No Drab Bird

Woke up alert and became more so thanks to cups of java. Bought some coffee pods again and dusted off my Senseo.

The drive for renewed energy has found me changing things in my surroundings the last two weeks whether it is the new mats for my car and front door to a new theme in my bathroom among many things. Cabal was not immune either. I spent about 30 minutes grooming him carefully during my Sunday morning television news magazine. No AGOL marbles were lost when he refused to cooperate with me during his hair trimming. He loves the brush but doesn't care for the scissors.

Had my nails done in the early afternoon and followed it up by taking the drive-thru car wash. I figured I shouldn't stop there so I used the car vac machine in the complex and then later parked in a shady spot by my apartment so I could detail the inside for 20 minutes and finally throw out those obsolete maps stuffed in both front doors. When it was dark and cooler, I sprayed foam shine onto the tires. Yup. Way into my car today.

With all this activity, I am still not fairing that great on Sundays. Perhaps someone could recommend a good exorcism plan for ridding yourself of Englishmen in your psyche? Okay, only one in particular because I still like a lot of English musicians and actors. Maybe I should take up eating large quantities of Marmite? That vile goo would cure anything that ailed you, but I am too afraid to eat even a teaspoon of it again. I get chills and trigger my gag reflex just thinking about it.

Oh, God. I am not even drunk blogging, but I am admitting that I still miss him and his friggin' Hoobie Hoos (don't ask). I had three different groovy shirts custom-embroidered for him relating to them. Each shirt had a nice graphic design and appropriate text. How many women would get t-shirts made as a response to someone's singing? He took the response incredibly well.

Guess I'm just a different kind of bird; my feathers are not drab that's for sure. Lord knows I've tried for 36+ years to make them drab and blend in the crowd, but the false color just keeps coming off. When they are bright again, I say to myself, Why be boring? Other people have that covered. Then the mad cycle starts again...Sigh. I'd better go beddy-byes now and heat up some warm milk for my new sleeping ritual.

No Drab Bird

AGOL Takes UK: Roaming Brighton

Before we trekked to The Lanes in Brighton, I had to try another English breakfast. I had requested to have beans on toast which was actually not bad. Yummy had some, too, but had the most vile spread of Marmite sandwiched between his bread and beans. It tasted harmless enough until he spread a smidgen on a crumpet and urged me to try it. Oh...my...gosh...! EW! Multiple gulps of coffee couldn't even get rid of the yeasty taste. Yummy laughed and kept chomping happily on his Marmite laden crumpet.

Everything is within walking distance in Brighton. Of course, saying that and actually doing it are two different things. Thank God there were many things to note on the way to detract from the fact I am so out of shape other than round. Here are pictures of parts of this cosmohemian (cosmopolitan and bohemian) town. Was very pleased to see Yummy in front of a shop called Yummies. It brought a few laughs.




Moving closer to the shoreline are more visual treasures like Brighton Pier. Two children's carousels and a donut sculpture can be found on the way. The pier has a dome section and ends with an small amusement park. Very touristy, but the views of the water and shoreline are the trade-offs.

On one part of the pier you can stand and look down at a small patch of pebble beach and listen to the water recede, making sounds of rain. It made me smile. Last picture on next set is taken from a coffee shop at the pier where we rested for a bit on our roam around Brighton.



We got back early enough for Yummy to bake a garlicky chicken that we had with some rice stir-fried with veggie goodies. We wound down by watching some programs on his new widescreen.

AGOL Takes UK: Roaming Brighton

Marmite? No Joke

Happy April Fool's Day!

No, Sarah, it's not a joke. Something that sounds vile can taste good, Marmite, according to Yummy who smeared it on his toast this morning. The jury is still out in the UK and the company has cleverly designed a website with a Love-Hate theme. What is more vile than reading about it is this: Marmite Viral Video . I was never more glad not have had breakfast yet. Double Ew!

On a better note, I did have a wonderful late lunch/early dinner of the dubiously titled recipe from Real Simple called Pasta with Smashed Peas. I had all the ingredients like a proper AGOL. Because it didn't have a complex flavor, I ground up more black pepper for some zing. I also cut down on the pasta amount by half. You can have a heavy hand with salt in the pasta water, but don't add anymore to the finished dish. Oh, I reserved a bunch of the peas for texture and incorporated them just before serving plus they look nice mingling with the noodles. I also love feeling the peas bursting between my teeth when I eat them! There are a few more servings to enjoy.

Talked to Yummy a bunch today which warmed my AGOL self. Don't know if I mentioned it, but the counter on my blog displays how many days left until I am visiting him. It is a little intimidating, but I wouldn't miss seeing him for the world.

Yummy wants to try some Filipino food so I am perusing one of my cookbooks for recipes that are very Filipino, but not too Anglicized. Definitely have to make him some lumpia or Filipino egg roll with some homemade sweet and sour sauce. For him, we will have to cut some chili peppers to garnish the sauce. He has an adventurous palate and loves spicy food. Lucky AGOL!

Posting early today in case I get too tired to write after logging into work later. Anything to get ahead of tomorrow. Too bad that part is not a joke.

Marmite? No Joke