Tag Archives: Monday

My week in Instagram | Different foods | #bestblogs13

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So this week it’s back to a five day work week after two Easter associated short weeks. I’m currently nursing a sore ankle so I’m not walking around as much as I would like.

Follow me on Instagram

Sunday’s breakfast was a salad wrap as opposed to a banana smoothie.

Breakfast wrap

#breakfast wrap salad and cheese #breakfastforwoojm Ping @mitchsquires

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For dinner I kept to the wrap theme and made a salmon and salad wrap

Salmon and salad wrap

#dinner salmon and salad wrap #yummy

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On Monday for morning tea I had coffee with Bron at a local coffee shop at work. Bron brought in one of her peanut paste salted caramel biscuits. It was delicious.

Peanut paste salted caramel biscuit

Bron made this @davidlebovitz inspired peanut butter salted caramel biscuit of deliciousness #yummy

This was made from a David Lebovitz (Follow @davidlebovitz on Twitter and Instagram) recipe

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I’ve started to capture images of coffee I’m making in the office with various reading material that is occupying my mind at the time

The Australian Immunisation Handbook 2013 coffee

#coffee time

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For Monday evening dinner I used the two remaining Elite Meats chicken rissoles and continued the wrap theme

Chicken rissole wrap

#dinner Elite meats chicken rissoles #yummy

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Lyme disease coffee

Good morning. Morning reading. Office #coffee

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On Tuesday morning Bron brought me another biscuit

Tuesday biscuit

Another amazing biscuit from Bron. #yummy

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For lunch on Tuesday rather than a meaty treat I went with a mango yoghurt

Mango yoghurt

#lunch #yoghurt #coffee

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On Tuesday night I prepared the Elite Meats scotch fillet steak

Scotch fillet steak

#raw Elite meats scotch fillet steak for #dinner

Raw goodness

#dinner Elite meats scotch fillet steak and salad #yummy

Cooked happiness with a salad

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Extreme weather coffee

Good morning. Office reading and #coffee #climate #weather

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After collecting my mail I thought I’d capture an image of the building I work in

Scarborough House

My #likeCanberra skyline

Scarborough House

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For lunch I had a mixed berry yoghurt. If you click on the image you’ll see the Instagram comments. They’re hilarious.

Mixed berry yoghurt

Diseases may not have borders but I'm glad this yoghurt is contained #lunch #yummy

“Blood” in a Petri dish disease themed lunch

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I went to Bron’s for dinner on Wednesday night and she made a delicious Toad in the Hole

Toad in the Hole

Bron made toad in the hole #dinner #yummy

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Bron also made a dessert with fresh free range eggs that we got from Elite Meats

Portuguese custard tarts

Portuguese custard tarts made by Bron. #dessert #yummy

These were amazing. So good.

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Thursday Style Manual coffee

The Style Manual. One of my most useful books. Office #coffee

So many good Instagram comments with this image

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Thursday was pay day so it was #paydaypieday. This is a curry lamb and potato pie from Urban Bean Espresso Bar.

Curry Lamb Hot Pie

C is for curry lamb hot pie for #paydaypieday #lunch #yummy

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In the afternoon Bron visited my office and brought over a sweet treat

Portuguese custard tart

Portuguese custard tart made by Bron. #yummy

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For Thursday dinner I cooked some of the Elite Meats sausages I got. I bought six Black Angus and Burgundy snags and put away three lots of two sausages.

Black Angus and Burgundy and salad wrap

More prize meat from Elite Meats as part of my @2CC prize. Black Angus and Burgundy snags in a salad wrap. #dinner #yummy

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Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/garydlum

Follow me on Facebook http://facebook.com/garydavidlum

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David Lebovitz http://www.davidlebovitz.com/
Portuguese custard tarts http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2012/04/comme-a-lisbonne-paris-pasteis-de-nata-tartlets/

The Australian Immunisation Handbook http://www.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/Handbook10-home

Urban Bean Espresso Bar http://www.urbanbean.com.au/
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/Wq2Lu


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Elite Meats is at Shop 12 Kippax Fair http://www.kippaxfair.com.au/Page1_storemap.html
http://www.kippaxfair.com.au/Page2_storeinfo.html#MeatCentre
http://www.kippaxfair.com.au/index.html
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/rChyl


