Sick, Again

Thankfully not big sick. But sick. Hacking up a lung sick. No bleeding eardrums this time. Actually I feel okay other than the hacking cough, which has gone from a tickle to a bark in the space of four days.

I'm over coughing. After last year with the two massive chest infections in the space of a month, I don't need this.

At least I've caught this one fairly early. I went and saw a doctor tonight - mostly out of necessity. I've got a ticket to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with friends on Sunday. I'm due to be in a theatre from 2 pm til about 10.30 pm (with a three hour break between plays). It is awesome. I've seen it once and I'm desperate to see it again, this time sharing the experience with people.

This can't get in the way of Harry Potter.

I also go back to school on Tuesday - the novel writing course. I need to be healthy for that.

So it was off to the doctor tonight. I'm back on antibiotics (necessary evil) and the doctor has ordered me to use ventolin with a spacer regularly. (Though allegedly asthmatic, I still blow a peak flow of 550... go figure.)

I just need to get better now.

And at least its not coronavirus.

Also, just for the record, as I went to the emergency doctor at the shopping centre, I was seen by this fellow with the most amazing green eyes. It sort of made going to see the doctor just a little better.

Ah well. Off to bed. Early night. Let the body rest and the chest relax.

Today's song:

MAFS Update

Yes, I'm still watching MAFS (Married at First Sight). Yes, it is still atrocious telly. Yes, I know there are better things I could be doing with my time.

But it's not on for long.

And on Wednesday Doctor Doctor and New Amsterdam are on after and they are okay shows.

We're four weeks in.

It's still rubbish. But I still watch it.

Some thoughts:

1) What's all the tatts? Half the crew are walking, talking comic books. Women with sleeves. Collar bone tatts. Script writing.

Why?



2) Where do you get the money do get all that work done when you're under 40?

MAFS is keeping a lot of plastic surgeons and cosmetic therapists in business. At 27, why do you need injectables? Why, why, why? And I won't go on about the fake tans.




3) Why is it the dorkiest bloke, who came across as a right tosser, ends up to be one of the redeeming features of the show? Ivan is okay. The bar is low, but he's okay.



4) Where do they find these people?



5) As a race, are Australians really that whiny?

6) Will the real Connie please stand up. Smart girl. Needy girl. Shoot your mother while you're there.

7) How come a large percentage of the blokes are just awful?




8) Why do I watch this shite?

No idea why. It's my one guilty pleasure.


Today's song:

The Third Degree

I can't talk about the Third Degree. I attended a ceremony last  night - which is why I didn't write yesterday. I got home late. I was tired.

And I'd attended a ceremony which is so notorious that it's come from a masonic ritual into commonplace phrase.

As it's a masonic ritual, I can't say much at all. As a mason you're sworn to secrecy in some matters - what goes on in the ritual is the main thing.

I can tell you the following:

• No goats are harmed during the span of the ceremony.
• No blood is imbibed
• There is a bit of singing and wandering around done
• You can only watch a third degree ceremony if you're a Master Mason
• If you're not a Master Mason and you turn up to a Third Degree ceremony, you'll be thrown out of the room for mot of the evening.
• It's a ceremony which makes you think about things.
• There is a small semblance of truth found in movies about secret societies.

But for the most part, it's innocuous. But thought-provoking. 

The energy in the room was great. I'd like to see what would happen if the room was full. 

There is something to all this. 

And there's a good reason why saying you're giving somebody the third degree remains in our language.

I feel quite honoured to know exactly what it all entails.

Yesterday's Song:

Best Self Card: Making Money

Before I start on the Best Self Card, I'll fill you in on what I'm reading. Suzanne Daniels' Allegra in Three Parts. Found it under the bed when I was cleaning. Australian. Not too long. Good Goodreads.com standing. Light, but not too light.

I'm still cleaning and tidying, but the real estate agent can come in on Thursday and the place does not look like a brothel. I don't now why they bother doing inspections. I'm not a hoarder. I'm not running a meth lab. I don't have 20 students living in the spare room. I don't have 15 cats (but I would like one or two). Ah well. The joys of renting.

Right, today's Best Self Card.: If you could make an income in any way, what would you do?

I would write. I would write poetry. I would write novels. I would write articles for newspapers and magazines. I would write for the sheer joy of it.

Thing is, I write for a living, but I write boring corporate crap - normally computer instructions - but I can do this with my hands tied behind my back. That and training materials. It pays the rent and keeps me in the way to which I have become accustomed. But I would love to write creatively for a living. I'm hoping this course I start next week will maybe launch me in that direction.

I'm getting in the habit of writing daily now - that's part of the reason I've been blogging every day - it's getting me into good practices.

