Posted on by Gary

My thoughts and stuff 2018

The end of 2018

Me in my Christmas shirt and hat

It’s hard to say that 2018 has been a great year or a really bad year. It started on a down with a close family member requiring critical care after a malignancy diagnosis which required surgery which was associated with serious complications. Then there was the decision I made to refocus my online presence to food blogging and stop the medical fun facts podcast and blog.

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I miss the podcasting and despite an early desire, I didn’t get into food podcasting. I still have some desire but another limiting aspect is the poor quality of ADSL I use and the limiting to a ceiling of 1 megabit per second upload with ADSL knowing that I rarely get above 0.3 megabits per second with my current connection. I had hoped the National Broadband Network “fibre to the building” would be operating by now but it isn’t.

So 2018 has been pretty much a steady as she goes type of year. My health has been okay although my weight has now crept back to where I was in October 2017. I feel like my allergies are worse with more nights of poor sleep due to nasal congestion.

Work has been fine. I got tasked with a new area and one of the long term bits of work I’ve been engaged in has altered slightly so that I share more of the load while I focus on the new thing.

Having stuff stolen in early December sucked. I don’t want to have that happen again.

On the up side, I developed more experience with sous vide cooking as well as using a slow cooker and a pressure cooker. I feel like I’ve been able to develop more cooking options for people who live alone and need ideas for solo cooking.

I know some people don’t like living alone, but I find it very satisfying to control my own time and space.

What have I watched this week?

Christmas movies are contentious. I know Bruce Willis has come out and said Die Hard is not a Christmas movie. I don’t care. For me, both Die Hard and Die Hard 2 are Christmas movies. I watched them last Saturday and enjoyed them. It was sad to see Alan Rickman on screen and know he is dead.

This year I’ve watched a lot of shows on Netflix, Stan, and Amazon Prime. I’ve been grateful to Kate for her suggestions like The Final Table, You, Perfume, Naked Dating, and Naked Attraction. Kate seems to know me well and what sort of TV shows I’d like to watch. It may be because of a mutual enjoyment of Star Trek and Kate’s experience as a podcaster. She used to review Star Trek: Enterprise (ENT) and it was one of my favourite podcasts. I was very surprised to find Naked Attraction available free on the 9Now app. This show is hilarious. It caters for all interests along the SLGBT spectrum. The only annoying thing is when the host refers to vulvas as vaginas.

What have I listened to this week?

I’ve been listening to The Audiobook of the year 2018 by the QI Elves of No Such Thing as Fish podcast fame.

I’ve also been listening to a Dayton Ward Star Trek novel, “Star Trek Discovery: Drastic Measures”.

What have I eaten this week?

These are galleries of photographs. Click on one image and scroll through the rest of them.

Christmas eve

Christmas eve was about seafood. Prawns, Alaskan king crab, Moreton Bay bugs (slipper lobsters), and a lobster tail.

A disgruntled acquaintance once said she hoped I choked on my Christmas lobster lunch. Every Christmas now I try to eat lobster.

  • Prawns, bugs, lobster, and crab
  • Prawns, bugs, lobster, and crab on my plate
  • Prawn and bug sandwich

Christmas day

An entrée of steamed asparagus, goat’s cheese, and smoked salmon. A main of turkey breast, stuffing, bacon, ham, duck fat potatoes, and vegetables. Dessert was chocolate hazelnut pavlova with cream and raspberries.

  • Asparagus, goat’s cheese, and smoked salmon entrée
  • Turkey breast, stuffing, bacon, duck fat potatoes, and ham for Christmas lunch
  • Chocolate and Hazelnut pavlova with cream and raspberries for Christmas dessert

