I call it No Two Hippos Are Exactly Alike, because no two hippos are exactly alike. This essential anatomical detail out of the way, I present you with my latest dabbling on canvas:
No Two Hippos Are Exactly Alike
Oil on canvas, 36x24"
April 2008
Nicely fits the space previously occupied by the Sky Above Botswana and the Scottish Highlands, and nicely follows-on from the Zambezi River.
I hope you like it. Click the thumbnail (or here) to reveal the real thing.
Of course they aren't. Their designers are, though. The good wife and I spent considerable time in many stores, discount and designer furniture stores alike, and visited an even larger number of Internet sites. How boring!
They all look the same. Some arm rests are tilted, shifted, lowered or raised, but that is almost the end of the inspiration. By far most are covered in fabric or leather. We walked in and out of most shops without even seeing a single model of interest.
On the upside, we now know what we want. Do you think money could buy it? Nope.
The hunt continues.
Here is what I've been mostly eating this past week (or what I recently cooked and might have well been eating last week):
Fresh sourdough spelt bread with butter and cheeses.
Cannelloni filled with mushrooms and goat cheese, covered with sauce Bolognese and Mozzarella cheese.
Thai Green Chicken Curry with fragrant Rice.
Salad with spicy King Prawns, Chicken around Salsa with Sage Tagliatelle, and fruits.
Red Spaghetti Aglio Olio.
Don't even think about it. We didn't think it such a trouble-maker, all the way those ten or eleven years ago when we bought a humble bamboo plant for our garden. Take my advise and don't plant bamboo, or if you do, make sure it is within well-controlled of a solid pot.
Ours has now spread half way across our garden (and the neighbour's), so we decided to dig it out. Oh boy! The roots don't go very deep fortunately, but the spread like no tomorrow. The longest one that I unearthed (quite literally) was about 4m. And that is just the beginning.
We've got the main root out and some of its "tentacles" across parts of the garden. I will be glad if we manage to remove bamboo from our garden over the next three years, if ever.
I shall be missing the rustle of the leaves, though.
This blog is on holidays this week.
I am not, but will enjoy a week of a break from being "the little daily publisher."
Enjoy the lovely seals from Monterey Harbour.
Remember Humph (without whom the world is missing a great deal of silliness without doubt), and come and see use again next week.
How many more times do I have to go to the toilet and the think to myself "geez this loo roll is really running very low now. Last time I was here, I planned to go down one floor right away, and restock." Many, many times.
On the other hand and at the same time, I manage with ease to remember the most irrelevant rubbish.
It's really great to have a selective brain, but why does it never focus on those things that matter?
Although I can see the reluctance to vote for a black man over there in Pennsylvania, I still shake my head in disbelief that they actually voted for that woman. She's a cold, calculating and power-hungry woman. At least, he's a cold, calculating and power-hungry young man.
To go: Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota.
How very exciting!
Here is what I've been mostly eating this past week (or what I recently cooked and might have well been eating last week):
Wild Alaskan Salmon with courgettes, dill and sour cream. Steamed new potatoes.
Spaghetti with home made Pesto, mixed Spring salad.
Pizza with toppings from the remote corners of the fridge and the cupboard (pizza "a casa").
Steak Frites with home made garlic butter and green salad.
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Another painter's quicky. Following the success of A Detail of Borneo, there is now More Bamboo.
Oil on canvas, 180x240mm
April 2008
Click here or the thumbnail to see the complete picture.
For whom? Exactly. With the election for the Major of London and the London Assembly only two weeks away, you'd expect the parties would be trying to tell me for whom I should vote and why.
I am eagerly awaiting election pamphlets every day, but only received a single one so far, over two weeks back: the Green Party, hurrah! They failed to provide entertainment, because there wasn't really any obvious nonsense in it, but the paper was a boring read so I gave up after a few minutes. They have my vote for the Assembly anyhow.
Too bad the other parties didn't even give us any ludicrous pamphlets to fire up this blog or wrap the compost. I am still hopeful, though. Somewhere out there, I know, must be a regional politician waiting to make a fool of him or herself.
The Conservatives finally tried over the weekend with a small flyer.
Keep it coming, Baby!
This was a bit of a ludicrously ambitious plan, especially on a weekday evening. The result was so-so and in much need of improvement, but I am pleased having proven that it can be done at all. I have boldly gone where I have never been before:
Fresh home-made ravioli with a filling of black pepper, goats cheese and a whole egg yolk, accompanied by nice sautéed spinach with roasted pine nuts and crumbled goats cheese.
You might be able to see that the ravioli are shaped more like a bowler hat, owing to the fact that I had to use a small cup as a form to hold the filling -including a whole egg yolk, remember?-, then to seal it with a lid and remove the cup.
What went wrong? Not much, actually:
(a) I couldn't quite remember how I made my finest pasta base. The last time I made pasta myself was, I think, in 2005. This base here was too floury and too fragile, preventing me from spreading it thin enough. Since the cooking time can only be around 90 seconds (as the yolk should remain runny), the pasta itself must be very thin and quickly cooking. Things almost worked out, but had a bite in the thicker parts.
(b) Normally, I advocate large free range eggs. They are delicious, but the egg yolks are way too big for this. I shall use Quail eggs next time, which will make the whole endeavor much more manageable.
So, no recipe today, but anyone wishing to help experimenting is very welcome. Others are advised on a new addition to the West Ealing Farmers' Market: A guy who sells fresh home-made Ravioli. Superb quality at fairly reasonable prices (£2 per 100 g = 5 large fresh ravioli). Check it out!
Friends gave me this lovely bird box, which is now the pride of my almond tree. It's only been out there for a few days, yet I wonder whether the birds will just find it by themselves?
Do they need some form of bacon and cheese to draw them there, or is the idea that they are smart enough to find the box and organise a sit-in?
Maybe I should get a To Let sign up.
Here is what I've been mostly eating this past week (or what I recently cooked and might have well been eating last week):
Fresh home-made spelt bread with butter and cheeses
Chicken Mango Curry, Scallops in hot marsala curry, sauteed spinach and saffron rice
Feta cheese, baked with hot chillies, Chorizo, garlic and tomatoes
Venison fillet with Sauce Béarnaise, roasted farmer's potatoes, green salad. Tipsy fruit tumbler with best ice cream ever.
Rich and hot chicken soup
Talking of the old colour slides: we are finally in the process of digitizing them. Many are already pretty yellowed, but all still serve for a fantastic trip down memory lane.
You might have spotted some yellowed and not 100% sharp images on here already recently. Some are thanks to my Dad's efforts, and some are now from our own -and still growing- collection of digitized and digitally enhanced colour slides.
We need at least one more long and rainy Sunday to complete the job. Chances are that won't be too far away.
That's right: I've done it again! This is the second, maybe even the third time in six weeks.
I am afraid that I might grow a habit of using my car, and may need to refuel before fall.
Only used it for a trip to the supermarket, not, as shown here, for a Sunday sailing trip in Dad's hideously pale green car back in 1979.
Nothing better than getting those old colour slides out again.
