No problem! True, I think Dino's coloring technique is both messy and composed at the same time, where I don't think they ever overdid the shading as well as the folds in the clothing of the characters they drew. It's just the right amount. And this applies to the environments as well. Love her 2B drawings from NieR:Automata btw.

Fantastic day today! It was great to catch up with some of my closest friends. It was a great way to unwind and forget about our troubles as we chatted for hours. I got to go for a run in the park later in the day, too. It was a lovely day, and getting some exercise and breathing in some fresh air did wonders for my mood. It was a wonderful day that filled me with joy.

But bots ^^^ don't have friends, do they ...?.

My mom bought me two insulated ice cream storage tubs because I've been making no churn ice cream. It's super easy and only requires a 9-by-5-by-3-inch metal loaf pan that has been chilled in the freezer.

Base Ice Cream Recipe:
* One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
* Pinch fine salt
* 2 cups heavy cream, cold

1. Whisk together the condensed milk, vanilla and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
2. Whip the cream with a mixer on medium-high speed until firm peaks form, about 2 minutes.
3. Fold about 1 cup of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture with a rubber spatula until combined.
4. Fold the lightened mixture into the whipped cream until well blended.
5. Pour into a chilled 9-by-5-by-3-inch metal loaf pan, and freeze, covered, until thick and creamy, like soft-serve, about 2 hours.
6. Swirl in any desired mix-ins with a spoon. Continue to freeze, covered, until solid and scoopable, about 3 hours or more.

Ice cream is at a soft serve after five hours and firmer after frozen overnight.

^ What made me happy today is that Catventurer has found a hack for reality and will teleport an obscene amount of this homemade vanilla ice cream directly into my GOG library account as an offline installer for my tummy. xD

Jokes aside, what made me happy today is receiving a text message from my best buddy confirming he'll be visiting my neck of the woods this upcoming Easter weekend. :)

If you like cold brew coffee and want that as ice cream, here's the modification:

1. Brew cold brew coffee at a ration of 1/4 course ground coffee beans to 1 cup of room temperature water. While you only need to make 1 cup of it, I like to make 3 cups (3/4 cup ground beans, 3 cups of water.) It gives me a bit of extra for mishaps, and I just drink the extra.

Let this sit out 12-13 hours (pretty much overnight.)

The recipe is otherwise the same as in my prior post, where you mix in 1 cup of cold brew coffee with the sweetened condensed milk. I also leave out the vanilla.

This one took a lot longer to set. I made it in the morning, and it wasn't set until the next day.


If you prefer tea ice cream, drop the vanilla to 1 tsp instead of two. You'll also brew three tea bags of earl grey tea (or some other type) in 1 cup of hot water for 10 minutes, then squeeze all the liquid out of the tea bags. Allow to cool fully before making the ice cream. The website that I saw this recipe on says that it is solid after 4-6 hours, but I think it will also take longer than that based on my experience with coffee.


Another food hack is that if you just know that gingerbread lattes are the best lattes, you can get them year round by getting a bottle of Torani Pumpkin Spice Syrup and adding dark molasses to create your own gingerbread syrup. You don't want blackstrap molasses, which has a bitter taste and will only make things taste awful.

One of my future plans is to make gingerbread ice cream (using gingerbread syrup) and gingerbread cookies, then turning it into gingerbread ice cream sandwiches.

So very happy to have spent a wonderful Easter weekend with a great old friend of mine. Perhaps I drank a bit too much. Definitely ate too many Zeppole di San Giuseppe. Spent today fasting on tea and water. xD

my brother's dog

Just found another great artist.

气氛组嘎嘎人

My cat got his Solensia shot today. It's used to manage arthritis in cats and is making a huge improvement in terms of his quality of life.

Discovered a charming tea shop cafe not far from my neighbourhood. Purchased some kaffir lime leaves, which I was familiar with its use in asian cuisine but had no idea it brewed a most delicious tea. Enjoying a mug right now! :)

The marvel of a baby grandchild.

Ah, yes, a nice hot cuppa Earl Grey, w/ a splash of dulce leche, is sheer bliss.((;--))

A good friend of mine landed his dream job. His being happy made me happy.

Nothing dramatic. Dramatically good news happened at the end of last year. Today, it is good weather, the perspective of enjoying the Book's Day, meeting some friends this Sunday, enjoying a walk in the park with the family, tranquility and peace of mind.