I did good....

Wow. I managed to have 4 guests over last night and I resisted the overwhelming compulsion to feed them. This is a HUGE step forward, believe me:-)
Tonight however, I have the guilts so have attempted a reasonably complicated seitan experiment. Corned seitan. I think I've gotten too cocky though. I left things out of the original recipe, simmered for about an hour,-got bored of that process and have now shoved the lot in a baking dish for an hour. (the recipe said I should simmer for 8 hrs....wha?...). So, I'm pretty dang sure that whatever we we up eating will not be 'corned seitan'.
I am serving it with balsamic/rice syrup glazed baby carrots, broccolini, garlic mash and white sauce though,-so if worst comes to worst we can fill up on side dishes.
I also succumbed to intense peer pressure from the Newtown Cyber Vixen and created a Facebook thingy (I think). Yet another reason not to study:)
It was lovely though to finally meet Ms Mcinley in person (and she is just as lovely as her writings suggested). I also hadn't really spent any time with Cam's big bro, so it was great to finally extend my Armstrong family a little. Andy was just the sweetest thing since sticky buns and has the most exceptionally manicured nails, and shiniest hair I've ever seen.
Big hugs and kisses also to Cam's mum who provided me with my first ever BBQ (that I didn't host) where I could eat enough to be full! -Yep, someone else actually cooked vegan for me! (and the 3 other vegans present, of course!). I am so stealing the roast potato salad idea,-it was yummilicious!

Six degrees of smut

It's amazing. Late at night when following blog liks, it's surprising how easily and quickly one ends up at porn sites.

Apparently, through a friend's blog, I click once, -I'm at her blog, I click again and I'm in hardcore porn (this is without ever searching for porn through regular channels...whatever they may be). It seems that once again, even though you may find amazing minds, incredible writers and clever political analysts,-at the end of the day they're all still obsessed with sex.

If the orgasm is indeed the pinacle of human existence, I'm just going to top myself.

We've been mating for thousands of years people,-why are we still so obsessed with seeing images of other people inluging in pre/actual/post activities? I mean, it doesn't differ all that much (unless you go B & D or fetish). Pudenda are pudenda. The physiological reactions are pretty much universal. What is the fascination? Are we that bored/disconnected/desperate for stimulation?

Surely this 'obsession' that seems to be so pervasive can't be a good thing? Are we all in fact living in a huge sexual drought and can only get satisfaction through voyeurism?

I guess this touches on the discussion I had with McKinley in my old blog re: Males and porn. I wonder how many others out there are starting to feel that they're quite abnormal due to a serious lack of obsession with sex.

This actually worries me into sleeplessness. Last night I finally managed to fall asleep at about 4.30am (I went to bed at 1). It has been suggested that I express affection through food in preference to physicality. Well, at least food provides infinite variety and (when vegan and healthy) can't actualy cause harm to anyone.

I just don't know anymore. The seedy underbelly is all too prevalent,-I wonder how many people I know and respect actually spend a vast amount of their energy on thinking about/fantasizing about/planning for/watching sex. Goddammit. I really hate this.

This whole thing is insane. Why isn't there some kind of outcry? Why do we accept the hyper-sexualized society that is impressed upon us daily? Why do I feel deficient in this climate when I am in most respects a reasonable and useful member of the human race?

Any honest responses gratefully received.

Desperation Soup

Well my celery doesn't look like that. It was 3 or 4 pathetic yellowy inner stalks. My Kumera did look a lot like the sprouting effort on the right, and my carrots were bendy and droopy.

So, looking at these inspiring ingredients, and one sad little onion, the following recipe was created,-Desperation Soup.

Finely dice onion and celery

Add Chunks of Sweet Potato and Carrot

Add Spices and fry off until fragrant (I used 1tbsp curry powder, 1 tsp cumin)

Salt and Black Pepper to taste (1 dessertspoon of pepper if you're me:-)

2 tbsp Massel Chicken Stock

2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast Flakes

OOOH! I just remembered, I have some frozen corn kernels in the freezer,-hang on......

Ok, about 1/2 cup corn kernels added!

