Wow, I'm moving slow today. Slept soooo haaarrrrd. Until 11. Maybe it's because my dreams for dark chocolate (in the form of mousse) and red wine both came true last night. It was irritating that I was still cooking at 8:30 but my only regret was that I didn't have more time to spend with people (as no one was complaining that the food wasn't done early enough, thank goodness. Totally reduced my stress level).

Was forced to make breakfast by rabid band of brekkienauts demanding nourishment. Fortunately, I had planned for this while awake (though I neglected to actually bring it home with me from work, meaning J went BACK to the office at 6:30, utterly and completely lame and utterly my fault) and we were well stocked with pork products and tasty brioche (courtesy of wechsler). Here is the results of my efforts (for those not on Twitter):



For those of you who go WHY DID YOU BRING SO MUCH STUFF HERE? I will point out the tea cup at my position is the one I used to use at my grandmother's house. Boy, it makes me happy to have it. The one hiding behind the teapot is one bathtubgin gave me; the one being poured into is one I found at the Seattle Goodwill. Meanwhile, the teapot was a present from J, specially bought so we could make enough tea on a weekend morning to have second cups later. (Plates from Whittard, so not romantic at all.) And the table and chairs were a housewarming present from wechlser, which, as you can see, is getting good use.

Now I'm going to spend a little time cursing the fact the tea in my cup is now bitter and looking for a double divan "with drawers" on Gumtree. It's been two months and I haven't found one yet. I'd say I just need to break down and buy one but, you know, not this month. Afterwards I'm going to hope that I'm finally awake and I am going to garden. The weeds from last weekend have turned out to be poppies that I forgot I'd planted. Go dollar store impulse buy!

Bid goodbye to my guests this morning and then promptly went back to bed. Have now had pancakes and am thinking about going back to bed again. However, I need to get laundry going, plant things, clean the house, and then, oh, yes, there are the things I actually had planned for today. I am going to see Company at the Union Theatre Southwark at 3 PM, I've got fantasies about going to the long weekend at the Tate, and then there's the party Chez Blondes that I might actually manage to make it to if I can get back home before it's over.



Though, really, what it looks like is the perfect day to go to Brighton.

Last night was enjoyable - J and I went to a classical concert at St. John's Smith Square. It was two sopranos (one of them Emma Kirkby) singing German Christmas songs, with two violins, two viols, one bass, an archlute and an organ for accompaniment. The music was generally nice - I can actually follow along with the words fairly well (with the help of the translation) so I can feel what the singer is actually trying to express. (If you speak Latin, can you tell me: is "sinners" and "flock" a little songwriters pun?) However, the organ completely crapped out after the first song, and rather a lot of my attention was focused on this drama rather than the music I was listening to. (It got fixed during intermission - a string snapped or something.)

Wow, Saturday in New York the weather is high 26, low 19. Better pack the long johns.


Now I'm eating a bacon sandwich and drinking tea and noticing how very clear the sky is outside - can't help but think it's cold out there! The sun is just now rising. wFour more days till the solstice.

I woke up to the cat meowing and went back to bed.

I was awakened later by somebody who was ready for me to get out of bed. I was about ready to get up anyway, but lots of hugs and kisses are a good way to get me ready for the day.

I was also told, "It's snowing!" and, when I cracked open the bedroom curtains, I could see snow flying sideways past the window, but not much else because I didn't have my glasses on.

I took a shower and then I cooked pancakes (and black treacle back bacon and sausage) and we had a nice breakfast (though we're about to have a dire maple syrup shortage) and now the snow is gone. No telling what I'm going to do today - originally the plan was to hit the zoo, but we'll see.

Last night wechsler and I went to a lovely Japanese restaurant on Red Lion street in Holborn, basically across the street from work. It's called Edokko and was absolutely wonderful. The upstairs was pure Japanese - including the tables with the area dug out underneath for your legs to dangle, as well as a proper tatami mat room. You had to take your shoes off before you sat at your table, and every time the waitresses came by with food they'd take their shoes off and come over in their socks. It was lovely. The menu was about 1/3 snacks, 1/3 sushi/sashimi, and 1/3 more entree-like things. W had cold soba noodles (just like in Kyoto!) and I had beef teriyaki as well as some "rice with green tea poured on it" (couldn't help myself). We started with spinach and peanuts, gyoza, and salmon roll (the last two for W as they both had fishies in them) and had lovely cold sake throughout. Our menu choices were to some extent dictated by how incredibly warm the restaurant was, but once they'd turned off the heater, it became more pleasant. The service was stellar and I left with stars in my eyes about Japan ... and also about how amazing it was that this adorable place was only half a block from my office. It wasn't really cheap, but "snacks" were running 4-7, entrees 8-16 ... and then there was the sushi, which seemed to get as expensive as you wanted it to be. It was a great cure for my exhausting week at work (and my nine hour work day).

