When the storm bites, when the bee stings

When I'm feeling saaaaad; I simply remember my favourite things, and then I don't feeeeel, so baaaaad.

These are a few of my favourite things at the moment:


I just finished Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I discovered this book while doing some Wikipedia research on Gone With the Wind and Margaret Mitchell. The minute I finished it, sitting in Midland Park at lunchtime, I walked across the road to Borders and bought it. I didn't think they'd have a copy but they did and it's a beautiful hardcover with a design by Lois Mailou Jones who was apparently "among the most significant African-American artists of the twentieth century." Their Eyes Were Watching God is set in Florida in the early 20th Century and is essentially the story of one woman's life and her search for love and her place in the world. I loved it because Hurston creates such a strong sense of place and character. When reading it I had to get into a certain rhythm in my head because the dialogue is written with phonetic spelling of a lot of words: 'Ah'm born, but Ah ain't dead. No tellin' whut Ah'm liable tuh do yet.' Hurston's writing can also be beautifully lyrical, but above all, it's a really good story.

Interestingly, the covers of the two albums I'm listening to most at the moment have images of red headed women on them. I don't think this is coincidental.

I decided the other week I needed some new music to listen to as I don't think I can listen to some of my tried and true favourites for a while without getting overly emotional. Music can be very unhelpful like that. So while I'm metaphorically late to the musical party with Florence and the Machine, I'm glad I made the effort and turned up. I love Lungs. There are some good cathartic angry songs and some beautiful good-excuse-for-a-cry songs. And Camera Obscura are what I imagine all my new cool Scottish friends are going to be like when I go to Edinburgh next year (because yup, that's happening, one way or another...I hope). My step-sister gave me their latest album for my birthday because she thought I'd like them. She was right.


Hot chocolates from Pranah Cafe in Newtown. They also have amazing food. I got french toast there on Saturday morning and it came with so many different kinds of fruit - caramelised banana, poached pear, stewed rhubarb... I don't know why I hadn't been to Pranah before now, I've been to pretty much all the other cafes in Newtown; clearly I was saving the best for last.


Okonomiyaki - Japanese savoury pancakes. The ones my friend made when some of us went for dinner at her house had shrimp, bacon, ginger, shredded cabbage, spring onion and other goodness in them and then were covered in delicious Japanese mayonaise and some thick brown sauce - the label was in Japanese so I don't know what it's actually called but I know it's yum. Then these dried fish shavings were sprinkled on top. So good. I blame the pancakes for starting the consumption of wine that lead to extreme Sunday night Singstar and a Monday hangover. I think it's my first Monday hangover ever and it wasn't a fun time now that I have to get up at 6.30am. But it was worth it just for getting to witness a brother sister duo from Levin sing their hearts out to John Farnham while using the couch as a mini stage.


This is not one of my favourite things at the moment. I am so over this bag. That tiny pocket is so crooked and I just want the whole thing to be finished. I'll finish it at tomorrow's sewing nightclass. And then I'll wash and iron it and use it and like it. Or else.