#72. Fix line spacing

Status: Complete

Not sure I can take that much credit for this one. I think it kind of fixed itself. But yes, I now have a basic-looking second blog with no strange gaps all over the place. I think I was meant to be writing creatively about the boring tasks. Maybe the next one? Not really happening for me right now.

#21. Doormat

Status: Complete

Wow. So now we get to write next to the picture. Fancy. This is my doormat. Exciting, huh? I thought so...

Splashback

Status: Complete

So glossy. So black. So clean-able. Between the generally horrendous builders; finding a replacement glazier; measuring up; finding an electrician; sourcing black plastic powerpoints from 6 suppliers; finding a second electrician; remeasuring; finding a plumber; remeasuring... And then suddenly one Saturday morning, I filled my house with ridiculously efficient tradesmen and wound up sitting, drinking coffee, taking in my completely finished renovation at 10am. I almost teared up, but the tradies were cute and I thought they might judge.

#48. 10.10.10

Status: Complete-ish

I didn't really celebrate per se. But I remembered it was 10.10.10. I looked for cool events and was dismally disappointed. There was a vague eco-friendly scavenger hunt in a nearby park that I walked past, but... really?

I drank a toast to my senior maths teacher, who used to do something cool (cool for a maths nerd) with the date every day and hoped he was appreciating the day somehow. I also remembered thinking as a teenager that one of these 'cool' dates would be a good time to have a baby. Funny those moments, no?

Book #5. Washington Square

How have I not discovered Henry James sooner?

"If the only office of a son-in-law were to dine at the paternal table, I should set a high value upon your brother. He dines capitally."

#34. 101 recipes

Status: underway

To stay on theme, here's another 101 within a 101.

This one's pretty ambitious - I'm a creature of habit - I like to cook the things I like... But I do have some nice cookbooks, and I think this might make me a better cook.

1. Vietnamese pork - A win up front - a cup of sugar and big slosh of fish sauce had me dubious, but it's awesome and will be repeated.
2. Mum's caramel slice - Burned the base first time round, but second batch was great. Scored big brownie points in the office.
3. Orange soy beef casserole - Fail. Super super salty and the orange soy combo just didn't really fly.
4. Beet salad - Win. Took me back to favourite NY cafes. And used garden-grown rocket.
5. Creamy mushroom fettucine - Win. Replaced the cream with evaporated milk. Ate a little too much of it, but that's ok.
6. Egg and Bacon mini frittatas - Win. Made on Sunday night, makes for a quick weekday breakfast. 
7. Coriander dip - Win. Risk overdosing soon. Coriander, ginger, garlic, soy, lime juice, brown sugar, cream cheese.
8. Roast chicken and veggies - Win. Ok, I think technically I made this once before. But it was a really long time ago and I don't think there were veggies involved.
9. Jamie Oliver curry - Meh. I used half the suggested water and thought it tasted watery. But the recipe was in French, so points for effort, right?
10. Beef with Pak Choy and Oyster sauce - Not entirely new, but had never really explored Asian greens before. Success. Less soy next time.
11. Panna Cotta w vanilla beans - More new ingredients - vanilla beans and gelatin. Delicious. Wanted to try the first time with everything by the book. Next time reduced fat cream or evap milk... Vanilla beans were fascinating - tiny and moist - still have 2/3 left.
12. Jamie Oliver tomato pasta - Excellent. Think is more prime Jamie territory. Home grown basil, tomato, garlic, a quarter the recommended olive oil and that much made my eyes bulge. But very good...
13. Sweet potato, beet, fetta salad - An attempt to mimic a cafe salad. The dressing's not quite right and it could probably use some chicken. And maybe less beetroot. But not bad.
14. Thai vermicelli salad - Pretty good. Maybe a few tweaks to the dressing, but good. Chicken mince, vermicelli noodles, mint, coriander, ginger, snow peas, soy/fish sauce/lemon/sugar/garlic dressing. Maybe cashews and/or sesame seeds on top...
15. Gnocchi - big win. May be beginners' luck but seemed pretty straight-forward.
16. Pea pesto - not sure. Too much garlic for my liking.

Gallery visits

Status: Underway

As for 101 Books, I'll track this goal in a post. Again, I've increased the target from the last 101 in 1001. Last time I just scraped to 50, but it was a half-time goal, so only had ~500 days. That said, a lot of that time was spent in Manhattan or travelling, so.... Anyway, I'm all for being a tourist at home, so I'll give 101 gallery visits a go in this next 1001 days. Most of which is likely to be spent in Sydney.

1. Art&About - Hyde Park display of Sydney photographs
2. MCA - Primavera exhibition
3. Surry Hills Library Street Scenes
4. ACP - Walkley Awards
5. Sculpture by the Sea
6. Philip Bacon Gallery 
7. GOMA - Valentino Retrospective. Absolutely amazing.
8. National Art School - Reportage exhibition
9. Sculpture by the Sea take 2
10. Crown St gallery 1
11. Crown St gallery 2
12. Glenmore Rd gallery 1
13. Glenmore Rd gallery 2
14. Anatomy museum - Royal North Shore