Goodbye my friend

Today I lost one of my best friends..... I'm sorry, I'm still really shaken up, and I cant find the words.

I've written a letter that will be sent to her mother.

Helena, 

 Goodbye my “Doctor of Music”. Goodbye to my teacher, my colleague, my travel buddy, my friend.
 Ms Aulio, you are the reason I even passed high school. Standing by me though mums bouts of cancer, overseas catastrophes and instrument choices. You were so proud when I graduated near the top of my class.
You even came to my 18th and hazed my father, stood and cheered at my graduation, saw my shows, showed me what it was to be a real teacher and taught me, that no matter what, to live life to it’s fullest, because you never know what is going to change.

My life is for the better because of your inate spark and love of life.

I will never forget you.

Xxoo

the show must go on..........

BGS opens on the 28th of June - I cant wait!

Here are some photos of some things you might see during the show

Its finished!

So, I tested a pattern for the lovely UniqueEarthling, aka Tammy, on Ravelry.

Now its done and im pleased with the results.

AND I'm using the big purple ball of nightmares to good use!

Ttfn,
Lizi

Ps: Frodo the bird makes his Blogger debut in the darker pic!

First day in theatre!

Im so excited!
Today was the first day of rehearsal in the Schonell Theatre at UQ for the Brisbane Gang Show.

This is my 2nd, & last, show as a cast member of the gang, & I am very very lucky to have had to opportunity to be in cast one more time. Usually you can only be in cast till thw age of 26, but this yr they are having a mentorship for those  under 30, which includes me!

My other half is doing sound in the orchestra pit, my housemate is taking part inher 15th yr as a cast member, and the other halfs sister is giving a hand to the backstage crew. So its a family affair.

I will always have a soft spot for gang shows iny heart, & will cherish the experience till I shuffle off this mortal coil

Gluten-Free Food Friday!

Hey guys, its friday again - so time to play with my food!

Todays experimental ingredient is...... SPATCHCOCK!

I have never cook spatchcock before, and when i saw it on sale for $2 dollars I sought of broke my current rule on no new food purchases and got it.

We have a show here called "Ready Steady Cook", who use challange ingredients and a set time to make different meals, so using their idea for  Moroccan Spiced Spatchcock with Chickpeas, I adjusted  the recipe to suit what I had in the cupboards/fridge and my allergies and made what I think was a pretty good meal.

Lizi's stash busting Spatchcock.

(suitable for gluten free - tomato/mushroom/nut avoiding people like me!)

Ingredients:


1 spatchcock,

Spray oil (i use rice bran, but any will do)

1 tsp  basil paste 

1 tsp  corriander paste 

1 tsp  garlic paste OR 1 garlic clove

1 tsp  chilli paste
2 large white potatos, roughly chopped
1 can of 3 bean mix (do not drain)
2 tablespoons Ajjar paste (roast capsicum paste - instead of tomatoes)
1 can of chickpeas ( do not drain)
1 cup of white rice - uncooked

1 cup stock - your choice (i used vegetable - but chicken would work too)

1 teaspoon Gluten Free Soy sauce
bottled lemon juice.

Tools:

Scissors

Small bowl

roasting pan

alfoil

sharp knife

measuring spoons

frying pan

lid of frying pan

plate (slightly bigger than lid)  

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place frying pan on medium high heat
2. Spray the spatchcock with oil and rub in. Mix basil, garlic, coriander, chilli, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and soy sauce in a small bowl, then rub 1/3 of mix on front, and 1/3 on back of bird. Cook breast side down in a hot grill pan for 5 minutes.   Take pan off heat.  Using scissors,, cut the bird down the centre of the breast and spread out. Pour  half of reminder of spices inside chest cavity and rub around for even cover. Place spatchcock in a alfoil lined baking pan with sliced potatoes and into the oven to cook for 1 hr, or until cooked through. Allow the spatchcock to rest before cutting the  frame in half again, leaving one wing and leg attached on each side.

3. After placing the bird in the oven, pour a 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice into the frying pan and stir to loosen the juices/spices stuck to the pan. Return to heat, Place chickpeas(including liquid) , rice, remaining spices, 1/2 cup of stock and Ajjar into the pan. Stir and cover for 5 mins.  Stir and cover again until rice is nearly cooked.  Lower heat. Add 3 bean mix and remaining stock. Cover for 5 mins and stir. Turn off heat and stir occasionally for the next few minuets, keep covered.

4. Serve half cpatchcock frame with several pieces of potato and  approx 1 1/2 cups of rice/chickpea mix. Lemon juice as desired. 

This left me with dinner for tonight, plus 3 small meals to freeze for my show that starts on the 28th. Most meals i cook for the next wk i will have to be able to freeze at least half of what i make, or i won't have any dinners!. The only thing that didn't come out of fridge/freezer/panty was the spatchcock, so a good stash buster meal.  I would make the chickpea mix again as a separate meal, but in a saucepan with more rice and stock and the whole spice mix in it. the spices went into the rice and chickpeas and were lovely - not so much the beans as they are added later.

So, my first full recipe - hope others like it too!  Ask if you need any help and let me know if you tried it!

W.i.p Wednesday!

So, its wednesday.... time to report works in progress.

I have 12 socks I have to make for BGS - 12 crocheted mini purple socks - one down 11 to go.

I also have still not finished the Waldo sq. I know.....grrrrr. up to the colour change now....

Also, my tea swap parcel is just missing an address and then its ready too!

Lots of W.I.Ps & UFO's here!

just a post to say

sounds stupid but…..


I had a pretty bad day - chasing things for a meeting tonight that made me feel ‘that small’ (holds two fingers really really really close….. you get the idea) and I just couldn't take it. by the time I hit the car I was in tears - thank god I'm not allowed to drive at the moment, because  I would have driven into a pole with all the tears. I lost it. and still fell sick now hours after too.


anyways, I came home to want to snuggle up under my grans old granny rug to cry and snuggle….. to remember we lost the rug when we flooded earlier this yr.


I hate QLD weather.

The promised cupcakes

So..... I know I'm home sick..... bit I'm gojng stir crazy!  And I was invited to a friends place to watch a movie. ......

And I was brought up to always take something when visiting.....

So I made cupcakes.

Basco chocolate cake in the cupcake maker - with tinned passion fruit instead of water.

Worked quiet well for a 10min job!

Freebie Day!

So, first day out of hospital - what do you do?

sleep in?  hook a little? sleep?

NO! you get up WAY to early to go to your LYS local chainstore (Spotlight) for the Knit In Public Party?!

I missed 3 busses (cant drive on my painkillers) and got rather cranky, as TRANSLINK (the bus timetable line) stuffed me up again, and i'm not in a good mood and my lungs hurt and ......


SO, I pray for some strength, and decide to take a break, so I went into the mall at the bus stop  and went into Oxfam. Thought I might pick up something small for the Tea Swap parcel I'm doing.

instead, I get a keyring for the swap - and the server gives me a MASSIVE jar of Oxfams version of nutella, but NUT FREE!!! and says feel better soon!  So nice of them!  (that's $11 for nothing!)

After that, DB came and got me (stupid bus!) and took me to spotlight! Where you get to play with yarn!

 

And you meet lovely people!

 

and demonstrate what your doing with a truly terrible yarn (i'm sorry, but I hate the yarn I was demoing, so much I refuse to include the pic!)

 

and then, as your leaving......... "Miss, I'd just like to say thanks for helping today"  and suddenly I am presented with this:

 

 

 22 hook Boyle Steal/Aluminum set, a 75% aussie wool blend, 7.5mm knitting needles, a French bee knitting kit, a polar fleece rug, and a 100g ball of acrylic!

its at least $50 of crafty RIGHT THERE, and I was only demonstrating for 1 1/1 hrs!


ARRGH!!!!

So, I think today was my good karma day! we will see.

I'm out! All systems are go!

Yay! I"m out! Could barely sleep last night, but I'm out and SO HAPPY I could scream from the rooftops!  Got some lovely night pics too from my room of the Brisbane CBD.

I'm actually at a job interview right now!!!!!!!!! Let's see what happens heh
? I'd love the position,  and the hours are good, and it would also let me develop "Silly Ewe"....... fingers crossed and fervent prayers please!

Ttfn,

Lizi

( Freeform Friday will be later tonight)

Thursday Squared! !!

Hey guys!

So, still in hospital,  still sick, & still hooking!!!!

Today's sq is known as "Waldo's Puzzle"  by designer Chris Simon.
(I'll put a link here later......)

I made one of these sq's back in 2008, & I liked it back then, and decided to use it in the OBP rug for Pax Lodge.

Now, the reason why the links are silver and gold? Easy - a well known campfire song for Girl Guides & Girl Scouts is "Make new Friends". The words being:

"Make new friends,
& keep the old.
One is Silver
& the other Gold.

A cirlce is round
& has no end.
Thats how long I want
to be your friend! "

This sq is PERFECT as a symbol for this campfire song.

I will make two of it,  so I can include the best in the rug and keep the other for me.

Also, for those who are concerned, yes the hospital has legionnaries,  I do not.
For more info, please follow the link :

Wesley Hospital

Thanks guys,

Lizi

Owl rug!

Oh lord, I need to make this rug!

http://bit.ly/12q0pgB

Scrumble for Prudence

Hey guys!

So, I'm going crazy in the hospital, so when I hear that Prudence Mapstone, the Queen of Freeform,  needs flower scrumbles, I jumped.

So, here it is. All crochet,  all acrylic (and a touch of metalic thread) and all for the project.

So, Mz Mapstone, please let me know where to drop off/deliver said scrumble for the collection.

Being haunted by big purple ball of yarn.........

Damm boy.

Let me explain......

Jason (DP) came in to see me in hospital tonight, 
so after 4 days of 24hr call he finally got to come in & brought me hugs!

He also brought me this!

The 400g monstrosity of purple varigated acrylic yarn that haunts my nightmares!!!!!

780m of possibilities. .... what the HELL am I going to do with this?

He said " I thought you'd like some yarn to keep you occupied. Did I get the right one? "

How could I say no?

Shameless plug!

If you LOVE freeform crochet or not working with a pattern, you need to go look at this blog!

I have to say, I love the work of Prudence Mapstone

http://prudencemapstone.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/week-50.html?m=1

That DAMM trefoil sq!!!!

Hey everyone, 

I'm still in hospital. .... and when I'm in. Hospital I start to go a little "stir-crazy"...

Now, most people who read this know about "THE RUG"

I decided, as when I was rushed to ER  and admitted I had some stash in my bag, to start  with the patterns I had and get going.

Now, I love Ravelry, and some of the ladies on their are amazing at designing.  However I cant seem to get this pattern right..... so no offense to the original designer, but I'm rewriting the pattern.

Below are pics from the last two days of fighting with "the trefoil"

(&yes, I blocked the sq on the chair next to my bed)

Till next time,

Lizi

Laugh of the day......

Oh god, where is some pasta when I need it?

Hookiquette

So, still in hospital,  but feel my mojo is coming back, so I'm back on my ONP rug.

Starting with the four trefoil sq's, I am using mama24boyz's Irish Pride pattern (available on Ravelry).

I have made before with some small issues, so am making changes as I go, and will send them to mama24boyz's when I'm done.

This is also a good time to practisey own personal "Hookiquette" or hook etiquette. 

Rule One- Always center-pull the yarn skein/ball.

Rule Two - always work in you ends as they come up.

I fell apart when it came to rule two today - as it shows in the pic.
The left shows the trefoil WITHOUT the ends woven in, the right with the ends in. The left feels like I'm working with an octopus! !!! Too many loose ends. It was fixed after I took the pic .... but I've learnt my lesson.

Anyway,  still got a long way to go.

Hugs,
Lizi