A moment in the sun

Meg at Blogpond has created a list for those of us who don’t quite crack the Top 100 Aussie Bloggers. And W00T!!!!* I made the list!

So I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you who have come here to read and maybe even comment.

The ranking is a combination of the Technorati and Alexa ratings.

And thank you to everyone -whether you’re on the list or not - you make my internet world friendly, fun and interesting. :)

Champers for all?

*In an earlier edition of this post I revealed my complete dag - W00t now correctly spelled. :)

Reflections on a good person

I went to Matt Price’s funeral today. It was beautiful. St Josephs was decked in Christmas decorations and white lillies and the sun shone sweetly in through the stained glass windows. I sat towards the back of the church and I couldn’t see the band but they had live music playing some beautiful music. He was a man who liked his live music.

It was a who’s who of politicians and media, familiar faces both, but they took second stage to Matt. It was, as the priest said - Mattstown.

I’m finding it hard to write about. I feel I can’t do him justice. What effrontery! Attempting to match him with words. It ain’t going to happen. :)

I didn’t know Matt well. He didn’t know me well but I felt I owed him the respect of being there. I wanted Sue and her children to know that he was worth making time for. They do know that of course. And I wanted to support my colleagues who did know him well.

Death is the great leveller. As we filed into the crematorium I found myself walking in just in front of Kevin Rudd, who was just one of the hundreds, there to say farewell to a great Australian.

And Matt’s legacy? His writing? His books? Film of his television work? No. I think it’s love. Shining strongly from his wife and his kids, his family and friends. They are his true legacy.

Perthnow, The Australian, The West, ABC News

Meh. Brendon beats Malcolm

I was quite looking forward to Malcolm Turnball becoming leader of the Opposition.

And I’d be more excited about Julia Bishop if she had better taste in men.

Shallow but there you are.

The demise of the real Christmas Tree

I’ve been running this little poll on the left hand side there about the type of Christmas Tree we choose for our homes and I’m surprised by the early results.

So far everyone has said they have a fake tree that looks real and I confess so do we.

I never used to. I always insisted on a live tree in a pot which I kept outside all year and brought in. The last one of these we used was an Albany Woolly Bush which have lovely soft leaves.

We also used a conifer in years past, now retired to the front garden.

In Broome, I had a ficus.

When I grew up I can remember we either had the carefully tended potted tree or one of those YMCA cut trees which slowly died and dropped it’s needles but smelled fantastic.

About four years ago, Groover went out and bought an enormous “real looking” fake Christmas tree and we’ve been using that ever since. It’s about 8 feet tall and lives most of the year in a large box in the back room.

It looks fantastic, creates much less mess, and I suppose is “green” in that I’m not killing a tree. However, a small part of me laments the lack of a real tree.

What do you do?

No home is complete without festive Christmas decorations and holiday gifts under the tree! Whether your Christmas tree is real or fake, you can find fun Christmas crafts online and create your own ornaments. Of course, you should listen to Christmas music while you’re making your crafts!

When next you meet a lawyer…

Scene: You’re in a bar with a self assured bloke who is clearly hitting on you…

You: So what do you do?

Him: I’m a barrister.

You: Mmmm really?! I love coffee!! (batting eyelids)

Mr Weezee’s satay sticks

In the tradition of The Food Pornographer may I introduce you to the worst kept secret in the Western Suburbs - Mr Weezee’s Satay.

I’d heard others talk about this phenomenon of a shop and its quirky idiosyncracies and was intrigued.  The co-manager of our cricket team told me where it was - in the middle of Chelsea Village - and taking a short detour home I dropped in this afternoon.

First of all - he only takes cash or cheque.  That is important information as I don’t think there is a cashpoint there - well, not an obvious one.

You can buy chicken satay or beef satay, and I think that’s it!  You can buy them in 12 packs or 25 packs - frozen.  You can buy satay sauce separately.  I bought 25 chicken sticks for $17.50 and a satay sauce (small plastic container) for $2.50.  That fed my family of four… just.  So this is not the cheapest meal on the block, but oh…

So yummy!  The sticks are just the right size to barbeque.  The sauce peanutty and as delicious with salads.  A winner.

Shop G13 Chelsea Village 145 Stirling Hwy Nedlands WA 6009 (You have to go right inside the complex and it is a small shopfront in the northeastern quadrant).

Vale Matt Price

I just wanted to express my sadness at the news of Matt Price’s death over the weekend.  Matt has been a part of my working life for a number of years.  I didn’t have a lot to do with him but knew him and loved his work.

At a party recently I had the chance to meet his wife Sue and we had a lovely chat about her moving back to Perth.  She seemed a very nice person.

Eight weeks ago her world collapsed.  Eight weeks ago Matt was diagnosed with brain cancer.  Yesterday he died.

It seems unbelievable to me.  How could this happen?  I guess I hear so many successful recoveries that I expect miracles from our medical profession.

Vale Matt.  Your words entertained us and my heart goes out to your family.

Go the Dockers!

Natalie wins!

(Despite some pretty serious wardobe malfunctions… and by that I of course refer mostly to the dress she arrived in. That was a toilet roll cover if ever I saw one.)

You see I was going to start this post with some remarks about Natalie’s choice in clothes tonight but then I saw Shallow Hal and I decided no.

I thought Natalie performed the winner’s single better than Matt and that in the end is what got her over the line. It was her voice that I noticed when I heard the ads over the week.

So now we’ll see if she is an Australian Idol. If her success continues past the winner’s single and “The Journey” tour. And we’ll see whose career takes off.

I’m curious to hear her originals (and wasn’t that gracious of Matt to mention them).

I’m also curious to hear Matt’s first album.

And I’m going to have to think of a new thing to write about on Sundays…

And Costello is not going to be leader?!

This I never would have predicted? Does it leave the way open for Malcolm Turnball?

King Kevin

And so he won, but more interestingly Maxine looks like she might have won Bennelong! I like Maxine. I hope she gets a front bench seat.

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