Four weeks in and I've managed to miss two of those Sunday Sesh's. Various reasons, but suffice to say that there have been some distractions (to put it mildly), that have taken me away from both drinking beer, and my writing.
Not good.
Normal services will resume this Sunday.
Because yeh, I've pre-loaded a Sesh, so it'll go up whether I'm here or not.
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Monday, 25 June 2012
Sunday, 10 June 2012
An offer almost too good to refuse
As you can see, I'm trying out a new format this week. Let me know what you think in the comments section below.
Also, I should put a language and content warning on this one for those of you sensitive to words containing asterisks.
The Review
We all know the rivalry and the brotherhood we have with our cousins across the ditch. It's always been a love/hate relationship. We love them for giving us Russell Crowe (most of the time), Keith Urban, Rebecca Gibney and lesbian icon, Lucy Lawless. We hate them for taking the Bledisloe and World Cups.
We forgive them for beating us in the second test in Tasmania last year, if only because they hardly ever get close to us, and we also have a soft spot for Dan Vettori, Richard Hadlee and the Crowe brothers (the latter tearing us up in the 1980s).
I'm happy to report that they've given me something to crow about with Monteith's Black Beer.
It smells sweet and fresh in the bottle, and pours like sars. It tastes immedediately of coffee and caramel, but gives a slight aftertaste of burnt toffee. I have a mouth full of sweet teeth, so just writing that makes my mouth water.
It's another of those beers that isn't overly gassy, so it tingles your tongue. I like how you don't feel like you're drinking a mouthful of air as well as the beer.
Although not quite as sweet as Engine Oil and a little drier, this would make a great winter session beer because it's not as filling as the UK brew I tried last week.
At $3.60 a bottle ($52.99 a carton), this is a mid-shelfer.
The Post
I've been wanting to do a post on the shit that comes into my email box for ages but most of it's been relatively boring. Things like:- offers for replica Rolexes (as opposed to those nasty fake ones)
- Gambling offers ('Free $300 credit when you JOIN NOW!')
- Free viagra (I read it as "free vagina once" and almost clicked through)
- College f*ck books ('Two hot college girls want to sleep with you this weekend.' Such a pity I'm always busy - with my Wife!)
- Fifty Shades of Grey alert from Amazon. Oh wait, that was a legitimate one. (And literary fiction? Seriously, Amazon?)
So I took a look.
(The email in italics, and my comments underneath).
BABE... i guess your not getting any of my email huh? ive been tryign to email u so many times but this dam laptop is such a piece of garbage and keeps freezing.. anyways how u been? In case u dont know who this is its ME TORI.. we used to chat a bit on facebook and then I think u deleted me :(
First things first - I live in Australia. The only Tori's we have here are imported. I have never, ever in my 36 years, known a Tori.
Oh, but I've been good. Thanks for asking. And I hate to be pedantic but you know me - I'm a writer so spelling's kinda important. It's 'trying' not 'tryign'.
anyways guess what... I got 2 things to tell u.. 1) im single now.. yup me and my bf broke up about 3 months ago... and 2) guess where im moving?
RIGHT EFFING NEAR U
Oh see, now that's really unlucky, because I'll be moving soon to a small town far, far ,far away. Sorry about your break-up though. That's sad, right? (By the way, there's the reason for your content warning right there - I hope no-one's offended by Tori's use of 'effing', especially since she YELLED it).
I remember when we chatted u told me u thought i was cute and u wanted to chill so now we finally can HAHA! ...maybe even help me move my shit in...
I don't drive so you'll have to move your own shit in. Sorry.
And I tell so many people they're cute, I've lost track. You'll have to remind me who you are.
ok so more info about me.. well im 23.. virgo.. love the outdoors and love to socialize, go out for drinks, restaurants, movies etc.. travel.. i have a lil kitty named BOO and i luv her to death... uhhh oh im a super horny gurl too but every gurl is they just wont admit it. so ilove watching p0rn and all that..
You should have mentioned your kitty earlier. I totally would have clicked through right then. I also love how you evaded my filter by using 'p0rn' instead of 'porn'. That show's you're smart. I like smart women.
i hope u remmeber me and still wanna chill and arent married yet lol..
Does it matter if I am if I tell you I'm not?
OH YA also..
i need to find a job when i get there.. do u have any
hookups or know anybody hiring? id LOVE to work in a bar or osmehting like
that...really anythgin cause my current job is fun and all..
and technically i CUD keep doign it but i want a change..
i currently work from home and well thats cool but i need ot be out meeting
people.. oh wait. i dont think i ever actually told u what i did? hmm shud
i......????
Wow, you really don't ask for much, Tori. And there's that spelling thing again. You seem to have trouble with where the 'n' and 'g' goes in 'ing' words.
But yeh, why don't you tell me what you do.
But yeh, why don't you tell me what you do.
ok WELLLL... and dont get all weirded out on me.. i work
on a webcam chat community site and i get paid to chat with people
A webcam chat? Like skype? Cool. I like skype.
and get naked HHAHA...
Oh, riiight. THAT type of webcam.
anyways i hope u dont look down on that and NO THATS NOT WHY IM CONTACTING U RELAX URSELF lol... i actually need help once i move and i remembered u live there so im reaching out....like i said before this computer is a complete piece of CRAP and freezes NON STOP..
A webcam chat? Like skype? Cool. I like skype.
and get naked HHAHA...
Oh, riiight. THAT type of webcam.
anyways i hope u dont look down on that and NO THATS NOT WHY IM CONTACTING U RELAX URSELF lol... i actually need help once i move and i remembered u live there so im reaching out....like i said before this computer is a complete piece of CRAP and freezes NON STOP..
I'm so happy you're only contacting me because you want my help, and not because you want my business.
I do think you should get your laptop fixed though, otherwise your webcam chats could end up looking like they were filmed in a nightclub with strobe lights, all jumpy and pixelated.
ANYWAYS.. heres the deal....every month (my boss)
gives each of us 3 VIP codes to give out to whoever we want.. so with this code
u can lgoin to watch me at work for free and dont have to pay like everyone
else...
I love freebies :) Where do I sign?
i
only get 3 a month and she gets pissed if more than 3 people use them so DONT
SHARE IT MISTER...
Oh no problem. I don't like sharing anyway. Plus, it's Ms, but whatever.
i figured u cud
always email me back instead but my email account doesnt even let me login half
the time.. so the bets palce ot chat me is my chat room...
Freakin' email. It sucks when you can't log in. I'm glad you can still log in to your webcam chat account though. Such a relief.
Freakin' email Sucks when you can't send any. Just like this one. Must have gotten its little self through before it wigged out on you, huh? Lucky me.
Freakin' email. It sucks when you can't log in. I'm glad you can still log in to your webcam chat account though. Such a relief.
Freakin' email Sucks when you can't send any. Just like this one. Must have gotten its little self through before it wigged out on you, huh? Lucky me.
anyways ive rambled on and on now and ur probably soooo
annnoyed with me so ill stop now.. im gonna go start work..
k babe im out for now... chat ya soon..
kisses xoxo
Wow, I think I've got a good one here. What do you think?
On the up side, at least her english is readable, even with the bad spelling.
One question though, who wants the free codes?
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Harviestoun Brewery Old Engine Oil
It's been perfect weather up here on the Ridge for getting stuck into a few dark ales - cold, windy and rainy.
So, welcome to the first winter Sunday Sesh, brought to you by Harviestoun Brewery's Old Engine Oil Porter.
Well, this certainly looks like engine oil, but it does have some carbonation, hence the short, creamy head. Tastes a little of burnt caramel, and sweet like a good porter should. There's a hint of chocolate, but there's a most interesting aftertaste - vegemite. I guess that's because vegemite is a yeast-based product, but it was funny being able to taste the stuff I used to eat by the bucket-load for breakfast when I was a kid.
Anything that tastes like an Aussie staple is alright in my book. I really like this beer, but would maybe stop at two or three. It's quite heavy to drink, as in thickish compared to summery lagers, so fills you up quite quickly.
A side note on this, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the Porters were named after the transportation workers (porters) who enjoyed this type of beer in 18th century London. Apparently, they used to make a meal out the beers. And I can see why, as these types of ales fill you up fast.
A great beer to kick off the winter Sunday Sesh's.
A couple of things caught my eye this week.
The first was this news about swing bowling in cricket.
Apparently some scientists discovered that it's not moisture in the air that causes swing.
I think those scientists haven't been to a test match in Brisbane. When the humidity's high at the Gabba, that red ball is practically moving 90 degrees as can be seen by the very first ball of the 2006 first test delivered by Steve Harmison.
One commenter on this video said that maybe it was a tactic by England - to get the ball to Freddy Flintoff as soon as possible. It's a shame that tactic didn't quite work. We won that series in a white-wash.
The other thing that caught my eye was this mash-up from youtube. It's a very clever look at the goal celebrations in football (that's the round ball game), and adding in some Hollywood-style FX.
Some of the world's best players are known just as much for their celebrations as the goals they score. So I'll leave you with this little piece of brilliance to finish of the Sesh.
My favourite is the accordion playing 'keeper.
Next week, I'm trying out Monteiths Black Beer, a drop from our cousins across the ditch. The last time I had a Kiwi beer, I wasn't impressed. I have had a Monteiths before when I holidayed in Queenstown and it wasn't too bad. I'm looking forward to this one, since it promises lots of caramelly, chocolatey, nutty, and coffee goodness.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
So, welcome to the first winter Sunday Sesh, brought to you by Harviestoun Brewery's Old Engine Oil Porter.
 |
| Something I drained out of the car earlier |
Well, this certainly looks like engine oil, but it does have some carbonation, hence the short, creamy head. Tastes a little of burnt caramel, and sweet like a good porter should. There's a hint of chocolate, but there's a most interesting aftertaste - vegemite. I guess that's because vegemite is a yeast-based product, but it was funny being able to taste the stuff I used to eat by the bucket-load for breakfast when I was a kid.
