RED Alert #9: RED turns to BLUE in Geneva!

Kath and Sapphire ... in Spain, so they can't be goofing off, right?  RIGHT???

I first 'met' my RED Alert guest KATH through her blog Gone Chocco, now sadly inactive BUT required and compelling reading for anyone with more than a passing interest in the wonderful world of chocolate. Of course this led me to her non-food-related blog, Blurb from the Burbs, which with a enviably cunning and deft sleight of hand was reborn as Goofing off in Geneva when she, husband Love Chunks and daughter Sapphire moved to … well, yes, I'm sure you get the picture.

Of course I 'followed' her halfway across the world to see what happened. And when Kath commented that I'd made her cry on a blog post about South Australia's Yorke Peninsula (I hope due to homesickness, rather than poor photo quality) she became one of my muses. Not that I deliberately try to make her cry.

But I DO sometimes think of Kath when I'm choosing photos …

RED:  Kath, welcome to RED Alert. What's your favourite colour?
KATH:  BLUE!

RED:  Thank you! That concludes today's interview!!! Only kidding … I guess we can take a break from RED if you want, so selected this one especially for you …

Port Clinton Public Amenities Block, Yorke Peninsula

RED:  Although I'm sure you'll agree the touch of RED sets it off superbly! As do the roses in your pic of Sapphire's FAB BLUE fingernails!  Do you find it disturbing that she MAY be moving away from RED?

No WAY is this Goofing off in Geneva!!!

KATH:  She’s always been a green and blue girl and her bedroom (which is very tastefully done) is testament to this. Perhaps red clashes with her blue eyes...? Plus, what teenager wants to wear a colour that her MOTHER favours?

RED:  Hahaha … and yet your favourite colour is … what was that again?? Maybe BLUE is the new RED! Or maybe combining them is the fashion statement of the twenty-teens?? Why ISN'T RED your favourite colour?
KATH:  RED always seemed too bright and commanding and, being so white, it always highlighted any time I blushed or felt hot or had a new pimple forming on my fluorescent face....

Fashion Accessory? Or Going CHOCCO?!?!  YOU decide!!

RED:  So it's logical that you'd choose Easter Eggs as a fashion accessory! Would you recommend them?
KATH:  Yes, but only in cool climes. As someone who once ‘forgot’ that she had a bag of mini eggs in her pocket, it only ends in tears and a poo-brown coloured crotch that’s impossible to explain.

RED:  Hahaha, I bet LOTS of other people found an explanation! What made you choose Cadbury Creme Eggs as your alternative eyes?
KATH:  They’re rarer than chicken lips over here and were bought during Sapphire’s and my weekend jaunt to Edinburgh back in February.

RED:  (Note to readers: make a KILLING in Europe with black-market Cadbury Creme Eggs) Is it any coincidence there's a Nestle poster in the background?
KATH:  None whatsoever. Sapphire found an advert from my birth month and year (November 1968) (RED: Surely not!) featuring Swiss-made Nestle, bought it on e-Bay and had it framed.

RED:  If you can narrow it down, what are your 3 favourite RED chocolates??
KATH:  Kit Kat – who doesn’t want to eat one of those when they clap eyes on the wrapper?  Foil-wrapped cherry liqueurs. Possibly an embarrassing relic from the 1970s, but I love ‘em.
RED:  Me too!
KATH:  Lindt Lindor in all its sizes, forms and boxes. Melt in the mouth heaven.

RED:  And what's the best RED thing to eat or drink in the cold?
KATH:  Vin Chaud (hot, spiced red wine). The perfect drink after skiing, especially if seated in an outdoor cafe with your puffy jacket and pants still on.

A hard day on the ski slopes doesn't count as GOOFING, does it?!

RED:  Now that you've got us all salivating, did you buy Love Chunk's FINE RED jacket??
KATH:  I did indeed – it’s a good colour to stand out in on a white ski field and I bought it second-hand for only 25 francs, a saving of 375 francs!



Killer RED Watch!!

RED:  Bargain! Do you wear a lot of RED?
KATH:  I never used to, but since Love Chunks brought me back a bright red Casio watch (RED : I'm SO jealous!) during his work trip to the US last year, it’s become an excuse to move from striped everything or black. I now have two pairs of red shoes, several red t-shirts, a spotted red handbag, a red jacket and several scarves.

RED:  Before you know it, you'll be breaking out into RED all over! Does he appreciate your RED fashion sense?
KATH:  Bless him; he wouldn’t notice if my face was on fire most of the time! I’ve had my hair coloured, make up on, new top and he’ll just say, ‘why have you got lipstick on, I can’t kiss you now.’

RED:  For how long did Love Chunks hold that teapot pose?

I'm a little ... Love Chunk!

KATH:  Not very long – he detests having his picture taken. 

RED:  For how long could YOU hold it?
KATH:  I’d be able to do it for ages but usually wind up face first in the snow or shut my eyes at the exact second he presses the button.

RED:  Hahaha! Maybe that's a better alternative to photographic 'Red-Eye'?! Is RED a factor in your relationship??
KATH:  Yes. We selected the previous house and current apartment’s RED accessories together, he bought me a RED running watch and makes me laugh until I’m RED in the face.

