My sister took a sourdough bread-making class last year, has been churning out three loaves a week of delicious organic varieties ever since, and offered to show me the ropes today. I thought sourdough was just a relatively labour-intensive breadmaking option you might choose because you like the flavour, but apparently there are real health ( Read more... )

Under a strict interpretation of my rules I perhaps shouldn't count this, since I saw Bob Downe as part of a hens' night in Melbourne in 1997 and I also went to some fundraiser comedy night with bardiegrub and shortblack a few years ago, but this was the first time I'd actively decided to attend a comedy performance without some ulterior motive (other than to do a New ( Read more... )

Or more correctly, Rebel Empire fight choreography training.

I saw the performance at Swancon and couldn't resist going along to learn the basics of how to wield a lightsabre. Getting to repeatedly consensually attack a complete stranger with a plastic pipe in a set pattern was brilliant! What could be more fun? *g*

I'm quite in awe of what kae_dash ( Read more... )

12.  Make my own hand cream/lip balm from beeswax. I need to perfect my recipe, but want to keep doing this. My sister and brother-in-law keep bees, so I have a steady supply of beeswax ( Read more... )

Tess of the D'Urbervilles, to be specific.

This was the first time I'd voluntarily (*) read a "classic" in a long, long time.  Will save my comments, such as they are, for emma_in_oz's scheduled discussion, but ( Read more... )

My second fun, new thing last Saturday was going dogsledding, at the same place I went horse riding. It was dark, so my photos are all of before and after, but these photos on their website show what it was like ( Read more... )

I did some really fun stuff with my one free day in Sweden and this was the highlight. I'm only counting it as one new thing, but it was actually quite a few: I'd never ridden in the snow, never ridden an Icelandic horse, never ridden at the tölt (a gait unique to the breed), and never ridden in pitch darkness with a headlamp ( Read more... )

5 was a useful skill for a media fan, though not one that's strictly legal. Thanks to emma_in_oz for passing on her technological skills!

6: Try archeryI'd been meaning to try it since watching Legolas in the Lord of the Rings movies, which is not at all to my credit since that was a long time ago! This will be the year I actually do the things I've ( Read more... )

4. Go orienteering

It seems strange that I hadn't done this before, but I hadn't, and now I have! I joined black_samvara for one of the summer "Metro Series" events run by the orienteering association. This one was held at Reabold Hill, one of my favourite of Perth's bushland parks. We did the medium length, 5-6km course and had to find 13 controls, red and ( Read more... )

3. Attend a court case

bardiegrub joined me for a ( trip to the District Court on Wednesday. )