Sunday Stealing: Favourites

It could be winter here. It is not, bit it feels like it. A rather nasty East Coast low has settled over the South of Australia and it feels like Winter once again. I'm not complaining, other than my washing can't be dried on the lines downstairs, but the cool is nice. The rain is wonderful, thinks the country girl. But a sunny day would serve us well. 

Good writing weather. 

Questions, as always, provided by Bev at Sunday Stealing:

Name Your Favorite…

    Place:

 I can't name one. Here are a few of my favourite places:

• Silver Sands beach, South Australia
• The Tomb of Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey, London
• Toledo, Spain
• The Great Hall, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
• Cafe D'Lish, Caulfield, Melbourne (Was just there for brunch)

    Color: 

One of the following:

• Pillarbox red
• Cobalt blue
• Teal Green

    Smell:

• Dog's paws first thing in the morning
• Mum's roast lamb
• Juliettes got a Gun Not a Perfume perfume

    Magazine:

I don't really read magazines any more, but I'm fond of Marie Claire. I also like The Monthly, an Australian current affairs magazine. It's got some good, well reported stuff in there. 

    Texture:

Satin ribbon. I have little bits of it around the place. I like to rub my nose with it. Old childhood habit I've never seen the need to get rid of.

    Thing to do when bored:   

• Read
• Watch movies
• Write
• Clean the flat

    Precious stone:

I've never really thought about this. I do like sapphires, but I don't own any. I also like moonstones. I know they've semi-precious, but I find them mysterious. Maybe it's the witch in me. 

    Animal:

I love all animals, but my cat Lucifer is my favourite animal. I really do like cats of all sorts (but I also love dogs too). For more exotic animals, pandas and tigers and lions and red pandas and wombats and elephants are all really good. Love wombats. They are fantastic. Quokkas are cute too. 

    Time in history:

I'm fascinated by the Tudors - the court of Henry VIII and the life - amazing, scary time. 

    Font:

Oh, I am firmly a Times New Roman 12 pitch girl - I can't write in any other font. 

For when I can't use Times New Roman, Garamond and Gothic are fine, but I do like these slightly serifed fonts. They're easy to read. 

    Sound:

Rain on a tin roof is a wonderful sound, particularly after a long hot day when the heat is breaking. Gently breaking wave is another sound I could sit and listen to all day.

    Fruit:

That would be a toss up between mangoes, lychees and strawberries. Mangoes are a most wonderful thing. 

    Vegetable:

My English roots show through here - I love potatoes. For proper vegetables, broccoli, fresh, crisp iceberg lettuce  and sweet potatoes are all wonderful, but I do love potatoes, not that I let myself have them very often as they are best enjoyed with lots of butter. 

    Store/shop:

I don't really have a favourite shop, but I do love visiting really lovely bespoke shops, like the Florentine paper shop down Degraves Street. It is just so beautiful. I'm also fond of craft shops like Lincraft and Spotlight, but I aways walk out with far too much stuff, that I don't need. And Bunnings (Americans, think Home Depot) is a bit of an Australian institution. They even did a Bluey episode on the joys of Bunnings - renamed Hammerbarn. 

    Quote:

"This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day. Thou canst not then be false to any man."  Polonius, Hamlet, Act I Scene iii. 

"The lunatic, the lover and the poet are of imagination all compact." A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act V, scene i. 

    Historical figure:

Nelson Mandela - I don't need to say more than that. 

    Letter:

Very fond of the Hebrew Aleph. It's such a strong, generous letter. It means a lot too. I've just come from meeting up with my Kabbalah meditation group, so I'm feeling this one today. 

    Memory:

I have plenty of favourite memories, but one that comes to mind is the two times I've seen David Byrne live on stage. He's incredible. Talking Heads will always make me smile. And sing. I've been to some great plays too. Seeing Ned Beatty, Brendon Fraser and Frances O'Connor in London in a production of A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Aiden Fennessy's The Architect come to mind as some of the best performances I've ever seen seen. 

I had an amazing sound healing session with Shervin Boolorian in Bali. He is incredible. 

I have lived a very fortunate life. 

    Dessert:

Oh, that is Creme Brulee all the way. I like to style myself on Amelie. 

    Candy:

As a proud South Australians, I have to say FruChocs. But I am very fond of white chocolate  and Caramilk and Topic bars when I'm in England. 

    Restaurant:

Do I have to pick one? Thing is that after the pandemic, a lot of these restaurants have shut down. I also go to certail restaurant to get one dish - like having brunch at Cafe D'Lish, which we found out today turns 20 tomorrow. I wished Izzey and Morrie mazel tov, strange words to come out of the mouth of a shiksa.

But I love the following places: 

• Quaglinos in London.
• Mejico in Sydney and Melbourne.
• The Vinh Ky down the road for their Dry Chilli Beef - I live in a very Vietnamese area and the food is fresh and plentiful.
• Pretty much any bakery in Adelaide for pasties.
• The Salopian Inn in McLaren Vale.

We are so spoiled for food over here. 

    Language:

I love the French language and wish I read, spoke and wrote it better. I'm also keen to learn more Spanish. It's a fun language - and quite easy to pick up. 

    Thing to learn about:

Anything. I love learning. Don't constrain me. 

    Thing about yourself:

Here are some things I do like about myself:

• I'm unfailingly kind
• I'm reasonably smart
• I love that I have deep green eyes
• And skinny ankles. 

Today's song: