teffania

Mostly links for my reference. Although if anyone else has been talking to Tim you might find this useful.

Fuyu are the type I have, and the readily available type in australia. Either the ones I had weren't ripe yet, or they store a lot longer than 3 days at room temperature, more like 10 days. They freeze well.

Persimon cookies - 2 persimons pureed

Persimon paste - 1kg of puree (no pectin added)
Persimon Jam - 4 cups of  pulp (8 persimons) (pectin)
Persimon Chutney - 12 persimons (also bundt cake and rice pudding, not that  Iplan to try those)

Persimon tart (flip & caramelise) - 2 persimons

Rocket & Procuto wrapped persimon salad - 2 persimons - must buy proscuto!

None of these recipies made yet, but pulp frozen and a make it up as I go along persimon tart made.

I wonder where the 12th C clothing mailing list has been mentioned today (and obviously in nice terms) such that we have a rush of subscribers.

I know a couple of you dear readers have been experimenting with reusable mesh bags. So how has the experiment been working? What are the advantages and disadvantages? What presumed actions have to be part of your weekly habit for using these to work (other than the obvious taking them to  the shop)?

If you sewed them, what construction techniques and materials were used, and what worked or didn't?

Yesterday  I was madly sneezing and exhausting my supply of hankies, with few other symptoms.  Today I dutifully stay at home to avoid spraying workmates and other than tired and a bit mentally slow, exhibit only mild symptoms, certainly not yesterday's spectacular sneezing fits.  I'm waiting for this to turn into a full blown cold (not flu, distinctly lacking several symptoms) or go away.  Back to work tomorrow I guess.

My current temp contract ends on Friday, so I'm waiting to see the next job they send is better, worse, or non existant.  I really should be tidying up my resume to send to them, but see above.

Thanks to everyone's comments I got the job app in for the job I was talking about.  6 Business days and no word, when i think they are eager for someone to start, is not a good sign.  But they promise to let everyone know the outcome when they've decided, so miracles are still possible, if unlikely.  I've sent other job apps on that day too, and but I never pinned any hopes on those ones.

I'm waiting for some oomph to send out the next batch of job apps. I've selected jobs.  My resume is shorter and better than before, I just need to tidy and write cover letters. I'm waiting to work out if I should send more applications to the uni department that hasn't replied yet - they've advertised 2 more positions (neither as attractive, but possible), one too senior and one more junior than I'd like. Maybe the temp agencies reaction to my resume will give me some clues as to what I should settle for.

I'm waiting for the heater to warm up the house a bit.  Definately no fever here, I'm consistantly cold with frosty mouse/typing hand and only cool other hand tucked that's under my cloak.

I'm waiting for the AV computer to boot up so I can watch some stored TV and do some simple handsewing and at least feel productive (one new business skirt only handsewing on waistband and hemming away from wearable.  such pretty fabric in somber grey and black - so unusual).  And it's awake, I'd best away then.........

Why o why are my best writing hours after 10pm on a weeknight? grr. 

Anyway, despite a rather late night, The Job Application (yes it has capitals!) is in. Phew.

I want to send in a couple of others off seek on the weekend, but they don't stress me as badly as this one did. Maybe because I don't want them as badly, but perhaps also because half my workplace doesn't know I'm applying for them.   And they are just the classic CV+cover letter format, no nasty key selection criteria.  And I now have a tidier 3 page resume I can send instead of the 5 page monster.

So it's a waiting game, and hoping that everyone else dislikes adressing key selection criteria more than me, and didn't apply.

Meanwhile the faculty is trying to extend my temp contract again.  After I said I wouldn't work for them past the end of the month without a pay rise. But they were crafty - they only asked for a week. Hmm choices.


In other news, monash is advertising for a "High Voltage Supervisor".  Well it made me giggle.

Today I feel like i justified my day as a "doing stuff at home" day rather than a day off.

I....

