What I've been up to, in no particular order:
1. Reading Dead People's Music by Sarah Laing. That woman is a genius writer. She's so totally nailed teenage girl dialogue.
2. Stripping wallpaper. We're onto room number two of the Great House Renovation Project - Harper's room. Meanwhile, the garden is being overrun with convolvulus.
3. Running. I know - hilarious.
4. Knitting up a storm. I have four, yes, four garments on the go right now. They're all cardigans/jersies for babies yet to be born.
5. Thinking about the good folk in Greymouth.
Showing posts with label update the list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label update the list. Show all posts
November 23, 2010
October 26, 2010
Three good things
Man, Labour Weekend was a bit of a let down. We were promised, nay guaranteed ten days of fine weather. What did we get? Three days of cloud, one and a half of those with blustery winds. Grrr. *shakes fist at weather gods*
So for each one of those crappy days, I am thinking of something good to counteract it.
1. It's sunny now. Doesn't matter that I'm inside and not at home doing in-the-sun stuff.
2. My sun block budget is definitely in the black this year. I've also not had to resolve that tricky buying summer clothes issue. I dislike shopping a lot.
3. I did manage to get a strip of garden dug over with gypsum, compost and horse poo. I've sown mustard on it to get some green manure going, and will plant it next spring. My homemade compost is also coming nicely. Progress!
So for each one of those crappy days, I am thinking of something good to counteract it.
1. It's sunny now. Doesn't matter that I'm inside and not at home doing in-the-sun stuff.
2. My sun block budget is definitely in the black this year. I've also not had to resolve that tricky buying summer clothes issue. I dislike shopping a lot.
3. I did manage to get a strip of garden dug over with gypsum, compost and horse poo. I've sown mustard on it to get some green manure going, and will plant it next spring. My homemade compost is also coming nicely. Progress!
April 14, 2010
All I want for Mother's Day is ...
1. A breadmaker - so I don't have to faff around with yeast rising and buns proving to have fresh tasty bread.
2. A pasta machine - so I don't have a faff around rolling the bloody stuff out by hand, ending up with it too thick and coming out of the saucepan like tyre rubber. (Don't mention Sunday night.)
3. A lie down - now that H has given up his day sleep (but only at weekends), the days are awful long. There's only so much train track building and demolishing a girl can take.
4. Something from Oxfam unwrapped, like the chance for another woman to have a baby safely.
2. A pasta machine - so I don't have a faff around rolling the bloody stuff out by hand, ending up with it too thick and coming out of the saucepan like tyre rubber. (Don't mention Sunday night.)
3. A lie down - now that H has given up his day sleep (but only at weekends), the days are awful long. There's only so much train track building and demolishing a girl can take.
4. Something from Oxfam unwrapped, like the chance for another woman to have a baby safely.
October 09, 2009
Five more things
1. We have just signed the lease on a house with an Awesome Backyard (TM) in which I can plant some veges that might survive the winter, unlike the deep dark gully of our current yard. The front yard is all grass and quite vertical; perfect for rolling little boys down it.
2. I'm wondering when it will be safe to take my coat to the drycleaners - it's spring but feels like midwinter.
3. Kakapo are one of my favourite creatures. Especially after seeing this.
4. I am writing a story about Baby Loss Awareness Week, with the help of this book. I realised I know so many people this book would help.
5. Harper is bi-lingual. This morning he said 'aporo' as I spooned aporo into his breakfast. Sweeney on the other hand, is not. I asked him last night if he wanted more kai, and he said 'no, I want more food.' Then we had a discussion about the circumarket. He's more bi-wordal than Harper.
2. I'm wondering when it will be safe to take my coat to the drycleaners - it's spring but feels like midwinter.
3. Kakapo are one of my favourite creatures. Especially after seeing this.
4. I am writing a story about Baby Loss Awareness Week, with the help of this book. I realised I know so many people this book would help.
5. Harper is bi-lingual. This morning he said 'aporo' as I spooned aporo into his breakfast. Sweeney on the other hand, is not. I asked him last night if he wanted more kai, and he said 'no, I want more food.' Then we had a discussion about the circumarket. He's more bi-wordal than Harper.
October 05, 2009
Five things
1. I watched Koyaanisqatsi on the weekend - it isn't anywhere near as good as Baraka. I don't think a shot of a plane taxiing for three and a half minutes is art. The hairstyles were funny though.
2. Go to The Larder in Miramar. The sausage rolls are Am-ay-zing. I want to go back and try the souffle.
3. We've exhausted the amount of time we had to buy a house, so now it's back to renting. Our landlords are returning from overseas and we have to move out by the end of the month. All I can say is pfft.
4. Harper has added 'mine' to his growing vocabulary. He usually says it quite aggressively, hugging whatever is 'mine' to his chest. He's also really into shoes, and this morning put on a pair of my high heels.
5. It hailed last night and this morning, even though we're in mid-spring. Coincidentally, one of the back windows in my car won't go up.
2. Go to The Larder in Miramar. The sausage rolls are Am-ay-zing. I want to go back and try the souffle.
3. We've exhausted the amount of time we had to buy a house, so now it's back to renting. Our landlords are returning from overseas and we have to move out by the end of the month. All I can say is pfft.
4. Harper has added 'mine' to his growing vocabulary. He usually says it quite aggressively, hugging whatever is 'mine' to his chest. He's also really into shoes, and this morning put on a pair of my high heels.
5. It hailed last night and this morning, even though we're in mid-spring. Coincidentally, one of the back windows in my car won't go up.
