Scraps

Food! Glorious Food!

2009-12-25T20:32:53Z

Exhausted is I.
The guests are just out of the door and I can finally put my feet up after two days of cooking. Seriously, I started yesterday at 8.30 am and finished, oh, about two hours ago.
I reek of food and I burned myself three times, but it was pretty damn good even if I do say so myself.

The entree was a trio of smoked fish with kicky lemon mayo and dill sauce, then there was kohlrabi soup with a coulis of garden cress.
After that, the Beast was served - a 9 pound brined and stuffed turkey. I brined it in a mix of salt, honey, wine, apple juice, candied sugar, herbs, pink pepper and bouillon. The stuffing was concocted of ground veal, pistachios, foie gras, chicken livers and hearts, herbs and spices, eggs, port wine, cognac, bread and bacon. Unfortunately, the turkey had been very badly deboned by the butcher, it reminded me of a dissected corpse on CSI so there was a lot of patch- and stitchwork to be done and it split open on one side during baking but it was damn good.
Anyway, I served it with a turnip grating, pears in red wine and cranberries, sautéed carrots and babycorn and mashed potatoes and parsnips and a good gravy.
It was pretty successful.
Dessert was a cherry crumble with vanilla ice and there was a delicious (but not moist enough) Tres Leches cake for coffee.

Right now though, I hate food....but hey, my sister gave me a book of 1000 traditional recepies of French Cuisine......

And also, there was singing yesterday with the choir at mass and it went well! Yay! Merry Christmas everyone!

headdesk

2009-12-17T08:00:58Z

Someone just hacked my main Yahoo account and changed the pass just to get to my neopets password. *boggles*

Thank Deity that my neopets contact email is not a webmail, because getting that account back would've been a huge pain.
Also, thank Deity, that that person didn't bother getting into my alternate Hotmail account otherwise...urgh.
So, I got the account back, changed the password, added a key and am kinda annoyed. Really, just to get to my lame-ass neopets account?!

Feelin' Groovy

2009-12-13T20:28:09Z

This is the way I spent two hours on friday night and it was awesome. Two hours of relaxing trancework and nifty freekee music. It was a bit out there, but it was fun. Nice guy too, very motivated and poised, quiet dude but intense. Anam Cara.
There were 12 people in all of all kinds of backgrounds and the time just flew by. There was drumming, rattles, tibetan gong, singing bowls and what have you.

I've always been interested in this kind of stuff but I never went outside to experience it, now that I've finally gained some (mental) balance, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and do stuff. Yay!
There's a women's Moonlodge happening too, 12 menstral women talking Goddess...this I want to experience.

Warning

2009-12-08T09:27:04Z

Lolcats calm me down. Maybe.
I found out something pretty disappointing yesterday about my parents and i'm not happy about it. Not in the least because they we're guilt-tripping me about a situation they're in no hurry to change even though my decisions were completely based on them changing it.
So, I'm pretty pissed at them right now.

Thingies and stuff

2009-12-05T13:21:15Z

Eating out two evenings in a row ...phew.
Thursday was cooking demonstration at the local WI-type organisation. It was a nice meal, an entrée of mackerel with orange and vinaigrette, then a kohlrabi soup - which I will be copying for christmas- followed by braised beef with witlof, oignon gravy and potato and parsnip puree (which I will also be stealing). For dessert there was a banana pancake (meh) with vanilla icecream and caramellised pineapple. Yum.
I only got home arounf 11 pm though, so it was a looong night with much gabbing and giggling.

Yesterday, dinner at one of our colleagues' vietnamese restaurant. The food was outstanding and the owner makes a mean cocktail - the Long Island Ice Tea was to die for. Unfortunately, I had to drive so I left off at one.
Dinner was delicious, fried pork dumplings, duck Pho and stratciatella icecream. mmm-MMM!
Again, lots of giggling and gabbing, great times.

The router install did not work though - sigh - so I'll have to ask bro-in-law to do it.

