Posted in Bits and Pieces
Today I received a parcel for 4 items I purchased as gifts.
(They are really cool by the way. Check them out
here.)
However, only these items showed up...
Oh and one of these...
No, there's no need to adjust your screen. It IS just an empty cardboard box.
Oh it was nicely sealed though. All shrink wrapped and ready to assemble into this lovely display box.
Now I know they say that kids have more fun with the boxes and wrapping than the actual gifts themselves, but I think this might be taking it a bit far...especially when that box cost me $35!!
I have just written to the online store I purchased it from (not the one from above) and I hope that they can rectify the situation for me...
otherwise...
someone is getting a cardboard box on Christmas morning.
It's the thought that counts, right??
Posted in Bits and Pieces
A few days ago I received this comment from Diane and thought the reply desired a full post.
If you remember I wrote to you a couple of months ago about Vegemite and you did a post about it. I just read on yahoo about the new product Kraft has come out with and how upset people were about the new name that was originally picked. Have you tried it? Do you like it?
Blessings
Diane
A while back Kraft decided to try a new Vegemite-like product. I didn't give it much thought. I was perfectly happy with our current Vegemite and as long as they continued to make the original recipe I wasn't too interested in trying the new imitation-Vegemite.
When I got Diane's query however I decided that I needed to go out and purchase a jar in the name of research. The boys were my willing...okay that's pushing literary liberties a little too far....let's say... "reluctant" lab assistants.
I actually didn't hear anything about the name until I heard murmurings about it on the Net. Some uproar about the new Vegemite name so of course I Googled it to see what I had missed.
I think the name is a bit strange too. I like the 2.0 but the "i" bit makes it totally odd. Nah, don't like the name. But then again, I'm resistant to change in general.
I had to look around the Vegemite section quite closely to find a jar of iSnack 2.0. They don't seem to be selling too many of them it seems as there is only a small section dedicated to it. The rest of the display is the real stuff. It bought a large jar of that while I was there too. It's a staple in our house.
Anyway, we bought our little jar home and examined it closely.
It has a faint hint of the normal Vegemite smell to it.
I included this over exposed shot as it more accurately captures the true colour of iSnack.
It's texture and colour is very different to the real thing. Vegemite is much firmer and stickier than iSnack. The colour and consistency of iSnack reminded me of melted chocolate and I got a bit of a shock when I scraped into the iSnack. I went in prepared to scrape out a sampling with the usual Vegemite heavy handed method. I ended up with way more than I intended. It would be much easier to spread and it wouldn't snap your crackers as your try to spread it.
The next test was the taste test. Volunteer (heheheh...more literary liberties...hehehe) number one stepped forward and did the "dipped finger test".
He pondered the taste for a while. He even went back for two or three more tentative tongue spottings.
His verdict was quite clear......
"Yuck!"
Volunteer Number Two by now had a tainted view of the product and was clearly reluctant to be the lab rat...I mean...assistant...in my investigation.
So I had to do some motherly bribing...oh I mean...coaxing..to get him to take just a small bite for my research.
Verdict from son number two......
"Yuck"
"Double Yuck!"
So I tasted the product myself and let me tell you...the jury was unanimous in their voting. "Yuck" with a capital Y. I couldn't wash that stuff out of my mouth fast enough, in between gagging of course.
For me, it lacked flavour and it's smooth melted chocolate consistency was just all wrong for my taste buds. I'd say our distaste of it may also be linked to our brains' expectations of what it should have been like. The message it sent to our stomach was "This Vegemite is clearly not right. Get that stuff out of your system and quickly."
To be fair I have heard that people who don't like Vegemite, really like iSnack. My brother is one of them. So you know who's getting our jar!!!
So to answer your question succinctly Diane, my family gave iSnack 2.0....
...the double thumbs down sign.
Yuck!!
Posted in Bits and Pieces
We were hit with a huge dust storm today. I've never seen anything like it before.
Ironically I was at my mum's vacuuming and dusting (in preparation for her onslaught of guests over the weekend) when the storm hit.
Hubby took this photo of the sky behind our house. How impressive is that orange sky. Bear in mind that this photo was taken around 11am in the morning!
There's supposed to be a big mountain behind the houses in this picture!!
Tomorrow I'll be spending the day vacuuming and dusting MY house to get the sandy feel off the floors and surfaces...someone didn't close the doors
.
The Next Day
I thought I'd give you a picture of the sky today to compare. I kind of like the orange but for washing day purposes I'll settle for the blue one today.
It's still not totally back to it's normal blue self but it's much improved.
Posted in Bits and Pieces
Hmmm I wasn't sure I could answer this too well or very accurately. So I pulled our jar of
Vegemite out of the fridge and smelled it first. It reminded me of beer (yuck)....but that makes sense as it is made from brewer's yeast extract (as well as other stuff).
To be honest I've never really stopped to think, "What does it taste like?". I just whack it on the toast or sandwich and eat it. So I put a little on my finger and tasted it. Not too much though. That's the mistake non-Vegemite eating people make. They try to eat it in quantities like you might use for peanut butter. Big mistake.
It's hard to describe the distinct taste as it's like nothing else I can think of. It is very salty tasting but not as bitter and mouth puckering as eating a spoon of salt (not that I've ever done that however).
It's definitely an acquired taste. You would either like it or you don't. I would hazard a guess to say most Australians (born and bred Aussies from Aussie families) would at least have a bottle of it in their fridge and have grown up on the stuff. Every motel you stay at will have Vegemite and jam (which I believe Americans call Jelly) as the standard condiments to spread on your toast.
It's a very common food here and very popular amongst children. Well perhaps not so much nowdays with the large multicultural mix and children probably not packing sandwiches in their lunches for school anymore but instead a pile of packaged items like rolled up fruits, cheese like string and other expensive less nutritious oddities.
Many adults tell stories of how often they had to eat Vegemite on sandwiches and that they now can't stomach the thought of another one. But then you bake a fresh loaf of bread and see if they don't come running and asking where the Vegemite is
. Perhaps there's something addictive about it...with all that brewer's yeast...hehehe.
I like the stuff. It's great on toast, on a fresh sandwich, or on a savoury biscuit (I believe they are called crackers in America). When I was a baby my mother would give me a bottle with cooled boiled water and a teaspoon of Vegemite dissolved in it because it apparently had a lot of goodness in it. Now I can't say that would appeal to me now (yuck and no I didn't do the same for my boys!)) and I dare say the sodium content would be looked down on nowdays but it was a common beverage for little ones in my time (that makes me seem so old).
So sorry, I can't give you a definitive answer on what Vegemite tastes like. But I can issue the challenge for everyone who has ever wondered what it tastes like or anyone who hasn't try it, to hunt down a bottle and give it a go. Strike it up as a cultural experience...like no other
.
Posted in Bits and Pieces
Blushing a little and stammering, "I'd like to thank my fellow homeschool bloggers for inspiring me to create my own blog. I'd like to thank my family for allowing me the time to blog and being my inspiration. I'd like to thank my hubby for editing my numerous typos that go unnoticed no matter how many times I proofread my own work. And I'd like to thank my readers for coming to visit me and my little men in my library. This is such an honour."
Thank you so much for this award
Diane. Such an unexpected but lovely surprise.
Boy, I better pull up my socks and get blogging. People are starting to read what I write. 
