Pony

This week we celebrated our wedding anniversary.  We both love our food so usually each year we pick a new restaurant to go to (that's a lot of restaurants we've been to over 35 years).  Pony had come highly recommended by someone "in the know" about city restaurants. It is in a beautiful location at Eagle Street Pier overlooking the river with the Story Bridge in the background.  We were fortunate to be shown to an inside table overlooking the river.  Fortunate because that night the humidity arrived in Brisbane and we had just had the hottest day in a long time.
The ambiance was sophisticated, quiet despite there being a party on the outside deck and just a little romantic, but that could have been because of who I was with.  The lights dimmed at just the right time (no it wasn't a power cut) and the food was great.
There were a couple of little things that let the experience down. We ordered olives as a starter and they were served in a pre-loved jar.  Now that's a great look at a vintage wedding or engagement but in a smart looking restaurant? Didn't work for me.  It looked like they had taken off the lid, drained the brine, tipped out a few olives and ripped the label off.  The olives were fine.  The second was our waitress. Nice girl, pleasant enough but in a restaurant where her peers were all smartly dressed she wore casual jeans and black sneakers - is that being picky? Oh yes, she also really didn't know what they did with the whey and wheat on the lamb plate and told us that of course the whey was poured over the wheat. It wasn't. I would have preferred being told that she would find out and come back to me. Minor detail but if you go out for a dining experience it is the little things that count. 
Enough of the niggles. The meal really was fantastic. I choose the Pork Belly and it looked delicate and pretty when it came out and it tasted good too.  He who I married 35 years ago ate the Lamb and it looked and smelt amazing. The chargrilled marinade was enough to make the mouth water but the texture of the pink lamb was perfect and melt-in-your-mouth. The plates didn't look like big helpings and they weren't but they were sufficient to fill us to just the point where we could still fit in a dessert and we didn't go home feeling over full.

I would go back to Pony just for the dessert.  My White Chocolate Parfait had nothing calorie free in it but oh my it was good.  The parfait was accompanied by a peanut butter crumble, dark chocolate ganache and a caramel sauce in just the right quantities.  Across the table was a German Chessecake with Marscapone and while the lovely gentleman liked his dessert, after the obligatory mouthful I was happy when he said he didn't need to share!

It pays to travel the Back Streets!

Here is a little beauty (as my Dad would say!). BackStreet Espresso is off the beaten track, literally, it is in a back street but that makes it no less significant. You can find it in Kenrose Street in Carina.  There is always a sign out on Creek Road so you shouldn't get lost.

I've been to this cafe 3 times now and each time I've been served a great cup of coffee. The last time I went I also sampled a GF Friand which came served with Ice Cream and Caramel sauce; decadent but yummy. Unfortunately I ate it all before I thought to take a pic.
There's a few good things about this cafe that make it worth going back to.
1. If you buy a small cup you can choose to have 1 or 2 shots and you are charged the same price. I like the choice without cost idea because some days are definitely 2 shot days.
2. The people there are just really nice
3. They have loads of seats and tables indoors and outdoors
4. They have a nice selection of nibbles
5. There are heaps of interesting photos on the walls

Definitely worth a try.

 

A purpose for each day.

I'm a bit of an all or nothing kind of person.  I realise that not everyone else works this way; it has it's unique set of challenges. I've just been project managing the refurbishment of the Princess Theatre which over the past month has demanded most waking hours and nearly every day, and I have loved every moment of it.  Now the project has come to an end and I have moved from high involvement, high motivation to, well, nothing much.  It highlights that for me, it's really important to have a reason to get up each morning and to define the purpose for my day.  If I can do that then I find that come the end of the day, I have a sense of satisfaction, I can reflect on what I have learned for the day (sometimes that might even be that I didn't do something very well and could try better next time) and I can reset the program for the following day. 

I started the Princess Project with an actual spreadsheet plan of what was to happen and when, it looked great on paper.  Alas, life doesn't always go according to plan and so I had to be flexible according to what was happening each day, who turned up (or didn't) and what I had money to do (or not).  We finished on time but not in the order that I had started out with on the plan. I learned to be flexible.

Actually I learned lots of things. From the painter I got encouragement about my painting skills and learned that you need a really good brush if you are going to do great "cutting in". From the tiler I learned that if you add a little detergent to water in a spray bottle and spray that on your silicone then it will come off cleanly instead of leaving that annoying smear that ends up getting mould under it.
From the carpenter I learned that, well let's just say I learned that I should leave carpentry to the experts! Most of all though I learned from my friend the Big E, that a willing heart and a cooperative spirit make working together a joyful thing.  I am thankful that he was on my team with his strong arms and shoulders to lift, pull, and carry all the stuff that was just too much for me.
So today I have purposed to write again since I have had no time to do that during the project.  Jodi Picoult wrote "You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page." In other words, you have to start somewhere. Who knows, today's writing might just give me tomorrow's purpose.

Carte Blanche

I went exploring with Nat the other day.  We were on our way out but we were both in need of a caffeine fix and she'd seen a sign, so we followed it and we found Carte Blanche espresso   tucked away in the back streets of Camp Hill, Abbott Street to be exact. What a great wee find.  This I have to say is a girlie cafe.  Everything is cute; small feminine furniture, design, colours, hairdresser out the back (complete with chandelier).  We had a simple brunch which was served on small wooden boards.  Goldilocks size; not too big, not too small.  The coffee was well made and the service came with a lovely smile and a freckle chocolate.

