Just ordered more stuff from Amazon. And the last order hasn't even shipped yet. Oh well. The latest order was relatively small for me, books about the spice trade and spices in medieval cooking (and one on Roman clothing).

I had to sneer at one of the reviewers for The Spice Route, who insisted that the author obviously knows little about spices as he called cubeb a pepper. Even though it's in the Piper genus, it's not a pepper, apparently.

And here was me, thinking that "pepper" was the general term applied to spices derived from plants of the Piper genus. And all my spice books that class cubeb as pepper are clearly wrong as well. It must be nice to know you're right when the rest of the world is wrong.

On Sunday night I did a Tudor chicken recipe, Chicken in a Lemon Sauce. It was really tasty, though I made it with drumsticks. This was a bit of a mistake; you braise the chicken, which makes the skin fall off during cooking, so it looked somewhat manky on the plate. If I make it for myself again, I will probably use chicken thigh fillets, because they braise beautifully and don't go manky. However, for SCA feasts, I imagine drumsticks will be fine, as in the dim lighting a manky appearance won't be as much of a turn off.

Tonight I made my good old Garlic Soup for dinner (yum yum 25 cloves of garlic I will still smell it a week from now), which meant I had 3 egg whites hanging around. My freezer already has quite a few frozen egg whites, so I decided to have another shot at making some coffee meringues (second time I've ever tried anything meringue). The first time I used too wide a bowl, so I couldn't beat the egg whites properly. This time I used a much narrower bowl and the meringues turned out much better - they didn't run everywhere. And they taste really good, too. They're still a bit too crisp for my liking; I just found a cooking tip to lower the cooking temperature when you put them in the oven, which crisps the outside while leaving the inside still slightly gooey.

( Recipe for Chicken with Orange or Lemon Sauce )

But right now, I'm hunting for recipes for tea-smoked duck breast. And even though it's quite late, I think I'll have another coffee meringue.

Dear Amazon,

I have just posted an order for over $AU200.

I do not need to "treat myself to a little something," thankyou.

But right now, Tilly is demanding Love. She has trapped a hand and is headbutting me. And kneading ferociously.

This post was prompted by two things.

First, the news that two girls have been expelled from an exclusive school for cyber-bullying. This can't erase the damage their vicious attacks have caused, but good on the school for acting promptly. I certainly hope this follows those two preshus girls wherever they go.

Second, this post from the from the ever awesome naamah_darling, about the horrific damage verbal bullying can cause, and I back naamah up 110% when she says that telling a victim to turn the other cheek is probably the worst thing you can do.

For whatever reason it occurs, bullying is wrong. Maybe you're jealous that some girl has sprouted breasts before you have. Maybe you feel threatened by someone's intellect or sporting prowess. Maybe your parents are divorcing, or your dog just died, and you need to lash out. Maybe it's hormones. Maybe you're being bullied yourself. Whatever. Don't care. The minute you strike someone who's done nothing to you, whether physically or verbally, with the express intent to harm that person, you have become a stain on society. And if you're a victim of someone else's bullying, more shame on you.

I was a victim of bullying throughout most of my school life, to the point where I still have intimacy issues and allowing people to get close. To say nothing of still trying to sort out my self-image and ideas of my own attractiveness. I have fond daydreams of dipping parts of my tormentors into hot oil, and I've often shocked people by saying there's about 5 people of my school year (out of about 120) that I wouldn't waterboard given the opportunity. No, I'm not kidding when I say that. Nearly 20 years later, the wounds inflicted are still very, very raw.

Like Martin Luther King, I have a dream, born of the frustration and despair that comes from being singled out as "different" and treated badly. But unlike King, my dream is not uplifting and inspiring. I dream of a huge complex enclosed by barbed wire, out in the middle of the Simpson Desert, where it's always unbearably hot during the day and very cold at night. All the buildings are made of corrugated iron, there's no air conditioning, and very basic amenities. And anyone, any age, any gender, is sent to this place when they bully someone else, for whatever reason and for whatever cause. Whether it be schoolyard bullies. Whether it be abusive spouses or parents. Whether it be nasty bosses. Whether it be men who think they can touch up women whenever they please. They can get let out once they have learned not to bully anyone, ever. Or until they are destroyed by someone else's bullying.

