Star Wars: The Old Republic

You had to know it was coming. Seriously. But here it is! One week after release, I have totaled 32 levels across 2 characters, one a Bounty Hunter, the other a Jedi Consular. So how is it going?

I might just be more addicted to this game than to any other video game. Yeah.

I loved World of Warcraft, even through a little bit of Cataclysm and all the changes that brought. The changes there are too great now and the game has lost quite a bit of its magic. Numbers started getting too high, daily quests started taking up too much time, and there wasn't a lot to do outside of dailies apart from grinding out materials for yourself and your guild. Granted, some of the new stuff was awesome, like the guild perks and races and all of the changes that Deathwing wrought on the surface, and the new dungeons were fun, too. None of those even start to catch up to the rep/mats/money grindfest that the game had become, though. And what are they doing to fix it? Kung Fu Panda. 'Nuff said.

So how is Star Wars: The Old Republic any different? I don't think it will be once I hit the level cap. The way classes play is a lot like WoW to the point that Josh still uses terms like "Taunt" and other tank-ish words while playing his Jedi Knight. The big differences are these:

• Almost every class can do every roll depending on the talent tree chosen.
• Only a couple of classes on each side can't do Damage, Tank, and Heal.
• Quests are a lot more interactive.
• Talking to your quest givers, you can pick the nice answer or the ass-hole answer, and enough of either will change your appearance and what kind of gear you can use.
• Your class has its own quest line!
• When you start out, you have a mentor who guides you through the game. They aren't always beside you, but you report back to them every so often (unless they fall ill or die).
• Everyone has a "Pet."
• Pets are called Companions (no, not like Inara) and they fight alongside you, do your crafting, and go on missions for you. Your choices during the quests determines how much your companion likes you, and the more they like you the better they are. You are also responsible for gearing your companion
• Everyone has a starship.
• Somewhere around level 17 every character will get their own starship to fly around in outer space. It costs credits to do so, but not a lot. You also get your second companion here. Much like your companion, you are responsible for "gearing" your ship with modifications that can be bought in space stations. In addition to all of these wonderful goodies, there are escort quests you can do in your starship!

 Do I need to tell you how much I love this game or can you guess? On my Consular, Azarshetai, I am very attached to my Master, Yuon Par. As soon as I was declared a full Jedi, she collapsed and has been ill ever since. I'd do almost anything to save her! Maelri, my bounty hunter, is growing increasingly fond of her companion, Maco, who lost the only father figure she ever knew not too long ago. Maco is now on the hunt for her real parents, and Maelri wants to help her there.

Well, I'm off. Need to scrounge something up for dinner.

-Anny

From the Kitchen: Spring Cove Pancake

Original recipe from Alli at One Pearl Button

My grandmother used to live by a cove on Lake Hudson (in Oklahoma) called Spring Cove. I would go up there for a week or two out of each summer and play Chicken Foot with her and fish with my Papa and we'd go shopping and visit other family and I'd grow as a person for just being in that beautiful place. The time there was as smooth as vanilla and my memories are as sweet as sugar. For those reasons, I've named this modified Cape Cod pancake and renamed it the Spring Cove pancake.

What you'll need:
1 Tablespoon butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

What you'll do:
Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and vanilla until they aren't lumpy anymore. Pour the batter over the butter and bake the whole thing for 20 minutes. Serve with your favorite pancake toppings.

I eat mine plain because they're sweet enough for me without syrup or jelly, and peanut butter doesn't really fit. Next time I go see my grandparents, I'm going to make this for them. They no longer live by the lake, but they're in the same town I grew up in now, and I'll see them in a week or so.

This is me, my little sister, and Gumby in the middle.

In other news:
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-Anny

Christmas Dress, Circle Skirt, and Cape

So, no picnic dress yet. I still have to finish that, and in order to finish that I have to finish Christmas presents. But... I have my most recent 4 projects in photo form! And without any further ado, here they are:

This is a full circle skirt I made out of some old polyester double-knit that my mom's friend gave to me. It started as a way to add some color to my Sunday wardrobe since said wardrobe is full of black, white, and brown.

