Taronga has come a long way since then. The animal enclosures are much improved and there are some great entertainment opportunities not to mention some spectacular views of Sydney Harbour. I know that the seal show is often the sentimental favourite, but whenever I visit I make sure to see the Free Flight Bird Show, which is amazing.

My youngest was once again fascinated by the sky safari cable car (of course – why else would you go to the zoo?). My daughter loves the giraffes (even the ones with collapsable necks like the one on the left) and my older son seemed more interested in the map than anything else. We could have avoided two and a half hours in the car (each way) and simply have given him a map and set him loose in the back yard.

We all loved the chimpanzee and gorilla enclosures. Every time I visit I can’t help but wonder if they are looking out at us thinking exactly the same things we are:

“Wow, look at the way that one is waving his arms”

“Look at how the baby one has climbed up on the shoulders of the daddy one”

“Look at those two fighting with each other”

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? They’re just like us.”

I love this photo of the mother gorilla, who had just come out of a separate room where she had been caring for two youngsters. I’m sure I often have this look on my face (although hopefully my boobs aren’t quite that droopy).

Found this at Erina Fair Shopping Centre. I took the photo for the dress code, but have since noticed that they also don’t allow “offensive languages”. I wonder which languages they consider offensive. I’ve always found Dutch a little hard on the ears.

Anyone else find automated phone messages annoying? Is there such a thing as “phone rage”? I confess that ringing up with a simple enquiry only to be given a seemingly never-ending series of selection messages is enough to make me want to throw my telephone through the nearest window.

Today I simply wanted to know whether the local post office will be open on Friday. It’s Show Holiday on Friday in Newcastle (don’t get me started on how ridiculous that is) and some businesses (such as schools) are closed while others (such as the local government buses) are working on public holiday timetables and hours.

So, it’s not unreasonable that I want to check whether the post office will be open before I make my usual Friday trip to collect parcels from our post office box. I can go on Thursday if I need to, but Friday would be easier.

All sounding too easy so far? Well, that’s where you’re wrong. The Australia Post website gives me a 13 number that takes me to a series of pre-recorded messages anticipating what I might be ringing for. Silly me chose the option “branch opening hours”. What was I thinking?

So, after a frustrating 5 minutes on the phone, I am no wiser about whether the post office will be open. I’m thinking that these messages are quite possibly funded by the companies that make blood pressure medications.

Of course, this is just part of my ongoing issue with the Australia Post customer relations system. A few years ago, I found it annoying that when I wanted to complain about staff rudeness at a local branch of AP I couldn’t make the complaint online, I had to post a letter of complaint to head office. That’s right, to complain about their service, you have to use their services. I bet some AP executive somewhere gave a cynical chuckle when they came up with that rule.

Having kids means legitimately being able to watch kids movies again. This is a double-edged sword, because for every piece of Pixar perfection you get another instalment of High School Musical or worse – a Barbie movie. Plus even the most delightful musical number featuring dancing animals will start to grate by the eighteenth viewing (I’m looking at you Little Mermaid!)
Here are some favourite kids movies that stand up to regular repeats:

Ratatouille – it would be too easy to just put all of Pixar’s films on the list, but to be honest I didn’t love Cars, and I haven’t seen Wall-E. Ratatouille gets a nod ahead of the Toy Story pics, Finding Nemo and A Bug’s Life because I’m all about the food. Plus the rats are simultaneously disgusting and adorable. That takes skill.

Melting moment: When stuffy food critic Anton Ego is transported to his childhood by Remy’s mouth-watering ratatouille.

The Princess Bride – Beautifully filmed, incredibly funny. I defy you not to sniff a little when Inigo finally tracks down the six-fingered man. And Peter Falk’s closing words are flawlessly delivered.

Fave scene: Inigo and the Man in Black cross swords at the top of the Cliffs of Insanity.

Kung Fu Panda – there’s something about this straightforward kids’ film that kind of grabs you. With all the animation studios stepping up to the mark of late, this is one of many lovely looking films, but it also has a great plot and plenty of fun. Skadoosh!

