A Skyrim Chest Full of Links!

I am still battling away in Skyrim as a Breton female, level 15. I’ve played through some of the main quest storylines, but have sidestepped away from them for now to spend some time simply exploring Skyrim. There is a lot to explore – not to mention fights to pick, ingredients to find, deer to hunt and treasure to be discovered!

When not playing (or working!) I have come across some fabulous sites to do with Skyrim. Here are five of my favourites:

  1. Skyrim Nexus – One of the best sites to find game mods, view player screenshots and pick up a few tips from the modding tutorials in the wiki.
  2. 5 Personality Flaws Skyrim Forces You To Deal With – A humorous article about what Skyrim might teach some of us about our own personalities.
  3. Tasting Tamriel – A funny video guide to one of the Gourmet’s recipes from Skyrim; Potage le Magnifique!
  4. Ten Ways to Make Skyrim a Cooler Place to Hang Out – Tips on how to make your gameplay more interesting.
  5. Create an Ancient Stone Text Effect – How to make a text effect in Photoshop that is inspired by the stone textures in Skyrim.

If you have found an interesting site on Skyrim, please share!

Jooming along

Time for some new skills for this alyshajane. First up on the list is Joomla and possibly also Drupal. I am still working in design and will continue to freelance while I finish my library course. Any and all IT skills will be as useful in information management as they are in web design.

I came across the JoomlaShine blog via Twitter, it looks to have a wealth of reading and links. Of most interest to me currently, is the list of Joomla books. The blog has a fantastic table of books for beginners and more advanced Joomla developers. I really appreciate the guide on what format each book is available in. I’m going to try them on the Kindle reader for iPad – much more affordable and portable. Another interesting blog is cocoate.com, looking forward to reading their Joomla Beginner’s Guide.

I’d love to learn a programming language as well, PHP would be the most likely candidate and one that I have wanted to learn for a few years. Time to get thyself in learning gear and improve, improve, improve! I love learning new things and am all excited to get started!

Gaming in Skyrim

The Husbitect and I have been thoroughly enjoying playing Skyrim over the weekend. A game that was worth the wait not to mention the hype. The gameplay is enchanting and fast-paced, whether you are exploring the lands or following the main quests. The graphics are awe inspiring, although I wish my rig was up to playing in Ultra HD!

Skyrim - Solitude Harbor

My current character in Skyrim, a Breton but will play a Khajiit next!

I’m hoping someone creates a weight/encumbrance mod soon so your character can carry more items. It’s frustrating to get to the lowest level of a cave or other such location, find much treasure and not be able to carry it! Hurry up modders!

Are you a gamer?

iPhoneography

I love taking photos with my iPhone, especially since the newest iPhone came out – the camera is amazing! Better than my little compact digital camera and smaller. Plus there are all the fun photo apps available. My favourite of these is Instagram, with which I took the photos below.

From the top left:

  • 1. Some of the random items on my desk
  • 2. Cute little Pippin!
  • 3. Pippin and Merry, geeking out on my desk
  • 4. Some of my retro cookbooks
  • 5. Cat vs Human book – so funny!
  • 6. Apple Pie Cookies, recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Delicious!
  • 7. Churros, mmmm yum!
  • 8. Merry, all sleepy and cute!
  • 9. Action figure of the Eleventh Doctor.

And yes, I totally failed with Blogtoberfest. Two posts in October, oops! Here’s hoping that I manage more posts in November!

Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary

(Subtitled: Why I Missed a Day of Blogtoberfest!)

Oops. I missed a day of Blogtoberfest! I think my slip is allowed, however, as it was our 3rd Wedding Anniversary yesterday! My husbitect and I have been married for three absolutely blissful years. It feels like so much longer to us, and in that wonderful way of happily married couples. Our gorgeous outfits came from Gallery Serpentine.

Three years ago on October 4th, 2008, we were married in the Blue Mountains. It was a wonderful, misty mountains day. Even though our planned outside ceremony had to be moved inside due to rain, it was magical. A pair of frogs serenaded us from their pond, outside in the garden, underneath the window. It did not matter where our ceremony was held – we only had eyes for each other! The whole day was perfect.

For our anniversary, we went to a local Japanese restaurant, and apart from feasting on looking at each other, we dined on delicious food! We started with Agedashi Tofu & Soft-shell Crab. Followed by the freshest Sashimi and then, Beef Sukiyaki! All washed down with Japanese beers and Green Tea. Nom!

On leaving the restaurant, we took a photo outside, under their gorgeous LED-lit cherry blossoms! I want some for our home, but with two feisty kittens, they would not last long! I am tempted to try by hiding them on top of a cabinet, however. I cannot resist the pink nor sparkly!

After mentioning the delicous Japanese food we enjoyed, I thought I would find some recipes for each course we had, so you can try them at home!

  1. Agedashi Tofu – Recipe from ‘My Delcious Blog’
  2. Soft-Shell Crab – Recipe from ‘Cooking Light’
  3. Sashimi – Tips from ‘About.Com‘
  4. Sukiyaki – Recipe from ‘Just Hungry‘

How do you like to celebrate your anniversaries? Not just wedding anniversaries, but any kind of anniversary? I’d love to know!

Very Pinteresting!

One of my favourite social media sites is Pinterest. For those who have not used it, it’s like having virtual pin-boards full of images and links that you find interesting. You can have multiple boards on any theme you want. You can also follow other pinners and view the images that they have pinned, and see what pins are popular and new. And it is free! A screen capture of some of my boards is below.

If you are on Pinterest, do let me know! You can find my boards here, I am alyshajane.

Pink Haired Woman

I’m a day late joining Blogtoberfest, but better late than never! Hoping to post every day for the rest of this month. Hello to other Blogtoberfesters and to non-Blogtoberfesters!

Changes. As well as changing the appearance of my blog, I’ve also changed my appearance. I have wanted pink streaks in my hair for years, but had been nervous about doing it. I’ve spent far too long worrying about what others might think and missing out on doing the things I really wanted to do. No more! My new hair is a start of me being me. Of discovering the real me. It is quite a fun journey!

The whole process of getting my pink streaks took a bit over two and half hours. First was the bleaching, then rinsing, then a little more bleaching, more rinsing, then dyes applied and yet another wash + treatment. I am *so* happy with the results! I love my pink hair, it is so me. I am already planning on adding a larger blonde slice with pink in the centre, at my next visit to the hairdressers. Yay, for pinkness!

Trying to be Creative Again

Late last year life threw us a few curve balls which, amongst other affects, saw my creativeness all but disappear. I am now trying to get that spark back again, as allusive as it is. One of the projects I want to pick up and finally finish, is my mushroom embroidery. My last post about it was back in November. I’ve done a bit more since then, but still much to do:

I’m going to make a little crafting and creating nook in the kitchen this week. Now we have two very curious kittens, I don’t feel safe doing crafts that involve needles on the lounge chair. I shall hang a few pictures on the wall around the table, add some dishes for working needles and maybe a cloth on the table!

Speaking of kittens, Pippin and Merry are much bigger than they were in the photo I posted the other week. They are now heading up to five months old and getting quite big! Their fur coat is changing with the warmer weather and some of the longer fur is shedding out until next winter. They will be much comfier with a lighter coat for summer!

You can just see a photo on my desk of me holding my late Maxie. Pippin has many of Max’s traits, and on the first day the boys were home, Pippin saw the photo of Max on my desk and gave him a little kiss! Awww! Last week was snip snip time for both boys. They were a little sleepy at first but are now back to bouncing and running around the house. No lack of energy, that is for sure! Another craft project I have in mind is making them little ties so they can be little business cats! hee!

Meet the new additions to our family!

On the 15th of July, we adopted two little kittens from a local rescue organisation. Meet Pippin and Merry, brothers and absolute bundles of cuteness! They had been relinquished to the pound by a man who promised he would (finally) get his cat desexed. Her five little kittens would have been euthanised perhaps the same day, if our lovely foster/rescue worker had not been there. All kittens have been rehomed! I hope their Mum is being looked after well, too!

The photos above are the ones taken by the foster carer – many more will come soon! I thought I would use these as their intro photos, as Pippin’s photo is the one that melted my heart and led us to them. *squeee*

Originally Pippin was called Bushells and Merry was called Brittany; he was presumed to be a girl then! Oops! We renamed them after a few days of name considerations. I almost called Pippin ‘Avon’ of Blake’s 7 fame. But it didn’t suit as well as ‘Pippin’ does. Virtual cookies for those who immediately understood where our name choices come from!

We actually went to meet Pippin only; as I was holding him and getting to know him, Merry ran up my Husband’s leg, climbed onto his shoulder and mewed “You are my hooman! Take me, as well as Pippin!“. So we adopted them both! While they are both ‘ours’, Pippin is my baby and Merry is my Husbitect’s baby. They each have their ‘hooman’!

They are just over four months old now and are lovely, loving little kitties. We believe they may be Maine Coon mixes. They rarely meow, they chirp, trill and chirrup! They have tufted ears like a lynx, and have ‘ear furnishings’. Pippin has a very pronounced ruff around his neck (Merry’s is a bit shorter) and they have a double-layered coat. Very big feet with toe tufts, fluffy tails and they will be big boys – even the vet has observed this!

Whatever breed they are, we are both very happy and fortunate to have them in our lives! They are very much loved, not to mention spoiled! Yay for kittens and cats!

And yes, I am back to blogging! Finally!
(and I am addicted to ‘!’ it seems. Ooops).

Pull up a chair and have some cake!

Mother's Day Cake

I hope all the Mothers out there had a lovely Mother’s Day; whether you be Mum to a human or a furbaby! We took advantage of the gorgeous sunshine and had a barbecue in the garden.

Steak (perfectly marinated by my Dad), sausages and salads. For dessert, I made a chocolate cake filled with Chiver’s English strawberry jam and freshly whipped cream! The icing was vanilla butter-cream. I was wonderfully assisted in making the cake by my darling Husbitect. My beautiful Mum had a lovely day filled with sunshine, gifts and yummy food. Not to mention much love! What did you do for Mother’s Day if you celebrated it, if not, how did you spend your Sunday?

