New Year, new stuff: Part the first.

Well, I'm back from my extended jaunt hunting pheasant, and am now ready to rejoin the world of the digital passer-of-time. I thought I'd begin by making a record this week of the new things that have passed into my life since last we spoke. One a day. For the whole week.

One post per day. For a whole week.

Breathe...

So without further ado, I present Omission's Monday edition of Things I Now Possess That Make Me Happy: My new Global Vegetable Chopper:

If your only experience of knives had been this guy, your vocabulary would not include the phrase "like a hot knife through butter. It would instead contain "like a knife through onions" or "like a knife through the skin of a pumpkin" or "like a knife through my finger bones". Do yourself a favour. Get a really sharp knife.

Other nice knives I saw on my travels included Chloë' and Ed's new cheese knife, on which note and imperceptible segue, thanks to them for a lovely stay in London.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's exciting installment!

Bachelor boy...

...well, not quite. But Mary is in the 'Bridge at the moment, getting her CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults), leaving me with all the downsides of singledom (sole dominion over issues such as cleaning, tidying, laundry) without the upsides (busy social whirl, venereal disease...). The situation has, however, allowed me to really get to grips with Crane Wife, The Decemberists' new album. I heartily recommend the heady mix of prog rock (The Island -- a 12 minute epic of Yes-style laser syth and allusions to The Tempest), Zepplin stomp (When the war came) and Talking-Heads-Groove (The Perfect Crime #2). And they're coming to Switzerland next February! All I have to do is ask Mary if I can go...see, none of the benefits of bachelorhood.

Additionally, I have been experimenting culinarily; I had my first try at cooking gnocchi recently, to great success, and also have been playing around with Jerusalem Artichokes. Tonight I'm going to stew beef with qunices and cinnamon. I hope it tastes nice, as I'll have enough for four or more portions...

In other news, I have been invited to Paris to give a talk at a workshop, which is exciting, but not as exciting as the 250 euros our host has allocated to me for meals while I'm there (for three nights).

Finally, since it's nearly Halloween: