Obligatory Arisia Post

Arisia was. It is now over. I am, as per usual, tired, footsore, and socially replete.

Things started out on a rather off note, but, remarkably, kept getting better all weekend long - if nothing else, I'm going to take this as both a nod in support of the con and in support of the work I've been doing getting my head straightened out, that I was able to let myself cheer up and enjoy things.

Panels were rather hit-or-miss; in at least half of the ones I was on I had to actively fight to get a word in edgewise, and the end result was that I didn't wind up getting many words in - I'm not too fond of shouting over people in order to get my opinions out there. I'm not quite sure what the proper solution is to this, either. I've been told that what I need to do is just become more aggressive and talk over the people who are talking over me, but to be honest, that feels more like escalating the problem than working towards a solution.

On the other hand, everything else was more or less awesome. The dances were good; I managed to lose myself in the flow of the Saturday night dance until Way Too Late, and the Steampunk Ball was just wonderful - plus, it felt darn good to realize that I still remember how to waltz and polka well enough to be swept up by a skilled partner into the whirling craziness at the outside edge of the dance floor without missing a step.

I started learning the basics of walking on stilts, which is marvelous fun. A random passerby in the hall insisted on teaching me contact juggling when he saw me captivated by the shiny silver ball rolling over his hands. I chatted up strangers and made new friends and walked a labyrinth with my eyes closed, holding my husband's hands. I oohed and aahed over some of the spectacular bits in the art show, and got lovely gifts from friends, and saw and chatted with folks I haven't seen and chatted with in far too long.

The more I go to cons, the more I realize that the con itself is, in a lot of ways, incidental to my fun. I love the chance to be around fascinating people and learn new things, and if there's a chance to dance I'll leap at it, but other than that... the programming and events and suchlike are just gravy.

There were rough spots, like I said, and I know that things didn't run perfectly. But for me, on the fascinating-o-meter, the weekend was a serious win.

Cookbook Project, Book #6

"Sunset Make-Ahead Cookbook," by... some collection of editors.

This is actually from sometime around the middle of last week, but I haven't had a chance to write it up until now.

I've got a fairly impressive handful of these little, skinny, softcover Sunset cookbooks. I have no idea where most of them came from - I think most, if not all, of them were stocking-stuffers from my mom, and I don't think I've ever used any of them. While they claim to have been published in the late 80's, they just have a feel of... well, middle-American 50's food. But a promise is a promise, so into the mix they go. And the thought of make-ahead food is actually kind of appealing, given that I have some days when I work until 8pm with an hour commute home, or when I've got minimal time between getting home from work and leaving for yoga or dance class.

So, with only a little bit of trepidation, I set out to make their Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Bell Peppers.

And you know what? They weren't half bad. Easy enough to make, different enough from standard stuffed peppers to be interesting, and they tasted pretty good. I have no idea whether I'll ever make them, or anything else from this book, again, but... not a loss at all. And the extra stuffing is probably going to make excellent pizza topping tomorrow, with some tomato sauce and fresh ricotta.....