Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
 The Boathouse at Blackwattle BayLast Friday was our fifth wedding anniversary, so we headed over to the Boathouse at Blackwattle Bay for dinner. We'd never been there before, but it was highly recommended -- and even better, Eileen had gotten us a gift certificate! The restaurant is literally right above the Sydney Uni boathouse, sticking out into the water, and we watched a number of dragon boat crews zooming around the bay at dusk. The vibe was casual but upmarket. We started by sampling some different types of oysters: two from the south coast and two from Queensland. They were great. I'm not enough of an oyster connoisseur yet to tell you the difference, but the Snook said the Queensland one was definitely sweeter and firmer. We also shared an entree of "Seared Yellowfin Tuna with Organic Soy Dressing, Quail Egg & Shiso Leaf." Tiny but very flavorful.  Now the mains. I'd heard that their Snapper Pie was a specialty, so I was already leaning that direction. But then I actually saw it delivered to our next table. Wow! They make quite a presentation of it. The pie is wheeled out on a cart by a server, who makes a special show of plating up half the crust along with a portion of the fish and gravy. As soon as she cut open that crust, the smell of truffles whacked me in the face. TRUFFLES! That sealed it. So I had the snapper pie (served with mashed potato and a smoked tomato) while the Snook had the "New Zealand Pink Ling Involtini with Black Olive, Pancetta & Asparagus." The pie was everything I hoped it would be. SO GOOD. Yeah, it was the better part of $50, but it was so worth it. I should also point out that the utensils pictured here are big serving spoons, not normal cutlery. It's a very generous dish, and I ate every scrap! (I later asked the waiter if the recipe was available, and he told me in a whisper that it was on the Internet. Sweeeeeet.) The Snook's dish was well-prepared and the flavour was great, but he discovered he's not much of a fan of the texture of ling. Anyway, we were getting full by this point so we decided to just share some cheese for dessert. The cheese plates were certainly generous. Each one came with a number of different breads, grapes, fig jam, and sliced apple. We were stuffed. It was such a good meal.The final verdict: I loved the pie so much and I'd go back in a heartbeat... but it's not cheap. With that food and three drinks, we were up over $250. Nice if you've got a gift certificate, but a bit pricey for visiting more than once or twice a year. I'd say to save this one for a special occasion... and give that online recipe a try! Thursday, November 26, 2009
 Pumpkin Spiced and Iced CookiesHappy Thanksgiving! I celebrated by baking a big batch of these cookies and taking them in to work. They were great! They didn't spread very much, and they remained quite soft and cakey. I was worried that pumpkin PLUS chocolate PLUS walnuts would be a bit over the top, but it all worked together. Highly recommended! Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
At lunchtime yesterday I spotted a tweet from Bells: "@web_goddess @mrs_sockvictim Turns out I will be in Newtown this evening while hubby is at a gig at the Enmore. Looking for company. Free?" Say no more! Miss Fee had a prior engagement, so I volunteered to play hostess while Bells's hubby attended a concert. (I did check with the Snook that he was okay with knitters invading the house. He didn't mind.) After some furious emailing back and forth, we ended up a party of seven at my house in Chippendale. There was knitting, wine, vegetable curry, even some Pride & Prejudice towards the end of the evening. It was a fun way to spend the evening!   Thanks to Rachel, Tia, JP, Ness, and Fiona for joining us at such late notice. I think we Sydney knitters made a good impression on dear Bells!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
 Sri Chinmoy 7KThis morning was Race 6 in the Sri Chinmoy Sydney Series 2009. I hadn't done any of the other races, but Miss Fee did a few of them. She couldn't run this one so she gave her spot to me. There was a half-marathon, a 7km, and a 4km, and I/Fee was booked in to the 7K. I debated last night on skipping it, due to the extreme heat. (It's supposed to be 41C/105F today!) But I got a good night's sleep thanks to the air conditioner, so I headed out this morning to pick up my number. (Go #723!) There was quite a crowd! As I stood there stretching and taking photos, I suddenly realised that the famous w!tchcAt was standing before me! So I did the dorky thing where I said hi and confessed that I read her blog. Hi w!tchcAt! The half-marathoners started at 8, and we started about 15 minutes later. I fumbled getting Runkeeper started, so my race details are a bit off. The course went all over the place, occasionally doubling back on itself. It was really fun! We were on paths, sand, grass, paved track, all over. I tried not to think about my speed and just concentrated on running without stopping. The sun was coming out and the heat was climbing. I hit a couple of the water stops. I was surprised by how many fit-looking people I managed to pass! Finally the finish line was ahead. I don't have my official time yet, but it should be around 50 minutes. I felt like I could've had a PB if it hadn't been so hot! I drank some water, ate a banana, and headed home for a shower. That's where I discovered the real fun of running cross country: dirty legs! It was a good run; I'm glad I did it. Friday, November 20, 2009
