weekend

It's been a lazy-ish weekend so far, with me feeling ill yesterday and therefore the whole day just went away without much. Nevertheless, I keep reminding myself that this Limbo might be the only time my whole life when I can be so relaxed so I'll just take a deep breath and cross my fingers until they spasm. And, loads of things to be thankful for-- what better time when our American friends have just celebrated their Thanksgiving and probably are even more thankful after delightful Black Friday hauls. . . .

The cat that showed up yet again. On Thursday morning, she saw D and tore to my door, up the flight of steps and into my flat. And plonked herself down my side of the bed, promptly falling asleep. I miss my cats back home sorely (if you haven't seen my favourite one Ms K yet, you should!) and in Cambridge, the rare time I saw a cat wandering about the streets I was on Cloud Nine. I used to counsel and process adoptions at the local SPCA back home, so being deprived of having animals to touch and cuddle made me feel terrible-- worse than bad college food that makes you feel sickly and massively unsatisfied at the same time, whilst knowing it's gonna load you up with fats. My main mantra is, if I eat loads and grow tubbier, that's my business because I chose the food and I loved it; but the same effect with food I was forced to pay for and hate? No way! So, there were two black-and-white cats lurking about college grounds occasionally, owned by a resident nearby. Everytime I saw either I'd be excited and was convinced I would have good luck that day. I wished hard enough that Brighton would have loads of cats or that some cat would 'adopt' me, and I was far from disappointed. This cat dashed towards us as we left the flat for a drink on the first night, charging and purring by the light of the full moon. Another day when I was walking up the steps to my flat, I saw a cat outside my door. The main door and my flat door was shut. I thought it was a magic cat. And let her in. D said, "She tore in when I answered the door and the delivery man came. She snooped about everywhere for too long so I let her out but she didn't want to leave the front door". Oh!

I didn't like her name (on her collar) so I changed it to 'Chocolate Robber' because of her robber-mask, kinda like Ms K's. This cat is massive like a giant fur rug and terribly friendly, she comes in whenever she sees us coming back, and proceeds to nose around, opening my cupboards, smelling my stuff, and then falling asleep whenever, wherever.  I've never seen such a tame cat that lets you scratch her belly or anywhere else-- most cats would give you an almighty swipe of their claws! The ex-tenant says she used to have a good nose about occasionally, but she seems to love us loads. On Friday, whilst I was in the bath, I heard her in the flat again, obviously after spotting D outside and dashing after him like a mad stalker. I let her into the bathroom whilst I was curling my lashes, and there she plonked down on the damp rug, promptly falling asleep. What a Narcoleptic after my own heart!

How to make your £1.70 budget pizza yummier. Bake it with sliced mozzarella and cherry tomatoes. Top it up with shaved parmesan, slices of salami, sprinklings of herbs. . . .

D made a fabulous chowder on Friday with a fish medley of cod, smoked haddock and salmon, prawns, mussels, leek, onions, bacon and mushrooms, seasoned with lemon thyme and parsley. I was blown away.

 

She had her share of prawns and mussels too. It was the first time we had ever fed her. The first photo was her sprawled on my couch on Saturday morning, at about 5am, when I tiptoed downstairs awoken by hunger pangs. Alas, she seems to think she has adopted us. At 2pm, she jumped on the bed and woke us up, looking for some attention, but D let her out as she had been with us for about 24 hours and probably needed feeding.

Slowly updating the displays. New feather headpieces, a cocktail shaker, and the brown feather piece which I must stick onto the hairband soon. . as well as the many pieces of jewelry to repair and repurpose. . .

I love it when my sheets are fresh and clean, or when spritzed with perfume. Fiery red Egyptian cotton duvet and black satin sheets. I was telling my good friend Lulu that I love the UK-- I have never seen anywhere with four pillow cases as de rigeur but then again it might just be me being new to the entire I Buy My Own Sheets And Towels business.

 

Bedside stuff. Because the mattress is on a raised platform, the sides are strewn with stuff. Convenient,  because I have got a luggage that I have no room for in the house, and don't want to lug it in and out of the storage cupboards because I store some stuff in it. So I just cover it with a sari and it all looks pretty. A three-way folded mirror, and a vintage-looking trunk which doubles up as a 'table' add some panache to the bedside. Currently reading: Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan, Thict Naht Hanh's The Miracle of Mindfulness, and Steven Pinker's How the Mind Works. It seems impossible for me to stick to one book at a go, unless it's some mindless chick-lit that I devour in three hours. But more serious books must be chewed upon, every word and implication between the lines and pages masticated and ruminated slowly with great relish.

D himself has problems sticking to just one book too! Lol. Complete with the Roman Ruler I bought him from Bath as a joke. He was picking up my Pinker and telling me it's all too technical and academic whilst I was rambling on about replicators and evolutionary psychology excitedly and how he has to read it too. Months back we were discussing that it's handy I have read so many books, whilst he has watched so many (strange) films, so we are 'transfusing' them to each other whilst discovering new stuff mutually. When I was younger and surviving on little allowance, I used to starve so I could buy some books I loved. . that's how much I love them. I was even thinking, my kitchen is more eclectic than my wardrobe, and I love it more than clothes. And, when it comes to ranking, I think, it's books, food, then clothes. I find it a little hard to digest sometimes when I think of all the "You're so vain" teasings by my mother, friends and D. 

It does seem like my chaise has morphed into a temporary storage area for now, but I'm kinda liking it that way given how much time I spend on the sofa. . because well, I'll admit it, I bought the chaise only to lounge on occasionally, and as a piece of furniture that I love and can drool at. 

Toffee ice-cream with fresh grapefruit. Luxe and decadent with oodles of brandy cream. Recipe soon.

I found this gorgeous jewelry box from Rajasthan. It was half-priced, but £20 does seem a little steep when you convert to Sing Dollars, and you're not working yet. But I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I went back the next day and scooped it up. No sense of self-control.

D roasted a beef joint and a combination of sweet potatoes and regular potatoes, before tucking into them and declaring, "Oh God I am such a genius. The potatoes are perfect". Haha. But to his credit, they were, complete with home-made Yorkshire puddings. Even though I was feeling sick and was worried I had no appetite (and hence the small potions) I had second helpings.

Woke up today (Sunday) feeling much better. It was 715am when I opened my eyes, and decided to wake up. Because once I ignore my body's wakeup call, another 12 hours may just pass by without my knowledge, lapsed into a strange tunnel of surreal dreams in another dimension where I uncover devious murder plots hatched over months by unsuspecting conniving creatures, making me feel more tired than if I had been deprived of 28 hours of sleep. So I decided on a mug of steaming spiced chai, and lounged around, squinting in my glasses in my Morning Face.

I convinced D he needed to cook breakfast. And then 'pushed my luck' by asking for a cup of tea too. Hah. I'm sure we had many long negotiations on who's to make tea, because I always told him, all my life people like making me tea. It's true. I have no idea why. I can only guess, good karma :)

She who watched and slept from the stairs watching me do my laundry, probably deciding that's her vantage point, watching the world go by. .

The left side of a pair of gorgeous shoes I picked up at this vintage collective in Brighton center. I was bowled over by the sheer size of that place-- will have to go back there soon. You know how some places are so overwhelming, you feel like a kid in a candy store, and can't decide what you want? Well, this place felt like a candy store multiplied by a hundred times. I got a vintage Cheongsam (my first!) and this pair of shoes. I'm thinking it'll be gorgeous with a gingham dress by the warm bronzey fireplace where I can be pretend to look delusionally domestic. . 

Hope you've had a fabulous weekend yourselves too! x