weblog > archives > October 2006
Too cool for school?
October 31, 2006 5:19 PM
I hope not, becase school is all it is about for the next couple of weeks.
I've knocked off a couple of assignments in the last couple & I have one more to finish before I can start studying for exams. They sneak up so quickly that sometimes I think it is all I write about...
Well, I'll plug through these bad boys & dream of summer days filled with good wine, green vines & reading books in the shade.
Welcome!
October 24, 2006 12:59 AM
Welcome Dave to the world of blogging!
I'm looking forward to some good stories & some great pictures. I'm sure some of the timgoldsmith.com readers are too. Maybe a story about people you go to Bible College with?
TCG.><>.
MIA!
October 23, 2006 10:27 AM
I do apologise for being Missing In Action over the last little while. Lots of stuff to do & not too much time to do it in. I'll pull my socks up & see if I can't be a little more regular through the exam period.
It's been a busy last week & as I sit here on Monday morning, I am not sure if I am capable of much more than some quick details of what I've been doing.
Last tuesday was Shona's birthday, so last tuesday became a chance to swing into the city & live it up a little. You'll be disturbed to hear, though, that I didn't take my camera with me! I was certainly disturbed when we arrived at the "Orbit bar" (the revolving bar on the 47th story of Chifley Tower) just at sunset, with all the surrounding buildings having the appearance of great flaming torches, as the last of the sun struggled, red and swollen, over the horizon. I think I managed to convince Shones that the tear in the corner of my eye was from "the moment" rather than the fact that I missed an awesome opportunity for a great photo...
Can I just say, as an aside, that while cocktails at "Orbit" are disturbingly expensive. As a rare experience, I rate it totally! The view alone was worth the cash & the drinks were the kind of things that linger on your memory's palate long after they have faded from the tongue's.
Dinner at the Belgian Beer Cafe (Heritage, not Epoque) and some chilling at Observatory hill were also required that night. It is easy to love life when you live in Sydney! (and doesn't hurt to have a dead-set hottie on your arm at the time either!)
Friday was "Youth Surge" with my youth kids. That's a meeting of Anglican (and some other denominational groups) Youth Groups from the same region. It's awesome having hundreds of kids together, it's great to hear God's word preached faithfully (through Scott Petty, a guy who was a bible study leader at my old church when I was a sprocket!) and it is too cool to see my kids encouraged & enthused by the experience. It's also fun to have good chats with the kids as you drive them there!
I guess I'll finish on Saturday morning, though that certainly wasn't the end to my weekend.
Chelsea turned 21, and I got an invite. We maintained our hanging-out record of rainy days, but it was all good, because the vibe was up & the smiles were on!
Chels' friends gave one of the better speeches that I have heard for a 21st. It was all done in song & really, I would be doing it a disservice by trying to explain it. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from the day.
Chelsea's friends in fine form!
The Birthday girl herself.
The sweet art of self-take photos lives on!
Finally, have I really posted any pictures if I fail to post a picture of beer? I'd hate to disappoint. Here is the great Tubeo sinking back some sweet sweet nectar.
Incurring Wrath
October 16, 2006 12:51 AM
Having commented in my last post about how much appreciation I would get for posting no close-up shots of Shona, I feel dutybound to undo all that good.
Of course, I think they are cute shots, so what does it matter.
While there are many smiles, this is one of the rare ones fired near the direction of the camera.
I like polka dots!
A season of Love
October 14, 2006 9:40 PM
Milbrodale Road at Sunset (Click on the pic to see the Large version on Black, much better)
Have I written about this before?
I suspect more than one of my posts is a repeat, so you'll forgive me.
Every family has a way of expressing love. For my family, a lot of that love is expressed through food. Let's just say that over the last week, I've been feeling that love!
Tuesday night I was over at P&K's house, where Amy, Andrew & their three kids are staying. Of course getting to see my nieces and nephews is easily enough to make me happy, but I got the bonus plan. Herb encrusted "Porcetta" for dinner, chocolate-ginger cake, and brownie (and baklava) for desert! The night would have been 100% spot-on had Heapy and I not blown a seemingly insurmountable lead to go down at Trivial Pursuit.
