Hello Winter

Autumn is on its last leg & winter is fast approaching. It hasn't been warm for many weeks now. Day time temperatures averages 20°c & can be chilly in the shade especially when touched by the breeze. Our place has long lost whatever heat it had retained & is in a state of permanent cold. I find it managable as long as no doors are left open, allowing the chill to penetrate the air.

I'm still in my camisole but have upgraded from shorts to 3/4 cotton pants. I'm stuck in the in betweens. It's not warm enough to do without a blanket, yet not cold enough that I not sweat with it. Hubs is already in full works mode: full length pants, top, jacket, plus the blanket. Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me.

When I drive to work in the morning, I need the heater for my feet as I drive barefooted. But I have to wind down the window a notch to let the cold air in to cool my body. I've always been this way so I'm not alarmed. My extremities are the only parts that bear the brunt of the cold.

I suspect this winter will be colder than the previous. I remember the lowest it went was 0°c in mid winter. We already had days with 3°c in mid autumn. We may just go below zero this year.

I've always said it's better to be cold than hot. If it's cold, all you have to do is put on a few more layers, maybe add some heat packs. But if it's hot, you can strip down to being butt naked & still you're dripping sweat. Winter always turn to spring (meaning when you're going through harsh times, just remember that it will come to an end). But for me, summer is my nemesis. Perhaps for me, it should be autumn always follows summer. Haha. I wonder what my mentor in faith will say about my changing Gosho passages left, right & center.

Trial Run

So, we tested that the pump for the air mattress is working fine. No air leaks from the mattress. Then, it's the tent. We'll arrive at the camp site probably around 7 to 7.30 pm. It'll be hard enough pitching a tent (if we didn't have trial runs) when there's light, not to mention in the dark. It being late autumn, the sun now sets around 5.30 pm. It took me a while to read the instructions & for us to figure out what goes where. Now that we've done it once, it actually isn't that difficult. The challenge will be having to do it in the dark. Upon opening up the tent, I realised that the bottom of the tent is of quite a thin material. We'll definitely need a tarp to lay underneath or risk it getting pierced. Once the tent was up, kaypo Ton went inside to look look see see.

 

It's hard to get photos taken when there's only 2 of us. Our photos are either that of scenary or 1 of us without the other. I've decided not to bring my camera since my phone takes better picture & I can upload them without having to transfer to the computer for further processing 1st. I think this might really be the end of casual cameras. If I were to hand my phone to a stranger to take photos for us, I'm afraid they'll run off with it. I have a camera tripod but it won't hold the phone without a phone holder that fits tripods. They're sold on gumtree but they require several weeks to dispatch. So I decided to improvise.

I took home the semi stiff Infinity Phaco cassette box which we normally throw away after opening the contents. I cut it so it becomes like a cradle & my S5 fitted nicely into it. I poked holes into the bottom of the cradle with screw driver to pass the cable ties through. (I tried using a pen but it was too stiff to poke through.) I tried it out & it worked! Now we don't have to trouble others to take photos for us & I need not fear that they'll run away with it. 

The completed product! Very primal but it works & it's free.

Failed Tiramisu

Like all my days off, I woke up naturally at 7 am (if not awaken prematurely by Mr Ton) rather than to the blare of the alarm going off at 5 am. Hubs won't wake for several hours yet. I got started on my tiramisu. As I was prepping the mascarpone cheese, I already know this would be a flop. The cheese, instead of becoming soft & creamy, became stiff & curd-like. I went back to the recipe which received mostly 5 stars & discovered many comments that the same thing happened to them. Gosh, then why give the 5 stars? I still assembled the tiramisu anyway. The mascarpone was $8, the sponge fingers $5 & the Kahlua $33. No point wasting it.

I'm already thinking of solutions for the next trial. Perhaps half whipping cream & half mascarpone. Whipping cream withstands beating & as long as you don't overbeat, it'll not spilt. Then just gently mix the mascarpone in. Some recipes call for eggs but they use them raw. I'm not too comfortable with that. Masterchef US season 1 left a lasting impression on me.  A contestant used raw eggs & got told off by the judges. They didn't even touch the food he presented. Naturally, he was eliminated. Reason being, raw eggs can cause severe food poisoning.

