PL3A53 R3B00+

So it's four days to Maelstrom and I'm in the process of working down my Maelstrom to do list. I had sixteen items on my list when I first wrote it. And I've four evenings in which to get things done.

So what have I managed so far? Well, I'm currently in the process of cleaning the living room. Why is that LARP related I hear you ask. There is nothing like coming back from a larp to a clean house and the knowledge that we only need to put the larp kit away and then relax...or sleep which is more likely.

I've also found my cloak that I forgot last time. As the likely weather is going to be rain I'm thinking I might need the cloak to keep warm as we won't be able to have as much open flame.

And lastly I've prepared and frozen what I will be cooking for us all on Friday night. All pre-chopped and pre-seasoned so that all that needs to be done on Friday is put the firepit together, get the coals lit and stirfry it all. Fast camping food mmmm...I'll be prechopping some veg on Thursday to save time while on site as well. Lets see if I can't do better food wise than last time ;)

I went home to my mum's this weekend for a roast dinner, or rather Two roast dinners.

When the cat's away the even bigger cat will play. ;) With the house to herself my mum was taking full opportunity to have a meat fest. We had roast leg of lamb on Saturday and a chicken brick on Sunday. All very lovely.

To offset this my mum said we would go for a walk and she'd supply the entertainment...a black labrador puppy called Tom. I was warned that he was a bit enthusiastic and tended to jump up if you weren't careful. At the beginning of the walk things went well, with mum teaching Tom to walk at her heel. However partway up the hill we got the chance to really say hello to him. And I ended up getting a dog to the ribs. I immediately forced him off me and told him to sit. It was with a rather pained "good boy" that I thanked him for listening to me. Ah dog training always fun.
The walk was lovely, if a little wet and I felt horribly unfit as my throat went sore and we had lovingly forgotten to bring a drink. By the end of it I was back to my normal capable self but my trainers were a little soggy.

On the Sunday, with rain hindering a repeat of the walk as I had no rain clothes or drier shoes, mum decided to take advantage of the prescense of free manual labour. So we started to remove a suspended cupboard from the wall. I can say that I admire Atlas (and weight lifters) for the strength of his (their) shoulder muscles. It seriously hurts to hold something above your head. Once it was off the wall it was bundled into the attic on the most riccetty metal ladder I have ever seen. At least with it off the wall already, her other half can't protest...It's too late...(note the cupboard was already empty).

Now if I had just actually had the time to do what I still needed to do then it would have been a perfect weekend...

I started a discussion with some friends of mine about making a cake look like a pirate ship with rigging and sails. By the end of it, not only had I said I would make it, I had somehow ended up promising that it would be completely edible as well. Sometimes I wish I would just keep my mouth shut.

It's a rather interesting experience walking through the supermarket looking at chocolate bars and sweets and ignoring what they are, instead focusing on what they can be. Rigging, sails, decking and railings...oh and crew. Yep, you heard me, crew.

( And sea the resultes )

Next time I promise to make something like this, someone make sure I'm getting paid for it...

So K decided she was going to watch the Grand Prix this morning at 5 o'clock. It's her prerogative to do so but did result in me waking up at the same time and then having to fall asleep again. Not a feat I am very good at. It also tends to produce strange and random dreams and this one gives the others a run for their money...

( Somehow it all made sense...I think )

We went round to friends for a Sunday roast. My v-slice was very popular making the preparation a lot faster than expected. I also liked the handheld food processor. My retelling of my dream was greeted with much amusement, especially when I checked Chris over for gills. We had a wonderful meal and afterwards went for a walk round the walls, past the old police house that looks like it should be in a disaster movie.

Not quite as dodgy as that first sounds I assure you ;)

On friday near the end of my overtime it became clear that the english team were sharing some of their stranger customs with the newbie (due to our move closer to the english desk I count as that). Every now and then a call would go up for the stress ball (they share one between them). Either that or a hand would shoot up in the air. The next thing you know a small orange squidgy ball flies through the air to the beleaguered analyst who is having a stressful call.
My shining moment is when they said I was welcome to join in :)

In other news this weekend I experimented a little in the kitchen as we had a cut of Tenderloin to use.

( My recipe )

I've also now officially joined my mum's 10000 step challenge having bought a pedometer to replace the one I broke. So now it's just a case of waiting to see how dedicated to my step count I can be.

Steps so far: 330 taking into count it's early and I work behind a desk that isn't too bad
EDIT(4916 in total)
Teas so far: None

Another random comment ah la midnightoak & lucian_albrecht.

My weekend was great! It should be said that despite the 2.3 hour drive (we hit traffic around manchester as it was rush hour and there had been an accident.) on the motorway (only my second time) enjoying the hospitality of midnightoak & lucian_albrecht is worth it.

