Exploring West End

Mum and I spent went on a little outing this morning to West End browsing, shopping and eating our way along Boundary St, up a few of the side streets and some other places on the way home.
The highlights included:
Bent Books, where Mum picked up the LP book – Trekking in the Karakoram & Hindukush (sigh, wouldn’t it be lovely? We both watched a doco the other week called “Karakoram Highway: The Road To Globalisation” and it is also the where “Three Cups of Tea” is based (my top book of the year if not the last couple of years)).

Swiss Gourmet Deli – looking at all the yummy smallgoods and grocery items, so many wonderful things. We stopped here for morning tea where the lady behind the counter was shocked that we don’t drink coffee .. at all! It was a bit of a laugh. Mum had a Friand and I had a Cannoli. mmm yummy.

Now we continued to stroll down Boundary st, seeing what we could see and just enjoying the “scene”, I picked up a recycled Sari silk bag which is just gorgeous I will have to take a photo of it tomorrow.

The next stop was the real target of the day, ara beeka, the most delectable Lebanese(?) pastry shop. My eyes were twinkling and my mouth was watering at all the pretty pastries and biscuits in the display case. I could have just gobbled up the entire case and died in a nut and sugar bliss. (76 Boundary St, West End).
This is a selection of some of the goodies we got, most of them are priced at about $1 a piece of you can buy by the kilo ($22ish) or half kilo which works out much cheaper if you are buying more a couple. The staff behind the counter are great and up for a laugh as well which was nice.

20061006_1010

The next substantial stop was at the West End branch of the City Library network, it is the cutest little library I have ever seen, it is a very small one room library that is about the size of our lounge room and eating area combined. It was soooo cute!

Then it was The Language People, a bookshop that specialises in mmm well language books from ESL (English as a second language) to Literacy to learning foreign languages. The first thing I checked out here was if they had any Icelandic books and sure enough they did – Colloquial Icelandic, we then had fun seeing what other “rarer” language books they had, I was quite impressed with the range of Tetum books they had.

We then left Boundary St and headed over to Reverse Garbage, one of the most interesting stores in Brisbane. I picked up three partial Letraset sheets for $1.50! Mum scored some assorted fabric pieces for 90c.

The last stop for the day was Simply Good at Alderly which is a loose bulk bin food store with all sorts of wonderful dried fruits, lollies, legumes, nuts, flours etc all at very, very good prices.

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey

You might be wondering what the deal is about the title for this post, well even if you weren’t I will tell you anyway. Pabbi has just been diagnosed with the D word aka Diabetes Type II. Currently his blood sugar levels are in a bad way – high 20’s, low 30’s – the normal level is between 4 and 6. Hopefully though as his medicine and diet changes kick in, it will improve.

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The internet is well the internet.
This blog (I really hate that word but let us keep on moving) has reconnected my family to at least three people so far and I think that is pretty cool.
We have hooked back up with Neele who was our first German exchange student in 2001.
My older brother has hooked back up with one of his mates from around the time Matthew was born in 87.
And just the other day I received an email for Mum from a Kiwi lady who knew Mum from the fish factory she worked in Iceland many, many years ago.

All through the power of Google!

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We spent the most delightful time this morning on the phone to Karl, whilst he was wandering round the streets of Berlin at 1am in the morning, killing time between his flights as he heads to Munich/ München for Oktoberfest. Mum started telling Karl about the time she had spent in Berlin and the bullet holes in the buildings, when he asked where they were and Mum of course couldn’t remember. I quickly hopped on Flickr and Google to see what I could find. I found a couple of streets and then by the time I was back on the phone with Karl, he had actually started to walk down one of the streets I had found on the net. Then as we talked, as he walked and looked for bullet holes, he found what he thought could be bullet holes, well more to the point, there was little else they could be – lots of dimples on old stone buildings, which matched with what I saw in photos. The wonders of technology!

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I also just watched the season three opener of Veronica Mars which MSN is showing before it starts on TV in the states next week . Bonus! Play the episode in Windows Media

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I am also in the midst of finishing an essay on the Japanese camera industry and I have to say not only is this essay coming out faster than any other, it certainly rocks writing about something I really enjoy and have a decent knowledge on already. I certainly never thought at the start of this degree that I would be writing an essay on Canon, Nikon, Sony and the like. Certainly pretty cool.

POTN in the City

I spent the better half of yesterday tramping round Brisbane with a tripod on my back and a camera bag on my side with nine other like minded people who I met through Photography on the Net, which is a Canon-centric message board. It was such a delightful day spent chatting, sharing tips and of course taking photos that I was sad to leave after lunch when the others were heading over to the Roma St Parklands but I had books to read, notes to make and granola muesli to cook.

