Everything Is Better With Dragons

Rosie’s slow cooker vegetable and mushroom lasagne

I got the basic recipe from a book of vegetarian slow-cooker recipes but added my own bits because it wasn’t substantial enough. Your cooking time will vary with the slow-cooker. The original recipe says 6 hours on low, but my cooker did it in 3 hours on low. Its a bit experimental.

Ingredients

Spray oil
Jar of tomato pasta sauce
Carbonara stir in sauce (only needed for the last layer unless you want it in all layers)
Lasagne sheets
Grated cheese
Frozen
- sliced onion (essential)
- sliced mushrooms (essential)
- ‘Morrisons 6 bean mix’ (optional)
- cubed squash (optional)
- garlic (essential)

Instructions

Spray the inside of your cooking pot with the spray cooking oil
Put your first layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the cooking pot, add some water to the sauce jar. This is to make sure there is enough water to cook the lasagne pasta
Add the first layer of pasta sheets. You might need to break the pasta to fit it into the pot
Put the frozen veg and mushrooms in a bowl and mix together, this is the equivalent of the mince in a normal lasagne
Layer some of the veg mix into the pot, then the tomato sauce, then the grated cheese, then the lasagne sheets
On the last layer, when you’re out of veg, after the lasagne add a layer of carbonara sauce, then the last of the tomato sauce, then the grated cheese.
Put the lid on, turn to low and leave it for however long you need.

Feeling the need to journal – Anxiety 2021

Happy New Year. How’s everyone doing?

My anxiety has been high, unfortunately. Lockdown 3 has been a sudden change. I do not like sudden changes. It messes with my head. After the interruption to routine that is the Christmas and New Year break, I was looking forward to getting back to swimming this week.

The sudden imposition of lockdown at midnight on Monday/Tuesday meant that the pool was closed and my plans were thrown out of the window. I need to swim because it provides structure to my week, aerobic exercise that I enjoy in the form of walking and swimming, and a sensory environment that I find soothing. Warm tiles, the smell of chlorine, the all-around pressure of the water on my body, floating and stretching my muscles and lungs. It’s absolutely the best thing for my brain.

The state of the world isn’t helping, although my dogs are. Ezzie has taken up standing next to me when I’m at my desk and keeping her eye on me all the time. Gyfa takes over at night. She has a bed in my room and likes to climb into bed with me until I fall asleep.

I last left the house on Sunday when I had to go to the shop to get dog food. I have to go out later to get more dog food. I’ve spent the last three days persuading myself that it’s safe to go out to walk the dogs. We’ve just been out for a half hour walk, though so I managed to push through it. I need to go out with them again tomorrow or Sunday. I’m dealing with the anxiety of other people, the dogs being reactive and people treating us badly because they’re reactive, with dogs off their leads running at us and the dogs feeling threatened.

I’m scared of humans generally anyway, but there is a level of judgmentalism by dog owners at times. Ezzie and Gyfa are protective of me and reactive around strange dogs, while my anxiety makes it hard for me to talk, so it can be hard to be around other people and dogs. I prefer going out at dusk when it’s quiet, but I need to go to the shop later. That means I had to take them out earlier than usual.

I’m mentally gearing up to go to the shop. I have my visor ready, my bluetooth headband has a fairly full battery so I can listen to an audiobook and put the visor on. I tried wearing masks but the sensory pain is too much when added to the sensory overload of the shop. I like to go shopping in the evening when it is quieter and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. On Sunday it was rammed; I was not happy, I got so overwhelmed that I had to get a taxi home, and I think that put me in a bad place to start the week.

Every time I have a bad experience I have to treat the next time I do the same thing as though it were the first time and reset my anxiety and routine. It can take a while to feel comfortable again.

I need to rebuild my routine and make it through the lockdown.

Review: Winterkill, by Ragnar Jonasson

Pub date: 21 January 2021
ISBN 13: 978-1-913193-44-7
EPUB: 978-1-913193-45-4
Price: £8.99

Easter weekend is approaching, and snow is gently falling in Siglufjörður, the northernmost town in Iceland, as crowds of tourists arrive to visit the majestic ski slopes.
Ari Thór Arason is now a police inspector, but he’s separated from his
girlfriend, who lives in Sweden with their three-year-old son. A family reunion is planned for the holiday, but a violent blizzard is threatening and there is an unsettling chill in the air.
Three days before Easter, a nineteen-year-old local girl falls to her death from the balcony of a house on the main street. A perplexing entry in her diary suggests that this may not be an accident, and when an old man in a local nursing home writes ‘She was murdered’ again and again on the wall of his room, there is every suggestion that something more sinister lies at the heart of her death…
As the extreme weather closes in, cutting the power and access to Siglufjörður, Ari Thór must piece together the puzzle to reveal a horrible
truth … one that will leave no one unscathed.

