Laughter, colour, light, and sound: P&P #7

Bride and Prejudice

I loved this movie. Loved, loved, loved it. P&P, Bollywood-style. William Darcy, an wealthy American, comes to India with his friend Balraj and Balraj's sister Kiran for a wedding and meets Lalita Bakshi and her sisters Jaya, Maya, and Lakhi, along with her very embarrassing mother. He's smitten, but when he refuses to dance with her (because his trousers are falling down), she thinks he's a jerk. Meanwhile, Balraj is very taken with Jaya, Mrs. Bakshi is very excited, and they're off!

The happiest, wisest, most reasonable end?

Bittersweet for all her fangirl feelings was the day on which PhysicsGirl watched the last episode of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. 100 episodes later, and I am sad but very satisfied with how it ended.

I have a few minor quibbles with some awkward dialogue and some other questions that come up if I allow myself to overanalyse things, but on the whole I'm really pleased. The end did not disappoint.

So now, what am I going to do with myself?

Well, I'm looking forward to the DVD; the Kickstarter campaign was very much a case of "Shut up and take my money!" from the fans. They've raised over 500% of their goal and the campaign isn't over yet; the extra money is going to go to paying the cast and crew what I think is still not nearly enough for all joy they've given me this past year.

I may dip my toes into Darceny, wherein they will analyse both the LBD and P&P.

I'm looking forward to the next adaptation, which will start in July. I'm trying not to guess what it will be; Persuasion would be lovely, but as long as it isn't Wuthering Heights, I'll be happy to watch whatever they do. In the meantime, I'm hoping to see occasional LBD cameos in the Sanditon series which starts at the beginning of May.

And I will drink tea. Because everyone deserves tea.

Update:There's a postscript!

Macarondonnée

Wednesday was the first day of Spring, and while the weather wasn't very spring-like, that didn't stop me from taking part in my third Jour du Macaron! Two years ago, only Nadège participated, but last year more bakeries got on board and I did a little tour. You know, for Science. Oh, and Charity.

I planned a slightly different bike tour this year. 10 bakeries, mostly different ones from before, including a few I tried but failed to hit the last time. All of the bakeries except Nadège were again donating 25% of the proceeds to the Red Door Shelter. The 20 degree drop from last year's temperature might did not daunt me, and I actually managed to follow the Google maps instructions without putting myself in peril. I did plan to buy three macarons (plus the free one) at each bakery, but as you will see that plan fell apart early on. On the whole...

Pancake of the Month: Irish Cream Whole-Grain Pancakes

Top o' the mornin' to you! Remember how I am nothing if not cliché? I thought today would be a good day for St. Paddy's day-style food, but I also wanted to do more than just colour the food green (although this recipe sounds really tasty too). Then I was looking in my fridge and noticed the unfinished bottle of Baileys.

Problem solved.

According to this blog, all you have to do is replace half the milk in your recipe with Baileys. I decided to use my whole-grain pancake mix (which is probably from Canadian Living from many moons ago; the only place I can find it online is Food.com) since I still have some leftover, it only needs 1/2 cup of milk, and I wasn't sure exactly how much Bailey's I had left.

Result?

Sitting pretty, part 1

I love my settee/loveseat. It's walnut mid-century modern that my parents bought back when the middle of last century was modern. I borrowed the set for one of the houses I rented with friends in Waterloo, and during that time one of the caning sides got kicked out on the loveseat. When I moved into my adorable apartment on College, I took the loveseat with me; at some point I got tired of catching clothing on the caning edges and removed it entirely. But then something a little more ominous started happening.

At first just the centre-left spring worked its way out of the spring clip at the front, but when I moved into my current apartment, the springs on the bottom started slipping out in earnest. I tried to stem the tide by hammering the remaining springs back into the clips, but to no avail. Ultimately, all but the two outside springs had... sprung.

Death falls flat: P&P #6

Death Comes to Pemberley, by P.D. James

So, my last two reviews were a little fluffy, and I'm happy to be reading and reviewing something with the gravitas, if you will, of a PD James mystery. I was looking forward to this, because I enjoy her mysteries. Sadly, I have to say that the whole thing left me feeling a bit flat.

Image source: goodreads.com

It has been six years since the events of P&P -- October 1803, to be precise. The night before the annual ball in honour of Lady Anne Darcy, Elizabeth is mostly concerned that Colonel Fitzwilliam, now no longer the younger son of an earl but next in line, is going to ask to propose to Georgiana, and she's not entirely happy about it, partly because she is unsure how Darcy will feel about it, partly because she thinks Georgiana might be in love with someone else. There is an awkward dinner and evening. Then Lydia unexpectedly arrives in a carriage, literally crying murder, and the game is afoot.

Nerdigras, Macarons, and Easter Bonnets

Just under the wire, but happy Nerdigras, everyone! 10 days until Pi Day!^*

Two more fun dates are coming up in the next few weeks. First up is the Jour du Macaron on Wednesday, March 20. You may remember my tour du macaron last year. I might be planning a similar tour this year. Stay tuned.



After that is the second annual Vintage Easter Parade on Sunday, March 31. I may try to finish (read: line) the green dress I made for last year's parade, and I am thinking about what to do for a hat, because as L says in her blog post about the history of the parade, it's all about the hats.


But I will definitely wear a coat if I need to! Brr!

^*Or 114 until Tau Day, if you prefer.

Cold hands, warm heart

Whenever people find out I bike in the winter, there is usually consternation. Isn't it too dangerous? Too icy? Too slushy? Too cold?

That last one makes me snort in an an unladylike fashion. The wind can be unfriendly, but I am often too warm on my rides, although since I've started leaving off the scarf, I've managed to maintain the warmth-to-sweaty balance. The challenge has been keeping my extremities warm. Ears: sorted with a headband or ear muffs. Toes: mostly okay, as long as I have enough room in the toe-box of my boot (irony, thy name is too-thick socks). Fingers: working on it.