TheBat45’s blog

I have been delving into genealogy which really sucks up my time. Hubby did the 'Youth Off the Streets' Charity Cycle Challenge from Sydney to the Gold Coast and as I was meeting him in Kyogle, I arranged for my sister and I to have a day in Lismore and surrounds.  Unfortunately, T had a cold and was still strugglling with it when we met up. We shared a motel room and visited various historical societies and generally drove around looking lost. I hadn't slept much on Tuesday night, met T on Wednesday (she coughed and sneezed for ages, and when I finally did get to sleep, she woke me up to tell me to stop snoring. So I layed there and after a while she started snoring! ) So about 2-3 hours of sleep that night. Next night I spent with hubby and his mate (Hubby booked some room out of Kyogle thinking it was close in and a B and B) Unfortunately it was 45k away and a farm stay, no sheets, no towels, no coffee or tea,no phone reception and the beds from hell! so no sleep much either. By that night I was so tired at Southport, it was all getting a bit surreal! I booked a room at a motel for us thinking we could go there before and after the grand finale dinner at the "Sharks Club" and get some sleep. Foiled again! The cycle Challenge didn't finish late, after 5pm instead of 2pm and the dinner started at 6.30pm. Then we had to get up at 4.30 am because Hubby couldn't get the day off and had to start work at 6.30am in Brisbane. Saturday, I set the alarm for 2 hours sleep thinking I shouldn't sleep too much because it would muck up my night sleep later and found the street way too noisy for sleep anyway. So I just staggered around all day, all dazey and stupid. I didn't wake up until late this morning though!

So genealogy. I know, I know an oldies preoccupation!! But my family is that convoluted with Children out of wedlock, name changes, etc that when I received a book on my father's side of the family, I wondered about my mothers. Well Baby, let me tell you, there's hillbillies in them thar hills!

The top one is of my gggGrandparents (James McNeilly and Mary Lees) on my mother side, as you can see, James is black. "Black James" McNeilly from the US arr. 1821 with his father.

The next one is of his granddaughter, my g grandmother, Janie Maria Carter. She was pretty then and about 16. 14 kids later, cameras wasn't so kind!

Her mother was Maria McNeilly who married Thomas Henry Carter. (Actually her brother John also married Thomas's sister) Then one of thomas's children married one of John's children, 1st cousin marriage. Hmmmmmm

Anyway, Janie was a hot chick in those days and had 14 kids with no fathers listed!

It is obvious to the eye that at least one father was aboriginal as some of my uncles/aunts and my grandmother are quite dark and aboriginal looking.

Nearly all were farmers etc in Nowra/Shoalhaven area and then in the Richmond district.  One story that a genealogist/historian from Richmond told me is that one of my father's ancestors was travelling in Qld and bought a little boy that was sold in Nambour and was apparently from Tanna? Island. This little boy was raised by them and called 'Black John' Davis. It has some credence as my grandfather on my fathers side was somewhat darkskinned.

I haven't gone to look in that book yet and see if a john appears anywhere surprising.

Anyway, whatever I find is interesting and my boys might be interested one day.

I better go and do some work, as I have a heap of washing from my few days away.

Cheers

you are having fun. I am still on holidays and half way through. Sigh....Though my brother-in-law did some work for my boss at his home and the boss did say that I was sadly missed and he wished my holidays were over. Nice....maybe....of course he could be talking total crap.

Today I went into SouthBank on a day out I organised for my friends from the lampworking club I belong to. We had a great time too. We met at a cafe at 10am for coffee and looksee at each others beads. We all had made a special bead which we exchange in secret exchange for a little fun. Then we went across and walked through the markets and gossiped. Made cracks at the Chinese imports (as you do!) and more gossip. We stopped for lunch (which took sooo long to arrive we nearly ran out of chitchat). Some left then (It was 3pm by then) and we were going to leave but one decided to have an icecream so the rest of us had more coffee and chat. It was fun. Normally we have an organised meeting with recorded notes and business to discuss so this was a nice relaxing way to meet. Luckily the gossipee this day was distracted by other friends who came along so we could talk about the situation she had caused and how to stop it without problems.

