The Nosferatu Adventures s14 p2

The Nosferatu Adventures 

page 353, chapter 353

1955

Nosferatu stood in the kitchen of  the little townhouse, the kettle boiling in a hard whistle as she looked through the steam at Loki. She couldn't believe the last few hours but, there he was in living proof that they had happened.

5 hours earlier...

"So talk. Tell me how we can defeat the covens and Edmund?" our heroine said to the god Mercury as they stood in the middle of Astrid's kitchen in 1976.  The god tilted his head and smiled.

"Oh you can't. He's still going to be brought over to this reality by his devotees, and Grandpa Van Helsing is still going to find his coffin and hide it in his house and you lot are still going to end up battling him forty years from now. I just told you what you wanted to hear so you'd let me in the house without much bloodshed."  the sandy-blonde haired god replied licking his lips. He tilted his chin slightly as he looked over at the banshee before halfway turning towards the window. "Seems like we've got more uninvited guests." he commented just as Bacchus made his way towards the house. Grabbing our heroine, Mercury shimmered the two of them off into thin air.  When they appeared again, they were in the middle of nowhere, a large rock formation just to the left of them which seemed to stretch out for miles. "There, that's a little more private."

"What the shack!" our heroine ripped her arm out from his grasp. "What the hell is going on then? Where are we?"

"What's going on is that the universe is sort of out of balance right now. It's out of balance because Loki isn't around. You, sweetheart, might not realize it but, he was more than just the trickster god of shapeshifters." he gestured with his left hand out palm upward, bending at the knees slightly. "In fact, there is so much you haven't clued into yet. For instance, did you know you were supposed to have been Rolf's mate." Mercury nodded his eyes wide. "Oh yes. You were supposed to have been claimed by Rolf, in fact, you were supposed to have been sired by him. But, Bacchus knew that if that happened, you'd never have come into your vampiric side. So he did what he does and poof!"  he clapped his hands together creating a thunderous sound. "Suddenly Dagan gets the urge to snap your back like a twig and swap bodily fluids with you. Boom instant soulmate. And you know as well as I do that good old Ripper was nothing but your soulmate. Bacchus knew it, was counting on you two getting super close super quick. Because he knew about the big bad Frankenstein family curse. Only two children a generation. Knew that if you were sired by Dagan, knew that if you were Frankenstein by bloodline, you really wouldn't be much good to Loki in the grande scheme of things given Loki needed you to be the mother goddess for his Lycanthropes."  he took a step to her right turning to look out over the large rock formation before levitating a few feet above the ground. He looked down at her then, the brim of his page-boy cap casting shadows across his face. Mercury landing silently on his feet as he continued to walk around Nosferatu in tight circles making her dizzy. "Bacchus didn't kill Loki by the way. I know you think he did, but he didn't. As much as Bacchus might be pissed off at Loki for getting to you first, he loves him too much to do anything that drastic." his British accent heavy with the last sentence, his grey-blue eyes sparkling.

"Then who did?" our heroine was standing still now, her head down as she forced herself to stop watching the god as he danced around her making her feel lightheaded. His dark trenchcoat floating around him like it had a life of it's own.

"What kill him? No one. You'd have felt it if he were dead. The covens have him. Tucked away somewhere." he gestured again to the large rock formation as it seemed like it was rising out of the ground some more. "Now, there are some more blah blah blahs we can rehash, but I don't have the time or patience to do that so let's get to the point. With Loki gone, I need you to step up to the plate." he raised his right hand palm facing her, head down in honesty. "You can feel that can't you? The rushing of electric jolts in your veins as of late." he waggled a finger at her before grabbing her arm and tracing the veins in her wrist. "It's what you were designed to do. To be! A god. It's why you were created by both them. Now, you have a choice, you can either take Loki's place. Answering people's prayers, rituals and summons or..." he trailed off dropping her arm roughly. "Or you can help me rescue him." Mercury leaned in slightly towards her, his hands now clasped behind his back. "But, if you decide to take his place, you need to be able to shift. And you know the only way a shapeshifter can shift is to have their soul. So you'd need to take your soul back from the safety deposit box that is Rolf; which would leave him vulnerable to Odin. Not too mention you'd be all claimable again. And wouldn't that be a bit of a pickle given you technically have two mates in two different realities in Edric and Reuben." he licked his lips again as he stared at her chest. "So...what do you say? You wanna be a full on god...I mean you're going to be downline anyways...this would just speed it  up by about a thousand years or...do you want to play knight in shinning armor?"

An hour ago...

They fell through the portal landing hard in the middle of the street. Our heroine breathing heavy gasping for air, covered in dried blood from having fought both the amazon guards and the few coven members who had been holding Loki captive. Mercury was nowhere to be found. She felt something crack as she realized the full weight of Loki's unconscious body was laying across her leg. She didn't think she'd ever get the image out of her mind. Loki had been chained to the cave wall, half his body a skeleton. He reminded her of the character Two Face from the Batman movies, his jaw exposed, his one eye half out of the socket, his right shoulder nothing more than bones. His left side wasn't much better, only he'd begun at some point to shift. His left ear pointed like a wolf's but more gristle than flesh, his fangs exposed, his muzzle half formed like a stub, his left arm nothing but a paw to the elbow and scales like a reptile from the elbow to shoulder.  Our heroine felt her bones re-align when the weight was lifted off her. Mercury had appeared and grabbed Loki as if he were nothing, hauling him over his shoulder and nodded in the direction of the townhouse. It took Nosferatu another long pause to be able to stand when she realized from the look of the neighbourhood cars, that they were in the 1950's.  It seemed, she still could only time travel in reverse.

Loki lay on the sofa his body no longer a mismatched mess. He thought he'd been hallucinating again when he'd first seen her there in the cave. Something the god had done for how long? He wasn't even sure at this point, a decade or a month or a century?  This time when he'd seen our heroine's face, felt her touch, heard her voice she did something different. She told him "I've got you."  In the past whenever the hallucination had recused him, she'd had some quick witted remark about video tapes and old slasher movies. But, when Loki heard her this time, he knew deep down in his core that she was real. And with the last tendril of fading powers he could gather, he read her mind enough to remember how she viewed him. Saw himself through her eyes and shapeshifted to her ideal of him.   Or at lest he thought he had.

Nosferatu stared at the god from the edge of the kitchen as she poured the tea. The pain he must have been in she thought? Depending on what reality you were in, Loki had been gone anywhere from a few months to a few centuries. She shivered as she thought about how much damage the guards had done to him. How he'd been locked up behind those bars of magick like being in a prison cell no bigger than a cardboard box. It brought back memories of her own captivity in the well.  Walking across the length of the house, she placed the tea on the small table by the corner of the sofa; her slim pale hand hovering just above Loki's face. She desperately wanted to move his hair out of his eyes, to pluck the leaves that were still clinging to it's tangled dark knots. When  the god shapeshifted into what he thought was his old self, he accidentally created a hairdo that was shoulder length and half filled with leaves.  His brown eyes fluttered open halfway as he reached for her hand taking it.  "I always knew it would be you."  The words were never formed by the god's lips, but still managed to pass between them telepathically.  Our heroine didn't scream, didn't pull away when Loki's fangs bit deep into the soft flesh of her palm. Just like when he'd rescued her from the well and allowed her to drink his blood, the time had come to complete the circuit.

