crystalcazzie: (Default)
It's Shrove Tuesday and you know what that means. Pancakes! I made some earlier and went the traditional route - thin with lemon and sugar. It's a classic for a reason and I see no reason to mess with it. The recipe I used claimed it would make 12 pancakes but I don't know what tiny pans they're using. I managed five!

In other news, I have been spending most of my free time recently playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I got it for Christmas and played it on and off for a bit, but have got super into it in the last few weeks. It's an open world game with so much to do and will probably take me quite a while to complete. I plan to devote a few hours to it tomorrow. (I booked the day off work for the not so fun reason that I have a dentist appointment. But that won't take all day, and I can spend the rest exploring Hyrule!)
crystalcazzie: (Default)
I got my booster shot today and followed it up with an eggnog latte from Starbucks. I then went a bit overboard buying festive food from Waitrose cos it's Christmas and I want to try as many things as possible! I also bought a candle that smells like Nordic Fir cos I miss the smell of a real Christmas tree. It's pretty good.

Tormund seems to be getting better. He's still a bit wary, but nowhere near as bad as he was last week, which I am very grateful for. I was so worried about him I didn't really know what to do. He's currently lying on the floor near my feet and he eagerly took his Advent calendar treat a few minutes ago so I'm happy about that.

I think I'm pretty much done with my Christmas shopping presents-wise, although I still have the food to buy. I plan to do that gradually over the next few days as I leave work. It really doesn't feel like Christmas is five days away though!

Advent

Dec. 1st, 2021 07:44 pm
crystalcazzie: (Default)
Untitled

It's Christmas Jumper time!


I had the crazy idea that I might take selfies to document all the different jumpers I wear throughout the month, since I have a wide selection. Time will tell if I'll actually follow through with that though!

It's also the first day of Advent calendars. We don't have quite as many this year as we have had previously, but we still have a good selection:

Countdown to Christmas )
crystalcazzie: (Default)
Every year I like to go up to London and have a fun festive weekend with Paul. We didn't do it last year for obvious reasons, so I was really glad we got to do it now. It was a bit earlier than usual, but that's fine. I've embraced the Christmassyness in November!

IMG_5270

Festive Fun )
crystalcazzie: (Default)
Untitled

I feel like I've had a productive day today. As well as the walk with Tormund that the above photo comes from I cleared some stuff out of the loft so the engineer has easy access to the water tanks up there. I also did some more gardening and have hope that maybe eventually I'll get those brambles under control. I even started my Christmas shopping!

And now I'm making fajitas for dinner. So productive!
crystalcazzie: (Default)
I'm embracing the seasonal food again this year, both autumnal and Christmassy. Yesterday I had a pumpkin spice latte (from Gregg's instead of Starbucks, which felt kinda sacrilegious) and today I had a pigs under blankets sandwich. Christmas is coming and I'm not going to fight it. Bring on the festive fun!

Advent

Dec. 4th, 2020 07:33 pm
crystalcazzie: (Default)
Some people say that Advent Calendars have gone too far these days. I am not one of those people...

IMG_4227

Our selection for this year is made up of Lego Harry Potter, gin, wine, cheese, a Cadbury's one each, a Lindt one for me, a Maltesers one for Mum, and the reusable one that I fill up for Mum each year. This year it contains clues for the Christmas crossword that I've given her to complete and which will be necessary for her to decipher the code needed for her to unlock her presents come Christmas Day.

What those presents will be is a bit more up in the air. I'm making progress with my Christmas shopping but still have a way to go.
crystalcazzie: (Default)
So, another month has passed by at lightning speed. Wasn't it July just yesterday? How are we at the tail end of August already? Have we fallen into some trans-dimensional time warp where the laws of physics no longer apply and nothing means anything any more? Quite possibly, yes.

The weather has been fun too. First off we had a couple of weeks of that hideous heatwave which made sleeping pretty much impossible even with a fan pointed directly at me all night. Then last week we had so much rain that it came in through the conservatory roof and ruined a box of old pictures. Fortunately they were mostly just decorative pictures that had come from my grandparents' home and didn't have any sentimental value, but the fact that the conservatory leaks at all is worrying.

