anyresemblance

Sunday stocktake: funding the vet edition

1. Cooking: a delicious one pot cauliflower and pasta dish from Tik Tok.  My daughter introduced me to Daenskitchen and I am enjoying her recipes very much but I also recently made the Smitten Kitten spanakopita which she also got from Tik Tok.
2. Reading: Eleanor Graham The Children who lived in a barn, a Christmas gift from ganching.  I am not familiar with her but enjoying it very much.
3. Listening: the Superbowl playlist and being surprised that my daughter remembered listening to Eminem and Mary J Blige on the school runs.  Also, enjoying the latest Spenser on audible read by the peerless Joe Mantegna. I think this the last one Ace Atkins is writing but I have enjoyed him carrying the Robert B Parker mantle for a decade.
4. Enjoying: having my neighbour’s dog for the weekend.  They’ve gone hiking and my daughter offered to dog sit.  That was before the great horse disaster but it is fine and we are managing just the same and he is really no trouble.
5. Eating: last night we had home made schnitzel and a really good tiny chopped salad of red capsicum, onion, cucumber and lots of mint with lemon and olive oil and salt.
6. Buying: some new trainers via Netaporter.  I hope that isn’t problematic as they have such great customer service.  I am fully embracing trainers for work with my crap feet so feel the need for another pair of high end, office appropriate ones
7. Watching: I’ve been watching Sweet Magnolia as it requires zero engagement but wow, the parenting is terrible.  It’s a wonder the kids aren’t totally nut jobs.
8. Hoping: the kitten recovers from his sore paw.  The vet thinks he has just strained it doing lots of jumping but he is holding it up in a pathetic manner.  It hasn’t stopped him tormenting the old cat so I don’t think he is in too much pain.  His good luck featured on the vet’s Instagram stories so I am glad he gave some cat content.
9. Waiting: for news that my sister can fly to WA next month now that the borders are open.  If she does, then I will fly over to see her a long weekend.
10. Feeling: all the feels for my daughter.  It’s a long story involving her horse but basically she is having to go out every two hours to the paddock to put anti biotics on his eye and it is a lot.  And touch and go as to whether they can save his eye.  I’m not much use with horse medicine but I’ve been driving her a few times just to give her some rest

Week end

It's been a week.  I've had the kid and her kitten here for reasons but she'll be going home on the weekend.  It has been lovely to have them both and I have eaten much better dinners with her here but I am ready for the return to my peaceful life.

I certainly enjoyed having her to jointly watched Luxe Sydney with which I am now obsessed.  Can't wait for season 2.

I spent a couple of days in the physical office which was good but exhausting.  So much chit chat.

I finished Gaudy Night and am about to embark on Murder must advertise which I know really well as I had a tape recording of Ian Carmichael in a BBC adaptation which I must have listened to a few times on long car journeys in the days before audible.  I was reminded how much I enjoy reading books about 20th century office life and am trying to remember which JB Priestly ones I liked (maybe Angel Pavement?) and lunches in the Lyons Corner houses.

 

 

 

A hard stare

My long term PA and friend always buys me a desk calendar.  This year's is full of national geographic photos but since this was my first day back in the office I had a lot of days to move on.  The photo for yesterday reminded me of Paddington and his hard stare.  Tell you what, though, it is exhausting being back among the living and talking.  I had no space for any hard thinking last night, that is for sure.

It was too hot to walk to the supermarket so we drove and then bought a tub of Messina - strawberry sorbet, 1985 (coconut gelato, cherry jam and chocolate chips ), true romance (peanut butter gelato, caramel brownie, candied peanuts and peanut butter fudge).  The latter was a bit too sweet but the 1985 was delicious.

Last night, we watched some more of Luxe Sydney to which I am now addicted.  

Indian summer

It's got hot again which is more like my expectation of summer but with added bonus of glorious sunrises and sunsets of early autumn.

I've got the terror kitten here but he was so delightful for a rare hour this morning, snoozing while I worked.

The kid is here for a few days as well as her cat and we watched a crazy Sydney real estate show which made me yet again think that Sydney is not blessed with beautiful architecture and its housing is way over priced.

Last night we had home made nachos with guacamole and pico de Gallo and tonight we're having piri piri chicken and salad.

List Love: the bat shit crazy edition

Our city is over run by bat shit crazy anti-vaxxers, sovereign rights nut jobs, and the evangelical fringe dwellers.  I am not even sure what they are protesting but their antics include bullying teenage shop assistants about the mask mandate and causing the Lifeline Book Fair (a city institution and where I had planned to spend my day yesterday) to be cancelled.  I stayed clear of the part of the city where they were congregated but there are a great many helicopters circling.

