Possums Like to Party

So we've been in our new home for a couple of months now and one of the most exciting discoveries so far is that we have possums.  I think this must be very English of us to be excited about possums because I'm pretty sure that the Australians see them as pests.  And if what my boss tells me is true, the Kiwis shoot them and collect a dollar per pelt.....

Anyway, I'm English and I think possums are cute.

They made their presence known quite early on but it took me a while to realise what they were.  Or rather that it was possums making all the noise on top of our conservatory. I thought it was branches clattering, Will the pigeon, maybe even a rogue land dwelling shark.  But it turned out to be possums.

The sun goes down and the possums come out to play.  They scuttle across the conservatory roof and then leap from tree to tree.  I'm not sure if I'll ever stop being fascinated by their antics.  And I think they secretly love the attention.  Shy, nocturnal creatures?  Hell no.  Possums are party animals.  Stalky fans may remember that Mystical Roo found one asleep in a bin after a heavy night of partying.  And a notorious little karaoke bar down the road from us is called the Pickled Possum.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Possums like to party.  And as it goes they like to party on our roof.

Little Stalky's Lemon

So it turns out my last post was way back in 2012.  And it's now 2014.  That's a pretty long time.  There was a whole lot of 2013 in between then and now.

But could anything that crazy really have happened in Little Stalky world since then?  Anything truly nutty?  Does Mystical Roo still have a beard?  Do carrots still taste like soap?  And will anyone ever stop the plight that is the land dwelling shark?

Mystical Roo does still have a beard and it's bigger and bushier then ever.  There are rumours that it now houses a field mouse but that might just be gossip.  The flavour of carrots have definitely improved but I'm ever vigilant.  And the land dwelling sharks? They continue to dwell on land (and occasionally in letter boxes).

It's been an eventful couple of years - Mystical Roo and I have moved twice, explored new continents, climbed trees, floated on BBQ boats, shot lasers and stomped grapes.  We've been wining, dining and generally enjoying everything that Sydney living has to offer.

I had to give up my compost heap, then I started a new compost heap and then I had to give up that compost heap too.  One lemon tree died but another thrived and if there's one piece of news that I need to share, it's that I have successfully harvested my first ever lemon.  I know I'm biased but I'm pretty sure this is the most perfectly perfect lemon in the entire world.

So there we have it. Little Stalky's lemon.  I figure when you've been off the blog scene for a while you need to come back with a bang.

Trolley Dude: Shunning Fame?

For the first time in oh such a long time I, Little Stalky, saw trolley dude.  I saw trolley dude!  He's alive everyone.  Alive!  And doing what he does best: pushing a huge line of trolleys.  But trolley dude appeared to be trying to go incognito.  He was wearing sunglasses and a hat.  It was like he was trying to hide his true identity and blend in with the crowd.  I've decided that trolley dude must have become aware of his fame as trolley dude and is trying to avoid the fans.  He's trying to keep a low profile lest crazy women try and strike up conversation.  I watched him pass with awe and immediately alerted Mystical Roo to the fact that I'd just spotted trolley dude.  I then suggested to Mystical Roo that trolley dude seemed to be trying to go unnoticed.  Mystical Roo decided that it was down to the shaved head.  He figured trolley dude was ashamed of his baldness and was trying to hide the evidence.  Shunning fame or hiding a hair disaster?  It's just another trolley dude mystery.  

Whale Season

It's whale season again here and the whales are officially on the move.  I'm not really sure where they're going or even where they're coming from but I know that for the next few months the whales will be travelling through our waters.  Now I say it's whale season but I've yet to actually see one.  Everyone else seems to have seen one but I'm obviously in the wrong place at the wrong time.  To be fair, the view from my balcony shows the bay and really a whale shouldn't be in there.  If a whale was in there - like last year - it normally means it's poorly and not doing so good.  Duke has seen loads of whales from her house and today Monster Noggin said she saw like four whales.  Four whales!  Apparently there was much tail splashing action.  I'm missing out.  I can see that I'm going to have to go in search of whale activity.  Maybe when Mystical Roo gets home we can do the coastal walk or something.  I spotted whales the last time we did that.  And looked like a total tourist when I started hopping about, pointing and announcing to anyone who would listen that I had spotted a whale.  Not this year though.  I seem to be the only one who hasn't spotted a whale.  I'll have to go out and about and see if I can get me a photo.  I'm hoping to get a whale hanging out with dolphins.  That would be cool.