At least bullying is becoming more of an issue these days. School boards are implementing anti-bullying programmes, if only to be seen to be doing something, and it's becoming a media issue. But still, when 11 year olds are driven to suicide and parents feel it necessary to take schools to court for failing to stop the problem, it's clear we have a very, very long way to go.

( Some thoughts from a survivor about how to cope. WARNING, some may find these measures extreme. )

Today, I think I have finally cracked the recipe for Chicken and Leek Pasties, so I am recording it for posterity (this is about attempt #5, I think). It's based on a recipe from the Goodman of Paris (a late 14th century household manual written by a wealthy burgher for his much younger wife). My recipe differs quite a bit from his, and it's taken me a few goes to get it right.

( Yum yum yum... )

Hi everyone, I figured it was time I posted an update to let everyone know I'm still alive.

As all Lochacians will know, the Easter weekend means Rowany Festival, which was (mostly) highly enjoyable. And the non-enjoyable bits (centring around other people not washing up their dishes so the campsite had many flies) weren't insurmountable. This year, I took 3 classes - Embroidery For Absolute Beginners, How To Do Effective Research, and The Brew That Fuels the SCA - a Brief History Of Coffee (the full title is important). The research one was greatly appreciated, and there were so many people at the coffee one they spilled out of the tent. So I got nervous and talked too fast, but everyone got a cup of coffee, and found the talk informative (I suspect many people turned up because the word got around there was coffee being handed out).

In the week leading up to Festival, I took a look at my wardrobe and realised I didn't have any cold weather clothing. I spent that week making a wool coat and a wool dress. I didn't need the dress as it turned out, but the coat was invaluable at night. Plus, it completely covers my jammies for the early morning toilet run. The Offensive Gumboots are still on display, but they wouldn't be Offensive Gumboots if they weren't seen. (They are Offensive Gumboots because they are Hello Kitty gumboots - our Baron really doesn't like Hello Kitty, and seeing as it's basically impossible to get plain gumboots for women where I live, I figured I might as well get a really offensive pair). The coat and dress still aren't finished, so I won't be posting pictures of them just yet. The seams aren't finished, they aren't hemmed, and the trim on the dress needs to be sewn down. But the great thing about wool fabric is that you can wear it without hemming it, because it doesn't fray much.

I've also been reading and enjoying the Sookie Stackhouse books, and am currently on my second read of Turn Coat, the latest book in the Dresden Files. Finished Twilight, thank the Gods, and am not going to read the rest of the books. I'm working on a review, but I can only write it a bit at a time, otherwise I start foaming at the mouth. I seriously wonder how anyone can like these books. I think it was a very effective marketing campaign, and Twilight will be somewhat like The Da Vinci Code - hugely popular for a while, then no one thinks about it anymore. I really, really hope so.

We had our baronial Newcomer's Feast (barbeque) on the weekend. 17 people had said they were going to come, we figured on more than twice that, had around 50 people there, so some people missed out on lamb kebabs. It got to the stage where I was holding back food for the fighters, who wanted to eat after they'd fought, and people got huffy with me. What was really annoying was the fact that all the fighters had booked, and paid, and several of the huffers hadn't booked. Next time, there will be tokens for people who've booked in advance, and everyone else will have to take their chances.

It was still a very good event, and everyone liked the food. It's always a complement when people don't clear out to get McDonald's, people come back for seconds, and there's not much in the way of leftovers.

I have also discovered my behaviour gets somewhat manky during food preparation. I snapped at a couple of people, in fact I think I frightened one person. Though in fairness to me, pouncing on me to tell me they had some stuff I'd loaned them when I had my arms full of stuff, and then later trying to talk embroidery while I was up to my wrists in raw lamb threading kebabs was probably not the best move on their part. Still, I have made up a sign warning everyone I'm a manky bitch when getting food ready, so best to stay away unless I've asked for help (seriously, asking a person if they need any help every 10 seconds is not the best course of action).

But onwards, ever onwards, and on to planning the next feeding frenzy. This will probably be mostly Roman. The Romans had lots of cool finger-food, great for eating outdoors.

Hi, everyone.

I can confirm, officially, that the fatigue, pain, dizziness etc I have been suffering for some time now is definitely fibromyalgia. On Monday I had an appointment with a rheumatologist, and he confirmed the diagnosis by prodding me all over, and noting where I said "OW." Which was pretty much everywhere. I kept yawning throughout the consultation, because I was typically weary, which again tied in. It's a relief to have it confirmed.

