Nostaligic Saturday

I don't have old photos so I have pinched one and can tell you a story to match it.

There were a number of different dams around Harvey (my home town) that made great picnic, fishing, water skiing or swimming spots.

This one is an old photo of Stirling Dam. I haven't been there since forever but it was about 30 minutes east of town (going from memory anyway). This made it even more special because there were at least 4 dams that were closer so it wasn't one that I went to often. I remember driving past my Principal's house on the way (and we went there for a Sunday School Picnic one year) and that meant we were nearly there. Stirling Dam is a great expanse of water surrounded by trees, trees and more trees and really is a little drop of heaven. You could go to the popular spots - and catch up with the rest of town. Or go to one of the hundreds (or should that be thousands) of little hidey holes that afforded the visitor privacy.

A special day and, now I think of it, some great memories :-)

Friday Feast 187

Appetizer

Name a color you find soothing.

That would have to be purple - I sleep in it, I wrap myself in it, I think about it and suddenly the world seems a little better!

Soup

Using 20 or less words, describe your first driving experience.

A demonstration of love by my father and brother - got my P's, drove 20 Kms all in the same day :-)

Salad

What material is your favorite item of clothing made out of?

Denim (jeans) or t-shirting (jammies)

Main Course

Who is a great singer or musician who, if they were to come to your town for a concert, you would spend the night outside waiting for tickets to see?

Let me think .... could it be Brittany, or PCD, or Akon ... no it's MEAT LOAF (what a surprise!) - with Bruce Springsteen as a close second :-)

Dessert

What is the most frequent letter of the alphabet in your whole name (first, middle, maiden, last, etc.)?

A in my new name, equal E and R in the old one

Tree of Life

If you want to be happy for a year, plant a garden; If you want to be happy for life, plant a tree.

English proverb

Art: The Tree of Life by Gustav Klimt

Rough

String Theory

During my self-imposed sabbatical from the world I have finally figured out string theory. Actually I should rephrase that before the Nobel prize people come flocking to my doorstep, "I have finally figured out what they are talking about". In words and images I can understand ... or at least I think I have lol.

The ability of my mind to deal with quantum physics is extremely limited and this might be as far as I get but I do enjoy the challenge - especially as I don't actually have anyone to ask and I am dependent on podcasts and Google.

I also acknowledge that I stopped learning science (officially) over 20 years ago so I am a bit behind the eight-ball when trying to understand the quantum world but I love an intellectual challenge. Maybe I should ask Dr Karl or Adam Spencer, they explain things in ways that i can understand :-)

With Thanks to Kylie

I pinched this off She Dreams and, coincidentally I had been playing with the webcam this morning and had a photo to play with :-)

If you want to play too, just click on Warholizer :-)

New Challenge

I have just found a new challenge for Thursday - appropriately called Booking Through Thursday. I have done their challenge for this week so I have randomly selected an old one to start with :-)

What’s your favorite book that nobody else has heard of? You know, not Little Women or Huckleberry Finn, not the latest best-seller . . . whether they’ve read them or not, everybody “knows” those books. I’m talking about the best book that, when you tell people that you love it, they go, “Huh? Never heard of it?”

I probably have a thousand I could add here - well a dozen anyway - but to narrow down the list:

Cane River by Lalita Tademy
The Color of Water by James McBride
The American Woman's Cookbook

Ask me tomorrow and I may have a new list :-)

My New Toy

Okay I haven't quite got the microphone happening yet but the camera works :-) And yes I am actually on camera to folks - for real! (Explanation, as a general rule, I refuse to have my photo taken for a whole lot of very silly reasons)

My Latest Love

I got my Ebay books on Sunday - all fifty of them (yippee). I buy from a Coffs seller (charliejodesigns) who lets me pick them up (thus I spend my postage costs on more books) and, because I have been doing this for so long, I often get the occasional bonus book thrown in.

Anyway, I was a little perturbed when I first saw this one, it appeared to be a bible which is out of character for my bonus books. Then I opened the front page and realised that this was not a holy book. The title page revealed an absolute treasure - The American Woman's Cookbook from 1952. Oh was I in heaven!

This book is similar to our own CWA or Golden Wattle cookbooks but oh so much more.

Aside from the recipes that are easy to laugh at - all offal and anything "under glass" are just easy starters for me but there are some other classics here : Peanut Butter and Onion Sandwiches, Salmon Wiggle, Turtle Ragout, Planked Steak, Headcheese (using a pigs head, tongue and seasonings), Pigeon Pie and Roast Squirrels (or Opossum).

