A Luce Affiliation

Our good friends Tara and Nico were recently approached by the Herald-Sun to appear in a weekend feature on 'stressful kitchens'.  That is, kitchens that are stressful to cook in due to size, design or some such. Tara and Nico have a really great house, and in truth their kitchen is quite big.  It has a six-seater kitchen table.  But it's old and doesn't have much bench space, so I suppose that's why they were chosen. On the day they called, Tara was working and Nico was at home with their baby.  The photographer insisted on arranging a different day, so they could photograph Tara in the kitchen with her daughter. I can't even covey how much this infuriates me. Get back in the kitchen, Tara.

It has finally happened.  I am sick of reading novels set in New York. I am half-way through 'Triburbia' and I just can't be bothered.  No more lofts, no more wealthy artists, no more stoops.  Grrr!! This is worthy of note because my love of contemporary American fiction was overwhelming.  Overwhelming.  My book club friends could only look on and laugh as I earnestly spoke of my love of Jonathon Safran Foer, Siri Hustvedt et al.  And to be sure, I still love them.  At best, their intelligence and imagination sparkle off the page. My admiration of these writers was tempered when I read 'The Tin Drum'.   My favourite 'New York' authors have an enormous stylistic debt to Gunter Grass. So, here are my favourite books set in New York, which I whole-heartedly recommend. 1. Let the Great world Spin by Colum McCann 2. What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt 3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran Foer 4. My Misspent Youth (essays) Meghan Daum

So here is my secret: I am *surprisingly* good at physical skills.  Throwing and catching, playing table tennis, kicking a footy. To be clear, I am not good at these things.  However, I am nowhere near as bad as anyone expects. Whenever anyone sees me throw a ball, they remark, "Lucy, you weren't as bad at that as I thought you would be." Or, "Wow!  I was certain you'd be terrible at that but...".  And not just once: the same people frequently comment  each time I do anything requiring hand-eye coordination. It used to frustrate me but now I revel in the advantage to being unexpectedly  good at something. My secret weapon: acting like a total klutz whilst actually having at least average hand-eye coordination and agility.