Anyway, here we go:

1. Making: a sage salsa verde to go on top of hassleback potatoes and then forgetting to serve it.  I’m thinking I’ll just have it with some grilled salmon
2. Cooking: making some snacking cake and marinading chicken thighs for piri piri chicken
3. Reading: still reading Gaudy Night at a slow pace
4. Listening: to the Trojan Horse podcast.  So good.  Also, just started listening to the soothing Marian Keyes and Tara Flyn on Now You’re Asking
5. Enjoying: the sunrises and sunsets.  The sky is so beautiful this month
6. Appreciating: my clean house since the cleaners came Friday and swept through at pace
7. Watching: Inventing Anna.  It was one of those great long reads American magazine writers do so well so excited to see it get the Shonda Rimes treatment.
8. Hoping: that the stupid ant-vax convoy gets the heck out of my city
9. Hearing: the chirrups of the kitten who I have for the weekend.  He’s grown some but can still be scooped up in one hand.  He still desperately wants to be friends with Ned who is having not a bar of it.
10. Donating: to Lifeline, since the stupid anti-vax cookers forced the cancellation of their fund raising bookfair

Rare byte

I’m a sucker for a tech thriller but add in Zoe Kravitz and a kind of Rear Window vibe and it’s set for success. Even better, it’s a delightful less than 90 minutes long. KIMI is directed by Stephen Soderbergh and it’s got a great energy to it. Highly satisfying.

It’s been a long week so I’m glad to sit on the sofa and unwind. 

Dog years

A decade of having this lovely dog in my life, my dear companion and beloved of all kittens.

I am holding off listening to the Backlisted episode on Dorothy L Sayers while I re read Gaudy Night.  I can't remember the first one of her books I read, but I devoured them in my teens and twenties.  I don't think GN is my favourite - that is the Nine Tailors or Murder Must Advertise - but I do recall thinking the river scene was one of the most romantic things I had ever read when I was young.  I hope it does not fail me.

What I did realise was that my original edition now has print way too small for comfortable bed time reading.  Fortunately, I have a Folio Society set more forgiving of my eye sight and with charming illustrations.

 

 

I forgot

I completely forgot to write anything yesterday.  I've been trying to be more disciplined but also not to flagellate myself when I forget.

It was a pretty rubbish work day with a lot of bad news and difficult clients but I shut my lap top at 5.30 and went for a lovely evening walk with Charlie.  The sky was so beautiful last night.  It almost feels like autumn which is both nice but crazy since this is supposed to be our hottest month. Ah, La Nina, you like to joke around.

I made a baked potato for dinner which I ate with coleslaw but I was also craving cake of which there was none.  I got down this snacking cakes book which Shauna recommended a year or so ago.  I made the grapefruit and white chocolate cake.  I did not have a grapefruit but I did have one and half old oranges, old old lime and a quarter of a dried lemon up in the fridge.  It actually worked really well and used up a lot of odds and ends including the greek yoghurt.

I am watching Station Eleven.  Honestly, it is quite hard with the time jumps, but episode 7 was so unbearably sad and elegiac.  I am finding the Vulture recaps quite helpful after each episode to check my understanding which might sound like a contradiction but actually adds depth to what I have watched.  I don't think I have seen anything in a long time that made me admire the craft of acting and make me long to watch Shakespeare performed.

 

Cricket boys

I took the day off on Friday to drive to Sydney for an early dinner at Firedoor.  You might have seen it on a Netflix special.  A friend bought me a gift voucher for Christmas 2020 and again for 2021 but this was the first booking we had scored what with pandemic related stuff.

We got drenched in the afternoon leading me to remember how I hate the weather in Sydney and the traffic but Surry Hills is still lovely and eclectic and mindblowingly $$$.

Anyway, it was me, both daughters and a boyfriend and the stepson. It was a good dinner.  We had peaches grilled with ricotta, pencil squid, grilled hipsi cabbage which was divine, some Murray cod which was meh, fantastic lamb and then as an eyewateringly expensive extra, a 700g 265 day old beef.  S paid for that and reminded me "better to be looking at it than looking for it".  It was stand out the best thing we ate.  The bill ran to 4 figures (and we had lots of non drinkers among the group) so thank goodness for the voucher!  So, look while it was a great experience but I don't need to go again.

Best of all was to be in my pjs my 9pm.

Anyway, as I have been tardy with lots of things here is today's catch up list.

1. Making: chicken schnitzel, coleslaw and baked sweet potato for dinner last night.  It was delicious.
2. Reading: Gaudy Night in preparation for the upcoming Booklisted episode.  My favourite Wimsey story is Nine Tailors but I love this one for the marriage proposal
3. Listening: Megan Thee Stallion, Dojo Cat, Lizzo, Willow in some radio mix made for me
4. Wishing: my youngest daughter lived a 30 minute drive away instead of in Sydney
5. Enjoying: tidying my desk drawers, my filing tray and all the stupid cables in the drawer
6. Finishing: AJLT, infuriating as I have found it there has been a LOT to talk about and I am looking forward to the next season
7. Watching: Station Eleven which I am loving.  I remember I loved the book of which I remember few details but really enjoying the tv series.
8.  Wearing: track pants as the weather is confusingly cold
9. Following: Jorts the Cat, a mild and joyful part of twitter which lobbies for workers' rights as a side hustle
10. Feeling: big warm feelings at how loved Charlie was my his dog sitters this weekend.  They took him to the cricket and he had the best time.