tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-181994522024-03-07T02:58:40.511-07:00Chrubuky - Bits and Pieces of LifeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-19104109743209464502008-05-02T14:41:00.000-07:002008-05-04T14:44:13.466-07:00Yep, yep dunno, nothing<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gKaUL2mtAqA"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gKaUL2mtAqA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-57972393743512049112008-04-24T12:25:00.002-07:002008-04-24T12:34:42.250-07:00A day at the park<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaVy1xZ-z3lj60ITXqffN4KGjg1FMJbvCwjGHiimvmTCWVwe0QMIP2Niad2VflsW42gPAWtw7VW7D8wrKNWKWlR6Y9BL2gMcKBbxLzwyFs1WRXn-V0MDJhsGghH9Nq9nw4_Hp/s1600-h/IMG_6224_filtered.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaVy1xZ-z3lj60ITXqffN4KGjg1FMJbvCwjGHiimvmTCWVwe0QMIP2Niad2VflsW42gPAWtw7VW7D8wrKNWKWlR6Y9BL2gMcKBbxLzwyFs1WRXn-V0MDJhsGghH9Nq9nw4_Hp/s400/IMG_6224_filtered.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192897129783720434" border="0" /></a><br /><style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Yesterday I decided to get out of the house and away from the books and the laptop for a day. Man, it was nice to get outside and hang out with my mate Trish and her kids. It was so nice to get out of my own head for a while and connect with a friend about her life and hear how her life is changing after having her second baby recently. Playing with kids is always an amazing distraction from your own woes (which we tend to spend a bit too much time on, I think) too.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi386W_zc7iw810LCglvXf55KOL89cQxR5uwYg1nRmzyTYNV0HKxIkLZ2zRN3hcz6tXAsVymZiJjll70Y9CZAARIopXXPu4evHjRvIKkPC-qdQOyCOARGzHswbVQMdTSMHxVSLm/s1600-h/IMG_6218_filtered.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi386W_zc7iw810LCglvXf55KOL89cQxR5uwYg1nRmzyTYNV0HKxIkLZ2zRN3hcz6tXAsVymZiJjll70Y9CZAARIopXXPu4evHjRvIKkPC-qdQOyCOARGzHswbVQMdTSMHxVSLm/s400/IMG_6218_filtered.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192897168438426114" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment">I caught up with Trish, Ashwin and 3 and a half week old Holly. We had a very civilised breakfast at the cafe and then went off to play and watch the Canada Geese with their goslings. If you live in Mountain View and get all gooey at the sight of small fluffy things, I would suggest rushing down there as soon as possible.<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2438410253/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 296px; height: 394px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2306/2438410253_aefa12cef7.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment">More pictures of the day out can be found <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/sets/72157604708451554/">here</a>.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-14515759319273427782008-04-17T21:28:00.000-07:002008-04-19T19:32:07.291-07:00One Happy Cupcake<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2425555053/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 380px; height: 403px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2227/2425555053_699ee35dae.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2425555053/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"><br />Today I turned 33 and celebrated by spending most of the day talking to friends and family. Seriously - I racked up nearly 8 hours on the phone. It wasn't the super indulgent day of lounging under a fluffy blanket on the couch, watching dozens of shitty movies while shovelling cupcakes into my mouth, that I had planned. But it was very nice all the same.<br /><br />I always think about resolutions at this time of year. New year just never seems the right time - but the anniversary of arriving on the earth seems a much more natural time to reassess your life and where you're going.<br /><br />I'd be lying if I said the past year or so had been easy so there was a pretty long list of things to sort out. I wont be boring you with any of it here, but I think if I can make a few fundamental changes this upcoming year could be a lot more positive.<br /><br />As part of the Grand Revolutionising Plan, I also headed back to the gym after a VERY long hiatus. I'll start by removing the 10 kilos (and their friends) that have moved in during last year. So far - after 1 one workout - I feel terrific. But it is the sticking to it long term that is usually the issue.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-76767234602978093262008-04-11T10:51:00.000-07:002008-04-20T10:53:29.357-07:00The art of avoiding study<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2420566294/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 365px; height: 220px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2219/2420566294_7d8d1afc14.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2420566294/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> When the heat is on, the assignments coming up on the horizon, and the weeks are flying past like road signs on a highway, what does any truly devoted student do?<br /><br />Yup. She knits. And if she's lucky she will find a few spare balls of Noro in her stash and a dvd in her laptop that she's been hanging out to see.<br /><br />I made this pattern up. Not that it's really complex enough to call it a pattern. Just started with the right amount of stitches that would comfortably fit around my neck, then increased when I felt like it. Finished it off with a a knitted edge from a Debbie Bliss book thats name escapes me right now. Next time I would probably make it a little taller and make the flair more significant at the bottom so it would neatly sit under a coat collar.<br /><br />I have heaps of assignments and exams coming up so I will have plenty of time to knit some more of these :)</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-36123501660464916792008-04-09T16:57:00.002-07:002008-04-09T17:54:28.737-07:00It is NEVER too early to get a noob into knitting<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2399522562/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2113/2399522562_1d3fe8dd01.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2399522562/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> My cohort in knitting shenanigans had a baby daughter a little over a week ago. She is devine. And so is the baby :)<br /><br />Here she is modelling her first knitted piece of clothing. A soft, rolled brim hat made of some sublimely soft cotton blend.<br /><br />I am amazed to see how naturally they have both fallen into a routine together. Trish is calm and a little tired, grounded and assured like an earth mother. Holly is a warm, squirmy little bundle of possibilities and the most wonderful feeling I have had, in a long time, is kicking back and having her fall asleep on my shoulder while I held her.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-21445446827585223862008-04-03T15:16:00.002-07:002008-04-03T15:18:36.794-07:00Our local Woodpecker returns<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2385440025/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2013/2385440025_10a51bcbea.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2385440025/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> Usually quite early in the morning :) But he is beautiful and quite amazing to watch. The holes are chiselled so quickly that the noise he makes are more like electrical noises than you'd expect. For you ornithological types, he is a Downy Woodpecker, the smallest of the many types found in the US. They are super common and found nearly everywhere.<br /><br />We can watch him at eye height from our bedroom window which, with all the mature trees now covered in Spring leaves, feels a little like living in a tree house.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-32856850948156194982008-03-28T14:07:00.000-07:002008-04-03T23:18:23.232-07:00Take some scissors to your knitting<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2366647729/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3017/2366647729_0509d98ce2.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2366647729/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> This was a birthday present for my MIL that has made it's way back to me for editing. Totally my idea of course. The unfortunate thing about gifts is you don't get a chance to liaise with the future owner to make sure it is a good match. So, sometime the presents end up 30% too long and contain more fringing than some would like.<br /><br />It was expectantly difficult to take to it with scissors, even though I knew I was turning it from something unusably large into something perfect for the chilly Canberra months. This is probably the end to my surprise knitting goods. What the hell do I do with the head sized ball of Noro I have left over now?</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-20067417796915579052008-03-27T16:54:00.003-07:002008-04-03T18:56:33.944-07:00The strange stuff you miss<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2367476724/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 487px; height: 326px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2357/2367476724_cb07ab6a65.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2367476724/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> Kynan went back to Australia recently with a list a mile long of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/sets/72157604278157651/">stuff to bring back</a> for me. That, I assured him, is what husbands are for.</p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment">Obviously he couldn't bring back all the stuff I really miss - our house, cats, friends, family, big chunks of the NSW coastline - but I did get a stack of chocolates, sweets and crisps. Which will do for now.<br /><br />Having Kynan away prompted a few interesting conversations with friends that have also come from elsewhere. Usually we'd start off about foods or restaurants we missed, but it wouldn't be long before we were trying to pin down exactly what it means to be Australian. The colours, textures and sounds are all particular to that great crispy land.<br /><br />So here is a poem that hits it on the head for me. Written by the incredible Dorothea MacKellar who has an incredible body of literary works to her name.<br /></p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment">All beautifully evocative poem called "My Country"<br /><br />The love of field and coppice,<br />Of green and shaded lanes.<br />Of ordered woods and gardens<br />Is running in your veins,<br />Strong love of grey-blue distance<br />Brown streams and soft dim skies<br />I know but cannot share it,<br />My love is otherwise.<br /><br />I love a sunburnt country,<br />A land of sweeping plains,<br />Of ragged mountain ranges,<br />Of droughts and flooding rains.<br />I love her far horizons,<br />I love her jewel-sea,<br />Her beauty and her terror -<br />The wide brown land for me!<br /><br />A stark white ring-barked forest<br />All tragic to the moon,<br />The sapphire-misted mountains,<br />The hot gold hush of noon.<br />Green tangle of the brushes,<br />Where lithe lianas coil,<br />And orchids deck the tree-tops<br />And ferns the warm dark soil.<br /><br />Core of my heart, my country!<br />Her pitiless blue sky,<br />When sick at heart, around us,<br />We see the cattle die -<br />But then the grey clouds gather,<br />And we can bless again<br />The drumming of an army,<br />The steady, soaking rain.<br /><br />Core of my heart, my country!<br />Land of the Rainbow Gold,<br />For flood and fire and famine,<br />She pays us back threefold -<br />Over the thirsty paddocks,<br />Watch, after many days,<br />The filmy veil of greenness<br />That thickens as we gaze.<br /><br />An opal-hearted country,<br />A wilful, lavish land -<br />All you who have not loved her,<br />You will not understand -<br />Though earth holds many splendours,<br />Wherever I may die,<br />I know to what brown country<br />My homing thoughts will fly.