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July 20, 2008
July 16, 2008
He who would valiant be
What is with these orange bedecked pilgrims? I always thought orange was the colour of the ragneeshis before they became purple people (or was it the other way round). Anyway, there is far too many of them, looking far too joyful for comfort. I like my tourists to look as frustrated and miserable as the rest of us. Younger daughter seems to have passed her brief flirtation with devoted catholicism and is now only mildly disappointed not to be attending the Pope's mass. Note to self, work out how to stop my monthly stipend to the Rose Bay parish without incurring eternal damnation.
Work is annoying. I have a lot on my mind and focus is eluding me. On a more positive note, it looks like I will be in London in time for my father's 85th birthday and high jinks with a special friend (or given our advancing years, several rounds of scrabble). Also, I have mastered macaroon baking and am all about giving up my day job to become a pastry chef. Plus, I have three new pairs of heels and some good knitwear to transform my winter wardrobe courtesy of great exchange rate and july sales. And, I am going to Queensland next week so will get another respite for the grey skies of Canberra. But, it seems impossible to buy a belgian waffle iron in Australia. I am cursing that I didn't buy one in Williams Sonoma but I think that really would have tipped my luggage over the limit.
July 07, 2008
Oh for a melidrop
Of course, I only joined facebook so I could play scrabulous and I am blithely unmoved by the fact that my 15 year old daughter has way more friends than I, as I point out to her she is immensely undiscriminating and I have no intention of becoming friends with someone I never liked at university anyway. But I am smarting from being bested in scrabulous, and while I might be able to get away with claiming that I don't understand the rules first time round, I don't suspect that defence will last.
Still resting ourselves in the islands, admiring volcanoes, swiming in azure seas, reading books, eating icecream and the best pineapple I have ever tasted including that fresh in Queensland but why don't they have mangoes here? I crave them as the queen in Odo Hirsch craves the melidrop.
July 02, 2008
Pluie, pluie, aujourdhui
Today was very stormy and rainy but warm. I swam in the rain which was good but reading my book my the pool was less satisfactory as the rain drops splattered on the page. My daughter lay on her bed nursing a cold. I brought her icy cold smoothies and read Odo Hirsch to her. We love inventiveness, desperation and perserverance. In the afternoon I went to the gym and then swam in the rain again to cool down. They spoke to their father who is on a french pacific island. They were excited to tell him we had seen a boat sink. There were no casualties which makes their ghoulish pleasure slightly more socially acceptable. We ate nice pasta and marvelled at how chirpy the waitresses all were, how uniformly excited about our dinner choices and relentlessly upbeat. It was quite exhausting. But still the food was good, and they were nice to the children and indulgent of our variations. Now the cold seems a bit better and they are playing cards amicably while the rain splatters down outside. I like these days on holiday as much as endless sunshine.
July 01, 2008
Be my friend
You know sometimes you go for a massage and they play that fake rainforest or pan pipe or whale song music to relax you, well now I am listening to real ocean waves and it really works. I think this is day 4 of the holiday but international date line is very confusing when you arrive in a destination before you've left. We're now in Maui and doing nothing much at all but hanging out, enjoying the laid back vibe, eating ice cream, swimming in azure water, reading books and being together. Oldest girl insisted I set up on facebook and now I am obsessed with tracking down friends to add to my tally.
June 23, 2008
Red nose day
I went to a party on Saturday night, a very unusual occurence for me. Even more unusually I had an enjoyable time. But I woke up at around 4am and with startling certainty knew I had a massive head cold coming on. Sure enough I am sniffling and spluttering and dosing myself on ginger tea and thinking it can peak tomorrow but then I have to be on the road to recovery for when I get on a plane.
June 20, 2008
Plus ca change
The past week has been very trying. This is in part because of the weather (grey and drizzly), a huge workload to get through before I go on holiday, the inheritance of some new people to manage which has its own set of time demands and tests of my patience and the now too familiar ebb and flow of the reasonableness of the father of my children. And it is this last which exhausts my usual capacity to smile with dignity and absorb his lapses of parenting attention. I have someone else who deserves some of my attention this weekend and I discovered late last night that there was a definitely unspoken assumption that I would pick up the slack while he swanned off. I phoned and expressed my disappointment. Then I phoned again and said more than that, he would have to alter his arrangements since it was not reasonable to expect me too. This alteration has been effected but not without impact on the other child. I can not believe that after 5 years this behaviour will change and yet I still wish that my youngest daughter will never have cause to say to me again, as she did this morning, “It’s ok, mummy, I am used to daddy letting me down”.
June 18, 2008
Foggy
Last night when I got back from a work function at 11pm I called Qantas to change my flight since I couldn't face getting up at 5.30am. As it was, I slept fitfully worried I would miss my alarm and finally got up at 6 to discover a thick fog and a text from Qantas to say my flight was delayed 2 hours. I took a chance and hot tailed it to the airport to try and get on the original flight but the gorgon check-in lady refused to put me on the flight even though it was sitting at the gate waiting for some last straggling passengers. So here I am in the lounge, unable to get connected to my work email but idling on the internet. I guess it is ok but I have a day of back to back meetings which are already spiralling out of control.
