Cantaloupes, Cleaning, Cats and Other Random Topics

A rather large cantaloupe (rock melon)

 

 

 

...as I’d turned 65 I was entitled to free screening for bowel cancer (happy birthday!). From "Old Age and Villainy" by Robyn Lee. 


















I did my grocery shopping yesterday after a month or more of just grabbing what I needed urgently on my way home from wherever.  Consequently, due to the paucity of food products in my pantry, fridge and freezer, plus rather more utility items, yesterday's effort was large and costly.  However, the large fruit in the photo above was a particular bargain. 

Before going into Aldi and cleaning them out, I popped into the fruit and vege shop next door.  Own and operated by a Lebanese family, it had a wonderful array of exotic Middle Eastern products, emanating the gorgeous spicy fragrance associated with such foods. 

Back to the rock melon...there was a big stand of them just outside the door and the price was...69c each!  In the photo I placed the melon on the edge of the table directly in front of the chair, which was pushed in under the table, to give some comparison of size.   As far as I'm concerned, it's the biggest one I've come across.  I hope the taste is as good as the size...

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A couple of weeks ago my daughter arranged for a lady to come to clean the house as well as my flat.  What a powerhouse of energy!  She chats away but doesn't stop working...going through the place like a dose of salts and about as quickly.  She was due yesterday and as we were out all morning, it was ideal for her to get on with things without us getting in her way.  It was just lovely to come home and find the place sparkling clean.  Sandy, our cleaning lady, received a lot of happy energy from us when we arrived home.

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One of the reasons I like having someone to come in to vacuum my floors is because I have two cats who live indoors.  Consequently, because the weather is becoming warmer, they are moulting like crazy and it can appear as if a massive cat fight has taken place due to all the clumps of fur on the floor. 

The cats hate the vacuum cleaner and aren't particularly keen on strangers either, especially Mitzi.  She doesn't cope well with out of the ordinary events...such as cleaning ladies....and hides under the bedclothes.  The telltale bulge under the doona kind of gives a clue as to where she is, but her thinking is that if she can't see anyone, they can't see her. 

Bella will hide in the wardrobe (she can open the sliding doors) until the noise has stopped then will sit on the table or the bar, giving Sandy the evil eye...something Bella is very good at doing.

When the cats hear the automatic door to the garage opening, they wait impatiently at the door of the flat for me.  As soon as I step inside, I hear all about it at full volume!

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Trawling through my emails once I'd put my mountain of groceries away, I saw there was one from an emagazine I subscribe to.  On opening the link, I found that a publisher in the US was accepting book proposals from new and first time authors as well as established writers.  I was quite chuffed to read this...as you recall, I've sent submissions to three or four publishers here in Australia.

I then had the thought...I'd have to correct the UK English to US English, plus change the slang to its US equivalent.  Fortunately I only need to send one chapter as a sample, but I'll have to change the proposal or synopsis as well as the covering letter.  That's my job after this is posted.

I rather like the idea of being published in the States.

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I've started on my second book which will be fiction and is nothing like "Old Age and Villainy"; that's more of a humorous memoir.  I've tentatively titled it "Silent Lives" but whether or not that will stay depends on how the story evolves.

Although it'll be fiction, some of the events I bring into the main character's story are taken from our family's history.  My background on my mother's side is New Zealand Maori although we're the palest branch.  As one very dark hued relative once commented, "Someone didn't put enough coffee in the recipe when youse fullas were made!"  That being said, in defence of our pale skins, if we get out in the sun, the coffee is more evident, on most of us anyway.  There are some whose Celtic heritage is all too obvious.

Anyway, as I was saying, the characters are fictional but some of the events actually happened.  I've kept it as fiction because I did hear of one author who wrote a book about his family then wondered why they no longer spoke to him!  Hence my butt covering...

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Written with the aid of a very large cup of strong black coffee...