What people don't tell you is that writing is a very solitary activity - you get caught up in your own head. You get researching. You sit on your arse and go down virtual rabbit holes. You can lose yourself if you're not careful.

You can also get arrested. Look at a writer's browser history at your own peril. I know I currently have some of the following topics in my browser log:

• Swedish death cleaning
• How to set your affairs in order
• Planning your own funeral
• Jobs for the future
• New age teaching practices
• Tom Ellis
• Vegan treats
• Unusual ways to die
• Victoria's assisted dying laws
• Ned Kelly
• The best sex toys for women
• Best cat memes
• Small towns of the Pennines
• Sound Healing
• How to get a new Medicare card
• How to make better Kombucha
• Will vaping give you cancer

I am a writer. I am a weirdo.... singalong....

Other jobs that I wish I could do, or could have done if I had a modicum of talent:

• Doctor
• Astronaut
• Shakespearean Actor
• Singer
• Piano player / musician
• Lighthouse keeper
• Biscuit baker
• Owner / manager of a writer's retreat on the country.

And who says I can't dream.  

Right, I need to get on with the ironing. 

Today's song:

What do I read next?

Short one tonight - I need some sleep.

I finished my book tonight - and I feel rather sad. I've been slogging it out over this book for a fortnight. It was supposed to be read by Tuesday night for book group, but life conspired against me. Regardless, by the end of the book, Amor Towles A Gentleman in Moscow, had become a good friend. As somebody who doesn't read much popular fiction, and after a slow start, this became a good friend. I loved Count Alexander Rostov and his tribe.

They're gone now.

The next book group book is 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak. However Blarney has my copy and I won't be seeing her for a while - well at least until the weekend after next, and because of this, I need to find something else to read for the next ten days or so.

Here's my current short list - with some pros and cons.

1)  Bruce Pascoe - Dark Emu

Pro: Non-fiction, not too long, Australian, met the author (many years ago), I have it on my kindle.
Con: Not sure I'm in the place to read about pre-colonisation agriculture practices.

2) Jeanine Cummins - American Dirt

Pro: Dymocks book of the month, allegedly the new Grapes of Wrath, supposed to be fast paced and action filled.

Con: It's a bit thick. It's polarising Goodreads.com (never a bad thing)


3) Eimer McBride - A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing

Pro: It's on my kindle. Stream of consciousness. Not too long. Experimental writing.
Con: Stream of consciousness. Experimental writing.

4) Gail Jones - A Guide to Berlin

Pro: Recommended by one of my book group. Not too long. Nearly made book group last year.
Con: Not on my kindle.

5)  Joan London - Gilgamesh

Pro: Not too long. Liked another of her books. I'm rather fond of the Sumerian legends thanks to many years in dream group.
Con: May trigger some things like the Sumerian legends.

6) Ann Patchett - The Dutch House

Pro: Not too thick. I liked Commonwealth
Con: Not on my kindle.

As you an see, being on the kindle is a big pro - it's light and portable and fits in my bag easily.

I'm also aware that I start school next week - I don't want to get into anything to heavy just for the moment.

We'll see where I land.

Today's Song:

The Getting to Know you Meme

I'm supposed to be cleaning my flat ready for an inspection on Thursday. Instead I'm doing my blogging.

So, I reckon I will do one question and then do a job to get this cleaning out the way.

Questions, as aways, sourced by Bev at Sunday Stealing.

Jobs done by me.

1. What is your favorite color?

It's one of the following. Pillarbox red, cobalt blue or jade green.

(Bed made)

2. If you could get on a plane tomorrow and travel anywhere, where would you go?

Either England or Spain. Both places I love, but for very different reasons. I have far more of Spain that I want to do including the Camino de Compostella de Santiago.

England is my spiritual home and after seeing The Professor and the Madman on Friday, I'm feeling a bit homesick.

(Shower scrubbed out)

3. Were you closer to your mother or to your father

Though I wasn't particularly close to either parent growing up, I've always been closer to my Mum. Although we're not especially close, we talk once  a week and share a love of books and movies.

(Windowsills wiped down)

4. What is your favorite meal (savory and dessert)

Savoury - Mum's roast lamb. Of if I'm buying, the Vietnamese down the road does a great Dry Chilli Beef which is amazing.

Dessert: Creme Brulee, anything ice cream, Lemon Meringue Pie.

(Scrubbed out the sink in the kitchen)

5. Can you wink with each eye?  (How about curl your tongue)

Yes, but I can sit with my left eye closed for as long as you like, where my right eye I have to think about it.  I can also curl my tongue.