On the other hand, the panna cotta came out perfect. Probably needed just that few extra hours of refrigeration. So no need for more gelatine. It set perfectly. So yey! Success!

Work At Home

I have the day off today as there's no list but I've already gone beyond my 30 hours a week in 4 days of work. Unfortunately, work never really does end. If I'm not working at work, I'm working at home.

Ton Ton woke me up at 6.30 am by pawing me incessantly. I had let him out just minutes ago to pee. So I couldn't figure out what he wanted. Maybe he wants to tell me that I'm late for work? Haha. I decided to bring him for a walk & where better to go than the bushland just at my door step? It took us an hour to make a round trip back home.

I called the ATO to update my address (yeah, I updated everything but forgot the ATO) immediately when I got back home. Then I got started on the panna cotta, recipe by Gordon Ramsay. On cooking contests, the panna cotta is like the most celebrated dessert. It needs to unmould perfectly & be able to do the jiggle when you shake the plate. So I wanted to try it for myself since the panna cotta I had in sg were all stiff & were served in their moulds.

While waiting for the mixture to cool, I read the same Patricia Cornwell novel I've been reading for 3 weeks now but ended up falling asleep. I'm going nowhere with it. 1 more week before my books are due & I've only finished half of the 1st novel. I woke up at 3 pm, having snoozed for 45 mins. I poured the mixture into the moulds & refrigerate them. Went for a shower & came out just in time to find hubs driving in. 

We went grocery shopping & I got ingredients for tiramisu. Heh. Already thinking of the next dessert. But I'm not getting any vibes for main meals. I'll see how it goes. We got some sweet pastry for $0.20 each box. Yes, you read it right. 20 cents. Originally at $3 each. It expires today but I'm sure it'll keep for another day. (That's how we keep expenses down.) We've been looking for the Vegemite chocolate for a while since it was featured on The Project. Hubs suggested looking for it in Woolies (we shop mainly at Coles). We were lucky to get a roast chicken from Woolies at $5 (half price) as it was baked 4 hours ago at 12.30 pm. Best of all, we found the Vegemite chocolate. Came home, watched Smurfs 2 on DVD while having our roast chicken dinner. That's our 简简单单的每一天.

Walk in the bushland at 7 am.

Vegemite chocolate. Erm... it's alright. Definitely kinda weird but not exactly disgusting like some people say it is.

Panna cotta with blueberry sauce. It jiggles but I think it's under set. Needs a bit more gelatine perhaps. The vanilla seeds are not evenly distributed, so not very visually appealing too.

What A Day!

Wednesday. It got off to a terrible start when my colleague informed us that she had to put her dog to sleep the night before. My manager offered to take over her duties so she could go home to rest as she wasn't able to sleep the entire night. She declined, saying that it would be better for her to be at work so her mind was not constantly on the thoughts of her lost friend. He had lymphoma for almost a year now, initially diagnosed when they discovered a lump on his neck & biopsy showed malignancy. He underwent 1 cycle (4 rounds) of chemotherapy & was alright for a while. 2 months later, the lump came back. He received another cycle of chemotherapy. The 1st & last time I saw him, it was beginning of the month, when we attended an all day course & her husband came to fetch her with their dog. I didn't want to ask her what happened coz I know it's just too painful. But I heard from my manager that the dog's face started to swell & they were advised to put him to sleep. He was only 5. You know how I feel about dogs. They are the absolute best friends we can ever have. Loyal to the end. My mom used to tell me, "没有踏进棺材你都不会知道一个男人老不老实。" (You will only know if a man is truly loyal to you the day you step into your coffin - referring to my dad's infidelity.) I totally agree. You can't say that of a dog. My relationship with Ah Ton outlasted my previous marriage. So I know & I feel so bad for her. I had to walk away coz I know I would start crying which will trigger her to start crying & before we know it, everyone at work will be brawling their eyes out.

