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how much is too much pancetta?…

3 Jul

So I was in the deli today… a last minute shop, for a special farewell dinner, and I asked (in my strained, whisper y voice) for 250gm of pancetta.lost voice

The very sweet …but somewhat ‘less than inspiring’ deli woman responded with ‘oh …so have you lost your voice?’  (my god I wish I had a dollar for every person that says that … followed by “I know just how you feel” …) … but forget that …it’s another story entirely.

Anyway she proceeded to slice the pancetta nice and thin, then paused to weigh her bounty.

As the scales tipped 82gm  she said …. ‘mmm that’s not quite enough is it’ ? So I replied  not quite that I needed 250gm for my recipe.

She kept on slicing for a while before weighing again ….this time a grand total of  180gm…. she looked me square in the eye and said ‘that’s pretty close … do you think that will do’ ? What the hell ??? is she the pancetta police?… NO I NEED 250gm ….please !!!.

Reluctantly she continued to slice until I requested that she give up…..at 240gm …I just couldn’t bear it any longer…so I grabbed my stash and ran!!!

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a hallmark moment …

2 Jul

I never cease to be amazed by the random interactions that occur when you least expect them (I guess that’s why they’re ‘random’)….

Anyway, today I was minding my own business, browsing in a department store, and all of a sudden this woman appeared at my side….and launched into …

“excuse me, my son turns 18 tomorrow…. what card should I buy for him”? …… as she presented me with three to choose from.

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I was completely stunned, and immediately wondered ‘what the hell’??? before helping her rule out two of the three cards in her hand, by asking ...

(Q)’is he a funny guy’?…(A) NO

(Q) is he a very conservative young man’?…(A) NO

BINGO!!! we were left with a fairly safe but contemporary looking hallmark creation which was sure not to offend …. that was…until she opened it to discover the inside leaf had been inserted upside down. While this appealed to my sense of humour….and really fitted with the bizarreness of this encounter … she was not impressed, so off she headed back to the ‘card section’ leaving me wondering what on earth just happened.

I went back to my business, but 10 minutes later she came running to me at the cash register, just to prove that she found the ‘right’ card…with the insert in correct position…PHEW it was great to know that all was good in the world again (lets just hope that ‘Mr 18year old’ appreciates his Mum’s efforts tomorrow).

 

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winning the half marathon

1 Jul

halfwayI can’t believe I’m half way !!!

On the first of January I made a rash and somewhat grand statement that I would  share some whimsical thought, reflection or just plain nonsense every day for a year. It seemed easy enough at the time…after all …I love words and they (usually) fall out of my brain easily… but I hadn’t accounted for the challenges that life throws up along the way.

That said, I’ve made it this far having missed only 2 days.

One day that didn’t exist for us as we crossed the International Dateline on our return from New York… and the other was just last Saturday, when (as many of you know) I was busy  preparing, hosting, celebrating and then recovering from our huge ‘fur and flanno’ farewell event.CAM00254

 

I wont pretend that it’s been scintillating, intellectually stimulating, particularly humorous….or necessarily interesting reading…. BUT hey I never promised that! All I said was that it would be a random collection of observations…a window to my world…. and it would definitely NOT be political, whining or negative.

So with a deep breath I now jump into part 2 of 2014…I’m still ‘50something…..and not dead yet’

 

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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

 lights are on 2

 

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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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