Little Stalky Gets Her Yoga On

I've been trying for several mornings now to motivate my Stalky self and get up early to do some dawn exercise. Today was the first day that I actually succeeded in hauling my butt out of bed.  I always go to sleep with good intentions and I set my alarm to get me up nice and early but more often than not I'll hit snooze, roll over and enjoy an extra half an hours worth of sleep.  Well not today.  The alarm went off but I was already awake and though I was comfortable I forced myself to get up.  It's never that bad once you're actually up.  In fact it's quite nice and unless it's been a late night (which it rarely is) then the groggy sleepiness normally wears off fairly swiftly.     I'll only stumble into one door before becoming properly aware of my surroundings.  So this morning, with the sun still to rise, I whipped out my yoga mat, grabbed the yoga DVD and did some pilates.  And you thought I was going to do yoga.  Well I did that too.  Pilates, yoga, tai chi and even a little bit of meditation.  Check me out with my healthy living.  It was actually very relaxing and there was something infinitely calming about watching the sun rise over the ocean even if I was twisted into a seemingly unnatural position at the time.  What I have discovered is that after months of doing not much but walking, my body has become very stiff and doesn't bend as easily as it did about six months ago.  I can't even touch my toes.  It looks like I'll have to try and make this a more regular morning activity.  Limber up and what not.  The DVD took me about an hour to complete and at the end of it I felt really happy.  I was calm and relaxed yet strangely energised.  I felt ready for the day and whatever it might throw at me.  I know that tomorrow I'll wake up and be aching all over but once I get past that little hurdle I'll be ready to jump back into action.  Downward dog.  Sun salutations.  I've got it covered.  And when Mystical Roo gets back from his business trip he can join in too and I'll have a yoga, pilates, tai chi, meditation buddy.  Maybe when summer comes back around we'll be out on the beach, stretching out on the sand.  Oh what ambitions I have for my healthy lifestyle.  We'll see how long it lasts.  

Little Stalky Gets Things Stuck in the Car Door

In another walking-home-from-work adventure, I yesterday got rescued from the rain by a colleague who was out and about in her car.  This happens on a fairly regular basis and I've received lifts from a number of different people when travelling both to and from work.  I would like to state that I have never accepted a lift from a stranger.  Yesterday was a bit of a miserable day and though not really cold it was dark and drizzly.  I was actually offered a lift home on the back of a motorbike - with helmet and everything - but I could picture Bear Z in my mind going no, don't do it.  Don't you dare get on the back of that bike.  So I didn't.  I'd gotten about halfway home, listening to Dr Kermode on my i-pod, when I heard a toot.  Or the car variety.  You have to be wary when approaching tooters as although often it is a work colleague stopping to offer a lift, it can sometimes be a random man who thinks tooting is appropriate.  Never approach the random man.  Just frown upon them until they go away.  In this case it was in fact a colleague who came to rescue me from the drizzle.  Now it's always a bit of a kerfuffle getting into a vehicle when you're kitted out in walking gear.  Especially when you add a brolly into the mix.  I have to unclip my rucksack and remove it from my shoulders, pull out my head phones - so as not to be impolite - stow the i-pod in my pocket and put the brolly under my arm.  Not as easy as it sounds.  Especially when you're as clumsy as I am.  I tend to rush myself too and do things too quickly.  Yesterday I managed two things.  One:  I trapped one headphone from the i-pod  in the door of the car.  Two:  I trapped a handful of hair in the door of the car. Fantastic.  And you'd think I'd just quickly open and shut the door and fix this situation but I didn't actually realise the situation until the situation was underway and the car was in motion.  I realised my error when I went to tuck away the i-pod but the headphone refused to budge.  I realised my second error when I tried to turn my head and felt a tug at my hair.  I cringed.  A bit of hair and a bit of headphone were hanging out the passenger side door.  Bouncing along in the wind.  Enjoying a fair smattering of rain.  Probably looking stupid.  And I guess a sensible person would have mentioned this.  Asked the driver if they wouldn't mind stopping so that the situation could be attended to.  But I just felt really stupid.  And I decided that I would feel even stupider if I actually had to admit my stupidity.  Which is stupid in itself because it was less stupidity and more clumsiness that caused the stupid situation.  Instead I decided to hold my ground.  We were less than a minute from home so I could hold out.  I just hoped that my colleague hadn't noticed the bit of hair or the bit of headphone that was stuck in the door.  I had to keep very still and prepare myself for the bends.  Move with the car, not away from it.  Otherwise things were likely to get painful.  I'm sure I didn't look that stupid.  I should have made mention of my neck, which is actually much better now but would have made for a great excuse with regards to sitting very still.  When the car pulled up outside my house I opened the door at lighting speed just to try and disguise my error.  I hope I didn't look rude or like I was trying to escape.  I said thank you, gathered my things and then scurried away to the safety of the flat.  I don't think too much damage has been done.  The headphone was intact.  My hair was intact.  It's just my dignity that's taken a bit of a bashing.  But what's new.  

