attempt to find his sister. Together they create a battle car that runs on some rather unusual fuel, arm themselves with rudimentary weaponry and armour and attempt to slay their way across the Aussie outback. Unbeknownst to them, Barry's sister has been taken hostage and is being used in some twisted zombie experiments that are being undertaken by a very creepy, psychotic doctor.
This movie is not trying to be anything more than what it is- a zombie movie. All the right elements are here, from the brutal and ridiculous gore to the amusing comic relief. Wyrmwood is a lot of fun and at only 98 minutes running time, its fast paced and action packed. 
FINAL SAY: Do you mind if I finish this?
3.5 Chili Peppers

Bravo Ballarat! I took the kids to the Ballarat Begonia Festival yesterday and I think that it was the best one that I have ever been to, a really impressive display indeed!
Whomever decided to run it in the actual gardens and not on the lake foreshore needs a pay rise and a high five, good job! It was so nice to be among the gardens and the flowers whilst we were wandering and enjoying the activities, it really raised the atmosphere and made me a lot more mindful about the fact that it is a primarily flower based event. 
The kids activities were fabulous and mostly free, the Lego treasure hunt was a good way to engage mid-aged kids, and it was great to see the addition of a free water drinking station with chairs and tables. Clearly a lot more of the overall experience was taken into account this year, and I think that it really paid off. Hats off to you, we spent a very full 3 hours there, and in truth, we could have spent a lot more. 
Spent the best part of today catching up with family and making about 20 cups of coffee as our front door felt like the swing doors on a saloon with people going in and out all day, starting from 10am and ending at dinner time that evening. 
I'm not complaining, most people had popped in to say an early happy birthday and were full of cheer and happy chatter, I quite like entertaining people that are in a good mood, I like to entertain them even more if they are making a fuss of me! So the day was wasted over sunshine, coffee, good music, wine, cheese and good company, which is never a waste of a Sunday at all in my mind! 

STILL ALICE
Release Date: 2014
Rating: M
Running Time: 101 mins 
Julianne Moore gives a convincing and Oscar worthy performance (Best Actress worthy actually) in this harrowing tale about a middle aged woman that is struggling with Early-Onset Alzheimer's. 
Renown linguistics Professor Alice Howland has started to forget words and minor details, but when she starts to forget where she is she decides to visit a neurologist to ease her mind. Unfortunately, Alice actually has Early-Onset Alzheimer's and it is rapidly altering her ability levels. Alice must rely on the support of her loving family to help her as she loses more and more of her memories along the way. 
This is one of the saddest movies that I have ever watched, mostly because it is so real and tangible, and also because the levels of hopelessness were so truly heartbreaking to witness. I was literally sobbing on the couch as I watch this once highly intelligent and independent woman lose herself. It's a real tear jerker, have the tissues at the ready. 
FINAL SAY: Hi, Alice. I'm you. And I have something important to say. 
4 Chili Peppers

The behaviours at work have been a bit unpredictable of late, and I find myself searching out quiet spaces to escape to more and more often. There rarely seems to be a day pass by without some level of unwanted anxiety, and I am really looking forward to the three day weekend that is soon to be upon me. 
I long to work in my garden, sketch in my journal, knit in my beanbag and sleep in for three straight mornings in a row....heaven! I need more coffee time, more movie review time, more sunset reflection time and more quiet time for my soul. It is great to be busy, but when life starts to resemble white noise then you just have to retreat. Perhaps it is a Piscean thing, I'm not sure, perhaps everyone feels like this from time to time. 
I suppose that as you get older you start to become more adept at identifying the things that are most important. You get more discerning about where you place your energies and you clearly recognize your limitations before you reach that over-stretched point of snapping a lot earlier on. Yep, I'm listening to myself a lot more these days, trusting myself a lot more and following through with my own needs. There is something very powerful about knowing yourself, and especially knowing your limitations. 
It's true what Kenny Rogers said - "you gotta know when hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run."
Wise words Kenny, wise words indeed! 