( Dragon Pizza )

We spent Saturday on our feet and picked up lots of stuff. My undoing was the sale on rpg books in travelling man which resulted in me getting two Yes two books. But unfortunately no munchkin, though I was tempted, it was still full price.

Presents were easy to get and, once I remembered what I wanted, we were able to go to the chinese supermarket to get my Sweet Chilli Sauce that I got very into at Rob's party. So :P I now own my own bottle.

( Direct Viking ) <-- Now with added extra ;)

Right that's it folks other than to say that the trip to the farmers market was the best as I escaped with a lb of goat AND a really nice boneless shoulder of lamb. Yumm. And to say midnightoak was cool for letting me have her black thin leather belt on extended loan. Makes a lovely bracelet.

Tea's so far: One but I can make up for it later.

So eating out galore for me this weekend and no need to cook makes me a happy girl. Unfortunately the indigestion and pain makes me cranky. It should be noted that I in no way feel the food in question is to blame for the above as I've been hurting all weekend.

( My Weather Related News )

Now it has come to my attention that lighting a bbq is an acquired skill. Just like lighting any fire you need to know your stuff as I am well aware having been taught how to cook when in the middle of the forest. Mind you I have never lit a bbq as we usually use wood not brickets and charcoal. So being aware of my weakness I allow others to try in my place.

However this self-awareness does not seem to extend to the majority of the male population notable exceptions the two sons of a fire-fighter (Rob and Sam who left well alone) and the designated bbq handler Thom who knows his stuff.
Now the bbq wouldn't light to start with, wind and bad matches partially to blame so one bright spark decided aerosol spray was the best way to go. A few tries and some time later flames did appear but were not too prepared to stay. Thom being the excellent host he was busied himself in the kitchen and the 'men' kept themselves occupied with the grill. The rest of us sane people decided to sit and enjoy the culinary delights Thom presented in waiting for the bbq.

(On an aside note I really liked the broccoli and spinach quiche and want the recipe which will go well with my other scoop of the weekend Rob's Mum's Chocolate cake. At least the quiche is better for me.)

The bbq was not progressing well under the ministrations of the not so skilled and after a bit of haggling we finally convinced them to leave well alone when they arrived with cooking oil that they wanted to put on the fire to get it going. Unfortunately this left them with nothing to do. Not good when around fire things.

( Their failed experiment )

So Thom to the rescue when I pointed out some semblance of heat actually occurring from the grill and that we had shooed the interlopers. He worked on it a bit before returning to the kitchen where he was dutifully using the gas grill and oven in the meantime.
It was some time before the grill started to glow and by then I was the only one who had yet to eat any meat. Mainly due to lack of enthusiasm to add to my pain. However taking the opportunity I added my chicken to the grill to get that authentic smoke flavouring and waited further. For those already passed the main course marshmallows were introduced and kebab sticks brandished appearing around me as the closest person to the bbq. Deciding that such good glow couldn't be totally wasted on the mushy sweets I obtained a sausage and in true Swedish style held it over the fire using the kebab stick instead of cheating and using the grill above. Two sausages later and I was a happy bunny having fulfilled my grilling desires.

All in all the food was great and (my pain notwithstanding) it was a nice evening. Top marks to Thom for his culinary works.

Teas so far: One (yeah!) and a choco-expresso suspiciously lacking in choc hmm...

Well today was a lot more hectic than yesterday and well you now how it goes, you start one thing and leave everything else hanging.

Roleplaying went well and yes he did whoop them good, though Storm did a brilliant job of giving as good as she got taking him down by 55 hit points to a nice total of 15 before she went down for the count (the only one to do damage). Note to self: Fire mage good in a tight spot even if she was firing from 40ft up after a reverse gravity spell. Try harder next time. Subdue mage first.

Quote of the session:

"He's a bit uhm... altered." Adoni the gnome talking about demon boy
"This coming from a Gnome of unknown gender." Breeze the human
"Male!!!" Adoni sticking to her guns ;)
"Bllcks!" Breeze
"Exactly!!!" Adoni and Storm.

Noted other effect of the session is Adoni's belief (having been spirited to the ethereal plane by ghost elves when bleeding to death) that she/he is dead. Very funny as she believes she might be headed to hell for this one.

On to bigger and (hopefully) better things.

So as to great minds well midnightoak and I had the same idea of baking and both of us are making bread and have yeast to spare. I see a trend coming on. My halo is glowing at this point avoiding all the buying of store bread when I can make my own in just 1 1/2 hour with little effort. However the horns are telling me all that extra yeast will come in handy making Kanel bullar. Ah divided as usual. Fortunately the bread is already rising.

Also trying to ink a comic and plan more roleplaying mayhem they all believe stocking up on some serious hardware will help them to defeat demon boy when next they meet. Hmm will see how far I get.

Teas so far: two and one in kettle.