Chilling, claustrophobic and disturbing, Winterkill marks the startling conclusion to the million-copy bestselling Dark Iceland series and cements Ragnar Jónasson as one of the most exciting authors in crime fiction.

The Faraway CIC Launch: My presentation about Autistic Employment Barriers

In December the community interest company I do a bit of research for (supported employment, the DWP know about it), had their official launch and I presented the research I’d done about the employment situation for Autistic adults in North East Lincolnshire.

Yes, that really is my voice.

I had a script and sort of stuck to it, but not all of it. I’ve added it below for people who don’t want to endure my voice or need captions.

First Review of 2021: Queer: A Graphic History, by Meg-John Barker, Illustrated by Julia Sheele

28957268 — Paperback, 176 pages
Published November 15th 2016 by Icon Books
ISBN:1785780719 (ISBN13: 9781785780714)

Blurb

Activist-academic Meg-John Barker and cartoonist Julia Scheele illuminate the histories of queer thought and LGBTQ+ action in this groundbreaking non-fiction graphic novel.

From identity politics and gender roles to privilege and exclusion, Queer explores how we came to view sex, gender and sexuality in the ways that we do; how these ideas get tangled up with our culture and our understanding of biology, psychology and sexology; and how these views have been disputed and challenged.

Along the way we look at key landmarks which shift our perspective of what’s ‘normal’ – Alfred Kinsey’s view of sexuality as a spectrum, Judith Butler’s view of gendered behaviour as a performance, the play Wicked, or moments in Casino Royale when we’re invited to view James Bond with the kind of desiring gaze usually directed at female bodies in mainstream media.

Presented in a brilliantly engaging and witty style, this is a unique portrait of the universe of queer thinking.

My Review

Happy New Year. Let’s hope 2021 is better than 2020.

I treat myself to this book because I had the spare cash and it has been on my wish list for a while. It arrived this morning and I’ve spent a few hours today reading it. I rather enjoyed it. This book is an illustrated introduction to Queer Theory and its history from about the early twentieth century. Introduction is the key word here, if you know something of the subject already it would probably seem simplistic, but for those of us with a bit of amorphous knowledge but nothing specific, things we’ve seen online but haven’t entirely understood, this book is excellent. The emphasis on questioning binaries (man/woman, homosexual/heterosexual), the fixed nature of gender, sex and sexuality, the cultural context of same, was fascinating, and ties in with thoughts I’d already had.

I must recommend this book to people interested in the subject but without the formal academic background usually needed to understand this sort of thing.

TBR Pile: The Book of Dragons, ed. by Jonathan Strahan

52583994. sx318 sy475 — Hardcover, First UK Edition, 558 pages
Published June 25th 2020 by HarperVoyager UK
ISBN: 0008331472 (ISBN13: 9780008331474) https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008331474/the-book-of-dragons/

A unique collection of stories by the greatest fantasy writers working today.

Sparking myths and legends from Asia to Europe, Africa to North America, dragons are the most universal and awe-inspiring of magical creatures.

Whether they are fearsome, rampaging monsters or benevolent sages with much to teach humanity, dragons bring creation, destruction, and adventure in stories told all around the globe.

In this landmark collection, award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan combines nearly thirty never-before-seen short stories and poems, written by modern masters of science fiction and fantasy, and illustrations by acclaimed artist Rovina Cai.

Featuring stories from Scott Lynch, R.F. Kuang, Garth Nix, Ken Liu, Kate Elliott, and many more, The Book of Dragons breathes fresh life and fire into the greatest magical beasts of all.

Content:
– Introduction by Jonathan Strahan
– What Heroism Tells Us poem by Jane Yolen
– Matriculation by Elle Katharine White
– Hikaya Sri Bujang, or The Tale of the Naga Sage by Zen Cho
– Yuli by Daniel Abraham
– A Whisper of Blue by Ken Liu
– Nidhog poem by Jo Walton
– Where the River Turns to Concrete by Brooke Bolander
– Habitat by K.J. Parker
– Pox by Ellen Klages
– The Nine Curves River by R.F. Kuang
– Lucky’s Dragon by Kelly Barnhill
– I Make Myself a Dragon poem by Beth Cato
– The Exile by JY Yang
– Except on Saturdays by Peter S. Beagle
– La Vitesse by Kelly Robson
– A Final Knight to her Love and Foe poem by Amal El-Mohtar
– The Long Walk by Kate Elliott
– Cut Me Another Quill, Mister Fitz by Garth Nix
– Hoard by Seanan McGuire
– The Worm of Lirr poem by C. S. E. Cooney
– The Last Hunt by Aliette de Bodard
– We Continue by Ann Leckie and Rachel Swirsky
– Small Bird’s Plea by Todd McCaffrey
– The Dragons poem by Theodora Goss
– Dragon Slayer by Michael Swanwick
– Camouflage by Patricia A. McKillip
– We Don’t Talk About the Dragon by Sarah Gailey
– Maybe Just Go Up There and Talk to It by Scott Lynch
– A Nice Cuppa poem by Jane Yolen