We had 8 cases in the morning which took us to 12.40 pm as the last 2 patients were not cooperative. We were supposed to do an add on case during lunch time, bilateral intravitreal injection but as we had finished late, we had to reschedule it to the end of the day. The 6 cases in the afternoon went off without a hitch. Surgeon was late, but then, he always is. But it worked out alright coz we had to go for lunch. Half way through the afternoon list, my colleague from recovery came to get my manager who was scouting for me. A colleague who was not on had called & asked for her. After the bad news in the morning, the 1st thing that came to my mind was, "Oh no. I really hope it's not her dog." This colleague's dog had cancer as well. So when my manager came back, I immediately asked if everything was alright with my colleague. Apparently, she wanted to set an appointment & she just wanted to make sure my manager can give her the day off. Phew... A big sigh of relief.

Shortly after, a request came in to add a case that very day. We already had a bilateral intravitreal injection so this case had to go last. Normally, injections are done out in the clinic but this patient requires heavy sedation so she "won't know what's going on". That done, we went with the last case, removal of lens fragment. But, this patient had severe restless legs syndrome & what normally would have taken 5 mins to do went on for half an hour coz she just couldn't keep still. In eye surgery, slight movements are bad enough, not to mention big ones. Movements make it dangerous when instruments are in the eye. You can easily pierce the posterior capsule (PC) or lacerate the cornea. We had 2 persons holding her legs & 2 persons holding her head. But in the end, we did get the fragment out.

By the end of the day, everyone just felt so drained. It wasn't all that late, just 6.15 pm. But the emotional aspect of it made it felt like a super long day. It was followed by the usual hour drive home, rest up & back to work the next day. 

Rabbit Or Dog?

At the end of our whole day list on Monday, we (my colleagues, surgeon & me) were chatting about our furry friends. My surgeon has a poodle & he was sharing with us the antics of his poodle. They had recently moved & the poodle climbed over a wall, fell over the other side but the fall was broken by a tree & he had to go get the poodle back. My colleague, her GS is notorious. Digging up her garden, destroying fruit trees, chewing up 3 pairs of glasses, chewing up everybody's knickers, pulling so hard on the leash that her arm nearly got torn from the socket. You name it, her GS did it. She was showing us a photo of her GS that her daughter sent her coz she was contemplating giving her GS away to the police force & her daughter wanted to showcase the cutie side of her GS to prevent that from happening. 

Naturally, I also whipped out my mobile & showed them the most recent picture of Ton. It was a cold morning & he was curled up into a ball on the sofa. The surgeon stared at it for a long moment before asking, "Are you sure that's not a rabbit?" Lol. Perhaps you can be the judge.

Dog or rabbit?

Going On The Road

Some time back, but definitely a post from this year, I wrote about my dream to rent a camper van to tour the regional areas of WA. A dream remains a dream unless you act upon it & so I did. It turned out that I have to scrap the idea as the camper van rentals I looked at require a bond of 5 grand. While refundable if returned in original condition, I will feel much more comfortable with an excess that is payable if we get into an accident. I tried looking at van rentals so we can still put an air mattress at the back. But the bond for such commercial vans stand at almost 3 grand. Still too much of a risk.

If we drive our own car, we'll not be allowed into any of the lodgings if I choose to bring Ah Ton. Neither am I keen to leave him behind. Call me crazy. But I made a promise to him before we left Sg that I'll bring him on many road trips (coz he loves car rides). I want him to go on many adventures with us.

In the end, I made a decision that my past self will never believe. Hubs even asked, "你是我的老婆吗?" when I 1st told him of my plan. Yes. It is that drastic. I told him, let's go camping instead. We'll drive my car (coz we have insurance on mine), book a dog friendly camp site & pitch a tent to sleep in.

We're crazy to go camping in winter & I wonder if we'll freeze to death sleeping under the stars. But I'll make sure our prep work is immaculate. Heat tech clothes from Uniqlo, heat packs for standby, thick socks, long pants, Ton's sweater. Although not very far away, we are indeed going up north. So hopefully it'll just be cold but not freezing.

We bought a 4 person tent (says 4 but is very small), an air mattress & 2 camping chairs just today. They're not top of the range but they'll do for us novice. I've short listed areas I'll like to visit but I'll have to start fine tuning my itinerary very soon. If we like it, I'll plan a trip down south during the 2 weeks Christmas closure at my work place. For someone who claims she hates the outdoors, I'm actually quite excited. I look forward to creating good memories with the ones I love.