Blog Archives
A Postcard from Reality: Wish You Were Here!
Sunset over Bribie Island last weekend.
The most FAQ in any interview I do – I love saying that as if it’s a regular occurrence (which it is, of course…ehem) – is “how do you balance performing and family life?”
My answer to that is:
a) I don’t. Not with any real success, anyway. It’s a bit of a mess, really; however…
b) The way we cope is by embracing the seasonality of it. That is, there are seasons of insane busy-ness, followed by seasons of down-time.
Right now were in the downtime season. It’s all about the family, which I am so, so, SO enjoying. There is the odd gig here and there, but after the crazy months of festival fever at the start of 2012, it’s been so lovely lately to just shut myself off from the world of comedy, social media, blogging and the rest for a bit and just focus on soaking up my dear lil family. Well, between sicknesses (I am battling a mo-fo of a virus as I type).
Mothers Day with my grandma.
My kiddly-winks hand balling up a storm at Gran’ma and Gran’pa’s
Flowers and tea, oh my!
My little bunny!
Mister 8 asked for a soccer birthday cake. So Miss 9 and I – with the help of a number of tiny toys we scraped up – delivered.
The kids surprised us with a dress-up play, with them playing da da da da: me and hubby. Note “my” neck-brace and “hubby’s” bible. Hehe. Perfection.
Anyway, just wanted to say thank you so much if you’ve been checking in here for more regular updates; please forgive me my absence, I – and the fam – have just been craving this season something chronic round here. I’ll be back soon.
x
Postcard from Destination Burn Out
My monkey.
So apparently I’m the only one who’s surprised by my collapse, physical and emotional, this week. I feel stupid to have not seen it coming, all I can say in my defence is that when it comes to anticipating the inevitable burn out resulting from this mad past few months, I simply did not have time to think about it.
A closing night celebration with some of the Unexpected crew and friends!
With 2012 thus far comprising not one, but three trips to Adelaide, including a month-long stint for Fringe Fest, followed by a short performance run in Brissie with a two and a bit week chaser in Melbourne, I look back on all this nuttiness and want to slap my forehead: of course! All this time I was on a crash collision towards a nervous breakdown! Duh!
Anyhoo, it’s only of some comfort to know that this implosion is justified.
The good news is that I AM BACK WITH MY KIDLETS!
AAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!
My word, was I a sad sack in Melbourne or what? I don’t know if that came across in this here ole blog, but seriously, I could not snap myself out of my constant state of forlorn – even amidst the wonder that is Melbourne itself, dozens of amazing comedy shows, nice reviews, a few sold out performances, catching up with beautiful friends – even THEN, I just couldn’t lift myself out of the hazy fog of sorry sads that was missing my babies.
My beautiful peeps behind An Unexpected Variety Show, stage manager Belle and pianist Matt, helping me hold it together onstage and off!
As a result I am currently taking a breather to:
a) cuddle the living shizz out of them. I adore them. Even when they are throwing tanties, pushing my buttons and shrieking to the high heavens above, I want to eat them up.
b) reassess how the heck I can make this performing/family combo work. Because after this past couple of months, I am certain that I simply cannot go on being away from them regularly. It kills.
So yes. Time to catch up on sleep, housework, cuddles…basically trying to remember how the heck to be a domestic goddess again, only to recall that oh, that’s right, I never was. Hmmmm. Instead, I shall try to find my rhythm as the dodgy housewife I am. I baked a packet mix chocolate cake yesterday. That has to be a start.
And time to decide…
…where to from here?
Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: THE END!
Barrio, a very bizarre, cool, surreal and rocking art party destination during the Fringe. I couldn't decide if I loved it or was just spun out by it. Not that the two are mutually exclusive...
It is FINISHED!
Woohoo!
I have been busy finishing it, packing it up, digesting it and recovering from it. So here are a few pics and notes of point from the final leg.
More Fringe in the Mall giggage.
My poor little dude back home tore a ligament in his shoulder. Coulda been much worse, but still...wah.
Caught up with this lovely gent who remembered being pulled up onstage with me LAST year in Adelaide! Hehe. Magic moments.
Onstage at Shimmering West: thanks for the photo on twitter, Jade Kops!
