Wassup wit Karaka?

Karaka is the colour of Paint that is the large fence surrounding our house, all the garden edges, trellis, retaining walls etc etc. It is Dark green.

Morningside, Whangarei is HOT, especially in Summer. Hot summer sun punishes paint. Hence the old Karaka was looking a bit drab so a quick trip to Placemakers and 10 L of Karaka was ready to tackle the drab surrounds.

Trouble is, it is too hot and there is only one of me. Oh hang-on... I do have two rather cute kids :)

Good work Kids...carry on!

Don't spill it...

Now that looks better.

So with their expert help we have breathed life into the old. Thanks kids!

Wassup wit Bedtimes?

When I was a wee chap my parents would make me go to bed at 6:30 - 7:00 PM whether it was Daylight saving, a weekend or whatever.

Sure I grumbled a bit when you could hear other kids still playing outside or the sun was still blazing. Who wouldn't?


As a parent of two beautiful children I have now seen the wisdom of a strict bedtime. Kids get to know routine and a harmonious family ensues.

It was one such bedtime and my kids were off to brush their teeth and choose their stories when I looked outside - brilliant sunshine!

"Hey kids! Check this out!" The gymnastics challenge was on!









Alas there are no pictures of me, which is probably just as well. My little gymnasts would have kicked my gluteals :)

What was your bedtime? And what would you sometimes do if you got to stay up late?

Wassup wit Numberjacks?

After a hectic day celebrating my daughters 6th Birthday yesterday 18 Dec 2009, this morning was an atypical lazy one. Mumma was sleeping in, the kids were watching Kidzone whilst Dada (me) prepared breakfast. Hang-on, that sounds like everyday. In any case, great squeals of delight were released when Kane (Kidzone host) announced the Numberjacks were about to start.

For the uninitiated:

The Numberjacks are animated characters - the numbers zero to nine - who live in an ordinary sofa and solve problems outside. In response to a problem that arises one or two of the Numberjacks will go out into the real world to solve the problem, while the remaining Numberjacks stay in their base and watch their progress on a screen.

I love the 'evil' characters:

The Problem Blob spits out lumps of green slime that cause anything they touch to suffer from a particular problem.

The Shape Japer causes problems by changing the shape or size of objects.

The Puzzler traps the Numberjacks inside a puzzle bubble or causes other problems and sets mathematical puzzles that must be solved before the problems will go away. He is arguably the most fearsome enemy of the Numberjacks, as any Numberjack unable to solve one of his puzzles would be trapped in a puzzle bubble for all eternity.

The Spooky Spoon mixes things up, which the Numberjacks have to sort out.

The Numbertaker is a white-coated live action man with an exaggerated top hat who removes numbers or numbers of things. As numbers themselves, the Numberjacks must be particularly careful when dealing with him. He uses a number sucker upper, a number grabber, a net, a magnet and a hook to take things. My personal favoutite :)

So back to my story:

My now 6 year old daughter annouces, "I'm the yellow 6, not the number 5 anymore" They grow up so fast, soon she'll be the red 7 *sniffs*

I'm Pink and Blue...what colours are you?

Wassup wit Sprained Ankles?

Recently I gave the soccer player beside me a fright. I happened to roll my ankle creating a rather sharp cracking sound. The picture above makes me cringe, bringing back the nasty memory. I blog for the catharsis it may bring. I blog to help prevent another needless injury...

Apparently Sprained Ankles are one of the most common injuries for active people who participate in sports. Hmmm...

I wonder how many times you've done yours? Really bad, I think my talley thus far is 3. Countless little tweaks are just a fleeting reminder of a general weakness in this area.

Apparently it is best to prevent ankle injuries...well duh. This can be done by stretching and warming-up before sport or physical activity. Wearing good, supporting shoes made for the activity you are doing are a help. That's helpful...

But if you do injure your ankle, here are some good tips to heal a sprained ankle.

