My inner zombie has been awakened and I just can’t get enough of all things ghoulish!
• THERE’S no getting away from the fact that Halloween is hurtling down the tracks towards us like an out-of-control zombie – sure the decorations have been in the shops since September, and pumpkins are already popping up on people’s pillars. I decided way back that we’d be having none of it.
Well a pumpkin yes, and snap apple for the sake of nostalgia (just don’t think about the germs), but that would be it. Definitely. Nothing else.
And then the smallie started. ‘Can we not just get a few decorations for the house?’ she asked … five million times.
And then another three million times in case I hadn’t picked up on it.
I reckon unions and governments are missing a trick not having kids on their teams when they’re negotiating important deals because well, they basically wear you down until you just roll over and give in.
So yes, I caved and bought some bits and pieces and then a few more bits, and another few pieces and now I’m totally addicted. My inner witch has been awakened. I’ve gone from not wanting anything to wanting my house to look like those incredibly decorated homes on Central Avenue (look them up… they’re insane).
I don’t think I’ll be able to pull it off this year – I didn’t have the time or the budget but I’m already working on next year. What? It takes time to get human-size skeletons imported from the US.
• I didn’t stop there, either. I went down a bit of an online rabbit hole one night and clicked into someone making cute looking homemade ghosts, that led me to a Halloween themed charcuterie platter (quite amazing what you can do with some Parma ham and breadsticks), which brought me to ways to make your kid’s school lunch look all themed and spooky (and make you look like mom of the year … all that’s needed is to get up at 4am).
So far I’ve only trialled one thing: a spider made from pastry and Nutella. It worked out relatively ok, well the Nutella tasted good at least. I might need to give it another go. I really need to work on my piped icing skills too (trickier than you might think) or find a place that sells edible eyes.
Who is this monster I’ve created?
• Moving on. I spied a saucepan on the hob last weekend with a load of leeks boiling away minding their own business. My husband is a brilliant cook so that wasn’t too odd and I queried what culinary delight he was putting together.
He wasn’t, he told me, it was for a healthy broth he had read about in an article. Tell me more, I said, all ears.
The article was about a book called French Women Don’t Get Fat. Had I heard about it, he asked? It was published way back in 2004, and of course I had heard of it, and of course straight away I got all defensive. ‘Are you saying I’m after getting fat?’ I asked.
I’ll never forget the look of fear in his eyes, the poor man. At least he had the sense not to answer.
Anyway, I simmered down after a bit to hear about this so-called magical leek soup, that even got a mention in the Netflix series Emily in Paris. Basically you cook the leeks, drain them and sip on the discarded liquid throughout the day, and use the leeks for your meal. Your very small evening meal. Knock yourself out I told him!
Personally I find life hard enough without trying to survive on liquid leeks!
Anyway, that was on Sunday. By Friday the broth was still sitting untouched in the fridge. The next day it had disappeared … down the sink. I’m still working on my witty riposte … suggestions on a postcard please.
• I had a most gorgeous chat with Innishannon writer Alice Taylor the other day. She’s only gone and written another book … her 30th, would you believe! It’s called Come Sit A While and it’s packed with poems, meditations etc designed to encourage just that. Alice actually meditates every day. I was so impressed.
‘It’s all about applying your bottom to the chair!’ she said. Straight-talking and full of sense, she is fabulous. I had been having a bit of a ‘meh’ week but felt immeasurably better after our chat and that’s what her hope is for the book too. It would make a perfect Christmas gift, or would be a lovely way to tell someone you’re thinking about them. Read the full interview shortly in The Southern Star.
• Speaking of fabulous women, our local post mistress Brenda O’Driscoll retired last week after more than two decades of incredible service to the Timoleague community. I reckon the only reason I’ve never had to go to therapy is because of Brenda.
As well as providing all the essential post office services she always offered a listening ear, a friendly face and the generous gift of time that is so lacking in today’s society. She definitely earned the entire community’s stamp of approval, and that’s for sure!
• So, last week I divulged my soft spot for Roy Keane. He’s got a rival for my affections … another wise Cork man, psychotherapist Richard Hogan. He popped up on my social media feed last week on World Mental Health Day and his advice resonated with me, and was similar to what Alice Taylor had been talking about.
He suggested, instead of only doing things for yourself at the weekend or on holidays, to make space for yourself throughout the day. For a moment I considered asking the family to move out, that would free up a lot of space, but I figured that wasn’t what he meant: more like getting that walk in, a swim, and talking nicely to yourself. Alice had mentioned gardening and getting in touch with the earth as being great mood-lifters.
Funnily enough, neither mentioned anything at all about leek broth. So there!