We had arranged to meet at 5:30am at Kangaroo Point to take photographs of the cityscape in early morning light and we were all wishing for clearish skies and sun. We were not that lucky but at least we didn’t have rain like we had been having for the last couple of days.

#1

Once we had had our fill of the view from that area we boarded a cross-river ferry and headed to the Eagle St Pier/Riverside area to play along the boardwalk and between the buildings in the morning light.

Riverside Water Feature Riparian Plaza Water Feature Will it fall? Physical Activity

The Jogger
Running
Every morning she pounds the footpath,
Every morning she takes the same route.
She sees the same thing day in, day out,
Perhaps she notices the changes that appear,
Or maybe she doesn’t.

By now it was close to 8ish and we hopped on a CityCat to take us up to New Farm Park and the Powerhouse where we explored the industrial elements of the Powerhouse before sitting down for a warm beverage and hoping for the clouds to part again and give us some sun.

The Magnificent Seven walking through the park with the Rose Garden in their sights. Three of us were not in the shot.
The Magnificent Seven

In the Rose Garden I spent my time searching for fairies but yet again they let me down, I did find evidence of their life though in the following photos.

First we have some Fairy Tables.
Since the rains have finally started to come to Brisbane, the fairies have been praising the clouds as they bring mushrooms with the rain; growing in little clusters they are just perfect for a Fairy cocktail party.

Hello Fairy

Second is a newly opened Fairy Fabric Store. Have you ever seen a flower where a petal might be missing or a branch with a few missing leaves? This is prime evidence of Fairy life. Petals and leaves are excellent sources of high quality fairy cloth. This Rose store I believe might be a special occasion fabric store as the petals were all intact. Perhaps they are waiting for more mushrooms to pop up and then they will have a Fairy Ball.

Rose

After more chatting and photographing we hopped back on the CityCat and cruised the Brisbane River up to Bretts Wharf, pointing out good spots for photos along the way and then exploring the river bank at Bretts Wharf.

Then it was back on the CityCat to head back into the city for lunch and the Roma St Parklands. However, myself and three others started on the trip home after lunch instead of going to the parklands :(. As we walked through the city streets back to the ferry stop to take us back across the river to our cars I snapped this last one of the Brisbane buildingscape.

Brisbane

21 today :)

Sometime round 3:00pm this arvie I entered my twenty-first year of life.

Twenty-One years of been Helen Thura Palsson or Helen Þura Pálsdóttir depending on where you are in the world.
Twenty-One years of been the littlest sister to Karl, Anika, Herdis, Hafthor, Toti and Palli.
Nineteen and a half years of being the older sister to Matthew.
Almost at the end of seventeen years of schooling.
Three trips overseas.
Countless km’s spent on foot, bike, canoe or car exploring this Great Southern Land.
Friends made, friends lost and friends re-united.
At least one computer around for almost as long as I can remember.
Close to eleven years of orthodontics.
Four different musical instruments.
One broken arm, two broken toes, torn ligaments in my fingers and my ankle.
Countless trips to the library.
Four different jobs.
Three cameras of my own.
And countless other little bits and pieces that make me who I am.

I went to work as usual at 5am this morning and had the most delightful shift. When I rang the bell to be let in I was greeted with a big “Happy Birthday” from my closest friend at work so that was very nice and then as I moved through the store getting ready for work more people came up and wished me a good day. Then about 7:30am (30mins before the store opened) my line manager put a message over the PA system telling everyone it was my birthday and they should find me and wish me Happy Birthday.

Every Monday a lot of people start work at 5am, whereas on other days they would start between 7am and 9am, this is because of all the things that need to be done to set the shop for a new week of trading; display ends need to be built and tickets need to be changed (that is what I do). Because of this every Monday a group of us have morning tea together and we have a little roster set up so we all take turns brining in something to share. One of the other girls who I am also close to had her turn today so she made me a white chocolate mud cake with Happy 21st Helen on it as well as 22 little tiny cupcakes that spelt out Happy 21st Birthday Helen, it was so very nice! There was of course singing and chatting and people trying to remember how the tune to Happy Birthday Helen goes.

Yep, there is a song by the pretty classy Australian rock band Things of Stone and Wood called Happy Birthday Helen and every Aussie worth their salt knows the song. Of course the lyrics may not be totally relevant to my life but still it is Happy Birthday Helen.

