It seemed curious to have a dinner party on a Monday night. I say dinner party, but it was five of us who were invited, and I was the only guy. The invitation came from our Tasmanian friend's ex partner, our friend who is here for her annual check on her heart transplant, now 20 years ago. How traumatic the time was, but she had the best care possible at St Vincent's public hospital in Sydney where the transplant was performed. The heart of a young man killed in a car accident saved our friend's life.
My Hairdresser Friend came too. I was going to catch a tram and then walk, and she had made a desert, so thought about driving herself. I asked Phyllis if he would be free between 6 and 7 to drive us and he was, so that worked out well.
The mother of the ex of our friend lived in what was then the tallest building in Australia, I think called Q1 on Queensland's Gold Coast. When her husband died, she moved back to Melbourne into her daughter's home, our friend's ex. The mother was becoming very old and began to behave strangely. She saw a gerontologist, who discovered the huge number of pain killers for arthritis she had been prescribed were affecting her brain. She improved after the pain killers were reduced, without a noticeable increase in levels of pain. But eventually her care became too much for her daughter and she went to live in a care home almost across the road.
The home of the ex is a thirty year old three bedroom unit, and very nice it is too. She has such good taste and has renovated what she didn't like, and had a pergola built at the space at the side. The slat angles and lighting are all controlled by remote.
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Before a traditional home is built, women should have the say about where power points are located and how many there are. Maybe some men could plan well enough.
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We had nibbles and drinks and chatted away. The dinner was snapper fish fillets, doused in an overpowering tamarind sauce that killed any taste of the fish, with rice and a dressed tossed salad.
Over the dining table hung a single pendant light bulb in some kind of rattan cage. It looked nice enough, until I noticed the actual light bulb was filthy. My eyes kept going back to the filthy light bulb. Maybe you know the feeling of when you want to straighten someone's wall picture frames. I wanted to get some chemical or hot soapy water onto the light bulb and make it crystal clear.
The ex made a cheesecake from scratch, nice enough, and my Hairdresser Friend made a rather curious dessert from scratch that was quite stodgy. We did have a nice night, in spite of talking about periods and 'putting in the rags'. I was very complimentary to the ex for her nice home, for dinner and her very cute dog. If only that light bulb could be cleaned...
Phyllis had messaged me to ask how we getting home. I replied, 'By cab or Uber, unless you are free to pick us up'. He did come and take us home.
I knew I was not in a good state once home. I felt very hot before I got into bed, and sure enough, something I had eaten had not agreed with me. I slept for ten minutes and woke up, boiling hot. Repeat the same until about 5.00am and I then fell into a proper sleep. I experienced the same years ago when we used to dine at cheap Chinse restaurants. I have no idea what triggers what is clearly food related.
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All in all, it doesn't sound like the greatest night. I wouldn't be able to stop looking at that light either:)
ReplyDeletePixie, it was a nice night. I am not good at socialising as I can't gab away like most people. I manage, but it is such an effort. It is such a time when I really miss Ray, who also has the gift of the gab.
DeleteAt least you didn't suffer Montezuma's revenge.
ReplyDeleteNo JayCee, but that might have been over more quickly than hours of missed sleep.
DeleteSounds like you might have been affected by MSG. Maybe it was in the tamarind sauce
ReplyDeleteDan, thank for the comment. I've always thought that about MSG but then Chinese restaurants began putting up signs, 'No added MSG', which is different to no MSG. Also, the person is an excellent cook generally, so I think she would have made the sauce herself and would not have added MSG. But I had the exact reaction that some do to MSG.
DeleteI was wondering about MSG in the sauce, too. As long as it was nothing worse.
ReplyDeleteBoud, I have the precise reaction to others who are affected by MSG. See my reply to Dan, above. It's a bit puzzling.
