Entries from November 2005 ↓

Just received a gorgeous little wedding gift box with a delicate white handkerchief inside for dabbing one’s eyes should any emotional moments arise on our upcoming trip. So very unexpected, and so lovely.

Need I say more?

Excitement levels very high. Concentration at work … pretty low.

Found an empty box at work destined for the rubbish after some departmental ‘do’ and how could I not grab it for my collection? The Receptionist was most intrigued about my excitement – I don’t care if people just don’t get me. It now has pride of place on my window sill and I keep starring at it and willing it to be full of VC.

Saw a crushed car in Manners Mall on my way to work this morning – as I was approaching it I was thinking someone had crashed (but there were no other cars, poles, body outlines and the yellow tape around it said ‘caution’ instead of ‘police’) so I thought it was probably something to do with road safety advertising …. wrong!

Around the other side of the car was a giant gorilla footprint! And a couple more going up Victoria Street – King Kong’s in town somewhere

Parliament was officially opened yesterday and via the TV coverage we found out that the guy all dolled up in a uniform with the big wand that he bangs on the door of the House with is a guy that lives in our building.

Would never have picked that, mind you we don’t actually *know* him.

Or as I’ve come to refer to it - “the Christmas scone cake”! I tried an alternative to the traditional Christmas Cake this year – which freed up my Labour Weekend – mainly to avoid being overwhelmed by having to consume an 8kg fruit cake that no matter how many chunks you break off and give to family, you’re still chewing your way through in May the following year.

Introducing the pan dolce - Christmas tradition of Italians – a much lighter scone like cake that stores for 6-7 weeks and contains sultanas, mixed peel, hazel nuts and pine nuts. And also the very interesting orange blossom water which required a bit of research – yaaaay Moore Wilsons!

Anyway, a very precise and successful Sunday afternoon was had – it looks just like the pictures and tastes good (it did say in the recipe that it made two because you just can’t resist eating one straight out of the oven – which we’re doing!)

Precise measurements:

Patting out the rounds, without handling too much:

The finished product:

Comptroller … lucky I thought to check this dreadful typo – it appeared quite a few times within a document so I begun to get suspicious that it was actually a real word:

comp·trol·ler

n.

Variant of controller;
An officer who audits accounts and supervises the financial affairs of a corporation or of a governmental body.

• a bunch of flowers


• apples


• a French manicure


• the milk


• a tidy Inbox


• TV Guide


• a batch of home-baked cookies


• the Kirks Sale


• the washing


• flossing after being to the dentist

I’ve just been down the road for coffee and saw 3 instances of what I assume this was … people in 2’s and 1’s arrived on the corner of Featherston and Hunter Streets and hovered, troubled, staring in the window of the Country Theme store that is now there. Some head scratching, conferring with their companion and wayward glances up and down the street followed, before wandering off, a final glance over their shoulder. I observed all this while waiting to cross the road and figured that they’re all doing the same thing – looking for the TAB! They were wondering a) when it disappeared, b) why they hadn’t noticed it until now, and c) where the hell is the nearest one? I *almost* approached the 3rd lot of people I saw but seeing as I only had my observations to go on I thought it might be strange (or insulting) if I asked them if they were looking for a TAB when they were just contemplating returning to the car to put more money in the meter.

By the way, the TAB has shifted 2 blocks down Featherston Street to Panama Street and the queue was out the door.

Oh, and the obligatory office sweep stake is underway at work.