Simple Pleasures

This week my simple pleasure is culinary.  Stos and I like to cook and eat and we are fortunate enough to be able to dine at some terrific restaurants, but one thing that we cannot resist is a barbecued sausage.  However, the perfect snag has a few criteria to meet:

- The sausage must be nondescript.  No gourmet morsels here.
- This is one of the few occasions when it is acceptable to serve something in white bread.
- It must be served with bottled tomato sauce (my preference is for White Crow brand).
- Inclusion of barbecued onions is acceptable but adding grated cheese is over the top.

My favourite place to get this delicacy from is from a hardware store or shopping centre where usually a local charity is on duty out front selling snags in bread for around $2.  I have been known to dash across a four lane highway after identifying a barbecue in progress at a Bunnings store.

An example of this treat, cooked at home last Sunday is below but it is not really the perfect version in that it is with wholemeal bread (didn't have any white to hand) and we only had Masterfoods tomato sauce in the cupboard.  But did this stop me tucking in?  No way!

Sunday Snippets

 Having a cool beverage on a scorching day, overlooking the water.

 On the way back from a rare trip over the bridge.

 I do love the modern look of STLT HQ, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live in a lovely period house like this.

 After nearly two years of leaves, we now have lilies.

Some new kitchen equipment required to make frozen mango lassis.  With the inclusion of white rum, this might be a new summer favourite.

For more Sunday Snippets, have a look at what is going on over here.

Our Creative Spaces

The Roller Rink quilt is progressing.  What I love about this project is that the blocks are very quick to make and I am also trying to chain piece the 2.5 inch squares to further speed up the project.   I have about about 10 blocks more to come from the participants in the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild "Bee Bold, Bee Brave, Bee Helpful" quilting bee, so will shortly have a few rows worth to start getting a feel for the completed quilt.

Simple Pleasures

There is a lot to think about at the day job - deadline, workloads and restructuring.  I know that I have a lot to be thankful for and there are people with much more serious concerns, but these things do wear you down over time.  To try and stay positive,  at least once a week  I am going to make a conscious effort to think about the small or simple things in life that make me happy.

Today's simple pleasure is doing the word puzzle in the newspaper (yes, the print version).  This is my routine on the way home on the train.  Very simple premise - you are presented with 9 letters and need to make as many words as possible (min. 4 letters each) from these, but all must include the letter in the centre square.  One of these words must contain all nine letters.  For each days puzzle there are three levels - good, very good and excellent and the number of words you need to achieve these differs, depending on the degree of difficulty.  A great end to my day is achieving a word count over the "good" level and nutting out the nine letter word.  Today was one of those days and it put a spring in my step all the way home from the train station.

Lighten up

We are due for a bit of electrical maintenance at STLT HQ; nothing serious, more fixing up a few things that we have come across as part of the process of living in the house for nearly two years (can you believe it?) and working out what works and what doesn't.  So we have been in touch with Sparky Dave to come and sort our very little list (nod to the Mikado) of jobs.  I never thought I would say this but we need more power points in the study.  Four double power points is not enough!  Well it would be if one were positioned closer to the sewing machine, but the final layout of the room has only emerged over the last year.  One of the other numerous jobs is to put up a light where our cookbooks are shelved as there are no LED ceiling lights at the periphery of the room.  Stos found this gorgeous wall sconce on eBay and while I didn't like the photo as much as he did, I thought for the price it would do.  However, on seeing it after it arrived today, I love it and can't wait to get it installed, even if it's just for show.

Sunday Snippets

Just back from a weekend away with lovely friends.  A bit of eating, drinking and shopping in Bendigo and surrounds but sadly it's over and we are back to work tomorrow.

 What a lovely way to start your morning.

The beautiful conservatory at Bendigo.

Enjoying dinner at the Enoteca Dispensary.

A weekend away isn't complete without a cocktail.

Look at the beautiful Art Nouveau lettering at this former bank in Kyneton.

Part of the haul from the inevitable stops at antique and secondhand dealers.

Look for more Sunday Snippets over here.

Sunday Snippets

I think I might have just made the deadline.  What a week!  Trying hard to be good after a lot of eating out with friends and family over the last few days, only to do it again next weekend   

             Photos never do justice to a rainbow.              

         Hard to believe that this lovely restaurant is just minutes away from          the urban sprawl.                                      

         We have really given Mexican food a good go but it just doesn't do it          for us.                                                  

                     It's the simple things that make us happiest.                                                

                  He knew I couldn't wait for this to hit our TV screens.

               

Hope your week was fun too.  Over to Tinnie Girl for more Snippets.

Time out

Today is the culmination of two great Aussie passions - sport and a day off.  Our horse race is known as the one that stops the nation; well, Melbourne at least.  I have always loved this public holiday - when I was studying, it was an opportunity to take a long weekend and cram for exams, and now it is a sign of the end of the busiest part of the year for the day job.  So unless we have an invitation to a barbecue, it's a great day to sleep in and chill out.  Today I gave the gym a miss but took the girls out for a long walk, visited the smallest nephew and his very chilled out cat.  It was great!

After watching the race and catching up with R & C, we have a quiet night in planned with fish and chips for dinner.  My other job for the day was to put together some of my blocks for the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild "Bee Bold, Bee Brave, Bee Helpful" Quilting Bee.  It's my turn in November and I have chosen Elizabeth Hartman's Roller Rink quilt as my project.  However, never one to follow a pattern completely, I've gone the scrappy route:

Once made up, the quilt will look much better on the Hans Wenger couch that the rug Stos put there.

I hope you had a winning day as well.

Sunday Snippets

It has been a week of ups and downs - worrying about our peeps in New York, relief at getting to the finish line at the day job and hosting some junior members of the family here for a visit.  Looking forward to a well deserved rest on the day that stops the nation.

 A beautiful day down the Tasmanian end of Collins Street.

 A household that got into the spirit of things.

 Something pretty amongst the weeds.

The girls have never been so spoilt for attention.

For other Sunday Snippets, visit Tinnie Girl.

Like a hurricane

This looks really hokey but look what I pulled out from the cupboard tonight while making muesli.

This is a souvenir from New Orleans;  just something you pick up for fun, like a packet of the famous beignet mix.  Who knows, one day I might even make it up. But tonight it made me think of all the family and friends in NYC and on the east coast of the USA who have been impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  Some have had to evacuate as the power and water are off in lower Manhattan; others had to batten down the hatches but sat it out and all is now well.  Two we haven't heard from and hope it is only because their apartment is without power.  We are told that while above 37th Street life is fairly normal, below is dire.  It is so hard to imagine a powerful and vibrant place like New York at a standstill.

So here's to thanking the powers that be that we know most are safe and hoping to hear from J & R soon.