Friday, December 21, 2007

Dental care

I had to get 2 cavities filled (grrr) and i have been warned that here they are not so into comfort/pain management. So I ask about the Novocaine before the dentist begins. She tells me the first cavity is pretty shallow and we won't get anywhere near the nerves, and she thought I could easily get through it without Novocaine but if i felt uncomfortable at any time to just raise my hand and she'll stop immediately.

As we all know (med-free childbirth notwithstanding) I am a big baby when it comes to pain. But they had only booked me for getting one cavity filled and I wanted to move quickly so maybe we could fit both in. So the first goes without meds. Actually didn't feel anything at all. The dentist said the second one was a bit deeper, i could get numbed if I wanted but she thought we could make it through without meds. In the spirit of expediency i agreed to try. Yep, made it through also without Novocaine.

I feel tougher already - 2 cavities without pain meds. See, this living overseas thing really does let you find out what you're capable of.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Not Slug Bait

So the beer is ready. I have tried it and shared it with some of the people in the Embassy. All in all I am really happy with it. It is not the best beer ever, but very respectable. The color is almost perfect for a porter. It is a little more bitter then Lynne would like but I find it pleasant. It is at least as good as anything else brewed on this island. So now we are starting to clear bottles for the next batch.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Mythical lamb sausage

I think I wrote a while back that we finally found a butcher that Terry deems worthy enough to supply us with animal flesh. They happen to be the one closest to us, which is great. Well, this being a 98% catholic country nobody has really created a market for not-pig processed food items like sausage.

However, a decent portion of the 2% not-catholic is muslim and there is a small community in our area. Our butcher told me about 5 months ago that they did make lamb sausage but only in small batches and only once a week, and that only one butcher in the shop was authorized to make it (leading me to believe it is halal). Since then, I have asked about this lamb sausage no fewer than a dozen times. Either they sold out, or didn't make it that week, or forgot to make it, or something. I started to think it was just a big joke and there really was no lamb sausage. I even left my name and phone number one time so they could call me when there was sausage ready to buy.

My mom heard me talk about the lamb sausage and decided she was going to get some before she left Malta. She spoke with one of the butchers who told her it is only available by pre-order (not that anyone ever told me this!) so she went ahead and ordered a batch and ... miracle of miracles, when she went to pick it up on the designated day, they had it ready and waiting for her!

After all the anticipation, it was only OK. For sausage, it was not very seasoned.

When we go home in February, although Terry is fighting me on this point since he doesn't care either way, we ARE going to Bolton's for their turkey sausage and turkey bacon. I have never had better. If I also get a whole chicken to roast while there Terry may stop giving me grief about it.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Brewing Part Two

Last Saturday was bottling day. I took the now fermented wort and added some more sugar and put it bottles. Cap the bottles wait a week or two then enjoy. Easy enough. I tasted the wort which is basically flat beer at that point and I am not sure what to make of it yet. It wasn’t terrible, but tough to tell for sure without carbonation. This coming weekend it should be ready for a test drive. Then we should determine if it is tasty or 2 plus case of slug food.

BTW – One gardening trick is if you have a slug problem leave container of beer in your garden. For some reason slug are attracted to the beer and they will drown themselves in the brew. This is a safe way to get rid of slug without chemicals. Also a get way to get rid or some bad beer that didn’t come out the way you hoped it would.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Quick update

My mom has Alex for a walk so I can actually type something. Alex has been the most wonderful and exhausting experience, and all the veteran parents keep telling me it never ends. I can believe it, but someday she will walk on her own and sleep more than a few hours at a time.

Part of the dearth of postings has been that there is little more to say about our house, and nothing really to say about our pediatrician, and those are the only 2 places I had been since Alex was born. Well, there was Alex's first social event, Halloween at the Ambassador's. She very kindly slept through the first couple of hours and when she woke and got cranky we beat a hasty goodbye. Tragically, we got no photos of her in her "first halloween" outfit.

Alex also experienced her first "Bunco" experience 2 weeks later. It was wonderful to be in a room full of moms who missed the newborn days - I only held her when she had to eat and reveled in the relatively rare experience of eating food with 2 hands. My meal plans these days generally include a mental list of what can and can not be eaten with one hand.

We did get a turkey for Thanksgiving, and made it with mashed potatoes, green beans (aka wonder sticks and yes, when they are fresh/not canned they are tasty!) cranberry sauce, and apple pie. It turns out the French must have free range turkey b/c the bird was juicy - so obviously not overcooked - but surprisingly tough. It worked well in the soup Terry made later, though. Alex also had a "first thanksgiving" outfit and we did get photos this time.

Many of the cities in Malta have market days one day per week. The one in Valletta has more touristy fare and less produce, although it does have live animals for pets and for dinner (Sundays), the one in Marsaxlokk has fish and a somewhat better balance between produce and touristy t-shirts (Sundays), and a friend invited us to accompany her to the market in Birgu (Tuesdays). Birgu's market is for the Maltese - about 1/2 mile of the best looking fruits and veg I have seen on the island, lots of Christmas decorations, cards, and treats, breads (the Maltese do amazing things with flour, water and yeast) and cheap clothing. Although Alex decided mommy's arms were way better than the stroller, it was great to see what they had and make a mental note to go back when we needed more supplies. Next time I will take photos, I have just figured out how to use and send photos from my camera.

I completely screwed up when the first night of hannukkah was, and we never got around to finding candles anyway, but Alex did get her photo opp of her in her "first hannukkah" bib. Nope, not a whole outfit this time.

Whew, now we are caught up.