The Prestige

We watched this the other night and you will get two different reviews from us. I loved it and Laurae didn't like it at all.

"At the dawn of the 20th century, rival magicians Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are desperate to reveal each other's secrets. Obsessed by the escalating competition, the two illusionists begin to perform increasingly risky tricks -- which soon turn deadly. Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie also star in this taut psychological thriller from director Christopher Nolan."

I must admit that at the end, I wasn't really sure of who was who anymore? But it was still a great movie!

I must also note that the movie plays fast and loose with history and the story of Tesla. Tesla was a genius but he wasn't able to duplicate matter.

Thai Basil

We have decided to vary our dining experiences and not get stuck in a food rut. So when we were downtown yesterday, we stopped short of Smokin' Mo's barbecue place and went in to Thai Basil instead. It was 11:30 and we were the only ones in the restaurant. Nice atmosphere of course... it was quiet!

I ordered the signature dish of rice (Jasmine) and stir fried vegetables. (Medium heat) Laurae had a chicken, rice and salad.

All in all, a good experience. The food was tasty and the service was quick. Lunch will cost about $8-$9 and that's reasonable enough.

And we finished just in time, as the place was beginning to fill up as we left.

I Scream for Ice Cream

I have had most of my coffee now; maybe one more cup before I call it quits for the morning. I was awake at 3 and my mind was quite active, even at that early hour and without any caffeine. I wonder what would happen if I were to stop drinking coffee? I may not need it and it would certainly save money if I gave it up. How much good would it do for my health? How about tea? Now there’s something to think about. The caffeine levels for tea are almost non-existent. But first I would have to get past the headaches that come with caffeine withdrawals.

I really do need to start thinking ‘healthy’ and losing the daily caffeine fix would be a good start. And eating better is another thing that needs to be done. We have been thinking about going back to the old days. The days of yore when lunch was dinner, or was it supper? Anyway, the bigger meal was at noon and a light meal was provided for the evening. We could do that.

Eating right is important; especially after yesterday, when we had a normal lunch and then had ice cream for dinner. Only ice cream. We were contestants in the annual Ice Cream Crank-Off at the church and I submitted two entries in my quest for the Golden Dipper (Or Scooper) award. My first entry was the winner; the Orange Marmalade Ice Cream, followed by a second place win for my Boysenberry Chocolate Ice Cream. I was on a roll. But seeing that there were only two contestants, it really wasn’t that hard. Especially as I was the only contestant using cream in my recipes. Heavy cream.

If you want to make this ice cream, use your favorite heavy cream vanilla recipe and make sure you scald the cream. Once the mix is chilled, add at least 8 ounces of King Kelly Orange marmalade. I also created a red/yellow blend of food coloring to give it an orange look. Do the usual mixing in your ice cream maker and then be sure to put it aside in the freezer to ripen for a day before you do any tasting. It will be worth the wait.

The award? I would have shown you the photo but the trophy couldn’t be found in time. Maybe later.

Kiwi's

I picked up The Bone People, by Keri Hulme when I was at the library. It’s good reading; she definitely has a gift for the use of ‘words’… some made up. But great words none the less. See her blog.

She writes of the South Island, a place I’ve never been but would love to visit. If only it wasn’t so darn far away! I can’t even imagine sitting in an airplane for over 8 hours… and to get to the South Island would require at least 16 miserable hours. Perhaps a cruise ship? Okay, Holland America cruise lines can get us to Auckland for about $8,000. That's a cabin with a terrace...