Practical but boring

I realised a little while ago when I was pulling a shepherd’s pie (yes, I know it’s the first day of summer but seriously, could today have been any less summery?) out of the oven that I need new oven mitts. Now, I don’t know about you but in the universal scale of sexy things to spend money on, oven mitts rate about, hmmm, let me see, minus 10? Oven mitts may be practical and necessary but sexy? Uh-huh. My current one is part of a pair I acquired (I must have bought them but not surprisingly, I can’t remember the purchase) maybe 10 years ago and has several gaping holes burnt into it. Its partner went to kitchen linen heaven long ago.

I suppose that in the next few days or weeks I shall be forced to buy another oven mitt but I’m already resenting the cash. I mean, I could be putting that $9 or $15 (Or however much oven mitts cost. Who knows?) towards a dinner at Quay or a bottle of Pedro Ximinez sherry or a fortnight in Paris...

It’s not just oven mitts I dislike spending my hard earned dollars and cents on. There are lots of other things I find completely unworthy. Some that spring to mind are pens (I’ve lost so many over the years, surely the universe owes me some back?), batteries, tampons, sunscreen, dental floss and cleaning products of all kinds. Sure, they’re necessary but talk about boring! In a perfect world these things would automatically arrive once a month/year/decade in a government sponsored delivery you could simply tuck away in a cupboard until needed. Oh well...