Month: April 2011

  • Shared today on Twitter

    Just had great FaceTime chat with my Mom. iPhone is gateway drug; whole family is Switching now! Free video chat is very “tomorrow.”


    @SusieQTE1 Blocking and reporting you for spam.


    Schnitzel and beer on a rainy day! @ Tommy’s Beer Cafe http://instagr.am/p/Db0Bu/


    Crap. Throat is officially sore. Tomorrow’s long run *may* have to be postponed til Tuesday. (cc @laimelde @kunaal84 @mrs_sockvictim)


    I am eating a dark chocolate Easter Bunny from Sweetness the Patisserie. It is the BEST. THING. EVER. http://bit.ly/dZCbvx


    I have learned another ukulele song: “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” THIS IS FUN. (cc @drkknits)


    @missamanda I’ve had desensitisation to dust mites and grass. For like the last 5 years.


    @missamanda I used to take a Zyrtec every single day to survive. I’m down to maybe 1/wk or less now. So it’s helped a lot.


    @missamanda The stuff was like $150 maybe every 9 months? And then the cost of getting all the shots. Medicare pays some of it.


    @missamanda Shots were every 2 wks for first few months, then gradually stretched out to every month as dosage increased.


    @missamanda It’s a bit voodoo though. Drs aren’t quite sure how or why it works. And it doesn’t cure totally; just helps mitigate a bit.


    @missamanda I only stopped because I was burnt out on going to the doc every single month. You have to commit to that to get any benefits.


    @drkknits Go to YouTube and look up John Denver version. That’s the key I’m doing it in!


    @knitabulous @drkknits Sadly, yes. But John’s is best!


    @drkknits iTunes has heaps. Even Sinatra covered it!


    Tonight’s Jamie meal: Wonky Summer Pasta, Herby Salad, Pear Drop Tartlets. Fastest one yet: 33:26!! http://twitpic.com/4oe0m8


    Longest run ever tomorrow. I could not be better prepared… with the exception of this stupid cold. Now to try and sleep.


    It’s the buttcrack of dawn. Coffee, bagel with peanut butter. Hydrating. I am going to rock this run.


  • Open Forums at Humanist Society

    The SMH has a story today about the “Open Forum” at the Humanist Society here in Chippendale. I walk by some Wednesday nights and hear them through the open windows. I like that we have these quirky little societies in our neighbourhood.

    I was interested to see that the article made no mention of the whole “Neo-Nazis invade Humanist Society” scandal from last year. Anybody know what finally happened with that? At the time I actually emailed about joining, thinking they could at least use my postal vote to kick out the fascists. But they never did get back to me…

  • Photo Post

    Schnitzel and beer on a rainy day!

    Schnitzel and beer on a rainy day!

  • Shared today on Twitter

    @toastman I am disappointed that’s a fake site, frankly.


    No breakfast in the house. We planned to go to Eveleigh Markets. But it’s pissing down, as it always does in Sydney on Easter break. ๐Ÿ™


  • RunningBlog: Week 16

    The week started out crappy – what with my mystery cheek infection and being on antibiotics and all – but slowly got better. Sunday I went out for a six-miler with the Snook, with a planned “Magic Mile” time trial for the second mile. We pushed hard and I felt like I was going to barf or explode by the end of it. I was thrilled to see our time was 9:46! Using Galloway’s Race Predictor and our average times for the past 3 MMs, that gives me a predicted marathon finish time of 5:39:28. Sweet! Monday I was wiped out so I rested. Tuesday I went out for an easy lunchtime run, and Wednesday I did a Spudds workout. Now we’re on a 5-day Easter/ANZAC day holiday long weekend, so the Snook went with me today for a run to Glebe. My hamstring still isn’t great, but I’m hoping it’ll hold up for Sunday’s long, long one!

    Apr. 17: 9.67km
    Apr. 19: 5.52km
    Apr. 22: 5.80km
    Total this week: 20.99km (13.1mi)
    Total in 2011: 380.21km (237.6mi)

    In order to meet my goal of running 1100km in 2011, I should be at 338.5km right now. So I’ve still got more than 40km worth of cushion. Only 7 weeks to go!

  • Shared today on Twitter

    @laimelde I emailed you with my schedule. Should be 10:30 ish?


    @laimelde And yay!


    @imdominating Oooh. I read the book. I SOBBED AND SOBBED. I can only imagine that I’d sob even more if Viggo was involved.


