I’ve been meaning to post, but I keep putting it off. I’ve even downloaded an app for that.  It’s called iProcrastinate.  I still haven’t figured out how it works; in fact, I keep putting off reading about how to use it.  It’s that bad.

My (possibly vain) hope is that just getting a post – any post – up will get me back into the swing. At the very least, I’ve proven that I haven’t forgotten my password.  Let’s see, shall we?

In the meantime, have a look at some snaps from winter in Hong Kong and summer in South Africa.

I’ll be back. Donna Hay has a TV show launching on March 15 – how can I resist?

Every time I see it in print, I read: Chief Commissioner Overlord.

What have I been doing?  Nothing exciting.  Reports.  Putting films on the list, and then watching as they disappear from cinemas before I get to see them.  Trying not to procrastinate.  Finishing reports.  Trying to balance sleep and not-sleep (not always effectively).  Catching up on some DVDs: The Band’s Visit, Wordplay, the rest of Battlestar, both seasons of Spaced, some 30 Rock and some revisited Arrested Development.

What’s in store?

• three more teaching days (which are now “in training” days, which means I have to write three days of extras this weekend.   I guess the holiday feeling starts… later?)
• a holiday!  Yay!  Sixteen days in Malaysia.  Beaches.  Food.  Lots of food.  I’m trying to figure out what to eat first
• hopefully a few films.  I do want to see Burn After Reading, and – now that I’ve broken the James Bond embargo (thanks, Daniel Craig) – there’s no real reason not to see Quantam of Solace.  Can’t wait for Frost/Nixon and Milk
• some rest.  I feel like splodging out on the couch for at least a month

This one is a bit too bleak for me to think about at the moment (even the effect of the rain on the chalkboard seems to fit with the overall vibe):

It also works as a commentary on the financial situation – I can see it as the caption for a photo of AIG executives.

Queen Elizabeth II visits Slovenia and is clearly unimpressed. As is her companion.

via The Guardian

I even searched the Ten HDTV site for a link to the ad.  Guess what?  It’s not there.  What a waste…

Even the amount nominated, almost US$150 billion more than the US has spent on the war in Iraq, was not chosen in any scientific way.  A US treasury spokeswoman told Forbes magazine: “It’s not based on any particular data point.  We just wanted to choose a really large number.”

I’ll remember that next time I’m in wage negotiations…

This morning was different. Not only did Rufus let us sleep in, but he did not come running when we got up. We called him and… nothing. We checked the igloo, the carry case, the wardrobes, under the couches, the pantry… nothing. Not a mew; not a scratch. Curiouser and curiouser. By now, we were getting a bit desperate. Each of us checked the places the other had checked. Nothing.

I remembered that the other day Rufus had discovered a way of getting to one of the few safe food hiding places in the house: the top of the fridge. He’d shown some interest in my packet of Fatto A Mano brownies, so I’d stowed them up there. A few minutes later, he was launching himself from the bench to the fridge. Could he have fallen and become stuck down the back? Only one way to find out: we pulled the fridge out. Nothing.

But then we heard a small meow. Huh? It was coming from inside the kitchen unit. Then, a little russet leg extended out above the kick plate. Yep, he was trapped inside the joinery. He had somehow – without breaking anything – jumped onto the shelves above the stove, then onto the top of the central unit. From there, he must have decided to explore the top of the tall shelving unit… except that it doesn’t have a top. OK, so that’s how he got in – how will he get out?

The first rescue suggestion seemed like a good one. Rufus loves to get his claws stuck into fabric so we tied three towels together, lowered them down, and hoped he’d climb up. Nope. He batted at the end for a bit, then went back to mewling pathetically.

The next attempt was also based on observations of previous behaviour. Since I have trouble keeping him out of eco shopping bags, surely he’ll be happy to leap into one that has been tied to a cord. Especially when there is a bowl of food inside. Nope.

We were fairly confident that this was, at least, the right approach. Perhaps we needed a container with shorter, more rigid sides. Say, something like this:

Let's try this, then

It fitted into the space – just – but was no more successful than the other attempts.

The only other alternatives were to cut into the panel (running the risk of cutting into the cat) or taking the joinery apart until we could remove the panel (this seemed, at the time, to be a brilliant plan).

This won't be easy...

Of course, once we’d started, we realised we’d have to take all the shelving out, which meant all of the things on the shelves had to come off…

Pulling the kitchen apart

… aaaand then we realised the panel was attached from the other side.

So, it was back to plan C.  Cutting.  Fortunately, our carpenter friend was able to respond to the emergency call.  A few minutes with a hole saw later and a very shaky Rufus emerged.  A few screwdriver twists later and our kitchen was back to normal.

Restored and restocked

Rufus, liberated, retires upstairs for a nap

And we retired to the pub. Lamb pies all round!

Going through the 100 was an interesting exercise.  What would I rule out completely?  Why?  I eat loads of different animals and am generally willing to try any part of these animals… but not horse.  It’s irrational, but that’s just how it is.  As for roadkill, if I were desperate, then I’d eat it.  I have, however, approached this list as “would I choose to eat it” and the answer for roadkill is a resounding “no”.

What to do
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. (In the case of this style sheet, I’ve had to change the colour of the items I’ve eaten in order for it to make any visual sense.)
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at Very Good Taste linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (had to look this one up! Don’t know if I’ll get a chance to try it  and wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way, but not ruling it out)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans_
25. Brawn, or head cheese (but if it had been offered to me as head cheese and not brawn I not only would not have tried it, but it would have a big double strikethrough it right now! Ignorance can be, if not bliss, helpful.)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut (how else do you have your Vic Market bratwurst?)
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (I’d have the cognac, though!)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo (I’ve even tried to make my own when I found some file once at DJs, but it wasn’t the same as the gumbo in Nola)
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (picking gnats out of my teeth after Around the Bay doesn’t count, does it?)
43. Phaal (wow, the things I don’t know – lucky I have Google. Not a hot curry fan, so am pleased I now know what to avoid next time I’m in Brick Lane)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8%
59. Poutine (I’m not ruling this out, but nobody has yet been able to explain “cheese curds” in a way that sounds appealing)
60. Carob chips (wouldn’t have them if chocolate was on offer!)
61. S’mores (another one I had to look up, but I’d have this in a heartbeat)
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (huh?)
64. Currywurst (sounds foul, but that doesn’t mean never)
65. Durian (never again)

66. Frogs’ legs (yum!)
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel (as often as possible)
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost (sounds yummy)
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu (will have to look this out when we go to China)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef (if it’s anything like Hida beef, I’m in!)
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (saved from ordering it just in time by the arrival of the English menu)
90. Criollo chocolate (where do I get it???)
91. Spam (but there should be a version of the strikethrough for “never again”)
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

So, that’s 67 from the 100 that I’ve eaten, and only five that I completely rule out.  Guess that makes me a pig…

Now, where’s the icecream?