Double Trouble with Prim and Harrier - Poker, Sports, Cooking, Gardening, Mixed Drinks and more

The Troll Calendar 2024
Day 14

Have Merci

Life is a gift - open it with joy.

A Merci Together, and... another case of déjà vu. Our filling is Almond Cream.

Unless I remembered today's version incorrectly (can't find the packaging anymore), we had this one before on December 6th, when it was part of a "double feature". At least it was one of the better versions.

Through the Wood of Thorns

Another layer on top, and another branch on the right side.

Also yet another bendable piece in the middle, connecting the two halves.

Do you notice the tree theme already?

The Troll Calendar 2024
Day 15

Have Merci

Wishes are bridges to our dreams.

Today's version had me a little confused, because it was called differently in various languages. The English version referred to it as "Honey Almond Crunch", while the German version only mentioned milk chocolate.

It does have some crunchy bits, so I assume the English version was correct. A misprint, maybe? Or did I miss the important part?

In any case, I didn't think it was as good as many others before it, I think the filling was a little sticky. Not bad, though.

Through the Wood of Thorns

The most noticeable addition is a new branch on the right side. Otherwise, this continues to be a relatively slow paced set up, especially in comparison to the ships from the last two years. Either way, the set shall be finished by Christmas.

It's the third Sunday of Advent, so here is another version of the song that this calendar is based on. This time, it's a more modern arrangement by a band that was formed by three Catholic priests.

They say that if an opponent does something that annoys you, they are probably doing something right. Maybe that was the case in the later stages in tonight's Badugi as well, when it became quite obvious that a certain opponent would raise "any" hand over me once I join the pot in front of him, leading to me eventually pushing a good 3-card hand. If I remember correctly, I was ahead too, but the LAG opponent hit his draw and busted me out, together with a short stacked player, thus ending the bubble.

$1 in bounties was all I got tonight. My made hands had some trouble holding throughout the game, there were several moments where my opponents got what they needed against me on their very last draw, not only costing me chips, but also making me miss out on their bounties. I remember my J-Badugis performing particularly poorly against draws.

While it is things like these that prevent me from writing over any success in Badugi, for Stud Hi-Lo, the issue is purely a lack of games - I still didn't get around to playing any of these, despite my resolution to do so. Sorry, there is just way too much "housekeeping" to do in the final full week before Christmas. Can't say I'm in much of a festive mood yet, to be honest - despite our advent calendar right here.

it doesn't seem like there will be any fireworks at the tables before the holidays, but things are not always as they seem...

The Troll Calendar 2024
Day 16

Have Merci

The most beautiful paths come into being when we walk them with our hearts.

It's a Merci Petit, and our flavor is "Cappuccino".

Reminds me a lot of that coffee and cream bar from before, don't you think? This may even be what it was called in other translations. I stick with the cappuccino thing.

This time, however, I really will rank it just below the very similar bigger version. Optically, it's probably one of the best, together with the "coffee and cream" bar.

Through the Wood of Thorns

Looking good, we add some arches on top of those gaps in the railing. It looks like we have created some windows, and the part on the right will probably develop into a cabin.

EMERGENCY!!! SAVE THE PUMPKINS!!!!!!

Hey guys, you may ask where I have been? Well, we had a little emergency situation. I am storing our own-grown pumpkins outside, which works very well, because it´s about 6-8°C. But during the last couple of weeks it was quite humid and rainy. And some of the pumpkins got a little wet, because the rain was so strong (even though our terrace has a roof). The wind had somehow blown rain water to our terrace - which hit some of the pumpkins. And when it´s wet and humid: There comes the mold!! Indeed some of our pumpkins, which hadn´t been protected so well from storm and rain were about to go bad!!! We had to throw away one of them unfortunately, because it was moldy. But I urgently had to save the other ones!!! Quickly!!! Asap!!!

So, I´ve been working on saving about 4 pumpkins (3 of them giant pumpkins!!)!! That meant: Washing them, cutting off the parts which had already gone bad, cutting them into pieces, cooking them, freezing them or canning them!! Just whatever it takes - had to preserve them!!! So, cooked about 8-10 liters of pumpkin soup (froze some, canned some) and 6 glasses full of pumpkin marmelade (with lemon juice, apple and orange).

Ooof, and here we are: Lemmys pumpkins are save! Lemmy is happy!

Even more pumpkin has been cut into small pieces and frozen down, some pumpkins are still stored outside on the terrace but they´re perfectly fine!

The Troll Calendar 2024
Day 17

Have Merci

Christmas time is the magic of being together.

Hazelnut today! Can you possibly go wrong with this classic?

Not only us squirrels love hazelnuts, it goes great with some chocolate. Therefore, it will rank pretty highly, despite not being a very "flashy" version.

Through the Wood of Thorns

The most noticeable addition today is another branch, this time more around the middle part. We also add some flat bars on top of the new window arches, looks like we are getting ready for something bigger there.

The Troll Calendar 2024
Day 18

Have Merci

Love: The invisible present underneath every tree.

It's a Merci Petit, and a déjà vu: We get dark milk chocolate again
.

Not much to say that hasn't been said last time. It's good, but a little plain.

Through the Wood of Thorns

Look, we start adding some leaves now. I'm sure you can see the forest theme by now.

If not, you probably can when we fold this set together.

We still have some Christmas stuff to prepare, but in the meantime, let's wrap up another one of this year's series:

We have been through all four seasons with our burger versions previously, so what's left to do? Putting it all together, of course. As our big finale, here is what I call the "Quatro Staggioni" burger.

The idea is the same as the one behind the pizza of the same name. In our case, we start with a beef patty...

