Weekend brunches in Newtown’s Buzzz Bar are one of the finer things in life.
The staff are friendly, friends gather, and knitting can be achieved.
I only just managed to snap this shot before all the food on the plate disappeared. I’m sure it was osmosis!
Ah King St. Is there anything else quite like it?
In the grand tradition of “I’ve got too much on my plate”, I thought I would share with you some of the tabs which are open on my browser at the moment in the hopes that you might also find them interesting or informative.
I’ll begin with Hel Looks. Fashion from the streets of Helsinki. It’s a photo journal of people on the streets. What they are wearing, where they found it, and what inspires their look. I love the bohemian feel, and the freedom of expression that is nary to be found on the streets of my home town. Even in the “eclectic” areas, there is a pervasive “look” which everyone seems to ascribe to here. But not so there it would seem! (I can’t wait to visit!)
In my ever increasing desire to get organised I have been re-reading the GTD book and inflicting it on the nice lady whose filing/inbox I am attempting to sort out. In my research though I also came across this, and have been re-reminded by it that I need to read The Elegant Solution. *takes it off the shelf, puts it by the bed and adds it to a GTD list*
Let’s see, what else? In the crafting corner I have these amazing felted and embroidered rocks. Which reminded me of these crochet covered rocks, which reminded me I haven’t done any yarn bombing yet, and the up coming break might be a good time to use up some acrylic from my stash! *poses like a ninja*
Last but not least we come to my all time biggest time wasting site other than wikepedia, which is Cracked. Click an article, any article, and in no time at all you’ll have a dozen tabs open to other articles that you’ll have lined up to read when you get to the end of the one you’re reading. It gets exponential surprisingly rapidly!
But that’s enough for a Wednesday night. Enjoy your internet browsing!
Of achievements; there have been many of them! I made it into town and went nuts on a shopping spree, stocking up on everything I had been lacking or that was running out. Mostly make up and stockings and things needed for work. All of which are expensive. 😦
Of holidays; ours are coming up and I bought a selection of Penguin Classics to take with me for reading material. For interested parties, the selection includes Cold Comfort Farm, The Witches of Eastwick, a Clockwork Orange, and Slaughterhouse Five. Read into that what you will. So to speak.
I intend on doing very little other than relaxing on this holiday. Possibly some knitting and brushing up on my water colour skills (see whut I did thar?).
Of local vegetation; I find it interesting that none of the magnolia trees around the Ranch have blossomed yet. Walk five blocks in that direction though *points*, and not only have they all blossomed (and I missed photographing them), but all the blossoms were damaged or destroyed in the heavy rains we had here last week. *has a sad*
Of the Day Job; I’m having some fun where I am placed at the moment. They seem to really like me and keep extending my placement! I have been updating their filing systems (filing documentation that hasn’t seen the light of day since 2008) and helping them organise some large scale events. It also helps that it’s been closer to home than the CBD and yet not in the CBD, so I’ve been saving money. Which I spent. See above.
Of organisation; I did something I’ve been threatening to do for a while now and as part of the general house clean up we made an excursion over to Howards Storage World. Oh boy do I have serious nesting instincts. I also want to organise ALL THE THINGS! Maybe one day …
Of anything else; here. Have a cat picture. The internet needs more of them.
The Crown Prince Shawl is coming along nicely if I do say so myself! Nearly at the half way point for the body.
The nupps are getting a little tedious, and the pattern is repetitive. This last part makes it particularly good TV knitting at the end of a long day!
I went through my yarn stash over the weekend and have turfed a lot of things which I have realised I’m never going to actually knit with (not when I have so much nicer yarn in a different tub!). I will attempt to get it all up to Vinnies this weekend coming if friends don’t claim it first *looks pointedly at a certain subscriber*
Nothing else to report at this juncture.
I made bolognaise the other night. It’s a household staple around here, and when Mum asked for the recipe a few weeks ago, I looked kind of dumbfounded as I don’t really have a recipe. I just throw stuff in a pot!
So this one’s for you Mum. Here’s what goes in:
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Bacon
Mince
Tomato Paste
Crushed tomatoes
Carrot (grated)
Mushrooms
Worcestershire Sauce
Brown Sugar
Oregano
Thyme
Tarragon
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper
Chilli
Black Pepper
Red Wine
Being me, I cut up all my vegetables first so I can just throw it in the pot when the time’s right. Into heated olive oil I throw the onion, garlic, and once browned the bacon too. Then in goes the mince until it browns.
By the way – biggest clove EVER! Organic FTW?
After that I dollop in the paste, then in goes the can of tomatoes, followed by the grated carrot. If it’s just me eating I now put mushrooms in, if Himself is home I skip them (darn picky eater!)
Then more dollops – Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and all the spices. Be generous with the spices! Think in tablespoons especially for the oregano, less so for the chilli and peppers (still think teaspoons rather than just a shake).
I finish with probably a cup from a box of Yalumba shiraz which I specifically have for cooking with (for boxes, the right grape is even drinkable!).
Then I stick a lid on it and let it simmer down and thicken up a bit, while watching for the right time to put the water on to boil for our favourite pasta. We like a large spiral for ease of picking up the meat sauce!
With a bit of parmesan on the top … Perfection!
ghoti industries 