My brother, currently living and working in Japan, is going to Egypt soon on holiday. Lucky bugger. I've named this post in memory of one of his favourite lines from The Young Ones, which always brings him to mind for me.

***

I am seriously losing patience with people on Goodreads lately. I've had way too many (two is too many, and I've had a lot more than that) really stupid comments made, niggling at things in my reviews. I'm losing my nice, diplomatic, calming response and starting to get narky.

It's a truth about me, that expression "she doesn't suffer fools". I have to bite my tongue a great deal, but I can't be bothered anymore, at least not on GR. There are some incredibly intelligent and insightful and open-minded people there, but there are also some arseholes, nimwits, drongoes, and ignoramuses. There's only so many nonsensical dim-witted comments you can stomach before you stop trying to be nice.

***

If anyone's interested in reading (and reviewing) review copies for Simon and Schuster UK, they're more than willing to include you in their mailing list. Friend them at simon_saysuk (their LJ) first and follow the prompts.

***

These temp agencies are so unethical. You know they ask what the minimum salary (i.e. per hour) you would accept is? They pocket the difference. I mean, some of my friends were temps when I worked with them and they were getting paid $10 an hour - while the company paid the agency $18. And how on earth are you supposed to answer that kind of question? Whatever you put down is going to screw you over. Say they have a job that, after their cut, would pay you $15 an hour, but you said you'd accept a minimum of $12. Would they still offer you the $15? Of course not, they'd pay you the $12 and take an extra $3 for themselves.

Our economy is one fucked-up beast.

As my dear friend, Bev (newly retired), said recently: "Maybe you could be a taxi driver. Just kidding. I guess you'd need a PhD for that anyway."

Too true.

***

How about these for a yummy treat? I just made them today and Adam ate about six after lunch - they're quite addictive. I used 2 x 100g milk praline chocolate blocks, roughly chopped, for the chocolate chunks and it gave them bits of real smooth, creamy chocolaty goodness! They have a slightly chewy surface and slightly cakey middle.

Double Choc-chip Cookies

125g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups caster sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup dark or milk chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F

Put ALL ingredients except the chocolate chunks in a food processor and process until a soft dough forms.

Transfer to a bowl and add the chocolate chunks. Mix.

Shape tablespoons of mixture into balls and flatten slightly on a baking tray, leaving room for spreading.

Bake for approx. 10 mins (depending on your oven) and leave to cool for a couple of minutes on the tray before moving them to a cooling rack.

Makes about 32.

There was some baaaaaaaad writing this month, and it rests firmly in the romance genre. Tut tut. It's enough to swear you off it. But there were also some good ones so ...

Links go to my book review blog. Yeah I'm lazy; so what's new?

June Books

Books read in June: 19
Books read to date: 92
Most enjoyed: Carpe Diem; Sweet Persuasion; Gone; Wuthering Heights
Least enjoyed: Dark Hunger; Only Pleasure
Most disappointing: Kings and Assassins

Banks, Maya: Be With Me
Erotic romance; 376 pages
3 stars

Banks, Maya: Sweet Persuasion
Erotic romance; 345 pages
5 stars

Brontë, Emily: Wuthering Heights
Classics; 338 pages
4 stars

Carey, Jacqueline: Santa Olivia
Post-apocalyptic Urban fantasy/sci-fi; 341 pages
4 stars

Cornwell, Autumn: Carpe Diem
YA fiction; 360 pages
4 stars

Frost, Toby: Space Captain Smith
Science fiction; 306 pages
3 stars

Grant, Michael: Gone
YA Urban fantasy/Science fiction/Horror; 558 pages
4 stars

Gray, Claudia: Evernight
YA paranormal romance; 327 pages
3 stars

Haldeman, Joe: The Accidental Time Machine
Science fiction; 257 pages
2 stars

Hanif, Mohammed: A Case of Exploding Mangoes
Fiction/Satire; 323 pages
4 stars

Harris, Charlaine: Definitely Dead
Urban fantasy/Mystery; 324 pages
5 stars

Herron, Rita: Dark Hunger
Paranormal romance; 291 pages
1 star

Leigh, Lora: Only Pleasure
Erotic romance; 345 pages
1 star

Linden, Caroline: What a Rogue Desires
Historical romance; 302 pages
4 stars

Michaels, Jess: Taboo
Erotic romance (historical); 262 pages
4 stars

More, Thomas: The Utopia
Classics/Philosophy; 312 pages
3 stars

Robins, Lane: Kings & Assassins
Fantasy; 353 pages
3 stars

Sagan, Françoise & Douglas Hofstadter (translator): That Mad Ache
Fiction; 311 pages
4 stars

Sparks, Kerrelyn: Forbidden Nights With a Vampire
Paranormal romance; 371 pages
4 stars

Had a lovely weekend, just back today. Good weather, not-so-good weather, swimming, canoeing, cleaning the gutters and the boat (there're always jobs around) drank lots of beer and finished four books. Nice.

