On bookstores, harnessing the sun, and face-stuffing

HEYYOUGUYS. Guess how many blog posts I planned to write but never did and now they're likely never to see the light of day? The rest of my Christmas burgers - I had 16 in total, shout out to Chick 'n Sours for the best one - our trip to the Ice Hotel in January - in which the northern lights flipped us the bird but we still basked in the glow of permanent snow-twilight while snowmobiling and dogsledding - and last month's trip to Sicily. (Though that one may still make it in at some point, probably when I'm feeling moody at the endless London grey and want to pretend it's okay because you can leave it so easily.)

Instead of all those topics that come with built-in photographs and adventures, I will tell you all about my day of nothing yesterday. Extra fun, because I have no pics or actual story. Good to get the practice in if I'm going to do an additional MyBloWriMo in June this year (jury's still out on that one). 

Al and I are very good at spending our weekends lazily and yesterday was no exception. We booked a nice lunch, then spent the afternoon wandering through bookstores on our way to a nice dinner. These activities encompassed two of our favourite past-times: eating, and reading, and eating some more.

The first bookstore we hit was Persephone, notable as both a publisher and bookseller of out-of-print works by female authors. It was teeny tiny and quaint and crowded and sweet and the overall environment made me want to buy every book in the house, even though I knew I probably wouldn't make it to the end of half of them (all that old timey wordsmithing, innit). I did get this one, though, because it was flipping hilarious:

 

Here are the first two pages that sold me:

I think we all know Lady B.

After that we hit Skoob - MY NEW FAVOURITE BOOKSTORE EVER, like the green apple of London - which has - according to le googles - over 55,000 used books. The ceiling was low, the shop was dark and underground and full of nooks, and books were stacked EVERYwhere. After tripping over a half dozen piled haphazardly on the floor, I was in love. I couldn't stop myself from buying a handful of crime novels on our way out. 

We also hit Judd's used books, which was no Skoob but had - randomly and weirdly - an excellent vegetarian cookbook selection - before wandering to Treadwell's. NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT TREADWELL'S. This came as a recommendation from my favourite darkest magik friends as an 'occult bookshop,' which is - as one pointed out - 'two of the best words to hear in sequence in the English language.' And the shop was LOVELY. Warm and incensey with Celtic font everywhere, including on the signs to the Hindu and Biblical sections. I couldn't resist buying two aroma oils - frankincense and sage - which - per the shopkeeper - apparently have planetary alignments (the Sun and Jupiter, respectively) that would bring me wellbeing (the former) and success (the latter). To think I just thought they smelled nice! Embarrassing. Needless to say, I blended the two before bed and smeared them all over my face. 

Then we headed to the Waterstones on Gower which - while being a chain - still exists, so gets props for surviving in an Amazon-era. This one is extra lovely because it's got red carpet and mini-levels. We headed straight for the basement to see an art exhibit - recommended by KT - of The Quiet Medusa, who sculpts/stitches/creates doll-like female effigies - that relate to works of literature and also her life. It was powerful and intimate stuff. Do go to see it if you're in the area.

And then we ate some more and then went home and read some more. It was a thrilling day, I tell you. 

I hope to see you again in June - post- our next trip Stateside - and until then,

Big hugs and lots of love,

Esss

Let's get this day STARTED!

GOOD MORNING, YOUGUYS! Saturday, 9 a.m. here, and absolutely nothing new has happened since I've last seen you so who knows WHAT blog-puke is going to come out today.

So we've got this high-up tiny window in our bathroom that is too small for a curtain but too poorly placed to prevent our back neighbors from being able to see in, and this has caused Wolf some consternation. (I forget it's there; also, I'm shameless.) As a result, I ordered some frosted window film that I will attempt to cut and stick on there today. I'm not handy but I am OCD, so this is both the best and worst task I could ever assign myself. It's got all the elements of the perfect storm: cleaning, measuring, cleaning again, straightening edges, lining things up, cleaning again, getting rid of bubbles/that one random hair that came out of nowhere/dust - then stepping back and seeing it's not perfect and tearing it all down and starting the process over again. There may well be a lot of cursing in our bathroom today, and I am excited about it.

Then of course it will be Casserole Prep Time, then Get on Train with Casserole time, then PARTY WITH CASSEROLE TIME! I'm super good at parties because I am really awkward initially and then as soon as I'm comfortable I lose my filter which makes everybody else awkward and then I try to recover the situation by changing the subject and I'm pretty sure it always works.

Time to win the day!

Big hugs and lots of love,
Esss

Oh yeahhhhh Saturday. Oh yeahhhhhh.

OMGYOUGUYS. It SNOWED this morning! I SAW it! It was the best ten-minute blizzard ever. Ferocious snow-blasting and then *nothing to see here.* Totally makes being up before 8 almost worth it. Also, is it too early to light the day's fire? I am feeling very primitive, very old world, wanting to make porridge on the cast iron wood-burner's top and pull a woolly wrap around my shoulders and scatter corn for the chickens, disregarding that I have none of these things. I am Ancient, I am standing on England's Rich Green Island, It Has Snowed.

Speaking of ancient, Wolf is on a call right now with a bunch of other business-y types and they're working on an MBA project together and just now they are discussing social media strategy and it's all the lolz. OLD GUYS, AMIRITE. The five seconds they just spent on the topic included the words 'expansion' and 'robust.' Then they quickly returned to the finance sets and supplier networks that they love. DUNZO.

Every time I listen to these guys talk, I realise I could never run my own business. I'd spend all my time working on my 'brand' and no time making actual money. But MAN, how satisfied I'd be with my website's font choice. 'Looking SLICK, champ,' I'd tell myself every day, not even worried about financial viability.

Today is going to be excellent: I'm going to catch up on laundry, get my read on, maybe take a bubble bath, and then tonight Wolf and I are going to join a couple of friends at the Alice in Wonderland exhibition at the British Library as part of their Late Night series. It's Fairy Tales and Wonderlands, youguys. FAIRY TALES AND WONDERLANDS. A live Mad Hatter tea! Hand-made book art fascinators! Hidden corners of the Library in which they've created magical immersive tales! EEEEE!

Now if you'll excuse me, it's nearly breakfast time and I should get cracking - this fire isn't going to light itself!

Big hugs and lots of love,
Essss

C'est la life, c'est la Hackney, c'est la leaving the house

OMGYOUGUYS. Because my monthly cleaner has occupied our home and nothing makes me more uncomfortable than sitting on the couch while she hoovers around me, even if I AM working, I've currently camped out in my neighborhood organic cafe (because Hackney) right next to a record player (because Hackney) sipping a bottomless cup of coffee (because 'they've always wanted American coffee service'). It's absolutely lovely and I can't believe I haven't been here yet. 

My workstation:

See the stack of paper my laptop is sitting on? 

That's about one QUARTER of the manuscript I'm proofreading right now.

Then, as I was taking the above photo (feeling a bit basic because come ON, if one more person instagrams a cafe with distressed wooden counters and quinoa salad and a blackboard menu, then surely the world will combust. Also don't check my instagram), the woman sitting at the table across from me asked if I would like to be IN the photo. I mean, obviously not, no, never, don't make me slap you, but then also HOW NICE WAS THAT and WHAT KIND OF NEIGHBORHOOD IS THIS so of course yes, I would love that, thank you so much! *hands over phone, sits back down slowly, suspiciously*

Not even black and white makes it look like I'm really working in this photo. 

Also, the curve of the 'Specials' going over my head makes it look like I'M special. That woman surely had the last laugh. 

Speaking of this crazy place we now live in, we had an excellent time with the neighbors at our social hour last week. They didn't try to dismember us ONCE. We gathered in their kitchen, where the husband cultured his rye sourdough starter every half hour and told the Wolf about his new smoker and I chatted with the wife about the grossness of attachment parenting and how good her nanny was. It was delightful. And get this! In a couple of weeks the neighbors on the OTHER side are having a little meet-and-greet for all the cute couples at our end of the road! I think it's safe to say we've found quite the little community here. I'm going to pack ALL my best behavior. *curls hair, digs out pearls* Why yes, Louise, I too feel the same about Benedict as Hamlet, ha-ha, ha-ha! Do pass the wine, won't you? Ha-ha! Aren't we wild!

