November 2013

November 30, 2013

Five mile run this morning. I made a particular effort to keep to the recommended slow pace and consequently was barely out of breath at the end. I saw the dog that leapt out at me the other day. What a monster — it looks like a small pony…Made celery soup for lunch with the amazing celery I bought on a market stall yesterday. I was initially disappointed in the soup, which is from the Moosewood Cookbook. “Why did I ever write ‘delicious!” in the margin?” I wondered after tasting it. I’ve had this experience before with celery soup. I think it’s all meh and underseasoned, but then it somehow transforms into something really delicious.

Spent the afternoon wrapping Hannukah gifts, while the girls planned their outfits and indulged in an orgy of personal grooming. We arrived promptly at 5:30. Jeffrey, Jennifer and their daughter Alison were there already — the first time Alison has joined use in years. It was great to see her. She used to babysit for Adam when he was a kid, and he has a real soft spot for her.

The evening started with a light supper, more of a tea really, with sandwiches, sausage rolls and lemon drizzle cake. Lyra barely contained herself for the hour it took everyone to eat up, but at last it was time to move to the drawing room.

Each grandchild lit a candle in the menorah, and we all sang the Hannukah song together, then the unwrapping frenzy commenced. Both girls were very pleased with their gifts. Lyra make actual squeaks of excitement each time she unwrapped something new.

Home by 9pm. We got the girls straight to bed, then poured a generous shot of our new whisky, courtesy of Doron and Antonia,which definitely hit the spot…

November 29, 2013

Headed back up to North Finchley to finish off the Hannukah shopping. We’re pretty much there, but it always seems to come down to the wire somehow. Doesn’t help that Hannukah is especially early this year. Apparently, for the first time in a hundred years, it has coincided with Thanksgiving. Amusing story on the news this morning about how Americans are embracing the juxtaposition with menorah shaped like turkeys, comedy songs and “Happy Thanksgivukah” cards.

Had Greta over after school for a playdate. It’s always Lalaloopsies when she comes around. She even brought some special ones from home to beef up Lyra’s collection. They got the iPad and made little Lalaloopsi movies, which kept them busy pretty much the whole time.

I made mac&cheese and peas for dinner, which is a playdate staple. I overheard Greta say to Lyra, “Why isn’t your mum a cook for her job? Because she’s the best cook in the world and I always love everything i eat at your house!” How to work her way into my affections…;-)

I ate with Adam later in the evening — steamed seabass fillets with roasted tomatoes and asparagus. Good weigh-in eve fare…

November 28, 2013

Ran too fast this morning… I find I generally go a bit faster than he says on the runs, but need to rein that in. Part of the training is learning to run at different paces, and to be able to recognise how fast you’re going and make adjustments.A meh day… After I showered and changed, I did laundry, cooking, a bit of web work. Took Lyra to the doctor to get the hole in her ear looked at. She had a painful sore in her ear this summer, which has healed leaving a pea-sized crater. The GP thinks it was probably some some sort of cyst that has destroyed her cartilage.

Made a chicken liver ragu for dinner. I had to stop in the middle for the doctor’s appointment, and ended up skipping the step where you’re supposed to chop the liver finely before cooking it. I tried mashing the cooked chunks, but it was still pretty liver-y.

I decided to give the girls pesto instead. Interestingly, they both felt like they were missing out on somthing, and insisted on trying ours. They claimed to like it, but I plan to use the rest of the sauce in a lasagne or something…

November 27, 2013

None of us welcomed our weekly Wednesday early start this morning… It’s hard when it’s still so dark at 7am. Only one more month and things start brightening up again. And a couple of those weeks are the holidays, so the alarm can slip back an hour or so. Such an optimist, me…After gymnastics drop off, I finished my final web story for the AIDS site and did all the filing, time tracking etc. Glad to have that off my plate. The engineering site is planning to launch this week as well. I’m excited to have that out the door — it’s been a long time in the making.

Alex came back to ours after school, which wasn’t a great success. Lyra’s often tricky on these Wednesdays. I think she’s tired by her long day, which makes her fractious with her friend, and prone to tears.

Panto auditions at the school this evening — we’re doing Aladdin this year. I thought it was perhaps slightly less humiliating than previous readings. It’s pretty hard to read a script cold, and intimidating to follow the professionals who make it seem so effortless…

Watched a episode of Borgen while eating a late dinner. It was all about health and animal welfare issues in the Danish pork industry. Just as well we were eating vegetarian — mung dhal and basmati rice. I notice we are eating less and less meat, maybe three four days a week are veggie now…

November 26, 2013

Slept in a bit, after having a disturbed night’s sleep. Through a miscommunication with Adam, the cat managed to stay in our bedroom overnight. She woke me at 3am, chasing a mouse around the room, then noisily crunching it up under our bed — yuck…Ran 5 miles, did more work on Indian site, and had a visit from the piano tuner for a long overdue tuning of our piano. I was expecting a telling off for situating it against an outside wall, but he just commended us on turning off the nearby radiator.