Now I have to do something about our shrinking bank account, since there have been no nibbles on the teaching front (there's been bugger-all on the teaching front, for anyone). Though teaching jobs would start in September here anyway. I'll see if I can set up a temp job while I look for something permanent, in education or not. There's a job going at OISE soon I'd be perfect for - but it's another office admin kind of job.

*sigh*

It feels like after I finished my Arts degree - no one ever claimed I'd get a job out of it, and that certainly wasn't why I did it. But this time, yeah, I hoped to get a job out of it, a job I wanted to do, but it feels just like the first time. Well. I've heard there are a lot of us out there (in Toronto), and it can take two or three years to get a teaching job.

Maybe it's about time all those 70 year old teachers thought about retiring? Sorry, but really...

***

Sad to hear Michael Jackson died. Sad he was a bit messed up the last couple of decades and stopped making music. Just sad in general, really.

I also miss the old video clips, y'know, where they told a story and didn't give you a headache changing scenes every SECOND and changing costumes every SECOND (seriously, time it). I'd include one of my favourite Jackson songs but sadly YouTube doesn't have any embed codes for them.

What's your favourite Michael Jackson song (and/or video clip)?

I did come across this though (cut because I don't want to take up too much room and I really don't want to be mean, I just find it interesting.) He had vitiligo and lupus; that and the treatments made his skin pale and blotchy, which required makeup to even it out. When he was still in the Jackson Five he broke his nose during a fall on stage and during an operation to fix it, it became more narrow. That's about all I know.

Hey, if you have a skin disease that makes your skin whiter, does that change your DNA so your kids will look white too? Or would - should - his kids look part black? Seriously, I'm curious.

( Wacko Jacko - just not the same without you )

***

My sister emailed me this and, well, I thought it was funny. Daggy, definitely, but still cute and funny :)

Rural Australian Computer Terminology
( A little bit of Aussie culcha )

(I'm having problems with LJ lately - I type up my post, which takes me ages, and then hit "preview" and lose everything. EVERTHING! LJ: you're a right bastard!)

We're going to the cottage tomorrow, Thursday, until Monday. It's been hot and humid in the city lately and now that Adam's finished his courses and we're both unemployed and in need of rest, recuperation and peace, it seems like a good time. Neither of us are in good shape right now, mentally and emotionally. The heat doesn't help: the very air feels lethargic.

But today we have to clean :(

***

We visited Adam's grandparents yesterday. His grandfather, if you remember, is dying of cancer: lung, liver, chest, brain. He has good days and bad ones but he's bedridden and on palliative care.

Adam's grandmother was waxing poetic about the public health care system: they have an angel of a palliative-care doctor who does house visits every day or so; they have a nurse called Tracy who comes in regularly; he's on some cancer wonder drug that keeps him free of pain and the swelling in his brain down, and pay only about $60 for a week's worth or pills; they sent over oxygen tanks and paraphernalia as well as adult nappies (he's at that stage), and want to send over a hospital bed as well. They've offered Grandma a cook and a cleaner but she doesn't want them - all this on the public health care system. The only thing they pay for is the medication, and it's heavily subsidised.

Public health care's a god-send. Everything's taken care of, which is wonderful for the elderly but also for anyone who's sick or taking care of a sick person: what with Adam's grandfather dying, his body shutting down, and his incredibly selfless grandmother not even able to get sleep half the time, can you imagine how much harder it would all be without medicare?

***

Book club tonight on The Utopia - the Pathways dinner for volunteers is on at the same time but I've missed a lot of book club meetings and since I read the book and want to discuss it, I'm skipping the free dinner.

***

I owed Chris this recipe from about a year ago. Yes, I know: finally!


Gingerbread Men (and Women)

125g butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk (save the egg white)
2 1/2 Tb golden syrup
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
3 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F

Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the egg yolk and beat well. Add the golden syrup and mix.

Add sifted flour, bicarb and ginger and mix into a firm, smooth dough. Divide in half.

