In which a Secret Shame is revealed

So, much has happened this week!

Well, not much, but you get the point.  Things happened, I will inform you of them.

First off, I have apparently placated the huldufólk which have been plaguing my culinary and gustatory endeavours; the loaf of bread, shortcake monstrosity, and bacon-wrapped, maple-mustard glazed ham all turned out fantastically!  Mark's suggestion of a thinner loaf with deeper cuts worked, and I have discovered which butter is salted and unsalted (surprisingly, by looking at the ingredients on the package - I'm kind of an idiot at times, apparently), which made the shortbread monstrosity much better.  Mostly because it didn't result in a salty brick of baked good.

And bacon makes everything better, despite what Erin and Ryder may think.  The fools.

Speaking of food, I also received a care package from my folks, containing prosciutto, Calabrese salami, Crotonese and Friulano cheeses, maple syrup, wasabi peas, bacon marmalade, and tobacco.  Also, Nutella.  It was like finding a gift from the gods, wrapped in a box, delivered by UPS.  Not going to lie, half of the cheese and salami is gone.  The prosciutto, on the other hand, weighs literally 2kg and as such has not been reduced by such a great amount.  The Nutella is untouched as well, as a way of gauging how quickly my flatmates will surrender to temptation.

Also, speaking of temptation, I have experienced a loss in my burgeoning collection of pipes.  Well, not a total loss; the tenon of my churchwarden has broken off inside the mortise, leaving the stinger lodged in there.*  I need to pick up some fine, needle-nosed pliers tomorrow and hopefully pull it out, resolving that issue.

Finally, I admitted my Secret Shame** to several people this evening, who then blabbed about my possessing of a Secret Shame, although without going into any detail, which of course will only serve to increase the rampant speculation, so in order to abrogate any wild theories, I might as well just out myself now.  No, not that kind of outing.  This is much less interesting, and kind of ridiculous.  The Secret Shame is that I've started watching the new My Little Pony show.   It's fantastic and, as Ryder pointed out, essentially aimed squarely at my demographic and, by extension, the same demographic of most of us in Medieval Studies.  Specifically, the "born in the early-to-mid 80s, chronically unemployable/underemployed and thus watching cartoons all the time" demographic.  And, in all fairness, the woman behind the show worked on The Maxx (someone else has to remember that), and The Power Puff Girls, so she knows how to make good TV.

Anyway, with that, I should be off; much studying to complete for a test this afternoon.  More updates in the future, possibly with photographs.  Assuming, of course, I take any more between then and now.

*For an explanation of these terms, look here.

**Which, by definition, is no longer a Secret Shame - instead, now it is just a regular shame.  And as I don't really feel shame, only guilt, all is good now.