This has some writing – take a closer look
Want more? Visit Engrish
Linkage
Sunday Selections Week 25
This week, a couple of photos from 2003 photo folders. The photo above is from the Botanic Gardens in Adelaide. I love the contrast between the dark area and the extra sunny area. When you visit most botanic gardens you will find a spot like this.
This shot was taken from our townhouse which was on Tapleys Hill Road – a major road back in Adelaide. The Other Half was playing around with shutter speeds and time lapse from the upstairs bedroom window, which resulted in this photo of a road train.
Would you like to join in? The rules are very simple:-
1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title
2. link back to River at Drifting Through Life, somewhere in your post
3. leave River a comment so that she knows you’ve joined in and can come over and see what you’ve posted.
Weekly Wrap Up –
Here at Snoskredland, we’ve had a nasty cold this week. We’ve been trying to keep warm, I’ve made a couple of batches of Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup which is my go-to chicken soup, and there was some more cleaning and tidying. Whenever I get a cold, I have this overwhelming urge to clean things.
Posts Snoskred Enjoyed –
Royally Played: Trooping The Colour 2015 – Did you see Prince George at Trooping the Colour? If not, you MUST, he was gorgeous! But wait, there’s more! Royally Played: Polo in the Park With George – And even more! And Still More!
I’m not into the concept of having kids of my own but Prince George could convince me otherwise. He is just so goshdarn cute!
Who Lives Where? Migrants Settling in Australian Cities – This post is completely fascinating. This is a must read for Aussies, and people thinking of becoming Aussies.
Queen Victoria’s Crown Ruby Brooch – My favourite colour on the Queen is pink, followed by aqua/teal. The photo of the Queen in this post is gorgeous! And some more pics here – Royal Ascot, Day 1 and Audience at Windsor Castle
The Best And Worst Airlines, Airports And Flights, Summer 2015 Update – An interesting look at US airports and airlines
Relentlessly Christian person objects to relentlessly gay front yard – I suspect this anonymous letter writer has begun a new trend as a surprise to themselves. Relentlessly gay yards will be popping up as a surprise all over the place. If you would like to donate to Julie Baker to assist her in creating a Relentlessly Gay abode and help to give a large, rainbow covered, middle finger to this anon letter writer, you can do so via this Go Fund Me – Relentlessly Gay.
Arnold Schwarzenegger freaks out Hollywood tourists – this was by far one of the funniest videos I watched this week on the interwebs. Celebrities should do this more often. Classic!
Cakes to make on Rainy Days – The Peanut Butter cupcakes sound great to me.
Finally this week, your two doses of super cute – Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Puppies – Ella and Lily – how gorgeous are these little doggies?
MINI HIPPO! Baby Pygmy Hippo Makes A Splash
Here On The Blog –
We kicked off the week with Sunday Selections Week 24 – then I showed you – How to – Schedule Posts In Blogger & WordPress. We took a closer look at my second collectibles cabinet in Cabinetry Take Two, and I told you about an often used phrase in our household – There Was An Incident.. – Then, we put some mandarin in soda water for Sodastream Saturday #2.
Past Snoskred –
My Favourite Space – A look back at my office room from August 2006 – this was my seventh ever post on the blog.
Coming Up –
This week, you’ll see posts about art, and kitties. Sodastream Saturday will be taking a week off, it will be back in July.
Sunday Selections Week 24
River has been doing Sunday Selections for a while now, and I’ve finally decided to join in. YAY!
I have a multitude of old photo folders that need to be sorted through and named, so I thought this might be a good way to inspire me to get on with the sorting. I also have some backups of old computers with folders that need to be sorted through.
This week I have chosen to share a couple of recent photos. Last Sunday this was the sky we saw as we were walking in to do our fortnightly grocery shop.
Would you like to join in? The rules are very simple:-
1. post photos of your choice, old or new, under the Sunday Selections title
2. link back to River at Drifting Through Life, somewhere in your post
3. leave River a comment so that she knows you’ve joined in and can come over and see what you’ve posted.
Weekly Wrap Up –
Many years ago I used to do a weekly wrap up here on the blog. It went on holiday in November of 2007 and it must have been a very long holiday, perhaps around the world on a very slow boat! I think this could be a good time for the holiday to end. We’ll give it a try for a few weeks, anyway, see how it goes.
Posts Snoskred Enjoyed –
long-term post-wls eating: it’s complicated – Good on you Dawn – 138 pounds lost is an awesome achievement!
Stuff – Brilliant stuff, I say! :)
IT Reflections: Apple Photos, Cake Fails, Zomato, Blog Updates and Quicklinks – I love the castle cakes. :) Even the one someone considered to be a “fail” which I consider to be an epic win – if I could make a cake half that incredible, I’d be thrilled!
Judgers are gonna judge, haters are gonna hate.. Me personally, I leave the judgments to Judge Judy. She gets paid big dollars to judge. All the other people doing it are small time compared to her! When they get paid millions, that is when I’ll bother to listen to their judgments. Until then, one persons cake fail is another persons cake awesome. :)
The Beast Eats – I loved the video on this post, it is only 20 seconds long. :)
Can you fix this curtain, too? – I want me a serving of sea friends!
Your Afternoon X-Files – My human friends, this is a moment we have been waiting for – Scully and Mulder return.
My First Mosaic – Meshel made an amazing sugar skull mosaic! The border is my favourite part but I am a huge fan of gold.. ;) I really want to do this sometime. This is another kind of art you don’t need to be able to draw for. :) I might sign up for a local class with my birthday money.
a private show – Some gorgeous wildlife photos here, well worth a look. The train and the tunnel is my favourite as well! ;)
Icebergs – An excellent post from Leah, I think everyone should read it. :)
Please Pass The Mustard – I’ve never thought of making my own mustard but I just might after reading this post. ;)
And finally, baby pigs! YAY!!
Blog Spotlight –
Each week, I will link to a blog I am reading to shine a spotlight on it and tell you what I like about it. This week –
Angry people in local newspapers –
This blog highlights something you may have noticed in your local newspaper – angry people! If someone has a problem in their community and they went to the local paper about it, they might be asked to pose angrily. You can submit angry photos from your local newspaper as well. I submitted one back in April – Slasher anger.
Here On The Blog –
We had a bit of a visual feast this week – we took a look at my DVD shelves, my collectibles cabinets, the ecosystem on the roof of our chook pen, and our new fire pit in this post Long Weekending.
I went back in my memory to tell you about getting kicked out of art class in high school and showed you some of my art and my art room with this post Adult Colouring In & Art.
We took a closer look at one of my collectible cabinets with this Cabinetry post.
You got to see some of my art room wall art in this post – The Art Room.
And finally, we took a look at my new SodaStream with this post –
SodaStream Saturday #1
Past Snoskred –
Take a moment to revisit my third ever post on the blog – People You Know.
Coming Up –
This week on Monday you’ll see a how to guide, Wednesday we have cabinetry take two, Friday I’ll tell you about a phrase we use often in this household, Saturday another SodaStream Post, then on Sunday our new Sunday Selections post.
Generators
This post has been sitting in my drafts folder since November 2014 and I finally got around to completing it. I love me an internet generator! Here are some of the more awesome ones –
Goth-O-Matic – my all time favourite generator – create your own darkly gothic poem! You get to choose from drop down options.
Meme Generator – With built in images and characters.
Internet Anagram Server – ever wonder what other words can be made out of your name? Use this generator to find out. :)
Strong Random Password Generator – if you need some new passwords this generator can help out.
Random Number Generator – need to draw a prize or choose your next lotto numbers?
Harvard Referencing Generator – This generator is super useful for those writing essays that need references.
Lorem Ipsum – generates random latin text.
List of Text Generators – want more generators? This is a good place to start. There are quite a few Haiku generators listed here. :)
This post about some of my favourite internet generators was inspired by this post from Heather Woodland – Marzipan cake fruitcake tart cheesecake sweet lollipop chocolate cake
Truly Great Blogs #1
From time to time, in my internet travels, I somehow stumble upon a blog that makes me laugh and cry at the same time. A blog that involves truly beautiful writing on a difficult subject. A blog that makes me start thinking. A blog that starts conversations with family and friends..
Today I will like to mention one of these blogs –
But Before You Click –
I will like to add a note that sometimes you will see images of the dead on the blog I am about to link to. They will not be gory images, at least thus far I have not experienced that at all. The images I have experienced have all been people at peace.
If you click through now, there may be images of the dead on the page you land on.
You have been warned!
It is up to you if you want to click through.
Confessions Of A Funeral Director.
Also, if you read the blog via a feed, you will not see images in the feed and you will usually be given plenty of warning that the post contains images, so you can choose whether or not to click through.
Sometimes I do click through if I see such a warning, sometimes I don’t. I like that it is my choice, unlike a recent Youtube incident where I suddenly found myself viewing very disturbing images of some of the Air Asia plane crash victims. Thanks so, SO much for that, Youtube, I will never unsee that no matter how hard I try.
This blog is thought provoking in a multitude of ways. I interviewed to be a funeral director once and I still feel a bit drawn to that area, though I am not sure how well I would deal with some of the sights and smells.
If you decided not to click through, here is an article on the blog which does not contain any images of the dead however it does contain one image of a couple in the process of dying – Couples that Died Together: Five Stories
(For what it is worth, I would just as strongly label and advise people if I were sending them off to view images of spiders, because that is something I cannot stand to look at, and I would never, ever, never, post an image of a spider on my blog!)
Recipe Saves
Savory Saves –
Recipe: Oven Cooked Risotto – I am totally going to perfect this recipe and I think I will use my roasting pan.
Prosciutto, Pea and Lemon Pasta – I think I would try to use not frozen peas if I were to make this, and I would likely sustitute bacon in for proscuttio. But this leads me to ask myself why can’t I just make a recipe as it is written, why must I Jamie Oliver it up every time?
Eggs Benedict Casserole – There are times when I have a lot of eggs and this recipe seems like it was made for those times.
Sweet Potato Spinach Mac and Cheese – This is a recipe I will make but I will use A2 milk in place of almond milk. I have a stash of A2 longlife UHT milk as well, in case we ever run out. Yes, I am a believer, regular milk does not love me much. :(
cauliflower cheese – I deeply love cauliflower cheese.
The Best Guacamole Recipe. – I will make this and love it, sometime soon.
Sasha and Malia Obama’s Favorite Mac and Cheese – I am a huge Michelle Obama fan, I have a somewhat irrational love for her.
Seriously the base recipe is amazing *and* it skips making a roux, which was one of the first things I mastered in the kitchen. A roux is the base for several of my recipes – however there are days (especially hot days) when I just don’t feel like making one. You can easily use this as your base for all roux-required recipes if you so desire, I have done from time to time. This recipe is so versatile. Here are a couple of quick things you can add to the simple cauliflower, milk, cheese and herbs base to make into a meal –
Chicken, Bacon, Mushrooms, Spring Onion.
Tuna, Broccoli, Leek, put some tomato slices and Parmesan on top, bake for 20 mins till top is crispy.
You can find a couple more awesome Michelle Obama recipes here –
Healthy Recipes From The White House To You – the broccoli soup is great as well especially if you add some Parmesan or blue cheese.
Coconut Lime Baked Chicken with Coconut Mango Sticky Rice – Yes to this. One day I will make this. I think this would work really well with drumsticks and wings, too.
Slow Cooker Chicken Wings – 5 Super Varieties – Speaking of chicken wings.. :)
Blood Orange Thyme Roasted Chicken – This combined with my roasting pan would = epic win, I think. :)
Sweet Saves –
Booze Baking: RumChata Cheesecake – I do not even know what Rumchata is, which may impact on my success with this recipe considering it calls for 3/4 of a cup of it.
Christmas Pear, Cinnamon & Ginger Chocolate Glazed Cheesecake – This is a recipe I am deeply unlikely to ever make for us at home, but I like to think I could make it, if people in my house ate pears. I might make it if I am going somewhere that people will eat pears. But why on earth do I save these recipes knowing I am unlikely to ever make them? WHYYYYYY?
