insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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Photos from Aberdeen
I only just discovered this lovely rooftop garden in central Aberdeen about a week ago. A friend tells me it’s fairly new – a year old? It’s just above the St Nicholas centre next to Marks & Spencer on Union St. There’s a children’s playground, seating areas, and a stage. They’ve done a wonderful job with…
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Vegetables that taste like bubblegum?
A Canadian company has produced an interesting fork – Aromafork. Watch the video to see how it works. Is this what we need to get children to eat their vegetables? I feel like I would probably want to vomit if vegetables tasted like bubblegum but who am I to argue with a 7-year-old who won’t…
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Ice-cream or kale, anyone?
On three separate occasions in the past month, pedestrians have called out to me asking for an ice-cream as I cycle by. Does Harald look like an ice-cream bike? Harald: Pashley Classic No. 33: Oh dear! So much for looking cool and trendy. Pak Choi. What a wonderful vegetable. I’ve been craving leafy greens recently and so…
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Super review for airbag helmets
The Hövding invisible bicycle helmet has received a favourable review from a Stanford University team. We found that the airbag has the potential to reduce the acceleration of impact by a factor of five [over traditional helmets]. I’ve been using the Hövding for over a year now and am very happy with it. I’ve never had to test…
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Sherlock Holmes
I was stopped in the middle of the street today by a lovely lady who wanted to introduce herself and tell me she read my blog. See, I really am famous. Tomorrow there’ll be paparazzi camping outside my front door hoping to get a photo of me tripping and flashing my knickers as I fall down the front…
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Bakfiets vs Butchers and Bicycles cargo bikes
I rode the kids to school in Busby today for the first time since March this year. Since then I’ve been cycling Harald each day. Here’s a photo of Busby followed by a photo of Harald so everyone knows what I’m talking about when I say Busby and Harald. Busby: Harald: Busby got sick in…
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When is too old to start tap dancing?
I’ve been having such a nice week. I’ve been gardening, op-shopping, cleaning the house, cycling, doing karaoke, playing the piano, and watching tv. And yes, I had the windows and doors closed when singing karaoke and yes, it would have been very embarrassing had anyone heard. On the gardening front, I’ve caught so many slugs and…
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A vintage tartan skirt
I’m taking some much-needed time off this week and today I went op-shopping (to non-Antipodeans op-shopping = charity chopping). I haven’t been op-shopping for ages and ages and I got some fantastic bargains including this gorgeous tartan skirt. I could tell from the tag and the zip that it was very old but I wasn’t…
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The perfect bridesmaid dress
My sister has wonderful taste. I’ve been having a spring-clean and I found my bridesmaid dress from her wedding about 19 years ago. It’s a simple halter-neck dress made from a purple tie-dye chiffon over a satin lining. She had them specially made. I don’t know why I haven’t worn it since. It’s beautiful and a classic…
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A hedgehog house
We got a hedgehog house for our garden. I hope a hedgehog finds it suitable and moves in. I think it looks very inviting. That old pot next to it has been dragged with us all over the world, from city to city and country to country. I think we got it in Christchurch. My war…
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Sticky poo on my new shoes
A very kind person solved my tap problem by posting the missing part through my letterbox this morning. Thank you so much! It was particularly fortunate because I later stepped in dog poo and the hose made the cleaning up much easier than it would have otherwise been. It turns out the plumber did not install a…
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This is what plumbers do to you
This is how I feel right now. And no, it’s not because I haven’t had a day off since the 4th of September although that probably doesn’t help. It’s plumbers. They’re the bane of my existence. Every single time they come out to do a job they stuff something up. Every. Single. Time. First there was…
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Doctor Who, Sherlock, and drowning in beer
We introduced the kids to the 2005 Series of Doctor Who last weekend and it was an instant hit. They haven’t seen any Doctor Who before and now they’re fans for life. I wouldn’t be surprised if Daniel gets himself a Tardis one day. The special effects haven’t changed much in 40 years and some of…
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Vegetarian boots in purple
I blogged recently about my birthday present to myself – vegan Dr. Martens – and I got a lot of compliments for them. They did look very nice but sadly I decided to return them because they were too uncomfortable. The vegan Dr. Martens are made narrower for some reason. Evidently vegans have skinny feet. Who…
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My garden
I lay on the trampoline today looking up and this is what I saw. Very soon now the trampoline is going to turn into a gigantic bucket of leaves – they’ve already started falling – but I’d still rather have the trees. Here’s my garden produce on the dinner table tonight: Everything on that wooden chopping…
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Can I outwit a slug?
I’ve been planting lots of seeds over the past month or so and they germinate and start to grow. But then something comes along, probably a slug, and demolishes it in one go. They don’t eat the weeds. Oh no. They leave the weeds and eat the thing I want. I’m not going to be…
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The best birthday ever
A conversation at school this morning. Elizabeth (to her friend): It’s my mum’s birthday today and she’s 41. Elizabeth’s friend: Wow, my mum’s heaps younger than your mum but your mum looks heaps younger than my mum. The best birthday present ever 🙂 I had a nice day today. I did one of my favourite things which…
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Ready Player One
I’m going to review this terrific book I just finished but I must digress a bit first to explain how I came to acquire it. It arrived mysteriously in the post in a parcel addressed to me about a month ago. I thought it was an early birthday present but didn’t know who from so Ben…
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Vegan Dr. Martens
It’s my birthday on Friday and so I decided to buy myself a surprise birthday present: a pair of vegan Dr. Martens. I’ve never owned a pair of Dr. Martens before but used to lust after them as a 19-year-old. Now that I’m no longer a broke university student and can afford to buy a pair…
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The school garden
I spent most of my day off yesterday working in the school garden. Somehow it doesn’t look much better despite my best efforts. It’s just an ugly garden. Most of my time was spent removing a rogue bamboo which spreads faster than any other plant I’ve seen. I do like bamboo and I wouldn’t mind it…
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