Anything that tastes like an Aussie staple is alright in my book. I really like this beer, but would maybe stop at two or three. It's quite heavy to drink, as in thickish compared to summery lagers, so fills you up quite quickly.
A side note on this, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the Porters were named after the transportation workers (porters) who enjoyed this type of beer in 18th century London. Apparently, they used to make a meal out the beers. And I can see why, as these types of ales fill you up fast.
A great beer to kick off the winter Sunday Sesh's.
A couple of things caught my eye this week.
The first was this news about swing bowling in cricket.
Apparently some scientists discovered that it's not moisture in the air that causes swing.
I think those scientists haven't been to a test match in Brisbane. When the humidity's high at the Gabba, that red ball is practically moving 90 degrees as can be seen by the very first ball of the 2006 first test delivered by Steve Harmison.
One commenter on this video said that maybe it was a tactic by England - to get the ball to Freddy Flintoff as soon as possible. It's a shame that tactic didn't quite work. We won that series in a white-wash.
The other thing that caught my eye was this mash-up from youtube. It's a very clever look at the goal celebrations in football (that's the round ball game), and adding in some Hollywood-style FX.
Some of the world's best players are known just as much for their celebrations as the goals they score. So I'll leave you with this little piece of brilliance to finish of the Sesh.
My favourite is the accordion playing 'keeper.
Next week, I'm trying out Monteiths Black Beer, a drop from our cousins across the ditch. The last time I had a Kiwi beer, I wasn't impressed. I have had a Monteiths before when I holidayed in Queenstown and it wasn't too bad. I'm looking forward to this one, since it promises lots of caramelly, chocolatey, nutty, and coffee goodness.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Sunday Sesh Preview
The first winter Sunday Sesh kicks off next weekend, with a review of Harviestoun Brewery's Old Engine Oil Dark Beer.
Before I kick it off though, I thought I'd share a beer that I would love to get my hands on, but at $169.99 a bottle at Dan Murphy's it's a little out of my price range.
It's called Tactical Nuclear Penguin, and it's made by a brewery in Scotland called Brewdog.
I always thought Scotsmen were crazy, and after seeing how they came up with this beer, I know I'm right. You can't help but love their ingenuity.
Since I can't afford to get this one I decided to live vicariously through someone elses review.
What do you think? Is it worth $170?
Before I kick it off though, I thought I'd share a beer that I would love to get my hands on, but at $169.99 a bottle at Dan Murphy's it's a little out of my price range.
It's called Tactical Nuclear Penguin, and it's made by a brewery in Scotland called Brewdog.
I always thought Scotsmen were crazy, and after seeing how they came up with this beer, I know I'm right. You can't help but love their ingenuity.
Since I can't afford to get this one I decided to live vicariously through someone elses review.
What do you think? Is it worth $170?
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Sunday Sesh #26 - Blue Sky Pilsner
And so we come to the very final Sunday Sesh for this summer, brought to you by Blue Sky Pilsner. This is the same little brewery in Cairns that produces of one of my new favourites from this summer, FNQ lager.
This is a Czec-style pilsner, so it's a clear, pale-yellow beer with lots of carbonation. It smells sweet and florally out of the bottle, and pours well, with a small head that sticks around as you drink it.
This one's a bit spicy, and leaves your tongue feeling tingly. It's refreshing and very easy to drink. The sweetness in it reminds me of drinking shandies when I was younger, but it's got a bit of a bite that leaves you feeling the bitterness in the bottom of your throat.
This is on the heavy end of mid-strength brews, and would make a great session beer. Great to share with mates over a BBQ.
Another success from the north of sunny Queensland. Dare I say it - I think we do make some of the best brews Down Under up here.
So what's next for the blog if this is the last Sunday Sesh? Firstly, I'll be getting my head stuck back into some writing, which I've been neglecting over the last few weeks.
I intend on starting the Sunday Sesh's back up again with the onset of summer next year, which means 13 Sesh's instead of the 26 like this year. Summer got the hint this year and gave me some fantastically hot, steamy and sunny days, so I think I can forgo drinking through spring this time around.
In the mean time though, I'll be charting more of my writing journey on here, and occasionally throwing in some posts on things that amuse me, just for fun.
The posting schedule is going out the window for the time being, so I'll really be posting when I have something to say. I'm hoping that will turn out to be at least once a month, but since I can talk under water with a gag on, it's probably going to be more often. We'll just have to wait and see.
So that's it from me for the Sunday Sesh's. I hope you've enjoyed the beer reviews as much as I have. It's a little disappointing to be getting rid of my best reason to drink beer, but I don't think Wifey will be complaining.
As always though, I'm always on the lookout for good brews, so if you have any suggestions for something to add to my list for next summer's reviews, let me know.
Cheers!
 |
| Blue Sky Pilsner |
This one's a bit spicy, and leaves your tongue feeling tingly. It's refreshing and very easy to drink. The sweetness in it reminds me of drinking shandies when I was younger, but it's got a bit of a bite that leaves you feeling the bitterness in the bottom of your throat.
This is on the heavy end of mid-strength brews, and would make a great session beer. Great to share with mates over a BBQ.
Another success from the north of sunny Queensland. Dare I say it - I think we do make some of the best brews Down Under up here.
So what's next for the blog if this is the last Sunday Sesh? Firstly, I'll be getting my head stuck back into some writing, which I've been neglecting over the last few weeks.
I intend on starting the Sunday Sesh's back up again with the onset of summer next year, which means 13 Sesh's instead of the 26 like this year. Summer got the hint this year and gave me some fantastically hot, steamy and sunny days, so I think I can forgo drinking through spring this time around.
In the mean time though, I'll be charting more of my writing journey on here, and occasionally throwing in some posts on things that amuse me, just for fun.
The posting schedule is going out the window for the time being, so I'll really be posting when I have something to say. I'm hoping that will turn out to be at least once a month, but since I can talk under water with a gag on, it's probably going to be more often. We'll just have to wait and see.
So that's it from me for the Sunday Sesh's. I hope you've enjoyed the beer reviews as much as I have. It's a little disappointing to be getting rid of my best reason to drink beer, but I don't think Wifey will be complaining.
As always though, I'm always on the lookout for good brews, so if you have any suggestions for something to add to my list for next summer's reviews, let me know.
Cheers!
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Sunday Sesh #25 - White Rabbit Dark Ale
This is the second last beer review for this summer, and it's brought to you by White Rabbit Dark Ale.
This little beer proves the Victorians don't always get it wrong.
It's a rich dark colour, hints of caramel on the pour. Not much head at all, which isn't surprising since it's more fizzy than carbonated. Not many bubbles, and it goes down very smooth. It's a little watery, but otherwise not too bad. Very little after taste, which makes it a good session beer.
It's been a bit cooler up here on the Ridge, and this is the sort of beer I would enjoy in the cooler months.
If you like Kilkenny, you should give this one a go. It's not as creamy, and a little more bitter, but not bad all the same.
I'm looking forward to giving the White Ale a go, though I'll save that one for next summer.
Next week marks the last official week of summer, which means it's also the last Sunday Sesh until the weather heats up again.
I'm still open to suggestions for a beer to finish off the summer with, so feel free to email or add your suggestions in the comments.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
cheers!
 |
| White Rabbit Dark Ale |
This little beer proves the Victorians don't always get it wrong.
It's a rich dark colour, hints of caramel on the pour. Not much head at all, which isn't surprising since it's more fizzy than carbonated. Not many bubbles, and it goes down very smooth. It's a little watery, but otherwise not too bad. Very little after taste, which makes it a good session beer.
It's been a bit cooler up here on the Ridge, and this is the sort of beer I would enjoy in the cooler months.
If you like Kilkenny, you should give this one a go. It's not as creamy, and a little more bitter, but not bad all the same.
I'm looking forward to giving the White Ale a go, though I'll save that one for next summer.
Next week marks the last official week of summer, which means it's also the last Sunday Sesh until the weather heats up again.
I'm still open to suggestions for a beer to finish off the summer with, so feel free to email or add your suggestions in the comments.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
cheers!
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Sunday Sesh #24 - Mountain goat Hightail Ale
This week's Sesh brought to you by Mountain Goat Hightail Ale.
These guys have got a pretty cool story about how they established their brewery. It's a real backyard home-brewer to microbrewer tale.
I'm not sure what I was expecting with this one - I bought it because of the name more than anything. Certainly not because it was brewed in Victoria - I'm glad I didn't realise until after the purchase. I don't think I would have bought it otherwise.
As you can see from the first photo, it was a little bit excited to be opened.
It was a bit better behaved when I poured it though.
It's a bit of a surprise packet this one. It's a bit rich and heavy for a summer beer, but I would definitely enjoy this one on a cooler day. It's very robust, and the flavour sticks around giving a strong after taste.
It has the burnt toast taste of the Old Fart I reviewed previously, but it also has a sweetness that offsets it that makes it easier to drink.
Apart from the froth on the pour, there's not a lot of gas or bubbles, so it's quite smooth to drink. A good session beer in Autumn or Winter I think.
All-in-all, it's not a bad drop for something made in Victoria. Recommended if you like something rich and malty.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
These guys have got a pretty cool story about how they established their brewery. It's a real backyard home-brewer to microbrewer tale.
I'm not sure what I was expecting with this one - I bought it because of the name more than anything. Certainly not because it was brewed in Victoria - I'm glad I didn't realise until after the purchase. I don't think I would have bought it otherwise.
As you can see from the first photo, it was a little bit excited to be opened.
 |
| Yep, it's a boy! |
 |
| Dark and dangerous |
It has the burnt toast taste of the Old Fart I reviewed previously, but it also has a sweetness that offsets it that makes it easier to drink.
Apart from the froth on the pour, there's not a lot of gas or bubbles, so it's quite smooth to drink. A good session beer in Autumn or Winter I think.