Little Stalky Gets Her Jazz On

As you can probably see, I've been playing with the design of my blog page.  I just can't help myself.  It's like redecorating.  I get bored of the current decor and then decide to go ahead and change it.  And what better way to express myself than through leopard print borders and wacky writing.  But I understand that this is perhaps a bit offensive to the eyes so I shall consider toning things down a bit to make it easier for my readers to actually read.  I just got excited with all the new design tools that I found.  I get carried away.  But I know what it's like to try and use a website that is trying to be too creative.  It can be downright annoying.  Especially when you get those pages that are so over the top that you can't actually find anything.  You have this crazy introduction page that wants to play music and force you to watch as various elements zoom around the page.  It seems to be challenging you to catch one of these zooming objects with your mouse before you can even get into the main hub of the information.  Those websites drive me loopy.  Especially if I'm on the slow laptop as it just struggles to load anything.  Or if you're at work and this random music starts blaring out of the speakers.  Annoying.  And very unnecessary.  At the end of the day you just want easy navigation and be able to find the things that you want to find.  But a bit of style is ok, right?  So I'll take another look at my design and try to make it slightly less jazzy.  I'll try to combine easy to use with a little bit of jazz.  Watch this space.  

Facebook Addict

I remember being a bit slow on the Facebook front and taking a while to actually start up a page.  I used it a bit in England but would normally only check it once a day.  However now that I live in Australia I can confirm that I'm an official addict.  My name is Little Stalky and I have a problem.  I'm addicted to Facebook.  But I'm not the only one.  I got thinking about this because Monster Noggin confessed that she too is a Facebook addict.  And I'm sure there's plenty more out there.  I see there are two mitigating factors.  One:  I moved to Australia.  Two:  I now have access to Facebook via my phone.  I think that Facebook might seem a bit pointless to some people but I now find it a really useful tool for keeping in touch with people who live half way round the world from me.  I can see photos and find out what people are up to.  I can stay in contact with just a few words here and there.  It's a quick and easy way that allows me to feel somewhat more connected with the rest of the world.  That, I think, is a good thing.  Having Facebook on my phone is pretty much a bad thing.  Because I can't stop checking it.  I check Facebook on my phone a ridiculous number of times in the day.  Sometimes I think I do it without even thinking.  It's the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do before I go to sleep at night.  If I've got a spare five minutes I'll quickly check my Facebook.  If the adverts come on - and there are a lot of adverts in this country - then I'll check my Facebook.  If I'm waiting for a lift then I'll check my Facebook.  When I go to lunch, have a tea break, finish work...I'll check my Facebook.  When I've just finished on my computer, where I've just been on my Facebook, I'll shut down my computer and then...CHECK MY FACEBOOK!  It's utter madness.  I'm checking it every five minutes.  And what for?  What for?  The most stupid thing is that the majority of people I'm friends with on Facebook live in England.  And they're asleep.  So they're not updating Facebook.  So I'm checking Facebook just to learn that nothing has changed.  Because everyone is asleep.  Sometimes I actually stop and tell myself I'm being stupid.  Other times I just go ahead and do it without even realising I'm doing it.  It's habit.  And I don't know why I have this need.  Am I scared I'll miss out on some important news?  Could something wonderful have happened in the five minutes since I last checked?  I got scolded by Mystical Roo the other day for checking my Facebook during a film.  What the hell?  I wasn't even thinking.  I just did it.  And it's all because it's on my phone.  If it wasn't on my phone then I wouldn't be on it half as much.  And I know what you're thinking.  Little Stalky, remove that app.  But I can't.  Because I like it. I like being in Sydney and being able to post a picture then and there for friends and family to see.  When they wake up.  But still.  There's something nice about being able to just post an update whilst you're in the moment.  I think I just need to curb the constant checking.  Maybe hide my phone.  Or attach a post it note with a reminder that nothing new is likely to have happened in the last five minutes.  And on that note...I'm off to check my emails.  

Little Stalky Adopts Some Plants

The Little Stalky plant collection continues to grow as I have now acquired two new additions.  I've actually adopted these plants and was happy to be able to offer them a home.  Mystical Roo was only saying the other day how he wanted a house plant.  I knew the plants would sneak their way into his heart eventually!  Now I have no idea what these plants are called - no idea at all - but I have attached photos so if anyone knows what they are please feel free to 

enlighten me.  As you can see we've

got large leafy dude with dark green, shiny leaves.  He came with a little tag that advised he was a sturdy plant that would be happy indoors or in a shady spot outside.  He's currently sitting alongside the rocking chair and seems happy to hang out in front of the window.  The other plant is the long beardy looking dude with a few purple and white flowers.  He's outside at the moment but I haven't decided if that's where he'll stay.  He was an indoor plant before and although he seems happy in the winter weather I wonder how he'll fare in that sunny spot once the summer sun starts beating down.  We'll see how it goes.  Needless to say I was in super excited mode when I was offered the chance to house these plants.  I've since introduced them to the rest of the clan and everyone seems to be getting on well.  I suggested that we name our new plants but then I realised I hadn't named the others and didn't want it to seem like I had favourites!  So there we have it.  Little Stalky's new plant friends.  Lets hope they enjoy their new home.  

