Morning lovelies!!!

[marguerite_26]

It's Monday morning! Finally.

Yes, I couldn't wait for it to get here. I live my life upside down. :D

My weekends are an insane blur of children and cooking and cleaning and endless responsibilities. Monday morning means I have a moment to myself, finally. I have a keyboard with an 's' and an 'f' key. (awesome!)

SO YAY MONDAY!!! *twirls you*

So last night Mr. M and I watched the Merlin 3.04 - Gwaine. We rarely see eye to eye on stuff - IDEK, it's just how our relationship works. He comes at stuff with a totally different perspective than I do. But LOL, I loved his reaction to this ep.


Arthur tosses cup at back of Merlin's head.
Mr. M: Is that like a Brit joke that just I'm not getting? How is that funny, ever?
Me: I don't know anyone who thinks it's funny.

Gwaine shirtless
Mr. M: This is your favourite episode isn't it?
Me: um...

Gwaine meets Gwen
Mr. M: Gwaine and Gwen? Aren't they the same name?
Me: ahahah!

Melee
Mr. M: Melee? I don't get it.
Me: And this is supposed to surprise me how?

credits roll
Mr. M: Well at least we didn't have Morgana smirking the entire episode.
Me: and Gwaine was shirtless!!!
Mr. M: ...

*loves him*




In other news!!!! MEAD!!! I need to know what it takes like. I have a bottle in my wine cellar, but gah! 10 yrs old and I'm really not sure it's meant to age. :/
Do you guys know what mead tasted like back then? Is it different from the stuff we can pick up now? Was it sweet or bitter? The concept of honey-wine makes my throat close up to be honest. :(


hmm... [flocked just because I talked about my husband]

Comments

[hermette.livejournal.com]

I have no idea about mean, but I bought some spices for mulled wine this weekend. mmmmm.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

I love the smell of mulled wine. hmmmmm. I go to the christmas market here just to walk around with a cup of mulled wine in my hands. But I can't actually drink it. gah! It gives me an EPIC headache!!! :(


Can I come over and just smell your house when you make it?

[lolafeist.livejournal.com]

It's super sweet, right? I almost had some at the Epcot Food and Wine festival last month but I don't really drink and it was kind of expensive. Someone said it reminded them of ice wine.

But when I thought of mead I always thought it was kind of bitter and thick sort of like a Belgian beer.

PS I don't know anything about beer.

But I like saying mead.

I wish my husband would watch Merlin without CONSTANTLY commenting on how bad he thinks it is. Le sigh.

[hermette.livejournal.com]

My husband LOVES it. When we watched Gawine he was DYING laughing. He was like, so who all does fandom ship him with? He made up a whole story about how Colin's accent probably got thicker around Eoin and how jealous that made Bradley.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

My husband's favourite show EVER is Gilligan's Island. Seriously. >.> So he can never, ever, ever complain in earnest about Merlin not making any sense. LOLOLOL. He really loves Merlin. And actually hasn't enjoyed a TV show since Buffy and Angel were on. he only watches sports and news. He dislikes anything too violent or too scifi. He hates HP and really doesn't get anything from Doctor Who - so the fact that he really enjoys Merlin makes me insanely happy.


Someone said it reminded them of ice wine OH! that's a great comparison - but GAH!!! How could anyone drink a TANKARD of that? ick!

[lordhellebore]

Mead (at least the one I tried) is ridiculously sweet. I couldn't drink it.

And I sooo get liking Mondays, for the same reason.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

:) School days are so awesome. :DDD

And thanks! that's perfect. I just can't laugh now when I think of these grown men drinking flagons of it. *headdesk*

[corilannam.livejournal.com]

I really wanted to know what mead tasted like, too, so I got some at our Renn Faire last month. Wow, that stuff is sweet -- sickly sweet, and I say that as someone who puts a heckuva lot of sugar in her tea. Other than that, it tastes mostly like regular white wine, just with this odd cloying tang to it. I almost didn't finish my little plastic cup, but I paid $5 for it, so I was determined to choke it down!

