Strawberry Shopping Surprise

After my first shift at the public library for my practicum, I wandered through a nearby mall. I found strawberry shortcake bubble bath and a 20 SPF lip balm. I was about to leave when a bottle of pink nail polish caught my eye. It was out of place, sitting there all by itself. Rimmel! And pink! Strawberry Fizz, to be precise, and the label said I Love Fruities. Into the shopping basket it went.

I put it on my fingernails last night and found a surprise: it's called "Fruities" because it has a fruity scent when it dries! So today I will have strawberry nails. I wonder how long the scent will last?

Little piece of Brisbane

Geckos (yes, they make that sound!) and crickets, chirruping up a storm at dusk. Of course they went quiet soon after I started recording, but you get the idea.

Gecko Sounds by Julia Michelle 1

Future of eBooks has been delayed by a GIANT METAL CHICKEN

This is a guest post as julia does not want to write this evening. However in honour of one of her favourite bloggers making her chortle I am using this opportunity to present to her a GIANT METAL CHICKEN.

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Jody

Random Objects

As the daughter of a naval captain, I'm no stranger to packing up and moving on. Every few years, I'd go through my possessions and separate them into piles for packing, my suitcase, and to give away. Moving to Australia (on our own dime) was rather different, but as we had very little time to get organised, I had a lot of help - and offers of storage space from family. Thanks, family!

It's funny, the things you take with you, the things that you know will make your new place feel like home. Here are a few of the odds and ends that, for one reason or another, made the trek down under.

Cat-Duck and friend. Cat-Duck was a birthday present from my roommate who insisted I had everything. I figured I'd need something ridiculous to unpack.

The only books I brought with me (minus two novels I've since given away).

On top is the "Julie" book that's been everywhere with me, and on the bottom, my university writer's guide and Canadian Press Stylebook. I was sure I'd need those in my new role as sales & marketing coordinator, and I have used them many times! In the middle are devotionals and my Bible, followed by two of my favourite novels, The Birth House and The Law of Dreams (a gift from my sister).

Davey and the First Christmas

My family reads this every Christmas Eve, and it wouldn't be the holidays without it. A couple years ago, when my Mom realised we all had our own houses and hers would be in Italy and her daughters' in Canada, she looked EVERYWHERE for more copies of the book, but there was only one to be had on eBay, and it seems to have gone out of copyright. So she carefully took the original book apart and had it colour-photocopied, pop-ups and all, and assembled one for each family. The book has been a tradition since my Mom and her three siblings were small, so it means a lot to me.

Pudding Squared

When Jody and I were dating we spent three months working together in South Africa. I was a bit homesick - it was the first time I'd left Canada in five years. At the mall one day, he saw this adorable moose with its fuzzy ears and scarf. I named it Pudding, because it was the colour of chocolate mousse (ha ha) and dessert in South Africa is known as pudding. When I left Johannesburg three weeks ahead of Jody, Pudding was stuffed into my carry-on, which was so full, the airline check-in host asked to see what was inside. (This was in late August of 2006, just as airport security was starting to allow carry-ons again, in the wake of the liquid explosive terrorist plot.) She didn't quite know what to say to a 20-something with a stuffie in her bag.

One of two Batiks bought in a South African market.

We brought them over flat and I had the fabric mounted on wood frames in Sydney. I've bought or framed art on every anniversary we've spent in Australia (that's three!).

KitchenAid grater, jewelled pie server, and "Small Mashy."

The last time I left a grater in storage it rusted, and the weight was negligible, so we packed the KitchenAid one in our air freight, along with the other items in the photo. The pie server - I'm not sure why we brought it, except it was a wedding gift (as was the grater) so it was new and it's always nice to have something pretty to serve guests with. Unfortunately it is underused. We brought Jody's good knives too but left the block behind. "Small Mashy" is the best potato masher ever, and has already survived two roommate purges. But that is a story for another time.

Popcorn

Photo: The Popcorn Board

I'm not being clever - this is a blog post about popcorn. To be more precise, popcorn is the answer to my question for readers today: what is your favourite snack while watching TV?

I won't be writing much tonight as I am still recovering from staying up so late to edit and format a paper, so I have what I call "assignment brain." I've had to look at my text carefully to make sure I'm not making typos all over the place, because I am tired. I think snacks are just my speed.




Tonight I finally got to watch the mid-season finale of Doctor Who - A Good Man Goes to War. I won't spoiler you but gosh it was a good episode and I need to watch it again.

