The Busy Woman

It is Sunday nite.

As the picture above suggests, I've been a Busy Woman this weekend. This suits me much much more than lolling around like a Disgruntled Slug oozing Ennui. Not that I do that v. often. But you know the saying, 'The Price of Peace is Eternal Vigilance.'

I should just v. briefly tell you what Taste Tempting recipes are found inside the pages of the above cookbook which I discovered to my delite yesterday morning, rotting in a pile of other Abandoned Books at 'BednobsEtc'. It was rather like discovering an old discarded friend, which is something that I know quite a lot about.

Anyway, this book was my Cooking Bible in 1973. It contains such fabulous culinary gems as Salmon Mousse which is made with tinned salmon & liberal amounts of gelatine. It also gives wonderful suggestions for Starter Platters involving Cocktail Pickled Onions, cubes of cheddar cheese & tins of smoked oysters.

None of the above items were on the menu for last nite's dinner. It was a Slight Birthday Celebration for my daughter Maeflower & also Me. In fact, it was So Slight that we didn't even mention the word Birthday much less have a cake or sing 'Happy Birthday'.

I've always Loathed my birthday. Perhaps because I am adopted. But that's a whole other story that I'm just aching to tell you about. But not now.

My stepson Tyler is seated next to his friend Hunter. Then there's Maeflower. And then there's Aunt Jenny.

Look at what appears to be a large hat in the middle of the table. It is a Tagine which is supposed to be Moroccan. Maeflower & Me made Chicken with Preserved Lemon & Green Olives inside the Tagine. It was far tastier than anything I've ever made before. So I'm now recommending you get one. It will transform your culinary dishes into masterpieces.

Tyler kindly brought over a large heaving suitcase full of Forsaken Clothes that I hadn't seen for over eighteen months. They came from what used to be my Beach House in Sydney's Northern Beaches. Now Mr. Ex-Middleaged lives there. Perhaps alone. Perhaps not.

I got a little emotional when I opened the bag & almost an entire shop's worth of skirts, tops & dresses spilled out all over the floor. And there was this depressing smell too.

Most of the stuff was Pretty Puky . But I thought this skirt which I bought at 'Anthro' in LA was wearable.

So I wore it today. Sooo enjoyed wearing my Zebra Neklace with it.

And, in keeping with my Pollyanna Policy which means I'm Perennially Glad , I'm having another market stall with my friend, The Ex-School Nurse on the 27 March. So, I will turn the Forsaken Clothes with the depressing smell into something positive. And I'll be Glad.

Yesterday arvo, before the Slight Birthday Dinner, Maeflower & Me went shopping for an Enchanted Coach. And believe it or not, we found one. Just like Cinderella's!

Our only problem is, where can we put it?

Here's a Slight Birthday Gift that Aunt Jenny gave Maeflower. She was v. worried that the bright orange would clash with Mae's Titian hair, but we didn't think it did.

All the World's A Stage

Now it is Not So Hot. Which is a helluva relief because this blog was in Grave Danger of becoming an offshoot of The Weather Channel.

I'd much rather focus on Walking You Through My Week which is sadly being disrupted by the Annual Swimming Carnival tomorrow at a disgusting treeless suburban Municipal Swimming Pool some miles away from our Splendid Harbour Location. There are no proper lattes served at this Swimming Pool.

I am desperately trying not to Dread It too much as I've made a commitment not to keep on dreading things.

Of course my Greatest Wish would be a torrential downpour that involved hail & perhaps even sleet, even though I don't really know what that is. And maybe an electrical storm as well which would make the outdoor venue an Occupational Health & Safety Nightmare & we'd all have to go home.

Actually, I shouldn't whinge because I am on the Refreshments Team. All I have to do is fill the urn up with water, turn it on, & then make a whole lot of undrinkable instant coffee & tea. And then get kids to take it around to the Bleeding Martyrs of the School, the Real Teachers, who spend the entire day selflessly hunched over their stop watches & clipboards whilst being splashed to death by half-assed freestylers.

This week has been a Week of Dresses. All of course from 'Bednobs & Broomsticks'.

The Beauty & Wonder of buying them there is that they are V. Cheap.

Take the Vision in Pink Dress at the top which I wore on monday to teach my senior class the Seven Ages of Man speech from 'As You Like It'. The dress was five bucks. It had a 'Target' label which never endears me, & it also violated one of my Cardinal Rules for middleagedteacher dressing which is that it had a slight puff sleeve. In fact, the dress looked a little Heidiesque all round. Rosalind, the Drama Teacher reminded me that she also had the dress but had stopped wearing it because she thought it made her look like a barmaid.