The final gig was so bizarre…completely sold out, people standing (which I don’t really like, only because I feel sorry as I know how much I would hate standing for an hour!) and so I was so pumped…only to have one table of people up the back talking through the entire first quarter of the show. Now as a stand-up I’ve had plenty of experiences with this happening and am fine with handling it, only this show is NOT a stand-up comedy show. It’s much more theatrical, in fact I’ve had people even say that they would classify it as a solo theatre show. Point is, I felt a bit reluctant to break the theatre of the show and just address them. But then, after about 15-20 minutes in, I just couldn’t go on. “Excuse me,” I called out, “I’m sorry, but why would you come to a show like this and talk through the entire thing?” The rest of the audience murmured agreement and some of them even clapped. “Please,” I said to the shadows at the back, “if you want to stay and watch, I will welcome you, I will even hug you at the end, but if you would rather talk to each other then PLEASE JUST LEAVE!”
The crowd clapped which made me feel so much better…I was so mad at myself for letting it get to me, but it just did. They did shut up for the rest of the show, though I could still see their heads moving up the back (apparently over a rather impressive number of wine glasses) the whole time. Finally around the 45 minute mark they left the building. Phew! I believe at the end of the show I may have even uttered a very loud and public thank you to them for doing so by way of expletive. Ah, rude people. You may suck, but you really can have a knack for drawing an audience and a performer even closer together.
Bless.
Taking the leap!
The whole trip – indeed, any performing undertaking – has been a total leap into the unknown, or the semi-known or the known-enough-to-hope-for-the-best-but-with-no-guarantees and luckily, it seems to have come up pretty damn beautifully.
Ah.
And now we are back home, decompressing, reuniting and drawing breath before the next big leap.
Thanks for playing along.
xxx
Adelaide Tour Diary: Hahndorf, Toddler Tantrums & Standing Room Only
His royal highness, moments before the lightning struck.
Yesterday we took the troops up to Hahndorf, a super cute German town just outside of Adelaide. We’ve been averaging one excursion out of the house each day which thus far, has been perfect.
On this particular day however, Mister Three – and in all honesty, Mummy too – hit a wall of “fringe fest fatigue” and it all went downhill pretty damn quickly. What ensued was a full limbs-flailing, lungs peeling, strangers smiling in bemusement (at least I hope it was bemusement and not schadenfreude: DAMN I got to use that word in an actual legit German context!) and a brisk walk back to the car, where the little dude promptly put himself straight to sleep.
But not before we snapped some pretty Hahndorf thangs!
Ah well. We are only days away from the finish line and I guess one or two epic tantrums is kinda inevitable. That makes me feel better. Especially when I say it in a Schwarzenegger accent. INEVITABLE.
Works, huh?
The gigs have been going beautifully; Tuesday was so sold out it was kinda ridiculous, some folks had to stand up for the whole show! Such a wonderful feeling; I feel almost guilty about it as I know so many amazingly talented folks who are struggling for audience numbers this year. As those of you who’ve followed since my Melbourne Fringe escapades last year well know, I know exactly what it is to be performing your heart out to three, four or five people (some nights 100% of my audience were staff of the venue!) so I certainly don’t feel like I’ve been on easy street my whole career. But this season, I have had a great one. And I am GREATLY GRATEFUL. Full of grate!
Last night’s Titters saw an improv song about a beautiful couple together for 33 years (!) who met when she cut his hair at a salon. Agh, I love hearing snippets of people’s stories! The song that followed was all “let me cut my way into your heart” and something like:
“after I’ve cut your hair,
I’ll cut off other things just so,
because it’s called marriage baby,
don’t you know?”
Ah, bless.
Then when one of the line-up comics couldn’t make the show due to hers running late, I came back onstage to finish off the show with another improv song. This time we found the couple who’d been together for the least amount of time…a lovely couple called Debbie and Dave. (Well in fairness, Dave wasn’t there so I am assuming on his part a degree of loveliness). Turns out Dave is a wharfie and they met online. Again, the song is so fuzzy in my head – as all improv stuff I ever do always is, it’s almost like a dream I can’t quite remember – but it seemed to go well and ooooh yes, last night’s show was videoed! So will share that with you if and when I can. Unless, in the words of Shrek, “I can’t find you or I forget.”
