Today’s Lunch – 15th August 2018

Published August 15, 2018 by helentastic67

Todays Lunch

Today’s Lunch

Good Mental Health Day

Have had a crazy week so far so really glad to have only lunch and my stabby appointments now on Wednesday.

Crazy Week

Have no idea how I’ve made it home the last two days! No idea, have walked and walked and carried (learnt nothing from my Milk post obviously!) so much! Got home Tuesday and weighed my bag before unpacking it. 5 kilos’! Unpacked it and it was still 2!

Walking

Friday is looking to be a crazy day, with an extra appointment with my guy who made my AFO, my GP and the chiropractor and that’s on top of the normal grocery shopping and my only food prep appointment for the week.

Friday

I’m exhausted and it’s only Tuesday night when I do my prep-work on this post. Is this week over yet? I am always surprised that people have no idea how knackered I am once home. People must see me and assume I’m energetic all the time because that’s probably how they see me when I’m out. They have no idea I got home Monday on a whiff of determination that I had to get home.

Knackered

I even went upstairs to unpack my bag from my adventures in the city, then went back down to go to the local supermarket just to get milk and kitchen-tidy bags as I wouldn’t make it to Friday. I avoided what I call “Danger Alley!” So, or to buy unnecessary items and you pick which supermarket I live way too close to? It’s the one with all the weird stuff you wouldn’t find in the one place in any other country other than Germany? (Hint! Hint!) still ended up getting about 5 things!

Aldi

Oh, here’s a nice Lebanese pizza I had last week. Close to home. Can’t tell you how confused the girl was when I ordered Vegetarian but asked they put salami on it! What? (Handy Hint!)

Lebanese Pizza

And today’s offering? Because it looked too big to eat I ordered half a Mediterranean focaccia. So, yummy bitter green olives, eggplant, feta and zucchini. With my standard medicine.

Pannini Latte

Then because I decided I could eat more, this naughty little chocolate tart!

Chocolate Pudding

I stayed close to home before my stabby appointment as I didn’t have the luxury of seeing Young John. But will make up for it by walking home.

Walking home

Also, a picture of Mika my new fur-baby. Just proof she has settled in even sleeping snuggled against my legs overnight telling me she trusts me. Yeah, that’s the sign. For those who don’t speak Cat!

Mika

Cheers,
H

Have a great week

Today’s Lunch – 8th August 2018

Published August 8, 2018 by helentastic67

Todays Lunch

Today’s Lunch

Good Mental Health Day

Going to rush through some important updates first if I may, have had a series of MRI’s to rule out a second disc bulge, and anything new going on with my brain. MRI on my head, results, still got a brain up there! (Not sorry, brain injury humour) and lower back MRI. No second disc bulge. Check! Friday’s upcoming post particularly important for reasons why I don’t want another disc bulge. Stay tuned! So, next, thoracic spine MRI and yes! I have a spine! And there is good news and bad news! I love this game, I win it every time, it goes like this.

MRI

The Good News! There’s nothing wrong!
The Bad News? We still don’t know what’s causing the problems/pain you are experiencing!
Next!

Good news bad news

Have been particularly tired this week, don’t know if anybody else has felt it? I always flick a message to a friend who is particularly switched on to such, her reply did not disappoint! “Yup! There are 6 planets in retrograde and the lions gate is open!!!!Definitely something in the stars and planets!”

Tired

Prompting me to reply, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph! There’s a lion and a gate? Are we in Narnia?” caught up with my Boo (sweetheart name for one of my gay friends) last week for dinner. Upon reminding him I have Mika he promptly stated I’d given up on finding a husband? Ggggrrrrrrrrrrrr! Move on!

Narnia

In less than two weeks Mika is settling in nicely. She is insisting space on my lap in the evening on top of the polar-fleece covered blanket. Making it very hard for me to eat my dinner, as I am in that slump where all meals are consumed on the couch on my lap! Also, when I want to go to bed I have a grumpy cat not wanting me to move.

