(no subject)

I am on the final leg of my cleanathon before Mum arrives this afternoon. All that's left to do is put fresh linens on the bed and take the trash out (it's full anyway). She's arriving this afternoon and we're probably ordering sushi for dinner (well, for me; thai for her). Tomorrow we're going to the Planetarium or the Smart Museum, and then on Monday we're....

Well, there's no easy way to say this: we're going antiquing.

Not that I don't like wandering around antique stores looking at all the cool and occasionally ridiculous stuff people think other people want to own, but Mum's going to buy a bunch of ridiculously useless things AND LEAVE THEM HERE.

DID I MENTION THE LIGHTER SHAPED LIKE A DUTCH CLOG?

BECAUSE I OWN ONE.

That she bought for me.

The upshot of all this is that I probably won't be around much until Tuesday, when she goes home.

Totally unrelated to the above, last night I had a brilliant idea for Torchwood S4, which you may ( find behind the cut )

(no subject)

I AM DISCOVERING THE FIG.

There, I said it.

I never thought I would like figs. In theory they sound delicious, squishy and sweet and juicy, but I was an incredibly picky eater as a child and tended not to like fruits with lots of seeds (I still can't stand strawberries unless they've been strained for a pudding). Possibly the first time I'd ever tasted fig was as a jam, on a sandwich. I liked it, so I bought some fig jam, which goes nicely with turkey and leftover stuffing or brie on a sandwich, and is also delicious on toast or baked into pastries.

Then I thought, clearly I like the taste, so the next time I saw some dried figs I picked some up. They're good, but so sweet and seed-y that I can't eat them alone. I eat them sliced on sandwiches or chopped up with walnuts and boiled egg.

Lo and behold, while searching for More Dried Figs, I found that PeaPod actually sells fresh figs. Maybe this would solve the super-sweet issue. And anyway look how delicious they look! So I bought some fresh figs.

Except...they're green. Are they supposed to be green? I thought they turned yellow or brown. So I googled around and found out that unripe figs are green and everyone, with a few minor exceptions, seems to think figs don't ripen once they're picked. Clearly they won't ripen if I put them in the fridge, where I stash most of my fruit. So I've put them in a bowl with an apple, and I am hoping for the best.

SAM STARBUCK: I ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO.

Ripening advice appreciated, though. Also, am I supposed to eat the skin? I am hampered in my quest to be a foodie by total ignorance of many things to do with plants.

T-minus three hours until Mum arrives.

(no subject)

MUM HAS ARRIVED.

She likes the weather (cool for once) and the Chinese I ordered for dinner. Over dinner I explained the plot of Deathly Hallows to her, because she just saw the last film and "I thought Snape was a GOOD guy! I LIKED him! I FEEL BETRAYED."

aunty_marion, she positively cooed over the Dalek you knitted me. She thinks it's the most adorable thing ever.

THEN

She saw the Penis Pot I forgot to put away, and said, "Oh! What an interesting pot! It looks like a Neti Pot!" which it is, but that's not the first thing people generally think when they see it.

"It is a neti pot," I said.

"I'll show you how to use it later!"

"THAT'S REALLY OK," I replied, because I don't need to see my mother looking like...this.

She brought chocolate and nori!

Not in combination.