Wednesday to Saturday was spent in the Hunter.
Really, I needn't say any more..... but I will.
Wednesday night was lamb at Adrian & Susie's house. They are an awesome Uncle & Aunt. It was an awesome meal & I look forward to sampling an awesome little collection of Whisky that Adrian amassed before his retirement from QANTAS. There had to be 8-10 litres of that stuff!
Otherwise, when I wasn't trying my hand at bacon and eggs, mum was in the kitchen making us food! You have no idea what it is like. Shona, (who, may I say, fitted right in with the family, having mastered the art of the chewy chocolate bikkie) and I ate pretty solid for a couple of days. It all culminated last night with a steak that was about 4cm thick (an inch and a half for you Yanks out there).
Anyone can eat well and it doesn't have to be about love. What makes it love is when I mention, off-hand, about how I was reading a recipe for chocolate fudge sauce. Mum then stands up & says, "I can make rich chocolate sauce off the top of my head" and proceeded to proove herself right!
Fortunately, I had room for the ice cream to go with it.
So there you go. It was a week of love. It was spending quality time with Shona, it was spending quality time with family, it was spending quality time killing myself with my fat intake!
So, I'll leave you with two of my expressions of love.
Firstly, Shona will love me because I posted a picture of her that is not a close up. (How does a girl manage to be that beautiful & still dislike having pictures taken of her?)
The second is a picture of mum's Labna . This stuff is freakin' tasty! I love it & I love my mum cause she makes things I love whenever she knows that I am coming to stay. I'm so spoiled!
Off again
October 11, 2006 10:06 AM
It really is a hard life!
I have been back at college for a couple of days, and now I am off back up to the Hunte Valley again.
Shona has a week off work & since I have no Youth Group on Friday (School holidays still) that frees me up over the weekend, so up we go to hang out, chill our & have some fun.
Here's a little of what we have to look forward to...
Have I really been posting photos if I don't post one of Beer?
Birds eye view, or Fish eye view?
It's a hard luck life!
A minor milestone
October 7, 2006 2:44 AM
(click on the pic to be taken to the original)
OK, so every man and his dog has a picture that has a thousand hits, but this is the first of mine to make it there!
Three cheers for the person who decided to leave a broken bike chained in a back street of Geneva. I may not have made it into the nearby "Patek Phillipe Museum" (closed on both occasions I walked to it) but I did find you!
Hooray for Holidays!
October 6, 2006 4:09 AM
OK, so I should have blogged more times so far over the holidays, but I am supposed to be relaxing right?
So Adam & I went up to the Hunter Valley for a couple of days. We did some nice breakfast cooking (I may or maynot have had a strongbow at 9:30am to wash down bacon & eggs) and mum did some AWESOME dinners for us, so food was totally looked after.
We visited Susie & Ada's house & managed to climb the mountain behind it. It's good to be reminded that you need to get out and exercise more & it is great to be reminded of how extravagant God is, creating so many species of things & such a diverse terrain. Making it up some steep rocks & down some slippery slopes without breaking a bone was also a bonus.
My lovely friends at Peterson's were as lovely as usual. We scored some lovely plonk from there, some of which we knocked off that evening over dinner. It really makes your day a little chirpier when you get to see genuine, friendly, lovely people who remember you & look after you, even though they have every right to see you as nothing but a customer!
Adam & I had a great time taking pictures all over the place. Lots of beer shots at the Blue Tongue, plenty of jumping shots on different roads (I am a fan at the moment) and a bunch of other bits & pieces from our travels.
To start things off, here's a little proof that we made it up the mountain.
Ads shows off his tat while we catch a breather at the top of a cliff.
Adam trys to catch the "moody, reflective, 'I have unplumbed depths if only they were explored'" side of Tim. Or maybe he just wanted me to look tired after hiking straight up the mountain?