Murphy's Law

Why is it that when your hubby is out of town, THAT'S when your car gets a flat and your bathroom faucet springs a leak?

Everything is fine, under control. I drove the car on the rim down to a nearby tire center and, thankfully, it could be repaired; so £20 and 30 minutes later, we were back on track for our day. Off to ASDA (the Wal-Mart of Europe). Note to self, don't ever, ever, ever go to ASDA on the first Saturday morning after payday. Oh my gosh, it was a madhouse. 

Yes, I'm shopping at ASDA. What about the sweet little butcher shop, bakery, and produce stand in my town? Not to worry, I still go there for fresh foods. My weekly shop at ASDA is to get the good deals on laundry detergent, light bulbs, paper towels, and so forth.

After the chaos of the Saturday morning shop, we stopped in for a little fundraising tea and coffee morning that a friend had invited us to attend. 

Kids in bathing suits kept running inside from the back-yard kiddie pool
to raid the cake table. Everything was homemade! I tried the lemon cake
with chocolate swirl icing and the mini mincemeat pie. Mmmm.

We got there just as the party was wrapping up, so lots
of the treats were already eaten, but we did get sent home
with a small bag of goodies. I love this cake stand!

This family has a rather large back garden with a small
greenhouse, a vegetable garden, lots of flower borders
and a lawn. Still small by American standards, but it
was very pretty. 

There were actually loads of people and kids at this little
fundraiser, but I was trying to crop them out of my pics.

The fundraiser was for a group called Macmillan. They sponsor a campaign each year called "The World's Biggest Coffee Morning" and that's what my friend was hosting. Macmillan is a group that provides practical and emotional support for cancer patients and their families. 

Oh, and the leaky bathroom sink? I called the landlord and we'll see if she gets back to me. (She's not the most responsive landlord on the planet.) For now, I have two pots and a 9x13 lasagna pan catching drips that are coming through the ceiling below into the back office of our rental house. 

A Pre-Souvenir from Alston

I bought myself a pretty little something today. Granted it's not overly feminine, but it is diminutive and made of china. Ever since we stayed with our friend Kristi and Chris and Kristi had this cute little teapot-shaped, floral spoon rest by her tea kettle, I have been wanting something similar. (Hers came from England--at Epcot.)

I ducked into my favorite little antique shop. I go in there from time to time, and I have bought a number of small gifts there. It's the shop where I found Page's birthday present (a sandwich set from the 1930s) and Ann's birthday present (two antique pewter flagons).

The man who owns the shop helped me root around among precariously stacked piles of dishes, teacups, lamps, and glassware (I really should take a photo of the shop! It is unreal!) to find something like what I had in mind. Here's what we found:

This is a proper teaspoon, which is about half the size
of a cereal spoon, so this dish is pretty small. Fits in
the palm of my hand.

Here's a close-up of the design.

I asked him where Alston was--like could I go there and visit the place and sort of justify why I have a little teaspoon rest from there?--and he said that it's about 50 miles west of here, near Carlisle. He says it's a cute little shopping village, very quaint. Well, destination Alston, I guess. :) This is just about as random as throwing a dart at a map, but a little more fun because shopping was involved.

And, he gave it to me for free. I know it's not worth much but he was like, "You come in here so often with your cute kids. I just like to take care of my regulars." That's how you build customer loyalty. I really didn't think of myself as a "regular," but I guess I am! :)

Omelettes, Roast, and Shopping, Oh My

Sunday morning omelettes did not disappoint. Merrit mixed up a delicious combination made with local ingredients. It was delicious. For more details about the ingredients and how today's omelette got its name, The Northumbrian, read Merrit's blog post.

We puttered around the house most of the morning, which was a satisfying way to spend the morning and early afternoon. Just good low-key family time.

We rode the Metro into Newcastle. 13 stops to the city centre. First order of business: Lunch.

We weren't terribly familiar with the restaurants nearby so we ambled about, following our noses till we found something that smelled promising.

We ended up at The Northumbrian Arms, an underground pub and restaurant. If there hadn't been a guy holding a big chalkboard advertising the Sunday roast, we'd never have found it. We ducked down a side alley, into an old granite doorway, down two flights of skinny steps, and into a low-ceilinged and cozy warm pub.

