Australia Day Weekend Camping

Last weekend, for Australia Day, Cherie and I went camping up in Thornton. We weren't completely roughing it (showers/toilets/BBQ were on-site), but it was a great few days next to the Goulburn River and just reminded me how awesome camping is.

Cherie and I have camped together a few times now, so we get our camp setup pretty quickly; we both get the tent out, I peg the thing down, we both get the poles setup and erect the tent, and I finish pegging it down and setting the guy ropes while she unpacks the gear from the car. Smooth and efficient!

All our tents were setup around the camp fire. Being able to have a camp fire was great since many other places we've camped won't let you have fires anymore, especially during summer. We cooked everything from chicken wings, sausages and steaks to bacon and eggs. A whole chicken was even roasted in a pot.

Jeremy with his awesome contraption to cook food over a fire

She just wanted to roast them, not eat them

Even though there was a pool on the grounds, swimming in the river was the real treat. Even though the weather was hot, the river was ridiculously cold, but after you got over the initial shock, diving under was invigorating (and good for you). It was a lot of fun. We even taught our friends' kids how to skip a few stones, or in some cases, how to throw the biggest and heaviest stones in the water for the biggest splash.

Skipping stones

It was a great weekend! I love camping, I love summer, I love swimming and I love spending quality time with friends.

Handy Skills: Basic Butchery

Although it makes a lot of sense now that I think about it, I never thought I'd find butchery all that interesting, but, a little over a year ago, after watching a video about a chef in Scotland who hunts and gathers his own food for his restaurant, I watched a ton of videos on butchery and it turns out a little bit of butchery is a handy skill to have and it's awesome.

Why is a little basic butchery a handy skill to have?

1. Cutting up a couple of whole chickens is cheaper than buying the breasts and thighs separately, and the entire carcass can be used for a variety of things
2. Ever go fishing and not know how to scale, gut and prepare the fish you just caught?
3. It's good to know where the various cuts of meat come from
4. It's a little bit therapeutic
5. You develop an appreciation for the entire animal

So here's some videos:

• Jointing a whole chicken. Something everyone can probably figure out, but here for completeness. Actually, all of Scott Rea's YouTube channel is full of gold.
• Butchering a whole lamb. Mesmerising to watch. Something I'd like to do one day.
• How to butcher a whole loin of pork. Something else I'd like to do one day.
• How to Fillet a Rainbow Trout
• Four Men and a Pig: A Lesson in Italian Butchery. A fun watch including where some classic cured meats come from. Part 2 is also a good watch.

2016

Happy New Year!

Last year was a fantastic year in all facets of my life. I got engaged to my lovely girlfriend, Cherie, I competed in a bunch of strongman competitions, I learned a ton of stuff about low-level systems programming and also about massively scaling systems, I learned (and blogged) about a few handy skills to make me a generally more useful person, and I had a heap of good times with my friends and family.

This year I've got a bunch of exciting stuff to look forward to; turning 30, engagement party, competing at the Australian Arnold (pending qualifiers this month), more food, more handy skills, more blogging, more fun!

Time to get on with it!