Let's Go, Harry Potter.

Okay, I'm going to do it.  I've put it off this long mostly out of sheer stubbornness.  Yes, that's right.  I'm going to read the Harry Potter books.

 I have a feeling I may lose the next few weeks...

Elementary

Dear CBS,

I really want a chance to get to know your show "Elementary", but you've removed the pilot episode.  I know, I'm late to the show (pun intended), but don't you want my viewership too?  You don't even work with Hulu to get viewers hooked...I mean, come on - more and more people are forgoing cable - how will you reach them and entice them to buy the tv series later down the road? Oh, but of course I could buy them on Amazon. :-P  I don't know your show well enough to warrant me shelling out money for it.
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The few episodes I've seen of Elementary have gotten me interested in this take of Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson, but as indicated above I'm irritated that I can't fill in the episode gaps.  She's a surgeon that messed up, badly, on a patient and has essentially become a rehab-buddy.  Sherlock has gotten out of a rehab facility, used to work for Scotland Yard, and now works with the NYPD.  Dr. Watson was hired by Sherlock's father to be with him nearly 24/7 to prevent any relapses.  I saw 'Rat Race' over the holidays - interesting dynamic between Holmes and Watson...no romantic clutter (thank you).  This version of Holmes seems a little more human - he sends a bottle of the best wine to a man who had saved money to propose to his girlfriend in an upscale restaurant (granted he did it with someone else's money, but still).

If I can ever figure out a legal way to watch this show without emptying my pockets I'll do it.  For now I'll scrape together what little scraps CBS gives on their website, being peeved about it all the while. :)

Bûche de Noël

A small selection of baked goods.

As per my usual behavior during the holiday season I baked too much.  There are still gluten free goodies overflowing in my parents' house, but there was one dessert that didn't last long at all...a gluten free Bûche de Noël.  It was my first time trying such a cake (hence the flatness of the 'log'), but it is now a new staple in the Christmas baked goods. :)

A bit flat but just as tasty. :)

Hope everyone had a great holiday season and happy new year!

Book Binge

In the festive nature of Halloween's month I went on a reading binge of books filled with vampires, faerie, werewolves, witches, skinwalkers, satyrs, sidhe, selkies, kelpies, brownies, gnomes, trolls, and other supernatural beings packaged with murder, mayhem, and in some cases romance.  Oh yeah, and I had to read "How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you" because Oatmeal is awesome.  I recommend his book, the first Jane Yellowrock book, and the first two October Daye books (by Seanan McGuire) for some good fall reads.

Criminal Minds Binder

Of all the photos posted in the "Binder Full of Women" meme my favorite is this:

AJ Cook's facial expression seals the deal. :)

Honey Love

I have a new affinity for Winnie the Pooh - I get it now.  I understand why he loves honey so much.

When I was younger we never really had honey in the house and I didn't get a taste for it.  To me, though I knew it was honey, I associated Pooh's love of honey to my love of cheese (seriously, even though it's in a honey comb, doesn't that look like melted cheddar cheese?).

Today I finally get it. :)  I was at the farmers market and decided it was high time I give honey another try (I try foods that I don't like, but haven't had much exposure to, again to see if I've changed my mind - still don't like eggnog).  There were a handful of vendors selling honey, but I settled on this one:

Marsden's Pure Honey from the Farmers Market.

Marsden's Pure Honey.  There were several different types so I took the safe route with a Clover honey.  I won't be giving this away.  One spoon-tip full and I was hooked.  Next week I'm going back to taste the other varieties so I can load up my pantry to tide me though the coming winter. :)

Sleepy tea in the Tardis mug with a bit of honey heaven.

The Doctor's Wife

I often go on a hunt for Doctor Who inspired art on Etsy and this past week from Gimmeswords I got a treasure:

Inspired by Season 6, Episode 4 called "The Doctor's Wife", this print of an original artwork by Dottie Torres makes me happy and sad all at once.  This scene, with the Doctor and his Tardis face to face for the last few moments, is swirl of emotions - tragically sad because it has to end yet wonderfully happy because it actually happened - and I love how it is captured here.  The Doctor and his box, the one who has seen it all and who is always with him.

 "I'll always be here.  But this is when we talked."