#recipes for reuse

[eh-fandomtrash]

I may forget the things I cooked and they were good, so I am putting the recipes here so I can search them again some day-

Quick Mushroom pasta (goes with chicken or duck)

2-4 cloves garlic

Crimini mushrooms (10 minimum)

Pasta (noodle-y biz, pick you brand of Italian, flavored is best, one that cooks quickly if possible)

Brandy (1-2 tablespoons)

Fresh thyme

Butter (1 tablespoon in the pan early. 1 tablespoon after the pasta has been added)

Olive oil (same as butter 1 now, one layer)

Salt and pepper to taste

Slice the mushrooms. Half the mushroom slices if they are absurdly large. Cut cloves of garlic in half.

Get the water boiling. Make sure it’s salted. (Start the pasta now or later depending on how long it cooks.)

Heat the pan for the mushrooms and garlic fry.

Add butter and olive oil. Then when the butter is melted, add the halved garlic. Brown the garlic first- this is important.

Once the garlic is browned, add the mushrooms and wait they start to brown and sweat. Add the brandy to the garlic and mushrooms and cook until brown and brandy is absorbed.

(If the pasta takes less than 5 minutes, toss it in now and cook it for 1 minute less than it needs to be just right.)

Add the pasta to the mushrooms and garlic and toss in the hot pan to continue cooking. Add some (2-3 tablespoons) of the water used to cook the pasta, thyme, extra olive oil, extra butter, salt, and pepper. Cook until it is all absorbed and the pasta is done and it tastes good.

Add bird, I guess.

Desperation Christmas Roast

Spice Sauce-

1/2 cup if brandy

1 cinnamon stick

4 cloves of cloves

2-3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

Marinade + rub for roast-

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

Brandy

Worcestershire sauce

Soy sauce

Veggie bits-

1/2 a red onion

4 cloves of garlic (I was very low on garlic, okay!!!)

6 small potatoes (or grab a couple of yams, are there root-veg use the root veg)

1 bag of baby carrots

Whatever rosemary (5-7 sprigs if possible)

Leftover thyme (as much as possible)

More brandy (1-1 1/2 cups)

More Worcestershire sauce (1/4 cup)

3-4 tablespoons butter and some olive oil.

[Realize at noon that you need to cook the damn roast, which you would need to improvise a recipe for—hope it thawed over night. Realize it is not as thawed as hoped. Panic.]

Take the roast out of its packaging and apply a dry rub (salt, pepper, excess of cumin) set aside to thaw.

Spice sauce— 1 cup brandy, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 whole cloves in a small sauce pan heat until it starts to boil… then add Worcestershire sauce.

Take off heat set aside to cool.

[notice that meat has not thawed. Add liquid to try and make it warm up faster—water moves temperature, right?]

Create marinade by putting meat in a glass pan and adding the wet ingredients and 1/2 the spice sauce. Roll it around a bit to coat.

Go cut up veggies. Cut potatoes/starchy root veggies into approximately even hunks, half all the baby carrots, roughly chop the 1/2 of red onion, and cut the garlic cloves in half, and then check the meat again.

Realize that it’s still not thawing quickly enough, so pre-heat the oven to 300-320 F and put the meat on top (still in its marinade pan) in hopes that the warmth of the oven will help a little. Turn the meat over again.

Get out any large oven safe casserole dish or whatever-pan with a lid that is big enough to fit all the meat carrots potatoes etc in it (you can use any oven-stove top safe dish as long as you cover with foil—foil is god) put it on the stove top, turn on the heat, and start frying up the onions in 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook until the onion is starting to turn translucent then add the garlic. Reach over and add a couple of tablespoons full of the marinade (yes, steal the sauce). Then add the rest of the spice sauce. The onions and garlic should be starting to turn brown.

Put the onions aside, add another tablespoonful of butter to the same pan you used to cook the onions, and toss the damn meat in it. Sear it.

When it’s browned, add in one more cinnamon stick and 2 more cloves. Then grab the herbs and throw them in, add the potatoes and carrots—push them down if you have to, make it fit! Add any remaining herbs, the onions, and douse the whole thing with brandy (1 cup) and Worcestershire sauce (1/4 cup).

Cover the whole pan with the lid or foil.

Put it in the oven and forget about it for 3 hours or so. 3.5 if you like.

Watch a movie.

Play a board game.

Whatever.

It’ll be ready at 7pm and additional veggies are someone else’s problem.

[dizzymaiden]

Want to smell like a yummy fresh baked gingerbread cookie?!

Make this for yourself or make a bunch for gifts!

Prep: 5 mins - EASY

1 cup of dark brown sugar

1/4 coconut solid oil

1 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses (FACT: molasses contains lactic acid and can help treat acne, eczema and rosacea. It also has anti aging antioxidants and it sooths skin!) So yeah...use it!

1 teaspoon cinnamon, dried ground ginger and 1/3 teaspoons of dried ground cloves.

Option: a teaspoon of vanilla

Mix all well in a bowl then transfer to mason jars. Add labels that say put on damp skin and scrub lightly. Wash off.

Also - warn them that they will smell like a snack so they might have to sing "catch me if you can I'm the gingerbread man" or replace with correct name :)

[sleepinglionhearts]

Attempted to cook awase dashi tonight so I can cook miso soup tomorrow. It smelled good. It tasted alright. I'm hoping when I get to doing the miso part... it makes it really good!!!

[juliamccartney]

i'm at a point in my ✨ reduce reuse recycle ✨ era where i'll happily choose to buy certain foods in glass jars/bottles over the lighter metal/plastic packaging because it gets me a free jar i can use for batch cooking-and-refrigeration 👀

[shrimpscrawling]

Does anyone know of some sort of recipe generator website where I can give it what’s in my fridge and it gives me something to make?

[reducereuserecycleaustralia]

Reducing Food Waste in Australia: A Personal Journey Towards Sustainability

Australians love good food, and our nation boasts a rich culinary tradition. However, this enthusiasm for great meals sometimes leads to a significant issue – food waste. Did you know that Australia throws away a staggering 7.3 million tonnes of food each year? That’s a lot of delicious meals going to waste, and it’s not only harmful to our environment but also to our wallets. In this blog post,…

[anxiousgiraffe7]

Waste Not Want Not

Excess food that will go bad before it can be eaten or goes unused can be a trigger for those with food anxiety. Recipes that utilize food that would otherwise be tossed are a great way to reduce food waste and combat food-related anxiety. This week I used this recipe and turned stale bread into delicious croutons!

[aesethewitch]

Learning to Cook Like a Witch: Using the Scraps

Cooking can create a lot of waste. From peels and rinds to bones and leaves, people throw away quite a lot of scraps in the kitchen. And witches, as you may know, are experts in the art of the cunning use of whatever we’ve got around.

As a witch who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, I’ve had ample opportunities to get creative in my cooking craft. It helps that I grew up in a household defined by scarcity: not our own, by the time I was conscious enough to remember, but my parents’ poverty. It colored the way I learned to cook, using everything I possibly could, making enough to last, preserving what I didn’t immediately use, and creatively reusing leftovers and scraps.

There are some topics I won’t necessarily cover here. Composting is an option, but there are some bits of food scrap that don’t need to be composted — they can be saved and repurposed for all sorts of things, magic and mundane. Likewise, recycling, buying sustainably, and growing your own food when you can are all great options for reducing household waste in the kitchen.

For the purposes of this post, I want to focus specifically on food scraps. This is an organized list of kitchen scraps that I’ve used in a variety of other dishes and projects. I’m focusing primarily on food waste, not so much on packaging (such as reusing egg cartons, milk containers, boxes, and so forth).

Vegetable Scraps

Freeze leftover vegetable scraps to make stock. This is a fairly common bit of advice — save bits of leftover vegetables to make a vegetable stock or another kind of stock. It’s good advice! I keep a bag in my freezer that I put vegetable scraps in to save until I’m ready to make a new batch of stock. Not all veggies should be saved like this and used for stock! Some make stock bitter or otherwise unpleasant-tasting. Personally, I tend to freeze these for stock:

- The skins, ends, and leftover cuts of onions (just be wary of the skins; too much will make your broth bitter) - The ends of celery (not the leaves — they’re bitter!) - Corn cobs - Garlic skins, ends, tiny cloves that aren’t useful otherwise, and sprouted cloves - The ends of carrots (also not the leaves) - The ends of leeks - Pepper tops/bottoms (not the seeds)

I would recommend against putting things like potatoes, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and leafy greens in there. Potatoes don’t add flavor, sprouts and cabbage make the whole thing taste like those foods, and leafy greens end up bitter. If something has a strong, distinctive flavor (beets, sprouts), I wouldn’t add it to my freezer bag. These scraps often form the veggie portion of my Sick-Be-Gone Chicken Broth spell recipe!

Regrow leeks, green onions, and celery. Pop these in a bit of water and watch them grow back! It’s a fun experiment, and you’ll never have to buy them again.

Plant sprouted garlic. Aside from the fact that you can still cook and eat garlic that’s sprouted, you can plant a sprouted clove in a pot. Care for it well enough, and you’ll end up with a full head of garlic from that one clove!

Fry potato peels. Anytime I make mashed potatoes or peel potatoes for something, I always save the peels. Give them a thorough rinse and shallow-fry them in oil, turning them over until they’re golden and crispy. Toss them in a bit of salt and pepper while they’re still hot, and you’ve got tasty chips to snack on while you cook the rest of your meal! No need to cover them in more oil or anything — the heat will cause the salt to stick right to them.

Save leaves for pesto. Yum, yum, yum. Pesto isn’t just all about basil, you know. Save the leaves from carrots, beets, radishes, and even celery to grind up alongside basil, garlic, salt, and lemon juice for a delicious pesto recipe.

