Party kickoff 2016

[wiseheart]

Welcome to my annual (virtual) birthday party! I'll be turning 60 on October 9, which is a round number, meaning, that a whole new decade of my life will start. Imagine that! Where has all the time gone when I was not watching?

In any case, let's have fun! The goal is, as always, to create as many collapsing threads on as many pages as possible. I'll kick up the first few topics, just to start the ball rolling, but basically it's up to you what we'll be talking about. So far, we always had fascinating topics. Photos of cakes and cookies and flowers and kittens and whatever you want to post are also welcome.

Since LJ chose to crash our party 3 years ago, I'll save the whole thing to Dreamwidth on a daily basis. Last time it happened it took us an ungodly amount of effort to recreate the lost comments, and even so, we didn't manage to get everything back.

Again, welcome and let's have fun! God knows we all deserve it. The party closes at midninght on October 9, sharp, as always. Let's use the time we have well! Last year we had almost 900 comments, most of them in various threads of lovely discussions - let's hope we'll going to have at least as much fun and enjoyment again!

And a Hobbit-style birthday gift for Merlin fans: I've finally updated "Magic Mirror"!
Chapter 6 - Leontes in Wonderland has been posted to FF.Net. Enjoy!

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I am off to the grocery store, be back in a bit.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Topic the first - baking

So, here is a pic of my not-so-voluntarily made gingerbread men. I've been working on them for three consecutive days and have finished them a couple of hours ago. Aren't they cute? (Click on the picture to enlarge.)

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/47/2d/38/472d38dad1707442c6b15475993b92b4.jpg)

So what have you baked lately? Also, if anyone wants the recipe, I'll post it - the dough itself is ridiculously easy to make. It's the decoration that takes forever.

[sammydragoncat]

They are adorable, I'm sure they taste great! It has been so hot here lately, I haven't done much baking, I think the last thing I made was cream scones.

I can't believe that it is time for your party already!

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday mrs. Am still stuck in hospital alas but sending you best regards!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Awww, thanks! How are you and the little one doing?

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Happy early birthday!

Sorry for not having been around much over the summer - way too many different things eating my very limited energy, but hopefully things will be getting better.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Don't I know the feeling! It's nice to have you back, though!

[disthrainsdotte.livejournal.com]

They really look nice, you clearly have some skills for it. The pic makes me want to taste one. *sigh*

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

It's a good thing I loathe gingerbread - there is no temptation while making it. *g*
But I tell you, decorating them was brutal! Especially as I had to wait at least an hour after applying each colour; they needed to dry and harden, or else they would have run into each other, and that wasn't the effect I was aiming for.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Gingerbread men recipe
(in case someone needs a thoughtful Christmas gift)

Ingredients:
500 gr white flour
200 gr margarine (melted)
150 gr sugar (white or brown, it's up to you, I used white)
8 tablespoons of honey (I used mixed honey, not a single sort)
1 egg
1 eggyolk
1 teaspoon of soda bicarbonate
1 pinch of salt
1 package of gingerbread spice
(if not available, use cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and whatever you find)

How to make it?
Melt the margarine; when liquid, add honey. Let it cool a bit.
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add margarine-honey mix, egg and eggyolk.
Knead dough until it's smooth. Then wrap it into foil and let it rest in the fridge for an hour.
Roll out the dough, cut out forms to your liking, paint them with egg white or condensed milk.
Bake them in a pre-heated oven for 10-25 minutes (depending on your oven), at 180°C (gas oven: 3 or 4)
Use baking paper instead of greasing your tins, it makes things so much easier and a lot less messy. *g*
Decorate them as you like, with icing sugar, chocolate icing or whatever. It's completely up to you.
They are supposed to remain fresh for a fortnight in a tin box.

[sammydragoncat]

Interesting, the gingerbread recipe I use calls for molasses not honey.

[bk_forever]

Hope you have a brilliant 60th!

I don't know how much I'll be able to join in this year as I have too much to do at the moment and not enough time to do it, but I'll try to drop in as often as I can =)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

You'll always be welcome. :)

[(Anonymous)]

I am off to the grocery store, be back in a bit.

[(Anonymous)]

I am off to the grocery store, be back in a bit.

[(Anonymous)]

I am off to the grocery store, be back in a bit.

[(Anonymous)]

I am off to the grocery store, be back in a bit.

[sammydragoncat]

I am off to the grocery store, be back in a bit.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Good shopping! I tend to forget that you have daytime when we have night.

[artemis10002000]

I'll be around as much as I can.

