I was just thinking how i wanted hot nectarines and remembered a nice thing to do with them.

Half the nectarines and grill them till you can easily peel the skins off
Place in a saucepan (or frying pan) with muscat wine (though possibly mead would also work) with a teeny bit of ginger and simmer till the nectarines are soft an falling apart at the edges a little.

Heat sugar until it goes like toffee, then make little baskets out of it in whatever way you like to do this best. I like to use a teaspoon to dribble the sugar over a frozen, greased ladle.

Lay the sugar baskets on a pretty plate, then in each basket place some peach halves and enough juice to form a little puddle around the sugar basket. Top with mascapone and a sprig of mint.

I may make this and post a picture if i can be bothered.

Am having another one of my funny moments again, like in manchester, where i shake and my vision goes blurry and I see random lights. Now my toes have gone all tingly, and there are random shooting pains up my hands and feet, and my tummy is a big pile of pain and nausea and for some unknown reason I can smell toast, strawberries and smelly feet (which I know arn't real).
I felt ok ten minutes ago! Bloody life.
The shaking has stopped already though, which is good. Took fours hours to stop last time.

Shall not post on beltane discussion lists again, opened mouth, discovered piles and piles of feet in it.
Also made an accidental pern reference that people have found hugely offensive, and absolutely no one got. Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaail.

Well there is good news and bad news.
The good news is that I lost 3 inches all over, the bad news is that this occurred in a week of eating relatively high fat food. Oh good, it's going to be one of those months. Mmm, delicious smoothies for dinner time...

Turns out that no matter how much nesquick and cherry yoghurt and cherries you add, protein powder still tastes nasty.

Matt called me this when he saw the new multicoloured dreads and it amused me so much I thought I would post it:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trustafarian%20peacock

I have just realised, I have managed to be so annoyed by an opinion that was stated to me last year in the run up to Beltane that it still keeps me awake at night being irritated by it.

That's right, keeps me awake nearly a year late.

That's really quite irritated.

I don't want to just join any gym though, and want to join THIS gym: http://onespa.com

Nice eh?

But, I am really not sure I can justify the cost.
The upsides are that I will probably go every day I am not too ill as it will get me out of the house, and will speed the recovery of my knee, and being fitter is always a good thing. It also has all the thermal suite business, and a lovely child free swimming pool (which even if i didn't keep up going to the gym I would definitely use)

On the other hand, it really is very expensive. On the other hand, it is 5 pizza/sushi orders a month expensive, so really if i stopped eating sushi all the time and actually remembered to go to sainsburys then I would be able to afford it.
Also, Andrew just got a big pay rise and my parents are giving me money now too.

On the other hand, if I am well enough to go to the gym I am also well enough to get a job (which is kinda the crux of the matter here). I suppose I could get a part time job, and then use part of the money to pay for the gym membership and go on my days off. How in gods name do you get a job in edinburgh??? One that does not have air conditioning (which I have figured is what I hate so much about shop work). I suppose its trawling round town with CV's really isn't it. Hate that bit. Jobs arnt so bad once you have them, but getting them... tricky.

So i mentioned that I haven't really been feeling myself lately, what with the miserable and all, so I though well I might as well mention it to my doctor, though she probably wont be able to do anything to stop me being such a grumpy pants.
Well she said, why don't you just try taking these vitamins and see if they help? You could just be lacking B12 what with the stomach and the digesting fail.
So I took them, and now i am my usual chirpy self again.
Win.

Would also explain the dairy cravings (beyond the general fat cravings).

Apparently sleep is for other people. I really need to fix my sleep cycle.

Mouse!
Mouse in my kitchen!
Dead mouse!
On the upside, it seems to have died of starvation, which means it probably came from another flat and couldn't get back again.

Edit: Not a dead mouse!!!! Alive mouse! Very ill, but alive!

Sigh, well i have a referee, and i have an application, and yet ucas makes it so very difficult to link these two together.
Why can it not just be a case of click button, receive uni place?
At least Redland are agreeing to write the reference though.
Oh, as a spot of interest, the first thing that came up when googling redland was not the school website, but about 20 news stories about one of the redland primary school teachers being arrested for pedophilia.

Oh dear, it's happening again.
I spent a few minutes considering what I was going to do in Beltane and the idea that was sitting under the surface bubbled up and started telling me what it wanted doing, so I shall write it down and then maybe be able to sleep.

So, the idea that's forming is a story for the fire group, and as such the basics of a performance.