Little Stalky Can't Comment

I just wanted to let everyone know that I can't comment on my posts at the moment.  Actually, I can't comment on anyone's posts at the moment.  Apparently it's a problem with actually signing in and the problem is being looked at but this was back in May so I hope someone is still looking at it.  Because I get highly frustrated not being able to interact with my fellow bloggers and I don't want anyone to think I'm ignoring them or not responding.  For a while I was able to post comments via my phone but I've just tried this today and it won't let me.  It just sits there looking at me and mocking me and refusing to let me post my comments.  Little Stalky has been gagged!  So I just wanted to say thank you to those who comment on my posts and assure you that I am reading them.  I am forming responses in my Little Stalky mind but unfortunately I can't communicate them at present.  I will keep trying and hopefully I'll soon be able to comment again.  In the meantime, feel free to say whatever the hell you want and be safe in the knowledge that I can't say anything back!

Little Stalky Milks the Resin

Yesterday I went into work with Mystical Roo to help prepare a couple of orders.  This involved much weighing of resin which, in my mind, is very much like the milking of a cow.  Not that I've ever milked a cow, but this is what I imagine it might be like.  If a cow had taps.  Ok, I guess it's nothing like milking a cow but it still reminds me of the milking of a cow.  But cows aside, the weighing of resin involves Mystical Roo giving me a weight and Little Stalky drawing out resin until the scales indicate I have hit the correct weight.  It's fairly straight forward but a hundred buckets later the palms of my hands were really starting to hurt.  I think this is partly from the constant turning of the tap and partly because my weak girl like hands can't get the lids on the buckets properly.  That is a tough job.  I had to leave that to Mystical Roo because it got to the point where my hands were feeling bruised.  He's got proper man hands so he was ok.  As well as sore hands I now have a sore butt.  And you might wonder what on earth this has to do with the weighing of resin.  It's less to do with the actual weighing of resin and more to do with sitting on a tiny plastic bucket because you're too lazy to go and find a bigger bucket.  I spent most of the day weighing resin and labelling buckets and it absolutely knackered me.  I got home, cooked up a chili and then went into zombie mode.  What a wuss!  And I wasn't even doing that much physical work.  Mystical Roo and Ammy - yes Ammy - do this all week.  They're hardcore.

A Trolley Dude Sighting

In an important development in the whole Trolley Dude saga, I have received intel from Monster Noggin that Trolley Dude has officially been sighted.  Monster Noggin has sighted Trolley Dude.  Seen him in action. Confirmed that Trolley Dude is indeed alive and well.  But the shocker?  Well, according to Monster Noggin, Trolley Dude has gone and shaved his head!  I know.  Shocking.  One can only begin the ponder the possibilities of what this actually means.  Trolley Dude once had long and lustrous locks that were longer than my own.  He wore his dark black hair in a ponytail.  We marvelled at it.  Then, Trolley Dude shocked us all by cutting his hair into a more common and mundane style.  Was he trying to blend in?  We noticed his absence amongst the trolleys and wondered if his hair was behind his Trolley Dude like powers.  When Trolley Dude hadn't been spotted in weeks and other, less qualified, less hairy, less dude like dudes took over the trolley monitoring responsibilities at Woolworths, we wondered whether Trolley Dude had moved on to pastures new.  But it turns out that this is not the case.  He was just shaving his head.  And now he's back.  Sans hair but back in action.  But what is the story behind the shaved head?  What does it all mean?  Is the shaved head really the reason behind this lengthy absence?  Did he have a short stint in the army?  Or maybe in prison?  Did he have lice?  Did he have a hair dye malfunction?  Perhaps he's just being practical and going for a maintenance free look.  Or maybe he's just sick of the stigma associated with his hair.  Hell, Trolley Dude is probably making the point that his hair is not behind his power.  He's all powerful without any hair at all.  He's making the ultimate statement of Trolley Dude power.  Impressive.  It got my attention.  Though in truth I've yet to see Trolley Dude back in action.  All of this is based on the reports from Monster Noggin.  And as trustworthy as Monster Noggin is, if she wasn't wearing her glasses then we can't be sure of anything.  If Monster Noggin wasn't wearing her glasses then the Trolley Dude sighting may well have been an ugly naked mole rat.  Or a cactus.  Or a land dwelling shark.  Or just a random shopper pushing his or her trolley.  But I like to think that Monster Noggin was wearing her glasses.  Or was at least close enough that glasses were not necessary to ascertain the identity of Trolley Dude.  I may not have seen him whilst out shopping last night and I may not have seen him whilst getting milk the night before that but something tells me that Trolley Dude is making a comeback.  And he'll be bigger, badder and better than ever. 