DeleteAndrew, you make me laugh ! Food and house reviews folded into one. Dirty light bulb and powerpoint placement as added extras. 😂😂
ReplyDeleteDid you check the skirting boards as well….I hate dusty skirting boards!
Note to self, check my own skirting boards for dust. The light was too low to see dusty skirting boards and I didn't do a Hyacinth test with a white glove.
Delete😂♥️
DeleteI would have loved a Vergola roof on the deck ..but The Golfer vetoed it (too expensive). Would have been great to open and close in line with whatever the weather gods were giving us
ReplyDeleteCathy, such a feature has a name then, a Vergola. You didn't head north this year so you must have saved some money. Spend it on a Vergola. You won't live for ever, so pleasure yourself while you can.
DeleteA wonderfully quirky evening indeed
ReplyDeleteQuirky is one word, Roentare. Stressful is another, but that was my own making.
DeleteOh my, you had rather a good night at first till the light! Then not feeling well when home, not nice for sure Andrew.
ReplyDeleteThat light would have annoyed me. We went to a well known restaurant here in the city a few years ago and the lights (many) had cobwebs dangling down and I thought some might fall into our dinner! Never been back but it's a popular place.
Margaret, at least it wasn't covered with fly dirt, as you might remember from your younger years. Hanging cobwebs are not acceptable to me. An impression of cleanliness is so important in a restaurant.
DeleteI might never have noticed the light bulb unless the light was too dim and I would look up to see why. I am sorry to hear the food has affected you and hope all is well again now. The table conversation doesn't sound at all suitable.
ReplyDeleteRiver, it did hang quite low and was very visible. Whatever ailed me cleared by 5am. Who knows what I reacted to, but perhaps MSG, if you read comments above. Perhaps that is how women talk when together, and it didn't worry me. They did apologise but I wave it off.
DeleteDon't get me started on the lack of power points!
ReplyDeleteEven though my place is reasonably new, the power points and placements is hopeless.
DeleteAt first you said your Hairdresser Friend made a "desert" and I thought to myself - well there's plenty of sand in Australia and wild camels too! Later you caused me painful confusion by saying she had made a "dessert" which is of course something quite different. Also - what is a Chinse restaurant? We don't have them in Yorkshire. I guess it's an Australian thing. Kudos to Phyllis for the lifts!
ReplyDeleteThe dessert was a bit gritty, so perhaps that explains the desert.
DeleteA Chinse restaurant is where we go to eat Chinese. Chinese are delicious.
I am trying to figure out how I would react to the light bulb? I built a couple of homes for myself, and placement of electrical outlets, and at the time phone and cable outlets, was a major task. I spent extra to get what I wanted.
ReplyDeleteNot your most pleasant evening, Andrew..
ReplyDeleteWell, that's certainly a mixed bag of an evening, isn't it? Kind of Phyllis to drive you both ways, and fun that you got to see the house and have some good-ish food. But unfortunate that it kicked back at you. Did you actually have a fever or just feel hot? I wonder if it was that tamarind sauce giving you some awful heartburn.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you fixated on the light bulb. I'm sure your host never thought it necessary to clean a light bulb! (I haven't thought about that either and wonder what ours look like...)
I think this could be MSG - an additive, Andrew. I hear you on obsessing about weird stuff in other people's homes. I remember being at a dinner party at the home of an acquaintance and her bathroom towels were absolutely filthy. I kept obsessing, but didn't know her well enough to mention it to her. I used tissues to dry my hands and hunted in a few cupboards for fresh towels. No luck. Years later, I still can't think of a tactful way to deal with the situation.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
I've been a wreck whenever we entertained guests, especially overnight, and don't miss the end of that era. ~nods~ And it's probably because I tend to obsess when visiting others, as well, whether the issue is no waste basket in the guest bathroom (?) or whatever else. One memorable issue didn't fall on the resident, but another guest who sat fingering the toes of her absolutely filthy bare feet as we sat chatting. It almost made me gag. lol Be well!
ReplyDelete