Fruit Scraps

Save citrus peels. Peels from oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and other citrus fruits have a multitude of uses. Candy them for a sweet treat, dry them to add to potpourri or incense, or save them to put into a simmer pot for bright, sunny energy.

Juice the whole fruit. Again, thinking mostly about citrus fruits, when you need the zest from something but not the rest, don’t just throw away the fruit. Squeeze out all the juice you can. Even if you don’t need it right now, you can freeze it to use later in simmer pots, fruity waters, or anything else that needs a touch of juice.

Turn extra fruit and berries into jam or syrup. If you’ve got berries and fruit that are about to go off, or maybe the ends of strawberries, don’t toss them! Look up recipes for jam of the specific fruit you’ve got or make an infused syrup. Syrups in particular can be used for cocktails, teas, and desserts for an extra magical kick.

Pickle watermelon rinds. That’s right. Pickle those suckers. They’re so tasty. I’ve seen people make kimchi with watermelon rinds, too, though I’ve never tried it myself!

Save seeds for abundance work. Seeds in general are great for spells geared toward long-term success, new beginnings, and — when there are a lot of them — wealth. Different fruit seeds have properties that tend to correspond with the fruit they come from, so consider their potential purposes before you just toss them! (Note also that some fruit seeds are toxic; these would be suitable for baneful workings.)

Keep cherry stems for love magic. Have you ever done that thing where you tie a cherry stem with your tongue? If I’m eating cherries, I like to save some of the stems for love workings. Tie them into little knots like you might with string while envisioning ensnaring the love you’re looking for. I wouldn’t do this with a particular person in mind; binding someone to you is almost never a good idea. I’ve used it to attract specific qualities in a person of romantic interest: attentiveness, humor, kindness, and so forth.

Use pits to represent blockages, barriers, and problems. I most often use them in baneful workings, typically jammed into a poppet’s mouth or throat to keep someone from talking shit. It could also represent a sense of dread in that way — a pit in the stomach, uneasy and nauseating. But you could also use them in the sense of removal, ritualistically removing the pit or problem from a given situation.

Herb Scraps

Freeze or dry extra fresh herbs. Different drying techniques are ideal for specific herbs. I’d suggest looking up recommended methods before sticking anything in the microwave. If you’d like to freeze your herbs instead, I typically will lay them on a damp paper towel, wrap them up, place them into a freezer-safe bag, and then put them in the freezer. Most herbs will keep for a couple months this way. When you want to use them, pull them out and let them defrost right on the counter.

Make pesto. Again, pesto isn’t just basil! Experiment with tossing in different scraps of herbs to find out what combination you like best.

Reuse steeped tea. Particularly when I use loose herbal tea, I like to lay out the used tea to dry out. It can be burned similarly to loose incense, though the scent may be somewhat weaker than with herbs that are fresher or unused. I find that it’s fine, since I’m sensitive to smells anyways.

Toss extra herbs into your stock freezer bag. Just like with vegetables, extra herbs make welcome additions to a scrap stock pot. I always make a point to save sage, thyme, marjoram, and ginger. You can add just about anything to a stock pot, but be aware of the flavors you’re adding. Not all herbs will match with all dishes.

Protein Scraps

Dry and crush empty egg shells. This is one most witches will know! I use crushed egg shells for protection magic most often: sprinkled at a doorstep mixed with other herbs, added to jars, and spread around spell candles.

Save shrimp, crab, and lobster shells. They’re a goldmine of flavor. Toss them into water with veggies and herbs, and you’ve got a delicious, easy shellfish stock. Use it to make fishy soups and chowders that much richer.

Don’t discard roasted chicken remains. Use them for stock, just like the shells. I like to get rotisserie chickens on occasion since they’re ready-made and very tasty. Once all the meat has been stripped off the bones, simmer the entire carcass with — you guessed it — veggies and herbs for a tasty chicken stock.

Reuse bacon grease for frying. After cooking bacon, don’t throw away the grease right away. Melt it over low heat, strain the bits of bacon out, and pour it into a jar to put in the fridge. You can use it to fry all sorts of things, but my favorite thing is brussels sprouts. They pick up the delicious, salty, bacony flavor from all that rendered bacon fat. So good.

Other Scraps

Use stale bread for croutons or bread crumbs. When I reach the stale end of a loaf of bread, as long as it isn’t moldy, I like to tear it into pieces and toss it into the oven for a little while. Let it cool and then pulse it in a food processor, and I’ve got delicious bread crumbs! Or, cut it a little more neatly, toss it in oil and seasonings, and then bake, and now I’ve got homemade croutons for salads. You can really hone your herbs for both of these, tuning them to be perfect for whatever spell needs you have.

Small amounts of leftover sugar. I don’t know why, but I always end up with a tiny amount of white and brown sugar in the containers. This can be used in teas, of course, but I like to offer it up to spirits. In particular, my ancestors tend to appreciate a spoonful of brown sugar stirred into a small, warmed cup of milk. You can also look up mug cake or single-serving cookie recipes; often, they’re cooked in the microwave, and they only need a little sugar to make!

Keep vanilla bean pods. Vanilla is fucking expensive. When I have a little extra and want to really splurge for a special occasion, I’ll get a couple pods. And because they’re so expensive, I hate wasting any part of them. They’re good for love magic, sure, but you can also toss the spent pods in a jar full of sugar to make vanilla-infused sugar. I’ll often use the pods to make infused milks, too; warm the milk over low heat, add the pods, and let it steep like tea. It goes great in teas and desserts. For a nice self-love spell, sometimes I’ll melt chocolate into the vanilla milk and make hot cocoa!

Save the rinds from Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheese. You might not be able to just bite into these, but they’re fabulous additions to a stock pot. They add a rich, umami depth to the flavors. I also like to throw these into pots of tomato sauce to add even more flavor to the sauce.

Used coffee is still coffee. After I make a pot of coffee, I’ll sometimes save the grounds by letting them dry back out. I wouldn’t make another cup of coffee with them, since all the flavor’s gone, but they’ll still have attributes of energy generation and smell great. I like to pack used grounds into sachets to hang in places where I want to encourage more energy and focus, replaced every few days or so. Coffee grounds also have high amounts of nitrogen in them, which can help plants thrive; just be careful about pH values in the soil! You don’t want to hurt your plants with too much acidity.

Final Thoughts

I hope you found these tips helpful! There are a ton more ways to save and reuse kitchen scraps that would otherwise go to waste. Sometimes, tossing stuff into the compost or trash can’t be avoided. But I’ve found that being aware of the possibilities can help diminish the amount that gets wasted.

If you have questions or other suggestions for reusing kitchen scraps, feel free to drop them in my inbox, reblogs, or replies. And if you did enjoy this post, consider tossing a couple dollars in my tip jar! Supporters get early and sometimes exclusive access to my work, and monthly members get bonuses like commission discounts and extras. (:

[jujuscrolled]

Baby, It’s Cold Outside !

☆ pairing: satoru gojo x gn!reader

☆ synopsis: Your best friend Satoru Gojo had a bad habit of hogging you all to himself - especially around the holidays - but he always knew when to share. That being said, despite you telling him about your very important date with the guy from one of your classes, he seemed to be abnormally clingy (which you didn’t even think was possible.) Hopefully your hot date won’t mind the messy hair and rosy cheeks you’d probably show up with…

☆ content: fluff, slight very minimal angst if u squint super duper hard, just toru being … the cutest <333

☆ word count: 2.4K

☆a/n: happy toru day !! pls enjoy <3 comments and reblogs always appreciated!

“Wait, what?” Satoru asked, cerulean eyes staring at your figure as you moved across the room. He watched as you twisted the bright red ribbon in your hands into a perfect bow before you secured it to the tree you had been helping him decorate.

“Mm? Oh, I said we have to hurry because I have a date.” You all but squealed. Only sparing him a measly glance, still missing the absolute heartbreak in your best friend’s face.

He had noticed how quick you were moving, almost as if you wanted to leave as soon as possible, and it had hurt his feelings when he was only assuming that you wanted out but now that it was confirmed that you actually did want to leave he felt even worse.

Decorating the Christmas tree was tradition for the two of you - was a date really more important than tradition? Would Satoru act the same if he had a date with someone? He wouldn’t know - he hasn’t looked for a date since… Well, actually, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d been attracted to anyone since meeting you your freshman year in high school.

His frown only deepened at the realization that he’d been single for far too long.

Then again, you’d been single for about the same amount of time - it was really no shock that you were excited to be going on a date - but still, Satoru couldn’t help the green eyed monster that was clawing it’s way out of the deep depths of his soul.

“Toru, the ornaments aren’t gonna hang themselves, silly!” You called, finally sparing him more than a glance. It was only then that you saw his adorable pout that he always seemed to sport whenever he felt you weren’t giving him enough attention. You couldn’t help the soft chuckle that left your lips, causing Satoru’s eyes to light up - something that you had missed since you had turned around to place your ribbon down before turning back to him and making your way over.

“You’re so needy, Toru, you know that?” You sighed, ruffling his hair before sitting next to him and grabbing one of the hooks from the little box so you could help him place them onto the ornaments.

Truth be told, you hated having to place the hooks into each of the ornaments but Satoru always insisted that it was what made the decorating so fun - pouring your blood (sometimes those hooks were far too sharp despite being reused so many times), sweat and tears into this tree was where your pride should come from. (He mostly says this because truthfully; a pretty tree was never something you’d both achieve - your tastes were just too different so the poor tree was more chaotic than aesthetic. In the end it was more of an eyesore than anything but the experience was what gave it its beauty.)