August 07, 2009
Friday Five
I have come to realise that I will never:
1. Speak French fluently
2. Win an Oscar for best actress
3. Star on Survivor
4. Sustain an interest in politics
5. Have a tan
1. Speak French fluently
2. Win an Oscar for best actress
3. Star on Survivor
4. Sustain an interest in politics
5. Have a tan
July 28, 2009
Five Blogs I'm Loving Right Now ...
Nice work: I've become a fan of Operation Nice, a website that inspires people to be nicer to one another in simple ways, like taking the time to learn the name of your barista, supermarket clerk etc, and ideas for undertaking random acts of niceness. You can print out ready-designed cards that facilitate niceness.
Lie to Me: Here's Megan's undertaking not to lie for a month. I'm loving how she handles saying what she really thinks.
Not one for the nursery: My First Dictionary isn't your ordinary list of boring words.
Oh Sister, Where Art Thou: If you haven't seen Sweeney's Mama, I recommend it. She can write good about the deep stuff, and the not-deep stuff. And I'm not just saying that because we're related.
Save it, mister: Che and Stephen do the math and work out how to save money on everything from food to hand sanitiser.
July 14, 2009
Five good things
1. Nana is cooking tea for us tonight and tomorrow night. We love having tea cooked for us.
2. Skinless sausages in the pie warmer in the cafe downstairs. My favourite.
3. Finding shells in my handbag from the day we went up to Paraparaumu to look at houses and had a walk on the beach.
4. My standard issue Dompost Anthurium has two new blooms.
5. Finding people for stories who are enthusiastic, good talent and easy to work with.
2. Skinless sausages in the pie warmer in the cafe downstairs. My favourite.
3. Finding shells in my handbag from the day we went up to Paraparaumu to look at houses and had a walk on the beach.
4. My standard issue Dompost Anthurium has two new blooms.
5. Finding people for stories who are enthusiastic, good talent and easy to work with.
February 26, 2009
25 Random Things, because I love talking about myself
1. I had an obsession with New York City for about two years – even seeing the words “New York” printed on things made me giddy.
2. I like to skinny dip.
3. I had my first poem published in a little homemade magazine called Spin in 1992, and my last poem published in a big not-homemade magazine called Sport in 1994. I don’t write poetry anymore.
4. Things I will never forget from school: the three types of rock are igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary; that Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914; and that c’est Mercredi aujourd’hui, et Catherine et Phillipe non pas classe.
5. I was a vegetarian for two years, and ate more dairy products in that time than is really good for a person.
6. I dream a lot about my teeth falling out. Apparently, that means I’m feeling anxious about money. Or my dental health.
7. I adore maps. I get angry when I hear the stereotype that women can’t read maps.
8. I drink about eight cups of tea a day.
9. I stayed in a bombed out train carriage in Sarajevo in 1999, where every night I could hear an opera singer practicing. The people who lived in the train watched bad Australian dramas on TV.
10. When I was a child, it was my job to water the runner beans. I hate runner beans.
11. Three books that make me jealous I didn’t write them: 1984, Waterland, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.
12. I get nervous before doing interviews, and struggle to think of good questions on the fly.
13. I used to do debating at school. I was pretty useless at it, and am not very articulate.
14. It took eight hours for Harper to be born. I only swore once.
15. I love custard, salmon, Béarnaise sauce, deep fried cheese European style, tarragon and beetroot, among other things.
16. I also love the smell of aviation fuel.
17. I cry when I’m stressed.
18. The most famous person I have ever spoken to is Michael Palin. He was at home in London having breakfast. He talked a lot about his grandson and hardly made any jokes.
19. I have spent quite a bit of time and money learning French, but I can’t even really string a sentence together, and talking to actual live French people makes me nervous.
20. I wish science could come up with a sunscreen and insect repellent in pill form. It would change my life immensely.
21. I was accepted into Bill Manhire’s masters’ class the first year it was offered, but I turned my spot down shortly before the class started. I have since applied three more times and been rejected. So I went to journalism school instead.
22. I’m not a big drinker, and before I was pregnant stuck to a three-drink rule. Nowadays, one drink pretty much knocks me out.
23. I share my birthday with Frank Sinatra, which seems appropriate considering my New York phase.
24. I would like to travel to Africa, and drive around the Deep South of the US.
25. Three movies that had me sobbing from the opening credits: Iris, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Colour Purple.
2. I like to skinny dip.
3. I had my first poem published in a little homemade magazine called Spin in 1992, and my last poem published in a big not-homemade magazine called Sport in 1994. I don’t write poetry anymore.
4. Things I will never forget from school: the three types of rock are igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary; that Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914; and that c’est Mercredi aujourd’hui, et Catherine et Phillipe non pas classe.
5. I was a vegetarian for two years, and ate more dairy products in that time than is really good for a person.
6. I dream a lot about my teeth falling out. Apparently, that means I’m feeling anxious about money. Or my dental health.
7. I adore maps. I get angry when I hear the stereotype that women can’t read maps.
8. I drink about eight cups of tea a day.
9. I stayed in a bombed out train carriage in Sarajevo in 1999, where every night I could hear an opera singer practicing. The people who lived in the train watched bad Australian dramas on TV.
10. When I was a child, it was my job to water the runner beans. I hate runner beans.
11. Three books that make me jealous I didn’t write them: 1984, Waterland, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.
