Yes, they are such fun to have around 🙂 A quick catch up of the last couple of days. Last Thursday night, Ali (and Liam) and I went to see The Whitlams at The Zoo, Ali has a very good write up of the concert – go here.Helen and The Whitlams, they roll off the tongue like yogo and bread, cherries and milk, Summer and Seth, etc all such perfect matches. I was first introduced to The Whitlams in late 1998 and well since then, they have always been there for me and I am proud to say they are the only band for which I actually own each CD (Timmie, I could never steal your music!). However I have only seen them as a band twice, Tim and Jack as a duo once and an amazing concert with Tim and The Australian Chamber Orchestra at the Concert Hall. This concert is going to always stand out in my Whitlam memory as one of the greatest, just such pure energy all round, from the band, from the crowd, from Tim saying thank you after each song (at least 23 times, since that is how many songs they played :))Happy Times, nothing beats the Whitlams, they are one of those bands where every single song just rocks 🙂
Friday evening was Rachel’s 21st so Andrea and I hammed it up at the Toowong Bowl’s Club for a sausage sizzle, rounds of barefoot bowls, lots of talk and enjoying Rach’s day. Laughs all round as we tried our dandiest to get the bowl near the jack. Rachel scored a bunch of totally awesome presents as well 🙂 From me, she received 18×12 print of Fern Awakening, which is the very first time I have given someone a print of my work 🙂
Saturday – Exam = > Boring!
Then on Sunday night, Mum, Granddad, Sam and I joined NPAQ for a Batty Bat Cruise, lots of fun, enjoying a cruise up the river to Indro Island, checking out all the water front houses, chilling, talking and enjoying a sausage sizzle.
Cranberry Muffins
So, I was browsing the blogs over at GetCrafty the other day and stumbled across a recipe for Cranberry Muffins and my first thought was I need to make these!
One problem though, I live in Australia which equals no fresh Cranberries that I have seen, with some internet searching, I find out that Creative Gourmet sells Frozen Cranberries, SCORE! After work yesterday, I popped into Coles (the only chain that sells them) and picked up a box and I made the gorgeous things this morning.
Cranberry Muffins
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup white sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup cranberries–chop in food processorMeasure flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into large bowl. Stir thoroughly. Make a well in center. In a separate bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Mix in oil, milk and cranberries. Pour into well. Stir to moisten. Batter will be lumpy (may want to add a little more milk). Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake in 400 degree F. (200C) oven for 20-25 minutes. Makes 24 muffins (I don’t get that many!). Brush hot cooked muffin tops with melted butter. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Source – Knits4Fun’s blog
I got 12 full size muffins and 8 tiny muffins. I made a few changes to the recipe and will make some more when I make them again. I used 1/4 Buttermilk and 1/4 cup milk instead of 1/2 cup milk, I also needed to add some more milk (1/4 cup ish) when I mixed them up. Half way through baking, I pushed a cranberry into the top of each muffin and once cooked, I simply glazed with milk instead of butter and sugar.
When I make them again, I plan to use wholemeal flour and add some rolled oats for extra barefoot appeal, I also plan to reduce the milk and add some cranberry juice for a bit of colour. Maybe I will go have another one now….
new library books
I have always loved going to the library and taking my time there, I mean time, rarely I am out of there in under 45mins. I mainly go for non-fiction books, I guess one reason is that it is easy enough to have a quick flick and decide if you will like the book. One thing about books is that you are always learning, I often get at least three or so photography books on all topics especially those that are not things that I normally photograph as I am always able to gain a new piece of wisdom.
I went tonight and came out with a swag of books, which are as follows.
Crafting Frames at Home – The Editors of Country Living
The Encyclopedia of Quilting and Patchwork Techniques – Katharine Guerrier (different edition though)
Poster Art in Australia: The Streets as Art Galleries Walls Sometimes Speak – Roger Butler with National Gallery of Australia
Photographing People – John Hedgecoe
Capturing the Night With Your Camera: How to Take Great Photographs After Dark – John Carucci
Weekend Projects: Over 150 Quick and Easy Makeovers – Petra Boase
Fast, Fun & Easy Irresist-A-Bowls – Linda Johansen
Special Effects Photography (Pro-Photo Series) – David Daye
The AVA Guide to Travel Photography – Keith Wilson
Discover Australia By Road – Hema Maps
Viewfinder: 100 Top Locations For Great Travel Photography – Keith Wilson
200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans : Crochet Squares to Mix and Match – Jan Eaton
going away :)
Funny how things turn out, we were talking about Matthew’s plans to go to Bundy with a mate for 2 weeks or so after Boxing Day, then Mum says well I might go to Tassie then. Lots of talk, lots of phone calls and websites etc
Well now Mum, Grandad and I are going on a big jaunt.
Grandad will fly to Hobart round the 24th I guess and spend Christmas with Aunty Margaret and Co, as he is not up to sitting in a car for 2 days whilst Mum and I do the slingshot drive to Melbourne.
Mum and I are leaving Brisbane on Christmas Day to drive to Melbourne, arriving late Boxing Day and will catch the Spirit of Tasmania on the morning of the 27th to arrive in Devonport that night. The next morning we will meet up with Aunty Margaret, Grandad and Co to visit the Australian Axeman’s Hall of Fame.
Then we will lots of sightseeing, the first things to come to mind are the Cadbury Factory, The Cascade and James Boag Breweries and of course Bellerive Oval, where I am planning to go see the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers play the XXXX Gold QLD Bulls on Jan 2 :), which will be even cooler if our second cousin Aaron Nye is playing
Then we leave Devonport on the Spirit of Tasmania again on the night of the 9th of Jan and arrive in Melbourne on the 10th, where I will meet up with some Scrapping buddies before we start the drive back. We are still very undecided if we will take the coast or country route home.
Yehaww!
new focuses
so many things have happened recently but I have been so *focused* on my uni work that I haven’t had a chance to share much.
Try this Technique – A while back I was asked along with some other girls to create some challeneges for Scrapbook Creations and my first one appeared in the mag this month 🙂 So any Aussie or NZ girls, you know you want to enter! There is $200 worth of Xyron to the winner! mmmm if only I could enter 🙂
No more essays …. till next year, handed in my last one this morning, now I just have four exams to ahhh breeze over.
Last Thursday, I had the oppurtunity to meet Ms Ali, and gorgeous Jack and her mum 🙂 I first made contact with Ali, many, many moons ago when I was needing people for an article I did for Scrapbook Creations and then somewhere along the way we started commenting in each other’s blogs etc and then last week we hooked up 🙂 Such a crazy girl, she very much brought out the dork in me 😀 and well Jack is just a monkey.
And the wonderful Tracy is back scrapbooking and utterly ripping up the gallery with her new creations.
And perhaps the biggest news, is that I am now almost grown up, only one more step on the path 🙂 I graduated to a real fake tooth last friday. I’ve gone from having a tooth on a retainer to a real fake tooth plate, complete with a little bit of fake gum above the tooth 🙂 The new plate is so much easier to speak with as well as been smaller and lighter in my mouth 🙂 and well not having a metal band always looks nicer 🙂 Now I just have to wait a couple of years till I can get an implant 🙂
Yeah for dental technology!
7 down, 1 to go
These books are where I have been the last little while, writing my last essay for the semester, which I handed in this morning. The oldest book in this stack was published in 1907. That’s right 1907. My essay was on the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 (White Australia Policy) and the question of whether or not it racist. Glad to have that one out of the way.
Now just one piece of assessment left, an investigative report on the conditions and prevalence of piracy in the seas of South East Asia. Bring on the Exams!