Popcorn is my snack of choice when I want to treat myself while watching TV or a movie, and stove-popped wins every time. It reminds me of when I was a girl and would go to my friend Rachel's after school. Her house was literally next door to my middle school, and her mom made us popcorn in this massive old cast iron pot, and I was sure it was the best popcorn I would ever taste.

Leave your fave snack in the comments...

Power

Power is one of those English words that I wish had a wider vocabulary, like 'love' in Greek. Dictionary definitions run the gamut from political authority to energy or exerted force to strength and ability. For a word to be used in so many contexts is frustrating to new English speakers and bothersome for writers (and librarians). If you take a moment, I'm sure you'll think of a variety of ways we use the word power. Here's some I came up with:

• Political - "in power"
• Rights movements - "empowered"
• Car ads - "powerful engine"
• Sports - "power play"
• Faith - "power of the Holy Spirit"
• Business - "power words, power suits"

It struck me that many of these uses are worthless unless there is belief behind the power. Stay with me, I do have a point - or at least some thoughts. See, if politicians can't gather people to believe in his/her ability to lead, they won't come into power. And if you believe a cause isn't worthy of a fight, how is it empowering to stand up for your rights?

Read more »

Genuine compliments

Sometimes, you have a grumpy day. It's drizzling outside, you feel ugly, or you despair that you'll never find a fulfilling job. Whatever the reason, we all have these days - sometimes stretching across a whole week (or more). On those days, I sometimes have to remind myself that I am pretty, or smart, or fun to be around. But as I'm often my own worst critic, it helps to store up genuine compliments from the people who know and love me best.

So thanks, friends - family - you know who you are. Here are a few of your compliments that make me feel good, even when I'm grumpy. You might have said it in a moment, but it's stayed with me.


Your homemade soup is so good, you could sell it on the street on Friday nights and make tons of money.


You're one of those women who looks even more beautiful with time.


You're the best hugger in the whole world!

A Rainy Snail Kinda Day

This afternoon I put on my gumboots

and headed out the door to find this little guy

Later I had a delicious cappuccino

In a Max Brenner 'kangaroo' cup! *

What a lovely, rainy snail kinda day.

Drink your coffee in a decent way (don't forget you are an adult) then lick the chocolate leftovers to keep the child in you forever.

Handwriting Exercise

Not many people consider their handwriting to be legible, but although I can type very quickly I still like to handwrite some things - cards, special letters, and creative writing. I feel much less constrained when I can print and cross out on paper as I craft a story or poem, and that handwriting is definitely more free form than my cursive. I've always had neat writing, and I put it down to a dose of perfectionism and classes in penmanship at a British elementary school - with fountain pens, no less.

1. Name/Blog Name
2. Right handed, left handed or both
3. Favorite letters to write
4. Least favorite letters to write
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
6. Write in caps:
CRAB
HUMOR
KALEIDOSCOPE
PAJAMAS
GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics
8. Tag 7 people
9. Any special note or drawing



You might have to click the image to see it in life size if you don't want to squint. I was tagged by Nathan at PhilosYphia to provide this sample! Enjoy. I've only tagged the three people I thought of off the top of my head, but go ahead and try it if you like.

Random Kindness

The other night, I was walking home and waiting for the light to change at a crosswalk. A young couple came out of the corner store and unwrapped Ferrero Rochers as they waited with me. I thought to myself that there were three chocolates, and three of us, and how awesome it would be if they gave me the third golden-wrapped ball. Of course they had no reason to - I didn't know them - it was just a fleeting thought.

The light was still red when the young woman spoke. "Excuse me," she said, "this is for you." In her palm was the third Ferrero.

"Thank you," I responded, only slightly startled. "That's very kind of you."

The light changed as I plucked the chocolate from her hand, and we walked across amicably. The three of us continued along the sidewalk for a time, not quite together, but not quite apart.

This was quite unexpected in Sydney, where I've found I'm more likely to be ignored than greeted in the street. It reminded me of church youth group in Ontario, where we would occasionally perform a RASK (Random Act of Senseless Kindness) for the evening's meeting - hanging candy canes from every available public space, for instance. Some days I feel quite isolated, even living in a big city, and I've finally come to terms with the fact that I'm unlikely to bump into someone I know - which used to be nearly impossible to avoid in my hometown.

Lately I've been wondering what random kindness I could perform to make someone's day a little less empty. What could you do? Not everyone would give up their last Ferrero (and not everyone would accept it either) but surely, we could smile more. We could hold the elevator for our neighbour down the hall. We could let someone who is rushing go ahead of us in the coffee lineup.