Posting my photo of the cake I made, I started thinking about the history of cake. Where did cake first come from? What traditions are there surrounding the partaking of cake? Apparently, the word ‘cake’ traces back to the 13th century. The word ‘cake’ comes from the Norse word ‘kaka’. Food Timeline has these, and many more facts, about cake and other foods.

I wish I could find a course locally, that would enable me to become a food historian. I find food an endlessly fascinating topic. What do people eat and why? How has food influenced the course of history? What customs do the many cultures around the world have with food?

I also love it when authors detail what their fictitious characters eat. One of my favourite authors in that regard is Joanne Harris. Especially her food-titled novels, ‘Chocolat‘, ‘Five Quarters of the Orange‘ and ‘Blackberry Wine‘.

There are many non-fiction books that are on my must-read list too. These include ‘Salt: A World History‘ and ‘Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World” both by Mark Kurlansky. Humm, after visiting Mr. Kurlansky’s website, I now have many, many more books on my want/must-read list!

Do you like reading about food? Do you, like me and many others, read Nigella Lawson’s beautifully descriptive cook books as if they were novels?

My other dream career is one deep within the world of antiques. But that is a story for another time!

Cooking for the Queen!

Okay, not really! But it makes for a fun title, dontcha think?

While I did not actually cook for any members of the Royal family, I did cook a British meal for MY family for us to enjoy as we watched the Royal Wedding. We had Coronation Chicken & Potato Salad, Eton Mess and to follow, Lemon (and Lime) Squares Cake with Matcha/Green Tea Frosting. I wanted to choose classic British recipes and was excited to try Coronation Chicken for the first time! Very delicious and I shall make it again. I was very naughty in taking the photo below; I did not notice that I had inadvertently messed up the lovely table setting that my Mum made! Very bad Lysh! ;)

Baking & Coronation Chicken Salad and our pretty table!

Thank you to those who sent messages after my last post; your warmth is muchly appreciated. I am still very much missing my lovely Max, and I always will. I am emerging from my cave though, and trying to get back into things – including this much neglected blog! Cooking has been one of my mercies (as well as craft) and has helped me to return to my old self. I really enjoyed making my Royal menu, even with it taking most of the day! It was quite fun. If you’d like the recipes, see below the photograph of my yummy cake; which just had to have hearts!

Citrus Matcha Cake

  • Coronation Chicken & Potato Salad
  • Eton Mess
  • Lemon Squares Cake. I used lime zest & did not use their icing. I found that the cake did not rise as high as expected, but was very tasty. The lack of rising could be due to my using an oven that is quite old and in Fahrenheit rather than Celsius, so could be my error in getting used to the oven.
  • Matcha Icing. Icing recipe near the bottom.


So, those of you who watched and enjoyed the Royal Wedding, what did you think? Didn’t Catherine and Prince William look wonderful? I watched the whole thing wearing my tiara. A common girl gets so few chances to wear a tiara – why not grab the chance when one can?!

Although, I am sorry to report that when I put on my lovely tiara (from my Husbitect and I’s combined Hen’s Bucks night) I found that one stone had fallen out. *sob*. I’m hoping it is safe within a draw or bag and I shall find it soon. It may only be glass, but I love it all the same!

Until We Meet Again, My Gorgeous Boy

On April the 1st, at about 9pm, our darling Max passed away in our arms. His precious little head, cradled by my arm. He became very ill and was starting to feel pain from his illness. It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, and I am lucky that I had my darling Husband with me. The veterinary hospital staff were lovely, and we had a private room with a lounge chair.

Max was (and is) my darling Kitty for over 15 years. He was my best, and for most of that time, my only friend. He loved me through my sad times and always knew when I needed some Kitty snuggles and purrs. We crafted together, listened to music together, watched birdies together and at night, he would sleep on my pillow or under the bedclothes, snuggled by my feet. I miss my little Max more than words can say.

Not having a house of our own, or a special, safe place to bury my baby kitty, we chose to have him cremated. Again, the veterinary surgery (Small Animal Specialist Hospital) and the cremation company (Pet Rest) were lovely and helpful. Max was returned to us safely and in only a few days.

I have his little casket with his ashes in one of my vintage cabinets. On either side are my two large black Cat statues – one for Max and one for Puss, my first kitty. They guard at either side and at the front I have four little miniature ornaments of black cats. I also have a special box with some of my first Cat’s fur and now, some of Max’s fur. I have surrounded them with Max’s favourite toys.

The picture I hold in my heart, the wish, is that Max and Puss, my two black Kitties, are together now in Kitty Heaven. All safe and not alone as they have each other. And one day, I hope I can be reunited with them once more. Until then, I trust that God will look after my Kitties, because I believe that God is there for animals too.

Goodbye for now, my darling Max. Thank you for your love and for being such a wonderful friend. Trust and stay with Puss, she’ll protect you, and you her. Until we meet again, my darling Boo. xxxx