anyresemblance

Wind in the willows

When I first moved to Australia, and my mother was still alive, and my children were small, she delighted in making sure they had trinkets and toys which connected them with an English childhood.  She would send them books on woodland animals, toy farms with farmer's wives (sic) throwing corn to chickens, small model tea pots and best of all the small figurine of Mr Toad and Ratty which, I believe, came from a tea packet (maybe you had to save tokens and send away for them?). Over the years, both got chipped and lost their feet so I was delighted to find the full set on ebay.  It's taken a few weeks for the shipping but they are just as lovely as I expected.  Of course, I have already chipped off Ratty's foot and will now have to store them on a velvet cushion.

Marketplace

On Saturday, my daughter bought a car.  It's her first significant purchase but a school friend's husband guided her through the purchase at the car yard and recommended that instead of trying to sell her old clunker on a car sales site she try Facebook marketplace.  She had 20 offers within an hour!  She took it down as she actually has to sort the paper work out first but boldened by this experience we scoured the house for what else we could sell.

This coffee machine, 5 years old but still working went for $250.  An old giant but not smart tv went for $80 to a charming couple who were furnishing their granny flat for a friend.  An old apple time machine, not even advertised in working order, for another $50.  I am close to giving up Facebook but just staying for the marketplace.  The best bit? when you mark something as sold all the enquiry messages melt away in thin air.

I am working from home today as I have two sets of builders coming to quote on replacing the car port roof.  The bushfires from Namadgi were evident from the office yesterday but weirdly it is not yet too smokey.

 

Pestilence

It was a pretty sombre Friday with lots of flags at half mast for the American fire fighters who lost their lives.  With a case of the Coronavirus confirmed no one is joking much about pestilence anymore and the price of fruit and vegetables is sky rocketing to warn us all that not much fun is ahead.  I was talking with my S African friend today and we were saying it was the first time in a long time when we had felt like we might need to exercise our options of living in another country.  

In less grim news (or maybe a different kind of grim) we went to see Bombshell. Charlize Theron is stand out but there was not a lot to feel enthused by when all the structural elements are still at play in the organisations we work in and the communities we live in.

I need to read something a bit light hearted to lift this mood.

I put all these pictures up the other night but they are all too high so I am putting this here as a visual reminder to get my arse into gear.

Random things

Last night I saw Bad Boys for Life with my daughter.  I even found it hugely enjoyable.  

Terry Jones died.  When I was an undergraduate he came to our department and delivered a seminar on Chaucer.  I was never a Monty Python fan but he was totally captivating and energetic on his subject and such a nice man to a bunch of callow English literature students.

We could see a huge grass fire from the office yesterday afternoon.  It seemed under containment but the wind is so strong today it is back to "catastrophic".  The airport is closed as the fire is too close.  

I lost patience with my boss and his endless sniping at our colleagues today.  Not helpful.

 

The Ledger

1. Cooking: upside down peach cake of my own devising (scatter brown sugar and a bit of butter in the cake tin, one tin of peaches drained or fresh if they are cheap, cream 4 oz sugar, 4 oz butter, sift 4 oz sr flour, 2 oz ground almonds, 2 eggs into the mix, layer on top of peaches, cook for 30-40 mins.  Line your tin at the bottom to avoid tears). Good warm with custard, ice cream or cream.
2. Reading: She Said (part of my read more non fiction and am finding it really easy and liking Gwyneth Paltrow a lot more)
3. Listening:The Missing CryptoQueen and Live and Die in LA podcasts.  Really enjoyed both of them and can now confidently describe how crypto relates to blockchain (useful for work!)
4. Enjoying: Clearer air after weeks of pollution from the bush fires.  It won't last but it is a relief
5. Eating: leftovers for lunch.  One of my other goals is to take my lunch whenever I am in my local office and I am enjoying not spending the money and having something to look forward to.  Today is macaroni cheese and a green salad
6. Liking:walking Charlie up the ridge.  It is such a secret little place and I always look up at the trees and the birds.
7. Loving: Sex Education Season 2 (see previous post)
8. Buying:a 2020 planner from Eule recommended by Shauna.  Hoping to get my year in order.  Not buying a dress from Boden which I just think is a bit too pricey for what it is.
9. Watching: His Dark Materials.  I hate that I can only watch it on Fox and that I have to endure 15 seconds of stupid Sky news as I get to the episode but I have got very fast with the mute button.  So well acted, we are ekeing it out
10. Thinking: a lot about the observations in this article on risk taking What I learned in Avalanche School

    The problem — the primary human problem — is that people are susceptible, prideful, bullheaded, egotistic, dumbstruck and lazy. Add to this doomed slurry a little avalanche training ... and people make terrible decisions with greater frequency and confidence.

Weather event

I am just waiting for the plague of locusts and frogs to arrive.  I sat in my office looking out at a 15 minute hail storm which battered on the roofs of cars parked outside and then starting smashing car windscreens.  I was very grateful to be inside. Those solar panels got smashed as well.

When I got home the car port and sun roof were both shredded but at least there were no leaks.

Work is extremely stressful.

I watched the last two episodes of Sex Education, Season 2.  It was so good.  My daughter has been watching it separately and we deconstruct.  I love the range of topics, the complete lack of shaming around being sexually activity and the empathy for complicated relationships and emotions.  Gillian Anderson is amazing.  The soundtrack is pretty awesome too.

The randomness of the world

I know I am 5 years late to this but I read A Little Life last week and I am still thinking about it a lot.  My daughter was reading it for her book group over Christmas and since she mostly reads Buzzfeed quizzes and fan fiction (I am not knocking either of those things but I only post for contrast) I was surprised to see her with her nose stuck in a physical book of such length.  She was desperate for me to read it too so we could discuss.

I took it on the plane to Melbourne for a work day trip last week and by the time I got home had read 400 pages and was hooked.  The next day I read another 200 in the evening and polished it off on Wednesday night.  

I can understand why she was so desperate for me to read it.  You feel like you need a support group for all the trauma but despite that it is wonderfully uplifting and forensic on self loathing and anxiety.  I will be seeking out her other writing.

Last year I set myself a target of reading 50 books. I think I read 59 but GoodReads is weird in its counter so that may not be quite accurate, anyway, I surpassed the target any way you count it.  This year I am going for 75 but adding in that 25 of those need to be non fiction so I don't just fill it with detective fiction.

Coconut chutney

Eons ago when I lived in Stoke Newington, even before it was desperately hip, there was a Malaysian restaurant on Stoke Newington Church Street which was cheap and popular.  I didn't really know much about Malaysian food then but I did know that I converted from being a coriander despiser on the basis of their coriander and coconut chutney which was served with some deep fried mushroom deliciousness.  I've been waiting for 30 years to find something that matched that and I think I've done it.

I was given Diana Henry's From the Oven to the Table for Christmas and last night I made the spicy roasted eggplant and she recommended serving it with coconut sambal.  The recipe called for a block of creamed coconut which is not really the common way to buy coconut here - we're more used to cans of coconut milk or cream but I persevered and went to the little asian grocery in the market and found it.  I made it in my little food processor, my most loved kitchen gadget, and it was green and fresh and spicy.  I am already trying to work out what else to eat it with (grilled chicken?). My daughter pronounced it as good as any sambal she ate in Sri Lanka.

If you like spicy stuff here goes:

• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 50 g coriander (I found this was about half a bunch, stalks, roots and all)
• 15g mint (this is about 4 generous stalks)
• 25g baby spinach (big handful)
• 100g creamed coconut from a block
• 1 green chilli, deseeded (I used a long green chilli, not a jalapeño)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2.5 centimetre of fresh ginger (that's about half a thumb)
• finely grated zest of a lime and juice (recipe calls for 3 limes but I only had one left)
• salt to taste
• 100ml of cold water

I just whizzed it all together in the mini food processor - I would add the water bit by bit depending on how loose you want it.  You can add a teaspoon of sugar if you want it a bit less spicey.  I reckon it was the creamed coconut which gave it a lovely paste structure.  It does go hard in the fridge but just leave it out for a bit to soften. Delicious.

This is part of my eat less meat dinners...

Feeling s*#y?

One of the things my daughter asked me to bring back from the US was a Dolce and Gabbana perfume that is hard to locate.  It was.  I couldn't find it in Sephora or any Duty Free along the way so I decided to try and track it down for a Christmas gift.  

Through some googling I eventually found a site that offered to ship it in time for Christmas at a not too crippling price.  The seller has an unfortunate name.  Worse, they kept sending me emails and texts to confirm where the order was up to.

I was sitting in a meeting the week before Christmas with my phone on the table in front of me when an alert came in.  I found myself explaining to my colleague that I was not ordered adult toys but I am not sure she believed me.

New normal

Everyday I think the smoke haze is at its worst, and every day I am wrong.  It was 33C at 10pm last night and a wind change had brought in thick smoke.  The air quality is now the worst in the world.  I've been in Beijing, Delhi, Manila and Jakarta and none of those were as bad as the air quality is here.  We had the hottest day ever yesterday.

The smoke was so awful this morning that I drove to the 24 hour pharmacy and bought some P2 masks for when I set foot outside and eucalyptus oil to try and clear the air.  I've kept the animals in today.

I spent most of the day reading and refreshing my twitter feed anxious that friends and family were safe - they are - but there is still no news of my friend's house and the danger is real and current.  My kids' dad is ok so far - they have ash all over their house but so far no ember attacks or spot fires.

Our PM is now trying to shift the blame to the state governments or to the Greens and it is rage inducing to see the narrative turned upside down.  As carol baby commented on instagram this morning Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.  All we can do is to continually and vocally correct these narratives when we see or hear them.

I looked at a map someone had done of the fire risks in this city.  My beloved ridge where I walk the dog in the mornings is a danger zone and a tinder box ready to be ignited and only two hundred metres from our house.  I need to check the state of the gutters.  

Many shops and cafes are closed unwilling to subject their staff to the smoke haze, and wanting to release people who have friends and family with homes to protect.  The National Gallery closed so as not to cause smoke damage to the paintings.

I'm back at work tomorrow but will have to check the state of the air in the office in case I need to work at home.  More than that, everyone's mental health is fragile.  I can't imagine the PTSD that our poor fireys and people who have had to flee will suffer.

In less grim news, I spent some good time talking to ganching last night and planning an adventure.