FRANK
Release Date: 2014
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 95 mins 
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, Frank is a fictional tale loosely based on character of Frank Sidebottom. Frank was the comic persona of real life musician Chris Sievey who was rumoured to have given financial backing to the film before his death. The film has received generally positive acclaim for it's mostly unusual, whimsical and quirky nature, all of which are in plentiful measures here. 
After a chance meeting, wannabe musician Jon, agrees to play keyboard for an eccentric pop band led by a mysterious and papier mache head wearing singer called Frank. Desperate to be embraced by this new collection of unusual individuals, Jon agrees to join them on trip to record an album, quickly realizing that he has bitten off more than he can chew. 
Michael Fassbender is epic as Frank, a character whose insane and mostly absurd behaviours somehow make him endearing. Donhall Gleeson does a terrific job of portraying Jon, the square peg in a round hole and Maggie Gyllenhaal is nutty as a well made fruitcake as quirky Clara. 
This is pretty weird stuff, the characters are completely unpredictable and generally non-compliant to societal norms in every way. Expect the unexpected and watch it with a very open mind. 
FINAL SAY: Secure the galactic perimetres 
3 Chili Peppers

On Friday evening Craig and I went to a PINARC support services trivia night. Unfortunately, the very first round of the evening was general knowledge, and one of the questions was: How many degrees are there in a triangle?
Now the general consensus on the topic was 180 degrees, which was the the correct answer according to the trivia hosts as well; but Craig being obsessed with all things mathematical, debated the issue and strongly opposed the answer declaring that the answer was 360 degrees. 
Now I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical about that myself, but after a complete explanation, three YouTube clips, numerous sketches and some generally heated debate, I too had to concur that Craig was in fact correct and that it is a common misconception that triangles contain 180 degrees.  
If you are thinking I'm crazy right now, then just check out the link below and see for yourself, it is true. 
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Proof_that_the_angles_of_a_triangle_sum_to_360_degrees
Unfortunately, our fellow players weren't privy to Craig's explanation on the subject, so he didn't get the chance to defend his ideas. One of the players was so adamant that the answer was 180 degrees, that he very stupidly decided to call Craig dumb as dog shit. Now for those of you that know Craig, you would know that calling him names is never a very good thing to do, and calling him stupid has been known to be a quite unpleasant experience for others in the past. But calling him dumb when he is right and has not had the chance to explain himself, well...that's just mental!
Thankfully, Craig conducted himself very well, calmly pointing out to his opposer that perhaps he would like to step outside and try calling him dumb as dog shit again. That was all that he needed to say, it did the job. And although the subject was dropped faster than a hookers knickers, Craig was still very annoyed that he had failed to educate the entire room about the truth of triangles and that everyone on the table had walked away believing him to be a fool. 
It is great being married to an intelligent and number passionate man, but it is not so great to here about the failures of mathematics through means of book learning for days on end. He is a very tenacious individual, and he hates people thinking that he is stupid or uneducated just because he doesn't have a University degree. 
I suppose that if you are going to take people to a trivia night event, then you need to be prepared for some debate, especially when the answers don't align with things that people have invested a lot of time into researching. 
Who could've possibly preempted that the sum of all angles in a triangle would cause so much heated debate? 

PI
Release Date: 1998
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 84 mins
Darren Aronofsky's first full length feature film earned him a Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the Gotham Open Palm Award.  Filmed in high contrast black and white, Pi  is an eerie, compelling and intense journey into the mind of an obsessed mathematician. 
Mathematical genius Max Cohen suffers from debilitating headaches and intense delusional visions, for which he is heavily self medicating. By using his super home built computer, Max holes up for days in his tiny and insanely claustrophobic apartment in an attempt to unlock a secret number which he believes to be the key to unlocking all universal patterns and maybe even the key to existence itself. 
This is a dark romp, with religious and economic undertones. Sean Gullette is hauntingly damaged and utterly compelling as Max, and I really enjoyed Mark Margolis' character Sol, who was Max's only voice of reason. 
FINAL SAY: Mathematics is the language of nature. 
3 Chili Peppers