This will hurt me...

Not the most comfortable place you will ever find yourself sunbathing. Excellent skipping stone fodder, however.

A close finish. The River Derwent, as seen from the Bellerive boardwalk. December 2011. This poem depresses me very much. I like it. Gunner , Randall Jarrell Did they send me away from my cat and my wife To a doctor who poked me and counted my teeth, To a line on a plain, to a stove in a tent? Did I nod in the flies of the schools? And the fighters rolled into the tracer like rabbits, The blood froze over my splints like a scab -- Did I snore, all still and grey in the turret, Till the palms rose out of the sea with my death? And the world ends here, in the sand of a grave, All my wars over? How easy it was to die! Has my wife a pension of so many mice? Did the medals go home to my cat?

Here is Henry and his good friend Scarlet engrossed in the harrowing tale of the three little pigs on the last [ever] day of kindergarten. [Note: it ended well (for the pigs).]

Through a fence (mildly). Just off Sandy Bay Road. December 2011. Just the one book this week, and not one in the holiday spirit. Time's Arrow is a rather controversial novel by Martin Amis from 1991. Essentially, the story recounts the life of a German Holocaust doctor in reverse chronology. That is, the narrator - some kind of disembodied secondary consciousness - together with the reader, experiences time passing in reverse, with the central protagonist becoming younger and younger during the course of the novel. The narrator is not exactly the protagonist himself but somehow living within him, feeling his feelings but with no access to his thoughts no control over events and somehow experiencing everything in reverse. Confused? Obviously the point is to unsettle the reader as we confront the now familiar tale of the Holocaust (although familiarity does not itself entail understanding). Amis messes about with reverse dialogue, reverse narrative, and reverse explanation which a

Alles klar!

Guess what happens next? Little Howrah Beach, Howrah. December 2011. Theme Thursday already and it seems that I've lost most of my X-mas break to the flu. This was not supposed to be the FUTURE (this time last week). Inevitably, the FUTURE disappoints. The FUTURE rarely delivers. The FUTURE is usually much like the present, only we are more tired, have more aches and pains and more irritable. The FUTURE, to put it bluntly, ain't what it used to be.

He's not dead, he's only sleeping. We have prepared a grave just in case.

Hobart in the summer. Our front yard, Geilston Bay. December 2011. Today's photograph is an appropriately wet one for Watery Wednesday . Taken last Monday at (about) 4:04 pm, you can see how a sudden deluge saw our front lawn flooded. For a while there - as the waters rose and Henry and I were hustling as many animals as we could find (which amounted to some grasshoppers and a bunch of ants) onto a makeshift raft - we were quite worried. Then the rain stopped. Aside from a bit of pine bark that floated away and a bunch of rocks that were pushed downhill by the stream of water, there was not much to show of the whole affair,

"Yes!"

Chains of love. Marieville Esplanade, Sandy Bay. December 2011. This week's Q and A has been filched from many years ago on Sunday Stealing: The Final Week of 2009 2011 Meme 1. What did you do in 2009 2011 that you'd never done before? I took Henry and Ezra to Melbourne. 2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't really do them. I'm trying to be a little more healthy next year. 3. How will you be spending New Year's Eve? In bed. 4. Did anyone close to you die? No. 5. What countries did you visit? Just Australia. 6. What would you like to have in 2010 2012 that you lacked in 2009 2011? A little more peace and quiet. 7. What date from 2009 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Henry's first day of Kindergarten, because it was... well.... Henry's first day at Kindergarten. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Not killing anybody. 9. What was your biggest failure? Not killing anybody.

Salut! On another note, I sincerely hate have a bad cold over a week's leave period. Christmas or no Christmas.

STOP! Sandy Bay Road, Sandy Bay. December 2011. I am having Boxing Day off. I hope all is well with you and yours.

Christmas is kind of like this great big kick arse slide. You spent an eternity toiling away to get to the top, look around you and think about how great it's going to be. Then you hop on, and WHOOOSH, you're done. You dust the pine bark off, wonder what all the fuss was about, sigh and set about climbing back up.

MERRY CHRISTMAS (flower). Royal Botanical Gardens. October 2011. While I am busy keeping a lid on proceedings in the real world, I will let the robot take care of business on the blog front. Today, the robot gets the great privilege of drafting A Very Special Sunday Top Five . Well, robot...? Today I present to you The Very Top Five Things That I Like To Do On December 25 That Does Not Involve The [Alleged] Birth Of A Baby Of [Alleged] Uncertain Parentage Or A Fat Bloke In A Red Jump Suit ! Eating chocolate mousse! Visiting the beach! Having My Feet Rubbed! Vacuuming! Quietly rocking in a dark corner gently hitting my forehead onto the ground! If I can be bothered, I'll post some pictures of children with presents 'n stuff later on...