Landlocked Mermaid

Gah! So my attempt at being a grown up with a job and organised blog is going great so far. In my defense, we were having electrical work done last weekend and so I was without internet for large portions of my day. But yes, it is no excuse and I should really be better prepared. I'm learning, ok? My plan was for this post to be all about the shiny environmental books sitting on my shelf, gathering dust, and how I will read them! Still going to talk about it, but in short format. Aka, my dinner is cooking and I am operating on a limited time frame because bad planning! Turning the Tide on Plastic by Lucy Siegle I am ashamed to say that I got this book for Christmas a few years back and I have yet to even open it. Terrible, as I was even considering buying a copy before being gifted! It has a gorgeous front cover and the back tells me it is full of handy tips and life practises for reducing waste and plastic. A vital read, all things considered. I have to admit though, I am...

    5. Neverwinter   If you have spoken to me within the last year, there is no doubt that I will have mentioned Neverwinter. I have sunk many an hour of my life onto this game and I love it. Since reaching level 80 is has gotten a little more repetitive than before, but then again the game hasn't just stopped now that I am a hero of Neverwinter. There are seasonal events, replayable missions, and additional campaigns for me to play. Lots of things to hit and shinys to find. It does keep me quiet for an hour or two. If anyone plays and sees a Barbarian named Kestrel about, that's me! 4. Balder's Gate     This is a game which I have been playing since I was a teenager and recently rediscovered with my partner. We like to have games we play together and RPGs work great for us. Balder's Gate: Dark Aliance and Balder's Gate: Dark Aliance II are two games which we have completed together (as well as a load of Lego games!) We like games which are a nice balance of sto...

Welcome back to my kitchen! Or should I say, to my new kitchen. It's exciting stuff, moving house. Being in a new kitchen and needing to test its baking capabilities, it seemed like the perfect time to do 2021's first Mermaid Kitchen. Complete with video! Oh yeaaahhh, awkward angles and a t-shirt with a giant face on it. Great combo, don't you think! This is a whole new thing and I need a better set up. Largely, a phone with enough space on it so I can record videos. I'm working on it. But technical stuff aside, hopefully this process will get more streamlined/better as we go along. In my kitchen, we are making Toffee Apple... Something? There is pastry involved but it's more like a pizza than a pie? In truth, this is largely down to my laziness but also the fact my pastry kept breaking because I forgot to defrost it over night. The idea of it all was to use up some of the frozen apples and drown it in the caramel sauce from my birthday cupcakes. This recipe was m...

  Name: Dugong Kingdom: Animalia Class: Mammalia Conservation Status: Vulnerable Location: Indian Ocean! The can be found off the coast of 40 countries in the Indo-Pacific area as they depend on seagrass meadows. These waters are warm and tropical, and they tend to be found in large protected bays around 10m (33ft) deep. If seagrass grows there, then it is likely dugongs will be found in the area. They have been known to travel to depths of 37m (121ft) to find that tasty grass. Size: Dugongs are classes as a medium sized marine mammal. They grow up to 3m (9.8ft) in length and would weigh about 420kg (926lbs) at this size. Appearance: Dugongs look a little like aquatic tapirs. They are blubbery and similar in shape to dolphins with an extendable snout. (Hence tapir.) Their mouth is very flexible for all their grazing needs, their upper lip is horseshoe shaped to maximise on their foraging endeavours. Much like other marine mammals, they have flippers and use their ...

We all know that 2020 has been a cluster-fork of surreal and life changing events. From the flooding way back in January to Trump spitting out his dummy and spreading dangerous fake news; 2020 has truly been a year to remember. And more importantly, there are good things to remember from this year. Amongst all the madness there have been some rays of light. Carole wrote a post about her favourite twenty things from this past year which has inspired me to do the same. So prepare yourself for some mushy sentimentality and a loooootttt of backlinks. 1. I got a job . Oh yeah, you read that right! Having spent the entirety of lockdown (and more) looking for employment, I have succeeded. What can I say, I like to live life on hard mode. It is a very exciting role, doing lots of writing. I have a work computer and I get to say grown up things like "I have emailed that product description over to purchasing". I am very pleased with myself and it has honestly been a brilliant way t...

