Mystery box!

 
I am having fun with online grocery orders. I’ve used Coles Online before, but I started a new service I read about in the Epicure section of The Age, called Timewize Fresh, because I miss my regular visits to the greengrocer. The photo above is of today’s mystery box, which cost $35.

This week’s contents (which are supposed to feed one couple for one week): 6 bananas, 3 brown onions, a mango, a bag of snowpeas, 2 capsicum (bell pepper), broccoli, a sweet potato, 5 apples, iceberg lettuce, 2 avocados, 5 peaches, 6 nectarines, a pineapple, 4 parsnips, 5 carrots, 2 cucumbers, a bunch of asparagus, a bag of green beans, 7 potatoes and 2 tomatoes. Whew! And some recipes were tucked in the box.

Since I’ve used each service a few times now, I feel I can safely review them:

Coles Online pros: convenient delivery times, ability to pay at time of delivery (including with EFTPOS), no lugging of heavy stuff like laundry detergent and cat food or trying to find parking, ability to allow (or not allow) substitutions if something is out of stock, and free products or samples with your order every time.

cons: too many plastic bags (11 bags for 19 items! Including one plastic bag just for a six-pack of eggs), some items unavailable online (like my preferred brands of cat litter, shampoo and toilet paper, which are all sold at my local Coles), $8.95-$10.95 delivery fee, inability to read nutrition labels for ingredients (although I found info for most items I was unsure about online).

Timewize Fresh pros: no delivery fee, surprise ingredients (the surprise is the awesome part) but with the ability to state your preferences, very fresh, few if any plastic bags, good-quality fresh herbs (can’t say the same for Coles Online), and they’ll deliver even if you’re not at home.

cons: uh, too much good food? Kristy and Toby came over last night to help me eat some of it. Yum. And I still have to go to the store (or use Coles Online) if I need things like soap or pasta. Also, can be a bit tricky if I need something specific for a recipe (will have to do a separate shop for Christmas lunch ingredients), although you can order invidividual specific items but you have to pay for them separately.

 

“Tackily fabulous” I think Kylie might say.

 
I’ve also been making the apartment darker, blocking out all the sunlight. Because a bedsheet, even doubled over itself, does not cut it and makes me feel weird after a day spent inside. I’m on vacation right now, so I felt like I was trapped in my own home until I went to Spotlight and covered the remaining windows properly. Ahh! That’s better.

These gorgeous and gaudy curtains came from the Brotherhood of St Laurence, not Spotlight, for $20. In their dry-cleaning bags. They don’t match, as you can see, but it was more an emergency than a well thought-out plan on how everything would work together in the room. Perhaps I’ll flip the doona over, as the reverse is chocolate brown.

 

Miko savours the last spot of natural light in the apartment.

 
The only things left to do are to cover the above door (it’s going to be a custom job, I’m afraid), alter the yellow jacket and remove the lining from the black leather driving gloves I’m getting for Christmas. You know, so I don’t sweat to death this summer.

Meet the new me.

 
Remember when I wrote about not being able to eat foods with vitamin D? Well, the trial run was successful and I noticed a change within a few days. My neck stopped hurting, unless I accidentally ate something with vit-D in it. It wasn’t until the lab results came back, though, that I realised the seriousness of the situation.

Essentially, my doctor has linked every thing that’s been medically strange about me for the past 15 years (chronic fatigue, osteoporosis, etc.) to one source and given me an option to cure it called the Marshall Protocol. It takes at least a year, and it involves a bit of effort and sacrifice, but the stories I’ve read of the changes that can occur are amazing. And give me hope.

What does this mean for me now? Well, I need to completely avoid the sun (photograph above is of my actual summertime driving outfit) — including from windows. I also need to try to avoid bright lights and foods with vitamin D, including: alfalfa, beer, dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, etc.), egg yolks, kelp/seaweed, margarine, mushrooms, and some seeds and oils. And anything fortified with vitamin D, like breakfast cereals and certain flours. So no more sushi, no fancy pastries, no marinated feta.

It certainly makes eating out a bit difficult, given I was already vegetarian. And I think Sparky’s still trying to get his head around it all.

The covering up is a bit tricky too. The look I’m going for is “glamorously conspicuous”. I figure if I have to cover up, people might as well mistake me for a mysterious movie star. I bought the yellow coat last week and am planning to add sleeve extensions so I don’t have to wear gloves if I’m out and about in the city. (Gloves are necessary for driving, though.) I’ve also had to cover all my windows but need to get blackout curtains so my body doesn’t have a chemical reaction every time I visit my super-sunny bathroom.