Step 1
If you injure your ankle badly enough for it to swell and discolor, check with your doctor. Not all bone breaks refuse to support weight or turn black and blue. Always have your ankle x rayed since there might be a fracture. Check - no fracture.
Step 2
Ice is particularly effective during the first 24 hours of an injury to reduce swelling. Check - still swollen.
Step 3
Compression will also help keep down swelling, so a good wrap that holds the ankle in place – but not too tight! – is another good way to help a sprained ankle heal. Check - feels a little tight though.
Step 4
Keep the injured ankle elevated so blood doesn’t pool with gravity. Check - gets boring real fast.
Step 5
Rest is a major component of healing, so get lots of it! Check - Yawn.
Step 6
Don’t just assume that if an ankle isn’t broken, that there is no reason to fuss over the injury. It isn’t all that rare that improperly treated ankle sprains can develop into chronic ankle instability and create permanent problems. Hmmm - perhaps too late?
Step 7
Once the worst of the swelling is reduced, use the ankle gently. In the past people coddled sprains, but it has now been shown that getting an injury back into use -- gently -- actually speeds up healing. Even once the basic healing is past, use support wraps, tapes or stockings on healing ankle injuries to help a sprained ankle heal completely.Stockings - Check.

Boring, I know...I'm bored!

Wassup wit Fishing Competitions?

I've always dreamed of catching the biggest fish at a fishing competition and winning the major prize.


A mere 7 years ago a bunch of us Guys and Gals from Zeal Church embarked on our annual Fishing Competition. We had some sponsors with a shiny new reel up for grabs.


The Venue: Kauri mountain Beach


Prize: For the biggest Kahawai (quite prolific at Kauri Mountain)


We spread out across the beach and began hurling our baits out as far as they could fly. Seaweed littered the sand at the hightide mark and many a cast reeled in hefty clupms too add to the smelly piles.

The going was slow and heads began to drop and murmers could be heard from the less stallwart amongst us.

Some waded out into the cold surf to gain a few important metres on their cast. Hours later they were seen stuffing as much newspaper, smelling suspiciously like bait, down their jacket to protect themselves from the bone-chilling cold. Full marks for perseverance.

A whooping shout could be heard from down the beach. The first of the long awaited Kahawai had been caught. It's shimmering silver form coming with a promise of a brand new reel.

Heads perked up and casts seemed to sail out with renewed vigor. As time went on several more Kahawai were harvested from the sea. Runners kept up a commentary as these 'non-fishers' ran between contestants shouting and comparing fish sizes.

Almost as a surprise a Schnapper was caught, not very big mind you, but all the same it was a Schnapper! Suddenly it was like the windows of Heaven were thrown open. Hoots could be heard up and down the beach as one after another the sea gave up Schnapper in increasing sizes.

I was watching this spectacle, enjoying my comrades success, but dreaming of my turn, when my line rapidly peeled off out to sea. My drag had been fairly loose so I tightened it a notch or two with no effect. As my heart began to beat faster I tentatively wound my drag tighter and tighter. The steamtrain on the other end began to tire and after three strong runs straight out to sea against almost full drag this monster was beat.

I hesitantly reeled in my prize with comrades searching the waves for a glint of scaly silver. Shauny leapt into the frey with a long handled Gaff and secured my prize! Thanks Shauny, I owe you one.

I could scarcley believe my eyes as a Schnapper as long as my fully extended arm flopped on the sand. Wooooo Hoooo!

Shauny 'Gaff Man / Hohepa / Honey Boy C. was having an absolute shocker of a night. Having borrowed a rod from his mate he promptly broke it and later injured himself (quite how I can't recall). Turns out the rod was his mates Dad's...oops.

In any case, with the promise of even larger Schnapper with the next cast, I selflessly baited my line and handed it to Shaun. "Catch a monster Mate"

Unfortunately Shauny had other plans and turned my reel into a fish mish ending birds nest of all birds nests :(

I don't know who I was more sad for...Shauny and his shockingly memorable night or myself for not having another crack at those once in a life time MOOCHERS!

