Exams, bread, and books...well that just about sums up my life lately...

3 exams down, 1 to go! Unfortunately it's the one with the most boring reading ever. Blah, political convergence theories.

In better news, I just bought a bread machine! Woohoo! It was cheap, had free shipping, and was well reviewed. If you're interested, find it here.

I believe my first attempt will be this whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread. I just finished the most fabulous book, Gilead, in which one of the characters eats an apple butter, peanut butter, and raisin bread sandwich which just sounded amazing. (By the way, just as warning, Gilead is going to turn me into that annoying book pusher. It's just wonderful. Check out a good description here.)

Well that was certainly all over the place. Forgive me. I spent three hours writing today on why socialism failed in the United States, the differences between Teddy Roosevelt and Wilson, and why Lincoln failed to compromise with the south in 1860-61. It's been a long day.

News of the Weird

Buh? PBS has a new show premiering this fall, Spain...On the Road Again, which stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali, Mark Bittman, and Claudia Bassols, and appears to be about the group driving and eating through Spain.

Am I crazy, or is that A) a really weird group of people...Gwyneth, really?, B) a strange show to be on PBS, and C) a potentially awesome thing for me to watch next year when I won't have cable?

Here's a sneak peak:

Controversy!

Hey, it's Children's Book Week! Or...not. This link says it's in October. Huh. No matter! It's always a good time to reminisce on all the fab books of our childhood. This is a new volume, of the much loved If you give a... series: If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. Sounds right up my alley. Excitement in kid-lit.

***Addendum: apparently the second is in the UK. I'm so sick of my browser searching UK sites first. It should know I'm still a self-centered American. Geez.

These are strange ways you have.

Many of you may be celebrating Cinco de Mayo today. To be honest, if margaritas weren't the equivalent of $15 here, I might celebrate a bit too. Instead I'm experiencing the wonder of a Bank Holiday. It appears to be the UK equivalent of Memorial Day or Labor Day, only they're held several times a year for no apparent purpose. I kind of like that. Instead of commemorative days getting corrupted by the fact that everyone only remembers them because they get work off, these are holidays specifically designed to...get work off. Nice.

There is one significant difference between these holidays and their semi-comparative days in the US: all the shops are closed. Odd. Although it did mean I could wander across streets this morning without fearing I would be run over by a crazy motorcyclist on his way to work, so that's a plus.

That's what (he) said...

London has a new mayor, Boris Johnson. This article includes a few of his past sound bites. My favorite?

"I have not had an affair with Petronella. It is complete balderdash. It is an inverted pyramid of piffle" - on press reports of his relationship with Ms Wyatt

Note to self: Must work the phrase "inverted pyramid of piffle" into conversation this week.

"There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love chocolate, and communists."

While I'm on the travel report kick, I thought I'd write a little post about Paris and chocolate. I thought I was going to be writing this post in February after coming back from Belgium (mmm waffles and chocolate.) Due to my forgotten passport, a couple of impossibly late ferries to/from Calais, and yet again waiting for ages in a disturbingly empty station in northern France (I'm sure Nicholas remembers our experience with this 2 years ago...it wasn't any better this time), I didn't actually ever make it to Belgium. Whatevs...wasn't meant to be. I did get the better part of an 850-page novel read!

I ended up satisfying my chocolate lust in March with possibly the only better substitute for Belgian chocolates imaginable...the Nutella Crepe.


Mmmm, I've had this on my list of things to do in Paris for ages. I vividly remember the first taste of Nutella I had three years ago, incidentally in Paris. So good. It's a dangerous thing for me to have around though, so I save it for special occasions. The market down the street from me here in London has a vendor who sells crepes. I have remained resolute, however, and my Paris crepe lived up to my imagination.

The crepe was not the only awesome thing about Paris. Here are a few other pictures from the trip: