- Kerstin
Weekly Diversions
Updated: Aug 11, 2020
Bunny is now only on two medications -- and his appetite is back! He has started to gain back weight slowly. The plan is to get him back to his initial weight in early June before moving forward with his regular care. The tropical storm last Tuesday brought some heavy winds to western Mass as well as microbursts. Many homes lost power (some are still without); we had power (though we would lose it randomly) but had no internet for over 18 hours last Wednesday. I ended up having a technology free day while we waited for internet to come back. It was nice. I felt like there was nothing to distract me.
Big surprise for T & I! T's parents brought home the new puppy early on Saturday. It has been puppy love all weekend. Her name is Lucie, and she is less than four pounds. She is currently being potty trained and adjusting to life with us. The household occupants are now: T's parents, T, myself, 16 year-old Shih Tzu, 6-year-old Cat, and a 9-week-old Shih Tzu.
Photo Courtesy of Unsplash media.
Playing:
T and I are still playing Mass Effect.
Photo courtesy of EA.
I intermittently play Murder in the Alps on my I-Pad. This is a hidden objects game which centers around a reporter investigating deaths in the Alps. Its Nancy Drew meets Indiana Jones meets Poirot. There are many small stories surrounding Anna Myers, a journalist from Zurich, that you can play: there are three major parts (based on location) that are broken down into distinct chapters (aka deaths). My favorite is the very first chapter "The Deadly Snowstorm", people keep dropping like flies and there is a sense of urgency since you can't help but wonder if your character is next. The other chapters are fine and help pass the time. My least favorite chapter is "The Only Redemption," the chapter I finished this past week. There were too many plot holes, unanswered questions, and I honestly wasn't super satisfied with the story conclusion.
Photo courtesy of Nordcurrent.
Watching:
King of the Hill, Season 11 (first time watching) & Brooklyn 99, Season 3 (third time watching) -- all are on Hulu.
T and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Season 1 on Disney +.
S (T's mom) and I have been watching a bunch of movies recently. Last week we watched Inside Out! and Coco. While we play cards, we usually have Nailed It! (Netflix) on in the background.
Photos courtesy of their copyright holders.
Reading:
Each Saturday night I am reading the latest chapter of Lore Olympus season 2. I can't wait to hear more news about how Jim Henson Company is going to adapt it for the screen.
You can follow Rachel Smythe, the creator, here:
Photo courtesy of Rachel Smythe.
Eating:
For the past two months we have had Thursday Pizza Nights at the house. We don't indulge in takeout, but instead make our own pizza! We have recently been experimenting with crusts trying to find the best dough. Last week I tried Bobby Flay's pizza dough and it turned out really well. Its a really simple and quick recipe, which mostly relies on waiting around to let it rise. Double the recipe to get four mini/med pizzas. This week due to the puppy and my time constraints from work, we are buying pre-made dough from the local grocery.
What do we do for toppings? It depends on the week. Last week I made a traditional Margherita Pizza, a pizza with canadian bacon & white onion (no red sauce), and two assorted sweet pepper pizzas (one with and one without sausage).
Click through!
I was planning to post about a lemon cake with buttercream and blueberry preserves I was trying to make, but that dessert never successfully came together. Instead, I ended up making Chocolate Lemon Truffles, because that was the only way to salvage my failures.
Failures:
Realized too late there were no eggs! So I had to substitute with vinegar and baking soda.
I tried making individual cake portions instead of a sheet cakes. The edges became too brown and bottoms stuck to the muffin tins.
Buttercream split. Again!
I ended up treating the failed individual elements like ingredients for cake pops and mixed everything together. I formed balls and froze them, then dipped them in semi-sweet chocolate that I melted. They would have been amazing if it had been white chocolate, but considering I didn't dump everything in the trash this turned out to be a nice little treat. I keep them in a bag in the freezer so they are cold, and are slowly consumed.
Experiences:
I first heard about the 72 Seasons app on a Ghost of Tsushima reddit page. The app is a seasonal calendar based on the ancient Japanese calendar which divides the year into 72 seasons. It offers poetry, mindfulness, and some history about Japan and its people. It is a very relaxing experience overall and has the Ghost of Tsushima Japan appreciation vibes.
Through the 72 Seasons App, I learned about 72 Seasons Nara, which is a similar app that shares the Ancient Japanese Capital of Nara (the birthplace of imperial Japan) based on the seasons. You can read the seasonal highlight which usually revolves around history and culture, and the "seasonal adventures" aka the best things to do there at that specific time of year. You can follow it organically, or peruse at your leisure. *
*I have seen many people lamenting online about their cancelled summer trips so if you are open to do a virtual trip, this might be something fun for you. I personally enjoy it because I love learning about history and honestly, pre-pandemic, wasn't in a spot to really travel anyway.
Fun Thought:
When I wore my Jurassic Park shirt last week I didn't realize they were currently filming the third installment of the Jurassic World series. I found out thanks to Laura Dern's Insta. The next film, Jurassic: Dominion, will bring back some of the original characters in more than just a cameo role which I am personally psyched for.