Archive | June, 2014

queen of the cover-up…

30 Jun

Well if there is one thing I’ve learned in my ’50Something’ years it’s the value of the humble bed sheet… table fabriccloth… or a similarly large remnant, when it comes to a quick-fix tidy up. In fact I’ve become renowned for my ability to hide almost any ugliness under a piece of freshly pressed fabric and make it look like a …..mmmm, well… better than it did.

I must attribute this carefully honed decorating skill, to my dear departed Mum, who also had the knack of ‘hiding things’ to please the eye.

A quick whip ’round before our festivities on Saturday revealed a number of snappy make-over opportunities …With a metre of cloth here and there, I was able to hide a multitude of sins…. not-the-least of which was the filing cabinet on the back verandah.

Now… while most ‘normal’ people keep their filing system in an office or spare bedroom… not us.

Instead, we relocated ours a couple of weeks back with the view to a rather severe cull…but of course it hasn’t ‘quite’ happened; so in our pre-party frenzy, there was no other option than to drape it in fabric and create a decorator feature for all to see…so a quick flick of the wrist and problem solved.

The question is ….at what point does the great ‘unveil’ take place ? or do we learn to live with it and move on to the next project ??

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how to age 50 years over-night …

29 Jun

What a huge weekend !!!

I know I made a commitment on Jan 1 to write ‘something’ EVERY day this year … but that was before I knew we would be throwing a ‘Fur & Flanno Farewell’ …. and throw we did !!!  It was one massive night and I managed to make it to bed sometime after 4.30am… so any blog thoughts would not have been terribly coherent.

It’s time to make up for some long overdue sleep ….and hopefully I can be inspired by something nonsensical again tomorrow… zzzzzz

Strange how I felt ’30Something’ last night and woke up ’80Something’….

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wisdom of the ages ….

27 Jun

I’m sitting here and facing a big week, with a farewell to #1 son and his gorgeous partner as they head to the other side of the globe ….literally.

As they plot their plan for Montreal,  I think that it would not be possible to find another location as far away and perfectly opposed to Sydney…. yet perfect fort this next adventure …..

So, for now it parties in fur and flanno,,,,, tomorrow they take on the world .. 😉

Oh to be young again… but I’m 50something and not dead yet……… (so clearly no trying hard enough)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     P1120724

the lights are on BUT…

26 Jun

lights are on

….it’s been a long Thursday

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power to the redhead…

25 Jun

Growing up a redhead I reckon I’m well positioned to highlight the conflicted emotions that it brings…and to give a huge shout out to the rest of our special and different sub species. … (the REAL ones that is). Apparently we make up 1-2% of the world’s population which is clearly why so many women are  jealous and pay phenomenal amounts of money to join our elite club.

But it hasn’t always been so cruisey.  As a kid …and then right through high school,  I stood out like the proverbial dogs balls !redheadNot only did I have a thick head of red hair (as opposed to just a’ thick-head’) BUT I was always amongst the tallest in the class as well. What hope did I have of going under the radar ? or blending in with the crowd?

But sometime in my later teens the penny dropped that I had something others wanted….and at least I could say mine was natural…cop that cheats!… (they say revenge is sweet).

redhead1There’s a lot written about us… and lot’s of ‘less than flattering’ name calling (ranger, blue, ginger, carrot top…just to name a few) There have been hate crimes against redheads… (redheadism) …and as recently as 2011 one of the worlds largest sperm banks actually stopped accepting donations from red headed men because there was no demand for red-headed babies … how sad is THAT? (almost as bad a Hitler banning marriage between consenting redheads ….for fear the coupling would produce more ‘inferior’ offspring  …)

BUT hey.. were’re tough and resilient bunch… with higher pain tolerance that all you other softies, and apparently we can even manufacture our own Vit D.

So before you let fly with some racist redhead  comment …. just remember …as YOU  fade to grey …WE will gradually transition through all the beautiful shades of faded copper to rosy-blonde colours, then finally to silvery-white. No grey for us !!!

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one for the sisterhood…

24 Jun

Rushing around before work this morning and I was left  with no time to ‘put my face on’ before I raced out the door !

aaagh panic… naked face…work day…. NOOOO!!!!makeup

I managed to slap some mosturiser on, and figured I would do the rest  at the traffic lights en route…then add  finishing touches as soon as I arrived at the office. But when I was fifteen minutes down the road I began to sweat with panic … I was suddenly convinced I’d left all of my make-up at home.

