Writing update

Hello, ahoy.

I've finished my rewrite, part of the reason I've been quiet lately. Have been reading heaps, watching Big Love from the beginning. I'd caught a few eps years ago and liked it so went back to the beginning. It's amazing how you can be drawn into it, and think it's an okay way to live. Watching it makes me want sister-wives. Crazy, I know. And we've been watching some old Peter Sellers movies.

Have sent the novel to a reader, someone who saw it in very early stages before it was a proper story. See what she says about it, and then back to the agent for submissions.

Am also determined to finish first draft of short novel (the Blade Runner Weather x Spare Room Premise one, is how I think of it, but it's not really.) I have about another 7000 words to write on that one. Last few days I spent working hard on the structure and so it won't take long to fill in the gaps and then move to the next stage.

Tonight we have our annual Tour de France meal. The first stage is in Yorkshire so THANK FUCK we are having a break from French cuisine (running out of things, actually, it's quite a limited range of dishes). We are having it here and I am doing main meal, roast beef with all the trimmings, including Yorkshire puddings. I've never been much of a roast beef cooker, and had never done the puddings so last weekend was a test run. The puddings were stodgier than I'd expected, and I think it's because I used the wrong tray to cook them in. The oil needs to be smoking hot so will use metal tray instead of silicone one tonight. We have Yorkshire beer, and my sister/husband is doing some sort of pudding, not sure if sticky date or similar. I've also got lollies that are originally from Yorkshire: licorice allsorts, jubes, Kit-Kats, etc. And a bottle of Ginger Beer. Bet it's disgusting, so we won't be having lashings of that I don't think.*

So the bikes. Love it, but it means some late nights coming up. Not sure who I'm going for, but not Froome who won last year. Maybe Contador but he's a drug cheat. Quintana who came second last year isn't riding (he won the Giro) and I would probably have gone for him. Cancellara I quite like, but don't know how much of a contender he is. I don't like the Australian team - Orica GreenEdge. There's a German, Marcel Kittel but he's not a General Classification rider. Will be going for him in sprints, don't like Mark Cavendish at all. Funny how you get drawn into it. Sister-wives and men in lycra (hate them on the roads in real life.)

Happy weekend all.

* can anybody pick this literary reference? The mention of tongue sandwiches might help. And 'jolly' and 'smashing' and 'ra-ther.'

That time of year again TIME FOR THE FRENCH DINNER

Tonight we have our annual French meal, as part of the Tour de France obsession I share with my brother-in-law and now my daughter, and which is secondarily tolerated/shared by my sister and my husband, Clokes.

We have our French wines, our non-French cheeses (fuck that, they're too expensive and no one ever really loves them anyway. Let's face it, compared to a King Island Quintriple Brie or a good old Castello Bleu, you can't beat that?)

They are doing main, I am doing dessert and in about ten minutes (as soon as I've finished my Internet Ablutions) I'll decide whether it will be cherry clafoutis or tarte tartin.

This year I'm dressing in yellow. Need to pop to the op shop to try to find something that will complement my yellow cardigan. I told Clokes I am wearing 'as all yellow as possible' and he said: Great, I'll wear my red, white and blue striped top (that we got at 'Tomy [sic] Pony' in Hong Kong. Not Polo and not Tommy Hilfiger - a kind of blend, you know. He knows I hate him wearing those 'fucking polo tops' but he also knew I couldn't say anything because he'd mentioned the tri-couleurs. Smart.

It was quite the big week. I had four teaching gigs, including a new school (primary) and then secondary schools. Thursday was a big day, taught back to back 8.40am to 1.30pm with an hour off in the middle which was cannibalised by me driving home in between, grabbing some fruit, refilling my water bottle, going to the toilet, offloading some materials from first sessions and getting back in the car. I know you love these details; I'm here for you.

Then yesterday I spent ages online working out which Melbourne Writers Festival sessions to go to. The last few years nothing has interested me but this year, fuck. There are HEAPS so I have booked for a bunch of sessions and if I go to the Trivia Night and the Closing Party (unlikely) I'll attend 16 sessions over the ten days or whatever it is, mostly two weekends. Man.

I also might have some writerly news in the next couple of weeks. Not to do with the book, but something short storyish. I've been shortlisted in a local thing which is a big deal, with a wide-circulation. Publication is 'likely but not - as yet - definite' so I am excited, I have cracked a bottle of The Widow to celebrate the shortlisting, but I'm trying to keep it low-key until I have confirmation.

But likely to be published? They wouldn't say that unless it was, er, likely, would they?

Better go and look at the recipes. This was my week, how was yours? What are you reading? Are you happy? Are you wearing yellow? How is the weather? Any holidays on the horizon? What do you think of the POLITICS AT THE MOMENT? Or should we not go there. It is quite the exhausting subject and as I've demonstrated above, it's possible to live in the light and keep things happy.

Sour grapes

"The team were incredible. They left everything out on the road. I am so proud of them. We didn’t expect any help. We rode the race we wanted to ride... Other teams were content that if they didn’t win, we wouldn’t win. We expected it. If you want to win, you've to take it to them."

"The guys all sat there in the tent absolutely spent. We did everything we could. The crowd was tremendous the whole way around, but the Aussies just raced negatively."

Glad that's over with for another year

We have been more heavily into this than in past years. Before it was the food and our annual 'Franch' meal however this year the beginning of the race coincided with my and Princess's trip north. She got more knowledgeable about it than moi, in about half a day, she seemed to know all their names, all the team names and colours, what all the maillot colours mean. She had a short list of faves, particularly she was into the Germans because she enjoyed saying their surnames so much. Over and over.

The funny thing is we didn't even watch it last year, when Cadellikins (as P calls him) won. I had seen him complete tour after tour in previous years, wearing the yellow then losing it. Dominating on the mountains, but never quite getting there. As Princess said: Why didn't we watch last year? I can't remember why, perhaps I was busy with this or that. Certainly I would have been writing.

So we are pumped for next year. And I have to say, I went from hating Wiggins to not minding him. I was annoyed by the cyborg Sky team who seemed to crush all in their path and never had any facial expressions, who always positioned themselves in the front in a vee, protecting their man (like they're meant to) but there was an arrogance.

One last thing: AG2R La Mondiale PLEASE do something about the pants next year.