Well this is my last holiday post. From now on it’s back to scrapbooking. Thanks a lot for coming on the journey with us. And don’t forget you can fill in all the gaps by checking out the photos on my Facebook Album. You don’t need to be linked to Facebook to use this link.

Our final destination was Venice. We were both looking forward to this so much. I’ve been to Venice several times but Seona hasn’t been back since our first trip in 1994.

Sadly when we arrived in Venice we were both feeling sick with a stomach bug and also a head cold. So it was hard work to summon the energy to do Venice justice. But in between bouts of feeling miserable we gave it our best shot.

If you haven’t been to Venice I heartily recommend you add it to your bucket list right now.

The weather was starting to get quite hot so the canals were starting to become a bit wiffy. With our head colds we didn’t really notice it much. But if you’re planning a visit I would suggest trying for Spring or Autumn when the weather is reasonably mild as I believe the smell of the canals can be pretty strong in Summer. After all there is no current moving through them to keep them fresh.

And speaking of canals, one of the highlights of Venice was our gondola ride. Gondola rides are outrageously expensive (100 euro for half an hour) and I’ve always resisted them because of that. But this time we decided to give ourselves a treat and take a dusk ride in a gondola.

It was a great experience. Dusk is such a perfect time for something like this. And you get to see backwaters of Venice which you can’t see on foot. Plus we had a dishy gondolier which didn’t hurt.

When our gondolier wasn’t breaking into snatches of song he kept up a commentary on the places we were floating past, including the house where Casanova lived. Apparently he managed to sleep with over 400 women (Casanova, not the gondolier)  in his life and lived to the ripe old age of 73 (which was pretty old for the 18th century) so I guess he must have been doing something right.

So my other piece of advice is when you go to Venice, fork over the 100 euro and take a gondola ride. Preferably in the evening when you can really feel like you’re floating through Old Venice.

Scraps Of Mind - All about scrapbokking, digital scrapbooking and hybrid scrapbooking

About 18 months ago I went on a cruise along the Danube and Rhine Rivers from Budapest to Amsterdam. It was a sensational trip and when we reached Amsterdam I met up with my long time Internet buddy, Antoinette, for the first time.

We only had time for a quick cup of coffee so this time around I arranged to spend a day in Antoinette’s home town, Leiden, so she could show me around.

Leiden is a picture postcard city about a half hour’s drive from Amsterdam. You can see some pics from there on my Facebook Album so you’ll get the idea of how pretty it is. By the way, you don’t have to be on Facebook to use this link.

Antoinette had made a bunch of tour notes to guide us around Leiden. Unfortunately she left them at home so she had to improvise. And she did a great job. We had a lovely walking tour of the city. It’s such a walkable city, I’d recommend a visit by anyone going to The Netherlands.

After we’d had our walk around we sat outside a little restaurant with some drinks and gasbagged the rest of the afternoonn away. Next thing we knew we discovered Seona was burnt to a crisp.

In The Netherlands!

In May!

Who would have thought. It certainly came as a shock to Antoinette. And poor Seona has had to carry the sunburn through the rest of the trip.

So I’d just like to thank Antoinette for a terrific day and Leiden for putting on such gloriously unexpected Summer weather . . . though a little less intensity in the rays would have been much appreciated.

Scraps Of Mind - All about scrapbokking, digital scrapbooking and hybrid scrapbooking

A Gastronomic Extravaganza

We’re at the end of the UK leg of our trip. If you would like to check out what we’ve done so far you can view the photographic evidence on Facebook here:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150177400708963.302999.624863962

Well we wanted to go out with a bang so, after much difficulty we managed to book into The Fat Duck restaurant in Bray. This has been voted the best restaurant in the world for many years, although I believe it currently shares that distinction with a place in Spain.

It’s owned by chef Heston Blumenthal who’s TV show, Heston’s Feasts, both Seona and I are huge fans of. Heston views food as an edible art adventure and his dishes are amazing.

A meal at The Fat Duck is not a budget affair, costing 160 British Pounds per head before drinks and tip. But the experience is priceless.

The restaurant is very small and holds only about 43 people so you feel pretty special getting a table there.

The set menu has 14 mind blowing courses. Fortunately each course is quite small so we could last the distance. And each one is a tastebud orgasm! I kid you not. I have never tasted such complex flavors. Not to mention also being a piece of visual art.

I’ve posted a few pics on the Facebook page to show you some of the dishes and tell you about the presentation performance.

The whole meal lasted 4 hours and the time seemed to flash past. Apart from the excellence of the food the service was fantastic. I am left handed and after the first course I noticed the waiter started setting the spoon for subsequent courses on my left. However I do hold my knife and fork like a right handed person. So I was pretty impressed when he spotted this and started placing the knife and fork right handed and the spoons and forks left handed. It’s little details like this that really impress me.

You have to book 2 months ahead (no earlier) to get in and if anyone is coming to the UK I can heartily recommend the Fat Duck experience.

Scraps Of Mind - All about scrapbokking, digital scrapbooking and hybrid scrapbooking

After 28 long long travel hours we arrived at our guest house in London. Being 100 metres from Earls Court station it’s perfectly located. So we showered and changed and headed out. We ended up in Southwark and decided to go up on the London Eye. I wasn’t too sure about how it would work out as I’m not too good with heights but it was fantastic. You can see some pics on Facebook here.

I totally recommend it to anyone who goes to London. The capsules are totally stable and there’s no rocking. And they only Put a few people in each capsule so you’ve got lots of room to move about and check out the view from all sides. The half hour ride went past amazingly quickly. We were both surprised at how the time flew.

And for Dr Who fans check out this pick here.  This is just down the road from our hotel. So if the room gets a little cramped . . .

Scraps Of Mind - All about scrapbokking, digital scrapbooking and hybrid scrapbooking

Seona and I are sitting in a ‘Harrods’ cafe at Kuala Lumpur airport waiting for our connecting flight to Amsterdam and then on to London. There’s nothing like being in a foreign airport to let you know you’re not in Kansas anymore Toto.

We’re all excited that the trip is finally here, although after 8 turbulent hours the novelty of flying has well and truly worn off. Still I’m sure we can survive the next 10 hour flight and we’ve promised ourselves a shower at Amsterdam airport before the last leg to London.

I’ll be trying to post as we go along so I hope you’ll stay tuned to our adventures.

Catch ya soon.

Karen

Scraps Of Mind - All about scrapbokking, digital scrapbooking and hybrid scrapbooking

The picture below is my pantry. You may notice that it’s sitting in the back yard. An odd place for a pantry you might think. Let me tell you the story.

I love this pantry. I made it 10 years ago when I bought an old trashed 1940s wardrobe (closet) from a second hand shop and converted it. I painted it a buttercup yellow all over and then finished the outside with a blue crackle finish. It looked very Provencal, which was my aim. I made L-shaped shelves, for the inside and replaced the front panels with heavy metal mesh. I loved it and was really proud of how it turned out.

Unfortunately when I was painting it I noticed that there were lots of little holes in the bottom shelf and in the wood at the back. Uh oh. Looks like little burrowing crittury things. So I sent it off to a place where they dip furniture in a chemical bath to kill the unwanted guests (I’m not usually this extreme with unwanted guests but these were exceptional circumstances).

After an appropriate length of time to allow the smell of the chemicals to disappear I placed the unit in my kitchen and started using it as a pantry. The years passed and people coming into my kitchen would always complement me on the pantry and I would simper and preen.

And then one day about a week ago I mentioned to some lunch guests that I was noticing a light layer of sawdust on the papers in the bottom drawer. Closer inspection revealed some of the borer thingys had apparently survived the massacre of 10 years earlier and had rebuilt their community. They were busy partying their socks off in my pantry

Arrgh!!! They have obviously been multiplying in the wood for years but as soon as I had this confirmed I couldn’t let the pantry stay in the house another minute. So out into the yard it had to go. One minute were all kicking back having a few laughs, and the next I’m furniture traumatised and all the contents of my pantry are spread out on the kitchen benches and table.

So I went on the hunt for a replacement pantry. I knew I wasn’t going to repeat the exercise of making my own again. Some things you only do once. Besides I was feeling a bit gun shy. But I knew that I needed something more than a new cupboard from IKEA or somewhere similar. I needed something a bit ‘special’.

I dragged my partner off to tour antique centres on the weekend but nothing seemed to suit. I was still a bit nervous about buying another problem. And then I found a linen press in Provincial Home Living that was a bit pricey but just the job. It had a bit of a rustic look but was well made and very robust. I was all set to go but they didn’t deliver. Damn

Then I remembered that there was a Provincial store near where my brother works. So I rang him to see whether he could pop around with his work’s delivery truck and buy the pantry for me.

How lucky was I that I thought to save on delivery costs by ringing him? Turns out his workplace has an account with Provincial so not only did I save on delivery costs but he was able to get me $300 off the price.  And he even took my old one away.

So now you can see my new borer-free pantry. I’m very happy with it . . . but don’t get me started on the wine rack I tried to assemble last night.