All-in-all, it's not a bad drop for something made in Victoria. Recommended if you like something rich and malty.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Sunday Sesh #23 - Little Creatures Pale Ale
This Sunday's Sesh is brought to you by Little Creatures Pale Ale, and it's going to be a straight beer review since I am champing at the bit to get some writing done today. I've been struggling to get words down and I'm finally getting some momentum, so this post will be short but sweet.
I've been meaning to have a go of a Little Creatures of some kind for a while now, and I'm wondering why it's taken me so long.
This is a bright orange colour (though you can't tell thanks to my crap photography), and it has heaps of bubbles, which means the little creamy head from the pour sticks around even after you start drinking it.
I'm drinking this one on its own as opposed to with snacks like I would normally, and it's going down a treat.
It's a little fruity and very refreshing, though a little dry on the aftertaste. I could easily have a few of these, even on a cool day. I won't today though, since the 1.4 standards drinks is going to my head already, which means I'm drinking this a little too fast. A good sign I say!
I'm looking forward to trying the other Little Creatures beers in the future.
Before I go, there are just three more Sunday Sesh's left for the summer. I've got a couple of beers in mind for the next couple of reviews, but I'm searching for something special for the very last one. If you have anything you really think I should try, let me know in the comments. Or if you have two beers that you think would go well head-to-head, I'm certainly up for that. Let me know.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
I've been meaning to have a go of a Little Creatures of some kind for a while now, and I'm wondering why it's taken me so long.
 |
| Little Creatures Pale Ale |
I'm drinking this one on its own as opposed to with snacks like I would normally, and it's going down a treat.
It's a little fruity and very refreshing, though a little dry on the aftertaste. I could easily have a few of these, even on a cool day. I won't today though, since the 1.4 standards drinks is going to my head already, which means I'm drinking this a little too fast. A good sign I say!
I'm looking forward to trying the other Little Creatures beers in the future.
Before I go, there are just three more Sunday Sesh's left for the summer. I've got a couple of beers in mind for the next couple of reviews, but I'm searching for something special for the very last one. If you have anything you really think I should try, let me know in the comments. Or if you have two beers that you think would go well head-to-head, I'm certainly up for that. Let me know.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Sunday Sesh #22 - 28 Pale Ale
This Sunday's Sesh is brought to you by 28 Pale Ale, brewed by the Burleigh Brewing Company. The one thing I love about boutique breweries is the way they name their beers. Other brews in the stable include Big Head (claimed to be Australia's first no-carb beer), the Black Giraffe (a black coffe brew) and an English style bitter called My Wife's Bitter.
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| 28 Pale Ale |
I really enjoyed this one and will be adding this to my favourites to buy again in the future.
We're on the cusp of the end of the cricket season, and the beginning of the footy season here in Aus. How do I know? The NRL Allstar football match was on last night, and we're into the Tri-series One-dayers in the cricket.
Just before the Aus v India one-dayer started today, I caught the end of a charity cricket match in Wollongong, started by Adam Gilchrist three years ago. He had a few big names playing - Wendell Sailor, Merv Hughes, Darren Lehman to name a few - as well as some women's cricketers and locals.
It made me wonder, what happened to the old testimonial cricket match when a big-name player retired?
The teams for these matches were typically composed of retired players, football players from all codes, a few women's reps and media identities. The line-ups were enough to bring in bumper crowds, just to see all those big names together on one field.
I know we can't do that every time one of our players retires, but I think we need to take a leaf out of the NRL play book, and reinstate a charity match at the very least. It's something that could be the official opener of the cricket season, getting us prepped for the upcoming tour matches, and getting us excited about summer to come.
Twenty/20 has made cricket more popular since it's inception, and it's because it's extremely exciting to watch. I love my test matches, but I also love sitting down and watching a match that has a result in under three hours.
Why not combine the excitement of T/20 cricket with the fun of watching league, soccer and AFL players pit their wits against the likes of Shane Warne and Brett Lee? It showcases the game at it's most basic level - and that is how anyone can pick up a bat and a ball and have a go.
It does beg the question though - who would you have in your team?
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Sunday Sesh #21 - Coopers Clear
This Sunday's Sesh is Wifey's choice, and is brought to you by Coopers Clear. I shouldn't be surprised that she chose this, since it's a low-carb drop. Wifey's exact words were "I've got to look after your figure". Ain't that that truth, since I probably don't look after it as much as I should. As long as someone is though, it's all good.
This one's a little surprise packet. It pours quite well, and has a light creamy head that disappears pretty quickly. It has a very pale straw colour, which is an indication of how light and refreshing it is.
My first impression was that it was a bit watery, but after a few sips, it went down quite well. It's another one that seems a little shandy-ish, but it's still bitter enough to give a bit of bite. There's very little after taste, and I'm glad Wifey bought a 6-pack of this one.
Hopefully the weather warms up enough to enjoy the other five on the deck in the sun.
Recommended for hot, balmy days. Better than the Bitburger if you're after something light.
This week saw those of us who are lucky enough to live Down Under celebrating Australia Day. It's a day of mixed feelings for some, and I think everyone has their own take on it.
We celebrated with friends on our new deck with a BBQ and a few cold ones, with general banter and catching up. It's always great to have a public holiday (most would say there's not enough of them), and since it fell on a Thursday, there were more than a few that would have continued with another great Aussie tradition, and had a sickie on the Friday after.
As well as general celebrations, we also award Aussie of the Year to someone who embodies all things great about Australia. Previous winners have come from all walks of life - singers, sportsmen/women, doctors, artists, medical researchers, Aboriginal Community Leaders and actors.
The 2012 award went to actor Geoffrey Rush, and it wasn't without controversy. There has been a small backlash about who should have won the top accolade, and there were many fitting finalists, any of whom I would have been proud to have won.
The thing that amazed me about the backlash though was that people thought we "could do better" than award the top gong to an actor. In other words, being an actor - someone so highly paid for portraying others on the small and big screens - should preclude a person from receiving a national award.
Some people even went as far as questioning why, when he'd won enough film industry awards, we should then also award him Australian of the Year.
Take a look at his short profile on the Australian of the Year website, and you'll see he's much more than an actor.
His winners speech was also held up to scorn, because he dared to mention an issue most of us have an opinion on - asylum seekers and refugees - and said that maybe we should get some of their stories out "there" on screen so those of us with no real idea of their experiences and plight may get some sort of insight.
Geoffrey Rush is an artist - a highly paid one, and a very bloody good one. That shouldn't preclude him from receiving any type of award.
It also shouldn't mean that he doesn't have a right to an opinion on things that affect his homeland, no matter where in the world he lives.
I saw this type of thing a while back, when Cate Blanchett came out in support of the effort to slow global warming. Various commentators were up in arms that an actress would dare to have an opinion, and would assume to throw her support behind one side or the other.
Would anyone suggest that someone who works in the mining industry shouldn't have an opinion on global warming or environmental issues? What about those in the financial sector? Should they only be allowed an opinion on the economy and nothing else?
Regardless of what people do for a living, or how much they earn from it, we should never question their right to have an opinion, no matter what the issue.
Of all the great things about our country, the one thing I cringe at is our ability to build someone up, only to tear them down again. It seems you can reach for the stars, but you should never get too bug for your boots.
Although, if we all worried about what others would think of us if we succeeded "too much", we wouldn't have anyone to award Aussie of the Year to, would we?
 |
| Coopers Clear Low-Carb |
My first impression was that it was a bit watery, but after a few sips, it went down quite well. It's another one that seems a little shandy-ish, but it's still bitter enough to give a bit of bite. There's very little after taste, and I'm glad Wifey bought a 6-pack of this one.
Hopefully the weather warms up enough to enjoy the other five on the deck in the sun.
Recommended for hot, balmy days. Better than the Bitburger if you're after something light.
This week saw those of us who are lucky enough to live Down Under celebrating Australia Day. It's a day of mixed feelings for some, and I think everyone has their own take on it.
We celebrated with friends on our new deck with a BBQ and a few cold ones, with general banter and catching up. It's always great to have a public holiday (most would say there's not enough of them), and since it fell on a Thursday, there were more than a few that would have continued with another great Aussie tradition, and had a sickie on the Friday after.
As well as general celebrations, we also award Aussie of the Year to someone who embodies all things great about Australia. Previous winners have come from all walks of life - singers, sportsmen/women, doctors, artists, medical researchers, Aboriginal Community Leaders and actors.
The 2012 award went to actor Geoffrey Rush, and it wasn't without controversy. There has been a small backlash about who should have won the top accolade, and there were many fitting finalists, any of whom I would have been proud to have won.
The thing that amazed me about the backlash though was that people thought we "could do better" than award the top gong to an actor. In other words, being an actor - someone so highly paid for portraying others on the small and big screens - should preclude a person from receiving a national award.
Some people even went as far as questioning why, when he'd won enough film industry awards, we should then also award him Australian of the Year.
Take a look at his short profile on the Australian of the Year website, and you'll see he's much more than an actor.
His winners speech was also held up to scorn, because he dared to mention an issue most of us have an opinion on - asylum seekers and refugees - and said that maybe we should get some of their stories out "there" on screen so those of us with no real idea of their experiences and plight may get some sort of insight.
Geoffrey Rush is an artist - a highly paid one, and a very bloody good one. That shouldn't preclude him from receiving any type of award.
It also shouldn't mean that he doesn't have a right to an opinion on things that affect his homeland, no matter where in the world he lives.
I saw this type of thing a while back, when Cate Blanchett came out in support of the effort to slow global warming. Various commentators were up in arms that an actress would dare to have an opinion, and would assume to throw her support behind one side or the other.
Would anyone suggest that someone who works in the mining industry shouldn't have an opinion on global warming or environmental issues? What about those in the financial sector? Should they only be allowed an opinion on the economy and nothing else?
Regardless of what people do for a living, or how much they earn from it, we should never question their right to have an opinion, no matter what the issue.