Happy Birthday Helen
Things of Stone and Wood
[audio:Things of Stone and Wood – Happy birthday Helen.mp3]

Let’s not forget last night
Yeah, how we drove along the Yarra
How we sang harmonies
To Carole King

These three years now just gone
They are the legends of my mind
We both kneel at these rocks
To drink of the mem’ry

You are the tunes in my head, the fire in my ribs
You are the voice in my heart that whispers compassion
Happy birthday Helen
Oh-oh…, oh-oh…, oh-oh…

We kissed on that bridge that fell down
While we held hands at the Taj
We’ve been stuck in a cave
With that bloke who says Oi Am

And when I cried for my cruel heart
You rubbed my back ’til I felt better
We ate bread on the lake
And yearned for the seasons

You are the tunes in my head, the fire in my ribs
You are the voice in my heart that whispers compassion
Happy birthday Helen
Oh-oh…, oh-oh…, oh-oh…

You are the tunes in my head, the fire in my ribs
You are the voice in my heart that whispers compassion

You are the storm on the ocean, poems in the trees
The smell of the winter that haunts me each autumn
You’re my everything
You are my everything
You are my everything
Happy Birthday Helen
Oh-oh…, oh-oh…, oh-oh…
Shake

Oh-oh…, oh-oh…, oh-oh…
Oh-oh…, oh-oh…, oh-oh…
Happy birthday Helen

Tonight for dinner I made Roast Chicken with Sultana and Almond Cous Cous (from the Claudia Roden book) and Mum made Mulberry Crumble with the Mulberries I picked at the farm yesterday on our way home from having a birthday afternoon tea with Grandad. It was all just so very nice!

M’Hencha

I had a 20% off borders voucher last week so I spent some time looking at the shelves to decide what I wanted and after comparing many Moroccan cookbooks I eventually decided on Claudia Roden’s Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon (I have linked to amazon.co.uk as it is the version I have, look at that pretty cover, it is not released in the USA until October, 11mths after it was released everywhere else round the world). This book is gorgeous, I have only really had a good look at the Moroccan section but I have already planned future meals.

Helen's Birthday Snake

M’Hencha
A Moroccan pastry filled with almond paste and coiled into a snake shape which is what gives it it’s name (m’hencha is snake, I have also seen this called M’hanncha so I guess it is just variations of the word).

Since this recipe can be scaled very easily and depending on what you are making it for you may only want a small snake or perhaps you will want a large snake that could feed a hoard. The recipe in the book called for 1.5kg ground almonds to serve 30-40.

Filling
1.5 parts ground almonds/almond meal
1 part sugar (caster is recommended but I just used plain)
1 tsp or so ground cinnamon
2 tblsp rose water (orange blossom is called for but I only have rosewater at home)
few drops almond essence (optional)
I only used 1 tblsp rosewater and then used some water and a bit of butter to form it into a paste.

Pastry
filo sheets
1 egg beaten
melted butter

Preheat oven to 170°C and line a baking tray with al-foil.
Mix together the dry filling ingredients and gradually mix in the rosewater to form a paste. If it is dry, mix in a little bit of butter and water.
Lay down a filo sheet with the long side facing you and brush with melted butter. Pick up a small lump of the paste and in your hands roll into a snake that is about 2cm in diameter. Place this down on the filo sheet about 2cm in from the bottom and the edge, continue doing this till you have filled the length of the filo sheet, butting together each snake so you have no gaps and leaving about 2cm at the other end as well.
Roll the filo sheet and place on the baking tray. Carefully and gently curve the roll into a coil. The filo needs to be curved gently so not to tear.
Continue with more sheets until the paste has been used up, each time butting the ends of the rolls together to continue the coil. Brush the top of the snake with the egg and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the top is crispy and golden.
You could sprinkle the top with some flaked almonds before putting it in the oven.
Serve cold cut into wedges like a cake or break off bits of the coil.

All in all it was and still is very very nice 🙂

Go Blood Go

Tonight is the last night of The Chaser’s War on Everything. 🙁 The Chaser is the best show I have watched on TV for a while now. Those guys have me cracking up from the get-go to the very end of the weekly 26 minute episodes and tonight is the last night 🙁 and the best thing is re-watching the clips either via the ABC or on youtube, it is just total gold.

That doesn’t explain the post title though does it?
This afternoon I picked Mum up from her school and we headed to the Blood Bank to donate 🙂 Since my blood likes to be a total drama queen when it comes to donating I was not that hopeful that I would be able to donate the 470ml, especially as we had a slow start with my veins playing hide and go seek and then my blood only wanting to come out at a snail’s pace.

In an effort to get my blood pumping I started whispering ever so quietly to my arm “Go Blood Go” and after much whispering the buzzer went that said my time was up and I thought what a bummer I didn’t get the full amount but as the nurse came over to disconnect me she told me that I had in fact reached 470ml just as the buzzer went.
It worked!!! All that quiet whispering worked!! And to make it even better I received a lapel pin since it was my fifth donation!

I went to the local fruit store today to get some goodies to make goodies for my birthday picnic on Sunday, one of the things that happened to catch my eye when I was there was Rose Petal Jam from Syria! I plan on having some on my toast in the morning 🙂