Taking a Moment to Pat Myself on the Back

I've been feeling very proud of myself lately. Although I certainly haven't done all of the things that I have wanted to accomplish after being here for a year (like finding a job) I have managed to do a lot of other things that I have every right to be proud of.

First of all, I have stripped this flat of all things granny and bachelor, and when I moved in there was a lot of both and its taken quite some effort to make this place really look nice without spending much money.

I think my greatest accomplishments are making friends and becoming involved in the community. I feel more tied to this community now than I ever did in Chicago. I supposed its easier in a smallish town to find ways to integrate yourself into the community, but I didn't dilly dally and I got involved right away and a year later I feel like I have become an important part of this community. Also, when I moved here I had zero friends, now I have two very close friends and about a dozen other friends and acquaintances which in a town where I have very little in common with anyone is quite an impressive number. After living in Chicago for a year I didn't have anywhere near that many new friends. Its not a popularity contest or anything, its just a matter of feeling like I belong and having a support system.

I am also really proud of myself for learning to drive here. It was really difficult and at the beginning it was one of those things I honestly never thought I was going to be able to do. It was probably the first time in my life I genuinely felt like I couldn't do something and I kept at it anyway. Its been a month since I passed my driver's test and those first few weeks were really rough and I wondered if I would ever get used to driving our car, but I forced myself to get in the car and go places I didn't necessarily want to go and put myself into situations that scared the living daylights out of me but now I am comfortable in pretty much any driving situation. I know a lot of people who after their driving test never quite built their confidence up to the point where they feel comfortable driving outside of town. It is very daunting, and I definitely couldn't do it without the aid of my satellite navigation system. I can see how easy it is to settle into the routine and never really feel comfortable driving on the big roads, it terrified me too, but I sucked it up and did it anyway because I felt I had to and its another thing I am proud of myself for.

Now on a less egotistical note, I have been considering putting my tree up a week early. First of all because I won't be here for a few days before Christmas so I will miss out on valuable tree time then, but also because it seems that all of the stores and shopping centers are already fully decked out for Christmas. Its one thing to be selling Christmas stuff, but our main shopping center has all of the Christmas lights up and Santa is arriving there next week! If Santa says its time for Christmas, well then I think its time. London had their official lighting ceremonies last week, and this week they are turning on the lights in nearby cities like Leeds. Why shouldn't I too be able to put up my Christmas decorations? So I think this settles it and I am going to put my Christmas stuff up a week from Saturday!

A final note, in case you don't read my blog column on Anglotopia, I am going to London for a day next week on Wednesday! I am really excited, mostly because I got such a great deal on my hotel and train tickets and there is nothing better than feeling like you are getting a good deal when you travel. I am just going down to London to see the sights and meeting up with some people from Anglotopia while I am down there.

I will give a full report when I return next week!

Remember, Remember the 5th of November

Happy Bonfire Night/ Guy Fawkes Night!

November 5th is known as Bonfire Night and it is the celebration of the foiling of the plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5th 1605. Guy Fawkes kind of gets the bad rap, his job in the plot was to prepare the explosives, all of the actual plotting was done by a group of Catholic gentry including Thomas Percy who was from around these parts. Thomas Percy was at the time of his involvement with the plot the constable for Alnwick Castle and was basically in charge of all the properties belonging to his cousin the Earl of Northumberland and the Percy family. When you visit Alnwick Castle there is an exhibit set up about his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot, including some letters related to the plot that have been put on display for visitors.

My mom, me and my dad on the grounds of Alnwick Castle

If you want to read about the Gunpowder Plot, check out this Wikipedia article.

I am a bit worried about Max and how he will react to fireworks going off tonight. I know the sound of motorcycles and helicopters stresses him out, so I am bracing myself for the fireworks tonight. I think the best I can do is to keep the TV on and shut the living room door as most of the fireworks go off behind our building, and most importantly stay calm for him. There have been fireworks going off since Halloween and the big fireworks will be on Saturday night, so I will have to keep an eye on him over the next several days and try not to be startled by the fireworks myself!

