I buy library quality contact from a library supplier. They're happy to sell to the public. A group of school mums get together to order every few years when our rolls start to run out. At 22m long, that takes a while. I use it at work (a library), so I know it works really well. The crap Officeworks & the supermarkets sell is just bubble-wrap in disguise. Every time I use this contact I'm pathetically grateful for it. Worth every cent.

I can't get on board with Will & Kerry. They look like twins, not a couple.

My mum (age 71) has it & she finds relief by taking (prescribed) a small dose of medication for Parkinson's a certain time before she goes to bed.

I have 2 gorgeous sisters thanks to natural family planning methods. In the 80s the popular one was the Billings Method. Mum showed her chart to Dr Evelyn Billings herself, who couldn't explain why it didn't work. There's a name for couples who use natural fertility methods: parents.

A friend of mine is an obstetrician. While helping deliver a baby with shoulder dystocia her hand was caught up there for a while & the pressure of the complicated birth against my friend's hand broke one of the small bones on the back of her hand. Dedication!

Buying frames from op shops is fine if you're not looking to have your own prescription lenses put in, especially plastic frames. To put new lenses in plastic frames they need to be heated, & older ones get brittle & can crack, so you've just wasted money on a frame that is irreparably broken, & lenses that won't fit into anything else. Best to go for a vintage vibe in a new frame. From an unsexy glasses-wearing librarian who used to work in optics.

Hell yes. I couldn't agree more.

A few things turned the red light on for me: realising that he was arguing the point with me about trivial things just for the sport of arguing & winning the fight, when he quit his job 1 week after I had birthed our 2nd child & expected me to go back to work straight away, when I had a broken ankle in plaster & was 7 mths pregnant he sent me back to work as well as making me do ironing for other people, when my parents separated & his advice to my dad was "shit happens". It took 7 years but I eventually felt strong enough to leave & haven't regretted it for 1 second.

They're still going to need a donor, & she fell pregnant naturally to the one night stand guy, so obviously she still can fall pregnant the usual way. They haven't suggested that she's getting older as a reason to not use her own eggs. This plot line isn't as well done as before.

Loving hanging out with the Proudmans again, but I wish the new writers would fact-check before continuing with a storyline. In previous series Billie wasn't infertile, it was Mick's swimmers that were the problem, hence trying to use his brother's "donation" to get Billie pregnant. Now they're making out like Billie's eggs are faulty & Nina should hand some over. Very annoying.

Having seen Cate's interview on Australian Story I really loved this podcast episode, especially her insights into how women act around men highlighted by her quote that women "shed their authority". It's fascinating to hear women's place in society viewed by someone who has been living as both genders.

I'd love to know what men discuss about women when they're not around to hear it. I wonder if Cate was ever part of such conversations and what she thinks about that now she's feeling more female.

Thanks, and great work, Mia!

I wonder if the author had all this in mind when she wrote it. Did she intend the books to make DV obvious? Or maybe she's a victim of it too & thinks it's normal.

I've met a Jim Beam before. That was the name on his Medicare card. He changed his name to that after becoming sober so he could always remember where he'd been in life & how far he'd come.

What about crepey chest & back of hands skin? Will the glycolic acid help get rid of that?

My last pair of glasses I bought from Clearly Contacts. They're .com.au but I think my specs actually came from the US. They had a great range of frames to choose from, & were 1/3 the price of the local suppliers. I got ultra-thin lenses in the bargain, with the anti-reflective coating. As well as prescription sunnies.
With a prescription like yours the best frames are the small ones because the thickness of the lenses are at the outside edge, so the smaller they can cut the lens to fit the better. Thicker lenses look best in the trendy chunkier frames, much more than rimless styles.

PS I saw a uro-gynaecologist for the TVT repair. They're a rare specialty, but boy did she know her stuff.

I went snorkelling from a Qld island once & they had -1.00 to loan out, which was pretty good. Maybe call the operator & see what they already have. The prescription isn't identical to your actual glasses because the lenses in snorkelling goggles are further away from your eyes compared to swimming goggles or glasses.

I hate that when I'm in the shower I can't see basically anything. Lucky I know where all my body parts are so I can still wash effectively. But the bonus is that I also can't see how gross the shower floor is - then when I get out & put my specs back on if I bother looking I can see how slack my housework is.

Another thing, wrestling with the kids - have to take my glasses off for that. And if they come up close for a kiss, it's always "Don't touch my glasses". When Mum & I kiss hello or goodbye & our specs clink against each other we always say "Clash".

I'm so over wearing mine (30 yrs now), and I was lucky enough to work for an optom for years so I always had nice-looking ones. And I got free contacts, which would've been great if I could wear them for longer than an hour without wanting to scratch my eyes out. With contacts my eyes get really tired (and they're not as accurate as my glasses) so I think that I'm tired, but when I take them out I'm not tired any more - it was just my eyeballs being tired. Crazy. And even crazier, they live on my bedside table overnight, & if I hear a sound outside and I put my glasses on then I can hear even better. How weird is that?!
Can't swim without being blind, rain shits me, steaming drinks shit me, carbonated drinks leave dots on my glasses from the bubbles popping on my lenses. Ugh. One day when I win lotto I could have laser surgery, but then I'd still need reading glasses a lot of the time because I'm a big reader & computer user at work and home, and what if I was the 1% (guesstimate) of people it doesn't work on & I'm still left wearing them, or maybe even blinder? It's a big risk - for me.
In my nightmares I don't have my glasses on or they're broken, so the world is blurry & therefore I can't defend myself, or run away, or whatever I need to do. OVER IT!!!!