The Sunday Roast

The Cath That Got The Cream

This week's interview is with Cath,

who writes the blog Crazy Cath.

The first of the standard questions. Why do you blog?

Blogging started for me with lurking. Although I can talk the hind leg off a donkey, the other side of me is quite shy and sensitive. So for a loooonng time I lurked. I didn't know much about blogging then and just read one or two blogs. Occasionally. Sometimes dad would mention to me to start a blog, but I always felt I didn't have much to say that the world would be interested in. Then for the umpteenth time, I fell ill. Ill for me has varying degrees but this degree was the lying on the couch unable to do anything but toilet and feed myself. At least I could do that. I couldn't concentrate to read (I love reading) so I read blogs more avidly. Occasionally I would comment.

In February (2008), I was well enough to sit with a laptop on my knee and type. So I started a blog to fill the long hours of the day when I couldn't sleep and when waking hours were filled with anxiety. I started to blog to write about all the stuff that kept churning inside or the good stuff I wanted to share with the world. I started to blog to prove to myself that I was still alive and would remain so for as long as I could. If I couldn't keep up the living bit, the blogging bit would be a bit of me left behind for others. I am glad to say that the living bit is as strong as it ever was now, as is the blogging bit. There is no danger (currently) of either of these ceasing! ;0)

What's the story behind your blog name?

I love the English language and how you can make patterns with it. I love alliteration. I use it to gently chastise my children - 'You Silly Sausage!' 'You daft duck!' etc. My name is Cath and very definitely with a C. It is the only bit of my name I am precious about. It is NOT a K! I get Cath, Cathy, Catherine (my full name) in various spellings. As long as it is a C, I don't correct. I don't know why - I'm just crazy like that. I also was until recently a psychiatric nurse. I have been all my life. That's working with the emotionally disturbed, unbalanced, mad or simply - crazies. (I don't really think that about my patients - honest. It is the labels they get stuck with.)

Anyway, some of that rubs off a bit and to get through a day sometimes you have to be a bit crazy yourself. So there I am. CrazyCath. The 'Reflections' bit speaks for itself. I am reflective naturally and I knew I wouldn't be able to write without reflecting a bit. Reflections give an image of what is looking at the reflector - and that is what the blog is. It reflects a bit of me. It is not a true picture of me of course, like all mirrors, it only shows a part of me. But it is still me. It is just a reflection. So the blog was named: CrazyCath's Reflections. That is what my blog is.

What is the best thing about being a blogger?

Without a doubt, the best thing about being a blogger is the friends you meet. This was not something I thought I would get out of blogging. I hadn't read many blogs and hadn't considered that friendships could develop. I have met the most genuine, caring souls out there in BlogLand, or the blogosphere as some call it, and I would not be without these friends now. Some I keep in touch with through email, one or two through 'instant message' on another application and still more through their and my comments box. Such support, such care, genuine care and advice.

Sometimes I want to quit for a while, because I am tired, or stressed, but then I need to give back a bit of what I have taken too and I can't be that selfish. I would miss the feedback on my reflections, the attempts at making some prose or at photographing, etc. It's the communication with others that is the best thing. And unless you are a blogger, with real blogger friends who have helped you through some really tough times, (which is how it is for me) then you won't understand. But to feel that wave of love, encouragement, support and understanding come galloping through your screen, totally disregarding the miles.... That is what is the best thing about being a blogger.

What key advice would you give to a newbie blogger?

Whaddya mean a newbie blogger? I am a newbie blogger compared to many here! I'll have to take that label off my blog now. That was one thing I did - I made it clear on my blog that I was new to this, so any blogging faux pas would be unintentional and accidental. Secondly, when people would visit me, I would return the visit. It is just common courtesy and how I was raised. I treated it as though some one had placed a note through my letterbox complimenting me on an article in the local magazine. I would write and thank them, or at the very least do a blanket thank you in my next article or write a letter to the editor! So that is one piece of advice.

