the biggest needle i've ever seen - so far...

when the lady at the blood bank advised me to look away... i was feeling brave and kept looking on... and then came the needle with the widest bore i have ever seen! it was like a plumber's draining pipe! the longer i stared at the oscillating blood bag the more dizzy i feel - but it also might be the starry halogen lighting on the ceiling and the arim chair being elevated to the heavens... pain was minimal, i was just scared that i would faint during the drive home (or there after)... but it hasn't happened yet...
and the verdict: the best thing i have done for the month of march! not because of the recovery food package or the little "my first for life" sticker... but knowing that something i have made would benefit a cancer patient or a MVA victim or someone loosing blood in surgery etc... and i can go back again for another recovery food package in a month doing aperesis plasma or platelet donation.

not so stella for target (update)

okay... this is the continuation of my commentary on the mccartney merchandise. i got a closer look (more extensive scrutiny) on the products on offer thu morning... the range of clothing available is quite diverse (as posted on the aussie target site) - although i could mostly spot size 12 and above... that's no problem... i was there to evaluate the quality of the products so to gauge the viability of queuing up at Broadway come april 5th (as the new tarjay promises to offer customers the full range of stella)... and the verdict again - i need not bother...
firstly, my praises for the woollen pants have been OTT... upon closer inspection, though the fabric was very fine - it was definitely not very refined! my G2000 woollen pants would out last stella's in terms of fur-ball formation for sure... the last thing you want is to find little balls of wool rolling off your buttocks - not a good site...
i got to see the teffeta coats as well - and "flimsy" was the 1st impression... not to mention the poor (course and uneven) stitching! the type of material is inferior to what would find in valley girl!!! OVERALL, the quality of the fabrics here really put mccartney down a notch (i hope her real stella mccartney creations would not be so skimpy on quality of materials)... the acceptable ones from this collection could be counted on 1 hand - the cashmere blend short coat (fur-balls might be a problem), the shear cotton shirts (you have to be quite tall to wear this nicely)... and... sorry, that's it!
good luck to the ebay sellers - i could still see M size teffeta coats in target stores and i won't be buying one!
THE REAL BARGAIN however could also be found in tarjay stores - they are currently doing summer clothes sell out for women, men & kids for $3.68 a piece! and i got 2 swimmer friendly cotton boob-tube dresses for under $8 for both! (they originally were selling for $39.95 each) - good fabric, good stitching, good design and they come in size 8! - this is what i call a real bargain!

mcCartney for target... stella or trash?

... and the verdict? i've got to say, by the time i got to tar-jay there were only size 16 samples of some of her offerings... the key pieces i thought were worth their pennies - skinny jeans, teffeta coat, long wool pants... the teffetas were no where to be seen... but the skinny jeans were "cheap" - the material comparable to v cheap street market demin quality (colourfasr, fluffy surface - so not impressed)... the quality of the silk used on the camisoles reflected the prices - v coarse, thick fabric... but with those diminuitive prices and a huge spotty-font stella tags, who is going to notice the tiny target signs? i have to say the wool pants are good buys - although they don't have lining, the feel of the wool is fine - perhaps merino... i would have liked to see the teffeta and have a feel of the cashmere-wool blend jumpers... sorry i cannot give a verdict on those as they were no where to be seen... all in all i have saved myself a couple of hundred dollars! (by arriving late)... with the last experience with H&M, more stock should be on the way and the less popular pieces will be discounted (hold out if u r size 16! and if u r less than 8 - be glad that u r saving a bucket on fads)...

this is not a picture of molly, our new walking buddie - but it sure looks like her! molly is actaully our neighbour and she loves to come along on walks with us in the evenings... in fact, she loves to go on walks with everyone / anyone (we saw her today jumping happily around another neighbour who was walking his little fluffy dog... we saw the same dog owner again after 10 min, still walking fluffy and molly was no where to be seen... and as we passed the local park, we found her socialising with the kiddies and the parents who were watching a kiddies' cricket match! she was full on doing the scene, criss-crossing the crowd, getting padded along the way - i guess is her way her saying hello)... molly lives on the street below us and she wears a red bone tag with "Molly" on it. one can never mistaken her in the neighbourhood as she wears the same smile everyday!

chilli encounter with blue bottles

i had my first encounter with a blue bottle today. the pain it imparted on my body parts was v similar to chilli burns during cooking (like the episode i had with chopping a small red chilli and then after bring my fingers in close proximity to my eyes - that was not present!) blue bottle stings are not present either. my encounter started off with me trying to flick off their tenticles (the more u pick... the more they disintegrate)... then came the slow surface burn, followed by the deep seated pain in my left leg upper thigh (toxin reaching the lymph node i wa told)... the dull pain was like intense period pain but in the wrong position... the brning pain got more intense but i distracted it by continuing my surfing lesson (on that later)... the sting stayed with me till now - nearly 12 hours later (though v slighly). that is why a wet suit is essential! i am actually wondering whether there are footlets or non slip gloves to compliment the wetsuit gear... then i'll be fully covered...
a note on surfing - so much fun! too bad about the board carrying (which took up nearly 1/4 of my surf lesson!i nearly pass out due to exhaustion from lugging it)

i love cheese

i love cheese! be it stringy buffalo mozzarella, smelly stilton, less smelly gooey blue brie (love abit of mould for flavour), or good old chedder - i cannot live without cheese! (but then again if i have to choose between cheese and rice - i'll go for rice)
anyway... i have been eating chedder at our new place and have been cutting 'blocks' off with my all purpose 'double-men' cook's knife, sometimes with my 365 butter knife... these implements were sturdy, though it is impossible to achieve a slice thinner than 4mm.
my favourite DYOD (do ur own dinner) dish is chedder on rice melted in microwave with snippets of fresh watercress and sea salt and pepper and abit of raw sugar... (also good with frozen peas instead of watercress) but thick blocks of chedder just keeps lumping together... finally i invested $2 in a wire cheese slicer from 'hot dollar' - which was quite stupid (in its looks and usage)... then came "sweden's furniture meccas" to the rescue (see above)... a $6 st st cheese slicer... i've gotta say, highly recommended, money well spent and why have i not found it earlier?!?! it beats a cheese knife / board (ie - though it's good looking, GJ cheese knife and board which sets you back 200 bucks or more)... i know my new little gadget is not just for slicing thin 1- 1.5mm slices but it can also pick up with its 2 horns and cut a piece of melting camembert on its side...