On a floured surface, roll out half the dough and use cookie-cutters to cut out shapes. Lay flat on a tray with a little space for puffing-up and cook for 8-10 mins.

Mould the scraps together and roll out again, until all the dough has been used.

When cool, decorate with royal icing.

ROYAL ICING

1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 1/2 - 2 cups icing sugar
lemon juice

Add icing sugar to egg white and beat, gradually adding enough lemon juice to create the right consistency: not too runny, not too solid.

Decorate as you please.



TIPS

1. These biscuits overcook easily. You might try cooking one first, and adjusting the temperature and time accordingly. My first tray overcooked and I don't like them hard and crunchy, so I turned the temp. down by about 20 degrees C and cooked them for 8 mins and they worked perfectly. Don't toss the overcooked ones though: give them a coating of icing and they'll soften up!

2. Be liberal with the butter and golden syrup. If the dough turns out too sticky, you can easily add more flour. If it's too dry and won't make a nice ball, add more golden syrup or, if you have it, very soft butter and re-work the dough. All is not lost!

3. Use plenty of flour when rolling the dough out, including on top of the dough and on the rolling pin. It sticks easily and your shapes can break apart. If you do lose an arm or leg, though, you can usually stick them back on easily enough once they're on the tray.

4. Bicarb soda = baking soda. If you can't get golden syrup, use corn syrup.

5. You can make as much icing as you want by adding more lemon juice and icing sugar, but be warned: the more you add, the weaker the egg white gets and it's the white that makes the icing hard.

6. You can make any shapes you like, of course, but when I'm particularly lazy I roll balls of dough and flatten them on the tray to make biscuits, or cut rounds out of the dough and sandwich them together with the royal icing.

Wow.

I owe you one Kelly!

I've just watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and I am totally in love.

This is all because of madhowan's crazy icons that had me perplexed and, when I asked what the hell "shiny new Australia" was all about, first heard about Joss Whedon's short movie.

We were at Big Daddy's looking for a movie to watch (rented Toronto Stories which was really good), and there it was! So of course I had to get it. Oh I love Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother)! I love Dr Horrible! It's short, only 40 minutes long, and had me laughing all the way. The songs are great, and Nathan Fillion (Mal from Firefly) was equally hilarious as the vain Captain Hammer. Oh I want more!! Blast you Kelly! Got any good icons for me? (Edit: SCORE!! Thanks for that likefluffy)



Here's something you might be able to help me with - or at the very least, we can have fun clicking on little buttons for a daggy poll!! Okay, here's the thing. You know our wedding is looming - December 31st, 2010, back in Tassie. Well, we won't be able to have much time off for this, but from New Year's Day to, oh, five days later, we need somewhere to go, yeah? For a honeymoon? Or just a really well deserved holiday?

But where do we go?

If the plane ticket isn't a concern, but we want to go somewhere warm and most of Europe will be in winter at this time (rules out Paris and the Czech Republic), where to go? Keeping in mind that we want to go somewhere we haven't been before (leaves a lot of options!); it has to be somewhere WARM; we'll probably go with a round-the-world ticket or something; and we won't have a great deal of money to spend (accommodation, meals etc.), we have a couple of ideas but I'm thinking you have more. And that doesn't even begin to cover where in the country we would go! So...

Poll #1419511 Honeymoon Destination
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Where should we go for our honeymoon in January 2011?

If "Other", where do you suggest?

Thanks!

Last night I had a dream that I was back home and all the footy teams had changed. Like they'd gone through all these new mergers and changed their colours and stuff, and I didn't recognise any of them anymore. I mean, I don't even really follow the AFL but I think the point was how far removed I am, over here, and how things do change but I'm not there to see them. I felt a profound sense of loss. I hope the teams don't change too much. Not that so many mergers would really work - the Hawks and the Magpies? Just can't see it.

***

I went for a long walk yesterday. Too many days of inactivity, sitting hunched over in front of the computer, made me really restless. So I did a long walk through High Park and went to their little zoo - I felt a real need to smell animals, familiar animal smells. Like manure and raw animal. Having grown up on a farm, I find it comforting.

They have bison, yaks, llamas, emus, wallabies, a white deer forget what it's called, peacocks, Scottish cows, two ancient breeds of sheep (the breeds are ancient, not the sheep), and yeah, I took some photos, couldn't help myself. (This is the third time I'm writing this post and uploading these photos - don't know what went wrong but every time I'd finish and click on the "preview", everything after the first photo would disappear. Grrr.)