12. I get nervous before doing interviews, and struggle to think of good questions on the fly.
13. I used to do debating at school. I was pretty useless at it, and am not very articulate.
14. It took eight hours for Harper to be born. I only swore once.
15. I love custard, salmon, Béarnaise sauce, deep fried cheese European style, tarragon and beetroot, among other things.
16. I also love the smell of aviation fuel.
17. I cry when I’m stressed.
18. The most famous person I have ever spoken to is Michael Palin. He was at home in London having breakfast. He talked a lot about his grandson and hardly made any jokes.
19. I have spent quite a bit of time and money learning French, but I can’t even really string a sentence together, and talking to actual live French people makes me nervous.
20. I wish science could come up with a sunscreen and insect repellent in pill form. It would change my life immensely.
21. I was accepted into Bill Manhire’s masters’ class the first year it was offered, but I turned my spot down shortly before the class started. I have since applied three more times and been rejected. So I went to journalism school instead.
22. I’m not a big drinker, and before I was pregnant stuck to a three-drink rule. Nowadays, one drink pretty much knocks me out.
23. I share my birthday with Frank Sinatra, which seems appropriate considering my New York phase.
24. I would like to travel to Africa, and drive around the Deep South of the US.
25. Three movies that had me sobbing from the opening credits: Iris, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Colour Purple.
November 17, 2008
Top Five Things I Don't Get
Are there any things in the world you just don't get? Like everyone's in on the joke but you're too thick to get it? Inspired by Foot and Mouth, here's a list of things that leave me thinking I'm just too old/stupid/uncool to get them ...
1. Ian McEwan - I've read Atonement, Amsterdam and Enduring Love in an effort to see why this guy is lauded as some kind of modern British writing genius, but I just don't think he's that good.
2. Blue Velvet - I love David Lynch in any other form. Really I do. The Straight Story, Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway all left me breathless. But why people go gaga over this film, I'm not sure. Someone please explain it to me.
3. Skinny jeans - only about 0.045 per cent of people actually look good in these crimes-against-the-average-body-shape, and they are all supermodels. So you with the muffins, get some 501s or something!
4. Camembert and brie - why? Just why? There are approximately 56,892 varieties of cheese out there. And about 56,889 taste better than eating cardboard with polyfilla inside.
5. Beer - I've never enjoyed drinking fluid that makes me feel fat and burpy. And takes ages to get you drunk.
1. Ian McEwan - I've read Atonement, Amsterdam and Enduring Love in an effort to see why this guy is lauded as some kind of modern British writing genius, but I just don't think he's that good.
2. Blue Velvet - I love David Lynch in any other form. Really I do. The Straight Story, Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway all left me breathless. But why people go gaga over this film, I'm not sure. Someone please explain it to me.
3. Skinny jeans - only about 0.045 per cent of people actually look good in these crimes-against-the-average-body-shape, and they are all supermodels. So you with the muffins, get some 501s or something!
4. Camembert and brie - why? Just why? There are approximately 56,892 varieties of cheese out there. And about 56,889 taste better than eating cardboard with polyfilla inside.
5. Beer - I've never enjoyed drinking fluid that makes me feel fat and burpy. And takes ages to get you drunk.
October 14, 2008
Christmas wishes
Every year I think of things I would like for Christmas, but as soon as Christmas rolls around I forget what they are and my family are flumoxed as to what to buy me. So this year, I have devised a plan - keep a list (I LOVE lists) of desired items and post it here so all can see. I expect to be inundated with whisks.
What I would like for Christmas this year:
A whisk with a good handle for making gravies, sauces and whisking things.
One of these books by Keri Smith.
A good book on organic vegetable gardening in New Zealand.
These bike pants.
A bottle of Trilogy body oil with rosehip and other good things in it.
To be continued ...
What I would like for Christmas this year:
A whisk with a good handle for making gravies, sauces and whisking things.
One of these books by Keri Smith.
A good book on organic vegetable gardening in New Zealand.
These bike pants.
A bottle of Trilogy body oil with rosehip and other good things in it.
To be continued ...
May 28, 2008
Happy 250th birthday Special K
This is my 250th post. Who would have thunk I would have come up with 250 things to say to the entire planet?
To celebrate, here are five things that are currently rocking my world:
To celebrate, here are five things that are currently rocking my world:
- National Radio is playing my favourite David Bowie song, Ashes to Ashes.
- Harper is asleep for a decent length of time for the first time in about a week.
- I have two more stories to do for the Dompost, sans deadline.
- It was sunny long enough for me and H to walk to Island Bay this morning.
- The idea that in November, Harper will have another cousin. (Yey Nibeth!)
November 08, 2007
The law is an ass
I've just come back from a whole day of annual leave that was supposed to leave me refreshed and ready to dig into my last weeks of work. But instead, I feel like I do most mornings - horrendous.
Luckily, my pal Tane sent me something kind of funny to fill in the first half hour of work while I wake up.
The UK's top 10 most ridiculous laws:
1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament
2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British king or queen's image upside-down
3. It is illegal for a woman to be topless in Liverpool except as a clerk in a tropical fish store
4. Eating mince pies on Christmas Day is banned
5. If someone knocks on your door in Scotland and requires the use of your toilet, you are required to let them enter
6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet
7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen
8. It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing
9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour
10. It is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls of York, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow
And ...