The gist of it is, B is a supplier who has more/less had a controlled market to herself for 5 years. B has not moved her business forwards but has really tread water for those years.  B is the self appointed organiser of the club events and therefore has felt that she has the market to herself by selling supplies to the club at club events.  Then S joined the club. S is a lovely, talented woman, very talented and generous with her knowledge to boot but S was asked by a new supplier to come on board to organise the lampworking side of the business and as artist in residence to teach etc.  This business is very  very large, and had no experienced staff in lampworking and a the owner is a mongrel who has made himself very unpopular but now that S works there, things have changed. There is a huge amount of new stock, properly priced, lots of tools and supplies, there are classes and when you go in, instead of getting blank looks when you ask for something, you get good service by S who knows what she is talking about. S has organised an international artist to give classes, something B promised foryears but never accomplished. S has reasonable prices, B overcharges, by a factor of 3. B is much older and knows a lot of people and has moderator access to the two forums that we all use. She has used her position to threaten, abuse and generally harass S to the point where S is now thinking that she needs to quit her job and go back to being a home worker. The rest of us that actually know S and realise the work she has put in for her job and to bring supplies and classes that we never had access to before are just angry and fed up. Because I don't make my living by my art, and I don't rely on my reputation for business and mainly because bullying just makes me sick! have decided that I will be meeting B this week privately to put her in the picture of the feelings of a lot of the club members. That if she doesn't cease and desist immediately, we will be leaving the club and setting up a purely social club where she will not be welcomed. We are the majority of the in town members who attend the meetings so she will lose her customers there altogether and she will rule over an empty club. Nervewracking but necessary. I don't particulary relish confrontation and I hope it doesn't come to that if I approach it in a gentle, nonaccusatory fashion,....but we'll see. 

Yes, I have a whole month off on holidays. Some of it is spoken for, a weekend down south, a weekend with sons inlaws from Wales, a class or two in wirework and beadmaking. But most of it will be spent on  ME, with ME and for ME! Yes, it is all about ME.   (Well, I knew that of course!)  So in the morning, instead of getting up at 5am and going to work... in the traffic... on the M1, I will be lolling around the house. Putting my feet up, turning off the phone, the radio, the TV and insulating myself from THEM. I will not be listening to any whinging, whining, moaning and groaning about other staff, the work, the researchers, the boss. I will be listening to ME.

It is supposed to rain pretty much all next week. NIIIICE! Cooler and just right for working over the flame (well except for the humidity which my oxy generator doesn't like). I have some new glass to try out so am happy to fool around with that for a week. Hubby will be working and training for the Sydney to GoldCoast ride by bicycle. Raising funds for homeless kids so a worthy cause and enough to keep him busy and out of my hair.

One of our staff members (one that I am particularly fond of) finished up today to go to another facility next door. She is only 23 and I like her. Very smiley, a bit silly at times, big heart and not an ounce of malice in her soul. She spent a good part of the afternoon at her lunch, crying about leaving as she has been with us for almost 6 years. The boss told her if she really doesn't like her new job she can come back to us but I told her that it was time she spread her wings and got some experience elsewhere. Once she grows up and gets a little tougher, she will be a great facility director. I am going to miss her badly. 

bye

Absolutely cracker of a Christmas and New Year!  Number One reason was that it was cool! A cool relaxing event rather than the usual "I'mmmmmmmm mmmeeeeelllllllltttttiiiiinnnnnnnng!" thing where you hang around the aircon all day and all night. We even had a baked Xmas Dinner! And enjoyed it!

Haven't really had a stinker of a day yet at all.  I am sitting here at 5pm, no air con going, and feeling (Yes unbelievable but true) a little bit too cool. Like I need sleeves in my TShirt. In January. Bloody wonderful.

For the last.....10-14 days it has been gusting wind and raining on and off. The sky will be blue one minute and the next it's raining and howling. Then it's stops and the sky will be blue or just overcast again. Weird. It's like it rains for a minute, then it takes a walk around the block to come back and do it again. Not enough rain to break the drought but it's really making a difference to the soil. It actually feels moist  at 4 cms deep. Now if we got some droughtbreakers, at least it wouldn't all run off the baked ground.

I am back to work tomorrow after 6 days off as I worked through Xmas time. It's been lovely and makes me want to give up work altogether. I am taking long service in Feb probably for a month.  Maybe I need to talk Hubby into going back to WA to work so I can become a 'Lady who lunches" That would be great. Oh well

I have been making beads like crazy to fulfil some deadlines. I don't know why I get myself into 'deadline' stuff as it only stresses me out and stamps on my creativity. I did get some testbatch glasses from Double Helix which I haven't used yet but will on the weekend.

These ones I did the other day but today I am doing Kaleras on a press I borrowed and which I like very much. I actually thought they would be indistinguishable from nuggets but they look quite different and wearable. The goddess beads are for sale, well so is the heart but I haven't listed it yet.

well, need to go and eat something that hopefully I take time to cook first!