A path through the wilderness part of the park.

Mouflon sheep. Found on the islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Cyprus, they're believed to be one of two ancient breeds that founded all of today's sheep. Aren't they handsome? Though it's strange to see sheep with hair rather than wool - and moulting to boot! Still, I think they're lovely. C'mon, am I the only person who thinks sheep are beautiful animals?





A Barbury ram. I think it's a ram, anyway. I don't remember much about these ones. Another old wool-less breed of sheep that look more like an antelope crossed with a goat.



Bison. Huge smelly beast. Their heads alone are enormous. I was thinking more of the yummy sheep smell than stinky bison.



A Yak. Much smaller than bison and even regular cows, but they seemed a tad more threatening. Maybe it's all the hair.





Llamas! Aren't they pretty? I just want to kiss their pretty velvety noses! They share an enclosure with a bunch of ducks and it must have been feeding time when I got there, because a man went in and the ducks all swarmed for the barn door. It was so comical, I was just standing by the fence laughing my head off. He had to go and fetch a few slackers and herded them back, and when he finally opened the barn door they went crazy. One of the llamas followed him around with its head practically in his back pocket. It was so funny!

I didn't bother taking any photos of the peacocks. My grandparents had them on the farm - I think there's one male left? The hens used to go off to other farms when they had chicks, and after a while there were only the boys left. My cousins' stupid Dalmatian used to go after them. They must live quite a long time.

***

Is it just me or is every book a "New York Times Bestseller"? Or, I should say, a "New York Times Bestselling Author". Seems like every book I read these days has that splashed across the cover. It can't be very hard to become one then. Has anyone even seen this authoritative list? How did it become such a pinnacle of success? Surely it only covers America?

***

Well, the elephant arrived safely! I kinda wish I'd gone with something more colourful than the grey, but oh well.

Luckily it's not heavy enough to actually trample Tamsyn!

I've finished getting all my book reviews up on giraffedays!! Your friends' lists are all clear now!! Thank you for your patience ;)

It feels good to get that done, and have them all in one place. There's probably a few that got left out, but it's not a big deal. (Edit: Yep, found one!)

It was my current method of procrastination, though. I've been incredibly agitated, anxious, nervous, edgy - all those kinds of words. I may very well not get an interview for a teaching job at all, but the mere possibility has me wound up with nerves. I've been having trouble relaxing and concentrating enough to read, and anything else leaves too much room for thinking. I'm too scared to even answer the phone!

Actually, that's not the only reason I'm - we're - not answering the phone if possible. There's only so much emotional blackmail one can take from one's MIL. In contrast, the book blog is soothing and non-threatening!

_{I need a "jittery" mood theme for today - for the last few weeks actually!}

Just as well, then, that my sister Tara sent me links to these funny clips:

(Love the Welsh accent! So adorable!)

Has anyone been watching Jamie's Ministry of Food? I don't know how old it is - these things take a while to reach us in Canada - but it's well worth watching. Certainly makes me aware that Adam's cousin's boyfriend-from-Wales was far from alone in never having eaten a vegetable before! It's darn scary, as bad as Jamie's School Dinners.

Anyway, he's in a small northern England coal-mining town, teaching a group recipes and getting them to pass it on to two other people each, who will then teach two other people each, and so on. It's certainly not working smoothly but he's had some success - and it's amazing how much time, money and effort he puts into these things, but you can tell he really cares about the state of Britain's collectively-bad diet.

I occasionally share recipes here, ones I love, mostly desserts - me bad. Today I thought I'd pass on the delicious Spanakopita recipe, and since we made it last night and I was thinking ahead, I even have some photos to go with it! It might sound a little complicated at first, but it really isn't - it's dead easy! It tastes kinda like a quiche, and goes well with chicken or fish.

Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

1 packet filo pastry, thawed
2-3 bunches of spinach
2 brown onions
1 bunch spring onions
4 eggs
100g fetta
flat-leaf parsley
basil
salt & pepper (to taste)
butter, melted

1 square tin
pastry brush


Preheat oven to moderate 180 C / 350 F.


Cut the stems off the spinach, put them in a colander and rinse thoroughly. Fill a large pot half-full of water, bring the boil and add spinach. Submerge, stir a couple of times and then drain. 'In and out' kind of thing. Squish out as much water from the spinach as possible. I use a potato masher.









Dice onions, chop spring onions, parsley and basil. Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk thoroughly; add salt & pepper and crumbled fetta. Set aside.