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Coming home to a flooded apartment

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Tuesday was a long day at work. On entering my apartment car park I noticed water on the concrete and water pouring from the ceiling onto cars below. The area roughly coincided with where my apartment is above. I immediately had very dark thoughts. Did I leave a tap running, was the toilet leaking, was the washing machine leaking… I parked my car and raced up the stairs, at least I tried to but the carpet covering the stairs was soaked and there was water flowing. I opened my apartment door and was confronted with water across the floor and over the tiles in the kitchen area. I quickly took my shoes and socks off to look in the laundry and bathroom. Everything was fine. I walked out my door and noticed a fire hydrant in the services well was on and flowing. I turned it off and noticed the outer door was open; on walking outside there was a man in a high visibility fluorescent shirt. He was a plumber. I asked him if he knew what was going on. He said someone on the second floor had turned on the fire hose and when they tried to turn it off the faucet broke and the flow could not be stopped. I asked why the hydrant was open on my floor and he explained it needed to be open to prevent back flow to the upper floors. The plumber was waiting out the front for a delivery of spare parts because local hardware stores didn’t have the right parts to fix the hydrant. He had been waiting for an emergency store to be opened. I expect he couldn’t turn the water off to the entire complex so let the water run. The down side was that water flowed through my apartment.

I went back to my apartment to try to clean up and prevent any further spread and water damage. I quickly moved as much stuff as possible from the floor. Fortunately most of my personal possessions were stored off the carpet. I’m a renter so I quickly called the real estate agent so she could inform the owner. She also gave me the name of a carpet cleaner who could come out and try to prevent any further damage.

Came home to flooded apartment

My kitchen floor covered in water.

Flooded apartment

The carpet in my doorway.

This fan is so noisy. But it's working. #FloodedApartment

A floor fan that has been blowing since Tuesday evening.

#FloodedApartment This floor fan is still going strong. No sleep though :-(

The carpet is billowing with the force of the fan

YouTube video http://youtu.be/3U1_mdTF4nU

Black. Because that's how I roll (today anyway) :-)

I didn’t get much sleep because of the fan. I needed lots of this black coffee.

This is the noise…

Lunch inspired by @SunburyFi Sardines with red onion, ground pepper and chilli flakes along with avocado.

I worked from home today and was able to make my lunch. Sardines with red onion, ground pepper and chilli flakes along with avocado. This was inspired by a twitter friend @SunburyFi who posted last week a picture of a sardine sandwich.

The carpet care company my real estate agent suggested was Steamatic. As soon as I called they said they could come out that night and start the process. It turns out my neighbour is also with the same agent and his apartment was worse off so I waited until his place had been attended to before mine got started. The process begins with lifting the carpet and removing the soaked underlay. A floor fan is then started and this will now blow for about four days, especially because I’m living on a concrete slab as it takes longer to dry. It was a rough sleep last night and will continue to be for the next few nights. I don’t expect the carpet to be relaid any time soon. This is such an inconvenience. I still don’t know why the dwellers above turned on the fire hose. I’d like an explanation, all I know is I’m assuming the owner has insurance and the insurance company will be paying for all the repairs. I guess though I won’t be compensated for my inconvenience.

Steamatic
Website http://www.steamaticcanberra.com.au/
Steamatic 24 hours Emergency Response:
Telephone: (02) 6242 0856, Facsimile: (02) 6262 2156, Address 2/38 Dacre Street, Mitchell ACT 2911

Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/R5d0P


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I’m very grateful to friends on twitter, facebook and instagram who commented after I posted comments and images on what was happening. This is what I love about social media. I really appreciate everyone’s concern as well as the helpful suggestions on things to do. I’m especially grateful for the funny responses which did lighten my mood :-)

Yummy salmon, avocado, grated fresh beetroot, celery, chilli, cucumber, Gorgonzola, ground pepper, lemon juice, lettuce, Maggie Beer quince paste, spring onion, Tabasco sauce and tomato #yummy

Dinner tonight was good but noisy :-)
Yummy salmon, avocado, grated fresh beetroot, celery, chilli, cucumber, Gorgonzola, ground pepper, lemon juice, lettuce, Maggie Beer quince paste, spring onion, Tabasco sauce and tomato.