  Have a lovely Christmas and New Year. Stay safe! This is me signing off for the remainder of the year. I have some very exciting updates to share with you but they can wait until the new year. Don't forget, the Christmas Quiz is still happening on Monday 21st! The questions are all queued up and ready for your answers. And GIFs. Because we love a GIF round. All that is left to say is, see you soon! Merry Fishmas and a Splashy New Year!

With winter in full swing, it is no wonder that things are getting a little dark and gloomy. I have always felt the Seasonal Affective Disorder ( SAD ) during the winter, but this year it seems to have hit me like a ton of bricks. I have my theories as to why: between foster dogs, big (good!) changes in my life draining the energy, and my usual blend of over caffeinated and under slept.  All in all, I have very few spoons to spread across the things I need to do! SAD is one of those conditions that people bandy about without really knowing the symptoms. Myself included. This is what the NHS website lists for the symptoms. Symptoms of SAD can include: a persistent low mood a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities irritability feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness feeling lethargic (lacking in energy) and sleepy during the day sleeping for longer than normal and finding it hard to get up in the morning craving carbohydrates and gaining weight Persist...

  Name: Wolf Eel Kingdom: Animalia Class: Actinopterygii Conservation Status: Stable, but not classified. Location: The wolf eel lives in rocky, shallow waters. They can be found in caves, reefs, and crevices in the Japan Sea and the Bering Sea up to North California. These areas are part of the North Pacific Ocean. Size: These bad boys can grow! Adults can measure up to 2.4m (that's nearly 8ft!) and they weigh a whopping 18kg. Appearance: Well, the wolf eel is certainly serving up a lewk. They possess the dappled, spotty look throughout their lives but start out with a brighter range of colours. Juveniles are orange with dark spots and they become greyer and darker colours as they age. As they are not true eels, they have large heads. Some of you may have noticed a few pouts in the selected pictures. Those are the males! The males have much more pronounced lips than the female wolf eel. All wolf eels have protruding teeth, which are very sharp and live inside an even stronger jaw...

Who fast forwarded November? Go on, own up! Has November whizzed by for anyone else? Well, never mind. As we are within 30 days before Christmas, I am going to resist the temptation to Grinch it up and just go with it. So have my top five Christmas films which I shall be indulging in over the coming weeks. 5. Edward Scissorhands This movie is beautiful and such a lovely origin for why it snows. It's not specifically a Christmas film, but I feel it qualifies because the climax of the story happens at Christmas. Plus, the whole "this is why it snows" thing. I am a big fan of Tim Burton, if that hadn't come across already. His wacky view of the world and strong stylised imagery has always delighted me. Even before I knew about auteurship, mise-en-scene, and all those other film student phrases. I remember watching Edward Scissorhands at Christmas every year when growing up and I do believe it has led to a lifelong appreciation of Tim Burton and Vincent Price. (He plays ...

Once again, December is barrelling towards us at great speed. It seemed like only yesterday we were lamenting the end of summer and now the end of the year is nearly here. I doubt many people will be lamenting the end of 2020 though! (Personally, I believe it is naive to think 2021 is going to miraculously fix everything and it could be even harder, but that's the pessimist in me.) With the days getting much shorter and the heating finally on, I guess it's time to start thinking about Christmas. I had planned to get a head start on my gifts this year as I plan on making them all. However, between falling out with my sewing machine every time I use it and helping my brother in law-ish, all that time I gave myself in September has shrunk considerably.  Having not decorated at all for Hallowe'en it feels weird that I will be getting the Christmas decs out soon. There were a few contributing factors to the lack of Hallowe'en decorating, not all covid related, which make me...