Treat Yourself, Thursday, Period 2

[deathsmajesty]

Today they had been instructed to meet at Portalocity where, with a single step, they were standing outside of a small restaurant named Urban Fondue. Inside, a large circular table was waiting for them, four empty trivets were clustered in the middle of the table over electric burners and an array of dippable ingredients on platters circled around them. In front of each place chair were several small plates, a normal set of silverware, and four long, thin fondue forks, as well as a wine glass, a regular beverage glass, and a teacup.

( Indulge. )

Which might be difficult, considering that dessert fondue will be brought out at the half-hour mark, offering up raspberry swirl, fresh fruit cheesecake, tiramisu, and bananas foster fondue options for everyone to enjoy but then...maybe a little overindulgence. As a treat.

Wine & Dine: Pairing Fine Food with Wine Wine in Fine Countries; Thursday, 4th Period [07/18].

[chef_chocobro]

"As with our previous trip to Italy, no comprehensive exploration of fine wine and dining would be complete without a visit to the country of France, as well," Ignis said, to start the class out as they gathered for their portal to their weekly destination for sips and snacks. "More specifically, we will be traveling to the Champagne region, although, believe me, it was a very tough decision to make. Alas, we have so many regions and so few weeks, and so Champagne it shall be, instantly bringing to mind a very specific wine, well known throughout the world. True Champagne only comes from Champagne, after all, and anything else is just merely sparkling.

"This week," he further explained, "we will be visiting Veuve Clicquot, a house founded back in 1772 and then taken into the hands ambitious young widow in 1805 whose formidable contributions to the art earned her the title of la grande dame of Champagne, which was particularly exceptional during the time. We will embark on a brief tour of the history of the house before we settle on its spacious lawns for a picnic, wherein we will be sampling two of their signature vintages along with some excellent and well paired French cuisine.

"As always, I expect you all to be quite respectful and inquisitive, and, without further ado, let us see if our portal is now prepared."

Build-A-Crumbler Workshop; Thursday, Fifth Period [07/18].

[special_rabbit]

"Last week, of course," said Amaya, because there was a lot of work to be done that day and she was ready and rearing to get right into it, "we worked on the bases and chassis of our Crumblers to Be, which means it can go, but to make it go better, we're working on engines today!

Which meant a quick lesson on what exactly constitutes as what an engine really was, the differences between internal and external combustible ones, different types of engines (with examples!), a breakdown of how engine and motor technology developed, as well as a look at some alternate energy-source motors, like solar, steam, as well as styles that involve gears or hydraulics.

"So, then," she said, once that thorough run-through was complete, "what kind of engine and motor you're going to outfit your Crumbler with can vary. I'm a big fan of steam and gears myself, especially coming from where I am where that sort of thing is the peak of technology, but play around with some options and figure out what you want to use for your own Crumbler, and we'll spend the class tinkering and thinking on all that."

Plants: Thursday First Period

[mylandmyrules]

Nell had handwavily let her class know to meet her at Plant Parenthood today. That would be particularly convenient for at least two of her students, but mostly it was easier to do this sort of class back in her work area where she had all the pots and soil and seeds.

"Welcome back," Nell said with a smile. "Today you're going to make your own little kitchen - or room - herb gardens." She gestured to the tables. "There are a variety of small pots to choose from and several styles of containers to keep them in. Or you can just keep them in their separate pots if you choose. In that case the containers will be handy to get them back to your house or dorm room."

She waited till everyone had found themselves a work space. "Ideally everyone will make at least four different pots, but I'm happy to have you make more if you like.

"Okay, first thing is to decide on what you'd like to grow. I have the standards of basil, parsley, mint, cilantro, rosemary, sage, thyme, and oregano. I also have coriander, curry, ginger, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and arnica. If there are other herbs you'd like to grow let mw know, I may well have seeds or seedlings of them."

She had set out examples of each of the main herbs. "Please gently take a leaf from each of the herbs - don't worry, the loss of a few leaves won't hurt them. They're regularly trimmed or pulled off for use as they're grown. Smell them, taste them, see if there are any you particularly like or dslike. Some people have a gene that makes them dislike cilantro, but if you don't have that gene cilantro can be very tasty.'

Nell gave everyone time to check out the plants. "Seeds are here and once you've made your choices I can give you specific directions for how each herb is best grown and I'll send you home with a handout for how to take care of your plants. And, of course I'll make sure they get a good start. Normally you'd have to wait days or a couple of weeks for these to begin sprouting, but I can speed that up for you."

She smiled at them. "You'll be able to take them home today,"

Library, Thursday 7/18

[noonedecidesmyfate]

The mushrooms from yesterday were still in evidence. Belle peered into that aisle, wondered if she ought to take a closer look, then decided mystical mushrooms were best left to other people. Particularly musical mystical mushrooms.

She did take a few pictures with her phone and pulled a few books on magical fungi to page through. If nothing else perhaps she could learn something!

From a safe distance.

The Olympics... Kinda - Thursday, 3rd Period

[wrongkindofsith]

Well, Jane was either still in the competitive mood from yesterday or just trying very hard to put the hákarl behind her. For everyone's sake.

"So, we'll be continuing on with the events, this week being... pole vaulting." Oh no. Ooooh no. That seemed dangerous for people not trained in this.

At least they were in the Danger Shop? "For those unfamiliar with the sport," it was entirely possible that number had included Cara until about an hour ago. "It's jumping with a stick."

"No one will get hurt, we promise," Jane added. "Other than your pride, maybe."

Please don't test that promise.

But it would be fine, probably.