Tag Archives: reflections

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 ?

P1010084

Advertisement

Tags: , , , ,

facing it ……

17 Nov

Sadly there is no pretending that we are still young ….. but most of us have an image of ourselves at a ‘certain age’aging and cling to that as our default….I recall a conversation with Mum @ age 75, she said that she still actually felt 30, until she looked in the mirror.  It’s just a slow and gradual process…. and let’s face it everyone around us is aging at the same rate so it kind of sneaks up on you.

That is, until…you bump into a friend you haven’t seen for years and suddenly wonder what on earth is wrong with them because they look so …umm…well….OLD!! 

Or… like me today, you pass a woman walking her child to school, and when you look a little closer, you realise that she was the little girl you used to see in kindergarten reading groups and serve lunch in the school canteen…ouch !!

It’s a sneaky and sinister process, and time to reflect today as yet another of my friends clicks over into their 7th decade … While I’m still desperately clinging to my mid 50’s, one by one, my friends are hitting that next  BIG Birthday….and I sit here still wondering …how DID that happen ?? (but I guess it’s better that the alternative)

Happy Birthday to all my sexagenarian friends ….mmm, maybe there’s a hint in there that life is spicy in your 60’s.

P1010092

Tags: , ,

how DO you skin a cat ?

1 Aug

I’m reminded tonight of some of the crazy sayings we just take for granted. Words that just fall out our mouths without any real thought of the literal origins.skin a cat 2

A buddy pointed out after a quick google… that the term ‘there’s more than one way to skin a cat’ actually dates back to 1832 where a Parliamentary Bill was passed regarding the skinning of live cats … saying there are ‘other ways’ to achieve the same outcome (gruesome origin for sure …. )

It took me back to my early adult years when my very sweet but somewhat eccentric neighbour…(an elderly lady in her nightie and no teeth)… was interested in the extent of my physical relationship with my boyfriend. I remember her leaning on the old paling fence and winking at me …saying “just remember there’s more than one way to skin a cat”… I now know this was a salient piece of safe sex advice, but at the time I was wondering what the hell she was on about.

RIP Dear Nellie … you were full of wise words (all be they hidden behind a veil of eccentricity).

P1000186

Tags: , , , , ,

panda eyes…

17 Jul

Carrying on in a similar vein as last night ….. I wonder at what point you TELL someone about a personal mess or clothing goof up???

You know the sort of thing… an open fly, dress tucked into knickers, spinach in your teeth, loo paper hanging out your pants…

Well….today I was in a meeting and I became a tad emotional, angry and upset . I wasn’t actually crying however a sneaky tear escaped one eye….before it quickly dried and things moved along nicely.

I left the meeting, chatted to a bunch of people in the hallway, had a coffee with a colleague… then went back to the car where I caught a glimpse of the ugliest panda eyes you can imagine. A huge smudge under one and a corner full of black goop in the other.panda eyes

Bloody hell, why didn’t anyone mention that I looked like a traffic accident ?? (while I was busy feeling quietly smug, as I was sporting my new, fresh hair-do). What does it take for someone (in this case, not even strangers) to give you a quiet whisper telling you to pull yourself together??

Anyway, lessons learned  …

1/ don’t save waterproof mascara for the summer swim season… and

2/ if I ever come across a sister (or mister) who is sporting some unsightly malfunction….I will tell them.

Would you ??

P1000164

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

a spotlight on the spud…

14 Jul

I feel really lucky to live in a small semi-rural village , and work just 30mins away in the hustle and bustle of a city on the outskirts of Sydney.

Every day I drive 25 of those minutes along the river… through small farms and horse studs . It’s the perfect way to wind up or wind down from work (and it gives me plenty of ‘wondering’ time).

potatosDuring these winter months it’s cold and dark as I weave my way home along the lowlands… past the small farms and market gardens. So you can imagine my surprise when I came across spotlights and headlights in the middle of a paddock this evening.The field was lit up like a showground, yet I struggled to see what was going on at the centre of all the action… until I got a little closer and discovered a massive potato harvesting operation in full swing.

Who would have imagined ? 7pm in the middle of winter and there they were all hands on deck to get the spuds out of the ground. I couldn’t decide whether it was admirable or mad… but I guess when your spuds are done they’re done, and the market wont wait.

