Saturday 25 October 2008

What the hey!?

in school? Nah.

"In school, you had a flair for fashion... even if it meant spending all your allowance on clothes.
You're the type of person who enjoyed going to school to see what people were wearing.
You were always up to date on the latest fashion trends, and you often set the trends for your school.
You're the type most likely to work in fashion... Or look like you do!"

Quiz here

Zoom, click, capture

Is the internet forever? Because I want to store this somewhere it will last a pretty damn long time. In fact, I want it to outlive me.

At exactly 15:38, on Saturday, 25th October 2008, I, Tara, Blogger, feel incredibly, richly and deeply in love.
It feels like the first time. Without the fear. It feels like the last time. But it feels joyous. This is not a fall, it's a falling. A whirlwind spiral through the free air.
And he's sleeping in the next room.
How lucky am I?

Shh
not another word about it. I just wanted to get it written down.

It's good to be alive today

And I think to myself..

It's in the air today; the dance of seasons, that crazy ballet between winter and summer when they're all mixed up and they're sparring, back and forth between the best of both. That buzz of colour, that hint of berries and dying leaves and grass and coldness. The air is crystal clear, there's a wood pigeon cooing in the neighbours hedge. The house on the other side of the street is ice blue. Baby blue. Set off by dark, chestnut bricks that are aglow in the sun. Those leaves that have stayed are greener. Those that are passing are taking the sunshine back into the ground. Another autumn; golden goes to hibernate, ice blue comes out to play. Set off by that chestnut, that deep green, this crystal light.
How lucky I feel.
So lucky that I live two minutes away from:
- The graveyard at the back of the old church, where the trees look a thousand years old, the old stone walls look warm even if there's a chill wind blowing. Where, as I walk by everyday, the blur of wrought iron gates, huge branches, peaceful ivy and old undressed stone makes me feel as if drawing a breath would shatter the peace.

- The town hall, with its honey coloured walls, it's steeple with the bells. It's old, old archways. The angel at the top, wings unfurled. The old men sitting on each corner, looking down at the street.

- The park. With its old castle. The park. Where there is a rainbow right now, of every possible shade of gold.

- The market on Saturdays. Where today, I bought armfuls of: carrots, potatoes, leeks, oranges, a cauliflower, a deeply blushing aubergine, some mangoes. And a dahlia with two full, sunset pink blossoms. "If it gets sick, I'm bringing it back" I said. "I kiss mine every morning, love, that's what they need: just love." I smiled. Such an old, beautiful face. What green eyes! And he was surrounded by blooms and leaves and the scent of the fruit in the stalls opposite him.

And that's just what I felt: just love.
I smiled all the way home. The window is open, and outside is that collage again: forest green and chestnut and crystal and icy blue.

...what a wonderful world...

Thursday 23 October 2008

Thanks, Jamie!!

- Pick up one Feed your family (read: twosome who eat for a family) For a Fiver leaflet at Sainsburys. Preferably, pick the roast chicken one by Jamie Oliver.

It looks like this:

- Use turkey steaks instead of chicken, orange tomatoes instead of red (they're prettier in our baking dish) and marjoram instead of mixed dried spices.
- Serve with side salad of lettuce tossed with tonnes of lime and black pepper.
- Finish off with fresh strawberries.
- Go to sleep with a happy feeling in your tummy.

Woohoo!!

Tuesday 21 October 2008

On behalf of cat lovers everywhere

Another one (Stars, rising (Barack) and falling (Wall Street) are on my YouTube a lot :P) -
'Fat Cat' : Sleazy lazy greedy evil overpaid mafia type in a sharp suit?

Or this:
Mr. Pasha Puddington, light of my life, fattest of them all, poodiest of them all, wisest of them all, king of fat cats everywhere, they're not fit to be called cats, are they?!

A loving disclaimer.

A comment:
Much as I love Barack Obama (this is not the post to get into why, and there will be no post justifying the use of the word 'love'), I would like to place on record, that if (when) he wins this general election, I will:
- Be ecstatic (reasons to be outlined in future post, stay tuned)
- Be wildly ecstatic (just who I am)
- Reverse my judgement on the judgement of the American people (electing Bush again?! C'mon, people!!!)
- Start to see glimmers of hope for the world (at the very least, he won't go around talking shit)
- Pray that his calm, silversharp intellect continues to work along the lines it has so far.

I will not, however, start thinking of him as 'the leader of the free world'. Under no circumstances does the land of the free have borders. The land under my feet, at this very minute, wherever on earth I am standing, is the land of the free. With all the reflected light and heat of this election, it's easy to think that we're all basking in the glow of the USofA. Well, we're not. He may be good for the world (and depending on who the he turns out to be, he might even wreck it Baby, wreck it!) but he does not run it. Each of us do. And anywhere there is someone who wants it, there is the land of the free.

Sunday 19 October 2008

Aha!!

So, I have been cooking up a storm in the kitchen these past few days. As part of major project to achieve multiple, mutually exclusive and singly unattainable goals, namely:
- Improve relationship (via improvement in general nutrition leading to feelings of personal loveliness leading to significant other noting personal loveliness leading to enhanced cuddle sessions leading to further feelings of loveliness and so on, in an upward spiral culminating somewhere in the stars.)

- Improve academic life (via improvement in general nutrition leading to better ability to sit in a chair and do menial earth-shatteringly large data handling and analysis jobs which require physical stamina!!, grit, determination, clenched teeth and nuclear amounts of energy, leading to stratospheric rise through academia and into above-mentioned stars.)

- Improve culinary skills (via improvement in ability to simultaneously cut, chop, blend, simmer sans singes, leading to acquirement (is that a word?) of basic life skill without which shall starve to death if currently used parachutes (mummy, tesco, bus pass, mobile phone) used to procure food all fail at once.)

- Improve general appearance of kitchen, which seems to work best, aesthetically, when in a state of semi-use (read: washing up done, no cooking at present). It is one of those rooms which, sadly, looks bereft and empty-classroom/train station-ish if you do not use it. So for aesthetic reasons, it must be used.

This project has gone exceedingly well so far.
I have cooked 3 meals, 4 breakfasts and miscellaneous toast-on-cheese sessions (not so good for objective number one, I must admit. )

I will be reporting on progress intermittently.

As proof that this project is in fact starting to show some results, I will report on some success in the area of objective 2: I was up, bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:30 this morning, with the desire to open up laptop and start work!! On a Sunday! At 5:30! I ask you!! (No, it wasn't indigestion. Many many tins of probiotic yoghurt are being generously used to guard against said malaise.)

It appears, however, that I will need something more. Good nutrition might give one the required energy. However, so far, it has been gloriously mis-spent on blogger, facebook and other related peat bogs for the serious academic.
Ahem.