The next image is another attempt to add some color to my wardrobe. It also came about as practice for another dress I want to make. Made of homespun cotton, this plaid dress was probably more of a challenge than the lace dress. The Christmas Dress was my first foray into the world of plaids. Of course, I couldn't help modifying it. The black band is a strip of bias tape that I added for an accent.

So we're moving from brown, black, and white
to brown, black, white, and red...

It's SUPER-PLAID! Flowing from red to red plaid to purple plaid, we have my new source of warmth for the spring and fall seasons. This whole project just sort of cobbled itself together. I was originally going to make it out of the red plaid above, but while at Hobby Lobby one day... Well, it was on sale! How could I resist? Three dollars a yard for the soft, warm purply-ness... The lining is some sort of satin stuff that I found at a church sale. It's amazing, too. And, as with the plaid dress, I had to modify. The original pattern called for thicker fabric, a ton of bias tape, and no lining. I nixed the tape, added a lining, and made the whole thing a little more light.

And that's all in the way of clothing. I still have to finish a vest for a friend, my nightgown (that lacks only embroidery and ties in the back), and the ever-incomplete picnic dress. But wait! Don't run away just yet. I still have to show you my grandmother's Christmas present!

It's still a work in progress, though I have four more rows woven and pinned and ready to sew than what you see here. I found this wonderful tutorial over at The Moda Bake Shop, and since I had the jelly roll, I couldn't resist. I know Gumby will love it. How do I know this? I know this because I love it and I don't want to give it up!

That's all for today. Soon I shall have ornaments to show off and a completed rug and maybe even some recipes up. For now, I need to clean my kitchen and figure out something for dinner and get up enough courage to mess with my glue so I can make my sister's Christmas present.

Until next time!

Phwoosh

P.S. I now have a Pinterest account. When I get more pins, I'll throw up a link and you can come check it out.

From the Kitchen: Ham Fettuccine

Thanksgiving's not that far behind us and for those of us who had ham in lieu of  turkey, the leftovers are beginning to get a bit old. I found this wonderful, cheap way to re-purpose the slabs of ham from the fridge and it tastes wonderful.


What you'll need:
12 oz uncooked fettuccine noodles*
1/4 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T butter
3 c cooked, cubed ham
1 1/2 t oregano
1 1/2 t basil
1 1/2 t parsley
1/2 t cayenne
1 c meatless spaghetti sauce**
3/4 c heavy whipping cream

What to do:
Cook and drain the noodles according to package directions. While waiting for that, in a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic in butter until they're tender. Add the ham and herbs and stir/cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the spaghetti sauce, bring to a boil, and stir/cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the cream, and toss in the noodles. It doesn't thicken up that much, but the sauce does stick. Serve and enjoy! Makes about 6 servings.

*I had less than 12 oz and snapped my noodles in half. Same amount, but it looked like more.
**We didn't have any pre-made spaghetti sauce (yuck!), so I took a small can of tomato sauce, added enough water to bring it to 1 cup, added some Italian seasonings, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a dash of paprika. Worked wonderfully!

In other news:
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That's all for today! I'm out, folks.

-Phwoosh

Oh, the thing's I've found...

I've got enough material to blog for a few days at least. Today there will be some pictures, though. I finally pulled the picture of Karen's bag off my camera, and got a picture of the wonderful Sauteed Summer Vegetables. And it's been raining like crazy here for the first time in months, so I have some pictures of the sky to share, too. Also coming today, costume talk. It is supposed to be dress-up day, after all.

First off, The Karen Bag. It's made of denim because she walks everywhere and it needed to be sturdy. She works two jobs, so it needed to be big enough to carry her uniforms. It's blue because that's her favorite color. I now present The Karen Bag.

I made it using a bag I made from a pattern my mom had a couple years ago. It's big enough to use as a school bag with a laptop, charger, and textbooks, and small enough to use as a large purse. The only problem is that it's really deep and it has a large opening, which would make it all too easy for pickpockets. I wouldn't carry it at a festival.

Time for something mouth-watering. The vegetable dish.

Oh, how I love this thing. Pardon my messy stove. Admire my collection of cast-iron. And drool at the glory that is nothing but fresh vegetables. For the recipe, click this link.

