Category: The Life of Lara

My day in court

A friend of mine had a really rotten thing happen to him. Then he got depressed. Then he got drunk, then he got into his car.

There was an accident, but no-one got hurt. He cooperated with the police, he is very sorry for what he has done. He has NEVER done this before – he will never do it again.

I have chosen to stand by my friend. I have known him since I was 14 (a considerable time), and I know this behaviour is out of character. I wrote him a character reference, and I stood by him in court. All bloody day.

My friend had hired a barrister, who tried to get the charge dismissed under “Section 32” of the law – section 32 deals with mental incapacity. My friend (by any reading of the law) was mentally incapacitated (by depression and by alcohol) when he got behind the wheel that day. So in my opinion, and in the opinion of the barrister, the charges should have been dismissed. But it seemed that the barrister and the judge had “history”, so we were not fairly treated, and a conviction was recorded despite an almost spotless driving record of over 20 years, and excellent character references, as well as positive steps to get treatment and other help.

So basically, my friend got a light penalty, a small fine, and a blot on his copybook because of a personality conflict. I don’t mean to say that he should get off without consequences, nobody is claiming that what he did was OK. But in that courtroom, I saw violent offenders get off with community service, people carrying knives (repeat offence) get community service, other drink drivers get lower suspensions and no fine at all, and my friend has a criminal conviction.

And I have a sore bum from sitting in that freezing court all bloody day.

/rant

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

In my internet travels, I found a link to how to make “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”. There is also a book, a healthy book, and various youtube links.

With some encouragement (and the imminent death of my beloved (borrowed) breadmaker, I tried this last week, and LOVED the result. I found the bread a trifle too salty, but I loved the taste, the crust, and the dense, chewy middle. I experimented with another batch, with less salt, and different loaf shapes. Then I made a double batch, with the idea that some of the dough will last in the fridge long enough to develop that beautiful sourdough flavour. Previous batches have all been cooked and eaten within a few days.

So without further ado, and because I am assured that before and after shots are always fun (by RoseRed, via Bells), here you have it.

These a brushed with a little soy milk, and dusted with, clockwise from top left, Nigella seeds, Carraway Seeds, Sesame Seeds, and Poppy Seeds.

After baking, but with the tray 180 degrees from the previous shot. Forgive me, we were running late for the Symphony darling.

Oh, and yes, it does taste as good as it looks. And the smell is amazing.

Ears

Months ago, we found out that although the Squish has pretty good hearing, he had a blockage in his right ear. So a retest was planned to see if the blockage would clear on it’s own.

That test was on Tuesday, post 5 days of anti biotics for, yes, another ear infection. He’s not had one since September, so this is bad timing. And guess what? He now has a blockage in both ears.

So we’re off to the paed again today.

**Updated to add – we have seen the paed, she isn’t too stressed about the blockages, we’ll do the ear test again in three months, and reassess after that. Apparently his gross motor skills are at the low end of normal, but everything else is clocking along well. Apart from his big head, which has slowed it’s growth rate. Again, more investigations in three months will determine if we need to do anything further.

Chickens!

I’ve been on Freecycle for a few weeks now, and got some cool stuff. Last night, I got home from the Opera (thanks Bev!)to see an email listing three Chinese Silkie Hens, looking for a home.

Since our flock is now reduced to two approximately eight year old girls, we’ve been thinking of getting a few more, and this looked like a good way to get some fabulous chooks and a good match for our family. So I emailed the woman making the offer, and told her a bit about us, and that the girls would have a forever home with us, whether they were laying or not.

Usually, there is quite a bit of competition for freecycle items, especially things that have a high value, like purebred chooks. Anyway, I got an email this morning, the chook lady decided that we were offering the best home, so Inigo and I went to pick them up this afternoon.

So please welcome Lois O’Donohue, Robyn Nevin, and Meryl Tankard. Their previous people named them, and I think we’d better keep the names 🙂