Since my last post I had a relaxed Sunday and a busy first day back to work.

Walking to the light :-)

Hey @lozvox this reminded me of the twitter chat the other night.

This is silly. It's too soon for hot cross buns.

It’s silly I think that as soon as Christmas is over supermarkets are selling hot cross buns. I mean the buns are yummy especially when warmed in the oven and slathered with real butter. But Easter is months away.

Finishing off the pâté, quince paste and Gorgonzola. Soft bread today so no broken teeth 😃😃😃

In an attempt to avoid another broken tooth I chose a softer white bread and didn’t toast it. If you click on the image you’ll see a comment from Trish (@eatshootblog) about multigrain bread being “Dentists’ Delight”. It’s a pity because I love multigrain bread. The Maggie Beer pâté and quince paste was still good along with the Gorgonzola.

Chicken Maryland with lettuce, Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated fresh raw beetroot, spring onion, avocado, tomato, lemon juice and herb bread served with pineapple and mint crushed ice drink

Sunday night dinner was Chicken Maryland with lettuce, Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated fresh raw beetroot, spring onion, avocado, tomato, lemon juice and herb bread served with pineapple and mint crushed ice drink.

Brie and onion quiche

Back to work Monday I didn’t make my own lunch. I bought a really nice brie and onion quiche from the Urban Bean Espresso Bar.

Happy birthday Ursula Ping @kecozanat @jacquimkane @jesskirkham08

We also had a small afternoon tea for Ursula who is the branch’s executive assistant. It was Ursula’s birthday last week. The brownies in the foreground were very very nice.

Salmon, Chinese sausage, lettuce, celery, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with fresh grated beetroot.

Dinner was simple, some Salmon, Chinese sausage, lettuce, celery, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with fresh grated beetroot.

Good morning Mr Owl at 0515 AEDT. It's like a sultry tropical night.

This week the weather predictions for Australia are extreme and next week it gets worse. The Bureau of Meteorology has altered it’s temperature modelling charts because the old scale had a maximum of 50 °C, now it is 54 °C. Monday evening was warm and when I went for a walk at around 0500 AEDT it was what I would regard as pleasant but what everyone else in Canberra felt was too hot. Tuesday was a pretty bad day across the southern parts of Australia with temperatures averaging the mid to high 40s in some areas. There were numerous spot fires and large grass fires that burnt extensive areas of land destroying homes and livestock.

Feeling slack today. Sausage roll.

Gourmet sausage roll.

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Week 52 2012 Christmas

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I hope I have one more post for 2012 to close out the year. This post however, will focus on the lead up and execution of Christmas 2012.

The last weekend was another quiet one. I didn’t have much to do besides wash clothes and clean the apartment. I’d completed all my Christmas shopping and so I enjoyed a weekend of lounging and watching DVDs. I ended up seeing the end of series three of Breaking Bad and watching what in the US is the first series of Strike Back. Apparently in the UK, there were six episodes shown before the US saw the seventh episode which it calls the first episode. I don’t understand the reasoning. The story can be found at IMDB and Wikipedia.

Because I was travelling for Christmas and New Year I needed to go through the contents of my refrigerator. Toasted sandwiches are always a good weekend lunch option.

Toasted red salmon and tomato sandwich. Delicious.

Tomato, tinned red salmon and pumpkin seed bread.

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For dinner I had a scotch fillet steak.

Scotch fillet steak (rare) with mango and feta salad.

I served it with a mango salad that also had salad leaves, cherry tomatoes and lots of Australian feta cheese. I made a light gravy from the marinade which was sherry, oil and soy plus some honey and mixed herbs and some minced garlic. I thickened it with some corn flour and used a little red wine to deglase my fry pan. I like my steak rare so this got about 90 seconds on each side and was rested for 10 minutes.

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On Saturday night a storm brewed but we didn’t see any rain. The clouds though were very pretty. I captured this image from my balcony but there were some much better ones from other IGers.

Amazing clouds over Lake Ginninderra.