Rain! Glorious rain! It hasn't really rained here in about a month and a half. The last good rain we had was on my birthday, June 28. A couple days ago, a couple friends in Stillwater contacted me to let me know what was heading this way. Wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. Loss of power, downed trees, and a little fear. I stood on the porch and watched in true Okie style. The photos that follow are in order of occurrence.

One friend sent a picture to me titled Aftermath. It was a picture of all the trees around his place that had lost limbs. I sent him the last one, also titled Aftermath.The sky was absolutely beautiful all through the storm, and when it had blown over, this is what it left behind in the sunset. We've been having weather like this for the last few days now.

And now for the actual Friday report: I'm getting a lightsaber! More specifically, I'm getting this saber. Sorry. It won't let me post an image of it. I'll get you one when it gets here, which might be today or tomorrow. Anyway... It's my birthday present, precious. I need a costume for it. There's nowhere to wear it 'cept conventions and Halloween, really, but that works for me. And it gives me practice modding patterns. See, I'm not going with the pattern-book costume Jedi mess for me. I want to still look like a female. I don't want the long skirt business, either. After a long-ish search, I found this:

Character design by commander-13

Very close to what I want! The top's a bit too racy for me, and I'll be wearing it mostly in colder weather (Halloween will be it's debut), so I figured I'd add another layer. A long sleeved shirt underneath should do well. Off to the pattern stash! For the under-layer, I found McCall's 7899, printed in 1995. I then looked at it again and discovered that for the tunic, the same pattern would work! I just use some different pieces and lengthen it, leave the sides open for the ties I want, and ta-da!

Tops A and F for the top half of the Jedi costume.

Instead of a narrow belt, as is shown in both the Jedi picture and the pattern example, I'm going with an Obi style belt. I like the width of it and the corset-y influence it has on one's shape.  While thinking about it this morning, I figured out a way to modify this, too. Instead of overlapping ends I'm going to make it just long enough so that the points meet and have them tie together there. I'll put a narrow belt over that in the middle to hide the tie and to put my various pouches on when I get them.

And for the pants, I'm using Simplicity 8186 printed in 1998. They've got pockets and they are tight enough to show I'm a woman, and loose enough to move around in. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to make anything with a hood or not. An asymmetrical mini-cape would be fun, I think.

Now I think I'm done for the day. There's still a lot I want to blog about, though. My experiences with Molten Front dailies, the tiered skirt measurement generator I found yesterday, my pick-nick dress, and the pictures of my new house dress that I haven't taken... Those things will have to wait, though. Now it is time for caffeine and an egg.

-Anny

From the Kitchen: Sauteed Summer Vegetables

It's summertime, which means that vegetables are coming up. Oh, man are they coming up. Probably not here, but the local Wal-Mart has some good ones from somewhere right now. Josh and I went to pick up some sandwich stuff and came home with a bag full of yummies. Squash, a tomato, some green beans, a few onions... And all of it went into my latest creation. This one's all me, too.

You will need:

1 small onion, sliced
1 T olive oil
1 medium squash, cubed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 handful green beans, cut into 1" segments
1 tomato, gutted and cubed
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

What you'll do:

Saute the onions in the olive oil until they're tender. Add everything else, lower the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, too.

Makes 2 servings

Yeah. It's that easy. I'm thinking about eating the second serving right now, to be honest. Sooooo good! Next time I make some I'll throw up a picture, 'cause it's pretty too. All the color!

I'll also put up pictures of the Karen Bag. They're still on my camera, right before the pictures of the fire that I've already thrown up. And maybe I'll get some pictures of my new house dress!

So my parents came to visit on Friday and my mom brought a bag of trims with her for me. As she carried it in, I saw a wad of orange fabric on top. And not just any orange; burnt orange. I. Hate. Burnt. Orange. Turns out it was a dress with some gaudy embroidery all over the front and it's shaped like a potato sack. There were ties in the back, though, so that wasn't so bad. I put it on the next morning. Keep in mind: Orange, potato sack, gaudy embroidery. Add to that list: too short to wear beyond the front door. This shapeless thing has nothing going for it! At all! I'm making another.

That's right, I've completely lost my mind. I love it! I'm wearing the orange one right now. And eventually I'm going to make a How to Recreate a Shapeless Garment thing and put it here, too.