Gingerbread Heads – You will never believe me when I say this, but I *did* make this gingerbread. It is everything you want a gingerbread to be. I should have halved or even quartered the recipe, though. Anything that says 5 cups of flour is overkill in my house. So, There Was An Incident, which we will not go into the details of, when I tried to make it in my mixer which is not large enough for this dough. I still have two large logs of this dough which I froze. I did not decorate the results, because I am a terrible cake and cookie decorator.
key lime pie – I love Key Lime Pie. I have never made it. This year is the year, it will happen! ;)
Raspberry Chocolates – I will probably make this to take along to school one day. Though, as I have a chocolate from scratch recipe I love, I will likely stick to that one – Making Chocolate From Scratch!
Salted caramel pudding – I love Salted Caramel, so, so, SO SO much.
Salted Caramel Chocolate Cups – gorgeous pics. I will make this one day.
Blueberry Pie Bars – I deeply love blueberries. I will make this!
Healthy Homemade Chocolate Paddle Pops – I love me some Milo.. :)
Fudge for all – I have made this fudge many times now, however, I just make the cookie part and skip the chocolate. Bizarre, I know, but I have to tell you this is one of my all time favourite desserts and super simple. If you make it with Anna’s Ginger Thins.. swoooooon!
Just a side note, why are so many bloggers using all caps for titles on their blog posts these days? You can do that with CSS instead, so when people like me try to copy your title, we get it in regular letters. :)
My Saves
My Next Confession –
I save links, to go back to when I have more time and/or to share them here on the blog.. forgive me internet for I have saved, bookmarked, and foldered my way into one heck of a mess..
I have already confessed to you that I save recipes. I usually try to have one folder for recipes and one for other stuff but lately I have been failing to keep them separated..
Here is my present saves folder – this one scrolls down for 3 more pages past what you see here –
Yes, I like my chocolate peanut butter fudge with a side of Confessions from a Mortician. Don’t judge me, mmkay?
Even worse, here is a folder from the start of 2013!
I don’t need to tell you it is now 2015. But perhaps I need to tell *me* that. :)
Anyway I think the time has come for a clean out. So over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to post a selection of my saved links along with why I saved them, if I can recall that. This week it is NON recipe links.
10 Snoskred Saved Links
1. 5 ways I stay sane online – I saved this because I think I could use these ways to be more sane online, especially the first one, pocket, that could be super helpful to me now I will be out at school. It is essentially my saves folder made mobile.
2. Last Minute Gift – DIY Coasters – I saved this because I think I could actually make this and it would be awesome.
3. This Woman Creates Something Phenomenal Out Of A Family Photo And Wood – I saved this for the same reason as above. Love!
4. Easy Valentine Necklaces – Speaking of love, I saved this because I had never heard of this form of Mod Podge before and I deeply love the form of Mod Podge I know about, so this is a reminder to hunt down this dimensional magic.
5. 25 plus size bloggers to follow on Instagram in 2015 – I saved this because while I do not instagram, there are some people here I have not seen before and they might have blogs I can subscribe to.
6. Mötley Crüe are calling it quits. – I saved this to send to The Other Half, plus, Tommy Lee has a drumming rollercoaster? I will like to know more about this! That shiznit I got to investigate further.
And I did google that, and I found out it is the slowest rollercoaster of all time, but it does some neat tricks. I even have a video for you but I warn you of two things – the sound quality is terrible so turn it right down and/or hit mute – and there is some swearing at the end, which won’t be a problem if you did hit mute or turned the sound right down. Tommy Lee Drum Rollercoaster
7. Post Crossing – I saved this because it might be awesome.
8. Coronial Findings NSW – I saved this because these are always interesting to read and I did work experience in a Coroners Court, many years ago.
9. Emergency Department Waiting Times
– In Major NSW Public Hospitals – I saved this because handy to have just in case.
10. Boot Camp: About keyboards and key assignment for Microsoft Windows – I saved this back when I had a Mac. I think I can delete this now. But anyone reading this with a mac might find it useful.
And a special bonus link –
Who’s Laying, Who’s Not – for anyone who keeps chickens or is considering keeping chickens this is worth reading, especially the last two paragraphs.
Next week – Recipe links. I might post more than 10, because I have a lot of them. :)
NaBloPoMo Is Done.
Sunset as seen from the Mauna Kea Summit, HI.
We can call NaBloPoMo a success here at Life in the Country, with a blog post published for every day in November.
How did you go? Did you take part?
