Cooking frenzy

I have particularly busy Wednesdays and Thursdays while my Tuesdays are all but blank.  This Tuesday was looking strangely busy until 2 of my 3 appointments cancelled on me.  It was a cold day and I was glad for the excuse to stay warm at home.  With some time on my hands I went into a frenzy preparing dinners for the rest of the week...and beyond.  I slow cooked up a split green pea ham hock soup, made a chilli con carne, and made a family chicken pie, as my trusty Edmunds cook book calls it.  It's basically a chicken pot pie.  With bacon.  I was able to freeze several helpings of the soup and chilli, as well as putting some in the fridge for later in the week.  Satisfaction is being able to come home on a cold day and knowing there is a meal waiting in the freezer that just needs defrosting and heating on the stove top.  To add some sugar to life, I prepared apple pikelets for an afternoon tea guest and used the left over pastry from the chicken pie for a berry/apple tart for dinner.  I couldn't help making an egg vanilla custard to go with this - and ate more than I should have for dessert tonight.  This was not quite an all day affair, but it definitely took a large portion of the afternoon.  I wonder how parents do it with kids under their feet?  I guess I'll be finding out soon enough.

Lo Hei photos

Here are some photos from that Singaporean/Chinese New Year tradition that I was trying to describe to ya'll.  It's called Lo Hei. The last photo is from we all lifted the food into the air a few times, eventually dumping it back 'on the plate'.  It was very messy.  And very edible. 

 

 

The moral of the story

I was reminded today of the fable of the wind and the sun as I walked home in the <glorious> sun* while snow flakes danced around me. Do you know the story?  

The wind and the sun are having a discussion about who is the strongest.  Eventually, they decide to measure their strength against the other.  Far below them a man is walking along the street wearing a jacket.  The wind says Do you see that man there?  I'm sure that just one gust of my breath will blow that jacket right off that man.  They decide to take turns trying and the wind goes first.  He blows and he blows, trying as hard as he can to force the jacket off the man's shoulders.  The harder he blows, the tighter the man pulls his jacket into him.  Eventually the wind gives up.  I was wrong, he says, I guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was.  Let me have a turn, says the sun.  Slowly he starts peaking out from behind a cloud, letting his heat grow stronger on the earth far below.  The man feels hot and quickly removes his jacket. 

*I want to clarify that it wasn't the sun we see on a common summer's day, or even in the spring or autumn.  In fact the rays were very weak.  I think I had too many clothes on to benefit from any vitamin D that might have been emitted.  But any day with any sunshine is better than a day without at this time of the year.  In my opinion.  I was pleased to pull the zip of my jacket down as I warmed up. 

Another reason for cake

I love any excuse to bake a cake. I saw the impending V. day as opportunity to do so. We decided to celebrate two days early as V. day itself was going to be too hectic to find a moment together.  Using the Death by Chocolate book I got out of the library, and used for my birthday cake, I went for a white and semisweet chocolate raspberry cake.  It looked amazing in the book but I was disappointed by the cake's texture - too thick and dense.  Almost like a white brownie.  Perhaps I baked it too long?  However, it was really fun to ice with the raspberry cream cheese icing - I love slathering on icing - and looked very pretty and suitably coloured for V. day.  

To add to the celebrations, Jbird and I made chocolate covered strawberries together.  He was inspired to make little tuxedo dressed strawberries.  We used an online tutorial to give us decorating tips.  These were far yummier than the cake and made for a nicely interactive activity for two tired souls struggling to think up interesting dates.  They were also cheaper than the going rate, if you're going to buy them pre-covered as a gift.

Baby oh baby of mine

Every time I greet someone they say: how are you feeling? And they have this special look in their eye.  Like they're really concerned about me.  It actually bothers me a little bit, I mean, do they really want to know all the ins and outs? Their worst response is: oh, that's normal for a pregnant woman.  <Well, buddy, I KNOW IT'S NORMAL, but you asked so I told you>  Sheesh.  Of course, there are plenty of people who don't respond that way too, and all anyone is trying to do is love on me so it shouldn't annoy me so.  Perhaps I'm just easily annoyed.  Here's the long response for those of you who would like to look at me with that twinkle but are just too far away.