Just one more damn good reason that I’m not a farmer… (but thank goodness some people are… otherwise where would our chips come from?)

 

P1000151

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

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’

 

Tags: , , , ,

that feeling when ….

15 Jun

…you hit the send button on an SMS or email message… and realise that you’ve sent it to the wrong person (or it vanishes and you’re left sweating and wondering where the hell it ended up).wrong email

While I have really embraced the world of ‘e-communication’… I have also learned the hard way that even one second of inattention, can wind up landing you in embarrassing …or downright difficult situations.

oopsI’m sure we have all found ourselves wanting to jump into the monitor and retrieve the message as it navigates its way to wherever messages go before landing with a ‘chime’ in someone’s inbox…gulp.

Now, we all know that  ‘snail mail’ was not immune…  but the big difference was that you had time to think about a course of action… (whether plotting some Postman bribery or  arrange an intercept from the recipients post box… you at least had a second chance)…but ‘e-communication’ is SO instant and so easily forwarded elsewhere as evidence of your stupidity.

Last week I  had a couple of near misses…. mostly harmless… but it doesn’t always work out to be quite that lucky… If only all devices were fitted with an

 ‘oh crap…I changed my mind’ button.

CAM00264

Tags: , , , ,

caught like a rabbit in the headlights…

6 Jun

Travelling home from work on these short winter days, means that it is usually pitch black before I get to the sanctuary and warmth of my fireplace… BUT the blackness doesn’t stop the die hard joggers and walkers.

I was startled the first time I came across one, but have now come to expect those small bright lights bobbing up and down, and popping out from behind the bushes on the quiet country laneways.headlight3

I wonder if these die hard runners by night, masquerade as ‘miners’ or even more interesting, gynaecologists by day? mmm?headlight 4

These miners ‘headlamps’ light up the the way with enough luminosity to blind the oncoming traffic….perfect for the jogger …but not so fabulous for the one being jogged at.

 So if you happen to be one of these culprits, perhaps it’s worth checking to see if you have a dimmer switch before you blind a driver and end up on the tar next to the flat rabbit.

IMG_9173

Tags: , , , , ,

a woman’s perogative

24 May

I am the first to admit that I sometimes get things wrong … BUT for many years I have argued a point that is debated in households across the globe; and believed I was right…That is, until today!toilet paper

Since the advent of toilet paper, the question of which way it should hang from the roll has been the topic of much domestic disharmony…

In fact, just recently I laughed when a young newly-wed came to work with this exact issue…he and his new bride could not agree and the argument was on …..  ‘against the wall’ vs ‘free falling’….who would win?

Personally I have ALWAYS been a ‘wall girl’, insisting that it was tidier…BUT for some reason this morning I had a complete change of heart and actually reversed the roll almost without thinking …and it immediately felt right. I have no idea what happened to cause this brain snap and it surprised me enormously but hey I’m a ’50 Something woman and I’m not dead yet’ so it’s my perogative.

I wonder …which way do you roll?

P1130785

Tags: , , , , ,

what’s the parson got to do with it?

23 May

chookGenerally speaking my choice in food is fairly healthy… but my one real weakness is the chooks bum… parson’s nose…sultan’s nose …pope’s nose (or “pygostyle” to be formal).

Call it what you will …there is nothing better that that tender juicy (and oh so fatty) little bulge at the chooks vents. …. as long as it is extra well cooked and crunchy on the outside.

BUT I have  a problem….

…you see,  the local BBQ chicken store seems to lose a lot of bums. I have no idea where they go ( UNLESS there is someone in the shop that loves them too …and perhaps helps them to fall off during the rotisserie process). chook 2

It’s become so ridiculous that I now ask for a BBQ Chicken “with a bum.. please”.

This odd request is made even more amusing given my vocal challenge… 99% of the time I am asked to repeat myself…but  I never know if it is difficulty understanding me or understanding why I would be making such an odd request.

I know that they are not good for me … but it’s one small indulgence, that is not only tasty, but somehow provides a degree of illicit amusement. They never ever make it all the way home without being eaten in the solitude of my car (but shhhhh… don’t tell anyone)

P1130757

 

 

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older Entries