On the weekend, the world became a less rich place. Aveline passed away and we are the poorer for it. She gave so much, and had so much more to give.
I was honoured to have her as a part of my life for so long. She was at my 21st. She was at my 30th. She was the matriarch of my Household.
I will write more and link to a lot more once my brain is a little more in order... This post is a work in progress.
DestructoMeg and I were fortunate enough to spend some time with Aveline rummaging through Glebe Markets, and chatting around the BBQ on her last trip to Sydney. DestructoMeg summarised the whole thing really well last night.
I have been keeping up with the posts on ForBattle! and trying to keep up with everything else on Kitling's livejournal, let alone the collection of online tributes. I'm still finding it difficult to write.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Saturday, January 13, 2007
A whisky tasting we did go!
Well... once again I've not blogged for a while. Got quite a few photos to go through and publish but no. Have other things to catch up on. Could do a recap of the year but hey... I could also just go back and read the blog which was the point in the first place. Enough self involved rant... this post is to publish the results of a whisky tasting as done by Mr Nw, Anti Ob and myself.
Ob had a box of 6 "classic malts" which are classic because they are representative of the 6 whisky regions of Scotland (editor's correction). Or they happen to be sold by the same parent company and can therefore be easily sold in the one box. Ob had already sampled one of them, but luckily I had a little of that very same whisky stashed away in my own whisky collection.
We selected stemmed tulip-shaped glasses since that was what we had on hand, and also since they are supposed to be better for the tasting with the open space around the liquid concentrating to a small opening to smell through. We took an initial taste and then added a tiny amount of water to "open out" the taste. We also left the previously tasted whisky glass around while tasting the next one so we could enjoy the aroma left behind a little later. This turned out to be surprisingly strong and sweet in most cases, and explains a lot about why you always want another glass when you've finished. In this way they were tasted pair-wise in the order below (which was the order in the box). So.... to the whiskies and their results:
Talisker Very peaty. Floral. Strong aroma. Rather impressive. (For some reason we didn't comment much on some of these. Possibly because we hadn't done this before).
Oban Smoother. Less peaty. Sweet. Very pleasant. Long finish. Strong aroma left behind in glass.
Glenkinchie Light aroma. Sweet caramel/oak (chardonnay like characteristic). Diluted made it more honey like although made it too subtle. According to the booklet, this is not just a lowlands whisky, but the driest and smokiest meaning that clearly the lowlanders don't like dry or smokey. After leaving it the aroma was still weak although it had become rather floral.
Dalwhinnie Low aroma. Malty. Honeyish. Water brings out the honey.
Lagavulin Darker colour. Peatiest of them all. Smokey aftertaste. Full of flavour. Sweetens with water. Afterwards smelled caramel-like and smokey.
Cragganmore Dry aroma. Smokey. Mellow. Easy to throw back (was difficult not to just drink it all in one go). Spicy-peppery aftertaste.
We seemed to agree that Talisker was the nicest, and Oban was not too far behind. After this tasting, we were also forutnate enough to compare the refular edition Talisker with the 1991 Distillers Edition Talisker. There was in fact enough difference to make it a different whisky. Not sure if I'd call either superior, just different enough that it's worth keeping a bottle of each, and that maybe I could collect a whisky from every year.....
Ob had a box of 6 "classic malts" which are classic because they are representative of the 6 whisky regions of Scotland (editor's correction). Or they happen to be sold by the same parent company and can therefore be easily sold in the one box. Ob had already sampled one of them, but luckily I had a little of that very same whisky stashed away in my own whisky collection.
We selected stemmed tulip-shaped glasses since that was what we had on hand, and also since they are supposed to be better for the tasting with the open space around the liquid concentrating to a small opening to smell through. We took an initial taste and then added a tiny amount of water to "open out" the taste. We also left the previously tasted whisky glass around while tasting the next one so we could enjoy the aroma left behind a little later. This turned out to be surprisingly strong and sweet in most cases, and explains a lot about why you always want another glass when you've finished. In this way they were tasted pair-wise in the order below (which was the order in the box). So.... to the whiskies and their results:
Talisker Very peaty. Floral. Strong aroma. Rather impressive. (For some reason we didn't comment much on some of these. Possibly because we hadn't done this before).
