Things that made me smile today

A cyclist with a backpack with a big plant sticking out of it, taking up half a lane.

Two kids walking behind their dad into Wickes, trying to look just like dad, hands in pockets and nonchalant facial expression.

Culling the rhubarb

Tracey Love and Lizzie are coming round for dinner tonight and I am looking forward to show off my new kitchen and any other changes made since they were round last.

I am making Thai Beef salad and then Rhubarb Fool for dessert, with the first crop of rhubarb from the garden. About time the rhubarb got 'culled' as its growing like weed and spreading out over other lovely flowers stunting their growth. So into our stomach it will go!

I am thinking red wine will be perfect with the Thai salad. Or rose. Or white. Hmmm.... am thirsty already.

Addiction

With JD away I can give in to my urges to watch really bad tv. So I am now addicted to 'The Diets that Time Forgot' and I dont mind a bit of Great British Menu, Project Catwalk, American Idol, I'll do Anything, Britain's got Talent. I reccon I will need to go on a tv detox when JD moves back.

That random diet with maple syrup, water and cayenne - maybe its worth trying.

Oh no, am I getting brain washed by the crap shows?

DIY

Johanna was down this weekend and we went round the second hand stores looking for chairs for the glass house. We found some straight away and bought them. But we decided to double check in the other stores just in case.


Today I have sanded down two of the chairs and painted them with primer / base coat. Photo evidence attached. I will sand the other two next weekend and maybe even gloss the first two....

Little Mint Green Box

Today I went to the post office and collected a parcel. Its been there for a week and the evidence that I buy too much on line came when the post master lit up when he saw me and said 'Oh, yes I saw your parcel and wondered when you'd be in.' No need for the card or for showing ID. I am personally making sure the Shoreham office stays in business, everyone in town should thank me.

Back to the parcel. I had no idea what it was so of course ripped it up as soon as I was done chatting to Mr Postman. I could feel a hard square box. Interesting... Then I could see the colour. Mint green. Could it be? No, must be some organic cleaning thing I bought and forgot about.

Turns out it IS a mint green box from Tiffanys, with a white silk ribbon around it. And a certificate telling me its not a cheap copy for Hong Kong. I love Lisa Marie. She is the best.

Spring

Spring is well and truly here. The flowers are flowering. The rhubarb is growing so fast you can almost see it. The rose needs tying up again. Wee animals are superactive in the compost. Its freezing in the mornings and warm in the afternoon making it tricky to pick the right jacket. I have a cold that doesnt want to let go.

Wine

I love wine. I am just now sitting in my recliner chair sipping (well, gulping more like) Stoneleigh, nicely chilled.

A week ago I was as EL and J and had plenty of red wine (mmm) and then on Saturday had some very nice, but somewhat overpriced wine.

As I dont drink wine every day, only on weekends like a good Lutheran (well, semi good, I am still drinking) I feel this is not a bad thing. And I am saving the other half of the bottle for tomorrow. God bless you whoever you are who invented the screw cap.

Lists

I do like lists. And tests in womens magasines. Here is one from Anna

I am: happy to be back home
I am not: working hard
I like: that its spring here, I saw lots of primula veris (gullviva) along the road to work
I dont like: to cook for one
I want: to go home and read the last fantasy book in the trilogy that I'm reading
I dont want: to do the conference call I have in 10 min
I have: a lovely life
I dont have: a lot of problems
I know: that I have lots of exciting stuff ahead in April and May
I dont know: what time I am picking up Barbara for our shopping trip to Bluewater on Saturday

Food

As always I have spent the whole week in Sweden eating. I how have three weeks of soup and salads ahead of me to try and remove this weeks eating traces and also make some space for the next visits excesses.

Friday night I spent with EL and J drinking champagne and wine. We did eat sensibly though, my only sensible meal all week. I woke with a slight hangover on Sat and started running about cleaning flat, getting cakes, buying paper plates etc. At just after 12 the first people turned up, as well as the "sandwich cakes" - one with salmon and prawns and one with roast beef and blue cheese. They both looked enormous initially, then I got worried they were too small, but in the end they were fine and we even got some left over.

Sat evening we went to Grill and I had the meat fest - mmmm... Wine is extraordinarily expensive in restaurants here. I spent most of the evening ranting about this and still havent gotten over the chock of seeing the prices. But at least it meant I wasnt hungover on Sunday.

Poor JD had to work all weekend, luckily only a few hours yesterday so we did have time to go for a walk and lunch before falling asleep in the sofa to Simon Schama for a few hours.

Loos

We went out for dinner last night and the food and wine was lovely! But to my surprise (and disappointment) the toilets in the restaurant were sub standard, they reminded me of the ones we had at school.

What was missing:

• Nice soap
• Proper towels
• Handcream

Come on, they must sell Molton Brown in Sweden right? So go out and get some, I dont want to see soap dispensers and paper towels in a michelin starred restaurant. And I definitely dont want to have to search in vain for handcream. Dont the Michelin men check the toilets before awarding stars? If not, they should.

Danish

Am eating a danish, its my birthday tomorrow (in case someone had missed that...) and I got cakes for all from Truffles. I bought so many they gave me a nice cloth bag to take them in!

This is cake number two, as I had a cream Japonais cake first. Quite nice...

There is still a doughnut (jam), a danish (apricot) and a muffin (raspberry and white chocolate) on my desk. Will try and resist them