Happy happy new new

My Loves.

Another year has reached its end. A memorable year? Yes, I suppose so.
You live, you learn.
I'm looking forward to getting to know who I am next year. :-)

Have a good one!

Haa haa DING!

I cheated.
When purchasing the new expansion to World of Warcraft "Warlords of Draenor" you also get a one character level 90 boost.

I didn't get that for my main character (priest), I had a sudden urge to keep her "raw" simply to be able to say I levelled her on my own. :-) But my very first character - warrior stuck at level 70, she deserved a boost I figure. :-) I'll have to have a test run now.

THEN go do some work.
8-)

OK GO "I won't let you down" - OK!

They've done it again. :-) Dayum, they do it like nobody else. :-)

Buffalo buffalo buffalo

"Morning rush hour traffic in Yellowstone National Park"

Awesomeness.
Buffalo.
Way cooler than moose.
Moose? Meese? Is there a plural form for the word "moose"?

Did you know, by the way, that "Buffalo" is the only word you can use eight times in a row and still compile a complete and grammatically correct sentence? :-) Wiki link.

House

I'm not a huge fan of House, the television series. But I can't deny I like watching it whenever I catch it on TV.

This made me smile. :-)

(...it's Dr House, wearing a house, painting a house, on a house...!) :-D

I will have to remember this recipe - Veggie and ham rose pie

Before oven.

It looks ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. Stunning and delicious. There are so much to be said about the attractiveness of food, at least I eat it with much more pleasure if it looks good.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to work out who the actual cook/author is behind the recipe below, but I hope they don't mind me sharing! :-)

Recipe :

Carrying on from my Rose Apple Tarts, I decided to make a similar savoury version using bright coloured vegetables – courgettes, carrots and aubergines. It turned out to be very pretty, but it did take a lot of work and patience! It’s a good one to make if you have a glut of vegetables in the summer, and a bit of time on your hands :)

For this tart, you could equally experiment with different fillings (e.g. an egg/quiche filling) and a variety of other vegetables (e.g. butternut squash, beetroot etc.) There are so many exciting colour, flavour and texture combinations you can play around with for this tart. There are similar recipes on the web, but this one is my own tri colour version. It’s a recipe I think that has a lot of potential and I look forward to experimenting a bit more. I think miniature ones with beetroot and goats cheese would be great as a starter, and also might take bit less work. Some of the tougher vegetables like beetroot, you may need to blanch/ par cook. I’ll just have to experiment and see.

After oven.

Here’s how:

Pastry

    6oz of plain white flour, sieved
    pinch of salt
    3 oz of butter, chopped into small pieces
    a few drops of cold water
    beaten egg white (optional)

Cream filling

    2oog of mozzarella
    200g of sour cream
    1 teaspoon of salt
    pepper to taste
    pinch of nutmeg
    pinch of paprika

Vegetable filling

    1 medium courgette, top and bottom stalk removed
    1 medium aubergine, top stalk removed
    2/3 peeled carrots
    Salt and pepper
    Olive oil

Place the sieved flour into a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles bread crumbs. Take a fork and add just a few drops of water to bring the mixture into a ball of pastry. Place the ball of pastry in Clingfilm or plastic bag and leave to rest in the fridge for at least thirty minutes.

Pre -heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 9 inch flan tin with butter. Once the pastry has rested, place it on a floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it into an 11 inch circle. Carefully place the pastry into the tin and rest in the fridge for a further 5 minutes.

Take the pastry out of the fridge, and gently prick the base with a fork. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill it baking beads. Place in the oven and bake blind for 15-20 minutes. Once barely golden in colour, remove from the oven and leave to cool and set. If you want to maintain a crisper base, you can brush the base with beaten egg white.

For the filling, break up the mozzarella into small pieces and mix with the sour cream. Beat well with a wooden spoon, and then stir in the seasoning. You can add more seasoning if desired. It’s quiet a blank canvas, so if you fancy spicing it up with chilli powder, or giving it an Italian flavour with oregano – then do so.

Meanwhile, using a mandolin / slicer/ sharp knife – cut the vegetables into thin strips. Once you have them all sliced, place them on a level surface to see if there is much difference in the height. If so, chop off any edges so they are all roughly the same height. Place them all flat on a plate and season well with salt and pepper.

Next fill the pre cooked pastry case with the cheese and sour cream filling. On a chopping board, roll one strip of carrot into a tight circle, then wrap a strip of courgette, around that followed by a strip of aubergine. You may need a second pair of hands with this. I had the help of the OH. Repeat with the same pattern until your circle of rolled vegetables is roughly 9 inches in diameter. With two hands, carefully lift the circle of vegetables and gently lay it into the cheese and sour cream filling. Season again and brush with olive oil. Place in the oven (190 degrees Celsius) for 40-50 minutes. I covered with tinfoil near the end to prevent it burning. Serve as a main with a salad or as a side vegetable dish. It is quiet a bland tart, so there is plenty of scope to spice this recipe up a bit. I was bit timid first time out!

With a slice taken out.

You know it's time...

You know it's time to buy new underware when you actually jump out of them just by jumping into bed, e.g. the elastics and general material fatigue have reached the point where they can't follow your everyday moves...

Or, at least that's how I know it's time to chuck'em and get new ones! :-D

OK GO

OK GO, OK... I don't always like their music, but their music videos are awesome! :-)
Just recently found this one:

"The Writing's On The Wall"

Then tonight I stumbled over this one:

"End Love"

But the one that got me hooked once will always be "the best" I reckon, you judge for yourself:

"Here It Goes Again"
:-)

The Ice Hotel (in Jukkasjärvi) always doing it right

The Tron room!

