Items

• 
  2020-08-22

  HIST30060: Lockdown Knitting

  (HIST30060) Like the people that learnt to bake sourdough, completed dozens of puzzles or took up running; I decided that learning to knit would serve to occupy the time between work and study that didn't involve Netflix. This represents how I benefitted in part from Melbourne's lengthy lockdowns, as opposed to people who may have struggled with added responsibilities like guiding children through schooling on zoom or working in healthcare on the frontlines of the pandemic. Knitting also acted as something I could mark my time with; this picture was taken on my birthday when I decided to make my first jumper. Instead of remembering this time as purely disheartening, with the news of a re instating of lockdown in late August 2020, I also remember it as an exciting period where I really honed in on my new craft.
• 
  2021-10-31

  (HIST30060) Chess!

  HIST30060. How do you pass the time during a 5km radius lockdown with only four reasons to leave? Chess. After watching the Queens Gambit, my housemates and I spend a few hours a day playing multiple games of chess in person, or on Chess.com. Chess is a great way to pass the time because each game is unique. Every game has thousands of variables that allow alternative moves to ‘one-up’ your opponent. We started off with little no knowledge of the game but built our fundamentals through Youtube tutorials. This has increased a skills rapidly and allowed us to challenge people across the world using Chess.com. Online chess, in fact, is the most used online game in the world and continues to rapidly grow during the pandemic. I like this image because it captures the way my housemates and I have been living whilst full-time students with limited time to earn income. Note the piece of ply we use as an outdoor table, sitting on chairs we found on the side of the road. We managed to furnish our whole house like this, which I think is impressive but really dingy.
• 
  2021-09

  The comforting smell of cardamom and cinnamon on a Sunday morning

  One of the most defining characteristics of my quarantine has been learning how to bake. After a year and a half, I am finally comfortable kneading, proofing, and baking. I have learned the tell-tale signs of under-proofed and over-proofed bread by touch (slightly indent the bread with the end of your finger and how the dough springs-back will tell you all you need). I have learned to listen for the hollow sound of fully cooked bread. However, one of the greatest joys I have found with baking is filling the house with the smell of cinnamon, sugar, and cardamom on a Sunday morning with my slightly adjusted cinnamon roll recipe from our well-used Betty Crocker’s 1961 New Picture Cookbook (it was my mum’s before me). My family is Scandinavian, and the smell and taste of cardamom is ever-present in Scandinavian baking. Kanalsnegl, klejner, and fødselsdagboller are all delicious Danish and Norwegian cardamom classics. But Betty Crocker’s cinnamon rolls are also highly popular in my house. From this, a fusion roll was born. On Sunday mornings, the house is filled with cinnamon and cardamon of these classic buns. The Betty Crocker recipe calls for two teaspoons of cinnamon filling, but I sub one teaspoon with cardamom. I also add a pinch of cardamom to the butterscotch topping. In a time of stressful uncertainty, the smell of freshly baked rolls with cinnamon and cardamom is like wrapping up in a comfortable blanket. I have attached the recipe if you want to try this sensory smell experience, too.
• 
  2020-04-02

  Crochet Away

  While my friends lamented about how bored they were over text, I was trying to keep myself busy with new hobbies. I didn't want to sit still and stare at a screen all day, and soon enough I was filled with a passion to not become bored. I decided to go back to an old hobby of mine- crocheting. I had an untouched pile of yarn and some crochet needles sitting in my room, collecting dust. With the help of a few YouTube tutorials, I was back on track with the basics and started crocheting new things every day. The rhythm and repeated actions of crocheting were soothing and gave me time to reflect on life. As a result, I ran out of all my yarn and quickly went to buy some more online. Crocheting gave me a temporary purpose and was a good source of entertainment in my isolated life.