Spilled Notes

Fidget Goldmine

Ebay is wonderful, but very dangerous.  You go on looking for one thing and hours later you're still there, searching for things you didn't even know you wanted.  Or they send you a discount code and somehow you feel obliged to use it.  

And once you win something, you want to win more.  That tension, as you watch the last few seconds tick away and you're still winning, is somehow addictive.

I've never been to a real auction; I find myself wondering if it would be as exciting as eBay.  I'm sure it's much better.  I'm not sure it would be a good idea for L and I to go to an auction, though.  For a start, we'd be tempted by too many things, and neither of us are great at making decisions.  But a bigger problem, I feel, would be that L fidgets.  We'd end up inadvertently bankrupt, with more stuff than we had space for.  As L put it, she would be a 'fidget goldmine'.  I'm not sure how to rectify this situation, should we wish to attend any auctions at any point in the future.  Any ideas?

 

Pineapple

A little while ago, we bought a pineapple in Lidl.  On the back of the label was this diagram:

Now, I know that pineapples aren't a fruit most people eat every day, and they perhaps look a little intimidating, but is it really so difficult to work out how to deal with them that we need a step-by-step diagram?

I do, however, like the stars.  It reminds me of a pineapple cushion I once made in Textiles - I used little gold star-shaped sequins (most of which fell off - I warn you, they're not nice o stand on!).  Oh, and the serving suggestion with the cocktail umbrella.  I may have to get some in ready for the next time we have a pineapple.

Noodles

Just thought I'd introduce the newest member of the family - Noodles:

 

L bought him for me, and left me with the task of finding a name for him before she got home that evening.  I'm not good at thinking of names for anything - I even struggle with essay titles - so this was a bit of a challenge.  Eventually, though, I dropped some of my stir-fry on him while sat eating at my desk.  And, somehow, I think he looks like a Noodles.  Maybe it's the stripes...

Indulgences

I don't indulge myself much.  I don't spend lots of money on myself, don't go on expensive holidays, or go out much.  No, my indulgences tend to be little things that make the moment brighter and make me smile when I've had a bad day.  Like a bath with something from Lush (partly to disguise the 'interesting' colour of our water, but mostly for the wonderful smell), a bunch of flowers, curling up with a good book, listening to my favourite music without doing anything else at the same time, or some quality time with L.  Oh yes, and then there's the food.  It doesn't take much to make me happy: a fresh baguette with cheese; a juicy, ripe pomegranate; a mug of tea and a slice of home-made cake...

Or this.  A late-night indulgence of home-made chocolate chip muffin (made by L, a la Nigella), whipped cream and strawberries - a perfect combination.

 

(I apologise for the not-so-good, photo, but it was the last muffin and I just couldn't wait to eat it!)

 

Daffodil Meadows

Our room currently smells wonderful thanks to this beautiful bunch of daffodils L bought to cheer me up.  There's something so wonderfully happy about daffodils, and their trumpets seem to almost broadcast this happiness and brightness to every corner of the room.  I'd never really realised that daffodils smell so lovely before, despite the fact that we've always had lots in the garden at home.

 

The daffodil is also known as the 'yellow narcissus' (yes, it is a narcissus) or 'Lent lily' (no, it's not a lily).  The name 'daffodil' is thought to be derived from the Greek 'asphodel' - a flower which doesn't look anything like the daffodil.  Asphodels were associated with the dead, and were often planted around graves.  One section of the Greek afterworld was called Asphodel Meadows; this was essentially a plain of asphodels, and was where the souls of those people who were equally good and bad ended up - in between the Elysian Fields (similar to Heaven) and Tartarus (similar to Hell).  Asphodel Meadows was depicted as a land of neutrality, a less perfect version of life on earth, and a place that upon entry individuals lose their identities and become machine-like.

 

From this, you can tell that asphodels and daffodils don't look alike.  There's nothing neutral about even a single daffodil, let alone a field full of them.  No, for me a meadow full of daffodils would be a most welcome, happiness-inducing sight.

Mango Juice and Rose Petals

Unfortunately I'm still ill.  No diagnosis as yet, hopefully will find out tomorrow.  I must admit, I'm getting really rather bored of being stuck in bed.  I never thought I'd be so bored as to want to work, so it must be bad!

 

One of my few trips out of the flat with L was to our favourite haunt, In Delhi, just up the road.  I love going there, it's so colourful with Indian drapes all over the ceiling and hanging down between the tables.

 

And, of course, we had our usual pakora, but this time with mango juice so mango-y it's like sucking the juice straight from the fruit.  I love the rose petal floating on the surface - and the fact that it's the same colour as the straw.  (I know, I'm easily pleased!)

 

Magic Chicken Soup

 

 

I've been stuck in bed since Tuesday feeling pretty rotten with a stomach bug, but L is nursing me back to health with beautiful red tulips, pineapple juice the colour of liquid sunshine, ruby-red strawberry jelly and magic chicken soup (made with lots of love) and a copious amount of kisses.  I should be back on my feet in no time.

 

 

Jedburgh ba'

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go down to Jedburgh last Thursday on a field trip with my course to watch the annual ba' game.  I say game, but it's really not a game at all.  There are no rules - anything goes.  The town residents are split into Uppies and Doonies, depending on which half of the town they were born in/the direction they were brought into the town in the first time after they were born.  There is no visual distinction between the two teams - everyone just 'knows' which side everyone else is on - and any number of people can play - the teams are not equal.  

 

 

The aim is to 'hail' each of the small balls, which start out with ribbons attached like the one shown below.  Any method can be employed to achieve this, and smuggling is common.

 

Unfortunately we had to leave as the game was starting to heat up, with more men joining in as they got home from work, but it was still a fantastic opportunity to see a traditional contest we've studied actually in action.

 

 

 

Procrastination is the Thief of Time

L thinks I spend a lot of time working, when in fact I actually spend more time procrastinating!  I don't usually give anything up for Lent, but this year I've decided to try and give up procrastination in the hope that I'll get a lot more work done.  It may not be as conventional as giving up chocolate (like our flatmate R ) but I thought it might be useful.  I think I've done quite well so far, so we'll see how it goes.  

 

And no, the photo isn't really relevant, I just like it.  Or perhaps the tiny red berry is the amount of work I do, surrounded by the mass of green procrastination...

 

Carnival and Lent

 

I love this painting by Breugel, depicting "The Battle Between Carnival and Lent".  Carnival is shown as a fat man riding a wine barrel, with a spit of meat instead of a lance, while Lent is a thin old woman with a board of fish.  In the background the distinction between the feasting, festive period of Carnival (on the left) and the fasting, austere period of Lent (on the right) can be clearly seen.  

In early modern Europe, Carnival was in opposition to Lent, but was also the opposite of everyday life - 'the world turned upside down'.  It was a time of feasting and revelry, with an emphasis on food, sex and violence, stretching from midwinter to its climax on Shrove Tuesday, before the abstinence of Lent began on Ash Wednesday.