Happy early 60th and I have no doubt it'll be a wonderful party!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

With people like these? Definitely.
I think it will be a little more quiet during the week, as we all need to work. But the weekends belong to us, yessss, precioussss!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

So, my dearies, we've got the first collapsing threads - we are good, aren't we? Now we can aim for the next page, I think. I'll watch "Der Trödeltrupp" to end, and then try to think of some new topics.

[artemis10002000]

Have fun! I'm kinda addicted to that show, too, though not watching tonight

[artemis10002000]

Sewing

Who here has sewing projects going?

Unfortunately I have never made it to seamstress level, I'm forever stuck as fabric collector. I have bags full of fabric for various skirts and dresses...

And now my friend has put this idea into my head of buying a cute BB-8 patterned fabric for pyjamas...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I'm considering trying my hand on mixed felt and fabric ornaments. There are some very pretty ones on Pinterest I'd like to recreate. But my main project is the farewell gifts for my eight grade class - 27 felt owls must be finished by the end of this school year. And, of course, the Santa I found and need to give it a try.

Yes, I'm obsessed. How did you guess? *g*

BTW, what are BB-8 patterns?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Topic the third: writing

Has anyone written/started/finished anything lately? What are you folks of the writing kind working on currently?
Me, I'm most insistently working on Enterprise - the Maiden Voyage (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11947705/1/Enterprise-The-Maiden-Voyage) at the moment, with little excursions to Magic Mirror (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11583621/1/Magic-Mirror).

I hoped very much that I'd be able to finish An Excellent Mystery (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10472377/1/An-Excellent-Mystery") during the double summer season of picowrimo, but it wasn't meant to be. I'm still stuck two or three chapters before the end. Gah. Of course, spending so much time with posting my older stuff to AO3 didn't help.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

No progress for me towards writing anything, sadly. Hopefully soon, I can persuade my brain to cooperate...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Topic the fourth: Summer holidays

So, what was your summer like? Had gone to places and seen things? Spent your work-free days at home - and worked?
Tell us about it!

[disthrainsdotte.livejournal.com]

My summer has been good although I worried a bit about the surgery I was to go through. Getting details from the hospital and being told what to do in order to make things easier helped, not to mention the aid from friends. Didn´t travel that much but visited kin.

[sammydragoncat]

I am off to the grocery store, be back in a bit.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, another double post. I think I better save everything to DW again. LJ seems to react badly to my parties.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Signing off for today because the gingerbread guys took all my strength, but I'll be here in the morning again bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Feel free to continue without me, reading the comments will be fun. Good night!

[red-day-dawning.livejournal.com]

Happy 60th birthday!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thank you, although I insist on still being 59 for the next week. *g*

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Sooo, I'm back. Actually, I wasn't planning to go online just yet, but then I remembered that I have to put together the big grammar test for my 8th-grade-class next week and had to use the computer anyway. Gah. Boring. And brings with it the perspective that I'll have to correct all those tests afterwards. So I better think of a way to use exercises that are easy to correct. Especially considering the handwriting of today's kids.

What are your plans for the weekend?

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Poor you! Good luck sorting out the tests!

I'm intending to work on my Yuletide signup today, around having to tidy/clean ahead of an inspection on Thurs. At least the letting agent isn't usually too fussy, but I like to make sure nothing looks too dirty and things are too messy in general. Which tbh is how I'd like things to be in general, but I've been so far behind on everything this year, and lost ground over the summer as my dad brought up a load of boxes of stuff that had still been at my parents's house (they are clearing out, looking to sell the house at some point soon) - and so I've been trying to go through all of that and decide what I want to keep, what is rubbish, and what wants to go to charity shops etc.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

DIY

We are still on Page 1 - I have to do something about it, now haven't I? So I'm showing off some of my recent DIY stuff, one picture per post. I know that most of you have already seen them, but perhaps not everyone, so I'm making efforts to win new fans for my creations. ;)

Let's start with the big, fat, gourmet seal that only eats fish eggs:

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/89/46/56/8946564e844dfdbc5526ee271edc497a.jpg)

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Very fun! And such a friendly looking seal!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

More DIY

And then there is the little Inuit:

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2d/c6/f6/2dc6f65eaeca883f23afee31e8cc12a4.jpg)

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Nice and sparkly :)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Even more DIY

And, of course, the polar bear, with his catch of colourful fish:

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ec/f1/98/ecf19822ec93a4d853da3f8d5c157ee1.jpg)

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Very sweet! The little fish are a great touch.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Guess what? DIY

And we can't go on without the snowman with the crooked nose, of course:

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c0/26/58/c02658caccf01e26c33984dd7e4cfa93.jpg)

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Very pretty!