Quiet is as quiet does...

Well it's been pretty darn quiet around here as of late. It's that time of year when we start slowing down because winter is on it's way. The trees have all but lost their bright fall coloured leaves. All of the flowers in the garden have gone to sleep. My biggest problem is trying to decide what to wear, because it's cold in the mornings but warmish by afternoon. Soon it will stay cold but until then can you imagine my dilemma.

Anyway, not much else going on here. I have been feeling a lot of aches and pains and have had a few strange maladies occurring within and on my body. I'm not sure if it's the change of weather, or if I'm just getting older, or if it may something a bit more sinister and related to the HIV. I have my blood work done this coming Friday so that will tell if all is well on the inside, or at least from a medication stand point. It may be just my body reacting to all of the medications I have had to start taking. Sometime, I feel like I am back to where I started. I had gotten my pills down to just three pills twice a day, all up six, but now I'm taking double that (12). I suppose it could be worse because I think at the height of my pill taking it was 21 so I guess 12 isn't so bad. It may just be me wanting to rant a bit and get the angst out of my system. We are going for a drive up the coast tomorrow to have lunch near the ocean, it will be good.

Oh and here is something new, ocasionally I'm going to do a word of the day and/or a quote of the day so today I'll do both to get it started.

Todays word is:

bon vivant \bon-vee-VONT\, noun:
A person with refined and sociable tastes, especially one who enjoys fine food and drink.

Todays quote:

"We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery."

H. G. Wells English author, historian, & utopian (1866 - 1946)

TV Dinners...

I know I said I would put up a real post but once again I'm just not feeling it so I'm going for another meme. In some ways it's not cheating because you do get to find out quirky stuff about me and my life. It's really like being interviewed and even though I'm not a celebrity I can feel like one. I have been so into cooking lately with my new cook top and oven. That I figured it would be appropriate to do a meme on cooking. This particular meme is about cooking and television. I love watching LifeStyle FOOD channel here in Australia. I think it's fascinating watching people create things. I'm always afraid to mix certain ingredients for fear they taste like crap and I'll have to throw it all away and that would be such a waste of food. So anyway on to today's meme and it goes like this:

1. Favorite TV Chef: Jamie Oliver, I know it seems to be an obvious pick but I find him easy to watch, what can I say

2. Favorite TV Cooking Personality: John Torode and Gregg Wallace from Masterchef Goes Large. I would love to test all the food that they get served up to them by the contestants.

3. Favorite TV Dinner: I don't do a lot of TV dinners but if I had to pick one it would be Heinz Steam Fresh Honey Mustard Chicken

4. Favorite Watching TV Movie Snack: Popcorn, it's not original but it's what I like

So there you go, wasn't that intriguing. I bet you were on the edge of your seat and I'm sure you found some of my answers shocking to say the least. It just goes to show you how little you know a person.

Movies, movies, movies

Well, I said I would post and here it is even though it's only a meme and not a post that I had to think very hard about but I did make the effort and it's still better than no post at all. Anyway, the following list is from the American Film Institute and it is what they say are the 100 Top Movies people should see. I have highlighted the ones I've seen and at the end you are supposed to add three that are not on their list. So without further adieu...

1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)
2. CASABLANCA (1942)
3. THE GODFATHER (1972)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
7. THE GRADUATE (1967)
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
9. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
10. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
15. STAR WARS (1977)
16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)
18. PSYCHO (1960)
19. CHINATOWN (1974)
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
24. RAGING BULL (1980)
25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
31. ANNIE HALL (1977)
32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
33. HIGH NOON (1952)
34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)
43. KING KONG (1933)
44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)
45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
48. JAWS (1975)
49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
53. AMADEUS (1984)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
56. M*A*S*H (1970)
57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
58. FANTASIA (1940)
59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
61. VERTIGO (1958)
62. TOOTSIE (1982)
63. STAGECOACH (1939)
64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
66. NETWORK (1976)
67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)
68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)
69. SHANE (1953)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
71. FORREST GUMP (1994)
72. BEN-HUR (1959)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
78. ROCKY (1976)
79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
81. MODERN TIMES (1936)
82. GIANT (1956)
83. PLATOON (1986)
84. FARGO (1996)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
88. EASY RIDER (1969)
89. PATTON (1970)
90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)
92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
93. THE APARTMENT (1960)
94. GOODFELLAS (1990)
95. PULP FICTION (1994)
96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
99. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)

Out of 100 I've seen 48. almost half. What three movies would I add to the list?

