Atropa Belladonna~ Raven (a.k.a. Nightshade)'s Weblog ~
These are the ARCHIVES of October 2007. For more archives, visit the Archives page. For the current Weblog entries, check the Main page.
Atropa Belladonna| Tues, Oct 2, 2007 (2:55pm) I went shopping today (1st Tuesday of the month is 10% off groceries at Sobeys!) and it took me a lot longer than normal. Not because of the usual Tuesday crowds - I'm used to that - but because I wasn't buying my usual groceries. Well, to be fair, most of the groceries were the usual ones, like bread, and chicken soup, and lactose-free margerine (doesn't everyone stock up on lactose-free margerine every month?) But this month, I decided I'd be doing some experimental cooking. So I was wandering the store, looking for things like pork medallions and creme fraiche and marinated artichoke hearts. I bought wheat duram, and semolina and asparagus. It really slows you down, having to ask the shelf-stocker-dudes (I like to call them "stalkers" but some of them don't take well to the term, alas) where things are, and then to come and show you, because you have no idea what it would look like, even if you found it. But I am now prepared to do some culinary experimentation. I want to learn to cook orange-brandy glazed pork medallions, and garlic chicken with artichoke hearts, and my favorite Italian Wedding soup.... and all kinds of tasty things which I've eaten in restaurants, but they refused to let me take the chef home with me in a doggy bag. Which is a pity, because some of the chefs were even kinda cute. And the food was really delicious, which is the important part, of course. At one point in my life, I would have been quite scared to try cooking restaurant-style food at home, because it would never turn out quite as good as the real thing. But there's something I've discovered... that even if the food you make at home isn't quite as good, after you've made it a few times, you can start tweaking the recipe, and sometimes come up with one which is different, but possibly better, than the original. I can now do a killer Creme Brulee and an incredibly delicious Butter Chicken and am working up to a deliciously aromatic Beef Korma. If I ever figure out how to make gluten-free crepes, I may have to start experimenting with recipes from my favorite French restaurant. So, that's what I'm up to lately: trying to put some meat on my bones. |
| Comments added on Wed, Oct 3, 2007 (12:55pm) Yay! I got comments! (I was worried that only a couple people would be reading my weblog after that month's absence... but I've got at least 5 readers, still!) Thanks for your replies. Sorry I didn't post all of them - some were effectively duplicates (Yay for multiple Creme Fraiche recipies!) and some I replied to in person. From Bregon Here is a creme fraiche recipie. I've never seen any for sale at the store either, but this is simple enough to make (Provided your children don't get into it while it's left out.)I also got the following from Shani, on how to make gluten-free crepes. -1 cup brown rice flourIt occured to me after posting that I might also be able to use our Kinnikkinik gluten-free pancake/waffle batter to make crepes. I may have to experiment and see which works best. |
| Wed, Oct 3, 2007 (12:55pm) Trouble recently posted on her weblog (Oct 2 '07) about a book called Uppity Women of Medieval Times and it sounds cool. I think I want to buy myself a copy for my birthday. And since we're talking about my Birthday, it must be October, right? And October is Breast Cancer Awareness month! Last year I turned my weblog pink for the month, to celebrate. I haven't decided for sure if I'm going to do that again (it was pink after all!) but I might. What I will do, however, is to remind you that breasts are wonderful (especially if they're not your own!) and you should encourage your lover/sister/best friend/cousin/aunt/niece/self to practice regular Breast Self Examination.* (*This message brought to you by the Foundation for Fabulous Fondling.) In other news, I posted comments which readers sent me after my last entry (see below). Thanks for your recipes! |