Oban Smoother. Less peaty. Sweet. Very pleasant. Long finish. Strong aroma left behind in glass.
Glenkinchie Light aroma. Sweet caramel/oak (chardonnay like characteristic). Diluted made it more honey like although made it too subtle. According to the booklet, this is not just a lowlands whisky, but the driest and smokiest meaning that clearly the lowlanders don't like dry or smokey. After leaving it the aroma was still weak although it had become rather floral.
Dalwhinnie Low aroma. Malty. Honeyish. Water brings out the honey.
Lagavulin Darker colour. Peatiest of them all. Smokey aftertaste. Full of flavour. Sweetens with water. Afterwards smelled caramel-like and smokey.
Cragganmore Dry aroma. Smokey. Mellow. Easy to throw back (was difficult not to just drink it all in one go). Spicy-peppery aftertaste.
We seemed to agree that Talisker was the nicest, and Oban was not too far behind. After this tasting, we were also forutnate enough to compare the refular edition Talisker with the 1991 Distillers Edition Talisker. There was in fact enough difference to make it a different whisky. Not sure if I'd call either superior, just different enough that it's worth keeping a bottle of each, and that maybe I could collect a whisky from every year.....
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Lawnmowers.... up close and personal
This is about as close as you'll get to an "action" shot...
Shhhhhh! Be vewwy vewwy quiet... we're hunting gwass...
Shhhhhh! Be vewwy vewwy quiet... we're hunting gwass...
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Dear Diary
Well it's been a little while since I've written anything! Last weekend was kinda hectic between the engagement party on Friday night (tacked on to the back of a work xmas function), with Turkey Day on Saturday night and popping down to Melbourne for lunch. Sunday involved a small flute concert which was a relaxing way to round off the weekend.
Previous weekend involved The Cat Empire (Awesome!) and this weekend involves Yule with a tournament and feast.
I do have some photos lying around as well which should go up but this was more of a wow... it's kind of busy this time of year post.
Mmmmmm sleeeeeeep..........
Previous weekend involved The Cat Empire (Awesome!) and this weekend involves Yule with a tournament and feast.
I do have some photos lying around as well which should go up but this was more of a wow... it's kind of busy this time of year post.
Mmmmmm sleeeeeeep..........
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
A stitch in time
Well, it's been a while since I've tried to panorama anything, and Hugin has gone to 0.6.1, so I thought I'd put together some photos I took from Mt Kiera. This is from the south lookout, looking south. Took me a while to remember how to get it to look okay, but I think it's worked.
They are weird down south.
Last weekend we took a relaxing day off and had lunch at the beach down at the 'Gong, strolled around a bit. Lovely day really. Took a few photos. Most of them were either not so great or interesting, but I was amused by these two.
First one: what happens when you throw the last few chips in to the bin at the beach?
Yes that is a bird inside the bin. No I did not put it in there.
Secondly, I found this guy kinda creepy. Also fits in with the what the hell is this guy doing here in October thing (yes it was still October when we went there).
First one: what happens when you throw the last few chips in to the bin at the beach?
Yes that is a bird inside the bin. No I did not put it in there.
Secondly, I found this guy kinda creepy. Also fits in with the what the hell is this guy doing here in October thing (yes it was still October when we went there).
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Do they call him Snerg the confectioner? No.
Well... I've had my first attempt at making turkish delight. I used a gelatine based recipe since that's what was lying around. What I learned was:
1. Gelatine in sachets means that you can't control the amount. I think I had slightly too little as it didn't really set enough.
2. With that much sugar in it, the gelatine doesn't seem to be forming jelly as such. It still has that gooey consistency (a little too gooey this time around), so if I want to use gelatine it doesn't ruin the texture.
3. I added around 50mL to a recipe that required only a teaspoon. I can pretty much only taste the lemon juice. It's nice but I wasn't looking for lemon delight. Clearly "the juice of one lemon" means a crappy lemon with very little juice. It's quite strong in lemon taste.
