You may have noticed (all three of you) that Unreal City has suffered a rather distinct hiatus. I won't make excuses, but I will say that a hectic combination of working all day, reorganizing the house and going to a couple of parties doesn't do much for my particular creative juices. I know, activity is just wasted on me. All those stimulating hours spent folding jeans, serving customers, moving furniture and participating in engaging socio-politic-philo-sophomoric discussions simply left me wondering when I was next going to enjoy lazing on my battered vinyl couch.
So I approached this Inevitable Late Blog Post with a great deal of nervousness - what on earth was I going to talk about? The girl who screamed that I was violating the Trade Practices Act at work today? That 'original' poem gifted by a hobo at the bus stop (only to discover it was a Whitman)? That book I just finished? Lightening never struck until I'd finally given up and decided to write about dinner.
It was a quiche, by the way, an adaptation of my mum's Never-Fail recipe (seriously - it never fails) - tonight's filling was roast sweet potatoes and caramelized onions. Quiche is my ultimate comfort food, and passes the Maisy Seal of Approval, which basically demands that you can use whatever ingredients on hand and that it always makes delicious and plentiful leftovers.
I was in the middle of a rather ingenuously staged a photo op of The Quiche & I, with a knife poised to cut the first steaming slice out, when my lovely assistant managed to make me laugh. The resulting pictures - one with a posed smile, the other genuine - were so distinct that it was though they were two different people.
It seems strange to me that I'd never seen my own candid smile before, and that the person who is more familiar to me is the one gritting her teeth. And while the thought does seem rather sad, it is quite nice to think that my real appearance is entrusted with the people I love, and not with my devilishly critical self-conscious mind.
Oh, and yes - for my mother's benefit - I am wearing some items and are thereby obligated to describe them: a really comfy oversized wrangler cashmere jumper atop a pair of G-Star 96's. Somewhat safe, but nothing is Safer or indeed Folksier (Oh No!) than baking and then musing about the nature of smiles.
