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Sunday, May 30, 2010

Things I would like to know

Life brings with it many enigmas and puzzles. As long as man has walked this earth there have been conspiracies, plots, secret handshakes, cover ups, misinformation, misguidance and outright lies. There are many mysteries that, given the chance, I would love to know the answers to. Some of the answers I desire would, I’m sure, have earth shattering consequences. Some would be of no use to anyone except me.


These are the things that one day I would like to know the answers to, not in any particular order:

1. Why did my mother have my hair cut short when I was 8 or 9?

2. Where do all the single socks really go?

3. Who really shot JFK and why?

4. Did Marilyn Monroe really commit suicide or was she murdered?

5. There are many gospels that never made it to the official bible, what do they have in them?

6. Why did my last boyfriend dump me?

7. Would I have been a successful model, if I had, at the time, taken the opportunity offered?

8. Was Princess Diana really murdered, was there a conspiracy, or was it simply an unfortunate accident?

9. What really happened to Harold Holt?

10. What happened to my Alicia Keys CD that disappeared about 10 years ago?

11. While I was being delivered by Caesarean section, my father was given the choice of saving my mother or me if things went wrong. Who did he choose?

12. What really happens when we die?

13. If each of us has a purpose in life, what is mine?

14. What is the real explanation for the Bermuda Triangle?

15. Did the Holy Grail ever really exist and where is it now?

Sunday, May 23, 2010

My Ideal Partner

A friend of mine got me thinking of what my ideal partner would be like, if I could choose to build one from scratch so to speak. Over the past day or so my list of preferred characteristics has been muddling around in my head, so I thought I might just put it down in black and white.


My ideal partner is male. He is between 6’4 and 6’8 in height, of athletic build and his arms are perfectly sculptured with muscles – like those of an NBA basketballer. He keeps himself healthy and fit. He is between 45 and 55 years of age, born in USA and of mixed race with an African American background.

My ideal partner is financially well off and successful in his chosen line of work, which is something legal. He is also generous and interested in philanthropy.

My ideal partner is honest, has integrity and is kind and considerate. He has my sort of sense of humor and can make me laugh. He likes to spend time with me, but knows when to give me my space. He thinks I’m special and he doesn’t cheat.

My ideal partner gets on well with my boys. He enjoys sport, especially AFL football and basketball. He most probably played sport at some time in his life, maybe even at a professional level, and possibly works in some sort of sporting area.

My ideal partner is intelligent and likes to converse about many subjects. He keeps up with world news and is interested in other countries, other cultures and people in general.

My ideal partner enjoys a variety of foods from different countries. He likes going to different restaurants. He drinks moderately, but chooses to have a glass or two of good wine with dinner. He listens to jazz, RnB – especially old school, and an eclectic mix of popular music, but he doesn’t like classical music or country or grunge or punk. He doesn’t mind going to a concert or the movies or a favorite bar but is just as happy to visit friends or stay at home.

My ideal partner does not like camping or fishing or 4wheel driving. He much prefers to holiday in warm places with lovely beaches and 5 star hotels. He loves to travel and is always eager to visit another part of the world, always taking me with him.

My ideal partner likes sex and knows what he’s doing in the bedroom. We are mutually compatible in that area. He likes to cuddle, is relaxed and is not afraid of who he is or what he wants from life.

My ideal partner is out there somewhere and I’m sure I will find him. Perhaps he is writing his own list on his computer?

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Cooking Disaster!

So last night I planned to make a baked beef risotto for dinner. I assembled all the ingredients, chopped onions, fried the beef, threw the other ingredients in, stirred and brought to the boil. The next step would have been to put the lot in a casserole dish and bake in the oven while enjoying a glass of wine and watching the news.


That was until I saw the little black floating things.

At first I thought maybe the stock cubes hadn’t dissolved well enough and I attempt stirring the mixture some more. Then I started to scoop the little black bits out and tried to examine them closer.

Now I’m not sure how many of you might have this problem, but I’m short sighted and have a stigmatism in one eye and I wear contact lenses. The lens in my left eye is for looking at things at a distance and the lens in my right eye is for reading and working on the computer. Together they work in unison and I have no problems, except for focussing now and again, which is simply a matter of aging. However, I can’t see little things close up unless I take my contacts out. So I couldn’t really see what the little black things were.

There were so many of them. I kept scooping and scooping and there were more and more. I eventually thought I had better put the whole lot aside and throw it out when it was cold.

But what to have for dinner? Two days away from pay day and there is not much left in either the fridge or the pantry and very little left in my wallet. And I’m about to throw away what would have been dinner and lunch the next day. I’m not happy!

Luckily I have some frozen bolognaise sauce and some spaghetti in the pantry. Spaghetti bolognaise it is!