...and then we add the toppings representing the four seasons, divided into sections. Bacon and roasted onions for winter, spinach for spring, tomato, mozzarella and rocket sprouts (replacing basil - didn't have any) for summer, as well as mushrooms and roasted walnuts for fall.

I then add the sauces - and also some previously missing grated cheese for the winter section. Smoky barbecue sauce for winter (store bought), a mayonnaise and sour cream mixture with some garden herbs for spring (homemade), spicy salsa for summer (store bought) and an emmental cheese sauce for fall (homemade).

Top it with a bun, and it's ready...

...and because of its different sections, it has a different look from all sides too.

I know Primrose is more than skeptical about this burger... but I thought it was amazing. Different flavors in every bite, and they were all so good that it was hard to pick a favorite. It was labor intensive, sure, with so many different ingredients to prepare, but I think it was worth it.

Okay, maybe not everyone agrees, but it was a creative version, at least, don't you think?

I also would have liked to create a slider version, where each season would be represented by a different mini burger instead, being served in batches of four. Right now, I am not aware of any nearby store that sells these slider buns (there used to be one), so I would have to make the buns myself in that case. Maybe another time, but not this year - this series can now be considered finished. I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Here are our four different "seasonal" versions again, for reference:

Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall

Maybe next year, you could market your own line of advent calendars with a different burger for each day

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Maybe next year, you could market your own line of advent calendars with a different burger for each day

Now there's an idea...

Not sure if I will do another burger series next year on the blog, but if I will, there is already something have in mind.

Also, it's nice that you found the time to post, after apparently having made another secret trip to my house:

Are you excited yet, Primrose?

Yes I am!!! Wow!

What´s inside those packages?

We will find out ..................... tomorrow!

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Maybe next year, you could market your own line of advent calendars with a different burger for each day

Yeah, alright! I´m sure Banhauser-Vorpal will eat it!

The Troll Calendar 2024
Day 19

Have Merci

Happiness is the scent of the moment that we consciously breathe in.

Today's filling is nougat, another classic.

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So classic, maybe, that it ends up being a little underwhelming? Nothing wrong with it, just not all that great. It's a standard filling.

Through the Wood of Thorns

We add another branch, probably the last one, and we secure the leaves that we attached yesterday.

"Through the wood of thorns" is certainly my favorite. ♦ So you are using Playtech poker forums for some other reasons? ♦

Originally posted by taavi1337
"Through the wood of thorns" is certainly my favorite. ♦ So you are using Playtech poker forums for some other reasons? ♦

Not sure what you mean, but here is today's version either way:

The Troll Calendar 2024
Day 20

Have Merci

Christmas connects memories of yesterday with the dreams of today.

It's another repeat, we get a Merci Together with Caramel Brownie filling, but there is something special about it today:

Primrose was visiting, and received her presents. These two are Pom Pom and Boom Boom, from the Mario series. I'm not even sure what games they appear in, but Prim likes them, and that's all that matters.

And since it's a "Merci Together", it's appropriate that they enjoy it together.

Through the Wood of Thorns

Of course, Prim helped with the "Through the Wood of Thorns" Lego calendar too, adding some leaves, an arch over the part in the back, and a couple of minor pieces.

Once again, we used the opportunity to showcase her other Christmas gift from me. Biiiiiig fella...

The Troll Calendar 2024
Day 21

Have Merci

Kindness open doors and hearts.

We get a Merci Petit, today's version is "White Crisp". A bit similar to the White Crunch one we had earlier, maybe?

Well, it looks similar, but I thought it was considerably better. I remember the "White Crunch" one having too much white chocolate and not enough crunchy bits. This one, on the other hand, seemed to get the ratio just right. Not sure what it did differently.

Through the Wood of Thorns

We are adding a blue roof over our cabin, and it is finally starting to look like something. We also secure the leaves that were attached by Primrose yesterday.

Not much longer to go now...

By the way, Primrose wasn't the only one to receive some plushies as an early Christmas present yesterday.

Those are Knuckles and Blaze, from the Sonic series. I specifically wished for Knuckles, because when we end the "Trollympics" every year on the blog, I always like to compare my performance with a character from the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games titles, and this year, just like before, my closest match was Knuckles.

Here is the whole gang so far:

Thank you very much, Primrose. I think she has some photos to post soon too. She is currently on her tournament grind on PartyPoker.

Behold! The king of the Koopas!

Yes, this big guy was in that big package! BOWSER himself, the king of the Koopas! And as Harrier already mentioned those two cutie-pies:

Boom Boom and Pom Pom are just side characters in the Mario game series, but I found them adorable and decided that I want them in my collection!

But it´s still Bowser jr. who is playing NL Holdem and Baby Peach PLO as well as PLO8. So, let´s talk about our today´s session, shall we?

Baby Peach was playing free to play PLO (the 3 pm Free to play) and a 0,22 $ PLO8 tournament (15 $ Gtd.). Bowser jr. played the 4 pm "Free to play" (Holdem) and a Big Quarter freeroll satty. Both were successful!

Bowser jr. managed to win us a 0,55 $ satty ticket, by placing 8th in the "Free to play".

Papa is proud:

Baby Peach came ITM in the PLO8 tournament (no luck in PLO free to play), managed to get to the FT and placed 5th!! This means +1,24 $!!

Bravo Baby Peach and Junior!!

And here are the hands of the day

Misclick equity at its best

Well, this was a total misclick! I went ALL IN on the flop on a gut-shot!! ... but I got there!

How lucky can you get on the river?

Bubble luck

Originally posted by Primrose6789
Papa is proud:

They look super cute together! Maybe we will see a pick of the whole Koopa family tomorrow.

Congrats on the ticket and the FT!