Winter germ-buckets

Heh, it amuses me that the last personal post I did here was about finally sending the baby to daycare. Ever since, one or the other or more of the family have been sick! Bubs kindly brought home a gastro bug from daycare, which four out of six of us experienced (though Master Three was spectacular in his recovery from one single massive vomit, with no further symptoms! It wiped husband and I out for a day each though – different days, luckily). Then we were hit with another cold (we’d already had one a few weeks before), which has taken down Bubs, M3 and Miss Seven, with the lingering cough the worst hangover. Bubs also manifested conjunctivitis, so I took him to the doctor, who diagnosed an ear infection and prescribed antibiotics, which worked a treat! Eyes cleared up within 24 hours, which was a relief. M3 and M7 both missed a bit of school/kindy, but I sent them all off on Thursday again, and Bubs had his first full day (he only had five hours the first time), and he seemed to really enjoy it, which is good. Master Ten has managed to avoid ALL the bugs, which is good!

In the past few weeks we’ve been to Hobart for a birthday party, had some lovely play dates and get togethers (except when sick!), M7 did her first cosplay as Amy Pond (start ’em young) and I (almost successfully) made Grandma’s Gingernut Biscuits for the first time (they were YUM, but were flat sliced up squares rather than biscuits!) AND spinach & feta pie – I’ve tried more new recipes in the past four months than I ever have before I think. Amazing what having a nice kitchen will do 🙂 Oh, and did I mention that Bubs now has FOUR teeth (they all sprouted within a week of each other), is commando crawling to complement his rolling, and getting into EVERYTHING. How quickly they grow up…

What else have we been doing? Procrastinating on all the things I have to get done before the marking starts to roll in (Tuesday). Why do we do this? *sigh* Anyway, house is clean now, so I’ll get a few things done this afternoon and tomorrow. Bubs has reverted to several wakeups at night again, and I’m getting a bit knocked about by that, but still plugging away at various projects. Naturally, despite my best intentions, I have four books all at a similar point of the publication process, which is annoying! Hmm, I need to stop mucking about here and get on with it. Time is fleeting!

New Who in Conversation: The Eleventh Hour S05E01

David is coming to New Who for the first time, having loved Classic Who as a kid. Tehani is a recent convert, and ploughed through Seasons 1 to 7 (so far) in just a few weeks after becoming addicted thanks to Matt Smith – she’s rewatching to keep up with David! Tansy is the expert in the team, with a history in Doctor Who fandom that goes WAY back, and a passion for Doctor Who that inspires us all.

We are working our way through New Who, using season openers and closers, and Hugo shortlisted episodes, and sometimes a couple of extra episodes we love as our blogging points. Just for fun!

“The Eleventh Hour” – Season five, episode one

The Doctor – Matt Smith

Amy Pond – Karen Gillan

Amelia Pond – Caitlin Blackwood

Rory Williams – Arthur Darvill

DAVID:

After four seasons of reviews, I finally got to encounter Eleven!  I’ve tried to stay clear of spoilers, but people really have talked up Matt Smith and to be honest I expected to be a bit disappointed after having my expectations set so high. Plus, I loved David Tennant, so it was always going to be tough for a new Doctor to measure up. And, this is really petty and irrational, but there is part of me that struggles with the idea of an actor who is younger than me playing the Doctor – it just doesn’t seem right!  So, sitting down to watch this I didn’t have high hopes.

But, I am happy to have been comprehensively proved wrong. Not only is this a very strong episode in its own right (Which I am sure will discuss later in the review), it also serves as a wonderful introduction to a new Doctor and a new Companion. I was a bit dubious when I saw the new title sequence, but fortunately it was all uphill from there!

TANSY:

You’re not alone, David! I remember well the waves of fannish skepticism around Matt Smith’s casting, not least because of his age. They lasted until about ten seconds into “The Eleventh Hour”, I believe.

TEHANI:

And here I am, back at what was, for me, the beginning. “The Eleventh Hour” was where I started – I wanted to watch the Neil Gaiman episode (season six) but thought it would be a bit silly trying to jump on there. So I decided to start with the beginning of Matt Smith’s era, and this episode. It sure worked its magic on me, because as you know, I’m now a massive fangirl! I’ve seen this ep a bunch of times now, and it’s still shiny and lovely – adore Matt Smith, adore Amelia, and Amy and Rory aren’t bad either! 

TANSY:

Oh I didn’t know that, I thought you watched the Neil Gaiman episode first! I think this is one of the best jumping on points of the show, up there with “Spearhead From Space” and “Rose”.

TEHANI:

I can delay gratification, see! 🙂 I agree, I think it’s a great starting point for people wanting to test the waters (very hookable indeed – I’m living proof!).

Growing up

I’ve put it off for the last few weeks, but tomorrow I’m finally going to send the baby along to daycare. It’s a bit weird that I’m so reluctant, as the first three were sent off with no hesitation, and they’ve all (generally) loved it. I think that partially it’s the breastfeeding thing – this baby is still feeding several times a day at nine months (tomorrow!) and I know that once he starts at daycare, things will change. And he’s my last, so I know that once he stops feeding, that will be it forever. Which is, I guess, what makes me so reluctant. But I really can’t put it off any longer – I have to get the filing and tax done, the new journal laid out, and a whole bunch of marking will come in soon. I need a day or two a week just for work. So tomorrow is it. I’ll take him in for a few hours, and see how he (we) goes. Given he’s a little social butterfly and absolutely loves being out and about, I have very little doubt he’ll be fine and will have a ball. Me though? We’ll see…