In Ohio, it is illegal to get a fish drunk
In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation
A male doctor in Bahrain can only examine the genitals of a woman in the reflection of a mirror
In Switzerland, a man may not relieve himself standing up after 10pm
It is illegal to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle in Alabama
In Florida, unmarried women who parachute on a Sunday could be jailed
Women in Vermont must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth
In Milan, it is a legal requirement to smile at all times, except during funerals or hospital visits
In France, it is illegal to name a pig Napoleon
Luckily, my pal Tane sent me something kind of funny to fill in the first half hour of work while I wake up.
The UK's top 10 most ridiculous laws:
1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament
2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British king or queen's image upside-down
3. It is illegal for a woman to be topless in Liverpool except as a clerk in a tropical fish store
4. Eating mince pies on Christmas Day is banned
5. If someone knocks on your door in Scotland and requires the use of your toilet, you are required to let them enter
6. A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet
7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen
8. It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing
9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament wearing a suit of armour
10. It is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls of York, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow
And ...
In Ohio, it is illegal to get a fish drunk
In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation
A male doctor in Bahrain can only examine the genitals of a woman in the reflection of a mirror
In Switzerland, a man may not relieve himself standing up after 10pm
It is illegal to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle in Alabama
In Florida, unmarried women who parachute on a Sunday could be jailed
Women in Vermont must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth
In Milan, it is a legal requirement to smile at all times, except during funerals or hospital visits
In France, it is illegal to name a pig Napoleon
November 02, 2007
It doesn't matter that I have a deadline approaching ...
It's Friday and I feel the need to goof off a little. And it's good weather, which makes it feel more like a holiday, hence even more need to goof off. I've just been to interview the very excellent Mitch Marks, who is launching a magazine called Choice next month, and she's reminded me of how much I used to love Kaz and Daniel Clowes and put a book in front of me which I wish I could remember the name of that I feel I must go and find at the library or something so I can remember how once I was cool too.
I am in the frumpy stage of pregnancy and feeling decidedly uncool. Unless I wear a way too tight merino top in which I can pretend I'm not whale-sized if viewed from the front, I have to wear smock type things which on skinny 17-year-olds are 'fashion' but on badly stuffed sausages like myself just look, well, frump-o-rama. It doesn't help that the postie weighs a good 10kg less than me at least, and we still have three months to go ... I should look like a swiss ball by the end of January.
Anyway, my goof-off mission this afternoon is something I've been contemplating for a little while. I've had my iPod playing songs in alphabetical order - don't know why - and have been marvelling at how many amazing songs start with the letter H. Hash Pipe, Holes, Heroes, Handshake Drugs, High and Dry, etc. Crazy. Martha has put out an SOS for music to play at her shop, so I thought I would put together a mix CD of songs, tracks, what you will, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet. She says she wants easy listening, and seeing as I am rather mainstream in my tastes, I reckon, this should be a sinch for me.
So I am proposing:
Ashes to Ashes - David Bowie
Blue Monday - New Order
Change my mind - Cassette
Disco 2000 - Pulp
Ever Fallen in Love - The Buzzcocks
Feeling Oblivion - Turin Brakes
Gigantic - Pixies
Heart of Glass - Blondie
I won't let you break my heart again - Dimmer
J - a work in progress
Kimberly - Patti Smith
Lucky - Radiohead
Mother and Child reunion - Paul Simon
Nature - The Muttonbirds
Ocean Spray - Manic Street Preachers
p - ummm?
q - errr?
Rattled by the Rush - Pavement
She Speeds - Straitjacket Fits
True Faith - New Order
Unforgettable Fire - U2
v - eeek!
Where is my mind - Pixies
Y - ouch!
z - oh please ...
Any suggestions for the gaps?
I am in the frumpy stage of pregnancy and feeling decidedly uncool. Unless I wear a way too tight merino top in which I can pretend I'm not whale-sized if viewed from the front, I have to wear smock type things which on skinny 17-year-olds are 'fashion' but on badly stuffed sausages like myself just look, well, frump-o-rama. It doesn't help that the postie weighs a good 10kg less than me at least, and we still have three months to go ... I should look like a swiss ball by the end of January.
Anyway, my goof-off mission this afternoon is something I've been contemplating for a little while. I've had my iPod playing songs in alphabetical order - don't know why - and have been marvelling at how many amazing songs start with the letter H. Hash Pipe, Holes, Heroes, Handshake Drugs, High and Dry, etc. Crazy. Martha has put out an SOS for music to play at her shop, so I thought I would put together a mix CD of songs, tracks, what you will, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet. She says she wants easy listening, and seeing as I am rather mainstream in my tastes, I reckon, this should be a sinch for me.
So I am proposing:
Ashes to Ashes - David Bowie
Blue Monday - New Order
Change my mind - Cassette
Disco 2000 - Pulp
Ever Fallen in Love - The Buzzcocks
Feeling Oblivion - Turin Brakes
Gigantic - Pixies
Heart of Glass - Blondie
I won't let you break my heart again - Dimmer
J - a work in progress
Kimberly - Patti Smith
Lucky - Radiohead
Mother and Child reunion - Paul Simon
Nature - The Muttonbirds
Ocean Spray - Manic Street Preachers
p - ummm?
q - errr?
Rattled by the Rush - Pavement
She Speeds - Straitjacket Fits
True Faith - New Order
Unforgettable Fire - U2
v - eeek!
Where is my mind - Pixies
Y - ouch!
z - oh please ...
Any suggestions for the gaps?
July 19, 2007
A random list of things that I have learned since becoming pregnant
1. If you have morning sickness, the bus will be late and crowded and smell bad. The man you sit next to will have coated himself in cheap cologne and someone will be eating a pie.