Of all the great things about our country, the one thing I cringe at is our ability to build someone up, only to tear them down again. It seems you can reach for the stars, but you should never get too bug for your boots.
Although, if we all worried about what others would think of us if we succeeded "too much", we wouldn't have anyone to award Aussie of the Year to, would we?
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Sunday Sesh #19 - One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale
This Sunday's Sesh is brought to you by James Squire's One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale. I can't provide a link because on the Malt Shovel website, the pale ale hasn't been added for some reason, and on the only other site (called The Squires Bounty), there's nothing about the actual beer - just an advertisement for its launch last year.
Anyhoo, the review.
This is another winner from the James Squire stable. It's light and a little cloudy and not much head and smell crisp and fruity. Very refreshing and easy to drink, and went down a little to quickly to be honest.
It's just a little sweet - almost shandy-ish, but not quite. Highly recommend this one.
I think the lesson here is, if its a James Squire, you won't be disappointed.
Continuing on from last week's post about goal-setting for the new year, I've downloaded and read (on my sparkly new kindle) a couple of books that I hope will assist me in building my "author platform". In other words, how to get people to like me and buy my books, and how to get THOSE people to tell OTHER people to buy my books.
It's going to be a hard slog. I'm under no illusions, however, that it will be any different from writing my books - a marathon rather than a sprint - and damn hard work.
If you're interested, the books are How I Sold a Million Books in 5 Months by John Locke, and two books by Kristen Lamb - We Are Note Alone and Are You There Blog? It's Me, Writer.
If you're at all interested in writing and particularly in self-publishing, I highly recommend all three books. John's is very similar to Kristen Lambs, but John gets you fired up and Kristen Lamb sits you back on your rear and tells you like it is.
Anyway, there will be a few changes around the blog over the next few months. As I said last week, the Sunday Sesh's will continue, and that's because I enjoy writing them. And yeh, ok, I also enjoy the beer.
They will be the only blog posts on here for the next month or so though (unless something really takes my interest), as I re-design the blog and the direction I want it to go in. I need to re-focus on my writing as well, and it all needs to start overlapping. I've started the hard slog towards defining who my readers are, and I now need to work out where they hang out after work. That's harder than I first thought, but it has also helped me to decide where to focus my efforts with regards to which of my (currently) 18 ideas I will concentrate on over the next year or two to build my audience.
Enough of my writing plans though, because I want to tell you, if you're after a fast-paced, fun and dangerously addictive read, you need to check out John Locke's Donovan Creed novels. I downloaded and read two in two days, and I am just waiting for my book budget to tick back over into the black to buy the rest of them. They are purely entertainment, so if you're after literary genius, they're not for you. And at 99c a pop for the kindle editions, what's not to like? They're also in paperback, so you don't need an e-reader to enjoy them.
Donovan Creed, Locke's main character, is a gun-for-hire and is strangely endearing, even if he does have better relationships with prostitutes than real women, and even if he is happy for people to get their come-uppance.
My pick of the two I've read so far is Wish List. Without going into too much detail, it's about a group of friends who enter their wishes onto a website, never thinking for a moment that they would start to come true. As always where Donovan Creed is concerned, there are consequences. This book had me cringing and laughing out loud. Very highly recommended.
That's enough from me this week. I have to decide what beer I'm reviewing next week, since the cupboard is bare. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to give them a go. I'm always after recommendations on what to stock my beer shelf (ok, shelves) with, so don't be shy.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
Anyhoo, the review.
 |
| James Squire's One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale |
It's just a little sweet - almost shandy-ish, but not quite. Highly recommend this one.
I think the lesson here is, if its a James Squire, you won't be disappointed.
Continuing on from last week's post about goal-setting for the new year, I've downloaded and read (on my sparkly new kindle) a couple of books that I hope will assist me in building my "author platform". In other words, how to get people to like me and buy my books, and how to get THOSE people to tell OTHER people to buy my books.
It's going to be a hard slog. I'm under no illusions, however, that it will be any different from writing my books - a marathon rather than a sprint - and damn hard work.
If you're interested, the books are How I Sold a Million Books in 5 Months by John Locke, and two books by Kristen Lamb - We Are Note Alone and Are You There Blog? It's Me, Writer.
If you're at all interested in writing and particularly in self-publishing, I highly recommend all three books. John's is very similar to Kristen Lambs, but John gets you fired up and Kristen Lamb sits you back on your rear and tells you like it is.
Anyway, there will be a few changes around the blog over the next few months. As I said last week, the Sunday Sesh's will continue, and that's because I enjoy writing them. And yeh, ok, I also enjoy the beer.
They will be the only blog posts on here for the next month or so though (unless something really takes my interest), as I re-design the blog and the direction I want it to go in. I need to re-focus on my writing as well, and it all needs to start overlapping. I've started the hard slog towards defining who my readers are, and I now need to work out where they hang out after work. That's harder than I first thought, but it has also helped me to decide where to focus my efforts with regards to which of my (currently) 18 ideas I will concentrate on over the next year or two to build my audience.
Enough of my writing plans though, because I want to tell you, if you're after a fast-paced, fun and dangerously addictive read, you need to check out John Locke's Donovan Creed novels. I downloaded and read two in two days, and I am just waiting for my book budget to tick back over into the black to buy the rest of them. They are purely entertainment, so if you're after literary genius, they're not for you. And at 99c a pop for the kindle editions, what's not to like? They're also in paperback, so you don't need an e-reader to enjoy them.
Donovan Creed, Locke's main character, is a gun-for-hire and is strangely endearing, even if he does have better relationships with prostitutes than real women, and even if he is happy for people to get their come-uppance.
My pick of the two I've read so far is Wish List. Without going into too much detail, it's about a group of friends who enter their wishes onto a website, never thinking for a moment that they would start to come true. As always where Donovan Creed is concerned, there are consequences. This book had me cringing and laughing out loud. Very highly recommended.
That's enough from me this week. I have to decide what beer I'm reviewing next week, since the cupboard is bare. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to give them a go. I'm always after recommendations on what to stock my beer shelf (ok, shelves) with, so don't be shy.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Sunday Sesh #18 - New Year's Double-down
Since last Sunday was a dry sesh because of Christmas, this weekend is a double-down. That's right - two beers in one Sesh. Incidentally, Christmas wasn't exactly "dry", as much as I just never got the chance to write about the beers I drank while I was home. So anyway, here are the first two beers of the New Year.
First off the rank is a Matilda Bay Alpha Pale Ale.
This one is a big brew, and there's not much pale about it. It's a dark golden colour, smelling fruity and citrusy - fresh enough for summer.
It's got some big flavours but it's not overwhelming as you might expect. There's a bitterness that lasts a little while, but it's not too over-powering. They say to have this with roast meats, but I accompanied my beer with a rump steak and veg. It went down quite nicely and suited the steak well.
I will have this one again, but it won'te become one of my regulars.
The second of today's beers is from James Squire - Stow Away IPA (India Pale Ale) - quite appropriate since we're hosting a four test series against them this summer, but I digress.
This also pours quite well, with a frothy but light head. You can see the big difference in these two is the carbonation, but they're almost identical in colour.
The IPA is drier and has a lot stronger bitterness in the aftertaste. It's not too bad though, and I could have a couple of these on a hot day. It also smells a bit like potpourri out of the bottle, as well as wet paper - doesn't make sense to me either, but that's what I could smell.
I prefer the Alpha over the IPA, but I wouldn't say no to either of them if they were offered.
Today's sesh marks the first day of 2012. New Year is normally when most of us take stock of what we've done with the last year and in particular, how we're going to lose the weight we've gained over the Festive Season.
I plan on having a big year in 2012, but I'm not one to make resolutions. I think they're a fast way to failure. I do, however, believe in goal-setting - something I've been lacking over the past year or so. I've been coasting a little, going with the flow and seeing where it takes me. It hasn't been too bad this last year, but 2012 is the year I take the wheel back and start to steer for myself.
The one thing I do want to get done is a revision of my writing plan. I wrote one at the start of last year that more or less just said that I wanted to prioritise my writing. I managed to do that more than I have in previous years, but this year it will go further. One of the major changes will be to set a writing schedule, and stick to it.
I will also start introducing myself to people as a "writer" instead of an "accountant". At some point, I'm hoping that my brain starts to believe it and allows me to start acting like a writer instead of an accountant - not that being an accountant is a bad thing, but it's just not what I want to be when I grow up.
I'm excited about being a writer this year instead of an accountant, and I'm excited about what I hope to achieve. One of the last things I did in 2011 (oh so far away now) was to go through my ideas - books, notes, napkins, post-its etc - and write them down on note-cards. Some of them have working titles, others just start with "The one about...". I've added short synopses on each of them so I know what they're about, and because of that, I feel a bit more organised already.
The other thing I realised is that I can no longer tell anyone I don't have any ideas. I actually have 18 of them. That's 18 novels that are waiting to be written. It blew me away when I realised, and the thing is, I only wrote down the ones that had "formed" to a point where I had a couple of characters, plot points and a general idea. I have a tonne of other ideas that are still percolating in the furthest reaches of my brain. The other thing is, a couple of those ideas are looking more and more like they could be great as series, so who knows how many books 18 ideas can turn into.
With that in mind, and safe in the thought that at any time I feel I can't write anything I can just pull out a new note-card and start working on something different, I'm heading into 2012 with renewed vigour and energy,and particularly, enthusiasm, for my writing.
Blog-wise, I'm still pottering along trying to balance what I want to write about and writing about a lot less on "me". There'll be a few changes - not least of which when Summer is over, there will be no more Sunday Sesh's, but I'm kicking around a few ideas to take its place over the colder months - perhaps reviewing coffee in the local cafes, or even better, the hot chocolates.
I'm also looking at blogging more on writing and my journey, almost as a journal, and I definitely want to include more extracts so you can see what I've been working on.
