insignificant ramblings of a 50-something woman
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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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Jumping and shaking
We cycled to Newton Dee again yesterday and I got this jumping shot for my friend, Stew. Stew is going to give me a cameo in one of his films one day 🙂 This week is my company’s annual grand meetup but I’m not going because it’s in Whistler. I know what you’re thinking: Whistler!!…
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Castle Fraser
My aunt and uncle have left now – I thoroughly enjoyed having them here. We went to Castle Fraser on Thursday and I’m only just getting around to posting the pics. I haven’t been there for over a year and it was wonderful. The walled garden is one of the best I’ve seen with a very…
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But what do they do?
We watched Mr Bean’s The Ultimate Disaster Movie with the kids recently. They’ve seen it several times and love it. I find it painful to watch but entertaining nonetheless. There’s a scene in a men’s bathroom with urinals and Elizabeth, who has never seen urinals before, said, Are they those things you use to wash…
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The beach in Aberdeen
We went to the beach today and I took some photos. Can you see all the ships on the horizon? The next photo is a building at Castlegate in Aberdeen. It’s quite striking and is, I think, what is called an example of Scottish baronial architecture. It looks very Aberdonian to me and contains nothing exciting at all…
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Crathes Castle
My aunt and uncle are visiting this weekend and we so enjoyed our trip to Crathes Castle last weekend that we decided to do it again. Much to my amazement we were told we could take photos inside provided we didn’t use the flash. The National Trust never let you take photos and so I’ve never…
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A mathematician’s clock
Our new clock arrived to replace the one I broke. I really like it. I love that every number is a three. Three is a prime number too and primes are the best.
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Growing your own potatoes
In March this year a few of us spent a bit of time in the school garden, weeding and planting new plants. My friend put a few potatoes in a sack of dirt and left it. No-one at the school was remotely interested and I don’t think they even showed or discussed it with the…
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