2. You don't get a bump so much as a lump that looks like you need to do more sit-ups. People will check out your stomach a lot.
3. All love songs are really about babies. Obviously.
4. It is possible for a grown up, 34-year-old, well-educated woman to have the concentration span of a ... what was I saying?
5. It is possible for a neat freak to develop a teenage inability to tidy up after themselves, but still be enraged by the messiness of others.
6. Someone somewhere will hate the name you have stayed up all night thinking about giving your child and think is really, really cool.
7. Someone you know will tell you the worst labour story ever. Don't listen to them.
8. Everybody everyone knows is pregnant. It's not that special.
9. The morning after pill is not something to be relied on.
10. Crying in the doctor's reception area or losing your temper with a nurse will not get you anywhere, even if it feels good.
2. You don't get a bump so much as a lump that looks like you need to do more sit-ups. People will check out your stomach a lot.
3. All love songs are really about babies. Obviously.
4. It is possible for a grown up, 34-year-old, well-educated woman to have the concentration span of a ... what was I saying?
5. It is possible for a neat freak to develop a teenage inability to tidy up after themselves, but still be enraged by the messiness of others.
6. Someone somewhere will hate the name you have stayed up all night thinking about giving your child and think is really, really cool.
7. Someone you know will tell you the worst labour story ever. Don't listen to them.
8. Everybody everyone knows is pregnant. It's not that special.
9. The morning after pill is not something to be relied on.
10. Crying in the doctor's reception area or losing your temper with a nurse will not get you anywhere, even if it feels good.
May 25, 2007
What makes you happy?
My colleague Nikki is doing a two part story about what makes people happy. Tomorrow's paper will feature the first part - What Makes Men Happy? We've been talking about what we would say if anyone cared enough about us to ask, and here's a selection of responses:
Finishing a project - be it a story, a jersey, a necklace, a pair of earrings, a cake, tidying my room, writing a letter, posting something on my blog, finishing a really good book.
Being Sweeney's aunty - it's amazing to see the little fella change, and to be part of his future. I wonder a lot about what the world will be like when he's older, what he will be like as a man. I also love it when he laughs so hard his tummy and shoulders go up and down. He's got a funny nerd laugh that cracks me up.
My friends - last night after French I went to dinner with some pals, and Deb and Gus said 'yey!' when I walked in and made room for me at the table. That's a pretty nice feeling. I gave my friend Becc a necklace I thought she'd like, and when she put it on, I was really proud that I had made something beautiful for someone I care about, and been able to share my craft with her.
Seeing things grow - I love growing things from seed, putting the dirt over them, putting them in the sun, seeing little curls of leaf come out of the earth. I have my first vege patch since I was a kid growing up in Arthur Street, and I can't wait for the first carrots and beetroot and parnsips. I'm also becoming a bit obsessive about composting theories.
Charlie - my furry boyfriend. I just adore him. I'm so lucky to have him. Even if he is being difficult about chicken and venison chef at the moment, and cost me $400 in vet bills last year from fighting with other cats.
A good cup of tea, the colour red, squirrels, pink underpants, being called beautiful by the postie, waking up beside the postie, a hot bowl of porridge with cream and brown sugar, gratin dauphinoise, parcels, Monty Python skits that I know off by heart but which still make me laugh, an untapped op-shop, the Tour de France, storage containers.
So, dear readers - the question is - what makes you happy?
May 16, 2007
Five minutes with ...
We have a regular column in the Life section called "Five minutes with ..." It usually features someone with a bit of a profile doing something cool, and I thought it would be cool to put out into blog world for people to answer. I'm thinking about re-jigging the questions to get racy answers out of people.
Your time starts ... now:
How the heck are you?
Where are you most likely to be on a Friday night?
What is your must have guilty pleasure?
What’s on the CD player
What’s on your bedside table?
What was your first job?
Four words that describe you
How did you spend your last birthday?
I wouldn’t mind being stuck in a lift with?
My last meal was
My mum always told me
Where will you be in ten year’s time?
I’ve always wanted to
Here're my answers:
How the heck are you?
Good, I had my hair cut a few days ago and am still getting used to it being big and flouncy and uncontrollable now that it's not weighted down by itself
Where are you most likely to be on a Friday night?
On the couch at home with a DVD, dreaming of fish and chips
What is your must have guilty pleasure?
Watties spaghetti and sausages. And nail products, like cuticle remover, that sit in my drawer unused for months.
What’s on the CD player
Tegan and Sara So Jealous. Genius lesbian rock goddess twins talk about their sex lives.
What’s on your bedside table?
A box of tissues, rescue remedy sleep formula, a Crown Lynn green bamboo jug, The Prophet, a batch of little Picadors that I got from the books page editor's giveaway box, a coaster that says Bitch!
What was your first job?
Picking fruit at Mrs Loft's farm. Mrs Loft was the head of our girl guide company. She grew blueberries and gooseberries. I parted my hair in the middle to make ponytails and got very sunburnt on my scalp. When it peeled, it looked like giant dandruff.
Four words that describe you
Obsessed with wearing pink
How did you spend your last birthday?
With my pals at Ange's house on the deck, having a bbq. Then we went inside and Martin forced me to play bad guitar.
I wouldn’t mind being stuck in a lift with ...
Dylan Moran. Although he wasn't as funny as I expected at last night's show, (ie, my internal organs didn't burst out of my body as I was wracked with laughter) and I bet he has terrible breath. I choose Shayne Carter instead.
My last meal was ...