I'm also considering a weekly post on something topical - politics, scandals, something to get passionate about. I've enjoyed writing about gay marriage this year, not least of which because it affects me directly, but also because I'm passionate about it. I'm passionate about a lot of other things though, and I want to step side-ways a little and post more on the things that make me cringe, face-palm, laugh-out-loud, and yell at the television.
Apart from that, there are a host of other things that I'd like to achieve this year, but rather than bore you with the details, I'll let you go and nurse your hangovers, and if you didn't overdo it last night, pay out on those who did.
Plus, I need to get back to renovating. We're now on a fast-track to getting the house finished as we're on a dead-line. As we speak, power tools are whining away in the back yard cutting timber and drilling holes for the deck. The ceiling has been fixed and patched, so my painting skills are being called on.
It will be great to get the house finally finished, but we may not get to stick around to enjoy our hard work for very long. As I said earlier, I think this year will yield big things, so stay tuned.
Happy new year, and until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
First off the rank is a Matilda Bay Alpha Pale Ale.
 |
| Matilda Bay Alpha Pale Ale |
It's got some big flavours but it's not overwhelming as you might expect. There's a bitterness that lasts a little while, but it's not too over-powering. They say to have this with roast meats, but I accompanied my beer with a rump steak and veg. It went down quite nicely and suited the steak well.
I will have this one again, but it won'te become one of my regulars.
The second of today's beers is from James Squire - Stow Away IPA (India Pale Ale) - quite appropriate since we're hosting a four test series against them this summer, but I digress.
 |
| James Squire Stow Away IPA |
This also pours quite well, with a frothy but light head. You can see the big difference in these two is the carbonation, but they're almost identical in colour.
The IPA is drier and has a lot stronger bitterness in the aftertaste. It's not too bad though, and I could have a couple of these on a hot day. It also smells a bit like potpourri out of the bottle, as well as wet paper - doesn't make sense to me either, but that's what I could smell.
I prefer the Alpha over the IPA, but I wouldn't say no to either of them if they were offered.
Today's sesh marks the first day of 2012. New Year is normally when most of us take stock of what we've done with the last year and in particular, how we're going to lose the weight we've gained over the Festive Season.
I plan on having a big year in 2012, but I'm not one to make resolutions. I think they're a fast way to failure. I do, however, believe in goal-setting - something I've been lacking over the past year or so. I've been coasting a little, going with the flow and seeing where it takes me. It hasn't been too bad this last year, but 2012 is the year I take the wheel back and start to steer for myself.
The one thing I do want to get done is a revision of my writing plan. I wrote one at the start of last year that more or less just said that I wanted to prioritise my writing. I managed to do that more than I have in previous years, but this year it will go further. One of the major changes will be to set a writing schedule, and stick to it.
I will also start introducing myself to people as a "writer" instead of an "accountant". At some point, I'm hoping that my brain starts to believe it and allows me to start acting like a writer instead of an accountant - not that being an accountant is a bad thing, but it's just not what I want to be when I grow up.
I'm excited about being a writer this year instead of an accountant, and I'm excited about what I hope to achieve. One of the last things I did in 2011 (oh so far away now) was to go through my ideas - books, notes, napkins, post-its etc - and write them down on note-cards. Some of them have working titles, others just start with "The one about...". I've added short synopses on each of them so I know what they're about, and because of that, I feel a bit more organised already.
The other thing I realised is that I can no longer tell anyone I don't have any ideas. I actually have 18 of them. That's 18 novels that are waiting to be written. It blew me away when I realised, and the thing is, I only wrote down the ones that had "formed" to a point where I had a couple of characters, plot points and a general idea. I have a tonne of other ideas that are still percolating in the furthest reaches of my brain. The other thing is, a couple of those ideas are looking more and more like they could be great as series, so who knows how many books 18 ideas can turn into.
With that in mind, and safe in the thought that at any time I feel I can't write anything I can just pull out a new note-card and start working on something different, I'm heading into 2012 with renewed vigour and energy,and particularly, enthusiasm, for my writing.
Blog-wise, I'm still pottering along trying to balance what I want to write about and writing about a lot less on "me". There'll be a few changes - not least of which when Summer is over, there will be no more Sunday Sesh's, but I'm kicking around a few ideas to take its place over the colder months - perhaps reviewing coffee in the local cafes, or even better, the hot chocolates.
I'm also looking at blogging more on writing and my journey, almost as a journal, and I definitely want to include more extracts so you can see what I've been working on.
I'm also considering a weekly post on something topical - politics, scandals, something to get passionate about. I've enjoyed writing about gay marriage this year, not least of which because it affects me directly, but also because I'm passionate about it. I'm passionate about a lot of other things though, and I want to step side-ways a little and post more on the things that make me cringe, face-palm, laugh-out-loud, and yell at the television.
Apart from that, there are a host of other things that I'd like to achieve this year, but rather than bore you with the details, I'll let you go and nurse your hangovers, and if you didn't overdo it last night, pay out on those who did.
Plus, I need to get back to renovating. We're now on a fast-track to getting the house finished as we're on a dead-line. As we speak, power tools are whining away in the back yard cutting timber and drilling holes for the deck. The ceiling has been fixed and patched, so my painting skills are being called on.
It will be great to get the house finally finished, but we may not get to stick around to enjoy our hard work for very long. As I said earlier, I think this year will yield big things, so stay tuned.
Happy new year, and until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Sunday Sesh #16 - Bee Sting
This Sunday's Sesh is brought to you by Bee Sting Honey Wheat beer, brewed by Barossa Valley Beer.
I've tried a honey-infused beer in the past - Beez Neez brewed by one of my favourite breweries, Matilda Bay - and I have to say, Beez Neez wins the battle of these two beers hands down.
If you like good head, this is the beer for you!
As you can see from the picture above, it poured like a soft-drink out of the bottle. Now I'm pretty gentle with my pour, but this foamed up like I was pouring it over ice-cream. The head was higher than the beer in the glass, so I had to wait until it settled a bit before I poured again. And when I poured the last of it, it foamed up again, the bubbles racing up the sides of the glass.
There's no real hint of the honey until you've almost finished, and the aftertaste lingers right off the bat. It starts to get better the more you drink, but the bitterness is quite a shock at first.
To be a little fair though, it suggests to drink this with spicey asian food or BBQ'd meats, and I can see how the bitterness would cut through something like a marinated steak, so I might give this another go next time we have a BBQ.
This Sesh marks the last Sunday before Christmas, which means Wifey and I have been busy doing odd jobs around the house (which is why this Sesh is late, again!).
Today, I played apprentice to Wifey's superior skills as a concreter/paver. That meant I did things like dropping globs of concrete onto bricks instead of in the cracks where it was meant to be, starting jobs and not finishing them, and not cleaning up properly when we were finished.
In return, Wifey sent me to Mitre 10 for a left-handed screw-driver and a long wait, gave me the shit jobs and cursed at me under her breath.
The girls supervised by finding the only shady spot under the wheelbarrow, and then dropping the ball at our feet wherever we walked.
We still have a million jobs to finish, but today we tackled some paving near our front gate. When we did the front fence, we ripped up the old concrete paving so we could grow grass, but that meant that we started to get a muddy patch where we came in at the gate.
We had a pile of bricks Wifey was hoarding from when she pulled down the back steps, so we thought we'd put our collective creativity in action (my brains and Wifey's brawn) and put in a pretty little entrance to our abode.
The division of jobs went like this -
As you can see from the results below, we're pretty stoked with how we did. No more muddy entrance and one less job to do.
So that's it from me for this Sunday. Next Sunday I'll be busy catching up with fifty or so of my closest rellies on Boxing Day at a BIG family reunion. I'll be prepared though and will have a special treat for you next Sunday, so keep an eye out for the next post.
Until next Sundays Sesh,
Cheers!
I've tried a honey-infused beer in the past - Beez Neez brewed by one of my favourite breweries, Matilda Bay - and I have to say, Beez Neez wins the battle of these two beers hands down.
 |
| Bee Sting by Barossa Valley Beer |
As you can see from the picture above, it poured like a soft-drink out of the bottle. Now I'm pretty gentle with my pour, but this foamed up like I was pouring it over ice-cream. The head was higher than the beer in the glass, so I had to wait until it settled a bit before I poured again. And when I poured the last of it, it foamed up again, the bubbles racing up the sides of the glass.
There's no real hint of the honey until you've almost finished, and the aftertaste lingers right off the bat. It starts to get better the more you drink, but the bitterness is quite a shock at first.
To be a little fair though, it suggests to drink this with spicey asian food or BBQ'd meats, and I can see how the bitterness would cut through something like a marinated steak, so I might give this another go next time we have a BBQ.
This Sesh marks the last Sunday before Christmas, which means Wifey and I have been busy doing odd jobs around the house (which is why this Sesh is late, again!).
Today, I played apprentice to Wifey's superior skills as a concreter/paver. That meant I did things like dropping globs of concrete onto bricks instead of in the cracks where it was meant to be, starting jobs and not finishing them, and not cleaning up properly when we were finished.
In return, Wifey sent me to Mitre 10 for a left-handed screw-driver and a long wait, gave me the shit jobs and cursed at me under her breath.
The girls supervised by finding the only shady spot under the wheelbarrow, and then dropping the ball at our feet wherever we walked.
 |
| Daisy supervises from the comfort of the wheelbarrow |
We still have a million jobs to finish, but today we tackled some paving near our front gate. When we did the front fence, we ripped up the old concrete paving so we could grow grass, but that meant that we started to get a muddy patch where we came in at the gate.
