vital functions

[kaberett]

Reading. Max Gladstone, Four Roads Cross and Full Fathom Five. I love these less dizzyingly and wholeheartedly than I did on my first read through them, but, I think, for all the best reasons: most centrally, for me, I am no longer so utterly desperate for compassionate representation of trans people that I will cry over the celeriac at it existing at all, but also partly that I've just... learned more, in the interim. I'm a little sad about the places that feel, to me, as though they're verging on Making A Joke About Our World via the medium of Magic Instead Of Tech in ways that make their world feel much less immersive to me, and nevertheless I am very much enjoying this reread in chronological order.

Writing. Chapter 5 redraft done and sent off! Plus proof corrections for The Paper!

Watching. CXG S02E11 "Josh Is the Man of My Dreams, Right?", featuring THE VERY FIRST MUSIC VIDEO I remember seeing from CXG! I had forgotten basically everything except the ballroom (and I think the place I was when I watched it).

Amélie (2001), with Adam and crème brûlée, tonight. I had forgotten most of it! It is definitely flawed media! and also it is a WHOLE FEELING and we enjoyed it a lot.

Listening. TMA 198 and 199.

Playing. We continue making slow progress with Myst IV and a lot of Universal Hint System. Irritation with UI is ongoing. So is completionism.

Cooking. New food! Potato and gochujang braised eggs, with broccoli stalk (saved specially) in place of the kohlrabi. Having gone for thinner slices than recommended for the sk every day potatoes anna (as previously described), this time I used a tape measure and... still hypercorrected to batons that were too thick! But it was Good and we're apparently likely to do it again (not least because much as we do actually enjoy steamed broccoli stalk A v much appreciated it in this incarnation too); probably with a little bit less gochujang, because spice levels were about right for me and a touch too LOUD for A (at least for brunch).

... and another batch of potatoes anna, only this time (i) I managed to slice the potatoes to approx the recommended thickness, and (ii) we stuck in some onions and garlic. The latter: good. The former: ... we preferred the paper-thin version, I think, but hey, we can Do It Again In Future!

I also turned all of the egg whites from the crème brûlée into meringue. In two batches, because I was pretty sure I couldn't reasonably do more than about 5 whites at a time in the stand mixer & I had 9 to use up, so we have one batch of French and one of Italian. I think these are definitely my best French meringue yet (more experimentation clearly needed, though), and I am definitely enjoying them with plain yoghurt and frozen allotment-raspberries.

Eating. Ruby Violet delivery #2! So far I have tried the hazelnut & hazelnut brittle (amazing) and the raspberry-rosewater-prosecco sorbet (which is oddly slightly more toward the rosewater and less toward the raspberry than I'd actually ideally like at the moment, which I find a little startling. I have also nibbled a spoonful of Adam's Belgian chocolate & white chocolate; we have not yet (I don't think) broken open either the lemon or the orange sorbet.

Making & mending. A taught me to use the rotary tool! I removed a bunch of rust from my bike! I... need to paint over the newly-exposed steel. At some point. Once it's been dry for long enough and I have any spare brain.

Growing. I have potted up the Thai basil! I... have a lot else that needs doing, including (soon) trimming the bay tree.

I am really looking forward to it.

Comments

[alexwlchan]

Ruby Violet delivery #2! So far I have tried the hazelnut & hazelnut brittle (amazing) and the raspberry-rosewater-prosecco sorbet (which is oddly slightly more toward the rosewater and less toward the raspberry than I'd actually ideally like at the moment, which I find a little startling. I have also nibbled a spoonful of Adam's Belgian chocolate & white chocolate; we have not yet (I don't think) broken open either the lemon or the orange sorbet.

Oh that sounds tasty. I hadn’t realised RV were doing deliveries, and were my freezer not basically full I might be about to make a delicious purchase. Thanks for the tip!

[me_and]

I had a Meal For Two to use up that had to be gone before the end of February, thanks to that whole no-longer-working-for-the-company-that-awarded-it business. So the instructions were given that we could be a bit more flexible about what to spend the money on. So I got a three month £165 subscription to Ruby Violet.

I think on balance the five tubs per month is slightly more than I'd like, and on the one hand £55 per month is Not Cheap, but on the other it is *very good* ice cream, and it is still cheaper than buying in store.

Also it means I get deliveries of dry ice. Which is fun for playing with in cocktails.

[alexwlchan]

I had a Meal For Two to use up that had to be gone before the end of February, thanks to that whole no-longer-working-for-the-company-that-awarded-it business. So the instructions were given that we could be a bit more flexible about what to spend the money on. So I got a three month £165 subscription to Ruby Violet.

Is this a not-working-for-company-any-more-because-it-was-acquired thing? Or have you changed jobs when I wasn't looking?

I think on balance the five tubs per month is slightly more than I'd like, and on the one hand £55 per month is Not Cheap, but on the other it is *very good* ice cream, and it is still cheaper than buying in store.

That is a lot of ice cream. 😅

[me_and]

(IIRC it's a lemon sorbet but the orange is an ice cream rather than a sorbet; orange sorbet was last month's)

[vass]

A taught me to use the rotary tool! I removed a bunch of rust from my bike!

Oh, nice.

[lunabee34]

All good things!