We're also coming to the end of season for my blackberry bushes, which is weird cos I'm sure I remember getting loads in September when I was younger, but I suppose that's due to the climate getting hotter as the years have gone on. I managed to make two crumbles with what I picked and they were both very nice, so I feel like I made the most of the fruit that was there. Now I need to cut the bushes back, which is going to be a bit of a job cos I let them get rather more out of hand than I should have done. Ah well, something to do on my upcoming week off I suppose, since it's not like I'll be going anywhere!

And finally, I got to go see my dentist a couple of weeks ago cos I had a hole in my tooth. I thought maybe a filling had come out, but turns out I'd managed to break off a piece of tooth instead. So I got a new filling yesterday, which meant I had the fun of a half-numb mouth for a few hours, and now I have the constant worry that it's going to come loose at any moment. Hopefully I'll get over that soon!
crystalcazzie: (Default)
Since the end of March I haven't really gone anywhere except work, but in the last couple of weeks I've ventured further afield to give blood and go to the hairdresser. Not at the same time, of course, that would be weird. Or possibly really efficient...

I was a bit wary of how the blood doning would go, but it was pretty much the same as usual. The only differences were the load of questions they asked before I was even allowed into the hall and having to wear a mask, which is becoming the norm now anyway. Other than that it all went smoothly. It was a bit quicker than usual as well and I do wonder if they'd cancelled some appointments in order to have fewer people to deal with.

The hairdresser too was mostly the same, but all the screens did feel a bit odd. It was like I was getting my hair cut in a little cubicle. But the end results weren't bad:

Behold My Hair )

~*~

It was Mum's birthday a week and a half ago too and as has now become tradition, I made her work for her presents:

Step by Step Guide to Being an Evil Daughter )

~*~

And finally, I spend a lot of time fighting with the blackberry bush in the garden cos it just wants to grow and grow and take over the planet. Sometimes I'm tempted to just chop the whole thing down and get rid of it completely. But then this time of year comes around and I remember why I like it so much...

Mmmmm, blackberries. )

I had thought about baking something with them but they tasted so good I just ate them all. Maybe I'll bake with the next lot. It really does make the bush worth keeping, especially considering how horrible the supermarket blackberries were that I tried recently.
crystalcazzie: (Default)
Hey! Sorry, it's been a while since I've been here but then with lockdown still going on not much has been happening. I had a week off work near the end of June during which the original plan had been to go to Denmark, but obviously that didn't happen, so I just sat at home and melted in the heatwave. I also made pizzas from scratch which turned out pretty well, although the bases rose a bit more than I'd have liked (a combination of making them too early and the weather being so hot, I think.)

I've been doing a few online escape rooms with friends over Zoom and that's been fun. A lot of the puzzles are the type that I love doing anyway and have a lot of experience with, so I'm usually able to solve quite a few of them. I like that. It makes me feel like I'm actually of some use to the team!

Also, the LJDQ is back as the DWDQ so I've been playing that every week and basking in the quotage. I got a full house not long ago, which I was very proud of! It's a lot of fun so I would highly recommend people come along and join in. (And if you're European you can become a member of the DWDQEU. All are welcome. Even the English!)

I've started a rewatch of Once Upon a Time and am very much enjoying season one so far. I'm a bit worried about what's going to happen once I get to the seasons where things started going off the rails, but maybe knowing where it all ends up will allow me to enjoy it more. And if not, there's always fanfiction to turn to when it gets bad.

Something I had been particularly looking forward to was the Hamilton film coming to Disney+. Originally it wasn't supposed to be released until October next year, but I suppose that since no one can see it in the theatres now anyway there was no point holding it back. Part of me was worried that it wouldn't live up to my high hopes, but I shouldn't have doubted. It was brilliant. I loved seeing the original cast in the roles after hearing them on the soundtrack so often. And it was great to see close up shots and catch all the little details that I hadn't been able to see when I saw it live cos I was too far away or focusing on something else at the time. Also all the things I did see but forgot about!

And finally, I think we have bees living in the roof of the side passage. Looking online seems to indicate that they're just using the space that's already there and not doing any damage, so I'm inclined to just leave them bee. (Sorry, I'm no good at puns...)
crystalcazzie: (Default)
I saw Hamilton again a couple of weeks ago. I'd say that it wasn't quite as good as the first time I saw it, but still brilliant. Aaron Burr and Angelica Schuyler in particular were excellent. And the advantage of seeing it for a second time is that I already knew the story and the songs, so I was able to enjoy a lot of the little nuances and finishing touches more.

