In the old hot house they had a large pond which was full of livebearing tropical fish. This no longer exists, sadly. This pond was one of my favourite places in the world to visit.
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When I was little, my family owned a chain of electronic stores. At the main office, which was in a little cluster of shops, two shops down there was a little “deli” in the old style of delis, run by a Greek family who we were friends with..
They would take a Vili’s pasty, slice it open, put cheese in there, and then put it back in the oven for the cheese to melt.
We can get Vili’s here now and when we buy it, we do not mess about. We buy 2 boxes of pasties at a time, 24 pasties in total. They are frozen when we get them and these go into the freezer for later consumption.
I can’t eat them without cheese. I’ve put all kinds of cheese inside there – mozzarella, parmesan, American jack cheddar from Costco, vintage cheese slices, feta, it doesn’t matter what kind of cheese – though the feta was super tangy and took the taste experience up several notches – the Vili’s pasty is king of all pasties.
I hate to break it to you, Adelaidians reading this, but in Sydney they put *peas* and *corn* into pasties. What kind of wickety wack idea is that shiznit? It is wrong on so many levels!
Now, if I could just find a way to get Barnacle Bill’s here.. :)
This post is sure to seem odd. I don’t usually post about my health and a vast array of other inappropriate subjects. For the last three weeks I have had some kind of evil flu which does not seem to go away. Whenever I get the flu I am reminded of the one time I got pneumonia in 2003 right before Christmas – summer, in Australia, hello? But I went to the dentist with wet hair, and my dentist was in Glenelg, and the day I went it seemed like there was a breeze right from the Arctic blowing up the middle of Jetty Rd.
A few days later I could hardly breathe and I honestly thought I was going to die. Plus, back then I was a smoker and I couldn’t smoke, so not only did I feel terrible but I was the crankiest person anywhere ever. I remember begging the other half to get me Garlic Prawns from Marcellinas in the middle of the night – and so worried about me was he that he actually did it. I believe that was about 4am. Marcellinas was open till 5am.. ;) and the garlic prawns were spectacular.
I could not sleep lying down. We had a waterbed (still do) and I could not sleep there – I felt like I was drowning whenever I lay down. I made a makeshift kind of bed on the sofa bed which involved a lot of pillows and spare matresses so I could be sitting up when I was lying down. Days disappeared while I hovered in some kind of delirious state. I remember nothing of it.
When I did eventually wake up, I was craving a cigarette. I went out into the backyard and I tried to smoke, but I could not. That was when I gave up smoking for good.
In the middle of the night last night I woke up and I thought – what if something happens to me? Will they know what to do with me when I am gone? I don’t want to be buried and decompose. I don’t think I would like that. On the other hand, I really don’t like the idea of cremation – what if I am actually still alive but in some kind of death like state?
However all us ladies are prepared to sacrifice comfort for fashion and I am no exception to the rule. I would like to be cremated and turned into a diamond. Impossible, no? No, it is actually possible. It’s called Lifegem. And though I thought I must have mentioned this before a search of my blog shows that I have not. It amazes me because this is like fundamental to the core of me now, this is what I have decided I want done after a long struggle of not knowing what I want done, and I have not even mentioned it to you guys?
Well, what I really wanted was to be cremated and put on the mantelpiece but the other half refuses. He thinks it would be spooky, and he says we don’t have a mantelpiece. He is right, we don’t. However, would it be so difficult to create one just for me? He also thinks I will live longer than he will. Over my dead body. I refuse to be the last one standing.
Anyway, I’ve had a nasty flu, and I have said nothing about it because I don’t want to bore people with that shiznit and I wouldn’t have said anything but it explains why out of the middle of nowhere I am talking about what to do with my remains. So now you know, and there you go..
And Adelaide people, I miss Barnacle Bills. Seriously, you don’t know how good you have it. Go get a two in one snack pack and eat it for me, will you?
I’ve been here over a year now. It seems like forever. But sometimes, memories of the city I used to call home come to me as a surprise. I actually spent a whole night dreaming of places in Adelaide. So for those of you who might live there and consider leaving there, here is your future in one simple blog post.
Originally built to house the new Myer, and containing two outrageous floors of amusements on levels four and five in the part that was not Myer but was called “Dazzleland” including an indoor roller coaster, I did spend quite a lot of time in this building over the years. It’s a shame that they quickly shut Dazzleland down. I have fond memories of the roller coaster. Here is an ad about it!
However in Adelaide nothing good stays around for too long, it seems. Downtown was yet another example. Magic Mountain, that was another. Anything involving fun, you can’t have that, apparently. That’s what the Gold Coast is for. People would rather save money to go there than have fun things in their own state! ;(
How lucky you are to have such a gorgeous place right in the middle of the city. Hidden in the middle of the Botanical Gardens there is a hothouse of such goodness, and it contains a pond which is teeming with tropical live-bearing fish. It is one of the most relaxing places on the planet, I think. How long is it since you were there, people reading this who live in Adelaide? What’s your excuse, huh? And I won’t even go into the goodness of the Zoo.
Oddly, this is one thing I really truly miss. Leaf and Ladle, which makes great soup and salads in town. The Sushi Train. And some local places we used to go to and eat great food. Our names for them were not the same as the real names for them and I can’t remember the real names for them! But there was a great place on Grange Road near Tapleys Hill Road which make the best burgers. And there’s a great chicken place on Tapleys Hill Road which made the best roast chicken and chips. And Barnacle Bills. And Vilis Cafe.
You don’t think it is any good? Move out of the state for a bit, you’ll think again. The trains run on time. The tram is brilliant. Even the buses were reasonable. The 99b, I miss that greatly. But I loved the trains, and the last two places we lived were very close to train stations, which I loved.
I haven’t really had much of a chance to explore the city of Sydney. The main part of the town where I live is not very exciting really. But Adelaide city, there was always so much to see and do and places to go and even if you didnt have anything to do there was a lot of fun to be had watching other people. The shops were great. I miss the shops.
However, there’s some things I don’t miss, like the slow driving everywhere, the 60km speed limits, and the beaches. Not when I have these new beaches here, and great snorkelling within a short drive from home.
Somewhere within a 50km radius of where I live, there is a town known as Sussex Inlet. When I was working, customers from that place were always.. how can I put this nicely.. trouble. For example – a lady wanted to return an item she bought from us because it did not match her curtains. The item? An LCD tv set. Now I don’t know about you, but I rarely try to match my electrical appliances with my curtains.
So the other half and I avoided the place because we thought it was a haven for lunatics. Then one day, we took a wrong turn, and somehow ended up there. I have to say once you’ve been there you know why everyone is so loony – the place is amazingly incredible. I go loony just driving around the place. To any Adelaideians reading this – imagine West Lakes, but with crystal clear green colored water. Most of the houses there are waterfront, somehow.
Of course, like all places in NSW, they have an RSL club, and a bowling club. Soon one of the two will be having an AC/DC tribute band drop past to visit, and all day long today while we were driving, every second song turned out to be an AC/DC song. I think there is some higher force at work, and it wants us to go to the AC/DC tribute show. However it is on a weekend when family will be here to visit so we might not be able to make it. :(
It’s been a long day, more when I have got some decent sleep!