Mood:
Crepes are awesome! *q* Especially with some Nutella. The first time I made a crepe was in my high school French class. It was fun. It's also Groundhog Day. Can't believe Tu B'Shevat's coming up so quick! (It's next week.) Turns out that we're having the 'seder' at home. So far only 1 person's invited. No one else has shown an interest in it this year.
Sad, because it's kind of fun. It's a New Year for the Trees, so we eat a lot of fruit and nuts.
This is my wallpaper for this month. (Took a while to decide on one this time...
) It's Gaia themed this time. Saw some interesting wallpapers there, so you might see more soon.
My Jewish calendar has some cool looking Torah crowns. Oldest one being from 1775. The herb calendar has lavender in the shape of hearts for this month. I'm not too fond of lavender. At least the smell, don't think I've tried it in a dish before, though. 
Here's the month-long holidays: American Heart Month, Avocado and Banana Month, Beans (Dried and Fresh) Month, National African American History Month, National Bird Feeding Month, National Cherry Month, National Hot Breakfast Month, Berry Fresh Month, Canned Food Month, Potato Lover's Month. Some are important causes, some are to make you think and appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. Interesting holidays this month.
I love cherries and potatoes!
Cool to have a month devoted to both of them.
Started a new Jdrama called Hungry. Kind of a fun one. It's also one of the first shows that I've started while it's currently airing. I'm only a couple of weeks behind. Basically, it's about a rock musician, Eisuke, who gave up his music dreams to take over his family's French restaurant. (He wasn't very successful with his band anyways.) He used to be so into cooking, until he heard rock music. The old building was sold to someone who renamed it. So, he took the sign with the old name, and decided to use a warehouse that the family still owned as the new place for the restaurant. It's called Le Petit Chou. After cleaning the place up a bit, he gets his former band members to help him. The man who bought the original building, Tokio, feels Eisuke's a rival, knowing his skills as a chef.
I was sick all day on Tuesday.
It's like I had constant stomach cramps and headaches. Couldn't make dinner and didn't feel like having much. So, I just had oatmeal with raisins and some ice cream for dessert.
Finished En Passant. Haven't completed too many mangas. Added a list of the ones I have finished off to the side. (I really liked Fruits Basket and Rust Blaster, as well as En Passant and 666 Satan. Don't remember much about Mugen Spiral.
) Most of the mangas I've read either don't have all the chapters or are on-going. This ended in a certain way, I think, that it could have kept going. It was a really good series. Would be interesting in anime form too.
Finished O-Parts Hunter or 666 Satan yesterday. Really interesting and complicated story. Not sure if I like the ending...
But, it's kind of cool Ball and Mei got together. Their kids were cute. I don't like that Jio and the other 'ingredients' left Earth to take Shin to a desolate uninhabited planet, and was never heard from again. They saved the world at least.
Started translating a horoscope article in You Maga that I wrote out a while ago. Did some more editing of the heritage meme in Photoshop.
In Fairy Tail, there was some cool and clever fights. Specifically Gray's. Lucy was cooler than normal after Virgo gave her an 'Astral Whip'. She was able to manipulate it awesomely! Lucy, Gray, and Natsu won their battles. Don't know about Erza yet. I think Gajeel will 'tame' Lilly and become his 'cat'. Almost all Dragon Slayers have an 'Exceed' or cat, and he feels left out. It'd be cool if that happens.
Managed to get a little more playing done. Hard when you're not feeling good. Went back to transposing Irish tunes yesterday at the cafe. Someone gave me a traditional wool hat from Scotland, that has my family's colors. It was cool!
deviantART faves: Dragon Forest Cabin Waiting I did not make these! The first 2 are paintings from an artist I watch. She's amazing! The last one's from another artist I watch. He does some pretty amazing stuff too. This time it's a simple drawing of a girl waiting.
Mood:
Hope people had a great one!
I'm thankful for a lot of things in my life. I usually am everyday, so to have just a holiday for it, is not enough to me. But, it does make others stop and pause to think about it. I'm thankful for friends, family, food, having a roof over my head, water, good meds, music, and so much more. (I mean I really could go on and on, but that's too much to read, even for me.
) Things don't seem as bad when you think about all the stuff you're grateful for. Today's Maize Day and National Parfait Day. Good stuff.
Things were a bit crazy on Wednesday, and again yesterday. So, I didn't have time to post.