On Sundays, many restaurants here serve one thing, and one thing only. The Sunday roast and the traditional accompanying sides. This is our third time eating Sunday dinner. While the vegetables vary, the meal always has roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and gravy.

What did I just post on Saturday about reasonable portion sizes?

The boys and I shared this huge plate of food.

The roast, which was delicious, and the Yorkshire pudding, which had a dollop of some sort of herbed stuffing inside it, and the entire plate of vegetables had a generous helping of gravy poured over it. The veggies included peas, sauteed cabbage, roasted turnips and potatoes, pureed rutabagas (yeah, Mom, you heard that right!), broccoli, and boiled potatoes (because just one kind of potatoes on a plate just isn't enough!).

Holy Moses, it was good. Mike and I decided that this is one place that we will have to bring his parents when they come to visit us. This was English comfort food, just the kind of big-hearted dinner that Delores serves up on Sundays in her neck of the woods.

I'm a locavore in spirit. The idea of eating local foods in season is, to me, both logical and romantic. Full disclosure: I am addicted to avocados, which grow no where near North Carolina OR Newcastle! Anyway, the food seemed to somehow taste better after I read this sign:

The sign reads: "Welcome to our place...

Sample a pint of cask beer,
enjoy a refreshing pint of ice cold
lager or cider.

Try a tipple from our superb wine menu
personally supplied by a local Wine Merchant.

Wherever possible, we only use locally sourced
ingredients from in and around the Northumberland area.

We go to the local markets for our vegetables.

We use an award winning, local family butcher
who source their meats from local Northumberland farms.

A local baker supplies our daily bread.

Our fish are caught from our coastal waters
and arrive fresh to us from the North Shields Fish Quay.

Local food made by local people!"

After lunch and a little walk around, we shopped for some stuff. A hat for Merrit to replace to one he lost in Tynemouth. Grey trousers for his school uniform. Black socks for Mike since no one here wears white athletic socks...how American! Running shoes and a reflective windbreaker for me. Yay! Hm, did Ollie even get anything? No, poor thing.

The boys were wilting, and I still needed a haircut so Mike took them back to Whitley Bay and I scouted around for a salon open on Sundays. I finally found an Aveda salon that could work me in and I got a great haircut WITH a complimentary head and shoulder massage. Aaaaaah.

Wrapped up the night with my first run in Whitley Bay. I don't have my iPhone provider switched over here, so I couldn't track distance or pace, but it was a good run. I'd guess I ran a couple miles and it felt great to get out there. I went out at about 7:30pm, and the village was very safe, people are out walking to the store,  the streets are well-lit, and other runners were out. It felt great to move my muscles again!

Bye Bye Kristi, Hello IKEA

Kristi and I took a taxi up to the Newcastle airport this morning. Got her all squared away at check-in. Tagged her bag through to Amsterdam. I suggested coffee, just trying to prolong the inevitable. But in the end, we finally had to say bye. That was hard. She was the last bit of home.

Sniff. Sniff.

Shopping therapy to the rescue. Off to IKEA.

I rode the Metro to Gateshead then took two buses to the IKEA store there.

The Metro rocks. For just three pounds, you can go practically anywhere in the city. I had no idea where the IKEA store was, only that I needed to get to Gateshead, which is a town south of the Tyne River (Newcastle is north of the Tyne).

Took a gamble and got off at one of the two Gateshead Metro stops. I asked a lady in a meat pie shop for directions, but her accent was so thick I couldn't understand her. Bought a small minced beef pie for 90 pence. It was so hot and good--but kinda messy.

I walked in the direction she pointed me, and found a bus station. Asked a bus driver which bus went near IKEA and he said his bus went there! Two pounds and 10 minutes later, I was walking in through the oversized blue and yellow door. Brilliant.

The key to self-control at IKEA: Only buy what you can carry home. I did buy a pull-behind shopping cart for 14 pounds so I figured I could assemble that on the spot and roll my purchases home that way. Worked great. And I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of it after today's trip, too.