bristole

Firstly, I am a huge Harry Potter dork! How huge? Welp, my best friend since I was in middle school used to sit on my front porch and read the books to one another aside from reading it our selves as night when it go dark. We used to paint Harry Potter scenes too, which we both have to this day in our places and comment on it when we hang out too. We also gave each other nicknames from the Marauders. Mine is Padfoot after Sirius and hers is Prongs after James-which we also call each other this day too. When the movies came out, we went to every premiere together! Dressed up each time too! I was Hermione many times. I also have a wand that I made out of an old wooden drum stick that used acrylic paints, hot glue and the tip is a bit of candle that I actually lit up (in hopes Lumos would work...). I still have that make-shift wand to this day...in may car at all times. I do not know why I still have it in my car after few years past but I do, and I really do not mind it at all. I have all the books, I have made cloaks with friends in highschool-we would have Harry Potter marathons by watching all the movies up to the movie itself coming out in theatres plus playing each video game that came out because of the film too. My best friend and I also promised when we were younger we would wait and go to Harry Potter World together if there ever was such a thing-and many years now there is quite a bit! And we still are keeping that promise together. I also celebrate Harry's birthday every year, 31 July! It is actually my grandfather's birthday along with my shop's anniversary opening date too! Along with celebrating Harry's birthday, I make butter-beer for myself and my best friend and we watch out favourite book/movie which is the Prisoner of Azkaban. I adore the story so much because of my rough childhood, and the freedom I had in the world of Harry Potter whilst reading made the pain of the household I grew up in easier. Without those books and that friendship, I would not have the imagination I have today and the will to keep going when times get hard. Another things, to insure we always stick together...

Hers' is on the left with the stag paw print for Prongs (as Prongs/James Potter's patronus is a Stag) and mind is the right with a dog paw print which you cannot see for Padfoot (as Padfoot/Sirius' patronus is a dog) <3

Secondly, I am a cheese nerd. As my "real-life" day job, I order cheese for a cheese place. I have been doing this for almost a year and a half, and it has been one of the most fun and interesting positions I have ever done! I am always learning new things about cheese in the process, where the come from, molds, aging, flavours, milks, ect. It is always a changing, especially the little snafu with the FDA not allowing certain cheeses into the States..(saddening..) I have travelled for cheese conferences and gathering to try new local cheeses for my work. I also love teaching people about different cheese such as blues and bries have mold on them thus if you have a gluten intolerance then you should avoid them and certain cheeses like Roquefort, a southern France raw sheep's milk cheese, call only be called Roquefort by the EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as it is a recognised geographical indication, or has a protected designation of origin-much like wine! When I was in Minneapolis for the Minneapolis Shootfest, I brought three cheese plus some wine for all the girls and @cdo to try! Then I bought more for us to try, one cheese @herem got spanish goat cheese brined with a spanish red wine called "Drunken Goat" that was $6.66-perfect moments in cheese world! Here is a photograph of it along with some other cheeses found back in Minnesota:

And here is a cheese board of local goat cheese I have the pleasure of trying out last week:

They are so beautiful! And delicious ;)