We were going to go to our friends' place, but their sump pump overflowed. They still had the cleaners working on it. So, we did the dinner at our house. First time in a looong time that we've had Thanksgiving dinner here.They brought all the stuff they said they were going to make, and cooked/heated it up here.
We did a salad with cranberries and almonds, and a fruit platter with whipped cream. Plus, cheese and smoked salmon with crackers for an appetizer.
They did the turkey, sweet potatoes with marshmallows (nasty to me
), asparagus, stuffing (really dry for some reason), cranberry sauce (both the canned version, and a relish. I like the canned stuff more), and gravy. For dessert, they made brownies, and pumpkin pie with hand whipped cream. I like their brownies the most.
The pie's ok, but they don't add much flavor to their whipped cream. Things seemed overall a bit bland with a lot of their stuff this time.
We played our annual Trivial Pursuit game. Only this time with our newer version. It was our family against their's. We won pretty quickly.Mainly, because of Dad. She's like a pro at trivia. Rosie got real happy when our friends showed up. Purring on the next cushion over from me, and getting into her 'meditating' pose. One of our friends said I looked like I lost a lot of weight. It feels like everyone who hasn't seen me for a couple weeks tells me that.I think since I started losing weight recently, its been skydiving. Which is good to me, but a bit surprising.
In Fairy Tail, they held a 24-hour race. Surprisingly, Happy won. (In pic.) He helped people along the way. The only rule was that they couldn't fly, but they could use other magic. Happy's usually the slowest at running, since his thing is flying. Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, and Jet (the guy who won last year) came in last. They had to suffer the Guild Master's punishment. Which was an embarrassing photo spread in a mage fashion magazine. Funny.
Finally played another hour of my clarinet on Wednesday. Did some Irish and Klezmer tunes. Reed was a little dry, so it was a bit squeaky. But, it wasn't bad. Felt good just to play. Rosie liked it a lot. Oddly, I think she's become my number 1 fan.Also, transposed an Irish tune. Figured out a quicker way to write it out.
I've caught up to the updates in En Passant. The last chapter that's up, ended on such a cliff hanger, it's almost cruel not to have the next out yet. This is a much better manga than I expected at first, and it's only getting more so. It'd be an interesting anime, if they did it. They did a back story on Arima. All the team members, except the Kings fought. White side's won their battles. After saving Riu, Kujou (White King) collapses, and essentially dies for a minute. While he's 'dead' he sees everyone calling for him. (In pic.) Everyone finally meets the Black King after Kujou comes back to life. I love how Arima doesn't say anything when Kujou's out cold.
Read through parts of the November issue of You Maga. Ended up starting to read an article about a 40-year-old woman's aura. (Apparently, the magazine's into that sort of thing.) This was all without writing it out or checking an online Japanese dictionary. Understood most of it. This is great practice for the JLPT. Wish I did this sort of thing sooner.Can't believe I have about a week and a half until the test!
Also, while I was at the cafe, I had a mocha with whipped cream. I haven't had a mocha in ages!It's one of the few things with coffee in it that I love. It's really not much coffee though. More like a creamy hot chocolate with a tiny bit of coffee flavor.
I was glad that I managed to get everything that I wanted to do at the cafe. Sometimes, it doesn't work out. This week has been so weird, I was even more surprised that I did.
deviantART faves: Oreo Shake We May Kill Them Happy Thanksgiving Before After 4 I did not make these! First, a really delicious looking shake. Second, an artist was toying with the idea of what would Gintama look like if it was set in the Stone Age. If the Amanto weren't aliens, but demons. Very interesting concept, and nicely drawn. Third, a cute looking turkey drawn by an artist I watch. I'm not sure if it just ate a person or what. Looks content, though. Fourth, a awesome drawing by another person I watch. He wanted to see what people thought about different versions of a drawing. I like both. One's more detailed, the other warmer/lighter.
Mood:
Nothing beats homemade bread.Soon, I hope to start making some. Mom used to make challah every Friday. That was awesome!
The smells throughout the house, seeing it in the oven, etc. was great.I don't think I'll start with challah though. Sometime when I'm used to making bread, maybe.It's also Guinness World Records Day, and National Baklava Day. Awesome day! 3 things I like.
It's been pretty cold and stormy the last couple of days. There's a chance we'll get snow tonight through Saturday. Oh joy.
Didn't post Tuesday, because I felt really horrible.We went out to Rite Aid to get some things, I was just starting to feel weird then. Next was the pet store and then, Walmart. Was feeling the brunt of it in Walmart. Felt like someone was holding my head underwater, nauseous, and head and vision were both throbbing like crazy.
