The Room Redo, Stage 2

Over the Easter holidays, I started trying to make my room a bit nicer, more Me.  In Stage 1, I made the 'other' bedside table prettier and not so 'other'.  This has resulted in me reading in bed a whole lot more.  This is good.

Stage 2 I just had to Do.  An imminent visit from the parents finally spurred me on.  My cane chair was a gift from them for my 10th birthday, and very much loved.  However, when I left home (really the other way around, but I won't go into that here) the chair went with the parents.  In their current residence it was languishing, so on one visit when mum asked if there was anything of mine I would like them to bring down, I asked for this.  Ah, the nostalgia!  And then it sat in the spare room for a while.  Which was nice for the spare room and anyone who stayed there.  But I felt this corner of my room could do with a chair.  A cane chair.  From my childhood. 

The cushion needs a new cover - hence the black and white bedspread.  Perhaps Stage 2a will be a new cushion cover, and washing the other cushion covers while I'm at it.  I do rather like having the cheerful Fergus smiling at me, too.  Now I am really looking forward to Sunday afternoon when I'll have a chance to curl up and read. 

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.

Iceworld and Coconut Water

Hmmm... Possibly my oddest post title yet.

Today, I went ice skating at Iceworld.  Although I have been skating before, this is my first time in Brisbane - and I have lived in Brisbane for many, many years.  Skating experiences in my life: as a kid, I remember going once in a rink set up in the local shopping centre; and twice at the skating rink with friends.  The second time is one of my favourite memories of that time, my 3 best friends and me all linked up and stopping by colliding with the barrier.  Good times.  Not such a good time: one of my brothers went skating with a girlfriend who skated over his thumb when he fell over.  The next time for me to skate was April 2003.  A first date which should have blared warning bells - I'm obviously not a skater, and that guy was obviously quite comfortable on the ice.  Instead of helping me, he took off and left me clutching the rail.  He insisted on getting a photo of me in the middle, and when I finally made it across and he'd taken a photo I promptly fell over, initiating a whole lot of laughter from him.  Hmph.

So on Wednesday, when a friend suggested I come ice skating with him and his kids today, I was a mixture of excited and nervous and anxious.  After a couple of hours, I can proudly say I didn't fall over once, and I didn't clutch the rail the whole time.  I also realised (isn't getting older wonderful? I keep learning stuff about myself) how much of a perfectionist I am, and how much this has an effect on my life.  The thought of falling was large in my consciousness, and whenever I saw someone fall it effected my own balance.  At the start of the 2nd round, one end of the rink was closed off for a private party and so there was no choice but to skate, rail-free, across to the other side.  I was still a little shaky, but could do it.  This friend was actually a really good skating buddy - he used to be a speed skater so is quite confident on the ice.  He was still looking after his kids of course, but made sure I wasn't suffering too much either.  He also gave me the first piece of useful advice anyone has ever given me for skating.  Instead of "just try to glide" (really useless, if you're thinking about suggesting that to a nervous skater), he suggested the 'L' shape (ha - appropriate) to get the gliding feel, or the 'V' shape, with the skates coming together at the start of each stroke - now, these are useful tips.  As I said, I made it a few times from one side to the other, and didn't stack it at all (although I admit to some side crunches and I now have a mysteriously bruised knee).  There were so many young people skating - thankfully no kids from school though.  But seeing all these kids, holding hands and colliding with barriers, made me so nostalgic. 

I have to laugh with this photo.  There are about 5 photos, all with me in exactly the same position, and when photo time was over, I had to take a deep breath and work out how to move again without stacking it.  Success!  Now, if I can make another skating trip sooner than the next decade (ideally within the next couple of months) I might start to feel like not a dolt on the ice.

After a bit of playtime in a park near my house, then a bit of practice (I've had a hankering for Beethoven sonatas this weekend), I went for a 16km run.  A slightly new route and I nearly ran into the river a couple of times, but when I got home (and showered, obviously), I tried coconut water for the first time.  I've been getting leg and foot cramps regularly this year, and coconut water has been suggested to help combat this.  I bought some the other day and drank my first tonight.  A little odd - the first half was fine, but after that...well I'm not so sure.  Maybe just a half serve next time.  Tonight I tried plain but I also have mango.  I was planning on buying a brand that is really well-known and sold in my gym.  But this brand was stacked on the shelf above, was cheaper, and (more importantly) Fair Trade.  Win.

Today's photo:

I do like candles.  This one is a beeswax candle which produces an aroma like honey.  The holder I bought in Sydney a couple of years ago, with a frosty green outside and reflective silver inside.