We were relieved to find out that although I'm a carrier of cystic fibrosis, Jbird is not so the baby will not be born with it.  Had he also been a carrier, the baby would have had a 50:50 chance of being born with CF.  I'm a bit mad that I had to go through that at all.  It was a needless test, in my opinion, which nobody I know has had done.  I wish I'd just had the guts to say: No thanks, we won't have that test.  I admit that I'd probably feel differently had Jbird also been a carrier.  And it's kind of interesting to know that I am at all.  But there are a million other diseases in the world.  Aren't we risking all by having a child in the first place?

I think I'm finally used to sleeping on my side and have been sleeping really well, except for the odd leg cramp here or there.  I've learnt to hold my foot to stop it from pointing which seems to stop the cramp from setting in.  Before I knew to do this, it would take a while for the cramp to ease up and my legs would ache the next day.  I've been drinking lots more water as I hear that should help that problem.

I wake up quite achy, and feel achy around my lower back if I sit or stand in the same place for too long.  When I'm active, I feel great, so I try to remember to move often.  I have found that I waddle a little bit for the first few steps after sitting or lying still which I think is kind of funny and now I know why pregnant women do that move - I'm not that heavy, just sore. 

I'm exercising as much as I can.  The swimming has been really easy and quite fun.  The half hour I assign myself zooms by so now I'm up to 50 minutes, swimming 1.5 km.  I have to be careful not to push myself at the end too much as it can makes me too tired.  I have just graduated into the maternity swim suit.  The first time I wore it, I hadn't swum for a while and I felt like a whale.  Both because I was slower, and because of the size of the togs.  I'm still biking around quite comfortably, although I lose my breath on the hills. 

I've put away a lot of clothes that don't fit me any more but I'm still wearing many every day clothes.  The pants are definitely tighter and harder to get on and many of my tops are getting almost too short.  For a while, my changing body shape really bothered me.  Partly because my baby bump wasn't very obvious so I just felt lumpy and fat.  I also didn't like how my thighs and back were getting...well...thicker.  It doesn't help that I eat anything sweet that I set my eyes on and have massive feelings for guilt all the time.  I try to wear clothes that aren't just baggy, but are feminine as well which I think helps me feel better. 

I can't believe how quickly these few months have gone.  We are due in just three months!  It is neat to feel the baby kicking and moving all the time.    I could go on about my symptoms and ailments because it seems as though one's whole body changes pregnancy, but I won't.  I will say that I think that despite the harder things, this must be an easy pregnancy.  There are even still times when I don't feel pregnant at all.  

Here are some photos from the second scan we had to have because they couldn't get a clear view of her spinal chord during the first one.  Can you see her foot outline in the second photo?  She'd been playing with it during the scan and this was taken just after she let go.  Yawning, drinking, hiccuping, and playing.  She's nearly two pounds, active, and developing quickly.

Yeast can be a tricky substance

It looks like marmite is all set to return to New Zealand shelves.  We still have an unopened jar, as well as a jar of vegemite 'just in case'.  I was rationing more than usual as I didn't think I'd be able to get a replacement.  It took a year for the factory to be up and running and then several months to get the yeasts right.  

I've been having difficulty with my yeasts recently too.  I think I got a bit blase about the rising process and have subsequently killed two separate whole wheat sour dough loafs as well as a naan bread.  I think I gave them too much rising time and did the different foldings and restings at inappropriate times.  You leave dough to rise too long, and the yeast dies.  The temperature of the room was probably another factor: too cold and the dough needs a lot longer to rise.  Or maybe I didn't handle the starter properly, allowing it time to activate after aerating it.  Or that I have inadvertently killed the starter.  Mostly, I think I need to go back to following the instructions exactly as they are written because I have been too cocky, expecting myself to remember the stages and times, but not getting them quite right.  It is pretty annoying to spend so much time making bread just to have it go wrong, but I should take it as I always tell my students: we learn best through the mistakes we make. 