I've now obtained some Cream of Tartar (I'm not going to make that from scratch!) and I've added another batch of petals to the remaining rosewater. After it soaks I'm just bottling it because I'm out of roses.
1. Gelatine in sachets means that you can't control the amount. I think I had slightly too little as it didn't really set enough.
2. With that much sugar in it, the gelatine doesn't seem to be forming jelly as such. It still has that gooey consistency (a little too gooey this time around), so if I want to use gelatine it doesn't ruin the texture.
3. I added around 50mL to a recipe that required only a teaspoon. I can pretty much only taste the lemon juice. It's nice but I wasn't looking for lemon delight. Clearly "the juice of one lemon" means a crappy lemon with very little juice. It's quite strong in lemon taste.
I've now obtained some Cream of Tartar (I'm not going to make that from scratch!) and I've added another batch of petals to the remaining rosewater. After it soaks I'm just bottling it because I'm out of roses.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Soiree was fun!
One of my "My brain is full now!" procrastinations on the weekend was going to Soiree. Here's a piccie of the view from high table
Was pleasant to listen to quite a lot of performance and also do a bit of dancing. There was also plenty of good food. Mmmm. I think someone told me they were period recipes, which would explain why the combinations seemed a little unusual (in a good way).
p.s. I just had some fresh tamarind. Yum! Thankyou MissKrin!
Was pleasant to listen to quite a lot of performance and also do a bit of dancing. There was also plenty of good food. Mmmm. I think someone told me they were period recipes, which would explain why the combinations seemed a little unusual (in a good way).
p.s. I just had some fresh tamarind. Yum! Thankyou MissKrin!
9 down, 3 to go!
Hoorah! Had an exam yesterday. That's it for 4 months, then it's back to some subject that I haven't chosen yet...
I was just trying to find out how long rosewater lasts in the fridge, or keeps in general. Have no idea yet but I really must have entered the wrong search terms. In google I tried a few things, one was a search for preserving rosewater. It turned up a recipe that makes me think twice about food and what combinations are disturbing. It's a recipe for "Watermelon and feta salad with clear tomato jelly". For some reason that just doesn't sound right to me. Certainly not right or wrong enough for me to try making it.
I was just trying to find out how long rosewater lasts in the fridge, or keeps in general. Have no idea yet but I really must have entered the wrong search terms. In google I tried a few things, one was a search for preserving rosewater. It turned up a recipe that makes me think twice about food and what combinations are disturbing. It's a recipe for "Watermelon and feta salad with clear tomato jelly". For some reason that just doesn't sound right to me. Certainly not right or wrong enough for me to try making it.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Strength testing...
On the weekend I tried out the rosewater in a pancake batter. 1 cup milk, 1 cup wholemeal flour, some sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons (North American Metric ones) of rosewater. While we couldn't really taste the rosewater as such, you could tell somthing was there. Not sure if it's a fair test really.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Rosewater is steeping away....
Okay, so the rosewater is busily making itself and smelling lovely. First batch has been squeezed and 2nd steeping is in progress. Might go for a 3rd, depending on how strong it tastes.
As for the Turkish Delight recipes, I'm kind of tempted to make the gelatine version, although it does seem a bit lazy. If I go for that one, it's on Epicurious here or elsewhere with extra lemon juice.
If I do it properly (with cream of tartar and heaps of sugar), I found two choices here and here. The one suggesting the pistachios was a gelatine one. Weird. I thought they would work better in the Tartar by not sinking to the bottom so easily. Oh well.
As for the Turkish Delight recipes, I'm kind of tempted to make the gelatine version, although it does seem a bit lazy. If I go for that one, it's on Epicurious here or elsewhere with extra lemon juice.