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I forgot to mention in my last post, that on Thursday evening when dining with my friends they gave me a book for Christmas. http://garydavidlum.com/2012/12/22/week-51-2012-christmas-party-season/

Great Christmas gift from friends

I like watching Jamie Oliver on television and if you search this blog for Jamie Oliver you’ll see a number of references. http://garydavidlum.com/?s=Jamie+Oliver&submit=Search I’ve heard though with Jamie Oliver’s recipes that sometimes they’re wrong, that is, quantities can be significantly off. This doesn’t always get corrected. If you know enough to know that’s fine but if you’re pretty ignorant like me, that can spell disaster.

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WARNING Sad Image

One of the saddest images I’ve captured is this one. Last week I posted this image of a friendly blue tongued skink. Sadly it was run over in my apartment car park.

This guy greeting me when I got home.

From last week

So very sad. The blue tongued skink I met last week came to a sad end in the car park.

What I came across on Sunday morning.

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I love pistachios

Snack time

Snack time.

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Another toasted sandwich for lunch.

Lunch. Blue cheese, Aldi tinned red salmon and tomato.

This time with blue cheese because like bacon and butter, everything tastes better with blue cheese.

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On Sunday night I cleaned out the refrigerator.

Salmon and mango salad with blue cheese

Salmon with mango salad and blue cheese.

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Normally when I’m walking back from the post office you can see heaps of people at work.

Barren on Christmas eve.

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There are no calories for the next two weeks.

There are no calories for the next two weeks.

Caramel doughnut.

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I was tempted, but this was for a work friend.

No I did not eat this jam doughnut. I did covert it though. Ping @jacquimkane @jesskirkham08

Jam filled doughnut.

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Because a work mate was ill last week when we went to the snag stand, we went back with her on Monday.

Spicy cheese kransky on brioche is the bomb. Ping @kecozanat @jacquimkane @jesskirkham08

Spicy cheese kransky on brioche. This was delicious. Our plan is to eat through the entire menu.

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I finished work early on Christmas eve and I went to the airport as soon as I could.

White Christmas

A White Christmas snack at the Qantas lounge.

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I also had a couple of chilli beef pastizzi in the lounge

Chilli beef pastizzi

They were a little hot.

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I managed to secure an upgrade on flight QF960. The flight was meant to leave a little after 1745 however a couple of storm cells hit Canberra and to keep the ground crew safe they were evacuated from the tarmac and we stayed in the aeroplane for more than an hour connected to the aerobridge. If you follow me on Twitter you’ll see were we able to use our telephones.

QF960 crumbed steak

For dinner I had the crumbed beef. The crumb also contained feta cheese. While the beef was well done and tough, everything else was very nice.

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When I got to my parent’s place I put out presents for them and my girls (who I’ll see later this week).

Mum and Dad's Christmas tree

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It’s Christmas Day. I had a poor night’s sleep, not through Christmas excitement, but because I’m sleeping on my childhood bed. Dad woke up early and we sat together for a couple of hours while he told me stories.

Christmas breakfast of champions. Vegemite on toast. I'm pacing myself today. #Christmas

I had a light breakfast in anticipation of a big lunch. The breakfast of champions, vegemite on toast with a couple of coffees.

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And so lunch preparation begins…

One chook with skin tightened with boiling water. #Christmas

This is chicken after we’d tightened the skin with boiling water.

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Mum's seafood sauce for the prawns.

Mum made a 1000 islands dressing for our lunch time prawns. If you click on the image you can work out the ingredients in a chat with Hilah from hilahcooking.com

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Our duck is patiently waiting. #Christmas

The poultry preparation continued with a duck drying and draining.

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Prawns to start #Christmas

The bowl may not look elegant but that mattered nought.

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#Christmas prawns

I love prawns.

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The prawns were good 😃😃😃 #Christmas

I could not help capture an after image.

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My task is to remove the neck. I love a Chinese cleaver.

The duck had a reasonable neck attached. You can tell my intent by the strategically placed Chinese meat cleaver.

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My next job is an actor on Game of Thrones #Christmas

I want a role on The Game of Thrones as an executioner.

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Because everything is better with bacon. #Christmas duck.

Because everything is better with bacon.