We had a pile of bricks Wifey was hoarding from when she pulled down the back steps, so we thought we'd put our collective creativity in action (my brains and Wifey's brawn) and put in a pretty little entrance to our abode.
 |
| Wifey mixes the concrete |
- Wifey dug the hole
- I sorted the bricks
- Wifey checked the bricks and sent me back for more
- I got more bricks
- Wifey checked the bricks and sent me back for "prettier" ones
- I thought "stick it", but told Wifey we'd work with the bricks we had
- Wifey set out the bricks
- I re-set the bricks so they looked "rustic" rather then "linear"
- Wifey rolled her eyes
- Wifey mixed the concrete
- I watched and played ball with Daisy and Rubes
- Wifey showed me how to lay the concrete base and lay the bricks
- I shovelled the concrete, dropping bits onto the bricks
- Wifey explained (patiently) why I shouldn't drop big globs of concrete on the bricks
- I rolled my eyes
- Wifey asked if I wanted to lay some bricks
- I said no, I'm just the apprentice
- Wifey asked could I mix some more concrete
- I said, no, I'm just the apprentice, I don't know how to mix
- I opened a bag of concrete and held the hose
- Wifey mixed the concrete
- I watched and played ball with Daisy and Rubes
As you can see from the results below, we're pretty stoked with how we did. No more muddy entrance and one less job to do.
 |
| Our new front entrance |
 |
| The finished product |
So that's it from me for this Sunday. Next Sunday I'll be busy catching up with fifty or so of my closest rellies on Boxing Day at a BIG family reunion. I'll be prepared though and will have a special treat for you next Sunday, so keep an eye out for the next post.
Until next Sundays Sesh,
Cheers!
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Sunday Sesh #14 - Great Northern Lager
This Sunday's Sesh brought to you by Great Northern Lager, brewed by CUB.
It's also brought to you by a hot tip from my cousin Tiff.
The thing about a clear bottle is that you have an immediate expectation that the beer inside it's going to be quite light, and that's about right with this one. It's crisp and refreshing and went down well while watching the cricket. I normally prefer something heavier, but this one surprised me.
It's quite thin, though not watery, so I could easily have a couple of these (and I just might since I bought a six-pack). At 1.1 standard drinks, I think this may be my new pick for "away" BBQ's. And it would definitely be one I'd be happy to share with a few mates. Cheap enough too considering my taste for more expensive boutique beers.
After a huge response to my last post (I had two months' worth of visitors to this site in the space of 24hrs), thanks to a big rant, I've decided to take it down a notch this weekend. By the way, thanks to everyone who shared the post and commented. I'm happy for you to share anything on here you think is good, or crap for that matter. That is, afterall, why I blog.
Summer has well and truly started. The First Test between the Aussies and Kiwis was a cracker - I found the ABC online broadcast and listened to it while I was at work for the first two days - and today I was finally able to sit down and watch it on the telly with a few beverages.
I'm a bit disappointed that it's all over in under five days, since I planned today and tomorrow around watching the cricket (ie doing nothing except watching and having a few beers).
However, I'm very happy to see the young bowlers doing well. Our future is certainly looking bright if we can get these boys to maintain some consistency. We'll never find another combination like McGrath/Warne, but we now have a couple of young quicks who we'll be able to start building a strong attack around. Nathan Lyon is also a find in the spin department. I think he's the first young spinner we've had in the side that hasn't been hailed as the new Warney. He has his own style and he's shown he's a great thinker.
Pattinson scoring the man-of-the-match was well-deserved I thought, since he built his attack well after a jittery start. I thought he had some good change-ups and proved that bowling to a plan no matter what's happening with the batsmen produces results.
The Kiwis on the other hand were a bit disappointing. They did well to make it to 295 in the first innings, but they should have cleaned us up for just over 300 which should have left them in for a good finish. I'm glad we got stuck into them early on Day Four, but gees, they could've put up a bit of a fight at least. They have to stop leaving the heroics to Dan Vettori.
I'm looking forward to seeing what they can come up with in Hobart. I think the conditions will suit them more than the conditions at the Gabba did. I'll also be looking forward to who the Aussie selectors pick for that Test, considering neither Hughes nor Warner fired. I think Hughes is sailing very close to the wind at the moment and he may be in a bit of trouble if Warner gets going.
The other thing I was impressed by was Clarke's captaincy during the match. He made some great fielding decisions, produced a great captain's knock with the bat, and made some great bowling changes. I still think he's living a bit in Ricky Ponting's shadow, and I think once Punter retires we'll see the best of Clarke.
I've never been a fan of Clarke, since we really do like our captains to be stoic and a little bit cranky even, and Clarke really doesn't fit that mould. But I think with the youngsters coming through now, we need a different type of captain. I think having the top job has added a different dimension to his game, and I think we're yet to see his best.
That's it for another Sunday Sesh. I'm off to hook into this Great Northern six-pack in preparation for going to Carols by Candlelight tonight with Wifey (and watch Wifey mows the lawn).
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
It's also brought to you by a hot tip from my cousin Tiff.
 |
| Great Northern Lager |
It's quite thin, though not watery, so I could easily have a couple of these (and I just might since I bought a six-pack). At 1.1 standard drinks, I think this may be my new pick for "away" BBQ's. And it would definitely be one I'd be happy to share with a few mates. Cheap enough too considering my taste for more expensive boutique beers.
After a huge response to my last post (I had two months' worth of visitors to this site in the space of 24hrs), thanks to a big rant, I've decided to take it down a notch this weekend. By the way, thanks to everyone who shared the post and commented. I'm happy for you to share anything on here you think is good, or crap for that matter. That is, afterall, why I blog.
Summer has well and truly started. The First Test between the Aussies and Kiwis was a cracker - I found the ABC online broadcast and listened to it while I was at work for the first two days - and today I was finally able to sit down and watch it on the telly with a few beverages.
I'm a bit disappointed that it's all over in under five days, since I planned today and tomorrow around watching the cricket (ie doing nothing except watching and having a few beers).
However, I'm very happy to see the young bowlers doing well. Our future is certainly looking bright if we can get these boys to maintain some consistency. We'll never find another combination like McGrath/Warne, but we now have a couple of young quicks who we'll be able to start building a strong attack around. Nathan Lyon is also a find in the spin department. I think he's the first young spinner we've had in the side that hasn't been hailed as the new Warney. He has his own style and he's shown he's a great thinker.
Pattinson scoring the man-of-the-match was well-deserved I thought, since he built his attack well after a jittery start. I thought he had some good change-ups and proved that bowling to a plan no matter what's happening with the batsmen produces results.
The Kiwis on the other hand were a bit disappointing. They did well to make it to 295 in the first innings, but they should have cleaned us up for just over 300 which should have left them in for a good finish. I'm glad we got stuck into them early on Day Four, but gees, they could've put up a bit of a fight at least. They have to stop leaving the heroics to Dan Vettori.
I'm looking forward to seeing what they can come up with in Hobart. I think the conditions will suit them more than the conditions at the Gabba did. I'll also be looking forward to who the Aussie selectors pick for that Test, considering neither Hughes nor Warner fired. I think Hughes is sailing very close to the wind at the moment and he may be in a bit of trouble if Warner gets going.
The other thing I was impressed by was Clarke's captaincy during the match. He made some great fielding decisions, produced a great captain's knock with the bat, and made some great bowling changes. I still think he's living a bit in Ricky Ponting's shadow, and I think once Punter retires we'll see the best of Clarke.
I've never been a fan of Clarke, since we really do like our captains to be stoic and a little bit cranky even, and Clarke really doesn't fit that mould. But I think with the youngsters coming through now, we need a different type of captain. I think having the top job has added a different dimension to his game, and I think we're yet to see his best.
That's it for another Sunday Sesh. I'm off to hook into this Great Northern six-pack in preparation for going to Carols by Candlelight tonight with Wifey (and watch Wifey mows the lawn).
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Sunday Sesh #20 - My Lesbian Story brought to you by Cascade Blonde
This Sunday Sesh is brought to you by Cascade Blonde. I've had it in the cupboard for awhile from when I bought a Cascade sample pack before Christmas, and since I didn't want to review all of the Cascades at once, I left this one til now. Plus, a friend of mine said I should give it a go, so this review's for you, Alicia.
Firstly, apologies for no Sunday Sesh last weekend. My real job, house stuff, business stuff and a prior engagement all conspired to whittle away most of my time over the last couple of weeks so that I ran out of it, and didn't get a chance to post a blog.
However, I'm back to the beer-reviewing this week.
So, Cascade Blonde.
This one's very fruity and crisp, slightly cloudy in the glass with a frothy head that slides down the glass as you sip. It's another one that could almost be mistaken for a shandy because of it's slight bitterness and very little after taste. It's something you could drink easily in a session and not realise how many you've had. Good one for a hot day.
This post was inspired by a young'un I know who came out to all and sundry a little while ago, via facebook, no less. I've known her since she was a shy thirteen year-old, and to see her (and the rest of my former soccer team-mates from long times past) grow into the confident and crazy woman she is now is wonderful.
I was in my early twenties when I discovered I was a lesbian (still am, but that's another story...)
It was at that moment I decided I would be a cat-lady - living by myself with a house full of feral cats in a derelict but eccentric house, terrorising children with my wild hair and icy stare.
Why? Because I would rather be single than run the gauntlet of lesbian dating. When you're a lesbian, the field of potential partners is vastly smaller than if you're straight. Plus, there's always the danger of falling for a straight girl or getting mixed signals from the object of your desire who isn't entirely sure if she plays for your team, or if she even wants to. (Again, another story for another time).
Granted, being a lesbian on the dating scene is probably easier than being a gay man on the dating scene. You're far more likely, as a lesbian, to get a positive response from the object of your desire should they be straight, than if you're a gay guy. Though the response of the object of your affection is in direct proportion with the size of the boyfriend, if she has one.
The other thing I realised early on was that it's pretty hard to come out when you're single. Quite simply, people tend not to believe you. They think it's a phase (though this can happen even if you are with partner), or that you just haven't met the right bloke yet. I realised pretty early on then, that it's far easier to just not say anything, unless asked.
