anyresemblance

Sunday stocktake

1. Enjoying: election results.  Is it too much to be hopeful of some positive change? Whatever the policy agenda it feels like character counts for something again
2. Finding: the Christmas decorations in my lock up and setting up my mini tree on the front porch
3. Wishing: international travel were back on the agenda
4. Cooking: Molly Yeh's hummus, lamb cutlets with oregano and lemon, grilled fat asparagus.  So good
5. Planting: tomatoes, chives, basil and rosemary.  
6. Sipping: Pirie champagne - my boss bought it for me 18 months ago and I opened it in celebration of Biden/Harris
7. Buying: $10 Christmas baubles in target (returning a shit load of stuff including a Miele vacuum, a set of Beats headphones I could not get on with and a Cos dress with a very odd smell)
8. Watching: Junior Masterchef and The Sting (which I must have originally seen at the cinema but can't have watched for 30 years.  I am very much enjoying its original caper movie vibes.
9. Assembling: a portable garden bed
10. Hoping: that the US election results will a harbinger for change for good

What's for you, won't pass you

I made a giant list of all the things I want to do this week.  Here is what I did today

• assembled the console table I bought and felt very happy about it, just neat and small enough but hides robovac;
• put up the Christmas wreath as I couldn't the hook off the front door I had put up for the halloween one.  I could have got a knife to prise it off but it was easy just to go Christmas early and honestly with trying to feel the teeniest bit of hope for the Presidential election I am all for putting my Christmas tree up as well;
• took a load of paper and cardboard to the tip plus dumped my old vacuum at the recycle place;
• went to the post office to send two return parcels and a much delayed box of Tim tams to Ireland.  I could not find packing tape but the girl behind the counter was so helpful in taping up my parcels;
• went to Costco to buy cat litter, came out $150 poorer but did wash and disinfect the litter trays;
• went to the storage unit to make sure everything was ok post torrential rain (it was) and discussed furniture rearrangement with the kid (she has bought a flat and we are discussing what she can take);
• made spicy Italian sausage with the pork butt I got in Costco with lots of fennel seeds and chilli to my old boss and mentor's recipe
• made mushroom and sausage pizza for dinner
• listened to several episodes of Fortunately, How to Fail and Ear Hustle as I went about my tasks. I loved Jamie Doran on HTF

I spend so long procrastinating stuff and then when it is done it is such a relief.  There is a lesson in there.

Nearly there

This is an exciting day before I go on holiday and apart from writing a handover note, I am doing pretty well, apart from panic refreshing my browser where we have all become experts on the electoral college system.

Last night there was a knock on my door and a lady I had never met told me a small table from Pottery Barn I had ordered had been accidentally delivered to her and did I have her curtains?  Sadly, I did not have her stuff but she still offered her husband to bring the table round.  In the meantime, Pottery Barn called me - their customer service is clearly managed out of the US so it was middle of the night for some poor soul.  I was very impressed at their service and they were clearly anxious that I had to rely on the husband to deliver the table.  If I hadn't been so non plussed at the random person at the door, I might have thought to go and pick it up but he turned up an hour later and carried it in and told me his wife was "downloading the internet" shopping for their new house.

In my other neighbourhood news, I saw a girl under a too small umbrella when I dashed to my car yesterday morning.  I asked if she wanted a lift to the tram stop and as it turned out I could drop her in the city close to her office.  It turns out she works at my friend's company and it felt  good to be a good neighbour.

Finish Line

After torrential rain, the weather is warm and sunny.   I am juggling a lot of balls at work but looking forward to a week off next week when I plan to paint furniture, rearrange furniture, sell some stuff and do a mini road trip to Orange.

Novemberly

Feeling sorry for my siblings entering another UK lockdown but still processing how different it feels from our situation.  Not to get all preachy when we have a smaller population but it still blows my mind that the UK borders are open.  I don't think I'll be on an international flight until 2022 at the earliest.

Yesterday I felt kind of blue and not even cheered up by Junior Masterchef as my two favourites went home.

I had a revelation today as I made a one egg omelette, stuck it in a taco with sriracha, wrapped it in foil and ate it at my desk with a flat white for breakfast.  While it will be a long time before I get back to my beloved Taco Deli, this was a creditable substitute.

Left overs

There is a lot of left over Halloween sweets as the weather was so atrocious no child was on the streets.  It was a shame as I found the pumpkins shaped fairy lights I bought in New York.  I have insisted that the leftover candy gets taken to my daughter's office as I have no intention of keeping it for a year.

1. Watching: the Queen's Gambit.  I hadn't thought I would like it but the lovely period costumes and the quirky subject matter was lovely.  I particularly liked the episode set in Mexico City and her mother at the piano.
2. Hoping: that the US election will deliver the right result.  The news from our local ACT election and Qld election overnight all indicate that people are leaning towards the Greens and their policies which can only be a good thing to demonstrate to the Labour Party that they need to get their act together on climate change.
3. Needing: some uninterupted sleep.  It's been out of whack for a few nights and I don't function well with insomnia
4. Wearing: new fancy track pants I got in Cos. 
5. Noticing: how there are a lot of children in my new neighbourhood and it is lovely to hear them play on the streets after school.  One came and chatted to me while I was walking Charlie the other day and showed me the flowers she was collecting.
6. Sorting: out my Christmas shopping lists which I hope to be done with my mid November.
7. Sipping: a lot of tea.  I mixed Irish breakfast and Earl Grey for a hint of perfume in a strong brew.  It is getting harder and harder to buy standard loose leaf tea in the supermarket and it irritates me that it is now an "artisan" purchase
8. Reading: I read Dolly Alderton's Ghosts.  I thought I might find it annoying but I liked the exploration of ageing parents and the onset of dementia more interesting than the love story though she writes the least cringey sex scenes I can remember in ages.
9. Feeling: tired, so so tired.  I only have a week of work and then I am having a week off
10. Making: pasta and lasagna and chocolate mousse with olive oil and salads