My soup method is as follows.

Fry off all the veges and stuff, add wtaer until it looks about right and then boil the buggery out of it. In this p[articular instance I will also give it a whizz in the blender with some soy milk at the end so I have a 'Creamy winter vegetable chowder' rather than pathetic desperation soup.

Oh, yay yay yay, I have some stale bread too so croutons will be sprinkled too liberally on top!

Oh, and if you happen to have garlic chives in the garden (as I happen to do) you could garnish this with a sprinkling. I'm home alone tonight though, so bugger the garnish.

Ok, I'm now ready to go on 'Ready, Steady, Cook!' (as a Chef obviously, not a contestant...:-), I wonder if they'd mind all my dishes being soup?....

Why did the chicken cross the road softly?

Cos he couldn't hardly walk.

Yay for me again! I made chicken Seitan yesterday and turned it into an apricot chicken -type casserole served with asian greens and rice.

I boiled it this time instead of baking and it's amazing how much it expands. I now have seitan coming out my ears, and have to come up with fabulous ways to use it.

To turn it into a 'chicken' analogue, I used the previous recipe, but left out the tomato paste, soy sauce, paprika and cayenne. And used Massel 'chicken' stock in the same liquid quantities. I also added finely chopped fresh rosemary and sage and then boiled it in the following broth:

BROTH

7 cups water

1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds

1 tbsp black peppercorns

2 cups celery leaves

1 tbsp vege spice

1/2 an apple

5 cloves garlic.

I then coated my small torn pieces in rice flower and shallow fried them til golden brown and crispy. Then popped them in the Casserole dish with 3 carrots julienned, one red capsicum julienned, 1 large white onion in wedges, 1 packet of french onion soup mix, 1 1/3 cups of fruit juice (I would have used apricot nectar but didn't have any so I used a guava mix I had), 2 tbsp hot chilli sauce and some salt and pepper. Baked this monstrosity for 1 hr.

GREENS: De-seeded cucumber julienned, broccolini, celery sticks julienned, zucchini julienned and frozen edamame. I just tossed these with some five-spice, garlic, salt and pepper and a tiny bit of sesame oil.

It should be mentioned that this recipe was entirely inspired by the fact that I have nothing else in the house. Literally. My fridge is now bare (except for the remaining carrots in the bag and a jar of olives). Oh, I think I have a few spuds and an onion. So I'm quite proud of my thrift and how yummy it all turned out to be, in spite of my questionable ingredient combinations! Brett was suitably impressed and took the remains to school for lunch (this is the litmus test in my house as to whether or not he actually enjoyed his meal or just said so to please me.)

Next experiment: 'Corned Beef Seitan'. It's going to have to wait til I've been shopping though. Tonight will probably have to be carrot soup. Harumph. I'll try and come up with something interesting....

Our Town

Yah, so popped off to the Seymour tonight to see state schools kiddies tread the boards and ran into Lynne, Ada and Matt. Great show, fab bubbly, good time all around dahling. Some weak moments (theatrically speaking) but well worth the drive. Chookas.

Aaaand, I stood at the other side of the foyer thinking "I bet Lynne doesn't remember me, -I should go and say hello, -nah, I'll just look like a total tosser."

Went outside and had a cigarette with Brett instead.

Also drank expensive champagne quite fast because Brett' ex-crush was there working the lollie-stand. Hah hah! Me patron, you slave!

It would help if her teeth weren't perfect/if she wasn't a size zero/if she wasn't quite so talented/friendly/professional/held-together and generally goddam nice.

I mean, screw my seven ways til tuesday, -she actually came up and said hello. I was rude (but otherwise involved in convo, so I didn't look too rude, just quite busy.

Have I mentioned that Ada Nicodemou is TINY. Like, Jim Rose circus tiny, like, I;m 5'4" and I could step on her accidentally. I hate to think what he went through in the last lot of serious Sydney winds. Poor little mite.

Matt Newton looks just like Boo (Mind you, I've always said that). Boo,-you're cuter though...never did have much time for blondes.

Why does a good night out always have to have a sting?

Can't I just go out and have a good time for once?

The world is just too goddam small, and that's all there is to it. Grr.

...Oh, and I'm fat and gross.

vegan victory!!

Oh my, that turned out so well! I couldn't wait for it to cool down so we sliced it up and d it on sandwiches with ketchup for lunch!!

Here we go, Cath is about to launch herself into a full-scale seitan obsession.

Honestly though, it's so fabulous to be able to make my own 'mock meats' instead of having to buy pre-packaged crap full of presevatives and scary numbers.

So, seitan stuffed roast, seitan kebabs, 'chicken' seitan (use massel chicken stock instead of tomato paste), -looks like I'm going to have to stock up on Gluten flour some time in their near future.

I recommend buying this in bulk as we just popped up to the local health food store and 500g cost us $6.30.

I'll be even happier if I can make this obsession a little more fiscally efficient.

Oh so fun, oh I'm in such a good mood now, tra la la.......

Seitan o' greatness experiment

So it's true, I am quite the shameless vegan web trawler, and I more or less consistently come across yet another vege rant about the sheer fabulousness and versatility of The Seitan o' Greatness (recipe listed in the Post Punk Kitchen). So, there's a neat little log of the stuff currently baking it's way into greatness in the oven right now! It's ridiculous how excited I am about this recipe. Brett's very fond of his meat-substitutes (especially with roast veg and gravy) so, I'm really hoping this turns out as brilliantly as I expect it will.

In amongst my searchings, I also found (on a Cycling forum of all places) a really interesting recipe for corned seitan. This will be the next experiment, as Brett lurved corned beef as a child. I am including the Seitan o' greatness recipe here, 'cos if I don't I'll be guaranteed to lose it. When I try the corned version, I'll post that too.

The pic above is of Seitan o' greatness coated in cornstarch, deep fried in sesame oil and then coated with sweet and sour sauce and sesame seeds. SOoooooo trying that too:-)

SEITAN O' GREATNESS (as posted in Post Punk Kitchen)

Ingredients:1.5 cups vital wheat gluten1/4 cup nutritional yeast1 tsp salt2 tsp paprika1/4 tsp cinnamon1/4 tsp cumin1-2 tsp pepper (I use 2 tsp)1/8 tsp cayenne pepper1/8 tsp allspice3/4 cups cold water4 tbsp tomato paste1 tbsp tamari (I edited this on 4.13.07 because I just now noticed it said ketchup all this time!)2 tbsp olive oil2 tbsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce1-3 cloves garlic, crushed well Preheat oven to 325°.In a large mixing bowl mix dry ingredients. Mix the rest of the ingredients (liquid ingredients) in a smaller mixing bowl. Whisk well until mixed.Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well, then knead for several minutes.Form into a log (6-8" long), wrap tightly in foil, twisting ends. Bake for 90 minutes. When done baking, unwrap and leave out to cool all the way. Then wrap it foil or plastic and refrigerate. Slice to use as desired.[u]Nutritional Info[/b]The entire log has:1134 calories32g fat63g carbs158g protein

Pretty easy stuff kids. The 'dough' is really easy to handle, and as a modern woman, I actually find kneading kind of fun (on account of the fact that I don't have to do it for hours and hours every day just to keep my family in bread.

I also found a great recipe for a cashew cheddar cheese that I'm dying to try soon. So much fun to be had,- so little time!

Later:-)

Scheherezade Pie

I don't have a digital camera so, I couldn't photograph this effort for you, but it's really lovely served with a fresh salad.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Burghul (cracked wheat)

1 cup finely diced onion

1 red capsicum, finely chopped

2 sticks celery finely chopped

1 cup corn kernels

1/2 cup chopped parsely

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 can soybeans

1 cup water

1 grated carrot

1/2 cup roughly chopped cashews

2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp vegeta or other vegetable seasoning

2 large tomatoes finely diced.

1/2 cup fresh basil finely chopped

larg dollop of ketchup

Topping

1/2 cup savoury yeast flakes

generous shakings of vegan parmesan

2 tomatoes finely sliced

smoked paprika.

Saute all vegetable ingredients with spices and tomato paste.

Soak Burghul in an equal amount of boiling water for about 10 minutes

blend soybeans and water in a blender

Combine all ingredients in a large lasagna dish

Sprinkle liberally with yeast flakes, parmesan and paprika

DEcorate with slices of tomato

Bake at 180 degrees for about 1 hour until topping is browned and tomatoes on top are semi-dried.

Serve with a salad that includes bitter greens. fresh ripe tomato, spanish onion, fine apple slices, lebanese cucumber, parsley leaves, chopped fresh walnuts and Cath's Green Goddess Dressing

GREEN GODDESS DRESSING

1 cup EV olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic

2/3 cup white wine vinegar

1 bunch fresh basil

1/2 cup toasted cashews

Salt and pepper to taste.

Whizz all ingredients together in your food processor. It's quite a thick dressing so it works well drizzled around the plate for you to run your veges through, rather than poured on the top of the salad (too gluggy looking for my taste.)

This was a great winter meal, 'cos the pie provides the requisite 'comfort food' factor, while the salad offsets the heaviness (and contributes some luvly wuvly vitamins etc).

If you have a nice unwooded Chardonnay to accompany,-so much the better:-)

Hope you all enjoy!

Deep fried Wontons

I did these recently for a family barbecue, and they went over very very well. Once again, the meat-eaters polished off most of them and Brett and I were left with 2 each and a plate full of green salad (ahh the joys of being vege)

Ingredients:

1 packet wonton wrappers

1/2 cup TVP

2 sticks celery finely chopped

1 cup cabbage finely chopped

1/2 tin water chestnuts finely chopped

1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice

1 tbsp Hoi Sin sauce

Fry up all ingredients (except the wrappers of course) put a teaspoon of mix in the centre of the wrapper and twist so that the wrapper edges are 'petal-like' at the top.

Deep fry for about 1 minute each til golden and crispy and drain on paper towel placed over wire rack (Hint; if you don't use the wire rack, the heat is trapped between food and towel and a steaming effect takes place, so they end up soggier than they should be)

DIPPING SAUCE

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon splenda

t tablespoons toasted cruched sesame seeds

1 tbsp finely chopped shallots

Vegan answers to the BBQ problem

You just HAVE to make these for your next barbecue. Iwarn you though, make triple the amount that you think you need, veges and carnivores alike gobble these down as fast as they come off tne grill plate.

PESTO STUFFED SHROOMS

De-stem and wipe thoroughly at least 10 large field mushrooms

PESTO

1 bunch fresh basil leaves

3/4 cup EV olive oil

1/3 cup salted cashews

1/4 cup vegano parmesan

Super melting mozarella cheezely (pop on top when they're stuffed and grill for 3 mins)

Stuff mushrooms with pesto and top with cheezely, if you can't grill them at the last minutes the cheezely on top won't melt. but I think they're just as nice without the extra cheese, so suit yourself.

More on tigers...dammit

As it happens, this sort of intermingling of species is not at all unusual at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo, where "creating successful relationships with animals of different species" is something of a guiding principle. The facility, more accurately described as part zoo and part circus, boasts offbeat attractions like basketball-playing elephants, "lady crocodile wrestlers," and a petting zoo where customers can bottle-feed baby tigers with their own bare hands. Visitors have reported seeing tigers, pigs, and dogs all housed together within the same enclosure, with sows nursing tiger cubs and tigresses nursing piglets "adorned in tiger-print costumes."
The costumes are strictly for show, by the way. The mother tiger pictured above, who has been photographed on other occasions suckling piglets au naturel, was herself nursed by a pig in infancy and apparently regards the other species as family, not prey.

Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn.

I so wanted to believe this. I so did believe this. Damn Damn Damn Damn...

It makes you question things...

Ok, so a few weeks ago I received a charming forwarded email fom a friend about a tigress who had lost her own cubs due to premature pregnancy complications and had (through various channels) 'adopted' piglets (dressed in tiger skin) as her own. Pictures were downloaded and 'oohed' ad 'aahed' over.
I was so taken bu the story that I told it to family and friends at a subsequent barbecue (where I am quite cleary recognised as the left-wing vegan freak).
What really shits me up the wall is that I neglected to do the research. I should know better, dammit, I do know better, but as the email came from a trusted source, I got lazy.
It turns out that the images were taken at Sriracha Zoo in Thailand where all manner of 'unnatural' displays are choreographed for tourist interest. (Chonburi Thailand).
It turn out that in press reports, Srirachi zoo (2004) was under investigation for illeglal breeding for wildlife exports to China (where Tiger parts are in high demand for TCM). In late 2004 the zoo was closed due to an outbreak of avian influenza which killed between 80-100 tigers (some euthanized) because of raw chicken carcasses fed to said tigers.

So, I have this to say. Animal activists everywhere, -CHECK YOUR SOURCES before you post anything else of this nature. Most of us AR types are susceptible to the 'rosy' view of animals, but at the end of the day, you are not doing the cause any good by forwarding cute and cuddly urban myths. I am suitably ashamed that I 'bought it' and even more ashamed that my scientific training took a back seat when I am usually anally diligent about such things. Obviously I have a very soft spot for animals, but I am mortified that my rationality was so compromised in this case. Needless to say, I have learned a valuable lesson regarding the veracity of my sources and do hereby resolve to be far more diligent in future.
Oh, postscript, to anyone who's worried that my nutritional research is similarly flawed,-have no fear. Because I am studying, my methodology is not only secure but double-checked by my superiors (Thank God,-who'd have thought I'd ever actually praise the academic process...)

Google 'Tigress and Piglets' to see pics. I've been trying to upload them for an hour and I'm thoroughly pissed off with it all. Sorry guys.

Lethal links

Well bugger me sideways. This is what happens when you're up late and are bitten by the infamous curiosity bug. Cameron, you are directly responsible for this:-)
Having had a few interesting conversations about the identity of the infamous Dale Slamma, I decided to follow Cam's links and read her blog. Great writer that girl. Really interesting stuff. However, having read her blog, I then felt compelled (after reading about 'Rupert Soup' to follow her links to Rupert's blog. I have now seen photographic evidence of a man coming into his own mouth. Rupert soup indeed.
Of course, when reading his blog I was determined to be all free-thinking and sexually liberated, but went to bed feeling faintly filthy.
Having said that, I thought his phiosophical and numerically ordered tips on swinging were particularly well-written and suitably philosophical, and found myself thinking, 'Well, fair enough then,-what exactly have I been thinking al these monogomous years?'. A large part of me agrees with his philosophy that we are simply not naturally inclined to monogamy. My anti-establishment vegan self begs to differ. I'm sure we're all naturally inclined to kill our enemies, shit in the bush and never bathe either, but luckily some of us have chosen to submit to social niceties. His piece on gay sex was entertaining (if brief), but all in all the (quote) 'fabulous' Rupert (who seems to have a substantial female fan-base) comes across as a self-centered nihilist with nothing much more than sex on the brain. Sex is indeed a fascinating topic (on tuesdays and saturdays) but to dedicate one's life to it's intricacies seems a sad waste of intellectual potential.
I have a pressing question: Do men actually want to taste their own emissions? If so, how many of them have? If they have,-how many will admit to it? What about women? Are we all essentially auto-erotically fixated? Yes, I realise that was 5 questions, but it's kind of a slippery slope topic.
The big question: What does Rupert's mother think of all this?

Dinosaur directions

As I mentioned previously, Brett and I are involved in a production of 'Fiddler On the Roof'.

Having just finished a 6 hour rehearsal for the same, I am, as usual, more than a little disgruntled with the 'Director's Process'.

This Director is obviously not, nor ever has been as actor. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing, a lot of great directors have been similarly inclined, but it is absolutely essential that a director has some idea about an actor's process/processes in creating a character.

To be a little more specific, an actor is about the business of creating a multi-dimensional human being from a bare script. We do this to encourage the audience's 'suspension of disbelief', i.e. when you've paid $40 for a theatre ticket,you generally want to believe for the 2 1/2 odd hours that you're sitting in a theatre that the people you are watching are real characters in sometimes extraordinary or foreign circumstances. If you never believe that the leading man is human/real, you will not ultimately care/have an emotional response to whether he lives or dies, whether he finds his true love, etc.

