sinkhole

A woman has been rescued from a three metre deep sinkhole that opened up in her backyard in Melbourne while she was hanging out her washing.

The Springvale resident was forced to swim and float in water at the bottom of the sinkhole for about half an hour, until her cries for help attracted the attention of neighbours.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the woman was hanging up washing in her backyard about 11.30am when the sinkhole opened up under her feet.
“The woman told us she was hanging washing out in the backyard at about 11.30 this morning when the ground gave way,” Paramedic Stephanie Palamberis said.
“She fell with the dirt and mud, dropping about three metres and landing in waist deep water. At one stage her head was under the water.

Sometimes truth is more interesting than fiction.

here's a disturbing image

Yech. I'd much prefer to see our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard knitting.

hanging on the line

Can I say whatever I want here, because not many people read it? Probably not because I am not totally sure who does read it. I reasonably am sure there is someone reading other than the Chinese spammers telling me what a great blog I have because they checked on google, oh and that I should be happy and make lots of money and click on this link. I wish it were that simple..

Source: lottevandijck.squarespace.com via Janet on Pinterest

There is a big thing going on in my life. It's not about me so although it affects me, I can't really write about it. That will probably change at some point but even then, maybe not that much. It is so sad and difficult but there are little bright points. And I'm kind of busy and kind of not. I can't go to bed and then I want to sleep in because bed in the morning is so warm and non confronting. Staring out the window is pretty appealing too. Everyday life seems to be taking a bit of a back seat. And I feel a bit like our green fellow in his pyjamas. Hanging. Stuck. But actually, I do have more agency than that.

And there was this thing going on between parents at my daughter's school. It is so ugly and nasty that I wish I hadn't weighed in but I did. Not badly I don't think but it sparked another wave of nasty emails. And then at a kid's birthday party one of the parents tried to talk to me about it and kept going even after I asked her to stop. I told her that we were thinking of other schools, which we have been for a multitude of reasons, and she said in quite a patronising way that maybe that was a decision we had to make.

the woman drinking, with a Tide box on her head

Oh. I'd kill for a drink tonight. Well not quite but I did Facebook G with the thought that if we'd gone to the supermarket on the way home this evening we could have had both alcohol and chocolate. I've seen him prowling for chocolate so I know I am right.

This woman looks like she knows she is right. The whole idea of wearing not only a laundry powder box with a hole cut out of it but a little washing line of dolls clothes while wearing a smart suit, a necklace and drinking what looks like sherry is just a bit absurd. I wonder if somewhere, there is a subtext of "up yours." Even if it she is at a come as you are party or something..... Oh crap, I didn't know.

I tried to look up the source of the photo on google but no luck.

Source: tumblr.com via Janet on Pinterest

washing line quilt

I like how I find washing images on Pinterest now. It seems to be a theme with some people and just by following a few, these images pop into my stream. This one immediately caught my eye and I thought of a BBQ at a friend's place and off her daughter perched right on top of the hills hoist as the light faded from the sky and the adults sipped wine and beer. They even had a swing chair attached to the line somewhere.

At our place we don't encourage swinging from the clothes line, but we haven't banned it either.

Source: beneathsouthernsky.com via Janet on Pinterest

Like a good pinner, I went back to the source and found that the work is called Hoisted and is by Jenny Bowker.

She says,  "I wanted to find an image that was iconic for Australia, but not edging into kitsch. A photograph by Marc McCormack of the Cairns Post was enchanting and with his permission, I used elements of his image. It evokes the smell of sheets dried in the sunshine, the wind in drying clothes, and the glee of children swinging on that Australian icon – the Hills Hoist.  

Techniques & Materials: Hand painted and commercial fabrics, free motion stitching and painting with Tsukineko inks. Machine piecing and raw edge appliqué. Wool mix batting (60% wool, 40% polyester). Free motion quilted."