Naturally I'd like to find a room like this were I ever to stay at the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi! A Tron themed room... :-D
However I can't seem to find this photo in their archives (e.g. photos of rooms from past seasons) so it's possible this room isn't actually real. But hey, it's nice anyway! :-)

www.icehotel.se

Minecraft animations - SLAMACOW

My god, I don't even play the game any longer (hardly ever did, but I did at least have a go) but I could watch these videos all day! :-D

SLAMACOW's YouTube playlist.

Fun.
Kind.
Real fun.
Kid friendly.
Fun.
Clever.
Fun.
Real nicely done.
But most of all, fun.

I was introduced the best possible way - oldest son passionately retelling one of the stories with intricate detail then we googled it together and found the first one:


Enjoyed it and looked at another:


Then:

(this one my son spent some time explaining the context for, it was interesting)

I could link the post full, but please just go to SLAMACOW's Minecraft videos on the tube and - Enjoy!

19 rookie mistakes new parents (and old) make

This entire list had me smiling, number 16 hit home alright. X-)
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/19-rookie-mistakes-parents-make

16. Staying up late for no good reason after your baby has gone down for the night.

20th Century Fox

The next day you’ll realize just how bad an idea this is.

THIS I would like to play

Never Alone - Game Trailer from Never Alone on Vimeo.

I really would like to play this game, it appeals to me in so many ways.
Beautiful beautiful. :-)

Please make it quick to the shelves "Never Alone".
http://neveralonegame.com/

Safety information

Why on earth aren't there more people like this around? Perhaps not every flight, but at least once in a while it would be AWESOME to be subjected to information handed to you like this - fast, fun, informative. :-D

...my GOD does that woman speak quickly! :-o My non-native English speaking ears are not quite up to scratch...

Not lost

I haven't gotten lost at all this week. That must account for something?

But I wonder when the adrenaline levels will start to normalise themselves?
I jump high when I see my own shadow appear unexpectedly, an occasional street sign have made me jump too. I SWEAR a particular street sign right outside my office looks just like an 'enderman' (Minecraft)... :-D (like a little too tall, too skinny, totally black figure which can teleport and scare the sh*t out of you...)
I meet people, releaved every time I realise they're just walking dogs or that they are women. I have nearly stopped dead in my tracks as I rounded a corner and happened on somebody innocently standing there smoking.

But I keep walking, certain that soon all of this will feel totally illogical and a little embarrassing. :-)

Extraordinary tooting

Thank you internet, for reminding me of this fantastic talent. Mr Roger Whittaker.
His music entertained me, us, through my childhood. Warm, good memories all around! :-)



Roger Whittaker – Greatest Hits

Ford

Clever people makes these connections. I enjoy them.

Am I escaping reality?

Am I escaping reality?
Yes.
But then again, what else is there to do?

Oh yes

 It was worth it. :-) Three wins in Hearthstone rewarded all my characters in WoW this mighty fine stead. :-)

New game all because of old game

What don't you do for a cool new ride? :-) Learn a new game? Heck yeah.

Honest!

Ha ha :-D Believe me, I still haven't seen this film and I fear the above trailer (from "Honest Trailers") offers a little too many spoilers. But it is funny none the less. :-D

Everything is more fun with (the right) music.

The theme from "Benny Hill", put to good use. :-)

Well why not?

If I had a cramped attic space - this would be how it would be furnished...

Original from imgur.

Gosh, I could see the space under our stairs looking like this in a few years. A little silver paint, a couple of old car seats and a lot of old displays and buttons and bob's your uncle! :-)

Imdb goodness

I've just discovered another great unexpected benefit of the "view trailer" feature on Imdb.com.

I find a film I'm curious about, watch the trailer. Depending on what I started out with the list of "people who liked this film also liked..." can be long and rich and it's always difficult not to keep watching more trailers for a bit.

But I just discovered the best way ever to get a "quick fix" of "romantic" movies. :-D I generally don't pick a romantic movie when I get to watch full length ones (there are so many other genres to enjoy!). I stumbled on a romantic movie ("Dear John") and watched the trailer, then went on to another, then another and suddenly I was full and needed to see no more of it. :-D A few minutes was enough, no need to watch the whole film... X-)

Ding 82

Underwater mount - seahorse!

Dinged level 82 with Glömsk yesterday.

Picked up the game the day before yesterday, after a four month break. Ended up playing "aquatic" quests, I have really always had a soft spot for the under water world gifted to me by Blizzard. I remember the first time swimming and diving (and dying a lot) in the game, too thrilled to keep track of the airsupply... :-D

Easier now, when the character earns/is given an ability to "breathe" under water by the initial quest giver of the area. :-)

Haiiiaah!

Haiiiahhh!

This here photo made me happy. Ya need that every now and then. :-)

Ja! Must-see.

The Lego Movie

Just have to watch this one. With or without the kids. :-)
Imdb link.

Yeah, where IS that winter?

Scandinavians.

I really, really don't see the point in the type of winter we're having right now. Really.

If I wanted this type of winter I'd settled down somewhere even further south. Or better yet just skip the whole concept of winter all toghether and settle down somewhere nice and cozy, like Australia.

Sure, keeping the house warmed up during winter has never been cheaper, so that's something. But having to buy new rainclothes for the kids SEVERAL TIMES during the same season because they wear them out - unheard of! :-[