Beethoven and Bell

We recently attended a concert with the local talent Joshua Bell accompanied by the Cincinnati orchestra.  It was a gorgeous concert, performed to a packed audience in the big hall.  He played Beethoven's violin concerto.  You can listen to him playing it at another concert here if you feel like hearing the pure genius of both Beethoven and Mr. Bell.  After the concert I received a little lecture from the one dearest and nearest to me.  He tells me Beethoven was so clever, he would incorporate the musical forms of the past and current while innovating far beyond his time.  So much so that people attending debuts of his work couldn't understand what he was trying to do and would give him poor reviews.  This concerto, for example, is far longer than the standard concerto of the time.  The second movement is another from my dad's mixed tape that I've mentioned before - the one we used to listen to on long car journeys.  It was funny that it was so very familiar to me while I didn't really know the first movement at all.  

Mr. Bell is considered local talent here.  He's on the violin teaching faculty, and we know a local who used to babysit him when he was a boy.  Jbird and I recently saw a documentary about an earlier owner of Mr. Bell's violin, Bronislaw Humberman.  The documentary mentions it's disappearing act and subsequent 50 year loss from the green room at Carnegie Hall.  Read here for the full story. 

Xin Nian Kuai Le - Happy New Year!

We have been spending some time with some international friends and were lucky to be invited to a Spring Festival celebration in honour of the Lunar New Year.  I've been to a few of these celebrations in New Zealand, and always enjoyed the lantern festival in Albert Park - with the culinary delights that that brings - but this celebration was unique, as they all probably are.  We only had one Chinese person from China, and many people from Korea, Singapore (both Indian and Chinese), Taiwan, and America.  We each brought a traditional favourite food from our own countries particular to the holiday.  As it is not our holiday, I chose a favourite dessert and took that - the rasberry lemon bars.  They were a hit (and the only dessert).  

The food was very special and delicious, and largely unknown to me.  There was one particularly spicy rice noodle dish which had everyone blowing their noses.   I think my favourite was the chicken, peanut sauce, and cucumber wrapped in lettuce.  YumBo.  Following the food, we made New Year decorations which created the Chinese character for spring in 3D.  Unfortunately, I don't have any photos - I wanted to bring them home but Jbird thought it would be polite to leave them there to decorate the host's house.    

The hosts had organised a really fun Singaporean tradition where everyone piles a different food on a plate as we were told the blessing this food would bring.  There were 16 ingredients including pomelo, jelly fish, five spices, white pepper, cucumber, pickled mango, and smoked salmon.  With chopsticks, we mixed all the food together as a group by lifting it all up, high above the plate.  It was really messy - I was covered in honey and jelly fish - but created a delicious fresh dish.  I only had a small taste as I wanted to avoid the jelly fish and smoked salmon, I'm unsure of the safety of eating those when pregnant.  As we munched, people were all talking about the different blessings the different ingredients were going to bring them.   The night ended with everyone being given Hong Bao - the red envelopes with money.  I'm sure these are normally reserved for children, but it was a sweet treat regardless.

Feeling more at home

This is a bit of a strange post as it's sports related.  If you know me well, you might know that the only team sport I ever played was softball when I was nine.  I found it so awful, I couldn't wait for the season to finish.  Oh, and I played one game of netball as an adult.  I thought I was going to die the girls on the other team were so rough and I had no idea what I was doing. 

This passed Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday.  We went to the same international students event we went to last year which is great for having a great big screen, helping to explain the rules, and providing plenty of Super Bowl type snacks.  I really over did it on the chips this year.  They are my weakness.  

Over four years living here, I have learned that Super Bowl is a National event similar to Christmas or New Years.  The food is important, the event you attend is important, the team you are rooting for is important.  Or it's important that you pick a team.  This can be tough as the teams are linked to cities so if your city is not represented, you have to grab at tenuous links.  Like my friend who comes from Southern California.  He was rooting for the Baltimore Ravens this year because there is a rivalry between San Fransisco and Southern California.  Rather than rooting for his rival, he chose to root for an East Coast team.  That is a far less tenuous link than my other friend who was rooting for Baltimore because the two coaches for the two teams this year are brothers* and he wanted the younger brother (Baltimore coach) to win.  The important thing is that they were rooting for the right time. 