Attack of the Ash Cloud

There's a lot of wind about here at the moment.  And volcanic ash.  Apparently a volcano in Chile has blown its top and sent a slew of ash into the air.  Somehow this ash cloud has made its way over to the land of Oz and it's causing havoc with flights.  Mystical Roo was meant to be flying to Perth today but that has now been postponed due to this rogue ash cloud.  I'm secretly - or not so secretly as I'm blogging about this - pleased because it means Mystical Roo will be around for a few more days before he has to jet off to Melbourne on Monday.  My he's a well travelled Roo.  I assume the flights will be up and running again by then.  Lets hope so because I imagine this whole thing is upsetting many folk.  You'd be a bit miffed if the ash cloud was eating into your holiday or stopping you from getting somewhere important.  You hear tales of people missing weddings and becoming cut off from loved ones.  That's sad.  But you also hear tales of people getting really angry at the airlines, which I don't quite understand.  It's not their fault that a volcano decided to get its ash on.  I think I'd be more concerned if they were ignoring safety factors and sending flights on their merry way.  Ash cloud?  What ash cloud.  Less good.  So we should direct our frustration towards the volcano.  In Chile.  But then I guess that's not fair seeing as how the volcano probably didn't do it on purpose.  I doubt the volcano had malicious intent.  So maybe we should blame the ash cloud itself?  But then does the ash cloud really have any say over where it goes?  Probably not.  It's probably dictated by the wind.  And seeing as how the wind has been blowing over trees and rattling windows, I say lets aim our frustration towards the wind.  Lets shake our fists angrily at the wind.  Or ask it nicely if it wouldn't mind shifting that ash cloud somewhere where it will  have less of an impact.  Another cunning plan from the genius mind of Little Stalky.

Thwarted by an Orange

Evil

I have been officially thwarted by an orange.  An orange!  Innocent looking thing but this orange was definitely harbouring evil intent.  To tempt a Little Stalky with its orangey goodness only to put up an impossible fight.  Which I lost.  It's shameful.  I had packed an orange in my lunch and was looking forward to said orange.  Now normally I'm of the habit of slicing an orange and just munching away from the rind but, being at work, I had planned to simply peel the orange and eat it segment by segment.  Not as easy as it sounds.  Impossible as it turns out.  I set about unpeeling my orange and was surprised at how tough the peel was.  This was no clementine or satsuma.  This was a hardcore orange.  Godfather of the citrus family.  The chunky monkey of peelable fruit.  A nemesis I had never expected to encounter.  The peel of the orange was coming away in teeny tiny little chunks and I was only about half way through when my fingers actually started aching from the effort.  Aching fingers!  And my fingernails were protesting.  I'm a persistent little bugger so I kept at it.  Peeling away.  It was a frustrating process and my fingers were sticky and my fingernails were clogged with rind.  Not a good look.  I thought that if I could just break a segment off then the rest of it would be easy to get into.  But I couldn't get close.  The white bit - no idea what that is called - was simply impenetrable.  It wasn't budging for anyone.  Especially not me.  I couldn't make a dent.  And I wanted my orange!  By this time I had become highly frustrated and decided to give up on the damned thing.  No orange is worth that much trouble.  I photographed the orange, knowing I would want to share this story, scowled at the orange, threw the orange in the bin and then washed my hands of the residue of our fight.  Then I remembered that our work kitchen is actually fully equipped and I could have simply cut the thing open with a knife.  Thwarted by an orange.

A Little Stalky Composting Adventure



Inside Little Stalky's Compost Bin



I am pleased to announce that my compost heap is officially growing.  This morning I have been actively composting and have enclosed some photos of my efforts.  Mystical Roo snaffled me a bucket and we've been using this bucket to collect kitchen waste to add to the compost bin.  The bucket lives under the sink, has a lid and is emptied - or is going to be emptied - on a regular basis.  Today I have added my first bucket of kitchen waste into the mix.  Exciting stuff.  Tea bags, fruit, peelings and even some more of those damned pesky oats (where do they keep coming from!)  I am aware that I need to maintain a balance of "green" and "brown" material in my compost heap.  I can obviously contribute plenty of kitchen waste but unless I want to go on some sort of plant massacre - I don't! - I don't have much in the way of garden waste.  I don't have any grass.  I don't have a garden.  So I figured I would snaffle myself some grass.  And where better to snaffle some grass than the massive holiday park that has like 35 acres of the stuff.  I politely asked one of the ground staff if they wouldn't mind gathering me a bag of grass.  If it wasn't too much trouble.  It turns out it's very easy to get a bag of grass when there is so much of it laying around.  In a matter of minutes I had acquired a huge bin bag full of grass.  And I was chuffed.  Then I had to explain that I was composting, which in turn explained my need for the grass.  I've added two bucketfuls of grass to the mix and still have loads left, which is now living in the laundry room.  I think that grass will last me a while, but at least I know I've got grass on tap if I need it.  You may also notice that I've attached a photograph of my hand - yes that's me - holding a garden tool of some description.  I have no idea what this thing is called but it serves the purpose of stirring up the compost.  I like to think of it as my compost twirling stick type thing.  It gets the job done.  So this morning I've added a bucket of kitchen waste, two buckets of grass and have stirred the whole thing up.  I'm far too excited about this and have to stop myself from going to check the compost every half hour.  You know, just to see if anything has changed.  But I'm really enjoying my composting experience.  And I think Mystical Roo likes our attempt at some green living.  I will keep you all posted on the compost and it's progress.  It's a Little Stalky composting adventure! 

A Bucket Full of Kitchen Waste - Nice!

A Compost Twirling Tool

Someone Disses the Duck

Stalky fans may know that I in turn am a huge fan of The Hungry Duck.  I love the Duck.  And as a contributor to Trip Advisor I have obviously given it a rave review.  Because it's very, very good.  But it would seem that my review has offended someone.  I would like to share with you, the email that I received in response to my review:

Dear Little Stalky,


I'm pleased that you had such a lovely time at the Hungry Duck. I was a bit concerned at your somewhat evangelical eulogy espousing the joys of the establishment. I think you need to open your eyes to the dining experience and perhaps try some places outside Greater Berry. Rest assured there are far more tantalising restaurants awaiting your epicurean investigation.
Kindest regards,


Fivestartraveller1 and Clare

Well, I was actually quite cross when I found this lingering in my inbox.  It just struck me as really rather rude and patronising.  Frankly, if I want to espouse the joys of the Hungry Duck then that is my right.  I'm sure it's something called freedom of speech.  Yes.  That's it.  And why would you assume that because I had eaten at and subsequently reviewed the Hungry Duck that I hadn't dined outside of Berry?  I'm from England for Christs sake (oooh is that more evangelical behaviour) so of course I've eaten outside of Berry.  I'm actually a rather well travelled Little Stalky and there aren't many cuisines that I haven't tried.  This ruffled my feathers so much that I actually replied.  But I'm a polite kind of girl (most of the time) so I kept my response clean and to the point, despite my urge to tell this person to shove it up their ass.  Anyway, on further investigation it seems that this reviewer didn't enjoy their experience at the Hungry Duck. I can only assume this is due to a taste bud malfunction of some description.  Though personally I picture this reviewer as one of those people who just like to complain about everything. This can only be the case for someone who actively seeks out a fellow reviewer just to tell them that their opinion is wrong.  How can my opinion be wrong when it's my opinion.  Honestly!  Anyway, I think I've given this person far too much of my time and attention already.  But I felt the need to share.  To vent.  And I feel much better for it.  Thank you for listening.   

Little Stalky and the Rolled Oats

I am possibly one of the most clumsy and illogical people in the world.  Ever.  On returning from a food shop the other day, Mystical Roo and I began the task of unpacking.  Mystical Roo normally leads the operation as he is sensible and good at organising the fridge.  I tend to lurk and try to make myself useful.  On this occasion I tried to make myself useful by refilling the jar of oats.  Take the packet of oats.  Undo the packet of oats.  Pour the oats into the jar.  Simple.  Or not so simple.  My first mistake was in the opening of the bag.  The kitchen scissors were dirty so rather than washing them I made a downwards tear into the pack.  Bad plan.  Always tear across.  Across!  I made to pour the oats into their jar and was dismayed when the majority of them missed the jar and instead tumbled over the kitchen counter and then down onto the floor.  Oops.  Yes, big oops.  And upon uttering these words I got the usual question from Mystical Roo of what have you done know.  What indeed.  It was the stupid hole that did it.  Both holes actually.  The hole in the jar wasn't big enough - not for me anyway - and the hole I'd made in the packet was squiffy and causing uneven pourage of the oats.  I tried again and got the same result.  Funny that.  Then, for reasons unknown - I think I could have fixed the problem by simply adjusting the tear in the packet - I decided a funnel would sort things out.  Yes.  A funnel.  So I grabbed the big funnel, balanced it in the jar and set about pouring oats into the funnel.  I didn't stop until the funnel was full whereby I realised that the oats weren't getting through the spout.  Bugger.  I gave it a shake, gave it a poke but still the oats refused to move.  I was wishing I'd never started this task as it was turning into a kind of monster mission.  I then gave up on the funnel and poured the oats stuck in the funnel, into the jar.  Well most of them.  There was definitely more spillage at this point.  I then conceded that I couldn't make much more of a mess so I just went for it and hoped the rest of the oats would find their way into the jar.  Most of them did.  But a lot of them went over the counter and again onto the floor.  Honestly, what kind of remould can't empty a packet of oats into a jar.  It's shameful.  I swept up the oats from the counter and decided that at least they could be used in my compost, which was exciting.  The oats on the floor had to be hoovered up at which point I was reminded of those hoover adverts where someone has purposefully spilt something on the floor just to demonstrate the amazing hoovering power of their hoover.  I figured this would be a good advert for Dyson.  Of course the Dyson did a good job.  I love my Dyson.  Oh look, my mind is wandering again.  So, oats.  The moral of this story?  Don't let Little Stalky near your rolled oats.  Unless you want to make an advert for your hoover. 

