Question of the Week

Have you stopped putting pictures on your blog?

The short answer is no, I have not made a conscious decision to stop adding pictures here.  However, the long story is that I lost my camera, found it, got sick and didn’t leave the apartment very often, and now have totally fallen out of the habit of taking fun shots.  However, I’m going to rectify this while I’m on holiday and take a gazillion pics of a squagillion subjects and hopefully force you all to look at them!

Speaking of holiday, the desk is cleared, the errands have been run and most of the appointments are over.  I’m ready to be a beach baby and enjoy some sun, sea and sand.  I may be popping back here every now and then to update, but if not then I’ll catch up with everyone in August!

Like A Kid Again

Last night Larry and I watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  It was cute, and it got me thinking about the first time I read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  It was while we were living in England and my whole class read it together.  We read it just before Christmas and when Edmund went over to the “dark side” for a piece of Turkish Delight my teacher, Ms. D, brought us all hot chocolate and sweeties.  Which I suppose would make her seem like the White Witch but she wasn’t, she was awesome.

Anyway, Larry never read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and then disclosed that he can’t remember ever reading a book with his whole class.  What a poor, deprived child!  In response to this shocking news I started thinking about my favourite books from back in the old school days.  I have a feeling some of these are going to make their way into our apartment soon!

- The Lion, The Witch and the Wardobe (C. S. Lewis)

- A Wrinkle In Time (Madeleine L’Engle)

- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (E. L. Konigsburg)

- Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson)

- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Mildred D. Taylor)

And a few I wish were around when I was in school:

- Esperanza Rising (Pam Munoz Ryan)

- Star Girl (Jerry Spinelli)

- Fever 1793 (Laurie Halse Anderson)

- Boy Meets Boy (David Levithan)

- If You Come Softly (Jacqueline Woodson)

Don’t Egg Him On

Beth:  How do you want your eggs, love?

Larry:  I’ll have three eggs please.  Two whole eggs and one egg white only.

Beth:  You’re a funny man.  You’re getting three whole eggs.  And now you’re getting them scrambled.

And The Race Is On

I leave for a three week holiday on Monday, so the race is officially on to clear my desk, send out my emails and get the last of my appointments and errands done before I go.  That pretty much makes this week a lot like finals week at college.  You work, work, work and then wake up one day with nothing to do.  Invariably I got a horrific cold the week after finals (including a particularly nasty one the week that was Christmas and my wedding), so lets all keep our fingers crossed that I don’t have that happen this time around.

As a nice treat in the middle of all this activity I went out to dinner at Carluccio’s last night with Jo and Liz.  We had fantastic food, great conversation and may have laughed a little too loud but no one complained.  I was still so full that I couldn’t even think about breakfast this morning.  We’ll definitely have to do that again!

Other than that though, no real news from here.  I just got very excited that tonight is “good TV night” because Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy are on.  I guess that about sums it up really.

Birthday Cake Blues

Out of nowhere, Larry requested a Victoria Sponge cake as his birthday cake.  Of all the baking I do, I’ve never made one of these (probably because if I want squishy white cake I default to Angel Food cake) but I agreed. 

So there I am, mixing up a nice creamy batter when I reach for my springform pan.  And realise it’s most definitely a size too big.  But now I’m in the middle of it and I’m not going to run out for two smaller pans, so I decide he’s just going to get one cake and I’ll split the middle later.  

Into the oven goes the pan and 35 minutes later a deliciously moist cake comes out smelling heavenly.  It really is a triumph.  Such a triumph that I can’t bear to split the middle and mess with it.  I think about sifting powdered sugar over the top and even writing on it with coloured icing, but since I wasn’t planning on such tactics my supplies are a little low.  Plus, I figure that would be really dry and boring.  Instead I decide to “ice” the cake with whipped cream and decorate it with the raspberries and strawberries I was going to slip in as an extra layer.    So that’s just what I do. 

Larry comes home and eyes my little creation with an indulgent smile.  I know he’s wondering what the hell happened to his traditional Victoria Sponge.  But he makes himself a cup of tea, cuts a big slice and smiles appreciatively after the first forkful.

“This is really good,” he decides.  “Really good.  Like a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.”

As I wonder when he started judging his birthday cakes he takes another bite and opens his mouth again.  “But I’ve got to tell you, I think the presentation was more like a 4.”

So, friends, mark my words.  Next year not only will I be getting my first home made birthday cake from Laurence, but I’m printing up report cards to accompany it.

And I’m contemplating a Seven Layer Cake.

Laurence’s Birthday Weekend

Lar’s birthday was on Saturday but because the weather here was so crappy we decided he really deserved an entire weekend to celebrate.  Or more precisely, he just started to referring to it as “my birthday weekend” and I went along with it.

Now, you might be expecting tales of hijinks and tomfoolery, but it was actually a quiet weekend.  We watched movies, ordered pizza and made a dent in our Diet Coke stockpile (six packs are two for one at Tesco - we’ve still got eight piled high next to the couch!).  We went to get dim sum, I made a strangely-shaped cake and Larry has become Ironman in his new Nintendo DS game.  We might even go crazy later on and play Connect 4.  Except that Larry is now leading our “tournament” 40 - 14 so I’m not sure I want to put myself out there for that again.

Anyway, the sun is now back out and, like a cat, I feel a short sun nap coming on.  Hopefully it’ll stick around for tomorrow too!

Let’s Not Be Silly

Rob:  Should we have a lobster roll eating contest?

Beth:  Your ego’s writing checks your body can’t cash.

Question of the Week

Are you related to Morrissey?

No.

Safety First

I LOVE our management company.  Today we got the following notice:

It has come to my attention that there are seagulls nesting in the area around [apartment building].  As this is the end of their hatching season, the seagulls are extremely defensive in an attempt to defend their young.  I have received reports of people being attacked in the past 3 days, and as a safety precaution the roof garden will be locked for the next 2 weeks.

Love it.  Love the seagulls, love the notice, love it all.

I Laughed Out Loud

This amuses me.  Wait until you get to the part with the spelling.  I laughed out loud.