[Piraen's Scrapbook] My Humble Abode...

[Piraen Saneka]

Warning: This isn't a happy sounding short story. I enjoy looking around the web for writing prompts, so I may or may not be posting a lot of this little responses. This one was a basic one, but I liked the general idea the prompt gave me: "What smell/s reminds you most of home? Does this smell cause a positive or negative response for you?" I hope you like it. Home is Where the Nose is Cigarettes. Cigarettes. It burns every bit of the inside of my nose. It singes my lungs and strangles my esophagus. It is always there, as though someone took the ashes of the burning drug, taking the time to grind the leftovers into every crevice, each nook and cranny, every follicle within my nose. It burns, it stings, but I welcome it. It is home, and the warmth it provides is something that extends far beyond my sense of smell. No, it is something felt, something seen, heard and tasted. I can feel it in the rough edges of a blanket, smoothing the wrinkles as it shades me from the cold. It is the look in my family’s eyes when they wave hello and goodbye, it is the laugh behind each of their smiles. But whenever I inhale and try to take in my home’s smell, I am greeted by the smell of Clorox. The harsh fumes of bleach slither into my nose like the unwelcomed guest that it is, makes my eyes water. Lysol and febreze tug at my skin, pulling it tighter, tighter, tighter…They build up white, windowless walls, boxing me in to the point where I wish for the sweet, burning smell of nicotine. They constantly battle, the cleaning supplies and the cigarettes. I hear their swords in the middle of the night as they clash for custody of my nose, my sense, my mind. I can see their shadows creep beneath the door, I taste their fallens’ blood in my breakfast. Every day I wake up, stepping over the bodies their war has left behind and I wish I could turn off my senses, shut down my nose and run away. I wish they could settle their differences and head their separate ways, and I wish my home smelt off cranberries and apple pie. Yet, the second hand smoke and tar that fills my lungs is what eases me to sleep at night, the airy chemicals are what slaps me awake in the morning, and, wavering in between the synapses of my mind, I know that cranberries and apple pie just won’t cut it; it won’t be home.

[Piraen Saneka]

Before I Forget... I wanted to put this somewhere, but didn't really know where...it's a recipe for German Bread Dumplings, or Semmelknoedel. I was going to use it for a bakeoff sometime. Ingredients : 2 tablespoons of minced parsley Rolls of bread, cubed and stale. I normally use about a pound or two, making about 13 good sized rolls. You can buy these pretty much anywhere, or you can make your own. 1 1/4 cups of warm milk 3 beaten eggs Seasonings. I normally use good ole salt 'n pepper, but I've seen people use cinnamon as well-- I wouldn't suggest it though. D: It's nasty. But use as much as you like, it's a expiramental thing, and the measurements are normally different every time. ~Steps~ 1. Put your stale bread in a large bowl and gradually pour in the milk. Using your hands, knead the milk lightly into the bread. I normally wait a minute before kneading though, to let the bread really absorb the milk in. Once all the milk is soaked up, cover your bowl and set aside to set for about 30 minutes. 2. After the half hour is up, start mashing and kneading again. Once the dough is thick, mix in your eggs slowly, and one at a time. Make sure that the egg is soaked in completely before adding another. If the dough is too dry and can't stick together, use a third egg. 3. Add the minced parsley and your choosen seasonings. Knead the dough as you do so, making sure it becomes nice and smooth. You can add 1-2 tablespoons of flour or breadcrumbs into the dough if it seems too sticky, piecey or loose. 4. Wet your hands before continuing! Now, form 1/4-cup portions of the dough into balls. Use up all the dough, and don't be afraid to make some big chunks either. 5. When done, bring a large (stainless steel, if you can) pot of water to a boil. A trick I learned is to add a bit of salt to the water to speed up the boiling. Also, this adds a nice flavor to the dough, no matter what seasonings you picked. Bring the heat down to a very slow simmer and drop the douch into the water carefully. I normally use a spoon with holes in it (the name escapes me at the moment...), trust me, it makes life much easier. Let these simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 6. You're done! Scoop those suckers out and serve 'em nice and hot. Some applesauce always goes good with these, or you can serve them with a pork roast. Some pictures of the steps, in order... Pretty pictures. : Making the dough. I always like making loaves like this before making the dumpling shapes- but you can always make them like traditional dumplings and just wing the proportions- Oh, I forgot to mention...if you aren't a fan of sitting around and stirring, you can always plop the dumplings into the oven and cook them for about the same amount of time as you would a small batch of cupcakes...15-25 minutes. But I always burn them like that, as you can clearly see in this picture... ANYHOW, here are them cooking the way I told you before. Final product is up top. That picture, however, isn't mine. I ate these too fast, so there isn't a picture. A note or two that always are good for baking... note that too much liquid makes the dough too wet to form any loaf of any sort, and makes for slimey texture. Too little liquid, and the bread will fall crumble. Also, stay away from American sandwich bread...it will cause a disaster. Trust me, I speak the truth.

[Piraen Saneka]

Storage Locker Number

Puppies! :

Prepare yourselves... :

For the FOREVER PUPPY!



These are American Cocker Spaniels mixed with Golden Retrievers (Golden Cocker Retrievers) and they are supposed to look like puppies for their entire lives. Can you imagine that? Having a puppy run up to you when you get home from work every day for YEARS? It's so perfect. Not to mention the fact that you will have a well-trained puppy.