Yesterday I had to wear dark glasses at work because my eyes hurt too much. Today was better. And soon I’ll start taking the antibiotics, which means I’ll feel worse before I start to feel better.

It’s worth it for me, though, if it means I can stop the cycle of chronic fatigue, if I can reverse the osteoporosis, if I can have enough energy to EXCERCISE, or to be active in general.

I’ve had a few people say it’s unfortunate I have to cover up this summer — why couldn’t I wait until winter? Initially I thought the same thing, but knowing what I know now about the science behind it all, and seeing the lab results and reading other people’s success stories, I don’t have the patience to sit around and wait six months before changing my life forever. I figure, too, that it would look even weirder to wear the floppy hat and sunglasses in the winter when it’s cloudy. And I can handle one long, dark summer if it means I might be surfing next summer or the one after that. Whenever I have uncomfortable symptoms, I just think of surfing. Or running around the Botanical Gardens with Sparky.

And there are a lot of things to be thankful for:
* a job that doesn’t require me to go outdoors, meet with people, or sit near open windows
* I can work (many MPers and people with chronic fatigue are so sick that they can’t)
* I’m not housebound (see previous)
* online grocery shopping — yeeha!
* crafty hobbies that can be done indoors
* wrinkle prevention, by way of avoiding the sun
* better-fitting pants, thanks to no cheese
* knowing that every time symptoms crop up, I am killing germs and getting my life back

So please spare a kind thought for those of us who have to cover up this summer yet still have normal lives, including riding public transport. I figure it is only a matter of time before someone Googles “famous actress” and “yellow coat” to try and solve the mystery. But you are one step ahead of them. Aren’t you clever?

Kristy made her moustache from the remnants of her haircut that day, and some sticky tape. Life partner also pictured (not her husband).

 

Not Frida Kahlo.

 

Not Ned Flanders.

 

Not Salvador Dali.

 

Not Nick Cave.

Meet Arturo.

 
The lovely Pip has organised a Christmas charity drive of handmade soft toys for children of the Mirabel Foundation. I hadn’t planned on participating until I saw the toys that had already been made, and read that there weren’t enough. They were so cute and so inspiring that I felt I should help out, too.

 

Arturo takes a nap inside Carolyn’s light box.

 
I find coming up with a toy idea from scratch very difficult. But if you give me some fabric or old socks, or something to work with, it’s much easier for me and I get inspired. This is probably connected to why I’m a better editor than a writer, or why I’m better at documentary photography than studio shots. I’m good at working with and improving upon what’s already there.

I’ve had a pair of rainbow-striped toe socks for ages but have hardly ever worn them. Yet I couldn’t bear to give them away. They’re 100% acrylic, which feels a bit ick in between your toes and actually makes them colder in winter. Toes need to cuddle up next to each other to stay warm. So I’m much more fond of Japanese-style tabi socks, the ones with only an individual big toe that make you look like a goat. A very stylish goat.

Part of the inspiration came from this book. I liked the idea of snipping off the middle fingers on gloves, leaving the outer fingers for “ears”.

I used two of the snipped toes to make his beak, and I added Velcro dots to his hands so Arturo can hug your neck. I also turned the socks inside out so you get the funny looking dashed lines that appear on the “wrong” side of striped knitting.

It didn’t dawn on me until he was finished, but I think his eyes were subconsciously inspired by J.Otto Seibold. I think Arturo and Mr Lunch most certainly would be friends. Don’t you?

I am a bit sad to see him go, but I am also pleased to know that some small person will get a new friend. And probably some much-needed hugs.

—–
I had to postpone the Movember party to this Saturday, so more mo pics after the weekend!

Happy Movember!

 
More awesome photos to follow, once we get the serious stuff out of the way:

Sparky has registered for Movember, a moustache-growing charity event held every November around the world to raise awareness about men’s health issues. On November 1st men must be clean shaven; you can then sponsor their moustache-growing efforts throughout the month.

Some statistics from Movember:

* Depression affects 1 in 6 men. Most don’t seek help. Untreated depression is a leading risk factor for suicide.

* Last year in Australia 18,700 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 2,900 died of prostate cancer — equivalent to the number of women who die from breast cancer annually.

* Men are far less healthy than women. The average life expectancy of males is 5 years less than females.

To sponsor Sparky’s mo you can click here (if the link doesn’t work, his registration number is 113949). All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

Unfortunately you can’t sponsor me because I can’t grow a moustache (thank goodness). But I love Sparky and care about his health, so I think this is just as good.

The money raised by Movember is donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue - the national depression initiative and will be used to create awareness, fund research and increase support networks for men who suffer from prostate cancer and male depression.

Now time for more pictures!