In a non-stick frying pan, heat some olive oil and cook onions. Add spring onions, parsley and basil. Add spinach and cook for up to 10 mins, to get rid of excess moisture. Set aside and let cool.

(This is really just an excuse to show off our new Jamie Oliver frying pan! *gloat gloat*)








Melt the butter (start with about 100g; you can always melt more if you need it) and grease the tin. Lay out one sheet of filo at a time and brush liberally with melted butter before lying the next sheet on top. I use a brush with bristles instead of the new-fangled plastic one, which is too hard and would destroy the pastry.


Make as many layers as you like. I do about 15 but to be honest I don't count.


Cut the sheets in half and lay one half on the bottom of the tin, coming up the sides. Pour the eggs into the spinach mixture, stir around and then pour into the tin. Ease the other half of the pastry down the side of the tin and lay flat across the top, tucking it in on the other side.










Make shallow cuts in the pastry - this lets some of the air out (it will puff up like a balloon otherwise) and makes it easier to cut into slices later. Don't cut all the way through. Brush liberally with melted butter.


Bake for 30 mins. and serve immediately. Keeps and re-heats well.










(I realise I could've taken a better photo of the end product, but we were hungry and so I just quickly snapped one!)

Now I'll just sit back and wait to hear what improvements Kathryn will make!

So I missed out on seeing the nude cyclists on Saturday. Yeah you heard me. About 100 men and women completely in the buff cycled down one of the busiest streets in Toronto, for the World Naked Bike Ride, which is "a celebration of cycling, a protest against car culture, a comment on pollution, or just to express some exhibitionist tendencies."



Aren't you glad the photo was G-rated?? ;)

Because I'm tasteful (ha!), here's another:



Have to say it sounds damn uncomfortable! A friend of mine was outside the ROM when they went by and she said she'd never seen so many piercings in weird places! She said there were only a few women and some had sheepskin on the seats - that's a good idea!

***

My sister Renée is just about home after her trip to Paris for a figure skating competition, after being detained at the airport in Paris and searched after being accused of stealing another woman's earrings! She missed her flight, though luckily didn't lose too much money, and took an Emirates flight through Dubai and Singapore to get back.

The woman found her earrings.

Isn't that crazy? And scary. Poor Nee. Just glad she's okay and didn't get formally arrested or anything! Though apparently she has to complain because they keep these kinds of things on file in France. Would probably come up if she tried to go to the US too! Who knows.

Now she has to be home quarantined for a week because of the swine flu. It's funny, I heard it's quite severe in Canada and yet everyone's stopped talking about it pretty much - I guess because it hasn't touched our lives. It's just interesting to hear the measures Australia has gone to.

***

Apparently a few women experience orgasms while giving birth. Shame they can't bottle that.

***

We watched New in Town on the weekend. We wanted to watch something fun but there's bugger all out, so we settled for a movie we could make fun of. Harry Connick Jr. looks so much better with a beard! It's set in one of those northern states, which is it, Minnesota? that borders Canada, and it was hilarious because that accent that they make fun of Canadians for having, they had too! Thickly put on, though.

Oh and it was filmed in Winnipeg. Seems like most American movies are filmed somewhere in Canada.

Pretty bad movie, but we did have fun taking the piss out of it.

Does anyone know how to add just a banner to your LJ? You know, a design for the top of the page. I've found some people who make them and all, but I can't figure out how to add a banner on its own.

This is for giraffedays, I wanted to make it pretty :)

***

I am covered with bites. I just wake up with them in the morning. I currently have three on my back, three on my right calf and seven on my left thigh - the latter ones are really itchy. Camomile only does so much. I'm not thrilled at the image of insects crawling all over me in my sleep. They skip Adam and come to me. My blood must smell good or something.

I've had this journal for a few years now, and it's a paid account and all, so thought it was about time to get a nice new fancy custom-made layout.

I confess, I tweaked it a little so I could have my title back, but what I need is to shift it to the left more because it's squished up on the right and there's not as much width to my journal entries as I'd like. But I love the wallpaper and colours and style :)

Might see if I can also find where to enlarge the font size, 'cause it's a bit squishy too.*

Thoughts?

* Got the font size enlarged, but I think I'd like a more visible colour for embedded links... Yeah, still fiddling!