Alice came round after school, which poor old Alex didn’t like one bit. She practically walked backwards until she passed our turn off, keeping an eye on what Lyra and Alice were getting up to. Lyra has a tricky situation to manage there, having two best friends competing for top spot in her affections.

Nova has asked if I’ll take her to the new Hunger Games movie this weekend. Adam promised to take her to the last one, which never happened. All her friends saw it except her, and she didn’t see it until it was the video at a sleepover months later,

I’m speed reading the first book in preparation, and will maybe watch the film on Netflix too if I get the chance. It would be great to read the second book as well, but I don’t see that happening…

November 25, 2013

For once we were pretty organised on a Monday morning, having really got on top of things this weekend. Instead of dropping Lyra in the playground, I spent a half an hour volunteering in the class, providing reading support to a child who needs a bit of extra help.Mattar paneer for dinner, which wasn’t a big hit. The girls thought the cheese tasted like a cross between tofu and plastic. They had a point, but it was still a bit rude…

Adam was out at a school governor’s meeting for the evening. I watched my fatties, and when he hadn’t come home three hours after his ETA, I assumed they’d repaired to the pub and went to bed.

I got the results of my MRI this afternoon. According to the GP, it is neither a slipped disc or a tumour. There are some small osteocytes (likely the result of age-related degeneration) that are narrowing the spinal canal and causing the discomfort and weakness. Nothing to be done, but physio might help so she’s put me on the waiting list for that.

Actually, I don’t really buy this diagnosis, mainly because of the significant local swelling,the abrupt way the problem materialised and my opinion of the MRI technicians. I’ll wait for my referral and hear what the physio thinks, as she’s likely to be more knowledgable than the GP. Depending on what I hear and how the situation develops, I’ll likely seek a second opinion…

November 24, 2013

I was supposed to do a ten-mile run this morning, but certainly didn’t much feel like it on five hours sleep and a half bottle of wine. Adam convinced me to just get out there and do something, saying I’d feel better for it.Once I started running, I was surprised to find I actually felt pretty good. when I hit five miles, I thought “I’ll do one more, and make it a short long run.” I was still feeling strong after I did that, so did another mile and another one… Managed the whole distance in the end and at a pretty good pace too.

Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon for lunch, much to Lyra’s dismay. She’s really not a fish lover, that one. Nova had her book group in the afternoon. The host mum invited Lyra round to play with their little one — she was very chuffed about that.

Roasted a ham for dinner, following the Nigella technique of simmering it in Coca Cola first. I didn’t have quite enough liquid, and ended up with a two-tone piece of meat. There were significant differences in taste and texture between the submerged and exposed meat, though both were tasty. Served it with mash and corn. Applesauce mousse for dinner, which was nice though a bit soupy as it hadn’t had enough time to set.

Watched X-Factor with Nova before bed. There was a shock sing-off where the clearly least deserving candidate was saved by the public. Nova feels these things very strongly, and went to bed quite upset. I didn’t really care… From my point of view, I liked them both fine, but neither was the act I want to win…

November 23, 2013

It was a bitterly cold morning, but I got up and dutifully did run number ten in the half marathon training plan I’m following. I find that it helps to be “told” what to do sometimes. I wonder how effective it will be tomorrow when I’m trying to convince myself to run ten miles in zero degree weather after our dinner party…?I was chugging along at a steady pace, mind wandering pleasantly, when suddenly an enormous black creature burst out of the bushes onto the path in front of me. “Aaagh! A bear!” I thought, before remembering that I live in north London not northern BC. Turns out it was an enormous black shaggy dog — likely a Bouvier. You can take the girl out of Prince George…

I’m making another Jerusalem-based menu for tonight’s dinner party. Read a funny piece in the paper the other day about how “to ottolenghi” has become a verb in north London.

Did some of the prep before lunch then headed up to North Finchley with the girls for a spot of Hannukah/Christmas care parcel shopping. Each year, the school gets families to fill a shoe box with appropriate gifts for a child of a specified age. You wrap it nicely, drop it back to the school, from where it is distributed to a needy child overseas.

There are strict guidelines about what you can include, so the boxes can be sent to any country — no chocolate, nothing military, or any type of toy gun, knife etc., nothing overtly Christian…

Our guests arrived late this evening, which wasn’t the greatest for the food. It was still fine, but not my best. Adam’s roasted squash dip was pretty tasty. We followed it with chicken in ouzo and orange juice, a basmati-wild rice dish and a spinach-date salad. Dessert was roasted pears and butterscotch sauce.

