Saturday, September 27, 2008

"You're turning Violet, Violet"



I adore flower flavored food, violet being tops. I used to drink soda water flavored with rose syrup at a Cafe on Vermont St. when I lived in my apartment with the Murphy Bed on N. Normandie.
The apartment had some sweet elements, as old Hollywood never fully gives up all its charm even when that charm is immersed in the mire. Mostly though that was a dark time, working late, fretting about making the rent, strange men making advances, you know the normal life of a teenager.

My memories of drinking the rose soda though are all bathed in the full sunlight of an after noon off, before or after a trip to Griffith Park or Descanso Gardens. Drinking them made me feel worldly.

Sweden has not only Violet flavored licorice but also Violet Ice-Cream!
The effect is not unlike Green Tea Ice-Cream (which by the bye 31 flavors features as a normal flavor in both Japan and Australia).
The flavor is subtle, and amazing. Mostly I like my ice-cream to be ice-cream not an excuse to eat a candy bar or cookies i.e. 'cookie-dough or snicker flavored'.

I have a plan to convince my husband that living without an ice-cream maker is akin to living without a cheese slicer or decent knives.
Then I will perfect my own version of violet flavored ice-cream.
Because that is what we do in Tasmania. D.I.Y all the way.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

`In our walk along the moor: you told me to ramble where I pleased, while you sauntered on with Mr Heathcliff!'





I think I could spend many days tramping through the North York Park, I have never been when the heath is in full bloom. I feel a sense of contentment that there are small towns with acres of open moors between them in a populated place such as England.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Pub Games 30p a go

Flying into Manchester
A painting in the Manchester Gallery that I remember as a poster in some childhood home.
I did not fare too well at the Pub games, I did a bit better on the bowling type game.
We went to a Pub after going to the Beerfest where I had an EXCELLENT York stout called 'old moor' which had an aftertaste of Coffee.
Ahhh here is an early night admirer, he could not speak full sentences so I never found out how they came to be drunk so early in the night.
The dreaded block long taxi queue.

I am staying in Wales. I am with a friend who is not fully of the internet age. I am currently in an Internet Cafe right beyond the wall in the city of Chester.
Free internet use with the purchase of a Cider. I went almost a week without the internet, I did try using a dial up connection to get onto 'mobileme' the web based housing of my emails. However, Mobileme has never be accessible yet-
This time I actually called tech about this fact. A very nice (Scottish) man told me yes there was a problem, and indeed it had been fixed but the fix had not yet made it to our part of the planet. Nice.
Better still this was my third try, I've tried in an airport in Stockholm, a hotel in Melbourne, and now a house in Wales. I think I'll be re-assessing whether or not an actual Mac account is money well spent. I hate how when I do not have access to the internet I get this vague feeling that reminds me of being a teenager and being restricted from phone use.
But I do digress, I just wanted to post some pictures of my week, Cookie (my hostess) does like her gals night out and that is where we have been; out.
I never feel quite so popular as I do in an English Pub. I actually get talked out. I tend to interject the phrase 'my husband' as early as possible but being married is not the deterrent one might think...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

GODIS!!!







I bitch, complain, and inexhaustibly talk about food (in a hate/love/hate) way and yet (other than tofu) if left to my own device I eat candy instead of breakfast (lunch or dinner) every day. If you like Candy as in 'not chocolate' but sugar recombined into new and more sugary substances, well then Sweden is a small bit of Willy Wonka.
I always buy as much candy as I want and never seem to spend more than $2 AU. Do I know the evils of processing?, dare I say GELATIN, yes, yes, but when I look at those fluffy, small, man-made fake marshmallow bananas all I see is innocence.


Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Fagerstad Gangsters vs. Brazilian Gangsters


After all my teasing and name calling I have to say I was a little sad to see the locks go.

Here is where Tjelta got hit by a lead pipe when he was eleven by another eleven year old-so much for my image of the pacifist Swede.



Tjelta ignores all my requests for an in-between style, including but not limited to the; Mullet, the 'kid-n-play fade, Rat-tail, Mohawk, and Fauxhawk,
little kids in Sweden are very stylish. I see many a seven year old with hot-pink hair and cooler clothing than I ever could get. Tjelta had his mohawk when he was like seven as well, but I don't think that was connected to the lead pipe attack.


I am not allowed to use clippers after the "incident" I had helping Zok which I attribute to the fact that he was gullible enough to let me use them.



Tjelta does not look especially impressed with his new do, but then men tend to be a bit unsentimental when it comes to hair cutting, and yet I think I know a few of the follically-challenged* that might not be so cavalier.
But I am told that Tjelta comes from a Viking stock that "do not" lose their hair. Beside the look he was going for was "menacing", because apparently the stories of Fagerstad Gangsters haven't made it to South America.


*follically-challenged was stolen from the witty Missy Mitchell.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Lonely Rider!





I have been to Amusement Parks with Zok before, and so I know that he was actually relieved to be working all day, while being able to get me a wrist band that allowed me to go on as many rides as I could stomach.
Which is exactly what happened. I went on as many rides, as fast as possible as I could stomach.
After about three hours, (before 1 p.m.) when there were barely any people in the park, I went racing from ride to ride, which of course included first riding each roller coaster in the first car, and then getting off to get back into the line to then experience riding the same roller coaster in the end car. Riding the "Extreme" twice in a row, because that is the closest to my favorite carnival ride "The Zipper". Doing both of the high 'drop' rides even though usually I skip those (but I had a wrist band and really felt compelled to at least TRY each ride once)-
The death of me was when I sort of knew I was done; since, well, I had gone on all the important rides twice, as well as a few of the kiddie rides but then I noticed one of those spinning rides. The type of spinning ride that used to be accompanied by Van Halen music blaring from the speakers but now comes with some sort of 'hey if you are too old to name this song you probably are too old be riding this ride' music.
Yessirreebob, that was the ride that sent me to have a nice lie down and think about the fact that I am not twenty, nor thirty, but basically FORTY.
The part when I was on the couch in Zok's office was the funny part for him, since I had jumped from the bed this morning chiding him to get ready faster, and doing my roller coaster dance while of course singing 'Roller Coaster of Love' off key, much too early in the morning.
Akin to a child who insists they had a great time even after they have thrown up, I, too, am standing by the statement that I had a perfect day.


The Hives Grona Lund Tivoli 125th Anniversary




In the Grand Tradition of artists before them such as 'The Runaways' in 1978, T-Rex, The Clash, Jimi Hendrix, and of course Abba