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My sister had a Mad Hatter’s tea party last month.  It was a BYO hat and teacup, saucer and plate kind of do. Lots of fun with a broad range of tea sets showing up.
Mum brought her Johnson Bros. Haddon Hall set[1] (front right), brother and his partner brought two sets of espresso cups each[2] (rear right).  Mother’s friend brought one of her favourite sets, sister had hers, and Eric and I brought a brown Pyrex that I got as a hand-me-down from my sister (left and right edges).
My contribution to this tea shin-dig was an apple strudel inspired by Giuseppe Corica’s famous product.
We love GC strudels, always have and probably always will, but the increase in popularity has lead to strudels which have shrunk in size and increased in cost (though this might be due to inflation as well, truth be told).  They do also appear to be taking some shortcuts with the custard, it’s quite a bit thicker than it used to be.
Every time we have it[3], there’s always a comment about how deliciously simple the apple strudel is.  And it really is quite simple. But, as always, it’s all about the quality of the ingredients.
I used the puff pastry from Carême.  Their puff pastry rises to an impressive height, but it did make my strudel tower a little dangerously, even if it did make it look rather epic.  The apples were stewed myself with butter, sugar and spices until they were soft, but with a little bite still.  And there was some slightly thickened crème anglaise with vanilla bean, and also some fresh whipped cream.
After I’d baked the puff pastry, I realised I didn’t have a container or dish that I would be able to use to transport the fully assembled strudel to my sister’s.  So all the individual components were packed up and assembled there.
I’m pretty chuffed to say that it went down well, and family consensus was that it might even be better than GC’s. ^_^v
I win at strudel.

[1] She’s had this for years and years, and she only pulls them out maybe once a year so they’re starting to crack a little.  She had the complete set once, but a maid broke the teapot (I think) and we’ve been hunting for a replacement ever since.
This is such an impossible set to track down specific pieces for.  And it’s so much nicer than the more recent sets being made.
[2] My brother thought this would make it easier for him to double-park different teas. Typical.
[3] I’ve pretty much grown up on this particular style of strudel.  So much so, that I really can’t  handle the other strudels which are either sickly sweet and  pop-tart-ish or weird and fruity with raisins[4] like what you find at  Miss Maud[5].
[4] Not really a fan of raisins.  But I do get fruit-toast phases.
[5] Speaking of weird and fruity, this one relatively new pastry shop a few years ago, not sure if they’re still around, tried to make a GC strudel knock-off. But they added sweet pineapple jam.  Honestly, wth. *twitch*

My sister had a Mad Hatter’s tea party last month.  It was a BYO hat and teacup, saucer and plate kind of do. Lots of fun with a broad range of tea sets showing up.

Mum brought her Johnson Bros. Haddon Hall set[1] (front right), brother and his partner brought two sets of espresso cups each[2] (rear right).  Mother’s friend brought one of her favourite sets, sister had hers, and Eric and I brought a brown Pyrex that I got as a hand-me-down from my sister (left and right edges).

My contribution to this tea shin-dig was an apple strudel inspired by Giuseppe Corica’s famous product.

We love GC strudels, always have and probably always will, but the increase in popularity has lead to strudels which have shrunk in size and increased in cost (though this might be due to inflation as well, truth be told).  They do also appear to be taking some shortcuts with the custard, it’s quite a bit thicker than it used to be.

Every time we have it[3], there’s always a comment about how deliciously simple the apple strudel is.  And it really is quite simple. But, as always, it’s all about the quality of the ingredients.

I used the puff pastry from Carême.  Their puff pastry rises to an impressive height, but it did make my strudel tower a little dangerously, even if it did make it look rather epic.  The apples were stewed myself with butter, sugar and spices until they were soft, but with a little bite still.  And there was some slightly thickened crème anglaise with vanilla bean, and also some fresh whipped cream.

After I’d baked the puff pastry, I realised I didn’t have a container or dish that I would be able to use to transport the fully assembled strudel to my sister’s.  So all the individual components were packed up and assembled there.

I’m pretty chuffed to say that it went down well, and family consensus was that it might even be better than GC’s. ^_^v

I win at strudel.


[1] She’s had this for years and years, and she only pulls them out maybe once a year so they’re starting to crack a little.  She had the complete set once, but a maid broke the teapot (I think) and we’ve been hunting for a replacement ever since.

This is such an impossible set to track down specific pieces for.  And it’s so much nicer than the more recent sets being made.

[2] My brother thought this would make it easier for him to double-park different teas. Typical.