 Happy 5th anniversary, Snookums!Yep, five years ago today we walked down the aisle in Vegas and you guys watched live on the Internet. FIVE YEARS! How crazy is that? I was about to say that those kids would barely recognise us, but that's not true. Where we are right now is exactly where that girl would've hoped to be in five years, and that's really something I should appreciate more. Thank you, Snookums, for being my best friend and for sharing my adventures. I couldn't imagine it any other way. We're off to the Boathouse tonight to celebrate, and our wedding rings are scheduled to be delivered next week. (Yep, we're finally getting rings. They are the nerdiest rings in the history of the world. You'll love it.) I told the Snook today: "The traditional fifth anniversary gift is wood. Feel free to snicker." To which he replied: "The Todd approves." HA! Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
  First up are the Biohazard Socks I designed and knitted for Eileen. They were a gift for getting her Biology PhD, so I thought the biozard symbol was fitting. I took the symbol and turned it into a chart, scaling it to fit nicely around the leg of the sock. I also centered it so the motifs would continue nicely down the top of the foot. Other than that, it's your basic cuff-down sock with a slipstitch heel. The yarn is Pagewood Farms St. Elias that I bought last year at Compatto Yarn Salon in Santa Monica. It's hand dyed Bluefaced Leicester and it's GORGEOUS. I loved knitting with it. I knitted the socks one at a time on two circular 2.75mm needles. (Ravelry details.) The second pair are Sheri's Posie Socks from Socks from the Toe Up. (Thanks to Miss Fee for lending me the pattern.) I started them at Guild Camp last month but only finished them last night. I knitted them at the same time on two 2.75mm needles. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the "Sherbet" colourway, kindly gifted to me by Mary-Helen and Sandra. I was worried that the colours might compete with the lace, but instead I think it all worked together really well. The yarn is lovely to knit with and it really showed off the stitch pattern. There was very little pooling, and I ended up with heaps of it left over. I had some trouble with my initial cast-off being too tight, so I tried out Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, which worked perfectly. (Ravelry details.) Now, on to the next project... Monday, November 16, 2009
Saturday evening we headed over to Steph and Eva's for some barbecue action. It was a lovely gusty day, so we all decided to go across the road to Sydney Park and fly kites up on the kill. Steph and Eva have some crazy kites: a whale, an octopus, and a giant PENGUIN. It was fun.  I even shot a bit of video and uploaded one to 12seconds. We stayed out til the sun set, occasionally getting the kites in a tangle or accidentally attacking pedestrians. Then we packed up and headed home for the feast, which culminates in the Snook's signature chocolate pavlova. YUM. Thanks to Steph and Eva for a fun night! Saturday, November 14, 2009
I've got a busy but social Saturday ahead of me. The Snook and I got up early to go to the Eveleigh Farmers' Market. We had breakfast, ran into family and friends, and picked up supplies for tonight's BBQ. Now I'm off to the Knitters Guild meeting and AGM while the Snook prepares his legendary chocolate pav. Then tonight it's over to Steph and Eva's for some yummy food on a warm summer's evening... Thursday, November 12, 2009
As those of you who follow my Twitter feed know, Tuesday night I went to a very special event hosted by Social Media Club Sydney. The topic for the night was ostensibly "Building and Managing Online Audiences," but really it was all about MC Hammer. Yes, he was the very special guest. As soon as I heard he was going to talk, I proposed it to my boss Anthony and he got us both tickets. The event sold out pretty quick. I'd guess that the majority of people were there strictly for the novelty value, as evidenced by all the "hammer pants" jokes flying around Twitter beforehand. Here's the amazing thing though: The guy really does know what he's talking about with social media and technology. And he's not just a Twitter-fanboy; he's much more on the "entrepreneur" side of things and he emphasised how many business opportunities there are surrounding social media. He described himself as a "super geek," and his speech was peppered with references to meetings with Silicon Valley insiders (Ev, Orkut, the guys who invented Guitar Hero, etc). He talked about the importance of data mining and analytics. Most of us were enthralled. The thing that I didn't like was that the organisers had the #SMCSYD Twitterfall running on big screen in the background, and some folks used it as an opportunity to make jokes and distract from the speech. (One guy - who I don't even think was in the room - kept insisting that somebody stand up and ask Hammer about his bankruptcy. Talk about bad manners.) So that part was a little bit cringeworthy, but to his credit Hammer just ignored the giggles. They did open the floor to Q&A at the end, and he graciously dealt with idiots asking "So Mr Hammer, can you elaborate on what one can and can't touch?" Overall I'd say that the quality of the speaker made up for the immaturity of some of the audience. Nice job, Hammer!
