Hobbies - Page 8

Do-it-yourself Coffee Roasting

For the truly addicted connoisseurs: Dave Shea’s Caffeinated posting shows you how to roast your own coffee beans, with instructions and comments. This is one of the more interesting uses of Flickr from my perspective.

Snarky Crafts

When you’ve almost come to the end of the current list of craft projects (something that will probably apply to me in about, oh, the year 2012 or so if I’m lucky), and you’re looking around for ideas, here are a couple of web sites you might enjoy. Actually, look at them before you get to the end of that list, as you’re unlikely to want to make anything featured here. Warning: be careful with your coffee when you start looking at these.

Item 1 is even called What Not to Crochet (link thanks to Tim) and features all sorts of items that make you wonder who would put any time at all into buying the yarn for them, let alone actually making them. There are even designers out there using crochet as a base for modern art (about which I am obviously a philistine and have no appreciation of the finer points) — check out the bunny suit as an example of that, and then the complete website from the designer.

Item 2 (not sure how I stumbled across this): Threadbared has some delightfully snarky comments on old sewing, knitting, and crochet patterns. Some of the items themselves are actually ok (unlike almost all from the What Not to Crochet link), but the set shots haven’t worn well (and most of them were probably ridiculous even when brand new).

Kate Atkinson’s “Emotionally Weird”

Kate Atkinson’s “Emotionally Weird” (Amazon link link, Powells link) is another bookclub selection, and is perhaps not the easiest book to write about. As befits the title, the entire book is weird both in plot and in construction, and at times feels a little over-clever, as if parts were introduced as some sort of game the author plays with the readers. To me the book was worth reading, but if you look at the reviews on Amazon, you’ll see a lot of people disagree (everything from 1 to 5 stars).

Effie, the central character (I’m not sure whether she really fulfills the requirements of the word “heroine”, since she mostly is catapulted into situations rather than taking charge of anything) is a student at the University of Dundee in the early 1970s. Effie’s family circumstances are mysterious, she has no idea who her father is, she and her mother Nora spent her childhood moving from small town to small town, and she finds the solution to the mystery once she and her mother spend some time together on a remote Scottish island.

The book is constructed as interleaved passages of talks between Effie and Nora, and the narration of Effie’s life at the university. The plethora of characters is distracting; it’s hard to tell who will be important to the plot, and who is simply functioning as the classical mystery red herring (the yellow dog mentioned on the dustjacket being one good example). Nora sums it up when she says there are too many minor characters and also complains about the lack of plot (Effie: “not necessary in this post-modern day and age”). But of course there is a plot, a plot about who Effie’s mother is (opening line: “My mother is a virgin.” and later on “my mother is not my mother”), who her father is, how all these threads may or may not interconnect.

The descriptions of university life and students in the 1970s, when it was much easier to get into university and many people felt no obligation to actually do any work once there, are biting and have the ring of truth. The pomposity and self-righteousness that seems to inhabit many universities, the tendency of ivory towers to find things important that make no sense to outsiders, are described and lampooned. The conversational style also helps with this as it allows lots of room for “exaggeration for effect”. In fact much of the time I found myself wondering how much was truth, how much exaggeration for effect, and how much outright lies in Effie’s narrative. Most of the apparent contradictions were resolved by the end of the book, the others were not of major importance to the plot. As an example, I never did quite figure out the plotline with the yellow dogs, but that was probably because I didn’t put much effort into it.

The bookclub members enjoyed the book, not great literature, but a fun read with some satisfyingly weird twists and turns. One of our better picks, I think.

Crochet Danger

I had to laugh at Eve’s link to the story of the weenie who was scared of knitting needles (while admitting I first saw the link at whump dot com from following XML 2005 Aggregator links). I have a better story than mere knitting needles or even needlework needles, since all of those have really blunt ends.

When the TSA directives first came out after September 11, banning knitting needles, I, along with a lot of other people, was struck by the arbitrariness of the bans. No knives, but forks were still allowed, and so were glasses made of glass. Personally I’d rather have someone come at me with a blunt knife that’s not capable of cutting anything than a broken glass. So I read the list of banned items and noticed that crochet hooks weren’t on the list. Given that in terms of crafts I bounce between knitting, needlework, crochet, and lots of others, I have a good supply of crochet hooks. I picked one out to take on my next set of flights. Not just any crochet hook though, one of my fine 1.25 mm crochet hooks that at the time I was using for filet crochet. So this is a hook, with what can only be described as a barb on one end, with a total diameter of 1.25 mm (I have smaller, but had two of the 1.25 mm hooks so could easily risk losing one).

The first security person checked the hook, looked worried, asked her supervisor, the supervisor said “crochet hooks are allowed”. And that was it. On board I went, with my filet crochet and my crochet hook. These days knitting needles are expressly allowed, as are crochet hooks (although the TSA calls them “crochet needles”) so I will still be able to carry around my filet crochet hooks and scare unsuspecting knitting needle phobics (yes, there is such a thing as a needle phobia; most people who suffer from it have phobias about vaccination and blood test-type needles, not knitting needles, although the phobia is apparently bad enough in some people to be set off by any needle-type object).

So if you see someone with what looks like a viciously thin, barbed object and thin yarn, just remember the TSA permits it. Mind you, reading that list does raise other questions, such as “if you can’t smoke on board, why do you need a cigar cutter?” and “why are toy transformer robots expressly permitted but not other toys?” but that’s just me being picky.

