Monday, 13 August 2012

We have steps!

We managed to (almost) finish the garden steps. We found a bargain nursery yesterday and were very surprised to discover the owners are Brits!

I took the photos from the patio area, so there will be more pots dotted around to make the patio a bit more colourful. The plants on the steps look a bit stiff, as they haven't had time to relax and become accustomed to their new home.

When the patio starts looking decent, with table, chairs, parasol and some plants, I'll post more photos.

We are pleased with results so far. There are still bits and bobs to be done around the steps, like planting tallish shrubs to the right of them to hide the ugly concrete blocks, but that will have to wait a while. The important thing is that we have easier access to the garden and it looks much, much nicer than before...

(I didn't plant anything in the chamber pot in the end. We simply filled it with sand and use it as an ashtray.)




Sunday, 12 August 2012

The ostrich

Today's joke came from Mrsgunka:


A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him. The waitress asks them for their orders. The man says, "A hamburger, fries and a coke," and turns to the ostrich, "What's yours?" "I'll have the same," says the ostrich.

A short time later the waitress returns with the order. "That will be $9.40 please." The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment. The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, "A hamburger, fries and a coke."

The ostrich says, "I'll have the same."

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.

This becomes routine until the two enter again. "The usual?" asks the waitress. "No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato and a salad," says the man. "Same," says the ostrich. Shortly the waitress brings the order and says, "That will be $32.62." Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and Places it on the table.

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer. "Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every time?"

"Well," says the man, "several years ago I was cleaning the attic and found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there."

"That's brilliant!" says the waitress. "Most people would ask for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!"

"That's right... whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there," says the man.

The waitress asks, "What's with the ostrich?"

The man sighs, pauses and answers, "My second wish was for a tall chick with a big ass and long legs who agrees with everything I say.."

Thank you, MrsG.

Friday, 10 August 2012

NBC Olympic bloopers

These are very funny, courtesy of View_From_Here.


1. Weightlifting commentator: "This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing."

2. Dressage commentator: "This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother."

3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: "I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father."

4. Boxing Analyst: "Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious."

5. Softball announcer: "If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again."

6. Basketball analyst: "He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces."

7. At the rowing medal ceremony: "Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew."

8. Soccer commentator: "Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field."

9. Tennis commentator: "One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them...Oh my God, what have I just said?"

Thank you, View.

Thursday, 9 August 2012

Cake!

We've been busy, busy busy! So I'll post a recipe my sister sent me yesterday. She said it's absolutely delicious.


French Yogurt Cake


Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

***

8 1/2 x 4 1/4-inch loaf pan

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat pan with vegetable oil spray. Dust with flour; tap out excess.

Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.

Using your fingers, rub sugar with lemon zest in a large bowl until sugar is moist. Add yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract; whisk to blend. Fold in dry ingredients just to blend.

Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until top of cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50–55 minutes.

Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto rack; let it cool completely.

The recipe came from Bon Appetit.