Bye

No, just kidding. I got two lots of glass today !!!

One lot by post, mmmmmmm  Double Helix silver glasses Oddlots..mmmm

One lot ordered through a friend.....mmmmmm Vetrofond Oddlots and Effetre.....mmmmm

a Pound of Dark Lavender Effetre

Lots of black, white (why oh why didn't I order clear?????)

The Ramblings Self Conversations of the Glass Addict

It is a vice, a bloody vice, this glass addiction.   Still got a big order to arrive from Frantz in US. Mostly Effetre and Vetrofond. Some Creation is Messy Thai Orchid too. A pound.  In my stash, I have most of a pound of river rock and 1/4 pound of original Terra, hoarding it. Then there is the swapping and passing along odd bits and pieces like a rod of MOP for a rod of odd ivory, stuff like that but done between 'mature' adults in secret glass deals behind locked doors. Nah, I can't say where I got my stash of Amber Rose cause I might want more (in fact you do want more and you know it).

Oh Shampoo glass, been there, done that. Yeah that EDP is shocky but once you have the secret to devitrifying it....la la la. Who loves the frogpond and jungle fever in their secret language of glass addiction with its acronyms and shortcuts, hidden sources and below the table handshakes. Yeah I have had the Bullseye, Reichenbach and Gaffer samples, done the lusters, decals, etch in acid with silver wire around and who uses the SIS, the clear and filigrana. Love the EMS and doublebarrel marver, who wants more dichro (who doesn't) love the pixie, the adventurine in gold, green and blue. I don't Lauscha anymore, or CIM and R4 with Precision104 And COE's galore.The 90's, 104 and go down to borosilicate where the big boys and girls play.

What's the best book you read this year?

The Opposite of Life by

Narrelle M. Harris on PulpFiction's own press. Yay, for an Aussie writer.

Pretty damn creepy question eh? When ever I hear that, I always expect Freddy Kruegar to jump up and go 'TaDah! Me!"

Anyway on to real life, not my creepy imagination. Though I do have a clown aversion!  Pretty damn creepy are clowns!

I just realised that had I not sent my hubby into town to pick up my paperbacks from Pulp Fiction, he would have had nothing to put under the tree for me (well aside from the clothes I bought for myself). Mmmmm, and after I got him a bedside lamp (that didn't work! and will be returned) and a cactus garden (well, the pots, the soil stuff and the cactus PLUS! two bags of pretty coloured stones to put over the top). What more could a man need? 

The boys and their significant others arrived on time at 3.30pm with their presents in hand and we had a drink or two, a present opening parade and then launched into dinner which hubby had spent all day preparing. I (luckily!) was working up until about 11am so he did the prep and cooking. I did however, buy the ham and turkey, big effort eh?

I was going to have cold ham, turkey, seafood and salad but since it was such a mild coolish day, he decided we would do the whole roast meal thing. I told him Jamie Oliver says if the roast potatoes are naff, then the whole thing is ruined but I still thought the roast potatoes were naff but I didn't say anything cause he had already forgotten to bake the cauli/broccoli mornay so we didn't end up having that and he was a bit annoyed with himself. Then again, he had about 4 bundy's under his belt before he even started so that was probably why.

Eldest carried in a feral looking bright blue iced double layer sponge cake. I said, you didn't have to, thinking 'I wish you hadn't' but he insisted I try it when we did desserts. It was actually very nice if you kept your eyes shut. It was soaked in Malibu, really more like Malibu with spongecake around it.

On Xmas morning, Hubby and I cleaned off the top of the entertainment unit (which is really big and the dust bunnies!) rearranged and deleted and moved and finally hung the painting we bought a couple of months ago. Then we put some stuff back and relegated other stuff to 'under the bed' which is art for 'resting'. The painting looks great! and is hung in the best possible place for it. We only had to shift the bird (northern kookaburra) to the other bedroom over the bed which looks fine too. I told hubby that either we bought smaller things or more stuff had to go to the bedrooms and under the bed (resting). The painting is by Peter Mulcahey and is entwined Carpets snakes done in a fusion of Celtic and aboriginal styles.  Very potent.

