I can’t decide whether this shot is utilitarian or beautiful. I love the lines of colour as the corn comes out. 
When we were kids we had a babysitter. Her name was Pat. And she was perfect. She was a 60’s girl. Once my parents had gone out and before bedtime, she would take my sisters and I and probably my brothers for all I knew, one by one, set us on the stool in middle of the old kitchen, with its floor of blue and green lino and make up our faces. We were very little. Perfect canvasses for her to experiment on.
For us girls (there were three of us) it was the opportinuty to gaze close up into the most stunningly decorated eyes circled in the longest false eye lashes in the western world. Three shades of smudged blue from her eyelashes to her perfectly pencilled eyebrows, black eyeliner that swooped like a dark gull under her eyes and flicked up perfectly at the edge of her bright green eyes with such casual perfection. The boots, the short skirt and the tight little cardigan. Oh and that lipstick. Piles of hair. She was beautiful. Beeootiful.
Much later when I was a young teenager she came back from her travels overseas. She had travelled the world with her boots and her short skirt,her long long jacket and a friend.
She showed us goggle eyed girls pictures of her travels. The slide show was in vogue then so we would crowd into her parents lounge with the curtains closed, Dad would set up the projector, and she would click us through her travels and talk about what she saw.
The best story was that she and her friend liked to have photos taken of themselves in front of interesting sites, so they would scout about for a man to take a photo of them with their camera. Find a Man they would giggle. Girls! One of them would find a man, give him the camera and mime for him to take a shot of them together. I am quite sure no man would say no thank you to these two gorgeous Kiwi girls. One man, who was terribly handsome she said, nodded and took the camera in it’s protective leather cover as the girls positioned themselves in front of the monument, and prepared to smile. The man said walk back a bit, back further, looking at them through the view finder, to the right, to the left, using hand signals to help with the lack of English, then when they were just right he turned and ran away with their camera. Just ran away, she said. At this point in the story us girls gasped, quite shocked. Our Dad was a photographer. To steal a camera was like stealing a horse.
But our beautiful babysitter would laugh. Because it goes without saying that this pair of stunning, tall, leggy NZ girls shouted, grabbed their bags and chased him down, long hair and eyelashes flying out behind them, right down the road and tackled him, (we are a rugby country after all), one of them sat on him and smacked him on the shoulders with her handbag and the other ripped the camera out of his crestfallen hands, told him to promise Never to be Bad Again (an admonishment that is easily understood in any language), and sent him on his way.
After Pat told us this story it became our family joke, every time we needed to borrow someone’s hand, we would call Find a Man! Followed, naturally, by gales of laughter. 
Yesterday I found a man. A very clever handsome man whose mother is Italian from Sicily and used to win prizes for her tomato sauce. (Yes, he is going to send me the recipe.) There are rumours of a cheesecake too. Anyway he fixes computers, bless him. The post mistress gave me his number. So I called him over. He carefully navigated about my machine for a while, grimaced slightly, then took it away! Just popped my computer under his arm and took it home. 
So this will explain my unannounced absence yesterday. I got a lot of baking done in the absence of Computer.
It came back yesterday evening and was returned amidst stern warnings to keep up to date with my housekeeping, defrag every month, and here are the short cuts, don’t go wandering about in this bit and you know that new facebook chatline you downloaded, I took it off as it is still being trialed and lets bugs in. Just use the regular one. He eradicated all the bugs and so now I will be good.
Just wonderful. I am going to keep him, I said to John. The vet came yesterday to take some blood from Daisy and we will know whether she is pregnant or not within the week. I do hope she is.
You all have a lovely day. Eldest Son is coming tonight!
celi
What I was doing on this day a year ago. Butternut and Chickpea Curry.
The Kitchen's Garden 
76 responses to “Find a Man we would shout and laugh like drains!”
Love the first capture of the horizon. Good luck with your sustainable farming project. Sounds like a tremendous opportunity
Thank you Kurt and welcome, we have been building our wee farm almost four years now and we are certainly well fed! c
First landscape is blinding. To be honest, I’m not happy about you shooting such good pictures – I might have to grab that camera and start running:)
Excellent! I thought you might like this one.. you are fond of the golds in a landscape..c
amazing landscape shot! Stunning C!
Oh Mimo, thank you so much, this is the view from my front window, the light was perfect for the shot with those big dark rain clouds, it was too good to keep to myself!
First photo reminds me of chocolate box lid – way back in the 60/70’s 🙂 Glad all is well on the Farmy. Laura
That is the grainy look, maybe i should sell it to Nestle.. do they still make chocolate? c
Enjoy, as I trust you will, this precious time with your son!
Thank you honey and yes i will, when they are all grown up long visits are so much harder to carve out.. c
Much as I like the landscape, the Cow and Pig Aren’t Friends series is my favorite!
When you hadn’t posted by 9 yesterday, I thought your son was already there, and you were too busy Hugging to post 😉
Charlotte HAS to say good morning to everyone on our early morning walk, but not everyone appreciates it! c
Is is Sheila the Babe following Queenie around there in the pasture? I love that shot! And I’m so excited for you and Eldest Son and the gang on the farmy that he is coming tonight! You all, or ya’ll, as they say down here will have a fabulous time!!!
That is Charlotte, with her white face, just that spot on her nose.. and her refusal to come when called until she is quite quite ready! Ya’ll !!c
Love the colours and lines in the landscape photo.
I do too, it is ever changing this flat flat world.. c
I think your first shot is Beeootiful! What a lovely story C and how very exciting that eldest son will be arriving tonight! Crossing everything crossable that our girl is preggies.
🙂 Mandy xo
I am hoping that she is pregnant too Mandy, otherwise her next calf will be born way late in the year and I will be milking through the winter,, not a good idea out here! c
Oh Daisy darling, PLEASE be pregnant – we don’t want our Celi out in the cold winter milking – PLEASE!
(laughter!).. c
Ooh! I did enjoy that post: brilliant story; fabulous pictures, piggy/bovine face-off and all. Have a good time with number 1 son and don’t bother about letting us in on events (until afterwards, I mean). I was missing too yesterday – for a friend’s wedding. A happy day.
He is not an early riser so i will still have time to post!! morning viv.. c
All the great feedback in the world isn’t as wonderful as having your son come home. I am happy for you: enjoy every moment!
I love it when they visit, my kids love my food!! c
I love your stories, Cili. We are big story tellers in our home – we love to listen to them and tell them.
My Pa was too, he was a great one for a yarn! .. c
Peder and I are ooooo’ing and aaaaah’ing over that first photo. Good morning, Miss c. All well here. Builders knocked-off early today as it’s raining too hard to lay brick. Typical wet Sunday.
Well that gives you one quiet day at least.. I could do with a wet sunday, we have a chilly sunny one though .. c
Whatever you call it the first photo is stunning.
Maybe i will print that one.. it has a lovely calmness to it.. c
Oooooh yes, wonderful colours ulitarian or not. I love dark grey skies with vibrant greens. Ans as for the story, another cracker Cecelia. Probably couldn’t do that these days, those beautiful NZ tacklers would probably end up battered or worse. How times change.
Christine
P.S. Your excitement about your son’s arrival is palpable, even on this side of the world!!!
I don’t know, kiwi girls are pretty tough you know!! c