After much nagging from a sis who refuses to visit me here on LJ, I have caved and joined Facebook. Not sure how I feel about that, but I do get left out because everyone except my Dad is on Facebook! We'll see how it goes, and whether I can figure out what the hell's going on. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of structure to it. In many ways, I prefer LJ, but for quick bits of conversation I suppose Facebook works better. I'm not sure what to do with it, except to eavesdrop... At least I've found kiwiria! Actually, can't take the credit: Facebook did that, and without being asked too. Kinda creepy the way it does that!

***

I finished the monkey and, as promised, gave it to Adam, who named it Fitzroy. I must have sewn the legs on wrong because at first, after I stuffed it, they looked like this:



It's gymnastic monkey! Looks like he's doing the splits. Ouch. Well I did what I could to fix that, and sewed up the hole in his back and gave him fingers and toes, and now he looks like this:



I tell you, his nose was the bane of my existence! First the pattern piece went missing, then I didn't have enough nose pieces because I didn't realise you needed two in two contrasting colours, and then the instructions didn't make any sense whatsoever and I still don't know if I did it right, and then it came out one nostril lower than the other and there was nothing I could do about it because I had to sew six pieces of fabric together and it was so thick, I'd never be able to undo the stitches! Well, it's not too bad.

***

Yesterday I had a call from a school I'd applied to, the first job ad I'd applied to, for an LTO (Long Term Occasional) English teacher. It's up in a little town kinda in the middle of nowhere. When I first applied we were more open to the idea of moving there, but after listening to the message wanting me to come in for a job interview, we had a big talk and decided it was no longer practicable. The job is only for one year and then I'd be in the same position I'm in now, having to move all over again, and there's slim chance of Adam finding work.

So I called back and declined, wondering if I wasn't a complete fool because what if this is the only call I get? But I asked how many people they were calling for interviews, and she said they'd had 80 applications and were calling 10. She actually said to me, congratulations for being one of the ten! Well that made me feel better, I can tell you!

It reminded me though that I have to work on my interview answers - the questions aren't easy, and it's not the kind of thing you can wing, but at least I have a good idea what the questions will be like so I won't be totally blind. I feel nervous just thinking about it, but being prepared will help. It's hard to get your brain going on it though, and articulating your vague ideas.

***

It's much easier to lose a pound than it is to lose a kilogram.

***

The book club is meeting here tomorrow night, for Wuthering Heights. When I agreed to host, I forgot that it also meant I'd be moderating! I have to give the flat a good clean. Leon, who's still wearing the bloody cone, has given us so much trouble. If you're thinking of getting a cat, get a girl! They at least don't piss on the couch. It bloody stinks. It's leather, which means it runs down through the back and soaks into the cushion underneath. Any advice?

His ear had healed, and he was so smelly cause he couldn't wash himself, that we took it off and hosed him down in the shower - but the next day, which he spent outside, he scratched it open again! So back on with the cone. I hope the end is in sight with that thing.

Ugh. Woke up this morning with one of those nose-throat-chest colds. It's a lovely warm sunny spring day, too. I think it's probably because I've been a bit down lately - you're always more susceptible when you feel mentally/emotionally crappy yeah.

So I've just the last couple of hours watching old clips of The Late Show and Black Books on YouTube, since my DVDs are all the "wrong" region, and it never fails to make me laugh. "Healthy, Wealthy & Woggy", oh dear.

This came out three days ago and I hadn't even realised. The trailer, I mean, not the movie. Hey, whatever happened to the next Harry Potter movie? Weren't we supposed to get that back in December? These Twilight movie trailers, I dunno, but they're not all that enticing to me. Of course I'll see the movie, but I still fight the cringing reaction. I'm just looking forward to madhowan's comments on this one!

Another month has come and gone - I can't believe how fast it went! With my mornings free I got a bit more reading done, but to be honest I've been having trouble concentrating lately. Too many worries pressing on me. Well, one big effing one really.

This was a good month, though. Most of the books I read, I really enjoyed.

May Books

Books read: 18
Books read to date: 74
Most enjoyed: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles;
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows;
Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa by Stephen Lewis
Least enjoyed: The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb

Alender, Katie: Bad Girls Don't Die
YA horror; 346 pages
4 stars

Austen, Jand & Seth Grahame-Smith: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Horror/Spoof; 317 pages
3 stars

Base, Graeme: Enigma
Children's picture/puzzle book; 39 pages
5 stars

Black, Jaid: The Possession
Erotic romance; 176 pages
3 stars

Elkeles, Simone: Perfect Chemistry
YA fiction/romance; 357 pages
5 stars

Feehan, Christine: Burning Wild
Paranormal romance; 443 pages
5 stars

Ione, Larissa: Passion Unleashed
Paranormal romance; 410 pages
5 stars

Lewis, Stephen: Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa
Non-fiction (CBC Massey Lectures); 206 pages
5 stars