To round up Xmas Day, eldest borrowed his fathers motorbike keys (I forget why but he used them downstairs) anyway came time for goodbyes the keys are missing. Eldest doesn't remember when or where he left them but since he had only been at home here, or a brief walk next door to help carry his fathers cactus pots home, I knew they couldn't be too far away. Hubby is a bit, mmmm, impatient with his belongings going missing or misused but swallowed it down. We all spent half an hour with torches looking before I said the usual things of 'don't worry, we'll find them in the daylight."  But of course we still couldn't find them and they had his best spare key for opening the downstairs locked reptile room so hubby was growling a bit still today. I rang youngest to remind him he left his mangoes and sheets behind (Mmmmm best quality egyption cotton he bought for his new bed) and said to him, just to check his pants pockets etc, just in case. He says, I helped look for them y'know! They aren't in my pockets, all insulted! Anyway before I got back home, he rang to say he HAD found them in his pants pockets after all! LOL! Eldest had felt so bad about losing them so I know he is probably pretty cranky about now with youngest.  I don't know why hubby gets all frowny about the boys losing things because hubby loses things, forgets things etc on a very regular basis!

It was so great to have the girls for Xmas, girlfriend of youngest and fiance of eldest, to be NOT the only  female in the house for a change. I got them pretty summer nighties (and guessed the sizes right apparently) and soft handmade throw/knee rugs.  The boys got nice cologne and studio art goblets. Eldest and fiance got a pair of good soft bathsheets and youngest and girlfriend got a little balcony table and two chairs. I asked for a nice photo of each couple in a frame but only eldest was organised enough for that. I should have asked Youngests girlfriend as he is never organised. Youngest gave us a lovely glass platter which looks great under the painting. 

All in all, a great day. It was so much better than just the four of us, to have the boys and their partners.

I have just attended my second work party for the season. This one was organised by yours truly as a barefoot bowling and luncheon. It was pretty good actually and I think most had a good time. The  younger males played snooker for a while and then we all had a bbq and then most of us bowled for a few laughs. There are 6 individual facilities in our department and it was nice to be able to mix with colleagues and have some fun.  We had some competitions like,

"Most BLING Sunglasses", 'Most Creative use of sunscreen", "Loudest Shirt" and a few Lucky Door Prizes.  Next year the Department isn't funding it so we are starting a social Club for raise funds and maybe do something a little more adventurous. This cost about $15 a head for about 50 people so at $2 a fortnight we should be able to to something a bit better.

On Thursday, the Boss took all the managers to lunch on campus for a three course and wine event which was quite nice. I have to drive home so I didn't do any drinking at all. I am not strictly a Manager but he treats me like one as I do a managers job at the moment.

On Monday, my facility have our own little Christmas lunch after an early knockoff. This year we are all bringing a plate of something and have a quick lunch before we take off home for the Xmas period. Half of us (including me) work the first three days and the other half work the second three days, then we are all back on the 2nd of Jan and back to work our usual days. I am back for a month and then taking a months Long Service Leave.  After that, I will probably shifting to a new facility.  I like the manager there but it will be challenging and I wonder if I am not  a bit  past 'challenging'. and looking for 'comfortable'.

Today that Manager was talking about starting me on oviduct dissections and embryo transfers etc, which I have done before but not for quite a while and I am thinking,"Only if I get a much better pair of glasses or a microscope with a cold light source' as my eyesight is getting pretty damn bad for that sort of thing.

The strolling carol singers have just finished yodelling in my street. People are showing a lot of restraint and no one took them out with an Uzi.

I stood around for an hour waiting for the manager to arrive so I could have a private chat with him about staff issues before the staff descended upon him. I waited down by the river where we park. While there waiting , then chatting I casually brushed off the little biting insects and then wandered off to do an audit in another facility. There was an increased itch that night, to the point where I woke scratching. I woke up next morning with 21 huge itchy gungy lumps weeping lymph. Mmmm so that's what a midgee bite is like.  So next afternoon I visited the chemist looking for the 'midgee cure'. That would be Polaramine antihistamine she says. So I go home and take one, yep. It works, no itching at all...but that's cause I am facedown asleep on the bed within an hour. No dinner, no coffee, no nothing but a slurry mouthful of mumbly words and then incessant snoring so my husband says. It does say it can cause drowsiness and not to drive.  I got up this morning for work with the worst case of morning stupidity and a killer hangover.  Now the itch is back but I am afraid to take any more Polaramine.  Polaramine1/Midgees 2

The saga of the next door neighbour continues. Yes, I got her a job at my workplace (not hard as we are desperate for staff) as a casual employed for 5 days a week for a 3 month probation. Unfortunately so far she has taken 42 full days off and 7 halfdays off.   The director is not pleased and neither am I. What do you have to do to get staff who want to work? . We don't slave them and we pay well! OK it can be smelly work but geez, she says she wants to work 5 days a week but has only done about 3 weeks where she turned up every day for work.  So they are putting her on a month to month contract til she either shapes up or they sack her. She was crying but I have washed my hands of it and told her to deal with the Manager and not to come to me.

The newest staff member started Monday a week ago and finished on Wednesday last week.  He was asked to shift some sacks of pellets and went all red and blotchy and came out in hives. Allergic. Bye bye!  One of the staff asked if we were going to emply him in some other area and I said,"In waht other area is he qualified and where he won't come into contact with rodent chow pellets?" That would be a NO.

We attract people of indifferent intelligence. All out material handlers bar one, are MMmmmm....how to be kind?............Dumb as rocks?.........no............80cents short of a dollar. The exception is a Muslim doctor who is improving his English and trying to find a job and having trouble getting people to see past the Iran on his passport.  He is sweet, hardworking and smart. Trouble is the uni won't reemploy him on his present visa. We won't be able to replace him with anyone like unfortunately.

OK, more interesting stuff to me at least.  I rang my mother last week to inquire about her family history. well, you know, life goes past, people die and before you know it the family history is gone and unrecoverable. Anyway I always knew we had aboriginal great-great grands but I didn't know much else until my sister did some tracking a few years ago.  Anyway the story is:

My mothers grandmother was Jane Mariah (probably common law wife as my mothers says she doesn't think they were married). She was the daughter of a Bunjalung woman from Cabbage Tree Island just south of Wardell and married?  a  Carter man from Jiggi way.  Her grandfather was from NT and came down with a drive of cattle to somewhere and ended up on the coast.  My sister and I plan to visit Jiggi and surrounds as Mum says that's where they were raised and we should still have family from both sides around there.  Apparently Jane and her sister Lily were taken when they were 12-13 to Sydney to be trained as maids or whatever they did with half castes who were 'rescued'. Anyway Jane ran away when she was fifteen and came back to Cabbage Tree Island and her sister Lily did also a couple of years later.  Lily married a jeweller or something and Jane ended up a farmers wife. Mum said she was a fairly tough old woman and not very affectionate.   So it will be interesting to find what other family still lives in the area and what records there might be. First thing I will check out will be Jiggi school records.

And for everyone who reads Real Tart, you can catch him on http://realtart.blog.co.uk/

and wait for some breaking news on the progress of his books!  Looking forward to that.

Bye

BAT45

Yesterday.

I was planning to leave work early (about 12.30) to pack up the car for a trip to my Mothers to give a class in lampworking to a group of women who wanted to know more. At 11.30, coming back from lunch (we start early so eat early) my most reliable and knowledgable staff member crashed her motorbike into a powerpole. She met some guy and decided to catch lunch with him near to work and came back on a street she hadn't previously used. Doing 60k over the crest of a hill on this little sidestreet and realised too late the the road didn't continue down the hill but took an abrupt turn right. Luckily there was a handly powerpole there to stop her!  She is home now (not that anyone there would bother checking on her) with a thigh like a football, a buggered knee and shoulder and throwing up. I wanted to go get her and she could stay at my place for a few days but she says her brother will be home soon and take her to the doctors. Why she would get in a car with him, I don't know, as I am sure he spends 20 hours a day, higher than a kite.

The manager rang me to say,"why didn't I tell him that he was rostered to work this weekend?" Excuse me? You are the manager, not me and I am pretty sure you can read a roster sheet. The rule is and has been for years, if you are going on holidays and due to work a weekend, you swap it out with someone else before you go so no one else has to be inconvenienced. What was stopping him from doing what he expects other staff to do? Grrrrrrr

Long service leave is due to be taken next year so in Feb I am taking a month of it off.  Anywhere but there for a whole month!

On the bright side of life.........I am apparently healthy and doing OK. I think I must be a natural pessimist.....on the bright side.....I had a nice day today. My O2 generator worked oK after its trip in the back of the car, the gas didn't run out, I took enough glass. One only baby Mertons monitor has hatched but others will be hatching soon enough. My eldest just finished getting his teeth capped and came home to show me.  They were crooked, the front ones that is, and one had a chip from a work incident. They were straight up and down and even, but not lined up as one front one had a slight turn in it so he had them ground and capped. Mind you, had he allowed me to put braces on when he was 14, this wouldn't be an issue now.

Well, I need a nanny nap

Bye