Hung Parliament.

It seems, come Monday morning, that the government who will sit in Parliament House (shown in the photo to the ride) is still undecided. 'They' were correct in saying that this election was the closest in 50 years.

ABC news has the latest updates about the election. The independents have a ton of power here in deciding who rule Australia over the next few years. It won't surprise me if we are headed back to the election booths in the next year or so.

So that's that. Australia has decided, in my opinion, that we aren't impressed with any particular leader or party. The media is talking about having a re-vote but I don't believe this will change anything.

I understand that the federal government in Canada is a minority government (also known as a hung parliament) and Stephen Harper, the PM of Canada, has had the job since 2006 (source at Wikipedia.com). So it can work.

That's enough of politics for me.

Election day 2010.

Today is election day here in Australia. They (the ominous 'they') say that it will be the closest election in 50 years. The sitting government sits for 3 years and the election date can be called whenever the Prime Minister decides to call it (unlike in America when it is the set day in November every time).

This is a very interesting election because 4 months ago the then sitting Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (from the Kevin '07 era) was replaced by his sitting deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. She was the first female deputy and now she is the first Prime Minister to run for election.

I thought the replacement was an example of unfair dismissal at the highest level. It was ludicrous. Kevin Rudd was in his first time as PM and the labour had only been in the federal government less than 3 years after 11 years of the Liberal party government. That put a rather sour taste in my mouth about the labour party. I do think that the saying " those that live by the sword will die by the sword" may apply to Julia Gillard. If you can't support your PM who will you support?

But those issues are beyond me. I feel that the two main parties are so similar it's really electing the lesser of the two evils. We've got the fire stoked up and the tv on to watch the wrap up. I am grateful that the campaign only goes for five weeks because then the media can move on to something else.

Come Monday life will resume as usual. In the past elections I have felt a rather anxious view of election day. I wanted to make sure the "right" party got into power. But now, as I get older and wiser, I realize that politics is cyclical and life goes on!

Early morning.

I love (most days) being the first in our house to wake in the morning.

To come out to the living room in the quietness and stillness of the day. Most likely the kookaburras have begun their morning call around 6am and that gently stirs me awake. Lately my bedroom has felt like 13 C so I've had to pull on a sweater and socks to keep my tootsies warm. I grab the bin by the fire for collecting firewood and head out to the woodpile. The dogs get let out and tear up the hill to investigate who has infiltrated their domain during the night. Then of course, tell the whole neighbourhood that they are now awake and everyone else should be too. Some mornings they'll keep it down and my boys can continue sleeping for a little while.

I love making the fire. Collecting the little sticks, then medium, then the larger logs to add just at the right time. If you had the big ones too big - well the fire takes a lot longer to get going. I enjoy sitting right in front and watching as the flames expand and take over the space of the fireplace. The crackle, pop and ooze of sap from the wood add to the delicate morning sounds.

I boil the kettle and proceed to make a cup of tea just in time to hear my little man wake from the night sleep. Not to worry. . . it can be warmed again.

Markets

One of my delights is visiting markets. Art, craft, farmers - love them all. My favourite are when they are held outdoors like up on the Gold Coast. But being winter sometimes they are held indoors. Today I went to Matildas Markets in Sydney with a few friends. Lovely drive early on a Sunday morning with good company makes the trip so quick. It was held at a private school so that included free parking and free admission. Bonus! (Although we needed a little help from some very helpful gentlemen to reverse out from soggy wet grass up a hill to get out!)

I love seeing the designs people come up with and the way their display their passions. I see a lot projects that I could easily do and sometimes I do complete them. Other times I say I can make such things but in reality I don't.

As I wander through stall after stall of creativity and booming business I sometimes think that it was I'd like to do. Make something that other people would love to buy off me. I think that I could something like this. But then I pause and remember that I like to dabble in many different craft projects. So just enjoy what they have to offer - encourage the owners for doing something really cool and move on. I have a chosen career that is fulfilling and provides for my family. I am doing something worthwhile. Remember that I love my hobbies and that is enough.

But it's still fun to explore, talk with owners and be inspired. Love it.