This is my weekly look at what is good, true, beautiful and lovely … but first, WTF??? We decided to turn off The Project last night when they started the segment analysing what it would mean for Australia if Trump implemented all his policies. We figured it was better to wait and see what he implements rather than stressing prematurely. I don’t understand how he could be considered the better economic manager. His policies are clearly inflationary—and that’s what the people are moaning about the most. Unfortunately, the wreckage will not be confined to the US, and the rest of us literally have no say in the matter … GRRR! Oh, and of course, Wall Street probably rallied because they see Trump as a license to rape and pillage, while misogynists everywhere probably see his election as a green light for further arseholery. I’m sorry to all my US friends that you will have to deal with him for at least another four years. Here are some things to distract you.
Look at this … my purple flags are flowering. They only last for a month or so. I love them so much. I hope I can divide some of them and spread them further around the garden
… and look here: a pretty butterfly
Overall, we’ve had a good week here. Tuesday was Melbourne Cup Day, a public holiday. A lot of people take Monday if they can to have a four-day weekend, but G was working, and I had mainly music. Saturday night, we had my son’s 21st birthday party. He had a small group of friends from church, plus some family. He works in production for a number of companies but the boss of the small one he has a permanent part-time position with said he could use the warehouse and some equipment, as long as he took some photos for their insta. I think E enjoyed devising his plan and setting up almost as much as he enjoyed the actual party. He built a big U truss to build the party area on and then rigged a second truss above to shine lights onto the material ceiling. He added four screens for a scrolling photo slide show and Mariokart games. I don’t have many photos, but this gives you an idea. The 21 on the back wall was synchronised with the music. The food was pizza and HSP, followed by cake and fruit as well as the requisite chips and lollies.
On Sunday, we went back and helped him clean up. Luckily, his boss wanted him to keep the U truss assembled and hung for his company Christmas party, but everything else needed disassembling. I learnt how to unplug lights and sound equipment (each type of cord has its own trick to release it) and had plenty of practice winding cables. E’s good friend helped him with both the setup and the pack up; the friend occasionally does some work for the company and does tech at church, so he knows what he’s doing. E’s girlfriend patiently ran all over the place, helping him buy all the bits and pieces of clothing he needed for Saturday night that he’d left at home. Saturday night, after my parents and sister’s family had left, the girls and I stayed and played some board games with E and his friends. So much fun! G and I are so happy that E has such good friends. They stick by each other and help each other out a lot.
Sunday morning we had breakfast with one of our friends from running. I drove there because I wasn’t running while G ran there. It was a lovely catchup, but I’m a bit sad. He’s moving to Brisbane because his wife has a new job there. It is fantastic for them, but we’ll miss them.
As I said, Tuesday was a public holiday. Our running group has a traditional Cup Day Canter at the Tan. It’s a handicap race with one lap around the Tan. I didn’t participate, instead doing 22 minutes of walk/running. H and S met us, H to walk Riley and S to do her run. It was the most stunning morning. It was sunny, with no wind, and shaping up for mid-20s later in the day. After the race there were presentations and a picnic. I took Sweet Potato Kale Superhero Muffins from the Rise & Run book, which has 12 eggs (so about 1 egg per muffin), making them an excellent post-run breakfast on-the-go option.
In. the afternoon, we went to a friend from the running group’s house for an early dinner and to watch The Cup (which didn’t go to plan due to being on the wrong TV station at 3 pm), but we used catchup to watch it. Such an exciting race, it ended up a photo finish. The TV channel fiasco promises to give us good fodder for some light-hearted ribbing of our host for some time. There was a fabulous spread for dinner. I took this Broccoli, date and pistachio salad, which, under my watch, became a broccoli, cranberry and hazelnut salad—it was all I had in the cupboard. It all got eaten and is a good option for taking places because you can dress it when you make it and don’t have to worry about it going soggy.
Some other good things:
- We finished watching the Season 2 of The Diplomat. The twist at the end was a doozy!
- After all the salads we ate in Spain, G has been keen to have more salads for lunch, which I’m very happy about because he wasn’t eating enough vegetables before.
- I had a big, long catch-up on the phone with my friend yesterday. We were both coincidentally in Paris at the same time so we had a lot of catching up to hear about each other’s holidays.
- We’ve had a bit more warm weather this week, and I’m loving it. I washed all the bedding. I normally do the sheets once a week and the mattress, pillow protectors, and blankets every eight weeks. It’s much easier to get everything dry when a warm north wind blows. I even thought I might have my first beach day, but the cold front came through mid-afternoon and dropped the temperature.
- My neighbour looked after one of my indoor plants while I was away (I only have one that needs watering more frequently than once a month), and it looks really good.
- Riley hopped into his kennel when it was raining, and he was waiting to be let inside—he’s getting smarter.
- Chai latte. It’s a good alternative to coffee while I’m off it. However, I would like to test having the occasional coffee at a time of the month when I’m less likely to get migraines to see if it triggers one.
- NaBloPoMo. I’m enjoying all the posts and new to me blogs.
Have you been watching any good TV lately? Do you have good neighbours? Do you have a go-to dish to take to picnics and BBQs? What’s been lifting your spirit?
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