Lynch, Scott: The Lies of Locke Lamora
Fantasy; 530 pages
5 stars

Moran, Michelle: Nefertiti
Historical fiction; 457 pages
3 stars

Robison, John Elder: Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s
Memoir; 288 pages
3 stars

Shaffer, Mary Ann & Annie Barrows: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Historical fiction; 274 pages
5 stars

Shinn, Sharon: General Winston’s Daughter
YA fantasy; 342 pages
5 stars

Snyder, Maria V.: Storm Glass
Fantasy; 488 pages
3 stars

Sparks, Kerrelyn: Secret Life of a Vampire
Paranormal romance; 360 pages
4 stars

Whitcomb, Laura: The Fetch
YA paranormal fiction; 380 pages
2 stars

Willis, Connie: To Say Nothing of the Dog
Science fiction/Historical fiction; 493 pages
4 stars

Zusak, Markus: I Am the Messenger
YA fiction; 357 pages
5 stars


I made it to Chapters yesterday for their weekend, extra discount sale thingy and picked up six books, including:



Of course, it took so long for The Sweet Far Thing to come out in paperback that I've completely forgotten what happened in the previous book, and have only the vaguest idea of the first book. So annoying!

Today is officially my last day of OISE. My B.Ed is finished, in two weeks there'll be a graduation ceremony which I'm not going to 'cause I hate those things, and by the end of June I should have my teaching qualification. YAY! Won't feel like I've finished until I get that.

I've applied to three jobs so far - one of them is at a school that's only two years old and was named after a famous Canadian humanitarian. I'd love to work there (the public schools here are amazing and progressive in their non-academic achievements; I mean, the things the kids do on global issues and current affairs etc. Extra-curricular, some of it) but I don't think my cover letter was very inspiring. *sigh* If only I'd gone to Kenya for my internship - but then I wouldn't be here for the job postings anyway.

I'm going back to Pathways next week, to help the students finish their soft toys and help out with tutoring. Two more weeks to the school year and then they have exams. And by that, I mean even the grade 10s have exams! This country is very big on exams - it's scary.

I have a scene from a movie stuck in my head and for the life of me I can't remember from the film is - it's a little bit old now, but I think it was popular. American, I'm pretty sure. Can't remember the storyline but the scene in my head is about a missing kid and they think he fell down the well, and the main character says something like "he's hiding in the barn, it's just a prank" and lo and behold, three days later they find him hiding in the barn and it was just a prank - which proved to the other main character some big truth. UGH. Was it Twelve Monkeys? I'm trying to think of movies where a character time travels.

I stole these photos from Mum's flickr site, since I'm not in Tassie to take my own: introducing my niece, Tamsyn, born on the 11th of May:



She's sleeping, not crying, in case you were wondering. She's so cute! After 14 hours of labour, you'd want a cute little bundle of joy to make up for it wouldn't you! I love the little jumper she's wearing; my sister knitted it for her before she was born. Aaaaaaand this is me Dad with his first grandchild :D

I finished the elephant (decided against adding the tusks cause they looked a bit stupid) and stuffed it - and was rather shocked to see how big it turned out!



I sewed Tamsyn's name on the side - if you click on it you'll get a bigger image to see it better. If I did it again I'd do marker stitches to guide my way, cause three letters in I realised the name was starting to go down the elephant's leg instead of across it's side. Whoops! Ah well.

Just to give some context on its size, I took a photo of me holding it (I felt a bit silly, but). Yeah, it's twice the size of the baby! Will probably scare the crap out of her. First time sewing something and it looks ridiculous. I am a failure.

Let's hope the monkey works out a bit better...

You've gotta love YouTube, really, you just do.

I was having a nostalgia moment and it occurred to me to look up the "Five in a Row" songs that always make me laugh. And of course they were there!

D-Gen's "Five in a Row":



Includes D-Generation piss-takes of the following famous Aussie singers:
1. John Farnham
2. Jimmy Barnes
3. Little River Band
4. Kylie Minogue
5. James Reyne (he really does sing like that too!)

With the real Farnham punching Rob. That's him singing too.


D-Gen's "Five More in a Row":



1. Michael Hutchence (INXS)
2. Dragon
3. Daryl Braithwaite - piss-take of "One Summer" - remember that one? It was HUGE! oh wow that was years ago! Think they found the same beach house too.
4. Kate Cebrano
5. Midnight Oil (Peter Garrett) - and he did get into parliament too!