"Uhmm." Mercury cleared his throat causing our heroine to jump. She blushed as she realized their very intimate moment had been witnessed. "I need to talk to you over here." he gestured for her to move away from the edge of the sofa, from Loki. "There's something I don't think you're aware of. You don't need your soul to be claimed by...a god. So before you go any farther with this blood exchange..."

"Too late." Loki said as he stood on very shaky legs.  Mercury glanced at the other god sideways, his eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement. "She's been mine for a very long time. I've just never needed to announce it before now." Loki nodded towards her, his hair suddenly clean of the leaves as he ran his hand through it combing it back from his face. Mercury shook his head slightly in disbelief as he brought his hand up to Nosferatu's. He swore as he pulled his burnt fingertips away from the female.


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story. When things are left unsaid, there is nothing but chaos)

July 2020 Foodn'Flix Round Up

Spudguns!, it's that time when we see what's on the table, and who brought what to our Foodn 'Flix  movie and potluck.  The selection was Coyote Ugly from 2000, and first up is Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm. Inspired by a few different scenes and elements in the film,  She made a Breakfast Pizza.

Next up, we have Debra from Eliot Eats. She was inspired by a personal story to do with the film as much as the film being set in a bar, she made A Spiced Moscow Mule.

We're also joined by Amy from Amy's Cooking Adventures. She was as much inspired by the movie as she was with the fact it's based on a true life situation. And after digging for menus from the real bar, she created her Caprese Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.

And lastly, we have mine. I made for you just a good old fashioned pizza. I was inspired by the opening scene of the lead character working in a pizza place, as well as remarks she makes later on when asked about some burn scars.

That's all that's on the table this time around. Don't forget  you can join in with Foodn'Flix every month. August 2020 is being hosted by Tina at Squirrel Head Manor, and she's picked the first Harry Potter film.

Until next time.

Foodn Flix Recipe July 2020

Spudguns!, it's that time again, when we watch a movie and make something to eat inspired by it. I hosted Foodn'Flix again this month, and my selection was the 2000 film Coyote Ugly. 

plot: Violet wants to be a songwriter like her mother had been, and moves to the city in order to do so. Only thing is, she's got stage fright. The first few nights she's in town, she is robbed. This forces her to look for a job, and ends up working at a popular bar in her neighbourhood. Along the way, she meets Kevin, who works at a diner. They quickly start dating, and he helps her attempt to get over her stage fright.

Notes: pizza, pop, meatball hero (mentioned) oil, sat, pepper, chili flakes, parmesan cheese, dried herbs, beer, eggs, sausage (mentioned) Lean Cuisine (mentioned) coffee, juice, toast, fish heads, celery, chili peppers whole, nuts, crackers, rum, burgers, fries, ketchup, apples, mustard, pie, sugar, hot sauce, milk, cake, cherries, lemons, limes, fried chicken, lettuce, melon, olives, oranges, taco shells, pickles, bananas, whiskey, bread, buns, ice, kabobs, Seafood Market, Chinese food, wine, turkey sandwich with sprouts, MacDonalds, martini (mentioned) breadsticks, sub sandwiches, pears.

So I went with the obvious on this one and made a pizza.  I started with a basic dough, which can be found in the Joy of Cooking on page 607. 

1/2 c warm water
1 package yeast
3 and a half cups flour
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon salt

now, I didn't have any yeast on hand, so I substituted that for a Tablespoon of Baking Powder.
Mix, then let dough rise for about a half hour.  Then roll out, or stretch to desired size/shape.
Bake dough on a floured tray for 30 minutes on 375 degrees depending on your oven.

While that was pre-cooking, I made my sauce.  I used  one can of tomato paste, half a cup of grated parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons of garlic salt, 1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, and water.    

I then topped the pizza with black olives, chopped onions, spinach, and cheese. I used both shredded mozzarella, and a nacho cheese blend. I then added another 3 Tablespoons of grated parmesan.

I then baked it at 375dgrees for another half hour.

That's about all I have for you guys, don't forget to come back at the end of the month to see what else this movie inspired people to make.  And don't forget, you can join in every month with each Foodn'Flix host.  Next month we've got Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone  if you live outside the states) hosted by Squirrel Head Manor. 

Till next time.
  

2020 July FoodnFlix Announcement

Spudguns! guess what? It's a new season, a new month and once again, I'm attempting to host Foodn'Flix.  I've selected the 2000 film Coyote Ugly.   (I mentioned this film back in the first year of the blog, Day 91.)

If you've never seen Coyote Ugly here's a brief plot : Violet moves from her small town to a big city in order to become a songwriter and producer. Finding herself broke after being robbed her first few days there, she ends up getting a job at the hottest dive bar in town. Her time is split between her new friends, her relationship and dealing with some family emergencies.

To join in:  you have to watch the movie, and then head into the kitchen and bake/cook something inspired by it.
Blog about it with a link back to both this announcement post and a link to FoodnFlix, and then send me an email  at domesticanddamned (at) gmail (dot) com.  and one to Heather at "heather@foodnflixclub.com"  titled Foodn'Flix Submission with your name, name of your blog, name of your dish, a link to it, a photo of the finished dish or give us permission to grab a photo.
If you decide to Instagram your dish, make sure to tag me  @ardethblood  and tag Foodn'Flix and hashtag Foodnflixclub, FoodnFlix.  Instagram posts must include a short intro and the recipe.
If you decide to share on Facebook, tag FoodnFlix, All Roads Lead To The Kitchen, (that's Heather) and GhoulNextDoorCanadian. (that's me)

Submissions must be during the current month -in this case July 2020- and that means, it must be a newly made post.

Submissions deadline is Thursday July 30th 2020

I'll see everyone a day or two after that with the group Round Up.  Till later.