Funny thing about these types of decisions when you're that age - something always happens to turn them upside down.
For me, that was meeting my wife. As she tells it, it was definitely not love at first sight. Me though? Well, she hid my beer (flirty little thing) and then after I cracked open a fresh one, the old one mysteriously reappeared. Kind of like when you're in primary school and the boy who likes you pulls your hair, not because he hates you, but because he wants you to be his girlfriend.
I figured she wanted me to be her girlfriend, so I pursued her relentlessly. Meaning: I rang her for a ride home at various times in the wee hours when I was blind drunk, and skirted around the issue of my feelings for her. Apparently, as often happens, all our friends knew we liked each other, but we were both too, well, immature I suppose, to admit it. One night, at the pub, we just kind of started holding hands, and it spiralled from there.
Since then it's been a whirlwind of big moves and overseas trips, a couple of false-start marriage proposals, a wedding, acquiring two gorgeous puppies and making a home together.
Turns out, my lesbian life is a lot different from the one I imagined when I was just coming to terms with my sexuality. Turns out, my relationship isn't really anything different from my sisters' relationships with their other halves, or my brother's with his girlfriend. All that angst early on about not being "normal" was wasted energy.
Now I have bills to pay, a bank to keep happy with regular house payments, and a wife to keep happy with my baking. Not to mention two dogs who act out like spoiled children when we don't spend time with them. How much more normal can you get?
I guess the lesson here is that if life throws you lemons, you can still have the white picket fence (if that's what you want).
 |
| Cascade Blonde |
However, I'm back to the beer-reviewing this week.
So, Cascade Blonde.
This one's very fruity and crisp, slightly cloudy in the glass with a frothy head that slides down the glass as you sip. It's another one that could almost be mistaken for a shandy because of it's slight bitterness and very little after taste. It's something you could drink easily in a session and not realise how many you've had. Good one for a hot day.
This post was inspired by a young'un I know who came out to all and sundry a little while ago, via facebook, no less. I've known her since she was a shy thirteen year-old, and to see her (and the rest of my former soccer team-mates from long times past) grow into the confident and crazy woman she is now is wonderful.
I was in my early twenties when I discovered I was a lesbian (still am, but that's another story...)
It was at that moment I decided I would be a cat-lady - living by myself with a house full of feral cats in a derelict but eccentric house, terrorising children with my wild hair and icy stare.
Why? Because I would rather be single than run the gauntlet of lesbian dating. When you're a lesbian, the field of potential partners is vastly smaller than if you're straight. Plus, there's always the danger of falling for a straight girl or getting mixed signals from the object of your desire who isn't entirely sure if she plays for your team, or if she even wants to. (Again, another story for another time).
Granted, being a lesbian on the dating scene is probably easier than being a gay man on the dating scene. You're far more likely, as a lesbian, to get a positive response from the object of your desire should they be straight, than if you're a gay guy. Though the response of the object of your affection is in direct proportion with the size of the boyfriend, if she has one.
The other thing I realised early on was that it's pretty hard to come out when you're single. Quite simply, people tend not to believe you. They think it's a phase (though this can happen even if you are with partner), or that you just haven't met the right bloke yet. I realised pretty early on then, that it's far easier to just not say anything, unless asked.
Funny thing about these types of decisions when you're that age - something always happens to turn them upside down.
For me, that was meeting my wife. As she tells it, it was definitely not love at first sight. Me though? Well, she hid my beer (flirty little thing) and then after I cracked open a fresh one, the old one mysteriously reappeared. Kind of like when you're in primary school and the boy who likes you pulls your hair, not because he hates you, but because he wants you to be his girlfriend.
I figured she wanted me to be her girlfriend, so I pursued her relentlessly. Meaning: I rang her for a ride home at various times in the wee hours when I was blind drunk, and skirted around the issue of my feelings for her. Apparently, as often happens, all our friends knew we liked each other, but we were both too, well, immature I suppose, to admit it. One night, at the pub, we just kind of started holding hands, and it spiralled from there.
Since then it's been a whirlwind of big moves and overseas trips, a couple of false-start marriage proposals, a wedding, acquiring two gorgeous puppies and making a home together.
Turns out, my lesbian life is a lot different from the one I imagined when I was just coming to terms with my sexuality. Turns out, my relationship isn't really anything different from my sisters' relationships with their other halves, or my brother's with his girlfriend. All that angst early on about not being "normal" was wasted energy.
Now I have bills to pay, a bank to keep happy with regular house payments, and a wife to keep happy with my baking. Not to mention two dogs who act out like spoiled children when we don't spend time with them. How much more normal can you get?
I guess the lesson here is that if life throws you lemons, you can still have the white picket fence (if that's what you want).
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Sunday Sesh #13 - Cascade Pale Ale
Today's Sunday Sesh is brought to you by Cascade Pale Ale.
This one was a light golden colour, and a little cloudy in the glass. Smells crisp and fresh, and went down well. Perfect for a stinking hot day on the Ridge. There was a slightly bitter aftertaste, but not too strong, and it didn't stick around.
I wouldn't say no to this one if someone offered me one.
So much to write about this week what with interesting happenings in Aussie cricket, as well as politics. But I want to start off with a rant - just a short one, I promise.
Every Saturday, there's a little section in our local paper called "Tradie". And every bloody weekend there's a chick holding a tool. This isn't just a gratuitous shot - it's an ad for a tool they do a little speil on. They tell you what it is, what it's used for, and who should use it.
For example, this one's called a "nibbler" (Hmm, on second thoughts, maybe the model is a good choice...) Tradies that could use it include "shed builders, roofers and sheet fabricators." Does she look like a shed builder? Or a metal fabricator?
So why does this annoy me so much? Well, I thought we'd grown out of this crap. It's not Zoo magazine afterall.
Besides, does it really make you take any more interest in the tool she's holding? Does it make you go "Oooh, I wonder what that tool does"? Do you even notice there's a tool there somewhere? (Yes, I'm talking about you Lisa.)
I'd be more impressed if they got a real tradie chick to show off the tools. At least she'd actually know how to use it.
I mean, there's no way she'd be able to use that tool with her nails. Plus, she's holding it wrong. And she doesn't even have any other tools in her tool belt.
Look, I know blokes dig chicks holding tools provocatively, but seriously? In a little regional newspaper? The only thing missing here is a little bit more cleavage to get the boys salivating over their morning coffee.
At least she's got protection though I suppose. Those big tools can cause serious injuries if you're not careful.
Ok, rant over.
Big news from Aussie cricket - we finally have a coach in South African Mickey Arthur.
Lots of people are up in arms at the thought of a non-Aussie taking the reins, but you know what? That just tells me that our stocks of home-grown coaches are very, very low. Besides, Mickey Arthur plotted our downfall as the South African coach last time the Proteas were out here. He's done some good things with WA, so I'm interested to see how he goes with rebuilding our team.
I'm hoping he starts leaning on the older players to maybe drop back to state cricket to mentor the younger generation and elevate some of the younger players that have been toiling hard and waiting in the wings for someone to die.
Thanks to a bag full of injuries from the tour of South Africa, we might get to see some of those young guns taking central stage against the Kiwis. Dave Warner looks to finally have his chance to prove he's not just a 20-over wonder-boy (and put some pressure on Phil Hughes), and we have some new quicks looking to make their mark with Ben Cutting, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson.
It's good to finally have some talent in our pace bowling stocks, but the big problem that still haunts us is injuries. And if the new coach can't work out some way to keep our best on the park when they're needed most, it's going to be a long time before we can climb back up to No. 1.
There is one burning question I have though - does having a South African coach mean that whenever the Proteas are playing we should respectfully cheer for them over their opposition, as long as it's not the Aussies? And does that mean that the South Africans should be doing the same, except in reverse?
What do you think? Happy for a South African to take the top job in Australian sport or not? And the other burning question - should Ricky Ponting call it a day and bow out gracefully in the second test in Hobart?
That's it from me for this Sunday's Sesh.
Until next Sunday,
Cheers!
This one was a light golden colour, and a little cloudy in the glass. Smells crisp and fresh, and went down well. Perfect for a stinking hot day on the Ridge. There was a slightly bitter aftertaste, but not too strong, and it didn't stick around.
I wouldn't say no to this one if someone offered me one.
So much to write about this week what with interesting happenings in Aussie cricket, as well as politics. But I want to start off with a rant - just a short one, I promise.
 |
| Does this tool make my butt look big? (Photo courtesy the Toowoomba Chronicle) |
Every Saturday, there's a little section in our local paper called "Tradie". And every bloody weekend there's a chick holding a tool. This isn't just a gratuitous shot - it's an ad for a tool they do a little speil on. They tell you what it is, what it's used for, and who should use it.
For example, this one's called a "nibbler" (Hmm, on second thoughts, maybe the model is a good choice...) Tradies that could use it include "shed builders, roofers and sheet fabricators." Does she look like a shed builder? Or a metal fabricator?
So why does this annoy me so much? Well, I thought we'd grown out of this crap. It's not Zoo magazine afterall.
Besides, does it really make you take any more interest in the tool she's holding? Does it make you go "Oooh, I wonder what that tool does"? Do you even notice there's a tool there somewhere? (Yes, I'm talking about you Lisa.)
I'd be more impressed if they got a real tradie chick to show off the tools. At least she'd actually know how to use it.
I mean, there's no way she'd be able to use that tool with her nails. Plus, she's holding it wrong. And she doesn't even have any other tools in her tool belt.
Look, I know blokes dig chicks holding tools provocatively, but seriously? In a little regional newspaper? The only thing missing here is a little bit more cleavage to get the boys salivating over their morning coffee.
At least she's got protection though I suppose. Those big tools can cause serious injuries if you're not careful.
Ok, rant over.
Big news from Aussie cricket - we finally have a coach in South African Mickey Arthur.
