Brushing on eyebrows

I was brushing on my eyebrows the other day when a couple of memories assailed me. I thought I'd share...

The first memory comes from when I was 12. It was the final year at  my small rural primary school. I was enjoying being a big fish before I would be dropped in the big pond of the tough local high school.

Mum had bought tickets to the outdoor summer Shakespeare at the University. She wondered if I'd look too grown-up in an outfit of a stone-wash jeans and a white shirt under a hot pink sweatshirt with my grandmother's diamante brooch at the neck.  She even allowed me a touch of matching pink lipstick.

That was one of those moments of transition - from girl to woman. It was also a typical moment of caring and generosity from my mum as she trusted me with the precious old brooch. We enjoyed a night out together doing something that many 12 year olds wouldn't get to do or wouldn't enjoy. I would later study Shakespeare at that University.

The second half of the memory trail leads me to much later, when mum was quite sick with cancer. It was her birthday and we'd organised a big do with all her friends coming, gold and white balloons and a cake with apricot roses on it. For weeks previously she had been unable to stand or walk for long so we weren't sure how she'd cope with the demands of the event.

She got dressed for the party, her white shirt and orange cotton cardigan  hanging loose on her. I did her makeup, colouring her in with the colours of health and youth. I brushed on eyebrows and we chose an orange-red lipstick to tone in with her cardigan.

She managed to stay up for the whole party, chatting busily to all her guests, cutting the cake, enjoying the toasts. I told her how proud I was of her and a few people wiped away a tear. The photo of her happily holding up a cup of tea in a toast was the final photo in the montage at her funeral a couple of months later.

I don't know what this goes to show, other than that fact that three years later I still miss her a lot and think of her often. Little things trigger memories, bitter-sweet.

A princess among cats

    

She was a princess among cats. In fact, when he got her, my besotted husband (actually he was my boyfriend at that stage) named her Princess Mao. Her middle name 'Bitey' came a bit later and for obvious reasons.

When she arrived home from the pet shop, she was grey with flea dirt. She'd just been brought into the shop from a neglectful home. She looked about 8+ weeks old but was actually about 12+ weeks. My mother-in-law donned rubber gloves and washed the poor little scamp in the sink. The gloves were no match for Princess's needle-sharp claws. 

Husband bought Princess at cat bed but from the beginning she slept on our bed. I used to wake up terrified that we'd smothered her by accident. I'd put my hand on her belly to feel if she was breathing and try to wake her up. It's quite hard to wake a cat from a deep sleep.

When she got a bit older, she'd take a few weeks sleeping on one of us then swap to sleep on the other one. When I lay on my side, she sleep on the curve between my hips and my ribs. Rolling over was a major operation, but I didn't mind because I loved her company. She was also constantly on my lap as I sat on the couch at night. I generally had a lap rug on me to protect me from kneading paws. If I needed to get up, I could just lift up the rug,

cat and all, then put it back down on the couch.

She was a clever cat - she taught herself to play fetch with shoelaces or toy mice. We'd spend ages throwing these things and her pouncing on them then trotting back with them in her little cat yap.

Princess wasn't much of a hunter, though. In our first flat together, we would occasionally get rats. One time she brought in a lightly wounded rat and let it go to run around the lounge. She totally ignored it while husband and I attempted to catch or kill that darn rat. We had a similar situation with a mouse in another flat - it was obviously not a well mouse because it was really slow but she didn't bother to catch it, she just watched as husband and I flailed around with the broom. Maybe this was her idea of fun!

Leaving her with my mother-in-law after twelve years together was the hardest thing about emigrating. She was our cat baby. Skyping a blur of beige fur just wasn't the same, though it was good to know that she was well looked after. Recently her health issues became too much and she had to be put down. Rest in Peace, Princess 'Bitey' Mao.

Gosh, I miss...

So I'm about to pop back to New Zealand for a visit. People occasionally ask me 'are you homesick?' or 'what do you miss?'. To be honest, I'm not really homesick and I don't miss much about New Zealand other than my friends and family and cat. I haven't really craved particular foods like this article suggests people do. Maybe part of the reason is that New Zealand food is basically British food as the country was settled/ invaded by the Brits a couple of hundred years ago.

That said, when I'm back in New Zealand what will I be indulging in?

New Zealand Marmite
A totally different beast to the English version or the Australian Vegemite. I've loved Marmite since I was a child. I used to get a teaspoon of Marmite and dip it in a cup of milk, then suck the milk off, then re-dip etc. (This isn't the normal New Zealand method of consumption!)

Weetbix
Not Weetabix which goes soggy the moment it touches milk. Weetbix is a bit tastier and firmer in texture.

Twisties
Far cheesier than Wotsits - and much more brightly coloured.

Kumura
A type of sweet potato - excellent roasted with potatoes, pumpkin, parsnips and served with lots of gravy!

New Zealand wines
Especially Pinot Noir and Sauvingnon Blanc and Kim Crawford's unoaked Chardonnay. In my price range, I've only seen rather odd and unpleasant New Zealand wines in supermarkets in England. You can find a few good brands like Oyster Bay, but they're generally a bit expensive for me. It is nice to have access to a huge range of French, Spanish, Chilean etc. wines over here but sometimes I miss a good Kiwi wine.

So, I think that's about it. What about you - what's your taste of home? Is there anything you miss when you're away?

Scent-ual memories

In response to the Duchesse's lovely post about how perfumes have changed, I thought I'd share some of my smelly thoughts.

I still mourn the loss of Parfum d'ete by Kenzo. I wore it daily for about a year until the I used up my bottle. The original version was light enough for daytime, but complex and lush. It smelt to me like a bunch of very fresh flowers from an expensive florist that had just been misted with water.It lasted all day and worked layered on a bit more heavily for evening.

The new version just isn't as interesting - lighter, more synthetic-smelling, not up to par.

I still have my bottle of Estee Lauder's Youth Dew from 10+ years ago as it's such a strong evening scent that I don't wear it much. I love it though - it makes me feel confident and strong and sexy. It's a smokey, musky sort of smell that reminds me of an outfit like a feminine cut tuxedo with nothing underneath.

I've never liked the name, but I'm glad I've still got the perfume to enjoy on special occasions.

Since Parfum d'ete I've never really found one good daytime scent. I've experimented with various light florals i.e. White Gardinia from the Body Shop is nice for summer and the Rose 4 Reines Eau de Toilette from L'Occitane is nice, but a bit sweet at times. I love the packaging of the Penhaligons samplers I got for my birthday, but the actual scents are mostly a bit sweet and powdery for me.

I inherited Coco Madmoiselle by Chanel from my mum. It's not one I would have thought of for myself, but it does kind of work for daytime and it certainly works for evening. It's fairly strong and a bit 'chemical' in some ways, but I like the complexity of the scent and the way it changes. I particularly like how it smells after a few hour's wear, sort of warm and slightly musky or spicy.

I find the packaging a bit bland for the price, but I guess that 'simple, sleek' thing is Chanel's brand. Basically, I'm a bit up in the air about this one.




 

Mum did get it right with a favourite perfume that I wouldn't have chosen for myself - Classique by Jean Paul Gaultier. I prefer the perfume, rather than the eau de toilette as I think the perfume as got more warm, slightly musky, vanilla-y notes, especially when it's been worn for a few hours.  

I was given a travel sized set of four different Gaultier perfumes and I've recently used up both the perfume and EDT of Classique so I think I need a full sized one. Luckily it's common enough to be widely available and often on special. I hope it's being made to the same recipe as a few years ago or else I'm going to be disappointed.

What about you - any suggestions? What are your favourites?