penneylaneonline

By penneylaneonline - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Perfume

Perfume tells us something about the wearer. Like steak it can be blue, well-done, medium well and burnt (and everything in-between!) Whatever way a person prefers it the depth of the scent has a way of staying with us long after that person has left the building. I have three most-worn perfumes, Oscar de la Renta (the original), Paloma (by Paloma Picasso) and none at all. All three have endeared themselves to me over the years because of their subtle piquant natures and the whimsical way that... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Red Licorice

I hate surprises. And that I suppose tells you alot about me. Well, something and nothing. Surprises make me feel uncomfortable if I don't react the way the surpriser expects me too! I can tell you that from experience! A friend of mine gave me a Surprise party one year and since it was a surprise I couldn't possibly have known that making a detour along the way was going to set a cat among the pigeons. After I didn't show and was two hours late for own Surprise Party (the one I didn't know... Sign in to see full entry.

Budda-bing

What is it about some people that make you feel that although they stood in the same line as you, waited as patiently as you did, they nevertheless managed to get a particularly larger slice of the budda-bing pie. You know what I mean don't you? When they smile they could light up an entire street. They have a verve for life that's infectious. My friend Liesle is like that. Full to the brim with life. She's a documentary maker, a perfectionist as much as she herself is 'almost perfect'. I say... Sign in to see full entry.

Sibling Rivalries

I love that it ain't over till it's over. There's something wilfully satisfying about being able to thumb your nose at the doom and gloom-sayers. It's quite a delicious feeling infact, something smugly satisfying about proving them wrong. I mean, afterall they are just as likely to rub your nose in it if the tables were turned don't you think? Of course they would! With glee. My older brother was a typical boy! I always felt like he had it in for me. Of course the years have revealed that he... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

The Sandwich Tree

When she was 5 years old Mede had a very definite culinary taste that didn't run to sandwiches in any way shape or form (mostly crustless and cut on the diagonal). She liked the julienne carrot or celery sticks, the fruit and the yoghurt and loved the small LCM (made of rice bubbles and marshmallow). She just didn't like the sandwich. A sandwich with highly imaginative fillings designed to peak even the fussiest child's apetite. But not Mede's! Still, she dutifully took them off to school and... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Split Ends

Knowing a thing is not the same I've come to understand as 'really knowing' according to others more in the know than me. Personally I'd say that was splitting hairs, a semantic ruse even but there you go. What would I know! Really knowing a thing is subjective. I think it is. It's subjective based on our world view, our experiences, our opinions forged in whatever fiery furnace that life has cause to test us in. But 'really knowing' to me is simply personal. That an issue isn't personal for one... Sign in to see full entry.

Baby Steps

From time to time the buck as they say stops with you. Of course we'd all rather it didn't, instead opting to move from under the heavy gaze of responsibility to blame-shifting. Now blame-shifting is an acquired art although children learn it with stunning alacrity right out of nappies it would seem! I had the occasion to see a two year old blame a sleeping pussycat for pulling a plate of breakfast cereal off the table after tugging on the tablecloth and theirs was not so much a diversionary... Sign in to see full entry.

Ralph Malph

Ralph Malph was the Happy Days (1974) character of my childhood. A character played by Don Most. He was the freckle-faced, red-headed 'funny guy' of the high school quartet of The Fonz, Richie Cunningham and Potsie Webber. Funnily enough it was also the name we chose to call our family dog (also a red-head) but pekinese/pomeranian by persuasion Our dog Ralph was given to my mother at Christmas one year by my cousin Jewelle. A bundle of unimaginably cute fluff that my father didn't consider a... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Comic Relief

Stepping into a specialist comic book store like Kings Comics in Pitt Street in the city is always an experience for a non comic book person. The styles, the merchandise and the evolution of the humble paper comic book to glossy hardcover is telling about the shift. Comic people are interesting people too, diverse in age as they are in occupation and obsession. They sometimes have a stunning knowledge of things animation beyond what any mere mortal should know about comic character development,... Sign in to see full entry.

In Training

There's something inwardly comforting about hearing the clackety-clack, clackety-clack of trains on their way through to places near and sometimes far. Perhaps the comfort stems from the familarity it feels like of their natural rhythm responding to our own inner rhythm, sort of like friends on a walk recognising each other, waving a cheery wave across the roaded divide and continuing on. Yes, that's the way it feels. There's also something delicious about imagining where it's going and the kind... Sign in to see full entry.

