Barking mad

This weekend was the Discover Dogs event that I went to last year and fell in love with.  To me this is the equivalent of sending a broody woman in the middle of a nursery full of newborns.  I wanted to give scratchies, cuddles and steal (almost) every 4 legged creature in the place.

Our favourite is the Border Terrier which has the cutest little scruffy Ewok face that I can’t resist (but am having to until we get a more dog friendly flat and are home more).  The breed also appears on Coronation Street in the form of a cute little guy called Eccles which means they have to be cool.

 

"Take me home Adrienne"

 

Instead of boring you with more pictures of my little furry obsession I will show you some dogs that may have you repeating my favourite phrase…WTF?

The first one is the hairless dog which no matter how many times I see it, still creeps me out a bit.  The skin looks like a leather handbag and feels like you are petting a pig.

 

Oink, Woof, Oink, Woof

 

 

How bout this next one…this guy was done up in this fashion for charity however I am thinking that some charity should try and rescue it from its owners whom are trying to dress it up like canine cotton candy.  The dog is literally pleading to the person petting him to save him from the humiliation.

Seriously, save me. If you think this is bad you should see what they have planned for me for Christmas

Finally my favourite….I don’t even know what it is called (and am too lazy to google it) but all you have to know is that this is in fact a living breathing thing and not a rug like I originally thought.  His dreadlocks are actually long and flat like a ruler and apparently keep him warm in the winter and cool in the summer, so they are functional and not just fashionable…

Dual purpose, dog and rug - take him for a walk then you can wipe your wellies on him

 

On the topic of fashion, how bout a dog fur coat?  No, me neither.  No Keeshonds were harmed in the making of this coat although I think the person whom thought of a dog fur coat should be slapped in the name of fashion.

Before you ask…yes I will be there in 2010 and yes if you read this blog you will have to endure another post about it.

Thanks to Fredrik for the cute picture of my Border Terrier…my camera battery had died at that point (unsurprisingly)

Happily ever after…

Since we moved here, we have had been able to witness two weddings out of the country, one in Austria and the other this past Bank Holiday weekend in Barcelona….unfortunately, we haven’t witnessed any UK weddings but are putting adequate pressure on some of our friends to take the plunge so we can go to one.

The wedding this weekend was in an absolutely beautiful venue slightly outside of Barcelona.  We arrived by coach and were given a fruit smoothie and fruit kebabs to give us something nice and nutritious before moving on to beverages of the alcoholic variety.

The ceremony was outside under slightly threatening skies but as luck would have it the rain held off and it turned out to be a beautiful and clear night.  Because the groom is Swedish and the bride Spanish, bits of the ceremony were done in each language as well as English which made me feel utterly ashamed of only  being uni-lingual (and not very good at the one I do speak).

Following the ceremony we were ushered to a garden terrace area where we had drinks and were served more varieties of tapas than I even knew existed.  My favourites included spinach balls rolled in almonds and drizzled in honey, tempura shrimp, toasted bread with parma ham and a pork/veggie/almond dish just to name a few.  This went on for ages until our bellies were almost bursting at which point we moved to our table under the stars for dinner.

Dinner was also fantastic and throughout the meal we were able to witness  Spanish and Swedish wedding traditions.  It started by greeting the bride and groom by spinning our napkin above our heads like a helicopter and cheering them in.  Then was the ‘table wave’ where everyone at the table banged their hands on the table top and screamed at which point they then all point to another table who then had to carry on the banging/screaming/pointing until one table screws it up or every table has a chance to participate.  The next tradition was brought by the Swedes and includes all the women at the wedding going up and kissing the groom on the cheek whenever the bride left her spot at the table and vice versa. I tried my best to make up some random tradition that I would claim was Canadian but couldn’t come up with anything.

Overall it was a great night that bled into the morning as we didn’t get back to our hotel until 5:30 am which apparently is another of the great Spanish traditions.  All in all it was a spectacular weekend and we are very happy for the newlyweds (and thankful for the invite!)

Divinity Fudge

The other day I was reading a book about a pastry chef (move over Shakespeare, chick lit is where it’s at) as such it had a recipe between each new chapter (more value for your money, a novel AND a cookbook). I normally ignore recipes of any kind however one of them, Divinity Fudge, reminded me of my as my Grandfather used to make it for me a lot as a kid. He would also let me eat as much as I wanted and due to the sugar content I was usually physically vibrating from a sugar high when my parents came to pick me up.

Divinity fudge isn’t like traditional fudge that you would normally cut a chunk off of and eat, it is more like mini soft meringues.  After seeing the recipe I had an instant craving to make it. The recipe is fairly simple but I am impatient and usually don’t wait for the sugar to get to hard ball stage (not owning a candy thermometer means I guess and always get it wrong) but they turned out okay.

The key (other than getting the hard ball stage bit right) as my grandfather used to say, was to ‘beat air in it’s pants’ (American pants aka trousers, not British pants aka undies) once you mixed it all together by taking a wooden spoon and beating it to death…I did this then plugged in the electric mixer for some added oomph  – I ended up spraying the wall and floor with the wonderfully sticky and sugary goo.

Beating the air in it's pants

The recipe is below (bear in mind my Grandfather was diabetic – I don’t recommend any diabetics attempting this recipe). Just in case you are wondering, I made these Friday and I only have 5 left and the hubby has only had 2 – they are a bit too sweet for his liking….which is fine by me!

Divinity Fudge recipe

2.5 cups of sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup (aka Golden Syrup in the UK)
1/2 cup water
pinch of salt
3 large egg whites
1tsp vanilla
1/2 cup dried cherries, blueberries or cranberries (optional – I tend to leave these out as they are too healthy)
1/2 chopped pecans (optional -  I also leave these out as I am a purist when it comes to sugary treats)

In a 2 quart saucepan mix the sugar corn syrup water and salt.  Using a candy thermometer heat to hardball stage (250 to 266 degrees) stirring only until sugar is dissolved.  Meanwhile beat the eggs to stiff peaks.  When the syrup reaches 260 degrees F add it gradually to the egg whites while beating at high speed in a mixer.  Continue to beat until the candy takes shape (about 5 minutes) Stir in vanilla, nuts and dries fruit.  Quickly drop the candy from a teaspoon on to waxed paper finishing each piece with a swirl and cool to room temperature.

This is why I love the show

I know most of the world has heard of Susan Boyle by now after she was discovered on Britain’s Got Talent and sent via satellite all around the world – it seems another like her has been found.

Jamie Pugh is a van driver by day and pizza delivery guy by night but I have a feeling all of that will change. He sings a song from my all time favourite musical Les Miserables (both my Dad and I know every word to probably every song in it – that’s what happens when you see it 6 times) and does a beautiful job at it. On top of that, you can’t help but love how genuinely taken aback he is that people like him.

It would be great if he can act too as they would be crazy not to have him play Jean Valjeans in the London production, I’d certainly go!

Its a bit of a long video but seriously what else do you have to do on a Sunday afternoon…Enjoy.

Thank you for being a friend…

As I mentioned I was a big fan of Golden Girls and remember being able to stay up well past my bedtime to watch it with my two great aunts, so I was sad to hear that another of the legendary actresses has passed away. Bea Arthur (played Dorothy) died  at her home yesterday at 86 after battling cancer. I  loved her dry wit and I aspire to deliver sarcastic one liners with a full head of grey hair as well as she did.

PS do you have the theme song stuck in your head now like I do?

——

Rose: Can I ask a dumb question?
Dorothy: Better than anyone I know.

—————-

Dorothy: How come whenever my ship comes in it’s leaking?

———

Blanche: I can’t believe you said that! Oh if I weren’t a lady I’d deck you.
Dorothy: You try and I’ll have you on your back so fast you’ll think you’re out on a date.

——-

Blanche: Dorothy, this is crazy! Since when do you care how you look?
Dorothy: I think it started when I came down from the bell tower and had my hump fixed!

Home for a rest…

We are home from another trip to Canada…this time it was for a wedding that the hubby was in and I was the emcee. Being home made me realise a few things:
1) I can’t eat like I used to…the portions seem huge and I have no idea how I ever got through a full Keg steak in the past
2) Canadians don’t use the word redundant like we do here, there it is only used when being repetitive versus here where it is used to mean that you lost your job ie being made redundant
3) I miss ketchup chips (crisps), rye (and coke or ginger ale), Swedish berries and Caesars
4) Driving on a sunny day while cranking up the radio and singing along is fun however traffic jams and trying to find parking is not
5) It is dumb that you can’t buy alcohol in a grocery store in Canada
6) The Go train is huge – this is our equivalent to the overground and has two levels but I forgot how big it was until I stood beside one and it towered over me (to be fair most things tower over me)

7) Everything is big, the mayonnaise containers, washing machines and grocery stores

8.) Being charged for incoming calls on mobile phones is ridiculous and I have no idea why mobile providers in Canada/US have been getting away with it for this long
9) I love that taxes are included in the prices in the UK – less math for me to do
10) Tim Hortons is the Canadian equivalent to the pub, people go there to relax, read the newspaper or meet friends and it makes them happy (although unlike a pub you can grab a drink and take it in the car)

I am sure there are more but that’s all I can think of for now as I am still tired from the wedding and the flight….

WTF? Friday

You have to love a country where customer service is an afterthought everywhere but in the pub.

'If you think that the head on your beer is too large we will gladly top up your glass'

Evidently this is a policy n most pubs (not just the cute little one I snapped this photo at) however I haven’t seen this to be an issue, almost the opposite.  Most of the times my pints are so full I spill 3/4 of it down my hand, leg and the floor as I walk to my seat and are still left with a very full looking pint.  Its magic.

