anyresemblance

Wheels of justice

I made a rare court appearance today occasioned by my battle with Waverly Council over an unfair parking fine in the Bondi Junction shopping centre.  It was a novel experience to spend 90 minutes in the company of a dozen police onstables rehearsing their notes, sundry amphetamine dealers and people asking for extensions on AVOs alongside the charges of driving while talking on mobile phones and failure to display P plates.  In the end I was up for 90 seconds and had the weary magistrate dismiss the matter with a "please assure me that Waverly Council aren't proposing to offer any evidence in this paltry matter".  Counsel muttered but concurred.  "Happy shopping, Ms Anyresemblance" he said and that was that.

Colour me blue

If you want to see a display of the ugliest tattoes on the planet, try Bondi Beach on a balmy Saturday afternoon.  Honestly, there displayed are the bodies of the beautiful (many), the ordinary (include me) and the not-so-attractive (more than a few gender ambigious bodies on display..."No, I'm sure I can see a small penis in her bikini bottoms").  But the number of lovely, young things with tattoes is overwhelming.  And they are mostly boring.  I dunno, I can deal with Japanese gangster tattoes, even prison and biker ones but the days of the discreet little rose or dolphin seem long gone to be replaced by the hideous celtic armbands and the lower back sprawl.

Ah well, I guess people watching is half the enjoyable stuff about being at the beach.

A very idle weekend was had by me since children were with their dad.  I made a brief trip to farmers market - the potatoes were nice but I couldn't really get into it.  I test drove a boring car and wondered if I could justify a second, frivolous one but didn't go there.  I cooked a very nice dinner of pan fried chicken escalopes which i finished off with balsamic vinegar with erstwhile boiled organic Nicola spuds and rocket salad. 

Oh, and I introduced my friend to the wonders of Spotlight where we bought wide red grosgrain ribbon for him to wear as an armband at a communist funeral.  He was stunned at the chaos and the choice of stuff there and now an avid fan of haberdashery.

And tonight my girls came home, there is a big thunderstorm raging and all is at peace with the world.

Colour me

I took this photo when I was in India in November.  It's to remind me that there are colours other than black.  Today I am wearing black Lisa Ho suit, black camisole, black underwear, black shoes (no panty hose since this is Sydney and bare tanned legs are acceptable for business attire).

I am off to Canberra tonight for dinner with a dear, dear friend who is leaving our company after many years.  I recruited her when she moved here from South Africa (well, when one of your testimonials is from Nelson Mandela how could you refuse?).  She's moving on for the right reasons but I will miss her.  I am taking my children with me so they can stay with their dad for the weekend.  I am relaxed about them missing a day's school for this.

Work is very busy but I am quite enjoying myself.  I'm having to use my brain for a start.

I made a ginger cake for a friend's birthday but I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't as sticky as I expected.  Still searching for the perfect recipe.  Last night we ate grilled lamb cutlets with garlic and thyme, sauted potatoes with garlic and chilli, rocket salad with asparagus and artichokes.  I also drank Victorian Pyrenees champagne - it was a hidden label one from Kemenys and very fine too.

What nearly ate my breakfast

This is the spider that I saw on the ceiling on Tuesday night who worked his way down to ground level by Wednesday morning.  Eek.  We had to get the giant cafe au lait cup to fit him in and slide a piece of card under and then planned to drop him into the foliage of the balcony below.  Unfortunately he ran up the side of the cup which i dropped in a panic so he is somewhere in our own foliage chez anyresemblance. 

The gentleman friend came back from the UK with nice Marks and Spencers leather gloves and suitable gifts for a lady friend.  Despite his jet lag we went to see James Brown on Friday night which was terrific if seeing a 73 year old in a tight suit sing from the soul moves you, which it does me.

Today, younger daughter and I went to the beach with the friend.  It was fun but there were many blue bottles (portuguese man'o'war to my foreign readership) in the water and after we saw one small boy carried screaming from the water we decided to go for an ice cream instead.

Yesterday I made a ginger cake with lemon icing, vegetable soup and lasagne.  I'm thinking autumn and comfort foods despite the long hot nights since the leaves are turning.

What she said

I don't normally find myself writing to newspapers or parliamentarians but I thought I would wade into the shallows by writing to all the federal members currently debating RU486 prompted by this person.  Both Bob McMullan and Tanya Plibersek did me the courtesy of prompt replies outlining their support for the private member's bill under debate.  Both sent me copies of their speeches in support.  I am heartened.

What I had for breakfast

with acknowledgement to others

Really this is what I had for breakfast on Saturday but the days just fly by.  Here's what's been happening.  The children spent the weekend with their father.  We did the halfway meeting but for me leaving Sydney on a Friday night, this meant one hour more driving than him.  I got home about 9pm and picked up laundry in my older daughter's bedroom (I'm not allowed to go past the door most of the time). 

