Last night, Friday night, I grabbed my laptop with the intention of writing this post. And instead, I put it back down, went to bed, and had a much-needed 8-hour sleep.
Let’s take a look at the randomness of this week.
I started making a shadowbox
I’ll write about this more in a 52 wrap-up, but this week I started making my shadowbox. I downloaded a design on Etsy and started cutting it out.
Unfortunately, my Cameo cutter didn’t cut all the way through on some more intricate cuts, so I’m tracing those with my craft knife.
But I started putting the layers together; here’s a sneak preview.
One watery eye
Does this ever happen to anyone else? I was working out this week on the bike, and only one eye started watering. At one point it looked like I was crying!
I know I get “sugar hangovers” where my face becomes puffy and inflamed, and my sinuses get triggered as well. But this watery eye thing is pretty rare.
Of course I snapped a selfie; I’m a blogger with no shame.
Maybe the doc was right that I have histamine reactions to things after all?
Lucky he eats garlic
My sister and I have a tradition that I absolutely love, called “shitty tourist gifts”.
You know when you travel, and you need to buy gifts for those back home, but you end up buying little trinkets or things that may not really have much value? Well, we flipped the script and buy each other the shittiest thing we can find.
Over the years, that has resulted in gifts like:
- A g-string with a map of the London Underground
- A “purse” made from a toad
- Plastic sunglasses that were made to look like fingers covering your eyes
- Underwear with “Roots” on the front (actually a really fantastic Canadian brand but I couldn’t go past the joke)
- Sheep poo (that was chocolate)
- Bike pants from Italy with the statue of David’s… prized jewels… on them.
And so many more things. I have a box of stuff at home that one day my son will open and wonder WTF.
This week my sister returned home from Borneo, an absolutely amazing bucket-list trip.
The gift?
Durian chocolate.
If you’re not familiar with durian, it’s a fruit that stinks. Seriously, it’s banned from many hotels and public transport systems in Southeast Asia. They have “no durian” signs. The flavour has been described as “tasting like cheese, almonds, garlic, and caramel all at once.” (Source: Healthline).
So, when my sister brought it home, I instantly knew that I had to use it to prank my husband and son. I told them, “Aunty A brought you some chocolate home”. They tried to look at the packet, so I hid it. My husband instantly knew something was up, and said: “Mum doesn’t want us to know what flavour it is. It better not be chilli chocolate!”
They had one bite, and screwed their noses up. My husband said “It STINKS!” My son said “Ewww, no way”, and went and spat it into the bin. Apparently the taste was comparable to paw paw, but my husband kept smelling his fingers and groaning in disgust. Apparently washing his hands didn’t help too much either.
For me, it was, understandably, hilarious.
And no, I haven’t tried any yet. There’s still 90% of the bar left. It might just be the chocolate that survives in our house the longest.
This visitor made me nearly poop my pants
I was getting ready for bed, in the bathroom brushing my teeth and washing my face, when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a sudden movement of something landing on the window.
I jumped so high, and then saw this.
It was just a bloody gecko, on the hunt for some bugs outside. I blinked, and he was gone. These things move so dang fast.
Anyways, I giggled at myself, and went to bed.
Fleetwood Mac would win Eurovision
I’m proud that I’ve taught my son to love the randomness and chaos that is Eurovision. Not so much the political chaos of the most recent years, which, let’s not discuss that here so that we can keep it a happy place.
My son also has a pretty great taste in music. He loves a lot of old classic bands, but also mixes that in with more modern stuff. And, to my disgust, seems to have a knack for finding AI-sounding music, which I plan on venting about one day because I hate it. I hate the effect it’s having on the industry too.
Ahem.
Anyway, this week I put on Landslide by Fleetwood Mac, an absolute classic that’s been covered by many artists.
My son listened to the song carefully for a little bit, then loudly declared,
This song would have won Eurovision. It’s so good.
I mean, there’s no reason why they couldn’t have. That would have been very cool. I can absolutely see Stevie Nicks belting out an absolutely stellar ballad and just silencing the room in awe.
My son’s taste in musical history might be one of my proudest achievements.
My sister did some work in our Hong Kong office when she lived over there and she had to tell our logistics manager to stop bringing durian into the office. I have never smelled it myself and don’t think I want to.
When we were in Malaysia on holiday, I tried it in an ice cream; it was terrible. I feel like the chocolate is only the slightest bit of how pungent it can be, though I can’t remember how bad it was when we were there.
Ooooh look at those little ghosties!!! That’s so cute!
I love love LOVE your tradition of shitty tourist gifts! There are just so many to choose from but I love the g-string of the London underground. Amazing.
I did not really know about durian until I was in SE Asia last January and there were signs everywhere. I was like “no fruit? why?” and then someone explained it to me. I have never seen or smelled durian and I am not in a hurry to. What does it taste like? Does the smell just overpower the taste? I’m so curious!
One day I should take the box out and run an inventory of just how many silly gifts we have given each other. My sister reminded me of all the very random calendars she’s bought me too haha, the latest being “men in kilts” haha.
I don’t remember much about trying durian ice cream other than not loving it. Maybe I’ll take one for the team and try the chocolate out so I can share my thoughts haha.