I don't know how it compares to what they drank back in the day, but I imagine it was comparable.

Your husband sounds like a hoot!

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Oh! How devoted you are!!! I was hoping someone on my flist would have attempted mead at a Renaissance Fair! YAY YOU!!! And ICK ICK ICK!!!

this odd cloying tang to it.
DNW!!

I don't even like honey in my tea unless it has loads of lime. I can't imagine what a glass of mean must have been like. But thank you for trying it! :DDD

And the good news is, you never have to do it again. LOL.

Your husband sounds like a hoot!
heh. sometimes. he's a totally arse about harry potter - so I'll take the good with the bad. *g*

[besamislabios]

Just like you, I love Mondays. The kids are in school, and I have the house to myself, such a nice feeling. :-)

Hubby doesn't watch Merlin, but he has caught glimpses of it when I'm watching, and the only comments he has made, have been about Merlin's ears, not in a bad way though, just look at his ears kind of way.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Monday mornings are the best! :D

hee! I must say that Merlin's ears did not go uncommented on here either. LOL. He also thought Arthur was 12! "Is he old enough to shave?" LOLOL.

[phoenixacid.livejournal.com]

I've tasted fermented honey and it's just really sweet with an alcoholic tang. I'm not too sure what's it called here, but it must be roughly the same with mead. xD

Hee, This is your favourite episode isn't it?, *giggles*.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

:DDD

Thanks for this info!

[sabriel75.livejournal.com]

What a laugh at your place... Is it your favorite... hmmm? :D

Hubby is sweet though to watch it with you and comment with glee. That's nice to have.

No idea what Mead tastes like though I have heard others talk about it.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

hee!!! I really love that he's willing to watch. I couldn't get him into DW or HP. :/ but he loves Merlin. :D

[nuclearsugars.livejournal.com]

OMG will have to agree with your hubby re: Arthur throwing things at Merlin's head. It's like he's reverted to being a toddler. WE USE OUR WORDS, ARTHUR.

*hugs*

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

WE USE OUR WORDS, ARTHUR.

ahahahahah!!! that phrase gets repeated in my house so often. LOL.

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

Mead, at least the modern version, is way too sweet. Back in the day, though, they used to water everything down, so I'm sure it wasn't actually as sweet as we make it now.

Personally, I'd prefer Metheglin, which was Mead with spices added to cut the sweet. ;)

[luredbyvenus.livejournal.com]

The only mead I've tasted is the mead we made, and it was fairly sweet but delicious. Aging is good for it as long as it was brewed and sealed properly.

Husband and I never find shows in common, although he watched Torchwood with me until I stopped. I've tried to get him into a few others (True Blood, Spartacus) but he was never hooked. :( His favorite is NCIS, which I can't watch. I tried, but bleh.

He knows all about Harry/Draco and my slashy nature. He says the gay is attracted to me because even his non-slashy shows become gay when I watch with him. ;)

I homeschool, so Mondays mean back to work, but we almost never have to set an alarm clock. :)

[dysonrules.livejournal.com]

Mulled wine is ICKY. I like my wine untainted, thank you very much. I don't even want to try mead ever and I don't put bee-barf on ANYTHING. BEE-BARF IS POISON. (aka HONEY) *shudders*

Your hubby doesn't know you're a slasher? O_______O Then how can you torture him with THE GAY? It's so much fuuuuuun!

[wolfling]

I've had some absolutely wonderful mead (strawberry flavored, made by a master meadmaker in the SCA) and I've had some truly horrible stuff (ironically that was the professional bottled one)

When it's good, it's *very* good, sweet and kind of addictive even.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Mead is pretty potente says Ms Potente. I didn't care for the taste, though. Mine wasn't sweet at all.

Also, Mr M is hilarious. Gwaine and Gwen the same name? Ahahahaha!

