Oh Canada...
I'm getting ready for our Vancouver Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony dinner on Saturday night. It's probably the most excited I've ever been about Canada.

For the Beijing Summer Olympics, I put together a stir fry and made fortune cookies and paper lanterns. It was hard to come up with a Canadian theme, but I'm quite pleased with what I've got to work with this time. There are some surprises, but I will say that there was paper-mâché and also flowers...



Once Upon a Time
I used some of my Christmas money to purchase Family Tree Maker 2010, a genealogy program. With it I got a six-month subscription to Ancestry.com.

I had been doing a little research and was using Geni.com, which has a great interface. However, the more I looked into doing genealogy "for real", the more I realized I needed to keep track of my sources, which isn't something that Geni does well if at all.

So over the last month, I've spent most of my evenings pouring through the resources that Ancestry has available... censuses, vital records, and my favourite, the newspaper archives. It's amazing how the society columns in the small-town papers were like the Twitter of today. So and so visited so and so on Sunday afternoon.

I found the wedding announcement of my parents' wedding in the local paper. I also came across this one of my Great-Aunt & Uncle from 1936. (Love her shoes!)

Links for Later
I've been saving the tabs on this browser for the better part of December, so in an effort to clear the slate before the new year, I thought I'd do a quick link post.

Food-Related
♥ Fresh Corn & Avocado Salad: I made this one for our Boxing Day get-together, and it was really nice and super easy. I used verjuice for the Champagne vinegar and squeezed a bit of lime over the avos to keep them from turning brown before we ate.

♥ Beef & Cabbage Stir-Fry: for future reference (via Kris)

♥ Black Eyed Peas & Greens: Probably isn't going to happen as a New Year's tradition this year, but I'm curious to try the recipe.

♥ Homemade Peppermint Patties: Seems do-able and sounds good.

♥ Quick Bread in a Bottle: I made these jars for my in-laws for Christmas this year. I admit I haven't actually tried the recipe yet, so I hope it's good. Just ran out of time. I found milk bottles at Spotlight. Hansldesigned the fold-out directions with detachable recipe card. (Email me if you want to use it.)


♥ Real Whipped Cream on the Go at Freeze Happy: Put whipped cream dollops on wax paper and freeze to use later on desserts or in coffee. But the real reason I've saved this link is the hilarious aside at the bottom about make-shift piping bags and the kitty-poo-like results they produce.

♥ Alinea Mosaic: I first heard about the restaurant Alinea when the owner was interviewed on one of my NPR podcasts about this time last year. Since then, I've been intrigued by molecular gastronomy. This has also been fueled by the chemists on Top Chef. From what I can tell the Mosaic sight has a forum about a book they must have released, but the topics are fascinating. They are surprisingly transparent with their techniques and recipes. See also: All Things Alinea Flickr Pool for some mouth-watering photos.

For the Locals
♥ Sublime, Photography & Coffeehouse: One Saturday we were traveling from the Rocklea markets to the Moggill Markets and passed this place in Graceville. They just opened a little coffee stand out behind their studio. It's a really lovely place, good coffee, and relaxing spot to read the paper.

Cute, Crafty, or Otherwise
♥ Retro Renovation: "your daily dose of mid century renovation resources... design inspiration... fun finds... and a growing community of people all interested in restoring, preserving and cherishing their 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s homes."

♥ Tonic Living: Amazingly beautiful retro fabrics. Love, love, love.

♥ 2009 Christmas Candy Box: A downloadable template for a cute little gift box. Check out the '08 & '07 editions as well.

Tales of Christmas
It was hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit again this year. It's just too hot to feel like going through all the trappings of the season.

Instead of hauling out the tree, I ended up buying a couple bunches of arborvitae branches, and put them in a vase with some red pom-pon looking dries flowers. Decorations = complete! All the gift bags from America fit underneath.


A couple days before Christmas I raided the 50%-off holiday bins at Spotlight, Australia's equivalent for Michael's. I came home with some placemats and "peace" candles.


I didn't feel like doing our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, because it was too hot to have the oven on all day. So we opted for a fresh broccoli salad and risotto with mushrooms and peas.


It was lovely. Gift highlights include a sparkley ring and earrings, lots of goodies from Anthropologie from the US givers, and the parasol of my dreams. ♥

My love spoiled me completely though, so I can't complain. Woke up Christmas morning to a birthday card with tickets for us to see James Taylor in April. I cried. Couldn't be more thrilled!

Scampers
We've found a stray kitten. Well, it found us. It was at the end of the driveway behind a bin last night mewing in the rain. He's maybe three months old, not too scrawny, but has fleas a-plenty. He had a couple cuts on his rear that we wiped clean, and then we reluctantly put him back in case he has a home to get back to.

But this morning, he was outside the kitchen door waiting for a hand-out. We left for the day, and he was still there when we got home tonight.

We'll get him a flea treatment and call the shelters and put up signs at the local shops tomorrow. However, I'm happy to take him into our home if no one responds. He really has a sweet disposition, and we'd been talking about going to the shelters after Christmas to adopt anyway.

Making Coffee
Two weeks ago, I noticed that the coffee tree out back was filled with bright red cherries. After a little bit of online research, I thought it might be fun to give homemade coffee processing a try. (In hindsight, "fun" is not the word I would actually use anymore.)

You can see each stage of the process in my Flickr set. My thumbs are raw from taking off the parchment this afternoon. I hope to roast next weekend.

We're the Kids in America... Woah
The roadtrip was great fun. Since then we've been taking it easy in NW Iowa. The sweet corn season is just starting, and let me tell you, you haven't had sweet corn until you've had it fresh-picked that morning from an Iowa cornfield. It's like candy.

But now my friends from Des Moines have come up to see us, so we must go drink some more coffee.


With the Woolly Mammoth in Indianapolis

Oh Honey Mustard
I've been a member of Vibe Village for almost a year now. In that time I've tried some fun products, but last weekend I got to host a party that featured some Masterfoods Family Favourites sauces with a bonus Glade Scented Oil Candle.

We had Tuscan Meatballs, Honey Mustard Chicken, Beef Stroganoff & Cheesy Potato Bake, and they were all pretty darn good. I've never met a potato bake I didn't like, so that was a given. But my favourite was definitely the Honey Mustard Chicken. The recipe on the packet was SO EASY and would be something I could throw together after work. It only requires chicken cutlets, sliced mushrooms, 100 ml pouring cream, and the sauce base. Yum.

Anyway, I took some photos of the night and thought I'd upload them as I'm clearing off my memory sticks.

Queens Park on Queen's Birthday
After reading about all the get-togethers of the Sydney American Expats, I thought I should mention that we've got a few in Brisbane, and we know how to have fun too! So today we had three Americans and a Kiwi celebrating the Queen's Birthday at Queens Park.

We joined Brisbane-newcomers Nat & Chrissi at the Nature Centre to have a stroll through the animal enclosures. I must say that the more times I visit, the more I'm starting to love those ugly emus.


We had afternoon tea at the cafe and saw the resident cockatoo Cocky. He can dance and say "scratch my head", and he made a friend in Chrissi when she did just that. I believe I snapped this photo just before he attacked my camera and gave me a fright.


It was a beautiful day and lots of fun hanging with some American peeps who share a lot in common with us. We leave Friday on a mission to partake in white cheese dip in remembrance of them.

Money, Money, Money... Must Be Funny
Last night we pulled out The Money Drawer. We throw all of our loose change into a drawer at the end of the day. We've been accumulating for years, only taking out the gold coins when we're desperate. I've been worried about losing the bottom of the drawer, because it was so heavy it could hardly be pulled out anymore.


At our bank, they want you to count out the coins and put them into bags before you bring them in. So we watched Wipeout and sorted coins until we ran out of bags. What you see below is $1000 in $1, $2 or 50¢ coins. One THOUSAND dollars. In CHANGE. That was sitting in a drawer in our house.


And that's not even all of it. We have a ton more $1 coins. And then there's all of the 20¢, 10¢, & 5¢ coins to go. I'd bet there's at least another $500 at least. I feel a bit like someone with a mattress full of cash, but it's a nice little stash to deposit right before we go on holidays!

Through the Looking Glass
This past weekend after launching a new CD on Thursday night, we took off for a little anniversary getaway. We headed up the coast on Friday and spent three nights at Glass on Glasshouse. I found that place when looking for accommodation over Easter break and thought it would make a good romantic destination. It really was perfect.

The place is ultra-modern and two full walls are glass. (Do not worry, there are blinds.) Polished wood floors, leather lounge, huge spa bath, king-size bed, media system, and views to blow your mind.

There was a covered porch with a dining table and electric grill. Below is the view coming down the path towards the "pod".


Just inside is the living room. We watched both "Bridget Jones" movies and then the Lord of the Rings trilogy -- director's cuts. Eeeep! The couch had a fold out bed, which we pulled out a couple of the nights when it was getting hard to sit and keep watching.


There was a small desk where Hanslset up for a while. He was doing music, and I was on the couch backing up all my photos. Aren't we the geeky couple? But I don't know how he got any work done with a view like that. (And yes, Manda, those are my Spongebob slippers in the bag.)


Next to the television was the ethanol fireplace which was double-sided and could also be seen through a glass panel from the spa.


The giant spa bath filled from the ceiling. It seemed like a really cool and romantic idea, but to prevent it from splashing all over the whole room, it couldn't be on much more than a dribble until it was half-full.


Also modern and cool was the bathroom sink with water coming out of the mirror. It looked so zen, but as I've mentioned elsewhere, it was a bit gross while brushing teeth. I don't particularly enjoy watching my spittle traveling across the porcelain square into the moat at the front and floating around to the drain in back.


Comfortable bed and more great views. Several kangaroos would tend to hang out outside the windows on this side. The last night we slept with the blinds open and woke up to the glorious sunshine.


I drew a quick, not-exactly-do-scale floorplan one afternoon while we were there. You can click through to flickr to see the notes explaining what each area is.


I took along my anniversary flower that I got on Wednesday, because I wanted to enjoy it while it was still in its prime. I had it setting on the edge of the spa so that I could see it from the sofa. One morning we had the blinds down while we watched movies, but the sunlight came through one crack and made the flower glow. I didn't even notice the reflection until after I looked back at the photos.


Other highlights from the trip:
♥ Italian pasta lunch on Saturday at the fabulous discovery Cappriccio's in Maleny. (We even tried to go back to try the pizza on Monday before we left the area, but unfortunately they were closed. We'll be back!)

♥ Going for a Sunday bushwalk on the Glass House Mountain Lookout Track.

♥ Spending several hours strolling through Maleny on Monday before we came back home. My souvenir was a silk pillowcase from Maleny Additions. (Three days later my skin and hair are instant perfection... well, maybe not yet.)

Maps Schmaps
My photo of the Chinese lanterns at the Chinese New Year celebration got used in the Street Parties section of the Brisbane Schmap guide:



Cool... I guess?

A Travel Journal Reflection
The other day when I wrote about hanging my bulletin boards, I mentioned a "couple" crafty projects but then only talked about the one.

The other crafty project I'm working on is a travel journal for our upcoming trip to the States. I made one for our last trip back home in 2006 after seeing a lot of examples on websites that brilliant craftspeople had created. I especially liked the idea of taking an old book and refunctioning it for use as a journal.

In particular, I was completely inspired by these three journal/sketchbooks (Paris, Italy, Provence) by a lovely lady named Jan. She even replied to my inquisitive email and gave me some tips on how to rebind my own.

I picked up a book at the Lifeline Bookfest called This is Your America. It's navy blue and has the capital building embossed on the front cover. I thought it would be perfect to pull apart for this project.

I pulled out the book I did the last time to recall what papers I used and how I put it all together. And while I had it off the shelf, I took photos of the pages. There were quite a few blanks that I thought I would go back and fill when I got back. I added a few, but I'm definitely going to be more proactive in using it along the way this time!

See the full set here.

Welcome to the Neighbourhood
We have some new neighbours. I'll give you a cute, little hint.


Not just one. No, more like 13 and possibly more. Here's a small sampling:






I kinda love these stinky little goats. One was extremely pregnant, so I expect we'll be seeing a little one soon. Frida seemed a bit skeptical. She was ready to defend our jasmine with a peck on the nose if need be.



(P.S. Feel better, Tash!)

Crafty
I've had a couple of projects set aside that I finally took action on this week. I've been wanting a bulletin board in the kitchen for quite a while for two reasons. One is for the obvious use of tacking up notes and photos. The other is to showcase my pins.

Back when I was on the road, I tried to get a lapel pin from every area where we stopped and put it on my backpack which went everywhere I did. Some were the touristy type which said specifically where they came from, and others were a bit more generic. But each one invoked a memory.

I have picked up a few so far over the last few years, so I thought the cork boards would be a good place for them. I originally wanted to get the cork trivets from Ikea, but I found these at Bunnings. They fit perfectly between the picture rail and the top edge of the kitchen nook, so I settled. I gave them a light mist of white spray paint, but I may go over them again to make them a little more even toned and whiter.


Now I just have to find the rest of my pins. Hmm...

Pain in the Neck
Two days ago I woke up with a horrible pain in my neck. I don't know if I just slept wrong or if the new chilly weather at night cramped me up, but I haven't been able to turn my head for two days. I'm starting to feel kind of silly. Any of my chiropractor and/or massage therapist friends out there have any advice?

The Bitchin' Kitchen
This weekend I dove into my latest Donna Hay Magazine, and we have been eating like royalty. Friday night we had the slow-roasted chicken pictured below. I put my version of the recipe up at TastyPlanner. Seriously, this one was SO easy and SO delicious. The aroma will start to kill you with hunger about 35 minutes into baking. I wanted to go sit in the kitchen for the next hour just to SMELL it!



We had the Puffed Cheese Omlette (below) yesterday along with toast and yummy maple baked beans. This morning we had Creamy Scrambled Eggs with leftover beans. Yum! And tonight we're having the Sage & Cauliflower Risotto.


I don't mind being domestic when it involves food.

Breakfast & Bushwalk
We had talked about going out for a picnic today. I found the Anstead Bushland Reserve online but couldn't find out too much about it exactly except that there was a picnic area and walking track. Good enough for me.

We decided to make it a breakfast picnic to save ourselves from the heat of mid-day. And it turned out to be absolutely lovely. There are three covered picnic table areas. Once we had finished eating, we set out down the walking track. I didn't have a watch to see how long it took us, but it was a good distance for us, not being exactly in top form these days.

There isn't much overhead cover though, so be sure to cover up if you go. We keep sunscreen in the car, but a hat would have been good.

It was gorgeous with lantana thickets covering most of the area. It was neat to see the old quarry spot. The breezes were cool off the river from the lookout. (There's also a drinking fountain there, thankfully!) Walking through the eucalypts was my favourite part though, because it just SMELLS Australian. We only saw one snake, and I don't think he would have killed us.

The Mystery Mystery
I have probably mentioned "our" horse before. She lives in the paddock next to us, and we feed her apples and carrots and bread. We call her Mystery even though that's not her name, and the lady across the street corrects me every time she hears me say it.

So the other morning I got called outside to see quite a surprise.




Three!

We've named the other ones too. (Suck it, Across-the-Street Lady!) So in the top photo, it goes Sugarplum(p), Gossamer, and Mystery. We're gonna need more apples.

I ♥ BioBags

We got this bin ages ago to resolve our stinky compost issue. At the time, Biome was offering the bin free with the purchase of all the bags or the other way around. That's they only way I can explain the pile of 210 bin liner bags.

The BioBags are made from corn and are completely compostable and biodegrade in a matter of weeks. They are also breathable, so the waste inside the bin dries out making it less stinky. And since the whole bag can go into the compost, there's no slimy container to wash out afterward.

My Mexican Valentine
I'm not really one to need a big Valentine's to-do. But we've been throwing around the idea of hitting our favourite (and, in my book, the ONLY proper...) Mexican Restaurant in Brisbane for Valentine's Day.

Then today, I came across this recipe for Mexican Chocolate Pots de Crème, and I think we have ourselves a Valentine's dessert. MMMM!

Bragging Rights
Rave's got a very complimentary review of my bearded soul man's show a couple weeks ago. And they are also right about ME being incredible. Can't wait to see them again!

February Photos
I got partway through one of the days that we were in Albany last year with my aunt & uncle and parents.

Photo February
I'm a music widow this month thanks to The RPM Challenge. Since he's being very disciplined, I figured the least I could do would commit to getting something done this month as well.

I have several SD cards filled with photos from back to when my parents were here. Few have made it to the harddrive, and even those that have join several years' worth which haven't been backed-up.

So every night I'm going to try and do something to remedy that issue. Here's a couple from our SeaWorld trip in December.

Australian Icon
Our flight path to Perth went right past Uluru. It was pretty amazing to see, even from that distance. I am hoping that we get there someday.

West Coast and Back
With sunrises like this, can you see why I didn't want to leave?

Back from the Bunyas
We've been busy.
We're tired.
But we are having a great time.