Owls Blinking

I'm a morning person. In life as in love you're one of two types of person, either a morning one or a night owl. Me, I'm the former. I like to get a jump on a day and I happen to think you can do that better at the front end of it rather than the back end. I find my mind is less cluttered as well, it and me tend to rub the sleep from our eyes at right about the same time, fortunate isn't it! Being a morning person is a hoot. When I'm out walking it occurred to me that I also meet the same people... Sign in to see full entry.

Everleigh Street

It was quite by accident that Burmo and me stumbled into Everleigh Street, Redfern during a photographic foray of Erskineville that borders on the suburb of Redfern. We knew we were near Redfern Station or thereabouts but sometimes the little streets with their narrow-fronted Terrace houses were so quaint we hardly gave it a second thought about where exactly we were. When we rounded a corner we found ourselves face to face with children using the middle of the road as their playground. Lots of... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Bush Fires

It's bush fire season here right now. It's a harrowing hell for our professional and volunteer fire personnel who every year contend with the task of keeping us safe and putting their lives on the line against a formidable foe. " Bush fires are actually naturally stored solar energy that is out of control. Trees convert sunlight into oils that get stored in leaves that end up burning like petrol. For a bush fire to start there needs to be fuel, in the form of leaves and/or wood and a ignition... Sign in to see full entry.

Popcorn Winds

Driving along Burrows Road out toward Sydney Airport you could be forgiven for the sudden desire you get to want to eat popcorn at 7.30am as a larrikin gust of wind drapes the air with the morish smell of cooking popcorn. Mmmmmm! There's a fine small-goods factory just off Burrows Road that's responsible for causing the havoc with my saliva glands so early in the morning. And not just mine either but every other driver also using that shortcut at the bottom of Alexandria onto Canal Road to get... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Jellybean Jelly Baby

I remember thinking once that Dr Ros had been plying her trade for so long that she knows exactly how to handle herself when having to do one of the worst things Doctors have to do. Give a child an injection. I never envy her when she's faced with that prospect but with battle worn practice she's really quite adept at it. Her secret is smart practice. First of all she talks with the child about everything except what's about to befall them but just before she does the deed she tells them what... Sign in to see full entry.

Old World Order

Sometimes when I listen to Rob Thomas sing 3am I often think the song really gets me. Right in that moment, it really gets me. The combination of good lyric, a memorable melody and a strong voice like Thomas' seems to bring the intent of his lyric home. To be honest, I never try to over analyse a writer's intent with a song but I like that somewhere in some other place our common humanity is expressed well by at least one of us! Music is universal, we all understand that. We get told it often.... Sign in to see full entry.

Grey Days

I'm currently reading Barack Obama's book "Dreams from My Father". It's an easy read but raises some very complex issues. Issues of race and inheritance. Issues like the proverbial terrier that nip at our heels as we pass by. On many levels I understand him very well, understanding that's bore from personal experience. I think I've been a 'grey' person all my life. Not because it's easier (it's not) but because the black or white of an issue isn't exactly what I believe. Grey is not... Sign in to see full entry.

Bee

One of the great things about one of my most favourite restaurants is that I can walk through its door, hear the dulcet tones of one of my favourite Canadian female artists (Diana Krall) and be immediately reminded that it's days end. I'm always greeted by Bee with a generous smile and a joyfulness that is Thai to a tee. But Bee is special. Bee runs Front of House for my friend Marcellus' wonderful Thai restaurant, Thai Garn in Summer Hill. She has the gentlest soul, kind and joyous, an easy... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Stir Crazy

It's been balmy and blustery over the past few days but I never seem to mind the wind when it's warm. I must say though that when it's blustery some unknown something takes hold of our sensibilities and blows them all out the window. W ind is very heady stuff. It can make you feel crazy enough to throw-your-inhibitions-out-the-window. There's something entirely delightful about that, go on, admit it. It can make you dance round in leaves in the backyard, kicking them into the air wth all the... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

No Bull

I have a short attention span that doesn't bode well for longish meetings or the like. My brain is particularly wired for incisive, no bull decision-making, anything more becomes contentious. The trouble with that kind of style is that it doesn't allow for people with a more up the garden path and sniff the daisies kind of style. So, here's the thing. Who gives in to whom? In short, I do! Or least that's been my experience because the thing about the daisy-sniffers is that making the leap in... Sign in to see full entry.

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