The Slightly Neglected Art of the Lunch Box

Eating.

Like most of you, I'm fond of eating.

And just to prove it, here is a picture of me eating my Mid-Morning Snack this week.

Let me briefly walk you through it.

Inspired by a group of Year 10 girls who I have dubbed, 'The Green Tea Luncheon Club', I am now officially bringing my own food to school each day. Every week, when I am on what we call in the Teaching Trade, 'Yard Duty', I watch with great interest what emerges from these girls lunch boxes:

1. Green teabags of course. They each pay 50 cents for hot water from the Tuck Shop.

2. Hard boiled eggs, of which only The Whites are carefully chopped up & eaten.

3. Avocados, mashed on the spot.

3. Tomatoes chopped on the spot.

4. Cardboard Ryvita Biscuits.

5. Small cans of tuna.

Honestly, it's a Banquet every day at recess for these girls.

And so it is for me, too.

The most exciting part about my new regime was buying the Lunch Boxes. I bought them at 'Hot Dollar', my almost, but not quite favourite two dollar shop. They're Japanese & they stack on top of each other & they're microwaveable. I've always wanted them. In fact there are many things from Japan that I've always wanted:

1. An ornate Wedding Kimono

2. An entire wardrobe designed by Rei Kawawhatever of 'Commes des Garcons'

3. A Sushi Chef on call

4. A spacious apartment in Tokyo.

Anyway, back to the photo. In case you were wondering, I'm eating chopped carrot served with hommus. Most days, I try to include Another Vegetable as well, as I'm fearful of ingesting too much Keratin & turning yellow. Apparently, you don't have to eat many carrots at all before the yellow begins to set in.

Jewelry Alert.

Note I'm wearing Two Fun Things:

1. Mah Jong tiles as a bracelet. At least I think they're called 'Tiles'. I have never played Mah Jong & will probably Never play it because I am Bad At Games. The only card game I know & remember is appropriately called 'Grab'. And I used to play Pontoon as a young adolescent only because I fancied the boy who played it with me. Story of my life. But that's a whole other story.

2. Large Red Lipped Brooch. What an absolute corker! I bought it the other day, NOT from 'Diva', where I usually buy all my jewels, but at a new shop called 'Lovisa' in Westfield.

Have you noticed that there are lots of cheap jewel shops everywhere now? I'm sure its not just a Sydney Thing.

And they say that Minimalism is about to make a comeback. I pray that it isn't so. I couldn't take it. What would I do? Walk around looking like a Nun in Civvies?

And what would all these cheap jewelry shops do? And what would happen to to all the cheap jewels? Landfill perhaps?

My hands are sweating already, & it hasn't even happened yet.

A Fantastic Christmas Gift Idea If You Like Napoleon.

Trixie Drew, my friend & colleague, has a great Eye. So, when she spied this wonderful Black Wax Candle of Napoleon with a Giant Wick in his hat in a nifty gift store in Bowral, she couldn't resist it.

It's made by the wonderful French Candlemakers, 'Cire Trudon'. I've mentioned them before. They've been making scented candles since Louis the Whatever in such tantalisingly named flavours such as 'The Floors at Versailles' & 'Carmelite Monastery Walls', my two particular favourits. I swear I'm not making that up. And this isn't a paid advertisement. As if anyone would pay for my endorsement.

In case you were wondering, I have artfully placed a small figurine of 'Grommit' of 'Wallace & Grommit' fame in 'Ol Nap's arms. I couldn't resist it.

Don't you think he looks Decidedly Paternal?

Emergency Remedial Thrifting.

Here I am this afternoon in 'BednobsEtc' doing some Emergency Remedial Thrifting straight after I got off the bus from our Annual Speech Day & Prizegiving. Sadly, I had to wear my academic gown for most of the day which makes me & everyone else look like A Human Bat. To compensate, I just had to buy something, but definitely NOT the handmade Eighties Moth Eaten & Slightly Rusty Appliqued Purple Ensemble with Matching Belt I'm holding.

Instead, I sensibly bought a black ruffled shirt that I will be taking to California with me when I leave on December 6. In fact, over the past few weeks, I have been slowly amassing a whole new Entirely Black/ Navy Winter Wardrobe especially for my two week Trip Back to Winter.

I can't wait. There's nothing quite like a Southern Californian Winter.