• caught up on some sleep
• baked 2 cakes (well ok, baked a double batch of cake)
• delivered cake to a friend
• borrowed books from the library
• looked up skirt making notes and determined exact alterations to patterns needed for 3 skirts
• cut out a new suede skirt
• assembled notions for 5 skirts and made a shopping list for missing notions
• darned a pair of socks
• located a bug that was stopping me uploading the last batch of sca awards, and solicited expert help to fix it.

Not really 8 hours worth of things, but I think I need to pat myself on the back so that I manage at least this much next wednesday cos otherwise I end up doing less than this. So I'm going to try really hard not to write about not applying for job, not looking for houses, not shopping for computers, not finishing those blog entries, not doing any more searching for seals doccumentation, etc. Must give up online game addiction.

I think this photo nicely illustrates why I was the only person from my shire at festival....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35452050@N06/3444521278/

Arrgh! That's really close now, and I've only 3 non-working days before I leave.

Most things are sorted, have transport, will have a tent, should have food (have attempted to book, hope to get a reply tonight), just need to finalise where to plonk my tent.

I think tonight is time to have my last ditch attempt at cutting out projects that I can pretend i might finish handsewing at festival. (i'll probabbly finish one item and the others I'll at least have a head start on for next year)

The one thing I'd really like for festival is more leather shoes, peasant style.  Anyone got spare thick leather to onsell? Any idea what I should ask for at lefflers/NSW leather? Oh if only they opened till 6pm on thursdays.

In other news my very lightweight blue wool cote has only 2 gores to be sewn in, and then I can hem the bottom. Should be perfect for festival climate.  I aim to get enough done to mark the hem before I leave.

well back to work, then home and work on getting ready.

Sorry non-SCA people who read this, I do do non-SCA stuff, honest, I just tend not to write about it.

( Planning for rowany festival.. and asking help because this year is trickier than last.... )

new zealand a summary:
*braided rivers - still so wierd
*mountains - so young and pointy
*fish and chips - ok, I believe it now, they really are better in nz
*vegetation - cabbage trees and flax are cute, australian weeds look so out of place, so many european trees in one place out of europe is wierd
*drought - my heart still says that wasn't a drought (green bits!), despite what my head says.
*nz heatwave - 30C with a cool breeze is really quite pleasant actually
*geological tour - fantastic!
*scenery - good on the canterbury plains. I expect it's spectacular in all the places I didn't make it to, (and kaikoura when it's not raining) but  I didn't get far from Christchurch this time
*whales - big, but smaller than I expected
*Christchurch - surprisingly big feeling for a small population
*fantails - so cute, I want one!

canterbury faire in dot points:
*meal plan - excellent food, medieval, and lots of it, but long quewes
*extended length - I couldn't notice, seemed just right, or maybe a bit short
*classes - longer time slots than rowany festival and not rushing from one to annother was very nice
*half circle theatre - very talented entertainers, including a couple of naughty knights
*acessibility - so much easier than rowany festival, from shuttles to billeting to bunkrooms and meal plan.
*bunkrooms - not enough luggage space, but were politely only left half filled. Otherwise remarkably innocuous, which is better than any other bunk option I've seen.
*bean baron and village games - fun!
*people - remarkably friendly and helpful
*organisation - done on a rather personal level, rather than organised.  Most things were achieved by asking people until you located the person who could help you.  Everyone would try and help, and the site was small enough that this mostly worked, and I mostly found out  about quirks of the site and event about half a day before I needed the information.
*size - stall small and personal, but on the verge of becoming something bigger and having to go through a lot of growing pains
*overall - I'm already wondering how to afford to go next year.


I'm glad to be back in my own bed (I don't sleep well in other beds, but apparently sheer exhaustion will counter that sufficiently), glad to have missed the worst of the sweltering melbourne weather, and feeling kinda strange to be daily presented with the strange red smoke filtered sunlight and yet not to have been around for the worst of the bushfires. But everyone I know is safe, and I'm not a firefighter, so my absence made no difference.