“Well sorry that I enjoy having you around.” He shrugged, glancing over at you before continuing the tedious process. You only grinned at him, placing your head on his shoulder as you told him about a random TikTok video that you’d seen earlier about a hot chocolate recipe you two should try. He hummed along to what you said, unable to really process anything you were saying because of your close proximity, but trying to regardless.

You’d both always be touchy; holding hands, hugging each other, your feet always finding each other under the tables, all of these things were normal - but for some reason, knowing you had a date with someone who wasn’t him made all of the touching so much more intense. Would you be touching your date like you touched him tonight? Would you touch him in ways Satoru could only dream of?

Once again, he swallowed his jealousy, choosing instead to wrap his arm around your shoulder and lean into you.

“Speaking of, I saw this video about a mac and cheese recipe I want to try. Should we make it right now? I can go get the stuff!” He had already made his way to stand up but you grabbed the the waistband of his pajama pants (and yes, they did match the ones you were wearing as well - that’s was another part of the tradition), pulling him back down.

“Toru, we need to finish this tree.” You whined, handing him one of the ornaments you’d put a hook into. He groaned, grabbing it from you before putting it back in the container and tackling you into the couch.

You groaned under his weight, shifting so you’d be able to breathe despite his arms being wrapped tightly around your torso. His face buried itself into the crook of your neck, tickling you as his breath fanned across the nape of your neck.

“But, Y/n~.” He whined, pulling you impossibly closer to his body. His body heat combined with the heat of the fireplace was making you dizzy. Or maybe it was his cologne, and the way his fingertips were slowly inching their way under you to the back of your neck forcing your own arms to wrap around his neck so your arms wouldn’t get sore.

You blinked before sighing and reaching a hand up to turn through fluffy white locks of hair. Satoru practically purred under your touch, lips so close to the erratic pulsing of your jugular vein that if he had no self control he’d be placing a soft kiss onto it.

“I think you should cancel your date.” He whispered causing you to pause your ministrations. “Huh?” You asked, completely caught off guard by his request.

He’d never interjected with anything you did in your life; in fact, he was always your number one supporter. It didn’t matter what you did, he’d be right alongside you cheering you on or even joining you if possible. Hell, one time in high school he’d even joined the cheer team for you - the both of you ending up quitting about a month in because neither of you enjoyed using your flexibility.

It had been years since you last went on a date with anyone, it really was getting a bit disappointing to still not have a significant other or even a damned situationship would be better than the lack of attention. So you thought he’d be jumping for joy with you - not encouraging you to die alone.

Though, if you really thought about it, you hadn’t really felt lonely the entire time you’d been single. Satoru had always been there, keeping you company and cheering you up whenever you needed him. But, Satoru was your best friend - not your boyfriend.

You sighed at your thoughts and pulled away from Satoru slightly, looking down only to see that he was already looking at you, eyes wide and pleading. You frowned and began playing with his hair again.

“I can’t just cancel my date, hun. He said he’d been planning it the entire week.” You explained watching as he furrowed his brows before burying his face back into your neck.

“So? just tell him it’s cold outside and that you don’t want to get sick.” He shrugged causing you to roll your eyes.

“I have a jacket.”

“Your hands are freezing and you’re not even outside yet.” He scoffed.

“Not fair, they’re always cold.” You said. It was true, you’d seen the way the goosebumps rose on his skin the second your hands had touched him. That was the funny thing about Satoru though, he’d never back out of your touch despite how cold your hands always seemed to be. You grinned at the thought, running your hand back down to the nape of his neck making him shiver.

“I’ll make you that hot chocolate you talked about - have the ingredients ‘n everything.” He bribed you, glancing up at you before closing his eyes. You felt his lashes brush against your pulse point, coaxing a shiver out of you.

“Toru.”

“Please, I’ll even let you borrow my other pajamas. Know you like those.” He grinned against you. You rolled your eyes; “I already have pajamas on.”

“But mine are much warmer…”

“… I guess, technically, we do have time to make the hot chocolate….”

He immediately removed himself from you making you shiver as a rush of cold air hit your body at once. “Perfect! Y’know where my stuff is, you change and I’ll get the stuff out.”

One batch of hot chocolate later, the two of you found yourselves lying by the fireplace, legs intertwined as he played with your fingers. “Can I practice palm reading on you?” He asked not moving his eyes from your hands that he couldn’t help but notice fit perfectly within his. You hummed in thought, eyes focused on the television that was playing some random Christmas movie - another tradition of yours.

“Is that a yes?”

“Depends how quick you can get it done.” You murmured watching as Jack Black charmed his way into Kate Winslet’s heart.

“Ugh, you still haven’t let that go?”

“My date? No, Toru, I haven’t forgotten about my date.”

He groaned dramatically, rolling on top of you again before biting down on your clothed shoulder, “ouch! Toru, that hurts!”

It hadn’t hurt but showing up with a bite mark to your date probably wouldn’t be a good look. The messy hair and rosy cheeks from the heat of the fireplace (and such) were probably going to cause you some trouble as is. Not to mention the probability of you showing up late was increasing the longer Satoru held you hostage in his arms.

Before he could say anything, a particularly loud gust of wind blew through the cracks of the windowpane causing a eerie whistling sound to fill the room and a cold chill to lick its way up your exposed arms. You shivered under Satoru who only huffed, “it’s freezing out there, just stay the night, Y/n.” He murmured looking back down at you. You frowned, “I already told you it’s too late to cancel.”

“The fact that he hasn’t cancelled already just shows he’s a red flag. What kind of boyfriend wants you to be out in the cold like that?” He muttered rolling his eyes.

“Don’t be silly, I already told you I have a jacket. And besides he’s not my boyfriend he’s a man i’m going on a date with.”

“Who wants to be your boyfriend.” He clarified, but you only rolled your eyes.

“I have an hour before I have to leave and we haven’t even finished the tree.” You reminded him, trying to push him off of you but he wouldn’t budge.

“Toru.” You warned causing him to sigh and release you, “you really won’t cancel?” He asked. Satoru was very playful, cracking jokes at times that most would consider inappropriate, but on the rare occasion that he was being serious the mood would immediately shift. This was one of those times and it made you frown.

“Why are you so insistent on me canceling?” You asked, sitting up so you could look at him closely. He sat in front of you, legs crossed and hands placed firmly on his knees before he let out a big sigh. “Well, how do I know you’ll be okay? Who even is this guy?” He scoffed.

“He’s in my child development class. Plus I don’t really think he’s a freak or anything since we’re friends and all.” You shrugged, leaning back into your elbows. Satoru watched you closely, eyes narrowing as he gathered his thoughts.

“Friends, you say, but I’ve never even had the displeasure of meeting him? What are his grades like?”

“I dunno, like a B?” Satoru scoffed at your answer, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

“B for bum. I passed with an A.”

It was your turn to roll your eyes. “He was sick for a week so he missed a couple assignments.” You explained, shrugging. “So now he wants you to get sick. Probably wants to drag you down instead of building you up like I would.”

“Toru, you’re ridiculous. He’s not trying to fail me.”

“Did he tell you this?” You groaned, rubbing a hand over your face in frustration. You didn’t understand why he was making this so difficult for you. It was just a stupid date that you agreed to go to because he offered to take you to your favorite restaurant. That’s it. He was cute, sure, but you weren’t even sure if you’d wanted to be in a relationship right now. You thought you did, because it really was starting to bother you that you’d been single for such a long time, but really you had never felt the need to look for someone other than your best friend.

“Satoru, why are you so adamant on this? It’s just a stupid date!” You huffed.

“You say it’s just a stupid date but yet you’re willing to cut our tradition short over it? How does that even make sense?” He scoffed, brows furrowed and breaths quickening. You matched his anger, suddenly feeling attacked.

“I’m not, but you rushed it too! You are the one who insisted on having it today even though I told you I had plans tonight!” You said making him groan.

“Yeah but you didn’t mention it was because of a date!”

“What difference would that even make?! A plan is a plan!” You argued to which he only shook his head to. “It makes a hell of a difference, Y/n!” Your eyes widened at the use of your name in such a serious manner. His chest was heaving, cheeks flushed in anger and eyes dulling significantly but still holding a fire behind them.

“Why?!”

“Damnit because i’m in love with you, Y/n! And I’m sorry it took being jealous to realize it but now that I’ve realized I’m afraid I can’t let you go on that date. At least, not unless you tell me to fuck right off.”

Your lips parted in shock, eyes widening significantly as you scanned his features for any chance that he was playing a sick joke on you. The only thing you were met with was furiously red cheeks, and pure genuineness adorning his every feature. You let out the breath you had unknowingly been holding.

“You love me?” You asked, he shook his head, “no, i’m in love with you. I adore you, and I have for a while now, honestly.” He muttered, eyes looking anywhere but your face.

“Toru? Toru look at me, yea?” You coaxed finally getting him to look at you.

“I’m in love with you too, silly.”

Safe to say, you hadn’t made it to your date that night, but the tree was your usual beautiful eyesore and the kisses shared under the mistletoe left you warmer than any hot chocolate recipe out there.

[tiramisuwithmascarpone]

Flowers you gave to Gods have withered away? no problemo, reuse them!

Hello guys! I believe I made a post before in which I talked about my habit of picking up flowers for Lady Aphrodite, Lord Hermes, and Lady Athena whenever I come back home. However, since they do not have dirt in which to expand their roots and absorb water, they wither away very soon. Generally, I would advise you to not leave expired food or dried-up flowers on your deity's altar. But there comes the question

,, Jelly, what do I do with them afterward?"

Well, fear not, because I've got just the solution as your fellow devotee and flower enjoyer!

