Sometimes, when we’re a bit out of sorts, it’s easy to forget that life is actually hilarious. Here are a few things that have made me laugh this week…
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My gorgeous neighbour Emmeline attempted the Focaccia Tutorial for 23 Year Olds a few days ago. She came up the road and picked up bakers flour and yeast, and then made this vegetarian version with olives, baked ricotta and sundried tomatoes when she came home from work. She was so excited that she couldn’t wait for it to cool before cutting, and I was so excited that I met her on the footpath at 10pm (in our pyjamas) to taste it. As Emm pointed out, we looked like we were doing a drug deal. Luckily the neighbours all know that we’re bonkers!
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Small Man, who was born hilarious, has started uni. He’s studying linguistics, and has just had his first week of lectures. Mad boy that he is, he took himself off to Orientation Week, got sunburnt and attended just one advisory seminar – “Managing your Student Finances” (sigh).
He then came home and announced that it was too expensive for him to buy lunch at university and that he needed to take lunch from home. Which is why he too has now learnt to make his own focaccia (with black olives and cheese). Proving that the tutorial for 23 year olds works just as well for a 19 year old.
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I’ve been getting…um..hot, and have decided to embrace my old Asian woman-ness by carrying a folding fan in my handbag at all times. My mum thought this was terribly amusing and bought me a stack from her local Chinese emporium (they’re only a few dollars each) so that I could hand them out to my equally old, getting hot, girlfriends. Carol texted to say, “please thank your mum for my menopausal fan”.
Honestly, middle age hormones are the funniest things, when they’re not inducing rage and making you want to punch people out.
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Monkey Girl brought over these ridiculously hot instant noodles. Apparently there is some sort of internet challenge to eat an entire packet. Anyone with half a brain would have given it a miss – Korean food is already blistering hot, so any Korean product that has “extremely spicy” and a photo of flames on the packaging is going to be scorching.
I’m proud to say I made it through the entire bowl! Of course, this was followed by Zantac, bad stomach cramps and unpleasant toileting the following day. I might not be able to keep up with the kids at sport, but eating is my speciality.
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Sometimes my kitchen creativity gets a little out of hand (we don’t mention the Apricot Lamb Incident). A couple of days ago, I decided to make a quick dinner out of all the leftovers – so I cut the crust off my sourdough, sliced it and laid it at the bottom of a baking tray, then topped it with cooked rice, pulled pork from the freezer, a tin of beans, and green beans from the garden. This was baked briefly and then a layer of corn chips, frijoles, chipotle salsa and cheese was added. The whole thing was then baked until crisp and golden.
Small Man sat down to dinner and said, “um…what is this, Mum?”.
“Meat and three carbs, lovely. Enjoy!”
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This sight made me laugh! Uncle Steve (Pete’s brother) has been helping us repair our leaking bathroom. In this photo, Pete is shining a torch as Steve silicones the edge of the tiles. I sent the photo to their sister Penny and said, “this is how big boys play pirates!”.
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My fossil collecting has been picking up speed in the last couple of years. You might remember that I recently purchased several small ammonite pairs to use as pendants. I’ve got big plans for a couple of them (hopefully I’ll be able to show you soon).
In the meantime I’ve been wearing this one. Uncle Steve drilled a hole for me to wire a bail on, and then Pete epoxied the sterling silver finding on the front. I can’t be trusted with glue (I once ended up in casualty having glued my eye). I love when something new captures my attention and I can allow myself to be immersed in the experience. The fossils have been spread over the dining room table and the magnifying glasses are out!
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Finally, back to bread. Ever since Bonnie inspired me to get more creative with my slashing, I’ve been practising. Pete is, as always, encouraging in his own way. He described the round loaf above as looking like it had been “slashed by a serial killer”.
The weather has been so warm here in Sydney that it’s been playing havoc with my bread baking schedule. Earlier this week, I woke at 2.30am to pee, and noticed that Priscilla (my sourdough starter) was super bubbly and keen to play. So I made up a dough in the middle of the night (without my glasses on), then went back to bed.
The following morning I ambitiously tried to slash a “C” into the middle of the round loaf on the right. My fingers are covered in fine razor cuts and I’m not sure my slashing is improving yet, but I’m having an absolute ball trying. Luckily I have many willing eaters in our neighbourhood. Pete’s comment? “It looks like Inigo Montoya has been practising his slashing on your loaves” (#PrincessBride).
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Wishing you all many happy moments this week!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 