The other is to be yourself. If you try to be anything else, it is false. So just be natural on your blog. Also don't get too stressed about joining memes and things. They are good and lead you to a lot of friends with common interests, but if you are like me, you start to worry about deadlines and returning visits etc. When you get to the stage that it is stressing you, you need to take a step back. I did. I do my memes and I enjoy them but I try not to let myself get stressed because it takes all the fun out of it. So be yourself. That's the best bit of advice I could give. Blogging is to be enjoyed not endured. That is my baseline.

What is the most significant blog post you've ever read?

That is the most difficult question to answer. There are a number of posts out there have touched my heart. Still others have made me laugh till I cry. There is an extraordinary amount of talent there, in writing, in photography, in art - all types of art. I seriously trawled through my emails and some posts to try and pinpoint a selection of significant posts, (I simply could not name only one post) but I just can't pin it down. So I will save you the job of listening to me going on and on and on and on and.... you get the picture. Posts touch people for different reasons. Are significant for different reasons.

For me, it is those posts that show emotion, like your recent one and others about your mum David, Suldog's post about his dad '14 years on', those who have dealt with illness, and still deal with it daily. And not just the sad ones. There are those that make me laugh so much, and photographers - there are some great ones out there.

The photographer who impacted me most at the start of my blogging was John in Norway with his 'Fotoblogg'. Since then I have found so many good photographers in BlogLand, there are too many to mention. It is quality writing I enjoy too, be it emotional or funny. I can honestly say I meet at least one post each week that is significant to me. Mostly because of Post of the Day because that shows me such a variety of blogs, I end up on a roller coaster of emotion on some of the days I get to all the posts. 'Basically, what I want to say is this: Take a look at the blogroll and bloglist on both sidebars of my blog.' There you will find where I have read the most significant posts. In each and every blog and more besides I haven't got around to
putting on my sidebar yet.

What is the most significant blog post you've ever written?

There are a few, believe it or not, even after only a few months of blogging. But at least this is easier than the last question! Probably the most significant of all is one I wrote early on, to my mum. Who did read it in the end. That one got POTD if I remember correctly and it is significant because I never told my mum often enough or how much I loved her and appreciated her. That post rectified that. Our relationship is far more solid even if we do clash.

I think we are actually very alike. Not to forget him, the post to my dad is significant too, because it is the first time I think I blogged a bit about my childhood memories. As they are to all of us for one reason or another, childhood memories are special windows on those magic moments. Unforgettable. And now blogged. There are two others. The most significant one of all time I think is the tribute to my eldest son. You all know him as #1 son and more recently, as the Firstborn. I do not often name my children on my own blog so as to give them some protection.

But occasionally I have and here I am happy to tell my friends that the Firstborn is Liam. And along with my husband, he is an absolute rock. My Firstborn, My Son is without a doubt, for me, the most significant post I have written. Along with Losing Me. Which was all about.... losing me. In depression. The DS-Kid (formerly known as #2 son) is called John and will probably want to know why I have not mentioned him so I have to say that it is the things he does for me which are significant, not necessarily the things I have written. So that is my Sunday Roast. Which, incidentally, I have every Sunday. On the blog and literally. If you have read through that lot, thank you (and well done! you deserve a 'I survived Cath's chattering' medal!) and thank you to all of you who have ever visited me because your encouragement and comments are often the main thing that keeps me going.

I treasure the friendships I have found as much as any friendships I have in 'real' life. I started off thinking this was a fad that would die out in a bit. Especially if I was writing to myself all the time. Hmph. How wrong can I get....? (I now insist on getting an internet connection wherever I can if away. The first thing I do is turn on the pc and check the blog and my email inbox. My life is now a double life - the real world, and the blog.)

Today's Sunday Roast with Crazy Cath is the 37th in a weekly series of interviews with bloggers from around the world.