(Had lunch)

6. Beach or forest?

Beach - just - and it has to be a good beach, like the beaches in Adelaide, which a great.

(Cleaned teeth)

7. City or farm?

City - again, just, but in my current iteration, there is a bit more for me to do in the city,

(Found the couch under a pile of magazine, throwing out a heap of them)

8. Would you rather be blind from birth or turn blind as a teenager?

I think I'd rather be blind from birth - that way you'd not have an idea what you'd missed out on and would have got the help you need to learn things like braille. Going blind is a huge fear for me - I'd go mad if I couldn't read.

9. Would you rather always be overdressed or underdressed?

Overdressed. You can always take off your jewellery, open a button or throw on a plain cardigan to dress yourself down if you need to. Nothing worse than turning up in casual and everybody around you is dressed to the nines.

(Bathroom glass done)

10. If you could pass alone one of your attributes to your children, which would it be?

I don't have kids, but if I did I'd like to think they might get some of my sense of adventure, my sense of humour and my resilience.)

(Threw out a few things).

11. What are you most insecure about?

Having my photo taken. Hate it.

(Washed dishes)

12. What are you afraid people see when they look at you?

Somebody who is fat, ugly and stupid. That never goes away.

(Organised a meeting I've been putting off organising)

13. What is the saddest you’ve ever felt?

When people die my world is shaken. I remember being very sad when my father, my Aunt, my niece and my friend Anney died. They were all different sadnesses, but all cut me to the quick.

I have been sad this week at the plight of women in Australia and the current disease of domestic violence. Something horrible happened in Brisbane earlier this week. It's inexcusable and awful. I don't want to rehash it, but it has made the country sad.

(Hoovered the hallway)

14. Would you rather have your own private island, or your own private jet?

Private jet - I think of the places I could go on a whim.

(I can see the bedroom floor now)

15. How do you think you will die?

With any luck, in my old age, in my sleep, with people around me.

Today's Song:

YoYos

I've been wracking my brains trying to work out what to do for the "soap guy" (as I will call him), to say thank you for helping me out after I had my handbag stolen last week. Seriously, he was brilliant - lending me his phone so I could call the banks to cancel my cards and contact a friend and generally  he protected me as the adrenaline and shock drained from my body, sheltering me at the back of his stall. He also loaned me some cash, meaning I could at least buy some groceries for a few days. As I said, above and beyond stuff. I like to think I'd do this for somebody I don't know very well too.

I paid him back the loan today. My replacement card came through on Wednesday but this was the first time this week I'd been back to the shopping centre. I got a new phone the following day. Being cared for in that first hour or so after the event has made it a lot easier on my psyche. Saying thank you in some small way is the least I can do.

The gesture doesn't need to be big, or flamboyant or over the top. Who gets a guy you don't know well flowers? Nah. He runs a soap stall. He's around smellies all day. Chocolate? Nah. Like me, he's trying to stay away from the sugar - and then do you get white, dark or milk chocolate? (or if you're me, caramello...)

I'm a little cash flow down at the moment, knowing I'm not getting paid until the middle of March - so buying him something like gin isn't quite right either.

So I've gone with something simple. It's come down from the annals of family lore.

I've made him a batch of biscuits.

Told you I've gone old school.

These biscuits are too easy. I emailed Mum for the recipe. Like all of my grandmother's recipes, it's simple and in the old measures.

6 oz Plain flour
6 oz Softened butter
2 oz Icing sugar
2 oz Custard powder
1/2 tsp Vanilla essence.

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 170C.

Beat the butter and icing sugar together, then add in the rest of the ingredients. Roll into little balls, bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes.

My oven is crap so it takes a bit longer.

When cool, make up some icing made of icing sugar, a bit of butter and a few drops of almond essence. Don't ask me for the measurements, I've been making icing since I was a child - I go by feel.

These are magic biscuits.

My grandmother used to make them for my Dad for his birthday, along with a batch of Afghans, and I wish somebody had written that recipe down. Love me a good Afghan.



I've made these bikkies for people for their birthdays. One of my workmates used to demand I make him these biscuits each year. I finally taught his daughter how to make them - they moved back to the Netherlands. I like to think he's still asking his daughter to make them each February when his birthday comes around.

I've taken them up to my friend in Sydney. He thinks they're pretty good too.

And as my sister says, this is the preferred gift we give to people we care about in my family.

I just hope he likes this very small gesture of thanks. Seriously, having somebody look after you like that when you're in shock and adrenaline is coursing through your veins like heroin, it's made coming to terms with the trauma so much easier. I'm truly grateful to have him as a mate.


Today's Song: