![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Ru Updates!
Aug. 22nd, 2010 05:42 pmGood grief, I've really been slacking off on the journaling front lately. Lots has been going on, and I've been meaning to post about it, but I just end up never getting around to it. I blame work and obsessive knitting.
But anyway, it's time for the bullet train!
--The biggest thing is that about two weeks ago I piled Eien-chan into the car and went on my first real live vacation in about three years. And it was good. It was verrry good, in fact. We went to Wilmington, NC (Have to put the NC in there, because apparently everybody, including Google, seems to think you mean Wilmington, DE if you don't specify the state), where we ran about and lounged about and I said good morning to the USS North Carolina every day. We ended up going to the aquarium at Fort Fisher, where I spent a lot of time going eee! at fish and skates and turtles and bobwhites. Sadly, the octopus exhibit was closed, which is a pity, but it was made up for with watching a box turtle attempt to dig its way out of the aquarium. I also got a chance to try out my new camera, and even recorded a couple videos! At some point I need to find some way to upload the good ones. Hmm.
And we did other things as well, including walking along the beach (I went into full beachcombing mode, where the conversation at hand is stopped with "Ooh, what's that? <3"), and eating cupcakes from a jar. Cupcakes. From a JAR. JAR CUPCAKES. <3 But yes, it was lovely and a good time was had by all.
--On the note of jars, I made jam! Not full on canned jam, sadly, as I don't have the equipment, time, nor patience for full-on jam. So instead I made my first batch of freezer jam. Freezer jam is awesome, because you completely skip the canning segment, and can store it in the freezer for up to a year. My first attempt was a blueberry jam. Taste-wise, it's really good, but consistency-wise, well. It's blueberry soup. I need to read up on how to balance the pectin with the fruit, so that I end up with something that has a little more body to it. But hey, it's a place to start!
--I've started reading the Fables series, and oh man it is lovely. Gotten through the fourth volume now. I'm sucked right into the plot and the characters and the whole nine yards. I thought there were some things in the fourth volume that were a little weak, but I'm hoping it'll pick up again.
--I've also started experimenting with cocktails. I've had a long time fascination with them (probably because between the recipes and the bottles and the ingredients involved, they're a lot like alchemy), but I've never really delved into them until now. To date I've managed to make mint juleps and pina coladas, with varying degrees of success. The mint juleps need more mint in them, which I think will be helped by having me trade up the weaker mint in the garden for the knock-you-down-and-kick-you-in-the-head mint growing out there. I really want to expand out, though, and try some other recipes. Aaaaand, if I ever get awesome enough at it, I'd love to try my hand at making my own recipes. It might be kinda fun to try and make drinks that reflect Kingdom characters (Like, I imagine an Alice cocktail would be really sweet and bubbly, and an Ian cocktail would...be nonalcoholic. Or have tequila in it that is masked by the other ingredients). More on this as it develops!
--Still knitting like a mad woman. Now that I have a bit of time on Friday nights I've started up Dalek assembly again. With any luck I'll have #5 done in a few months. <3
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but hey, if so, that's what new posts are for, right? <3
But anyway, it's time for the bullet train!
--The biggest thing is that about two weeks ago I piled Eien-chan into the car and went on my first real live vacation in about three years. And it was good. It was verrry good, in fact. We went to Wilmington, NC (Have to put the NC in there, because apparently everybody, including Google, seems to think you mean Wilmington, DE if you don't specify the state), where we ran about and lounged about and I said good morning to the USS North Carolina every day. We ended up going to the aquarium at Fort Fisher, where I spent a lot of time going eee! at fish and skates and turtles and bobwhites. Sadly, the octopus exhibit was closed, which is a pity, but it was made up for with watching a box turtle attempt to dig its way out of the aquarium. I also got a chance to try out my new camera, and even recorded a couple videos! At some point I need to find some way to upload the good ones. Hmm.
And we did other things as well, including walking along the beach (I went into full beachcombing mode, where the conversation at hand is stopped with "Ooh, what's that? <3"), and eating cupcakes from a jar. Cupcakes. From a JAR. JAR CUPCAKES. <3 But yes, it was lovely and a good time was had by all.
--On the note of jars, I made jam! Not full on canned jam, sadly, as I don't have the equipment, time, nor patience for full-on jam. So instead I made my first batch of freezer jam. Freezer jam is awesome, because you completely skip the canning segment, and can store it in the freezer for up to a year. My first attempt was a blueberry jam. Taste-wise, it's really good, but consistency-wise, well. It's blueberry soup. I need to read up on how to balance the pectin with the fruit, so that I end up with something that has a little more body to it. But hey, it's a place to start!
--I've started reading the Fables series, and oh man it is lovely. Gotten through the fourth volume now. I'm sucked right into the plot and the characters and the whole nine yards. I thought there were some things in the fourth volume that were a little weak, but I'm hoping it'll pick up again.
--I've also started experimenting with cocktails. I've had a long time fascination with them (probably because between the recipes and the bottles and the ingredients involved, they're a lot like alchemy), but I've never really delved into them until now. To date I've managed to make mint juleps and pina coladas, with varying degrees of success. The mint juleps need more mint in them, which I think will be helped by having me trade up the weaker mint in the garden for the knock-you-down-and-kick-you-in-the-head mint growing out there. I really want to expand out, though, and try some other recipes. Aaaaand, if I ever get awesome enough at it, I'd love to try my hand at making my own recipes. It might be kinda fun to try and make drinks that reflect Kingdom characters (Like, I imagine an Alice cocktail would be really sweet and bubbly, and an Ian cocktail would...be nonalcoholic. Or have tequila in it that is masked by the other ingredients). More on this as it develops!
--Still knitting like a mad woman. Now that I have a bit of time on Friday nights I've started up Dalek assembly again. With any luck I'll have #5 done in a few months. <3
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but hey, if so, that's what new posts are for, right? <3
