the challenges of a domestic goddess

9 Dec

Bloody steam mops ….. I’m sure I have whined about them  before, but I feel the need to vent again. steam mop

After these few  weeks of storms, steamy weather, Christmas festivities and packing preparations …keeping the floors in ‘old style shiny clean condition’ as any Domestic Goddess might, is a bit of a challenge. Despite the regular vacuum, sweep and mop … it feels like there is need for a more aggressive attack to clean away the remnants of the weekend so out comes the wizz bang, super beaut, fandangled steam mop… BUT it’s a DUD !!!!

Just when you need that extra quick sparkle you end up with puddles… the fear of electrocution ….as well as the odd steam burn.

Suffice to say it’s G_O_N_E … and a note to Santa to say don’t bother replacing it   !!! (please)

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beetle bombing….

8 Dec

Well…we really know it’s Christmas time. ….Not because of the arrival of  Mickey Mouse and his Friends on our neighbours front lawn…. or because the elves encouraging little kiddies to come and sit on skinny Santa’s lap in every shopping mall ….nor the impossible task of finding a carpark within a kilometre of the stores….

No… here in Aus we know it’s Christmas because of the shiny flying beetles that  dive bomb you when you’re at the BBQ, flock to the lights, and take every opportunity to swoop through an open door into the house, only to be found somewhere random, stuck on their backs in their death throws and unable to re-launch and escape.

 

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So I’ve been wondering ….who are these pretty,shiny and harmless Christmas creatures … (I mean ….really) ?? I know we call them Christmas Beetles  but  I thought that was because of their colours. By now you will all realise I am certainly no nature expert….. so you guessed it …I googled!! and thanks to the CSRIO I discovered:

  • The Christmas beetle’s formal name is  Anoplognathus
  • They have a seasonal life cycle, which is either annual or biennial depending on the climate
  • Christmas really IS the silly season for them, because all they do is spend  December to January mating and then laying eggs into the soil surface.
  • They are large glossy beetles often seen clustered on the leaves of eucalypt trees during summer.
  • Larvae develop through three stages , and in warmer areas of the country spend one winter in the soil, (or  two winters in cooler climates).
  • They emerge in several waves late November through to February depending on species, rainfall and number of life cycles they need to go through.
  • They launch late in the afternoon and can fly distances of several kilometres. Most flights occur at dusk, with beetles often attracted to outdoor lighting (hence crashing into anything light)
  • They come in colours ranging from dark brown to iridescent green
  • Thunderstorms can trigger mass emergence as the ground becomes moist enough for adults to escape .

So THAT is why these strange little creatures have been particularly prominent these past couple of weeks ..as if the thunderstorms are not enough to deal with.

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sunday headspin…

7 Dec

sunday thoughts

….and they’re moving too fast for me to catch tonight….

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can’t live with them … can’t live without them …

6 Dec

….and no I’m not talking about men !!

Today my level of empathy  for my visually challenged friend, went up a few notches.  While I was frantically multitasking in preparation for guests I realised that I can’t QUITE function without my glasses…. but nor can  manage with them on all the time.

I feel like I’m trapped in some parallel universe  … where I can see ok until I really NEED to see clearly ….. then I’m all over the shop.

Glasses on …Glasses off … there is no halfway measure ….such are the ravages of age (but I guess it’s better than the alternative eh ?)

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raising an eyebrow ….

5 Dec

As I was  swept along the shopping mall in the throng of Christmas shoppers – I looked up and saw it … a pop up eyebrow shop. Now you regular readers will appreciate my surprise, given my well documented interest in the brow.-font-b-Eyebrow-b-font-font-b-threading-b-font-tools-aid-font-symmetry

Initially, I could not believe it … there in the middle of the busy walkway, was a woman offering ‘on-the-go’ threading, reshaping, scuplting, or colouring, any willing eyebrows . BUT she also offered hair removal from the top lip… something I’m sure all woman would love to do in the midst of the Christmas shopping crowd..

I watched with amusement and complete shock as the eyebrow therapist worked her magic, wrapping the thread around her fingers with a bit of a lick (eek) and then whipping those tiny fine hairs into oblivion. …. she soon moved onto the woman’s hairy lip and continued to thread them away …… all the while with an audience who didn’t seem to raise an eyebrow.

I wonder if she does implants ????

 

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hitting the wrong key….