Although Will and Sara and the McCabes didn’t know one another, they hit it off really well. We had a great evening, and it had gone 2:30 by the time we made it to bed…

November 22, 2013

Nova’s not feeling well this morning. No temperature or anything, but she seems kind of fuzzy headed and particularly slow. Being the heartless cow that I am, I dosed her up with drugs and sent her off to school as usual…Lyra’s class assembly this morning was on Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole and… Little Red Riding Hood…? Lyra played a rich, mean lady who tries to get mixed race Mary Seacole kicked off a passenger ship as it’s for “white people only”. She also played Largo on the piano, which earned her lots of compliments.

Had Alina round for a playdate this afternoon. The girls haven’t seen much of each other lately, but they are comfortable old friends and have nice energy together. Fed them schnitzel followed by apple crumble, which went down well. Veronika showed up sporting her new “Isabel Marant for H&M” trousers. She got lucky online when the collection was launched. It was a frenzy apparently, and loads of people were left emptyhanded and disappointed…

Out of curiousity, I had a look at the H&M site, and there was exactly one item remaining from the whole collection — a nasty looking pair of white waxed denim trousers with tassels on the side…

Seventeen pairs of the much cooler black waxed denim ones are already on eBay, at wildly optimistic asking prices up to £200. No one seems to be buying so far… good…;-)

November 21, 2013

My training plan called for three fast miles bookended by two slow ones. Felt a bit nervous about it, but managed just fine…My engineering website is finally nearing completion. The client has put a spate of good work in on the content and we look like launching in the next week or so. They’ve requested a pile of tricky little final fixes, which kept me working until after midnight. Cracked all but one…

November 20, 2013

Finished the batch of End AIDS India stories this morning and filed them on the shared drive. Still five outstanding, with some pretty scrappy source material to work from…Received a surprise book from Margo in the post this afternoon — “Shine Shine Shine” by Lydia Netzer. Haven’t heard of it, but looking forward to reading it after I finish Stoner.

Caught up on some correspondence, paperwork and email this afternoon, including a reply to the letter my bank sent telling me they are slashing the interest rate on my savings account. There was something about the tone that really got up my nose. I dashed off this reply and pushed send before I had time to reconsider:

Thanks for this patronising, dismissive email. If I understand it correctly, you are offering me a derisory amount of interest in order to encourage me to move to a different bank? Is this a deliberate policy to penalise longterm customers and encourage those who have relatively large amounts of savings with you to change providers? That is certainly how it appears to me.

I will be making an effort to find a new home for my ISA money, and my chequing account as well. I expect I will be in touch to take you up on your offer to help me piss off to another provider once I’ve done the necessary research. Look forward to ending my twenty year relationship with your bank, and genuinely hope that the rest of your customers will do the same.

Don’t expect I’ll be receiving a response to that one…;-)

November 19, 2013

Went to the funeral of our neighbour Phyllis who died last week. Widowed, ninety and crippled by osteoporosis, she’s been ready to go for some time, but it’s still sad. She and Pascale were good friends, and she’s been a surrogate grandmother to their family over the years.

Adam had to work, so I drove over with Pete, Pasc and Sarah. We spent a good twenty minutes sitting outside the wrong crematorium before realising our error. Drove like maniacs through East Finchley to the right venue, and actually had to dodge round the coffin in the entranceway to make it to our seats on time.

Good thing we did, as Pasc did the second reading — a poem she’d written about her friendship with Phyl. Tim Piggott-Smith read a sonnet, one of her sons spoke, and a granddaughter read some exerpts from Phyl’s memoir about growing up in the East End of London, and that was basically it.

There was a small reception back at the house with champagne and lovely little canapés. Ended up spending most of the afternoon getting mildly drunk with Pete, breaking off only when it was time to collect Lyra from school.

Adam and I had a dinner date at St John with his colleague Erin and her husband. He joined the company when Erin went on maternity leave, so there’s always been a bit of vagueness about what will happen when she returns to work. Fortunately, they are moving back to Vancouver in the new year, so it’s not particularly Adam’s issue to resolve…

November 18, 2013

Had a major mouse incident today. Yesterday evening, Cleo came dashing up the stairs with a mouse in her jaws. Before we could spring into action, the damn thing escaped and scrambled behind the bedroom radiator. We could see the tip of its tail but couldn’t reach it.Although Cleo waited diligently, it was still there at bedtime. We put the cat out and closed our bedroom door so the mouse couldn’t escape. About noon the next day, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. It was the mouse, making a dash from the radiator to hide under the bed.

I rounded up the cat and shoved her under the bed as well. For the next hour, Cleo and I chased the damn thing around our bedroom. I ended up moving furniture, boxes, everything it could hide behind, but the creature still eluded us. It was an alarmingly big mouse, nearly hamster sized, and vocal too, shrieking and squeaking whenever we got near.

Cleo was getting kind of freaked out by the whole episode, and tried hiding in the closet herself, but I dragged her out and kept her at work. Eventually I trapped the mouse with the butterfly net. It was so large, I was loath to handle it, but didn’t have any gloves available. I managed to reach a shoebox lid to pop over it, and weighted that down with a box and some books.

I would have quite liked to leave it for Adam to deal with, but now that the mouse was contained Cleo got her mojo back and kept poking and prodding at my “mousetrap”. Reluctantly, I went upstairs for supplies — cutting board, rubber gloves etc, and managed to transfer the stack outside, though there were some dicey moments maneuvering the long net handle around the staircase, and set it free outside…

Made latkes for the girls and myself, which we ate with Greek yogurt and applesauce. Yummy, calorie-laden goodness…;-)

November 17, 2013

Went for a nine-mile run on the Heath this morning. I hadn’t decided on the route I’d take, mulling it over as I went along. I eventually decided to repeat the basic loop with a little extra piece around Kenwood tacked on to make the length about right.Saw something amusing on my second lap. Climbing from the mixed pond on a rough and mucky trail, I came upon a couple out for a Sunday morning walk. The guy was dressed for the weather and terrain, but his companion was dolled up in a short cocktail dress, shrug/wrap thing, sheer tights and a pair of 5″ stiletto Louboutins. She was gamely picking her way up the trail, but I’d have loved to hear what was going through her head…

I’ve noticed that math part of my brain completely shuts down when I run, and half expected would be wildly out, but it came out about right. Noticed a little twanging of the old ileotibial band for the last five minutes, but no biggie compared to running eight miles with it threatening to spasm.

There was a lovely batch of applesauce muffins waiting when I got home. I returned the favour with a tasty batch of heuvos rancheros a few hours later. Spent the afternoon at Veronika and Basil’s. Her brother Franz is visiting from Germany — he’s a great guy and it was really good to see him.

Picked up boreks and some veggies for a salad at Yasir Halim before heading home. I threw together a simple supper, which we ate in front of X-Factor, after which Adam and I indulged ourselves with an episode of Borgen followed by Homeland… very different fare, but both very satisfying…

November 16, 2013

What a lousy weigh-in this morning…:-(
I’ve abruptly and unexpectedly jumped up three pounds, singlehandly cancelling out David’s impressive loss this week. Fortunately Wade registered a loss as well, so overall we’re down. I don’t know what to make of it… My body fat is decreasing steadily, so maybe it’s additional muscle from running? That’s probably it…;-)Did a four-mile run in Highgate Wood. I’m still not totally loving my new shoes — the stiffness of the soles takes some getting used to. I’m accustomed to a lot more cushioning. But I imagine I’ll break them in before long.

Made an array of salads for lunch: Greek, tuna cannellini bean and a quinoa one. It’s a bit chilly for that sort of food, but I’m working with what we have in the house. I’ve been making a concerted effort lately to finish off things in the fridge, freezer and cupboard before buying more groceries.

It’s the Highgate Winter Fair this afternoon. Lyra has a stinking cold, but we bundled her up warmly and headed out. My favourite thing this year was the human snow globe thing, with a pair of ballerinas dancing slowly in a plastic dome in a flurry of artificial snow.

There were the usual reindeer, a Santa’s grotto, and a beautiful carriage with “real” princess inside, which children were taking turns to sit with. There was mulled wine and baked goods, and a craft stall and not much else. I do like the non-commercial aspect of this fair — it’s pretty non-commercial by modern standards.

Damien Lewis and Helen McCrory were lined up to switch on the Christmas lights, so we joined the crowd forming in front of the stage. It was funny — all the kids were there to see Helen “Narcissa Malfoy” and all the mums wanted Damian “Brody” Lewis.