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When chook meets duck #Christmas

Side by side, don’t they look a treat (and very cute too).

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Chicken cut up #Christmas

Mum makes a mean stuffing. Check out https://www.evernote.com/shard/s183/sh/b0224e03-ecac-4ec6-93cd-7f8246b75d18/45f16c08058a64d34147000cbd21095d for the details. I had my eye on the Maryland at the top of the image. It has the cloaca attached. I love a chook’s cloaca when it’s been roasted.

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Poultry mix duck and chook #Christmas

With the duck added. I like to cut the breast off and slice it. It makes it easier to eat because you bite end on into the grain of the meat. Do you see the size of the duck’s neck and cloaca? I’d already bagsed (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bagsed) them.

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All the stuff separately for lunch #Christmas

Because of the small size of Mum’s kitchen and oven, rather than roasted vegetables, Mum made a potato bake yesterday and we heated it up in a small toaster oven at lunch time. We also had broccoli, asparagus and peas.

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My plate was full of goodness. Duck and chook arse plus duck neck and breast and chook thigh. Oh and some vegetables. #Christmas

This is my plate. Mum made a nice orange flavoured sauce too. It was sublime.

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Mmm... I dissected out the trachea from the neck bones of the duck. The duck coccyx is also there too #Christmas

The neck has such nicely flavoured meat. I also managed to dissect out the trachea too. This started a nice little chat on twitter and instagram.

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So that’s it for now. Mum decided against making a pudding or a pavlova. This evening we’ll have fruit and some cheese. I’m pretty grateful. I don’t really want to blow out. I can fit into a pair of shorts I like to wear at Christmas time so I’m happy holding back a little.

I hope everyone reading this blog had a wonderful time if you celebrate Christmas. I hope your day was full of happiness and peace and good food.

Merry Christmas friends,

Your friend and fellow blogger

Gaz

Things and places mentioned in this post

Kransky sausage
Wiki entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kranjska_klobasa

Strike Back
Wiki entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_Back_%28TV_series%29
IMDB entry http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1492179/

Pastizz
Wiki entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastizz

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Week 51 2012 Christmas party season

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Saturday night I went to a Christmas barbecue with some friends. It was a good night with lots of tasty food and good company. I’d like to say it was unseasonably cold, but this is Canberra. It’s snowed close by on a Christmas day before. What can I say, I’m looking forward to being in Queensland for Christmas where the weather is more to my liking.

Again like Friday night I was a bit slow with my iPhone and I didn’t capture images of the nibbles. There were lots of nibbles. Lots of nuts, dips, cheese, pâté, crackers, bread, chips, and stuff. For dinner we had a barbecue with steak, hamburger patties and sausages plus potato bake, coleslaw and other salads.

Like a lot of my previous posts I’m using images from my instagram profile. You can get more information on each image by clicking on it to see comments from other IGers.

Dinner is served. Ping @macjam1 @chat2tb @natmcb

The spread

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Okay so there's lots of meat. Ping @chat2tb @natmcb @macjam1

My plate

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Burger

Some of my friends queried my burger contents of steak, sausage, hamburger pat tie, coleslaw and potato bake. I thought it all went well together.

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Pavlova. Thank you @sonia_with_an_i Ping @natmcb @macjam1 @chat2tb

For dessert we had pavlova.

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I was cold

I was cold. I’m glad I brought a hoodie and was given a wrap.

View the twitter conversation here and here and here

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I spent most of Sunday relaxing. I did a little grocery shopping and then got into watching series two of Breaking Bad. This is a surprisingly good series. Like The Walking Dead I’m addicted.

I felt pretty full from the night before so my breakfast and lunch was an iced coffee banana smoothie.

I still feel full from last night at @macjam1 barbecue. Iced coffee banana smoothie for breakfast.

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One of the things I don't like about Christmas.

You can tell it’s Christmas with cars wearing reindeer antlers and candy canes. I’m not a fan :-)

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Pineapple smoothie

I love pineapple and a pineapple smoothie was in order for afternoon tea.

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Dinner. Salmon, salad and @macjam1 's potato salad from last night's barbecue. Lots of lettuce, tomato and feta.