Okay, I should get back to tackling that mound of paper. All my love to you and I hope you're having an excellent weekend!

Big hugs and lots of love,

Essss

On cycling, taxidermy, and very little else

There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction. - Salvadore Dali

OMGYOUGUYS. I am having the best day ever and it's only eleven a.m. Get this: I just got a BIKE. And I RODE it.  For five whole minutes, on the streets of London. I never felt so alive. The wind in my face, the sweat under my coat (from terror rather than exertion, it must be said), the ground so far beneath me that I felt like I was flying: it was incredible. I thought I'd die of fright and thrill. I'll obviously never do it again - my heart just couldn't take it, and I don't have the fearlessness in me that cycling in London requires - but I'll be happy when we take it down to France-house and I can use it to get to and from the nearby lake. I'm going to put flowers in the basket on mother effing PRINCIPLE. And also baguettes, even though I can't stand them (I am pretty sure they are only good as baseball bats). It will be so romantic. I will ding my little bell merrily all the way there. Forget towels and lotion, that's for people with no imagination. And if anybody gives me that judgy French look when I pull up, I'm just going to haughtily untie the ribbon of my charming straw hat, slowly reach for the baguette, and then whack them across the face with it. LIVING THE DREAM!

And in even more exciting news, I've got a taxidermy course today! I am going to learn how to stuff and mount a mouse. I cannot wait. I'm going to give him a little stop sign and use him to warn off the living mice that are no doubt lurking in our ancient Victorian walls and plotting to take over our kitchen.

What a day of firsts!

And because it's been too long since I've posted a completely irrelevant photo of Lake Garda, here you are:

Big hugs and lots of love,
Essss

On Black Friday, Buenos Aires, and Christmas Decorations

I believe in poetry as a way of surviving the emotional chaos, spiritual confusions, and traumatic events that come with being alive. - Gregory Orr 

OMGYOUGUYS. Can we unpack the loaded gun that is Black Friday for a second? I was seeing post after post about the vileness of it yesterday and - since I was scrolling at a pace -  just assumed they were all coming from US friends, because I don't know ANYbody back home who likes the practice, and I've been seeing articles and discourses on the issue for years.

Then I looked more closely. These posts were coming from the UK. You can't even tell I capitalised that, but I did. THE UK. Talk about embarrassing. I mean, I get (while still being disappointed) why it exists in America - everyone has Friday off because of Thanksgiving, and shopping and movies seem to go hand-in-hand - but in Great Britain? Why? It's just a FRIDAY. In the middle of NOWHERE. And now there are viral videos and ugly posts on the topic and everyone is mentally stabbing America because Obviously We Are the Root of All Evil and the whole thing has distressed me to the point that I need poetry to express how I feel. So here is my Black Friday Haiku*:

Black Friday madness
Now USA look like jerks
I need more turkey

Ah. Feeling better now. Kyle's right, poetry IS therapeutic.

On a happier note, today is the day I'm putting up the Christmas decorations! I always do this the day after Thanksgiving, ever since I went shopping with Emma Watson. This year's decorations are MEGA. Check out everything I'm putting up: 

This is gonna take me all day. 

I'm doing an abridged version of Christmas this year for the main reason that we won't actually BE here for much of December, so why lug all the boxes down from the attic for only two short weeks of joyeux noel? That is just SAD. Also, a lot of work, and I'm lazy. But get this: we're going to Argentina! WHAM. Sit back. 

