and i wonder, still i wonder, who’ll stop the rain

I couldn’t manage to get a shot of the sky outside, through the window,
without capturing the reflection of the light shades inside!
Kind of looks like there’s lanterns in the trees

It is forecast rain for the rest of the week. Which I usually don’t mind. However, today, I had to run some errands and get some groceries. I was wearing shoes like this. The rain was so heavy that it was flooding the sides of the road, and gushing down the carpark (the shopping centre is on a hill). Walking to the shops, my shoes got full of water. So I squish squishy squeek squished all through the shops. On the way back home I got even more wet, struggling to hold a huge umbrella and bags of shopping at the same time.

So I don’t mind rain, but I have to say, it sure can make you feel a bit cold, squishy, and miserable at times. It does make getting home a lot nicer though. Everything seems warmer, dryer and happier.

drinking chocolate - best brand?

Both of these brands of instant drinking chocolate are on special at Coles at the moment, though the ‘La Bella’ brand (~$4) is about $1 or so more expensive than the Cadbury brand (~$3). Earlier this week I bought the La Bella one, but today I saw the Cadbury was on special too so I thought I’d try that as well and compare them.

After trying both brands, the only conclusion I’ve come to is that both are in need of improvement. La Bella is better for its chocolatey-ness, but you have to use a fair bit and it doesn’t have much sweetness, so I ended up adding some sugar (which I find annoying because I don’t want to have to do any work - I just want to put it in the cup and have it taste good - not have to adjust the sweetness myself).

Cadbury’s is Ok - you use less, but it has a sweetness that, if not used wisely, could be sickly. And it’s not very chocolatey compared to La Bella.

My solution so far is to put a spoonful of each brand in a cup. Top with hotwater, stir, and add milk.

My longer term goal is to try the other brands of drinking chocolate and see which is better. I think Vittoria might be better, but at ~$8 a pop it’s pretty pricey. Granted, the container is about twice the size of the brands I’ve bought so far, but I’d hope it was good for that kind of price. Anyone tried it?

it’s logical now i think of it, but…

…it’s not a good idea to cut your hair shorter in winter. It’s cold!!!

notebook: magazine

I’d never heard of this magazine before I stepped in to the news agent a couple of days ago. I was pondering whether to buy a trashy ‘New Weekly’, ‘New Idea’ or ‘Women’s Day’ as something to brainlessly pass the time. But right next to them was ‘Gardening Australia’, which out of habit picked up and flicked through to see if I wanted to buy it. Right next to GA though was a magazine I’d never heard of before - ‘Notebook:’.

It’s pretty damn substantial for the price - $6.95. It’s quite different to other magazines. It’s very DIY, in the crafty sense. It has no tabloids or gossip or horoscopes. And the ads are actually informative - how weird is that?

Everytime I talk about something I really like I think I end up sounding like an American infomercial. But anyhow. I like it and have actually felt kind of inspired this week from reading it. I think I might become a regular.

food/eating tune(s) of the week #6

Welcome to the 6th installment of food/eating tune of the week.

One of my first memories of food in music was watching Peter Combe’s music videos on the ABC. My parents then bought us an ABC for Kids VHS with a few of his songs on it, and we must have watched it quite a lot, because my sister and I revisited it recently for nostalgia’s sake and we still somehow know all the songs by heart.

When Peter Combe visited my primary school and sung us some songs I think I experienced my first bout of pop-idol worship. It still hasn’t passed, really - I still reckon he’s a legend! (Though I’m sure my eldest sister - whose nearly 30 - sung ‘Toffee Apple’ too, and the boy ’schwein seems to remember Combe teaching at his school, or at least also remembers the songs.. so I do sometimes wonder just how long the guy has been around for!!)

Here are a few of his classics…

food/eating tune of the week #5

Ok, I admit. I’m finding it hard to keep up the momentum with this one. It’s surprisingly hard to find good songs about food. Or at least I’m having trouble with it anyway.

In the interrum between now and me finding more food themed songs, here’s a bit of mind-bending Hendrix - Voodoo Chile [A Slight Return], live at Woodstock.

food for the ears - mixed tape

When I was a kid I’d make mixed tapes all the time. And tonight I thought - how cool, I could make a youtube ‘mixed tape’ for the blog… 

why oh why…

…do toilets break on the WEEKEND?

For f*cks sake.

I am growing to hate old houses.

Edit - 7 April:

…do toilets break on the WEEKEND? When the landlord is on holiday and there’s no plumber available?!

For f*ucks sake!

I am growing to hate old houses.

I love old houses, but only those with upgraded fittings!