The new one is, of course, purple. Instead of the tacky trim around the bottom but not the hem, I chose some black crocheted lace and used that around the hem. One one of the front corners (there's also scandalously high slits =P) I'm embroidering some cogs and a cool steampunk-y swirly thing, compliments of Urban Threads.

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I started playing Minecraft. It's super-addictive until you get your house the way you want it and landscape your yard to perfection. Then it's boring. I got bored, which means that I spent a week mining for stuff and finding stuff and building a small castle and some waterfalls. All done. I'm actually a little bored with games. Am looking forward to Skyrim, though. Skyrim is the latest in the Elder Scrolls game line. While I missed out on Oblivion, I'm super-excited for Skyrim. Morrowind was just too amazing and I wish I could find my copy so I could get sucked back into that.

Games, food, sewing, jobs... I think I've covered everything! And now it's off to bed, off to bed...

-Anny

From the Kitchen: Honey Cake (+ fire pictures)

Oh, my, how I do love honey. Sticky and sweet and soooo good! I'll give you the recipe first, and then if you want you can keep reading to hear about how the last couple weeks have been. There will be pictures of fire if you do!

No picture of the cake, though. It's not too impressive to look at, and I was much to excited to start eating it when it came out of the oven. It's sweet and earthy and moist and crumbly and everything I love about cake in one wonderful bite. Cloves and cinnamon and allspice and honey and brown sugar and oh dear... I think I'll have to go have another slice!

What you'll need:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup strong chai tea*
1/2 cup orange juice

What you'll do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease 2 9'' round cake pans. Set those aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Make a well in the center and add the vegetable oil, honey**, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, tea, and orange juice. Mix together, making sure to get all of the dry stuff from the bottom, until it's no longer lumpy. It'll be a bit stiff for a batter; consider using a mixer of some sort. Spoon the batter into the cake pans and bake in the middle of the oven for around 45 minutes***. Let it set 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. Serve! And again... and again... and again...

*Chai tea - I poured 1 cup boiling water over 2 chai tea bags and let it steep for around 5 minutes. Worked great.
**Measuring out the oil before the honey ensures that the honey comes out of the measuring cup without a lot of mess. I also guessed on the 1/4 cup part, so that didn't get measured. Just pour some in. It'll be fine.
***My oven is a beast and I ended up only baking it for 35 minutes. Adjust time as needed.

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I, for one, thought Transformers: Dark of the Moon was awesome. It was full of explosions and conspiracy and robots, which is what a summer movie is supposed to be. I was sad they killed Ironhide, and elated when Optimus killed Megatron. The only thing I didn't like about it was that the first scene in the modern world was a panty-shot of the whiny kid's new girlfriend. They could have left that out.

But it's going to be another year and a half before anything even has a chance of beating the final installment of the Harry Potter movies. Have you SEEN it? Gah! Just... Oh, man. After they butchered Half Blood Prince, I was afraid of watching Deathly Hallows part 1. And after the wonderful movie that was part 1, I was terrified that part 2 was going to be nothing but a battle. It was, totally, but it had everything!

<<SPOILER ALERT!>>

McGonagall called the castle to life, Molly killed Bellatrix, Dumbledore was at the train station with the creepy Voldy-thingy, Nevill killed Nagini, Fred died... They even had the part about Snape and the pensieve! And it showed Snape's patronus! EEEEEEEEEE! Sure, the duel between Molly and Bellatrix wasn't that epic, and the resurrection stone wasn't part of the ring that Dumbledore destroyed, and they left out the attack of the house elves and Grop, and Goyle was a black kid, but let's face it... The movie wasn't about Bellatrix and Molly, at least Harry got the resurrection stone, they left out everything about S.P.E.W., Hagrid was hardly in this one so how could we ecxpect them to put in his brother?, and no one cared about Malfoy's goons anyway.

<<End Spoilers>>

It was a wonderful movie, and everyone should go see it at least twice.

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So yeah. That's what I've been up to. I'll post some about the adventures of my new warlock, my endeavors at getting a new flying mount on Phwoosh, any other new recipes I have tried and haven't posted (can't think of any, though), and hopefully some crafts when we get a little more settled in.

It's good to be back,
Anny