Little Stalky's Winter Garden



Compost is a go!

  This morning I've been out battling the elements as I attempted to have a sort out in the garden.  Balcony.  My balcony garden.  You know what I mean.  You may or may not be aware that I have been planning to start composting and have as yet to start the process due to the fact that Mystical Roo and I were looking for an effective method to seal the bottom of our bottomless compost bin.  Well I've fixed that problem and today I can confirm that Mystical Roo and I are officially getting our compost on.  Whoop whoop!  So what was my solution to my bottomless problem?  A bit of plastic and some sticky tape.  Oh yes, it's technical stuff.  Mystical Roo snaffled me a large sheet of plastic from work and handed me a roll of green tape.  I don't know if this tape has any special sticky or waterproof qualities but it seems to be doing the job.  It's not sellotape, it's that big tape that you might use if you wanted to kidnap someone.  Or cover a hole in your paddling pool.  Any hoo, I hoicked the compost bin back indoors, whereby I set it down over the plastic, which I had carefully folded so that it was three sheets thick on the bottom.  See, technical.  I told you.  Then I got crazy with the sticky tape.  As you can see from the attached picture the compost bin is now taped up and ready to go.  You may also note that there is an empty plant pot sat atop the compost bin.  This is to stop the lid flying off and heading out to sea.  So I've actually started filling my compost bin.  From the other photograph you may notice there a couple of plant dudes missing from the balcony.  The tomato plants and the chilli plant.  They're now in tiny pieces at the bottom of the compost heap.  I think I actually got a bit sad chopping up my chilli plant.  We'd had good times.  But I think the plants would be happy to know that they will continue to contribute to the garden even though they've technically died.  So now the balcony is a little less crowded.  In one corner we've got the mint, who is really flourishing in this wet weather, the lemon tree, caterpillar free for several weeks now, the parsley, looking dinky because we keep eating him and the rosemary, which in the few days we were away has decided to sprout numerous purple flowers.  Next we have the thyme, which is looking a bit woody but seems happy enough, big strawberry plant who is, in this photo, flashing his strawberries and next to him is the baby strawberry plant.  Lastly there's my basil plant and my thyme plant.  The basil is looking less bushy than before but is so much healthier looking than when I reported he was suffering in the cold.  The thyme just seems hardcore and happy to put up with anything.  He's cool.  So there we have it.  That's my winter garden.



From left to right:  Mint, Lemon Tree, Parsley,
Rosemary, Thyme, Big Strawberry, Little
Strawberry, Basil and Thyme