 Official Run4Fun PhotosThe official photos from the Run4Fun are now up! There are four of me. One from the course where I'm looking pained, one from the course where I look happy (shown here), and two as I'm coming into the finish line and grinning like an idiot. (I know it looks like I'm walking in some, but I'm really not!) If you go to the official site, you can also see my finish line footage. I come into frame about a third of the way through. You'll see Peter the kickboxer cross the line and raise his arms, and I'm right behind him. Then we have a little hug. Great moment! [more...] Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
 Rebel Sport Run 4 FunA few weeks ago, my friend Venks told me about the upcoming Run 4 Fun 10K out at Olympic Park. I hadn't run farther than 5K since mid-August, right before I got sick and had to pull out of the half-marathon. Since then I've mostly been doing short run/walk training intervals to build up my leg strength and transition to forefoot running. The Run 4 Fun was a new event though, and it was billed as a Fun Run. So what the heck? I could walk if I needed to. I signed up. A week before the race, Eileen and I did an easy 6K jog (with walk-breaks) around the neighbourhood. On Thursday, I did a 5K run/walk around the city at lunch. I really wasn't sure what goal to set for the race, so I did one final test on Friday: a 5K run without stopping. To my surprise, I felt pretty good during it! My pace was less than 7:00/km, and I felt like I maybe could've gone a bit farther. So when race day dawned on Sunday, I posted my official goal: to run the whole 10K without walking. (The farthest I had ever run without a break before was 8K, so this was going to be a challenge.) I also set a back-up goal of finishing in 75 minutes, which I thought was achievable even if I had to walk. The Snook and I caught a train out to Olympic Park on a very gray morning... [more...] Saturday, November 7, 2009
 Matt's Random Striped ScarfRemember back in June when I launched my site redesign? Well, in exchange for making my awesome header, I agreed to knit Matt a custom scarf. He liked the look of Kelley Deal's recycled scarves, so that's where the inspiration came from. I used sixteen different colours of 8 and 10ply wool on a 4.5mm circular needle (knitted as a tube). Each colour was assigned a number and put on a bit of paper in an envelope. In another envelope I had a selection of bits of paper with 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 written on them (Fibonacci stripes). I'd pick a slip from each envelope and then knit the specified colour in the specified number of stripes. After all the slips were gone, I put them back in and mixed them up again. This assured that the stripes were random, but not too random. (I wanted a relatively even distribution of the colours.) I think it turned out really well! It's about six inches wide when flattened, and about five feet long. (Another view.) Matt didn't want fringe, so I sewed the ends shut. It's now blocked and on its way to him. Thanks again, Matt! There are a couple other pics on Ravelry... And isn't the Snook a natural male model?
Check out DeskCam. I finally got fed up with the faded-ness of my hair, so I took a drastic step: I bought drugstore hair dye. I know! I KNOW! But it's one-tenth the cost of a visit to my hairdresser. My frugality and laziness won out. I haven't dyed my own hair in years, so I made the Snook help me. I think we did an okay job! Yeah, I got big stained blobs on the skin around my hairline, but that happens with the stylist too. Happily, the red is great and my grays are covered. Yay! Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
 Halloween 2009 PhotosThis year's party photos are finally up! As always, I spent way too much time running around and took far too few photos of the actual guests. The food is well-documented though! Thanks to everyone who helped out, especially Eileen for pitching in with all the prep work. See you all next year!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Since a couple people have asked, yes, there are definitely more Halloween pictures coming! I've just been a bit tired and out of sorts the last few days. I think it's because Eileen's visit finally came to an end. It was great having her here; it was like a monthlong vacation. I'm just having a hard time getting back into the old routine. Maybe tomorrow.
 
Last night was Liza Minnelli's last concert of her Australian tour, and Amy and I were there. We bought the tickets month ago, rightly guessing that our respective husbands didn't have much interest in accompanying. It was a FANTASTIC show. Yeah, the dominant audience demographics were old ladies and gay men, but that was cool. Liza knew exactly how to work her crowd. (Her version of Charles Aznavour's "What Makes a Man a Man" was a particular highlight.) The crowd loved her, and they told her at every opportunity. And she loved them right back. I wouldn't have described myself as a huge Liza fan; I've never even seen Cabaret. But I loved her in Arrested Development, and the woman is a certified Living Legend. Now I know why. Even in the very top row of the Entertainment Center, we were just spellbound by her. Every song was like a one-act play, and she made them sound as if they were all written just for her. (Some clearly were, like "Liza with a Z.") I completely embarrassed Amy when "Maybe This Time" started up and I loudly proclaimed, "Hey, they sang that on Glee last week!" The first act closed with "Cabaret," and of course we all went NUTS. At intermission, Amy and I ran out for expensive T-shirts and buttons. (I wore mine today.) The second act was just as amazing. She closed with Peter Allen's "All the Lives of Me" and looked skyward as she thanked him at the end. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. I'm so glad we saw her.  Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
 Islands in the stream, that is what we are... |
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archives
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"Moblog" refers to posts and images posted directly from my mobile phone.
"PW Blog" refers to posts recovered from my very first weblog, which dealt with news related to my college dorm. |
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