This week has been a bit frustrating, since I realised that it would be better if the next part of the scene was told by another character. The problem was that I am 2/3rds into the draft and he hasn’t bad any POV scenes before. Yeah. But I figured out a way that will strengthen the opening, and add some tension to it, so yay!

Anyway.  Here is a snippet.

Dread coiled around him. There was only one reason for someone to come this early. The thought galvanized him. He pushed aside the blanket and hurried toward the door. He pulled on his cloak, slipped the bag he had packed over his shoulder, grabbed his staff.
He took a deep breath, and opened the door. He stared at the wolf standing in the dawn light. For a moment, his brain blanked on the wolf’s name. They had been introduced last night.. .Steady Paws, he remembered.

I have a quiet New Year’s Eve, this year.  With dad, my oldest nephew, and my youngest brother and his girlfriend*pauses* Maybe not quiet, since me and dad is babysitting my nephew. Who is a bit sick, and clingy. But he enjoyed the vegetarian tex mex we fed him. <3

It was nice, though, even if we aren’t going to watch any firelights. It is nice, though.  Even if it makes me wonder if I should do something different next year.

It is a long time until then, though. So Happy New Year, and I hope you have nice evening. 

So my mum had a hazelnut cake that she used to make when we were kids, though she stopped making it when we became older.  I really want to bake it, but dad is wincing and giving me desperate looks when I mention it. So I wont bake it. Today.  Tomorrow when he is off to work is another question…

Anyway. It is delicious, and glutenfree and dairy free. It is *not* vegan or sugarfree, though I am pretty sure that anyone willing to experiment with replacing the eggs and sugar, can make it vegan or sugarfree.  I am posting the version with hazelnuts, but any nuts should work just fine!

2 1/4 dl hazelnuts OR 150 g. (FYI 1 dl of ground hazelnuts is roughly 45 g) 

3 eggs

2 dl sugar

1 tsk baking powder

Preheat the oven to 175 C.

Grind the nuts finely in a blender (if you are using whole nuts).  With a spoon ot spatula, gently mix the eggs, sugar and baking powder. Add the ground nuts and mix it some more.

Pour the batter into a breaded pan with some parchment paper in the bottom and immediately put it into the oven for 40 minutes. 

Anyway. This is the hazelnut cake mum used to make.

Somehow, it is late December and a hot summer was followed by a mild Fall/Winter., until a couple of weeks ago.   Which is great writing weather. Or in my case, revising.  Which I have been doing, in between packing and working and commuting. I think I am going to be done in January, hopefully, since I figured out that if I revise chapters backwards, and out of order I revise faster.  This only works when the scenes aren’t covered in yellow notes, and will need to be merged. *looks at the messy chapter 9* 

Well. At least I will just have 3 chapters left when I am done?! *clings to that*

Right now, the plan is to be done with this draft in January. Normally, I would have said *early* January, but… I am moving in  early January, probably.  The move will be a good thing, since it is closer to town, with a shorter commute and better services.

Yes, you heard it right. No more spending 3 hours per day on the bus, to and from work, or being 20-30 minutes late because I  missed the bus. Whee!  

I am packing up my apartment, since I am moving soon. And today I decided to pack my cookbooks.  I am the first to admit that I am lousy at using cookbooks.

Primarly because I don’t really have space for them in my kitchen, so they are in the bookshelf in the main room, and… I forget to look in them when I cook and bake things. 

The kitchen in my new apartment has bookshelves in the kitchen, so the cookbooks is going there. Hopefully I’ll be better at using them. 🙂

Anyway. I decided to leaf through one of the cookbooks that mum gave me years ago, since I like the author’s recipes.

And… I happened to stumble on a recipe where I had all the ingredients in the fridge.

So I had tasty mushroom pasta for lunch. (I did replace the cream with creme fraiche, since I had an opened beaker in the fridge and added some soy and white wine.)

Standing there, cooking and deciding to add a splash of this and splash of that and sprinkle of herbs and some salt, filled me with joy.  Which.. was a good reminder for me to have this week.  

Anyway. Now I am going to write, and then I am going to do laundry and then I am going to figure out what to make for dinner.