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-23407489089817918192008-03-18T17:07:00.001-07:002008-04-06T17:14:55.984-07:00Say what?<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2344960276/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 294px; height: 445px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/2344960276_5b7c244de5.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2344960276/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> I spent the last week of my school holidays involved in a secret knitting project. I whipped up a Binary Scarf for the hubby's upcoming birthday. It was hard work - not the pattern - but keeping it secret. Kynan would come home each day and ask what I had been doing. All I could think to say was "Hung out. Watched Law & Order". Say hello to your lazy arsed wife!<br /><br />So I was really happy when I could give it to him for his birthday and explain that I was actually knitting in that last week and NOT just watching Law and Order.<br /><br />It contains a message that I don't think even he has had time to sit and decipher so I wont spoil it here. It's nothing saucy but instead related to a funny moment we had last year. It'll be a good reminder of living in America, in years to come.<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-44667594811688187792008-03-14T12:04:00.001-07:002008-04-03T17:54:19.938-07:00A clutch of azaleas<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> or whatever you'd call them.</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2149/2344854412_14a521eb68_b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 312px; height: 447px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2149/2344854412_14a521eb68_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2129/2344024287_6a86a9d1e5_b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 341px; height: 495px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2129/2344024287_6a86a9d1e5_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2344852762/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 416px; height: 296px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3167/2344852762_dd53ca28fd.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2344852762/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment">I LOVE these plants. They remind me so much of <a href="http://www.pbase.com/wendy2au/national_rhododendron_gardens">where I grew up</a>. They are a hell of a lot easier to grow here in California than in Canberra. They just don't deal well with the extreme temperature changes and the restrictive water regulations there.<br /><br />Anyhoo, here are a few of the stars in the garden at the mo. If we weren't in a rental I would plant out my entire garden with these beauties.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-66505151191023291512008-03-09T17:58:00.001-07:002008-04-03T17:59:49.062-07:00How I spent my holidays<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2322573546/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 382px; height: 290px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2003/2322573546_8163b495ba.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2322573546/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> Messing with Flickr and watching old episodes of Law and Order on Netflix. Ahhhhhhhh, the joy of not having to read textbooks.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-34236396485066772502008-03-07T19:52:00.001-08:002008-04-03T23:15:18.646-07:00Our Local Market<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2317178964/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 325px; height: 457px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2040/2317178964_943ec6bef8.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2317178964/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> This has got to be one of my most favourite places in Mountain View. It's the Milk Pail market, a nice little fresh fruit and veg market with a room full of European goodies out the back. While it's not completely organic, it is definitely fresh and cheap. We can get an enormous amount of fresh food for $50. Enough to do us the entire week. I love to go there towards closing, when it is it's least busy and I can really take my time smelling and touching the produce, rummaging through the cheeses and debating with myself about how much I really NEED to buy Nutella.<br /><br />It's a little piece of cosmopolitan markety joy that makes living here a little bit more pleasant.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-3697062432892880722008-03-06T18:03:00.000-08:002008-04-03T18:04:07.598-07:00Three countries worth of plastic cards<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2322539772/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 308px; height: 437px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2351/2322539772_f5e908fd78.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2322539772/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> Cause a hell of a lot of headaches when trying to plan a trip. That is about half of the ATM cards, credit cards, drivers licences, medical cards and squids of other identification cards one needs to function these days.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-80454795028951087312008-03-05T18:27:00.002-08:002008-04-03T18:47:02.328-07:00Now the dust has settled<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">and I am actually happy to move my Stitches stash away from my bedside (I have been going through a mildly embarrassing period of stroking it like a cat and rubbing it on my face several times a day), here is the bounty of goodness from Stitches.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2319313328_27bd78ebbc_b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2319313328_27bd78ebbc_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">STUNNINGLY soft Peruvian alpaca.