So a few of my twitter followers have asked me why I don't write down the recipes for some of the things I make (mainly my various breads) and put them on here, or even make a new blog or a webseries all about food.

Don't think that those ideas haven't crossed my mind - it'd be awesome to have a blog centred around food, considering how much I love, love LOVE food and cooking.

The trouble is, I don't use recipes*. I might look through recipes to get ideas, but most contain things I don't like so I'm substituting or removing ingredients anyway.

So when I cook, it happens something like this:

Hmm, I fancy walnut bread tonight.
Questions: Do I have walnuts? Flour and yeast or breadmix?
Assuming the answers to those are YES, then I proceed with the breadmaking. I'll pour a bit of breadmix out of the packet (or a bit of flour while the yeast is 'waking up'), add a spoonful of sugar and a few handfuls of walnuts. Perhaps some nutmeg. Then I mix enough warm water with it to make a dough. There is no recipe, because I don't measure anything.
I then wait for it to rise a bit and bung it in the oven at around 200 Celcius (pretty much everything I cook unless slow-cooked is at 200 Celcius...) until it's done. (Bread is done when you can tap the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow).
Oh, if you want a soft bread, put a dish of water in the oven with the bread. I like crust on my bread though. Thick, crunchy crust. Mmm.

And: BREAD! Warm fresh bread with melty butter makes me happydance!

The same goes for other things I make. For me, cooking is all about how much of something I think I need or want that particular time I make it, it's not about exact measurements or temperatures or perfect utensils and conditions.

This is why I'm reluctant to answer people when they ask 'Oooh, how do you make that?' Or 'How much ingredient do you add to other ingredient to make deliciousness?' Because I don't really know. And it varies. And so much of it is just a feeling of how much of something I need.

You know, I can count on one hand the number of times this approach has ended in disaster so bad that it can't be rescued or recooked into something else.

*Some of you may recognise this as a lie, as I DID use a recipe not so long ago to make a milk-, butter- and egg-free cake. But I had NO clue where to even begin on that one so I needed to!

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I joined GoodReads. Partly because the Geek Girl's Book Club has a group there, and partly because people keep flooding my FB page with the things they're reading and I think it's time to pay the favour back.

So yeah, you can find me HERE.

Also, the League Of Extraordinary Ladies is planning a worldwide meetup on the 18th June, and I'm hoping to get something going for BIRMINGHAM, UK on that date. There's more info on the Facebook Event page.

Plans are tentative at this stage, looking for interest in the date and venue. So if you have another suggestion, let me know! I'll add further developments here and on the event page.

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So apparently there's a Firefly marathon on, on some US channel. I know this because I'm addicted to Twitter, and apparently I follow an awful lot of Firefly fans.

So now I'm sitting here clutching my DVD set, wearing my Blue Sun t-shirt and watching all my favourite parts. Which is pretty much all of it really. I've been quoting my favourite bits on Twitter, but watching reminded me of a question someone asked for my Q+A posts; a very simple question, which exploded into a post all of it's own.

The question was 'Who is your favourite Star Trek character?'
My initial thought was...which series?! Of course, since then I have thought they may have meant the new film, which I've only seen once so I don't really have an opinion yet.)

So back to the question which spawned a hundred answers (I may be exaggerating):

TNG: I always had a huge crush on Wesley Crusher (well, which girls of my age didn't?) but Picard is and always will be my favourite character over all the series.
DS9: Dax. Both Daxes actually, though Jadzia over Ezri. As a teenager I spent a lot of time learning to copy Jadzia's mannerisms! I imagine I looked quite stupid but I know sometimes I still think 'well, that was a bit of a Jadzia moment.'
Also quite a fan of Captain Sisko, but I think that's just because I LOVE his voice. It turns me into a puddle not unlike Odo's gelatinous form.
VOY: Seven of Nine. Some of my favourite episodes are Voyager episodes, and they are all Seven of Nine ones. not because Jeri Ryan is pretty (though she is), but because she got the more interesting storylines: there's just more you can do with a character like that. Janeway comes in second, which is I guess a bit controversial amongst fans, but well, I like her. And I used to watch it in German so I wasn't introduced to her with the scratchy voice thing going on.
ENT: Porthos. No, seriously, T'Pol. I think Jolene Blalock does a brilliant job of portraying the Vulcan characteristics, and she has a lot of the best scenes. I also like Trip, and I wish Merryweather and Hoshi had had some better storylines. 
(It really is Porthos.)
TOS: Spock. Maybe Bones. No, Spock. But I haven't seen TOS in a really long time. I should rewatch it actually.