With some of my fave Adelaide ladeeez at the Fringe Artists Bar after Eurowision the other night!
Tonight is my second-last show of “Unexpected” – Saturday’s is sold out so if you’re in Radelaide and want to come, tonight is your last chance to come! Tix here.
Also the show is getting some beautiful audience reviews over at talkfringe if you care to check em out.
Oh and finally, if you’re in Brisbane and wanna win some tix to my upcoming Brisbane Powerhouse shows, you can do so with the lovely crew over at BrisStyle here!
Love, light and tantrum-free bliss-balls.
xx
Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: Approaching The Final Strait
Taking Mister 3 to the playground just pre-show, while my daughter and Keli, our fab au-pair, did Zumba! I just pretended that all mummies wear cowboy boots and quiffs.
I got up yesterday and looked at my ticket sales and it hit me: only FIVE SHOWS LEFT?! What?! How on earth did that happen? I suppose the gazillion or so guest spots have distracted me from the reality that this roller coaster I’m on is actually coming to an end soon. I will not go quietly.
This week has felt a lot more settled. Somebody told me yesterday that until you’ve done a month-long festival, you can’t really understand the rhythm of it. I guess the marathon comparison continues. Though in the spirit of full disclosure, I shouldn’t even utter phrases that imply there is any possibility of me ever actually running an actual marathon. Never. It’s in writing. NEVER!
But I HAVE found my rhythm. As have the kids. To the point where it now feels like this is not a novelty chapter of life at all, but just our life. Ella (who is being home schooled this month) is rocking it, getting her work done at a most impressive pace so that we can then venture out and explore Adelaide, Cassidy is becoming an avid fan of street theatre as well as becoming stunningly accident prone – the poor little guy got his first black eye this week, not even from any exciting travel tale, just from catching the corner of my bed with his cheekbone. Poor dear. Okay, so perhaps it’s not a rhythm that is particularly painless for him, but he is consistently injuring himself, and I did read in a parenting book once that consistency is paramount. So there’s that.
In brief:
Can anybody spy a metaphor here?
- We have explored playgrounds, playgroups and play-(insert something here…) a-plenty!
- We sadly missed my hubby’s birthday, as he missed mine due to the Fringe. Sigh. We are gonna make up for it when we are back together with our own homemade double b’day party of sorts, but in the meantime, the kids did what they had to do: they made a cake anyway.
And then proved their love by eating the shizz out of it.
- the gigs have been going really beautifully. I have improvised many, MANY songs. I have failed myself in actually documenting these properly so as to remember them…let’s see, there was:
a) the musician/artist couple who met while working in an organic food shop who inspired a ditty called “Organic Romance”;
b) the musician husband and primary school teacher wife, married 43 years, who, when I asked them what the secret of staying together was, the husband, Brenton, without even blinking an eyelid yelled out “Regular sex!” Such a beautiful crowd at this one; I do recall one line that went something like:
“If you were real estate, I’d want to buy and not be rentin,
Come on baby be my wife, come over here to Brenton.”
I can get shamefully proud of myself for rhyming sometimes.
c) in last night’s show something happened that has never happened before…I like to find out from the crowd which couple has been together the longest. Well for the first time ever, we had two couples battling it out, both had been together 33 years! When it came to the crunch, one couple pipped the other by three measly months, so the improv song was all theirs. A chemist and a materials consultant (still don’t understand what that even means!); at the end of the show the runner-up couple told me that they wished they had just said they’d been together for 33 years and 11 months so they could hear their song. She even offered me some suggestions on angles to take…hehe. I love it!
- have also been a little freaked out by realising how quickly my upcoming shows at Brisbane Powerhouse and Melbourne International Comedy Festival are approaching. AGH! I have been so Fringe-ified down here that I’ve been a little laxer than normal on getting the word out. So in the name of being onto it, Brissie and/or Melbourne peeps, if you would like to come, PLEASE DO! Wow, that was surprisingly simple.
No, okay, here are the deets…
Brisbane Powerhouse, March 30-31st, 2 shows only! You can buy tickets here.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The Butterfly Club, April 10-22! You can buy tickets here.
