all made up with nowhere to go

I see the location bug on profile pages has been fixed, and I am now a resident of the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

OK then.

(I'm...it's just so formal).

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Got an order on mah Etsy! After two offline commissions in a row!

*runs around the place screaming and generally being unprofessional*

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BLERGH THE WEATHER IS KILLING ME. WHY SO HOT AND HUMID.

(I know why. Climate change. I'm moving to Scotland, I swear to god. It's so much cooler up there (though further away from Wales *cries*) Though I guess I could always move back to the NW coast...it never seemed to be this ridiculously hot there then).

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I was actually thinking about making a Magneto vid the other day, but now I can't remember which bloody song it was for. (Looking through my last.fm scrobbles for the last few days isn't jogging my memory either). Also: neither DVD for footage (though going to fix that next time I am in CEX, though it's somewhat dependent on the price of DoFP). (Turns out it is peanuts because, of course, nobody wants DVDs any more).

I haven't vidded in seven years, so this is saying something (also staring at Michael Fassbender? Not a problem :D ). I don't know how good the default software on Ubuntu is for vid editing, though, and I am not confident enough to run a make-install of Cinelerra, which apparently you can do amazing things with.

Though thinking about it now, you could TOTALLY make a Xavier/Magneto video for Always on My Mind because it fits so hard, I can't even. (I wouldn't even say this, because I've never shipped them in my life, and I didn't understand people shipping them after First Class came out. But I have since learnt that the writers wrote them as though they were in a relationship and it totally works?? I mean, I didn't know that when I watched First Class the other day, but picked up on it there, and then wondered if I was imagining it. But no. Totally not).

tl;dr: drowning in X-Men feels, essentially.

(ETA: I love how even the thought of Michael Fassbender distracted me enough to miss several crucial words out of this entry, and led to me having to edit it twice (one time at posting, once just now). I'm. Yeah. I'll be over here, if anyone needs me).

On the fourth disc of Lost Odyssey. I swear the puzzle temples/areas are there to sort of string the game out a bit. I'd actually like an HD remake with an expansion on the story, but knowing my luck, it'd be on the XBone.

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I made some stuff I've never made before!

I made banana chips, and I cooked them for too long, and they're horribly burnt (and taste kind of gross, but I sort of feel like I have to eat them now). I think part of it is down to our oven running too hot sometimes, and the bananas being very over ripe. I had to put some in the recycling because it was mush and wouldn't have held together. So next time I need less ripe bananas, and less time in the oven.

I also made tomato chutney! Because I had a glut of tomatoes (and I've still got a million left, so I'll have to make some more). I had to find a really simple one, because pretty much all the ones I looked at required things I didn't have, and that couldn't be bought at a corner shop. And I winged it on which spices to use because the recipe I used said put chilli in, and I don't like them so NOPE. In the end, I used cardamom, ginger, and garlic. So if it tastes awful, at least it smelt nice while it was cooking.

So at least that's one thing off my goals for this year, even if it wasn't onion chutney (it had onions in it, though).

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Also I went out and was sociable!

I don't know who remembers (or if I even really said what we were up to) but, at one point last year, me and some friends were getting together once a week and doing craft stuff. We stopped around December time because the place where were meeting suddenly weren't happy about it, and because some friends had Xmas commitments (they sing in a choir and there was an Xmas concert). And then we didn't restart again after because winter and also I fell into a Dragon Age shaped hole (which they don't know about, lolololol. I mean, they know I play video games, but they don't need me nerding to them about my mage boyfriend. THAT'S WHAT YOU GUYS ARE FOR ;D ).

Anyway, I was talking to Jackie a while ago, and said that I missed us getting together. She said she did too, so we ought to start again. Only we didn't, because video games, and also Jackie has three kids and herself to look after so it just didn't happen.

Until we got a slightly more organised friend involved. So now we're meeting once a week at her house, and that's what I was doing when being sociable. Or, what I was supposed to be doing.

Because she was having a ukelele lesson when I got there (it overran, I think). Hence the post last night. ALTHOUGH. Her playing the uke is making me want to practice guitar again, so I suppose that's a good thing - I tuned my guitar for the first time in years a bit since and hearing it be in tune was amazing. Then I futzed about on it because lovely sounds. So that's good (though it doesn't help with learning to play the piano...)

Also I am working on a commission for said organised friend, which is great because that means I (temporarily) get some money! Unlike the last couple of commissions I had, I might actually remember to take photos for posterity (and showing off purposes ;) ) this time.

P.S. if interested in a commission, please check here (btw one thing I meant to mention on there was that payment plans are available to all, no matter how much you are paying me)

I got a surprise commission the other day, which was cool! (I think I forgot to mention it the other day). Yesterday I saw my commissioner (nicely avoiding having to message her on Facebook, as I don't have her phone number), and she agreed to pay the price I wanted for the work. I worked on it today, and then went to take it to her house.