Couldn't make dinner because of it. Luckily, Mom was able to. Wednesday, the pain was coming in waves. A couple of hours I was fine, the next in pain.
Really early this morning, I had a massive headache. Even my pillow was painful to rest on.Tried to ignore it, and eventually I must have passed out. Really weird. We're thinking that this is because of my 'monthly friend', but I've never felt like this with it. Mom also suggested that my IUD is degrading, and might be close to the time to have it replaced. It's only been 3 years. 5 years is how long it should last. I don't know, it's a little unsettling.
But, while we were at Rite Aid, I got some really strong Drano. My bathroom sink's always been really clogged. No matter what we used, it never totally cleared it. Used this, and it was amazing!Got it totally cleared. It's like I have a sink again!
Watched the finale of Kokosei Restaurant. It was a very emotional, but nice, ending. The club had a little ceremony for the 3rd-year students who were graduating. Surprisingly, a lot of them changed their minds, and decided to go into cooking related jobs. Some are going to work at the new 'Senpai Shop', because they don't want to leave town, and they love to cook. Not many jobs around town as it is, so this will be a life saver for them. The ones that aren't going into cooking related fields, felt what they learned will help them in future careers. It's not the best show ever, but it was pretty good. It almost made me cry at the end.
Also watched Yukan Club. Noriko looks like she was transported from the 60s.The hairstyle, clothes, the way she ran, etc. But, it was a cute little love (more like crush) story between her and Yuya. Sad that he had to leave.
In Phi Brain, Kaito managed to persevere and solve a sage puzzle. The head of POG wants to test him more now that he knows Kaito overcame his emotional barrier. Very interesting back story for Kaito.
In En Passant, Black and White squares started fighting. It was pretty cool.
Translated a bit more of that You Maga article I wrote out. Also, on Wednesday at the cafe, I read an article from the November issue. About a new local Japanese sweets store. Interesting. Actually understood most of it.
This was without writing it down, checking, etc. Nice.
Tried to scan the Hetalia meme, but it didn't really come out well on my printer. So, I'll have to see if I can use the other printers. After I scan it, I'll edit it, paste/edit the flags (I found online, because some are too intricate for me
), and add to the main meme. Haven't done all that for one thing, so hopefully it'll work.
Also started a still life. Not too bad, but I'm still on the 'sketching' or foundation part. Not very detailed yet. I'm using my lamp on my night stand.
Transposed an Irish tune at the cafe. Played some solitaire. (I love solitaire!) Tried their vanilla tea. It was good.
Went to a Hadassah event last night. It was on the Feldenkrais method. Interesting, but I didn't really need it.
Basically a method to get you more in touch with your body, how to be as comfortable as possible, and be more flexible with both your mind and body. So, we did an exercise where she made us breathe deep, move our heads, shoulders, etc. Good for people who aren't very coordinated. But, I've done a lot of this stuff before. Doesn't do much for me.
We also had the regular potluck just before. Only 6 of us showed up. (5 from the group, plus the instructor.) A lot of it was snacky type things. We at least have 2 main usually. We brought fruit, someone brought chips and dip, another a cucumber tzatziki sauce thing, and the host made cornbread (really strange), soup (not bad, needed more lentils), apple crisp (made from the apples she picked from her tree) and brownies. At least we got to see other people, and talk a bit.
deviantART faves: Blood Lust bad bunny coconut lady L i m i n a l i t y hetalia India display APH: Ukraine and Azerbaijan Sleeping on the Street 1195092011 I did not make these! First and second, are done by an awesome artist I watch. I like the bad bunny one a bit more. But, I like cute demented things. Third, a funny drawing of a coconut lady dancing, from another artist I watch. I think that would be funny in an ad or something, too. Fourth, an amazing drawing by, yet another, artist I watch. The atmosphere's really cool. Fifth, India from Hetalia done by someone I watch. Based off of the official design, that the mangaka finally made in the Halloween themed strip in his blog. There were a couple of other new designs as well. I like to see what he comes up with for a country's look and personality. Sixth, a drawing of Ukraine from Hetalia, and someone's Azerbaijan oc. They're in traditional dress. It's cool. Seventh, a cat sleeping on the street in Normandy, France. This looked just like some areas in Tzfat. There were cats everywhere, especially sleeping on the streets. Eighth, an amazing pic of a little kitten. The way it was taken was cool.
