Spent the afternoon in the city today- I took the train in with Liz and then meandered uptown, trying to do some clothes shopping for John. The stores were completely muzzled- I have no idea why everyone decided that today was the day to mob Eddie Bauer and Banana Republic and the Gap. I got a green sweater for John (I like the color but I have a feeling he might hate it). My life is so exciting.
Went to Book Group after all my shopping...we've decided that it's much more fun to sit around and chat with each other, and have abandoned the Book part of the Group. We still read, on our own, but haven't been motivated to find new books to read in addition to coordinating four New York and transatlantic schedules. Any suggestions for book group books are apprecitated, but there are no promises that we'll read them....
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Seascape and Manhattanscape
Went to see Francis Sternhagen's new play with my great-aunt Ruthie today. It was one of the weirder ones that I've seen. Basically, there is an older couple on a beach, talking about their life together and what they're going to do, and then a pair of lizards show up and start talking to them. V. strange. It was pretty good, but very bizarre. We were going to go see Frannie after the show (she lives down the street from my parents and we've known her forever), but she was too tired. Sad. I can't imagine doing 8 shows a week (two on Wednesday and Sunday). I don't blame her for wanting to take a nap.
Had a bunch of people over last night for my dad's 60th birthday- it was great fun! Various neighbors, some miscellaneous family, and some of my parents' friends. It was originally going to be a Dad birthday/John birthday (same day)/Kate and John engagement party, but without John here it was scaled down to just a Dad birthday party. Still lots of fun, though.
I was walking through the city today on the way to the play and remembered how much I love New York (and hate tourists). The guy standing outside the Chinese restaurant on 45th street hollering, "We have 200 chairs!! Come inside and see!!" cracked me up. No mention of the food...the chairs seemed to be the selling point.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Heraclitus the Cat
Heraclitus the kitten has adopted Freda and Travis. Yes, it's generally the people that adopt the cat, but this particular cat seems to be running the show.
On Saturday, when I talked to John, he mentioned that his parents had been feeding a stray kitten who turned up at their back door. Travis assured me that the kitten would be taken to the animal shelter next week and under NO circumstances would the kitten be coming into the house. John said that his parents had taken quite a liking to the kitten, feeding it cat food and milk (and some smoked salmon). When I talked to them last night, they said that they were quite worried about a fox that they've seen in the yard, since the kitten is only about 3 months old and not up to defending itself. So they brought a whole bunch of blankets out to the garage and locked the kitten in for the night so he would be safe from the fox.
Then on Sunday morning they brought him in for Christmas breakfast (more salmon), named him Heraclitus, and gave him full run of the house. And then discovered that he is a girl. Oh well. They can call her Herry or something and pretend it's short for Harriet.
Sunday night, the kitten spent the night IN the house, curled up in what was previously my chair.
Something tells she's here to stay. ::sneeze::
On Saturday, when I talked to John, he mentioned that his parents had been feeding a stray kitten who turned up at their back door. Travis assured me that the kitten would be taken to the animal shelter next week and under NO circumstances would the kitten be coming into the house. John said that his parents had taken quite a liking to the kitten, feeding it cat food and milk (and some smoked salmon). When I talked to them last night, they said that they were quite worried about a fox that they've seen in the yard, since the kitten is only about 3 months old and not up to defending itself. So they brought a whole bunch of blankets out to the garage and locked the kitten in for the night so he would be safe from the fox.
Then on Sunday morning they brought him in for Christmas breakfast (more salmon), named him Heraclitus, and gave him full run of the house. And then discovered that he is a girl. Oh well. They can call her Herry or something and pretend it's short for Harriet.
Sunday night, the kitten spent the night IN the house, curled up in what was previously my chair.
Something tells she's here to stay. ::sneeze::
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Christmas Crackers
Merry Christmas (and Happy Hanukah)!
Had a great time singing carols at Frannie's last night...lots of neighbors were there and all the little kids who I babysat for are now walking, talking, and driving. I'm so old. At least none of them are getting married, yet. :)
Sang at church- it just wasn't the same without Judie at the organ. For the last few years, Christmas Eve featured a bunch of cobbled-together alumnae singing together on a few rehearsals. Judie (our music director who left this fall) would call everyone at the beginning of December, and then we'd all sing together for a few rehearsals. It was great to catch up with everyone and we always had lots of fun. This year, my mom ran into one of our church friends who sometimes sings with the alumnae (and is also in the regular choir), who asked if I could sing on Christmas Eve. Off I went, expecting the girls, and was v. disappointed to find that it was the normal Sunday choir. And a pared down Sunday choir, at that, as a result of a huge split over the minister at the church. Most people have left the church completely, and the remaining members are split over whether he should stay or go. NOT good. The service was only about 2/3 full (it's normally packed), which was really depressing.
Christmas itself was really good- we went to my aunt's for lunch. We had latkes with our roast and beans and salad, since tonight is the first night of Hanukah and my uncle is Jewish. I LOVE latkes...they're almost worth converting for. John, brace yourself.
Speaking of cooking, my parents also gave me two cookbooks: one by Rachel Ray and one by Paula Deen. YUUUM, as Paula would say. I'll get my Food Network fix in Stowmarket after all.
Had a great time singing carols at Frannie's last night...lots of neighbors were there and all the little kids who I babysat for are now walking, talking, and driving. I'm so old. At least none of them are getting married, yet. :)
Sang at church- it just wasn't the same without Judie at the organ. For the last few years, Christmas Eve featured a bunch of cobbled-together alumnae singing together on a few rehearsals. Judie (our music director who left this fall) would call everyone at the beginning of December, and then we'd all sing together for a few rehearsals. It was great to catch up with everyone and we always had lots of fun. This year, my mom ran into one of our church friends who sometimes sings with the alumnae (and is also in the regular choir), who asked if I could sing on Christmas Eve. Off I went, expecting the girls, and was v. disappointed to find that it was the normal Sunday choir. And a pared down Sunday choir, at that, as a result of a huge split over the minister at the church. Most people have left the church completely, and the remaining members are split over whether he should stay or go. NOT good. The service was only about 2/3 full (it's normally packed), which was really depressing.
Christmas itself was really good- we went to my aunt's for lunch. We had latkes with our roast and beans and salad, since tonight is the first night of Hanukah and my uncle is Jewish. I LOVE latkes...they're almost worth converting for. John, brace yourself.
Speaking of cooking, my parents also gave me two cookbooks: one by Rachel Ray and one by Paula Deen. YUUUM, as Paula would say. I'll get my Food Network fix in Stowmarket after all.
Friday, December 23, 2005
New Ro
Home in New Ro as of Wednesday night...yay!
Had an uneventful trip home...we took the train down to London, I puttered around for a while, and then John took me over to Paddington station where I took the Heathrow Express. Now that NYC is done with the MTA strike, they should put their money into a one-seat ride from the center of the city (Grand Central would be good) to JFK and La Guardia. We'’re one of the only major cities in the world without a good, fast, cheapish way to get to the airport. I'’ve taken the AirTrain a few times, which is nice once you're on it, but you have to get it from Jamaica, Queens. In order to get there from Midtown, you can either haul over to Penn Station and take the LIRR or you can ride the somewhat unreliable E train for about an hour until you emerge in the boonies of Queens. Fun times, either way. And not something I'd EVER recommend to a tourist.
On the other hand, the Heathrow Express is kind of expensive (£14, about $25), but it takes you right into the middle of the airport and drops you at a place with free luggage trolleys. Door to door, it was less than an hour from Music Sales to the terminal. And then I had a Starbucks, so life was good.
And usually on an airplane, there'’s more than one movie. And the movies are listed somewhere. Yes, the movies that you want to see are ALWAYS for the Westbound journey from Tokyo to Capetown, but still. We got to watch Pirates of the Carribean (not mentioned anywhere in the movie leaflet) on a loop. Granted, it'’s not a bad movie, and Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom are v. hot, but there'’s a limit to how many times I can watch it in an 8 hour period. Have mercy, American Airlines.
I was whining on Tuesday night to Emily about leaving John and she put it into perspective- we've done this before, for a lot longer, and I'll be going back soon. AND I made it through six weeks in England without getting deported. Go ME!!
Had an uneventful trip home...we took the train down to London, I puttered around for a while, and then John took me over to Paddington station where I took the Heathrow Express. Now that NYC is done with the MTA strike, they should put their money into a one-seat ride from the center of the city (Grand Central would be good) to JFK and La Guardia. We'’re one of the only major cities in the world without a good, fast, cheapish way to get to the airport. I'’ve taken the AirTrain a few times, which is nice once you're on it, but you have to get it from Jamaica, Queens. In order to get there from Midtown, you can either haul over to Penn Station and take the LIRR or you can ride the somewhat unreliable E train for about an hour until you emerge in the boonies of Queens. Fun times, either way. And not something I'd EVER recommend to a tourist.
On the other hand, the Heathrow Express is kind of expensive (£14, about $25), but it takes you right into the middle of the airport and drops you at a place with free luggage trolleys. Door to door, it was less than an hour from Music Sales to the terminal. And then I had a Starbucks, so life was good.
And usually on an airplane, there'’s more than one movie. And the movies are listed somewhere. Yes, the movies that you want to see are ALWAYS for the Westbound journey from Tokyo to Capetown, but still. We got to watch Pirates of the Carribean (not mentioned anywhere in the movie leaflet) on a loop. Granted, it'’s not a bad movie, and Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom are v. hot, but there'’s a limit to how many times I can watch it in an 8 hour period. Have mercy, American Airlines.
I was whining on Tuesday night to Emily about leaving John and she put it into perspective- we've done this before, for a lot longer, and I'll be going back soon. AND I made it through six weeks in England without getting deported. Go ME!!
Monday, December 19, 2005
Through the Wardrobe into New York
Gearing up to come back to NY- I'll be home (and zonked) on Wednesday night.
Had a fantastic day with John on Saturday. We had gone to the Music Sales holiday party the night before in Bury, and taken a cab home. So Saturday morning we slept in (not too late, but it was the first day in AGES that neither of us had to get up early for something), hopped on a train to Bury, picked up the car, had a full English breakfast (YUM!!), finished the Christmas shopping, went to Starbucks, saw Narnia (AWESOME MOVIE!!!!), drove home, went back to Bury for dinner with John's friends Ian and Caroline, and crashed at their place around 1am. PHEW.
When we arrived, Caroline said to me, "Just so you know, we have some rats upstairs." As a New Yorker, I was envisioning the NYC variety. For those of you not familiar, New York rats are the size of cats. Needless to say, I was skeptical. But apparently these are "Fancy Rats" (their official name). They look more like big-ish mice (and are very cute and tame). Not New Yorky at all. Thankfully.
Narnia was really good- it was a fantastic adaptation of the book. It's such a good story and it made a great movie. Liam Neeson was the voice of Aslan, and the kids were substantially better actors than the Harry Potter lot. I liked it MUCH better than any of the HP movies- it's more on a level with Lord of the Rings. Go see it.
Had a fantastic day with John on Saturday. We had gone to the Music Sales holiday party the night before in Bury, and taken a cab home. So Saturday morning we slept in (not too late, but it was the first day in AGES that neither of us had to get up early for something), hopped on a train to Bury, picked up the car, had a full English breakfast (YUM!!), finished the Christmas shopping, went to Starbucks, saw Narnia (AWESOME MOVIE!!!!), drove home, went back to Bury for dinner with John's friends Ian and Caroline, and crashed at their place around 1am. PHEW.
When we arrived, Caroline said to me, "Just so you know, we have some rats upstairs." As a New Yorker, I was envisioning the NYC variety. For those of you not familiar, New York rats are the size of cats. Needless to say, I was skeptical. But apparently these are "Fancy Rats" (their official name). They look more like big-ish mice (and are very cute and tame). Not New Yorky at all. Thankfully.
Narnia was really good- it was a fantastic adaptation of the book. It's such a good story and it made a great movie. Liam Neeson was the voice of Aslan, and the kids were substantially better actors than the Harry Potter lot. I liked it MUCH better than any of the HP movies- it's more on a level with Lord of the Rings. Go see it.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Amelia Bedelia Makes a Wreath
Helped out with the wreath making yesterday...it was quite a group.
I'm not an expert, but having heard the instructions twice and made a wreath myself, I have a reasonable idea of what to do.
One of the steps involves putting small pieces of laurel onto the wreath. Sean, the Head Gardener, had told the group that they needed a series of leafy branches with about four inches of stem for each. As I went around, handing out the laurel, I reiterated the "four inches of stem" guidelines, while the ladies nodded. When I checked on them about five minutes later, I found an entire table of ladies who were very busily cutting the laurel stems into four inch sections and then meticulously pulling off the leaves. I inquired as to what they were doing, and they responded that they were making their four inch stems, as I had told them. I should have let them carry on...the stems would have looked really funny on a wreath.
Amelia Bedelia, eat your heart out.
I'm not an expert, but having heard the instructions twice and made a wreath myself, I have a reasonable idea of what to do.
One of the steps involves putting small pieces of laurel onto the wreath. Sean, the Head Gardener, had told the group that they needed a series of leafy branches with about four inches of stem for each. As I went around, handing out the laurel, I reiterated the "four inches of stem" guidelines, while the ladies nodded. When I checked on them about five minutes later, I found an entire table of ladies who were very busily cutting the laurel stems into four inch sections and then meticulously pulling off the leaves. I inquired as to what they were doing, and they responded that they were making their four inch stems, as I had told them. I should have let them carry on...the stems would have looked really funny on a wreath.
Amelia Bedelia, eat your heart out.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Pick John Out Of A Lineup
Chatting with John last night about the execution of Tookie, and he was taking about the position in the UK on the death penalty and crime in general. He said, "All but the most serious crimes in the UK have a time limits, where it gets to a point when you no longer have anything on your record and you don't have to declare that you ever committed a crime. At least that's what the officers told me."
"What officers??"
"The officers I met when I was in the ID-lineup."
"What ID-lineups??"
"The ID-lineups that I did when I was in college."
"..."
Apparently, when John was in college, he participated in police lineups to earn his beer money. At that point, the scars on his face were pretty new, and when coupled with his long hair (it was the 80s, remember), he fit the vague description of a lot of criminals. Into the lineups he went. While standing in a line with a hardened criminal is not my idea of a nice afternoon activity, the £15 was sufficient motivation for our John.
And now he knows about time limits on crimes. Oh joy.
"What officers??"
"The officers I met when I was in the ID-lineup."
"What ID-lineups??"
"The ID-lineups that I did when I was in college."
"..."
Apparently, when John was in college, he participated in police lineups to earn his beer money. At that point, the scars on his face were pretty new, and when coupled with his long hair (it was the 80s, remember), he fit the vague description of a lot of criminals. Into the lineups he went. While standing in a line with a hardened criminal is not my idea of a nice afternoon activity, the £15 was sufficient motivation for our John.
And now he knows about time limits on crimes. Oh joy.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Slow day in Stowmarket
View from Ickworth at sunset on Saturday.
Had a good weekend with John and James- went to Bury and Ickworth on Saturday and then to Freda and Travis' yesterday. Spent most of the day cleaning the apartment and doing laundry, and then went for a walk around Stowmarket and up to the Leisure Centre. There's a pool and a climbing wall and badminton courts and all sorts of other fun stuff. It remains to be seen how motivated I am to go up there and swim/climb/run around, but it's nice to know it exists.
I've rediscovered the joys of curry-in-a-jar. Sautee some chicken and veg, the Tikka Masala sauce over it, simmer for 10 mins, and all of a sudden you're eating yummy curry and the flat smells like Curry Row. Yum! Apparently my mom used them all the time when we lived here. I haven't found them in the US, but then again I haven't been looking. I'll keep my eyes open when I'm home.
Speaking of which, I'll be back on the night of the 21st. I'll be there for a while- probably about 3 weeks. I have to get visas and things sorted out. It's going to be great to be able to see everyone and go to Redeemer and drive. And eat New York food.
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Tea and Sympathy
Quite a day at Ickworth...not only have my colleagues decided that I'm the resident computer fixer, but I'm the designer as well. Computer fixer, I can handle. Some right-clicks here, a restart there. Nothing I haven't watched John do a million times.
But designer? I'm HOPELESS! Ellice, I'm flying you over to design the Ickworth education pamphlets. It all started when I had to make a little gift certificate last week so I muddled around in Quark (a design program) for a while and put some text and color blocks on top of a picture of the house, and poof! everyone's all excited and I'm the Fairy QuarkMother.
Then we were setting up Santa's Christmas Grotto, which we thought was going to be a forlorn rocking chair in the corner of the Orangery, but Mark the Forester (yes, he's hot) had created an elaborate Narnia-esque teepee-shaped thing out of gnarled old oak branches that he found around the property. He's added an entryway, and tomorrow we're going to put some evergreen branches on it and some fairy lights. Julia has visions of fake snow...I'm not sure if that's going to add anything. and it's quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen. It's also impossible to describe. If I can get a picture of it tomorrow, I'll post it.
On my way out of the West Wing, I slipped on the wet gravel at the bottom of the steps, turned my ankle, and took a monstrous digger. I thought I was fine, tried to get up, and my ankle gave way again. So Sarah and Mark put me on the bottom step, at which point I went completely gray and Sarah thought I was going to pass out. She radioed the rest of the house to request "First Aid at the West Wing" in a somewhat pannicky voice. Having been on the receiving end of this kind of call, and knowing how scary it is to have a non-descript first aid emergency radioed to you, I was trying to get her to describe WHAT the problem was, so they didn't call an ambulance, but she wasn't paying much attention. Within about 3 minutes, I had Sarah, Mark, Charlotte , Jenny the first aider, and two members of house staff. Quite an audience. Once the house staffers realized that I was fine, they announced that they were going to go back in the house and put the kettle on so I would have a nice reviving cup of tea to make me feel better. How tea relates to twisted ankles I have yet to establish. Silly Brits.
I'm fine now, buoyed by a vast quantity of fish and chips, a glass of wine, a hot bath, and lots of sympathy from John.
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Fairy Lights
John was down in London today- he woke up at 5:15 to take a 6:30 train and be there by 8. Needless to say, I didn't get up and have breakfast with him. I love him, but not that much. :) I was going to experiment with a curry tonight but I think I'll make something safer...maybe sausages and mash with green beans. He should be home by 7:30- it's about an hour and a half on the train, which makes for a really long day.
He picked up our Christmas cards during his lunchbreak...now we get to write them! My mom designs her own card every year- I'm always impressed at how good they turn out (and then less so when I need to spend hours coloring in green wreaths and red berries).
I was going to buy some "fairy lights" (Christmas lights) for the flat, to go with my oh-so-festive Ickworth wreath, but they're SO expensive over here!! The sets I saw were £15 (about $25) for a little strand of 100 lights that I would pay about $5 for in Duane Reade. I think I need to decide exactly HOW Christmasy I feel this year. We have the wreath and some poinsiettas from Freda and Travis, and I'll be in New Ro on the 21st to get the full effect of the Hughes Christmas tree madness. My friend's mom (who I love dearly and so shall remain nameless) themes their tree every year, with either colors or types of ornaments. It always looks fabulous. My family's theme every year is "Put Every Single Ornament That We Own On The Tree," with accompaniment from the scratchy old Sesame Street Christmas record. Doesn't get any better, really.
John's friend Pete has installed Tiger on my Mac...I've gotten sort of addicted to the Sudoku widget. I should get out more. :)
Working at the Trust tomorrow and Friday, and then James all weekend. Crazyness!
He picked up our Christmas cards during his lunchbreak...now we get to write them! My mom designs her own card every year- I'm always impressed at how good they turn out (and then less so when I need to spend hours coloring in green wreaths and red berries).
I was going to buy some "fairy lights" (Christmas lights) for the flat, to go with my oh-so-festive Ickworth wreath, but they're SO expensive over here!! The sets I saw were £15 (about $25) for a little strand of 100 lights that I would pay about $5 for in Duane Reade. I think I need to decide exactly HOW Christmasy I feel this year. We have the wreath and some poinsiettas from Freda and Travis, and I'll be in New Ro on the 21st to get the full effect of the Hughes Christmas tree madness. My friend's mom (who I love dearly and so shall remain nameless) themes their tree every year, with either colors or types of ornaments. It always looks fabulous. My family's theme every year is "Put Every Single Ornament That We Own On The Tree," with accompaniment from the scratchy old Sesame Street Christmas record. Doesn't get any better, really.
John's friend Pete has installed Tiger on my Mac...I've gotten sort of addicted to the Sudoku widget. I should get out more. :)
Working at the Trust tomorrow and Friday, and then James all weekend. Crazyness!
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Tickets and Spaghetti Sauce
Fact: My wonderful and fabulous fiance is a computer uber-geek and can make them do anything he wants.
Fact: I'm a reasonably competent computer geek-in-training with programs like Excel and Publisher.
Fact: Today, I spent 4 hours designing, printing, cutting, and then hand-numbering and perforating 600 tickets for an event at Ickworth this weekend.
It was my lucky day, I guess.
I could figure out how to make consecutive numbered things...in excel. I could figure out how to design the kind of ticket I wanted...in publisher. But could I figure out how to make a ticket thingy and have them auto-number? HECK NO! So I wrote out the numbers 1-599, twice, today. Awesome.
I really like my job, but sometimes I have to do the randomest tasks.
In other news, I have perfected my 'spaghetti sauce from scratch' recipe. Way better than the stuff in a jar and not that hard to make. It's a mishmash of my French host mother's tomato soup, Mom's spaghetti sauce (minus the fennel, ugh), and Andrew's grandma's gravy. Dry roast some herbes de provence, add olive oil, onions and garlic, then add crushed canned tomatoes, sugar, salt, tomato paste, and a bay leaf. Simmer for half an hour and you have spaghetti goodness that is a direct line to John's heart. I think my next experiment is going to involve some grated nutmeg in the spaghetti sauce. My other new favorite thing to cook is lentil soup...yum! I made leek and potato soup a la Alton Brown yesterday. Episode title? "Sprung A Leek." Teehee. It improved on the other recipe I had by using veggie stock instead of water and was v. yummy and reviving as leftovers at work today. I hate cleaning leeks, though...they have too many layers with little teeny pieces of dirt in each layer. And then they get all squeaky when you try to chop them. It's a conspiracy.
I need to figure out how to make a curry...John loves them and the last time I tried to do it, it was more of a bastard spaghetti sauce. Not exactly what I was aiming for. He's v. good at making them (although sometimes overdoes it on the spice front), but it's nice for me to have dinner ready when I'm home all day and he's at work.
One other food-ish related thing: NEVER buy "Lite" Ribena, no matter how many ads you read telling you it's as good as the real stuff. It's not. It's all nutrasweety and it's gross. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, Ribena is a concentrated blackcurrant juice that all Brits drink. It's, as they would say, lovely. I'm addicted to the full-sugar stuff but it's got more sugar in it than Coke. Zing!!
Fact: I'm a reasonably competent computer geek-in-training with programs like Excel and Publisher.
Fact: Today, I spent 4 hours designing, printing, cutting, and then hand-numbering and perforating 600 tickets for an event at Ickworth this weekend.
It was my lucky day, I guess.
I could figure out how to make consecutive numbered things...in excel. I could figure out how to design the kind of ticket I wanted...in publisher. But could I figure out how to make a ticket thingy and have them auto-number? HECK NO! So I wrote out the numbers 1-599, twice, today. Awesome.
I really like my job, but sometimes I have to do the randomest tasks.
In other news, I have perfected my 'spaghetti sauce from scratch' recipe. Way better than the stuff in a jar and not that hard to make. It's a mishmash of my French host mother's tomato soup, Mom's spaghetti sauce (minus the fennel, ugh), and Andrew's grandma's gravy. Dry roast some herbes de provence, add olive oil, onions and garlic, then add crushed canned tomatoes, sugar, salt, tomato paste, and a bay leaf. Simmer for half an hour and you have spaghetti goodness that is a direct line to John's heart. I think my next experiment is going to involve some grated nutmeg in the spaghetti sauce. My other new favorite thing to cook is lentil soup...yum! I made leek and potato soup a la Alton Brown yesterday. Episode title? "Sprung A Leek." Teehee. It improved on the other recipe I had by using veggie stock instead of water and was v. yummy and reviving as leftovers at work today. I hate cleaning leeks, though...they have too many layers with little teeny pieces of dirt in each layer. And then they get all squeaky when you try to chop them. It's a conspiracy.
I need to figure out how to make a curry...John loves them and the last time I tried to do it, it was more of a bastard spaghetti sauce. Not exactly what I was aiming for. He's v. good at making them (although sometimes overdoes it on the spice front), but it's nice for me to have dinner ready when I'm home all day and he's at work.
One other food-ish related thing: NEVER buy "Lite" Ribena, no matter how many ads you read telling you it's as good as the real stuff. It's not. It's all nutrasweety and it's gross. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, Ribena is a concentrated blackcurrant juice that all Brits drink. It's, as they would say, lovely. I'm addicted to the full-sugar stuff but it's got more sugar in it than Coke. Zing!!
Monday, December 5, 2005
No garden? No problem!
The newest addition to the flat?
A garden railway.
John and I went to Birmingham yesterday for the National Model Railway show (yes, we're geeks), and had a fantastic time looking at all the trains and scenery and steam engines. We ended up falling in love with a little garden railway set, which has trains that are about 8 inches high. Our set came with a steam engine (sound included!), 2 cars, 4 little people, and a reasonable amount of track. So now we have a loop of track that goes around one of the chairs in the living room and then a siding that goes out into the hallway for about 10 feet. It's completely taken over the apartment.
I talked to my parents last night and told them all about the show and the train set- I think they both wanted to fly over to the UK and take my temperature. My dad has been a train geek since he was little, and we've always had trains around the house. It's always been HIS thing, though, which I think is part of the reason that we got such big trains. If we want to run HO stuff, we can go to New Ro and go crazy with it.
And the next step?
Buy a house with a garden. And build more trains.
Saturday, December 3, 2005
Look, Baudelaire!
Survived the crazyness at Ickworth on Wednesday...we had about 500 people through, as far as I could tell. It went REALLY well and everyone loves the new space. Freda and I are going over today to help out with the Christmas Wreath making. John and I will probably hang our new handmade wreath from the balcony rather than on our front door, for 2 reasons.
1. Nobody but our pothead neighbors see our front door (we're in a teeny little hallway)
and
2. Our pothead neighbors might take the wreath down and try to smoke it.
Balcony it is.
Went to London on Thursay morning (after sleeping for 12 hours), since John was there for the week to install the new phone system. Met him around lunchtime on Thursday, dropped my stuff at the hotel, then went to Wagamama for lunch. The same one that Julia and Andrea and I went to when we were in London a few years ago. It's right around the corner from the National Gallery, which was great since that was my next stop. There's some GREAT stuff- I'm such a sucker for the Impressionists after taking an art history course in Paris. It's really cool to see the original work after I've seen it as a slide and learned all about it.
The art history course took place in the biggest lecture hall I've ever seen, in the basement of the Jardin de Luxembourg campus of the Sorbonne. Our professor was way at the front, with his little slide projector remote and a laser pointer. During one class, we were looking at Manet's Music in the Tuileries Garden, and our professor was telling us all about how Manet painted himself and a whole bunch of his friends into the picture. He picked up his laser pointer and very clearly pointed out Manet, and then said, "VOILA, c'est Baudelaire." (Look, it's Baudelaire). And waved his laser pointer all over the picture. Some smartass in the back called out, "WHERE??" and the prof repeated his motion. The class started laughing and it became a running joke that anytime he showed us a painting with a crowd scene, someone would shout out, "VOILA! BAUDELAIRE!"
So then when I saw the painting at the National Gallery on Thursday, I was standing in front of it, chuckling about Baudelaire. As I read the caption, I saw that they ALSO mentioned Baudelaire, but didn't say where in the picture he's standing. Oh well...it will have to remain one of life's great mysteries.
Yesterday I went to the Tate Britain, at Liz's recommendation. She was right, it's a very cool museum. It's a total mishmash of British art, but the rooms are fantastic. They have two rooms of John Constable's works- I didn't realize that he grew up about 20 miles from here and painted the landscape all over Suffolk. It was neat looking at famous art that looks like the view out Freda and Travis' living room window.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Into the Danger Zone at The Trust
The National Trust, that is. Known as The Trust to those on the inside. Like the city, I guess. And I'm now officially on the inside. I'm working as a volunteer so I don't get deported, but I was talking with my boss today about the fact that everyone's basically treating me like a full-time paid employee. Which is really nice. Except that I don't get paid. Once I'm married I'll have a visa and be able to actually make money for the work I'm doing. It's pretty cool being a volunteer, though...I can work whenever I want, for as long as I want. I'm taking Friday off to meet John in London (he's down for the week, installing the new phone system), which would be harder if I were full-time.
When I first got my Trust badge with my name on it, I was SO excited. John had to stop me from pinning it to my pjs and wearing it to sleep. Today really took the cake, though. It's freezing in the House, so I put on a puffy NT vest (they call them bodywarmers....vests are undershirts), pinned my name badge to it and wrote a press release. The vest is this mangy old green thing with an NT logo on the front and is generally worn by house wardens and gardeners with their brown cords. Needless to say, I was a happy camper. I was v. sad when I had to take it off at the end of the day. I'm definitely going to have to ask the powers that be to order one for me.
After writing the press release, there were some signs that needed laminating. I don't know what it is that I love about laminating, but it's completely addictive. Laminated knitting patterns, anyone? I think if John doesn't watch out, I might laminate him.
Because Ickworth is so big, everyone has radios to talk to each other. I love the way people radio each other to announce that a fresh pot of tea has been brewed in the kitchen. The genuine enthusiasm that is generated by the radio squawking, "TEA in the KITCHEN!" is so funny. It's like they've been craving tea all day but didn't realize it. "Oh! TEA?? How lovely!" Tea is not all fun and games, though. There is a definite danger zone that starts somewhere after the 4th cup. I start to get a little jittery and feel like I should demand some scones and clotted cream.