In order to create this human being an actor must make a very diligent study of what compnents there are in other's perceptions of what it is to be human. How one walks, how one talks, whether you walk with confidence, whether you have a stutter, whether you have a physical tic or habit, and certainly, the conviction and belief with which you speak.

These things are the physical means that come from internally 'inhabiting' a character.

Like most human beings, who we are and what we believe etc inform our actions. For example, if you are motivated by hunger and there is a plate of bread and cheese in your kitchen, you are unlikely to head to the library to fulfill this 'inner motivation'.

If you wish to embrace your lover, you will be better served by moving towards them than backwards and to the left.

Generally, in the actor's process, a character's actions are quite logically informed by their inner state. This state is derived from the text you are given to speak and the character's surrounding circumstances. In an exciting and artistic rehearsal process the director and actor will have an open dialogue in this regard.

i.e. Let's assume Motel (a poor Jewish tailor) wishes to ask for a woman's hand in marriage.

The line he is given is;

'The truth is sir, your daughter and I gave each other our pledge that we would marry over a year ago'.

He has unlimited options available to him for physical expression, but they must be based on his intentions.

Our director has no interest in our character formation. No interest in our internal states. The way his directing works is this;

'In this scene you will take two steps downstage, turn, gesture with your right hand. Stop. Turn around 180 degrees, walk 5 steps. Stop. Sit down. Stand up on line 14 and move to centre stage.'

This 'technique' means that the thought does not inform the action, rather, the action informs the thought. We now have to go through the laborious and difficult process of saying to oursleves; 'What possible internal state could my character be in in order to sit down on this line? It doesn't seem to match the script, or the character work I've done'.

What generally results is wooden and unbelieveable performances. We wear the costumes, say our lines clearly and hope to God that the director's decision will allow the audience to impose a suitable emotional/motivtional state on our characters. The actor is summarily denied all control of their own performance (except perhaps for vocal pitch) and our three years of intensive trainng is wasted and ignored.

Now, some may say 'But you're not in a professional production. Most of your cast is not trained in that way and may benefit from the Director deciding everything'. Fair enough. But to use a more accessible metaphor; if you're building a house, and 80% of your labour is unskilled, it would make sense to explain every step, to direct every hammer hit, to supervise diligently every aspect of the building. But if you have 3 or 4 master builders in your team, you would have to expect them to get a wee bit cheesed off with being treated like morons. You would also save yourself time, and may learn something yourself if you collaborated with them and/or just accepted their ability and left them to get on with their job.

So, after 6 hours of being told to 'Stand still, go left, turn around, sit down' I'm mightily cheesed off. I have tried to negotiate this situation, but to no avail. We were told in no uncertain terms that this is the way it shall be, amen.

I'm sure the show will end up watchable, but it's going to be a hell of a frustrating/artistically boring process for Brett and myself, as well as a couple of other highly trained individuals.

End rant.

Who's a Lucky Girl Then?

I know I just said, not too much wedding stuff but I feel that it is occasionally a good idea to be unlike my usually taciturn self and just, y'know glow a bit....

So, just to whet my appetite (and plug the NZ tourism comission...for free...??), I'm going to take you on a brief tour of exactly what luvlies are about to take place as a direct result of my accidentally seducing Brett 5 years ago.

OK, stop number one. The Honeymoon. I have been told to completely ignore any worries I have (and they are legion) about Money and to choose what would make me happiest, so this lucky little girl and her big scary Jewish new husband will be staying at..

Lilianfells! 's OK all, the wedding party will be coming back with us for cocktails in the lounge by the open fire, and possibly dinner at 'Darley's'. I'm also getting a full spa treatment the next morning (Yay Yay Yay!!!) before heading off to...

Twin Falls bush cottages (Next to/2 minutes walk from Fitzroy Falls) for a luxurious week in the Southern Highlands. Horse-riding, vineyards, antiques, walking, great meals before an open fire, long conversations, a bit of nookie (maybe), planning what the hell we intend to do for the rest of our lives etc.