Threw together a quick pasta supper then headed down to the Royal Festival Hall to see Paolo Conte — us and a thousand Italians. What a great gig — he is such a massive talent, and getting on in years as well. I can’t imagine many more tours in his future…

November 15, 2013

Finally got round to making a hair appointment for a cut and new highlights. Officially, I’m still highlighting my hair, not colouring it — there are just a lot more of them these days…;-)I went to a local place this time instead of making the trek to see Becky in the Angel. I was a bit reluctant to see a new colourist, but I thought the new girl was good. Her big idea was to introduce some brown into the mix as well, which resulted in a slightly less blond, more natural look. She gave me a blunt cut as well, which looks nice. And the whole thing was a lot cheaper than at Becky’s, even with my “friends and family” discount…

Lots of to’ing and fro’ing this afternoon. Lyra had her piano lesson at Anita’s after school, as they didn’t manage to fit it in during school hours. I also had Nova to ferry back and forth to the swimming pool — I don’t much like her walking on her own in the cold and dark. Lamb keema curry for dinner, which was enjoyed by all…

November 14, 2013

Happy birthday, Wade — forty-four, wow!
Returning from my five-mile run, I discovered the gardener dragging out bags of windfall apples he’d gathered from the Nolan’s for green recycling. It seemed crazy to allow that much food to go to waste. Adam and I picked through the bags, filling up two big trugs with the least bruised fruit, which we hauled upstairs. Having a mountain of wet apples to process changed the course of my day, but we’re going to be sorted for applesauce all winter.

Keeping with the apple theme, I watched a documentary called The Botany of Desire, about how our desire for what certain plants can give us –sweetness (apples), control (corn), beauty (tulips), expanding our consciousness (marijuana) — has impacted our development. The presenter first got the idea while planting potatoes in his garden. He was thinking how he was taking control of that corner of his garden when he noticed a bee buzzing round a nearby apple blossom. “I bet the bee thinks that it’s getting the best of that transaction,” he thought, “while actually it is totally dancing to the tree’s tune.”

November 13, 2013

Had the long awaited MRI on my back this morning — a pretty yucky experience. Unlike the one on my ankle, which was at the Whittington, this appointment was at a health centre in Manor House. Adam dropped me off at what turned out to be scruffy one-story brick building on a rough-looking housing estate. When I presented my letter at reception, the woman directed me to the parking lot out back.The MRIs were being performed in a sort of trailer raised on hydraulics. After knocking, I had to quickly retreat down the rickety ladder so I wasn’t knocked off by the opening door. The two middle-aged Indian guys inside were pretty short on social skills, issuing one-word commands — “Sit. Fill in.” — etc. Paperwork complete, I was shown into a sort of storage/box room at one end of the trailer and told to “Take off shirt bra.”

The machine itself was at the other end of the trailer, and I was stuffed into it pretty unceremoniously. Following Aaron’s tip, I just kept my eyes closed the whole time. It wasn’t pleasant, but the half hour went by fast enough. The whole experience was sort of cold, seedy and impersonal. I said to Adam afterwards that the fact it didn’t include anything creepy/sexual was the most positive thing to recommend it. I can’t help but see it as a direct consequence of Tory health reforms to privatise/outsource health services and incentivise GPs to shop around for the cheapest providers.

The whole thing left me feeling a bit violated… “Nachos for lunch,” I decided, “that’ll fix me.” Regrouped further with a little snooze on the sofa, waking just in time to pick up Lyra and Alex.

That pair are always up to something, and today’s scheme was selling owl pictures. They’d produced five, which they attempted to flog to passersby at the top of the path. Abandoning that idea after about ten minutes, they then tried selling door to door. Anne and John were their first victims. “What’s this?” Anne asked. “An owl,” Lyra said. “And what’s this?” “Another owl.” They very kindly bought the whole sheaf for £2.50…

November 12, 2013

My new waterproof trainers are the dog’s bollocks as we say in this country! I squelched though mud and puddles for four miles and my socks emerged lily white at the end. The weather perversely improved minutes after I got back home, and it was quite mild and nice by the afternoon.I lined my Christmas cake tin properly for once, following a video on the web, and mixed up the cake batter. In spite of the low oven temperature, it seemed to cook too quickly, and i’m concerned it might be a little bit overdone.

Salad rolls for dinner, made with Lyra’s help — she soaked the rice sheets for me. Delicious, if a bit light for a chilly November evening. Here’s another one of Lyra’s stories:

Sleepover
Jem was so excited to tel alice ema and sofia that she was having a sleepover. jem told her frend’s thay where so excited .thay came to jem’s howse when jem sore her fren’s she led them up stairs into her bedroom ema asked what we shood do Jem mayby a pilow fight im having the fluffy pilow said Sofia no I want it said Alice quiet every one showted jem. hoo want’s the velvet pilow? every one gave Jem a dum look wel you can’t all have the pilow .I think Ema shood have the pilow she didnt call owt now let’s have the pilow fight. I won showted Sofia no I won said ema no one won I said it’s time to watch a movie let’s have a vote with Ella enchanted and spy kid’s. who want’s spy kid’s sofia put up her hand ok we are watching ella enchanted owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww said Sofia I dont like the part when ella meet’s the bad unkle dont wory said jem I will tel you when that part hapen’s ok said sofia mmmmmmmmmmuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmm can we have some popcorn please yes came a voice from down stair’s ono maybe sofia shood go in the bathroom it’s the part when ella meets the bad unkle rely rely soon Im going in now said Sofia I LoVVVVVEEE the part when Ella meets the bad unkle said alice sofia you can come owt now are you shore yes I said

