Gobble gobble

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Ok, as usual, a little late, but am finally recovered from our Turkey Day feast, which, given the fact for some reason it’s not a national holiday in this country, we celebrated on Saturday.

I tried to be so prepared – which meant making the cranberry sauce on Tuesday – but that was about as far as my early preparation went. At least I remembered to ‘stale-ify’ the stuffing bread by leaving it out over Friday night.

Menu for the day? Pretty much the classics – turkey, stuffing (my first that didn’t start with the words ‘Stove Top’), sweet potatoes, green beans, aforementioned cranberry sauce, spicy cornbread, and of course dessert & more dessert. Pumpkin pie of course (though, sacre bleu, it’s not one of my favourites, so luckily the one other American attendee volunteered for that one!), chocolate brownies (you must have one chocolate dessert for any dinner party. It’s the rule.) and cranberry apple crisp – all topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Yum, yum, and double yum - If I say so myself.. though I think the empty plates give a good indication of the yum factor. And also serve as a sign that we did a pretty good job of consuming our estimated 4,500 Thanksgiving meal calories. Each. Some of the carnage can be seen in the photo here – unfortunately we forgot to take any of the shiny untouched meal before the knives came out, so remains are all you get...

Key learning from hosting a dinner party for 12? SERVING SPOONS! The last time around I borrowed so many dishes & other implements from Kim, who we missed this year (though I’m sure you enjoyed that week in the Bahamas...) Ah well – we’ve got a while to amass a few more of our own before our next one...

So many thanks to ‘the other American’ (only 2 at this year’s festivities, counting me) for bringing 3 dishes (especially that pie!) and my dear American-in-spirit husband for the best mashed potatoes ever as well as delicious gravy, and our guests for the wine, champagne, charades and company that sweetened the evening and my favourite holiday all the more.

Nostalgia

Awww... 10 Things I Hate About You was on last night. I do love that movie - and I think it gets cuter each time I see it. I managed to keep my 'that's my high school!!' squeals down to only 3 or 4 times. Or maybe 5. Hmm...

Don't think it's supplanted 16 Candles ("Lek. Big lek." "Married? Married. Married? Yes, married. Sheesh.") as my all-time favourite teen flick, but it's definitely up there.

So - what's your favourite classic teen movie that can stand the test of time? And is it on this list? (Why is 16 Candles only 49 out of 50? And where is Better Off Dead??)

[On a side note -- why, despite having many of these films on DVD, do I only get excited and watch them when they show up randomly in the tv schedule?]

Do you know your venesection from your fellah?

Test your vocabulary at (www.freerice.com -- I couldn't figure out how to link out from the image) AND donate rice through the UN. It's rare they say to get above level 48 -- I am *so* going for it...

Yum yum yum

Four forks (or should that be spoons) for this Spicy Corn Chowder from Epicurious... like many of the reviewers I added a potato and jalapenos -- thicker and spicier. (maybe a little too spicy -- jalapenos + overfill on the cayenne pepper = firy tongue). And super easy to make. Yum and double yum - certainly one to add to the autumn / winter rotation. Looking forward to tomorrow's leftovers for lunch already...

Happy Halloween?

Last night, the 30th of October, mind you, hubby & I were enjoying a pleasant dinner at the newly refurbished local bistro, when who should wander over to our table but 2 budding ASBOs (aka delinquents), girls of about 12, 13, with white face paint and wearing crude garbage bag 'costumes' over their clothes.

One of them came forward to our table and mumbled something about 'trick or treat' to me. I replied quite snappishly 'It's not Halloween, what are you doing here. And I don't have any candy anyway, as of course it's not Halloween.' She looked suprised that I even questioned her right to demand favours, in a RESTAURANT, the DAY BEFORE Halloween, but quickly recovered: 'Just give us some money'. Give us some money?? What?? That is NOT Halloween, and that is NOT trick-or-treating. And of course, I said 'No.' Again, I think somewhat to her suprise...

Luckily the manager came out shortly after, as the girls were making their way to the next table, and ushered them out. No doubt to hit up the next restaurant or pub, where no doubt many give in to their demands, muttering 'Halloween - stupid American holiday'.

And yet - that's not how *I* remember Halloween. Have I gotten to the stage of 'back in my day'? And I know it's been years since I celebrated Halloween in the US. So - US-based readers (of which I must have oh, 4 or 5) tell me: Is media coverage in the US dominated by more tricks than treats? Do you worry about being egged or mugged, rather than whether the candy will run out?

Or do you agree with this columnist, who believes Britain has put its own yobbish spin on Halloween, so please stop blaming the US of A. America may not be perfect, but let's take a little responsibility people...

Time to celebrate

Happy Candy Corn Day! Not really a big seller over here -- shame - it's not one of my favourites, but nothing says Halloween more... And if it's good enough for NPR, it's good enough for me.

Ich bin ein doughnut

Ok, ok, so Kennedy never made the ‘I am a jelly doughnut’ mistake, but that was the only quote I could think of about Berlin. And yes, in true procrastinator style, I’m finally posting about my Berlin trip – only about 3 weeks late... As always it’s impossible to cover everything about a trip in a single blog posting, but will try for some highlights.

One impression of Berlin is that it wears its recent history in particular on its sleeve much more evidently than any other city I’ve visited. Or is that just because the ‘last great war’ and the subsequent Iron Curtain still hold a grip on our (my?) historical knowledge. I felt that I both knew a lot and knew nothing about Berlin’s history, so was glad we tagged on to a walking tour of the city that included ‘800 years of Berlin history in 8 minutes’. A bit compressed, but still an education.

It’s also large and small at the same time – according to Wikipedia it’s the 2nd largest city in the EU, and yet we seemed to cover the same general area in our 3 days, and felt very comfortable the town, in a similar way to much smaller places I’ve visited. I’m sure that’s because the city itself sprawls much further than the tourist-centric maps we had, but still, it felt very familiar very quickly.

We didn’t do a lot of sightseeing – however you can’t help but see sights just by walking around. By far the most impressive I felt was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (part of that visible recounting of history). The memorial goes on and on; visitors can get almost lost within it – it’s both stark and in some ways human at the same time. The artist refuses to explain what it means – rather it’s up to each visitor to interpret and take what s/he will, and it was interesting to hear the different responses given by members of the walking tour.

The Jewish Museum was impressive as well – not least because of the architecture. I was most impressed, however, with the breadth of the historical record, showing the presence of Jews in Berlin for centuries. You wind through the exhibits mostly chronologically, learning about significant personalities here, impacts on the city there – all leading to, but not solely focused on, the Holocaust... which of course you know is coming, but seems all the more horrible with the knowledge of the contribution to and identification with the city the Jewish population had.

Particularly chilling to me was the ‘Memory Void’, with its installation ‘Fallen Leaves’ – rudimentary iron faces scattered like so many bodies. You’re supposed to walk over them, which I did, but it felt sacrilege, and I had to leave. The piece is also supposed to be forward-looking, though leaves fall the tree lives on... but while I appreciate the metaphor of life going on, I think that affords too much natural order to the Holocaust – there’s a difference between leaves and lives ending naturally or being stripped from the tree while still green.

We did more than wallow in WWII memorials, however – lots and lots of walking around, and much window shopping! Berlin has much to offer on the shopping front, both boutique and department store, and we made sure to investigate whenever possible. We also were very pleased with the Time Out Guide’s dining recommendations, including an ‘American Style’ diner for Sunday brunch (yummy bacon, though the pancakes were, umm, a little different. Tasty, but not exactly fluffy Bisquik specials!) We made sure to partake of some classic tourist activities as well: standing in both East & West Berlin (echoes of standing in East & West Hemispheres in Greenwich); looking for remnants of the Wall; passing by Checkpoint Charlie; and eating some yummy pastries. And of course, no holiday is complete without a visit to Starbucks, or its local imitator, in this case ‘Balzac Coffee’, which – other than the name – seemed scarily identical to Starbucks in every way. Weird.

Another highlight of the trip was talking. And talking some more – it was absolutely fabulous to catch up with Liz, my travelling companion and first-year-in-London flatmate, so thanks to her again for suggesting the trip... already looking forward to our next outing!

(PS - for more photos, you can check out Flickr...)

38 & counting

Happy birthday to my Lego-loving, Spurs-supporting, super-cycling, older-than-me-for-a-few-months-at-least husband. Here's wishing you a fantastic fun-filled 39th year...

Real live celebrity spotting

OMG. How could I have waited so long to post THIS?! I was enjoying the Golden Age of Couture exhibit at the V&A last Sunday, when an American accent (and cloud of lingering cigarette smell) caught my ear (and nose). I looked over, and there was a tiny doll of a girl (tsk, young woman), with tousled blond hair held back by enormous Wayfarers on her head, wearing short studded boots (possibly Louboutin) on her teeny skinny legs, and a huge furry hooded parka reaching to mid-thigh (the same length as her dress or skirt or whatever underneath - couldn't quite tell.) The round eyes delineated with black kohl confirmed my guess... I was in the presence of one of the Olsen Twins. (must confess, I'm not enough of a Heat or US Weekly reader to know if it was Mary-Kate or Ashley...)

I can sheepishly report I played junior stalker the rest of the way around the show to see if she had any celeb gossip I could gather -- unfortunately she and her friend pretty much only talked about the dresses in the exhibit. How dare they deprive me of a juicier story?!

And of course, no way did I have the courage to play junior papparazzo and take a snap on my mobile - so no visible proof, you'll have to trust me.

Beats all those sightings of George Stephanoupolous when I lived in DC, that's for sure!

Great website find!

I can't believe I've only now heard of this site: Chow.com -- for anyone who loves to eat, especially to eat out. It's jam-packed with reader comments, like for example, how I might find Andouille sausage in the UK. I think it's probably NYC-heavy, but covers other metropolitan areas, both US & beyond, and even has one category "Elsewhere in America". Yum. I only wish I'd seen this before our NY / DC trip!

needlecraft inspiration

Another year, another trek to Alexandra Palace and the Knitting and Stitching Show. Given the number of projects I already have piling up, I pretty much avoided the kit-selling-stalls (though couldn't miss the amazing Michael Powell, though did manage to resist buying one more Jennifer Pudney, as cute as they are.)

No, this year I just marvelled at the raw material, and all the different techniques -- embroidery, quilting, knitting, papercraft, beading, lacemaking, batik (and of course cross stitch), and on and on and how much do I wish I could do them all?! Ok, maybe lacemaking doesn't hold a huge appeal at the moment, but I absolutely would love to learn how to make a quilt. And I even know what I want it to look like. I just need the knowledge and the sewing machine!

And the artists on display - some amazing work with textiles. I think that's worth the price of the admission. Of course, no photos allowed, so can't post any here, but I get so inspired seeing what can be done with needle and thread and just a little imagination. So impressive! Already looking forward to next year...

How to celebrate?

It's National Chocolate Week... however shall I celebrate? Toll-House cookies, anyone? Or is it wrong to use an American classic to commemorate a British, um, 'holiday' (aka, corporate PR event)?

Sunday Puzzle Success

Woo-hoo! I knew if I went about it methodically I'd find the answer to this week's challenge:

Name a well-known city in the United States, two words, 10 letters altogether. Add the letter A at the front, add the city's two-letter state postal abbreviation at the end, the resulting 13-letter chain will be palindromic, that is, it will read backward and forward the same. What city is this?

(ps - mom & dad -- if you try to figure this out, do so before checking the comments!)

Li'l(le) adventure

Eek - am about to head off on my girly weekend to Berlin, and realised still haven't posted anything about our little weekend in Lille a few weeks ago. Last trip on Eurostar before it moves to St Pancras. Only there for about 28 hours, so not much time, but we did manage to cover a fair bit of the town. Of course, this was possible given the fact almost NOTHING is open on Sunday -- so that limted our options for our main day of travel to walking & walking some more. Which was fine, really - a great weekend for it, and we got to see many sights, including the massive street market (which is only open on Sunday - the reverse of everything else). Umm - it wasn't as cute and gift-laden as I expected... ah well - don't need to spend the money anyway!

A few selected photos:
Notting Hill Coffee -- unfortunately neither this nor 'Covent Garden Coffee' were open, so no chance to sample a Lille Latte

Meerkats at the larger than expected free zoo

A very very tall tower with supposedly a great view of the town. Open most days... except, err, Sunday

Cute little hotel if we ever go back [note to self - include more non-sundays if we do!]

Finally worth paying attention...

I mean, if NPR's going to cover cricket, I guess it must be a real sport after all.

A respectable showing

Saturday saw PlanetWulfagar visiting the Stonor Cricket Club pavilion in an effort to retain our Quiz Night Championship Title... The team roster was a little different this year -- an all Agar showing, with Ash & his parents and li'l ol' non-cricket-trivia-knowing me.

As you may have guessed from the headline, we didn’t quite make it – but, considering we were the smallest team (4 to others’ 5 or even 6!), we were pretty happy with our bronze medal finish. [Strangely, the organisers didn’t listen to our request for a ‘small team’ handicap, or my suggestion of taking each team’s final score & dividing it by the number of team members. Our 50 would’ve become 12.5 to the winning team’s paltry 9.17. Not that I’m bitter...]