If I do it properly (with cream of tartar and heaps of sugar), I found two choices here and here. The one suggesting the pistachios was a gelatine one. Weird. I thought they would work better in the Tartar by not sinking to the bottom so easily. Oh well.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Proto turkish delight
While we're in farming mode, here's our turkish delight farm. It currently looks like this
and
which was after we harvested
so now it's busily making rose water. We'll see how that goes. Turkish delight is one thing I want to make with it. Maybe also some "cordial". If it has a strong enough taste there should be plenty to make other stuff too. Any suggestions?
and
which was after we harvested
so now it's busily making rose water. We'll see how that goes. Turkish delight is one thing I want to make with it. Maybe also some "cordial". If it has a strong enough taste there should be plenty to make other stuff too. Any suggestions?
Garden Salad!
Well... not quite yet. We have some overgrown aging carrots that now look like this:
and earlier my folks came by and put in some other vegies. The letuces are coming along nicely
but the cucumbers and zucchini are missing, presumed eaten by snails.
and earlier my folks came by and put in some other vegies. The letuces are coming along nicely
but the cucumbers and zucchini are missing, presumed eaten by snails.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Two funny things happened to me today!
Firstly, it looks like they've finally finished the IT review. We're getting a preliminary speech about it. They've chosen to give us the talk on Friday 13th.
Seconly, the local feminist group were advertising themselves. They had a cake stall. Not they they are reinforcing stereotypes or anything.
Mind you, lunchtime was a crowded with people vying for attention. There was also the Oxfam/Fair Trade cakestall (bought some of their white chocolate with almonds to try out), an oompah band turned up with guys handing out pretzels to advertise the upcoming octoberfest (their choice in muzak was not so good... chicken dance!?!!), and not to be outdone, some guys walked out on to the library lawn carrying a black coffin. I assume they were advertising a play.
I've had 2 iced coffees today plus my usual breakfast coffee. I'm bouncing a bit. Just to disturb everyone, the 1st iced coffee I bought today was a "Vanilla Ice". It's a bit sweet with the extra vanilla, but I do it just so I can ask for "vanilla ice, ice baby". In winter I order a double macchiato and call it a "Mac Daddy". Maybe I need help.
Seconly, the local feminist group were advertising themselves. They had a cake stall. Not they they are reinforcing stereotypes or anything.
Mind you, lunchtime was a crowded with people vying for attention. There was also the Oxfam/Fair Trade cakestall (bought some of their white chocolate with almonds to try out), an oompah band turned up with guys handing out pretzels to advertise the upcoming octoberfest (their choice in muzak was not so good... chicken dance!?!!), and not to be outdone, some guys walked out on to the library lawn carrying a black coffin. I assume they were advertising a play.
I've had 2 iced coffees today plus my usual breakfast coffee. I'm bouncing a bit. Just to disturb everyone, the 1st iced coffee I bought today was a "Vanilla Ice". It's a bit sweet with the extra vanilla, but I do it just so I can ask for "vanilla ice, ice baby". In winter I order a double macchiato and call it a "Mac Daddy". Maybe I need help.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Damn Monkeys and 'Kn Apes
Last night Mz DestructoMeg took me to the Lowin Award ceremony for Australian contemporary composers. I feel so... ummm... cultured or summink. We had canapes and drinkies so it's all good! Was good to have some live performances thrown in to the mix.
On the way home we stumbled across the Sydney Good Food festival in Hyde Park. It was funny because you could see that Thai food is so not exotic anymore. All the Thai restaurants represented had very little queue. Things like Japanese and Himalayan fared much better. And nobody wanted the Indian food... We ambled around but nothing seemed to strike me as particularly delicious. Possibly because I could identify most of the restaurants there.
Oh yeah... driving back home I bought the final piece of the puzzle. I now own a gas bottle.
***NEWSFLASH***
As of Saturday, high noon, the BBQ has been "cured". There's a few "features" on how some of the buttons work, and it does smell a bit like burned paint, but it's all ready to go! Now to find my pith helmet....
On the way home we stumbled across the Sydney Good Food festival in Hyde Park. It was funny because you could see that Thai food is so not exotic anymore. All the Thai restaurants represented had very little queue. Things like Japanese and Himalayan fared much better. And nobody wanted the Indian food... We ambled around but nothing seemed to strike me as particularly delicious. Possibly because I could identify most of the restaurants there.
