Lathany

Valentine Day came, so we did our usual thing of nice wine and food. bateleur had bought salmon and cream cheese starters and made yummy pasties for the main course. However, the best part of the meal was the dessert he constructed - a little like tiramisu with a base of raisins and bananas cooked in alcohol and a top layer of mascarpone flavoured with spice. It was awesome.

The other main event of last weekend was the photo session at Ryan's school. His school photographs showed up a while back and were rather good (as opposed to Bea's school's more standard - dull - offering. So when the photographer offered family photo sessions this seemed a good opportunity to finally get some decent family photos done. I liked what came out when I saw it on screen, and we expect to get them in a few weeks time. There's three photos of the family (we'll keep one and grandparent the other two), a shot of bateleur and me and both separate and a joint picture of the duo. Most of it was in the studio (school hall!) but some were outside shots.

On a more predictable note, I've also continued to rewatch Heroes - both Once Upon A Time in Texas and Brother's Keeper were still awesome - probably the best of season 4. However, Strange Attractors was still dire and even as a devout Heroes fan I had trouble sitting it through on a rewatch. I haven't fully gone through the deleted scenes from that trio of episodes, but might say more when I do. Also I think both the good episodes include audio commentary which I plan on listening to.

• District 9 - We saw this last night and I knew little about it beforehand. It starts off like a documentary and is gory and disturbing. Having read about it afterwards, I can see why the Nigerians were mightily p*ssed about the way they were portrayed. But an excellent film - good to see one set in South Africa - but not an easy watch.
• Ravenor (Warhammer 40K fiction) - I read this trilogy (with two short stories) and felt it was good, but not as good as Eisenhorn. However, and for the benefit of quisalan, he's a much less smug and irritating protagonist.
• Recettear - I'm well into the eternity mode, but it's still moderately entertaining. The new heroes are interesting and I like upping the number of items and redecorating my store (the equivalent of "raising sheep", I'm sure).

Next week I have a day off work to go to Kew and it should generally be quiet because we're duo-less. Well, apart from the two roleplaying sessions of course (a one-off from bateleur this weekend and a Meteor next).

The duo got up at 5am to open the presents in their stockings. This consisted of four edibles (always appreciated!) and six non-edibles each of which Bea's charm bracelet (metal/plastic mix) and Ryan's car were a huge hit. However, I need to get them bigger stockings next year.

bateleur and I got up at the more sensible time of 9:30am and we all had fruit salad and yoghurt for breakfast. Then a phone call from an old friend and some necessary caffeine, followed by the eagerly anticipated tree presents. My own hoard was:

• A 3D puzzle of Tower Bridge from my parents-in-law
• Last Window: the sequel to Hotel Dusk which I loved from chrestomancy
• Fire Emblem from bateleur which I have heard good things about
• The Fall by Nora Jones also from bateleur
• Dark Heresy from quisalan

And, on the subject of the last - anyone interested in a 40K roleplaying one-off, if I get around to running one next year? I haven't read through it yet, but the rule book looks detailed and beautiful. I also got a (half share with bateleur in a) grumpy sack boy (LittleBigPlanet) courtesy of chrisvenus earlier in the month.

Christmas dinner was awesome. Everything cooked just right (chicken, bacon, sausage, roast potatoes, roast parsnip, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, stuffing and gravy). It helped that we were only cooking for the four of us. We set the table fully for once (napkins, deep red candles, wine glasses all round and crackers) which the duo loved. However, there will be a longish short pause before we worry about the pudding.

In other news - our cat may be a fake feline - he didn't spend the end of the cooking time trying to run off with the chicken.

Today was spent refusing free food and drink at stations. Ashford station was offering coffee and croissant. Trouble was, I didn't have much spare time before my train showed up (and had eaten breakfast). Waterloo station this evening was offering whiskey (as a promotion). I'm not that big a whiskey drinker, so again I declined.

Today is the last day of my fortnight holiday as I'm back in the office tomorrow. It's been an excellent two weeks as I've managed to do pretty much everything I wanted, both in terms of household chores and in terms of Enjoyable Stuff. I started the fortnight feeling sleepy and wanting a rest; although I was also keen to get out and do the things that are difficult to arrange with the duo around. The days went like this:

( Days )

It's going to be odd to be back at work tomorrow (not to mention tiring - I haven't been up before nine lately). However, I really feel that I've had a great fortnight and have managed to do everything I felt I should do along with lots of things I wanted to do. Ah well, next big stop will be Xmas! At least I still have much Farscape (I'm about a quarter of the way through season two) and Star Ocean (I'm mining copper) to keep me happy.

Another busy day with slightly more cake in it. I spent some of the evening making chocolate rice crispy cakes for the work party tomorrow. I then spent the rest of it Diablo IIing with bateleur, chrestomancy and Alistair.

I'm exhausted and it's only Tuesday. At least I'm off next week.

It's been just over a month since I posted a general update on stuff. A fair few things have happened:

• Afternoon tea - Having consistently failed any sort of meet-up for several months, I finally got in touch with venta and Chris C and we arranged to meet for afternoon tea one Sunday at Bake-A-Boo. This seemed like a solid plan, but I failed to take into account the London transport system which tries to pretend that North West London doesn't exist on a Sunday. Consequently, instead of the Jubilee line, I got to experience the Bakerloo line and the replacement bus service for the overground. I was nearly an hour late for venta and Chris, which I think is a personal best (but not in a good way). It was also, of course, the time at which I discovered that I didn't have venta's mobile number (and she doesn't have mine). However, tea was there when I arrived and was still very fine. There were crustless sandwiches (tuna and cucumber plus egg mayonnaise), scones with cream and jam, little pink fairy cakes with hearts in the middle, banana cake, white chocolate shapes, thin biscuits shaped like teapots and chocolate-dipped strawberries. I went for the slightly boringly-named (but lovely) "Afternoon tea" (after being offered a long and exciting tea list) and drank my way through the teapot-full (about five cupfuls). I had my tea bought for me, so I don't know how much it was, but I'd fully recommend the venue. Afterwards we went to a nearby pub (which I can't remember the name of) and I came home via the Northern line (which was working).
• The Godfather, Catch Me If You Can and X-Men 2 - LoveFilms has made three offerings since I last posted and I enjoyed all three. I've not see The Godfather before and I got slightly lost amongst some of the more minor characters, but I enjoyed it and have had the second one recommended. Catch Me If You Can was something I'd seem adverts for at the cinema and wondered whether it would live up to its trailer (Stargate didn't); fortunately it did. I thought both leads were excellent, as was the storyline (although bateleur was more taken with the intro sequence). Finally, X-Men 2 was blockbusterish and looked suspiciously post-Halle-Berry-Oscar-win due to her much expanded role on the first one. Again, enjoyable and we thought it was better than the first X-Men.
• Solitaire Mystery - Having read Sophie's World some years ago, I thought I would try this offering also from Jostein Gaarder. It's similar to Sophie's World in many ways - philosophy with a toe in the weird but, sadly, I found it was also similar by having a somewhat inconclusive ending. I think it's worth a look for anyone who likes the author and it has some nice concepts which it bases around a pack of playing cards, but ultimately was unsatisfying.
• Cardiff - We (as in work) had a visit planned to Cardiff Civil Justice Centre. However, it was a nine-thirty start, so I stayed overnight beforehand. Due to the offers available through the civil service booking system I ended up at the Radisson Blu which had opened last month and was walking distance from the station. The hotel was decent, attractive and the room was lovely (the view from the eighth floor was very good). The restaurant wasn't really open, but the bar menu was available and good (I had Welsh dragon sausages on a bed of mash followed by cheesecake). The following day was very interesting but, sadly, I can't talk about it as it was confidential. As the court would not usually have observers, I can't talk about the cases I saw either (heard by a District Judge). All I can say is, I always find the judiciary visits fascinating and I'm gradually learning more about how it works.