1. Make homemade Potpourri!

A potpourri is basically a jar full of flowers, fruits, spices, etc. Which you leave in your room for its scent. Once your flowers get all dry, you can make one of these and place them in your room as to fill it with scents that remind you of your deities! and it is also a way more natural alternative to room freshener. I personally follow this recipe:

– Spread your flower heads and petals on a baking sheet. – Dry your flowers in an oven at 93° Celsius (200° Fahrenheit), which may take up to two hours. – Place dried flowers in an airtight container with a lid and add two or three drops of essential oils for your ideal scent. Rose, lemon, lavender, and cinnamon are among the most common fragrances for the home. – Store for six to eight weeks to allow the flowers to absorb the essential oils.

PS: Can also be a good freshener for your altar!

2. Homemade dried flower body scrub!

I actually only found out abut this today. But, apparently, if you mix up dried flower petals with Epsom salt, sea salt, baking soda, and essential oils you can basically create a scrub! I dunno if I would recommend it to people with sensitive skin tho...

3.Scented room spray

Mix together essential oils, alcohol, and dried flowers, and BOOM natural room spray! poof a little on your altar every morning!

4. If they are roses, make rosaries out of them!

Even though rosaries can be found a lot in Catholicism, many other religions use them. Buddhists, Muslims, and so much more! and, they actually used to be made out of actual roses. @jekraftbooks has a very good tutorial on TikTok about this, but basically, you need to:

1.Take your dried roses and throw them in a blender

2.Cook them down for several days at a low temperature. Only simmering, never boil.

3.When it begins to form like a clay ball, it is ready to go! Get a cheese cloth and squeeze all the water you can out of the clay. (Keep it for later)

4.Roll them into balls. Put a needle through them to make the hole, then leave them on cardboard for a few days to dry.

5. Once they dry, they will be rough, but we need them to have a smooth texture. Use the water from step 3, then rub some oil on them to give them some shine and protection from water ✨

6.Your beads are done! congrats! make necklaces, earrings, bracelets, any type of jewelry you wish for with them! You can also dedicate them to a deity as devotional jewelry or use them for prayer. Let your creativity go wild!!

[galedekarios]

gale's early access dialogue transcripts - part 2 a: the deer stew scene

in early access, gale had two additional major scenes: the deer stew scene and the loss scene, both of which would happen during a long rest at camp.

the scenes in early access usually happened in this order:

-1: first night long rest scene (still in the final game) -2: mirror image scene (still in the final game) -3: deer stew scene (cut content / partially reused in act i) -4: weave scene (still in the final game) -5: loss scene (cut content) -6: tiefling party scene (ea version cut / partially reused in act ii last night alive scene)

the deer stew scene was supposed to show that gale had come to trust the protag throughout their time together and the actions they've taken, like saving arabella and mirkon, or trying to solve the tension between zevlor and aradin.

he would tell them about his condition and reveal that he needs magical artefacts of great power (idol of silvanus, sword of justice, staff of crones, shadow of menzoberranzan, etc.) in order to consume the weave within them to sate said condition. parts of that conversation have been reused and repurposed for the full release version of the game, though now this scene happens while travelling if you progress gale's approval enough.

you can watch a video of the deer stew scene here. below you'll find the transcript of the scene and all its outcomes.

the deer stew scene

Gale: Ah, there you are. How did you enjoy my deer stew this evening? Old family recipe. Protag (Option 1): It was delicious. Gale: Good. I tend to season it with spices from Kara-Tur, but given what's available to us, good old rosemary had to see us through. Not that I mean to regale you with my culinary exploits. Gale: There's, er... Well, there's actually something quite different I'd like to discuss. Protag (Option 2): I didn't have any actually. Gale: Curious time to be dieting. Especially with a chef like myself around. -> Then same as Option 1 Protag (Option 3): Should have kept it in the family. Gale: Can't argue with taste. Or the lack thereof. -> Then same as Option 1

Protag (Option 1): By all means.  Gale: We've been... -> See Option 3 Protag (Option 2): Why so tense all of a sudden? Gale: Some things are easier to explain than others. But first let me say this: We've been... -> See Option 3 Protag (Option 3):  Whatever it is, make it brief. Gale: As you wish. Gale: We've been travelling together for a while now, and during those travels I've been observing you. I want you to know that I like what I see.  The way you handled Nettie when she poisoned you. The way you defused the tension between Zevlor and Aradin. The way you got Kagha to release the girl. The way you saved that boy out of a harpy's clutches. In short: I've grown to trust you.

Protag (Option 1): That's very gratifying to hear  Gale: Now I need you to place your trust in me. Protag (Option 2): Enough of flattery. Where is this going? Gale: An exchange. I expressed my trust in you, now I need you to place your trust in me.  Protag (Option 3): Can't say the feeling's mutual.  Gale: And yet I need you to place your trust in me in turn. Gale: Our journey together is bound to last a while still. As such I feel compelled to speak. I say this because there is something I desperately need, but while I'll tell you what that something is, I won't tell you why. I have to ask you to agree to this before carrying on with this conversation.

Protag (Option 1): Very well, I agree Gale: Thank you. I see I did well to trust you. Now to the matter at hand. You see, I have a... condition. A condition different from the tadpole, but just as deadly. The only way to appease Protag (Option 2): No. It's unfair to demand blind faith in you. Gale: I understand that I'm asking for a lot, but I can't tell you everything. Not yet anyway. Please, reconsider. Protag (Option 3): [Wisdom] You sense secrecy and danger. Use your tadpole to probe Gale's thoughts. [Failure] Gale: I'm afraid that's not going to work on me. Look, I appreciate your curiosity, but don't pursue this path.  Let's agree in actions first and explanations later, yes?

Protag (Option 1):  Fine, have it your  way. / Fine, I reconsider. Tell me what you need.  Gale: Thank you. I see I did well to trust you. Now to the matter at hand... Protag (Option 2): I'm still going to say no. / No, I won't. And that's final. Gale: That's... truly disappointing. I see now that I misjudged you, so we'll dwell on the matter no longer. And at least I know where I stand. This is a part of the journey I must walk alone. Good night. Protag (Option 3): [Wisdom] you sense secrecy and danger. Use your tadpole to probe Gale's thoughts. [Success] Narrator: You become one with Gale's mind and you can feel something sinister oppressing you. It's... inside of you, a mighty darkness radiating from your chest. You could try to push further, but your hold over Gale feels brittle. It won't be easy delving deeper without him noticing. Delve deeper: [Failure] Gale: What are you... You're using the tadpole against me? This is a breach of trust that... And to think I thought you trustworthy in the first place! I'm leaving. I cannot stand to be around such betrayal a moment longer. 

Tav: [Insight] You are in mortal danger twice over. To leave would be foolish, and you are no fool.  [Failure] Gale: I am a fool. A fool to have trusted you. [Gale leaves the party permanently] Delve deeper: [Success] Narrator: You see through Gale's eyes, staring down the corridor of a dread memory. A book, bound, then suddenly opened. Inside there are no pages, only a swirling mass of blackest Weave that pounces. It's teeth, it's claws, it's unstoppable as it digs through you and become part of you. And Gods, is it ever-hungry.

Gale: Keeping me in suspense, are you? Come on, tell me, do we have an agreement or not? It's s simple question, isn't  it? What gives you pause? Protag (Option 1): Yes, I agree. Gale: Thank you. I see I did well to trust you. Now to the matter at hand... Protag (Option 1 / Dependent on Tadpole Use): Risk telling Gale what the tadpole showed you. Gale: What? You used that thing against me? And you saw! After I told you.... This is a breach of trust that... And to think I thought you trustworthy in the first place! I'm leaving. I cannot stand to be around such betrayal a moment longer.  Protag (Option 1): [Persuasion] Be reasonable, Gale. I'm responsible for our party. I had to know.  Gale: [Success] The need remains debatable, but I recognise your responsibility. Perhaps I spoke in haste, it's just that... there are things... things I cannot speak of. Besides, what you saw... You read the opening line of a very big book, no more. The darkness you perceived, that is my primary condition. A condition different from the tadpole, but just as deadly.

Protag (Option 2): [Inisght] You are in mortal danger twice over. To leave would be foolish, and you aren't fool. Gale: [Success] I have to admit, you are right about that. Besides, what you saw... Gale: [Failure] I am a fool. A fool to have trusted you. This is where we part ways. Protag (Option 3): So be it. Gale: So be it. This is where we part ways.

Gale: The only way to “appease” said condition is for me to take powerful magical artefact and absorb the Weave inside. It's been days since I last consumed an artefact, before we were abducted. It is time. By that I mean it's Imperative that I find and consume powerful strands of Weave at the earliest possible juncture. Protag (Option 1): Tell me more about that condition of yours [Saw with the Tadpole] Gale: You've already seen more than I was willing to share, remember? Best leave the darkness in darkness for now. [Did not use the Tadpole] Gale: That's part of the 'why' you agreed not to discuss. Wouldn't want to make an oath breaker out of you. Protag (Option 2): Where are we supposed to find the kind of artefacts you need? Gale: We already done the finding. The Idol of Silvanus is such an artefact. Protag (Option 1):  Are you crazy? There's no way I'm stealing the druids' idol. Gale: I'm not saying we should – I'm just pointing out it happens to be exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for. Of course we're bound to come across more artefacts during our travels. -> Continue to As luck would have it... Protag (Option 2): That sounds like more trouble than it's worth. Gale: And it might well be. It's a holy relic after all, and taking it would enrage the druids to no end. Not that I'd say no, but we're bound to come across more artefacts during our travels. -> Continue to As luck would have it... Protag (Option 3): Then let's go get it.  Gale: I'm not so sure that's advisable. It's a holy relic after all, and taking it would enrage the druids to no end. Not that I'd say no, but we're bound to come across more artefacts during our travels. -> Continue to As luck would have it... Protag (Option 4):  What happens if you don't consume any artefact? Gale: Catastrophe. Protag (Option 5): This is all madness. Gale: Define it as you will, the semantics aren't important, the condition's conditions are: I am in need of artefacts. That's all there's to it. -> Continue to As luck would have it... Gale: As luck would have it, Faerûn is full of them, though I do feel obliged to point out that items of power tend to be in the hands of the powerful. There will be danger involved – or great cost.

Protag (Option 6): So Astarion wants to suck blood and you want to suck magic. What's next? Gale: We all have our eccentricities. Ours are just more eccentric than most.  Astarion: As a matter of fact, you should feel lucky to be travelling with men of taste. -> Continue to As luck would have it...

Protag (Option 1): Danger? I wouldn't have it any other way.  Gale: Good. A bit of boldness will serve us well. -> Continue to I know the allure... Protag (Option 2): So you're saying I need to risk my life for you.  Gale: I know the allure these artefacts hold. I understand their value and their power. All this to say: I understand the sacrifice I ask of you. But if I may so bold: it's for a good cause indeed. I hope I can count on you.  Protag (Option 3): When I acquire powerful magic items, I'm not so sure I'll choose you over them.  Gale: That's your decision to make. I expect you to make the right one. Much is at stake. More than my own meagre life alone. Protag (Option 4): I can tell you right now I don't care at all for this wild Gale chase.  Gale: That's your decision to make. I expect you to make the right one. Much is at stake. More than my own meagre life alone. Gale: I know the allure these artefacts hold. I understand their value and their power. All this to say: I understand the sacrifice I ask of you. But if I may so bold: it's for a good cause indeed. I hope I can count on you.  Gale: [if the tadpole was used and told] Oh, and as far as that tadpole trickery goes, I really do trust you'll not be so untoward again.

coming up next:

-part 1: the three tadpole dreams -> completed

-part 2: major cut scenes: the deer stew scene -> completed with this post & the loss scene -> will be posted next

-part 3: minor cut scenes: abandoned temple of jergal, failed to save arabella, talking to the paladins of tyr and agreeing to go after karlach, edowin and the tadpole reveal, mayrina giving ethel's wand to her or breaking it, handing astarion over to the gur or defending him, reaching the druid grove, killing lae'zel, reaching the goblin camp & looking for halsin, killing the druids, priestess gut & the brand & the cult of the absolute, dror ragzlin and talking to the dead mind flayer, ogre couple, necromancy of thay, ethel, zhentarim chest, myconid colony

-part 4: gale's condition & the way it was treated in early access

taglist: @chainsawmascara, @randomfanner, @tacogoats, @khajiit-necromancer, @gwinharper, @galesenchantedpanties, @swampfaerie, @ardently-queer, @nirraein, @gale-enjoyer, @xiv-wolfram, @kairoswouldnever, @a-psychopathic-dream

i thought i'd tag the people i'd seen taking an interest in my original post! if you want to be taken off the taglist, please let me know!

[adairtrashart]

cotltober day 21 lanolin

the goat is pretty upset that they dont produce lanolin in general (a huge part of why their wool is so itchy and dry)

how are they supposed to benefit off of it easily if theyre not the one making it??????????????????

full text:

Stupid cat!!! Why can't he seem to recognize my greatness?! MY power?! MY SUPREMACY!!! Hell, even that la- waitwaitWAIT!!! It's the lanolin, isn't it?!

How dare they... I'm the one who gets to cheat!!! Not them! I'm the edgy one! I don't care if we're both cult leaders. This is so dumb! Stupid fucking- dumb...

Nah, don't need to bother. The cat is such an asshole anyways. If he really can't see why I'm so amazing, he doesn't deserve me. I don't need some smelly grease to prove myself! I have better stink! So great, in fact, that I can safely say that I-

NO NO NO! That's even dumber than that whole "Greatest Vase of All Time" idea! Ugh... How do I-what do I want?! Why are emotions so weird?! I've felt them plenty of times before, and this never happened. Demanding respect, kissing, even sparring with those beneath you! Those are just normal things!

Gotta ask if the Lamb's feelings are infecting me somehow. There's no way all of these are MY emotions! I'd never let myself be this weak.

Maybe I should steal some lanolin... It would be pretty idiotic to not use their advantages to my advantage, at least until I go back to normal. The Greatest of All Time must not let their ego lessen said greatness!

_____________________ Cat Bone Stew ~ Serves 5

Ingredients: 5 large cat bones *preferably from the arms and/or legs 1 cat liver, diced Half of a pumpkin, mashed 1-2 leeks, chopped 5 tbs lard (any source) 3 large clumps of Anchordeep kelp *can be substituted with other kelp combined with 2 tsps sea salt A pinch of Emeril's Essence *see pg. 15 for recipe 6 cups of water 2-3 potatoes of your choice, sliced Leftover rice (optional)

Instructions:

Set a large pot of water above your campfire. Keep the lid on so that it starts boiling faster.

Heat up a separate pan for the liver, using some of the lard to grease it

Soak the kelp in any spare water you have to remove excess salt

Once the kelp is ready, the pan should be hot enough to cook the liver properly. Stir fry it until slightly under cooked

Cut the kelp into bite sized chunks

Throw all the ingredients, including the remaining lard,into the boiling water for 3 hours covered.

When the stew is done, make sure to remove the bones before serving.

(Tip: Depending on how healthy the individual was before death, you can reuse the bones 1-3 times for similar flavor)

_____________________ Fuckity fuck fuck fuck I am so gay. WHY am I so gay The booba... so amazingly (cut off) Barkbarkbarkbarkbarkb barkBARKbarkbarksnarl Why must you be so very (cut off) wHYYYYYYYYYYYYY AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[dizzymaiden]

I thought you guys would like this idea! -Reusing empty fruitcups for a separate cracker/crouton container when paired with a canning jar snack/meal! (Note: With the bigger jars, you can use two fruit cups, -one inside beneath the seal, and one on top, held in-place by the lid's ring. -The one under the seal works great for "wet" items like dip and salad dressing. )

for double fruit cups you would put the first fruit cup right side up resting on the lip of the jar, put the seal lid on, then put the other cup on upside down and put the ring on to keep it all in place. See photo where the dip is inside the jar.

[homey-worshiper]

crafts/activities for lady hestia

that are not only "baking and cooking"

clay candle holders {air dry clay, polymer}

candle making {not only you can reuse and mix the candles you already have, leftovers of candles, but also i see so many candle making kits, so just imagine getting a tea for you and lady hestia and spending the evening making candles}

having a cookbook {activily looking for recipes, while scrolling pinterest saving pictures of pretty cookies and then trying to recreate them}

start a collection {shells, postcards, crystals, books, candles, blankets...}

make a craft/hobby basket {if you're a crocheting person - have your projects in it, maybe you also like coloring books - put one there, if there's a specific tea you want to try - put it there, when the time comes you will have a full set of hobbies to choose from}

[coff33andb00ks]

Recipe for the Perfect Christmas 4/12

One part small town girl coming home from the big city. One part handsome stranger. Five parts lifelong friends (don't forget to include their partners). One part stubborn father. A dash of Christmas spirit. Part: Four of Twelve Pairing: Oscar Piastri x ofc (with appearances from Mark Webber. Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Pato O'Ward, and George Russell) wc: 6,423 warnings: none soundtrack: spotify ⋆❆⋆ apple music nav: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve

When she awoke late Sunday morning, she could feel a surge of excitement. The weather forecast had called for a light dusting of snow. She didn't linger in bed as she usually did and, just as she had as a little child, flung back the covers and hurried to the window. Jerking the curtain aside to peer out, she grinned as she took in the sight.

Snow. Not a dusting, but what looked like a good six inches. Flakes still fluttered lazily down from the sky. They disappeared on the blanket of white that coated the back yard. Natalie watched for a moment, gleeful, as the wind rustled the row of balsam trees that bordered the edge of the property and sent a cloud of snow swirling through the air. Snow was different here than in the city, with its slushy streets and grouchy population. There, the attitude was that a little snow wasn't a good enough excuse to stay at home. But here…

Letting the curtain fall, she grabbed her robe and shoved her arms through the sleeves. Her shoulders weren't sore, thankfully, though she knew it was because she hadn't had to prepare croissant dough the night before. Later, in the afternoon, she would need to go to the bakery and do it, but for now she was only concerned with getting coffee then enjoying the snow day. She would take a good shower and dress in her comfiest clothes, then start a pot of soup and bake some bread. Then she would watch a couple of Christmas movies.

And, she decided as she descended the stairs, she would drag out the Christmas decorations. Her father had even mentioned getting a tree in the next few days. She had once campaigned heavily for an artificial tree, a pre-lit one that could be reused for years and years. Now, the thought of going with him to purchase a tree and then putting it up with him made her smile. She was looking forward to the little traditions. She was looking forward to help him untangle the strands of lights, to listening to the history of the old family ornaments as they hung them on the tree. She was even looking forward to him complaining that trees just weren't the same as when he'd been a boy, when apparently the entire county had set off into the woods to find and cut down their own trees.

Entering the kitchen, she stopped short and blinked in shock. Her father was there, at the table. Not dressed for church but in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, his feet in the ridiculous red fluffy slippers he preferred. There was a cup of coffee and his breakfast plate in front of him. There was a smile on his face.

And, sitting across from him, also with a cup of coffee and a plate, was Oscar.

"Good morning, sugar," Mark greeted her, lifting his cup.

"Morning," she said, wrapping the front of her robe around her and fumbling to tie the belt. "Good morning, Oscar…"

He smiled and wiped his face with a napkin. "Good morning."

"They canceled church," her father announced. "Looks like I'm staying home all day."

Natalie nodded, eyes still on Oscar. At the kitchen table. Eating breakfast with her father. He was somewhat dressed for the weather, and she supposed he'd taken his boots off at the door. "I see."

"The streets are a mess," Oscar said, cutting into his pancakes.

"Saw him outside with that little pup of his," Mark said.

"He made me come in to eat."

"Yeah, really twisted your arm." Mark chuckled. "I put the rest of the pancakes and the bacon in the oven to stay warm, sugar."

"Did you leave Penny outside?" she asked, finally moving from the doorway. Spying the dog lying on the rug in front of the sink, she smiled.

"I'd have left Oscar out in the snow before I left her."

"Me, too," Oscar said.

"So you two are doing alright?" After bending to give Penny a head rub, she moved to fix herself a cup of coffee. She hadn't seen Oscar since the day he'd told her about the dog. At least, not to talk to.

"She's great."

"How was the vet?" She looked at the dog, who seemed to be in perfect health. Her coat was sleek, and she could see that it had a tendency to be shaggy. Even though it had only been four days since she'd seen the dog in Oscar's truck, she could tell Penny was being well looked after. She was still a little scrawny, but Natalie had an inkling she would be at a healthy weight before Christmas.

Penny's brown eyes shone up at her, and Natalie would have sworn the dog smiled.

"Fine. Got her shots and everything. She didn't have a microchip, and the vet said he hadn't heard of anyone missing a dog like her, so she's mine now." Oscar's fork gently clattered against his plate. "She's going the week after Christmas to get fixed. Oh, and I had her chipped, just in case she decides to run off."

Natalie glanced over to see him smiling fondly at the dog, who'd curled up and gone back to sleep. She doubted the dog would leave what was obviously the perfect, doting owner.  Leaning against the counter, she sipped her coffee, still perturbed that he was there. When he had come to dinner, they had eaten in the dining room. The kitchen was more intimate, she thought. But she had to remind herself that it wasn't her house. If her father was comfortable enough with the man to let him sit in his kitchen, she had no option but to accept it. Not that Oscar's presence really bothered her. What bothered her was how she felt around him.

A little off. She couldn't describe it, really, just that she was a little off. Her stomach would do a funny jump when he graced her with one of his smiles. Listening to his laugh made her feel a tiny bit weak. And when he spoke it was like her ears could hear only his voice. And the few times he had sang had made all of that worse. She wasn't used to feeling like that around a man. Not even around Pierre, who she had known for years and had fallen in and out of love with. Rather, the man she had thought she'd loved.

"What are your plans today, sweetie?" her father asked.

Dragged from her thoughts, she saw that her coffee cup was empty and moved to fix another. "Not much. Soup and bread and maybe some movies. I thought I'd pull out some of the Christmas decorations."

He nodded. "Guess we can go look for a tree this week."

"I'd like that."

"Are you gonna decorate for Max?"

Natalie tried to tune out Oscar's reply, but that was impossible. She listened as he said that yes he would be decorating. She listened as he explained there was only a little more work to be done on the house, mostly embellishments like trim and painting the bedrooms. Eve and Max had ordered furniture that was supposed to start being delivered that week and he would have to start arranging as well. Getting a plate and fork, she helped herself to bacon and pancakes, carrying the last of both to the table for her father and Oscar.

Penny lifted her head, sniffing inquisitively, then laid it down on her paws with a heavy sigh.

She tried not to notice that Oscar tore a piece of bacon in half and then lowered his hand. Smiling when the dog stood and slowly approached the table, she watched the bacon disappear then watched his hand lovingly rub Penny's head. Penny's tail wagged with joy, and when she realized there would be no more bacon, she leaned against his leg.

"I can't wait to see the old place done up for Christmas again," her father was saying when she pulled out a chair and sat down. "Fernando and Beth used to make it so beautiful. Nothing fancy or anything, just candles in the windows. Lights on the porch and around the roof. And three trees."

"In the living room window and the two turret windows upstairs?" Oscar asked with a grin.

"Yep, exactly that. How did you know?"

"It's what Eve wants to do." He chuckled. "She brought a ton of boxes yesterday filled with candles and lights. She's got sketches of what she wants me to do."

"Did they drive back last night?"

"No, they're still here. They were still sleeping when I left." Oscar leaned slightly to look at the clock on the microwave. "Grace is probably waking them up to see the snow now."

"I hope they can get back to Fairview safely," Mark said.

"Me and Max don't like driving in snow," Oscar admitted with a quick grin. "Eve doesn't like it either. If I know them, they'll probably stay until tomorrow."

"Doesn't the girl have school?"

"Half days. Eve's getting her transferred to here the week before winter break." Oscar nudged his empty plate away and reached for his coffee. "That's one reason Max brings her down with him all the time, so she can at least know the other kids by sight."

Mark nodded. "That's smart."

"Don't tell him that, he's already got a big enough ego."

Muffling a laugh into her cup, Natalie gave her head a small shake. From what she had seen, neither Oscar nor his friend had a big ego. Finishing her pancake, she wiped her mouth with a paper napkin. "I'll get the dishes after I get dressed," she told her father, carrying her cup to the coffeepot for more. "Good to see you, Oscar."

"You, too," he said, pushing back his chair as she left the kitchen.

She lingered in the shower, then took the time to blow dry and braid her hair before pulling on her fleece-lined leggings and oversized sweatshirt. Slipping a pair of fuzzy striped socks onto her feet, she glanced at her phone and saw a message.

Pierre.

She bit her lip and opened the message, reading it twice before locking her phone and tossing it onto the bed.

I think you're still being unreasonable. I can take care of you, you don't need a job. Most women would leap at the chance to not have to work. Don't be stupid, Nattie.

She hated that nickname. She hated the condescending words. She hated that she had wasted years of her life with him. Hated that she had spent so many hours in the past weeks trying to explain her point of few and feelings, only for them to be brushed away like unimportant dust.

She hated him, she decided, snatching her phone up and firing off a request that he not contact her again. She even went so far as to delete him from her contacts. And, as laughter from downstairs filtered up to her room, she swiped to delete the messages, too, so she wouldn't be tempted to send him a message when a late night made her sentimental.

When she got downstairs she saw her father in the living room, in his chair. His bad leg was propped up on an ottoman, and he had his tablet on, watching a youtube video.. Pausing in the doorway, she opened her mouth to tell him she was going to make bread and soup when she saw the small dog sitting almost politely in the other armchair.

"Mom would have a fit," she said. "No animals on the furniture."

"No, that was just the cat," her father told her, glancing at her over his reading glasses.

Natalie smiled, thinking of the hyperactive cat she'd had as a child. "Did she follow you in here?"

"Yeah." He turned his attention back to the tablet.

She was about to ask if Oscar had left her with him for a particular reason, then heard the gentle clink of dishes from the kitchen. Leaving the doorway, she went into the kitchen, sighing when she saw Oscar at the sink. Most of the dishes had already been washed and were on the rack, and she grabbed a clean dishtowel from the drawer before approaching the sink. "You didn't have to."

"I know," he said. The sleeves of his gray sweatshirt, and the red flannel shirt beneath it, were rolled up to his elbows. "Least I can do."

"The least you could do would be saying 'thanks' and leaving." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she knew they could be misconstrued. Taking a plate to dry, she sighed. "Not that I'm trying to kick you out. Dad likes you. And between you and me, I think he loves Penny."

"Are you saying you don't like me?" he asked.

"No!"

"So you don't like me."

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I like you," she promised.

He gently bumped her arm with his. "It didn't hurt to admit that, did it?"

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes and bumped his arm in return. "And earlier I was thinking that you don't have a big ego."

"I don't," he said, nudging her shoulder with his bicep.

"Please, I'm surprised your head can fit through the door," she snorted, nudging him back.

"My ego's stored in my butt, thank you." He flicked soap bubbles towards her, grinning.

She leaned back slightly to check, then nodded. "Mmhmm, I see."

"Did you just check out my ass?" He flicked more bubbles at her.

Natalie shook the water off a fork, making sure to aim it at him. "You brought it up."

"I have to, it's attached."

A surprise bark of laughter escaped her, and she dropped the fork on the counter. "Oh my god, that was corny."

"Made you laugh," he pointed out, snorting on a chuckle.

"I appreciate that." Picking up the fork, she dried it. "But I still say you've got to have a big ego."

"I really don't," he insisted. "I know I'm a complete dork. I'm sometimes socially awkward, I'm self-conscious, and I second-guess myself all the time."

"I find that hard to believe," she said. "I know I've only known you for… A week?"

"Has it only been a week?" He stopped washing the plate he was holding and let it slip back into the soapy water. "Yeah, we met at the bonfire."

"Seems like longer than a week," she murmured. Feeling his eyes on her, she moistened her lips. "Anyway, you always seem comfortable with yourself. Like you know what you want and how to go about getting it. I guess I could be wrong, and I probably see it because I don't know how to go about anything."

"Sure you do."

"I really don't. I just go along and do what I think people around me expect me to do."

"How do you mean?"

"Like… Coffee. I really prefer the powdered creamer. You know, the cheap, probably has some chemical in it that'll eventually kill me stuff?" She set the dishtowel down and gathered the flatware to put in the drawer. "I love it. Coffee doesn't taste right without it. My friends at work always got lattes with almond or soy milk and no-fat whip or whatever, so I did the same thing. I didn't want to be viewed as weird. Or judged because I like basic stuff. I just want regular coffee with a little creamer and some sugar and sometimes a little flavoring. But I never got it because…"

"Because you were worried they wouldn't like you?"

"No, not that." She sighed, moving back to stack the plates so she could put them away. "I never got it because I didn't want them to think I was the simple country girl."

"You wanted to fit in."

"Exactly."

"There's nothing wrong with that. Everyone wants to fit in."

"Dad gets almond milk just for me," she whispered, glancing at the door to make sure her father wasn't coming in to fuss at her for lying to him. Setting the plates down next to the rack, she bounced the toe of one foot against the floor. "Pierre only used it, and I said I'd started using it, and now—"

"Pierre?"

Damn it. Drawing in a clear breath, she nodded. "Yeah." She gestured lamely, trying to remember what she had said to him the last time they'd spoken. "He's the reason I'm not ready to dance in the rain."

"I've got one of those, too." He smiled. "Lauren."

"Lauren?"

"Ex."

"I didn't know you were with someone."

"I'm not, anymore." He seemed so at-ease about it. As though there weren't bitter feelings. And, when he smiled, she understood there weren't. "We both realized it wasn't the happily-ever-after we'd hoped it would be and split before things could get bad."

"That's both sad and sweet," she said. She wished she'd been smart enough to realize the same before it had all turned to hostility. "I'm sorry it didn't work out for you, Oscar."

"I am too. But," he said, pulling the plug in the sink and turning on the water to rinse his hands, "I'm happy for the time we had together. I still think she's a great woman, and I consider her a friend."

"That's great," she said. And she meant it. She wondered if, in the future, she would still consider Pierre a friend. She doubted it and wondered if that meant she weren't a good person.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out with Pierre," he said softly, turning off the water.

Handing over the dishtowel, she sighed. "I'm not."

"You're not?"

"He showed his true colors when things went to hell for me."

"Was it him that called the other day?" he asked, draping the towel over the edge of the sink.

She nodded. She didn't want to remember how disappointed she had been that her moments with Oscar had been ruined. "Yeah, that was him."

"It's none of my business," he said, unrolling his sleeves. "But do you—"

From the pocket of his jeans came a faint buzzing. With a sigh he pulled out his phone and looked at the screen.

Natalie held her breath, wondering if he would complete the question or let the call interrupt their talk. She wasn't sure yet which option she wanted. On the one hand, she hated this rehashing of her feelings that she wasn't good enough, that she was stupid. On the other, it was almost cathartic, because he seemed to understand. So few people did. Even those that cared couldn't understand. She didn't know if he cared, or if were just being a good, considerate person. She just knew she appreciated his empathetic ear.

"It's Max," he said, shoving his phone back into his pocket.

"It could be an emergency."

"If it was an emergency, Eve would be calling. Max would be too busy freaking out. I'll call him back in a few minutes."

She had an inkling he wouldn't start to ask if she didn't prompt him. She sighed, watching him button the cuffs of his red flannel before tugging down the sleeves of his sweater. His hands fell, and after watching his fingers drum the edge of the counter, she lifted her head to meet his eyes. "What's none of your business?"

"Do you still love him?"

"No." She frowned, not expecting the answer to come so quickly. Surprised at the sudden realization that she didn't, she exhaled a shaky breath. "And now I'm away and looking back, I don't think I ever did."

"Really?"

"I loved the idea of being in love." Taking the stack of plates, she stepped away and opened the cabinet door. "And everyone around me was getting their mate, you know? Everyone was getting engaged or married. Susie and Estie have been together forever, but they didn't get married until five years ago. I needed a date and asked Pierre, and then it was just…"

Oscar didn't speak while she sighed, but he did move over and take the plates from her, reaching up to set them in the cabinet. Closing the door gently, he dropped his hand to her shoulder and gave a gentle, understanding squeeze.

She felt the burn of tears. "It was just easy. He was successful, he was okay-looking, and he liked me. Then everyone started having babies and, well, I've always wanted kids. So I let things get more serious with him. And when he proposed last year, I said yes. Now I realize I said yes because I wanted the big wedding and for Dad to walk me down the aisle and so I could start having the kids I'd dreamed of, and that he was just there. I would have said yes to whoever asked."

Oscar's hand slid away and she gasped when he reached around her. She half-expected him to embrace her but he didn't, instead plucking a paper napkin from the holder on the counter. He slipped it into her hand then took a small step away, leaning against the counter. She knew he was watching her and raised the napkin to catch the tears before they could fall. But she couldn't catch the words that began to spill out.

"I've struggled with work since Covid. I was a staff writer on a paper and to save money they cut a lot of us. I found a spot at a local magazine and things were okay, but I had to take a pay cut. Pierre asked me to move in with him then, and things were okay. Then a few months ago the magazine I was working for folded. We didn't even know that the issue we were putting together would be the last until they called everyone in for a staff meeting. I had spent what little savings I had on wedding stuff, but I figured… Hey, I'm a writer, it'll be easy to find a job." She sniffed. "That turned out to be a lie. No one wants a staff writer anymore, they want to hire freelance people. Or get AI to do it. So I tried to find something else. But there was nothing. At least, nothing I could do, because all I have is a degree in English. I thought about teaching, but I don't have the level of education needed, and I'm not eligible for financial aid so I can't go back to school."

He remained silent, and when she glanced at him she saw compassion in his eyes.

"He wanted me to just focus on the wedding. We'd get married and I could be a housewife. I could stay at home and have babies and have his supper on the table when he got home at night. I know millions of women do that every day, and I think they're amazing. But it's not for me. At least, the picture he painted wasn't for me." She frowned, thinking of the archaic, misogynistic life he had dreamed up for them. "He just assumed I'd be grateful. He actually said that. That I should be grateful he was giving me every woman's dream. But… It wasn't my dream."

"What's your dream?" Oscar asked gently.

"I don't know anymore. I just know I don't want to be a character in some 1950s sitcom, only meant to care about the roast in the oven or the dry cleaning. I don't want that kind of marriage, you know?"

"You want a partnership."

"Exactly!" Whirling to face him, she nodded. "I want fifty-fifty. I don't want all of one thing to be my problem or his, I want us to share the work. It's what I grew up around. Mom and Dad were partners in everything, home and work. Some of my friends thought it was weird that Dad would fix dinner sometimes, or that Mom would be outside changing the oil in the car, but it seemed perfect to me. Even looking back now, it was perfect. Yeah, there were times they got stressed, and they argued about things, but they always came together in the end. Maybe I'm stupid and naïve, but that's what I want."

"You're not stupid." He frowned. "It's not stupid to want that, Natalie."

"Pierre thought it was," she muttered.

"Pierre's an asshole."

Natalie's jaw dropped.

"Sorry," he sighed. Then, making a face, he shook his head. "Wait, no, I'm not sorry. I don't know the guy, but he sounds like an absolute cunt."

"Oh my god," she breathed. "That's exactly what Dad calls him."

"Mark didn't like him?"

"He couldn't stand him."

"And you still got engaged to the guy?" Oscar whistled under his breath. "Wow, maybe you are a little stupid."

Gasping, she threw the napkin at him. Then, to her surprise, she began to laugh as he batted it back to her. Back and forth the napkin went, until he hit it too hard and it soared over her head. Gasping again, this time with breathlessness, she leaned against the counter. "That felt great."

"Laughter is the best medicine." He bent to get the napkin and crumpled it into a ball. "You should laugh as much as you can."

"Some days that's hard."

"Just think of raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens."

"And bright copper kettles and warm, woolen mittens?"

"That's the ticket," he said with a grin.

"Thank you, Oscar."

"For what? Making you laugh or calling you stupid?"

"Both, and for listening to me talk. I'm sorry for just unloading all that on you."

"You needed to unload," he said with a shrug. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out his phone and glanced at the screen.

"Is Max calling you again?"

"Texting. The kids want to do a snowball fight." He looked at her, and she could sense the question lingering between them.

"I haven't had a snowball fight in years."

"It's girls against boys," he said. "Girls are outnumbered."

"That is so sexist and unfair."

"You want to come?"

"Yes, because the numbers need to be even. Just let me get bundled up.."

Huddled behind the bush, Oscar grabbed Lucas's hand before he could wade through the snow towards his mother and sister. "Hang on," he said, tugging the boy back to safety just as a snowball whizzed by his head. It landed with a smack on the slat of the fence around the back yard. "We've got to be sneaky."

"'Neaky," Lucas agreed, nodding his head. "Daddy."

Leaning to peer around the edge of the bush, Oscar saw Max disappearing around the front corner of the house. He knew the plan. He and Lucas were supposed to be a distraction so Max could attack from behind. "Yeah, Daddy's sneaky."

"Nattie."

"No, I don't think Natalie's sneaky," he said, peering over the top of the bush. Ducking his head when he saw a perfectly aimed snowball sailing right towards him, he grunted. Eve and Grace were brutal. And they had the best weapon in their arsenal: Natalie. She had immediately dragged the other warriors – because they weren't girls – into a conference when they'd gotten to the house, and he had only caught the words 'strategy', 'plan', and 'idiots'. He could only hope that he wasn't included in the part about idiots, though he had a sinking feeling he was.

And she'd brought reinforcements. Susie had arrived with Michael and Hannah. Lilli had shown up with George, who'd pulled out actual battle plans. Esteban came a few minutes after his wife and kids, called George a moron, then called on Pato and Lando. Amira had climbed out of Pato's truck, and those two kept disappearing behind a tree to kiss instead of actually fight. Carlos and Sasha were there, too, but for some reason they didn't participate, instead watching the battle from the relative safety of the back porch.

Ducking as a snowball thrown by Lilli came perilously close to hitting him, he dragged Lucas back again. "She's just a pro at this."

"Nattie," Lucas said again.

"Yeah, Natalie."

Lucas giggled and pulled away from Oscar. Turning, Oscar saw Natalie leaning against the nearby oak tree. With a groan he watched Lucas slowly make his way through the snow to her, somehow managing to not be hit by any of the snowballs flung from the each side.

"Lucas," he hissed under his breath. "You're deserting me?!"