Lots of people are up in arms at the thought of a non-Aussie taking the reins, but you know what? That just tells me that our stocks of home-grown coaches are very, very low. Besides, Mickey Arthur plotted our downfall as the South African coach last time the Proteas were out here. He's done some good things with WA, so I'm interested to see how he goes with rebuilding our team.
I'm hoping he starts leaning on the older players to maybe drop back to state cricket to mentor the younger generation and elevate some of the younger players that have been toiling hard and waiting in the wings for someone to die.
Thanks to a bag full of injuries from the tour of South Africa, we might get to see some of those young guns taking central stage against the Kiwis. Dave Warner looks to finally have his chance to prove he's not just a 20-over wonder-boy (and put some pressure on Phil Hughes), and we have some new quicks looking to make their mark with Ben Cutting, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson.
It's good to finally have some talent in our pace bowling stocks, but the big problem that still haunts us is injuries. And if the new coach can't work out some way to keep our best on the park when they're needed most, it's going to be a long time before we can climb back up to No. 1.
There is one burning question I have though - does having a South African coach mean that whenever the Proteas are playing we should respectfully cheer for them over their opposition, as long as it's not the Aussies? And does that mean that the South Africans should be doing the same, except in reverse?
What do you think? Happy for a South African to take the top job in Australian sport or not? And the other burning question - should Ricky Ponting call it a day and bow out gracefully in the second test in Hobart?
That's it from me for this Sunday's Sesh.
Until next Sunday,
Cheers!
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Sunday Sesh #12 - Cascade Stout
This Sunday Sesh brought to you by Cascade Stout.
I've cheated a little this week and also in order to get ahead over the next few weeks - I bought a gift pack from Cascade with four of their beers in, so I'll be reviewing them all over the next month. I've heard they make a good brew down in the southern-most state (something to do with the pureness of the water they reckon), and I wasn't disappointed with this week's choice.
I'm joined in today's Sunday's Sesh with the Little Sister and the Bro-in-law, visiting from the Sunny Coast. They both had a taste of this. Bro-in-law isn't a beer drinker but thought this one was alright. Little Sis enjoyed this one. She said she couldn't taste the chocolate but it smelled like it had something in there. And she liked that the aftertaste wasn't overpowering.
(Caveat: Bro-in-law said Little Sis would like anything with alcohol in it - I'm not sure what the problem is.)
I say this is a pretty good stout. It pours well in the glass with a creamy head, but not too much. It smells a little of chocolate and if you swirl it around in your mouth you can get a hint of the coffee.
This is a pretty heavy one at 1.7 standard drinks - and it feels like it. It goes down well, but probably would be suited more to winter rather than summer. Very much an after dinner beer this one I think.
Having said that, I will be getting this one again.
I was reading over my first couple of Sunday Sesh's and thought I should do a quick update on the weather front, since the whole point was to bring on Summer.
I think it's worked. The temps have been climbing pretty steadily the last few weeks, and it's been perfect beer-drinking weather up here on the Ridge. We have a half-done deck which will be great once it's finished to enjoy a few cold ones with friends, and I've been getting a few tips for beers to review from friends - stay tuned - they'll be coming up soon.
The rising temps mean that Christmas will soon be upon us. And that means more beer-drinking, water slides, and catching up with rellies and friends.
Which we've been doing this weekend, which is why this Sunday Sesh is so short.
It's also why there's been no improvement on the word count for my Nano novel since Thursday. Plus, I had another migraine on Friday night - oh the pressure of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.
I was planning on being as close to 35k as I could by tonight, but that's just gone right out the window. I have another busy couple of weeks coming up so getting 50k is looking further and further away. I do like my story though, and I will get it finished regardless of whether I hit that 50k by the end of the month, so I will still be giving it a good crack. There might have to be some long nights if I want to score some more wagon wheels.
And Wifey has a secret reward planned if I crack the 50k mark so I do really want to get there to see what that is.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
I've cheated a little this week and also in order to get ahead over the next few weeks - I bought a gift pack from Cascade with four of their beers in, so I'll be reviewing them all over the next month. I've heard they make a good brew down in the southern-most state (something to do with the pureness of the water they reckon), and I wasn't disappointed with this week's choice.
 |
| "Hints of coffee and chocolate" |
I'm joined in today's Sunday's Sesh with the Little Sister and the Bro-in-law, visiting from the Sunny Coast. They both had a taste of this. Bro-in-law isn't a beer drinker but thought this one was alright. Little Sis enjoyed this one. She said she couldn't taste the chocolate but it smelled like it had something in there. And she liked that the aftertaste wasn't overpowering.
(Caveat: Bro-in-law said Little Sis would like anything with alcohol in it - I'm not sure what the problem is.)
I say this is a pretty good stout. It pours well in the glass with a creamy head, but not too much. It smells a little of chocolate and if you swirl it around in your mouth you can get a hint of the coffee.
This is a pretty heavy one at 1.7 standard drinks - and it feels like it. It goes down well, but probably would be suited more to winter rather than summer. Very much an after dinner beer this one I think.
Having said that, I will be getting this one again.
I was reading over my first couple of Sunday Sesh's and thought I should do a quick update on the weather front, since the whole point was to bring on Summer.
I think it's worked. The temps have been climbing pretty steadily the last few weeks, and it's been perfect beer-drinking weather up here on the Ridge. We have a half-done deck which will be great once it's finished to enjoy a few cold ones with friends, and I've been getting a few tips for beers to review from friends - stay tuned - they'll be coming up soon.
The rising temps mean that Christmas will soon be upon us. And that means more beer-drinking, water slides, and catching up with rellies and friends.
Which we've been doing this weekend, which is why this Sunday Sesh is so short.
It's also why there's been no improvement on the word count for my Nano novel since Thursday. Plus, I had another migraine on Friday night - oh the pressure of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.
I was planning on being as close to 35k as I could by tonight, but that's just gone right out the window. I have another busy couple of weeks coming up so getting 50k is looking further and further away. I do like my story though, and I will get it finished regardless of whether I hit that 50k by the end of the month, so I will still be giving it a good crack. There might have to be some long nights if I want to score some more wagon wheels.
And Wifey has a secret reward planned if I crack the 50k mark so I do really want to get there to see what that is.
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Sunday Sesh #11 - Old Fart
So this week's Sunday Sesh is brought to you by Merriman's Old Fart english ale. (I can't actually find a website for this one, so this is the closest you get).
This is kind of a burnt amber colour, no head, and if you look closely there's a little bit of sediment. Tastes abit like burnt toast and smells like a country pub on a busy Saturday night.
Not a favourite and I struggled to get through this one. Too "roasted malt" taste for me, and the bitter after taste lingered longer than it should.
So this week in Nanoland saw me soar past the 15k word count, mainly thanks to a (as yet unfinished) funeral scene and my main character starting to speak her mind a bit more.
Without giving away too many details, one of my characters gets themselves killed. But they get a short-lived, high-action second chance, and my main character gets to discover a few things she never would have otherwise about this other character.
Anyway, it got me to thinking - if the people I've lost over the years had a second chance, what are all the things I would ask them now that I didn't get a chance to ask them before they died.
This is what I came up with.
What I would ask my Nanna:
What I would ask my Grandma:
What I would ask my cat Spook:
The things I will make sure I will pass on before I die:
Things I won't tell people even if they beg:
So that's it for another Sunday Sesh. Short and sweet this one since we have a tupperware party today (yay!) and a friend's going away party this afternoon (boo!).
How about you though - if you could ask anyone who has died one question what would it be? And what is the one thing you would take to your grave?
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
This is kind of a burnt amber colour, no head, and if you look closely there's a little bit of sediment. Tastes abit like burnt toast and smells like a country pub on a busy Saturday night.
Not a favourite and I struggled to get through this one. Too "roasted malt" taste for me, and the bitter after taste lingered longer than it should.
So this week in Nanoland saw me soar past the 15k word count, mainly thanks to a (as yet unfinished) funeral scene and my main character starting to speak her mind a bit more.
Without giving away too many details, one of my characters gets themselves killed. But they get a short-lived, high-action second chance, and my main character gets to discover a few things she never would have otherwise about this other character.
Anyway, it got me to thinking - if the people I've lost over the years had a second chance, what are all the things I would ask them now that I didn't get a chance to ask them before they died.
This is what I came up with.
What I would ask my Nanna:
- How do you brew the perfect cup of tea (in a teapot and not using tea bags)?
- Are you glad Richie Benaud is finally retired?
- Would you have married Slim Dusty if you'd been given the chance?
What I would ask my Grandma:
- Can I have your ginger nut biscuit recipe? (She'd probably say no, but no harm in asking).
- Are you still watching the cricket with your eyes closed, stretched out on a recliner? (I know most of us have been watching cricket with our eyes closed lately).
- Do I really suffer from the affliction known as "Kelly Nose"? (Those in the Silcox family know what I'm talking about).
- Did you really stop at 7 kids because my dad was born - and therefore you didn't need to "try again" for another boy? Or because he gave you such grief you just couldn't handle another one?
What I would ask my cat Spook:
- Did you really hate my sister that much?
- Were you "catching" pieces of vinyl in my dad's shed for our amusement, or because you really thought they were lizards?
The things I will make sure I will pass on before I die:
- The internet banking and email passwords to my wife.
- My favourite baking recipes to my nieces. This does NOT include my potato bake recipe - sorry.
- My unwritten story ideas to anyone who wants them - I can guarantee there'll be lots.
- My unpublished memoirs - oh wait, I'll probably get them published just before I croak it, so you'll have to buy it (See kids? You will get something from my estate).
Things I won't tell people even if they beg:
- The secret of my potato bake.
- Where I hide my diaries.
So that's it for another Sunday Sesh. Short and sweet this one since we have a tupperware party today (yay!) and a friend's going away party this afternoon (boo!).
How about you though - if you could ask anyone who has died one question what would it be? And what is the one thing you would take to your grave?
Until next Sunday's Sesh,
Cheers!
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