So answering that of course got me to thinking about the following:
Favourite Star Wars character: Chewie, of course. Though I'm pretty fond of Han as well. Honestly, I am not a Luke fan. Leia is awesome but I'd rather be Han than Leia...

Favourite Firefly character: I love Wash. I REALLY love Wash. But Jayne and Kaylee are right up there too. Oh, and the Captain. And Inara and her endless despair over Mal. Oh, and Zoe is a fantastic strong female character (Joss is good at creating strong women, hmm...)! River freaks me out but she's still awesome. And I have to say Simon is just too endearing with his total social awkwardness-thing (reminds me of me, actually). Shepherd Book is a fascinating individual. I love Badger; I kind of want to BE Badger* (a nickname of mine at school was Badger...we're talking many years before Firefly there though heh). And Lady Heather - wait, she's not called Lady Heather in this is she? ...Nandi.
Jubal Early, now he's a brilliant character, and I wish we'd been able to see more of him.
I almost forgot Saffron, the scheming b*tch! Oh, and Niska - excellent villain.
I guess that really the only character I don't like very much is Tracey. He's one of the few true cowards I've made a note of in my TV-viewing, and he's kind of weak.
*Actually I'd like to be Captain Tightpants.

BSG: Now, I have to apologise here because I have only seen the newer series, so I never saw the male Starbuck. Starbuck as portrayed by Katee Sackhoff is my favourite character. (Anyone see a trend here on the kind of characters I like?) And no, not just because she's nice to look at.

Favourite Doctor: Matt Smith is growing on me, but I do love David Tennant. Tom Baker is my favourite of the older ones, though I actually have more memories of Peter Davison.
Favourite Companion: I hated Donna for ages but I was the most upset over her when she left. I never liked Rose much, to be honest, and I know it's very unpopular, but I liked Martha. Loving Amy and Rory though. Sarah jane though, she has to be the best of them all.

Anyway. CHECK OUT MY BLUE SUN TEE (with bonus unimpressed dog):
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AND MY NEW PHONE! (Yep, that's a phone. It makes phone calls and everything.)
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It has a keyboard.
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Been ages since I got myself a new gadget! So awesome.

Well, that's all for now, take care kids, and let me know who YOUR favourite Sci-Fi TV+Film character are in the comments!
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Guys, check this out: I was interviewed for the League of Extraordinary Ladies website! So excited :D

Please read, comment, love it, love the site, clamour for more interviews with cool people...all that good stuff.

I'd like to say a couple of things at this point. Firstly I only add people I know - online or irl - on my personal FB page, so friend request me sure, but tell me where you know me from, please (particularly with guildies and twitter-folks, as I don't always know your actual name)!

Add me on twitter, and please feel free to tweet at me - I reply to most, but don't be mad if I don't reply to your every tweet :) I don't automatically followback though, I like to interact with my followers first.

Something I've been meaning to write about for a while now is online friendships, and how different people view them. This seems like a good time to do that.

I know people who put a great deal of importance on a friendship with someone they only know via the internet, and I myself have some great friends that I've made online. In fact, some of the people I've stayed in regular contact with the longest are people I've never met.

But saying that, there is never really that same connection with someone until you've met, and you actually know what they really sound like (not just over vent or skype) and what they really look like. Photos and video usually just don't really get a person's real self across.

This is how I feel then; that you can have online friends, and online aquaintances, but in the end all they really are, are words on a screen. Until you meet, and then you run the risk of realising that actually, you are not compatible people and you can either go back to being online aquaintances or just never talk to each other again. Alternatively, you might fall in love and have each others' babies.*

Other people do place more importance on online friendships than I do, and that's fine too. But remember that the people you are talking to might not understand or really realise how important it is to you. If you suspect someone isn't as into online friendships as you are, don't go telling them that they're an important part of your life. It may well come across as a wee bit creepy to them.