RED:  What else makes your face RED without fail?
KATH:  Laughing loudly. Being embarrassed – we natural blondies have a hard time disguising blushes!And running. Even several hours later after cooling down and showering, I glow.

RED:  Glowing is SO Australian! Is Australia the REDdest country you've been to?
KATH:  Nothing beats the dirt of Central Australia or seeing The Rock at sunset.

RED Glow from Running!

RED:  Where are your favourite REDs downunder?
KATH:  Port Douglas (Queensland) – RED sunset and often RED , sunburned skin; Adelaide (South Australia) – the RED brick of Beehive corner, RED roses in Eastern suburbs (where we used to live), the red stripe in the Crows’ uniforms, big red wines; Melbourne (Victoria) – the big ‘RED comb’ on the City Link tunnel (because we lived very near it in Flemington); and Victor Harbor (South Australia) – the REDish pink flowers in my parents’ garden!

RED:  That's a GREAT cross-section! Just goes to show you can find RED everywhere … Have you visited many European countries since moving to Geneva?
KATH:  England, Scotland, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Austria and Germany!

RED:  In terms of distance, I guess that's like saying you've visited all the states in Australia! Which was the best?
KATH:  Seeing my two most favourite people in the world see (and love) London for the first time and other times since.

RED:  And the worst?
KATH:  Marseille, France. Ugly, dodgy and very unwelcoming. A frightening place to take my parents to.

RED:  Remind me not to go there … who is praying in Spain?
KATH:  My goodly self. We were in the 11th Century Moorish gardens in Ronda, in the underground tunnels carved out of the cliff rock overlooking the river. The beam of sunlight beckoned me over and I couldn’t help but sing a ‘La la laaaaaa’ as Sapphire quickly snapped the moment with her iphone.

Kath in Spain

RED:  Silly me. I was thinking it was something serious. But speaking of serious, what made you start blogging?
KATH:  In 2005 I was at home recovering from a complete mental and physical breakdown after working far too hard, for too long for people who didn’t care what was happening to me. A friend started one up and I realised that it might be a good thing for me, too. The first entries are appallingly bad – as are a lot after that – but somehow I got into the groove of it and felt that I might have something to say that could entertain or inform or just make people feel better about themselves and their own stupidities and failings.

RED:  Well, take it from me you've succeeded. What keeps you blogging??
KATH:  A good question... It's a way of keeping friends and family up to date without the need to sit down every week and write a ‘Dear All.....’ email. I’ve also made some really good friends (some I’ve met in person, others I haven’t) whose feedback and opinions mean a great deal to me. Plus, my brain and fingers get itchy and an idea strikes at the strangest of times and tells me that it needs to be blogged about. I think too that when you become a regular blogger your writer’s ‘eye’ becomes sharper, noticing conversations or trends or events that should not be forgotten. All that and the need to look like I’m busy when really I’m on Cute Overload, D-Listed and better blogs than mine!

RED:  Who inspires you to blog?
KATH:  EVERY BLOG that I follow. Which reminds me, I need to update my ‘Links I like to lurk at’ column on the right hand side of my blog.

RED:  I'll be checking that right after I hit 'publish'! What are your 3 blogging pet hates?
KATH:  People who, despite you visiting their blog and regularly commenting, never repay the favour.  Articles that are advertising. Keep it separate, people! And too many films, GIFs and dooflanger widgets that take ages to download and usually crash.

Milly at Bath Time - she'd rather be goofing off ...

RED:  (Note to self: DON'T do these things ANY MORE!). Along with many other readers of your blog, I love hearing about your dog Milly's adventures in Geneva. How would you describe her colour?
KATH:  Technically she’s a white and tan Jack Russell/Corgi mix (we call her a ‘Jorgi’) but in the sunshine she’s orange, so I often refer to her as my little orange.

RED:  That's RED enough for me!! How did she get her name?
KATH:  She was at the dog shelter at six months old, handed in because the old lady had died and her husband clearly wasn’t fond of her. They had apparently called her ‘Caro’ (presumably due to her caramel colouring), which we hated. Driving back home with new ‘little orange’ in the back of the station wagon, tail wagging eagerly but making no sound, Love Chunks said, “I think she’s a Milly.”

RED:  How does Milly react to RED?
KATH:  It’s all around her. Her bed is red, her blanket is red, the rug in the lounge room that she likes to sun herself on is red, her bath time towels are red. I guess it means ‘home.’

Rhapsody in RED

RED:  HHHMMMmmm... Are you SURE you don't want to re-think that favourite colour? Do you have any final RED words of wisdom for our readers?
KATH:  Hopefully one day, a RED carpet will be laid out for all of us!

RED:  It's what I live for! And I hope my readers follow the RED carpet right over to your blog Goofing off in Geneva!!

Read MORE RED Alert Interviews (take it as read that they've all got an exclamation mark after the title ...):

• #9 Kath (Blog):  Goofing off in Geneva
• #8 Iris:  A Double Half of RED
• #7 LadyFi: RED Glory in Sweden
• #6 Terri: Terri Rocks RED ROCKS
• #5 Christopher:  I Must be Off in the RED Zone
• #4 Diane: Adventure Before Dementia goes WEST
• #3 Riet: Red and REDDER in the Netherlands
• #2 Annabel: Get in the Hot Spot sees RED
• #1 Jim: Holes in my Soles goes to Africa!