night of a thousand coughs, or why I'm up so late blogging

I can't sleep. The little tickling, rasping beast hidden somewhere in my larynx won't let me. So I thought I'd update you on some stuff:

I'm on holidays! yay!!! man, if you ever feel in need of a holiday, just take up university. It's great for that.
So now I'm in sunny little Strathalbyn, the Antiques capital of South Australia: cut in two by a prettily meandering little river, dotted with old stone buildings and delightful cafes, and current residence of a disproportionately large bunch of the world's best people.

This week I have:
-Had coffee(s) with friends (and the best hot chocolate _ever_ from the Appleseed cafe)
-Wandered rainy Rundle st mall and sung songs to strangers
-Picked and squeezed a hundred lemons (give or take), ready for cooking all-things-lemon tomorrow :)
-walked, run & skipped along the river
-made new friends
-coughed (a lot)
-baked choc & walnut cookies
-been entertained by a friend's band in The Shed hangout space - along with a gang of young Strath punks
-drunk copious amounts of tea in the kitchen, with any number and combination of the constant stream of people
-written two cards
-started reading three books

That's all I can think of for now.

My throat seems to be settling (lemon and honey tea is my hero!), so I'll leave you with a quote from the toilet door:

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

- Albert Einstein

Luscious Lemon Butter

For any who are not acquainted with the goodness that is lemon butter (also known as lemon curd), it is a deliciously tangy but creamy concoction which can be used as a spread a bit like jam (or eaten by the spoonful straight out of the jar, if your self control is of a similar level to my own).

I made a double batch a week or so ago with some homegrown lemons, and thought I would share the recipe here. It's a morphing of my Grandmother's & another friend's, so thank you to
them!

Lemon Butter

4 eggs
1 cup lemon juice (fresh!!)
zest of 2 lemons
1 1/2 cups white sugar
125g butter

Whisk first 4 ingredients together, add chopped butter, place in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, and keep stirring until it thickens (this will take a little while).
Ladle into sterilised jars, and away you go! (It will thicken a bit more when it's cooled).

It will keep for a month or so in the fridge (maybe more).

yum :)