Mocho Semifreddo

Stepped a little out of my culinary comfort zone today and attempted to make a mocha semifreddo. The part that scared me was whipping up the eggs over a double boiler, last thing I wanted was coffee flavoured scrambled eggs. Once I folded in the cream though, I couldn't stop licking the spatula - always a good sign. They're chilling overnight now, hoping they taste good frozen too. Could even have a new signature dessert.

We've been living in our new neighborhood for a little over three months now and to Rebecca's dismay, not a single garden cat has shown us an ounce of affection. That all changed this evening though as a fluffy cat jumped through a hole in the fence and rushed up for cuddles. We were so enamored by him we ended up chilling out in the garden for way longer than we planned. Here's a cute picture of me with my new best friend. Pardon the dodgy haircut, lockdown and all that.

Foodie Friday

Crawling over the finishing line this Friday and just about got a plan of a draft worked out for my current project. Started typing it up too as a mini edit/get it off paper move, that's next week's job now though and to celebrate, we bought some ice lollies. I'm in a real cooking mood recently I've noticed, Rebecca has all these great cook books and I've never once trawled through their pages for inspiration. Now that the weather is nice I wanna make salads and dishes with couscous. Got a few ideas in the bag now, along with a few ideas for some quick puddings I want to make over the weekend. It's going to be a very foodie few days.

Stream Musings

Continued tinkering at my latest project, every day I feel it getting sharper. I reckon I'm on the home stretch in getting a first draft done, with any luck I'll be 90-95% done with that phase by the end of tomorrow.

Been gently musing about streaming again over the past few days. I fancied doing Resident Evil 2 in under two and a half hours (you get a reward for beating the game under that threshold). Over the past week I've actually been practicing pretty intently for it in the evenings and on my lunch breaks and I'm now at a point where I think I can do it in one sitting. Could be pretty exciting to try and do it in front of an audience.

Knives Out

Sat down at my writing desk once more to crack on with 'my great American novel'. I worked out the base structure for my project, now I'm just putting the meat on the skeleton. I've found myself in a position where I just really want to have some fun with it all but I often end up overthinking it. During the latter part of the day I think I finally got into a groove with it and stuff began to arrive more naturally. People always envisage writing as this joyful activity, but at this moment in time it feels more like doing maths homework.

Stepped into the world of digital movie rentals this evening, Knives Out isn't bundled in on any streaming platform yet and after hearing everyone sing its praises Rebecca and I spent a whopping 76p each (plus a coupon) to rent it online. And it was a fun movie. Rian Johnson's independent movies have previously been a bit too clever and self-important for their own good, but here we finally sense that he's just enjoying his craft. It moves at a good pace and you always have full comprehension of the unfurling mystery. The film itself isn't groundbreaking, but you're along for the ride and everything ties together at the end with a neat little bow on top. Perhaps a little too neatly... While the mystery at the heart of the plot is undeniably well constructed, it never gives the viewer enough breadcrumbs to play the armchair detective - It doesn't make you feel smart, it just asks you to bask in how clever the writer is. Again, this is Johnson's classic misstep, but at least it's entertaining!

The Haunting

A little birdie told me that it was Rachel's Birthday today, so Rebecca and I did the best we possibly could to celebrate under lockdown conditions. We strolled over to their house and dropped off some presents: a canvas bread bag, a tub of ice cream and a full bottle of homemade cold brew coffee. Hopefully we made her day a little more cheerful.

Felt a little spooky this evening so I dived into The Haunting with Rebecca, promising her a chiller that 'probably won't be very scary'. My, oh my, I was wrong. From beginning to end, I was completely under the film's spell and though scenes had a bone-chilling quality, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen. It was pure horror. No jump scares, no parlor tricks, just a perfectly executed tale of dread.

Quarantine Beard

Muscled into a family video call first thing this morning after missing all of my phone notifications. Mum and Dad are doing well though which is always nice to see, not that I'm in any way feeling homesick but I do often think ahead and imagine spending a 'normal' weekend with them after lockdown ends.

Spent the bank holiday washing Rebecca's car and doing some gaming and reading by myself, very relaxing overall. Rebecca yearned for a BBQ dinner so we rustles up a cute 'indoor BBQ' by cooking all the usual suspects in our kitchen, then moving outside to eat. First corn on the cob of the year though, a real treat!

For the past few weeks I did the really obvious thing and grew a quarantine beard, sadly I decoded later on today that it had to go. I can't really maintain a beard anyhow without the right tools so it was best to nip it in the bud and flush the beard down the sink. Looking going now though...

The Sacrifice

Felt like I hadn't been giving films enough of my attention recently and when I saw I could watch The Sacrifice on Film4 catch up I decided to set an alarm and watch it really early this morning. Turns out I should've stayed in bed. At times, this Russian film feels like a prayer being whispered. Some impressive imagery and extended shots give it a dreamy quality, but the 'stagey' nature of the character interactions pulls you from the film's spell. It's too long, lulls a fair bit and just doesn't quite stick the landing when it comes to conveying its message.

Though the film was a disappointment, meeting up with Louis and Rachel in the park this afternoon was time well spent. We set up picnic blankets at a safe distance and just chatted and soaked up the sun for the afternoon. Perfect day for it too, once we'd all said our lot, it was peaceful just sitting on the hillside, admiring how blue the sky was.