At prize giving my mighty Schnapper dwarfed the competition. I was all smiles until I remembered the prize was for the biggest Kahawai. I wasn't worried, I already had my prize!

Good times all round I say. Here's a picture of the one that didn't get away :)

Wassup wit Schnapper prices?

At more than $33 per kilo for a fillet of NZ goodness, I think it's high time we all went for a fish and caught our own!


It's been so long that I can barely remember the feeling of reeling one of these delicacies from the ocean depths.


Having inadvertantly put our fishing spot in the Northern Advocate for all to see (here) I thought I would try and inspire myself and hopefully my good fishing buddy to clean our gear and head out for a fish mish.


So here goes...

'Never A Dull Moment' seems to encapsulate our fish mish's over the years.

We've caught: Schnapper, Kahawai, Trevally, Mau mau, Rays, Eels, Koheru, Piper, Sea weed, Rock Cod, Red Cod, Leather Jackets (Butterfish) and some weird stuff that Syms ate.


We've seen: Sharks, Sting Rays, Dolphins, Killer Whales, Sunsets, Sun rises and smiles galore.


We've experienced: Broken Rods, Flying Spools, Shattered Fry Pans, Scraped Skin, Falling Torches, Schnapper Dances, Stormy Swells, Sideways Rain, Busby Frogs and all with best mates giving thanks to the One who made it and holds it all together.


Thank you Jesus!

Colossians 1:15-17 (NIV)

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

By the way...cleaning your gear is optional :) Woohooo...Schnapper time, Da da da da, wo o wo o o oh!

Wassup with Georgie Pie?

Ahh...Georgie Pie. An Ode to you

Cobb & Co now resides in your rightful place

Raising pie prices thus sealing your fate.

As much as we despise we also miss de pies

Cheesy! Yes it was my favourite choice

At one dollar each I would gobble down 4

With one dollar change a fruit pie...score!

Alas your memory fades away

Rumours of your return? I cannot say

In days of health and fitness supreme

The grams of globulated fat have lost their sheen

Like re-runs of six million dollar man and Jamie

I know going back will would be super lame(y)

So I choose to remember your once former glory

As a little boy on the north shore(y) - see photo

Wassup with Flashbacks ? - Part 3

Who's got the cutest little kid photo of themselves? Here's my entry...

They say you grow into your ears. Unfortunately they also say that your ears (and your nose) keep growing your entire life!!!

My question is why?

I know what the big bad wolf would say.

Wassup with Flashbacks? - Part 2

Continuing my Flashback series, I know you'll be pleased with the absolute perfection that are my Guns!

So without further ado...


Wait for it....

The 1970's were a long time ago...

Oh, wait a second...

You may have to squint a bit...

Ah, here we go...

Yes that is me. And yes that is a mask and snorkel on my head. And yes those are my guns.

Thank you, come again.

Wassup with Flashbacks? - Part 1

According to WIKIPEDIA - a flashback is a psychological phenomenom in which an individual has a sudden, usually powerful, re-experiencing of a past experience or elements of a past experience. The term is used particularly when the memory is recalled involuntarily, and/or when it is so intense that the person "relives" the experience, unable to fully recognize it as memory and not something that is happening in "real time". The medical term for the phenomenon is "hypnagogic regression".


That sounds a bit serious. I just wanted to put a few old photos on my blog to crack me up...and a few of you that know me (i.e. those that view this blog :)


I was inspired by Burtons recent post.

On Burtons post I commented about wanting a Grifter (the bike he had) or any other 'cool' bike like a Scrambler, yellow HMX 500...

anything rather than the Mauve Raleigh 20 I had (I did really appreciate it Mum and Dad). It just couldn't jump kerbs and stuff.

Sorry about the poor quality picture, but don't you wish you had this shiny example of bicicular ingenuity coupled with the matching saddle bags.

Oh no...Flashbacks!!!

Wassup wit Binoculars?