I took home a left over potato bake from Saturday night so now I have potato bake for a few nights this week.

This meal was a piece of salmon, some potato bake and some salad.

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On Monday morning as I was checking out my post office box the new art was standing proud, all shiny and new.

It looks shiny and new #publicart #igerscanberra

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Workplace birthday celebration for a youngster.

One of my work friends turned 32 on Monday.

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Dinner. Pork with @macjam1 's potato bake and salad.

Monday evening’s dinner was a rasher of pork, some salad and some potato bake.

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Sneaking up on Mr Owl #publicart #igerscanberra

I read today the new terms and conditions of use for Instagram. If Instagram wants to use my images I really don’t mind, I can’t imagine any of them are worthy. My only concern is that some of my images contain people and I may not always have permission to include them. Many IGers moved to Flickr. I received more e-mails from Flickr in the last few days than in the few years I’ve had an account. http://www.flickr.com/photos/garydlum

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Dinner. Salmon, salad and the last of @macjam1 's potato bake from the weekend.

Tuesday night’s dinner was a piece of salmon, some salad and the last of the weekend’s potato bake. The drink is made from pineapple and mint leaves plus some lime cordial.

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On Wednesday I forgot to make my lunch.

Lunch. Salmon and caper quiche.

This was a smoked salmon and capers quiche from Urban Bean Espresso Bar. It was very nice. The raspberry soft drink was also pretty good too.

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Food regret

Afternoon tea. Jam doughnut. #BreadTop

Jess went out for doughnuts and I said yes. I shouldn’t have. It came from Breadtop in Woden. The Breadtop franchise has grown well in Australia. See below for details.

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A friendly visitor

This guy greeting me when I got home.

This cute blue tongue lizard greeted me when I alighted from my car in the apartment garage.
Wikipedia entry

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Wednesday dinner was a pork rasher and mango salad. It was delicious.

Dinner. Pork rasher with mango salad.

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On Thursday we had our branch Christmas morning tea.

Work Christmas morning tea

Many sections, branches and divisions have out of office get together. When we’ve tried that in the past something has gone wrong like a health emergency necessitating staff to return to the office. It’s just part of working in an emergency management team.

These were amazing. Thank you @xamyclarex Ping @kecozanat @jacquimkane

These were amazing. Cylinders of crunchy nutty brownie goodness topped with a chocolate ganache with a white chocolate tipped strawberry which is sitting in a white chocolate disc for stability. The person who made these has made some great strawberry based treats in the past, especially her chocolate drizzled strawberry and marshmallow kebabs. I think nearly everyone in the branch has a cooking or food bent. It’s amazing.

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Everyone in the branch received an end of the year award.

Workplace awards at Christmas morning tea for the branch.

I think everyone knows I love capturing images of food and then posting them to Instagram.

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At lunch the other SES (Senior Executive Service) staff from the division went to lunch. We went to The Palette which is in the Beaver Galleries.

Crumbed lamb brains and capers Ping @DrOffal

I’m sorry this is so blurry. I was so excited to be having crumbed lamb brains with a capers and vinegar side. The piquancy of the capers and vinegar offset the fattiness of the brains perfectly. The brains were lightly crumbed and not overcooked. Kept into small portions like these, the taste is delicious and not overpowering. Lambs brains brings back great childhood memories of Mum cooking crumbed lambs brains with a white sauce with onion and parsley.

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The Beaver Galleries are a landmark of Canberra art and culture. I’ve been there a couple of times now. The gallery is full of exquisite pieces. That said, the prices are very high.

One of my favourite food bloggers is Hannah of Wayfaring Chocolate fame. Earlier this year she did a review of sweet selection at The Palette

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The trifecta for Thursday was Christmas dinner with dear friends.

Fresh prawns

We started with freshly cooked prawns. These were cooked in sea water, yes sea water that had been specially collected.

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Amazing crackling

The main was a roast pork and vegetables. The crackling was sublime.

Roast pork and vegetables

The peas were home grown in the garden along with the snow peas.

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Violet crumble semi fredo

For dessert we devoured a violet crumble semifreddo.

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While Friday was not the last day of work for 2012, it had a very holiday feel. Ursula, our branch executive assistant gave me a toy car filled with lollies for Christmas.

