Word games

I love a good word game. Try this one, but you might want to set your options first:

http://www.freerice.com/


Or, you can get truly frustrated by playing against the robot in scrabulous:

http://www.scrabulous.com/solitaire_scrabulous.php



Enjoy.

Then I stood up and took a bow

I was walking to work this morning, Richard was standing 100 meters in front of me... when the heel of my shoe clipped the uneven pavers. Yep I did it again. I hit the ground.

The great pity is that Richard actually missed it. He reckons he heard the noise of my mobile hitting the ground, looked up, and there I was ... on the ground! When I was still on the ground (these things happen in slow-mo you know), I was expecting this massive guffaw to boom my way, but no.... Hell I know I would've probably wet myself if it had been Richard!

Some kind woman stopped and helped me up, and 5 minutes later when I was wiping the tears from my face, Richard was genuinely worried about me, but they were tears of laughter.

Now for the serious stuff (although I am still laughing myself):

This time I did hurt myself a bit more than last time. Although I was wearing my BRAND NEW leather gloves (I bought them yesterday), so they actually protected my palms (it still hurt, but more from the cold I think). And once again, not a tear in my pants, but some skin is stripped off my knee and is feeling quite sore at the moment.

Anyway before you all start calling me clumsy, careless, maladroit, inept, or any other number of adjectives of the ilk, I can actually tell you why I do this so often. It's my stupid pelvis that I am convinced I inherited from my lopsided father. What I don't know is the cause of my bung-hip i.e. I don't know if it is muscular, skeletal or a combination of both. And for those of you who don't know my story... Because I can't keep my pelvis straight, that is, it goes crooked :-/ it causes me to walk funny. And so, whenever I wear fucked up shoes (i.e. non-kumfs type shoes), I tend to slip, slide, trip and fall. So there.

When I got into work and because I had felt some jarring in my back, I immediately made an appointment with MY FAVOURITE BESTEST PHYSIO IN THE WORLD. He told me within 30 seconds and without me having said anything, that the left side of my pelvis was jarred...and then he fixed me up and all is good...til next time.

Skinny Love

I was thinking about doing this post the other day and then decided that no-one really cared about my love of music, so I dismissed the idea. Today I was routinely checking one of my favourite Blogs, "Dooce" and lo and behold if the bitch didn't post my exact idea about the exact same artist.

I am at least consoled by the thought that she has similar music tastes to me.

So here is my latest discovery singing one of my new favourite songs. Bon Iver with 'Skinny Love'.



The same night I discovered Bon Iver, I also discovered Cloud Cult, and although I've only heard this one song, I am already enamoured by them (I will be seeking out more Cloud Cult stuff out when I get a spare moment). Not to mention that I read on Wikipedia that the couple lost their baby son in 2002, and so my heart bleeds for these complete strangers that make such beautiful music.



I no longer care if readers don't share my love of music. Music is my passion and I'll post if I want to.

The Wedding

Well Lisa and Frank are married, and what a beautiful ceremony it was. The angels were shining down too because the weather was perfect. And you've heard me rave about the autumn leaves in Canberra, so Glebe Park was the ideal setting.

I'll let the few photos I'm posting speak for themselves:








Aren't these some of the happiest faces you've ever seen? Two of the most beautiful people I know are married to each other, and I couldn't be happier for them.

Is P really a blonde?

P: Nina, when you went to Vietnam did you take traveller's cheques?

Me: No, I rarely bother with traveller's cheques anymore.

P: What do you take?

Me: Credit Card

P: Oh

Me: Yeah, and use the ATM

P: What, and then exchange the Australian dollars into Dong?









P really is an intelligent person... really.

Pasta con ricotta

Well my readers out there might be forgiven for thinking that I don't do any cooking or baking unless it's a sweet. You might also be forgiven for thinking that I'm a wog who never cooks Italian food. Well you'd be wrong, (although it's not too far from the truth).

But when I just need simplicity, and when I just need something fast, I turn to one of my mum's dishes that I think she has cooked intermittently throughout my living life - pasta con ricotta. Don't make me translate that for you, it's completely obvious.

Here is the recipe, but sorry, there is no way I could give you any measurements, you just need to work that out for yourself. Depending on how many people you're cooking for. You will need:

Spaghetti
Ricotta
Margarine
Salt to taste, and
Pepper to taste if you're a skip! Actually even I put pepper on this dish sometimes, it works exceptionally well.

Anyway, cook the spaghetti (add salt), but while the spaghetti is cooking, place the ricotta in a bowl and add a generous dollop or two of margarine. Grab a ladle and from the saucepan (yes the saucepan with the pasta cooking), take some of the (already salted) water and add to the ricotta and margarine. Mash together with a fork. I suppose the consistency you're after is one that is light and fluffy and has a 'thick pouring' consistency.

When the pasta is cooked, strain, return the pasta to the saucepan, then just add the ricotta to the pasta. Stir it through with a fork, and serve.

Now, my mum now only buys the non-fat ricotta, but recently I have started to purchase the full fat ricotta again. I do think it has more flavour, but if you're watching your diet or cholesterol, then the low-fat cheese is just as good. However, make certain the ricotta is fresh - ask the shop assistant what days the ricotta comes in, so you know when to purchase it.



There is another version of this dish that I found in a newspaper once (actually I think Aldo may have found it). It has grated zucchini, chilli, garlic and lemon from memory, but I'll have to post that one another day.

Tim Tam Balls

It's Lisa's kitchen tea tomorrow and Lisa has specifically requested that I bring along my Tim Tam Balls (well Belinda's Tim Tam Balls), that she devoured at Christmas time. So for all you others, here is the recipe:

½ cup cream
1½ block of chocolate (250gm)
1 packet of original Tim Tams – crushed
Coconut


1. Heat the chocolate and cream in a saucepan til melted and slightly thick. Place mixture in a bowl then refrigerate. Wait til nearly hard.

2. Mix together the crushed tim tam mixture and the chocolate.



3. Spoon into little balls and roll in the coconut.

4. Place on tray and put in fridge.