With the real Daryl putting the gun away ;)

Wow that takes me back. Still laugh myself silly :D

I have 1400 books! I only wish I could read as fast as I can buy them. I'm hanging on till this weekend, trying not to buy anything, because Chapters is having a kind-of sale, an increased discount for members. Well I can't resist that! I'll have to give myself a limit though, so I don't go overboard. I owe Maria a book too...

Last week of the internship. It's gone so fast! Much faster than the practicums did. The cooking session is going really well, but I'm disappointed about the sewing one. We need more time! And for the kids who've started to show up!! I'll probably go even after the internship to work with them and help out with tutoring, but I can't go too often.

The elephant is just about done, and I've started on a monkey for Adam. I ended up going back and buying the pattern for myself because it's such a good one! I had to order teddy bear joints and eyes online though - this is a HUGE city, and I couldn't find a place that sells them!! Incredible. They really need a Spotlight here.

I made these last night, they're heaven! All light and lemony, I just had to share the recipe with you. I made them into cupcake/muffin things but you can use any kind of tin really, and just adjust the cooking time.

( LEMON LOAF )

Here we are everyone - some more scrummy (or not) covers to pore over!

In trying to make them a bit bigger this time, I've had to reduce the number and variety so I've had to be selective. If the cover you have or you like best isn't here, I'm sorry!

So, for each book, which cover do you prefer and why?

ONE: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

A) B) C) D)

TWO: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

A) B) C)

THREE: Watership Down by Richard Adams

A) B) C) D)

FOUR: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams</i>

A) B) C) D)

FIVE: The Golden Compass or Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

A) B) C) D)

SIX: Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming

A) B) C) D)

I'm feeling quite accomplished, because the sewing thing has turned out so well. I've surprised myself - not only have I managed to put together an elephant, but it actually looks really good and not like a first-time job at all! I've decided it's easier to sew by hand, because sewing machines tend to run away from me, and it didn't take all that long either. I used a simple backstitch.

See:



And the seams! They're so neat! And I've never had them actually meet where they're supposed to before!



I had to take photos to prove to my family that I really did make it, that I didn't buy it or anything - honestly, it looks just as good as anything a Chinese sweatshop could make! I'm making it for my new little niece, Tamsyn. My sister doesn't want any pastel "cute" colours for her (can sympathise there), but the pink fabric just went so well with the grey and it's so velvety-soft - it's from an old pair of pyjamas that I don't wear anymore. Though, I cut the pants when I should have used the top, which I never really wore while the pants were really comfy. Oh well. Too late now! I just have to sew the bottom of his feet on and stuff him and sew the tusks on and he'll be done!


You know, one of the hard things about teaching is what to do when another teacher gives out incorrect information. It's hard, because you need solidarity between teachers and present a kind of united front, a trust-worthy front. You can't go about bagging your colleagues to students!

Sometimes it's a student-teacher thing, and some Associate Teachers do correct them in the class. Sometimes this is really bad because the AT is an idiot and didn't need to correct anything. Sometimes it's like what happened to my history curriculum teacher at OISE, before she joined OISE, when she had a student teacher tell the kids that Hitler was a communist. You can't let something like that slide, but it's such an awkward situation.

This week I had something a bit like that. I was at Pathways, tutoring a grade 10 boy on history, and we were working on his homework for fascism and Hitler etc. He kept pronouncing it "face-ism" and "face-ist" and when I corrected him the second time, "Actually it's pronounced 'fash-ism'" he tells me "But everybody in class says "face-ism, even the teacher". I just stared at him and tried to think how I could say his teacher was wrong without actually saying that.

I know, it's a small thing, but really, face-ism??!! I mean, there are plenty of words that get different pronunciations in different accents or dialects, but "fascism" isn't one of them! This kind of situation just makes me cringe.


And, I just want to add an apology to my friends on my book blog, for inundating them with reviews while I update it. I'm trying to do it in chunks to get through it quicker but it's still taking a while, and it's no doubt clogging your flist - Sorry!!

It's a GIRL!!!!!! I have a NIECE!!!!!!

Yay! I mentioned in my last post that she was due anytime now. Well, my sister Fer just had her baby, hasn't been weighed yet or anything but Fer is well and the baby's healthy and, in her husband's words, they're not going to throw her back! :D

*jumps up and down and whoops to no one 'cause she's home all alone...*