Lunch, 15/8/18: Chicken Tender Salad

Another lunch out with another old friend... When I get home, I have to stop eating.

Dinner, 14/9/18: Popeye's chicken takeout, with some stuff from the fridge

Some days you just gotta..

Book 65: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

This is actually a re-read: a case of synchronicity. I was thinking about it a week or two ago when having a conversation with Alex about the usefulness (or lack thereof) of the letter "c", and then happened across a copy of it for a couple of dollars in a discount shop while on holiday. Thought it was definitely a sign I should read it again. It's still a clever book, gradually losing letters from its alphabet, but of course it's more than just that.

Dinner, 12/8/18: Chicken & Veggie Bake (James & Wendy cooking)

My friend Wendy and her partner James cooked this on our last night away at our weekend mansion getaway - very simple chicken, potato, courgette & asparagus bake - really nice. For dessert, we had vanilla ice cream with some blueberry sauce that my friend Kiki had cooked to go with pancakes on our first morning. Excellent.

A little history

We took a little trip over to Yorktown (generally regarded to be the last major battle of the Revolutionary War) for a few hours, to check out the history. It was really really hot. I was glad not to be wearing the colonial uniform, unlike these poor unfortunate souls who were doing an artillery firing.  Personally, if I'd been General Cornwallis I might have surrendered just because of the heat...  

We had a very brief wander around the edge of the settlement, but decided against the guided tour, as interesting as it would no doubt have been, strictly because of the heat. Instead we did a driving tour around the battlefields, and got to see some of the redoubts and the house where they drafted the terms of surrender. That was interesting, actually, and some very pretty countryside around the area, as well. 

Lunch at Crab Shack on the James

View (sort of) from our table. Later during the meal, we did look sideways out the window and see dolphins jumping around in the James River.

I had a crabcake sandwich, which was excellent. 

And keylime pie. Yum.

A (brief) visit to the Beach

As part of our long weekend  in a gigantic palace of a house in Newport News (Virginia), we spent a couple of hours at Huntington Park Beach - a small, but nice beach with a swimming area on the James River. We didn't spend long there because it was insanely hot, but it was nice to at least say we'd been. In the distance is the Crab Shack, where we ended up eating a late lunch. 

This is my friend Kiki, one of the four of the old friends (from high school) who were getting together this weekend. 

This is Sarah and me in the water - we sat there for about half an hour - it was the only place cool enough to be!

Dinner, 9/8/18: Iron Bridge Wine Company

This was an excellent restaurant. I had scallops - they were huge - on corncakes, with chili jam and some sort of jalapeno sauce (not strong). 

My friend Jen and I shared a starter of crispy fried Brussels sprouts.

Sarah had a chicken Caesar salad.

This was my drink - don't remember what it was precisely, but it involved prosecco and fruity stuff. 

Jen had swordfish with black rice and fennel. 

Sarah had a pomegranate lemonade.

Sarah's starter was fried calamari - it was a huge portion, but incredibly delicious.

Dinner, 6/8/18: Mexican Food at Mi Casita

Mexican food was eaten. Mexican drinks were drunk. Conversation was generally in English...

Dinner, 4/8/18: Picnic stuff with sushi

As Sarah and I are on holiday, there will be lots of eating of picnic type food (though mostly indoors, as it's so hot) for dinner. This meal involved some sushi from Wegmans, as well as cheese, crackers, guacamole, pickles, salad, and so on. There will be lots of eating out, as well, but the meals at home  (i.e. Grandma's house) will probably all involve this sort of thing.

Had to laugh at Wegmans' "Chesapeake Roll"  - crab & avocado ISO roll, rolled in Old Bay. Tasty!

Book 64: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Read this on the airplane on the way to the US - I am reading another book as well, but I was getting a bit tired and losing focus of the other one, so wanted something enjoyable but not quite requiring as much focus. These YA books are very good - I've enjoyed her other ones as well. Just the right thing for a plane journey.

Book 63: The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje

Finally got around to reading this - read quite a few other Michael Ondaatje titles, but because I'd seen the film (twice) I never quite got to this one.  Luckily, it's been long enough since I've seen the film that only a few scenes stick with me and some of the characters I couldn't picture at all (I mean, in Hollywood terms). Probably not my favourite Ondaatje novel, but still an excellent read. 

Dinner, 2/8/18: Spicy Black Bean Tacos

Black beans (refried), homemade guac, salsa with pomegranate seeds. Yum.

