july?!

Already? I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but I really don't know where the time is going. We've been here nearly a whole year.

Summer's here, it's pretty hot, and our plants are going gangbusters. I'm totally amazed at the comeback our tabasco chilli plant has made. Only a few months ago, it was so dried up, I was about to pull it out of the pot and throw it into the dumpster (I may not have been watering so regularly back then!)

I noticed a little bit of new growth coming through though, and decided to cut the dead bits back, and leave it to do its thing. Now it is big, leafy and covered in flowers and chillis!

We are also growing a few other things – tomatoes, capsicum, and some mint and thai basil that are doing really well considering they started from cuttings.

Growing tasty stuff is fun!

Also, top no. 2 is finished! I bought the pattern online. It was much simpler to make than my first top, and is nice and light for summer.

busy sewing

Been doing a bit of sewing lately. Here are some pics of things I've made:

A fun bunting and bibs. Made for our month-old niece with lotsa love, and miles of (handmade) bias tape. The pattern for the bibs is from my Martha Stewart book

An embroidered handkerchief – I guess, but I hope no-one blows their nose into it... The pattern is from Clover

And my very first top! It was a little tricky at times, but good to learn and get experience making a garment – sewing darts and sleeves, and using interfacing.
I even customised the pattern a bit, shortening the length and using sleeves from
a different pattern. The fit is pretty loose, but overall I'm happy with it, and definitely looking forward to more sewing projects :)

roll no. 2

Got my second roll of film developed yesterday, and I'm pretty happy with the results. It's exciting to get some good photos back, especially since I have a fear
(and actually recently dreamt) of getting a roll back that is completely blank!

I loaded this film (Kodak Portra 400NC) into my camera when Jon's family were over, so have quite a few shots from around BR, and our visits to Memphis and New Orleans. Here are some of my favourites:

Mmm... filmy. The rest are in this set, on my Flickr.

lately...

We have:
• been to Lafayette for the Festival International. Music + food + arty stalls = fun!
• been eating LOTS of delicious boiled crawfish
AAAND
• become uncle and aunty to a cute baby girl! (Congrats J&C!)

Apart from that, the weather's starting to heat up (I think we're skipping spring and headed straight for summer, minus the humidity though, thankfully). Jon's busy at work, and I've been having fun sewing things. Also, I won a competition on Jamie Oliver's twitter and got his Food Revolution book. Sweet! It has some really nice and simple recipes, including a fresh cherry tomato and basil pasta which I made last night. Super quick and very tasty!

colourful cotton

Some necklaces I made recently with embroidery cotton and nice wooden beads from a local bead shop (tutorial here, by Jenny of Wiksten/Wiksten-made). I'm also keen to try some different styles of embroidery, like cross-stitch and sashiko. My new Martha Stewart book and the purl bee have lots of lovely looking projects.

(Oh, the possibilities!)

attention : people who like food!

I've just added a little spot on the sidebar (to the right, below the tweets) for the recipes I've posted (all tried and guaranteed tasty). Hope you can try some.

film fun

I recently bought a Pentax K1000 from KEH. I'd been thinking about getting a film (35mm or instant/Polaroid) camera for a while, and was especially inspired by looking through the beautiful film shots on Brian and Molly's photostreams. I really like the look and texture of film photos. I like that the process makes me slow down, to be more selective with what I photograph, and try to compose my shots better so I'm not wasting my film (when I have plenty of space on my DSLR memory card). I'm hoping the more I use this, the more I learn and more practise I get, the better photographs I'll take (with both my cameras). And I do like the idea of having lots
of lovely pictures to look at and remember everything by.

Here are a few photos from my first roll* (there were also a couple in the last post). Stay tuned for more, I've nearly finished my second.

* I was a little disappointed with the processing of this roll. I took it to a local pharmacy, and my film came back marked (see above) and creased. Oh well, lesson learnt, and better luck next time.

two weeks and 2340 miles

(On the road. Somewhere between BR and Houston)

(Galveston, Texas)

(Hello! from the NASA Space Center in Houston, Texas)

(Boots etc in Gonzales, Louisiana)

(Beignets at Coffee Call in BR)

(State Capital in Jackson, Mississippi)

(Dinner at Huey's in Memphis, Tennessee)

(Graceland)

(On the way to Shreveport, Louisiana)

Some photos from our mini road trips, and time in and around BR with Jon's family, who spent two weeks with us recently. It was really great to see them, and
a little more of this big, big country.