Little Stalky Ventures Out

Yesterday I decided to venture out into Melbourne...on my own.  Solo Stalky.  Sans Mystical Roo.  On my bill.  Mystical Roo was working for most of the day so I thought I should take a look around.  Suss things out.  Get my Stalky strut on and blend in with the city folk.  Just like in Sydney.  Though with less McDonalds action.  Firstly I had me some breakfast.  It always feels strange having breakfast on my own.  I feel like people are staring at me and wondering why I have no friends.  I'm sure this is not the case as many people dine alone but I don't think I look like the business type.  Therefore I must have no friends.  Bah!  I thought about bringing my book with me but I have issues eating and reading at the same time.  I miss my mouth.  That would be an embarrassing public display.  Instead I found myself a spot by the window where I could do a bit of people watching and made sure to have my phone nearby so if needed I could have something to focus on.  Yes, I know I over think the situation but that's what I do.  I had a very nice breakfast of eggs Benedict with asparagus and three cups of tea.  A good start to the day.  Then I ventured out into the big city, conscious of the fact that, without Mystical Roo, I would have to take responsibility for not getting lost.  Easier said than done as I have a notoriously bad sense of direction.  Initially I headed in the direction of a blue sign that I thought said tourist information.  It actually said something harbour.  Not actually something harbour because that wouldn't make sense.  I just forget which harbour.  Anyway, this is besides the point.  I realised I didn't want to go in this direction and had to do that random thing of stopping and turning around without looking like too much of numpty.  Make it look like you've forgotten something and no one will question you.  Stop, pause, make thoughtful face, then light bulb above the head face, spin around and get marching.  Purposeful.  Not stupid at all.  I was ridiculously careful to walk mostly in a straight line and tried to avoid side streets for fear of getting lost.  There are a lot of shops in Melbourne.  I came across the expensive street and was tempted to go into Chanel but was scared of being frowned upon for having not enough money to actually buy anything by Chanel.  I continued.  There are a crazy amount of souvenir shops, all selling the same things.  There are also many coffee shops, doughnut shops and a huge number of Seven Elevens.  Not a Woolworths in sight.  I wonder where the people of Melbourne do their grocery shopping.  Do they have a trolley dude.  Probably not.  And that's a shame because everyone should have a trolley dude.  We stumbled across a huge sweet shop on our first night but wouldn't you know it, unsupervised, unrestricted, I couldn't find it again.  Typical!  After getting bored of wandering around shops - I'm not much of a shopper and even less of a window shopper - I decided I might do some writing.  Organised person that I am I had brought my laptop (with a non working battery) but forgot my notepad.  So I found myself a shop and made the exciting purchase of notepad, pen and grape flavoured lolly pop.  Living on the edge people!  My life is an exciting one.  I thought I'd head back to Federation Square - full of weird shaped buildings - and find me a spot to do some writing.  I ambled over - I do a lot of ambling - and was approached by a girl about my age who asked if I was looking for work.  I advised that no, I was just visiting and she smiled and walked off.  I then decided this was a random question and cursed myself for not finding out more.  For all I know she was a model scout or something.  Sarcastic ha!  I invested a dollar in a fluorescent Slurpee and then got distracted by a jazz band who had set up in the square.  The notepad was forgotten as I claimed a spot on the wall amongst various other folk and set about enjoying some music.  But it was bloody cold.  And although I had a coat and scarf I did not have any gloves.  With poor circulation it wasn't long before things started going numb.  It was only when I tried to phone Mystical Roo that I realised my index fingers weren't working properly.  And were a very pale colour.  Dag nabbit.  I figured that I probably needed to warm up again and that it was time for lunch.  As I bought a sandwich in the Seven Eleven my fingers still hadn't regained feeling and I had serious issues handling change.  I held up the queue and everything.  I warmed up back in the hotel room and promptly fell asleep with my sandwich.  So I'm not sure how productive my day was, especially seeing as the notepad is still in its plastic bag, but I enjoyed it.  Sometimes it's nice to have a break from having to do anything in particular.  A day of just ambling can be refreshing.  Today though I have two objectives.  To do some writing.  And to try my first Krispy Kreme doughnut. 

Little Stalky Ponders the Pub

One of the things I like about the cities in Australia is that they have pubs that actually feel like pubs.  Proper English style pubs.  With beams and brick.  Lots of tables squished together.  Pub carpet that cunningly disguises spilt beer and other suspicious stains.  The obligatory old dude with a pint.  They're great.  And surprisingly hard to come across.  The "pubs" in my home town are less like pubs and more like, well, bookies.  And that's just a bit random.  So many of the pubs in Australia seem to focus on gambling and you end up with pokie machines all over the place, screens up on the walls showing the results of the horses and the dogs and the boxing and whatever else might be going on.  Then there's this thing called Keno, which I think is a kind of a constant bingo.  Or something.  I don't know.  I have no interest in it.  But because of this, there are little Keno slips at every table and pens.  And the tables are those tall, grey, plastic things.  All of this creates just a horrible atmosphere.  It's bright and tacky and somehow reminds me of the Seventies even though I wasn't even born in the Seventies.  It really is like a bookies.  A bookies with a bar and possible a dance floor.  And this just seems crazy to me.  Surely gambling and alcohol is a terrible combination.  Drunken people make bad decisions at the best of times.  And Australia wonder why their country has a gambling problem.  Take it out of the pubs!  One little fruit machine hidden in a corner is one thing, but a whole horde of them is just asking for trouble.  It's like there's a mini casino in every town.  And don't get me started on the Leagues Clubs.  They're a whole other level of weird.  I like my pubs dank and dark.  Ok maybe not dank but it's nice to find somewhere cosy, with a bit of atmosphere.  Australian cities seem full of these kind of pubs yet the little towns are distinctly lacking.  Mystical Roo and I found such a pub last night and for a moment it was like being back in England.  It's freaking freezing here in Melbourne so we were bundled up in coats and scarves and then we went down - yes down - into this pub where it was warm and snug with lots of people huddled around little wooden tables.  I'm not sure if there was an actual fire burning in the hearth but it wouldn't have been out of place.  Not a pokie machine in sight.  And no horrible little betting slips.  It was perfect.  So nice in fact that we stayed for dinner.  The only reminder that we were in the city was the fact that a beer and a glass of wine cost us nearly $20!  Yikes.