Today's Christmas present. It is full of lollies. Thanks Ursula.

I played vroom vroom throughout the day.

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Office moving day. I won't be able to fly these where I'm going. Yes I know the NT flag is upside down. It's a distress signal.

I moved offices as part of my new role. In my old office I had a big pin board on which I could hang my favourite flags. The top one is Queensland’s flag. A quick search of this blog will reveal how I feel about being a Queenslander  and Queensland.

The bottom flag belongs to the Northern Territory of Australia. Brisbane may be my home town and I am a passionate Queenslander, however, Darwin is my spiritual home, it’s where my soul lives. For that reason the flag has always been hung upside down in my office. An upside down flag is a maritime distress signal. I want to return home. I expect Australian readers to recognise it’s upside down, for my non-Australian readers, the stars represent the Southern Cross and it is upside down.

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We’d heard some weeks ago about the Snag Stand. A new franchise from Sydney and Melbourne had opened two outlets in Canberra, one very close to where we work.

I'm at snag stand Woden

They cook and assemble onsite. It’s a pretty busy place.

The menu for the Sydney outlets is here and for the Melbourne outlets here. They don’t have the Canberra ones posted. I assume they are similar.

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We brought our food back to work.

Swiss bratwurst. It was good. Ping @alivicwil @abefrellman

I chose a Swiss Bratwurst. It was topped with a really yummy Sauerkraut

Close up of my Swiss bratwurst sausage.

It was excellent. Not too big and not too salty.

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Last night I needed something light.

Free range organic chicken drumstick with salad.

Organic free range chicken drumstick and salad.

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This morning on my walk I tried the new Instagram Mayfair filter when saying hello to the Owl Statue.

Good morning Mr Owl #ProCamera #Mayfair #publicart #igerscanberra

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I hope at the end of next week to write a short piece about 2012. It won’t be much. Hopefully I’ll be enjoying myself in Brisbane where it will be warm and moist.

Places and things mentioned in this post in more detail.

Breaking Bad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903747/
http://www.amctv.com/shows/breaking-bad

Breadtop
http://www.breadtop.com.au/
http://www.westfield.com.au/au/retailers/breadtop/woden
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/Z5Bdv


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Beaver Galleries
http://www.beavergalleries.com.au/
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/Di7Yr


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The Snag Stand
http://snagstand.com.au/


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http://www.westfield.com.au/au/retailers/snag-stand/woden
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/Z5Bdv

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Change in jobs

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It’s been an interesting week. Nothing much has happened with that piece of public art that I’ve posting about on Instagram. The weather has improved out of sight. It’s finally warming up in Canberra and while there have been some hot and dry days, the humidity hasn’t been as low as in past years. I know it’s only early but I really hope we have a warm and moist Summer in Canberra. Unlikely I know in Canberra but I live in hope.

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This image was captured on Monday morning. Since then nothing much has happened. I noticed some cabling so I assume there will be lighting at night for the piece.

Still no progress from last week. Concrete must be curing. #publicart #igerscanberra

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On Friday it was announced that I would change roles. From Monday I will be the Specialist Medical Adviser in Health Emergency Management in the Office of Health Protection. I will then no longer be the Assistant Secretary of the Health Emergency Management Branch.

My areas of interest and activities will continue to align with my specialist medical and healthcare management experience in pathogen security, CBRN medical countermeasures, the health aspects of national security, and health emergency management. This should be a good move for me. I get to focus on the areas I am best suited for. I will miss managing people but the best thing is I still work my same work mates.

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My weight has been much the same for the last week. I haven’t been losing any weight although I’ve maintained the walking and trying to avoid snacking. Snacking though is a perennial problem when surrounded by amazing work friends who bring in treats and have special morning and afternoon tea sessions.

I’ve also been receiving encouragement from some Twitter friends who have been reminding me that my diet lacks vegetables and has too much processed food in it.

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Toasted tomato sandwich on quinoa and flaxseed bread. No cheese and no processed meat :-)

Lunch. Toasted quinoa and flaxseed bread. Tomato inside.

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A work friend has a house mate who works in a bakery and we were blessed with free pastries. This is a chocolate filled butter-rich pastry.

Pure evil 😡😠

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Last week I blogged about my favourite beverage, Bundaberg ginger beer. Here it is as a long neck or tallie.

My favourite ginger beer

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It tasted good with some ice and mint crushed in the Magic Bullet®

Tonight's dinner drink is Bundaberg Ginger Beer with crushed ice and mint. Thank you Magic Bullet®

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On Monday night I had some minced chicken breast meat and made a chicken burger.

Tonight's dinner. Spicy chicken burger. It was delicious.

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For dessert I had a couple of Neenish tarts topped with whipped cream from a can (used for the whipped cream dare from last week).

Dessert Neenish tarts and cream.

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As I said above, the weather has been improving and we’ve been getting some nice rain.

At last some rain

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To celebrate the rain I had salmon and potato gems.

Celebrating fantastic Canberra weather #warmandmoist with salmon and potato gems

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More celebration food. Neenish tarts and cream. This is it. No more Neenish tarts.

More self indulgence. Neenish tarts again 😃

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Wednesday was really busy and a long day at work. I didn’t feel like cooking so I got takeaway from the local shops in the Jamison Plaza.

Takeaway night

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I love battered fish and potato scallops that have been hand made like these were.

Fish and potato scallops

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We had a full moon this week. I need to cut back on the light and use a faster shutter speed.

The moon tonight

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On Thursday a work friend brought in morning tea. I had a chocolate caramel fudge brownie and a Queensland nut shortbread biscuit.

Chocolate and caramel fudge with a Queensland nut shortbread biscuit.

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At lunch time I went to the local shops with a friend and bought some Pâté, bread and butter. Then three of us shared this for lunch. The Pâté was by Maggie Beer, I bought two types, viz., duck, sherry, and green peppercorn and duck, vino cotto, and star anise. The butter was from Tasmania. The bread was fresh and it all tasted delicious.

Lunch with two work mates. A big stick of fresh bread, Tasmanian butter and two types of Maggie Beer pâté.

Maggie Beer pâté with Tasmanian butter and fresh bread. Perfect lunch. Ping @kecozanat

We’re thinking of doing it again and getting quince paste too.

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That night I only wanted a light dinner. Floured chicken thigh and potato gems.

Big lunch means light dinner. Chicken thigh and potato gems

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The moon over Lake Ginninderra. I need to cut back on the light and use a faster shutter speed.

Tonight's moon over Lake Ginninderra.

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Friday lunch started out as toasted pumpkin seed bread and tomato.

Early lunch. Pumpkin seed bread with tomatoes.

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But then I got told about my job change and thought I needed more food :-) This is a cheesy bacon pie and lime quench. The pie was really nice. The beef is chunky and very tender. These are made in the Urban Bean Espresso Bar.

Celebration lunch. Cheesy bacon pie with lime quench drink.

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For dinner to make up for the lack of vegetables this week I made some coleslaw and cooked a piece of salmon with it.

Atlantic salmon with coleslaw made with red cabbage, red onion, carrot, mint, parsley, and coriander.

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This morning I went for a walk in shorts and T-shirt. It was lovely and warm. The sky was full of dark clouds. The leaves on the trees are so green.

Perfect weather. Warm overcast and a feel of rain. #igerscanberra

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The Owl statue, known to me as Mr Owl, looked spooky with the swirling clouds behind him.

Good morning Mr Owl. A pinch and a punch for the first of the month. #publicart #igerscanberra

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Today for lunch I had some toasted light rye sourdough bread topped with a mixture of avocado, tomato, Tabasco sauce, chilli flakes and pepper corns.

Light rye sourdough topped with avocado and tomato that has Tabasco sauce and chilli flakes added.

It looks disgusting but it tasted good.

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I opened my Instacanvas recently. I don’t know why. I just did it for the sake of it I think.

Just for fun

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In terms of the CPAP business I visited the CPAP technician and had my last three weeks analysed through the software associated with the machine. While I still feel worse than before and always tired it appears I get a good seal, the pressures are good and I don’t need to change from nasal pillows or add a chin strap.

So I hope you had a good week. Let me know about it, write a comment below. Eat well, sleep well and be nice to everyone.

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