Tuesday, May 21, 2013


The photo quality is poor as I shot this through a fence at night but I thought it was worth capturing. This is the "House Rules" for the contractors on a Sydney Opera House project.

Our House Rules
I will...
1 Do everything I can to go home safe
2 Never forget rule #1
3 Respect my workmates
4 Communicate positively with those around me
5 Challenge my mates to do the right thing
6 Present fit for duty and ready to do my best
7 Never take short cuts at the expense of safety
8 Lead by example and be proud of my work
9 Speak up if I see something not quite right
10 Step up and help my workmates if I see they need help

Not bad rules for many things in life

Q scored a goal in a lacrosse game. Sadly neither parent was there to see it. He scored #4 out of about 10 goals and they were dominating the other team - a nice change from some of their games where they are the scoreless team. After 6 goals they go to mercy rules and coach insisted that they pass ball at least twice - later increased to 4 times - before scoring. Q said he had a “break-a-way” goal - he was playing “attack” which means he has to stay in the 1/2 of the field near the goal - and ball and players were congested at other side of the field when teammate passed to him and he ran down, shot, and scored. I did arrive later in the game to see him make an assist for the last score of the game. This is his first season and we weren’t sure it would go very well so it has been great to see that he’s been able to pick up decent ball handling skills and more importantly enjoy the game. Both boys seem to like to play “middie” - the only position that runs the whole field - which is actually slightly larger than a football field as they play on a football field but can run behind the goal which is on the touchdown lines. A too scored this year - I think a first for him as well. Our boys don’t seem particularly suited to the middie position as neither are that fast nor do they care to exert themselves to outrun anyone. Attack might be a good position for them. Fortunately the game isn’t too violent at this age yet. The teams are in 2 year brackets and it is interesting to see the huge size difference - and also note that size isn’t that important especially as this is the B (or C!) team so the best kids are off playing on the A team. 

Q is a really self-sufficient kid - has been since he was first able to move. I recall A asking me if Q was allowed to help himself to the chocolate that we in an upper cabinet. No. Q was about 2 and had taken a chair and climbed up on the counter so that he could reach the shelf he wanted to get to. Q is also a very determined kid when he has an idea. He came home from school the other day and wanted to make dog treats. He has made them cooked treats before - we just make stuff up and it usually turns out pretty well. At school that day they made dog biscuits for a local charity to sell. He needed help finding molasses but after that he didn’t ask another question. Of course my kitchen was a bit of a wreck when he was done but the dogs liked his treats better than the ones he brought home from school. His were more like fudge in consistency rather than hard biscuits. They smelled quite nice - he had put in about 5 different spices. Other ingredients (that I know about) included eggs, flour, and shredded carrots. We are trying to get both boys to help make dinner at least once a week. Q you can just turn loose. A surprisingly needs much more help - his recipe reading skills are surprisingly poor.