"Nattie!" The boy giggled, lifting his arms as soon as he was within reach of her. "Daddy 'neaky!"

"Lucas, don't!"

"Daddy's sneaky?" she asked, sending Oscar a look while lifting the boy to her hip.

"Daddy run." Lucas pointed to the corner of the fence, where Max's footprints were still visible in the snow. "'Neaky."

"It's an ambush!" Natalie hollered, darting out from behind the tree. "Behind you!"

Oscar stayed where he was, laughing as chaos descended upon them all. Snowballs landed, George yelped, Max practically cackled, and somehow Lando ended up face down in the snow. He finally stood, just in time to see Hannah heave a large snowball directed at her father's face. There were yells of outrage, and he wasn't sure who threw the two snowballs that pelted him in the face.

"Looks like it's a wrestling match," Natalie said. Laughing when he gaped at her, she set Lucas down, eyes on the boy as he began the arduous task of toddling through the snow towards his parents and sister. Once he'd fallen into the pile of bodies and was laughing, too, she twirled in the gently falling snow, her long braid falling over her shoulder.

It struck a chord. Touched a memory. "Hey," he said suddenly. "I've got something you might want."

"Oh?" she asked, eyes widening slightly as she stopped in front of him.

A snowball slammed into the back of her head and, from near the fence, came Susie's shouted apology as Natalie collapsed dramatically.

Chuckling, Oscar held out his hand to help her up.

"It's something I found when I was up in the attic." Snorting when her eyes widened further, he hauled her to her feet. "It's a couple pictures, not something gross."

"Pictures?" She kept her hand into his and stepped through the snow to the back porch.

"Yeah. It was a box with pictures of the town from a while back. Luckily they all had names or places on the back, or I'd have had to bring them all to your dad." He felt her hand squeeze his through their gloves and smiled as they mounted the steps. Her hand slid away while they stomped the snow off their boots, and he opened the door, motioning for her to go in first while he pulled off his gloves.

Penny darted out, yipping, giving Natalie's ankles a quick sniff before going to check out the snow. She made it down one step before snorting and turning to hurry back into the house. After kicking off his boots inside the door, Oscar led Natalie into the living room.

She pulled off her gloves. "How far back are they?"

"Going by what I saw, probably the 80s?" Oscar grabbed the box from the mantle and lifted the lid. The ones he had known would interest her were at the top, separated from the others by a slip of paper. Handing them over to her, he closed the lid and pushed the box back onto the mantle.

"That's Mom," she whispered, staring at the first photo.

"I thought it was. I didn't know her maiden name, but I knew her name was Marie."

"I've never seen this." Natalie sank onto the arm of the couch. "I wonder if she ever did…"

"I'm guessing they're pictures Mr. or Mrs. Alonso took," he said. He unzipped his coat, eyes on her as she stared at the photo. "You look like her."

"You think so?" She looked pleased at the thought. "I always thought she was beautiful."

"She was," he agreed.

She was silent while going through the pictures. Smiling, exhaling breaths of laughter, she studied each one, turning them over to read the note on the back. When she had finished she lifted her head and her eyes shone with unshed tears. "Oscar, these are wonderful. Can I keep them?"

"Of course."

"After Mom died her friends put together a little photo album of her through the years. Pictures they'd taken, you know. I treasure it. And I'll treasure these. I can't wait to go show Dad." She swiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"You're fine," he whispered, glancing around for the pack of tissues that Eve had to have set somewhere. He found it on the coffee table next to the stack of coloring books Grace had brought. Handing them over, he waited until she'd dried her eyes. "I'm gonna try to get the rest to the people who are in them, or something. There's pictures of Main Street that someone would probably want."

Nodding, she unzipped her coat and carefully tucked the photos into the inner pocket. "Thank you so much, Oscar."

"You're welcome."

"I'm gonna go. I need to show them to Dad." She stood.

"I'll walk you back."

"You sure your blood won't freeze?" There was a playful gleam in her eyes as she headed to the back door. She stopped suddenly, bending to give Penny a rub.

"I'm fine."

"I just thought I'd ask. You can't drive in snow, you expect the streets to be clear like they are in movies…" Waiting while he put his boots on, she pulled her gloves on. "Next you'll tell me you don't know how to build a snowman."

"I know how to build a snowman," he scoffed, hoping she wouldn't ask him to prove it.

"How about snow angels?" she asked, tugging her hat down firmly.

"That's just jumping jacks laying down," he told her.

"I'll allow it," she sighed.

The back door opened and the kids spilled in, pink cheeked and giggling. Standing aside until everyone else had come inside, Oscar smiled at the laughter and chatter that filled the kitchen. The women buzzed around, gathering mugs and starting hot chocolate while Lando started a FaceTime call with Maddie to check in, passing his phone around so her friends could speak to her. Penny went from person to person, sniffing and wagging her tail.

"Girls' night tomorrow," Lilli insisted, dropping marshmallows into the bottom of each mug. "I'll do the charcuterie."

Dizzied by the overlapping chatter of the women as they planned their girls' night, Oscar sidled out of the way, gathering the kids' coats to hang up. Lando flashed him a grin, moving to help.

"Maddie's on bed rest isn't she?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah, but I think she'd borrow her mom's gun and shoot me if I tried to stop her from going," Lando muttered. "You busy tomorrow night? We can meet up and hang?"

"I don't have—"

"We'll go to Carlos's. He's got the most room," Lando decided. "I'll text you tomorrow with details. Hey, Carlos!"

It was loud and chaotic, but Oscar found himself still smiling as he sipped his cocoa. Natalie met his eyes across the kitchen and when he lifted his eyebrows she nodded.

 Eve stopped him at the door. "Did you give her the pictures you found?"

"He did," Natalie said from behind him. "I'm heading home now so I can show them to Dad."

"If we find more we'll let you know." Eve rolled her eyes when Oscar cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. If he finds more, he will let you know."

"Thanks." Natalie grinned.

"Next time it snows, we'll have another fight." Eve leaned to take Lucas's empty mug.

"It's a date. As long as someone doesn't cheat."

Oscar threw up his hands. "That was Max."

"I think he learned his lesson." Eve smiled sweetly. "I'm going to light the fireplace. See you!"

"Bye," Natalie said, then skipped down the steps.

A chorus of goodbyes rang out as Oscar bent to clip Penny's leash to her collar.

Oscar followed Natalie, not minding the lack of conversation as they walked along the sidewalk, Penny between them. At least, he supposed it was the sidewalk. A snowplow had been through, and what had once been the narrow sidewalk was now a steady pile of snow. When they reached the end of the block he caught Natalie's arm as she stepped over and onto the street. There was no traffic so they stuck to the edge of the street. He could see snowmen on front lawns, evidence of sledding along sloped driveways.

"Do you think it'll stop snowing?" she asked when they neared her house.

As though an answer, the snow began to thicken. Oscar stopped and tipped his head back. She giggled, steps slowing, and gave a slow twirl.

"Not the same as the rain," she said softly. Snowflakes clung to her hat. To her braid. To her eyelashes. One landed on the end of her nose and he watched it melt.

"I guess. But it's special in its own way."

"Have you ever danced in the snow?"

He shook his head. "Never got the chance."

"Maybe you should."

He looked on indulgently, a smile pulling at his lips as she twirled and spun. Penny barked, tugging on the leash, and he let go, watching the dog bound around Natalie. The snow swirled and danced around them and he was reminded of the snow globes his mother collected, with their colorful figures seeming to sway each time he shook them. He felt a little dizzy just watching, as he had always thought the figures in the snow globes would be after a vigorous shaking.

A giggle rang out from Natalie, and he had the sensation of something slipping into place. Something new and strange but familiar and comfortable at the same time. Like finding a favorite shirt he had thought he'd discarded. Like the first thunderstorm in the summertime.

Like something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Natalie stopped, eyes shining brightly as she bent to scoop Penny up.

His stomach dipped when she turned to face him, his dog snuggling close to her chest. Certain she could hear his heartbeat despite the small distance between them, he swallowed. "I don't think it's gonna stop snowing for a while."

Her eyes sparked, growing luminous as Penny tucked her head beneath her chin. "I hope it doesn't."

[the-deathly-gallows]

Headcanon: Snape never throws away food. If there's one thing he learnt from growing up very poor is that food is a precious resource not to be wasted. He knows very well how much of a privilege it is to have food on the table and the thought of letting it spoil makes him deeply uncomfortable.

Food waste is an unheard concept in Snape's household.

He buys the necessary amount of food and eats it before it goes bad, meticulously keeping it in his pantry to preserve it longer and using a few very handy spells his mother passed down to him, and same goes for potion ingredients. He keeps stale bread to make breadcrumbs and, no matter how little bread left, it will never go in the bin. He reuses leftovers to make new dishes, and thanks to this habit he's gotten very good at cooking, always having a new recipe in mind to reuse his ingredients. Almost anything left (fruit peels, seeds, even used tea bags) can be used for his potions or as compost for his medicinal plants, the parts of which can never miss in his Potions cupboard.

At mealtimes, his plate is never full to the edge as he eats little portions, adding new food only when he finishes what he already has. If he picks up something he doesn't like, he will eat it anyways instead of leaving it uneaten. Snape doesn't eat much because he doesn't really care about himself and his well-being, that's true, but so is that he always eats everything he has on his dish, never leaving a single morsel.

He flinches when he sees students or teachers fill their plate only to eat a small amount of food, or when he sees what's left after Hogwarts' huge Christmas feasts, a massive amount of leftovers lying forgotten in the kitchens. He has the habit of asking staff members to eat their leftovers so that they will not go to waste. Professor Snape can now buy whatever he fancies, but no amount of money will ever make him forget how grateful he is for his food and for not knowing the pangs of hunger.