I've been meaning to post on this for a while, but it never quite fit so now I'm just gonna shoehorn it in. We're going to Argentina! For a little over two weeks in December.** Does anyone have any recommendations? Places to eat, drink, shop, stay? We're going to be hitting Buenos Aires, Salta and Cafayate, and Iguazu Falls. Buenos Aires itself is pretty covered since we're staying with our friends Vik and Pablo, The Coolest. Couple. in Argentina (RIGHT NOW: check out their awesome business), but the rest we're pretty much going in blind and under-researched so YAY! How ideal is that. TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW.

Okay, I really should go do some research. Also, take my weekly shower. Also, put up all those decorations. What a day this is turning out to be! Happy Saturday to you all!

Big hugs and lots of love,

Essss

*You're lucky it wasn't a limerick.
**Don't rob us. We've totally hired a guard dog who knows how to feed himself and use a gun. 

It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously. - Peter Ustinov

Do you guys know the number one google search that directs people to my blog? It's the source of a TON of traffic. An ALARMING ton, because it's - are you ready for this? - ZOO PORN. I KNOW. I don't even know WHAT* those people are hoping to find, but imagine how disappointed they must be when they arrive on this post and there's only, like, some post-coital zebras smoking cigarettes.

In other news, look what we found sitting on the bed when we landed at Frank and Betty's yesterday: these cookbooks from Alan's sister Marie! They're a housewarming gift for the French house because MARIE KNOWS.** They fill me with warm fuzzies because it is exactly these sorts of additions that will turn it from a nice getaway into a real home-away-from-home. Check this out:

Do you love Floyd as much as I do? I'm already glad I have this, because I never knew one should do their cooking in a tux in France and I could have really embarrassed myself. 

Okay, off we go! A wedding in three hours and this bathrobe is going to look ridiculous if I don't at least add a flower.

Big hugs and lots of love,

Essss

*I mean, I can guess, but I DON'T WANT TO.
**The best places for heart-stabbing.

Saturday, Bergerac-style

Youguys know what? I wrote this post on Wednesday. Remember Wednesday? Appliance Day? I had to write this earlier in the week because I knew I'd be out of town Friday through Sunday with no internet access and I have committed to posting every day and goshdarnit, internet or no internet, it shall be done.

Today's goal in France town is to get a refrigerator. No doubt at this moment a French salesman is getting frustrated at us because our French is appalling* and we think we're just going to carry a fridge off the showroom floor using our strapping backs and what's the problem? I probably have butter and cheese stored in the cellar and I'm hoping that's cool enough to survive. Then this afternoon we are having lunch with our builder. Did you know there's possibly a fireplace behind one of the living room walls? There is no way to confirm that, however, short of pulling the wall down. HERE WE GO, FRIENDS! The adventure begins.

In the absence of anything new until hopefully tomorrow, I leave you with this YouTube of fainting goats:

Big hugs and lots of love,

Essss

*I can only talk about apples.

The Farmer's Table: off the ground and running like mad

The past few weeks have been the launch of a little sum'in sum'in Alison and I are doing called 'The Farmers' Table' (or rather, we are like guest-hostesses while the Table's original creator, a certain dapper gentleman named Peter, is away holidaying on the shores of Lake Michigan for the season). The Farmer's Table--in a nutshell--is a sort of gathering place for friends at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. We shop around the local farmers for the best cherries strawberries nectarines flowers cheese meat and then we set up a sweet mamma jamma spread with all of our goodies, adorned by the best chutney in town and bubbly Drinkwell soda, and our guests come laden with other treasures from their shopping--crusty bread or caviar or proscuitto, or in the case of the lovely Renee, the best organic, homemade quiches you've ever tasted. And as friends gather and the morning grows, it swells into this festive noisy food table friends chattering local affair. In other words: wonderful.

(The top right photo is of the red rings left behind from a colander of juicy raspberries.)

These mushrooms from Far West Fungi tasted like rain on top of a slice of heaven.

If you're ever around, do join us! Contact me for the Table's location and I'll make sure a seat is saved for you.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the Opera to see The Girl of the Golden West! I'm so psyched and I'm totally going to take pictures during the press party if I don't crumple under the weight of my need to look super hip, and then I'm going to post them here, and then I'm going to get in trouble for it because that's how I roll.

See you soon!