The story starts with fire in the other world, cold and dying after a long harsh winter. The little fire spirits huddle together slowly seeping out of existence, when in the distance they see the first glimmering of a torch. Looking at that glimmer of life they desperately want it, and yet they hate its source, hate the goddess who let them die in the cold over the winter and so send one down to steal a piece of that life from her.
The sprite returns with the little flame and shares it round and the fire leap up wildly, uncontrolled and burning hot and bright, but all too soon it runs out and the sprites die again, back into winters embrace. But, as they lie dying that little distant torch comes closer, and with it the maiden gathering her forces for spring. She looks upon them with pity and although they stole some of her flame she forgives them and gifts them a new spark so they can live again. They leap up and begin their wild dance again with their new life burning themselves out once more, but the maidens sadness at this shows them how they are going wrong, and so they temper their flame into a more controlled yet much stronger fire so that they may burn all summer long.
For teaching them this they forgive the goddess, learning they were wrong to hate her and willingly follow the maiden as she journeys out of the other world and join her as part of her court to begin the summer.

As a performance this would start with hand wicks (just a few wraps so they only burn for a minute or so) which would be lit off a torch as the procession was making its way from the previous element, and there would be a completely wild, uncontrolled dance until the flames go out as the may queen arrives. The next part of the performance would start uncontrolled with various fire toys, but would move towards a more controlled choreographed dance with its basis in ballet.

The trouble is that that is what my brain would like to lead a group doing this, but other people would probably like an opinion too (they generally do). Also I am not sure that I am currently experienced enough or mature enough to lead a group, and even if I was I don't know who on earth I would have as a co-leader. The only person who I can think of that I would be able to work with effectively without stabbing at some point in the three months is Matt, but he will want to be doing Red and probably wouldn't want to do fire anyway.

And so I shall firmly tell my brain to shut up and stop having ideas and go to the open meeting with an open mind, an open heart and a switched on brain so I can join a group with a really good group leader. Hopefully that Steven chap will be running something that's quite me. I have heard very good things about all his groups.

I feel Andrew and I have a very normal and healthy relationship. An example of this is today's conversation.

Me: I wish the UK was more like America sometimes, America has so much more yogurt
Andrew: I'm going to build a concentration camp for all the megablocks.

Very healthy, very normal.

And another entry for Siobhan:

Glace Fruits

1lb fruit cover with water and boil until fruit is just tender.



Day 1 To 1/2pt liquid from fruit add 6 oz sugar and boil until you have a clear syrup and pour over fruit

Day 2 Drain fruit and add 2 oz sugar. Boil and pour over fruit

Day 3 Drain fruit and add 2 oz sugar. Boil and pour over fruit

Day 4 Drain fruit and add 2 oz sugar. Boil and pour over fruit

Day 5 Drain fruit and add 3 oz sugar. Boil and pour over fruit

Day 6 Leave to soak

Day 7 Leave to soak

Day 8 Drain fruit and add 3 oz sugar. Boil and pour over fruit

Day 9 Leave to soak

Day 10 Leave to soak

Day 11 Leave to soak

Day 12 Leave to soak



Drain fruit and dry in a very very cool oven until dry (probably overnight)

Pack in waxes paper and sprinkle with sugar

In other news, kids/boyfriend/girlfriend bored?
Here is a recipe for you:

Playdough

1 cup of plain flour
1 tsp of cream of tartar
½ cup of salt
1 tbs of oil
1 cup of water
A few drops of food colouring



Stir all the ingredients together until you get the right colour (it will get darker with cooking)

Cook in a pan until you get a stiff dough.

Leave to cool and knead until smooth.

Put in a plastic tub with a sealy lid and don’t eat it!

Can an American explain what the health care reforms in the US actually mean for individuals to me?
I tried reading the BBC article but did not quite get it, as it sounded like it was still screwing over the population, and i'm sure that can't be the case.

Was the work quiz today, and my brain is in "oh god, i will never see these people again" mode. Am sad.

I am such a clever sausage, I know what I can make felicity for christmas that takes lots of time and effort but very little money and that she will love, candied frut!

All i need now is a few more interesting fruits (as well as the apples and oranges i already have) and a pretty box. £5 should do it.

People at acro kept joking that I have a teeny tiny pain tolerance because when James pinched my thigh I yelped like a boy (I would say like a girl, but there was also much pointing out that girls are supposed to have higher pain tolerances).
THE BRUISES ARE 4" ACROSS!
Ow. Don't care if I'm a wimp. Hurts.

Also, am somewhat at the limit of how much pain I can take anyway. Stomach is not my friend and it thinks I would like to double over now.

Oh, but i managed to do a head stand (with support to balance) for like a minute without fainting afterward. Iron tablets win! Also, James taught us how to position your arms properly and when done that way it is not ludicrously painful on the top of your head, turns out I was not being a wimp, I just managed to find the most painful way possible to do them before.