Coffee Addict

Now that looks better!

I have traveled,  and I'm a coffee addict.
I only have two a day unless I'm out and about with friends, and then I may have another one, but I like my coffee, and I will not waste my addiction to a bad one.
 I would prefer to waste a coffee paid for, that was not worth drinking, than to suffer the coffee.
In most of Australia this is not a problem, In some country areas the coffee can be questionable, but in the cities its easy to find great coffee.
When traveling... Thats another story.
     We all know that America can't brew coffee! for all the technique the large franchises have they still produce a swill thats near impossible to swallow.  I sort of expected that. What I didn't except was some of the other places I've traveled to.
 Turkey produces a sludge that you have to be genetically programed to drink and when they try to make a modified version fit for european consumption it plummets to a bitter brown pondscum ..
I'm sorry to say this because I have a special place in my heart for Spain,  but it too fell below expectation.
I tried several places, from local bars to the grander hotels and it was pretty much the same . They reheat the milk over and over again so the result is bitter and the coffee was often too hot to drink and the milk full of air. The result was not smooth and creamy but airy, hot and bitter.  Thailand, Asia in general, don't even ask, really, a waste of time.   The English have seldom  heard of real coffee, what they offer is a freeze dried can of instant dirty water.
 Its been a long time since I've traveled to Italy or Greece, so I'm hoping the antidecendants of our coffee culture are holding up their end and haven't lost their touch.  but I think maybe its the children have grown taller than the parents.  We have built on the foundations of Greece, Italy,Turkey and Spain and created a much more drinkable drug..
When I arrived home from my travels, I awoke on the first morning and my first waking thought was, "Coffee" I pulled on some trackydacs and headed for my local ...Ahhhh!!! OMG! thank you Ali...Now one more please for the road....

Art of Questionable Talent

Looking down into a bowl of dusty potpourri, thinking it was time for it to go, I picked out the seed pods from the wood shavings and thought there must be something I could use these on.  Then!!  I remembered some frames I'd picked up on one of my walks around the throw outs...Frames are a common sight, people buy cheap pictures to decorate a room and when tired of the picture, throw the whole thing out ..

I'm not suggesting you take home art of questionable talent and hang it just because you found it in the street and "its a bargain", but if you're looking for a mirror or some artwork to spruce up the kids rooms, don't dismiss the ones you find on the street.

I had to add to the seed pods, but they are easily found on a walk around the neighborhood and when the frame was done I put it in the store toilet.  I drizzled scented oil onto the pods and it gave the room a wonderful smell.        To glue the pods to the frame, give the frame a good rough up with sand paper and then use a thick glue like liquid nails.

The other one I started with a broken christmas decoration.  The kissing fish, I added another one that wasn't broken, but what the hell!!  The tree won't miss it next year.



I painted the frame white, found some shells - there is always a jar of shells in my house, for some reason its impossible to walk along a beach and not pick them up - and the blue stones were stolen from the fish bowl!!  They won't miss them either!!

 I have used seed pods and christmas decorations.
But its possible to use anything.  Small toys, broken china, old tiles, rusty old nuts and bolts I think would look good for a boys room.  Look around the house with new eyes and you will find many many ideas ...

  I have to apologize  for the quality of the photos, its difficult to take a photo of a mirror and not have a reflection in it.  I tried inside and I tried outside, and these are unfortunately the best.

Advertising Terrorism

"Let your fingers do the walking" ..!! Let me walk my fingers around the neck of the irresponsible dimwit who came up with that bit of advertising terrorism, and is responsible for the avalanche of brainless, puerile, witless, inane, moronic, nonsensical, stupid questions ever asked.  It helps that the asker is on the other end of a phone line and cannot see the look on your face when she/he asks "Will I feel exposed in that?" or "Will it suit me?" "Will it fit me? " or "What does it look like?" It helps not to include them in the neck wringing!!  One or two silly or redundant questions a day is about my limit , excluding of course, the ones that are there to advance a conversation ie:  "Is it hot out or what!??" when its 44 degrees!!  One of the beauties I've witnessed is... A woman rings a friend's jewellery store for a quote and time line to have  her diamond cluster ring remodeled/melted into a solitaire as she was so over small diamonds!!! (well aren't we all!!! ) my friend informed her of an approximate time line and the woman hung up!!! For those who don't know, but knew it was a long time, 1-3 billion years!!!

Some common phone inquires are "Will my boyfriend/girlfriend like it? fit it? suit it?  If I want it will it still be here next week?  I know its obvious but for those that don't think it is, how am I supposed to know?!!!!

Centurions waving ak47s  from the bridge
as corseted medieval nurses tend the sick..

I've been asked for a corseted medieval nurses outfit.  I informed the customer that there was no such thing, but if its a fantasy, well I might be able to do something!!!!!  I was told I didn't know squat!!!

I have been asked "How do I get to the party dressed as a .........?" I have been asked for corsets with Roman, Egyptian, Greek and medieval costumes and I've even been asked for AK47s for  roman soldier's uniforms.  No one under the age of 25 knows what a petticoat is.  I have also been woken in the middle of the night to be asked on the emergency number!! what time do I open the shop!!!  You get where I'm going here.  These are just some that I have remembered while writing this post.  Letting your fingers do the walking is not supposed to let you off the hook from your brain doing the thinking!!  MY suggestion is when requesting information about opening times, costume ideas, size range, I don't need to know whose party it is, what your relationship to the party person is, where the party is being held or where your going afterwards.....and.... ps; its always nice if you ask if its a convenient time to answer inquires!!