Blowtorch Crafts

I am going to Øya for the next four days, a music festival conveniently in the centre of Oslo:

And of course, the forecast says rain, rain, rain – so I have put on my wellies and found my rain hat far back in the closet.

Tan lines on my feet

My leg after skateboarding

My foot and a sea urchin

I got the Plastic Bullet App for my iPhone, and I love it:

A lot has been happening in my life lately. As some of you know, I usually take time off from my regular job (as a web editor) to work on a festival in the south of Norway in the summer. My festival job mainly involves organising and bossing everybody around, and I really enjoy it, being a control freak and a bossy bitch ;)

Over the past six months, I have grown really tired of my daily routine. You see, I have spent the last ten years of my life hurrying through university in a rush to be a grownup. And of course, now that I am, I am bored with it. I really regret not taking the time to travel and be irresponsible, and now I don’t have the opportunity, what with the mortgage and the job and everything.

So, I have quit my job and am starting something more fun: I’m returning to the music business. Come November 1st, I can wave goodbye to regular working hours, a structured daily life and any kind of sense – and I really can’t wait. Some of my friends undoubtedly think I am crazy for leaving what is in fact a high status job, but I really think I will be happier. I won’t be able to travel much more, but I hope I will have more fun.

I’m slowly starting to knit again. The last weeks have frankly been hell, with severe lack of sleep and an increasing amount of problems. Now, however, everything seems better. Let’s hope the light at the end of the tunnel is not an incoming train.

I have started a scarf in my knotty alpaca yarn. No pictures yet, I’m sorry…

And I have sailed the Færder regatta, in a total lack of wind. But it was incredibly warm and sunny, and altogether a nice trip:
We were actually able to swim around the boat while sailing…

The water remained calm throughout the night…

On the following morning, we got ourselves into what you might call a tight situation…

Some weeks earlier we sailed the Breidangen regatta, when the conditions were a bit different:

Sailing season has started, and I have the marks to prove it:
On the left is a large scratch on my leg, made before the boat was even in the water. On the right is the back of my knee, and in the middle is my wrist.

Yes indeedy, I took a bath on April 15th. With all my clothes. Twice. The first time, we were in the process og raising the mast, when I took a step backwards onto nothing and fell in the water. It was about 6 degrees, but at least it was sunny. In the process I knocked both my knees, the result can be seen above. I am not able to walk today.

When my clothes had dried, we went sailing. Which was very nice, but I got wet and cold again. And then, I slipped when I tried to jump from the boat to the pier, and fell in the water. I managed to hold on to the pier, but I scratched both my wrists in the process, and got wet from the waist down.

I tried making banana and chocolate muffins yesterday, from a recipe I found on a forum. They were good as a basis, but as usual, I feel the need to change them to my taste. I have this unfortunate tendency: I am not able to leave well enough alone. Especially with food, recently also with crafts. As I grow more confident, I need to alter things. I have been food confident for a long time, but altering craft is also fun :)

So, the muffins… They were not quite moist enough, so I plan on replacing the oil with something else. Maybe sour milk? They also lacked a hint of spice, so I will try with a little cardamom. And perhaps some vanilla? Chocolate chips as well as cocoa might also be a good idea…

Lovely. In my workplace, there are five people. One is working on another project until April. One is at the moment on vacation in Italy. One is on sick leave with mouse arm, not a good thing in the internet business. The fourth had to call in sick today with a beginning mouse arm, hoping that a week’s rest will make it better. Which leaves: me.

Jolly good.

There is so much to do! I am trying to work 500%, something that is not humanly possible, and tomorrow is the deadline for my paper. It is a silly little paper, with pass grades only, but I have not finished reading the curriculum. Gaaah. I will probably be up until 3 AM, and then proceed to work 500% tomorrow as well. And overtime is scheduled for the weekend…

In the meantime, you can enjoy a picture of my lovely new crocheted hat. It is très cute, even though I say it myself. And easy peasy :)

I used this pattern from DROPS (in norwegian), but made it in one colour and skipped the pom-pons.

Why am I posting when I have so much to do? I missed my train. And starting a new task will take longer than the thirty minutes I have to wait.

The sleeves are now attatched to the jacket, but I have not taken any pictures yet. More on this tomorrow!

In the meantime, food is today’s issue. This is partly inspired by Vox’s Question of the Day from a couple of days ago:
“What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?”
As some may know, I was the kind of child who couldn’t resist a dare. So, aside from various plants and bugs, my answer to that question would be one of the following:
1. A small stone
2. Pine bark
3. A raw fish heart
The pine bark was very dry and hard, but tasted somewhat interesting. I suspect the stone is still somewhere inside me – my appendix perhaps? The fish heart was truly disgusting, but luckily quite small.

The other part of today’s inspiration stems from Susan at Farmgirl Fare from some months ago:
How do you know you’re a foodie?
I am most definitely a foodie, as all my friends and family will testify to. This is my answer to that question:
I’ve had several “defining moments”.
The first was when my friend pointed out that I hum while eating.
The next was when I discovered that, strangely, not all people sort their ingredients by what meal they belong to.
Most recently was a couple of days ago, when one of my colleagues (I work in a bookstore) told me excitedly that five gorgeous young men had arrived, wearing only aprons and tight boxer shorts, to promote a new cookbook. My response was: “Ooh, did they bring food?”
Everyone looked at me rather strangely.

Autumn makes me long for warm, hearty dishes like cassoulet, pasta carbonara, pea soup and meat pies. Mmmmmmmmm. I make a wicked cassoulet, if I say so myself, and I found a great recipe a couple of years ago (of course, I made a few changes). Unfortunately, it seems to have disappeared while I was moving house. I will try to dig it up and post it – it is really pretty easy. Naturally, there are some preparations to make, a lot of chopping and braising and peeling (orange zest), but once that is done, voila! The pan will simmer prettily for a couple of hours, and you can do something else. Like lay the table or take a bath or watch a movie. And it gets better if you make it a day in advance, cool it and reheat it. Great for dinner parties, or just for you. It freezes wonderfully as well.

If I can’t find it, I’ll have to try and reconstruct it. It really is good.

Hungry now? Then you are at least some kind of foodie…