    Yay! @carbolicious got the Easter package I sent. Video of kids opening it is CUTEST THING EVER. http://bit.ly/hvJEOp Love Indie’s GASPS! ๐Ÿ™‚


    Aww, Red Cross just rang me to personally thank me for donating! That was nice. Makes up for the vicious bruise I’ve had for over a week.


    Sometimes the most important thing to do in your day is cheer up a friend who needs it!


    @gizo Nuh. Works fine for me!


    RT @MisterShuffles: I don’t know who this Jesus guy is, but he sure has made lots of you happy by getting you days off work!


    RT @runasand: (1) Apple is not collecting data, (2) Hidden file is neither new nor secret, (3) “Discovery” published months ago: http:// …


    I thought I was coming down with a cold, and then I had a couple glasses of wine, and now I feel fiiiiiiiine. ๐Ÿ™‚


    @gizo Don’t be a sad! For I haz friended you.


    @redambition Avoid the Long Island Iced Tea. They’re very good. But… BADNESS. ASK ME HOW I KNOW.


    @kunaal84 AWESOME. Was it good???


    @devvyleys May well be the case! She did a great job, but I still have massive purple splotch on my arm.


    @lemon_lime HAVE FUN! Say Bon Voyage from me to Jamie too!


    @SallyPompom Very! Please take photos. We miss her. And you! ๐Ÿ™‚


    Giant sleepy cat resting on my legs. Hot coffee. Knitting. Molly Ringworld marathon. Nice start to the weekend. http://twitpic.com/4nro6u


  • Running Blog: Marathon Thoughts

    This made me laugh and laugh. That’s pretty much what I expect it to be like! (Link courtesy of This Running Life.)

  • Zucchini Bread

    Zucchini BreadWe’re coming to the end of zucchini season, I think, but we’re still getting a couple big ones in each weekly veggie box from Food Connect Sydney. Last weekend as a special treat I made them into the Snook’s favourite: Zucchini Bread. It’s actually not that well known in Australia, which is odd because it’s similar to Banana Bread and they love that here. Anyway, I thought I’d document the recipe since everyone who tastes it ends up asking for it! Here it is:

    1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
    1 t. ground cinnamon
    1/2 t. baking soda
    1/4 t. baking powder
    1/4 t. salt
    1/4 t. ground nutmeg
    1 c. sugar
    1 c. finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
    1/4 c. cooking oil
    1 egg
    1/4 t. finely shredded lemon peel
    1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

    1. Butter the bottom and halfway up the sides of your loaf tin. (If you butter all the way up the sides, your bread will sink down when you take it out of the oven.) In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients (the first six on the list) together. I never bother to sift; I just stir it really well.

    2. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients (sugar, oil, zucchini, egg, lemon) together. Add the dry ingredients to this bowl and stir just until everything’s moistened. (It’ll be lumpy. That’s good.) Fold in the nuts if you’re using them.

    3. Dump into your loaf pan. Bake in a 350F/180C oven for 50-55 minutes or til a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then take it out of the pan and cool as long as you can bear not to eat it.

    Makes one loaf. (My photo shows two because I doubled it.) I like it warm with butter on top. You can even toast it, if you’re weird like the Snook.

    Ingredients for the zucchini bread.

    Zucchini Bread ingredients

    The dry ingredients, all mixed together.

    Dry ingredients

    The wet ingredients. (If you’ve got a food processor with a grating attachment, use that. Saves heaps of time!)

    Wet ingredients

    Mixing it all up together.

    Mixing it up

    Into the loaf pans, ready for baking!

    Ready for baking

    Freshly baked zucchini bread.

    Zucchini Bread

  • Eyelet Yoke Cardigan

    Eyelet Yoke CardiganEyelet Yoke Cardigan
    One of my co-workers just had his first baby – a little girl – so I decided to knit something for him. I had some Morris Empire 4ply in #436 Bloom that I thought would be perfect. I went to Ravelry to look for suitable baby cardigans with patterns that wouldn’t compete too much with the variegated wool. (And no Baby Surprise! I am going to come out of the closet and admit that I think they’re pretty ugly. I’m going to stop torturing myself by knitting them.) Anyway, I found this Eyelet Yoke Cardigan that seemed like it would work. It was really quick to knit up, and I used less than 2 balls of the Empire (on 3.5mm needles). The eyelet details on the yoke (pic), sleeves, and waist kept it fun and interesting. For the buttons, I was pleased to find 5 similar-ish buttons (pic) in my stash all in colours that matched the wool. Hooray for mismatched buttons! (More details on Ravelry here.)

    I gave the cardy to Fei this morning and he was thrilled! I can’t wait to see pics of it on his little girl.