Chthoni/ya

Just a reminder that this is the last weekend to sign up for hp_holidaygen. Sign-ups close midnight PST on Sunday.

We have about 15 people signed up at the moment, with a mix of interests so we should have a good selection of fic to enjoy in December. A few more participants would be most welcome!

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And much to my surprise, in the process of making the banner I seem to have drawn fanart! Not that I'd compare my wee elf to the stunning creations of our talented artists, but we all have to start somewhere, and to be honest I've seen worse.( Read more... )

I managed to get the afternoon off work today so I could get home in time to help out with the village Christmas light switch-on. Arrived at 3pm to be faced with a group of people picking over three boxes of an odd assortment of used decorations with no means of fixing them to the 5m-high room. But as some of you know I am (almost) fearless in the face of high stepladders. :)) Kye would be proud of my efforts with tinsel and baubles, I hope. Just a pity we didn't have any 6ft snakes to hand...

After Transfiguration came potions - mulled cider, to be exact. Which Must Be Tried at Hallowe'en if I ever managed to arrive on time on the Friday. It foams up most satisfyingly - even without the cloak we were getting witch comments. It went down very well (there's few tasks more satisfying than giving away tasty free alcholic stuff).

Finally the Christmas lights were switched on - and stayed on for about 5 minutes before we blew the fuse trying to boil another kettle of cider.

'Village' makes it sound very cosy, and many of us living here try to make it so, though the restrictions against double-glazing make the houses less so in this weather. Still, as I type I'm looking at a quintessential Christmassy scene of glowing Christmas tree (carried home on the train yesterday), roaring fire and an exceedingly gorgeous cat curled up in front of it.

Yesterday was the first time I've decorated a Christmas tree with anyone other than my parents. (Unless I count the cat when I was living alone. Or the fifteen or so trees at Sectus, though I'm not sure I had much to do with those apart from putting them together). That seems a sad state of affairs for someone of my age.

And the seafood? That came in the film I've just been watching - Passionada. I've been wanting to see it for a while as its one of the few Jason Isaacs roles where he gets to be the romantic lead. Of sorts. I was glad I never succumbed to buying the film as I doubt I'll ever watch it again - the characters made no sense, and Jason's was excruciating to watch - not, of course, because of the quality of the acting, but because of the quality of acting a complete tosser with an affinity for LOUD shirts (JI complained about this continuously on the commentary track) and a dodgy wig (due to him being completely bald after shooting Black Hawk Down). Thankfully his eyes get some screen time and as an added bonus he actually uses his own accent (I find him rather incomprehensible when he tries to do Irish or American).

Steamy seafood scene from aforementioned movie.
(In which Jason eats, along with the actress' fingers, lots of chicken and tofu disguised as fish dishes.)