Fave Quote: “Panda, we do not wash our pits in the Pool of Sacred Tears”

The Incredibles –Another pick from the Pixar crowd, who know how to make a kids’ movie have adult appeal without just throwing in cheesy pop culture references and dubious double entendres. It’s got superheroes and plenty of action for the kiddies, but the storyline has depth and soul.

Fave character: Bob Parr – What parent hasn’t felt Bob’s frustration at such momentous occasions as fourth grade graduations – “They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity.”

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie – From his sunny optimism, to his sweet-natured best buddy Patrick and his meowing snail Gary, Spongebob is all heart.  Add in a great message about being a kid and David Hasslehoff’s pulsating pecs, and the movie goes beyond just being an extended Saturday morning cartoon.

Fave Soundtrack Song:  Spongebob and Patrick Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy by the Flaming Lips

Honorable Mentions:

• Wallace and Grommet: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit “Arson!“ “Arson?” “ Someone was arsin’ about!”
• King Julian and the Penguins in the Madagascar films.
• Dory in Finding Nemo

What are your favourite kids flicks?

Ever been 9 months pregnant and asked to jump about like the Easter Bunny? Surely I’m not the only person. Okay, I confess that the music teacher allowed me to just do the bunny ear movements while everyone else had to jump, but for a moment there I thought he was going to make me join in. Such are the joys of music class.

Now that my youngest has moved into the 5 year old class of the preschool Early Childhood Music Program, I no longer face the scary prospect of having to walk like a lizard, fly like a pink fairy or skip and jump in hula hoop puddles. I kind of miss being part of the class, but only because watching a group of 4 year old boys try to skip is about the funniest thing you’ll ever see.

For the past 8 years at least one, and for a few years all three, of my children have attended the Early Childhood Music Program at the Newcastle Conservatorium. They started at the age of 2 and progressed through to the school-aged program. I can’t speak highly enough of the quality of the teachers and the amazing program that they put together.

This isn’t about teaching children to play an instrument, but rather about introducing them to the wonders of music – tempo, rhythm, pitch, volume and a wonderful range of instruments. The children get to play a variety of percussion instruments at different times during classes and each term a different family of orchestral instruments is demonstrated – strings, brass, woodwind and percussion.

Thanks to my many years of music class experience I now know what an ocarina is, can sing a variety of songs about fishing, falling out of boats, catching trains and being a pony and can wave a scarf in the air like nobody’s business. My kids seem to have enjoyed themselves too.

My oldest is now learning the saxophone and has progressed quickly in his lessons thanks to the grounding he received in his music classes. My daughter wants to start learning the piano and my youngest, never one to be outdone by anyone, thinks that the bassoon is where his talents lie. Fortunately he needs to be 12 before tackling this instrument, which gives us 8 years to save up to buy one – it might just be long enough.

If you want to help your children develop an appreciation for music and allow them to experience music in a variety of forms facilitated by gifted and dedicated teachers, I strongly recommend getting more information about the ECM classes at The Con.

Contact details:
The University of Newcastle School of Drama, Fine Art and Music (incorporating the Conservatorium)
Cnr Auckland & Gibson Sts, Newcastle

Ph: 02 4921 8900 (office hours: 9am – 5pm, Mon – Fri)

It’s not just DIY-crazed blokes who can spend hours in hardware megastore Bunnings. We love it too.  Here is why:

Bathroom Accessories – So much opulent shiny chrome and porcelain. I freely admit this is escapism from my lime monstrosity.

Gardening – Don’t tell anyone, but if you drag a display hammock over to the display fountain and hide behind a couple of large potted ferns, you can actually have quite a nice nanna nap. Take a sampling of edible plants along if you like a pre-snooze nosh.

Storage Containers – I harbour fantasies of having one of those wardrobes where everything is in colour coordinated boxes and bins. At the moment I’m just happy when I find my shoes at the bottom of the pile of clothes that my husband likes to call the “floordrobe”.