Has someone been kind to you lately? Pass it on.

Chinese Fire Drill!

Everybody out! Run around the car! Quick quick quick... get back in your seat before the light changes!

Or, in the case of three young Chinese women I saw this morning on my way to work - if you see a fire truck, pull over! Fling open the doors, run around, and giggle as you try to simultaneously watch the firemen in the truck AND get back into the car.

It totally made my morning. A Chinese Fire Drill!

Off? Off-Off? On?

The familiar sound of a smoke alarm from somewhere in our complex prompted a perplexing question.

Why does an alarm go off? Shouldn't it go on? When the alarm goes off in the midst of baking, we then turn it off again. Is that off-off? Or does that mean it's on, much like a double negative creates a positive?

Why are English phrases so unreliable and baffling!?

If I Were a Rich Girl

Oh Sony, why do you torment me? Why do you make an adorable handycam called a Bloggie? It is far too tempting. I am just a humble blogger, not a vlogger...

And Tiffany & Co., since November your sparkling key pendants have been the object of much sighing and wishing. It was my birthday, and then Christmas, and now it's nearing Valentine's Day. Your ads are still splashed across bus stop billboards, and I can walk to your hallowed glass-fronted shop to look at the diamond-studded, antique-styled gorgeousness.


But I hold back, because if I were to look through the window I would go inside. And if I were to go inside, it would be very difficult not to see the keys sparkle behind the display cases. And then... I would be hard pressed to leave the store without one, though it would likely be one without diamonds. And those are not too far out of reach, and even harder to resist!

Metaphor Soup

Comic by Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics.

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are some previous 'winners'.

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while .

22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

I think number 17 is my favourite, with number 8 a close second. What's yours?

Lessons from the Cutlery Drawer

It's nearly time for bed, and as I put the kettle on I realised I was a bit peckish. In the tea cupboard I spotted the peanut butter jar and decided a slice of toast and PB would be perfect.

The dishwasher's on, and it runs like an orchestra of crickets. In the cutlery drawer there are no knives, but I don't dare open the churning dishwasher. I snag a tablespoon from the drawer instead. As it turns out, the back of the spoon does a fine job of spreading the smooth peanut butter onto my soy-linseed toast.

No, the peanut butter doesn't look like the Virgin Mary's profile. But it occurs to me that a task usually requires a set tool, skill, or knowledge. You might think that someone without these perks might be at a disadvantage, but with a little creativity, the job can still get done.

It got me thinking: Why do we give up so easily? Why are we so frustrated, so unmovable, so quick to blame failure on our lack of...something? How much have we gained by doing things by trial and error? How much might we as a culture have lost if there was only one solution for every problem?

It isn't about what we have - it's what we do with it that counts.

Blog-off topic of the week: The most important lesson.

Random fact: another name for the runcible spoon, as in the Owl and the Pussycat's "which they ate with a runcible spoon," is a spork! Runcible spoons have three tines and were originally intended to serve chutneys and pickles. Source: Antique Silver Spoons. I always thought that was a made-up word. Hey, I warned you this blog was random!

Just for fun

This ad makes me smile.

Fashion Essentials for Sydney in the Fall

It's fall here in Sydney. People have been asking about the weather and how I'm acclimatising, so I thought I'd break it down for you.

Fashion Essentials for Sydney in the Fall

Add tights or leggings to your skirts and dresses. Super-shiny "liquid" leggings are very popular.

Wear boots or ballet flats instead of thongs. But if it's not raining, go ahead and wear your thongs.

Carry a pashmina if you go someplace nice in the evening.


I imagine it will soon be cold enough in the evening for an actual jacket - right now I'm getting away with blazers most of the time. Some ladies are wearing short leather jackets and light trenchcoats.


For daytime casual chic, all you need are jeans, shoe-boots, a long-sleeved shirt, a light jumper (sweater) and a cute scarf. These items are perfect for days when it's really chilly, like 15 or 16 degrees C.





Pictured: a pashmina shawl, and a shoe-boot, or "shoot."

Random Memes - thanks Courtney!

I’m supposed to take the fourth picture from the fourth album in my pictures folder and post it - random, just the way I like it!

Ooooh, it's a good one, too. I don't have four albums up on Flickr yet (just got it recently) so I went to Facebook.


Mmmm cake! This photo was taken by my husband of only a few hours. We were waiting in the airport for our flight to San Francisco to begin our honeymoon! I barely got to eat at our reception so I had the catering staff pack me a little box of sandwiches and a little box of cake. And I was still wearing the dress I'd changed into mid-reception, with my tiara but no veil, which caused people to ask what I was all dressed up for. Ohhh my goodness, the cake was tasty. A friend made it for us; raspberry with vanilla cake was the layer you can see, and chocolate with hazelnut was the other. It was gorgeous, too.

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Then, according to Courtney and Toni, I should grab the book nearest to me (which unfortunately I haven't started yet; I grabbed it from the lending library) and go to page 56. Then type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow.

OK, so this one is called A Perfect Match by Patricia Veryan - it's a Regency romance - because I need something light to take to the beach. Yes, beach. I know it's February  but I'm in Australia. Hmm. Well, this could present a problem. This particular copy seems to have its pages out of order. So I will choose a page at random, since I can't find 56 in its rightful place. Here we go, page 46.
"She kept her eyes downcast, her heart thumping so violently it was all she could do not to betray herself. How smug he sounded, doubtless gloating over how he had, as Lady Branden said, 'gulled' his trusting nephew!"

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And in case you haven't seen it yet, here is a reposting of the 25 Random Things meme that's been flooding Facebook. Just to keep things interesting, I'll change a couple things...

1. I make really awesome banana walnut chocolate chip loaf.
2. Our grandparents let Pam and I drink coffee when we were young. I still don't know if it was decaf or not.
3. I am a game snob - but really good games like LocoRoco, Ico, and LittleBigPlanet have managed to hold my attention.
4. I always wanted to be a figure skater, so I started ballroom dance in university and hoped I would love it - I do, but I need more time and money to practice.
5. I've never tried Red Bull or any other energy drink.
6. I kept rose petals from my first boyfriend until I got married.
7. It's been my dream to be a writer since I was very small, but I'm not sure I have the drive to do it right now.
8. I was accused of plaigirism at age 10.
9. I have seven email accounts.
10. Except for one haircolour-in-a-box no one noticed, I didn't dye my hair until I was 26.
11. I read The Hobbit for the first time in grade 7 - it was supposed to be something I read aloud with my dad, but he couldn't keep up with the weird names and all the characters, so I finished it on my own.
12. My Gramma used to knit sweaters when I was small, often matching ones for me & Pam - my favourite was either a turquoise one with a fuzzy angora panda, or one with a dinosaur that had stegosaurus spikes that stuck out.
13. Sometimes I get the urge to straighten racks or t-shirt piles in a store - and I haven't worked in clothing retail since 2003.
14. I always thought I'd be better at being on time when I was older. Sigh...I've improved (!) but I'm forever keeping people waiting.
15. I used to hoard my Halloween candy for months.
16. My favourite thing to eat is breakfast, particularly Eggs Benedict - but I rarely get up early enough to eat breakfast, so I am constantly at odds with my favourite meal of the day.
17. You can barely tell I've read a new book because I don't crack the binding or fold the pages or leave it open upside-down.
18. Laughing at peoples' mullets is one of the great, small joys of my life.
19. The Crazy Kitchen at the museum in Ottawa is stuck in my childhood memories as one of the best things ever.
20. I've traveled by plane on three holidays in my life: New Years Eve, Canada Day, and Christmas Eve.
21. I love my MacBook, possibly even more now that it's been through a tea-spillage disaster and survived - I've had its thermal paste replaced so the fan would run properly.
22. I couldn't begin to guess how many times I've seen The Princess Bride.
23. I was on the JV soccer team for one year in high school.
24. It scares me a little that I usually know what Jody means, even when he says something that doesn't come out right.
25. Three months is the longest I've ever been apart from my sister, until now.

It's beginning to look a lot like... summer???

It's midweek, and I am at home making pasta and spinach salad. I haven't quite gotten over the novelty of a gas stove, and am slowly learning how to use it without burning the food – and without flicking the gas on five times before it lights. I've got it down to two or three now! And because it's necessary to wash salad here, I got a salad spinner – and it's a ridiculous one. I don't have to turn or wind the salad manually; it has a “one-pull” that winds it up for me like a spinning top – and a single button to tell it to stop spinning! Ah, little things.
– Break for dinner –

Last night was our company's customer Christmas function. It turned out really well, and I was pleased with everything from how the décor looked to how the people enjoyed themselves to how I handled greeting people and making announcements with the microphone. I had help preparing, but since company events are part of my job description, I did a lot of work and was the “host” of the function. So it felt really good to see everything come together. Now I just have to do it all again next week in Melbourne! Jody and I and two other coworkers are flying there for a day and a night, along with our bosses, to attend the other main branch's party and to work with the Melbourne crew for a day. It will be good to meet people I've spoken to and emailed. I have already met one, JC, and he and I are getting along well – which is great since he's the lead marketing guy in Melbourne, so we'll be working together a lot.