When my boys got home I asked them to take a closer look at the floating black things. Sure enough they proclaimed them to be “bugs” and one look into the leftover Arborio rice in the packet showed us where they came from. I knew it had been in the pantry for awhile, I just didn’t realise it had been there long enough to get bugs!!!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Disappointment

My youngest son has had a setback, a disappointment. The goal he set himself of playing football again for the school next week won’t be realised. The school has kept him on the injured list, no matter that he hasn’t seen the physiotherapist yet for a clearance. He was devastated by their decision. He lost his motivation. He just wanted to give up.


However, since this disappointment, he has managed to turn around his attitude and regain his motivation with a lot of help from his physiotherapist, the rehabilitation specialist and the Director and players at his football club. I can’t speak highly enough of a club that looks after even the least of its players so well. Not that my son is the least of its players, but he isn’t in the top team and is still so young.

The people at the club, from the Committee down to the health and medical staff, all care about each other. The older more experienced players mentor the younger ones. My son has told me its like being a part of a family.

With the help of a couple of motivational talks, my son is now back on track with his rehabilitation. His motivation has returned. He now hopes to play with the club next Saturday. I hope he will too.

The whole episode got me thinking. Life and football are full of so many disappointments. But it is how we handle them that matters. The words we choose, the attitude we present, the choices we make all show the world our character in these situations. We can either choose to fold and give into to the disappointment, or we can choose to square our shoulders, face the situation and get on with changing it.

My son has chosen to square his shoulders and get on with it. I am so proud of him.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Mother's Day - the Epilogue

Well, Mother’s Day didn’t quite work out the way I had visualised it. In fact it was pretty much as different a day as it could be.


The day started at 1.30am when my youngest son stumbled out of bed thrusting his phone toward me. Luckily I was still awake watching reruns of Sex and the City, but even with all my senses working, I still found it difficult to understand the guy on the other end of the phone. Turns out it was one of my eldest son’s friends calling to tell me I had better come and pick up said son as he was fairly inebriated. A group of them had gone to a friend’s 21st birthday party, the alcohol was free and flowed constantly and my son had not eaten dinner. Need I say more?

After navigating my way to the pub with the help of youngest son and finally locating eldest son, who in his alcoholic wisdom had decided to start walking home (it was a 30 minute drive) I finally made it back to the comfort of my bed. Middle son didn’t make it home at all that night.

In the morning my youngest son made me coffee and we had a leisurely breakfast of French toast, while eldest son slept (and presumably middle son did too). Then we went shopping to get some food for lunch and dinner.

Lunch was a couple of platters of freshly cut carrot, cucumber and celery with two dips, some pate, cheese and crackers. I opened a bottle of champagne and settled down to watch the football.

There were two games on TV; my team was playing in the second one. After leading for three quarters, they lost the game! I was devastated. They have now lost every game of the season so far! A shattered version of me went to organise dinner.

I had bought some nice thick steaks, potatoes and vegetables. Eldest son had surfaced by this time and helped me make scalloped potatoes, I got the vegetables ready and he then cooked the steaks under the supervision of middle son who had finally made it home.

So there we were, me and my three boys, finally together at the table for a family dinner. It was fabulous! And to top it off when dinner ended they shooed me away from the table and cleaned up the mess.

It might not have been the Mother’s Day I requested, but it was a lovely day just the same.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

As Mother's Day approaches - a note for my sons

Mother’s Day is a week away and, while I hope you aren’t considering spending too much money on me there are definitely presents I don’t want.


I don’t want the latest Susan Boyle CD, nor do I want any CD with classical music, or remixes of love songs. I am 50 not 150.

I don’t want any form of potted plant, gardening implement or gnome for the flower beds. Not only do I hate gardening with a passion, we also do not have any flower beds. Not that you would notice.

I don’t want the latest kettle, toaster or other kitchen appliance. The ones we have do very well and I will not be happy if I’m reminded that I am the only one to venture into the kitchen.

I don’t want a bunch of flowers. They are beautiful for the first couple of days, but eventually I’m the one who has to clean up the dying petals and wash the vase of rotting water. Chocolates and wine, while thoughtful, are also things I can easily buy myself and I’m liable to get my favorite brands.

There are some presents that I would like this Mother’s Day.

I would like to have the TV to myself all day as well as being in command of the remote control all day.

I would like to have all three meals cooked for me and the resulting mess in the kitchen cleaned up.

I would like to have my car cleaned – inside and out.

That’s about all really. But if you do want to spend money on me, can I suggest the following:

• the complete series of Sex and the City

• the complete series of Boston Legal

• Alicia Key’s first album that I bought years ago and now can’t find

• a voucher for a car cleaning place

• two vouchers for a car cleaning place…