Freda (John's mom) has all kinds of great stories about Ickworth and the Trust (she worked for them for ages). The Marquess of Bristol who was in residence when she was working for the Trust was a bit 'eccentric' and he and his friends would go on drug-fueled naked romps around the grounds while visitors were walking through. As my scottish colleague said, "he did cause a wee spot of bother." Um, yeah.
BTW, this is why I'm working 8am to 8pm tomorrow. Awesome!
Monday, November 28, 2005
Addictive
According to Emily, my blog is addictive. High praise indeed! *mwah*
The other thing that's addictive? My new-found HTML tinkering abilities. Not terribly impressive, but I added a new category over on the right ("Links to Other Blogs"). And the thrill of creating a link? Unmatched. (Dare you to click on it...)
Teehee.
Oh, and here's a picture of our living room.
Remember when I made a turkey?
I've now discovered that when James is here, no blogging gets done. He's a great kid, but there's very little down time. He's really easygoing- he's happy to just sit and play with his Transformers/Legos/Matchbox Cars/whatever else he's brought while John and I cook or clean or read or whatever. When I'm on the computer, though, he wants to be playing on the Lego Club website. They have some pretty fun games...we were all about the Star Wars and Harry Potter ones.
So, back to the beginning. Left Ickworth on Friday at about 4:15 - John picked me up - and got on the highway to go to James' school to pick him up from his after-school club at about 5:30. It's a 35-minute drive under normal circumstances, but Friday afternoons can get a bit hairy. Lots of traffic getting out of Bury, and then the traffic stopped dead about a mile before the Haughley Bends, which is a section of highway (moving at 70 mph) that drivers have to cross...there are ALWAYS accidents there. We sat there for about an hour, with ambulances and firetrucks and police cars going down the shoulder. We had to call Freda to ask her to pick up James, as we were definitely not going to make it. We finally got through (there had been a two-car collision) and were on our way to Freda and Travis' to collect James when Freda called and reminded John that she didn't have a key to Gillian's (James' mom's) house, and therefore hadn't been able to pick up his overnight bag. SO we had to drive all the way in to Ipswich anyway, and then back to F & T's where we had some dinner and took James home. We'd been on the road for almost 4 hours and we were completely exhausted. Phew.
Saturday (Stowmarket Thanksgiving) was completely zany- got up at 8, John went to pick up the turkey and get groceries, got back, took James to his birthday party at the Ipswich Town Football Club, took James for a much-needed haircut, came home, showered, helped me finish up the cooking, and then his parents arrived.
My day went pretty well, with the exception of the suicidal green beans (they were in the oven, warming, and completely dried themeselves out) and the oven door. Also suicidal. I was about to put the turkey in and needed to move the oven rack to the bottom setting. For some reason, Brit ovens have a glass door AND a metal one- the glass door is on the inside. I'd moved everything down to the bottom and went to close the glass door. I must have hit the glass door in the wrong spot, because it shattered into a million little pieces. NOT ok. I freaked out, swept up all the glass, and called John to inform him that I could NOT handle making Thanksgiving. He reminded me that this would be a funny story in a few years and that I was going to be fine. In went the turkey, I pulled myself together and had some lunch and finished reading Joy Luck Club, which Michelle had loaned me. V. good book, by the way.
We finished making the rest of Thanksgiving dinner without too much excitement, and then Freda and Travis came over, ate lots, and then stayed until about 9. Freda made great deserts- a fantastic apple pie and a pineapple soy cheesecake that tasted like a cross between cheesecake and key lime pie. YUM!
Yesterday was pretty chill...we went to the grocery store, did a zillion loads of laundry, and then went over for a cup of tea at F & T's. Mmm...tea. I made turkey soup from the stock, which was surprisingly good. I got the recipe from Food Network. If you use the recipe, be careful not to burn the garlic (speaking from experience, here). The soup is really good...it's not bland at all and the veggies don't get too mushy. Yum!
I miss food network. I don't really miss tv in general (we don't have one), just Alton Brown and Paula Deen and Iron Chef. And Barefoot Contessa. I'm such a junkie....I can't wait for Christmas so I can just park myself in front of Food Network and watch the Good Eats Marathon. Woohoo!!
So, back to the beginning. Left Ickworth on Friday at about 4:15 - John picked me up - and got on the highway to go to James' school to pick him up from his after-school club at about 5:30. It's a 35-minute drive under normal circumstances, but Friday afternoons can get a bit hairy. Lots of traffic getting out of Bury, and then the traffic stopped dead about a mile before the Haughley Bends, which is a section of highway (moving at 70 mph) that drivers have to cross...there are ALWAYS accidents there. We sat there for about an hour, with ambulances and firetrucks and police cars going down the shoulder. We had to call Freda to ask her to pick up James, as we were definitely not going to make it. We finally got through (there had been a two-car collision) and were on our way to Freda and Travis' to collect James when Freda called and reminded John that she didn't have a key to Gillian's (James' mom's) house, and therefore hadn't been able to pick up his overnight bag. SO we had to drive all the way in to Ipswich anyway, and then back to F & T's where we had some dinner and took James home. We'd been on the road for almost 4 hours and we were completely exhausted. Phew.
Saturday (Stowmarket Thanksgiving) was completely zany- got up at 8, John went to pick up the turkey and get groceries, got back, took James to his birthday party at the Ipswich Town Football Club, took James for a much-needed haircut, came home, showered, helped me finish up the cooking, and then his parents arrived.
My day went pretty well, with the exception of the suicidal green beans (they were in the oven, warming, and completely dried themeselves out) and the oven door. Also suicidal. I was about to put the turkey in and needed to move the oven rack to the bottom setting. For some reason, Brit ovens have a glass door AND a metal one- the glass door is on the inside. I'd moved everything down to the bottom and went to close the glass door. I must have hit the glass door in the wrong spot, because it shattered into a million little pieces. NOT ok. I freaked out, swept up all the glass, and called John to inform him that I could NOT handle making Thanksgiving. He reminded me that this would be a funny story in a few years and that I was going to be fine. In went the turkey, I pulled myself together and had some lunch and finished reading Joy Luck Club, which Michelle had loaned me. V. good book, by the way.
We finished making the rest of Thanksgiving dinner without too much excitement, and then Freda and Travis came over, ate lots, and then stayed until about 9. Freda made great deserts- a fantastic apple pie and a pineapple soy cheesecake that tasted like a cross between cheesecake and key lime pie. YUM!
