Sweating

The Dragon Quest.
 This afternoon  Kevin, my wonderful Cleaner, informed me that in the part of China that he comes from, the temperature is currently -40 degrees celsius & that it is snowing in areas that haven't seen snow in human memory.
Meanwhile, I swelter in a range of Man Made fibres. I am soo hot that the tops of my legs are sticking to the crotcheted blankie that is covering my conservatively upholstered couch. And the laptop perched on my lap feels like a three bar radiator.
Usually, I am slow to sweat, but not tonite. Even the spaces between my toes feel all squishy. Ohhhhh...for a hint of breeze..... And what am I going to do when I hop into bed with only a small fan for comfort?
Maybe if I walk you through these last load of photos from my North Coast holiday I will forget my physical discomfort just for a few minutes. I doubt it.

Look look at the photo of what I believe is a water dragon that I snapped at the Poinsettia Cafe in Mullumbimby on the last day of my trip.  I spent the whole holiday desperately trying to photograph a lone dragon that had been hanging around our house looking perhaps expectant & maybe a little bored, although I do find it  tiresome when people ascribe human emotions to animals, particularly ones that look scarily like miniature dinosaurs.  Anyway,  the dragon  had finally graciously appeared on the decking right outside the back door one afternoon & sensing my desire to photograph him, generously posed in the one position for a number of minutes. Sadly, I took soo long fiddling around with the camera that he got fed up & abruptly hopped off. Even though it was heavily raining, I  fruitlessly spent the next hour scouring the surrounding bushland for a Dragon Sighting.
Imagine my delight when one turned up at the cafe! Talk about Synchronicity!

 And then there was the Bike Bumper Sticker that said, 'Hypnotherapists do it in your sleep' that I snapped whilst visiting the beach at Byron Bay.
I have always wanted to be hypnotised & I'm sure I've tried it sometime over the past thirty years. But I can't remember where or when. All I can remember is that it didn't work.
Apparently, the world is divided into two types of people - those who make Suitable Candidates for Hypnosis & Those Who Don't. I'm in the last category perhaps because I'm far too jumpy & Hyper-Vigilant which is currently one of my favourite words.
Oh, by the way, I go back to School tomorrow after a seven week holiday.  I know I'll like it when I get there, but right now I'm almost but not quite, dreading the thought.

So, not only am I almost drowning in a Sea of Sweat, I'm now dreading tomorrow. And..... the annoying Fragrant Male Flight Attendant Neighbour upstairs has just started belting out on his grand piano his famous rendition of 'Memories', you know, from 'Cats', which appears to be the only song in his repertoire. So much for distracting myself. I'm literally in Hell.
But look at me anyway on the beach, wearing a jaunty striped top that I think has v. strong French Overtones. Maybe this top is called (or would be called if it was Authentically French), a Maillot. But I could be imagining that.

Trying Too Hard.
 No trip anywhere would be complete without a visit to a Vintage Clothing Store, although I'd always much rather go to a Musty Charity Shoppe. This one was  in Mullumbimby, which by the way is a kind of hip hippie place, or rather it was about thirty years ago, although I did notice a large poster in the cafe advertising an upcoming performance by Martha Wainwright. People are obsessed with her & her brother Rufus. I'm certainly not.  I'm still listening to Petula Clark singing 'Colour My World'.
Oh, now is time for a Perfect Segue into what I've been listening to on my iPod. I'm sure you're desperate to know.
1. Roy Orbison's 'She's a Mystery to Me'. I like to  think that this was the last song he recorded. Do yourself a favour & listen to it. Talk about haunting, although I do hope that Roy isn't haunting me. That would be Too Creepy, particularly as I wasn't such a great fan.
2. Billy Preston singing 'My Sweet Lord' at the 'Concert for George' in 2002. That's got to be one of my favourite songs. I had it as a single at the end of 1970 & I obsessively played it which is what I'm doing now with Billy's version. Who cares if George stole the melody from 'She's So Fine'?
3. 'Sexual Healing' by Marvin Gaye. Talk about tragic.
4. 'You Are Everything', Marvin Gaye in a duet with Diana Ross. Talk about Cheesy. But I love it. Almost as much as I love Diana singing 'Endless Love' with Lionel Ritchie.
5. 'Woman' by Neneh Cherry. What a talent.
Anyway, in case you were wondering, I didn't buy those Over-the-knee red boots. They remind me of Puss in Boots, which is never a desirable look for a Middleagedteacher. And I also think that Over-TK Boots scream Trying Too Hard.
Here's AJ below, also in the Vintage Shoppe. She certainly wasn't tempted by the floral top. She's far too Cool which is something that I'm Not right now.