Oh yeah... driving back home I bought the final piece of the puzzle. I now own a gas bottle.
***NEWSFLASH***
As of Saturday, high noon, the BBQ has been "cured". There's a few "features" on how some of the buttons work, and it does smell a bit like burned paint, but it's all ready to go! Now to find my pith helmet....
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Barbecue Wrasslin'
Okay... I *think* I now have a fully assembled BBQ. I still have some spare bits. I don't know if they are actually imporant, and I'm not 100% certain of where they go. The diagrams are a bit special, and don't really tell you what is actually going on. I'm just hoping that they aren't somehow structural. Unlikely, but I'm not sure I'd like to see a flaming BBQ collapse in front of me.
I also don't yet have a gas bottle.
I have, however, finished Mr Sheening my armour.
I also don't yet have a gas bottle.
I have, however, finished Mr Sheening my armour.
Just doin stuff.
Well.. I managed to get my act together enough to go to Spring War! Well, actually I needed to get out of the city so it wasn't really a choice. Just needed to relax out among the trees... and the battlefield. The highlight for me was sitting in the Turkish Coffee House (a tent with some pillows and low tables), drinking turkish coffee, eating turkish delight and looking out at the trees.
Yesterday I managed to submit my assignment for my current subject. It was handed in on time and I don't think it was as bad as I thought it might be. The relaxing break was a good thing.
Workwise I am witnessing the most overly complicated office move in the history of mankind. Not that it is complicated, just that someone keeps "helping" and changing things regularly. There is always more than one "surprise du jour".
And lastly... I attempted to assemble a BBQ (early xmas prezzie from the folks) last night. There should always be one or two bits left over. It's traditional and adds to the puzzle of the whole thing. There shouldn't be 14 pieces left over. Took a while to work out where I think they should go... this time for sure! How hard can it be to assemble a BBQ? Really?!?!
I also still need to Mr Sheen my armour...
Yesterday I managed to submit my assignment for my current subject. It was handed in on time and I don't think it was as bad as I thought it might be. The relaxing break was a good thing.
Workwise I am witnessing the most overly complicated office move in the history of mankind. Not that it is complicated, just that someone keeps "helping" and changing things regularly. There is always more than one "surprise du jour".
And lastly... I attempted to assemble a BBQ (early xmas prezzie from the folks) last night. There should always be one or two bits left over. It's traditional and adds to the puzzle of the whole thing. There shouldn't be 14 pieces left over. Took a while to work out where I think they should go... this time for sure! How hard can it be to assemble a BBQ? Really?!?!
I also still need to Mr Sheen my armour...
Friday, September 29, 2006
Uncollapsing the core
With the list of intriguing turns of phrase as seen on ForBattle!, I had to publish this little collection too. A friend of mine was so obsessed with the new speak turn of phrase "uncollapsing the core" that he tried to find out what it meant. This was the best he could do:
1. “The uncollapsing theorem proposes that the possibility exists that a person in a deep meditative state can cause matter to assume a quantum superposition of states.”
2. “Collapsing a world works but uncollapsing it causes an out of memory crash.”
3. “In the real world, buildings may collapse into rubble, for example, but rubble does not "uncollapse" to form a building”
4. “Collapsed voids actually uncollapse into simple voids in this phase”
1. “The uncollapsing theorem proposes that the possibility exists that a person in a deep meditative state can cause matter to assume a quantum superposition of states.”
2. “Collapsing a world works but uncollapsing it causes an out of memory crash.”
3. “In the real world, buildings may collapse into rubble, for example, but rubble does not "uncollapse" to form a building”
4. “Collapsed voids actually uncollapse into simple voids in this phase”
Monday, September 25, 2006
Another fun-filled weekend!
Well... once again it is time to procratinate. I have an assignment due in just over a week (in fact, just after Spring War. Yay for timing.) and a few emails I should write, as well as work to do. So I'm a blogging. As you do.