Yesterday was pretty chill...we went to the grocery store, did a zillion loads of laundry, and then went over for a cup of tea at F & T's. Mmm...tea. I made turkey soup from the stock, which was surprisingly good. I got the recipe from Food Network. If you use the recipe, be careful not to burn the garlic (speaking from experience, here). The soup is really good...it's not bland at all and the veggies don't get too mushy. Yum!
I miss food network. I don't really miss tv in general (we don't have one), just Alton Brown and Paula Deen and Iron Chef. And Barefoot Contessa. I'm such a junkie....I can't wait for Christmas so I can just park myself in front of Food Network and watch the Good Eats Marathon. Woohoo!!
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Le Tanksgeeving
Today is "le tanksgeeving," as my host mother in Paris calls it. She gave me a "tanksgeeving card" and everything...it added a new dimension to the holiday.
No turkey for me today- it was a regular work day. The Brits, understandably, see no reason why they should celebrate the fact that those pesky rebels not only escaped but survived. No pumpkin pie for them.
As the New York representative for Stowmarket, I feel that it is my duty to have a Thanksgiving celebration...so we're having Freda and Travis over on Saturday evening. James will be here for the weekend, too, so we'll be stretching the dining room/computer table to accommodate 5. We'll manage...maybe John can sit out on the balcony. :)
The butcher looked at me as if I had three heads when I went in 2 weeks ago and ordered a turkey to be picked up tomorrow. All the Brits have their turkey on Christmas, so why this crazy American girl wants a turkey a month early is a mystery to them. Thankfully, my boss at the National Trust is American (although sounds Brit) and her husband works on the airbase, so she has two cans of Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce for me. And some brownie mix, which is not particularly Thanksgivingy but is a direct line to Travis' heart. I'll pick them up at Ickworth tomorrow.
Slightly nervous about coordinating the dinner...I have to do what Mom always does and make a "Critical Path" and stick it on the fridge. Then I can just follow it and everything will come out of the oven at the same time, perfectly cooked. Although our fridge is only half-sized and in a corner and we don't have any magnets. Maybe I can bribe James to stand in the kitchen and hold it for me. :)
Went to Cambridge today for a Press Release writing clinic. It was really interesting and is going to be a huge help at Ickworth. It was run by a non-profit government group that's affiliated with the PA (the Press Association, which is the UK version of the Associated Press). Basically, this group's job is to shoot 30-40 non-profit and charity org press releases onto the PA wire every day. And it's free. And they critique and revamp your press releases. I'm psyched. It's called the Media Trust and if you're really interested, you can go to their website. Oh look at me...I made a link in HTML code...I am truly fabulous. Teehee.
Right...it's time to see if I can bang together a curry for John tonight, who has called to say that his train from London is running very slowly and has requested veg for dinner. He's also called to inform me that he's bought me a copy of the latest Glamour (free clutch bag included, oh joy), mostly so he can buy a copy of Model Railroader without feeling guilty. It works out for everyone. And if the train ride gets too long he can dip into the Glamour and read about all the hot fashions he should be wearing. Or not.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! (And I'm v. jealous of all the turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce....)
No turkey for me today- it was a regular work day. The Brits, understandably, see no reason why they should celebrate the fact that those pesky rebels not only escaped but survived. No pumpkin pie for them.
As the New York representative for Stowmarket, I feel that it is my duty to have a Thanksgiving celebration...so we're having Freda and Travis over on Saturday evening. James will be here for the weekend, too, so we'll be stretching the dining room/computer table to accommodate 5. We'll manage...maybe John can sit out on the balcony. :)
The butcher looked at me as if I had three heads when I went in 2 weeks ago and ordered a turkey to be picked up tomorrow. All the Brits have their turkey on Christmas, so why this crazy American girl wants a turkey a month early is a mystery to them. Thankfully, my boss at the National Trust is American (although sounds Brit) and her husband works on the airbase, so she has two cans of Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce for me. And some brownie mix, which is not particularly Thanksgivingy but is a direct line to Travis' heart. I'll pick them up at Ickworth tomorrow.
Slightly nervous about coordinating the dinner...I have to do what Mom always does and make a "Critical Path" and stick it on the fridge. Then I can just follow it and everything will come out of the oven at the same time, perfectly cooked. Although our fridge is only half-sized and in a corner and we don't have any magnets. Maybe I can bribe James to stand in the kitchen and hold it for me. :)
Went to Cambridge today for a Press Release writing clinic. It was really interesting and is going to be a huge help at Ickworth. It was run by a non-profit government group that's affiliated with the PA (the Press Association, which is the UK version of the Associated Press). Basically, this group's job is to shoot 30-40 non-profit and charity org press releases onto the PA wire every day. And it's free. And they critique and revamp your press releases. I'm psyched. It's called the Media Trust and if you're really interested, you can go to their website. Oh look at me...I made a link in HTML code...I am truly fabulous. Teehee.
Right...it's time to see if I can bang together a curry for John tonight, who has called to say that his train from London is running very slowly and has requested veg for dinner. He's also called to inform me that he's bought me a copy of the latest Glamour (free clutch bag included, oh joy), mostly so he can buy a copy of Model Railroader without feeling guilty. It works out for everyone. And if the train ride gets too long he can dip into the Glamour and read about all the hot fashions he should be wearing. Or not.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! (And I'm v. jealous of all the turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce....)
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Snargly
Feeling pretty snargly today...I've had a low-level sore throat and sniffles since last week, which don't seem to be going away. So I went to Boots, where the pharmacist informed me that I had a virus of some kind which should be gone in a few days. And gave me Sudafed and some throat thingys. Much better. Except that the throat thingys taste like licorice. Ugh. But they work.
A funny and uber-Brit excerpt from the packet: "Most people get on very well with Tyrozets..." Like they're your neighbors or something. Teehee. In any event, they've done what they've said they would do and made my throat go numb.