Dinner, 1/8/18: Sausages, mash, green beans

July Roundup

WHAT WAS For DINNER, JULY 2018

• 31st: Chicken Jalfrezi
• 30th: Fend for yourself Monday
• 29th: Spanakopita
• 28th: Burgers
• 27th: Veggie Stir Fry with Black Bean Sauce
• 26th: Too hot to cook
• 25th: Greek Chicken Salad
• 24th: Odds & Ends
• 23rd: Pasta with Sausage & Spinach
• 22nd: Out to dinner with friends
• 21st: Goat Cheese Tarts
• 20th: Harissa Sticky Chicken with couscous (Sarah - K out)
• 19th: German Sausages, Sauerkraut, Potatoes (Geoff - K out)
• 18th: Pasta with Pancetta, chili and Lemon (Alex - K out)
• 17th: Oriental Noodle Salad (Olivia - K out)
• 16th: Omelettes, etc (G & A only, girls out)
• 15th: Mini picnic in the park at the band concert, no dinner
• 14th: Stuffed Marrow
• 13th: Pizzas
• 12th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 11th: Salmon Noodle Bowl
• 10th: Kale Carbonara (Alex)
• 9th: Artichoke, Goat Cheese & Lentil Salad
• 8th: Thai Steak Salad
• 7th: Fajitas
• 6th: Leftover Chili/Ragu (K out)
• 5th: Fend for yourself Thursday
• 4th: Vegetable Stir Fry
• 3rd: Bacon & Artichoke Pasta (Alex)
• 2nd: Halloumi Stuffed Pittas
• 1st: Greek Chicken Salad

July Book Update

So, in 2018, I'm taking a slightly different approach to blogging about my reading - I'm not really worrying about the in/out balance or how many books I read each month versus how many have been removed from the list. My only goal in 2018 is to read at least 100 books (as usual), so I'll be counting towards that, and noting books I read, acquire, get rid of, etc, but only for interest. I'm tired of feeling guilty if I acquire new books!

In January:  books read: 7; books otherwise removed: 3; books in: 7; books on windowsill: 62
In February: books read: 6; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 3;  books on windowsill: 61
In March: books read: 8; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 5;  books on windowsill: 60
In April: books read: 13; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 6; books on windowsill: 61
In May: books read: 10 ; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 2; books on windowsill: 58
In June: books read: 10; books otherwise removed: 1; books in: 3; books on windowsill: 58
In July: books read: 8; books otherwise removed: 0; books in: 5; books on windowsill: 62

And here's the breakdown for this month: 

• I read one book which Sarah and I bought recently (ostensibly for her): Release by  Patrick Ness, who we both really like (though oddly enough, neither of us likes his most famous titles - the Chaos Walking series - as much as his other stuff) 
• I bought one book in Waterstones in Wimbledon when Sarah and I went in to get her a copy of War and Peace (I used to have one, but got rid of it ages ago as it was old and the print was really really small. I will probably never read it again, but if I did, there's no way I could have read that edition anyway...) (Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout)
• I read one library book - another children's book, from the new books section (Chasing Augustus by Kimberly Newton Fusco)
• I read three books from my classroom, all of which belong to the teacher I work with (I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai, A Boy Called Hope by Lara Williamson and Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan)
• and one book from a selection of new books we got in for next year, which the teacher I work with and I split between us to take home for summer reading (How to Look for a Lost Dog by Ann M Martin)
• I bought three books in the Big Waterstones in Picadilly Circus (The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy, Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker)
• I read one book in a series I am currently reading/re-reading my way through (A Sea of Troubles by Donna Leon)
• I bought one book in a charity shop (Selected Stories, Alice Munro)
• I read one book from my shelf/list (Cousins by Salley Vickers)

Here's the updated list of Books to Read in 2018. These are the books hanging out on my windowsill upstairs, waiting to be read. Or discarded. But hopefully, read. I started the year with 60 books on this list - you can see how long the books have been knocking around by the dates in brackets.