[3] I’ve pretty much grown up on this particular style of strudel.  So much so, that I really can’t handle the other strudels which are either sickly sweet and pop-tart-ish or weird and fruity with raisins[4] like what you find at Miss Maud[5].

[4] Not really a fan of raisins.  But I do get fruit-toast phases.

[5] Speaking of weird and fruity, this one relatively new pastry shop a few years ago, not sure if they’re still around, tried to make a GC strudel knock-off. But they added sweet pineapple jam.  Honestly, wth. *twitch*

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January

Got quite a bit done this month. Pretty pleased.

Fauxtography

Started 365 again. Going well so far.  Not exactly inspirational photos, but there was a little experimentation going on with the tripod, 2x teleconverter, and remote shutter release which is better than no tinkering at all.

Also experimenting with mobile post-processing on the iPhone and iPad.  Interesting with mixed results thus far.  Bit hard though since you can’t easily calibrate the display.  Also learning more about post-proc in Lightroom and Photoshop.  Trying to graduate from using presets that I don’t understand the construction of…

Also also, bought a new lens (post to come).  I didn’t mean to.  But the price I got it at was ~$100 less than what the market price has been for the last few months.  I don’t regret the purchase yet, but it’s a near thing…

Food

More ice-creams (lime and cardamom yoghurt, and a delicious chocolate.  I have more plans for my ice-cream maker which I need to pace out a bit lest I gain too much weight. -_-

Made a clone of the Giuseppe Corica apple strudel[1] that I’ve been telling myself I’d do for years.  Seriously, I win at strudel (post to come).  I love GC, but I love my rendition of their strudels.  The difficult thing now will be deciding if I can be bothered dropping $18.50 for one of theirs, or spending the time to make one of mine.

Made yee sang from scratch.  Much easier than expected.  But need sharper knife for slicing the fish.  Also, a julienne peeler like Marcus suggested would be a good idea.  My knife skills are not so refined that I can julienne quickly (and evenly), and while the food processor is fast, it mushes it up a bit.

Fountain Pens

Decided I need to hand-write more otherwise my hands will be permanently stuck in the hands-on-keyboard position.  So I bought a new paper diary/planner.

Also gave my favourite fountain pen a little TLC with some maintenance.  Decided that while I loved it dearly, I wanted to branch out into a (Japanese) fine nib.

Bought two new Pilot fine nib pens, one classic, one with a clear demonstrator body.  And also a Parker 51 clone for giggles to replace my dad’s old Parker 51 that broke ages ago.

Obtained two Sheaffer Touchdowns of unknown model, and my dad’s old Parker 61.

Learning how to maintain all of these properly.  And also learning to repair Touchdowns.  This has been pretty educational and kind of neat.  I was just waiting on parts to come in, and now all I need is to buy some shellac and I can finish this off.

Arty

It’s been ages since I’ve drawn or painted anything either.  I don’t have the time or the space for acrylics, and I lack the talent for oils and pastels, but I’ve pulled out my Pentel Aquash[2] and watercolours and started tinkering again.  Once I get the hang of using the brush, I may even pull out my Aquarelles and put the two together.

Musical

I borrow my sister’s instruments from time to time, usually my mum’s old classical guitar, but I’ve been listening to more Jake Shimabukuro again, and then there were those videos of that adorable little boy who played Jason Mraz’ I’m Yours, and then that video of Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt doing What Are You Doing New Years Eve?… So this time I borrowed the uke.

I’ve learned the chords for Puff the Magic Dragon and a couple other songs.  It’s not much, but it’s definitely progress.  I may even start the piano again, but one step at a time.

Garden

The shiso seedling I sprouted is still a seedling.  But I guess this is better than it not having sprouted at all but it isn’t growing any bigger.  I suck at shiso.  I might have to give the seeds to someone else to try and sprout for me next season and then get it off them again when they’re seedlings.  If only they sold shiso seedlings in Perth. *tear*


[1] These strudels are famous. So famous that people (mainly Asians it seems) will cart them as carry-on luggage to give as gifts to friends/family/business associates overseas.  It’s like what people do for Krispy Kreme’s when they fly in from over east, except that GC strudels are actually worth the effort.

[2] “Why not just use regular brushes?” I hear you ask.  Well, it’s more convenient for spontaneous bits of watercolouring without having to have a jar of water nearby.  I can just pick up the brush, crack open the box of watercolours and away I go.  Convenient for getting myself back into bits of painting without having to break all my supplies out of the store room.