| Thurs, Oct 4, 2007 (2:05pm) Yesterday, I decided to attempt sewing with a pattern. This may surprise a few of the people who know that I sew (a lot), but I have never sewn from a pattern before. Okay - there was that incident with the bridesmaid dress where my Mom had to hold my hand through the entire procedure, and then pretty much re-sew everything when it was done... and the disastrous attempts in Home Ec class... but I've mostly blocked those from my memory. What I use when I sew is more of a 'template' to cut out panels for cloaks, or to get the sizing right on a large tunic. Other stuff I just free-hand. Medieval clothes are very forgiving when it comes to 'just winging it'. What I wanted to do, though, wasn't medieval garb. Jasen loves pretending he's a kitty, and I wanted to make him a kitten-style jumpsuit for Hallowe'en. A quick search of my fabric hoard revealed that I had some very nice snow leopard fake fur (not heavy fur, but a soft short pile. Almost like a suede) and I figured there was enough to make into a costume... if only I had a pattern. So I went to Fabricland, and looked through their pattern books, and found a toddler tiger-costume in the Simplicity section. It was even labelled "Sewing for Dummies" so I figured it couldn't be that hard, right? Well, the 'for Dummies' pattern was quite useful in that it explained a lot of terms which were a mystery to me in previous sewing attempts. It tried to use very simple language, and provide lots of illustrations. Even so, I was on the phone to Lady Myke twice, asking for clarification. But the project is mostly done now, and I think it's looking pretty much like it's supposed to. (I'm still sewing the hood, and have decided to abandon the matching booties because Jase will be wearing shoes outside.) If you want to see the work-in-progress, here's a link: snow leopard in progress. Also, since I want to show off pics but still haven't got Photoshop working, I'll pass out this link to a directory full of pics taken in September. It's all family stuff (kids around the house, outdoors for a walk, climbing trees, etc.) and none of it has been re-sized or color-corrected) so nothing which you should feel obligated to look at... but if you're wondering how the kids are doing, or looking for photographic proof that I do still have a husband, feel free to click away. |
| Wed, Oct 10, 2007 (2:05pm) Life is good. I just spent the last half hour chasing the up-and-coming Superhero, NakedBoy around the house, in my secret identity as the SuperVillian Clothes ENFORCER Mom! Everytime I caught up with him, and used my nefarious power of sneak-attack-tickle on him, he responded with lethal doses of BellyLaughter (the one sound which the EnforcerMom can not bear to hear) and he would escape my clutches, only to continue running around the house, shrieking, "Naked Boy!!!" at the top of his lungs. Before people think that this has degenerated to another Mommy blog entry, I just wanted people to know that I had a fabulous week... perhaps too fabulous to post the details of here, in public viewing. If I were to make a post about my past week, it would include things like a poker game, wherein the bets were shows of physical prowess, including back-bridges, hands-free cartwheels, and the juggling of machetes. It might be about holding a very sharp blade against the neck of a very good looking man. It might, were it not a breach of confidentiality, be about the fun times(!) had at our medical clinic on the Thanksgiving weekend (which involved a lot of sutures). It could possibly be about an Evil Task-Mistress, and hottubs, and cheese on fire. But I wouldn't want people to think that my life is exciting, or anything. Hope you had a lovely week, and many things to be thankful about in the last year. |
| Wed, Oct 17, 2007 (3:05pm) Yesterday I had dinner with a True Dungeon friend. He's from Montreal, but is working in Fort McMurray, and he flies back and forth (Living at Camp for x days, and then back home for x days). Yesterday he had a 6+ hr layover at Edmonton International Airport, so I met him there and took him into Edmonton in search of proper food. We ended up at West Edmonton Mall, and ate at the Tony Roma's there. Ymmm, good ribs. Good company, too - he told me a bit about his wife (she's a photographer) and how he learned English (French gaming books cost about $20 more than English ones) and what life is like at the housing camps in Ft. Mc. It was a pleasant way to spend the evening, and I'm looking forward to seeing him again before the next True Dungeon. |