Now that it's December I'm listening to Christmas music, and Ave Maria is playing – which reminds me of a funny story someone told me about their mother singing along to it in the kitchen, and this someone decided they would distract their mother from singing, for the betterment of the other people in the house. Nice going, you - you know who you are. Now I'll never be able to think of that song without thinking of your mother and her singing.

The other weird thing about Christmas music, and indeed Christmas in Australia in general; is that I keep hearing about fireplaces and snow and cocoa and popped corn – none of which are seasonal here. People still wear Santa hats and give out stickers with snowmen on them, but it's just not the same. It doesn't feel like Christmas is coming. Not that I'm complaining (though I might be in January or February; I hear it gets much hotter) because it's wonderful to finally feel like I'm getting a summer- but it is disconcerting. I hope my music will help me get in a holiday mood. And maybe some baking. Jody brought his favourite cookie sheets all the way here, only to find they're too large to fit in most ovens! So we have to find some smaller ones before we make cookies. Though he did bake delicious blueberry muffins yesterday, and bring them to work, where they disappeared like moustaches at the end of Movember.

I know, I know. This blog post is totally random. But I'm told that people miss my randomness.

I miss little things, like watching the bunnies at UVic. Going for coffee at Timmy's late at night. Watching the people riding the #6 bus. Being excited when Thrifty's actually has salmon and cream cheese sushi in stock. Thrifty's, in general. Sales at Reitman's and Suzy Shier. Snickering at high schoolers who think it's cool to hang out in Wal-Mart. Giggling uncontrollably when passing the Little Caesar's by Wo-Mo. (If you don't know, sorry – you're going to have to wonder.)

Walking along the breakwater. Spotting deer in peoples' yards. Planning to go to the mainland, then remembering what a pain the ferry + BC Transit is and scrapping the idea. Checking what's playing at the Roxy but never going for the double feature. Going to Cinecenta instead, because the theatre and the popcorn have much more interesting names. Calling someone I've just seen and talking for an hour. Calling someone else and talking almost entirely in pop culture references and inside jokes.

So, if anyone is planning to come and visit, I need more time to find cool places to take you. All I've got so far is Darling Harbour, two shopping districts, one semi-decent bookshop and an ice cream parlour. But oh my word, is the ice cream ever fantastic. Jody and I cheaped out on dinner one night and splurged on dessert. The place is called Passionflower, and all they do is gelato, ice cream and sorbet. With fruit. With brownies. With chocolate. With their signature passionfruit sauce. With practically anything decadent you could put with ice cream. And each creation has a name. Yes, it's expensive and yes, you'll try to tell yourself you should share – but you'll want one all to yourself.

There's a movie theatre near Passionflower, and I haven't been to the movies yet. Jody and I were waiting for our friend Mark (who used to work with Jody in Vic) to return from his vacation in Thailand – but he got waylaid because of the protesters that forced Bangkok Airport to close. He's back now, a week late, and he's tired but unharmed. So once he's over his exhaustion we're dragging him along to the new Bond flick. Like in South Africa, movies come out later here than in Canada, so I haven't seen Quantum of Solace, Australia, or Twilight – though it looks like I'll give Twilight a miss. Can't wait to see Bond, though – go Daniel Craig! Go Judi Dench! And then there's Hugh Jackman... Please, no spoilers.

As I have some time to myself this evening (Jody's at a conference downtown), I'm going to try to get in some beadwork. We finally have a level surface I can work on – the table and chairs we ordered from a rental place came yesterday, nearly a week later than planned. But it's here, and now we can eat like civilised people and I won't lose a pile of seed beads in the carpet.

Next up – a bookcase, an ironing board & iron, and a second living room chair. IKEA here we come! But really, the place we got is pretty nice, and it won't take much more to settle into it. Being so near to the office and downtown is a definite bonus, but we'll have to take care not to limit ourselves to two villages in all of Sydney.

My Macbook – which so far seems to have recovered from its cup of tea, aside from a tendency to get very hot – is telling me it is charged, so I'm going to put it to sleep and make some earrings. I'll post this in the morning when I get to the office. That's another little thing I miss – unlimited Internet at home!