And of course, Adelaide, you’ve still got 5 chances left to come to my show here at the Fringe! Tickets available here.
Hope you are well wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. Unless you’re doing something mean, in which case, I hope you come down with at least a mild head cold.
Salada!
x
Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: A Personal Lifetime Highlight
Backstage before the show.
Not much comedy in this post, but I just want to share it for what it is. Anybody who has seen “An Unexpected Variety Show” will understand why the prospect of having my daughter in the audience for the very first time was one that filled me with a plethora of emotions, from anxiety to sappiness and just about everything in between.
Despite feeling incredibly tense onstage for the first half of the show (despite my suggestions that a side seat might be a little less confronting for her strutting show-pony of a mother, she stuck to her guns and sat front row, centre stage), having my girl there was just…overwhelming.
Whenever I sing “World’s Greatest Love Song”, I sing it to her every night, but last night, I did so literally. My beautiful little girl.
I should interrupt this by saying that I do not think my show is suitable for kids in general! The only reason I let Ella come along last night is because:
a) she already knows the full story and I’d already talked through some of the challenging themes in it with her;
b) she understands that if she comes to a show with some bad language in it, of which there is a bit in mine, she has to prove that she’s mature enough to handle that without thinking it means she can go around spouting it from her own mouth; and
c) it felt right.
Anyhoo, at the end of the show, I said to the audience “This is a monumental night for me because my daughter is actually here in the audience.” As I spoke it out loud I really started to break up and the crowd clapped even louder. I looked down at her beautiful little face looking up at me, and put my arm out to see if she wanted to join me; after a moment’s hesitation she jumped up onstage and in a scene not unlike that of a finale of any number of romantic comedies, we threw our arms around each other with wondrous love from the crowd.
It was perfect.
We then went backstage and proceeded to bawl our eyes out…and laugh…and bawl some more together.
It was one of the most magical times ever.
We then ventured out for a Mummy daughter date in Adelaide, down through the Garden of Unearthly Delights…
The Garden.
…and then off into the city for a gelato and a hot chocolate.
The luscious array of choccies we DIDN'T succumb to on our quest for liquid heaven.
We rang my hubby and told him all about it in the middle of our girly night. I told him that I’ve just realised that really, whatever the heck happens from this point onwards, in the Fringe and in life, just having shared tonight with Ella is really the pinnacle.
Truly.
Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: On Touring With Kids
My little mouse spotting a poster! I love how excited she is about the show, soooo cute (though she would hate me calling her "cute" in public. So please. No further.)
Many people ask me about how I manage to do this performing/touring stuff with kids. Or rather, they just say nice things about how cool it is that I can. Well, most people.
(BTW when my darling box office commander-in-chief relayed this guy’s comments, I was honestly, mostly amused. But I can’t help but point out that in all the illustrious seven or so years of my comedy career thus far, I have NEVER heard any such question aimed at a performer who also happens to be a dad.)
The truth is, I couldn’t do any of this without having my hubby behind me 110%. I am so lucky that he does not see the world through the same lactation-coloured glasses as some (yes, lactation is now its own colour, I’ve just decided it). I truly believe that mothers can still live out crazy and amazing adventures and pursue big dreams, of course I do! But I believe it’s a heck of a lot easier – and better for everybody – when your chief partner-in-crime feels the same way. I take no credit for that at all: I just happen to have shacked up with somebody who doesn’t see gender as an issue in terms of how our family is run. I am LUCKY. I know it.
Plus, in practical terms, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the world’s greatest au-pair onboard the team. This is my first experience ever with an au-pair (in the past I have hired somebody to come and babysit as I go perform or had live-out help come in while I’m away) but this arrangement, provided that we can find the perfect person as seems to have happened this time, is by FAR the best. I love her. I seriously don’t know how I’m going to say goodbye! Five stars!
But yes, point is, as much as I’d like to take it, the reality is that I don’t really deserve any credit for performing, touring and all the rest with kids, because the only way I can do any of this is because of a tremendous level of support from other people. Truly.
Here endeth the sermon.
On a lighter and more “dear Diary” type note, we had the most wonderful time today, catching up with some friends for a play-date in a park by the beach in a cute little part of Adelaide called Semaphore. This time just hanging out with my kidlets in another city, exploring together, socialising and making the most of our new surrounds is such a rocking perk of the touring thing. I hope we can keep it going!
Catching up with friends for a Radelaidian play-date!
Then I swept little Miss 9 into the city where she came to see her first “mummy-featured” show of the Fringe thus far, that being Theatresports: Clash of the Titans!
Improvising onstage!
My wonderful improv team: The Wynter of Our Disco Tent!
Such a lovely night.
It’s so cool too when we bump into people out in Adelaide who’ve seen my show and approach us to chat about it; Ella loves it when people tell her that they saw her onstage (if you’ve seen it you’ll know what I mean); she beams and beams. I love it that she gets to be part of seeing how it’s connecting with people too.
Oh and btw, not sure if you’ve noticed but I stopped writing my “today’s gigs” on here as I COULDN’T SUSTAIN IT. So ridiculous. Even writing them down makes me tired. Luckily I’ve gotten the majority of the “five-gigs-a-day” type days out of the way now, so back to more sane programming from hereon in. Hmmm, hang on, let me just do a quick tally:
56 gigs in total (that’s right, it’s increased).
27 gigs done thus far.
29 gigs left!
NEARLY HALFWAY, PEOPLE!
Oh gees, I kinda want to cry.
Spotted in Adelaide today.
Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: Improv, Sheer Loveliness, the Mayor of Salisbury and the Guilt/Blisters Combo
Rockin out at the Fringe Caravan on the Mall
Today was a little nuts, in theme with the rest of the festival itinerary thus far. I’m so happy that things are calming down HUGELY as of tomorrow, as despite the fact the kids are travelling with me, these past few days have been so busy that we’ve hardly had any time together. I MISS THEM! Tomorrow is all about them, baby and I truly cannot wait. Hence, I am blogging right now before bed-time. No work tomoz! (Well, okay, one gig at Gluttony in the early evening, but I may well bring them along as my roadies.)
Today’s highlights:
- doing the Fringe Caravan stage again, where my improv song was for a woman who was a “decor consultant” and her partner, a “fitter and turner”, neither of which I still have any inkling as to what they actually entail). I have to say, I thought my brain was particularly slow on this one. The song was okay, but I think sleep deprivation plus the shocking heat of late have seriously stalled my synapses somewhat. No excuses – except for those ones I just wrote 
– but yes. Upward and onward!
- being part of the fabulous “Theatresports: Clash of the Titans!” show. The show itself was just fantastic (I’ll be doing a number more of these throughout the fringe, woohoo!). I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED my team, which is a huge relief as I literally walked straight from the Fringe Caravan into the greenroom for the improv show to meet my team-mates for the very first time. Such top guys, so much fun! Our scenes included a dentist cracking onto an abscess-riddled patient in Rockhampton, a historical journey through time set in the Bermuda Triangle concluding with me being sacrificed in a Mayan ritual, improvising a musical “fly on the wall” account of K-Rudd and Julia’s secret love affair and re-enacting the pre-wedding jitters of a highly cheery audience member. We came in second place, the winners being the incredible Sound and Furys direct from LA. These guys are hilarious and they have a fringe show at Gluttony which I’ve only heard good things about!
At some point I texted my friend Jade to beg for an afternoon stop-in at her place for a little “recovery nap”. She was not only obliging, but proceeded to pick up some solid cardboard, fix up the easel and sort out a smoother running plan for tonight’s “Unexpected” show. (Anybody who saw the gong-show that was my opening night’s final portion will appreciate why that was so very needed!)
My dear friend Jade doing what bodge-job Jenny never would: actually LEVELING the easel!
This is not the only reason I love her. She also has rad fingernails.
Fringalicious fingernails!
Then, it was off to the Light Hotel for my show!
My dressing room has pokies in it. Yes. Pokies. I'll bet even Gaga can't make that happen.
Nearly packed house, GORGEOUS audience and things ran much more smoothly tonight, so so happy!
I floated off to do a guest cabaret spot at La Boheme; I thought I’d do a backing CD of one of the songs from my show, but then the wondrous pianist (oh goodness, his name??!?!) said he was happy to play it if I could just write out the chord chart. So I hopped to, he hopped in and together we hopped onstage and made sweet musical moments. It’s a song I’ve been performing for so long, but never to a live accompanist. It brought out something so different in the piece, I felt for a moment I was performing some bizarre brand of gothic vaudeville. SO FUN.
Then I traipsed over to Radio Adelaide for an interview on Radio Notes, where I was stunned into a smiling fit of shock upon having presenter John Murch kick off our interview by hitting “play” on an interview he’d done that very afternoon with the MAYOR OF SALISBURY about the SONG I IMPROVISED FOR HER LAST NIGHT! Can you believe that?!!!
He also showed me this nugget of jawsome; I’d heard through twitter that my show had been included in this feature but had yet to actually see it:
Sunday Mail lift-out: the top 24 shows to see in 24 days at Adelaide Fringe
Stoked and flattered. Mostly stoked. No, flattered. Ummm...it's a tie.
Also got this post on my Facebook wall…
The beautiful post that made my night shinier.
And found out that my next “Unexpected” show at the Fringe is 7 seats away from SOLD OUT. Oh my.
So happy.
As much as I’m piffling on about how brilliant everything is and tra la la, let me also say for the record that on the down-side:
- I have been pining for my kids so severely. Did I already write that? Yes? Well there you go. I feel bad because I know that it’s tough on them to have me being so busy right upfront of the trip and besides that, I just WANT TO BE WITH THEM! I adore them (and the nature of being separated from your pint-sized brood makes you blind to their challenging aspects). But, as I said to Miss 9 yesterday, at least we’re getting the hard yards out of the way. The rest of the fest (with the exception of one or two days) should be much more chilled with time to actually hang out and enjoy some Adelaide kids-style!
- I have the biggest blister of my life on my little toe right now and my back hurts.
G’night! xxx
Adelaide Fringe Festival Tour Diary: “And So It Begins.”
Kids on a plane! AAAAGGGHHHH!
If you’re one of these folks with an appetite for sympathetic glances from strangers, then might I introduce you to the wonders of travelling as a solo parent with a small child? Well, I chose to interpret them as ‘sympathetic glances’ rather than ‘snarls of disapproval’; indeed, as Mister Three was throwing a mighty fit, kicking his shoes off while I struggled to wrangle a mildly ridiculous array of luggage and his pram in the sizeable taxi queue, I believe I actually uttered the words: “Well, Adelaide, this should all be smooth sailing from here!”
After getting the brood settled at our fab homely digs (bit out of the city, but it’s a damn perfect set-up for us, so so happy!) with my lovely au-pair Keli (first time I have ever enjoyed the wonders of an au-pair, she is freaking FABULOUS, so much so that I may never let her go!) I set off into the city for an interview with a student newspaper. I have no idea what I said, only that it was long-winded and a little “off on tangents” oriented, such was my mini-jet lag at having risen at 4am – martyrdom again, HELLO! – to catch that damn jet plane.
Passed by the Fringe Caravan in the Mall, where I'll be performing a number of times throughout the festival. I'm a little nervous, as I've never done street performing, but I have done my fair share of dodgy pubs, so it can't really be that much harder, can it?!
Then it was off to Titters for a truly rocking start to my Fringe ride, for a number of reasons:
- reuniting with some of my favourite people whom I met at my brief stint at last year’s Titters! Seriously love these ladies so much. Francesca Martinez, Jen Brister, Jodie Hill, Bev Killick…it was like the world’s smallest and bestest school reunion!
With new Titters friends backstage! L-R Patsy Decline, Anya Anastasia and moi.
- having the pleasure of being introduced to a local vocal quartet Hot Tutti, an incredible group of women whose stuff was SERIOUSLY amazing, with lyrics like “don’t diss my ability” and a heart-wrenching song about rising above the voices of the schoolyard taunts. I’m definitely gonna be checking out their fringe show. So good!
- making the call to abandon my “safe, known” stuff onstage and just make up a song instead. I was so happy I did this at Woodford, yet for some reason (possibly from the overwhelm of how many gigs I have lined up in this marathon month!) I had decided to go back to my old “material that I know works” thing. Then I thought, “what the heck am I doing? This is FRINGE!!!!!! I should be throwing myself on the creative coals!” and so wound up making up a song about a lovely couple called Bob, who works in the mining industry, and Fran, who is a career coach. What ensued was a small and soothing ditty with lyrics such as:
“Oh my darling Bob,
Come over here,
Even if I can’t give you love,
I can help with your career.”
“Oh my Fran,
I’ll woo you with fine dining,
And then you can chat about my career,
Which, by the way, is mining…”
Oh, the layers of meaning…
Anyway, this has also inspired me to try to remember some of the songs I make up onstage throughout this fest by way of blogging a little bit about them, namely because most of the time I just make these things up and POOF, they’re gone.
I should mention at this point that today, Opening Night of the Adelaide Fringe Festival, was, 33 years ago, an Opening Night of another kind…my appearance into this fair world.
Happy birthday to moi!
We’ve been so busy – and cash-strapped – with the preps, that we had really agreed upon a pretty low-key thing this year; the real present is just being able to come and be part of this mad roller coaster experience anyway.
But then, the night before I set off, my darling hubby and the kids said to me “Mum! Close your eyes and then come into the bathroom!” Never one to shy away from a bizarre and highly impractical command, I did so, and was greeted with this:
Gemstone lined, candlelit bath of jawsome.
Then my heart exploded.
Cut to this morning, and this ole birthday girl rolled out of bed, dreaming of cake. No really. I even facebooked about it, so it must be true.
Then I walked out into the kitchen, to cries of “Mum, Mum! Wait!” and then was greeted with this:
Birthday cake for breakfast!!!!!
I am one spoiled mother. (I mean that in more ways than one.)
All 33 years of me.
Tonight’s Adelaide Fringe Gigs!
Girls’ Night!
6pm at Gluttony
Amuse Bouche – Talk Show guest
8pm at Gluttony: SOLD OUT
Titters: An Award Winning LineUp of Funny Women
10pm at Ambassadors Hotel
Late Night Lounge with Catherine Campbell and Charlie Sanders
10pm – 12pm at Shimmering West, Higher Ground
Our artsy attempt at a Family Purpose Statement
This vision you see before you is the result of a family bonding event gone this past weekend.
Let me start by being honest: things can get pretty nuts around here. I know this is true of pretty much every family household I know, so I’m certainly not pleading special circumstances, but just with the added factor of Mummy dearest to-ing and fro-ing all over the countryside for performances and such, well yes…I’m pleading special circumstances.
And with more performances coming up this year than ever before in our family’s history, I’ve recently realised more than ever how much we are in dire need of some help in:
a) making our time together really, REALLY TRULY count; and
b) getting more organised in terms of practicalities. (Oh dear HEAVENS when we can finally afford professional help with that I will consider that my moment of having “made it”. You have it in writing.)
So, I headed for the first place any approaching-overwhelm mother would in such circumstances: an all-you-can-drink buffet a helpful e-book. After seeing it plugged on another blog, I opted in for this one: One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler.
Thus far, I’ve checked off a couple of these projects, much to my delight (hello morning routine! Menu planning! IS THERE NOTHING I CANNOT CONQUER?!) and last night, the five of us gathered together to nut out one of these tasks as a family: crafting our Family Purpose Statement. A little cheesy? Sure. But those of you who know me well know how I love to embrace the dairy in life.
We each contributed ideas to the kind of family we want to be, even littlest (whose contribution of a Buzz Lightyear quote: “I come in peace!” was included on the grounds that:
a) we wanted everybody in the family to be a part of the statement; and
b) once we adapted it to “we”, it actually is rather cool indeed. WE COME IN PEACE, YO!
Then today, we set about emblazoning it in gold. Only that didn’t work out, so we opted for the next best thing: a mixed media collage.
It now has prime position in our kitchen. And I kinda love it. Now I finally have something to stare dreamily at when I find my happy place.
Note: I have already uttered the phrase today (that’s right, on DAY ZERO):
“Where does it say “hit each other!” on the family purpose statement? WHERE?!?!?!”
I am not proud.
And yet…I am.