Or twenty.

I have a problem. :

I'll stop soon, I swear... :

Do dogs care if you put them in costumes? I think it depends on the dog. I used to think they all hated it because that's not the way they evolved. But I think if you put costumes on a dog since they were a puppy, they'd get used to it. You have to condition them to like clothes.

But it's funnier if you don't. If you have a dog and you haven't put socks on their paws, you have yet to live.

[Piraen Saneka]

Alrighty! I finally got around to revamping this character's aesthetics. I think I'll probably hate the post templates I came up with in a month or two, but, hey, at least these are better than the last set. Though, I haven't figured out how to redo my storage locker template...hmm...for another day, I suppose! (Or if anyone here has a suggestion...?) In other news, I only had a two day week at school this week! Whatwhaat!? Monday and Tuesday got snowed out, and Wednesday was a half day of no classes. With the play try-outs and semester finals coming up this month, the extension on Winter Holiday was awesooommeee! Though, now I realize I probably should've been more productive with the time and not spent it all goofing around on here. Oooh weelll...~toodles~! To Do List- Reply to Alea Finish up CS Add banners from alts onto here Update character plotnotes START. SEASONAL. CHALLENGES. Flashback w/ Mama Pi Get to work on those work threads

[Piraen Saneka]

I was wandering through the wilderness of the Ravok forum when I noticed two things: 1. It seems Alea has absolutely taken over the threads there I'm not complaining...it just impressed me. 2. There is a character on here named Potato. Originally I had forgotten that the Pycon existed, so, naturally, it weirded me a out a bit. I clicked on their CS link to investigate and saw the most spectacular thing ever: Is that not the cutest profile picture you've ever seen? If you said 'no', then I don't believe you. I literally had a good 1-2 minute laugh...this picture just made me so darn happy! I can't handle this... Potato, you are amazing. Stay beautiful. <3 To Do List~ Add banners Update plotnotes Find new thread partners (PM me if you're willing) Work threads Yo. Seasonal Challenges. Seriously. Hop to it.

[Piraen Saneka]

"A long time ago when the Earth was green There were more kinds of animals than you've ever seen They'd run around free while the Earth was being born But the loveliest of them all was the unicorn." Before I forget (seems to be my motto): Here is my post template for thread replies. I can't get enough of the picture and colors, so I've been binge-posting. I know, I know...it isn't healthy. I won't become addicted, I promise. The poem at the top is by Shel Silverstein (Here's the full version), and it is one of my favorites. It's right up there with all the slam poetry I'm obsessed with, actually. Just wanted to share that too. Sidenote- Just realized I've been walking around all day with the sticker-tag still on the back of my new jeans. Casual. -__-

[Piraen Saneka]

Basically how I feel right now. >.< Anyone want to take my trig final for me?

[Piraen Saneka]

I think the amount of time I spend looking up pictures of wombats, sloths and hedgehogs (and puppies, of course, but who doesn't do that?) is probably high enough to get me admitted into the psychiatric ward. There is definitely a problem when my group of friends is sharing pictures of their celebrity crushes and I whip out pictures of wombats sleeping on their backs. Actually, I think the perfect description of this would be a phrase I read off a Jimmy John's sign once: "There is a fine line between a hobby and a mental illness." Have I crossed that line? Meh....let's just leave it at this: there was a reason I took a couple months off from Miz, and it wasn't to eat bonbons. O.O Hey, so you wanna hear something cool? Yeah? : Nice, so did you know that sloths are actually really good swimmers? Look at this guy go! BONUS: super chill music. : How about that wombats sleep on their backs, or that they look like they're smiling a lot of the times? Only animals born high and are happy about it : You're welcome.

[Piraen Saneka]

Storage Locker Number 3

Alright, alright...so nobody kill me when you hear this, but I, um....I just got around to watching the newest Christmas Special for Dr. Who. v.v I know, I know! It's terrible! I was so busy...but I digress.

SPOILERS!

Let's just start off by establishing how NOT okay that episode was. I was already upset about how they mushed a Christmas special and Regeneration together. That just seems so wrong to me. The holiday specials are supposed to be happy and funny, then here goes this episode making it all sad and mopey! Then, the whole episode seemed so...rushed. It didn't feel like they took the time to say farewell to Smith. They just casually threw in references to his era, then he sneezed and BAM! New Doctor. Not okay.

Then Capaldi's entrance was lackluster. It seemed like he was just there. Nothing was happening. There was no Tardis crash, no funny joke, no adorable face (except for Clara, of course). Nope. Just Capaldi in one of my favorite Doctor's outfit. Gah.

Needless to say, I cried. I threw a few lamps across the room first, but I still cried. Then, as the true internet-addict that I was, I turned to the web to console myself. Here, come be a train wreck Whovian with me:

Funnies :

I think we've established who one of my favorites is... :

The other favorite? Weeelll... :

[Piraen Saneka]

This song has been stuck in my head! Which is weird because I never really was a big fan of The Shins. Their music is a little slow and one-toned for my taste. For some reason, though, "New Slang" just won't go away! To me, it sounds like a song that would be in a movie or a show. It's one of those songs that I can see playing with a montage of all the characters runs. Actually, it reminds me of a song that would play at the end of Criminal Minds. The unsub is getting pushed into a car, someone who was just barely saved is standing with a blanket around them, one of the team members is staring pensively into the distance...cut to end credits. I dunno, maybe it's just me.