In the mean time, I just discovered the existence of FedCon, a german sci-fi convention taking place in May whose guest list includes James Marsters, David Hewlett!!! and Gareth David-Lloyd so you can bet your sweet patootie that I'm SO going! Yay!

Hey, so life is getting interesting. Fingers crossed for a good 2010 :o)

2010 may be looking better

2009-12-01T09:07:47Z

Still no house yet, but I'm not going to let it bring me down. too much.
2010 will start (well in february) with a week in Dublin with a friend. I've never been to Ireland but it looks great! Pubs! yay!
Must buy travel guide.

I also may be taking a longer trip later in the year (if I can afford it) - possibly Laos-Cambodia but we'll see.

In the mean time, I have to install a new Router this weekend. My old one had decided to crap out on me and refuses any large download. The second I start up eMule for example, I lose my internet connection. It's also impossible to set up a secure connection with the damn thing and I'm sick of my neighbours surfing along. So, I bought a Linksys something or other which had generally ok reviews on Amazon (com, co.uk and fr). I have no hope of beign able to install the damn thing and WAP/WEP/what the connection but I have a brother-in-law to call on in case of need.
Yay!

BRB, need a nap

2009-11-20T10:55:39Z

The cake is a lie

2009-11-16T08:54:56Z

This is an evil evil game.

Now I want the achievements. And an X-Box360 so I can play the other levels.

Supernatural Ficlet: 066. Anger

2009-10-21T06:35:38Z

Supernatural Ficlet: 066. Anger
Pairings/Characters: Sam/Dean implied
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Do not own, no money made
Comments: Early season 1 – pre Shadows

Slash100 Prompts, table is here http://darknyss.livejournal.com/4228.html.

Except for the monomaniacal thought of ‘Find Dad’, he’s empty inside.

No, he’s burned up like a tree struck by lightning, hollowed out, blackened and dead. There’s nothing left of him except hopelessly burning rage.

He knows Dean wants to save him with the hunt and himself, but he knows the hunt will destroy him – begs for it – and Dean…all that love and he can’t have it.

He hurts Dean but he can’t give his brother what he so yearns for because he can’t feel anything but hate and despair; he doesn’t want to feel and he doesn’t want Dean’s love because it feels too much of a betrayal of Jess.

People who love him die. If he lost Dean now, nothing would keep him from going out in the darkness, unarmed and howling.

He can still feel her blood on his face; he doesn’t want to feel Dean’s.

No, it’s much better to hate and despair and Find Dad until his rage devours him.

Interesting essay on slash fic

2009-10-20T15:40:03Z

The Female Gaze and Male Gays
Exploring Slash Fanfiction in Online Communities and Feminist Contexts

I still can't get over the fact how 'accepted' and 'normal' slash has become. Back when I stumbled on the internet in 1996 (Holy Hell!), slash was only obtainable via locked communities and email lists that requiered an age-statement at the minimum.
Many writers even used different pseudonyms when writing slash; it was a very closed community that really feared exposure.

Oh, how times have changed.

I think that early fear of persecution is why I still blush when slash is 'exposed' to RL and why Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edward Wright monkeying about on Twitter over Hot Fuzz slashfic makes me both Lol and cringe.

Our house...

2009-10-19T16:24:59Z

As I thought, the house was a dump. Well...a dump-in-becoming. It defenitely has the groundwork for a fun home, but it needs an investment in time and money that I don't posses.

Oh well, got another visit wednesday, a slightly more expensive house, a bit less work but no garden just a terrace.
As it's a bit farther from Brussels than I planned, the parents are already panicking that I'm gonna isolate myself there, but I just want to be out of the city, the stink and the traffic.

Oh well; we'll see.

(keep your fingers crossed)

Be vewy vewy quit, I'm hunting howses

2009-10-16T11:37:28Z

Off to see a man about a house tomorrow. Going from the pictures, it looks ok; it defenitely needs a lot of work, but seems habitable, which is the important thing and it has a small garden .
I don't mind renovating a house as long as I can do it room per room and live in it at the same time. I think it'll need work on the gutters and I know it needs a completely refurbished kitchen to start with.
I hope the electricity, heating and roof are ok and that there is no humidity/rot.