The Nosferatu Adventures s14 p1

The Nosferatu Adventures 
page 352, chapter 352

Bacchus's Day Off
Spring 2020

The sandy haired god shimmered into the parking lot. Glaring around at the faceless sheep before him, he let out a deep breath of disgust. It was training day for the company and he couldn't think of a better way to lay off some steam. Slowly he walked through the patches of crowded people scattered like forgotten weeds in the middle of some unkept garden. He hated it there. The smells of sweat and heat and cheep everything else invading his nostrils like rotten sewage backed up on a hot day.  The sound of his shoes crunching on the ground was almost soothing in it's rhythmic patterns. Squish squash squish squash crunch crunch squish squash crunch. The door to the back of the building creaked as he grabbed hold, feeling the metal bend in his fingers. He hadn't even meant to, but the god was so into his own thoughts. First thing first, he needed to find the man who he was being today. That wrestler dude from Detroit. Bacchus had always wondered if he'd just taken the image of the dark haired one instead of Loki that day when they'd probed Nosferatu's mind; would she have been his by now? Would the last decade have even happened if he'd just sussed out which one of the tag team she liked more? Probably not. The god had to shake his head as he scanned the darkly lit locker room. Seeing his prey he snapped his fingers as everyone else in the room fainted into oblivion. Tapping the wrestler on the shoulder, Bacchus didn't wait for him to even turn around, he just waved his palm in front of the guy's ear and watched him shimmer into thin air. The dude would wake up in the cinema reality stuck watching a marathon of some horrible sci-fi movies. At lest 20 hours of bad nerdom that would have the dude mindlessly employed. Bacchus sent him there frequently when he needed to shapeshift into him in this particular reality. Sighing, the god opened the wrestler's locker to see the outfit waiting for him there. "Shack."  He pulled the mask over his face a few minutes later as he headed out to the ring in the red and blue costume.  He couldn't see properly through the mask as it kept slipping down.  Running to the edge of the ring, Bacchus sprang up as if on a trampoline and hurled himself halfway across the ring to land mid-center on one knee. Spinning, he slithered out of the opposite side landing on his toes before grabbing hold of the rope and propelling himself back into the ring with a triple corkscrew. The crowd stood screaming for more. The god smiled to himself under the cartoon's mask, as he played along giving them the character's trademark fingers to the skull to impact his character's name. He did however, love the adrenaline rush that this reality provided. The bell sounded indicating the match was officially underway. Scanning the layout of the arena, he spotted three cameras indicating this was being taped. That gave the god a second boost of the giggles, knowing that while people watched at home thinking it was their favourite wrestler under this mask, he was really the one. Really the one doing the flips and spins and moves that seemed to defy gravity. They were not just witnessing greatness but an actual god. Over the centuries Bacchus had been so many things to so many people in countless realities, but being this wrestler in this reality always had him returning.  No; he thought. No, he was glad he'd chosen this one of the two that day when he'd entered Nosferatu's mind raiding her memories. This image, this man she respected and admired for over a decade was the perfect fit.  Bacchus rammed his knee into the neck of his opponent as he watched him stumble backwards a few steps arms flaying around before hitting the rope and sliding to his knees hard. Bacchus turned towards the far rope running at a speed too fast to be considered human but too slow for the god; using it to propel himself across the ring once more to land a perfectly timed low drop kick to the opponent's jaw. Bacchus hung there in midair for a long hesitation before allowing himself to fall onto his ass. He then sprang back up from a flat position flying over the opponent, landing on the top turnbuckle, and diving down on the opponent's chest in a backwards frogsplash. Pulling the opponent back up to a semi-standing position, he delivered a hard chop across the collarbone, causing the opponent to rock and bounce off the ropes once more. Grabbing him by the wrist, Bacchus used the age old Irish-Whip to send the almost unconscious opponent two steps and watched him fall flat. He forgot for a brief second that he was wearing the costume. That the dude he'd shapeshifted into was suppose to be playing a completely different wrestler for this match, as he lifted the opponent up and gave him the dude's trademark move. The cradle-shock. He wasn't even breathing heavy yet as the ref leaned down and told him he needed to cut the match as they were already at the time limit. Nodding, the god pinned his opponent. His arm raised in the win. The character's theme music sprang to life through the speakers of the building as the crowd cheered and clapped. Quickly the sandy-haired blue eyed god made his way back to the locker room, removed the mask and headed to the shower.

He sat in the little cafeteria not more than an hour later, rolling a paper cup steaming with coffee between his palms. It wasn't enough. Shapeshifting constantly into others to create his art, being onstage performing to the love and adore of humans. None of them ever knowing that he was more than what they thought they saw. More than the rock stars they'd loved back in the previous three decades, more than the painters they both scorned and worshiped for the last four hundred years, more than the movie stars or tv heroes that had sprung up in the last fifty years that they threw themselves at. Bacchus had let himself become complacent with the scraps of  pop-culture stardom. Had let himself be forgotten along side the other gods. Letting out a deep sigh, Bacchus snapped his fingers once more as the wrestler was returned to the locker room unaware of what had happened, as the god shimmered into thin air.

His back stiffened as he shimmered back into view in front of the house. There was a faint scent of a protection spell. Snorting, Bacchus squinted up his eyes running a palm across the fringe of bangs still flopping over his eyebrows. The wrestler needed a haircut he thought as he shook his head wildly. The too long shaggy do the wrestler favoured suddenly became an inch shorter allowing the god the relief from the itchiness of the long scruff always had against his neck. He walked a few feet towards the house, stopping for a half heartbeat before rolling his eyes and continuing on.  Astrid's grandmother had been a very powerful seer, but Astrid was still too young to have the kind of power her spells needed to keep the god out. Bacchus entered the house letting the door slam against the wall in a single huff as he did. Snapping his fingers, both Edric and Seward fainted on the spot into a deep sleep just as he entered the kitchen to see Mercury shimmer off with Nosferatu. Swearing, Bacchus tilted his head deciding to return to the other reality for another match.


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Miss me?)

FoodnFlix May 2020

Spudguns!, it's been a few months...I've had nothing to say the last two months. But, I joined in for the May Foodn'Flix...literally just crawling in under the finish line with my offerings. The May selection was hosted by Debra over at Eliot's Eats and she picked the 2011 Midnight in Paris.  Now, I've mentioned this on the blog way way way back in the first year of the blog, Day 75.  But, here's a brief recap.

plot:  When a writer suffering from writer's block goes on vacation with his girlfriend and her parents, he finds himself in awe of the city around him. As he ends up spending his nights alone wandering the streets dreaming about his heroes, he mysteriously travels back in time to the 1920's. Inspiration begins to strike as the midnight hour engulfs him, leaving him wondering if it's just a dream.

Okay, so as I mentioned, I've talked briefly about this movie before when it first came out, and I didn't care for it. I should have loved it. All the markings of my kind of movie was there. It's a Woody Allen movie, it's about a writer, it's about time travel, it's about art and magick.  Only, for me it missed the mark. Sitting through it a second time for group, I was halfway hoping I had missed something the first time around, that maybe since it's been almost a decade I'd discover something in it I liked. Nope. Still not doing much for me.

Notes: beer, baguette (mentioned) wine, bread, sauerkraut and frankfurters (mentioned) whiskey sour (mentioned) petit fours (mentioned) grapes, sweets, candied ginger, nuts, cheese, coffee, cake, Indian food (mentioned) pita bread (mentioned) jam, juice, melon, croissants, strawberries, blueberries, fruit plate, tea, cookies, chocolate, beef bourguignon (mentioned) pineapple, whipped cream, dates, steak, absinthe, honey, meat pie, pears, peaches, butter, lemon, pop.

Okay, so the food in this movie is sort of there but it's not a main concern, so it's pretty much in the far background most of the time.

There is a scene near the beginning of the film, where one of the characters mentioned the sauerkraut and frankfurters, and my mind right away went to that. So I went right out to the store and picked up a package of veggie dogs and ...could not for the life of me find any sauerkraut. It ended up being one of the crazy items that the stores in my city have not received since the whole isolation situation has been going on in the world.  Then I thought I would just go with it anyway.  I "assembled" my loaded veggie dog with cole slaw, mustard, mayo, cheese, onions and peppers.

But I wasn't happy with how it looked on camera. So, I started thinking about a second dish and my mind kept returning to the end of the film, where we see a very minor character who literally has two scenes near the end of the film, a detective who himself travels back into time to the Court of Louis XIV.  This seemingly unimportant character actually ends up being a key player. Through the whole movie till this point, you never know if the lead is daydreaming, or drunk or in a coma from a scene where he trips and hits his head or if he's actually traveling back and forth in time? That is until the detective finds himself trapped back in time.  The table of Louis XIV has a breakfast which consists of the pears, peaches and meat pie. So I decided to make a "mock steak and kidney pie".

Ingredients

1 can of kidney beans drained
two mushrooms chopped
half a carrot chopped
half a stalk of celery chopped
half a small onion chopped
ground black pepper
garlic salt
cornstarch
jackfruit
pastry
water

Drain the kidney beans, boiling them till soft.   Add mushroom, celery and carrots. Let simmer for about 15minutes.
Add onion, ground pepper and garlic salt. Stir and let simmer for another 10 minutes.

Add jackfruit, stirring in more water if needed.  Simmer for another 15minutes.

Prepare pastry.   I used a store bought ready made tart shell.
Fill pastry and cook at 350degrees for 35 minutes depending on your oven.

I've never used jackfruit before this. In fact, never even tasted it. I wasn't sure if the bitterness would work with the rest of the savoury ingredients so I only used three medium sized pieces. Thankfully it did.

There you go, two dishes inspired by very different characters. Don't forget to check out June's Foodn'Flix selection, being hosted by Culinary Adventures with Camilla. She's allowing the theme of Any Movie that is  Set or Made in Hawaii.

Till next time.

FnF Round Up

Spudguns!, it's that time of the time, when we offer up a potluck of groovy goodies. As I mentioned beginning of the month, I hosted Foodn'Flix once again, and my selection was not one movie but a whole genre of movies. Your choice of anything by Tim Burton.

Our first submission was Camilla, from Culinary Adventures with Camilla. She picked the movie Mars Attacks!  and made Blue Gummy Brains.

Next up, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm,  gave us a Lebanese Salad inspired by the movie Big Fish. 

We then had an offering from Tina over at Squirrel Head Manor.  She pulled inspiration as well from the movie Big Fish, and made Pepin's Chicken and Mushrooms.

And then we had Pumpkin Apple Donuts from Debra at Elioteats. Inspired by the movie Sleepy Hollow.    

Up next we have  a Strawberry Moscow Mule from Amy over at Amy's Cooking Adventures. She was inspired by the live action version of Alice in Wonderland.

And next up is Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen. She was inspired by Sweeney Todd to make a Peppered Shepherd's Pie.

And finally, my own offering. I went with the movie Dark Shadows, and made my vegetarian version of Mock Fish (Tofu) and Chips.

All in all, a fabulous potluck of ideas, treats, and movies. Don't forget you can join in next month as the Foodn'Flix group watches The Biggest Little Farm, hosted by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm.

That's about all I've got for you this month. Until later.

2020 March Foodn'Flix Announcement

Spudguns! it's that time of the season again when I host Foodn'Flix.  And this month, my selection is...any Tim Burton movie of your choice!  Yeah, I decided not on one film but on a genre of films.

To join in, you just pick a Tim Burton movie, watch and then head to the kitchen to cook/bake anything it's inspired. Your post must be current, which means in this case done in the month of March 2020.

Then post on your blog with a link back to this post and the Foodn'Flix site. Then email your submissions to me at domesticanddamned at gmail dot com as well as Heather at heather@foodnflixclub.com.   Don't forget to add your name, the name of your blog, the name of your dish with a link and a photo.  Or give us permission to pick a photo from it.  Make sure the email says Foodn'Flix Submission on it.   If you post a copy of your dish on instagram, don't forget to tag me at ardethblood,  and heather with the hashtag FoodnFlix.   And lastly, if you post on facebook, don't forget to tag me at GhoulNextDoorCanadian, as well as FoodnFlix

Deadline is Sunday March 29th 2020 6pm EST    I plan on doing the round up the next day.

Coffee Talk Feb 8th 2020

Spudguns! how's it on your end? Spiffy. Hard to believe we are in 2020. That just blows my speakers.  Wacky to think we've hit that magickal number. That year that all science fiction used to it's advantage. Craziness. Crazier to think I turn 46 in a few weeks. I never thought I'd still be living in Thunder Bay at this age. Nutballs man.

I've got a few video reviews up on my facebook page if you haven't caught them yet. I've done a few with my neighbour where we talked about our thoughts on the new Star Trek show Picard.   I've been focusing mostly on my facebook page and doing video projects the last few months. Just something I sort of want to get under my listings while I'm still in my 40's.

I will be hosting Food n'Flix, next month for March. Which, I know, I said almost two years ago I was done hosting, then I hosted last October and I'm doing one more. Maybe two.

I have no schedule right now. Yeah, I finally admitted that trying to have any kind of schedule for this blog just made me crazy, depressed and guilty feeling when I didn't make my deadlines. So, I'm just not going to promise that this or that is coming up within any time frame.  I will just promise I will post stuff this year.   I'm looking forward to seeing The Invisible Man, Bill and Ted Face the Music, The Craft remake and Ghostbusters 4 Afterlife. 

Okay my lovely Spudguns! I'll be back soon, but in the meantime don't forget to check out my facebook page (here)

The Nosferatu Adventures s13 p21

The Nosferatu Adventures
page 351, chapter 351

1976

"You're pacing." Edric said coldly.

"I'm pissed off." our heroine snarled as she continued to walk in a tight circle in the little room. Her hands on her hips, her eyes cast down as she felt her double row of fangs threatening to break through her gums. The banshee cast a half glance down the hallway at the direction the voice was coming from. Astrid had found the little trio sitting in the middle of a Robin's and told them she knew who they were. Nosferatu now snorted as she heard the sound of the woman's muffled voice as she whispered to someone.

"Come on, take a chill already. So this chick knew we portalled. So, she's a witch." the male hybrid continued as he tapped his fingers on his knee.

"She's no witch." the pale female spat as she pointed towards the hallway. "She's a Librarian." she continued to move around the room like a caged animal.

"And?" Edric shrugged as he nodded towards Seward who'd been in the back area of the room, pressing his palms tight to the walls looking for what he was sure was a hidden door.

"As in magick mirror dumbass." our heroine growled. It was all she could do not to rip through the walls. Ever since they'd landed back in this decade, something had been nudging at our heroine's nerves. For a reality that wasn't suppose to have much, if any magick, she was sure she could feel it tightening around her. Something she just couldn't put her finger on.

"Again I say and?"

"Uh magick mirror? Do you think I could get a message to Landin then?" Seward asked as he continued to knock on the wall near the window looking for a soft spot.