I loved the Jodie Picoult quote on the wall, "You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page." How true!   I can even imagine myself doing a little writing in this spot.  If I lived around the corner it would definitely be my "walk to" cafe for those days I wanted to catch up with a girlfriend or just chill on my own.  There's plenty of different spaces, inside, at the window, or outside, with different seating combinations. 

 

The Shortness of Sheets

This week I had my annual Melanoma check. The Doctor was lovely but VERY quietly spoken (how do I emphasis something that is quiet? Bold capitals implies shouting or a louder statement of fact, so do I write in teeny tiny font?). I felt like I was leaning into him all the time to catch what he was saying (and yes, my hearing is fine, though selective).  I was so close that when he stopped I nearly ran into him.  He was very polite but for some reason I felt like giggling, maybe I was just nervous, but situations like this are always a bit odd. Next he asked me to take a seat and then he said hello formally, and then he asked me to stand up and go and take my clothes off behind the screen. I felt we could have done without the preliminaries.  It was at that point that he handed me the lovely clean blue sheet and said, "just cover yourself with this".

I did as requested but came to a stumbling block with the sheet.  Now, while I'm not the slimmest model in the stable, I consider myself to be at least an average build so what the heck was I going to with a long skinny piece of blue cloth. I lay on my back and tried to adjust it just so, however if I put it long ways it covered from my ankles to just over my best bits on the top of me but exposed my sides.  If I put it sideways, it covered my best top bits but only a bit of my best bottom bits! I chose the longways option but had to suppress the rising giggle.

Seriously, do Doctors not walk into the examination room and just want to hoot with laughter? (This is the main reason I didn't become a Doctor - I laugh at inappropriate moments in life). I bet they see some really creative positioning of the blue sheet.  Maybe they have a photo book in the lunchroom of the "best of" positions of the sheet. Whatever, the case, I am sure I am not the only person challenged by the shortness of sheets.

Oh yes, my check was all good. If you haven't had a check lately, perhaps you should take the time to have one too and just maybe you should take your own sheet...

Desmond and Molly Jones - Connect the Dots

Ok, so I admit that sometimes I am a little slow......

I am working in at the Gabba currently managing a renovation project at the Princess Theatre. She is a beautiful old building, built in 1888, currently owned by Lifecity Church and seriously in need of a little love.  We want to make this beautiful building a more comfortable place for people coming into church but also to make it available for hire for events and ceremonies.  This will be a seriously lovely place for a wedding once the project is finished.  Everything we touch needs care and attention but it is a pleasure to see her come to life under the loving touch of the tradies we have contracted.  I am amazed at the skill and speed which these people do their jobs (time is money I guess).  The newly polished floor is truly a thing of beauty.  All the imperfections are still there but these floors now reflect all the experiences they have had worn into them over the years.

Anyway, I have digressed. I was talking about my slowness. Because I am working at the Gabba and because my day is starting at tradesmen's hours (6.45am), I am not having my coffee at my usual place.  Instead I have found a fabulous little spot called Desmond and Molly Jones, just around the corner from the Princess on 615 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba.  Once I have opened up the Princess for the morning and got everyone started I nip around there for a coffee.  It's a tiny wee shop front with a couple of outdoor tables and a couple of rooms out the back that work just fine if you want to stay and sit down to drink or eat.  There's always an interesting mix of people there, medical staff, patients (that's the one with the bandage around his head...?), back packers and well, tradies (that's me in my paint splattered everything).  I had a lovely cheary "hello you're back" the second time I walked in which added a certain sense of well being to my morning.  It's nice feeling the love from your barista. The food looks great and the fresh muffins smell wonderful but I have to admit that I have eaten nothing there. The coffee however was good and strong.  

Back again to my slowness. I was explaining to him who I live with just how fab this new coffee place was and how much I liked the name.  His instant reply was, "just like the song".  Totally blank expression on my face revealed I had NO IDEA what he was talking about so he burst into song.  Still, no idea why he was singing until he got to the appropriate words...... Oh dear! I am putting the lack of connection of the dots down to my mind being focused on other things but he who I live with wasn't so sure....  For those too young to understand, look up the Beatles song Obla di obla da.  Oh yes, and if you are passing, it's well worth stopping for.

Blackwork

I brought a book that caught my eye a couple of years ago.  After reading it once it sat on my shelf until recently when I decided I MUST do some of those projects, you know the ones that you will do one day. I finally decided today was the day and so I started, and finished.  I love the results! 

Blackwork is simply black stitching on a white background (or it can be white stitching on a black background - is that called white stitching?), it uses back stitch, running stitch and cross stitch, all simple, it's just the patterns that make it look so effective.  

What I liked so much about the blocks I did was that they were methodical and logical (well, I did have to unpick a couple of bits). These I would happily hang on my wall or give away.

The book I used, Made in France Blackwork, has simple instructions on how to create each stitch. If you are just learning to stitch, then buy fabric with a looser weave so that you can easily count the stitches.  That way you will not get so frustrated (possibly) with trying to learn something new and having to keep a track of counting.

I have been inspired to do more and have now started on a table runner.  I like this look because it is clean and fresh. It kind of goes with my minimalist approach to life....