Also, I recommend making sure you still have friends out in the real world :)
In clearer terms, using The Guild as my analogy:
Some people are Tink, and some people are Zaboo. The ones in between are Codex. Well, maybe a slightly less neurotic Codex (mostly).

(Ooh, my first mention of The Guild. If you don't know what I'm talking about, where have you been? Here: http://www.watchtheguild.com/ )

In closing: don't be a stalker, make friends, be careful when meeting people you know from the internet and don't forget that people do exist offline as well!


*Or you might just become great friends. Or good friends. Or just friends who meet up once in while. All those things are cool.
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I'm going to try something a bit different for me. A run of mini-commissions, I suppose would be the best way to describe them.

To find out more click here: Discover Your Inner Unicorn


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Q&A Part 1 05/08/2011
 
I got a few more questions than I expected, so here's the first part of my Twitter/FB questiontime!

How long have you been drawing? Was it something you picked up on your own and were good at & refined in school later on?
I started drawing as soon as I could pick up a crayon. Pretty sure I first started by drawing all over the walls until my parents decided buying me paper was more economical. I think I used to draw horses and dinosaurs almost exclusively until around when the Lion King was released, that's when I started copying Disney characters.
I did study art at school and then at University - a Fine Art degree (with Art History) at a school here in the UK, and  an Illustration and Visual Effects/Animation degree at AAU in San Francisco.

Does the countryside inspire you?
I am not directly inspired by the countryside, but I get very claustrophobic and unable to do much of anything if I don't get to go to wide open spaces a lot. Where I live now you feel like you're on the top of the whole world, physically, and that translates to my mental state as well. I can, and have, lived in cities - San Francisco and Belfast are two of my favourite places, but in both I had the opportunities to get out of the city regularly.

IF YOU HAD A TARDIS, AND HAD TO DISGUISE IT AS ONE THING FOREVER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? AND WHY?
Maybe a caravan? You could park it more places without it being so obvious. And if it's a popular retro one, like the silver bullet you wouldn't have such a big problem of it becoming outdated. Plus caravans are cool. Like fezzes and bowties.
In fact, thinking about it, if there is a TARDIS out there already disguised as a silver caravan, that could explain many UFO sightings...

You can only have 1 of these items: Sonic screwdriver, Lightsaber, Hanzo Sword, Mal's gun, Hellboy's Samaritan. Choose.
My kneejerk instinct answer is 'lightsaber' because, well, it's the most awesome looking of the lot. But then I think closer and I'm all 'Well, knowing me I'd hurt myself with it.' I would actually like a set of swords for my wall, and I certainly wouldn't turn down a Hanzo sword, but I have to go with sonic screwdriver, simply for all the possibilities it would open up to me! (Read: Life of Crime).
A gun is just a gun. There's a lot of guns in a lot of things and they're nothing special individually to me...Though I would have a hard time turning down Jayne's Vera.

Fascinating stuff, no? You can ask me questions too if you like! Just head over to my FB page and ask away :)

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I took a bit of liberty with this one, I'll admit. I was given the idea of a naughty pony (inspired no doubt by the monsters I ride for my job!) with a gnome riding him. So of course that means the gnome is a highwayman (in a pimp hat...obviously) and has a cute-but-evil trusty steed as his sidekick. Or maybe the gnome is the sidekick?
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It is already available HERE as a print and a mug.

Let's start hearing your ideas for May!
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Because there's no better way to celebrate May the Fourth than with some mini-Vader.
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Hopefully the Force is indeed with him...

(After spending the evening drawing that, Mini-Vader now has a lisp in my mind...)
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My Firefly fanart that I made on a whim the other week has found a very good purpose. I submitted it to THIS which is probably the coolest idea I've heard of in a really long time. How awesome to grow up in a house with the kind of parents who'll fill your bedroom wall with drawings of dinosaurs made by total random strangers, all brought together just via the internet?

(Well, I think it's awesome...)