I need to stop drinking caffeinated beverages, which is going to be hard. I love my tea, and the occasional cup of coffee. I need to keep doing the hydrotherapy and the walking, and take low dose paracetamol several times a day to take the edge off the pain.

I was going to post this on Monday night, but on Monday, I ate some dodgy sushi for dinner and... you can probably work out the rest. At least I got to spend yesterday in my nice comfy chair watching Dragon Booster and patting Tilly.

Right now, I need to go and have a bath, because I had a hydrotherapy session this afternoon, and the smell of chlorine on my skin is starting to annoy me.

(In which I have terrible trouble tracking down certain ingredients that would have been readily available in ancient Rome)

Today was our fortnightly Baronial cooking group, in which we continued our search for a dish involving carrots and no honey (honeyed carrots have been done to death at SCA feasts and they are BORING). We also made some egg and cheese cakes, and stuffed meatballs. We're doing a bit of a Roman theme so far this year. Most of our recipes come from Apicus, who really loved his food. In fact, he ate himself into such bad debt he committed suicide rather than face his creditors.

The carrots were cooked and served in a cumin sauce, and were extremely tasty. Apicus knew what he was talking about. The egg and cheese cakes were tasty, but need some more work, partially to get the recipe right, and also to figure out how to stop them from sticking to the dish. We made them a muffin tray, and they stuck to the tray badly. Admittedly, I was using an old, somewhat dodgy muffin tray.

The stuffed meatballs were also good, but led me to problems tracking down some of the ingredients. The meatball mix was pretty basic - pork mince, breadcrumbs soaked in wine, pepper, garum and myrtle berries, stuffed with pine nuts. However, you are supposed to wrap the meatballs in pork caul to cook them, and they are cooked in a wine product called caroenum. I have been looking for pork caul all over for about 2 weeks now, and I could find only one butcher who even knew exactly what it was, and he didn't have any. Apparently it's removed from the carcass before the butcher gets it. So we used eggs to bind the meatball mix.

It was on Wednesday night I realised that caroenum is basically vino cotto, a sauce made from reduced sweet wine. I was able to get some this morning... $47 for a 250mL bottle. GAH. It was, however, utterly delicious. Australian cooking guru Maggie Beer says vino cotto can be used as a sauce on icecream, and I'd agree with that, provided it was really, really good icecream. Maggie also sells vino cotto for half the price, but the shop I went to had sold out of hers.

The meatballs turned out well as well, only next time we are going to use more pine nuts, and replace the myrtle berries with currants, because they overpowered the dish (OK, we used juniper berries, but they are pretty similar). And we are thinking that prune juice would be an acceptable substitute for vino cotto, because even Maggie Beer's vino cotto would make for a coronary-inducing feast cost.

However, I've killed my coffee grinder. I was going for a Turkish grind, and blew the motor. Oh well, I've been thinking of getting a new one for a while. It really didn't grind all that well if you wanted fine. And also, I can't find my Sweets cookbook. There's a recipe in there for pine nut candy I'd like to make.

Pine nuts are YUM. So is vino cotto. Juniper berries, not so much.

I was going to post something much longer, but after cooking lots tonight and then cleaning up, all of a sudden I'm very, tired and should go to bed.

So, just a quick update. My health has gotten to the point where the GP has referred me to a rheumatologist for confirmation of the fibromyalgia diagnosis, and also for treatment. I see him on March 23. I'm also working reduced hours, because working a full 40-hour week is too much for me.

So there you go, very brief update like I said. And the Worshipful Company of Broiderers wanted to know how the Seecrut Project (with Badgers) is going - I'll have to update tomorrow. But now, bed.

Actually, first, another attempt to get the smell of chilli paste, beef, sesame oil, fish sauce, garlic and everything else off my hands.

You may all recall I have been expressing masochistic thoughts recently; namely, a desire to read Twilight just to see what it's like, but not wishing to spend any money to do so, not even the reservation fee at the local library. Incidentally, the fee has gone up to $1.10 now. It was only $1 when I read Eragon (and I couldn't get my dollar back either).