We managed to cover quite a few miles in their short visit. We picked them up from the airport in Houston, and spent a couple of nights in Texas (in Humble and strange, kind-of-beach town, Galveston) before heading back to BR for a few days. Over the Easter long weekend, we drove up to Memphis. We spent two nights there, and got to look around Beale St and Downtown, and fit in a visit to Graceland.
On the way back, we stopped in at Little Rock (Arkansas) and spent a night in Shreveport (Louisiana). We spent their last night here in New Orleans, where we
ate ourselves silly – red beans and rice, gumbo, jambalaya and beignets (too many beignets! Maybe... if there is such a thing?!)

It was so nice to have family with us for a little while. While their visit seemed to
go quickly, the time we spent together felt full, with all the things we got see and do. It was lots of fun. Thanks for visiting us, family!

san diego and ensenada trip

I did a massive Flickr upload a few days ago of photos from our trip. I probably went overboard (there are a hundred photos), but I think they might tell the story better than I can, so if you have the time, please have a look!

San Diego was nice. We went as a group with other students and the supervisor from Jon's lab, for an aquaculture conference. It was nice to spend time (in another new place) with Jon, and for us to spend time with the others when they weren't at the conference. For the times they were, there was plenty for me to go out and see on my own.

We spent an afternoon in Old Town, the site of the first Spanish settlement in California. There were some nice shops and places to eat. After some time looking around, we found a place to sit down for happy hour drinks and tacos. This place had a large selection of chilli sauces, and after trying a couple on our tacos, Jon and a friend decided they'd do a 'hot sauce tasting'. There were a couple of habanero based sauces that really burned, but for the most part, they were pretty mild.

On our way back from Old Town, we ran into some friends organising a trip
to the other side of the city for tacos. We decided to join them. It took three different trams, and a while to get to (even longer on the way back), but the food was definitely worth the trip. And the smile/look of surprise on the lady's face as we
(a group of around 12-15) arrived was pretty funny! I was not very adventurous
with my choices from their menu, but Jon tried the lengua (tongue) and buche (esophagus), and thought they were great.

(My pastor (pork) and carnitas (slow-cooked, shredded meat) tacos)

On a day Jon was at the conference, I took the trams (they call them trolleys) into downtown San Diego. I walked around Horton Plaza and the Gaslamp Quarter, found a little Thai restaurant for a big lunch, and walked down to Seaport Village. Nice.

We had heard the San Diego zoo was a good one, so we were keen to visit. We made it there on Friday, our last day in town, and saw lots of animals. Lions and tigers and ... gorillas (no bears). And some nice-looking free range peacocks.

We were picked up and driven down to Ensenada Friday night. It was actually a pretty hairy van ride. I'm not sure if the driver thought we were in a race? He was going VERY fast, and not slowing down for the bends in the windy road. But don't worry parents – we are all OK!

Once we arrived, our hosts prepared us dinner. Tacos and quesadilla with BBQed beef, salsa and guacamole. After dinner, we walked to a nearby bar. They had a live band, and the grossest toilets ever. Dirty, kicked in doors and no running water! That's right folks – no flushing and no hand-washing. Eewww. Anyway, Jon and I called it a night after a couple of drinks, but a few others kept going.

In the morning we were brought sweet Mexican breads (like brioche rolls with
a sweet, crumbly topping) for breakfast. We were picked up and driven to the university/research centre for presentations, a tour and lunch. In the afternoon
we went into town for coffee and a short look at some of the local shops.

(View from the research centre)

We went out to a taco place for dinner. We could pick from beef, chicken, fish or pork, and could add chopped onion, coriander, cabbage, sauces, salsas and fresh lime. Delicious. Afterwards, we met up with some more people for drinks at one of the oldest cantinas in the area, Hussong's. It was a pretty cool place. The old timber floor was littered with peanut shells, and walls were packed with framed pictures. Groups of musicians would move around playing songs for people who were dancing and singing along. A few of us moved on to different bars. Jon and I ended up (with a few others) at a place with people lining up to sing karaoke – badly!
It was a pretty fun night though.

The next morning we had a 6am start for the van ride back to the San Diego airport. We had a different driver this time, luckily. It took us all day to get back to BR.
So when we finally got back to our apartment at 9pm, we were exhausted, got take away for dinner and hit the hay.

The end!
Of this mini adventure.
Of fun in San Diego and a taste of Mexico.
Next adventure in nine sleeps when Jon's parents and sister arrive!

a mini adventure

On Sunday night (exhausted after a full day of travel), we got back from a week away. The trip was for Jon's work – a conference in San Diego followed by a short visit to a research centre/university in Ensenada, Mexico. We got a little bit of time to look around San Diego, and ate lots of great food on the trip. Will do a post on it when I've edited all our photos and can include some pics.

(Taken in Old Town, San Diego)