I also watched the Downton Abbey Movie the other day. It was completely predictable and totally free of jeopardy or peril, which is exactly what you want from that kind of film. I know some filmmakers think that all movies need dramatic tension and plot twists and unpredictable endings, but sometimes you don't want any of that. You just want to see the characters you know and love doing their thing and being happy. (Although I do find it funny that Mary's forgettable husband didn't appear until the very end and wasn't missed at all.)

It was Pancake Day on Tuesday but I was a bit busy, so I decided to make them on Wednesday instead. Because why not eat pancakes on a day meant for fasting? It's fine, I'm not religious anyway. I just like pancakes. And they were good pancakes.

The heating at work is still broken and it's still so cold. There's even an area where it actually feels like something is blowing out cold air, which is just what you want in February!

And, finally, I may be nearly ready to post my Ships of the 2010s list. It took a lot longer than I anticipated, partly because I ship way too many pairings, partly because finding screencaps is a lot harder than it used to be, but mostly because I'm terrible at making things look good plus I'm having a really hard time putting my thoughts into words and so it's all a bit rubbish. I just hope the final product will be ok.
crystalcazzie: (Default)
It's December! Which means it's Christmas time! We're allowed to wear Christmas jumpers at work now and you better believe I'm rocking mine every day. I've amassed quite a collection over the years so I'm trying to wear them strategically, starting with the more generic snowflakes and penguins at the beginning of the month and moving up to the really Christmassy ones as we get closer to the big day itself.

December also means Advent Calendars and once again we're not skimping on our selection. This year we have Cadbury's, Lindt, Lego Harry Potter, Playmobil, Dogs Trust, Gin, Wine, Tea, and the reusable one that I've filled up again for Mum. This time it contains pieces of a jigsaw puzzle which she'll have to assemble in order to make a picture which is a clue to the code needed to open the combination lock that I'm going to secure her main present with. Obviously. =D

Of course December also means work gets extremely busy and stressful. I hope I can keep my good cheer going all month but I think it's going to be difficult at times.

This weekend I'm going to London to do Christmassy things with Paul. One of which is the now traditional sing-along screening of Muppet Christmas Carol. We're also hoping to get the train to Canterbury to check out their Christmas market, as well as riding the Mail Rail at the Postal Museum and checking out the Museum of Architecture's Gingerbread City at Somerset House.

I know I still have a couple of Wales photo posts to make, but they're probably not going to get done until next year now. I've also paused in writing the fic I was working on, but I am hoping to keep going with that as well when I have more time. Also, as at least one person knows, I'm planning to do a Ships of the 2010s list as a follow up to my Ships of the Noughties list and my Ships of the Twentieth Century list. So I am rapidly filling up my time after Christmas as well!
crystalcazzie: (Default)
IMG_3280

Pretty good haul for my birthday this year!

I'm not doing much today beyond relaxing at home. Tomorrow Paul and I are heading off for our week in Wales, which should be a lot of fun. I'm hoping it's not going to rain too much, but that may be a vain hope where Wales is concerned!

Mum and I will be drinking champagne and watching the Strictly launch show later, followed by take away pizza for dinner. I feel a bit at a loss right now though, like I should be doing something to celebrate but I'm not sure exactly what.

Either way, I couldn't let this day pass without my epic poem of birthday brilliance:

Ten years ago I was in a fix
For what to rhyme with twenty six
I find I still have no idea
So I'll just say cheers, here's to another year
crystalcazzie: (Default)
As someone who very much enjoys climbing up towers and other high buildings, I've been wanting to climb the O2 Arena for quite a while now and a week and a half ago I finally did it. I expected the route to involve steps, but it turned out to be a walkway made of a thin trampoline-type material, which started at a very steep angle. I also thought there would be barriers at the side but nope, it's completely open. Obviously you're attached with a safety harness so there's no danger of falling off, but still.

Once you reach the top there's a viewing area which does have barriers so you can have a walk around and take pictures. And, if you want, have a glass of champagne...

IMG_1944

A toast! To conquering the O2!

