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92 I am a happy drunk. A very happy and loving drunk.
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1.1.05 12:59 |
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Happy new year ! Thanks to our neighbours who have gone in really big for fireworks this year. They were better than the Guy Fawkes and Diwali ones. Here's to celebrating the passin of the old year to the new with a bang. Nothing like watching fireworks from the comfort of your own bed while on a high from too much champagne (is there such a thing as too much champagne?).
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1.1.05 13:14 |
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Fruit and nut cases Went to see Kim in Wokingham today and only realised how much I missed her when she made me laugh within 10 seconds of getting there. She is currently nursing cracked ribs and found laughing a bit of a cruel and unusual punishment but it did not stop us. Him Indoors contributed as he gets some of our in jokes as he met me when I was living in Kim’s studio flat with The Boy. ffice We are of a similar brand of mad so managed to deal with the lack of space and privacy and the mood swings and the move to a bigger place and the evicting the tenants from hell without killing each other. Nobody else I know would throw themselves between me and a bulldog and then growl at it to scare it away (successfully). Nobody else I know would not even blink at the suggestion we go and pick blackberries in the dark at the light of a lamppost to make jam for breakfast. Nobody else I know would let me talk them into walking from Whitton to Osterley at 3 in the morning rather than call a cab. We have planned a night out at a vodka place in ffice:smarttags" /> I have failed to get her into blogging (still trying) but today she has managed to get me to set up an msn account so I can share her addiction. My contact list is fairly reduced (Kim of course and if I typed her account right Christine). Fell free to email me your address if you want to chat. Him Indoors does not know if he should be happy that the phone and mobile bills are going to be reduced or if it’s jut going to mean more time on the computer.
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3.1.05 00:50 |
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Today's discoveries and reminders When Him Indoors says, it's ok, the wind is not that bad, it is best not to trust him and check myself before leaving it too late to walk to work instead of cycle. Just under 2 weeks of not doing very much and a week of letting my dad feed me are enough to reach new levels of unfitness and to make my body that bit heavier to shift. A short break is enough to forget to dress for what I think the weather might be in the evening as well as how it is when I step out of the door. Jeans are not a good option in the rain. Cheap fleecy jumpers are not a good option if you want waterproof. Glasses + rain is only marginally better than no glasses at all. Reminded of why I started wearing lenses. Getting wet on the way home gives the perfect excuse to take The Boy swimming. Taking The Boy swimming means I have realised I don't need to bother with one of my new year resolutions. The one about me learning front crawl (carried over from last year and the year before). His swimming is good but I can still outswim him vith breaststroke so I think I'll leave it for another year. Going along with enabling Alison to fulfil her new year resolution of turning me into a happy go lucky person is actually quite entertaining. She has admitted that at times she can see how pained I am at being denied sarcasm and how much of an effort I have had to make to hold back. She really likes it but I am sure she will beg for my usual self back in a couple of weeks when she can't take nice me anymore. I had a tought about resoltions. Now that I have started helping with hers maybe I could have a go at getting mine done. Then again if I did that I'd have to think of new resolutions next year - a lot like hard work. So this year will stick to Learning to swim front crawl (or not since I can still outswim The Boy), reduce tea drinking to less than 12 mugs a day (yeah right in another dimension maybe), fill in THE application form (why do today something you can think about doing for years until you find you are too old), get fitter (the endorphins would help with the happy go lucky thing I suppose), get up half an hour earlier to do all the things I never seem to want to do in the evening like housework (now this is the most unlikely ever to happen new year resolution - housework and get up earlier than I have to...). |
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4.1.05 22:18 |
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A food post Just because I can't eat festive food like this everyday (my bank manager would probably object)
And just because everybody I know seems to be on some diet or other, or detoxing or something (don't give up food now people otherwise you'll have nothing to give up for Lent). And just because the fridge looked very bare and I can'y face a trip to the supermarket since the last one when it appeared I was the only person in the place not having ben told the end of the world was just around the corner and looked a bit startled as people were pushing and shuving and try to reach a new record of pilling up food and drink high in a trolley. And just because I didn't feel like spending too long cooking even though I had been thinking about food all day. I give you "spicy chick peas" First empty half the contents of the freezer to locate the frozen chunks of chili an ginger. Then cut bits off the chunks to suit your family's tolerance to heat taking care not to injure yourself in the process. Leave aside to defrost while you chop an onion. Remember you forgot to rinse and soak the rice. Measure rice, rinse 3 times and leave to soak. Gently fry the onion in a little bit of oil, add the ginger after a couple of minutes. Leave alone to soften on low heat while you send Him Indoors to the corner shop to buy coriander, yoghurt and some tined chick peas to refill now empty space in cupboard to avoid me thinking we are going to die of starvation because the cupboard is not full to the brim. Open tin of tomatoes, put 2/3 away in a chinese takeway microwaveable container and place in the fridge ready to be forgotten for weeks (alternatively peel and chop a couple of tomatoes). Add the ramaining 1/3 of a tin and the chili and some ground coriander to the onion. Simmer away gently while you get the rice started. Open tin of chick peas and rinse. Keep an eye on simmering tomatoes add a little water if it looks too dry. When Him Indoors comes back from errand add chick peas, chana masala powder and garam masala. Pop into garden, check if there are any salads left under the cloches. Prepare handfull of leaves and grate carrots and cucumber for garnishes. Dish up