1. Ford Maddox Ford, Parade's End (Nov 2012 - birthday present - bought after the BBC adaptation - but I knew I wouldn't read it straight away as I wanted to let time pass from the adaptation.  Enough time has probably passed now...)
2. Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South (2014)
3. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (would be a re-read, bought shortly after his death - spring 2014 - as I was reminded how much I enjoyed it and I didn't seem to own a copy - think my old one fell apart, probably...) 
4. Daphne du Maurier, Frenchman's Creek (Waterstones Piccadilly - 2016? bought in principle for the girls, but thought I might read it again as it's been ages)
5. Daphne du Maurier, Jamaica Inn (Waterstones Piccadilly - 2016? bought in principle for the girls, but thought I might read it again as it's been ages)
6. Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram (Abe Books, July 2016)
7. Susan Barker, The Incarnations (charity shop, July 2016)
8. Neil MacGregor, Germany: Memories of  a Nation (birthday present, Nov 2016) (This book isn't technically on my windowsill, it's downstairs because I keep thinking I might have a go at reading it, but haven't really got around to it yet...)
9. Orhan Pamuk. A Strangeness in Mind (Christmas present 2016)
10. Andrew Taylor, The Ashes of London (passed to me by Geoff after he read it, April 2017)
11. Mark Haddon (Introduction), States of Mind: Experiences at the Edge of Consciousness (Waterstones Piccadilly, April 2017)
12. John Irving, Avenue of Mysteries  (Waterstones Piccadilly, April 2017)
13. Mikhail Bulgokov, The Master and Margarita (charity shop, April 2017)
14. Peter Ackroyd, Hawksmoor (charity shop, April 2017)
15. Rachel Ward, Numbers 2: The Chaos (Sarah's - added to my shelf after I read the first one, April 2017)
16. Rachel Ward, Numbers 3: Infinity (Sarah's - added to my shelf after I read the first one, April 2017)
17. Jane Smiley, Early Warning (Abe Books, May 2017, after finishing the first in the series)
18. Siri Hustvedt, A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women (Waterstones Wimbledon, July 2017)
19. Hella Haasse, The Tea Lords (Bookhandel von Rossum, Amsterdam, August 2017)
20. Ernest van der Kwast, The Ice Cream Makers (Amsterdam, August 2017)
21. Lucy Worsley, A Very British Murder (Waterstones Oxford, August 2017)
22. Lucy Ribchester, The Hourglass Factory (charity shop, Farnham, September 2017)
23. Bi Fieyu, Three Sisters (charity shop, Farnham, September 2017)
24. Alexia Casale, The Bone Dragon (Waterstones Piccadilly, October 2017)
25. Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient (November 2017, book was in the house already, added after I read Divisadero and realised I'd never actually read this one.)
26. Grayson Perry, The Descent of Man (December 2017, RA Gift Shop)
27. Sarah J Maas, Court of Thorns and Roses (Christmas present, 2017)
28. Katherine Arden, The Bear and the Nightingale (Christmas present, 2017)
29. Patrick Gale, A Place Called Winter (charity shop, December 2017)
30. Sebastian Barry, Days without End (Abe Books, January 2018)
31. Anthony Horowitz, Magpie Murders (W H Smith, January 2018)
32. Matt Haig, How to Stop Time (W H Smith, January 2018)
33. Bernie MacLaverty, Midwinter Break (Watersones Piccadilly, January 2018)
34. Ursula K LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness (Watersones Piccadilly, January 2018)
35. Clare Vanderpool, Moon over Manifest (was in the house, moved to my shelf Feb 2018)
36. Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad (Waterstones Wimbledon, Feb 2018)
37. Mohsin Hamid, Exit West (Waterstones Wimbledon, Feb 2018)
38. Arundhati Roy, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (passed to me by Geoff, Feb 2018)
39. Alwyn Hamilton, Hero at the Fall (Waterstones online, March 2018)
40. Laini Taylor, Strange the Dreamer (Waterstones online, March 2018)
41. ed. Tracy Chevalier, Reader I Married Him (Waterstones online, March 2018)
42. Bella Pollen, Hunting Unicorns (Kingston Hospital Charity Bookshelf, March 2018)
43. Diana Rosie, Alberto's Lost Birthday (Kingston Hospital Charity Bookshelf, March 2018)
44. Jojo Moyes, The Last Letter from your Lover (Charity Shops, March 2018)
45. Jojo Moyes, Sheltering Rain (Charity Shops, March 2018)
46. Sebastian Faulkes, A Week in December (Charity Shops, March 2018)
47. Marcus Zusak, I am the Messenger (Charity Shops, March 2018)
48. Jose Saramago, Blindness (Lisbon, April 2018)
49. Margaret Atwodd, Oryx and Crake (passed on by Geoff, April 2018)
50. The Killing Moon, N K Jemisin (Waterstones online, April 2018)
51. The End we start from, Megan Hunter (Waterstones Wimbledon, April 2018)
52. If we were Villains, M L Rio (Waterstones Wimbledon, April 2018)
53. Spark, Alice Broadway (Waterstones Wimbledon, April 2018)
54. The Mime Order, Samantha Shannon (Abe Books, May 2018)
55. March, Geraldine Brooks (Abe Books, June 2018)
56. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Claire North (charity shop, June 2018)
57. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins (charity shop, June 2018)
58. Anything is Possible, Elizabeth Strout (Waterstones Wimbledon, July 2018)
59. The Disappearances, Emily Bain Murphy (Waterstones Picadilly, July 2018)
60. Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys  (Waterstones Picadilly, July 2018)
61. Cassandra at the Wedding, Dorothy Baker (Waterstones Picadilly, July 2018)
62. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (charity shop, July 2018)