Anyway, I received a reply to my submission this morning:
  • 'OH. MY. GOODNESS. *SQUEE* I nearly died when I saw the Jayne hat on the dino. This is so fantastic I barely have words to express the level of awesome!! Thank you! :D'
That paragraph will make me smile for weeks, seriously.

Plus this has further cemented my belief that every piece of art can find itself the right home. And that it's important to start brainwashing the young as early as possible with Firefly imagery, right?!

Lesley Karpiuk, the geekmom-to-be who thought up this idea, is the awesome person behind GEEKSOAP, which I did not realise until after I'd sent the image (which is good because otherwise I might have been too shy to send it heh).

Her portfolio can be seen at thepinktoque.com and you can still submit dinosaurs to the wall if you want to contribute too.
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The place where I work and keep my horse has a handy track around the perimeter of the farm's land. This is handy for those days when you want to ride but don't have a lot of time, or days like today when a hundred or so (maybe more) motorcyclists are using all the other trails convenient to the farm for some big race.

It usually takes about forty-five minutes to get round, less if you go fast (which I currently do not with MacPony, as we're still working through some issues. Those issues are the root of how my planned forty-five minute ride this afternoon turned into an epic three-and-a-half hour adventure.

For new readers, Mac is my pony. Well, he's a horse really, just about (by one inch). Mac and I disagree on a number of things, but the main one is that I think rambling around the countryside is a far more appealing pursuit than constantly working on things in the arena, which he would apparently prefer to do. Strange pony.

So we set off this afternoon and other than a slight moment of hesitation at the end of the driveway he's willing enough. Until he sees one of the local farmers rounding his sheep up. What awful thing is happening to those poor, white, fluffy things that they have to run around in a tate of such panic? (Is probably the thought going through MacPony's mind when he sees them.) So he of course wants to head back home, and thus the first argument begins.
I mentioned the motorbikes already, yes? Well, this is where some of them start coming up the hill past the farm, and past where I am battling with a stubborn 900lbs of horseflesh. So I opt to get off and lead him away form the sheep and away form the bikes.

Now we're on a track which will take us about an hour to complete, rather than the forty-five minutes I had planned on. Oh well, that's not so bad.
We manage to muddle our way across the moor, past some terrifying sheep and killer white rocks, but then when we reach the turn for home, there's bike after bike after bike zooming across the track and MacPony's head is straight up in the air and he's snorting and dancing about so instead of goign home we keep going. So now we're looking at a two-hour ride, maybe an hour-and-a-half if we trot a lot on the roads. Oh well, not like I've got anything REALLY important to do, and it is a bank holiday so a trip into town would have been a waste of time anyway.

When we reach the point where I could either turn right to go home or left to head off on a three-hour circuit, I assess Mac's mood. Basically, if he's chilled out and relaxed, he's llowed to go home, if not, he has to do more. Sadly, he is still the dancing, snorting fool that I described in the last paragraph so I get ready for the argument and turn him left. He trots down the track happily enough until BAM! There's a lamb on the hill. And it's obviously one of those horse-eating lambs, because Mac decides that actually, he now wants to go home. So we argue for a bit, then stand facing the way I want to go for a bit until he decides that the lamb is probably not going to eat him, and he's happy to go on.

So we carry on, along the rest of the three-and-a-half hour route that will eventually take us home, avoiding bikes and sheep and taking us past lovely old ladies in their gardens who go 'ooooh' at MacPony in his big Western saddle, and poor teenagers having their first driving lesson with their dad and who have no clue what to do when a horse comes up behind them going faster than they are. There were cows and pheasants and people up ladders hammering at rooftops and waving and greeting us from said rooftop; people tipping out wheelbarrows of bricks right in front of us. We have to go down narrow tracks with overhanging branches and more of those scary sheep on the other side of the hedge and deep ruts making finding where to walk difficult. Along the road with big 4x4's and sportscars speeding past with dogs barking inside or music blaring out.

And through all of that, MacPony doesn't bat an eyelid. He's perfect - all those people who saw us and waved and smiled could only assume that he is the perfect trail pony.

We reach the end of the drive to the farm and he spooks spectacularly - leaping sideays across the road - because of the dustbin. The one that's always there.

Ponies are awesome (ish).
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