After spilling what felt like half of it on the pub floor and down my leg

Someone needs to let Tim Hortons and Starbucks in on this policy, I swear I have been served drinks from there with 2 inches of space at the top…either that or it is so full it is leaking out of the little blow hole in the lid…can’t win

Happy Valentine’s Day

Must thank my Auntie L for sending me my favourite Valentine treat of cinnamon hearts as I mentioned last year. I meant to take a picture of the big, full bag but I forgot and only remembered when I was 98% of the way through which was about 8 hours after receiving them in the post (okay that is a bit of an exaggeration but I got them on a Thursday but they didn’t last the weekend).

Otherwise we are having a lovely Valentines day, exchanging e-cards with the hubby for credit crunch environmental issues.

Will give more details of our day tomorrow as we are off to see Russell Peters – a fantastic Canadian comedian – perform to a sell out crowd at the O2 dome in London (like the sky dome but not as bit and the roof stays in one place).  Unfortunately our seats are pretty crap but I think they are purposefully sticking all the rowdy Canadians at the back

Love from here…

If you are looking for me, I’ll be at the mall

So for a while I have been hearing about this big shopping centre (mall) opening up in London.  It is apparently the largest mall in Europe and was going to have something like 200 stores in it.  Seeing that London isn’t big on malls like North America I took this information with a grain of salt figuring it would be a few stores with a roof over them.  I also took the ‘in London’ bit to mean that it was somewhere on the outskirts of the city at the end of one of the tube lines, as surely this shopping establishment couldn’t be anywhere close to where I bumble around.

 

Anyway, after seeing ads everywhere for the opening I finally gave in and decided to check where this huge masterpiece of a mall would be…to my surprise it was 3 tube stops away from my work. Still being the devil’s advocate that I am, I figured it must be a half hour walk from the tube or something and that all the stores would be crappy….that was until the boss and I happened to pass it our way to a meeting on Friday and I got a glimpse of the massive Waitrose, House of Fraser and 2 story H&M…it was huge, bigger and newer than any other mall I had ever seen.

 

Not surprisingly I got home from work and gently suggested to the hubby that we check out this ‘mall’ thing to see if it is as nice as people say it is. So, Saturday afternoon we hopped on the tube and within 40 minutes (and a less than 2 minute walk from the tube station vs. the 30 min trek I was anticipating) I was in heaven.  This mall is the largest and most spectacular mall I have ever been in…the aisles are long and wide the stores are bright and airy and there are big huge windows everywhere making it nice and light.

‘

There are two proper floors of shopping a bottom and a top (duh) but it seems all the stores on the top floor are two stories high (2 floor topshop eeek!).  We probably only made it through ½ of the mall before the hubby started to fade but I have seen enough to have my internal mall GPS set up and think that I could confidentially do some damage next time I am through there (without hubby). 

 

Two storey topshop

One of my favourite parts was the food court…no plastic chairs to perch on to eat your crappy A&W or Burger King after which you have to try and jam your rubbish in overflowing bins…this place had comfy seats and each restaurant served your food on real plates with nice cutlery (that I pondered stealing)!!  No idea why they would bother but it felt nice and posh.  Also, your choices for food were a lovely Lebanese place where we got chicken wraps and humus but we could have eaten Thai, Mexican, Italian, Indian, a salad bar/wrap place etc etc.

 

Anyway I am already excited to head back there to do some Christmas shopping and can’t wait until one of my Canadian shopping buddies visits (cough Jenn) as I can assure you I will be advising them to head straight from the airport to‘the mall’ to meet me….what’s that hubby?…what did you say? fredit frunch?  couldn’t hear you with your pita’s and hummus in your mouth…shame.

My biological clock is barking

So I think most women my age see a baby and start getting broody…I on the other hand see a dog and get broody. It shouldn’t surprise you then that this weekend I dragged the hubby to a dog show thing at Earls Court. It wasn’t a dog show like the ones you go and watch dogs perform but it was more of a show for you to meet and interact with over 200 breeds of dogs. They let you pet them, take pictures and ask questions about the breed. My initial (fairly North American) reaction was what if a kid gets bitten, or the dogs fight…then someone will sue and the whole thing will be shut down…thankfully the Brits don’t seem to worry so much about that stuff and let great shows like this go on (plus they don’t have rabies over here so that’s one less thing to worry about)!

The thing I loved best was that you could literally pet and play with every dog there!! It was like petting zoo of dogs…we stopped at the Bichon Frise exhibit as that is the type of dog the hubby had grown up with then we headed to the Border Terrier booth where I melted…look at this guy, don’t you just love him – that’s the kind of dog we eventually want to get.

We also hit the basset hound exhibit (in honour of my doggie growing up Maggie) and stopped at all of the other 197 booths which included a hairless dog (eeew) the most massive St Bernard and a great dane that I stood eye level with. For those of you doggie lovers I have included some pictures below (not sure why the border terrier is duplicate but he’s cute enough to look at twic…for those of you cat lovers…sorry, can’t help you.

It was such a fun day out (it doesn’t take much to entertain me) and the best bit was at the end I got a bag of cotton candy! Dogs and cotton candy make me one happy girl.