November 11, 2013

Paying for that Thanksgiving lunch on the scales this morning…:-( I shudder to think what it might have read without the seven-mile run. Actually, I sometimes wonder if the running might count against me a little bit due to gaining muscle, but maybe that’s wishful thinking…Made a Waitrose trip after drop-off. I deliberately kept the list short so I could stock up on Christmas baking supplies without breaking the bank. I’m starting with the Christmas cake, and currently have all the fruit marinating in an old bottle of pommeau we bought in Normandy long before we had kids. Nicely fermented now…

Made mac and cheese for family dinner before headed out for an evening with Veronika. Had some tapas and a bottle of wine at El Parador — that should get the scales heading it the right direction, not…;-)

November 10, 2013

I heard little footsteps creeping up the stairs by 8am. I’d thought they might sleep a bit later, having stayed up so late, but what kid wants to waste valuable sleepover time sleeping?I needed to get my run out of the way first thing, so we could head down to Surrey for our annual Thanksgiving lunch with our friends Ben and Michaela. My training plan dictated seven miles. I tried to sustain a gentle 11:30/mile pace but I kept running quicker than that. Then I decided, if it feels good, why not? It was I’m still getting used to my new trainers, but love the traction and waterproof qualities.

After my shower, I made a final pancake from the dregs of the batter then finished decorating “Adam’s” carrot cake. We were on the road by 11am — with a smooth, troublefree journey, we arrived right on schedule.

Michaela and Ben opted to go Mexican this year, which is a bit random, though beans, squash and corn are suitable autumnal/harvesty fare. It was a lovely meal and maybe the start of a new tradition. We were all agreed that leaving out the pumpkin pie was a mistake, delicious as the carrot cake was…

With the kids zoned out in the livingroom playing MineCraft, we spent a relaxed afternoon drinking wine round the dining room table. Just like the old days…

Back home we watched this week’s X-Factor final. Nova was outraged that two girls found themselves in the bottom two sing off. Just goes to show what drives the public vote — teenaged girls keeping those cute, but far less talented boys safe. But if they then go on to buy their albums, there’s a logic to it. Watched the first episode of current series of Homeland afterwards — good stuff…

November 9, 2013

I left the girls to sort out their own breakfast and went for a run first thing, so I could be back before Nova needed to leave for drama. After all that rain yesterday, I expected the woods would be an absolute swamp. I wasn’t that keen on wearing my brand new shoes, perfect though they’d be for the conditions. It seemed a shame to get them dirty straightaway, but I overcame that silly thinking…I think I laced them a bit too tightly, and the soles are definitely stiffer than I’m used to. They aren’t as comfortable as my SuperNova Cushions, but the grip is fantastic and it’s a novelty to end a run with completely dry feet.

Spent the rest of the morning baking the carrot cake that Adam committed to making for Thanksgiving. The girls were a big help, having recently made the same cake for my birthday. I thought he might ice it when he got back in the afternoon, but in the end it seemed simplest just to do it myself.

We had Lyra’s friend Lucia around for a sleepover. They had a great time together, giggling and having fun. She’s such a lighthearted little girl — a real sweetie. I fed them fish fingers and chips, then made spinach feta tacos for us. When I gave Nova the option of either dinner. , she said that actually didn’t like the tacos very much, but I was so keen on them last time that she “didn’t want to ‘kill my bliss'”…

What another episode of Band of Brothers once all children were tucked away. I can’t say that I’m enjoying it. I can tell that it’s very good, but spend half my time experiencing dread and the rest looking at Adam instead of the screen, judging by the expression on his face when it’s safe for me to look again…

November 8, 2013

Went to Veronika’s birthday coffee at Cote with five other mums this morning. Not my usual set, as she’s made friends from Marli’s class as well. Interesting to talk with some new people, although there’s one friend of hers that I do struggle with…Carried on down to Archway afterwards, and caught the tube into town to do some shopping. Seems like ages since I’ve done that — all this working I’ve been doing is interfering with my “lady of leisure lifestyle”…;-)

First stop, John Lewis, where I bought school uniform for the girls, and a lovely hand cream for myself, as well as wool for Christmas knitting. Next stop, Uniqlo for jeans that won’t need a belt to stay up, before moving on to the main purpose of the trip — the big adidas store for new running shoes.