"I don't know?" our heroine said her fingers now at her shoulders and neck. "Your cousin seems to think he's so upper class." she hissed in frustration.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Edric snorted, sighing loudly. The male hybrid crossed his ankle over his knee before uncrossing them and propelling himself out of the chair he'd been sitting in. Since they had entered Astrid's home, Edric's senses had been on fire with some unknown scent.The banshee-werewolf hybrid was down the hallway in a half a breath his overly sensitive nose leading him to the source of the irritant. It wasn't until he found himself standing in the basement did he realize that the smells were coming from hair products. Astrid was a hairdresser. It was the chemicals from her perming solutions and dyes that were causing him issues. Sitting down in the salon chair, the male let out another sigh as he twirled the chair around before staring at his reflection in the work mirror. Bringing his right hand up to his chin, Edric raised an eyebrow thinking it was time for a new look.

 Meanwhile...

The male looked down from the building's roof towards the street below him. Fresh painted had just been added to the asphalt in course yellow lines. One long run-on line that looked more like morse code than directions. Waving his hand he watched as the yellow stretches directly below him disappeared then reappeared in the form of an x. He giggled to no one as he jumped. The dark trenchcoat he'd stolen from the store in London blew out behind him like a cape, as he landed on his feet.  Mercury stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans and continued on down the street at a human's pace. The god whistled as he stopped at the nearest store window seeing a display of hats. He'd always favoured the page-boy style, and grabbed one in tweed. No sooner had he plopped it on, when a voice screamed at him that he couldn't do that.  Smirking, the sandy blonde male continued on his path.

"Sorry officer. Can't stay and chat. I'm late for a very important date."  Mercury tossed the words over his shoulder in a crisp British accent at the police officer as he staggered from his car. The cop followed him around the corner of a building but lost him as the god had already shimmered into thin air.

He stood outside under a lamp post waiting. The god knew he wouldn't have long to wait, knew all he needed to do was pop into the room. He simply wanted to wait to the last possible second, to have his timing on the dot in order to express the most dramatic affect. Shimmering now would kill the mood. Mercury toyed with the idea of just letting the female make her own choice without all the information. Toyed with the briefest of hesitations before shrugging off the idea. He walked silently from the end of the street towards the house with the lilacs in the garden. Walked smoothly across the wet grass that had been watered too much to the point it was squishy and not at all soaked in. Walked up the two stairs to the porch, opened the front door and just let himself in.  Edric was standing in front of him before the front door even closed, his nails sharp, his fangs exposed.  "No need for that." Mercury said snapping his fingers, sending the male hybrid across the room. "Sit. Good boy."

"Who the hell are you?" Astrid asked grabbing a hockey stick that had been sitting discarded near the kitchen door.

"I need to borrow Nosferatu." he nodded smiling. "I've got a message or two for her."  he ran the palm of his hand across the length of the hallway, exposing a small wave of blue light. "Here's my card." he replied too casually as a small white business style card appeared out of thin air.

"Mercury." our heroine's voice broke the tension from a few feet behind Astrid. "Why are you here?"

"Hello lovely. Been a few years. Well, centuries actually. I do believe it was just outside of Wallachia in the 1400's when I saw you last. How is Vlad?" he tilted his head to the side the brim of the hat casting shadows across his face.

"Again why are you here?" she crossed her arms under her chest giving her boobs a lift.

"In this reality or Thunder Bay?" he continued to smile, his roundish face warm as his grey-blue eyes shone. "Short answer, it's Thunder Bay and you're here in this reality."  Mercury cast a glance around the little house. "We need to talk and we should do so before you let Edmund through the portal. Unless you want to repeat what happens in forty years with the Van Helsing house."

TO BE CONTINUED...NEXT SEASON

Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story. I know this last season has lasted way too long; almost two years so just time to turn the page on the season)

Coffee Talk Nov 30th 2019

Spudguns!, how's everything? Fabulous. Okay, so here we are on the last day of the month, and I just thought I would slide on in for a moment because I realized I hadn't blogged all month. 
The blog's new blogging year is a few days away, and I don't have a plan. Isn't that horrible?  Since starting this blog, I've tried to challenge myself to a theme or year long project. Some of which have been successful - such as year one of this blog - and some have failed completely.  Here we are at the edge of  the next blogging year and I've got no theme or challenge for it.

Usually, the downtime in November gives me a chance to think about what I want to attempt for the coming blogging year, but this time I came up empty. I maybe looking at another "random" year on here.

And I know, I know, it's been a couple of months since I wrote anything for The Nosferatu Adventures  or Cinema Files, but the blog serials are still on my "to do list".  Writer's block really isn't any fun trust me on that. 

But, none the less, I will be back later in the week with something for you all.  In the meantime, I post something everyday on my facebook page...even when it's just the daily countdown. (here)

Inspired by October 10th (charmed continued)

Spudguns!, time for another What that Movie Inspired Me to Do, post. And as the title says, it's another Charmed inspired post.  I teamed up once again with my friend Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen. We each picked a CW tv show for this challenge, me with my Charmed, her with a Supernatural inspired one.

I once again, jumped back and forth between two episodes; one from the original Charmed, and one from the remake.  The common factor in this one, how the girls feel about their roles, identities, and how others see them...and cookies.

From the original series, I picked "Lost and Bound" from season 4 episode 11, and from the remake, I picked "Sweet Tooth" from season 1 episode 3

In Lost and Bound,  Phoebe begins having doubts about getting married, and after finding their grandmother's ring, she begins to transform into the character of Samantha from her favourite show Bewitched.  Meanwhile, Piper and Leo are arguing about binding the powers of the baby they plan on having, while also helping a young firestarter.

Notes: juice, coffee, pastries, cream cheese, fruit, sugar, milk, ice(mentioned) bagel, bacon (mentioned) pop, cookies, apple pie, flour, spices, apples, dough, peaches (mentioned) cereal, lemons, peppers, martini (mentioned) steak (mentioned) sandwich (mentioned) omelette (mentioned) soup, carrots, celery, cider vinegar, oil, onion, cabbage, black pepper, bread, garlic butter, pez, clams, biscuits,

In "Sweet Tooth", the girls are trying to find a demon who is possessing a girl on campus, during Hallowe'en. They learn that sugar will react with the chemistry of the demon's dna, and begin to hand out cookies to everyone. During their Hallowe'en party, they not only learn the identity of the demon, they learn some harsh lessons about how they see themselves.

Notes: salt, eggs, pink lemonade, sugar, berries, coffee, goat (mentioned) baking soda (mentioned) candy, shortbread (mentioned) chocolate souffle (mentioned) bananas, cereal, oil, pasta, cake, wine, chicken (mentioned) salad, oranges, cookies, pumpkin, punch, cinnamon sticks, hot dogs (cart in background) potato chips, gummie candy, cheesies, arrowroot (picture) cloves (picture) cornstarch, chamomile (pictured) vending machines, pop, canned food, icing (mentioned) popcorn, limes, dip, olives, martini, sage (mentioned)

I decided to make a batch of walnut chocolate chip cookies. I used the recipe on page 766 of The Joy of Cooking, as my basic recipe. I left out one ingredient and replaced another.