Post Of The Day

Today’s three winners are Suldog with Dad, 14 Years After; Old Tom Wigley with Two-Spot Ladybird and Crazy Cath with The Day That Wasn’t. The other top contenders were Just Words with Just Dad; Michal with Ten Reasons; Rhea with Wanted - An Internal Compass; Poetic License with When Kids Are Sick; Daryl with Husbandisms; Camikaos with A Little Love; On The Clock with Terrified; House of Lime with Lessons From A Father and Ramblings Around Texas with Vermillion Cliffs And Victim. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

THANK YOU: A very heartfelt vote of thanks for your support. Today my blog received its 90,000th hit and last weekend I was delighted to achieve my 140,000th page view. My humble thanks, to all of you.

This Way To The AC/DC Concert

There's Electricity In The Air

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I love a challenge. If you saw my recent post Nobel Peas Prize, you'll know that I simply could not resist picking up the gauntlet thrown down by Maggie May and Crazy Cath. And it's relevant to mention here that a few weeks ago, I was intrigued when I was told by a group of colleagues that power lines are the single most boring sight in the entire universe.

Boring? Excuse me? I took that as a challenge. Nuthin's boring in my book. I even discussed the issue with San Merideth, one of many bloggers whose work I admire greatly. San, who is blessed with many talents, pretty much agreed with me. We nodded our heads in unison - as much as people can nod their heads in unison when separated by half the globe. Basically, San and I agreed that nothing is boring if it is presented well and interpreted clearly.

So I made up my mind to photograph power lines. As you do when challenged. But I wanted to wait for a day when the sight was not enhanced or embellished in any way by a stunning sunrise or sunset. I wanted a muted sky. I was willing to wait. So I waited. And I waited. And I waited.

Finally, late one evening, when the sky was a monochrome, I got in the car and drove out to a deep valley to take this shot. As you can see, there are arcs, there are curves, there are parallel lines, there are angles, there are straight lines, all included in the one view. There are so many facets to capture in any sight, even one that is labelled pedestrian.

Is it a boring shot? I'd like to know what you think .....

The Nobel Peas Prize

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I love a challenge. So when Maggie May paid me a great compliment in early April, I had to live up to her expectations. She said I could probably photograph a simple sight like a bowl of peas and produce a decent image - and Crazy Cath was quick on the uptake, echoing Maggie May's praise.

So a couple of days later, while I was driving home, I pulled over at a fruit-and-vegetable stall to buy a decent serve of peas. The owner happened to mention that they had little cups of specially grown peas. Yeah, I thought, that'll work for me. I had a busy evening ahead of me and I figured buying the shelled peas would save me a lot of time.

I thanked him for his advice, handed him a tenner and he gave me back a five-dollar note. So I'm thinking, ``Five bucks for a cup of peas?'' Naaah, surely not. Surely he was going to put his paw in the till and hand me another three or four bucks.

Er, no. There was a sticker on the peas. The sticker said ``$5''. I shoulda sent them to the Smithsonian to be preserved.

On my way back to the car, I noticed there was an antique shop nearby. The thought crossed my mind that I should have ducked in there and bought a Wedgwood plate or a crystal bowl, the better to take home the World's Most Expensive Handful Of Peas. Huh, for all I knew the Wedgwood or crystal might have been less expensive than the precious little cargo in my hand.

Instead, I placed the tiny container of peas on the passenger seat of the car, much like a butler would have placed a royal footstool before a weary monarch - with the utmost respect.

When I got home, I unwrapped the gold nugget, er, sorry, the peas. And I stood there shaking my head for several seconds. Not only had I broken the Reserve Bank to pay for them, they fell short in one vital area. They weren't shiny green. You know, like the colour of normal peas. No, mate, they were a dull olive green, a bit like the paintwork on a secondhand army tank. No gloss. No sheen. No class. No pedigree.

I could have gone to the freezer and pulled out some frozen peas and I would have got a better result. But no, Maggie May and Crazy Cath were waiting. And I always believe in working with what I have. So I gritted my teeth and carried on. (Remind me to send the dentistry bill to Maggie and Cath, will ya?)

It was like working with plasticine. I longed for the bright green peas that I had imagined I was buying. So I decided I would grab a cheese grater from the kitchen and shave some ice over the peas. You know, to make 'em glisten a bit. But the ice cubes kept slipping in my grasp and I gave up when it looked as if I would slice my fingers to ribbons.