Scraps Of Mind - All about scrapbokking, digital scrapbooking and hybrid scrapbooking

Next month my daughter Seona and I are jumping in a big silver bird and heading off to the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands and Italy. I know, it’s a lousy job but somebody has to do it.

Our trip was organised for us by a terrific independent travel consultant named Dorothy. And if you live in Australia and are looking to travel I can really recommend Dorothy. Check her out here. She’s really fantastic and no detail or off-beat trip requirement is too much trouble for her.

Anyway we were going to take the ferry from England to Ireland but due to some changes in our schedule that turned out not to be the best option. Dorothy organised a cheap flight for us instead. Then she sent me this video.

Well I’m glad I didn’t watch it before we organised the flight. I might have had a few nightmares thinking about it.

Take a look and listen. It’s totally hilarious.

Warning though, there’s some bad language in it. But as the frustration of the singers builds it’s completely understandable. And it’s delivered in the wonderful Irish accent and in beautiful taste.

Make sure you stay right to the end. Just when you think it’s over . . . it’s not.

Other completely unrelated articles you might enjoy:

How to Download and install Free Fonts

Scrapbook organization – Ribbon Storage

The Ultimate Scrapbook Freebie

Scraps Of Mind - All about scrapbokking, digital scrapbooking and hybrid scrapbooking

Warning: This post has nothing to do with scrapbooking.

King Lear at the DonMar Warehouse Theatre

How do you feel about Shakespeare?

I mean I know he is probably the greatest icon of western literature but do you like his plays?

You probably had some exposure to some of his plays when you were at school. Did you understand the language, the intent? Were you able to enjoy them the way you were supposed to? Do you get them?

Let’s face it, 16^th century English is a far cry from the language we speak today. And reading or listening to a Shakespeare play can make you feel like you’re dealing with a foreign language. Don’t get me wrong. I’m actually a Shakespeare fan. Done the Stratford-on-Avon thing, watched Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe Theatre in London. Loved them both.

But I never could get how people could talk of going to a Shakespeare play for the first time and being completely spellbound and immersed in the words and the story.

Until last week.

Derek Jacobi as King Lear

I went to see a production of King Lear from the DonMar Warehouse Theatre in London. I wasn’t actually there, the production was broadcast to cinemas around the world and I was snuggled in my seat in the Sun Theatre in Melbourne, Australia.

The DonMar is a tiny theatre with a capacity of 251 but the quality of its productions attract top name actors. This production was no exception with Sir Derek Jacobi in the role of Lear.

There was no production set to speak of. The whole theatre, including the fascia around the audience circle, was covered in grey and white weathered looking boards. No backdrops and no props to speak of. This sent up alarm bells for me because I like my productions to be      . . . well productions. And the costumes were very low key and mostly black.

Add that to the fact that I’d started to read through the play and I was seriously struggling to understand the language and where it was going and I’m thinking “Uh oh, this was a bad idea”.

And then the play started. And right from the get go I was completely into it. The expressions on the actors’ faces and the tones of their voice made the stream of 16^th century English completely understandable. I knew exactly what was going on. I could even understand the jokes. Lear is a pretty complex play and I was with it all the way through.

Because the theatre is so small and the audience sits so closely around the stage there’s a sense of participation in the story which can’t always be achieved in a larger theatre. And because there was no scenery the play moved very quickly, making it feel action packed. But all the time bringing you along with the story. And it wasn’t just about Jacobi. The whole cast was strong and totally convincing in their roles.

Are you getting the feeling that I loved it? Well you’re right. And now I can say that I’ve had my Shakespeare epiphany. And I finally really do get it.

Have you had a similar experience where you suddenly get that “ah ha” moment about something and think “I finally get what this is all about”? Why not share it in the comments below. I know I’d like to hear about it. Surely I’m not alone in “ah ha” land?

Other sort-of related Articles:

Turandot. Or . . . Mastermind: Chinese Style

The Ballet – Don Quixote

The Cat and the Celtics

Scraps Of Mind - All about scrapbokking, digital scrapbooking and hybrid scrapbooking

This is so cool I just had to share it with you.

If you got an iPhone or an iPad for Christmas maybe you should team up with a few friends and try this for yourself.

It’s North Point’s iBand and they’re making music using nothing but iPhones and iPads. Everything from keyboards to saxophones. From bongos to hand-bells. It’s just sensational.

Check it out.

How cool is that?

Well I’m feeling all inspired now and I’m off to check out some musical instrument apps for my iPhone. Somehow I don’t think I’ll get to be that good anytime soon. But it’ll be fun trying.