Work has been comparatively quiet, although I have a lot to clear next week. I'm looking forward to my summer leave now and have a number of computer games lined up for the occasion (such as Glass Rose) and also a Kew visit.

The past couple of weeks have been rather warlike, now that I come to write it up.

• Heroes - I've now seen up to episode 15, so I may write a few more reviews. In general, I like the series. It's got reasonable pace and the plots and interactions are interesting. However, I think there should probably be more Bads than they've currently got. Also, I have a nagging feeling that they simply aren't going to explain some of the leaps they've made. However, it's still the best new thing I've seen since The Lost Room.
• Supernatural - Slightly over half-way through season one and, it's improved, but not by that much. I suspect we won't reach the second season before deciding that there are better things to do with the time.
• From the Cellars of Xanadu - The party are now in orbit around the key planet in the Eden system. The last couple of sessions have seen them battle enemy marines on a space ship and then deal with the creepy taken-over space station. We're approaching the end of Part 1 now and I think it's going OK. I appear to have taken on the problems of the Warhammer 40K system but have managed (because? In spite of?) to keep the general feel of it, which is what I wanted.
• Valkyria Chronicles - This is a strategy game on the PS3 with a rather lovely background (including literally) and a decent enough story. It's loosely based on the World Wars; although I'm not enough of a 20th century historian to say how loosely. The missions have been mixed; I really loved the first few (it starts very well), then found the next section something of a slog. It suffers from the usual problem of hidden information - you need to play the mission to figure out what you need for the mission. Also, there is some requirement for level grinding (ie. redo various "skirmishes"). That said, the designers did mix and match the missions so that they don't all feel more of the same. More on this when I finish it, or reach the rumoured Too Hard bit.
• Ill - I appear to have done my usual February thing and become ill. Fortunately, I got an appointment quickly this morning and will be going to work with my antibiotics and painkillers tomorrow as most of the symptoms have gone.
• Diablo 2 - Whilst waiting for Diablo 3 to become available, bateleur and I took on the last release again, on-line. His assassin and my sorceress proved a good combination (except against that end of level 2 bad) and took down Baal about an hour ago.
• Valentine's Day - We celebrated in the usual way, food and alcohol. For once I cooked the main course - a pea and prawn risotto whilst bateleur baked garlic mushrooms for a starter and a ginger, rum and raisin cake for dessert. There was also a yummy red wine that, sadly, Tesco are discontinuing. For the duo there were chocolate hearts (with carmel centres) from Marks, so they were well-pleased with the occasion.

This year my parents and chrestomancy came to us for Christmas. The result was a relaxing family holiday:

• Christmas Eve - My parents arrived in the morning, whilst chrestomancy didn't appear until after dinner. We exchanged news, took the duo to the little park (which they are fast getting too old for) and ate (I made pizza, fruit salad and chocolate mousse). In the evening we all watched Entrapment which I've seen before and is good fun if you're not expecting too much.
• Christmas Day - Stockings for the duo whilst the rest of us took our time getting up, breakfast, tree presents, wrapping paper clear-up and then Christmas Dinner. This year bateleur and I did it between us and, whilst we were in the kitchen for the last couple of hours, it was pretty relaxed compared to previous years. The food had all cooked to schedule - the turkey which bateleur had prepared was lovely - the champagne which my parents had brought was good and the pudding from the local bakers was great. The afternoon was lazing around with books and, in the duo's case, toys and then the evening was another film - this time Stardust which I saw a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed (although it's somewhat different to the graphic novel).
• Boxing Day - The following day chrestomancy went home whilst we went to Kew and had the usual coffee and cake along with the usual walk. It was beautiful, but very cold and we spent a fair amount of time in the various indoor bits. It also gave me my first bit of exercise in a while. In the evening bateleur made curry and then the film of the night was LA Confidential.
• Saturday - Yesterday my parents departed, taking the duo with them. I was sorry to see them go, but it means we have an extremely quiet house. I've found I desperately missed the Ems again as this used to be her time for coming out and taking over the noise vacancy.