But I'm a determined sort. So I took out a small, sharp kitchen knife and yep, you guessed it, I tried cutting little slivers off the ice cubes. But slivers are still a lot bigger than ice shavings, so I had to wait a few minutes for the ice to melt, but then when it did, I had beads of moisture on the peas.

And that's when I got the most interesting shot of the day. In trying to liven up the colour, I had placed a red Skittles lolly (candy) among the peas. And if you look really closely at the last photograph (below) you'll see that the melting ice has caused the red Skittles to shed its colour rather dramatically.

And you want to know what I did with the peas after I finished shooting these photographs? I put them straight in the bin.

So I'll have to take up Maggie May's and Crazy Cath's challenge again. However, next time I'll do it with normal peas.

It'll be the justice of the peas.

Post Of The Day

Today's most outstanding post (and the best I've read in a very long time because it is searing, frank, honest and ultimately inspirational on many levels) is Crazy Cath's Losing Me. The other posts that made an impession today were Momma with the post Who Says Church Can’t Be Fun?; Merisi's Spring in Carnuntum; Jo Beaufoix with Let the Children Play; Mother’s Pride with Wordy Wednesday; Gourley Gang with Grandma’s Broken Heart; Parenting Issues with New Schools And Hugh Laurie; Camikaos with In With The In Crowd; Holly's I Forgot To Take Them To The Dungeon; Miss Burrows with Keep Your Passwords Safe; Brian in Oxford with It's A LabRum, Dad; Quilly's The Country Club Bum; Charles Gramlich with Sheer Creation and Lana Gramlich with Hooray For Macro.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. You can nominate more than one post. And yes, you can even nominate your own work. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Drop In Any Time

I'd Almost Forgotten The Sound Of Rain

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Any idea what I've photographed here? While you're racking that nimble brain of yours, I'll get on with the post .... and I'll end with the answer.

Just when we'd given up on ever getting any rain here in Melbourne, the heavens opened up last Tuesday and we've had a shower or two every day since then. The timing could not have been better for many reasons, but this was a perfect opportunity to try out the macro on the new Pentax Optio S10 that I've been testing.

Like I said in an earlier post, it's an ultra-compact 10-megapixel camera with a 2.5 inch LCD screen. It's not much bigger than a credit card and is slimmer than a standard (empty) wallet. I often get asked by women bloggers if I could recommend a camera that would fit easily into a handbag. Men, on the other hand, ask about a camera that can slot into a pocket. Look no further than this little beauty. It retails for just under $300 here in Australia, which means it would be about $280 in the United States and about 150 quid in the United Kingdom.

Crazy Cath also asked me what the "SLR" stands for in camera-speak - it's an acronym for single lens reflex. She is on the lookout for a new camera in the $300 price range, so I would not hesitate to recommend the Pentax Optio S10. It has an on-screen editing function as well and is a very versatile piece of equipment. Also, in answer to Crazy Cath's second question about SLRs, yes, there are several digital SLR models around. And while the prices have dropped a fair bit, it's rare to find a decent brand SLR under $850-$900 - that's Australian dollars.

These pictures were all shot with the Pentax S10. I took each of these frames on "text mode" and the clarity of the individual raindrops gives you an idea of just how good this camera is. Looking for great value for money? This could be the camera for you - but take my perennial advice and always test a camera before you buy it, to make sure it's right for you.

Any questions, just let me know ....

ANSWER: The first two shots are of raindrops on an umbrella.

Post Of The Day

Today we have joint winners, so please put your hands together for Kai Blue Creations with This Ego Thing and Crazy Cath with Today I Needed My Mum. Also in the running were Miss Burrows with Choose Your Furniture Wisely; Six Months Of Settled with A Bug’s Life – And Death; Leslie's F Is For Father; RuneE's F Is For Fjord; Thoughts of Laurel with Taking In The Moment; Am'N2Deep with Shhhh I Have A Ssssecret and Slone with Depression Hurts. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have the time.