Paint Chips – The colourful rainbow of nicely ordered paint samples, that you can pick out and take home and agonise over.  And the names – Linseed, Sea Cliff, Oriental Spice, Wild Dove, Harold. Wait a second – Harold?

…Here comes The Stig’s Little Australian Grandmother.

We are both huge fans of the comedy lifestyle program Top Gear. What’s that you say? It’s a documentary about cars? That can’t possibly be true. There’s no way we’d be watching a car show.

As the latest season of UK Top Gear with the Three Stooges of the automotive world, Clarkson, Hammond and May, comes to a close, Top Gear Australia is set to return to SBS with their second season.

Obviously the madcap antics of the Top Gear hosts are contagious, because at the supermarket today I found myself doing something I never thought I would do. I stalked an elderly person while trying to discreetly photograph the back of a mobility scooter. The rider was about 5 foot tall and looked like she would blow over in a strong wind, and yet she might just be the world’s coolest granny:

The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday had a link to an old article in WA Today. The story is from last year, but I guess they figured “hey, this one always gets us plenty of hits, let’s run it again”.

The title of the story was Man Caught With Penis in a Pasta Jar Near Nobby’s Beach.

Yeah, I guess I can see why people would check that one out a lot. I certainly did, not least because Nobby’s is right here in Newcastle. And I kind of wanted some answers for all the really weird questions that were  going around in my head.

I didn’t get any answers, but the article did give me what might just be my favourite sentence of all time: “A search of his car uncovered pornography, a home-made sex aid, women’s stockings and a Jack Russell terrier.”

If like me, you have a fetish for bags and also can easily lose yourself in a fun website, you need to visit the Crumpler site. I’ve never had so much fun looking at satchels and laptop bags.  The names and descriptions are hilarious, and they demonstrate size by showing how many six packs of VB stubbies the bags hold.

My IT Guy husband has been using the Dreadful Embarrassment for a few years now for his laptop (smaller sizes are the Considerable Embarrassment and the Moderate Embarrassment). It still looks brand new, despite daily use carrying all sorts of IT paraphernalia.  Our camera is housed in Thirsty Al – a delightful little case that protects the camera but is still small and soft enough that you can squish it in your pocket while you’re taking photos.

But the ultimate for me is the Maurice. He (yes, Maurice has a personality all his own) is a lovely messenger bag. He has everything a gal could need. Prada clutches are cute but they don’t hold anything. And while I’m sure the Olsen twins could sleep in those giant Hermès Birkin bags of theirs, don’t tell me they can find their house keys at a moment’s notice.

Maurice holds it all –  the usual wallet and keys as well as books, pens, kids toys, sunscreen, sandwich, make up purse, socket wrench and emergency M&Ms – and he does it cheerfully and willingly. No matter how much I shove in there, he never looks misshapen or ugly. Thanks to his internal pockets and general roominess, my stuff is always easy to find. So thank you Maurice, for making it look like I have it together.  Not a minor achievement, considering how not together I really am.

After a recent post on puns in business names for hairdressers, I was expecting to move on to bookstores and book blogs as my next pun extravaganza (thanks to a suggestion from Nat from Book, Line and Sinker – she sounds like a woman who would know).

I have been waylaid, however, by the latest issue of Super Food Ideas (April 2009). Check these out for some puns stretched to the limits of decency:

Crop of the Cream (list of different types of cream)

Want to have your filo of pastry? (pastry recipes)

We’ve come to your marin-aid with wokin’ flavours (oriental marinade recipes)

We’ve spilled the beans on easy, quick and delicious lunches (five bean mix recipes)

Upper Crusts – Give your meat, poultry of fish a crunchy, crumb-crusty ‘coat of charms’ (crumbed recipes)

Oat of Arms – celebrate ANZAC Day with an easy slice you’ll swear and ‘oat’ of allegiance to! (Anzac oat slice recipe)

Hit the snack (bedtime snack recipes)