Everything else I ate this week

  • Red pawpaw
  • BLT with pineapple, cheese, and beef.
  • Christmas treats from Beck
  • Spam soldiers with a fried egg and avocado for Boxing Day breakfast
  • Smoked salmon and blue cheese
  • Pork belly and leek pie with broccolini and asparagus
  • Braidwood bakery vanilla slice with a mouldy bottom
  • Meatermade roasted chicken maryland, crispy Coon cheesy noodles, and avocado
  • Smashed avocado on Sourdough toast
  • Costco meat display
  • Friday lunch. Double quarter pounder with cheese, large chips, and a large coca cola.
  • Friday lunch. Double quarter pounder with cheese, large chips, and a large coca cola.
  • Friday dinner. Sous vide chicken maryland with asparagus and broccolini. I cooked the chicken for 2 hours at 76 °C/169 °F. I steamed the asparagus and broccolini with butter and iodised salt.
  • Galliano and Fruit Gourmet Cake and ice cream
  • Galliano and Fruit Gourmet Cake and ice cream
  • Smoked salmon and sourdough toast
  • Assorted sushi tray

Most viewed posts this year

The 5 most viewed posts on My Thoughts and Stuff for 2018. The number of views aren’t high, but these are the most viewed posts in 2018.

I went to the beach this week

Kioloa beach

Yummy Lummy this week

This week I’m cooking an Australian Wagyu New York Strip Steak Sous Vide on a bed of mashed potatoes with broccolini and asparagus covered in spicy nutty burnt butter.

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Thanks for commenting

Thanks to these Bloggers who comment here and keep me company.

Final thoughts

How was your 2018? Was it good? Was it bad? Was it indifferent?

Do you like to listen to books being read while you do things or do you like to read the books?

Was there a post you liked the most here this year?

8 Replies to “My thoughts and stuff 2018”

  1. I love love love your Christmas shirt. We almost had fake breaded shrimp and Alaskan salmon for Christmas, but opted for ham instead. Maybe before my birthday and ON my birthday!
    I’ve been thinking long about Die Hard not being a Christmas movie..I wonder what constitutes a Christmas movie for Mr. Willis? I think it has those things I feel make up Christmas. Excitement, decor, a Christmas party, drama, feel good moments, surprise, and snow. Gremlins is a Christmas movie as is Holiday Inn. They are not just movies with scenes that take place at Christmas.

    1. I think I got that shirt for $10.
      I reckon any movie with Christmas in it and so long as I like watching it is a Christmas movie for me 😂

  2. 2018 was not the best like quite a few people I know. I had health issues that I would like to ensure don’t follow me into 2019 one being a SIJ issue which for the majority of 2018 did not want to behave. I found a great physio who is a specialist in that area through a spirts physician and it is now on the road to recovery.

    I haven’t ever listened to an audiobook although my daughter insists I need to start doing it. I love to read with a physical book in my hand.

    Your cooking is fabulous it is really refreshing to see a single person cooking such great food for themselves. And that seafood…I’m jealous! I look forward to seeing more from you in 2019!

    1. Hello Phoebe,
      Sorry for the delay. Your comment got caught up in a Spam folder. Thank you for the kind words about my cooking.
      I can empathise with the hip discomfort. For a couple of years I had two frozen shoulders and life was miserable. Finding a great physiotherapist really helped.
      From time to time, I also get hip pain which makes wanting to exercise difficult.
      Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.

  3. Like Mabel I agree that pavlova looks pretty special. 2018 was pretty good apart from my little dog passing away (that’s always very sad) but having retired now for twelve months I am very happy doing volunteering and travelling…all the best for 2019 Gary and look forward to more of your thoughts and seeing and hearing what you do each week.

    1. Dear Sue, thank you for being a great blogging buddy. I’m sad too to know your dog and canine companion died this year. I hope 2019 is filled with happiness, joy, and more travel adventures for you.

  4. That chocolate and hazelnut pavlova looked amazing, not just the creamy stuff. Hehe, you eat lobster for Christmas lunch now each year. Always eating it right.

    So lovely of you to mention me in the Thanks for commenting section. I’ve enjoyed following your blogs and hope to do more of that in the coming year. Though I must say, there looks like an extra bullet point in that list.

    Hard to pick a favourite post from you, but I really enjoyed the ones where you wrote about Brisbane.

    I also didn’t think this year was good or bad. More like good in some ways, could be better in other parts and really just like every other year.

    1. The pavlova was great. I really liked the seafood with the garlic mayonnaise and melted butter.

      I reckon a year with ups and downs is better than a year which is all negative. Let’s hope 2019 is good for both of us.

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