Mika 1

Ms Tina one of my crazy cat lady friends dropped in last week to meet Mika and the look on her face when I told her Mika only eats dry food! Priceless! Admittedly, that is 15minutes every Friday I just got back not standing in the supermarket trying to work out what the damn cat will eat this time? Mika will be introduced to wet food. But slowly for a varied diet and not gravy-based, the complete opposite Jamima’s preferences, the Neko Cat Lounge paperwork recommended Mika wouldn’t respond well to runny food. Must reset mind-set!

Crazy Cat Lady

And getting back to the point of today?

To write future blog posts. Socialise at my regular cafe and great tasty food. Today’s offering, something a bit different today although I might not eat the bread. Panino Milanese, (What’s that? I hear you ask, exactly) It’s Coletta, cos lettuce, salsa, Augusta and mustard mayonnaise, with the side salad and medicine!

Pannino Salad

Latte

Cheers,
H

Wonderful day

Today’s Lunch – 25th July 2018

Published July 25, 2018 by helentastic67

Todays Lunch

Today’s Lunch

Good Mental Health Day

Well, my punchy-stab you day, with my lunch at my favourite cafe where I add the final touches to this post has just become a lunch and stabby day and my punchy part of the day has had to find somewhere else to fit into my busy week.

Stabby

My normal Wednesday would centre around my home tram line and my fantastic young John, my taxi driver and with a bit of walking in between it all falls into place without too much stress, expense or loss of my independence or my ability to work flexibly to solve getting where I needed to be when I had to be there.

Walking

I know I hinted needing to stretch my brain muscle again a few weeks ago and this is why. My punchy appointment, my chiropractor has relocated her practice to a slightly less convenient location. A suburb slightly adjacent to my tram line. I am planning to move my chiropractor to Friday’s I think, so I have my carer to drive me and I will have more flexibility on Wednesday’s, but today Young John dropped me to get punched (not advocating for any form of violence), I took a little walk to the train close by and caught a train only a few stops back to Clifton Hill toward the city so I could still get lunch out of the way and tram back towards home for some torture of another kind. No stabby today.

Brain muscle

Side-bar, was in the city yesterday down at the Docklands at an event, to be continued, however, Melbourne logistically is built on a port. Did I mention it’s winter right now? Let me print a picture just quickly in just a few words with pictures. Arctic winds off the bay! I don’t know who picked this location but they are not my favourite, still here are some pictures before I was nearly blown over!

Docklands 1

Docklands 2 Docklands 3 Docklands 4

I showed these pictures to my carer today who stated, Oh I love black and white. It looks great! (Eye roll) That’s not black and white, that was the weather. Oh, how she laughed so hard she cried! I love my carers!

Oh, yes. Where was I?

Today’s lunch, I rang earlier to ask something to be set aside. What can I say? There are perks for consistency. I’ve only been going there for 10 years. An Arancini Bolognaise with side salad with my standard medicine and a coffee Mignon because I felt like it. And like there isn’t enough to see today?

Arancini

Latte

Coffee mignon

Mika 1

Mika 3

I’m hoping this beautiful fluffy thing becomes mine! Or me hers? Soooooo smoochie!

Cheers,
H

Great Day

Today’s Lunch – 11th July 2018

Published July 13, 2018 by helentastic67

Todays Lunch

Today’s Lunch

Good Mental Health Day

Well, that didn’t happen!

I always look forward to my Wednesday’s when I know what to expect and things come pretty close to how I imagine and I was particularly looking forward to seeing my chiropractor because of how I had been feeling on Tuesday. After my trip to the city on Tuesday, I was feeling seedy at the start of the day, no idea again how I can be hungover when I don’t even drink and wasn’t even near anybody else who was hungover. Yes, I know it’s not contagious and neither was I.