She wasn't in, but when I was walking back home (as she lives about fifteen minutes' walk from me), I decided to walk along the hillside, instead of the main road. And I really enjoyed it, in spite of muddy feet and nearly angering a stallion who was keeping tabs on his pregnant mare. (There's around ten or so horses that come across the hillside daily and then go back home at night). So I made a hasty exit. (I actually almost thought there was no way to get down off the hillside there (there was a path I didn't spot at first), and thought I would have to go up the hill some way to get away from the horses so that I could get down and not spook them).

(Anyway, it doesn't matter that she wasn't in because I'd given myself the end of the weekend as a deadline (and told her that) and I got a walk and some horses out of it).

~*~

Please. If you ever read my Etsy descriptions and they sound awful it's because the pressure of writing them makes me forget how to use the English language.

~*~

Also hey guess what I rediscovered my crocheting mojo (hadn't done any for six weeks), so how about that? I did a baby hat last weekend, then timed the amigurumi for commission purposes, then started a toy for my nephew, then did the commission proper.

I haven't finished the scarf which was the last thing I was working on six weeks ago, but that's not important - i.e. it doesn't need finishing in a hurry, so it can wait till I'm ready to tackle it again (it's not difficult, it's just the associations with it that are).

(I also knitted a slouch hat which took no time at all, because it was knitted using super chunky yarn and 10mm needles. I don't like hats, much less slouch hats, but I was making it with Jackie in mind. Only she hasn't seen it yet).

(Talking of Jackie, she commissioned me to knit her a pair of socks, only she can't afford to pay me for them until Xmas, so I'm keeping hold of them for the time being. ANYWAY. I took them for her to look at the other day, and she loves the colours! This is good! She also tried one on, and she says it's the best fitting sock she's ever worn. AWESOME. I managed that without knowing her shoe size or anything. Turns out she's a 6, the same as me).

I know I say this practically every time I write about knitting and/or crochet, but pictures soon, I swear! I'm trying to get back into some of my old habits for photo processing and the like. But having my new phone is making me a bit lazy because I think, "well, I could just upload it from here". Which I could. But I'd rather not.

I've finished off my first commission! Hurrah. Now to, um, start on the other one.

I was going to deliver it today (as the commissioner lives five minutes' walk away), but felt ill, so opted to veg about all day (which I was going to do anyway, to give myself a break, but instead I didn't leave the house because I felt so oogy).

ANYWAY.

I am SUPER pleased with it, and I hope she is, too. And once I get paid for it, I can pay off my NI contributions! YAY.

(I feel grown up. It's so weird).

I will try to post pictures at the weekend, but I make no promises.

~*~

In unrelated news, Tumblr is doing my head in (but seriously, when does it ever not?)

~*~

Two more days, and then I am on holiday until next year!!! (Well, 2nd of January). Although I still have the second commission to work on, so I won't be having a "proper" break as it were, but I won't be working on anything else, nor working all day. And then I will get distracted by ME3, so...yeah...

Life will be good.

So this is kind of exciting!

I have two commissions which, between them, will net me £90. That, in turn, will pay for my national insurance contributions. YAY.

(I mean, I could buy a Kobo Glo with it (since I'm thinking of investing in one), but the NI contributions need paying before the end of January, I need to be sensible, and I can set aside other money for the Kobo).

(I'm pretty excite about it, to be honest, even if it is an e-reader/whatever. IT READS COMICS FILES. That is one HUGENORMOUS reason to get it over a Kindle, or whatever else).

So yeah, two commissions! *dances* \o/

~*~

Meanwhile, in ME2:

~ I manage to save Kal Reegar this time! *more dancing*

~ Running about like an idiot on Illium. Ran into Conrad Werner which didn't happen last time with Zoe (because she got him killed by proxy. Uh, whoops?) - therefore managed to start a side quest I've never even seen before.

~ Just about to go after Samara. So to speak.

~ Bought star maps. Will wreak havoc on the galaxy later.

~*~

Time for bed, said Zebedee.

Patiently waiting on a letter from the HMRC to tell me to fill in a tax return. I know I should be in fear and quaking, and panicking, because apparently that's what tax returns do to people, but...I don't know, it will feel official when it comes through?

*shrugs*

In slightly related news, I am working on another scarf, and making labels. Really I want to be drawing, because I have a thousand ideas, and a couple of pictures to ink (and then flat colour). But. I don't know. Although I do need to do some doodling, 'cause I need to design a logo (partly because I want to make a price list I can email/mail to people and it'd be nice for it to look all awesome).

I have finished off my first commission, so now I need to ring the client and find out when she'll be in so I can deliver it (I guess I could post it, but she hasn't paid me yet, and we don't see each other often). And then...what next? I've got some thoughts percolating round. I just need to keep telling myself that this is not arsing about, even though sometimes it feels like it is, and it is actual work, la la la la la la la.

Also, tell you what - it is nice to be able to talk about things I do at work! (I only never did in the last job because some of it was confidential, and some of it I just wasn't sure about at all, so thought it was better to err on the side of caution.

Got some woolly pics to spam, but not now because I am super tired for no apparent reason. Also have a couple of pics available as prints, but I haven't finished the second one, but I'll post those, too, when they're ready to go.