chirpy

Slow couple of weeks,nothing of note to report,pretty unfunny really.Sold the last of the wedding bits and pieces,helped moved Chloe and Jess to the renovated big shed/grannyflat at Jess's parents. Seriously it is bigger than the living space at their flat.

To move them I had to drive one of these

when i normally drive one of these

I did ok, Chloe paid for insurance for the day...just in case...

I almost collected 3 cars changing lanes, luckily I had Gemma as the spotter.."MuuuUUUuuuuMM.....theres a CAAAAAR"

I don't know how, but am still not smoking :) , browsing youtube instead.....


During my browsing adventures of youtube while trying not to think about a cigarette, I came across a group I had totally fogotten about."Middle of the Road"

For me this was the sound of 1971,I have no LP's of this group. it was before my purchasing power , money was still in my future. Sally Carr's pretty voice was on the radio all day it seemed. They had a string of hits, these 3 my favorites.

Interesting trivia, Sally dated Sweet lead singer Brian Connolly! I wonder if they fought over the hairdryer?!!

see! the same hair!

I've entered the facebook circle of mums top 25 blogs,If you llike, can you vote for my blog here please. I have a link up on the side bar there, but you may not find me with that , you have to scroll...............................................right to the bottom. I can't win it, number 1 has over 12oo votes, but not coming last would be a be good look...........Ta Muchly

International Transgender Remembrance Day 2011

Today is the day we remember with sadness and horror the lives of transgender women and men, mostly women, who have been subject to so much homophobia and hatred that they were murdered.Obliterated because the person holding the gun, the knife or wielding the fist or blunt object could not see the person in front of them as a person,they could only objectify them and dwell on their perceived "wrongness" until they did the unthinkable. This memorial day started as an online gathering,I just read the TDoR is observed in over 185 cities in more than 20 countries, that's great, support and awareness are growing.


Today I stand with all the other transgender folk and their families and friends against this irrational fear and dehumanization that somehow gets into peoples heads loud enough that they think they can justify ridiculing, hurting , bashing, sexually assaulting and even murdering people whose outward gender expression doesn't match their expectation of how THEY think things should be.
Here in Australia things are not as bad on the murder front, but discrimination, bashings , yes, it happens here too.
The Tranznation survey was conducted this year by the La trobe University, is a report on the Health and Well being of Transgender people in Australia and NZ.The results are pretty predictable really. Overall the participants had poorer health ratings than the general population and the rate of depression was much higher , in fact one in four people reported suicidal thoughts in the two weeks before they completed the survey. 87.4%)had experienced at least one form of discrimination because of their presenting gender. A THIRD had been threatened with violence and almost the same number had received lesser treatment due to their name or sex on documents such as ID and almost a third had been refused employment or promotion. Just under a quarter had been refused services and 19% had been physically attacked. These numbers are just way too high. Australia has made some great inroads with anti-discrimitaion laws, the new passport law etc, but there is a hell of a long way to go, especially in the area of healthcare And we need to keep educating the public. Recently I saw Chas Bono on Dancing with the Stars in the USA and I was so disappointed to see some of the hue and cry against him being on the show. One comment was and angry tirade which basically boiled down to "thanks a lot,I shouldn't have to explain transgender to my children!!!"
well ...duh! I thought, but she was truly upset that she had to think about it at all.

So today I take a minute to think about how far we've come, how far we still have to go to get true equality and that these young men and women deaths are remembered .They are all someones sons, daughters, brothers ,sisters and lovers and unfortunately those murdered were often killed by members of their own families.
My wish is for all transgendered kids to be able to have a family photo like this

obama's in town

The US president has graced our shores...I will leave it to my niece Rhi to give you the heads up from her birds eye view in Canberra click and enjoy !

Other than that , not much happening, all quiet again.

I'm helping Chloe and Jess move from their flat to the converted garage at the back of Jesss parent's place,so they can save to buy their own place. I have to drive a big hiace type commercial van which should be interesting after driving the bubble car for 3 years!

I've picked up some childminding work, a few hours a week so I'll be able to afford a haircut soon :)