Tuesday

I had my monthly committee meeting of the self-advocacy group I’m part of. Guess what other monthly event it coincided with? Hence the feeling like ‘death warmed up?’ (Subtle enough?) When I go to the city I do a lot of walking and despite feeling like a zombie I still managed 3000 steps. Got home by 3 pm and did a Face-Plant! Rolled over around 4pm and felt motion-sickness settle in.

Death warmed up

Wednesday, everything was going to plan, was up and showered and dressed ready to enhance a small breakfast, harass Young John to ask him to scoop me up and deliver me to my favourite cafe in Cliffy Hill before getting to Chiro just after 2pm, when I wasn’t feeling super-hot! Ow, for those not familiar with when it’s good to see a chiropractor? Anytime is good, if you are not 100% even more important. So, I arranged with Young John if he could transport me down a little later, in time for Chiro? In the end by 2pm, I was back in PJ’s and back in bed. Eventually I had a cuppa T and a banana muffin for ‘dinner’ around 10pm, and it was the only thing I had all day. Eventually, Wednesday ended and Thursday began and while still feeling particularly seedy I’m again in my PJ’s, lucky today is my cleaning/admin day at home anyway. Have a lovely carer here today and I shared with her another banana muffin and cuppa T, my breakfast, her morning tea.

Feeling seedy

At least while someone was here my bread and butter pudding that was soaking in the fridge since Monday afternoon could get baked. “Which half do you want?” (She looked at me to see if I was serious) Have I mentioned there are a few things that when I make them, I don’t make single serves? I package, freeze, post to my administrator and give away. I’m a classic Nona. “You’re too skinny!” So, here is today’s offering straight from my oven. No, you cannot have the recipe. And while, obviously not being a standard mid-week foodie post sometimes it’s important you are aware I’m not always in the best of health and lack of sleep really takes its toll.

Bread and Butter Pudding 1

By Friday I’ll be able to pull it together again for one day only and rather than neglecting my commitment of 3 posts a week, please take this (slightly delayed) post as a near enough is good enough.

Friday

So, there are times I’m not feeling very well at all and I’ll still pull it together and power on through however, because people only see me when I’m feeling ok it’s assumed I’m always ok and I’m not stay tuned as next week I will be back to normal postings.

Not always well

Cheers,
H

Today’s Lunch – 4th July 2018

Published July 4, 2018 by helentastic67

Todays Lunch 1

Today’s Lunch

Good Mental Health Day

Now, to share. Yesterday I had a little adventure out on Hellonwheels in my local neighbourhood. It’s already a rarity at this time of the year as it’s winter here in Melbourne. We are due a dry winter which sounds strange, but to make up for it, it will be bitterly cold. But I had a parcel to collect from the post office and I couldn’t carry it. So Hellonwheels it was, I layered up and off I went!

Hellonwheels accident 1

I didn’t get far when I literally ran into a woman. Now, the only appropriate response is to be genuine when asking how they are. Just saying. Sell it! Make it sound real! She said in a child-like voice that it had really hurt! I bet it had. It’s what you get when you stop walking in the middle of the footpath without having any awareness of who or what is around you. I had had my head turned slightly too far to my right so she had been in my blind spot on my left, but no I did not tell her that. It is my least favourite thing yet to run into someone on my scooter even if they deserved it.
I made the effort to scooter to one of the food truck locations, I haven’t been to any of them however this mural…………..
Chuck Norris

My carer tells me there is a neat ‘hack’ online or was where you would google his name to be given a message that “you don’t find Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris finds you!” This is why it’s good to have some ‘younger fear’ people around. This carer keeps getting mistaken as my child lately. She’s 24, she teases me that I’m really old. Like 60. Um? I’m 45 and 60 isn’t old but I feel old already!

Teasing

On my scooter ride home, I dropped in on Wilbur but left it too late to snap a photo and here are some cool snaps I took on my way home. My council district is very good to encourage and commission artists to do murals. It keeps tagging and graffiti to a minimum.