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5.1.05 23:28 |
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12th night I know last year I said I would try Chuck's Louisiana style King Cake. But I did not have time for a yeast dough so decided to fall back on the usual King's galette. So here's how to celebrate epiphany our way. First when your friend phones you at work to confirm she has picked up your child from school somehow manage to get invited to her place for dinner with use of her kitchen thrown in so you can make pudding. Get puzzled look from Alison as when Christine tells me she has spent all day looking for a birthday present and found one my first question was "is it the mind blowing kiss?". Apparently it isn't but I'll get to find out what it is tomorrow. After work go home and collect Him Indoors, a bottle of wine, ingredients for the galette, the essential feve and half the contents of own kitchen to take to Christine's just in case. Take over the kitchen and send the children to another room on a mission to produce a crown for the King and another for the Queen. Roll out puff pastry, hunt for a big enough baking sheet, settle for a large cast iron pan with a removable handle. Spread frangipane (creamed butter and sugar, about 50g of each, 2 egg yolkes, 150g of ground almonds, almond essence, 2 whisked egg whites), decide sliced pear would make a nice addition. Place the little porcelaine Mary in strategic location so as not to cut a slice in which the feve wouldoverlap. Like so...
Place another disk of puff pastry on top. Mark out the correct number of slices. Eggwash. Place in oven at about 200o untill puffed up and golden. Eat lovely dinner made even lovelier by not having to cook it and by Christine having lit up candles and tea lights and by the children keeping themselves busy out of earshot. Enjoy thouroughly. When ready for pudding, call children down, admire the crowns and get the youngest to slip under the table and shout out who the next slice should be for.
Try not to laugh when youngest child puts Queen crown on later and says with utmost seriousness that he can wear it because his older sister said he IS a drama queen. Go home to put The Boy into bed due to Thursday being a school night. Remember I have to bake a cake to take into work tomorrow for my birthday. Realise it may not have been wise to have a second glass of wine. Bake peach and almond cake which anybody who has seen me with more than a small amount of alcohol inside will accept is quite impressive, and I did not burn myself or the cake. Get Him Indoors to accuse me of trying to cash in on the insurance money by inducing a heart attack because I cleared up after myself AND did the washing up as a small compensation for him not getting to eat any of the cake tomorrow. |
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7.1.05 00:36 |
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Happy birthday to me... ... squashed bananas and peas... Here, have a piece of birthday cake (peach and almonds).
High points of the day: Cards, loads of them, some rude, some funny some pweeety and some nice presents (Him Indoors avoided a repeat of last year's bike lights disaster by playing it safe and getting series 1 and 2 of Dinnerladies and some really nice stuff at work and I am sure Christine's present will be supa dupa too when I go and see her later). Cake was enjoyed by all and despite high nut content there was no need for epipens. Him Indoors called me at work and sang happy birthday. My dad called to wish me a happy birthday which is a rare occurence as he does not "do" phone calls (anymore than he does compliments, dancing or singing) so it made me very happy because I know how much of an effort it was on his part and how much negociating it must have taken on my mum's part. Not so high points: Spurred on by the succes of Operation Happy Go Lucky I decided to try one of my own resolution. I went for the one which seemed the easiest at the time - get under the 12 mugs of tea a day mark. Made it through the morning with only 5 with none after 1000 (some sort of a record believe me) and decided to make the usual postprandial cuppa a herbal tea (I know tanin is bad for iron absorbtion and tea should not be drunk with meals for that reason but that's what iron tablets are for right?). By 1100 not at all happy go lucky me was back and by 1400 I had a thumping headache. According to The Boy's copy of this month's National Geographic it's because going without caffeine when you are a regular user increases blood flow in the brain. It meant I had to recount the money 3 times before I could make my cashing up add up and every call seemed to have a squirrel monkey at the other end of the reciever. Got grumped at by The Boy when I went to pick him up from after school club and grumbled at when I enquired about his day and told I was horrible when I tried to be nice and make light of his losing his towel at the swimming pool when he went with school today (give me strength if "it doesn't matter, it was an old one anyway" is being horrible). The Boy refused to sing happy birthday or make a card for me with Him Indoors and made a fuss about lack of pudding (birtday cake does not count as pudding apparently). Burnt my hand while making dinner because my brain was not working efficiently. At 1800 I gave up on Operation drink less tea and gave in. Had big strong cup in giant polar bear mug. Headache has receeded slightly. Maybe If I go about it slower and reduce the number by 1/2 a mug a fortnight it might not be so bad. Quick update. Lovely shinny stuff from Christine. No tea since 1800. Headache back with vengence. Turned down offers of aspirin so far - tempted though. |
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7.1.05 20:10 |
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