For a long time now I have wanted a pair of Binoculars. Being the shrewd businessman I am, I scoured Garage sale after Garage sale until the years of searching finally paid off. There they were. A battered pair of beautiful optical technology.

$20.00 was the price tag...yeah right. Here's the conversation as it happened...

Me: (Cheekily) Would you take $5.00 ?

Old man: (waves hand) Haha, a bit more than that.

Me: (casually looks away) Hmmm...

Old mans assistant: I'll give you $10.00 !

Me: Ok, you can have them for $10.00

Old mans assistant: (silence...long pause)

Me: Are you sure you won't take $5.00 ?

Old man: (defeated) $7.00 ?

Me: (smiling widely) Ok $7.00 it is!

Yes! Finally! Woohoo! Come on kids (no you can't have the Koala) let's go!

So why did I want a pair of Binoculars?

Binoculars are almost a necessity for the astronomer, hunter, saltwater fisherman, boater, sports fan, and experienced traveler and bird watcher (the ornithologist not the other kind...dodgy)

I got home and gave them a clean up and spray with Silicone Spray (seized by years of salt air on the old man's boat). So now at least they don't have spider webs and they move freely. Basically they work good as gold.

Here's the specs:

Carton Optics Tokyo (7 x 50) Field 7.1 No: 351438 - Sweetness!

A 'good' pair of Binoculars depends on:

1. The type of glass selected for binocular lenses and prisms.
2. The design of the eyepieces.
3. The size and type of prisms.
4. The care in grinding and polishing the glass elements
5. The type and coverage of anti-reflection coatings etc etc (yawn)

Let's talk POWER.

Binoculars are commonly described by using a pair of numbers, as in "7x50" or "8x25."

The first of these numbers refers to the magnification offered by the binocular. In the examples above, "7x" means the binocular makes whatever you look at appear seven times closer than it does to the unaided human eye.

Common binocular magnifications are 6x, 7x, 8x, 9x, and 10x.

Remember that everything (including movement) is magnified when you look through a pair of binoculars, especially your own shakes and tremors. So the higher the power, the harder it seems to hold the binoculars steady. 6, 7, or 8 power binoculars are easier for most people, even those with very steady hands, to hold reasonably still. The higher powers sound like a good deal, but often result in jiggly, blurred views. This is why 7x binoculars are chosen by so many experts, including the military.

So my 7x50's are sounding sweet!

The second number most commonly associated with binoculars refers to the diameter of the objective lens in millimeters. Thus in "7x50," the "50" means that the front lenses of the binoculars are 50mm in diameter, which is large for hand held binoculars.

The larger the diameter of the front objectives, the more light can enter the binoculars and be focused to your eyes. Therefore you can see better in dim light with binoculars that have large front lenses. For example, 7x50 binoculars are often called "night glasses" because they seem so bright in dim light.

Yes! 7x50's Rock!

Wassup wit the Abacus?

Did you have one of these when you went to school? If you did you are probably showing your age. Mind you who knows what they are teaching kids these days? It is of course the humble Abacus.

According to Wikipedia...An abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing mathematical processes. Today, abacuses are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of wood, stone, or metal. The abacus was in use centuries before the adoption of the written modern numeral system and is still widely used by merchants, traders and clerks in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere.

I was wondering how I could help my five year old daughter with her maths and suddenly a revelatory image of an abacus flew into my mind...EUREKA!

So I was talking to my dad who quickly and unbeknownst to me, whipped up an awesome abacus. Thanks Dad! You are the man!

Now, our Abacus is modelled on one used in a Danish Elementary School (which is based on the Russian Abacus) - why choose that one? Good question. In its basic form it can be used to count numbers from 1 - 100 and perform basic addition and subtraction - good for the kids.

The most popular seems to be the Japanese Soroban. But somehow this seemed a little complicated for my kids.

Japanese Soroban

The user of an abacus who slides the beads of the abacus by hand is called an abacist.