I used:

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 package of Reese's Pieces
handful of crunched up walnuts

Mix all together, spoon onto greased cookie sheet, and bake at 375degrees for 8-12 minutes depending on your oven.

The original recipe called for brown sugar as well as regular, and regular chocolate chips. But I'm not a fan of super sweet so I left the brown sugar out and added extra vanilla.

That's about all I have for you tonight. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to Season 2 of the Charmed remake starting this weekend. And if you haven't already, swing by All Roads Lead to the Kitchen, and see what Heather has for her Supernatural recipe.

The Nosferatu Adventures s13 p20

The Nosferatu Adventures 
page 350, chapter 350

1976

Astrid slid out of the bed as carefully as she could not wanting to wake Bart...Bert...Ben? Didn't matter, she had no intention of seeing him again. She needed to get home, the babysitter was only suppose to stay till midnight and it was almost 1am. Grabbing the white slacks from the floor she kept her head down avoiding the thin scarf she had insisted he use to cover the mirror. Finding her boots she tiptoed her way through the house avoiding the other two mirrors in the hallway as well. She didn't breathe until she was outside, her back flat against the door, her boots still in one hand, her purse and slacks in the other. Quickly she got dressed on the porch before realizing she left the scarf.  "Shack. What am I going to do about my hair?" she shrugged to herself as she started to head towards the center of town. She hadn't had much time to herself since the baby had been born. Single mom having to work two jobs just to keep up, it didn't help any that since her grandmother died last year, the job of Librarian had become hers. Astrid hated mirrors now, and almost never used them to see herself. Her grandmother had told her not too worry about that, that only the one in the sewing room was magick, but none the less, the very idea that at any moment the white fog might activate any random mirror freaked her out. Remembering that they were out of milk, she crossed through the park heading towards the 24 hour grocery. And that's when see saw them. Three figures moving across the park, like an overexposed negative. Two men and a woman walked out of thin air. Only it wasn't anymore, there was a swirling mass behind them in the middle of the park. Shaking her head, Astrid cleared the vision away. But only for the briefest of seconds before it seemed to pick up again. But now they were no longer walking, they were sitting in the middle of a coffee shop huddled together, the tall thin male seeming very distressed.  "Why am I seeing this now?" she asked herself as she cautiously moved closer to the spot. Putting her palms up, she felt the heat coming from where the vision had taken place.  "Still warm like an oven after making bread." she whispered, her eyes wide. "So it hasn't been long less than an hour." she calculated that meant they must be close still. "Why now? Why here? Think girl what planets are doing what? Are we close to a solstice? What would cause..." she spotted a young couple heading towards her holding hands, the guy in faded bellbottom jeans no shoes, his chest exposed with his brown jacket open. The girl wearing the shortest pink and purple mini skirt Astrid had ever seen, and a fringed white top. Ducking her head Astrid blushed as she realized she had been not just talking to herself but talking out loud. Moving on through the park she made her way to the grocery; the smell of wet dog so overpowering she had to cover her mouth and nose. The mocha skinned twenty-three year old woman stopped suddenly as a rush of dizziness caused her to feel faint, forcing her to lean on the edge of the newspaper rack. Moving her hand then to her throat she froze in panic. Her had wasn't her own but that of an extremely pale person. She blinked trying to clear her head telling herself it was the vision still playing mind games with her. But when she did, she saw the two males sitting beside her at a coffee shop. Astrid was suddenly there, in the smoky building listening to the people around them, listening to the two males argue and plot, the voice of the one to her right so much louder that she needed to cover her ears, the smell of wet dog so heavy she wanted to gag.  Then Astrid was back in her own body, standing in the 24 hour grocery no one but herself and the teenaged checkout clerk.

When she got home fifteen minutes later, Astrid paid the babysitter and headed for her grandmother's sewing room. Removing the white sheet she had placed over the mirror before leaving for the night, she let out a deep breath. The familiar sight of the other side of the mirror was both comforting and frightening as Edmund Gaerwn looked up from the large spellbook he was studying. "Astrid?"  he closed the book still leaning on the table. "Is there something the matter?"

"I'm not sure? I was out just now and ...a portal opened up. Three people came through." she raised her hand palm towards the mirror. "Now before you say anything, I saw it in a vision. It had already happened, but I'm guessing it happened near where I was. Two of them were not human."

"What were they?" Edmund asked as he stood straight his piercing blue eyes demanding.

"My best guess, wolf. The smell of wet dog was unmistakable."

"Are you sure? Lycanthropes can not open portals. They would have needed an extremely powerful witch or a...banshee." a seductive smile crossed his lips. "Find them. Bring them there to the mirror I need to see them, to speak to them."


Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me (straight up story. I know I promised you guys this one back few months ago. But I'm still catching up on stuff )

Sept Book Club Selection

Spudguns!, how's today? Great to hear.  This is the official announcement for the book club.  September's choice is Bag of Bones by Stephen King.  Honestly, when I picked the books for this year back at x-mas time, I had no idea this would end up being a year of remakes/re-releases of his works. 

Rules are pretty simple, if you want to join read the book and blog about it. You must have a blog to join in on the online part. Read the book, blog about it, if it inspires you to cook/bake/craft then add that to the post. The blog post must be current - in this case Sept 2019.  Link your post to either this post or on the day of  when I do my review.  Datedue is the last Sunday of the month, in this case Sunday Sept 29th 2019.

Since I failed to complete last month's selection, The Stand, I have both books to read and review this month. 

If you live in the Thunder Bay area and want to be part of the physical book club, message me.

That's about it for now.

Inspired by Aug 2019

Spudguns!, I've been promising another round of  "What That Movie Inspired Me To Do",  and finally, I have gotten off my lazy arse and written it up. This is another one where my friend Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen,  and I joined up. This time around, we picked the tv show Charmed.   The rules this time were simple, we could draw inspiration from either the original Charmed or from the reboot, or both.  I went with both versions of Charmed.

What I ended up doing was picking three episodes from each version that had a similar element.   From the original I went with episodes from Season 1, 2 and 5; and at the time of this posting, only the first season of the reboot had aired yet.

Original Charmed Season 1 Episode 8 "The Truth is Out There and It Hurts"   had a similar theme to  Season 1 Episode 2 "Let this Mother Out" of the remake.    In the original version, Prue is wanting to know if her boyfriend Andy can handle the knowledge of her being a witch, and uses a truth spell on him. The spell has a time limit on it of 24 hours, after which Andy will no longer remember the results of the spell.  In the Charmed remake, Mel's girlfriend Niko accidentally drinks a truth serum meant for Harry their whitelighter.

