[Judy]

Love your avatar, madame! And congratulations to Sophie - she's a very clever little vegemite!

[Cornette]

[birgit]

Concerning resizing of animated gifs: That's a little tricky because they're built through a combination of several different images/components, each showing one single animation status. If you've got adobe's "image ready" (www.adobe.com), macromedia's "fireworks" (www.macromedia.com/), "animation shop" (single or bundled with "paint shop pro 6" (www.jasc.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=003) or "ulead gif animator" (http://www.ulead.com/ga/runme.htm) on your machine, resizing an animated gif should be possible.

There are more useful links and general help/tutorials at www.fuzzywebmaster.com/animated-gif/resize-animated-gif.shtml

And these even seem to be free: www.gifworks.com/ or www.myimager.com/

Hope that helps

[Guest]

Madame, you beat me too it..... This morning while I was eating vegemite on toast (out of my carefully hoarded supply which was packed into our luggage whenwe moved here), I told my husband that I really had to have an avatar of my very own.

Luckily he took it better than when I told him that I really had to have new Parisienne clothes for spring and summer........ hmmm.

Vegemite was the first thing that came to mind. Unfortunately I have been pipped at the post on this one. I don't really mind as Sophie has done an absolutely fabulous job of yours!!!

My husband thought that the next best thing was licking your lips... as this forum is all about food and our enjoyment.... and that is what you do when you taste something so good you want to savour every drop of it.

Voila, my avatar is born. Thank you to my husband for his expert assistance. (I hate to think what this is going to "cost me").

What a fun thing to do! Thanks Clothilde for including this capability.

[Debbie]

The above is moi.

Sorry all, don't know what happened???? For some reason I thought that my log in was still active from a few minutes ago, and obviously it wasn't.... oops. I will learn how to work one of these computer thingos one of these days......
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[madameshawshank]

Oh Debbie ~ there's enough Vegemite to go around! I imagine Paris is having quite a time and a half with you and your darling! Have you come across the tubes of Veg? For travellers...

'n I dooooooooo hope your family etc are sending you care parcels including the dark treasure.

'n Sophie can't stand the stuff!

The thick crust from a tank loaf, enough hard butter for the health freaks to faint, and dabs of Veg....'n I'm a happy dame..

'n whatever the cost ...you're in Paris ma dear ~ so no grumbles
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"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[Guest]

Good morning!

There is no grumbling from this little vegemite! Besides that, a fresh baguette with a lavish spreading of butter (the one with the sea salt flakes in it) and vegemite is fabulous.

Hey, if Sophie don't eat it..... that means there is more for you!

The tubes of black gold are great. They are actually what I packed into my suitcase when we came over.

My husband is of Maori origin so we are quite a couple here in Paris. We are always laughing about something and having a good time. He keeps his employees in line by asking them about the rugby..... they seem to be a bit intimidated by the All Blacks..... funny that.

All visitors from Aus have been told that the tarif to stay in chez nous is a few tubes of vegemite and a BIG bottle of bundy. My husband loves his bundy and you just can't get it here. As consolation, the rums in France are apparently quite good - I am a scotch drinker so I can't vouch for that.

Everytime I am sitting in a cafe or wandering around the markets buying my yummy fruit and veg etc, I keep having to pinch myself.... I am living and working in Paris!!!!!!!!!

I will keep admiring your avatar and think fond thoughts of Sydney, while enjoying my new life here, and you will not here a grumble from me about the exchange.

[madameshawshank]

Debbie...are you smack in the Paris of Paris..or outskirts...

do give that wondrous city a great big hug from moi...merci!
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"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[Debbie]

We are inside Paris, in Montmartre. It is a fabulous spot and we consider ourselves very lucky to have found our cute, tiny little apartment in rue Lepic. Home to some amazing fuit and veg and butchers and fishmongers and........... the list goes on.

Today I had a very good experience. I have been getting to know my local shop owners and finding the ones thatI prefer to shop at. It takes a long time to be accepted here I find. But, today, the madame at the boulangerie (who I always say bonjour etc to) was extra nice and told her daughter to give me a round of the semolina bread for free. It was a really special moment to realise that she had accepted me as part of the "village" and a local.

Of course I had to put thick slices of fresh vine ripened tomato from my favourite greengrocer (who calls me "his Australian" and helps me learn the french words for all his produce) and lots of fresh butter and avocado on the warm and crusty baguette we had purchased. The semolina bread I shall warm gently and drizzle with olive oil to eat with our soup tomorrow for lunch. Yum!

Anyway, off to work now. I teach english at a college on the other side of town. Today I have the teenagers who are really funny to teach. You just don't know what they are going to come out with next.

We are going to the local creperie for dinner tonight. They have the most delicious sweet and savoury crepes. I will have to eat an extra one just for you and raise a glass in your name. Life is tough here......
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[Lady Amalthea]

Madame and Debbie,

What on Earth is vegemite?
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Don't forget the cannolis!

[Dairy_Queen]

Until Madame and Debbie return, here's a link to Vegemite:

http://www.vegemite.com.au/

My partner is Scottish and she "won't touch Vegemite with a barge pole"!

It's a "Love/Hate-Hate" relationship, in regards to what you think about vegemite.

"Ever since World War ll Australian troops have depended on Vegemite for a taste of home.

Australian doctors started recommending Vegemite as a convenient source of vitamin B after it was approved by the British Medical Association in 1939.

These days you'll find jars and tubes of Vegemite with Aussie backpackers and travelers the world over.

Vegemite is responsible for giving us a second national song - the "Happy Little Vegemites" jingle and it continues to put a rose in every patriotic cheek.




Vegemite dates back to 1922 when the Fred Walker Company, which became Kraft Walker Foods in 1926 and Kraft Foods Limited in 1950, hired a young chemist to develop a spread from one of the richest known natural sources of the vitamin B group - Brewers Yeast.

Following months of laboratory tests, Dr. Cyril P Callister, who became the nation’s leading food technologist of the 1920s and 30s developed a tasty spreadable paste. It came in a two ounce (57g) amber glass jar capped with a Phoenix seal with the label "Pure Vegetable Extract".

In an imaginative approach, Walker turned to the Australian public to officially name his spread. He conducted a national trade-name competition offering an attractive 50 pound prize pool for the finalists. How the 50 pounds was distributed or who was the winning contestant has unfortunately been lost in history, but it was Walker's daughter who chose the winning name out of the hundreds of entries.

That winning name was Vegemite and in 1923 Vegemite first graced grocers' shelves. It was described as "Delicious on sandwiches and toast, and improves the flavour of soups, stews and gravies". However, it took 14 long years of perseverance from Walker before Vegemite finally gained acceptance and recognition with the Australian people.




When Australians first heard about Vegemite, a thick, dark English spread (called Marmite) already dominated the spread market and Australians were reluctant to try Fred Walker's locally made product. Poor sales performance resulted in Vegemite being re-named in 1928.

In an attempt to emulate the success of Marmite, Walker re-launched Vegemite as "Parwill". "If Marmite...then Parwill" was the rationale behind Walker's strategy to carve a niche in the market for his concentrated yeast extract spread. However Parwill was only ever sold in Queensland and Walker's creative play-on-words fell on deaf ears and Parwill failed. Walker went back to the drawing board, and finally realised that the Vegemite brand could work. All he had to do was stimulate consumer trial.

In 1935, a vigorous 2-year coupon redemption scheme was launched whereby a jar of Vegemite was given away with every purchase of other products in the Fred Walker Company range. Australians tried the product, and loved it. During this 2-year coupon redemption period, sales of Vegemite leapt, along with its reputation as a tasty, nutritious new spread."
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Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx

[Debbie]

Good evening!

Vegemite is fabulous stuff! Black gold to an Australian.

It is a yeast extract which is high in not only vitamin B group, but also in folate and other minerals. As children it is something that we are fed by our Mum's and so we grow up with it. Most adults don't like the taste if they have never had it before. If you grow up on marmite it would be hard to become acustomed to the flavour of vegemite.

It is really delicious on a sandwich with tomato and cheese. I add a spoonful to soups and stews and it is also good to boost the flavour in stocks for veg dishes.

I also eat marmite and other yeast spreads, but the flavour ofhte different brands is quite different. Dick Smith brought out a version called Mighty Mite. It is thinner in texture and more gel like than vegemite, but ok in a pinch. I don't however like bonox or bovril as they are beef extract and have an entirely different taste to the marmite and other yeast spreads.

Vegemite used to be made from the leftover yeast in the beer brewing process. Don't think it is nowdays. It is totally vegan, and so is a good source of flavour and vitamins and minerals for those who don't eat any animal products.

Lady Amalthea, if we meet up at a C&Z social here in Paris, I will ensure that I have the vegemite on hand for taste tests. By the way, nice avatar.
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[Sarape]

[JustMe]

Rainey: Great avatar!!!
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Life is too short to drink cheap wine.

[Rainey]

Why, thank you! When I set up a blog several months ago there was a spot for a photo. It was the only part I wasn't completely embarrassed to have the whole world see. And it worked here.

You brightened my day by saying that!