I am the ABACIST! I have been challenging myself to complex addition and Subtraction equations and the Abacus is not only accurate but it is surprisingly fast. Giving the rows values from bottom to top:

1. Ones


2. Tens


3. Hundreds


4. Thousands etc

You get the picture. Massive numbers can be calculated!

My wife is not at all enthused by my obvious skills but i'm not daunted. I am trying to figure out if Multiplication and Division can be done on a 'Russian' type Abacus. It can be done on a Soroban but hey...it's for the kids right?

Anyone keen for an Abacus Challenge? I know - I'm a big child-like Geek!

Check this out...funny in a scary way.

Wassup wit Deep Tissue Massage?

Today my wife and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. According to the Customary gifts we should have given each other Bronze...nice!

Instead we dropped the kids off at Grandma and Poppa's and took off up North to Paihia (N.Z). While the kids went to Chipmunks (see here) and then to Pizza Hut (see here) we wound up at a Spa for some pampering that my wife booked.

"I can't remember if I ordered the Deep Tissue Massage or the Swedish Massage for you"

A Swedish Massage ranges from light to firm but in no way approaches the intensity of a Deep Tissue Massage.

As I found out a Deep Tissue Massage is aimed at the deeper tissue structures of the muscle and fascia, also called connective tissue. Apparently it shouldn't hurt and you should feel free to speak up if it gets uncomfortable.

Wish the masseuse had told me that. I took the stoic - squeeze backs the tears and bear it approach.

As I heard her finger joints clicking and popping with the pressure she applied I wondered if I would be permanently crippled or feel like the Six Million Dollar Man afterwards. I was hoping for the latter.

After the pummeling, I sat out on a couch and was advised to drink plenty of water to flush out the toxins released by such a vigorous beating. This I did and felt like the 5th little piggie.

Afterwards we had a 3 Course lunch at Pure Taste, which you can read about in my wife's upcoming Blog

My turn to choose next year! Happy Anniversary Merepyiar - I love you lots and lots.

Wassup wit travelling gnomes?

The travelling gnome prank is a method of returning a garden gnome "to the wild". It involves stealing a gnome, taking it on a trip, and photographing it at famous landmarks with the photos being returned to the owner. There are many clubs and organizations dedicated to the prank; the best-known of these is the Garden Gnome Liberation Front.

Thanks for that insightful introduction Wikipedia.

This does sound like fun and I would love to do it but several obstacles seem to arise:

1. Returning a gnome to the wild involves stealing, and I've read somewhere about that practice being frowned upon.


2. The only other person with gnomes that I know of is my parents.


3. Travel usually involves lots of $$$


4. Gnomes would just be too heavy in your luggage.

Well funnily enough an opportunity arose for me to fly to San Francisco for very little money recently, and by very little I mean none. A friend suggested that I take a toy to photograph at 'famous' places.

This sounded almost as good as The aforementioned travelling gnome prank so I asked my daughter to pick a toy for me to take. She rushed off to her toy bins and selected her 'rainbow bunny'. I examined her choice:

1. Light weight
2. Cute looking
3. Flexible for those difficult shots
4. ...something about rainbows and San Francisco...

I know what I said, I'll take the Kiwi!

So here's a few of Kiwi's travels...

Kiwi checking out our sweet suite

Kiwi checking out the Golden Gate bridge - check out the surf

Kiwi posing around Coit tower

Kiwi sampling some fine Ghirardelli Chocolate

Kiwi atop the Crookedest Street - Lombard St.

Kiwi admiring depression era murals

Kiwi checking out the price tag - $2375.00 US

Kiwi running off the excess on the 'toddler treadmill'

Kiwi picks his favourite smelly

Yeah right Kiwi

Now you're dreaming

After a hard days travelling - he deserves it :)

Wassup wit Subs?

• Not the filled roll type sandwich.


• Not the unfortunate backwash caused by gulping from a bottle of drink to soon after having a mouth full of food.


• Not those annoying loud speakers people put in their cars to alert us to the fact they have annoying loud speakers in their cars.

I am in fact refering to the coolest Battleships game peice ever...the Submarine. I mean who doesn't like the dead calm inside a submarine when the ships above are 'Pinging' them, trying to locate the stealthy shadow that lurks beneath armed with ship destroying torpedos.

'Dive Dive Dive' - so many cool stuff to do with submarines.

I recently got to experience a tour on a submarine - namely the USS Pampanito located at Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco (click Here for the online tour. You can download the Audio tour and listen while viewing the photos)

USS Pampanito

And they picked up another 75 POW's floating in the ocean

Inside the hub of the Sub - hey there's N.Z

'Don't lie on the bunks!...oops

After paying $11 US I wandered onto the USS Pampanito and turned on the supplied MP3 Audio Tour. It turns out I was the only person exploring the Sub which was really cool. Former Sailors were narrating the tour and even though I was only one man aboard a big submarine I was getting a feeling how it must have been for 80 men to be aboard. And that was before they picked up another 75 POW's from a Japanese ship they had torpedoed.

I don't think I would have enjoyed the real thing, but I very much enjoyed the tour and of course - Submarine movies.

Wassup wit Samsonite?

Movies that you can quote over and over again are just plain good fun in my book. There are many of these movies and probably the best known one of these is Napoleon Dynamite. But in my opinion it pales in comparison to the classic that is the 1994 movie - Dumb and Dumber.

Recently I was priveledged enough to be in San Fransisco and came across this little shop.

I know...funny eh?

For those among you who still have no idea what I'm on about my merciful side will let you in on the little joke. Although unless you've been there and frequently quoted the scene it will be a little lost on you.

Below are a few more of my favourite lines from this classic peice of 20th Century entertainment:

• Man you are one pathetic loser. No offense.


• Our pets heads are falling off!


• Foot long...who's got the foot long?


• Big gulps, huh.


• Little old lady? Little old lady?!


• Er..if that guy over there is Sea Bass?? Ah..err.

Ahh true comic genious. All the scenes come flowing back.

Disclaimer: Although I thoroughly enjoy reliving the scenes over and over again I would hasten to add that the movie is not without a little dodginess. Therefore you may have to settle for my reminiscing of the clean parts :)

Mock...Yeah...ing...Yeah...Bird...Yeah...Yeah...Yeah! (Pretty Bird)

Wassup wit eating out?

Last night our family went out to a family restaurant, namely Cobb @ Co. We've been there a few times and its average to good, but last night :(

I only want to mention one word, 'SPECIALS'

Now to me that usually means that the restuarant is giving some sought of bargain / bonus for choosing this menu item. And to me it usually speaks of a reduction in price. Am I right or am I right?!

Last nights special was Slow roasted minted lamb shanks covered with a rich gravy over mash accompanied with seasonal vegetables. That sounded good to me. Having made up my mind so readily I was free to quickly exert my dominance over the easy peasy Japanesey Lemon sqeezey (as my daughter repeatedly says - what are they teaching kids in schools these days?)...puzzles. What not even a sharp pencil - tut tut tut.

When the 'Trainee' waitress finally came around to take our orders I asked if the 'Special' was two lamb shanks for the price of one (as the price was the same as the listed menu item for a single lamb shank), whereupon she told me that it was only for one. She must be mistaken, surely, afterall she is a Trainee. I then asked her what made it 'special'? She informed me that it was more just the fact that they were advertising it that made it special.

Really, well your 'Special' is not very special afterall. Someone just ordered too many lambshanks and you're trying to get them sold - LAME.

Remaining calm, I quickly browsed the menu once again and hastily chose the BBQ Spare Ribs...mmmmm...they were gooooood!

We are either really rich or really silly. Our family all dined out again the next day. This time it was B.K for lunch. The kids played on the weird little playground, Jackie ordered and I people watched, by people I mean the kids.