Notes for "The Truth is Out There and It Hurts"- coffee, sugar, cream, pasta, cereal, milk, fruit, wine, corn chowder (mentioned) turkey sandwich, muffins, pop, spices, salad, bagels, dried fruit, croissants, bottled water, ice, green onions, sauce, canned food, peppers, potatoes, bread, Twizzlers (mentioned) tea, biscotti, halibut (mentioned) chicken, broccoli, soup, fries, steak

Notes for "Let this Mother Out"- juice, coffee, milk, rolls, berries, melon, passion flower, cinnamon, tea, subs, pickles, eggs, Chinese food (mentioned) salad, iced tea, hot dogs (cart in background)

Original Charmed Season 2 Episode 18 "Chick Flick" had a similar element to Season 1 Episode 14 "Touched By A Demon" of the remake.   In the original, the sisters find themselves battling both the Demon of Illusion, who has pulled characters out of old horror movies; and the horror characters before being trapped within the movie themselves.   In "Touched By A Demon",  Macy accidentally creates a portal into a television show, which lets the tv characters out, but pulls herself and Harry into the world of the show.

Notes for "Chick Flick" -tea, popcorn, pop, risotto, wine, salt, pepper, steak, bread, salad, parfait, celery, broccoli, coffee, toast, sugar, butter, potato chips, pretzels, cheesies, dip

Notes for "Touched By A Demon" -vodka, cake, cookies, cupcakes, cherries, oranges, dates, buns, coffee, peppermint oil, tea, scones, brownies, apples, gumdrops, tequila, wine

Original Charmed Season 5 Episode 19 "Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun" has a similar element to Season 1 Episode 7 "Out of Scythe" of the remake.   In the original, Paige finds herself turned into a nymph while the sisters try to help a group of lost nymphs when their satyr is killed.   In the remake, an injured satyr arrives on the girl's doorstep needing their help.

Notes for "Nymphs Just Wanna Have Fun"- wine, pastries, cherries, cheesecake, salad, soy milk, pasta, dill, spices, vinegar, herbs, oil, coffee, candy machines, ginger, horseradish, clams, dried mushrooms, alcohol, berries (mentioned)

Notes for "Out of Scythe" -wine, grapes, garlic bruschetta (mentioned) tomato sauce (mentioned) bacon sandwiches, juice, coffee, butter, strawberries, bananas, eggs, toast, melon, tomatoes, parsley, blueberries, gin, whiskey, rum, vodka, lemons, donuts, herbs, apples, smoothies, broccoli, iced tea, tofu (mentioned) pizza, empanadas (mentioned) grilled cheese (mentioned) candy, beer

What I ended up going with was a sub sandwich.   Subs are mentioned full out in "Let This Mother Out", while we see the bacon sandwiches in "Out of Scythe"; as well as a turkey sandwich in "The Truth is Out There and It Hurts".   Salads are seen in almost each episode, and pickles in "Let This Mother Out".    I started with a selection of vegan meat substitutes : a vegan ham, vegan bacon and vegan bologna.

I added sweet mustard pickles, mayo, and onions. As well as a handful of premade cabbage and carrot cole slaw.

After cooking the vegan bacon in a small bit of oil, I added it, the vegan ham, vegan bologna and some cheese.

I decided to serve my charming sub with some pink brew.  Okay, so that was a mixture of pink lemonade and lemon iced-tea (both frozen) but I felt it fit well with the idea that in "Let This Mother Out", the truth spell is in the form of a tea. 

That's my offering for this time around. Don't forget to stop by All Roads Lead To the Kitchen, to see what magickal potion Heather came up with. 

Food n Flix Aug 2019

Spudguns!, it's that time of the time when I hand you an offering for Foodn'Flix. The selection for this month is being hosted by Simply Inspired Meals; and their selection is anything from the Star Wars Franchise. Anything.  This should be a breeze right. The movies have been apart of pretty much everyone's lives for the last 40 plus years and we all have some memory of them.  I was actually really jazzed when I heard about this. But, sadly for me, as the time ticked away, I became less and less so.  I thought "hey, they're on tv all the time."  and  "the stores always have copies."    Well, it seemed my timing was off. I couldn't find a copy of them to save my life.   That is other than Star Wars 11 :Solo A Star Wars Story ( some would argue that it's actually #12 but I don't consider the animated film part of the movie line up).  Luckily, Netflix Canada still had it available.

Now, I've seen Solo before, and really liked it. Watching it for group was a bit difficult as there isn't a lot of food related scenes, and what there is, half the stuff I couldn't identify. That is partly because the story takes place on another planet and about half the food is "designed" to be otherworldly.

plot:  Han and his girlfriend are fleeing their con-artist/thief boss, but are detained at the border and end up separated. While his girlfriend is arrested, Han ends up joining the military in order to escape capture. After a few years, he defies orders and ends up arrested. While in a form of prison, he meets Chewbacca. The two make a break for it, and end up working with a group of rebel for heir thieves. They have been hired to steal a shipment of an unrefined lethal explosive. When they fail the first time, they barely manage to talk their way out of being killed before given a second chance. Han then is reunited with his ex-girlfriend, who is now both their boss and the wife of the mobster who hired them. We then meet Lando Calrissian, who has also been hired to pilot them. Han is left wondering who's who in his world and where his trust should be placed.

Notes: whiskey, seeds/nuts, coffee/tea, beets, salt/pepper, soup, fish, beans, fruit, pastry/sweets, spice, eggs, caviar

Han Solo, was always one of my favourite characters in the Star Wars films. I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to the movies. I am a fan of the original three and wasn't very impressed at all with how the rest of the movies have unfolded.

I know there was no point in me trying to create some big decorated piece, my skill level just doesn't curve that way. So, I went with what I know best.  Soup.  Which, given the fact we have a scene where our little group of thieves are camped out making their plans, while they make soup, it's actually fitting.

ingredients

1 Tablespoon butter
half a red onion chopped
1 cup cauliflower
2 Tablespoons flour
salt
ground pepper
235ml of Half/Half cream
veggie stock
3 cloves diced garlic

I started by making my veggie stock, and in this case, just used a bouillon cube and water.

Next, I added the garlic and cauliflower.  I let this simmer for about a half hour.  Then I added my onion, salt, pepper, and butter.  Let that simmer for another 15 minutes, before taking it off the heat.

I let it cool for about five minutes before adding my cream and flour. Whisking the flour and cream into the soup for a few moments before returning it to the heat. I continued to whisk as it gently began to boil, before once again turning it off.  

So, you might be wondering why I went with a cream soup, when I mentioned that the one character uses beets when he's cooking them dinner. It actually has more to do with the original movie and the fact there is just so much white in it. The film has so much monochromatic moments with costumes, that I can't help but think of milk/cream or cream soups. 

Okay, I think I'm going to end this here. Next month, Foodn'Flix will be hosted by Eliot's Eats, and the selection will be O Brother Where Art Thou?

Sunday Aug 25th 2019

Spudguns!, this is normally the point where book club is due.  The summer (July/August) selection was/is  The Stand by Stephen King.  Which, is over 1000 plus pages long. And sadly, even with two full months, I still haven't finished it.  So, I will have to suck it up and say, I'll come back in a week or so and get the review for it done then. This will not change the date on September's selection. I'll still be back the first few days of September with an official announcement on it so stay tuned.

I've got a few recipes/dishes lined up for later in the week too.   And yes, there are the blog serials still to come.

With Hallowe'en coming up, I've been working on a few video projects connected to that which has been eating up all my time.

That's about all I have to talk about right now. I'll see you later in the week.