I gasped. But then she quickly went to assure me that I didn't. Tactful.

And then there's today's Prom Dress. That's the red accordian pleated number above.

A student seated in the front row had to move to the back because she said that the colour was too bright & it was affecting her eyesight & her concentration. She also looked as if she was going to be sick. Then another student claimed to have the exact same dress in black which she said she bought with her mother in Chinatown for a couple of hundred dollars.

I paid twenty. I felt a little smug. But then slightly queasy that perhaps I'm dressing:

(a) for a cocktail party at 8.30 on a thursday morning;

(b) too young.

Luckily, the Queasiness quickly passed.

Am now dangerously close to Designated Bedtime.

Cut to the Chase.

Note Large Flower. Almost a Signature Look.

Dress thrifted two years ago from 'BednobsEtc'. Thought it was on Last Legs.

Decided against it. Relief.

Sandals from 'BednobsEtc'. Great late addition to Summer Footwear. Love wearing pink & red together. Such a Renegade.

Here's a detail from another recent school painting.

Hope weather isn't too dreadful for 'Blogging Babe'. Will think of you in sub-zero temps while I am frying at the Hateful Suburban Treeless Swimming Pool.

Gasping for Air

I'm gasping for air. And I've a Perfect Right to.

Honestly, I feel like I've been transported to a movie where everyone is all hot & steamy & sweating. Like perhaps 'Streetcar Named Desire'. But I can't decide what character I'd be because I don't like any of them. Definitely NOt Blanche. Although I do like her name. Blanche Du Bois. It is soo much more romantic & lyrical than Middleagedteacher.

I just checked iGoogle's Weather Vane & it told me that it was 29 degrees celsius.

And its almost my bedtime.

Panic has just set in.

The Gasping Girls in my painting above that I completely renovated this past weekend are all more or less panicking. But certainly not over the weather. No, they have more Existential Concerns, shall we say.

I'm now trying to think of other movies where Everyone Sweated. And in fact I've just come up with a new genre of film - 'Sweating Movies'.

Humphrey Bogart sweated his way through a whole load of films, I'm sure. Wasn't there one with Lauren Bacall that featured overhead fans & Sydney Greenstreet looking oily wearing a white linen suit like they used to wear in the tropics & sucking on a cigar?

And then of course there was 'The African Queen' where Bogie sweated all over Prim Kate Hepburn. She didn't like it at first, but then of course did at the end.

I will now hop into bed. I hope I won't drown.

More Than This

I know that I'm always late in reporting news.

But I have a Holographic View of Time. I'm not sure that I totally understand what that means, but I know that I have it.

Please feel free to use this expression at will. I'm sure it will come in handy when Explaining Tardiness to friends, family & work colleagues.

Look look look, above. It is the cover of an Australian Magazine called 'Rush'. I'm not sure why its called that. Maybe because of the Big High that readers get each month when they excitedly peruse the pages. More like a Big Yawn.

Now that was Quite Nasty.

Anyway, the magazine is from some time last year. I've only recently come upon it because it was part of a Large Pile that my friend Sherman gave me last week. He's in PR. Magazines are the lifeblood of His Industry.

I stared at the model on the cover. I thought she looked surly.

I looked again. Something was happening to me. But I knew not what.

Then I looked inside.

I found an article about her.

Her name was Daul Kim. She said that she liked to treat herself with a Fur Coat once in a while because she was miserable (or a word like that) most of the time.

Soon, I became aware that My Internal Computer had begun an Unsolicited Search.

In no time, Unsolicited Search Results popped up:

This person killed herself.

I then looked again at the cover.

I couldn't believe the text - 'More Than This'.

How right were they?

A Cure for Death By Coughing

Perhaps a Cold Remedy.

Poor Poor Me.

As usual it's perilously close to my Designated Bedtime & I haven't written a thing.

So its going to be Stream of Consciousness.

But that's not the reason why its Poor Me.

Its my persistent Summer Cold which, now that I think about it, has mildly abated.

Yesterday & the day before, I spent large disgusting amounts of time rotting in bed with a partly blocked nose which is very easy for me because I have a dangerously slim nose. I felt slightly feverish, headachy & sore throaty. But the most annoying thing of all was a fruity, hacking cough which sounded like I'd been smoking 60 Camels a day for many many years.

