April 21, 2010

6:00 am
Everyone’s headed out for the day, and I have the camp to myself… Just the way I like it. I had a slight explosion at breakfast today when one of the girls asked if I had any more lettuce… It appears the first three people used the whole bowl in their sandwiches… I put out another bowl, but I think people may have been too scared to touch it, as it was pretty much all still there when I put everything away. Jet told me it was all right -- it’s good to put a fear of the cook in ringers.

Ringer is another word I hadn’t heard before I came to Australia, at least not in the sense that they use it here… A ringer, as Jet has explained to me can mean several things: in a shearing barn, a ringer is the fastest (sheep) shearer, or in other words, the one who runs ‘rings’ around the others. In an extension of that, a person who is the best or most experienced at their job can be referred to as a ringer. A ringer can also refer to a person who is a kind of jack-of-all-trades. What we are currently doing, as contractors for the station, falls into the last category of ringers.

8:30 am
A fellow came by and fixed the toilet just now… And why was the toilet not flushing? Too many frogs in the tank. Another problem I have never encountered before. He pulled three big ones about the size of my head out of the tank, and said while there were still quite a few little ones in there he was pretty sure these ones were the problem.

10:30 a.m.
The laundry is hanging to dry; the corned beef is boiling, and the muffins are out of the oven. I think I may make cookies also, in a few minutes. And I may get started on the spaghetti sauce and baguettes.
In the meantime, however, here is how you make corned beef:
Put a big thawed out or raw slab of beef in a pot full of water. Add vinegar (which keeps the meat soft), a handfull of sugar, some salt and any other spices you think might be nice. Cover the pot and let it boil a few hours. The meat is done when you jab it in the middle with a sharp object and no blood leaks out.

11:00 a.m.
Decided against cookies. They can wait ‘til tomorrow. Don’t want too much food going to waste, and they’re more likely to take the muffins if there are no cookies. It’s possible I should make quiche or some sort of healthy thing, though.