Candi.com.au
I’m thrilled to announce that the side project I’ve been working on has finally launched! Ladies and gentlemen… Candi.com.au. Candi is a jewellery designer here in Sydney, and she creates beautiful, whimsical, PRETTY shiny things! I implemented her new site for her, and she’s going to design some wedding rings for us. (Yes, the Snook and I will finally have rings, hopefully just in time for our fifth wedding anniversary.) Anyway, please check out her site the next time you’re in the mood for a pretty sparkly…

I think I found a new favorite Twitter feed… (Link courtesy of Max on Facebook.)

For my sister: At the Farmer’s Market on Saturday, I was excited to see that Sweetness the Patisserie had a stall. I dragged the Snook through the crowds to talk to the owner. “I’ve read so much about you on Grab Your Fork!” I said. “Your marshmallows are supposed to be divine.” “Would you like to try one?” She gave us each a small piece from her sample jar. It was so light and delicate and lovely. I promptly bought three sample packs of different flavours. So far we’ve tried the toasted coconut. They are the best marshmallows I’ve ever had. Very light and squidgy and almost moist inside, without that heavy rubberiness of the grocery store variety. These are special marshmallows to be savored, preferably with a cup of hot chocolate.

Wedding Reception
Steph and Eva’s party at Kam Fook was unbelievable. There were well over a hundred people there, and somehow we were seated at the central table next to the wedding party. That’s where all of our friends were, so it was just perfect. Eva’s decorations were beautiful! We had champagne and wine while we listened to speeches from the families. (Interestingly, one of Eva’s relatives stood on stage and translated into Cantonese for the non-English speakers. She then came over and translated Eva’s Dad’s speech into English for us.) Everyone took pictures as Steph and Eva cut the cake, and we laughed as they had to play the usual embarrassing reception games before everyone. And the food… THE FOOD! We were having THIRTEEN COURSES of the most amazing food! First was suckling pig, which is apparently a Chinese wedding tradition. We each got a couple pieces of beautiful crackling along with the succulent meat. Then there was a beautiful deep fried seafood fritter, served with mayonnaise. I loved that one. They just kept coming. Silky sweet crab meat with asparagus… abalone with mushroom… coral trout… lobster… shark fin soup! I ate it all, and it was all so, so good. Eventually the night wound to a close and we staggered off to catch a cab home. What a great party. Thank you, Steph and Eva, for sharing your special day with all of us!

Weekend, Annotated.
Thursday, you’ll recall, I was sick and stayed home. I’m back on my feet, but I have an awful hacking cough that bodes ill for my last month of training. My doctor (who coincidentally has the same bug) prescribed rest. Ha.

Friday I dragged myself back in to work to finish some things off for the week. At lunchtime I met up with Miss Fee for our long-awaited visit to the Tom Foster Community Centre. Our Guild group was contacted many weeks ago by Megan the organiser there who thought some of the seniors might like to meet some young knitters. So we brought them a load of donated wool, needles, and magazines, and we ended up having a great visit. Here’s Fiona showing off a pic of her knitted wedding dress to Megan and some of the group.

Then it was back to work for the rest of the afternoon. At six I caught a bus to Circular Quay to meet the Snook and the in-laws for dinner at Selah. (Ma Snook’s in town to attend the Fifties Fair.) The restaurant was really good, and we had a great time catching up with Rodd’s sister Jeannie, her partner Chris, and our nephew Kurt.

Saturday morning we met up with everybody again at the Eveleigh Markets. Breakfast was coffee and “Crooked Madams” from the Bird Cow Fish stall. We ran into Miss Fee and the Sock Victim doing their weekly shop. (The Inner West is sometimes a very small place.) We bought a beautiful bit of pork belly which the Snook stuffed and roasted for dinner that night. Yum.

Finally, today was Steph and Eva‘s big day. We drove the GoGet car out to Carisbrook House in Lane Cove. You couldn’t ask for better weather for a wedding – sunny and gorgeous. The ceremony took place in a small courtyard, with all of the family and friends gathered around the wedding party. Steph and Eve were both radiant. We were thrilled to be able to share their special day with them, and we blew bubbles to cheer them at the end.

Now we’re back at home, having a brief rest before heading to Chatswood for the wedding feast and reception. Oh, and when I haven’t been running around town, I’ve been trying to finish off a website I’m doing for someone. Busy busy busy!

Angela Pamela and the Alice Springs Show. Now that’s some craft activism. Suck it, knit graffitists.

How the Average US Consumer Spends Their Paycheck. Holy crap. $8K+ on transportation a year? The Snook and I spend maybe 20% of that, at most. We also come out quite a bit ahead on health care too. Of course, our mortgage payment is a lot more. A LOT.

Busy Week
I’ve been a little absent this week, haven’t I? It’s been a busy one. I had a couple days at work there where I was hoppin’, and I’ve been working on a website for a friend at night too. Yeah, burning the candle at both ends. Unfortunately it seems to have caught up with me… I’ve caught another blasted cold. I stayed home today to rest and tonight my doctor told me NOT to run for the rest of the week. (Crap. We’re only 4.5 weeks out from the half-marathon.) And I’m supposed to visit the old folks’ home tomorrow with the Guild. And we’re going out to dinner with my in-laws.

Yeah. Busy.

Nerd Boyfriend. I like the concept (hardly surprising; I’m like the target demographic for that site) but some of those guys are patently not nerds. Humphrey Bogart? Paul McCartney? The list needs more curating. (And besides, F*** Yeah Men in Suits is still better.)

Another good article about how the Amish in the area where I grew up are coping with the recession. (Jayco, the RV company that is mentioned in the article, is where my stepdad works.) I’d love to check out the Middlebury Farmer’s Market some day…