Pub Grub

The first question my Zumba friends asked was "how was the food?"  The bad rep for English food is long gone.  All out meals were fantastic, but these were the most ... locally ethnic?

To start with, we had a full English Breakfast available every morning.  It was like the Irish Breakfast of 4 years ago (oh my, it's been so long since I traveled afar), but without the white and black pudding.  Small eggs, perfectly cooked, with beautiful dark golden yolks.  Hammy bacon,  cumberland sausages, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes.  Not to worry, there was fruit too.

We had two delicious pub meals... first a lunch at the Carpenters Arms in Windsor...

Order up the pints, Handy!

Ah, thank you!  Hey, this works for the Saturday PhotoHunt:  Glass!

We both had lamb pie.  To be specific, a lamb shank pie, because that is a real bone sticking out the back of it.  Puff pastry top, lamb melting off the bone with a dark and delicious gravy.  Also fresh beans and mash.  I really wanted a scotch egg but they were out.  So I'm going to be making scotch eggs on my own very soon.

I caught a glimpse of fish and chips in another pub window as we walked past.  It might have been the Dutchess of Cambridge pub.  That is a giant piece of fish.  But we steered clear of fish and chips on this trip, due to the unfortunate tartar sauce incident Handy had in Dublin. In our future, malt vinegar will be the safer choice.

At the Hereford Arms near our hotel this was a light dinner for me upon our return from Stonehenge - ha! Chicken salad with bacon!  It surprised me with the hefty amount of chicken and bacon!  Oh, so good.  Homer would have been envious.

And steak and chips for the Handy man.

We saw their fish and chips served at another table, another massive piece of fish.  Best fish in the borough, they say.  OK, I'll order it next time.  Because we are going back.

And a shout out to Pret a Manger, which is a UK company even though the name is French.  They are everywhere in London (168 stores).  Our airport guide told us they treat their employees well and they donate unsold food to homeless shelters.  All I know is it was quick and delicious.  Freshly made sandwiches and sides, a lot of variety and reasonably priced, around the corner and at the airport.  We grabbed some to go before we got on the bus to Stonehenge, and I got something at the airport before we left which was far better than the airline food.

The Hats of London

Thanks to Gary's comment the other day, I am featuring hats today!  I saw a lot of hats in addition to the darling little Madeline school children.

Historical hats in the Tower of London...

And on real people too!

Everyone should have a tiara.  (Notice that the queen is looking right at me!)

The bobbies look quite sharp.

Bowlers were popular with the men.

And the women's hats were fascinating.

You could even rent a fascinator, if you desired.

London Spring

We were told that spring arrived 5 weeks late in London.  Well,  I was glad we arrived at the same time.  It was beautiful.  Especially coming from So Cal, which is already dry and brown.

There was only a sprinkling of rain later on in the week. Our tour guide in pink just used her umbrella for identification.

English Bluebells.

Flowers of St. James Park.

Even the grass had flowers.

Flowers of Whitehall Gardens.

I'm enlarging the next one for my wall.

Flower stand outside the Gloucester Road underground station. But £40 for a bouquet? Ouch! Around the corner by the Waitrose market were less expensive flowers.

Brainsss?

Home Alone

For the first time in 10 days, I am alone.  (Cats don't count!)  For an introvert like me, I find it restful and recharging.  In an hour, I will venture out to Zumba, but for now I am savoring the quiet.

Handy and I had a fantastic trip to London.  I have over 900 pictures from my big camera, and quite a few on the cell phone too.  I want to share some of them with you but it is a little overwhelming figuring out where to start!

We both fell in love with the city and want to go back again someday (next year?). I am already checking out flats on airbnb.com.

It looks like we saw Madeline in London.

Tesla

The company my husband works for was sold recently, and the founders (too bad my husband was not one of them), came into a nice chunk of money.  They are all great people and I don't begrudge them their good fortune at all.  They earned it.  I do respect that they have not rushed out and blown it on lots of showy stuff.

One man is buying a moderate house, not a mansion.

Another did spend a bit on a new car, but it's the electric Tesla.  My husband could rattle off all the specs of this car but most went in one ear and out the other for me.  Close to 300 miles on a full charge sounds pretty darn good.  Handy got a ride in in last week and was quite impressed.

What would you do with a big windfall?  I'd pay off all the bills and bulk up the college funds, that's for sure.  And maybe re-do my patio, which you can see from the previous tomato pictures is having an upheaval.  

Braincake

There's cheesecake, there's mancake, and then there's what I like to call braincake.  Smart people.  I like them.

We heard one of them speak last week.

Here he is with my favorite author, Hugh Howey, who is also braincake.

from Hugh Howey.com

Here I am next to my favorite author.

Can't find me? I'll crop in a little bit.

So you've heard of Bacon numbers, right?  (How many degrees one is from Kevin Bacon.)  So if there were Tyson numbers, mine would be 2.

Who's your braincake?  Who do you admire for their smarts?

Tomato Time

I joke about my brown thumb but I do manage to keep a few tomato plants alive each year.  I planted these about two weeks ago.

And they are still alive and growing!  Now the question is, will my non-tomato-eating son remember to water them while I am away?

Photocrush.com offers a free calendar every month.  May's just happens to feature tomatoes.

The Security Cat

Every day I, Homer, am responsible for fending off interlopers.  The threat is most severe around dinner time.

This one again.  Well, she can have a little snack.  She usually leaves some for me.



Got to keep an eye out, just in case.



What's this thing yelling at me for?  I'm just doing my job.

Western Scrub Jay

Hey, you're distracting me from my duties with all that petting.

Oh no, that bird broke through the perimeter and is stealing the kibble.



That's what happens when I let my guard down.

The Lunchroom Cat

Homer, the former factory cat, is always curious about what my kitchen the cafeteria has for lunch.

Chicken panini?  Not his favorite.

Roast beef on sourdough.  A little better.  He prefers pink meat to white.

Fruit and salad.  You've got to be kidding, he says.

C'mon, give a working cat a break!

At last, a hot dog with bacon.  Homer Heaven.  (Don't worry, I only gave him a tiny bite.  Just a nibble will satisfy him.)

It's just funny, the things he likes.