My present hoard:

• Not in the Flesh - Ruth Rendell - I've also read this now. Sadly, I think it's her worst Wexford to date. The second plot line never ties in with the first and, for once, it's obvious to the reader what the twist is as the way that Wexford first sees things just seems so wrong. However, still Rendell and still enjoyable.
• House of Many Ways - Diana Wynne Jones - I've heard brief non-spoilerish reviews of this - that it isn't her best - but I'll soon get to find out for myself.
• Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks - Christopher Brookmyre - I've heard no reviews, so I'm hoping this is up to his usual standard.
• The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure (PC) - This is by the Darkfall writer (Jonathan Boakes) and, having thoroughly enjoyed the Darkfall games, I have high hopes for this as it scores better reviews.
• Another Code: Two Memories (DS) - This is from the Hotel Dusk team and, again, it's supposed to be a good game (although in a different style).
• Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) - I'm looking forward to this, it's had excellent reviews.
• Jigsaw Map - Of where I live. It doesn't look too difficult and it's been ages since I did a jigsaw (and even longer since I did my own jigsaw).
• A framed picture of the Swinside Stone Circle - This was close to Brockwood Hall for those who went to BadgerCon, but I don't think anyone visited it that week. It was a regular feature of my Xmases as a child and it's lovely to have a framed picture for the lounge.
• Chocolates - Of course, it's Christmas.

All in all, an excellent holiday was had by all.

I've always loved October; I tend to have lots of fun stuff on and, ever since University, I've seen it as the start of the year. This year, it's been a pretty good month so far:

• Food - a couple of weeks ago, glittertigger, zandev, quisalan and ao_lai came for dinner. We ate risotto (ham and pea this time), duck tortillas with tomatoes stuffed with meatballs and then chocolates and bakalava with liqueurs. Conversation veered from books to saunas to computer games and I remember presenting glittertigger with my copy of Art of Murder after enthusing at length about it. Our guests had generously brought yummy chocolates, wine and irises and it was a great evening.
• Magic - I was rather apprehensive about playing Magic last weekend as I haven't opened a deck of Magic cards for a long time now (and was more of a Yu-Gi-Oh! player). However, I opened decent packs and enjoyed the day of play. Also it was nice to meet several_bees, kevandotorg and pm215 (not quite for the first time I'd met any of the three, but the first time properly). Plus to see a huggyrei. And there were home-made cookies from several_bees which I scoffed more than my fair share of. bateleur has hinted that he might do the same with the new set next year and I'm pretty keen now to do it again.
• The Amulet of Samarkand - The was recommended to me on LJ some months ago (by undyingking, I think) and I finally read it on the train from Leeds yesterday. It was great and I finished it in one long go. It made me laugh, whilst having a pretty decent plot, good pace and appearing completely consistent. It's "alternative England" stuff (magical realism?) and very nicely done. Additionally, both the main characters were somewhat flawed and yet still had me rooting for them. I can't wait to get hold of the rest of the trilogy.
• The Illusionist - This was our second film of the month and the title had made me expect another version of The Prestige. But it wasn't; if anything it was the negative of it. Set, very roughly, around the same sort of time, this was a much lighter story although, again, with plenty of twists. I really liked it, particularly as it didn't give me nightmares in the same way.
• Pension power - Every couple of years, the civil service send out the details of pensions and, as I'd moved departments, they'd got mine wrong. I was down for about a decade and a half less of service than I really had. Plus, more disturbingly, they'd also widowed me.
• Dinosaur - I travelled back on the train today with a dinosaur in the seat next to me. sadly, it wasn't my dinosaur. But it was furry to stroke.