You must know by now that Jbird and I lived in Baltimore for two years so of course we were rooting for the Ravens on Sunday night.  And what a game it was.  The Ravens were winning by a huge deficit of over 20 points by the end of the first half.  They came back after the break with a really exciting play where one of the guys conquered most of the field and got a touch down in one run.  Then there was a 30 minute power cut (!) after which the San Fran 49ers came back from the deficit and nearly overtook Baltimore!  NEARLY.  Baltimore won.  After four years, I can nearly follow all of the rules (or most of them), except that at the end I had to ask can I be happy now? I wasn't sure whether play could be extended beyond the hour.  With all those time outs, it can be really confusing.  It was an exciting, close ending too, 34-31.  

Now that I have had a not so tenuous link to a Super Bowl final (and winning) team, I somehow feel more linked to America, a nice feeling to own.

*What's neat is their brother-in-law is the Indiana University basketball coach and he was at the Superbowl game cheering his brother-in-laws on, in the family box.  What a family of coaches!  What a box to sit in!  By the by, the IU basketball team - the Hoosiers - won their game on Saturday night against the Michigan Wolverines putting them at Number One.  The Wolverines are my sister-in-law's team and by default my brother's team.  Except we don't really care or follow the sport.  Except we do kind of care...

A change to my letters

I have been waiting since October to find out whether I have completed all the requirements to graduate with a Masters of Education.  The first half of the degree was completed at a different university, ten years ago, has since been discontinued, and offered some questionable classes (i.e.: where they at the Masters level?) so there was some question as to whether I could use it or whether I would need to do another year of study.  The university had told me about a year ago - after signing off on it and then re-questioning it - that it would qualify.  However, I felt sceptical about whether they would remember and/or hold to that decision.  In short, I didn't want to let myself relax until they finalised it just in case my hopes were dashed.  As Jbird says, I am prone to: When in doubt, panic.  He is the opposite, the lucky guy, being more prone to: When in doubt, stop thinking about it.

I got a letter from my university today.  It tells me that not only do I qualify, I also passed with distinction.  This is an unexpected added bonus - I hadn't done so well on two of the four classes, only receiving B+s, and was sure I wouldn't qualify for the distinction.

So now the letters will change.  I was Annabel J. Short.  Then I became Annabel J. Short, B.Ed., Post Grad. Dip. Ed. (Music).  That last segment was so confusing.  Nobody ever knew what it meant and I was forever explaining: it's half a Masters in teaching music.  I can go back and finish the Masters whenever I want to.  Despite the confusion, it got me two great music teaching jobs just when I wanted and needed them.  

NOW I am Annabel J. Bird (nee Short), B.Ed., M.Ed. (Teaching and Learning).  A little more distinguished and a little simpler.

Good morning Punxsutawney Phil

It's Ground Hog Day today and Punxsutawney Phil, the famous ground hog in Pennsylvania, didn't see his shadow this morning which is America's prediction for an early spring.  Yes. Please.  I'm glad for his prediction.  I'm also glad for the lovely inch of snow we received overnight, it looks gorgeous.  And for the rise in temperatures, it should be above freezing mid-afternoon.  I might even venture out for a swim this afternoon - in an indoor, heated pool.  Or perhaps I'll take that snow day today and swim tomorrow.

A cold conundrum

We had some snow accumulation last night.  Jbird and I went out to use one of my birthday coupons around 8pm and the frosting over the world was a nice surprise.  It had been snowing most of the day but refused to accumulate while the sun was still up and the wind was blowing.  This morning the sun is bright and it looks gorgeous out.  The weather forecast tells me differently.  It's well below freezing and with a wind chill that lowers the temperature further.  No matter how many times I check the online weather forecast, it refuses to be warmer than that, even later in the day. 

Unfortunately, all my activities have been cancelled and I'm desperate to move - preferably outdoors.   It's probably quite ironic, I'm sure a lot of students and workers have the opposite problem and just want to stay indoors.  But I see three days of indoorsing in my immediate future.  I'd also like to deserve a hot chocolate and movie later in the day.  So I'm going to rug up warm and get out there anyway, just walking to the library and back.  I figure if I feel like it's too uncomfortable, I'll turn around and go home.