Friday night was fun. Went to see an Aark concert. Wasn't quite as weird as the other one I went to. Didn't really push the "What is music?" boundaries but was fabulous nonetheless. Some parts sounded a lot like The Necks. Some parts sounded like a soundtrack to a 50s detective movie. I was waiting for someone in a funky suit and hat to be standing somewhere in a darkened corner of the stage. Speaking of which, the venue itself is inspiring too. The Verbruggen Hall is a beautiful hall in a great building. Anyway, it was a great gig. If you are in to music that is a bit out there, it's great.
Saturday night involved going to the St Ursula birthday feast. Not really much to say. Had a great time. Good company.
Sunday was much more fun for me. I strapped on the armour and entered the "Rowany Tournament of Champions". It was a Valhalla style tournament. Considering that the weather was hot and dry, it was a little on the gruelling side. Okay... also considering that my fitness could be a lot better, it was gruelling. I got to the point where I couldn't really throw a shot, or move my shield effectively any more so it was pointless going back on. So how does a Valhalla style tournament work? Simple! If you have a group of fighters in a large field, you play with Melee rules, meaning that you engage your worthy opponent formally. This allows for many simultaneous one on one bouts. Once you have been slain, you watch... if the person who killed you then gets killed, you return from Valhalla to take the field again! This means that to win the tournament you need to kill all who are in the tournament. In a row. There is no other way. So when there are a number of good people in the tournament, and 24 people actually in armour, this can take some time. So despite me not doing particularly well in the tournament, I had a fantastic time and I also feel the better for having had the exercise. It did leave me well exhausted for the evening and I'm feeling some of the pain today. Including the bruises. But at least I've had some fighting before I head off to Spring War next weekend!
Edit: That's right! I almost forgot. I got to see Mic Conway out and about with 2 scary looking characters while shopping at Ashfield Mall. He was rudely interrupted by the Cat in the Hat, but used the opportunity to change "you are my sunshine" to "you are my cat-in-the-hat". Apparetnly he was in town for the Ukulele festival. Not sure my attention span could cope with that much Ukulele.
Friday night was fun. Went to see an Aark concert. Wasn't quite as weird as the other one I went to. Didn't really push the "What is music?" boundaries but was fabulous nonetheless. Some parts sounded a lot like The Necks. Some parts sounded like a soundtrack to a 50s detective movie. I was waiting for someone in a funky suit and hat to be standing somewhere in a darkened corner of the stage. Speaking of which, the venue itself is inspiring too. The Verbruggen Hall is a beautiful hall in a great building. Anyway, it was a great gig. If you are in to music that is a bit out there, it's great.
Saturday night involved going to the St Ursula birthday feast. Not really much to say. Had a great time. Good company.
Sunday was much more fun for me. I strapped on the armour and entered the "Rowany Tournament of Champions". It was a Valhalla style tournament. Considering that the weather was hot and dry, it was a little on the gruelling side. Okay... also considering that my fitness could be a lot better, it was gruelling. I got to the point where I couldn't really throw a shot, or move my shield effectively any more so it was pointless going back on. So how does a Valhalla style tournament work? Simple! If you have a group of fighters in a large field, you play with Melee rules, meaning that you engage your worthy opponent formally. This allows for many simultaneous one on one bouts. Once you have been slain, you watch... if the person who killed you then gets killed, you return from Valhalla to take the field again! This means that to win the tournament you need to kill all who are in the tournament. In a row. There is no other way. So when there are a number of good people in the tournament, and 24 people actually in armour, this can take some time. So despite me not doing particularly well in the tournament, I had a fantastic time and I also feel the better for having had the exercise. It did leave me well exhausted for the evening and I'm feeling some of the pain today. Including the bruises. But at least I've had some fighting before I head off to Spring War next weekend!
Edit: That's right! I almost forgot. I got to see Mic Conway out and about with 2 scary looking characters while shopping at Ashfield Mall. He was rudely interrupted by the Cat in the Hat, but used the opportunity to change "you are my sunshine" to "you are my cat-in-the-hat". Apparetnly he was in town for the Ukulele festival. Not sure my attention span could cope with that much Ukulele.
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