Spent a very happy hour trying on all the latest brands, before deciding to remain true to my trusty Supernovas. I’ve gone for a trail shoe this time — it has a great grip, a firmer sole and claims to be waterproof, which will be a fine thing, if it turns out to be true…

It was pelting with rain when I emerged. But I’d told Alex’s mum Debbie that I’d go to Primark to look for something we want to buy the girls, so I shlepped down to Marble arch. No joy, but I did pick myself up a cool teeshirt, so it wasn’t a totally wasted trip.

It was raining even harder in Highgate, water streaming down the road in sheets, as the gutters were choked with autumn leaves. I wondered if they’d cancel tonight’s fireworks, but received no message to that effect.

Once I’d fed Nova and dropped her off at swimming, I packed a bag of warm clothes for Lyra, and collected her up from her playdate. The school playing field was soggy but not terrible, though it did take an awfully long time to get the bonfire lit.

This year’s guy was astride the alien rocket that landed in the playground. It looked pretty cool, but when it finally ignited, great hunks of flaming spaceship were sucked into the night sky, before landing on the flat roof of the school. A bit worrying, and probably just as well it was such a damp evening…

I was a bit distracted waiting for Nova to turn up. She was walking herself from the Mallinson — not far, but it’s along busy roads in the dark. The fireworks were utterly spectacular — with some beautiful ones I’ve never seen before.

Found Nova at the end, and we all headed home together. Trisha had invited us round, but it was cold and wet, and everyone was tired, so I sent my apologies. Hot water bottles and straight to bed for the lot of us…

November 7, 2013

Adam was up all night working. He’s off to Copenhagen for a couple of days this afternoon, to be a rapporteur (or something) at a CSR workshop for some Scandi bank.Ran another four miles in the Woods, finishing with a set strides like last time. I’m getting to enjoy the strides– there is something really satisfying about running as fast as you can, especially if you don’t have to do it for very long…;-)

Made a big bowl of steamed veg for lunch, with a piece of Pié d’Angloys melted over top — simple and yummy, and a good way to make a small amount of cheese go a long way.

Took Lyra to the library after school, before it was time for her parent-teacher meeting. Fortunately, Nova swung by to collect her, as the teacher was running almost an hour late. When I finally got my ten minutes, it wasn’t what I expected to hear. It sounds like Lyra’s shyness or lack of confidence is affecting her performance in the classroom, because there’s no doubt she’s a far more fluent reader than her teacher realises, and stronger at maths as well. It’s a shame Adam wasn’t there to ask questions as well…

Beef barley soup for dinner, after which I left the invaluable Nova in charge and headed out to the Wrestlers for my book group. A fun evening, though I should definitely have declined that third glass of wine…

November 6, 2013

Adam was off at Heathrow all day, chairing a meeting or workshop. Once I’d done all the morning stuff and dropped Lyra at school, I felt no guilt about settling down to finish the Alice Munro’s The Beggar Maid, which I’m reading for my book group tomorrow, before tackling the day’s work. There’s so much hype around her at the moment what with the Pulitzer Prize, but I didn’t love it. I found the protagonist Rose unlikeable, which didn’t help…Lyra went back to Alex’s after school, so I ate dinner with Nova — salmon and quinoa — before heading out to meet Adam in town. We’ve got tickets to the ATP Finals at the O2 Centre this evening.

We weren’t particularly lucky in the draw this year. I’d never heard of either of the doubles pairs, and our main match was Berdych v Ferrer. I started out rooting for Ferrer, but changed allegiance half way through, when it turned out I liked the other guy better…

November 5, 2013

Nova woke us up this morning. It’s dark at 6:45am now, and cold too. It’s getting harder and harder to drag ourselves out of our cozy hibernating sleep…It rained heavily enough to disturb my sleep last night, but according to the news, the storm had blown over London and bright skies were promised for the rest of the day. They certainly got that wrong…

By the time I dropped Lyra at school at set off on my run, it was raining pretty hard. And during the hour I was out, it only ramped up the volume. I was soaked to the skin before long, with water streaming down my face. Actually, I really love running in the rain… I did a slow four mile run, followed by six strides — workout one of the half marathon training plan I’m starting that’s designed to increase my speed to under 2:15:00. We’ll see…

The rain let up several hours later than predicted, but at least it was dry for Nova’s school fireworks evening. After a quick bowl of soup we headed over in time for Nova’s debut in the flute section of the concert orchestra.

Filled up the rest of the time grazing on delicious homemade samosas and chatting with the (very) few people we know before the fireworks started. Wonderful display again this year — I love the setting in that beautiful square, framed by bare branches black against the illuminated sky.