The Links Roundup –
Here are some brilliant links I saved – there were a few more but when I went back to the blogs I was going to link to, they had not approved my comment, so a big wet raspberry to you, instead of a link. :)
Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter with Vanilla Bean and Port – I can’t imagine how excellent the house would smell after slow cooking this. :)
Day 14: My Love Hate Relationship With Facebook – I am having my own love hate relationship with it – I’m within millimeters of hitting delete account.. I am so over FB resetting how I see my stories. I do not want top stories, I want most recent. STOP CHANGING IT BACK FFS FB.
knitting litterature – If you love knitting you will love this post. :)
Six Word Fortune Cookies – Pick a number between 1-20, then go to this post to get your fortune cookie. :)
Giving Thanks to the Goose – The turkey was once a goose.
12 Fab Christmas Tree Crafts From Pinterest – This is a super fun post.
The Mother of Mom-Themed Links Post – Some more excellent links.
Favorite Cookboks Written By Bloggers – I already read one of these blogs so I found four more awesome reads here. :)
Leopards of Bera, Rajasthan – Some gorgeous pics and a great story as well.
Saturday Suppers: Corn Chowder – I am so making this. :)
Orange Marinated Chicken with Potatoes and Asparagus – And this – I am always looking for new ways to prepare chicken and this one will be a hit with the other half who loves orange.
Myki for visitors – If you are going to Melbourne, you want to read this post.
The NaBloPoMo Bundles –
You can browse the first bundle of blogs here –
You can browse the second bundle of blogs here –
There is also my “keepers” – blogs that I connected with right away and know I want to be reading long after November is a distant memory. If your blog is not on this list, do not worry – I just need a little more time to get to know you. :) All the blogs I have added thus far will be staying in my feed reader for now.
You can browse the keepers list here –
NaBloPoMo Keepers 2014 – Updated 23/11/14
If your blog is on the first list or the second list but is not in the first or second bundle, it means I could not access your blog, or that there was no feed associated with your blog.
I have kept a record of each missing blog and why it is missing, so you can contact me and I can let you know why yours is missing.
The Nano Poblano Bundle –
If you did take part but you have not yet linked up, you still have some time to add your link below.
Unlike a regular link up – Please link to your BLOG URL, not to a post. :)
NaBloPoMo – Half Way Done!
We’re 15 days into NaBloPoMo.
How are you going? Have you posted every day?
Here are some great things I have spotted in my NaBloPoMo travels..
Taco Mac-n-Cheese Casserole Meal – You can bet I will be making this soonest!
One Pan Wonder – This is such a great idea and my new and awesome roasting pan will be perfect for this. I also think maybe this would work great with shrimp or fish, only putting those things in in the latter minutes of cooking, and I would use white wine, garlic and lemon. Alternatively, par boil the potatoes first which I am wont to do.
De-Clutter: Kitchen Counter – Another one from Angie and I have to say as someone who recently went through this declutter process – the end results are so worth it, so stick with it. :)
Cherry Pie Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies – Yummity yum yum! ;)
Honey Parmesan Pork Roast This is also from Adventures in all things food. I love a good pork roast. :)
Friday Fixins: 6 Kickass FREE Stock Image Resources – This is a handy resource for bloggers. :)
Better Than Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte – Where I live in Australia as I am typing this, it is nearly 100F (40C) outside. So I made this into a smoothie frappe thing, with icecream, instead. :) It works just as well that way!
Spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino – Super simple but so, so yummy!
Rao’s Famous Lemon Chicken – I love a good lemon chicken. :) Something in me always wants to add lime as well to these things, but I will resist the urge.
Upcoming Projects I’m DYING To Create – The kitty litter box is a great idea though I do think our cats would want more height. We have a screened in back porch on our list of upcoming projects and we will be adding a box like this in there. The Other Half is excellent at making things, as y’all know.
pies: apple cider apple pie – This looks so tasty and I love to combine apples with cheese.
Milky Salted Caramel – Yes, I know, this was from April, but someone linked to it and I love this recipe. :)
Marzipan cake fruitcake tart cheesecake sweet lollipop chocolate cake – Day 5 – I love a text generator and this is much more awesome than Lorem Ipsum.