Last nite I lay awake for hours whilst I coughed, wondering if there was such a thing as Death by Coughing.

And then I remembered watching John Keats coughing himself to death in that film 'Bright Star'.

Oh God, please don't let me turn into him, I pleaded.

Anyway, I got up this morning, & my prayers were answered.

The coughing had stopped as well as most of the other symptoms.

I've just got this mildly gravelly voice which I quite like. A kind of broad Aussie Lauren Bacall.

The Power of Tablets.

I also took V.V. large doses of Vitamin C. Like ten or more a day. Many of you may be shocked.

But I do enjoy washing down C's with a large glass of Soluble Aspirin. In fact, Aspirin is my absolute favourite Tablet. It always reminds me of my mother.

So, I was able to go to school this morning & attend a special assembly without too much bother.

I'm sure you're all terribly relieved to hear this.

Please note some Sartorial Highlights:

1. I appear to be wearing a Linen Dress. I usually eschew linen for a variety of Rather Nasty Reasons that one day I will share with you but not now.

2. There is a slight Crustacean theme to my necklaces.

3. I am wearing ridiculouslly exhibitionistic sockettes that are screaming, 'Look at Me'. Can you see how they're all bunched up at the heel?

4. I am next to my great friend & colleague, The Other Sue.

If Only Changing Your Attitude Was as Easy as Changing Your Shoes.

Even though I'm Bravely Battling a summer cold & need to crawl into bed, I couldn't help but show you these photos. They were both taken today.

Can you Spot the Difference?

Yes, its the Shoes.

This morning I trotted down to school with my usual Security Blanket Sockettes on underneath a rather dowdy pair of thrifted Bruno Magli court shoes. Now there's a term you don't hear too much these days - 'Court Shoes', but v. popular when I was a Lassie. Is it meant to be some anachronistic reference to the court of King Louis & Marie Antoinette, I wonder?

Perhaps someone might know.

Anyway, around 11am, I'd had a gutful, as they say in the teaching trade. I had a cold. And naughty inattentive sleepy girls all morning. And it was monday. And I'd gotten rained on again. What better way to Cure my WasherwomanWoes than to stroll up to 'BednobsEtc' during my free lesson(s)?

I immediately cheered up with two pairs of patent sandals with just a touch of a heel. Just enough to remove a couple of kilos.

Now, if only the rest of my life was that easy.

Never, I Repeat Never ,Tell Me to Get A Life

1. A Favourite Outing.

I do enjoy being asked to a friend's house for dinner. Especially if there's more than Just Me invited. If there's More, then the outing can be Officially Called, 'A Dinner Party' & then when you tell people what you're doing on the weekend, it sounds like you've 'Got a Life'.

Which is a totally stupid thing to say anyway because everyone does have a life whether they like it or not.

Oh God, I must stop stating the Bleeding Obvious.

But before I do, let me just say that I think that one of the most loathsome things you can hurl at someone is, 'Get a Life!'

What are you supposed to say back?

'Thanks for reminding me. I've been meaning to get one of those for a long time. And now I will. Cheers'.

Anyway, here I am on saturday nite cozying up to my friend Sherman's Retro phone in his local bijou apartment.

I was the first to arrive, so Sherman let me play with the phone which is identical to the one we had in my family home when I was growing up. I even dialled my old phone number -FY5502 which made me feel like I really did grow up in another time & in another galaxy.

And, boy did it bring up some Nasty Memories. Like the endless hours I spent as a hapless teenager sitting looking at it & willing it to ring. And then picking up the receiver just to make sure there was a dial tone.

2. The Importance of a Well-Set Dining Table.

There's not much more that I can say really. Other than to ask you to look at the huge knives that Sherman provided which was Slightly Overkill as we were only eating v. tender chicken medallions. But that's me Being Picky.

I just loved the eclectic mixing of silver candelabra & perhaps eighties dinnerware. And the starched white tablecloth that I promptly spilt red wine on .

I personally never use tablecloths. I haven't got the requisite laundry facilities to Service a Tablecloth. I just use mats.

Addendum.

While we're on the topic of 'Dinner Parties', I'm pleased to announce that my Sunday Nite 'Mad Men' dinner will Officially Resume on February 25, with the airing of Season 3. About time too.

A Footnote.

I seem to have a Summer Cold. I would like to slap someone across the face with a Wet Flounder.