Yesterday was another frantic day. I got side-swiped by a truck on Sunday damaging the whole driver's side of my shiny red car. I had to drive around getting quotes from panel beaters, getting bored with repeating the whole story again. Then I went and had my hair cut which was very pleasing as I seem to have found a hairdresser who can a) cut b) colour c) engage me in pleasant conversation while also allowing me to absorb what the magazines have to offer. Last night was a dinner at this place which smelt of run down English country hotels (it must be the old carpets). The food was surprisingly good though the evening wore on and on.
Monday morning I spent in the magistrate's court watching the sad little cameos of people driving with out insurance, without a licence, DUI. I was a little surprise at how scruffy the lawyers were with suits that had never been pressed and shiny elbows. I was surprised at the young men who didn't seem to realise that wearing a shirt and tie to court and not sitting snickering in the back row while waiting for their matter to be called would have a more favourable impact on the magistrate. I was impressed with her compassion and her refusal to side with the police in the case of a young indigenous man charged with resisting arrest.
My younger daughter has been very good, very patient with this busy, busy work stuff. Very good at getting her homework done and looking after herself. She knows our holiday is only 10 days away and she is showing a remarkable growing-upness of realising that she can trade me some slack since I have an enormous treat in store for her (and me too). She has already packed her suitcase and made a list of what she needs to do on the day we leave. Her excitement is infectious.
June 13, 2008
Because it's Friday
Borrowed from small hands via yvestown.
What time did you get up today? 6.30, it was raining and the
cat jumped on my pillow and stuffed a wet paw in my hair
Favourite TV series? Hmm, I really like Greeks but I have enthusiasms which wane quickly. I confess I watch The Bill every week but it is more of a soap opera that a series.
What did you have for breakfast? Dilmah tea, porridge with
maple syrup.
What's your middle name? I don't have a middle name. I longed
for one as a child and told everyone it was Francesca.
Favorite food? Oh, nearly everything. I usually order fish in restaurants. I love oysters and good bread and olive oil
and ripe tomatoes. Even though I love baking I am more of a savoury than sweet person.
What's your favorite CD at the moment? I usually just hear what my daughter puts on
my iPod. I like Sarah Blasko at the
moment.
What car do you drive? Something German and red and quite
fast.
Favourite sandwich? Tuna
Which human traits can't you stand? Bad manners, selfishness, stupidity, cruelty, boastfulness
What are your favourite clothes? Oh my, I love clothes and shoes. At
the moment, my favourite item is a Leona Edmiston dress with a beautiful
mysterious pattern of deers in the forest on it (second page of frocks, first
column, second from the bottom).
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
New
York City, Venice, Cape Town
Favourite clothing brand? At the moment, Leona Edmiston but I am fickle. Easton Pearson, Trelise Cooper, Fleur
Wood, Scanlan & Theodore, Moss & Spy, Alannah Hill (in
moderation), Prada shoes and handbags (not that I own any but I admire them
greatly)
Where would you like to retire? I will never be able to
afford to retire given my superannuation but I’d like to have a house by the
sea again. I’ve been looking at pod
houses and thinking about if I can buy some land on the south coast. I do not
think I can ever afford to live in the land of my birth again.
Favourite time of day? I like it when I am on my own but my
children are sleeping so early morning or around 9.30 in the evening when I can
snuggle in my lovely bed and read.
Where were you born? Newbury,
Which is your favourite sport to watch? Cricket but I like
to listen to the radio commentators as I watch.
Coke or Pepsi? Neither, I rarely drink fizzy drinks, I drink
a lot of water
Are you a morning person or a night owl? Definitely a
morning person but I prefer peace and quiet in the morning
Pedicure or manicure? Both, I’m afraid.
Any exciting news to share? I’m going on holiday to Hawaii in two
weeks with my girls. We are all excited
about it.
What did you want to become as a child? An actor or a librarian or a writer
Best childhood memory? Little about my childhood gives me a warm feeling but I liked passing my 11+
Ever been to Africa? Yes, I have
lived in
Ever rolled anybody in toilet paper? Certainly not. I have
no idea what this means.
Have you ever been in a car accident? Yes.
Favourite day of the week? Saturday
Favourite flower? Freesias
Favourite - Hot dog or Chinese food? I've eaten plenty of bad Chinese food but it's still preferable to a hot dog.
Do you own a bike? No.
Who was you latest e-mail from? I have 20 unread work ones
sitting in my mail box.
Where would you like to shop more if you could afford to? I
love
Bed time? I love my bed, love sleeping, love being
cosy. “I nice and cosy” my daughter used
to say when I tucked her in. I think bed
time is magical and happily go to bed at 9pm
Latest person to share dinner with? My children. They ate
but I had eaten a business lunch so sat with them while they ate. They were bickering so it was not as calm and
bonding as I would have liked.
What are you up to now? I am waiting to make a call to a
business partner with a colleague.
Favourite color? Everything but orange and purple. I have a lot of clothes in black but I favour
light colours in home decorating. I am
not a fan of primary colours.
How many tattoos? Don’t be ridiculous.
June 12, 2008
Velvet lips
I am so in love with my dragon-girl-nars-velvet-matt-lip-pencil. Even at $50 a pop (which means on the well-heeded advice of this wise one, I carefully cherish it in my make-up bag made from an old japanese kimono bought at Portobello road in the company of this blogger and I stow it in the bottom of my work bag), I shade my lips and something about its velvety smoothness equips me with extra confidence to slay those who get in my way. Finish that report, stop back-biting your colleagues, let's work out how to get the price down, listen to what the client is saying. Make-up maketh the girl. Good manners help too but more on that later
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