Pozole Rojo – This blog made me so hungry. :)
Three Recipes I want to Make Right Now – I’m going to add bacon to the baked macaroni thing. :)
This Secret Will Self Destruct in 10 Seconds – I totally have a vault and if you ask me to keep your secret, I will take it to my grave. SRSLY.
Easy Peasy Pecan Rolo Pretzels I love Rolo! This makes me want to go out and buy a few packets. I think combining them with pretzels and pecans would make them healthier, right? :)
And a couple of non NaBloPoMo reads –
No, you are not ‘running late’, you are rude and selfish – I worked with a girl who was regularly 10 minutes late for her shifts. She was sometimes 20 minutes late. She was sometimes 45 minutes late, sometimes an hour. The trouble was, at the time she arrived, if she was not there, I was leaving someone totally alone to handle everything.
When management refused to promote her to a higher level because of her consistent lateness, she went troppo. But you know what? I was always on time. Everyone else was always on time. Myself or other people often had to extend our shift to cover her lateness. She was completely and totally unfair to everyone else in the workplace. I may not have agreed with management on a lot of things, but on that one I was behind them 100%.
Composting With Dog and Cat Waste – I really want to do this – every time I scoop the kitty litter I feel bad about sending that poop to landfill.. I wish councils actually did this. A lot of zoos do this and sell zoo poo..
The rise and fall of John Delorean – The De Lorean was, and probably always will be, the coolest car ever. :)
Here is the NaBloPoMo Link Up –
Unlike a regular link up – Please link to your BLOG URL, not to a post. :)
Costco Food Court Australia.
I took this photo sitting on the ground with my little Panasonic Lumix on a baby tripod at the International Marketplace on Oahu in Hawaii
A big shout out to Pomai – who lives on Oahu – from The Tasty Island. I love your blog, and you inspired this post with two of your posts, specifically –
Costco Food Court: Eat This, Not That
Costco Food Court Honolulu Summer ’14 Update
Here is what we have at the Australian Costco Food Court, roughly 10 hours flying time from Oahu.
Important note – Costco Australia has recently switched over to Pepsi branded drinks – on our last visit a couple of months ago everything was Coca Cola. This greatly pleases The Other Half as he prefers Solo as the drink. I also prefer Solo, Sunkist or Pepsi when it comes to post-mix drinks, I find those a lot less sugary than Coca-Cola. Our visit to Costco is one rare occasion where I will drink flavoured soda drinks rather than plain mineral or soda water.
Let us go a little closer –
I always get the Combo pizza these days. This is because if I do not get it, I find myself deeply wishing I had got it on the way home. The ground beef on this pizza is seriously awesome.
I have tried the chicken bake and it was pretty amazing but not *as* amazing as the Combo pizza.
Unlike the USA, we have a pork hot dog. The Other Half loves these. I do not think we have tried the meat pie, and why would we when we can get those pretty much everywhere but you can’t get the awesome Combo pizza anywhere else in Australia, or the cheap hot dogs. ;)
The chicken and avocado wrap is seriously delicious and fresh. I’ve had that before a few times and loved it. I have not tried the mango smoothie or the iced coffee but a lot of people were getting the smoothie and they seemed to be enjoying it.
I have tried the frozen yoghurt before. It does not have that typical tang you get with frozen yoghurt and is more like soft serve. The serving size is way too big for me – I’d need four of me to finish it. ;)
A lot of people were getting the chocolate cherry thing, and that looked awesome as well.
Churro, ew. If this is what churros are supposed to be like, you can count me out. Not a fan, at all. But people constantly buy them, so they must like them. Maybe it is just me!
The coffees are made by a machine and beware, they are very, very hot. If you are getting a “soda” as well, you might want to put ice in your cup and then take one or two pieces out to put in your coffee. No joke.
I deeply wish we had brought home a pizza now because I have a huge craving for a combo slice writing this post.
If you are heading to Hawaii anytime soon, you probably want to add The Tasty Island to your feed reader. Then again, if you just like looking at pictures of food this is also a blog you should be reading! :)
Also, you might want to check out this great post – Costco Made in Hawaii Eats – we used this as a guide to what we wanted to buy at our visit to Costco on our last Hawaii trip and it was great.