I went over to Alison and Scott's place to dinner. James came, too. We had (amazing) steak and blue potatoes (with tequila/blue cheese sauce) and asparagus (with hollandaise). It was delicious.

I made baklava which was touted about the room as being the best baklava they'd ever had (*buff!* First time making baklava!). Mostly because it wasn't as sweet as your usual baklava. I found it a bit dry, but otherwise good. Next time I think I'll lengthen the honey syrup by adding rosewater or orange water, so it'll be moister without being sweeter.

That was probably the best cut of meat I'd ever had. Seriously. It was good enough that Alison talked me down to medium from medium-well.

I don't like bloody meat. I don't mind pink, but I don't like bloody. This was very pink, more pink than I usually eat it, but not bloody and oh-so-tender. It's been the first bit of beef I enjoyed in eons (I normally eat fish, when I can get it, or chicken, when I can't get fish).

Anyway. I left a tin of baklava with Scott and Alison, and sent some home with James as well, and I *still* have half a dozen pieces (not including those I'd already set aside for roommate tax and for my stage manager, who *loves* baklava).

Oh, but Scott made his apparently infamous hot chocolate for after-dinner drinking.

I knew it would be made with milk. Or I suspected, anyway.

It was.

I knew it.

I drank it.

I now have THE WORST GAS KNOWN TO MAN.

My gas is so bad, it should be arrested for being cruel and unusual punishment.

But oh, it was good hot chocolate. It was spiced with cinnamon and chilies (though not actually as spicy as I generally make my hot chocolate).

*contented sigh*

It was a very good dinner.

Oh! And in other news, Gareth gave me an entire new set of arrows. He'd made them for himself, shot them a couple times, and realized he'd bought the wrong weight shafts. They were actually weighted for my strength of bow (I pull about a 30 pound; he pulls a 40 pound).

And oh, not only are they physically very beautiful arrows (mahogany dyed shafts, double ring of gold around the top, black fletching, red nocks), but they shoot waaay better than my Jem and the Hologram arrows (which Paul and I made together; they're neon yellow shafts with pink stars, pink and black fletching, and black nocks).

My old arrows are much higher in the awesome quotient. But my *new* arrows actually *hit* things. I hit four balloons in four rounds (each round was five arrows).

Not bad for not having shot in a while, and spent the last six months shooting with arrows that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn (I suspect my Jem arrows are too light, because they leap erratically off my bow, but they weren't so bad when I was shooting the 25 pound bow).

Needless to say I'm happy. I'm going to make Gareth a new tunic. Something plain, but very well made.

But *shhhh*, he doesn't know. I'm conspiring with his fiancee, Steph. She's getting me the measurements, and I'm gonna do the tunic. (She's happy about this, because she doesn't really sew.)

Yay life!

.

Rosie.

PS, Boys still suck.

Before&After