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/2314400790_1339689759_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 327px; height: 485px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/2314400790_1339689759_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3158/2313589205_78386e8639_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 328px; height: 492px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3158/2313589205_78386e8639_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2255/2313589321_b3617a68ae_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 323px; height: 484px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2255/2313589321_b3617a68ae_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3016/2313589485_08d15d4aaa_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 325px; height: 457px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3016/2313589485_08d15d4aaa_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> All of these are from Brooks Farm in Texas, and they are glorious, truly glorious. The people there are really cool too.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-16639108018593654912008-03-04T14:31:00.000-08:002008-04-03T15:17:56.121-07:00Spring has arrived in my garden<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2314201334/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 307px; height: 403px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2191/2314201334_04ee8fca30.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div> <p class="flickr-yourcomment" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> Last year, our first in this apartment, we fed the squirrels with a little too much gusto. This led to them thinking that everything, including forgotten bbq implements, where there for their gastronomic delight. As soon as Spring arrived the buds were nabbed from the trees and buried like prized peanuts. This year we figured there were enough over zealous new foreigners feeding these rodents that they would survive without help. The result, a beautiful garden full of flowers that has me inspired to dig through the poetry books languishing on our bookshelves.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Enkindled Spring</span></p><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment">This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green,<br />Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes,<br />Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between<br />Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes.<br /><br />I am amazed at this spring, this conflagration<br />Of green fires lit on the soil of the earth, this blaze<br />Of growing, and sparks that puff in wild gyration,<br />Faces of people streaming across my gaze.<br /><br />And I, what fountain of fire am I among<br />This leaping combustion of spring? My spirit is tossed<br />About like a shadow buffeted in the throng<br />Of flames, a shadow that’s gone astray, and is lost.<br /><br />D.H. Lawrence</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-79911708885279090342008-03-01T19:25:00.000-08:002008-04-03T19:26:42.634-07:00Whiling the day away<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2316383259/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 448px; height: 303px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2099/2316383259_f3056d1e54.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">This relaxed little creature was just chillin' in branches of the tree in our front yard. For hours. He was REALLY content there. I love the way his front legs are pulled in like the way cats sit. I don't normally get excited about squirrels, but this little dude really impressed me with his relaxed demeanour.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-30210476453492414272008-03-01T19:03:00.000-08:002008-04-04T00:15:28.056-07:00Proof for the family<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2317324938/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 453px; height: 307px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2098/2317324938_e1f7451b14.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2317324938/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: center;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> that Kynan does, in fact, leave his office occasionally. He even gets time to smell the flowers.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-20530227992969429462008-02-28T18:12:00.000-08:002008-04-04T00:12:04.422-07:00Winner of the treasure hunt<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2322533760/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 341px; height: 257px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3160/2322533760_0ce1c4285f.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2322533760/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> We went off to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza in San Jose. Unfortunately there are no pictures allowed so you'll just have to imagine how very amazing it was. Or you can watch <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=WMU9gjmGiu4">this</a> cool youtube vid to get the idea.<br /><br />During intermission my pashmina went missing. After the show, we found it on the floor a few seats up, trapped in the wheels of a womans wheel chair. The vintage pin that was on the scarf was slightly manlged and was missing a sapphire. A bunch of staff helped us clear away the confetti and popcorn to try & search for it but after about 5 minutes of searching I was ready to give up. Kynan persisted and miracle of miracles, found the bloody tiny little thing! We really should have bought a lottery ticket the next day.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-67779242424934598172008-02-23T23:39:00.000-08:002008-04-03T23:46:18.189-07:00Jonathan Coulton Gig<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2315348794/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2005/2315348794_1713db49a0.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2315348794/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="flickr-yourcomment"> We were lucky enough to get tickets to the JoCo gig in San Francisco last night. We have seen him a couple of times but this was a little different as it was for a recording of his dvd.