As it turns out, Magdalena, a fellow SCAdian, is starting her Master's in English Literature, and her thesis is examining vampires in popular culture. This means, she has large numbers of vampire novels and movies in her library. Including all four Twilight books.

So I borrowed them. Despite all the warnings, including Magdalena's ("they're so emo!").

It's... bad.

So bad, in fact, I'm not even sure I'll be able to finish Twilight, and a book has to be really, really bad for me not to finish it.

I really need to stop doing these things to myself.

I've missed blogging about the last 2 Oscars. The year before last, I was doing a turtle impression, and last year, I was still being a turtle, and suffering serious pain. This year, the turtle thing's receding, even if the pain isn't, and I am DETERMINED to blog about Oscar fashions.

There seem to be trends each year with fashions. Last year, for instance, was The Year of the Pastel Smudges, because just about everyone seemed to be wearing pastels. Unfortunately, this trend has continued this year. Along with the strapless dresses, which seem to me to be worn without enough in the way of accessories. Too many bare chests and dull ears; with an expanse of flesh, you need something to break it up. Especially if you aren't well endowed in the bust department, as most Hollywood women aren't. Some dresses tried to compensate with some pleating and bodice detail, and the results were somewhat hit and miss, I think.

( (In no particular order) )

I'm happy.

In fact, I'm really, REALLY HAPPY.

I've paid off over half the mortgage!!!

Granted, I'm just $13 under half way, but still.

I hope this post has been a refreshing change from "I'm tired."

I have been meaning to do some Insightful posting on bushfires, and why we need to pay attention to the nutbags who say the Victorian abortion laws caused the bushfires. But these past few days, I haven't been sleeping well, and I'm too tired to compose insightful posts. They wouldn't come out insightful. And it's not even 9PM.

However, we re-started the baronial cooking group today, and made an AWESOME beef and bread stew. The carrot and leek dish needs some more work, but definitely has more potential than honeyed carrots.

I also had some black sesame snaps, which tasted rather like coffee.

I know all my Australian buddies are following the bushfire crisis in Victoria. And many of you overseas have watched the details in shock as well. But do any of you know what caused the crisis?

Well, after the media release from that fine, upstanding group Catch the Fire, we now know what has caused the devastation in Victoria. It's because the wicked, wicked parliamentarians in Victoria passed laws in October of last year to decriminalise abortion.

So, we all know what we have to do now, don't we? Every state in Australia must immediately act to ban abortions again. Then we can all be one happy, sin-free family. Australia will never be plagued again by bushfires, floods that drown half of Queensland, cyclones, storms that beach bulk carriers, economic disasters, and reality TV.

Of course, it will probably mean an increase in deaths due to backyard abortions. But of course, any woman who would resort to a coat hanger to kill her precious, precious baby should die anyway, no matter why she wanted the abortion in the first place. And there will probably be babyfarms where babies are abandoned to die in cellars again, but the children of mothers who would do such a thing are probably hopelessly corrupted, so it would probably be better if they died as quickly as possible anyway.

And true, there will be an increase in unwanted children, and with the current lack of foster carers, we'll probably have to open up state- or church-run orphanages again. True, children in such places might experience neglect and poor nutritional care. But I'm quite sure God will make sure that these places don't turn into new Nazareth Houses, Neerkols, Bindoons or similar. Because we will have saved these children from the terrible abortionists!

In case anyone is in any doubt, I am absolutely appalled that anyone would be so callous as to try and claim these bushfires are divine punishment. The God whom I chose to follow, who came to earth to tell us we need to love each other more (and was prepared to die for this message), would never act in such a way. Clearly, Pastor Danny doesn't know much about Victoria's history, or he'd know about Black Friday in 1938, which burned four times as much land and may have had just as bad a death toll. Seeing as abortion was totally outlawed throughout Australia back then, I wonder what that bit of "divine wrath" was all about...

I'd be willing to bet that Catch the Fire's 'abortion and pregnancy' counsellors are the sort of people who'd tell a teenage rape victim she'd be damned for considering abortion.

Curses, curses, CURSES.

I just forgot Top Gear was on.

