09 February, 2015

Ten Questions: Just for fun

Melissa at Stirrup Queens tagged all of us who read her latest Friday Roundup with these questions - designed by Mel and her daughter. I hope they enjoy these.

1. When was the last time you cut your hair? Did you like the haircut?

I cut my hair very short in 2013, before I took off for five hot months in the Middle East and an Italian summer. I always had short hair - it was easier to control - right up until I discovered hair straighteners in my 40s! I loved having longish hair, but in the end, I had to say good-bye to it, as I knew it would drive me crazy in 30-50 deg C temperatures. I've kept it short, and I now go through a love-hate relationship with my short hair. I think I have more bad hair days with short hair - and I have to say I don't love love love the haircut my last hairdresser gave me, but mostly it looks good. And I'll probably go back to her, because inertia is a powerful thing.

2. Grapes with seeds or seedless?

Seedless definitely! I never really had grapes when I was growing up - it was seen as quite an expensive fruit. So now, I'll happily eat seedless grapes, but if the grapes have seeds, I'll just pass.

3. When was the last time you went to a fancy party? What did you wear?

I haven't been to a "fancy party" in a long time. In fact, "fancy parties" don't seem to occur very often in New Zealand. We take "casual dressing" to an extreme, I think. Sigh.  It was probably my niece's wedding in Thailand - so it was very hot. I wore a gold sleeveless dress - it has a matching gold swing coat with it that I love, but it was way too hot to wear. I was going to wear fancy high heels, but the wedding was on the beach, and so I just wore flat black slip-on sandals - they had a nice gold buckle, so didn't look too sloppy! All the wedding guests went and had a swim while the bride and groom were getting their photos taken, and so I was pleased that I had a crumpled (deliberately) nice red dress to change into! I have another hot wedding to go to in a few weeks - another niece is getting married in Queensland, Australia. I have a new dress for that, but I might take my gold one too, just in case we swim and I need to change. I have some nice beige high heels to go with my dress, but they make me taller than my husband, so he might complain! I'll put some flip-flops in my handbag just in case my feet get sore.

  4. What colour is your bedroom wall?

A deep yellow. Our bedroom is the only room in our house we haven't redecorated. I'm thinking of painting it a silvery grey.

5. The worst smell in the world is…

A polluted Bangkok canal. The water is so polluted that it is black and shiny, probably full of oil but also of all sorts of other things you don't really want to think about. It smells so bad. And I grew up on a farm, so I know all about bad smells!

6. Last thing you spat out.

Hmmmm, this is a tough one. I can't remember. I wish I'd spat out a mushy prawn I had a few years ago on holiday. I was quite ill the next day!

7. Do you sing when no one is around? What do you usually sing?

Yes, if I have an earworm, or I'm listening to music. I'll sing anything really - as long as no-one is listening.

8. Your least favourite name (and it’s okay if it’s Melissa; I can take it).

I don't think I have a least favourite name. There is a name that is now a very popular boy's name, and my friend named her son this name, and I can't imagine choosing that name for my child. I think that's because I read some of those Enid Blyton boarding school books when I was young, and there was a boy who wasn't very nice with that particular name, and I can't help but think of him every time I hear it. I don't want to upset anyone, and I apologise to anyone who likes this name in advance, but the name is Oliver.


9. Did you like the food served at the last dinner party you went to?

Yes!  I am lucky that many of my friends are foodies, and love cooking and good wine. It was New Year's Eve, and we stayed with a friend who has a house in an olive grove. We ate outside, because of course it is summer, and had an avocado di0p with cream cheese in it, which tasted just like a rich version of guacamole. We had vegetables roasted in my friend's own olive oil from the trees that were only a few metres away, and some delicious lamb (though I know you wouldn't like that). The dessert was a divine rich chocolate cake. Oh wait ... I think I made that! ;-)

10. What is your most prized possession? Would you kill a unicorn in order to save your most prized possession?




I'm not sure I have a prized possession. I love my great-grandmother's piano, which she imported from England in 1912. And I adore my "married to D" ring (which replaced my wedding ring after our 20th anniversary) which was custom made and is very contemporary and doesn't have a diamond in sight. I don't think I could kill a unicorn or any animal to save either of these though. Maybe a spider or cockroach - though I usually get my husband to put them out the window.

3 comments:

  1. These are fun to do now & then, aren't they?? Re: #1, heat & haircuts -- I had hair down past my shoulders for years -- until I went to grad school in southern Ontario. I'd never experienced humidity like that before, and the house I lived in didn't have air conditioning. One of the girls in my class had fabulous short haircut -- I asked her who her hairdresser was and booked an appointment the next day. My hair has been slightly longer at times than it was at first, or than it is today -- but it's never been as long as it was before that cut.

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  2. The unicorn lives again. Few have been able to kill the unicorn yet.

    I didn't realize Oliver was getting big again. Olivia, yes. And even Olive. But we don't have many Oliver's here.

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  3. I love this. I love reading little tip bits like this about people. That New Year's Eve dinner sounds perfect.

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