Hubbards Feijoa cereal with milk and flax seed oil. Oh, and tarte aux pommes that our boss brought in for morning tea, but that's not really a meal.
My mum always told me ...
That if I pulled a face the wind would change and my face would be stuck like that FOREVER
Where will you be in ten year’s time?
I would like to be editting a magazine, the wall of my office covered in awards, or pics of me on the covers of various magazines like Murphy Brown. Hopefully by then I will have mastered the French language, and my jewellery label Sparrow & Tui will be a household name in NZ.
I’ve always wanted to
Have a tan
Your time starts ... now:
How the heck are you?
Where are you most likely to be on a Friday night?
What is your must have guilty pleasure?
What’s on the CD player
What’s on your bedside table?
What was your first job?
Four words that describe you
How did you spend your last birthday?
I wouldn’t mind being stuck in a lift with?
My last meal was
My mum always told me
Where will you be in ten year’s time?
I’ve always wanted to
Here're my answers:
How the heck are you?
Good, I had my hair cut a few days ago and am still getting used to it being big and flouncy and uncontrollable now that it's not weighted down by itself
Where are you most likely to be on a Friday night?
On the couch at home with a DVD, dreaming of fish and chips
What is your must have guilty pleasure?
Watties spaghetti and sausages. And nail products, like cuticle remover, that sit in my drawer unused for months.
What’s on the CD player
Tegan and Sara So Jealous. Genius lesbian rock goddess twins talk about their sex lives.
What’s on your bedside table?
A box of tissues, rescue remedy sleep formula, a Crown Lynn green bamboo jug, The Prophet, a batch of little Picadors that I got from the books page editor's giveaway box, a coaster that says Bitch!
What was your first job?
Picking fruit at Mrs Loft's farm. Mrs Loft was the head of our girl guide company. She grew blueberries and gooseberries. I parted my hair in the middle to make ponytails and got very sunburnt on my scalp. When it peeled, it looked like giant dandruff.
Four words that describe you
Obsessed with wearing pink
How did you spend your last birthday?
With my pals at Ange's house on the deck, having a bbq. Then we went inside and Martin forced me to play bad guitar.
I wouldn’t mind being stuck in a lift with ...
Dylan Moran. Although he wasn't as funny as I expected at last night's show, (ie, my internal organs didn't burst out of my body as I was wracked with laughter) and I bet he has terrible breath. I choose Shayne Carter instead.
My last meal was ...
Hubbards Feijoa cereal with milk and flax seed oil. Oh, and tarte aux pommes that our boss brought in for morning tea, but that's not really a meal.
My mum always told me ...
That if I pulled a face the wind would change and my face would be stuck like that FOREVER
Where will you be in ten year’s time?
I would like to be editting a magazine, the wall of my office covered in awards, or pics of me on the covers of various magazines like Murphy Brown. Hopefully by then I will have mastered the French language, and my jewellery label Sparrow & Tui will be a household name in NZ.
I’ve always wanted to
Have a tan
May 15, 2007
Seven things I want to tell you
I'm currently working on a little project for the man in my life called "37 things I want to tell you" loosely based on Jo Hubris' zine "101 things I want to tell you". It's his 37th birthday soon and I'm putting it together in rather a hurry. It's a little book with old pictures and words cut out of magazines and bits and pieces of old wrappers and textures, like a scrapbook.
Here are seven of them, without the art work of course.
1. My first best friend was a girl called Stephanie Smith. She lived around the corner in Billah Street, directly behind my house. We broke into her brother's hut which was like Fort Knox, but he almost tore it apart to stop us from seeing anything that was in there. I was scared of her father because he told me off once for spilling some water. She moved to Nelson when I was about seven or eight, and we lost touch in our teens.
2. I used to really love roller skating. I still do.
3. My favourite book is 1984, which I read in 2004 when Martin was in Auckland hospital being assessed for a liver transplant. It was a dark time. I almost wish I hadn't read that book because then I would still have it to discover.
4. Today I found out that my old friend from film days who I worked with in 1995-1998 is the cousin of a girl I worked with at the Waikato Times in 2005-2006. Esther, from the WT, used to talk about her cousin in Wellington, but I never put it together that it was my old pal Amanda. Noo Zilund is very small.
5. I like tea very much, but usually only drink a few mouthfuls of a cup. Actually, J already knows this.
6. I knew I wanted to be a writer when my standard one teacher Mr Alach showed us the book of stories and poems he had collected from his teaching career. I really wanted to be in that book. He told us to see things in a way noone had ever seen them before. I got in touch with him last year through Old Friends, he's principal of a primary school in the Horowhenua. He reads my stories in the paper now.
7. Another inspirational teacher was Talo Tolovae, who was not only my English teacher in seventh form, but his family lived (and still live) in the house I grew up in in Arthur Street, Tokoroa. He died of liver cancer in the early 90s, when I was doing Bill Manhire's course. The best poem, the one I am proudest of, is about his life and death. At his funeral, I cried so much I had to go and sit outside.
Here are seven of them, without the art work of course.
1. My first best friend was a girl called Stephanie Smith. She lived around the corner in Billah Street, directly behind my house. We broke into her brother's hut which was like Fort Knox, but he almost tore it apart to stop us from seeing anything that was in there. I was scared of her father because he told me off once for spilling some water. She moved to Nelson when I was about seven or eight, and we lost touch in our teens.
2. I used to really love roller skating. I still do.
3. My favourite book is 1984, which I read in 2004 when Martin was in Auckland hospital being assessed for a liver transplant. It was a dark time. I almost wish I hadn't read that book because then I would still have it to discover.