On Saturday I was up at the crack of dawn and did loads and loads of washing.  I even washed the cushion covers, tidied daughter's room, organised her wardrobe, threw away mounds of paper and felt well satisfied.  I forgot to go to the organic food market in Kings Cross despite reading the flyer on her site and making a mental note I still persuaded myself it was on Sunday.  Instead I went to Bondi Junction with the intention of buying myself a work suit but got confused by the layers of stairs and levels and gave up.  I bought track pants for the girls in Target and a couple of books and did grocery shopping.

For dinner I cooked pan fried chicken escalopes with lemon, garlic and thyme which was inspired by Nigel Slater with sauted potatoes and rocket.  I am mad for rocket at the moment and love the pepperiness of its leaves.  I watched Gilmore Girls season 5 and talked to my sister on the phone.

Sunday morning I had breakfast at my favourite cafe in Bondi and spent more time just being home.  I had order fabric from here on the previous Saturday night and it had been shipped to me the next day and arrived on Thursday in Australia.  Fantastic service, way cheaper than I could buy it here and beautiful, beautiful fabric.  I am inspired by how much quilting she does and have much more modest ambitions but am piecing a quilt for my older daughter.

I love my own company.

Sunday night was back with my girls and domestic harmony.  Older daughter was won over with the tidiness of her room and the fact that I had bought her heaps of new underwear at La Senza.  Younger daughter was glad to see the new kitten and be home with her mama.

Last night I had dinner with new boss.  He won't start till 1 May.  I am reserving judgement but he is a trifle dull.  Dinner was lovely though.  I adore Malaysian food.

I am fed up that since I downloaded a google pack with picasa in (which I love) that it seems to have stuffed up firefox and I had to uninstall it.  I am still struggling to reinstall and feel mighty pissed off with google.

We interupt this hiatus

I'm so tired.  It's past midnight and I am trying to get some email from work and I've had a problem with my password which allows me to connect to the work network from home.  I've been on the phone to the help desk three times, lovely blokes, call me mate, but keep missing little details to make it work and I get locked out again.  So now I am waiting ten minutes for it to reactivate and writing an overdue post.

So firstly, thanks to the senate for their good sense in removing Tony Abbott's authority on the RU486 veto and properly hand over responsibility to the Therapeutic Drugs Administration.  And despite my innate hostility to Amanda Vanstone (she shouted at me down the phone some years ago about a business deal we were trying to stitch up), I am pleased that she and Helen Coonan demonstrated their support of the important issues.  Despite the attempts of the pro-lifers (which Vanstone pointed out was a hijack of a term that referred to all of us) to try and convince us that the end of moral responsibility as we know it was nigh, the majority of the senate recognised that this was a medical issue not one about abortion, which is after all legal in Australia.  On to the other house.

This week has been frantic - late nights, early mornings but I think I have acquitted myself well and have remembered that I quite like the people management side of work and coaching people to make decisions for themselves.

We have eaten reasonably well too and I have, at last, found the cable to connect my computer so you will see pictures from India soon (I know it was only 3 months ago).

OK, back to the report

A little late

Saturday was rainy and humid.  We went to go for breakfast at our favourite place but all the electricity was out in the parade of shops so we went to plan B which was not as attractive.  Then we went grocery shopping, well I did and they looked at clothes in the mall and bought cheap stuff.  On the way home we stopped at the vet hospital and chose a new kitten.  Crazy, but we just felt like another one was needed so we have rescued a little tabby kitten to be christened Jemima but she won’t come home till Monday.

Then we had a huge Gilmore Girls fest and I baked:  chocolate brownies from Nigel Slater recipe (not as good as Nigella Lawson, I’m afraid) and chocolate sauce pudding and chocolate cherry almond chewy cookies and coconut cookies.  And I cleaned out the pantry which was enormously rewarding and made me feel extremely virtuous.  For dinner we had lasagna, rocket salad and aforementioned CSP. 

Sunday we successfully ate breakfast at preferred location and went and fed cats for friend who is away.  I put another coat of paint on the cupboard, rearranged furniture in younger daughter’s bedroom, moved her bookcase out to the hall to make more room and threw away bags and bags of paper to the recycling bin.  I moved the new cupboard (actually, older daughter’s old changing table recycled) next to my desk, put the printer on it and put away heaps of paper that had been bothering me.  I even washed the kitchen floor, a task I rarely undertake though I mop spills and sweep.

I also tidied my linen cupboard this week.  I love order.  I love having my children back and restoring order on inanimate objects helps me to feel I might be minimally in control of the rest of my life.

My friend has had to return to the UK as a parent is fading fast.  It reminded me of the pain of bereavement.  It doesn’t matter that they are old, or that they have had a life worth living, or that death might be a welcome release from pain – it is hard to let go of the living and it leaves us with so many regrets of things unsaid or undone.  Show them you love them while you are able.