Dinner, 31/8/18: Chicken Jalfrezi (Hairy Bikers)

We always enjoy this version of this curry, which includes some peppers and onions cooked much less, added at the end, which gives a nice texture contrast. Yum. 

Book 62: How to Look for a Lost Dog by Ann M Martin

This was a lovely children's book, narrated from the point of view of a 12YO girl with high functioning autism. It reads beautifully, and very true to what I've experienced of autistic children. She's managed to create a character who narrates in a very un-emotional, straightforward way without seeming unfeeling or uncaring, which I think captures the personalities of at least some children on the spectrum.  I was really touched by the story myself, and will definitely recommend it to some of my kids next year, particularly if I think they might benefit from seeing things from the perspective of someone very neurologically different to themselves.

Lunch, 29/7/18: Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

We had our main meal at lunch today, unusually, but we have guests who are leaving today and it worked out better with their travel times (and my taking them to the airport) to do it this way. Also a bit of roasted beetroot, with the end of the potato salad and coleslaw. Yum. 

Book 61: Cousins by Salley Vickers

My first encounter with Salley Vickers was, as for so many people, Miss Garnet's Angel, which I really enjoyed. I have since read most if not all of her other books (I thought I'd only read a few, but looking at the titles inside the cover of this one, I think I may have read all of them!). Some I like better than others, of course, but she always writes well and creates an engrossing story. This one was no exception. I usually don't find shifting POV novels confusing, but this one did catch me out from time to time, mainly because a lot of the characters had two different names (or more if you count people referring to them as Mum or Gran) so depending on who was telling the story in a given section, a character might be referred to as something else. Wish I'd seen the family tree inside the back cover at the start!  But anyway, enjoyed this, and read it quickly as it was compelling.

Dinner, 28/7/18: Burgers

Homemade burgers - not something we have very often, but tasty. I also cooked up some of the beetroot tops from when I bought fresh beetroot at the Pick-your-own place earlier in the week. And we had potato salad and coleslaw as well (not in the picture). 

Dinner, 27/7/18: Stir-fried veg & tofu with black bean sauce

Actual cooking - it's amazing. It was a little cooler this evening, which helped...

Book 60: Counting by 7s, Holly Goldberg Sloan

I've read lots of kids and young adult books, especially recently, and most of them are good, many of them are very good. This was in a whole 'nother class - I literally struggled to put it down. It was just such a touching story and so well developed. Dealt with quite a tough issue without being overly sentimental and I found all the characters fascinating. Just truly super.

Book 59: A Boy Called Hope, Lara Williamson

Another children's title; this is a sweet story about family and relationships and finding your place and so on. It isn't one of my favourites I've read recently, but it was a nice story and well-written, just not quite so much my style as some.

Dinner, 25/7/18: Greek Chicken Salad

Again. It's hot. I can't want to cook. Or eat hot things.

Book 58: A Sea of Troubles, Donna Leon

My latest in re-reading (or in some cases, reading) through this series. I thought that this was one I definitely hadn't read before, but apparently, according to my records, I read it in 2002. I certainly don't remember a couple of the major plot developments! It had  more interaction from some of the other regular characters than sometimes happens. It will be interesting to see how much the next one refers to things that have happened here.  Always enjoyable.

Dinner, 23/7/18: Pasta with Sausage and Spinach

Quick and easy, and not too hot to cook in this crazy weather...

Book in

Having just read and really enjoyed an Alice Munro collection I couldn't resist this one in the charity shop for 49p. 

Dinner, 21/7/18: Goat Cheese Tart

These two tarts were basically an exercise in using up lots of half full jars of things from my fridge - red pesto (below), green pesto (above), artichokes, capers, black olives, sun dried tomatoes, etc, etc.  I added some goat cheese before cooking and when they came out of the oven, dumped some rocket on top. First meal I've been home for all week, with all the things happening at school!

Dinner, 25/8/18: Greek Chicken Salad

Again. But it's hot and we didn't feel much like cooking, or indeed like eating anything heavy, so it makes a really good option for dinner. Hot the rest of the week, too, so who knows!