4. Today I found out that my old friend from film days who I worked with in 1995-1998 is the cousin of a girl I worked with at the Waikato Times in 2005-2006. Esther, from the WT, used to talk about her cousin in Wellington, but I never put it together that it was my old pal Amanda. Noo Zilund is very small.
5. I like tea very much, but usually only drink a few mouthfuls of a cup. Actually, J already knows this.
6. I knew I wanted to be a writer when my standard one teacher Mr Alach showed us the book of stories and poems he had collected from his teaching career. I really wanted to be in that book. He told us to see things in a way noone had ever seen them before. I got in touch with him last year through Old Friends, he's principal of a primary school in the Horowhenua. He reads my stories in the paper now.
7. Another inspirational teacher was Talo Tolovae, who was not only my English teacher in seventh form, but his family lived (and still live) in the house I grew up in in Arthur Street, Tokoroa. He died of liver cancer in the early 90s, when I was doing Bill Manhire's course. The best poem, the one I am proudest of, is about his life and death. At his funeral, I cried so much I had to go and sit outside.
February 01, 2007
Her diary will change my life
Chris and I are making diaries for each other for next year, loosely based on the concept of This Diary Will Change Your Life. I love these books - the design, originality, the silliness - but thought I would make my own. Every day has a theme, like Eat Only Cheese Day, or Irritate Charlie Day. So Chris is making one for me, and when I got home last night she was on the red couch making a list (I love lists) that she said I would really love, and when I get up to that day in the diary, I will KNOW that it was THAT list. So far, my diary for her involves a baby we all know and love, blackheads, Girl Guide badges, and an AA meeting. Can't say anymore, it's very hush hush.
And another thing, after a lovely yoga session last night with Nat and Monique, I feel taller. I saw my body in the bathroom mirror this morning and I look HOT. Hot, I tell you! Where has my puku gone? Who knew that eating better (or at all), walking everywhere and doing yoga could possibly be beneficial to the way you look?
And another thing, after a lovely yoga session last night with Nat and Monique, I feel taller. I saw my body in the bathroom mirror this morning and I look HOT. Hot, I tell you! Where has my puku gone? Who knew that eating better (or at all), walking everywhere and doing yoga could possibly be beneficial to the way you look?
January 04, 2007
Top Five Flatmates
Last weekend, my new flatmates Chris and Joe and I found our new pad - a simply glorious villa in Vogeltown (v-side) with a garden, rose bushes, places for us to grow vegetables, DVS system, dishwasher, clean clean clean bathroom, woodburner, huge benchspace in the kitchen and lovely everything else. I'm really looking forward to many evenings spent baking little treats for C and J, knitting copiously, getting Charlie nice and fat again for winter, cooking huge meals, and watching our veges grow. We had our first group outing on New Year's Eve along with Kate, special guest star.
Then today, on my way to meet Tane Aikman, one of my top five ex-flatmates, I see Tom Acland (weird, they have the same initials) who is also one of my top five ex-flatmates walking down Lambton Quay. I've had a lot of flatmates. Who are these mysterious other three top five ex-flatmates? Can I stop myself at just five?? And what makes a good flatmate anyway??
To solve this mystery, I am going to be scientific about it.
1. All my ex-flatmates from which to choose a top five:
Monique Portegys - Packe Street Chch 1992; Cutts Road Chch 1993; various dossing arrangements over the years
Tom Acland, Willie Trolove - Cutts Road Chch 1993
*Andrew Findlay - Cutts Road Chch 1993; The Terrace, Upland Road, Island Bay Wellington 1994-6
James Hollings - Owen Street, Wgtn 1996; Durham Cres, Wgtn 1996-8
James Cousins - Durham Cres 1996
Neils Dugan, Kirsten Browne (who got married and had chilluns) - Durham Cres 1996-7
*Aaron Cowan - Rodrigo Road 1997-8
Petrina Krause, Phili Munro, Wendy (flip, I can't remember her last name) - Mein Street 1999-2000
Siobhan the alcoholic who liked playing JLo at all hours of the morning, Karen, the bald guy from Bristol who had bad taste in movies, the redhead who moved out the next week, Patrick, Ilke the psycho German - Chamberlayne Road, NW London 2001
David Lombard, Matt Taylor, Natalie Marshall, Vicks Hill, Eugene - Earlsfield SW London 2001-2
Angela Rothwell, Martin O'Neill - Moir Street, Wgtn 2002-4
Denise Babington, Tane Aikman - Cecil Street, Hamilton 2005
That's 27 in total .. *indicates they were more than just a flatmate...
2. What makes a good flatmate?
You don't groan when they walk in the door at night
They cook yummy things
They don't complain about your slothfulness too much
They don't get drunk everynight and play JLo at ear-piercing levels till three am
They don't leave crumbs in the butter
They buy you McDonalds and chocolate when you break up with your boyfriend and put little pictures of things that will make you happy on the fridge
They don't care that all you want to do is watch MTV or Tiny Toons or Letterman or Lost or Home and Away
You like them as people outside of the flat, you socialise with them, even meet up with them in other countries
They obey all your petty rules and let you off when you break them yourself
They don't care that all you want to do is knit/make earrings/sew/read/sleep/have baths/wear pyjamas
They don't talk through the news
If they're cool, they give you their old World t-shirts and bottles of nail polish
They remember your birthday
If they are girls, they fold your washing
If they are boys, they steer clear of your washing
They don't have any weird facial growths, tics, right-wing political views, neo Nazi sympathies, guinea pigs, stories from the time they were in band camp, or homocidal tendencies
You have fun together.
