.: so comes snow after fire :.

Good news! I managed to record the latest John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme episode, and I uploaded it here. It's on 4shared, so you'll need an account to download it (it's completely free, don't worry).

This episode wasn't nearly as good as the first one, but it had its fantastic moments. Like the painter sketch. Especially the painter sketch. :D

(And sorry for the subject, I couldn't resist!)

I'm back! I visited the family during the weekend, arrived on sunday, returned this afternoon. We did our taxes, my aunt made me a strawberry cake, it was a wonderful weekend. I wish we lived closer, so I could do this more often; it's an 8-hour-long trip, quite exhausting, alhtough it's always worth it.

Yesterday a neighbour came by to give us some bread he had baked in his oven. I'm talking of a huge bakery oven, that is one cool hobby. The bread was fantastic, although he brought 6 kilos (13 pounds) of it, it was a bit overwhelming. Until we found out my uncle, who's a fisherman and a hunter on the side, had given him I don't know how many kilos of trouts the other day as a gift (because if he brings any more trouts into that house my aunt is going to set his fishing pole on fire), and the neighbour was feeling obliged to give us something back.




That's typical Focaccia Piemontese, it is the tastiest thing ever, 2 kilos of it plus the bread.

On the train I mostly read The Great Gatsby. I had never read it before, although I've been spoiled to hell and back (well, obviously). I'm enjoying it a lot, especially the descriptions, how he chooses to focus on one detail and suddenly the whole scene comes alive, so vivid in my mind. At the beginning I had a bit of a problem getting into it, though, and I blame John Finnemore. Yep. He does this sketch in his Souvenir Programme, with the old guy telling the audience a peculiar story, and so everytime the narrator described someone, I heard Finnemore's voice in my mind, I looked at her, she had sharp, intelligent eyes set in a sharp, intelligent face, all in front of a blunt, stupid brain, it was making it very hard to keep a straight face while reading. :D I suppose it would be the same for someone who'd want to read the Sherlock Holmes stories after watching Without A Clue, for example.

Getting a headache, I'd better lie down a bit before dinner. ^^

Short update to tell you all that I'm feeling better! No emotional traumatic experiences for me today, thank you very much. Highlights of the day were:

- watching the new Supernatural episode, which confirmed that Jensen is a great director. And Sam couldn't get any more adorable even if he tried. Just saying.

- having a nice long conversation with my neighbour about ceilings, and stuff to stick there to isolate the room from the cold. In other words, slowly realizing I'm a grown-up now, because I actually enjoyed that conversation. God help us.

- listening to the last John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme episode. I now have that final hymn stuck in my head. I'm going to miss this show so freaking much.

- thanks to tumblr, discovering this amazing gem:



It's a cover of Not in Nottingham, from Robin Hood, as sung by Mumford & Sons. I must say, this might convince me that God does actually exist, because holy crap.

And most important, today I made my aunt laugh, during one of our daily phone conversations. With all the troubles with her mom being sick again, and tough shifts at work, it had been weeks since I last heard her laugh, so it was definitely THE best moment of the day. Go me. ^^

Just finished listening to the latest John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme, and the announcer at the beginning said it was from the author and star of Cabin FEVER. And I spent a good five seconds wondering if it was a new show I hadn't heard about, and whether I could find torrents somewhere, until I realized she meant Cabin PRESSURE. For shame, Radio 4. For shame.

The episode was brilliant, though, so there's that. ^^

Man, I love the internet. A couple of hours ago I read a twitter by John Finnemore, that the new season of his Souvenir Programme was going to start airing tonight at 18:30 on BBC Radio 4. It turns out they have a live player on their site, so I set my alarm for 19:30, and listened to the episode live!

This might be my favourite one yet, and there's still five more to go! But it features a kid in a museum, an exasperated therapist and the trailer for a very peculiar action movie, it's all of my favourite things and the sun and the moon too. :D

Yesterday evening it finally rained. It's been the first time in two months at least. I had actually forgotten what the rain sounded like. This morning the air was crisp and fresh, and leaving the house was finally pleasant, instead of reminiscent of Dante's Inferno. And the meds I had to buy for my mom finally arrived (seriously, three pharmacies, and when I found someone who had them I had to wait three days for them to actually arrive, what the hell, are they made of plutonium or what), so that's a huge thing off my list.

Earlier I was reading on the couch, when Sakura decided that my leg was apparently the comfiest place to fall asleep on, and she stayed that way for more than an hour. I didn't move, because she was snoring and everything, but I managed to take a picture with my phone.



Her head is on the right, behind my calf. I still have pins and needles in my left leg, but she was so cute!

I also found a great Travelling Lemon picture, here on tumblr. I'm sure all you Cabin Pressure fans will appreciate it. ;) Speaking of which, John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is coming back on 22nd August, I'm so excited! I thought it was coming back in the fall, or even later, so glad to be proven wrong. \o/

Sort of still in topic, I'm going to see Frankenstein in a cinema in Milan on 2nd October. So excited about it! I booked the motel, and I'm waiting for the tickets to be available so that I can pre-order them. *_________*

And I finally got the Unbound Keyblade for Sora! It's ugly, but hey, I need it to defeat the secret boss. I'm way behind with Riku, as his enemies are obviously stronger. I have a feeling it'll be easier to just level him up to 99 first, and then finish doing his secret bosses.

News from the vet! Sakura's blood test results arrived, and they're perfect, which means she doesn't have diabetes! \o/ I won't have to learn how to give an insulin injection to a cat, then, thank god. The next step is taking a x-ray to see if the limp is caused by some problem with the bones, and we scheduled it for next week. Good.

Yesterday I did a little marathon, and listened to all of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme in one sitting. I wanted to make it last (one episode a day, at least), but it was so funny, I couldn't help it. My favourite sketches were the literary ones, especially the ghost and mystery stories, those made me almost fall from my chair. :D

After dinner I watched Weekend. It's a beautiful 2011 british movie, about a relationship between two men. I know, it's not exactly the most comprehensive review ever, but anything more and I'd spoil the movie. It's definitely one of those movies you just have to sit back and watch for yourself. Very, very beautiful.

Today, being the last day of the month, is the day I'll decide whether to pay for another month at the gym, or to just skip it until next september. The point is, we have a new teacher, and I just don't like her. She's nice and everything, but her methods just don't cut it with me, and I come home all in pain, and my back hurts for two days after that. Sort of like pilates - god, I hate pilates. This evening I'll talk with my friends at the gym, hear their advices, and make my final decision. Two more months, or long summer break and see which new teacher we'll have come september.