Street Art 1 Street Art 2 Street Art 3 Street Art 4 Street Art 5 Street Art 6 Street Art 7 Street Art 8

And despite only being out for 2 hours on my scooter in winter, my face and ears and my left hand were freezing, although my hand is always freezing, still counts. Don’t know if anyone else has this problem however coffee doesn’t help keep me awake! Anyone? Sometimes coffee and a kip? Best sleep ever. Just saying I think it’s my Italian blood. There was that time once working in clubs I had two coffees overnight and when I was in bed trying to sleep hours later my heart was racing. Also, didn’t help I had to get up early and get to the other side of town for my friend’s brothers 21st by midday. Seriously, those were the days. The music at that party was louder than the clubs I worked at and when I inquired the source of the music since it wasn’t coming from inside the house I was informed it was coming from the mum’s car! Outside, in the driveway with the boot up, with all the flashing lights of any 80’s disco. God help us all! I live on that side of town now, where were we?

80s disco

After that little trip down memory lane and to the point of today’s post?

Today’s offering, it’s a return to the Arancini. A pumpkin and spinach with the side-salad. Today’s medicine is complimentary, with a little pink mignon.

Arancini
Latte 1 Mignon

As I don’t have acupuncture today, I might return for the carrot cake I didn’t have last week since it so disappointed Oscar a dandelion another of my followers.

Carrot Cake

Today’s Lunch – 16th May 2018

Published May 16, 2018 by helentastic67

Todays lunch

Today’s Lunch

Good Mental Health Day

Lunch is so important today.

Had a really nice quiet day at home yesterday. Because my lovely mayo/Remedial lady comes to me, but after the calm it’s good to be out and about around people.

Getting out

Then the rest of today is full, Punchy/Stabby! Hope you all know that’s my ‘code’ for Chiropractor then acupuncture.

Code

So, today’s lunch, Arancini Bolognaise with a side-salad and my standard medicine.

Arancini

Latte

I’m in my full winter comfort food already.

Cheers

H

hope-your-having-a-great-day

Today’s Lunch – 9th May 2018

Published May 9, 2018 by helentastic67

Todays Lunch 0905

Today’s Lunch

Good Mental Health Day

So rather than scootering today, to fit in with Young John’s other important people I’m not on Hellonwheels. This is the time of year every Wednesday is a day to wear my scootering T-shirt! It states on the front “Eat. Sleep. Ride. Repeat” and as it’s Autumn, every Wednesday could be the last until spring and even then, spring is pretty wet.

T Shirt

I may not have mentioned but Hellonwheels is not waterproof! Sadly. After a few crazy days and weeks, I’ve made it to Clifton Hill in time for lunch before the Punchy/Stabby starts! I’m sitting in the front window today as there are lots of well-behaved doggies waiting for fog biscuits. Frankie is present, let’s see if I can snap a photo of Frankie with her dad. Frankie will beg for food from complete strangers. It’s cute.

Frankie

Today’s offering is an Arancini Zucca (pumpkin and spinach) and my standard medicine.

Pumpkin and Spinich

Latte

When I got to the chiro I ran into Young Johns wife! That’s right! Her names Young Betty!

Young Betty

Cheers,
H

Wednesday

Today’s Lunch – 18th April 2018

Published April 18, 2018 by helentastic67

Todays lunch

Today’s Lunch

Good Mental Health Day

Short and sweet today as I’ve had a migraine off and on since Sunday. It’s now Wednesday! Looking forward to seeing my chiropractor!

Migraine

On the upside; saw a woman with a full head of Foils go check her parking meter! That always cheers me. Because, I must have now made 15 calls to have my 6-week-old front loader washing machine be fixed! So grumpy about this B.S.today!

BS meter

Today’s offering is a quiche with a side salad. I don’t know what kind I asked to be surprised
and because I’m due a complimentary medicine. Today it comes with a little chocolate mignon. (That is fancy profiterole with a creamy custard)

Quiche 1 Latte 1

Cheers,
H

Have a nice day

Today’s Lunch – 11th April 2018

Published April 11, 2018 by helentastic67

Todays lunch 1104

Today’s Lunch

Good Mental Health Day

Another Wednesday dawns and much to share. Firstly, an apology for Monday’s post arriving a day later than normal. You might be aware I post Monday, Wednesday and Friday with an attention to promptness?

