Keeping Busy

So what have I been doing with the time that I should have been posting over the last week and a half? Let’s see…

We got our new washing machine last Friday and have been blissfully laundering since. Matthew had several days off so he has done more than I have, but I’m trying to catch up.

Last Saturday we went over to my friend Virginia’s for lunch and got back at 2am. Hampstead Heath, hippies and Spanish people figured in our adventures, more on which later. My niece's birthday party was on Saturday, too. Judging from the photos, there were 4 grandparents and at least one federal judge present, so it had to be fun!

This was supposed to be my last week at work, but they like me so much they want me to come back! I was originally contracted to work for four weeks at an architectural practice in Central London to cover one receptionist being in the Czech Republic for a week and the other receptionist being in South Africa for three weeks. Near the end of the fourth week, we heard from the second girl that she’d developed a blood clot in her leg on the way back from South Africa and so couldn’t come back to work just yet. However, she’d been hospitalized in France and her doctor’s note was in French, so there was a bit of confusion about what exactly was going on. She’s coming back on Monday so I was prepared for this to be my last week, but on Tuesday, they asked me if I’d like to come back to do another role, which involves entering all their project contacts into a data base for use on the intranet they are setting up. Should be pretty boring, but not difficult. I really like the people there, the location is great and the office is very laid back and friendly. Also, this project should last for several weeks, which will take me almost right up to the beginning of the school term. So yay for me! To celebrate, we had a slap-up meal of George Foreman-grilled steaks, broccoli and thick-cut pan-fried potatoes. So tasty it made me wish I got a new job every day…

Also on Tuesday, I found a book club I’m going to try out. I was aimlessly googling and found a group that meets in Central London and is accepting new members. The list of books they’ve read in the past sounded good – I’ve at least heard of most of them – so I am going to their next meeting this coming Tuesday. To that end, I’ve been reading John Fowles’s 600 page novel The Magus, desperately trying to finish by Tuesday. I know I can do it, but I’m just so busy these days, ya know? Also, I’m not finding myself really engaged in the book in a way that would force me to sit down and read for 4 hours at a stretch. So, we’ll see.

On Wednesday, I took homemade kiwi bread to work and received general adulation. There are no photos of the kiwi bread because it mysteriously disappears every time I make it. In fact, all that’s left of the loaf I kept at home is a very small sliver that I’ve saved for Matthew. It’s not a very generous serving, but should be enough to keep him from accusing me of eating it all while he was at work. Anyway, I got one request for the recipe and many, many requests for more bread. I will have do it again in a couple of weeks, if only because the kiwis are “liberated” from the fruit bowl at work so I feel I owe it to the company to give them back, value-added. Some of them, anyway; lots of them end up in my cereal in the mornings.

Also on Wednesday, I went to my new yoga class. It’s my third week and I still feel the next day as if I’ve been beaten up.

On Thursday evening, we joined Virginia and some friends of hers for a picnic on Hampstead Heath. We sat on blankets in the long grass and ate cold sausages, potato salad, olives, pate on crusty bread, and lots of other yummy things while dogs came over to say hello, families rambled by and a boot camp style exercise class kept running past being shouted at, I mean, encouraged by their instructor. It was windy and got very cold but we had a good time and plan to do it again next week. We took the overground train home, which I’d never done before, so that was interesting too. It’s like the underground, except you can actually see things out the windows.

Friday was extremely busy at work. The practice hosted an awards ceremony for architectural students doing sustainable building projects and I had about 30 minutes in the afternoon to set up the “drinks and nibbles” area for about 50 people. It was hard work, but the most annoying thing was that I kept setting out trays of beers, only to have people keep drinking them! Actually what annoyed me was that they kept leaving the bottle caps all over the tables, making them appear very messy, even though I’d set out a little cup for the caps and even “seeded” it with one so they’d see what it was for. Honestly… Anyway, I fell asleep on the sofa as soon as I got home. When I woke up I whined a little bit about making dinner and we eventually ordered Chinese food and watched several episodes of the American Office. Pretty much a perfect Friday night…

Yesterday I did some shopping (to celebrate the Summer Solstice, perhaps?) and today I went to a crafts fair. It was fun and I bought lots of things, but I will have to wait to write about it, since I mainly bought presents for my sister’s birthday (next weekend) and don’t want ruin her surprises!