Cinema Files s1 p19

The Cinema Files
page 19, chapter 19

Gumshoe Intermission

I heard Vincent's door creek open just before 7am  and him humming as he started the coffeemaker.   "So what do you think about the Wetworks Killer?"

"Is that what we're calling him?" I asked. Vincent nodded a grunt.

"I am." he smiled. I told him a few more details about what I'd seen at the latest crime scene. "Okay so we're thinking then this maid saw something and the killer is just covering his tracks?" he started loading bread into the toaster.

"Makes sense. If he was having an affair with GoGoBoots chick and they were regulars at the motel..." I started to fold the blanket returning it to the closet.

"The killer might be freaked with her death showing up in the paper. He'd want any witnesses that could tie him to her gone." the toaster jammed sending smoke into the kitchen forcing Vincent to unplug it. "Breakfast at the cafe it is."

"I'd still like to know how our first victim Puddle Guy fits into it?" I had shuffled then towards the kitchen myself.

"Yeah, that's a clue and a half all on it's own." he remarked as he headed back towards the bathroom.  I heard him rattling his toothbrush and the tap running. Vincent returned a moment later a faint scent of mint clinging to him.


I stood in the middle of the store just after 8:30am, a shipment of blu-rays had come in early and I still needed to unbox them, code them, and price them. It was the last thing I wanted to do. What I wanted was to take a few home and just plant myself in front of the tv for the next few days. But that just wasn't going to fly.  I was more than starting to feel overwhelmed, totally in over my head. Deadlines suddenly looming over me like a non stop hamster wheel with a hammer banging into it like a gong. Maybe my mental cage should have been more rattled than it actually was, but I could see nothing but this brazen and bizarre love triangle I currently found myself in. Torn between Ryan and Rudolph. I should have been focusing on other things like the fact there was a killer running around town.  I tore off the packaging tape of one of the larger boxes, to be greeted by the top layer of order forms. The distributor was pushing anniversary editions of old mob stories.  I think I grunted to the box as I saw my own reflection in the glossy plastic wrap of the first row of films. My pale skin distorted in the square edges of the makeshift mirror. Like staring into a puddle.

That's when the idea hit me. What if Puddle Guy had been trailing the killer? What if Puddle Guy had been a private investigator? Or even an informant?  What if this went deeper than just some wealthy guy not wanting an affair to surface?

I shook my head trying to clear my sudden anxiety and conspiracy theory, trying not to over react when the phone rang. A small scream began to escape my throat as I  jumped laying my palm flat on my chest, I scolded myself for such an overactive imagination.  I heard the distant voice of one of my distributors letting me know my next order would be late as they were having issues with their factory.   The rest of the morning continued with me jumping at every noise, seeing danger at every turn.  Lunch didn't make me feel any better.  I went to the cafe to find Vincent's normally beautiful face marked with stress. He nodded at me to take a tray and help as he tried his best to keep clam and not kick out a table of loud teenagers. They were a community service group on break from picking up trash in the area. All ten of them in their orange vests, talking over each other, laughing into their phones, snapping way too may selfies. The noise levels just seemed to increase second by second in the tiny cafe.  It was clear from his body language of shoulders that he was having a hard time from slumping, and the edge of his jaw that was clinched, that he was dealing with a headache and overdue for his break.  Fifteen minutes later, the teenagers magickally got up in a herd and shuffled out leaving one person to pay for everything.  The quiet was almost deafening as a slight ringing in my ears was all the evidence they left. Vincent leaned onto the counter his eyes closed, fingertips pressed into his temples.

"Can you switch the open sign to back in 10 minutes please." He shuffled over to a table, pulling out a chair. The scrapping sound causing him to wince. "Sorry Desdemona short handed today. Bobby never came in."   I poured us each a coffee and sat down across the table from him.

"What if Puddle Guy was killed cause he was like us?" I said reaching into my purse for a bottle of aspirin handing it to him.

"Worked in a mini mall dealing with snotty teens?"

"No. Investigating the scandal."


Tune in again for another installment of the Cinema Files starring your heroine...me (straight up story.  I know, it's turning into a proper crime story...for now)

Night Bleeds Summer 2019

Spudguns!, how's it where you are?  Spiffy news good to hear that...anyways, it's time to talk about this month's Night Bleeds selection.  The selection this time around, is The Stand by Stephen King.  And it's a super long one, so that's why it's not due till the end of August.

So, if you want to join in here's what you need to know.    You must have a blog to join the online part. Read the novel, (watching movie this time around is optional bonus) and if it inspires you to cook/bake/craft something then add that to your blog post. Your blog post must be within the current month, in this case August 2019.   As always, it's due the last Sunday of the month, in this current case that will be Sunday August 25th 2019.  With a link to my post on the day of, and a comment letting me know you actually joined in.

If you are in the Thunder Bay area and would like to join the physical book club, let me know.

June book report

It's that time again, where I tell you my thoughts on this month's book club selection.  The book in question was Gerald's Game by Stephen King. I know there is a movie version too, but I decided not to watch it.

plot:  After being talked into an afternoon of S/M style sex, a woman is left alone when her husband dies suddenly of a heart attack. She then starts to doubt everything she sees while waiting for help.

I liked the majority of this novel, up to the last couple of chapters. The introduction of the Boogieman/Joubert sort of put me off the rest of the story.  Which, I think might have been the whole idea of the character.  Up to that point in the story, you are dealing with the lead Jessie, and a stray dog named Prince.

I was expecting a completely different ending than what we are actually given. The story itself takes place over about 72 hours, as we sit with the lead character in her isolated misery. She is faced with the realization that no one is coming to help her, and she needs to help herself. While this is happening, she starts to hallucinate and hear voices. The voices are what gets her through and reveals why she's there in the first place. We learn that she had been abused as a child, and her way of dealing is by not dealing.

The stray dog, which I thought was a brilliant point of view to have, helps to break up the interior dialog. He's the grounding point in the little bit of reality Jessie has left to hold on to. And again, here is another character that has survived a form of abuse.

One of the voices Jessie hears is that of Ruth, her best friend from college. It's hinted at one point that she was actually hearing the voice of Ruth shortly after the original abuse happens. I was fully expecting Ruth to be a split personality, but it didn't seem to play out that way in the final chapters.

Which brings me to the Boogieman/Joubert character. He turns out to be a deformed serial killer/cannibal. Again, another character who suffered abuse as a child.  When the character is first introduced, we are made to believe along with the lead, that he's not real. That he's part of Jessie's hallucinations. Which, made that point of the story creepy as hell. When we finally discover his piece of the story, it just degrades into such a disturbing sub-plot.

This twist ending with the Joubert character ruined the whole first half of the book for me. It grounded it, and took away all the "what if's" that surrounded Jessie's state of mind up to that point. 

Honestly, it was the ending that made me decide I did not want to sit through the movie.

I don't have much insight on this one. I loved the psychological elements with the isolation and the self-loathing confessions, but beyond that, the story itself almost felt like the ending belonged to a different book.

I'm going to end this here. I'll be back later in the week with the official announcement for the next book selection.