[potteresque_ire]

*Snuggles*

PS Pie!Mom unknowingly outlined her first HP fanfic the other day. :D Dumbledore/Snape/McGonagall/Flitwick for the win!!! *heads desk*

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

SQUEE!!! I love pie!mom. :DDDD

[being-here.livejournal.com]

The sweetness of mead really depends on the brand you get. Some of them can be sickly sweet, some like moniack just have a strong honey flavour with the sweetness behind it (I find moniack less sweet than Port or sweet sherry), others can be very dry indeed - the taste of the honey remains with all the sweetness removed.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That's perfect.

I adore Port, actually. And sherry... but not like in tankards. LOL.

:D

[mysecretashes.livejournal.com]

I used to hate Mondays, but now they're like the hugest relief EVER.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

yes!!! exactly!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Ageing mead is fine, both honey and wine cope with long storage. And if you don't like the taste (like a sticky wine), it goes brilliantly in chicken soups and stews!

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

hmmmm... mead would be great for cooking. brilliant. will try!

[alba17.livejournal.com]

My life is the same way re: weekends and weekdays. Exactly. Nobody in my house wants to watch Merlin. :( I still haven't watched 3.10.

By coincidence, I'm making clips of the Gwaine episode today. Hopefully there will eventually be a vid. I got an idea today that might actually result in a product. I always start things and never finish though.

I think I tasted mead a long time ago, and it was cloyingly honey-flavored. Maybe they watered it down then?

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

GWAINE VID!!! YES PLEASE!!! *cheerleads*

hmm... yes, they might have watered it down. Also - it can be made not so sweet according to the comment below. :)

Mead...

[starduchess.livejournal.com]

Mead is made from fermented honey. It doesn't have to be icky sweet, although that is what sells at the Ren Fairs, it depends on the amount of honey added in the brewing process. It is possible to have a semi-dry or even dry mead. This would bring out more of the herbal flavors of the honey. I was trying to go for this in one of my batches but mixed up recipes in my head and accidentally bought too much honey. It turned out very sweet; my family loved it.

Metheglins are meads with hops or other herbs or spices added to give further depth to the taste--bitter, sour, savory, etc. Melomels are meads that include other fruit juices to give complexity--again sour, tangy, earthy, etc.--and if they are grapes, it ends up being very close to a wine. My second batch was a grapefruit melomel. It came out dry and had a spicy kick to it. My husband loved it.

I hope to go back to brewing soon. My husband got all the equipment back out again, so we'll see. I'd like to try the dry again (and get it right this time). If we could ever meet up, I'd save you a bottle!

Aging should be no problem. Most alcohol actually gets better with age as long as it is not contaminated. Check for a vinegary smell when you open it (that would mean it went bad, but you could let it continue on into vinegar! could be great on salads). If it's too sweet, serve it with dessert.

Re: Mead...

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

oh! interesting. dry mead sounds delish.

Such great info. Thank you! Good luck brewing! Do let me know how it goes. :D

[leashy-bebes.livejournal.com]

The mead I've had was super-sweet, but bloody delicious, imo (sweet tooth, lol). Just tasted like very runny alcoholic honey to me.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

alcoholic honey, eh? mmmm...

*wants to lick that off Gwaine's abs*

[pingrid.livejournal.com]

As loads of people have said already, mead can be super sweet or pretty dry. Because of cost, modern stuff is often made with a mix of honey and refined sugar. I'm not sure if/how the sugar makes a difference, but I would imagine it contributes to the extreme sweetness of some brews.

Unless it's really crap, it is deadly - SO easy to drink, and home-brews can easily get as strong as wine. I've had a couple of surprise!pissed evenings on the stuff - one second you're having just a small sip, the next thing you know you're snogging a hot 20-year old. Ho hum, that's not really a disincentive, is it! :D

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

one second you're having just a small sip, the next thing you know you're snogging a hot 20-year old.

Oh, man. I need to get me some MEAD. and a hot 20 year old

Thanks for the info. It's good to know that there's a variety of sweetnesses out there.