Mainly Food and Beverages

After another day of dog sitting for friends, my kittens tell me I have taken too many photos of dogs recently. They are not particularly happy with this development, and so I have tried to make amends.

My cats

I needed a break from work so I walked down through a park to a local cafe. I know people can't do this at the moment in the UK, but the decor of the cafe (and the sentiment) made me think of my sister who loves Audrey Hepburn (and is often the reason I smile). I had a Kerli's bowl, which featured brown rice, edamame, purple cabbage, carrots, seaweed, avocado, sesame dressing, sesame seeds, nigella seeds (whatever they may be) and mushrooms, with extra smoked salmon. It was delicious (and felt healthy; even though it possibly wasn't).

Date night involved a walk through Aranda Bushland to Bolt Bar, where we had cocktails and enjoyed the special offer of two pizzas and a bottle of wine. 

Aranda Bushland

Smoked olive martini

Apple kraken cocktail

Smoked everything pizza

Chilli squid pizza

While attending an event at Kambri ANU, I came across this outdoor exhibition, Here I Am: Art by Great Women. I really like outdoor exhibitions, bringing art into public spaces, and it's interesting to see people interacting with the works with a fresh focus in a less forced environment. There's a separate post on the art itself on my other blog.

It has been a strange year in many ways, but also with respect to climate. After years of drought, we've had a lot of rain in Canberra, and trees and shrubs have grown and thrived. The wisteria at our front door is flowering for a second time this year. It only flowers for about two weeks, so this is a great bonus!

Bentspoke Brewery have set up a 'pontoon bar' on the edge of Lake Burley Griffin. After successfully completing an errand in town at the weekend, we checked it out, and found it to be good. Beers and burgers with friends in the sunshine: what a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

 

And we finished off the week with a walk around Lake Burley Griffin - so here is the obligatory shot of the National Carillon reflected in the water.

Out Walking

The walk around the lake is getting colder, but the National Carillon is still clear as a bell,even when filtered through the Prisma app... do you see what I did there?

The light is coming through the trees at an autumnal slanting angle, and I like how someone in the neighbourhood has made sure that the statues of the football-playing boys don't get cold.

Umbagong Park

From the latest books and breakfast file, here are some scrambled eggs with greens and The Graveyard Book  by Neil Gaiman.

Books and breakfast

Like a Duck to Water

The water is all drying up from the pond near work, but ducklings have still got to learn to swim. 

Building goes on in Woden and public art is overshadowed by the scaffolding behind it. I think this makes for a particularly interesting backdrop as the artist, David Jensz, claims that by interweaving individual threads, he is producing a 'social fabric. As a community we are all connected, our sense of separateness is only a question of degree'.

Culture Fragment by David Jensz

We had some friends round for a tasting of roses that we had collected from the Wines of the West (central west of New South Wales) exhibition that we attended at The Carrington Hotel last month. I made copious comments and doubtless pithy observations, but I have lost my notes, so... here is a picture of some empty bottles.

The Untapped Festival of Beer and Music was fun. It was outdoors but with plenty of seating, and the weather was warm, but there was plenty of shade. It was interesting to be there purely as a punter and without a professional eye to work/ research/ network/ etc. For the first time in years I could just enjoy a festival for what it was; talk to some people if I wanted (or not if I didn't); drink some beer; eat some food; listen to some music; and leave whenever I wanted. So this is how people do these things!

That's a big list of beers, but we did our best to make a dent in them, as it were. My favourites of the day were Digital IPA by Yeastie Boys (supremely bitter with stacks of citrus); Biggie Juice by Feral Brewing Company (big, bold, and hazy hops - citrus but almost creamy); Pash the Magic Dragon by Batch Brewing Company (super beer - it's a benchmark!); India Alpha Papa IPA by Two Heads Brewing (malty and good - tasty); Major Mitchell by Pioneer Brewing Company (it's got good, strong hoppy values); and Bounty Hunter by Tumut River Brewing Company (chocolate and coconut and all the flavours you'd expect - very nice).

Sailors Grave Brewing was a bit of a winner with their Summer Pudding (I can't tell if I really like this or if it's just slightly sour raspberry cordial - edit, I really like it) and the Peach Melba Pavlova Cream Sour (creamy and sour and fruity and tasty - just peachy!)

Peach Melba Pavlova Cream Sour by Sailors Grave Brewing

Bounty Hunter by Tumut River Brewing Company

Another weekend; another walk around Lake Burley Griffin; another picture of the National Carillon

And as the Oscar nominations are announced, it is time to catch up on black and white foreign films with a bottle of wine at a friend's house (he has Netflix: we don't).

Watching Roma