| Thurs, Oct 18, 2007 (3:55pm) You know what's cool? Teaching kids about fun science tricks, like water pressure and siphons. For example, did you know you can use a bubble-fish straw (looks like a drinking straw but the bottom is bent upwards and into the shape of a fish, so you can blow bubbles out of the fish's mouth) and a large plastic mug, to create a small siphon-powered waterfall in the bath? Well, neither did I. At least, not until I saw Jasen constructing such a device in the tub. 'Cuz you know what's extra cool? When your kids discover cool science tricks on their own, and then show you! Click here for (large) pic. (Oh, and if you are into adorable cuteness, check out our little snow leopard kitten on the computer!) |
| Mon, Oct 22, 2007 (9:40am) A friend of mine recently wrote on her weblog, "I've been one of those terrible, horrible people who don't update their blogs for months. I'm sorry. I have no good excuse except that my brain hasn't been here. Its been elsewhere." and 'elsewhere' is a link to FaceBook. I can't complain. Except, maybe, to say that Facebook is a perfectly good excuse, so not to feel bad about it. After all, I spend more time on FaceBook lately, than reading (or updating) weblogs. Several of my friends do. And relatives, too (waves Hi to K and Imoto-chan.) It's a perfectly valid social outlet for those of use who are challenged by time or distance, and can't hang out with the people we'd like to. In fact, in many ways, it is more social and more connecting than maintaining a weblog. So, I think I'm going to cull my links again, and remove some of the weblogs where I know the writer is active on FaceBook. I'm not doing this to slight anyone, or imply they aren't my friends. I think, though, that some of these are likely to be shut down soon anyways, and by removing the link, it'll release the writer from the burden of feeling that they need to post there, just to amuse me. (C'mon - I know you all live to amuse me! Mwhahahaha... er. oops. Said the quiet part loud again. Drat.) Should any of the following people be planning to post soon (just to amuse me, of course) or feel a burning desire to become active bloggers again, please let me know and I won't cull your links just yet... Official TeamDK Blog Pixie Girl RedNecked Rabbit Life is Not Purgatory Anna OverSeas (But I'm keeping Trouble's LJ) |
| Comments added Wed, Oct 24, 2007 (11:30am) Wally made this public comment: Comments : Death to Facebook! The congealing mass that leeches individual creativity and the wide-open free-ranging of the True InterTubeWebNets! We Brought down COmpuServe, Humbled Prodigy, buried AOL in a pyramiding tomb of 5" circular polycarbonate, have we done all this to succumb to the opiate of the insular? Maybe he's got a point. I'd like to encourage people to write to their weblogs. Facebook isn't everything. BUT - I see more friends more often on Facebook, than I do reading weblogs. And it's not like certain pinnipeds I know maintain a weblog. Maybe if they did, I'd give their opinion more weight. On that note, someone who does maintian a weblog would like me not to remove theirs, so Anna Overseas will remain linked. Apparently, there'll even be entries added to it, when she gets back to Perth. Yay! |
| More Comments added Oct 26, 2007 (11:40am) Jode made this public comment: Comments : I don't get it. Why does FB have to preclude blogging? It has a built-in blog feature called 'Notes', and if you already 'maintain' a blog, you can set it up to feed into your notes directly. So FB away! Blog away! Just don't get caught up in the endless stream of useless apps like so many people do. Yah, I have added a few dumb ones, but that's mostly to humor those of my friends who enjoy turning people into zombies, or adding flowers to a garden. I don't tend to spend any time 'playing' with those apps. Excellent point, Imoto-chan! Although I haven't noticed many people using the 'Notes' function to post weblog entries, it would be possible to use it as such. I guess the main thing is that weblogs are visible to anyone who has a computer, but for FaceBook, you actually need to have an account, and not everyone wants to take that step. Well... to each his, her, or its, own. |