However, before all this wonderfulness takes place, I am being taken on a 2 week trip to the Land of the Long White Cloud for a pre-honeymoon holiday over Christmas. (No, Cam, we'll be here for Christmas, so I can finally make you a full Vegan roast with all the trimmings and some suitably decadent dessert:-)

So, on the 27th December we will hop onto our thankfully non-budget plane (I took Freedom Air last year and am still getting over the trauma) for Two nights in beautiful Christchurch (NZ East coast)

While we're there we're going to fulfill one of my 'to do before I die' things, which, predictably enough, involves my love for creatures. Yup, I get to go swimming with Dolphins! Whoo-Hoo! I have heard that Male dolphins can get a bit risque and try all sorts of nonsense, but I'm swimming with miniature dolphins, so that should take care of that. The fabulously H2O hating Fiancee has also been cajoled into the swim, so pity the poor Dolphin that tries anything.

Then off to Dunedin (South) for a few nights where we will catch up with my uncle and his partner (and their knowledge of good local vegan restaurants) and watch the admittedly pathetic but kind of quaint Dunedin New Year's fireworks (Pfft, Pfft, Zing.....show's over). The best thing about this experience is that it's so cold you need to cuddle (tres romantique) and that you can feel quite superior as an Australian/Sydneysider. Last year the locals got quite misty-eyed as I described (quietly) the magnificence, splendour and sheer duration of the Darling Harbour New Year's spectacular.

At this point we say, 'Hell, let's tick off another of Cath's 'to do before I die' thangs and head down to Invercargill (Where Scott set off for the pole) to see...

Come on -haven't you always wanted to? I am stupidly excited about this one. Granted, it's ruddy cold in Invercargill (gets to about 14 degrees in summer), but I'll be all warm on the inside.... (gush gush gush...swoon etc).

Then we drive down to Queenstown (where the lake is 97% pure), dine at the top of a mountain and have a bit of fun putting our lives in the hands of a Jet-boat company. (I've done this before and it beat bungeeing for adrenalin!). I remember being amused that they insisted on life-jackets (in a river that's about 4 m deep) whilst driving at top speed toward cliff faces and jagged rocks. At least our broken up bodies will float.

From there we travel through Haast pass to Fiordland and take a lovely cruise out into Milford sound, and visit the Glow-worm caves at Te Anau. This will be by far the most spectacular leg of the journey. I can't wait to see Brett's reactions to the extraordinary landscape! Much walking through ancient forests will be indulged in, and much oohing and aahing at Glaciers and perfect lakes mirroring snow-capped peaks.










Of course, there is much much more to the trip, but that's the general gist of the route at any rate. I do intend to take a digital camera and download tons of gorgeous snaps while we're there, so you'll get a better idea, but listen, if you've never considered NZ as a holiday destination, consider it. Not only is the plane trip short and bearable, but they have a left-wing government and a strong anti-nuclear stance (as well as one of the most untouched landscapes left on the planet). And yes, we may well look at house prices while we're there.

Kia ora.

A New Way to Play

Ok, because I am severely technologically challenged, I have had to create a whole new blog. I couldn't remember my password for the old blog and the retrieval process was machiavellian, so here we are again at the beginning, a very good place to start.

So the news from the front;

Brett and I are treading the amateur boards again in The Blue Mountains Musical Society's production of 'Fiddler on the Roof'. Motel and Tzeitel respectively. (Does that mean we're on the boards or on the skids?...)

So far rehearsals haven't presented any major hassles apart from a few bitchy comments directed my way (regarding my age and appearance) and the usual dodgy harmony from the chorus. I keep telling myself it will be right on the night. It is a mantra that sometimes sounds a little bit like hyperventilation.

Anyhoo, Now that I can actually access my page, I may begin to think again. One can always hope. I hereby solemnly swear not to put too much wedding crap on this blog, but I also solemnly swear by my absolute right to be rude and dismissive with anyone vaguely resembling a troll.

Now, off to other blogs to inform you lot about the change of address.