Smiffi Staying Home Surgubben @grumpysmiffy@aus.social

So I may not have booted my Ubuntu laptop in a while...

@shlee Just refreshed. TONS better, thank you. Not sure why the right margin, though.

I thought I should have IE8 somewhere!

If I don't get anything else done, I got the escaping from the pot dwarf fig planted in a wicking bed.

Cheers, good friends all. Thank you for being with me through this rather trying year and a bit. (Things went bad for me early last December). Wishing you a safe, and peaceful 2021.

I think I might have had a change of heard.

This is my dinner. Goat cheese, Manchego, Iberico, Serrano ham (from Aldi tappas kit) wild boar salamis with truffle and fennel, a piece of Gouda cheese, and olives from a friend.

I simply don't LIKE "traditional" Christmas fare, English or Australian, so this is quite liberating. Recent years, I've done duck risottos, and stir-fries, but this is the first time for individual meals.

There is Prosecco in the fridge.

Cheers! Me imbibing said gin. Plate nowadays washed and ready for the next round.

Because my partner is rather fish-averse, I have already had my gravad lax, and pickled tommies, taken with local gin, as I was unable to get akvavit.

When there's only two of us, we can't both have exactly what we want. My partner wanted roast duck, while she put in the oven, I did the veg prep.

This is Mark, who was helping.

Photo of a very happy yellow Labrador who was so pleased that I'd come out to play with him (or so he thought).

Vegepod hood stood on its end. The spray bar is 12mm LDPE irrigation pipe. Old one decided it was going to go into splitting mode. Cable tied a new one in place.

Bench covered in tools, pipe fittings, cable ties.

Started off needing to fix a hole in one of the Vegpod canopies, decided the section of pipe that passed through it needed replacing, fitting broke, then the spray bar split - so it turned into a complete refit.

The dogs got presents - wrapping paper round a loo roll full of pellets. Much excitement!

Image description: yellow Labrador holding a red Christmas "cracker" in her mouth.

The trick to having speculaas dough not stick to the mould is to lay a sheet of cling film over the dough. However, this further decreases the resolution, already poor due the very large grain size of the flour mix, compared with wheat flour.

One less thing to do tomorrow - got the gravad strõmming eller sil (actually Tommy Ruffs) on overnight. Only cooking tomorrow is baking the speculaas. Otherwise chores are just watering, some mulching, changing a loo seat, and then maybe I can get to work on the new laser cutter.

@TechnicalKO God Jul! (not sure which day you are doing it, or both). Til lykke!

Cheers! Whilst today was a rare day off for reasons other than being sick, I now have gin, and am really in holiday mode, even if it is only 3 days.

Today's advent beer comes with pouring instructions. (It's a nitro)

*Japanese accent* Allez cuisine!