Scraps Of Mind - All about scrapbokking, digital scrapbooking and hybrid scrapbooking

One of the cool things about writing Scraps of Mind is that every now and then I get contacted to try out different products.  And so when Canon Australia asked me if I’d be interested in trying out their PIXMA MP990 printer/scanner and all round multi function device I said I’d be delighted.

Let’s just make a couple of things clear at this point:

• Canon are not paying me, either in money or in product;
• There is no requirement for me to write nice things about them or about the PIXMA PM990;
• In fact, there is no requirement for me to write anything at all if I don’t want to.

So having got that off my chest, let’s take a closer look at the Canon MP990.

This beast is not just a printer it’s also a scanner, a fax machine and a photocopier. In fact if I looked hard enough I’d probably find a kitchen sink in there somewhere!

My main interest is in its printing and scanning functions. I tried out the photocopier but I don’t really have a use for a fax machine so that is not covered in this review.

First up I have to say this is a large beast, or at least it felt like that in my current restricted space environment. I guess that’s inevitable with all the different functions it provides. But with a paper in-tray at the back and the paper out-tray at the front it takes up a lot more space on my bench top than I like. It’s dimensions are 7.9 x 18.5 x 15.2 inches but that’s without the extension of the two paper trays. If space is a major consideration for you then this might be an issue for you.

Setting up the PIXMA MP990 whilst not difficult was very time consuming. There seemed to be a hundred different bits to install and configure. Having said that, the Getting Started Guide did provide very clear and well illustrated steps to guide me through it so I’m very grateful for that.  Plus it was written in a way that techno-dunces like myself can understand.

Ink cartridges are always of interest to the printer buying consumer; because that’s usually where the ongoing expense lies. The Canon PIXMA MP990 uses a separate cartridge for each color. I much prefer this system to printers that use a single cartridge containing all the different colors in separate compartments. At least with this system if you tend to use more of some colors than of others you only have replace the relevant cartridges. And that usually translates into a saving in the long term. I always hated throwing away a cartridge when I knew there was plenty of ink still in some of the colors.

So how does the Canon PIXMA MP990 perform?

As a Printer

I found the printer to be significantly quicker and quieter than my own printer.

The output was crisp and clean with good quality color. And the good news is that it seemed to be paper agnostic. By that I mean that you don’t need to exclusively use Canon photo paper to get the best results. I printed out oll of the digital scrapbook layouts from my Step By Step Digital Scrapbook tutorials on both the Canon paper supplied and also on some Kodak photo paper and I was very happy with the results on both. This is an improvement on my HP printer as it tends to reserve its best performance for HP paper.

I tried printing on ordinary plain paper and whilst not as good as the print quality on high resolution photo paper (only to be expected) the quality was still very good. Let’s face it, you’re likely to be doing most of your printing on ordinary paper, rather than more expensive paper so this is pretty important.

As a Scanner

Once again I found the scanning function of the Canon PIXMA MP990 was significantly quicker than my own scanner (which is also a Canon). The scanning control panel which comes up on your computer monitor includes some very handy features under the Advanced tab which let you adjust the quality of your image before you scan it. This is especially useful with old photos which have grown dark with age. If you adjust the lighting on the image before you scan it you will bring out a heap of detail in the photo. That means you don’t lose this detail in the scan and you can then refine this more in your photo editing software.

As a Photocopier

I’ve never really bothered about a photocopier before as I have always just used my scanner. But it can be a handy device to have. If you’re intending to make a print out of a hard copy page it’s much quicker to use the photocopier function than to scan and then print. And even quicker if you need multiple copies.

I must confess, working out how to use the photocopier function was more challenging than I expected. However once I discovered the instructions on the back page of the Getting Started Guide it all worked out happily. Photocopying was quick and quiet and the output was clear and crisp. That pretty much covers it for photocopying.

In a Nutshell

So taking everything into consideration I would have to recommend the Canon PIXMA MP990 as a good buy for a multi-function device for the home. As long as you have the surface space for a chunky sized home printer it’s a great machine. And of course it does come with all the other functions as well.

It’s a bit of a time consuming and fiddly exercise to set it up but once that’s done you can enjoy excellent quality output and a quick and quiet operation.

Having each colored ink in its own separate cartridge I saw as a distinct bonus and I was particularly impressed with the quality of printing on non-Canon papers.

So if you’re out there looking to upgrade or replace your current printer and you want a machine that can do more functions than just print — and can do them well – then you really should take a good long look at the Canon PIXMA MP990.

Scraps Of Mind - All about scrapbokking, digital scrapbooking and hybrid scrapbooking