Miriam Strickland - Bass Coast Post

Cold comfort

6/5/2016

By Miriam Strickland

DAYLIGHT saving time has finished for the year and now it seems that when the day crashes to a close I have barely registered the passing of the afternoon. A few nights have become quite chilly too; we’re already starting to draw the curtains at nightfall to retain the lovely warmth dispensed into our living room by the sun, which still has some kick during the day.

Small joys

25/3/2016

I WAS delighted to receive an email recently from my cousin in New York. Her husband filmed with his smart phone as they watched on TV the final moments of the judging of best in show at the famous Westminster dog show at Madison Square Garden. First he focussed the camera on the screen, where the judge was about to deliver the verdict ... “My choice for best in show is … the beagle!” and immediately my cousin was in view jumping up and down and squealing with delight.

From whoa to go

12/3/2016

Last weekend I attended a workshop for committee members of Toastmasters clubs based around the south eastern suburbs and regions. I hoped that by attending the workshop I might pick up some ideas that would help our club to boost our finances and membership. As I’m currently serving in both roles of treasurer and membership vice-president, it seemed like a good idea.

The winds of change

13/2/2016

I WAS going to write a piece about goal setting. You know, new year’s resolutions and all that, and why they are usually forgotten by the end of January. Something light but suitably encouraging, appropriate for the new beginning of a fresh year.

Smart thinking

24/10/2015

A COUPLE of months ago my mobile phone company wrote to me advising that my current plan would expire shortly. The network it used was about to be shut down in favour of new, more efficient networks. Neither my sim card nor phone would be able to work on the updated networks. Bother, I thought.

Nourish your secret colony

19/9/2015

A FRIEND once commented that I always seemed to do interesting things with vegetables. This came as news to me. I must have made an extra effort that day.

The importance of being selfish

8/8/2015

A LITTLE over a year ago, some time in the hours between going to bed on Sunday night and Monday morning, Angel Foster, my boss, suddenly and unexpectedly died. There had been no indication that anything was wrong, no sign of illness. If anything, she appeared well, and younger than her actual age.

Just a cold?

27/6/2015

AT WORK recently a customer asked if the tablets I was offering for her cold would make it go away. Before I thought about what I was saying, I replied that the cold would go away anyway, sooner or later. I quickly added that the tablets would help relieve her symptoms until it did, and fortunately the customer had a good enough sense of humour and enough motivation to buy the tablets anyway.

Food isn't that hard

6/6/2015

GOSH, there are a lot of food gurus out there. There’s a “diet” for every imaginable food theory and plenty of disciples for them all. On the other hand, there are still plenty of people taking absolutely no notice of any dietary advice from any source. Somewhere in between, many are doing their best but find the plethora of diets confusing.

Take it to the limit

25/4/2015

THIS April marks four years since I signed up as a member at the YMCA. My partner Pauline had been going to the gym for several months, getting fit to qualify for future employment options. I had noticed positive changes in a variety of her health and wellbeing indicators, and was forced to have an honest talk to myself about my own.

Clearing the clutter

31/1/2015

ON NEW Year’s Day I got up and did what any perfectly normal person would do on the first day of the year: I cleaned out the s-bend of our en-suite sink.

How Austin Powers can save your life

14/11/2014

WHEN I first met my partner Pauline, she used to make some comments that didn’t make any sense to me, yet she seemed to find them wildly amusing, or think they were wittily apt for the current conversation. The comments usually sounded like quotes from somewhere, but although I fancied myself as a well-read and well-travelled person, none of them rang any bells.

Soothing the savage mind

11/10/2014

ONE of the few advantages of having a 39-minute drive to work is listening to the radio on the way. I listen to a wide variety of programs; some talk, mostly music, but this morning I tuned into Exploring Music, a program on 3MBS fine music station. This program is produced in New York and I assume arrives here via podcast or similar technological marvel. The presenter introduces a composer or style of music and plays selected pieces to illustrate.

The day protein synthesis blew my mind

13/9/2014

Having been an E grade science student at secondary school, I was alarmed to discover that I had to pass a chemistry bridging course before I could begin my naturopathy studies.

Running for (senior) beginners

9/8/2014

KILCUNDA, March 2013. I’m at the annual Keeping Kids on Track fun run, organised by the Bass Coast triathlon club. I’m helping my friend Felicia run a stall to raise money to rebuild a school in Kongor, South Sudan. My partner Pauline is in the 10-kilometre run so I’m cheering her on too.