The Farmstead

The weather has resolved from scorching into a rather perfect (if elusive) British summertime, where it isn't so hot you feel uncomfortable just sitting in a room without air conditioning, but you can wear a t-shirt and jeans and have the windows open and just generally enjoy a light breeze the whole time. Well done, weather.

In less good news, my monitor decided it didn't want to receive an HDMI signal anymore, so I'm currently on my telly (which is a bit rubbish at rendering text and far too bright), until HP send me a replacement next week. Although I'm not sure that's not going to fail in three months time either, but I live in hope.

In other news entirely, I wrote some fic for the first time in ages. After a run-in at a nightclub, Buffy laments getting old...

Running Up that Hill.

Oh, and I seem to be getting into coconut water?

As I polish off my bowl of boeuf bourguignon soup (bogwitch will be pleased to note that Housemate and I have defected from Asda to Sainsbury's online shopping, generally to escape the permarain and the inability to bring back more than 4-8 loo rolls at a time on our bikes), it strikes me that foreign cuisine has only really made it in the UK these days once it's been successfully turned into a type of sandwich, crisps and/or soup. Where would we be without the wraps of the world (currently discovering: chipotle'n'chicken), the ubiquitous Thai sweet chilli crisp (and my current favourite thing of Warburton's naan chips) and the supermarkets' competition with Covent Garden and Glorious! soups to make the bestest flavour? I fear we are all taste-hounds who can't be arsed to cook. I blame Rick Stein.

It is my birthday! It is also magnificently sunny, which is a strange phenomenon indeed. Thanks everyone for the good wishes and green_maia for the virtual gift!!

I didn't have a very exciting morning, because I had an appointment at the hospital about what will be my new hearing aids, which we did all the testing and calibrating for. I held my nerve and asked about the exciting transparent dark blue ones I'd seen on the internet, but they only had beige in, so they're going to have to send them to me when they've ordered some and programmed them up. But! I had the test ones on for a little while and they seemed to do enough to make me think I'm not wasting everyone's time about wanting to try them, though apparently it's going to take getting used to them before the world stops sounding like a bathroom. I hope they'll be OK; with both them and my glasses round my ears I felt remarkably cyborg-like, but you can't really see the tubes in my ear.

Because I am a creature of routine, I then went into the library, but thankfully found a few of friends at lunchtime with the presence of mind to tell me I should fuck off and go shopping. Also that there was more than enough time to rally at least the lit. people together for a drink this evening, so we will be off for Nando's and cocktails later! I really wanted to organise something with all the various disparate groups of friends I have, but I didn't get my act together at all... But I did have pizza with some other people last night, and was presented with four bottles of Jelly Belly soda (!!!! - Cyber Candy FTW)! Haven't tried them yet, but am looking forward to it. Maybe I should have one when I've finished my Coke...

I also had some cash from my family, so I did indeed fuck off for the afternoon and go shopping. The only problem is that, with the weather as it is, I'm feeling remarkably lacking in anything remotely spring like or slouchy-cool. This is partly because the two vaguely slouchy-cool tops I own need a wash and I'm stuck otherwise with tight t-shirts (all of which are getting really old). I didn't really solve this problem, but I did buy the palest jumper I've owned in a long time/ever(?). I also found a Whistles slouchy jumper dress reduced to £35 in John Lewis, which was a bit of a result. It's not really spring like in any respect, but it is burgundy and 100% merino wool, so I don't see how this can be in any way bad. It needs some leggings and boots, but then it will be joy!

I've had a really nice day today, for several reasons. It started with snickfic leaving some massively juicy feedback on As Good as a Rest, which I hope she won't mind me linking to over here, as part of the More Feedback Week she's running. I don't know if Snick's up for debate or anything, but I do want to take the opportunity to say that if you ever want to talk to me about thematic stuff in my fic, you can do it any time of ever. I overthink most stuff I write, so I'll always have something to say back!

Otherwise, I spent the day actually reading the text that I'm working on (believe it or not, this rarely happens) trying to make sense of how I was going to talk about it in relation to all the other reading I've been doing, and actually managed to develop some ideas. All preliminary stuff, natch, because we're only halfway through term, but I now have a notebook page with sections and passage references and questions to be answered. This is not the level of achievement I usually expect to perceive!

Also went out for a lovely meal with friends (only slightly scuppered by my high-waisted skirt and remarkably poor digestive system, which for some reason turned a cheesy pizza into enough pain that I felt nauseous for the whole journey home and a little while afterwards, but let's ignore that).

And then I watched this interesting slideshow on the BBC website about the history of British housing. For some reason I'm often drawn to documentaries about housing, so I knew quite a lot of what was covered, but I still thought it was interesting.

So there you go. It's rare that I look back on a day and really think 'well, that was pleasant, wasn't it?', so I thought it deserved a post.

ETA: Although, also, side note, just because it appeared above my post on my DW reading page and I think it's probably my turn to mention it, but - Mark Watches? Are we all agreed he's basically given up anything even vaguely resembling review-writing now? I think I might have to keep reading just to see how the heck he manages to spin this out for another four seasons of material, but, otherwise, yeesh.

Have decided this proves I am an adult: the snow has come, and all I can think about is that it's going to make it really hard to get to the library on Monday.

Also I'm out of all food that isn't pie. And Coke! I'm out of Coke! I meant to go to Asda today, but I was playing FFXIII and then I was cleaning... Thankfully Housemate is still excited enough by snow to be willing to adventure out with me. Of course, the Saturday crowd means there probably isn't going to be everything I want left, but hopefully there'll be non-pie food and some flapjack ingredients. And Coke.

I love Nigel Kennedy!!! (It's all about following a long, sombre partita with a swing version of an air called Das Pendel.)

[ETA: The video is no more, but it's on Radio 3 here for the moment: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b018hbkk]

In other iPlayer news - baking + baking history + baking science + reality-style competition + charming reality bods + Sue Perkins? Why did no one tell me The Great British Bake Off existed???

I couldn't be bothered to type, but my WiFi couldn't cope with being useful for enough time to upload a whole ramble, so here I am in selected tracks. And we've got a video! /Young Ones

Me on Clermont-Ferrand (and Subway).
Me on the course (and the video - see below).
Me on where I'm living (and the availability of Tyrell's Crisps).
Some fandomy sort of stuff (and the Jardin Lecoq...).

Video! As I say, sad but catchy.



(Please do still listen and talk to meeeeeee...!!)

1. Why does Sainsbury's use milk in their flapjacks? It's sickly and completely unnecessary.
2. Why am I so sensitive to the taste of milk in sweet things? This is like when college ruined baklava by lacing the whole lot with cream.
3. Why are ablative absolutes so inelegant in English? I don't think I should be penalised in a classics essay for clearly having read too much stuff that uses them.
4. Why doesn't anyone like gerunds? They only want to be free...

I was feeling Coke-deprived, and generally out of things to do before Being Human, so I pootled along to the Co-Op, the only shop open on a Sunday night, to buy some Coke (and bread and cake and squash), spent £3.75 on six cans (ie. waaaaay over the odds), came home and dumped my hoard on my bed. Then I checked my emails for a little bit, before returning to the bag to put things away - only to find that I'd managed (somehow) to burst an infinitesimal hole into the side of one of the cans and half of it had leaked everywhere. So now I only have five cans of Coke, about 200ml of flat Coke-flavoured liquid in a glass and a big stain on my quilt, the cover of which I only just cleaned the other day!

I feel like I'm being punished for not bothering to go to Sainsbury's this afternoon like I should have done...

People may or may not remember when I commented back in April that my mum's souvenir, when we went to Berlin, was a set of Ampelmännchen pastry cutters... Neither of us were entirely sure when they were going to get used, but today their time came!!

( Proud Biscuit-Mum photos under cut... )

And they're very tasty too. Not that they're making me hyper, no no no.

AMPELMÄNNCHEN!!