The walk down is much the same, but the very last part is even steeper than the steepest bit at the beginning.  Fortunately nobody fell over, although it did feel like a very real possibility!

As you can see, the weather was a bit overcast and windy but at least it wasn't raining. It also wasn't the intense heatwave that had gripped the UK just a couple of weeks before, which I'm very glad about.

I bought a teddy bear in the gift shop because of course I did. Then we took a ride on the Emirates Air Line cos that's always a fun thing to do. And after that we investigated the Wine Car Boot in St James Market which has absolutely nothing to do with car boots but was still a fun wine tasting and, to be honest, if only one part of the name Wine Car Boot is going to be accurate then I think we can all agree that they made the right choice.

We queued for dinner at Padella, which totally lived up to the hype. I would definitely be willing to queue again for their pasta!

~*~

Also, I've spent the past week very productively and have built the Lego Disney Castle...

IMG_2041

IMG_2042

When building a Disney Castle the choice of background entertainment is obvious and I built along to Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin, Tangled, Brave, and Ella Enchanted which I know isn't actually Disney but it fits the overall theme and was so charmingly entertaining that I'm letting it in.

I also sat down and properly watched Moana. I don't know why it took me so long to get around to actually watching this film cos it was brilliant and I keep getting the songs stuck in my head, which is always a good sign.

~*~

And, finally, I don't know if it's because of the prolonged heatwave we had earlier this year or what, but our grapevine is looking better than it has in years...

DSC00355

Looking forward to eating some lovely home-grown grapes soon!

Week Off

Nov. 13th, 2017 06:19 pm
crystalcazzie: (Default)
I've just had a week off work during which I did very little other than build Lego, put together jigsaws, and re-watch Brooklyn Nine Nine. It was glorious. But now work is upon me again and, if today was any indication, I'm going to be absolutely worn out by the time Christmas comes around.

Speaking of Christmas, I've decided to embrace the festive spirit rather than moan about how early it is. I don't care that it's only November, I've already had five different festive drinks from various coffee shops, two fruit pies (cos I don't like mince pies) and have started my Christmas shopping. I'm hoping to get it all done by December so I can properly relax and enjoy Christmassy things like baking gingerbread and watching every Christmas episode of every TV show ever made.

Of course I didn't just stay at home during my week off. I went up to London last weekend to watch fireworks and then my pub quiz team and I went to Brighton to do an escape room, which we absolutely smashed with 19 minutes to spare. We didn't do quite so well on Wednesday when we came second in the quiz, just one point behind the winners, but I suppose we can't win them all. Dammit.
crystalcazzie: (Default)
It's FRIDAY! And it's AUTUMN!

I decided to celebrate the first day of autumn by getting a Pumpkin Spice Latte on my way to work this morning. And I'm currently wearing some of the new clothes that I bought last week. I probably spent too much money but I can't bring myself to mind cos I love them so much! They're so pretty and autumnal!

I'm feeling a bit autumn-obsessed at the moment and currently trying to see if there's anything fun and seasonal to do in London. It'd be nice to have the chance to wear my new clothes out and about, but if not I'll just have to have fun at home. Strictly does start tomorrow, which I'm very excited about!
crystalcazzie: (Default)
Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you're all doing well. As promised, here is a proper post about my birthday week, pictures and all:

Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been? )

I've Been Up To London to Visit the Queen )
crystalcazzie: (Default)
Dad's internal calendar is apparently a day out and he thought today was Shrove Tuesday, so we had pancakes. Because why not? And I feel like having pancakes on Ash Wednesday is perfectly in keeping with our family.

Moaning

Jan. 21st, 2016 07:06 pm
crystalcazzie: (Default)
The heating at work is still broken and it's fucking freezing. We have portable heaters, but they only warm up the area immediately around them and that leaves far too much of the place far too cold.

Possibly related to the cold, my knees are aching quite badly again. That's not much fun. Also, I banged my foot the other day and managed to vertically split the nail on my middle toe, which was more painful than I expected such a small thing to be.

But on the flip side to all this I got an email from Papa Johns earlier telling me that some of my points were going to expire at the end of today. I couldn't let them go to waste, so I now have a free pizza coming my way this evening. Yay free pizza.

Profile

crystalcazzie: (Default)
crystalcazzie

March 2022

S M T W T F S
   12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 18th, 2025 10:56 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios