Ciao a tutti! Hello everybody! Welcome to this week's Thursday Thirteen! This time around, I've decided to a "Greatest Hits", of a sort. I thought I'd share a collection of what is, for many visitors to this site, a highlight of their visit (or, in some cases, the reason they drop by in the first place).

So please, allow me to present:

January started off with this treat, in the post 13 Things I Like About Twitter.

Also in January was the post 13 (More) Frequently Misused/Confused Words, which featured this popular lad.

In February, I shared 13 Things Which Make Me Happy.

Another post in February shared 13 Reviews of Ask Me if I'm Happy, along with this pic of Luca Argentero.

In March, I shared 13 Photos of Fabian Cancellara, along with this photo of someone who certainly is NOT Fabian - but I sure didn't mind!

Also in March was this gem, shared in honor of 13 Ways to Celebrate International Women's Day.

In September, I had 13 Questions for Jill Pennington, which came along with this photo of Italian Olympic swimmer Filippo Magnini.

These British Olympians accompanied my post of 13 Photos from Lago di Como.

This shot of cyclist Marcel Kittel was the bonus for  13 Things Which Cheer Me Up.

October also saw 13 Images from Passo Ghisallo, which concluded with this shot of the infamous Paris-Roubaix showers.

In November, the post 13 Random Images concluded with this shot of rugby player Dimitri Yachvili.

Also in November, I shared this lounging beauty along with 13 Things I Need to Do. (No, he wasn't on the list.)

And, finally, this cutie accompanied my list of Thirteen Random Thoughts in November.

Ciao for now!

Young Adult author Suzy Turner has interviewed me on her blog for her Monday Mortals feature. Why not drop by and see what I had to say on her blog today?

Earlier tonight I posted on Twitter about making a Harvest Stew in the slow cooker. Much to my surprise, a couple of people actually asked me for the recipe! Hey, Fabrizio Viani - this one's for YOU! ;-)

Well, I confess, I got the recipe from the All Recipes website, and the original recipe for Harvest Pork Stew is here. I made a few adjustments and changes, though, so here is what we started with today:

2 lbs (1kg) cubed pork (we bought the ready-cut pork at the local COOP)
2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
3 Cups of carrots, peeled and cut thick
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 Cups of chicken broth
3 yellow apples, peeled, cored and cubed
3 1/2 Cups of butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 tsp salt
minced garlic (to taste)
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried sage (I added a little more when I started cooking, though, so you might want to build up to that)

Since this went into the slow cooker, it couldn't have been any easier.

I melted the butter in a pan, added the pork and cooked it until it was white on all sides with no pink visible at all. (roughly five minutes, turning all the pieces to be sure they've cooked on all sides)

Then I threw the pork into the pot, added the onions, apples, squash, potatoes and carrots, added the herbs on top of that and then poured the chicken broth over the lot. We cooked on the slow cooker's High setting for just over an hour, then on Low for about four and a half hours, when the scent was wafting through the entire flat. At that point, the pork would shred if I pressed it with a fork, so it was perfect.

I don't have any photos, but the one on the All Recipes site is pretty well how my attempt turned out.

If you try it, let me know how it goes for you, eh? I was excited that my hubby loved it - that's really all I ask for. I'm no great shakes as a cook, but this was ridiculously simple and delicious so I'm sure we'll do it again sometime. The slow cooker is a lifesaver for me, no doubt about it!

Ciao a tutti! Thanks to a busy day yesterday, and preparing for a brief visit from a guest today, I hadn't quite prepared anything for this week's Thursday Thirteen. So here's a glimpse into the chaos of my surroundings, at the moment, instead.

Please allow me to present to you:

1) A Concise English Desk Reference Dictionary.

2) A 3-Disc Collectors' Edition of Spaced.

3) My eyeglasses cleaning cloth.

4) My camera.

5) A packet of tissues. ('tis the season for runny noses, eh?)

6) My old day planners from last year and the year before. I have no idea why.

7) A book bag with this image and saying on it.
(It says: A cat would never sleep on a mediocre book.)

8) My Kindle ereader.

9) My denim purse.

10) My Paddington Bear keychain (from London).

11) My medicine for my itchy skin rash.

12) My mobile phone.

13) A copy of 501 Italian Verbs. I really need to study. ...sigh...

And there you go. A fascinating glimpse into this writer's life.







I sincerely hope you've enjoyed it.












It's form of anthropology, in a way, I suppose.

















Maybe not. I dunno.










It's getting hard to think, as it's cold now and I want a cup of tea and a book.









Or maybe getting active is the best solution?


















Hockey, anyone?

I couldn't agree more. And I'm sure many of you agree, too. But what does this statement have to do with anything, you wonder?

A short while ago, Simon, my friend and fellow author, shared the news that starting November 24th, and continuing through May 24th, 2013, he would be donating all proceeds from his Evil UnLtd series of sci-fi novels to Cancer Research UK.

I asked him if he'd like to do a guest post about it, in order to help spread the word, and he graciously took me up on the offer. So now, please allow me to share this guest post from the inimitable Simon A. Forward.

Evil vs. Cancer

Comedy and cancer don’t mix.

When I wrote the first Evil UnLtd book, an epic tale of anti-heroism in a sci-fi universe, I never imagined dedicating it to any kind of worthy cause, let alone in aid of Cancer Research. For one thing, I was sure the characters would not have approved. Everyone loves a great villain, but not every great villain likes charity.

It’s too easy to say something trite like ‘laughter is the best medicine’. Even if it’s trite and true, it’s going to echo rather hollowly in the face of the big ‘c’ word. Like the jingle of sleigh bells at Santa’s funeral.

Lord knows, laughter was the last thing on my mind when that terrifying, world-stopping diagnosis was delivered on my mum six and a half years ago. Sitting around a hospital bed, shellshocked and at a complete loss for anything to say or think. Other than to be afraid really. Or as Jedi Master Yoda expressed it so well, be very afraid.

Humour doesn’t sit comfortably alongside that sort of devastating moment. Even the memory of it. But the main point is, I remember vividly how fear and dread ruled – and overruled – everything else.

It’s tough to talk about. Ridiculously tough, after all this time. Fortunately, there’s no need to go into too much detail. Most of us are already too familiar with the impact of the disease. And those who aren’t probably will be, sooner or later.

But that’s precisely the sort of doom and gloom note we need to counter. Whether we’ve been touched directly or indirectly, we’re survivors. But we can do better than survive. We can donate our spare cash (yeah, like that’s a real thing) to help combat the disease and we can basically not allow it to rule our lives.

Fear is the mind-killer, so goes a mystic chant in Frank Herbert’s famous sci-fi epic Dune. Fun will soon give fear a good beating. To be fair to Mr Herbert, his opus is a substantive work, rich with meaning. Evil UnLtd by comparison is probably short on meaning – it doesn’t even offer up 42 as the Answer to the Question of Life, the Universe and Everything –, but with a villains’-eye view of the universe it has plenty of mean. Above average mean.

All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing, it was once said. One way for good to succeed, I suppose, would be to pit one Evil against another.

So, yes, they’re an odd couple. But some odd couples work.

And ultimately all I want to do with this is spread a little laughter, raise a little money.

Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight, get down tonight.

Well, okay, not that last thing. But the first thing.

With that in mind, for the next 6 months (until May 24th 2013) all royalties from the first two Evil UnLtd books (in all formats) will be going to Cancer Research UK.

You can find links to the various ways you can get your hands, virtual or otherwise, on the paperbacks and/or ebooks by visiting the official Evil website:

http://4devil.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/live-unltd/

Where villain Dexter Snide also gives his reaction to the news.

So, if you haven’t availed yourself of a copy yet, go ahead and treat yourself. And please tell your friends, spread the word.

Help make Evil do some Good.

SAF 2012

Simon Forward is the author of several Doctor Who novels, audio dramas and short stories as well as three novelisations for the BBC’s Merlin series.