The price is largely within my (very small) budget but it's a bit farther from Brussels than I'd hoped - which ofcourse could explain the price.

Or you know, it could be a dump.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Bizarreness

2009-10-14T12:32:05Z

I just read a 13-page message board bitch fight on wether or not honeybees use a dance language to communicate with other bees about direction and distance to a new foraged food source.

As usual, the (excellently awesome) forumites are quite adept at slapping down the raving lunacy of DL-opponent Ruth Rosin which is a joy to see.

Oh, James Randi Forum, how I love you, you teach me so much and ask nothing in exchange.
Dammit, the next TAM London I will be there!

Baby Love

2009-10-14T08:05:01Z

So, my sister went in for her prenatal tests, echo and amnio (as she's 39) and everything seems to be just fine. And, as the technician saw nothing dangling during the echo, it's A GIRL!
W00t!!
Two boys and a girl, perfect combo.

Bumper-Buddies!

2009-09-29T11:22:23Z

So, recently, I've been going to work really early, so I can leave early so I can perhaps find a somewhat decent parking spot in the vicinity of my overcrowded street.
Apparantly, the spot I got yesterday was sooooo good, two other cars wanted to merge with my car. As this is against the laws of physics, they just locked me in by parking bumper to bumper with me.
Bastards.

So, now I can't move my car and I'm waiting for the cops.

Sigh.

Merlin: episode 2.2: The Once and Future Queen

2009-09-28T07:33:45Z

If it isn't one show breaking my heart, it's my guilty pleasure Happy-Time Show o' Fun pissing me off. What's with the writers this season? Are they so bound and determined to make all viewers suffer? Do we need another strike before we get fun stuff again?

Sigh.

I'l go rewatch the first season again and read fic, tons of fic.

Well...if I ever get my intrawebz back at home. A WHOLE WEEKEND WITHOUT INTERNET!!!!! I suffered!

SPN: 05.03 Free to Be You and Me

2009-09-25T09:28:25Z

I wish this show was over so it'd stop breaking my heart.

I miss my S1/S2 boys.

I have no hope left that this will end well, the only thing I have hope for is that there will be no sixth season.

Inglorious Basterds

2009-09-21T07:47:22Z

I don't think I liked this film. I don't even think I enjoyed it. Sure, it was decently-written, had some great scenes and funny moments and interesting characters but it was disturbing; not necessarily because of the violence, hell, any horror movie like Final Destination will be more explicit and gross but with the presentation of the characters.
I assume Tarantino did it on purpose, but it still pushes my 'uncomfortable' button

Let’s look, at the heroes, who, perhaps except for Shoshanna, are all dumb.

It’s good they had an Austrian and a German in their team, because their stealth and fitting-in thing sucks and also, their plans are stupid.

Lastly, they’re assholes. Yes, yes, they’re all pretty hot guys but that doesn’t excuse anything.
I cannot excuse the beating scene with Eli Roth’s character – the Bear Jew.

The land army of the Wehrmacht were unlikely to be Nazis and were often even critical of the political structure in Germany. Basically, they were conscripted runts with no choice whatsoever.

Also, POW. Prisoner of War.

I don’t like saying this but Basterds scalping and slaughtering German soldiers = Taliban beheading American soldiers.

It was neither glorious nor cool and in the real world would’ve led to retaliatory actions from the Germans against their POW and the local population.

WTF heroes?!

Also, Tarantino’s treatment of Col. Landa and in lesser amount the Gestapo officer bothers me. Here we have two highly intelligent men, who speak multiple languages (all at least three), are extremely observant and rival Sherlock Holmes in detecting skills. Real Renaissance men. Except for the fact that they are Nazis (and the jury is undecided in how much Landa gives a fuck about Nazism), they’d make good heroes. The time we spent with Landa alone, seems as if Tarantino was almost creaming himself over this character.

