Being old on a train, fridgescaping, makeup and a book review
This one has a little bit of everything
Thinking
Just a few random thoughts from me while I am still in Portugal.
Do young people ever stand up for old people on the train? I was on a train today and mortified that no one stood up for an old couple, at the same time I was petrified that somebody was going to offer me their seat so I tried to look super young as I stood for 40 minutes and held on to the handrails for dear life.
I have been seeing fridgescaping popping up all over the place and I’d like to say that it is completely ridiculous but that makes me sound like an old woman shrieking at the sky. People are decorating their FRIDGES while other people cannot afford to eat.
I know that this is completely hypocritical because I am on holiday in Europe and other people cannot afford a roof over their heads. I also know that ending fridgescaping won’t end world hunger. But the whole thing reminds me of ice decorating which reminds me how much I used to love this guy on Instagram.
Am I too old to start wearing red lipstick? No, but I am too self conscious. There has been a lot of photo taking on this holiday and my face looks like it could do with some colour. I don’t know how to wear blush, I am afraid of bronzer and I can’t carry off red lipstick. Actually I can’t keep lipstick of any colour on for more than three minutes. And on that subject I watched the most useful makeup tutorial I have ever seen on The Midult. This is not some clickbait - it’s a method of applying tinted moisturiser that I can actually use.
Reading
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Powell is one of those books that I will never forget reading. I read it as an old adult even though it is clearly written for the young adult and immediately became a Rainbow Powell fan.
I was excited to see that she had a new adult novel out and so I rushed to buy Slow Dance. It tells the story of Shilo and Cary, two friends who went to high school together - their lives were tricky, they both came from broken homes and carried a lot of baggage. Their friendship was strong, maybe it was even love - they just didn’t know it.
Now many years later Shilo is the divorced mum of two young kids and Cary is in the navy when they meet up again at a wedding and their relationship evolves from there. The book is told in both the past and the present tense, and we get to know Cary and Shilo as teenagers and adults.
Both characters are complex and intense, at times very brittle and almost cold, but then at times very human, deeply flawed and relatable. It’s not just a story about love and friendship, it’s a story about trust and background and how your past shapes the present. It’s about home and family and love and hope.
There were times I thought the story changed in direction too quickly for me to keep up - but that could be because I am very much in holiday mode - and maybe a bit too slow. It’s not a fast paced book but there was some scenes which kind of surprised me. That said I really wanted to read till the end.
Eating
It turns out the Portuguese quite like chips and fried eggs which is a happy coincidence because so do I.
These are meant to be the best pastel de Nata in Portugal (from Pasteis de Belem) so I HAD to try a couple. My stomach will be glad that I am leaving Portugal today.
Thanks for reading. Sorry (not sorry) that I keep posting about custard tarts.
See you next week when I am back in Sydney, cooking my own food and worrying about the state of the world again.
Please, if you can, will you like this post (just click the little heart) - darn algorithms seem to follow me wherever I go and apparently liked posts really increase visibility…
I never want tart photos to end!
I will never get tired of pictures of tarts!