<br /><br />It was an awesome night. There were all sorts of extras that made the night all that more special. The venue was the very cool Great American Music Hall, there was additional lighting which made taking photos a much more rewarding experience, the support act was unbelievably good, and there was cake at the end! Seriously, they gave us cake. No concert experience will be as good ever again.<br /><br />One very unexpected extra was the geeky supergroup that played toward the end. It consisted of Veronica Belmont, JoCo, Merlin Mann and Leo LaPorte and they played guitar hero to "Still Alive" from the very cool game Portal. Getting such well known internet peeps together wouldn't have happened if there weren't a dvd being recorded.</p><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >It was an amazing night and an amazingly good concert. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-63971066861874322742008-02-23T18:22:00.000-08:002008-04-03T18:26:50.415-07:00It's Stitches (west) bitches!<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2322502614/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 411px; height: 298px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/2322502614_7d6b931a5e.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2322502614/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> The grins really say it all. Honestly, this is just the coolest knitting event on the calendar each year. I get excited about a month before. It is heaven, absolute heaven. The only thing that could make it cooler would be for someone to have me an unlimited credit card, a hamper full of gourmet foods, and magical shoes that NEVER make your feet sore.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-84948805402560090522008-02-23T17:15:00.000-08:002008-04-03T17:16:22.700-07:00Jumper in a pile<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2344862720/" title="photo sharing"><img style="width: 305px; height: 457px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2287/2344862720_a6866df75b.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="" /></a><br /></div> <span class="flickr-caption"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrubuky/2344862720/"><br /></a></span></div> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="flickr-yourcomment"> Another Drops jumper rolls off the press. It's all in pieces still and probably will be until winter comes around again in December. Not much call for bulky cardigans, no matter how cute, for about 10 months of the year here.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-41013267810840903282008-02-17T09:10:00.000-08:002008-04-03T14:11:52.324-07:00Gorgeous French tune of the day<object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bcNaehH8tdw&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bcNaehH8tdw&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-63986779558515187522008-01-03T14:16:00.001-08:002008-04-04T14:20:39.717-07:00Sam - your wedding gifts have finally been framed!!!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">even if it has taken me over a year to get around to it. (I am happily blaming it on the ridiculous frame sized available here). They still look gorgeous and I love them, if it is possible, even more than I did when you gave them to us. I just hope it doesn't take me another year to work out where to hang them.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2313482318_c2735d94f6_b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2313482318_c2735d94f6_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-91029533053328671132008-01-01T15:06:00.001-08:002008-01-01T15:14:19.109-08:00Just to let you know...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMWfgX1VP0qALkJHWLHQueGXr0yKo3yXUqpTF9j0IqBySVVkpWJPkYqaC3NEV-mq9NoDa2F3QHKWZeuaFTzoTWFqil5Aajj43fk9SoJlBzV6TbcslOQSaJwQL-z2V42_f-HNR/s1600-h/cancelled.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMWfgX1VP0qALkJHWLHQueGXr0yKo3yXUqpTF9j0IqBySVVkpWJPkYqaC3NEV-mq9NoDa2F3QHKWZeuaFTzoTWFqil5Aajj43fk9SoJlBzV6TbcslOQSaJwQL-z2V42_f-HNR/s400/cancelled.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150649016012207762" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Happy New Year everyone. I hope you have a terrific 2008 - if it actually happens.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18199452.post-17133684924309609412008-01-01T06:07:00.000-08:002008-01-03T08:39:14.121-08:00Bread pudding, Mark II<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBl7wzN3E2Uuam4nxEjrXxSCT4FTIFdjk4mHQLzZZ-jVT3RUQcdDdc8dmUdsEeArjuULNtpIPTJ3QYt6NpwxsDIohfeNwRs0kvqveuaTQtswZOmPYPjjkRqKKjWB1YG1PKCbev/s1600-h/Choc+bread+pud.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBl7wzN3E2Uuam4nxEjrXxSCT4FTIFdjk4mHQLzZZ-jVT3RUQcdDdc8dmUdsEeArjuULNtpIPTJ3QYt6NpwxsDIohfeNwRs0kvqveuaTQtswZOmPYPjjkRqKKjWB1YG1PKCbev/s400/Choc+bread+pud.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151163724892960546" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A few weeks ago I wrote about </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://chrubuky.blogspot.com/2007/12/most-christmassy-dessert-in-world.html">red berry bread and butter pudding</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and how it was the perfect start to festive eating. For New Years Eve celebrations I thought of trying out a modification to the recipe and making a chocolate and raspberry bread pudding. There were only a few changes to the original recipe - melting around 200g (7oz) of good quality milk chocolate into the custard while you are whisking it on the stove, and using 2 punnets of raspberries </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">(or as many as you fancy). I grated some additional chocolate onto the top, but it was unnecessary.<br /><br />The result, was delicious. Not as sickly sweet as I was worried it might be. No need to add anything extra to it when it comes out of the fridge. Just enjoy.<br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0