It’s not even as if he wants to show us that the Nazis were humans too, it felt to me as if he was showing us that yes, the Nazis are übermensch; just look at how suave, intelligent and fascinating they are. You know – except for the mass-murdering thing.

Lastly, I’m sure the final scenes in the theatre will have many uneducated idiots bleating on the web about conspiracies, truth and sheeple.

No, I don't think I liked this film at all.

My Holiday...

2009-09-16T19:34:48Z

Verdun: Fort de Vaux and the obus scars still visible almost 100 years after WWI

Verdun: Fort Douamont and the memorial to the 670 german soldiers who were killed when the ammunition depot exploded during the bombardments. They were left where they were and the chamber where they died was sealed up - behind the cross.

Moving on to the Alsace and the Lac Blanc. Gorgeous weather from here on.

Familiar signs

Pretty villages

The snow-covered Alps in the far distance.

My favourite bird.

More pics once I upload them to the scrapbook.
Anyway, it was nice, relaxing and sunny.

Now, it's rainy, stressfull and worky. Blah.

17 days till holiday, I needz it

2009-08-17T08:43:06Z

Bastet protect us.

2009-08-13T07:50:52Z

My sister came by yesterday and she told us her fantastic story of night-terror/sleepwalking she had while on holiday. Apparantly, she dreamt she was locked in a cave and was tearing at the walls to get to her kids and husand and ofcourse when her screams woke up said husband, he discovered her standing on the bed and scratching at the walls.
My sister, ladies and gentlemen.

Me: You should take a sleeping aid, you know it gets worse when you're stressed.
Sister: It was also really bad when I was pregnant.
Me: You have something to tell us?
Sister: Actually, yes, I do. I'm nine weeks along.
Me + parents: .......
Me: Wooo!
Parents: We need a drink.

So, if all goes well, I'll be an aunt again in March. Yay. I hope it's a girl this time, but mostly I hope the baby is healthy. My sister is 38 and the risks are higher at that age ofcourse.
Also, by the time my sister gets through the bay stuff again, maybe...just maybe....I can borrow it. With a little luck (okay, a LOT of luck), we'll have babies only a year apart. W00t.

Harry Potter

2009-08-04T07:49:43Z

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is a disturbing movie.

All those little kids grew up niiiiice. *feels lechereous*

Ahem. it's an okay movie. The ending was disappointing, but as I had read the spoilers, I wasn't that put out but it was annoying anyway. It did make me want to read the book again, but it'll have to wait until I get through my Tad Williams 'Otherland' series - 2.5 doorstoppers to go!

One more month until I get myself to France on holiday. I am counting the days.

Nucular

2009-07-22T08:34:56Z

I've been off my thyroid meds for a week now and I'm so damn tired again. Tomorrow I go for the radioactive pill that will hopefully destroy my thyroid once and for all so I'll be done with this shit.
The fun part is that I'll be at home for a week as I can't keep irradiating my collagues; the bad thing is that I can't be closer than two meters for more than 15 minutes to anything living, including my cats! So, basically, I'll be a leper for a week until I no longer glow in the dark.
Sigh. *giggle* Sigh.

Oh well, another week of rest and tv and internet and books and I'm not really seeing the downside to this.

Oh yes...that.

Well-deserved

2009-07-03T09:15:14Z

See you in a week...

Swamp

2009-06-24T06:33:09Z

Hey, so I don't have cancer. yay!
The scintigraphy and echo showed a nice pretty (big) black thyroid, no white spaces at all which means no nodules or tumors, just an overactive gland. Yay!
It's not big enough to operate on and as I may perhaps, possibly be planning to conceivably euh...conceive, a 12-18 month treatment plan with a 50% chance of succes is not what I'm looking for. So I'll be going for the radioactive solution and swallow the radioiodine pill after which I'll be setting off Geiger counters for a couple of days. Hee!
It should destroy the majority of my thyroid - with a risk I'll fall into the easily-treatable hypothyroidism - in a few weeks.
We'll see.

In the mean time, the insurance thing with my car is starting to look like a vast morass of crap. Will keep you updated. Sigh.