What questions helped us to our 50/72 total? Which ones kept us from the top spot? All I can say is thank goodness the Quizmaster has a fondness for American sports – so naming Brett Favre’s team was no problem. A few others:
1) The shortest verse in the Bible, found in the Gospel of John (thank you trivia brain!)
2) Mt Aconcagua is in which country (d’oh... we just missed this one)
3) Which of these cities is the furthest west: Oxford, Portsmouth, or Sheffield?
4) This star is the lead in Michael Clayton
5) Which is the highest grossing film franchise?
6/7) And I’m particularly proud we were able to name the (individual) artists responsible for “Persistence of Memory “(the artist is Spanish) and “Mother and Child Divided” (the piece is in need of repair)

So - not bad... and we’ll get ‘em next year!

Maybe I should've kept that Slingbox...

D'oh - really really annoying that NBC is no longer selling shows through iTunes. I'll have to watch Season 2 of Heroes with all the other non-Americans - whatever will I do??!

New York, DC, both helluva towns

So –we’ve been back from the States for 2 ½ weeks – about time for a holiday recap! It would take me nearly the length of the trip to cover *everything* we did in such a packed week (and you’d die from exhaustion / boredom reading it all!) So instead – some highlights:

• Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge – iconic views, and the friendly policeman out of central casting who pointed out the shortcut to getting onto the bridge. And when he heard Ashley’s accent, stopped & chatted a bit about the upcoming NFL match to be held in London – with ‘his boys – the Giants’

• Going for a run in both Riverside and Central Parks on a sunny Sunday morning, ending our run with H&H bagels, lox, Starbucks coffees and a fat Sunday New York Times. Could we be any more New York-y?

• Wandering through Washington Square Park, and stopping with the locals (or other tourists – who knows? That’s the great thing about New York, such a mix) to enjoy a jazz interlude, complete with spaced out drummer, and blissful keyboardist in his own world
  
  
  
• Checking out Rye’s classic Playland (since 1928!) – I never knew there were so many variations on kiddie rides. Next time though – it’s the big kids turn!

• First visit to Yankee Stadium – and trading good natured comments with the 99.9999% of fans there who were cheering on the Yankees. Of course, we were good natured because –amazingly – the Mariners were winning; they were good natured because they could see the Yankees were still going farther in the post season... best moment of the game: Ichiro hitting his 200th hit, Ashley standing up and shouting, everyone in our section looking at him, and Ashley responding, as if for explanation, ‘we’ve got the same birthday’

• US Open vs Wii Open in Rockefeller Square. Missed out on tickets to Flushing Meadows – take in Federer and Williams on the big screen set up in Rockefeller Square. OR cross the street and see 2 people you’ve never heard of battle it out on a different sort of big screen – playing Wii Tennis in the ‘virtual open’
  
• Taking in New York skyline at night – at Top of the Rock – definitely one tourist attraction worth a visit (though how come our photos don't look as good as those on the site?!)

• Travelling back to DC for the first time in 10 years – and finding it quite surreal. Almost everything seemed the same, and I had to keep reminding myself that it really was 10 years later, and I’m 10 years older. But then little changes would appear – like the fact my old shared house at 17th & P has been turned into individual apartments. Or I’d pass a corner and think ‘hmm... was that always here?’ I think Ashley got tired of me saying ‘Ooh – I ate here once’ or ‘this is where I got my drycleaning’. Yes, dear, very exciting.
  
• Getting coffee at ‘my Starbucks’ on Connecticut Avenue – I almost told the girl at the counter ‘I was a barista here 13 years ago’... but figured she wouldn’t be perhaps as accommodating with my recollection stories as Ashley

• Enjoying a day out at the Zoo – one of the best in the US, if not the world... I especially like the gibbons, though can’t give a specific reason why...

• And of course – the real highlights (saving the best for last!) – getting to see family & friends – from Chez Olson (yay – place in White Plains looks great, happy to see you looking settled in with so much space), to our Hotelier Friedman Towers (thanks Kim – not only for Upper West Side pied-a-terre, but the great Mexican recommendation for Rosa Mexicano), to Zoo buddies the Caltrider Clan, where I finally got to meet the lovely Lauren and beaming Ben...

Fantastic trip... when do we go back?

I did not know that...

What did you learn this weekend? Me? I learned -- courtesy of an 'invest in our great city' ad -- that Łódź in Poland is pronounced 'wodge'. And here I always thought it was 'shuh-shev-skee'. Ok, really, I just assumed it was pronounced 'lohdz', but maybe everyone knows it's 'wodge', and I'm just a little late to catch on.

I think Polish must be one of the most difficult languages to learn.

Magazine Week?

How did I not know it was Magazine Week? See, this is why magazines are losing readership... when someone as addicted as I didn't even know to celebrate this week? How are the little, non-caring, dilettante readers supposed to find out?