| Wed, Oct 24, 2007 (11:40am) I am happy. Our Monday night gaming group (which played 7th Sea) has decided to take a break from that particular campaign for a while. It's unfortunate on one hand, because I really enjoyed the group, and some of the sessions were remarkably fun. On the other hand, the sessions lately have been derailing a lot. We like getting together to hang out as friends, but the game has really lost its steam (due to organizer burn out, players moving away, players working early the next am, etc.) Our DM would like to conclude the chronicle, but for that he needs a key player to return for a short while, and that won't happen until after a baby is born. So, in the mean time, we've decided to play something else. And that 'something else' is Tierel. Tierel is a free-form game system which my very best friend and I developed when we were still in school together. Like... High School. Maybe even Junior High (it goes that far back.) The world/universe has been growing and developing for decades, far beyond the scope of the little medieval planet we started on (which was named 'Tierel'... hence the name of the game) and now includes worlds and galaxies and dimensions on an Amber-esque scale. It's not a stunningly great system (most free-form systems have a lot of flaws) but it's got great characters, and I can DM it on the fly, and have a blast doing it. So, we did character and world creation last Monday, and we are playing a space-opera style adventure, set (for the moment) in the Vorkosigan universe, based on the books by Lois McMaster Bujold. I am looking forward to gaming next Monday. It's gonna be fun. (Also, comments added to Monday's entry. See below.) |
| Fri, Oct 26, 2007 (11:40am) October Melancholy I've been very tired lately. I thought it was because my body was getting over that nasty bug, or because of all the running around with kids and swimming lessons, and stuff. Or maybe I haven't been sleeping well - I'm still exhausted in the morning. That might be because of the changing light, tho - I hate getting up when it's still dark, and it makes me feel tired even when I'm not. Or maybe it's because the weather is getting cold, and I'm not looking forward to facing the freezing outdoors. Or maybe I'm iron deficient. Any which way, I'm tired, and don't have the energy I need to get through the day, and that makes me grumpy, and sad, and bordering on depressed. But it occured to me last night that there's a perfectly simple explanation for this: it's October. I do this every year. It just kinda snuck up on me, this time. The allergens in the air (from all the dead leaves blowing around) make it harder for me to breathe. It's not as bad as a full-blown asthma attack, but it means I have just a little less energy to get thru the day. Factor in the changing light levels, and the cooler temperatures, and I'm prone to bouts of seasonal depression in the Fall. Not bad stuff, especially if I can recognize what it is, and I know it'll pass. More like seasonal melancholy. Perhaps I just need to give myself a little bit more slack for the next couple weeks. Don't force myself to keep up with all the housekeeping which I usually do. Go to bed earlier. Try not to make plans to hang out with friends after 10pm (I'm just too tired to drive safely). Don't get angry when supper plans go awry. Only take on projects which make me happy to work on. Focus on the positive, and just let the negative slide. ...At least, until we get into winter proper and snow overs up the dead leaves and cleanses the air. So, I shall take a page out of Lady Myke's book, and list some good things for Positive Reinforcement:
Well, I'm going to see this fabulous fort which the kids built in Connor's room. I hear there's a bed in it. Maybe if I'm lucky, we can play the Sleeping Ogre game. BTW - more comments added to Mon, Oct 22'07 |
| Mon, Oct 29, 2007 (9:50am) Things that I
Things that I Like:
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| Wed, Oct 31, 2007 (1:10pm) Bloody Renaissance Gown! I was up past 1 am last night working on it, nad I've spent all morning on it. Now I've got Jase home from school, and it's really close to completion, but i don't know if i can actually get it done in the next 5 hours. Especially because i have to pick up the other kids from school in less than But I'm *this* close to finishing it! I just need to sew on the sleeves and the last bit of braided cord! Arg! What am I doing on the computerwhen I could be sewing!?! |
| Wed, Oct 31, 2007 (5:30pm) YAY! It's done! (and there was great rejoicing!) Okay, there's a few places I want to fix up a bit, and one part I want to redo completely, but it's done. It's wearable. And it even looks similar to the picture on the front of the pattern. Thank goodness for husbands who come home from work early, and agree to make supper & watch the kids to frantic sewing can be done. Pics may be posted in the near future. Lady Myke is coming over with her kids and we're taking them all out Trick or Treating together, so I hope to snap a few shots before our costumes succumb to the wear & tear of travel between houses. At least there's no snow on the ground this year! |