4 Dec

These past few days , I’ve had a bit of a fascination with….wait for it … ‘keyboards’.comptometrist

Not the musical variety …but the highly functional communication tool that’s allowing me to write this. I have no idea what prompted it  (well actually I might know) … but since tuning in to this fascination … it seems I am being haunted by them…. (keyboards that is).

Since caving to the world of gadgetry and purchasing  my phabulous phablet  last week, I’m reminded that if I’m writing anything longer than 2 lines……..I would rather use a ‘thumbnail dipped in tar’ than type on a touch screen keyboard. It’s silly I know, but there is something comforting knowing that  I can feel and hear the clicking of the keys. …and the tactile aspect is  so much more ‘real’than tapping on a sheet of glass !!

Which brings me to the functional part …how DOES that sheet of glass translate that little ‘tap’  into letters on the screen. I mean …just stop and really think about it ? It is quite amazing technology …but it almost makes me forgive my ‘not so smart’ phone for it’s poor spelling and grammar.

The more you contemplate the humble keyboard the more there is to wonder, ponder and appreciate really….. like ‘why ARE the keys on a qwerty keyboard arranged the way they are’ ? and what key is used the most (tip have a look at the most shiny and faded one) ….. and how often should you actually clean your key board ??? (and how ???)  …..the list goes on.

I began to wonder why I was so fascinated…. and it suddenly occurred to me that it must be genetic. My Mum was a Comptomotrist way back in the 1940’s  ….busily tapping holes in cardboard 8 hours each day …. bet she didn’t use a ‘smart anything’ to help her ….just  good old fashioned  and clunky keys.

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definition of disappointment ….

3 Dec

…IT’s JUST PLAIN WRONG….

There I was,trapped inside Sydney’s most beautiful shopping mall, unable to leave because of the outrageous storms outside.

I had time to kill, money on my plastic  …… BUT it’s Wednesday evening and the shops are shut !!!

(but check out all those shop windows)

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Blog #334

2 Dec

Today marks

11 months and 1 day….or 47 weeks and 6 days…..or 335 days…or 8040 hours since this blog challenge began.

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Now I hear you wondering why it is blog number 334 (not 335)…

That’s because I lost a day somewhere over the international dateline….a day of my life never to be returned.

The other important bit of trivia is that it means there are only 23days til Christmas …..eeeekkk

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one more useless fact …

1 Dec

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s concern over why hamburgers are called hamburgers ~ today I was faced with yet another life changing conundrum.

While visiting a local theatre to book an event for next year, I was given a guided tour. As we wandered into ‘the green room’ I was surprised to see magnificent purple and orange glass panelling, timber furniture, cream walls and comfortable lounges…. but NOTHING  green.

green roomI asked the obvious question  …..why is it called a green room ?

You guess it …the theatre director had no real answer. She said here are many theories but none agreed by the majority of the theatre word. So … after sharing my new-found knowledge on the history of hamburgers with her, we agreed I should ‘google it’.

To my delight I discovered that this very question has been tackle by a fellow blogger…one who is clearly far more connected to the ‘world of the stage’ than I ….so I’m happy to share Ken’s observations for you, rather than re-write the re-write. (Thanks Ken)

I’m pleased to see that while Uni is done for the year …there is still plenty of opportunity to expand my brain (and yours) by solving the big issues  …I wonder what we can tackle next ?

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bet you were wondering about this too ….

30 Nov

Why are hamburgers called hamburgers when there is no sign of ham ???

This was the topic of conversation as we sat outside a hamburger joint in sleepy little down-town Merriwa this afternoon. So… after the four of us having our own guess (and making up some good stories),  you guessed it, I decided to ‘google it’.

Surprised, and enlightened, I am happy to share a bunch of useless facts with you all.

I was surprised to read that it all  started with the Tartars (nomadic people of Asia and Europe) back in the middle ages. nomadsThese horse riding wanderers, tenderised their beef by sandwiching it between their saddle and their horses while they rode… mmm …yum.Later on, the Germans somehow got involved and mixed this tender meet with a few tasty flavours (I can imagine why) …and then broiled it and it became known as Hamburg steak.

When the Germans started to emigrate to the USA in the late 1800’s they took the recipe for this tasty morsel with them…. boom boom … Hamburger stores started to pop up ….and  next thing, the world is over run with McDonalds. If you don’t believe me you can get the facts right here.

 “making hamburgers the old way”

So there you have it in a nutshell … nothing to do with ham, everything to do with the Tartars …and the rest is history. Now aren’t you glad you asked ?

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