But once I stop laughing at the dated nature of some things (which I personally think are sociological gems) this book is just incredible. It has a whole section on cooking terms and their definitions (scallop, scramble, stew etc), it has a complete range of nutritional information, a chapter on table settings, how to buy and store food, identifying meat cuts, variations on basic sauce and bread recipes. It just goes on and is a true bevy of information - including hints and tips you learn by attrition but no one ever thinks to actually teach you - that is as relevant now as it was then. And it does make the CWA books look a little thin (did I really say that).

Aside from, perhaps, a couple of technical cook books I have (for catering students) or, maybe, the Stephanie Alexander collections, I have never seen anything this comprehensive. And neither of those examples come close, nor are they aimed at the same market, or available for a similar price (these books would have sold in the $25 - $30 price range - our money - the technical books are $50 +++ and Stephanie's start at $120). I know I have thrown something similar together a couple of times (one book for students who have just moved out of home, and another for a friend that was just learning to cook) but these were singular issue, photocopied productions that I gave away.

I love cookbooks and delight in just reading them as I would any other book, but this one has definitely set a new standard for me for the depth of knowledge it imparts, the ease of the recipes and the simplicity of the presentation.

Dance with Time

Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.

Rabindranath Tagore

Photo Challenge

Photo Challenge reminder time folks!

This Friday (18 April): Rough
Friday 25 April: Smooth
Friday 2 May: Light

Posting a day either side is just fine :-) And given that so many people are now playing, I am hooking us up to Mr Linkies (so no one misses out on their oohs and aahs) ... well I will as soon as I can follow basic instructions. But it will be done for this week lol.

And many thanks to the incredible Kyles for our new logo :-)

Re-Birthday Present

The fabulous Indigo has blessed me with a re-birthday present - an artistamp! You can see Indigo's entire collection here but, although I may be biased, I like mine best of all :-)

Thank you so very much Deborah :-)

Come to the Edge

Come to the edge, he said
They said: We are afraid
Come to the edge, he said
They came.
He pushed them ...
and they flew

Guillaume Apollinaire

Mexican Madness

Today was cooking group day - and we were heading south of the border. I was most insistent that we would have 'real' Mexican food - no yellow boxes and no Tex-Mex - but time is a constant constraint so I had to concede compromise here and there. I also had to end of the mild end of the fire scale - just out of respect for those who don't have iron guts like me :-) But I did provide jalepenos for those who wanted to kick it up a notch :-)

So our menu was:

• Beef chilli
• Vegetarian chilli
• Refried beans
• Salsa
• Corn cobettes
• Mexican rice
• Mexican spiced chicken
• Corn bread

We made out own spice blends (very satisfying) and cooked from scratch. I did initially plan to turn our tortillas into chimichangas, quesadillas and enchiladas but our team took a vote and we decided burritos would be just fine.

So, now that I am taking requests, next week is Japanese food (with Kyles as our resident sushi queen sharing her expertise), followed by an Indian feast.

Apologies for Absense

I have been feeling a bit blah for the last few days. Yes I do suffer from depression (less so now since I started medication) and it wasn't exactly that, just feeling flat.

And having a run of night shifts where my human contact was limited to about 30 minutes a day, while I am trying to get sleep for the rest ... well it just made avoidance of the world a bit easier.

Anyway, human contact at work today has shaken me back to the real world so I am blogging again :-)

Fyi ...

Friday Feast 183

Appetizer

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?

9 - I love my handwriting - the fact that no one else can read it is a minor technicality

Soup

Do you prefer baths or showers?

Definitely showers - save water and all that :-)

Salad

What was the last bad movie you watched?

Talledega Nights - hands down the worst movie I have EVER seen, with Deuce Bigalo as a close second.

Main Course

Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.

Blogging! It takes hours each day and my circle of sites is always increasing. Plus the time it takes to organize a photo for Fridays! Love every minute - and everyone I am meeting along the way!

Dessert

Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?

Hmmmm, it might not be a real instrument but rain on a tin roof is always music to my ears lol

20th Anniversary

Nobody puts baby in a corner

Patrick Swayze as Johnny in Dirty Dancing

Heroes

I Know I Said I Wouldn't

Forgive me but I am weak. I thought I could handle a taste and then move on but the temptation was way too strong.

I had ribs again tonight.

And forgive my lack of modesty but I make the best ribs in the whole entire world ... well at least as good as Sardi's in South Perth but there aren't there anymore.

Okay, on the health scale they probably aren't as bad as other things ... say fried chicken, and the fat does drain off .... but ... well I just love my ribs.

And served with a baked potato and a green salad .... that really is heaven.

And I can't promise I won't have them again next week. And I have just been called in for a night shift so I have left some for breakfast in the morning.

I Agree

I think that I shall never see a billboard lovely as a tree.

Ogden Nash