We got our lunch and sat down. I hailed the kids (Star Trek influence there) and we fell to the board making short work of the food before us (Stephen Lawhead influence there). Just a few things were missing...

1. Serviettes - none to be found anywhere.
2. Straws - not a necessity but it makes drinking slightly more amusing
3. Sauce - or Ketchup as it's known in BK land

Now I could have probably attained all these items if I would have stood in,line and waited another 10 minutes to be served but then who wants to wait when it's supposed to be fast food.

If I sound ungrateful, i'm not. I'm very thankful to be able to eat out and I enjoy doing so. It's just that we treat it as a 'Special' occasion and the misleading or simply lack of service detracts from the 'Specialness' if you like.

So here's my top 5 hints when eating out:

1. Don't take the kids (harsh - yes, but also very true)
2. Make money no object - expect to pay about 1/2 of what you pay on the weekly groceries (if not more)
3. Order something you couldn't have made at home - so even if it's bad, you still couldn't have had it at home, so that's good.
4. Never order the Terrine - one word, 'Jellymeat'
5. Wear adjustable clothing - nothing spoils a great meal out like a constricted lower body. Men - loose jeans/trousers with a belt. Ladies - elastic anything.

Wassup wit Chipmunks?

I recently had the pleasure of celebrating my son's 3rd birthday. He wanted a Chipmunks Birthday, so he and 9 of his mates (and us adults) had heaps of fun going mad at this fine establishment.

Rules:

1. You can scream as loud as you want!



2. You can eat/drink whatever you want.



3. Feel free to go crazy.



4. Be thankful for the day, your mates and the prezzies.

After watching the kids do hilarious stunts like sliding head first and upside down on the big slide and getting hot, puffed and sweaty running around like mad things we broke for lunch and birthday celebrations.

Chipmunks served us up wholesome nutritious pack of cherrio sausages, mini hotdogs, chips (frys), lollies and sugary fruit drinks. Fuel for the tank I say!

The kids prayed, ate the lollies, drank the drink, opened the presents, thanked everone and bailed to play. This left the two dads amongst the crew to eat the aforementioned wholesome food packs...mmm. It was while doing so that I found buried deep within such a pack a great treasure...namely the SUPERFRY!

Oh yeah! You know this is the mac-daddy of all fries!

I so reckon it beats this fellas attempt that got him some recognition in the Frightening Fast Food group (you could Google it, but its lame)

I ate the monster fry and rounded up the troops who were getting pretty worn out by this stage.

Thanks Chipmunks for a great Birthday and my extraordinary experience with a truely amazing fry amongst fries. I mean if it were in Old Testament times it would be the Saul of all fries, nay the Goliath or a Nephilim amongst its ordinary fry mates.

Yes, truely awesome.

Wassup wit Flannelgraph?

I have very vague recollections of Flannelgraph at Sunday school - to be honest I think I bunked most classes. So to refresh my memory I went to a very reputable site, A.K.A Wikipedia.

Flannelgraph (sometimes called a flannel board) is a storytelling system that uses a board covered with flannel , usually resting on an easel. The flannel board is usually painted to depict a background scene appropriate to the story being told. Paper cutouts of characters and objects in the story are then placed on the board, and moved around, as the story unfolds. These cutouts are backed, either with flannel, or with some other substance that adheres lightly to the flannel background, such as coarse sandpaper.

Now my Mum is not slow to catch on to the latest fad, and being multi-talented can turn her hands to most things. So when she gestured excitedly to her latest creation I was more than a little intrigued.

Voila!! The latest fad, A.K.A The next big thing! (according to a very special 5 year old anyway) - Homemade Flannelgraph!

Thats me pointing to...me!

That's my little girl pointing to her favourite - a birdie!

My best mate (see here) is definately not slow to pick up on the latest fad either. Check out Flannelgraph 2009 styles!

So whether you have fond memories of Bible Stories being 'blinged up' with Flannel or you just like to wear the stuff, let's celebrate together the multi-useful medium that is Flannel!

I don't think so Tim.