Okanagan Wineries

We went up to the Okanagan wine district for the Canada Day weekend this year, and I think it’s about time I wrote down some of my impressions of the vineyards and the wine. We took my friend Sally (she of G&T fame who knows a lot about wine), and had a great time. Tim mostly entertained the offspring while Sally and I tasted the wine, which seemed like a good division of labour to all of us. I typically like wines with body and heft, such as shiraz, much of the cabernet family, and rieslings; my impressions of other wines depend on what they evoke (sitting on the deck in summer, or some food pairing). So here are some notes about the wineries and the wines, none of them are anything scientific or indeed anything other than my impression of that day!

Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards: Great view, but a very commercial vineyard with lots of schnick-schnack to buy. I’d bought some cabernet franc here in 1995–6 which was great after a few years cellaring, but the 2003 Cabernet Franc they had on offer this year was too light and didn’t give me any confidence it would develop the way I like. The pinot gris was good so I got some of that. The gewürztraminer was ok though we’d had better at other wineries, so that didn’t go home with us, and although I thought the See-ya-later pinot noir could develop, I didn’t feel like taking the risk.
Wild Goose Vineyards & Winery: Very friendly people, good whites (some have won prizes) though not what I’d call earth-shatteringly great. I bought a mixed case of whites, including the 2004 Riesling, 2003 Stony Slope Riesling, and the 2004 Gewürztraminer.
Stag’s Hollow Winery: Unfriendly server but a good vidal (2004 Tragically Vidal), which is an unusual grape, and the 2002 Renaissance Merlot struck me as worth taking home, so I bought a couple of bottles for the cellar. It should be really good in a couple of years.
Hainle Vineyards Estate Winery: Nice people, organic wines; they’ve learned a lot about making organic wines palatable since I last visited in 1996 or so. Good bistro for lunch outside on the deck as well. The 2002 Hainle Chardonnay, 2002 Hainle Pinot Blanc, 2002 Deep Creek Pinot Meunier (nice rich taste, like the Hawthorne Mountain one from 1995 or so), and 2003 Deep Creek Z2 were all good, the 2003 Hainle Syrah ok. Bought a mixed bunch to cellar, mostly the Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay as they’re in short supply and I figured I probably couldn’t find them in Vancouver.
Arrowleaf: New winery and quite far north. Friendly people. Bought a couple of bottles of 2002 Zeigelt for the cellar, and some 2004 Bacchus (nice light grape) and 2004 Gewürztraminer for drinking.
St Hubertus Estate Winery: Much of the winery was destroyed in the big fire of 2003, but they’ve rebuilt with a bigger tasting room. The rubber stamps are now in the tasting room rather than in a separate building; they add a touch of eclecticism to the place. Decent selection of wines. We picked the 2004 Dry Riesling to take home (with Tim warning by this stage that we didn’t have much room left in the car!)
Raven Ridge Cidery: Not quite a winery, this one, but a cidery connected to an orchard with a good restaurant. I picked up their last two bottles of Sparkling Cider as well as a bottle of Braeburn iced cider (like ice wine, but tastes of apples), just for a change.

Touring Okanagan wineries is an excellent experience, and having the kid around meant we also tried out some of the other tourist things rather than just sitting in the car. So although we didn’t see as many wineries as the 1996 trip, we still filled the car and have wine enough to last us for quite a while!

The Perfect G&T

My friend Sally has the recipe for the perfect gin and tonic.

My friend Sally visited us from Melbourne for about 10 days. I’ve known Sally for half my life; we met when I was studying at Melbourne University. Sally received the Gin Award from Rolland House, the hostel where we lived, so she’s been studying the subject for some years and has parlayed her knowledge into a career organizing banquets and functions for the Athenaeum Club, a private gentlemen’s club (think P.G. Wodehouse and Jeeves). I talked Sally into writing down how to make the perfect G&T for posterity, and here it is.

At the end of a long hot day on the road every doctor should prescribe a G&T to restore one’s positive outlook on life. The preparation of the perfect G&T does however take some effort and even more research. Like many things in life it is all a matter of taste but to help in the research phase I will share some of my own personal findings gained over some 23 years.

Select a highball glass made from a glass that is on the finer side as I think it improves the taste. It is possible to mix a G&T in an old fashioned glass but this requires refills more often.

Add ice, which is important to maintain the temperature, to the bottom of the glass (probably more important on the 3rd or 4th glass as these tend to last longer).

Add the Gin. This is the element that requires extensive research. My personal favourite is Bombay Sapphire which has an herbaceous and complex flavour but I would encourage you to sample as many types as possible. Just like a good scotch or wine there are many flavour combinations. Gordons is really light and crisp, it isn’t very complex or herbaceous. Tanqueray is quite lemony and a bit sharper and more bitter.

The amount required traditionally is 30ml but I have found that it sometimes depends on how much positive outlook you require. Once again this also takes some research to get it right and will depend on the gin of choice.

The tonic is often much under-estimated and is worthy of the time and effort of getting a better quality and having a few bottles in the fridge for those emergency situations. I usually suggest the small 300ml splits as they are one use and avoid the disappointment of a half-used flat bottle. I prefer Schweppes. Do yourself a favour and don’t get the diet style, after all this is for medicinal purposes. During my time in Canada I have found the Canada Dry style of tonic water is a very good substitute.

The perfect G&T should have a half slice of lemon or lime to finish it off, I prefer lime with my Bombay gin but if I can’t get it then lemon. I use lemon with Tanqueray or Gordons.

Take the perfect G&T out onto the porch and consume till your positive outlook on life has been restored.

This has been a life-long project and I have spent many hours of research to get to this point. I hope this has inspired you to start your own research project.