So, to explain. I’m sure you will understand my lovely Noelle my administrator who does all the magic to put my words live, mourns the passing of her mother. And she was put to rest Monday. While she lives in Sydney and I in Melbourne I finally got to meet her! Not the best of circumstances however after about six years of daily contact and a rare phone all. We actually got to meet! And yes, I made her try the prickly pear (it’s a very short season of which I bought only 12) Here is a picture of us.

Slumber party

Just a couple of kids

By the time I remembered to get a photo we were both in our jimmy jimmies (slumber party!) and very tired. Hence the above! No, it’s not us but I gave Noelle creative license to go crazy! Sadly, she was only here for one night! But I made sure to take her for coffee! Since MELBOURNE does have far superior coffee to Sydney!

Melbourne Coffee

But the excitement for the week was not yet over, what else could there be, I hear you ask? Monday early evening around 6.30pm, the fire alarm went off in the apartment block and we had to evacuate. Sounds a bit exciting right? Will Helens fantasy of being rescued from her second-floor balcony by a ‘hot’ fireman really happen? The block is six stories and there are lots of apartments and never an opportunity to meet anyone. Well, until there is an incident like this, after pulling on my cuff and collar, grabbing my bag and walking stick I left the building. In the lift, where it clearly states in case of fire avoid using the lift! (How else was I supposed to get out?) I later learnt there are two staircases I’m just hoping there is a handle on the right-hand side and in a serious potentially smoke-filled environment I don’t get pushed down the stairs? He sent fantasy? What! A girl can dream!

Fire Alarm

After standing around downstairs (wish I’d bought a jumper…..bbbbrrrrrr) not one but two firetrucks came! People started heading back upstairs. I asked two firemen if it was ok to go back up? What had been the problem? He told me someone had been cooking bread rolls and they had caught on fire! And had it been me?

Fire truck

Hot fireman

How dare he! And on the lift ride back up having started a conversation with another tenant who provided me with some relief that this happens about once-yearly, she was going upstairs to find her cat who would likely be traumatised. One cat condo had appeared downstairs in the evacuation so seemingly good pet parenting there and if I had a cat I would have struggled to catch, shove in a cat condo and get it and myself outside, stairs aside! Again, fantasy prevails!

In the lift

In the lift, I noticed the only other people in the building I know. They swapped car spaces with me so I could access power for my scooter and they live two doors down from me, so have been initiated into my free food trade agreement. So, I asked him in the lift if he had been baking? Rightly he denied such action but there was a murmur of humour. I later messaged him apologising ‘bake-shaming’ him in public. He took it so well and that was just Monday, this is why I stopped writing my Monday Hot off the Press posts. They were while accurate, so busy.

Baking bread

Now, it’s Wednesday and with a grasp on calm today’s offering is another Ortolani quiche with a side salad. And my medicine.

Quiche

Latte

Today’s Lunch – 4th April 2018

Published April 4, 2018 by helentastic67

KITTEN WITH BLUE BLANKET

Today’s Lunch

Good Mental Health Day

Well, last week I visited Neko Cat Lounge in Melbourne. Prompting me to email a photo to my property manager with the sentence “Can I have her?” Accompanied by this photo.

Jody

And an assortment of others.

Two cats were adopted that day.

Bruce here, would have gone home too but he wouldn’t come out of his tree! This was all you could see of him and I confess I took advantage and gave his head some pats, he was baby-soft! He was a 3.5-year-old rag doll. Both Ms T and I wanted to see him come out of his tree so we could see all of him. While he didn’t come out another cat climbed into the cat condo awaiting Bruce I suggested “2 for 1?”

Bruce