Once home, I think I lasted for about an hour and fell asleep five minutes after my head touched the pillow - then slept nearly 12 hours. I kept waking up and hearing the wind blowing and the rain spattering on the windows, and then falling back asleep again as I was Not Motivated to Get Up. It is now almost 3 and I am not at the ballet now. I had a big breakfast (poached eggs on crumpet muffin with cheese on top, two kinds of chipolatas, black treacle cured bacon, and a second crumpet with butter and jam) and then was lucky enough to catch shadowdaddy at his hotel and have a nice chatty catchup about his first day in NYC. Now I'm going to fall back asleep, and when I get up later I'll spend some time cleaning the house as it needs it desperately. Six day work weeks, they take it out of me, and it's a huge relief that I've only got three coming up next week. I can't wait to be in Sicily - sure hope the weather is better there than it is here.

I have made biscuits and "red eye gravy" (ham base with a bit of coffee in it), along with (surprise) ham and (because I could) soft boiled eggs. I had my egg in my black cat egg cup, and with the top of the egg sawed off, it looked like I was eating BRANEZ! It was funny and wrong and I should have taken a picture of it so that you could all have a laugh.

I finished reading Living Dead in Dallas yesterday and it was GREAT. Charlaine Harris rules! I'm actually deliberately waiting to start book #3 so I can ... hold off the enjoyment.

It does seem that today is rather another lazy Sunday in the making, but what with the sun outside, I'm determined to go out, only I want to take a nap first. I have to go to Goodge Street to pick up a case of enchilada sauce from a friend of mine, and I'm feeling inclined toward a walk in a park. Perhaps we'll join jhg at the Ritzy ... I'd enjoy a movie today, and since Still Life appears rather painfully sold out, Be Kind, Rewind might be a good replacement ....

I was going to see Annie Get Your Gun this afternoon but as no one said they would go see it with me (except W, but he's here right now so it's not like he's going to say, "Hey, how come you stood me up?"), I am going to stay home and sleep some more instead and just have "dinner with souldier_blue be my big event of the day. I'll arrange to go see it on Thursday instead, when hopefully J and I will both still be feeling better.

Still ill but coughing much less - energy levels are still very low.

Breakfast: apricot/hazelnut brioche french toast, bacon from the Theobalds Road butcher shop, and "Egyptian fruit compote," which, let's face it, was just a way to use up the leftover apples I had sitting in the fruit bowl but was supposed to be what I made for dessert last night. However, fried in butter, with some cinnamon added, a banana and sliced orange thrown in the mix, with some ginger and Lyle's Golden Syrup, it made a convincing side dish.

PS: To prove I am tired, I just saw an ad for Oedipus Rex entitled "Patricide and incest on stage?" and I read (out loud) the title of the play as "Innapus." Therefore I will now sleep.

The church next door is having a celebration of the Putney Debates, which took place there some, I don't know, 400 or so years a go. Before I was born, you know, but only by a few years. So there's been sporadic cannon shooting going on and I do believe someone just rowed Oliver Cromwell to the church in a rather interesting little boat. This is all fairly interesting to watch through the window but I can't say I really feel like going outside today.

Today's goals are not ambitious and basically go 1) shower 2) nap 3) buy groceries. This is what I wanted to do LAST Sunday and didn't manage for whatever reason. I should also consider washing some dishes as all but one of the thirty or so glasses I put out managed to get used. We ended the night with decidedly less vodka than before but a genuine surfeit of gin and some amazing Elderflower liquer (which I would like to chill and have at the end of the day regularly, YUM!).

This morning I made a special "wish you were here" breakfast that had me imagining my brother was in the kitchen waiting for food, only it would have been bad if he had been as we would have not had enough eggs. In short, I took the smoked gouda with ham in it, made a cheese sauce out of that, and poured it over poached eggs on toast. Then I fried up an extra two "rashers" of bacon so that no one felt underfed. After 11 hours of sleep, it seemed a very hearty breakfast was called for. I unfortunately have extra sauce left over so I'll have to see if I can figure out how to use it or if I'll just give in and throw it out, which seems like a waste.

Okay, I've now been up for some three hours and accomplished 1) breakfast and 2) my calendar for November (had to add in a bunch of Tsai Ming Liang movies at BFI). Wait, no, I bought my tickets for Snow Queen in December, so, well, that's something, right? I guess that means I've earned a nap.

I slept until 10:45 after having intense dreams about Mary Spencer/Mary Villanueva, who was Formerly My Best Friend. She'd come back to rescue me from being imprisioned in an insane asylum by my high school French teacher - and given me an aluminum heart-shaped pendant (like a dog would wear) stamped "Friends Forever" or some such. I was also dreaming about Mike Pearson - more friends lost to the sands of time. I swear most of them have abandoned me. I must be very difficult to get along with. I think it's the "calling bullshit" thing that irritates people the most.

Um. Yeah. Then we went to the Slug and Lettuce for breakfast (a 2 for 1 coupon sealed that deal) and bought groceries at Sainsbury's - it seems like we haven't done a proper grocery shopping trip since before our guests came, and we went home with four bags full ("one for the master, one for the dame ..."). Now ... well, it seems like it's nap time again, and then I'm going to clean the apartment for a bit.

My presence here was just justified by being available to answer a question the newbies couldn't manage. Yay!

I'm still in hell though, even though I'm full of bacon and waffles. The second shift is coming on and their happy faces are making me resentful.