Queer TBR Pile Review: They/Them/Their: A Guide to Nonbinary & Genderqueer Identities, by Eris Young

I’ve decided to add a new subsection to my TBR Pile reviews: Queer books. I’m Queer, myself, as well as Autistic, so I choose to use those words to describe myself and my way of categorising books. Don’t like it? Leave.

Or you could stay and learn something?

Anyway, on to the review.

Mum, Dad, don’t read if you don’t want to know some stuff about me.

44428763. sy475 — Paperback, 288 pages
Published September 19th 2019
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 1785924834 (ISBN13: 9781785924835)

In this insightful and long-overdue book, Eris Young explores what it’s like to live outside of the gender binary and how it can impact on one’s relationships, sense of identity, use of language and more.

Drawing on the author’s own experiences as a nonbinary person, as well as interviews and research, it shares common experiences and challenges faced by those who are nonbinary, and what friends, family and other cisgender people can do to support them. Breaking down misconceptions and providing definitions, the history of nonbinary identities and gender-neutral language, and information on healthcare, this much-needed guide is for anyone wanting to fully understand nonbinary and genderqueer identities.

Autism TBR Pile Review: I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder, by Sarah Kurchak

52239724. sx318 sy475 — Paperback, 240 pages
Published September 22nd 2020
by Douglas McIntyre
ISBN:1771622466 (ISBN13: 9781771622462)

Sarah Kurchak is autistic. She hasn’t let that get in the way of pursuing her dream to become a writer, or to find love, but she has let it get in the way of being in the same room with someone chewing food loudly, and of cleaning her bathroom sink. In I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder, Kurchak examines the Byzantine steps she took to become “an autistic success story,” how the process almost ruined her life and how she is now trying to recover.

Growing up undiagnosed in small-town Ontario in the eighties and nineties, Kurchak realized early that she was somehow different from her peers. She discovered an effective strategy to fend off bullying: she consciously altered nearly everything about herself—from her personality to her body language. She forced herself to wear the denim jeans that felt like being enclosed in a sandpaper iron maiden. Every day, she dragged herself through the door with an elevated pulse and a churning stomach, nearly crumbling under the effort of the performance. By the time she was finally diagnosed with autism at twenty-seven, she struggled with depression and anxiety largely caused by the same strategy she had mastered precisely. She came to wonder, were all those years of intensely pretending to be someone else really worth it?

Tackling everything from autism parenting culture to love, sex, alcohol, obsessions and professional pillow fighting, Kurchak’s enlightening memoir challenges stereotypes and preconceptions about autism and considers what might really make the lives of autistic people healthier, happier and more fulfilling.

Review: Create Your Own Calm by Meera Lee Patel

Genre: adult non-fiction / anxiety journal / mental health
Pages: 128
Publication Date 22nd Sept
**Buy Link**
**https://amzn.to/3mdWeCb**

Blurb

From the bestselling author of Start Where You Are, a beautifully illustrated journal for easing the everyday anxieties we all carry.

Feeling anxious, uncertain, overwhelmed? You’re not alone. In this empowering new tool for self-care, popular artist and author Meera Lee Patel presents a fresh approach to feeling better. Designed to help us better understand ourselves and dial down the everyday worries getting in our way, these thoughtful and beautifully illustrated journal pages are a safe space for reflection, self-acceptance, and the freedom to move forward with more clarity and joy. Bringing together inspiring quotes from great thinkers and writers throughout history and engaging journal prompts and plenty of room to capture your thoughts, the book is a calming breath of fresh air and a quiet space to reflect and recharge in a hectic and uncertain world.

TBR Pile Review: Empire of Sand, by Tasha Suri

39088520 — Paperback, 496 pages
Published November 13th 2018 by Orbit
ISBN: 0316449717 (ISBN13: 9780316449717)

A nobleman’s daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri’s captivating, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy.

The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited.

When Mehr’s power comes to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda.

Should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance…

Empire of Sand is a lush, dazzling fantasy novel perfect for readers of City of Brass and The Wrath & the Dawn.