There I was naked lashes, no eyebrows, pale lips and shiny moisturised ’50Something’ skin.

makeup2I was torn whether I should go back home (and then be extra late for work) ….. or dive into a store along the way to grab some basics….I’m glad to report that common sense prevailed and I pulled over to REALLY look in my bag, and there it was, my makeup purse with all the requisite supplies. phew!

I remember the days when my skin was youthful enough to be seen naked in public, and I even had enough colour in my lips to just add gloss…. but I’m embarrassed to say I have not left the house without mascara since I was 13!!! …yeah yeah …but I’m a redhead OK?

Anyway… all was well in my world once I had those basics sorted.

~I’m 50 something ….but I’m not dead yet~

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say what ???

23 Jun

Ok so tonight  I’m banging on again about our language, and the crazy stupid things we say without even thinking twice about the paradox….no wonder we’re all confused.oxymoron

Today I was more than a little amused when I actually tuned into the stream of contradictions. …all day long I’ve been surrounded by oxymorons (and I’m not even talking about Tony Abbott).

The day started with a TV report on the ‘small crowd’ that turned out (to see someone-or-other…who cares?)…and then the breakfast crew were laughing at their own ‘seriously funny’ jokes… When I got to the office the talk was all about ‘health promotion-prevention’ and ‘ill health’ (someone please remind me how THAT can be…. and I work there!!).

As the evening settled in, we talked about a ‘pretty ugly’ puppy that I saw… the fact that a friend was going on a ‘working holiday’ … then finally I heard an advert for a movie about the American ‘civil war’!

Perhaps it pays not to over-think it… for fear that nothing will make any sense.

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baffled by choice …

22 Jun

Today I am wondering how the simplest of tasks can become so complicated ?

I stopped off at the supermarket to quickly grab a few things …and remembered that I was low on shampoo.

shampoo 2I normally grab it when I’m at the hairdressers, but thought it was time to try something different ….(and, after all, I was right there). So, I headed to the toiletries aisle and paused with shock in front of the colourful rows of shampoos and conditioners. Shelf after shelf of every conceivable flavour, fragrance and function…. how on earth was I to know what I wanted?

There were shampoos for …coloured hair, permed hair, straight hair, curly hair, hair that shampoo 1needs lift, hair that needs settling, frizz free, tangle free, added body, …. then there were the added bonus’s … extra lift, extra shine, extra light, extra clean (isn’t THAT the point?) ….and the we need to find the companion conditioner …. geeeze who would have every thought is could be so hard  ?

Whatever happened to the simple days of a sunlight soap hair-wash every Sunday ?

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no words left …

21 Jun

been writing all day and I’m

 too tired

so…see you tomorrow

(I’m 50 something …and tired …but not dead yet)

I know you’ve heard it before … BUT…what ARE the chances???

20 Jun

I never cease to be amazed as the serendipitous moments in every single day …. (no I haven’t had too much to drink although I do sit here with my Friday night wine)… But as I have ‘matured’ into a ’50Something’ …( kind of like a good cheese), I am constantly in awe of those strange and special  ‘pleasant surprises’.

I have pondered in the past that synchronicty is amazing… BUT only if you notice it.

If we are all running around with our heads up our bums and completely self absorbed, we are guaranteed to miss these quirky and seemingly meaningless messages that remind us ‘all is good in the world’ (well…. maybe not “all” good, but life could be a lot worse for most of us).

Anyway, at the risk of rambling (and sounding lime a complete ‘nutter’… a couple of things have happened these past few days that prompt this odd post.

serendipity

The first one was randomly emailing a very dear friend, and as I hit the ‘send’ button … I received an email from that exact same friend … same moment in time and very similar sentiment!! Yep a little weird, and very lovely… but probably not ALL that amazing to many of you.

But how about this ? …..Driving home tonight … in the dark and cold, and I’m getting a little warm and fuzzy as my mind wanders to planning a rather significant family farewell celebration for next weekend. As I ponder the impact of #1 son and his beautiful partner moving to the other side of the world … I pass a car with a CAM numberplate (yep, that would be his name). I smile and remember that we will never be too far apart !

Then… as if that’s not enough, within the next 30 minutes on the road I pass ‘MYK‘ (Mr 50 Something)  and ALI (#1 daughter) … WOAH!… (now this is starting to get a little weird).  All I can say is thank god I read number plates !!!

So… what ARE the chances ???…

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