3. Applying the "what makes a good flatmate" criteria to the list, I have decided that there are just too many top five flatmates out there
I loved the way that Phili folded my socks, said "do you want to talk about it?" like talking was the last thing in the world she wanted to do, and called everyone Sharon. She also introduced me to the "What's Fresh?" "Not my knickers!" schtick.
I loved the way Davie cut out a picture of a penguin and put it at eye-level on the fridge. You can't be sad looking at penguins.
I loved the way Willie ran through the house after Meg calling "here Kitty, fun! Fun!"
I loved the way Matt could watch football for hours at a time, about the same length of time he takes baths. I loved, and still do love, how Natalie can be counted on to watch crap telly with me.
I loved the way Kirsten slouched about Durham Cres, and the way she tells stories. She introduced me to Calvin Klein underwear and indulged my New York obsession. Durham Cres will always be the house of the white trash party, where I ate my first mussel, and where Neils and I sat on the couch one night and he played me all his favourite songs, including a blow by blow account of seeing Straitjacket Fits play "She Speeds" live. He was also quite good at telling horror hospital stories.
I loved the way Tane could be counted on for another Lost DVD.
I loved the way Martin could be counted on for another round of tea.
I love the way Tom is always the same when I see him, as if he's just been living around the corner.
Then today, on my way to meet Tane Aikman, one of my top five ex-flatmates, I see Tom Acland (weird, they have the same initials) who is also one of my top five ex-flatmates walking down Lambton Quay. I've had a lot of flatmates. Who are these mysterious other three top five ex-flatmates? Can I stop myself at just five?? And what makes a good flatmate anyway??
To solve this mystery, I am going to be scientific about it.
1. All my ex-flatmates from which to choose a top five:
Monique Portegys - Packe Street Chch 1992; Cutts Road Chch 1993; various dossing arrangements over the years
Tom Acland, Willie Trolove - Cutts Road Chch 1993
*Andrew Findlay - Cutts Road Chch 1993; The Terrace, Upland Road, Island Bay Wellington 1994-6
James Hollings - Owen Street, Wgtn 1996; Durham Cres, Wgtn 1996-8
James Cousins - Durham Cres 1996
Neils Dugan, Kirsten Browne (who got married and had chilluns) - Durham Cres 1996-7
*Aaron Cowan - Rodrigo Road 1997-8
Petrina Krause, Phili Munro, Wendy (flip, I can't remember her last name) - Mein Street 1999-2000
Siobhan the alcoholic who liked playing JLo at all hours of the morning, Karen, the bald guy from Bristol who had bad taste in movies, the redhead who moved out the next week, Patrick, Ilke the psycho German - Chamberlayne Road, NW London 2001
David Lombard, Matt Taylor, Natalie Marshall, Vicks Hill, Eugene - Earlsfield SW London 2001-2
Angela Rothwell, Martin O'Neill - Moir Street, Wgtn 2002-4
Denise Babington, Tane Aikman - Cecil Street, Hamilton 2005
That's 27 in total .. *indicates they were more than just a flatmate...
2. What makes a good flatmate?
You don't groan when they walk in the door at night
They cook yummy things
They don't complain about your slothfulness too much
They don't get drunk everynight and play JLo at ear-piercing levels till three am
They don't leave crumbs in the butter
They buy you McDonalds and chocolate when you break up with your boyfriend and put little pictures of things that will make you happy on the fridge
They don't care that all you want to do is watch MTV or Tiny Toons or Letterman or Lost or Home and Away
You like them as people outside of the flat, you socialise with them, even meet up with them in other countries
They obey all your petty rules and let you off when you break them yourself
They don't care that all you want to do is knit/make earrings/sew/read/sleep/have baths/wear pyjamas
They don't talk through the news
If they're cool, they give you their old World t-shirts and bottles of nail polish
They remember your birthday
If they are girls, they fold your washing
If they are boys, they steer clear of your washing
They don't have any weird facial growths, tics, right-wing political views, neo Nazi sympathies, guinea pigs, stories from the time they were in band camp, or homocidal tendencies
You have fun together.
3. Applying the "what makes a good flatmate" criteria to the list, I have decided that there are just too many top five flatmates out there
I loved the way that Phili folded my socks, said "do you want to talk about it?" like talking was the last thing in the world she wanted to do, and called everyone Sharon. She also introduced me to the "What's Fresh?" "Not my knickers!" schtick.
I loved the way Davie cut out a picture of a penguin and put it at eye-level on the fridge. You can't be sad looking at penguins.
I loved the way Willie ran through the house after Meg calling "here Kitty, fun! Fun!"
I loved the way Matt could watch football for hours at a time, about the same length of time he takes baths. I loved, and still do love, how Natalie can be counted on to watch crap telly with me.
I loved the way Kirsten slouched about Durham Cres, and the way she tells stories. She introduced me to Calvin Klein underwear and indulged my New York obsession. Durham Cres will always be the house of the white trash party, where I ate my first mussel, and where Neils and I sat on the couch one night and he played me all his favourite songs, including a blow by blow account of seeing Straitjacket Fits play "She Speeds" live. He was also quite good at telling horror hospital stories.
I loved the way Tane could be counted on for another Lost DVD.
I loved the way Martin could be counted on for another round of tea.
I love the way Tom is always the same when I see him, as if he's just been living around the corner.
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