Two coats to clean when I got home — Nova had doused herself in hot chocolate, while Adam had managed to dribble a long streak of hot sauce on the pristine lining of Lyra’s new parka…

November 4, 2013

Back in the ole school routine — double packed lunches, book bags, gym kits, etc… For all their grumbling, both girls were actually pretty happy to get back to their classes.It was a glorious blue sunny day, if rather cold. Lyra was regretting her choice of knee socks by the time we reached the playground, especially when she discovered that she was only girl not wearing thick tights.

Went for a walk on the Heath afterwards — three brisk miles, such a pleasure. Came home up Fitzroy Avenue, emerging onto the Grove where I noticed that Jude Law’s house was getting papped…

Lots of housework to tackle — I find I can’t make much headway against it when kids are around. Did a Waitrose run as well. I’ve been digging into the freezer for the last few meals, which is good, but we need fresh fruit, cooking oil, flour etc, so it was definitely time for a visit.

Fish tacos for dinner — I’ve certainly got that recipe nailed now. And it’s good to find something fishy that Lyra will eat (though not with particular enthusiasm). Watched Downton Abbey with Nova afterwards, followed by my fatties. Bob Harper, the undisputed champion of trainers… The things he he had that poor Texan woman doing were unbelievable. He took fourteen pounds off her in just one week. I need someone to Bob Harper my ass…;-)

November 3, 2013

Bounced out of bed this morning filled with most uncharacteristic energy. I found a great country music feed on Spotify and bopped around the kitchen whipping up a Dutch baby for breakfast, while clearing, tidying, making coffee, wiping window panes etc…In contrast, Adam was lying poleaxed in bed, arriving well after the gong to find the rest of us halfway through our breakfast. We’re not usually that out of sync in the morning anymore, though it was certainly a cause of tension in the early days of our relationship. I could not understand how he could doze half a day away, happily sleeping until 2pm if he got the chance. It used to do my head in…

Last day of half term… Nova had Shira round so I hung out with Lyra as much as possible. Gave her a darn good nit combing for one thing. She’s much better than last time, but there was still a discouraging crop. We joked about how the nits were going to be disappointed not to go back to school and learn about Florence Nightingale.

I made a terrific meatloaf for dinner, involving chopped kimchi, and a lovely spicy glaze. The kids liked it okay, but complained a bit about the chilli. I pacified them with pavlova (Lyra’s request). Watched X-Factor, then headed out to a puppet cabaret at Jacksons Lane. Good stuff, especially the amazing hand shadow guy whose boogying bear shadow brought down the house…

November 2, 2013

Went for a 10km run first thing… Actually it wasn’t first thing — it was later than I prefer to go but still fine, just a lot more people on the paths. Adam took Lyra out for some scootering practice, and I had an idea of going to Camden Town with Nova but the weather turned yucky in the afternoon. It’s no fun there when it’s wet…Because I didn’t manage to deliver on Nova’s request for Mexican food for yesterday’s Day of the Dead, I pulled together a sort of Mexi-paella thing tonight. A layer of rice mixed with cuminy onions, garlic, and olives, topped with chicken fillets that had been simmered in salsa, all covered in grated cheddar and baked in the oven. Pretty nice, served with a a cabbage slaw on the side…

November 1, 2013

Rabbits! And just like that we’re into November, which is always a pretty busy month around here, what with Hannukah and Canada posting deadlines. I’m going to let Halloween settle a bit before I get started.Spent ages upgrading the operating system on Nova’s computer so that she could run some software she needed for her DT homework. Computer maintenance must surely feature on that most stressful experiences list, along with divorce, new baby, moving house, changing jobs etc. (Having just checked, it doesn’t actually appear on that list, though I did read about a recent survey that backs me up.)

What with all the IT work, I didn’t get round to cooking anything for dinner. So we hopped in the car and headed to Cafe Japan. I do love that place — it’s local, delicious, homely, good value and so authentic. We added tempura, miso soup and gyoza to our usual sushi choices, and everyone was happy.

Little Lyra was feeling very tired after last night’s sleepover, and was nearly dozing off in the booth. She headed straight to bed when we got home, with Nova not far behind her.

Another evening of French zombies. We’ve watched six episodes now, and for the most part I find myself sympathising more with the zombies than the living people. Life carries on, people adapt and make decisions that aren’t always possible to undo. And it appears being undead has certain complications as well…

Came across this in my Alice Munro book:

Flo said that out where she lived when she was little, there was a woman who had second sight. Buggies, and later cars, would be parked to the end of her lane on Sundays. That was the day people came from a distance to consult with her. Mostly they came to consult her about things that were lost.

“Didn’t they want to get in touch with their relations?” Rose’s father said, egging Flo on as he liked to when she was telling a story. “I thought she could put you in touch with the dead.”

“Well, most of them seen enough of their relations when they was alive.”