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When I tried to translate this myself, I had to look up the word ウケ [u-ke] (must be a colloquialism). For a moment, I thought my friend was calling her husband “the submissive partner in a homosexual relationship”.
Hilarious, although still possibly contextually appropriate given that he made her broccoli on rice for lunch…
More hilarious was the translation Bing tried to offer. A “Bento UTI antagonist”? I mean, sure broccoli on rice is a bit poor, but that’s quite horrible. Really, what does Bing have against broccoli? Or my friend’s husband, for that matter.

When I tried to translate this myself, I had to look up the word ウケ [u-ke] (must be a colloquialism). For a moment, I thought my friend was calling her husband “the submissive partner in a homosexual relationship”.

Hilarious, although still possibly contextually appropriate given that he made her broccoli on rice for lunch…

More hilarious was the translation Bing tried to offer. A “Bento UTI antagonist”? I mean, sure broccoli on rice is a bit poor, but that’s quite horrible. Really, what does Bing have against broccoli? Or my friend’s husband, for that matter.

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{007} Cleaning my dad’s Parker 61.
I’m getting back into fountain pens. This is a wonderful and terrible thing.
Wonderful, because fountain pens are beautiful things. Even if your penmanship is appalling, fountain pens will at least make you feel good about writing.
Terrible, because you can get really OCD about them and it really brings out your inner magpie.
I’m presently flushing out four fountain pens.  One is my Pilot which I’ve been using since uni and which was a completely unidentified Pilot until two days ago[1], and the other three I obtained today from family (the Parker 61, and two yet to be identified Sheaffer’s).

[1] Google Images wasn’t anywhere near this comprehensive when I first tried identifying this pen years ago.

{007} Cleaning my dad’s Parker 61.

I’m getting back into fountain pens. This is a wonderful and terrible thing.

Wonderful, because fountain pens are beautiful things. Even if your penmanship is appalling, fountain pens will at least make you feel good about writing.

Terrible, because you can get really OCD about them and it really brings out your inner magpie.

I’m presently flushing out four fountain pens.  One is my Pilot which I’ve been using since uni and which was a completely unidentified Pilot until two days ago[1], and the other three I obtained today from family (the Parker 61, and two yet to be identified Sheaffer’s).


[1] Google Images wasn’t anywhere near this comprehensive when I first tried identifying this pen years ago.

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{003} My new day planner.
I’ve missed not using a paper day planner since I got my iPhone.
Manually syncing appointments, which usually get sent to me electronically, to a paper format seemed a little time consuming.  But I miss paper and I miss pens, and in particular, writing with a fountain pen.
So, paper day planner it is.
This one is larger than the pocket Moleskines I used to use, but I wanted to try something different to see if it worked better with my workflow.
And like the Moleskines, it comes with stickers. I like stickers.

{003} My new day planner.

I’ve missed not using a paper day planner since I got my iPhone.

Manually syncing appointments, which usually get sent to me electronically, to a paper format seemed a little time consuming.  But I miss paper and I miss pens, and in particular, writing with a fountain pen.

So, paper day planner it is.

This one is larger than the pocket Moleskines I used to use, but I wanted to try something different to see if it worked better with my workflow.

And like the Moleskines, it comes with stickers. I like stickers.

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{002} One of the walking canes my dad acquired along the way.
He collected things. Various antiques, various miscellany of Dayak design. Just… stuff.

{002} One of the walking canes my dad acquired along the way.

He collected things. Various antiques, various miscellany of Dayak design. Just… stuff.

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Video

travors:

The Trap Door Opening Theme (by RH)

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Photo
(photo from framboise/Flickr, silliness by Shay)

(photo from framboise/Flickr, silliness by Shay)

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Photoset

My contribution to the masses of eclipse photos from Saturday night.

Did my best with the longest lens I have (a 55-200mm f4-5.6), also we were in Northbridge and this was the view from Old Shanghai looking above Outback Jack’s. Moon looks a bit lumpy. :( I had a couple more zoomed in images, but they were pretty blurry.

There is also a shot of other round bokeh things, and fellow eclipse gawkers.

On another note, this lens is surprisingly sharp, and the untouched colours, while a little dull, turned out reasonably well.  Perhaps I shouldn’t leave it in a drawer all the time.

On another other note, f-yeah my NEX-5.

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Chat

Context

  • Me: Gotta head out for a couple of hours. Got a call that my RAM just came in.
  • Co-worker: <silence>
  • Me: Computer, not sheep.
  • Co-worker: Was going to say.

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