Yesterday I had to go out to do various jobs. I took a 500ml bottle of water with me, was wearing loose, cotton clothes and a hat, and I still got dehydrated. A/C is all very well, but it's not much use if you have to go outdoors. It hurt to breathe. And we "only" got to 39 celcius - there were places less than an hour's drive from where I live that got to 46-47 celcius, making them officially the hottest places on the planet yesterday. It's going to be interesting to see how many people got admitted to hospital with heat stroke, because there were quite a few idiots people out playing cricket yesterday.

And this morning I woke to the news that much of the state of Victoria is threatened by bushfires. 25 are confirmed dead, and that figure is certain to rise. The township of Marysville, a popular tourist destination, is reported to have been wiped out. But because of continuing out of control fires, authorities can't get in to check out the damage. There are also several fires burning out of control in New South Wales, again, several within an hour's drive of me.

And in the ultimate irony, 62% of Queensland is flooded, and northern Queensland is going to get rain again. Most of NSW and Victoria haven't had any rain since the start of the year, while in parts of northern Queensland, it's been raining pretty much since before Christmas. If only we could lasso those rain clouds and bring them south. Then northern Queensland could dry out, and the rest of us could get some relief from the heat.

People.

Trust me on this one.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE LIVING IN OUR HEAT.

When I say it's hot, I mean the temperatures are in the high 30's / low 40's celcius. In Melbourne last week, even at night the temperature rarely dropped below 35 celcius. Aside from north Queensland, which is currently flooded, most of the country hasn't had any significant rain for over a month.

When it's cold, at least you can snuggle down in bed. Granted, you might have to pile on a few extra blankets. But at present, I can't throw off any more bed clothes, or my jammies, because I'm not wearing any. And I still can't sleep at night. Yes, I could get airconditioning, but there's the risk of blackouts because the power generation is overloaded. It's happened elsewhere in the past couple of weeks.

We would gladly take some of your cold, and give you some of our heat.

Just in case anyone was wondering, I am not dead.

Just really, really knocked around by the horribly hot weather.

Following a spate of dog maulings, including the recent death of a three year old girl, earlier in the week The 7:30 Report did a piece on dog control. As (I like to think) a responsible pet owner, I'm always interested in media coverage on pets and animal care.

The general consensus is there are certain breeds that are more likely to be aggressive towards people and other animals, and over the years there's been legislation introduced in some states towards controlling these breeds. It is, for instance, illegal to breed pit bulls in New South Wales, and several other states. Most of the recent dog attacks have involved cross-breed dogs - and there's no law preventing breeding pit bulls with other breeds, and unscrupulous sellers will emphasise the less aggressive cross when selling such a dog.

But it's also universally agreed that dogs are rarely naturally aggressive - even pit bulls, when properly trained and looked after, can make great pets. Dog problems generally stem from owners who aren't prepared to put the time into training and controlling their animals. "There's no problem dogs, only problem owners," is a well known quote.

(But, just as there are humans with irreparably damaged psyches, there are dogs that are just plain evil. Friends of mine breed German Shepards, and are well known obedience trainers. They had one pup they had to put down - if he was human, he'd have been considered a violent psychopath. No matter what they did, this dog simply could not, would not be trained, and every time they took him off a lead or muzzle, he'd attack. And then, as the book Marley and Me tells, there are dogs that are pretty much untrainable because they're stupid - frequently labradors and golden retrievers.)

Most commenters in The 7:30 Report felt there needs to be a national strategy for dog management, but disagreed on the form. A spokesman for RSPCA NSW feels dog owners should be properly educated, and licenced. A St George City councillor thinks licencing is going too far and is penalising responsible dog owners because of the actions of a few, but agrees further education of dog owners is needed.

I stand with the RSPCA on this one. I say dog licences are a great idea. In fact, as a cat owner, I say, why stop with dogs? Why not require all pet owners to be licenced?

( It's not a question of penalty, it's a question of responsibility. )

Listen up everyone, Aunty Dreamwind has some advice for you all:

If you decide to make garlic bread for your dinner using a hotdog sized roll, don't use three whacking huge big cloves of garlic in the garlic butter.

This is what I did for dinner. I think there was more garlic than butter in the final mix. It was quite nice going down, but... well, let's just say the aftermath isn't being fun at the moment. And I think I'm going to reek of garlic in the morning.

There is, indeed, such a think as too much garlic. I didn't think there was. At least this means today has not been wasted - no day is wasted in which you learn something, even if it's something you didn't want to learn.