Lemon Delicious

Not much was new today.  I decided not to run so that I could put away washing instead (exciting, huh).  I bashed my wrist so typing and just general movement is awkward (hello, delete).  I did get to see a niece and nephew and their parents (deep sigh of satisfaction...) and I went to the gym between morning students.  Thank goodness for new recipes.

Lemon delicious is something that takes me back to childhood and my grandparents.  My grandma made a beautiful lemon delicious.  I have made citrus delicious and sticky lemon pudding, but never before actual lemon delicious - this recipe is from the fruit cookbook I bought recently (also the source of fruit and cinnamon muffins, and date and cinnamon squares).

Preheat the oven to 180C; grease a 1.25L ovenproof ceramic dish.  (I found the oven was preheated before I'd got to the egg stage - maybe I was having a slow cooking day).

Using an electric beater, beat 60g unsalted butter, 3/4 cup (185g) sugar and 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest in a bowl until pale and fluffy.  Gradually add 3 egg yolks, beating well after each addition.  Fold in 1/4 cup self-raising flour and 3/4 cup milk alternately to make a smooth, thin batter.  Stir in 1/4 cup lemon juice (I had a super-juicy lemon, and just one provided more than enough juice).

Whisk 3 egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until firm peaks form.  With a large metal spoon, fold a third of the egg white into the batter to loosen (not sure what they mean by that).  Gently fold in the remaining egg white, being careful not to overmix.

Pour batter into the prepared dish and place in a large roasting tin.  Pour enough hot water into the tin to come a third of the way up the side of the dish.  Bake for 55 minutes (took an hour here) until the pudding has risen and the top is golden and firm to touch.  Leave for 5 minutes before serving.  Dust with icing sugar and serve with cream (or, you know, ice cream or quark if you have nothing else!).

My house now smells of lemon and baking and childhood.  Lovely.

Today's photo:

In December, I babysat my niece and we made biscuits.  We made some more today - except they were the end of a batch I made a couple of weeks ago and froze.  Defrost, heat oven, roll (tiny) bits into balls ("I did it! I did it!"), put on trays, bake for 10 minutes.  Take photo of finished product while it cools.  Eat biscuits, and pack some to take for later.

Lucy II and the Milkman

Neither of these things was on my list of New Things for today.

At the start of the holidays I bought, on impulse, a new shade of nail polish ('Lucy II' from Bloom).  A whole range of things prevented me from applying it until today, but I had a mini pamper session this afternoon.  I quite like the darker shades, especially during winter.  Of course the first thing my mum asked when she saw me was, "are you undergoing chemotherapy?" (chemo patients, we discovered last year, often wear dark-coloured nail polish to help protect from sun damage).  Sigh.  Thankfully, no.

I was looking for a way to demonstrate the colour, and the music stand was right there.  The reflection of notes in the glass was a bonus.

This evening, there was an unexpected knock at the door.  The milkman was looking for people wanting milk and other things home delivered.  (No, I didn't 'do' the milkman, despite the jokes!).  When I signed up for organic fruit and vegetables to be delivered it made such a huge impact on my life.  Although I can get dairy delivered through that company, they only deliver to me every fortnight, but this group can deliver more frequently.  And they do meat and fish as well, and have a later cut-off time for changes to the order.  More than that, though, I prefer buying 'direct from the farm to [your] door' instead of through mega supermarkets, knowing that the farmers are getting a better deal.

Today's photo:

Thanks to a lot of rain at the start of the week, these oven gloves have been on the line a while.  They're on adjacent lines so it must have been someone else who put them on there.  Early afternoon, they were catching the last of the light in the courtyard.

Outfit #51 - Columbia

Outfit details:

Skirt: Sinerji (swap).  Singlet: Lorna Jane.  Top: Dotti.  Stockings: Ambra.  Shoes: Hot Options.  Earrings: gift.  Scarf (below): gift.

Today is Columbia's national day, and after playing for their festivities on Saturday I decided to use their national colours for today's outfit.  Red, yellow and blue, that is.  This is the only yellow item I own, and not one I ever anticipated wearing to work as it's really casual wear.  The tiny sliver above the neckline was all that was visible. 

The earrings were the same from Saturday.

I contemplated doing the same hairstyle and adding the red flower, but I thought that might be a bit too much change for everyone.  As my hair is in that needing-to-be-washed stage I needed to do something though, so I did a couple of little plaits into the bun.  The last time I did something similar I remember it staying put like nothing else, and today was the same.  I must remember this.  It's good.  It got the tick of approval from the 9-yr-olds too.  It's really hard to photograph though, and maybe a bit more brushing (I see now) of the back bit would not go astray. 

The stocking and shoes combination was not so great though.  Probably won't repeat this one.

Today's photo:

Nature is fascinating, isn't it?  The water appropriation methods of various plants can be so different, yet useful and appropriate.  I passed these agave plants with big shiny raindrops on the way back from the gym.

Outfit #50 - Trust Me

Outfit details:

Pants: Hot Options.  Top: Dotti.  Boots: Sandler.  Earrings: from Jeannie.

I got a bit of a sleep-in this morning (first student was sick).  I extended that a little more than expected, so I was quite glad for the random notification from Facebook.  That meant, though, I didn't have time for an outfit photo before work, so in this photo I'm hungry!