101. Auntie Mame (Rosalind Russel)
102. Born Yesterday (Judy Ho1liday)
103. The Philadelphia Story (Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant)

What three would you add?

Lazy is as lazy does...

I have not posted in a few days and it all comes down to just plain laziness or just plain boredom. I will post something this weekend I promise but until then I wanted to let you know how lazy I am. Hence this post to tell you that. I have no idea what I going on about, but it's a post. :)

What's up???

Well I suppose that's the question you should be asking me. There are bloggers out there who seem to be able to write paragraph after paragraph about all sorts of things. I'm not one of those. I have a hard time thinking about what to write. I understand that this is my space and I can write whatever. I also know that I'm not going to get a million ongoing visitors who find my life and writings so fascinating that they can't go one day without seeing what I have to write.

A friend of mine recently sent me an email saying "I love your capacity to tell good stories about cheesecakes and HIV in the same blog." Now, I know she was being honest and truly meant what she had said but it made me think. I'm not sure what I write is that fascinating. Her comment did make me realise that this blog is exactly what I said it would be when I first started it over two years ago. This is just about me and the things I might find interesting. I never said you would be interested but am more than happy if you are so inclined.

This blog is a space in which I am able to talk about my life and what is currently going on. I do this so that my family and those few friends that are interested are able to keep up with what is happening in my part of the world. Occasionally I can also comment on certain things if I so choose. Seeing that we live in a relatively remote part of the world I don't get to see my family as much as I would like. To see my family requires me to get on a plane and fly usually around 25 plus hours. It's not like I can just pop in to see them. So I try to at least try to keep them posted about what is happening around here using this space.

I appreciate my friends words about my capacity to write about such a wide range of thins but the truth of it all is I write what I want to and what I write is not necessarily that ground breaking. I write for my self and if anyone is interested then I can only hope I at least make sure I spell check everything for them; other than that I can not promise what they will read will be even remotely interesting, kind of like this post.

Anyway, as to what's up, let me think. The oven is brilliant. I'm like a kid in a candy store. I'm as giddy as a school girl at the mall with my mothers credit card. I don't even know where to start. I love to cook and more specifically I love to bake. So lets just say for the next several months I will be reclaiming my life as a cook and I will be making up for a lot of lost time. Also, the new cook top, that we bought when we bought the oven, works correctly now that the proper gas-fittings have been installed so I'm now able to make a proper dinner.

In the short time that we've had the new oven. I've made:

Milk chocolate cheesecake
Pecan pie x2
Chocolate decadence cake
Oatmeal cookies w/white chocolate chunks and cranberries

Next up Pumpkin bread w/cranberry cream filling

What else is going on? Well James is still working most weekends on night duty, which is okay as it gives us most of the week Mon-Thursday to be together and do whatever chores need to be attended to. He also likes the nights because it keeps him away from the politics at work. I am still struggling with my neuropathy but that will never go away. I'm pretty well resigned to no more driving because of the amount of pain medicine I have to take now on a daily basis. I will just have to learn to continually adjust and I will. I have lost a few pounds/kilos, which is surprising considering all the baking I've been doing. Other than that we are just settling in getting ready for winter to truly arrive. We've had a few cold spells so far but nothing horrendous. James has done a lot of gardening and getting all the flower beds mulched and ready for their winter sleep. The Japanese Maple in the back yard is turning a lovely shade of red as usual. I love the fall colours but I am sad when that tree looses all its leaves, but i know it will be back next spring so there is something to look forward to as little as that is.

Well I suppose I've rambled on enough so I will stop for now. There is only so much boredom I can dish out in a day. Keep your eyes peeled for posts about our upcoming trip to Strahan with the bears in June and also pictures and stories will be forthcoming about our visit to the Hawkes Bay region on the North Island of New Zealand, which we are planing for August to visit our friend Moys. So you see there is something to look forward to if your really bored.