Speaking of throats, I'm not sure if I'm going to make it to choir tonight. I'm supposed to have my audition with the membership coordinator who was mean to me last week. Harumph. He informed me that I needed to prepare a piece of music for my audition, and bring two copies with me. I informed him that when I had been packing to move to the UK from New York, sheet music hadn't made the cut. And that we don't have a piano. Apparently it's £80 (about $140) to join the choir for a year, and you have to buy a uniform. Still haven't decided if I'm doing this yet. Or if I'm going tonight. All I REALLY want to do is have some soup and go to bed early (on our BRAND NEW AWESOME MATTRESS THAT ARRIVED TODAY YAY!!!!)
In other news, John and James will not be making the trip to NYC at Christmas...the airfare is just too darn expensive for the time that they'd spend in the US. Sad times. But they'll be over some time in the spring, as soon as we figure out when James' half-term is and book the tickets early enough.
Phew. I think it's time to start the soup and make a cup of tea. Mmm...tea. I love England. For those of you I didn't tell, I had beans on toast for lunch yesterday. Yes, Mom, like the clock that we had. Yes, everyone else, we had a clock that consisted of a piece of toast (real) with beans (real) on it. The artist had shellacked the whole mess and stuck a clock face on the front and a battery on the back. And there you have it- a beans on toast clock. I haven't seen it in a while...I wonder if it got lost in the many moves...any suggestions, Mom?
Now it's REALLY time for a cup of tea.
A funny and uber-Brit excerpt from the packet: "Most people get on very well with Tyrozets..." Like they're your neighbors or something. Teehee. In any event, they've done what they've said they would do and made my throat go numb.
Speaking of throats, I'm not sure if I'm going to make it to choir tonight. I'm supposed to have my audition with the membership coordinator who was mean to me last week. Harumph. He informed me that I needed to prepare a piece of music for my audition, and bring two copies with me. I informed him that when I had been packing to move to the UK from New York, sheet music hadn't made the cut. And that we don't have a piano. Apparently it's £80 (about $140) to join the choir for a year, and you have to buy a uniform. Still haven't decided if I'm doing this yet. Or if I'm going tonight. All I REALLY want to do is have some soup and go to bed early (on our BRAND NEW AWESOME MATTRESS THAT ARRIVED TODAY YAY!!!!)
In other news, John and James will not be making the trip to NYC at Christmas...the airfare is just too darn expensive for the time that they'd spend in the US. Sad times. But they'll be over some time in the spring, as soon as we figure out when James' half-term is and book the tickets early enough.
Phew. I think it's time to start the soup and make a cup of tea. Mmm...tea. I love England. For those of you I didn't tell, I had beans on toast for lunch yesterday. Yes, Mom, like the clock that we had. Yes, everyone else, we had a clock that consisted of a piece of toast (real) with beans (real) on it. The artist had shellacked the whole mess and stuck a clock face on the front and a battery on the back. And there you have it- a beans on toast clock. I haven't seen it in a while...I wonder if it got lost in the many moves...any suggestions, Mom?
Now it's REALLY time for a cup of tea.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Harry Potter
SOOO...I promised my loyal readers (so far, Liz and John and Mom) that I would have more info on Harry Potter. I thought that the movie was good as a movie, but not as a version of the book. Granted, they would have to make the movie 7 hours long to be completely faithful to the book, but there's no reason to take out material to add other new material that's not in the books. Harrumph. Snape was perfectly glorious, Rita Skeeter was SO annoying (but I guess that's the idea), and McGonagall was her usual Scottish self. John didn't like the new Dumbledore (he hadn't seen PoA), but as Richard Harris is dead, we don't have a WHOLE lot of choice in the matter.
Overall, it was a good movie, with some clever lines and good effects, but I'll take the books any day.
And there is my two cents on that. I promise, not too much more HP ranting. :)
Overall, it was a good movie, with some clever lines and good effects, but I'll take the books any day.
And there is my two cents on that. I promise, not too much more HP ranting. :)
Monday, November 21, 2005
Paddington and Chocolate Moose
Spent the weekend in London with John- he was working and I was playing. We both went in on Thursday night, and then on Friday I cultivated some monster blisters by walking around the city for hours in shoes that I hadn't worn in about 8 months. Clever girl. It was funny...I could have been in any major city in the world...there were tourists EVERYWHERE.
I met up with John and Michelle for dinner...we went to the Dim Sum restaurant that my family used to go to when we were seeing plays in London. The food was SO good (although not quite NYC Chinatown). My only real memory of how to find the restaurant was that it was around a corner in Chinatown, off the main drag, and that the restaurant had a big section downstairs. So when I was wandering around during the afternoon, I stumbled upon Chinatown, went to where I thought the restaurant had been, and POOF! there it was. I'm so cool.
One of the first times that we went there when I was a kid, my brother was making stabs at his food with the chopsticks, trying to skewer the dumplings so he could eat them. A little old Chinese man shuffled over, and pointed to Edward (who was about 6 at the time, and looked very scared). "Chopsticks. I shall teach you." Our own Yoda, I guess. Anyway, he very gently shaped Edward's little hands around the chopsticks, showed him how to move them up and down, and went back to his table. The result: no more dumpling-skewers. I remember being really jealous that he hadn't shown ME the real way to use chopsticks (I was bumbling along just fine, though).
Anyway, Saturday I went out to Slough (The Office, anyone?) to visit Alison. She actually lives in Windsor, but I had to switch trains at Slough and messed up my connection. So I ended up having a FUN 20 minutes at the Slough train station before Alison rescued me.
Sunday I met up with Michelle and John and we went to Hamleys and bought a Paddington bear for Freda and a Chocolate Moose for ourselves. Couldn't resist. Needed someone to keep Emily the Transgender Puppy company when John's at work and I'm at Ickworth.
We trooped over to the British Museum, which is REALLY cool. Finally got to see the Horus that John is always talking about. It's a small hawk-looking bird, missing an eye (kind of like a well loved teddy bear, but in stone). John maintains that the Horus knows ALL and will one day take over the world. (Nod and smile, guys!)
We also got to see the Rosetta Stone (SO cool), and then some miscellaneous things in the "Enlightenment Collection." Basically, some eccentric people during the enlightenment had collected all sorts of things and then the museum set them up with a vague order and put them in a big room. Randomness.
And then: HARRY POTTER!! Not sure yet if I liked it or not...more on that later.
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