o frabjous day!

o frabjous day! books, recipes & other things

  • Read & Watched in March

    This March: – I watched one and a half seasons of The Tudors for the first time, and am enjoying its lush and lavish scenery.  The frequent nudity is amusing –  I’m sure Cardinal Woolsey often enjoyed nude massages by his mistress.  Henry is now getting a wee bit tired of Anne, and Jane Seymour…

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  • Mangosteens

    Mum was kind enough to send down a box of mangosteens for my brother and I (with a few rambutans thrown in) – she has a much lovelier photo of the fruit here. I have never seen mangosteens for sale down here, and very few of the people in Brisbane I’ve offered one to have…

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  • Ukulele

    A month or so ago, after being inspired by a choir member who plays, I bought a tenor ukulele – a lovely mahogony Kala with a beautiful mellow and sweet sound. I have never been able, or sufficiently motivated, to learn to play guitar, although I have always liked the idea of being able to…

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  • Cherry & Almond Muffins

    These are gorgeous muffins – sweet and light. I almost wish the cherries were a bit sour, so you’re surprised by them. They’re lovely nevertheless, and be generous with the topping – the crunch of the almonds and sugar contrasts beautifully with the soft cherries in the middle. ingredients: 2 cups + 2 tblsps plain…

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  • Date, Chocolate & Rum Muffins

    This is a lovely dark and rich muffin, reasonably heavy with all the dates. It’s one for afternoon coffee rather than morning tea, I think. ingredients: 75 grams butter 1/2 cup of honey a good slosh of rum (up to 1/4 of a cup) 1 1/2 cups chopped dates half a block of dark chocolate,…

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  • Frozen elk

    I went to visit the Asia Pacific Triennial at the Gallery of Modern Art on the weekend. This was one of my favourite exhibits, a stuffed elk, completely covered in glass globes. I also loved this huge mushroom-cloud-shaped sculpture of discarded metal – there’s even a trumpet stuck in there near the top. I’m pretty…

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  • Hannah & the cats

    Hannah, our friends’ two and a half year old daughter, was visiting with her parents last weekend, and enjoyed playing with the cats. I’m not sure that they really enjoyed playing with her – she liked to chase them, rather than patting or scratching. It’s interesting to see the difference in six months, when we…

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  • Raspberry & Rosewater Muffins

    I was inspired to make these after reading Kerry Greenwood’s latest, Forbidden Fruit, in which a baker describes rosewater as bringing out the flavour of the raspberries. I adapted this recipe from a strawberry muffin recipe, and as a result it was fairly tart – a dense, cakey muffin with bite. The rosewater does go…

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  • Book Round-Up for 2009

    I read 135 books in 2009, much less than the previous two years (183 and 173 respectively). I’m not sure why the numbers have dropped so much – I definitely read less in the second half of 2009 than I have in previous years, and I was less careful in keeping track of what I…

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  • On foot

    “Where are you off to?” asked the husband, as I sat in front of the TV lacing up my sneakers. “Out for a run,” I said. And in response to his query regarding available lighting outside, “The moon’s full, it’ll be fine.” One aspect of this plan that I hadn’t fully considered was the fact…

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