Scattered thoughts

Irish Hiking Scarf: 94cm (38 inches) and well into my second skein. Hoping and praying there will be enough yarn for my knitters request for a 55 inch scarf.

Preparation for Pesach: Expensive. Spent $230 at the grocery store and then realised we had forgotten to buy eggs, potatoes and Chicken Maryland (for soup). Spent $50 during our second visit to the supermarket. Discover Coles and Safeway supermarkets no longer stock Chicken Maryland or have in-house butchers who actually prepare the meat - everything arrives prepackaged from central warehouse. Chicken shop at Doncaster Westfield closed down due to shopping centre renovations. Damn! Third shopping trip, went to our favourite quality butcher in Hawthorn - no chicken Maryland on display but staff obligingly go out the back and track down the wretched pieces. I love proper local businesses. It seems that few people make soup using actual chicken anymore. Soup currently cooking on the stove.

Condition of the bitter herbs: Two scraggly roots have survived the drought - enough for display. Bitter lettuce and pickled horseradish in the jar will have to do for the meal.

Pesach gift for 7-year-old second-cousin: There is so much badly-made crap around. Jeff finds a Slinky on sale in a bookstore (naturally). We have been playing with it all day. I have the horrible feeling that it will be a present all the adults will play with while the 7-year-old looks on in bewilderment.

House cleaning: Cats are in shock. We moved all the furniture out of the main dining room and hall in preparation for the carpet cleaners coming tomorrow. Scraped approximately 500 cobwebs from around the corners of the ceiling. Blackened two clothes wiping down skirting boards and window sills. Notice that the house-shifting (from the drought) has led to the creation of several more cracks. Foundations still sound so will resolutely ignore the cracks - everyone in the neighbourhood is in the same boat.

A timely discovery: Bag of old t-shirts and hiking clothes in garage in my current size. Yay! T-shirts to wear at the gym that won't reveal my bra-strap.

State of the nation: Depressing. I think history will judge our current leaders very harshly. The case of David Hicks is beginning to resemble a Kafka novel - after five years of imprisonment without charge he has pleaded guilty to a crime that didn't exist until 18-months ago - and is now being threatened with being jailed for a further 7 years for perjury if he claims he only pleaded guilty because he didn't think he had a hope in hell of a fair trial in Guantanamo Bay. Conveniently for Howard it appears Hicks' sentence - agreed to in a plea-deal - means he will remain in jail until just after the Australian Federal elections. It's enough to make anyone sick. Hicks may be stupid and racist and unworthy of sympathy, but the treatment of him and the abandonment of the rule of law or any semblance of due process is bad for us as a society and nation.

From the sublime to the ridiculous: Some people have way too much time on their hands. If you type "Harry Potter" into YouTube you will find Lego versions, a Sims version and even a re-edit of footage suggesting a homoerotic relationship between Harry and Draco.