I had planned to wear a skirt today, to show off the stockings - plus, I haven't worn that skirt for ages.  (Ages, as in more than a year at least).  But when I was getting ready I could hear the rain outside, and my feline part decided that boots would be a better option (I really dislike wet feet).  So I changed into pants instead.  Trust me - they were fun stockings!

Good thing I added red and silver earrings to give the world something not-drab to see.

Today's photo:

As mentioned yesterday, the walk to school gives an overview of the seasons.  I'm glad I don't have problems with wattle - I love the cheeriness of the yellow, and this makes such a nice contrast with the grey skies.  When I stood a bit closer to take the photo, I noticed busy bees.  I hope you can see them in the photo!

Outfit #49 - Hello Term 3

Outfit details:

Pants: Hot Options.  Top: Tokito.  Shoes: Pulp.  Earrings: Oxfam.  Jacket: Sportsgirl (from Jeannie).

Despite a fairly quiet holiday, I turned out to be quite refreshed and ready to go back to school.  Yippee!  Not so ready to start doing much with my hair, though...maybe tomorrow.

I know I've worn this jacket several times, but I don't think the buttons have ever had a photo.  I think it's time.

Boring shoes.  I predict they won't be around next year (they're wearing out).  Yes, I have psychic skills.

Today's photo:

The walk from the station to school is a wonderful view of the seasons (not readily available in this sub-tropical climate).  This large tree gives me a welcome dose of deciduous-ness.

Getting My Flanders On

Ned Flanders, that is.  You know the scene when the Simpsons arrive at the Flanders' beach house for a Fourth of July holiday, and find post-it notes everywhere with explanations and instructions?  I haven't gone that far - yet.  But my parents often stay, and they have different ideas about logic from me.  I hope I don't have to go to stage 2.

Stage 1 arose from my mum's last visit.  I know she knows which remote works for each device, but when really tired...  I meant to get this done by their next visit, but time just slipped away (and they arrived early for emergency dental work).  And, admittedly, I usually flounder when I'm at other people's places and faced with technology. 

The other issue is with Standby Mode.  I hate it.  And why you would press a button on a remote then get up to turn it off on the set, then when you want to turn it on you have to turn it on at the set and then press a button on the remote - really, what?!  So my policy is to use the switch on the set only.  Now I hope it is clear. 

Today's photo:

These flowers have been brightening my view on an almost-daily basis.  They live near the railway bridge, outside a mega apartment block.

Just Go - Bridges

Plan A for today I thought maybe not such a good idea due to ears.  Plan B would have been amazing - except I had the world's longest sleep...  Well, admittedly I didn't get to sleep until about 1:30am, but still - it was super late when I woke.  Plan C - just go.  Unlike last time, I remembered my ear phones this time.  I left in the afternoon (2:48pm, to be precise) intending to hang out in Paddington for a bit.  Approaching the city though, the bridges looked so inviting, and a new plan began formulating in my head - walk across all the bridges in the CBD. 

So: bus to Roma St, train to Fortitude Valley.  Walk up Brunswick and Ann Streets, cross the Story Bridge.  Since the last time I walked across, there are now Lifeline signs in the approach and at intervals across the bridge, which I found disconcerting.  I resisted the urge to climb the railings as I didn't want to start a police incident just from my climbing instincts.

I walked down to the Thornton Street Ferry and waited for about 5 minutes for the City Hopper, which is free.  Bargain.  Straight across to Eagle St, then I walked along Riverside and through the Botanic Gardens.  Quite a few photos later - none of which actually turned out all that well thanks to the sun position - and I got to the Goodwill Bridge.  After crossing this one, I walked through South Bank.  Mostly sticking to the arbour, I did stray a bit in search of a coffee, or a smoothie, or something.  I eventually found Boost and had a poorly mixed banana buzz (chunks of banana, anyone?). 

The Victoria Bridge had a beautiful sunset happening around it.  I suspect, though, that most sunsets look attractive from this vantage point.  I felt like such a tourist.

I am glad, though, for the function on the iPhone that allows selfies without arousing much suspicion.

The next part was the most boring, having to walk along George St.  It's so City (and Boring City, at that).  Crossing the Kurilpa Bridge at sunset was pretty spectacular (for a bridge, that is).  I do like this bridge.  And I was not the only photographer here!  Ooh, look - it's another bridge.  Yes, my face was a bit over it by now.

Although it begins the same as the Goodwill Bridge, I do like the paddlepop stick/pirate ship effect.

At sunset you have the bonus of reddening sky and that indigo that comes at dusk.  Mwah.

And its curvy access from the West End side is far more interesting than most other bridges.

A short walk past GOMA, and some lengthy waits at traffic lights, brought me to the William Jolly Bridge - such a contrast from the newer bridges!  I chose to walk the western side (not the city side) to make it easier to get to the next bridge.  Maybe not the best choice, but as it was fairly dark by now it didn't make too much difference.  For as long as I can remember, I've liked seeing the light streams from cars passing and slow shutter speeds.

From William Jolly to the Go Between was not as far as I thought - and the Go Between is far less attractive than some of its counterparts.  Still, it has great views.

I then walked to the Cultural Centre bus station, narrowly missed a bus (in my own little world), chilled out for a bit and was then home at 6:55.  The shower was very welcome.

It was really nice to do some things I often think I should do as a resident.  Walking for the better part of 4 hours was great - and my boots did a great job!  I admit, I thought about stopping after Kurilpa, but that made my back itch so I carried on.  Now I need a new plan for a day's outing.