Happy Halloween from Count Dogula

Be afraid, be VERY afraid...

The very distinguished Count Dogula

Count Dogula flashes his fangs!

He may be a vampire, but he is also a gentleman

Showing those fangs again!

I vant to suck your blood and lick your face!

This is actually a child's costume set, it was only £4 at Tesco (kind of like the British version of Meijer) and he already had the fangs! I was surprised that he didn't try to shake off the cape, he just pranced around in it like it was no big deal.

Pumpkin Pie, and why it represents me

Pumpkin pie is DEFINITELY an American thing, but what many people don't know about pumpkin pie is that it was actually created using traditional English baking recipes. English settlers were introduced to the pumpkin by Native Americans, they saw it had similar properties to some English produce and created pumpkin pie by substituting pumpkin for ingredients they were used to in England but didn't have access to in colonial America. The first pumpkin pies probably resembled mince pies, with a full covering of shortcrust pastry.

I think that is why it kind of represents me, the English settlers took something very American and adapted it to be a kind of American-English hybrid.

I have been craving pumpkin pie since last year but never had a chance to make one because I didn't anticipate that the pumpkins would be available only for a few weeks in October. This year a friend of mine from choir was growing pumpkins in his garden and gave me one of his a couple weeks ago. My mom also brought me a can of pumpkin when she came to visit this year, so now I have a freezer full of pumpkin just waiting to become some delicious holiday recipes. However, even though its only October I just couldn't wait another minute for a piece of pumpkin pie so I made one yesterday.

First I cut the pumpkin in half and scooped out the guts. I saved the seeds and plan on roasting them today for a little snack.

I placed the pumpkin halves on a greased baking sheet and baked them for 1 1/4 hours at 350º until the flesh was soft. I let them cool for a bit so I could handle them and scoop out the flesh.

Then I pureed the pumpkin, most of the recipes I looked at suggested straining water from the puree but my puree was incredibly thick so I never had to drain it. It was a really rich sweet pumpkin, perfect for pie making.

I quickly whipped up a basic shortcrust pastry in my food processor and chilled it in the fridge while I mixed up the filling. I used a recipe that called for beating 3 eggs then adding two cups of pumpkin puree, 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream and 1/2 cup of brown sugar as well as a blend of cinnamon, allspice and ginger.

Once the pie was ready I baked it in a 375º oven for 45 minutes and it turned out perfect!

I whipped up some heavy whipping cream and confectioner's sugar (by hand with a whisk, it was hard work) for some fresh homemade whipped cream. The first bite was magical, it was instant taste memory and it was such a comforting taste. It was definitely worth all the work of making it totally from scratch!

I PASSED!!!

Yes, I passed my UK Driving Test on the second try. According to everyone "All of the good drivers pass on the second try". I have had so many people say this to me, and it rolls of their tongue like they have said it a million times before. It is counterintuitive that the good drivers would pass on the second try, if they are good drivers why wouldn't they pass on the first try? I am alone in that assessment though, and it seems the rule is that good drivers pass on their second try so I guess that must mean I am a good driver.

I do a have confession though, and this confession will probably cause my family to disown me. I really really really miss driving the Toyota Yaris I learned to drive in. The ride was smooth and for a tiny car with a diesel engine it had a lot of get-up-and-go. I am now driving Jason's Vauxhall Astra. For those who don't know, Vauxhall is the UK branch of GM, or at least it was at one time. So the Vauxhall Astra is similar to a Chevy Malibu I think.

A Vauxhall Astra, similar to the one I drive

I am grateful to have a nice car to drive, but I have to say its a bit of a let down after driving around the Toyota Yaris for several months. The Yaris zoomed along and got up to speed so smoothly, but driving the Astra it feels like it takes a lot of effort to accelerate and its just clunky to put it in the nicest terms I can think of. I am getting used to it and starting to learn how to get it to perform at its best but it takes a lot more effort than getting the Yaris to perform like I want it to. Alas...

My 15 seconds of semi-fame (I kid)

Check it out! Today I was quoted in The Guardian Life & Style section in this blog about parmo! The Guardian is a large, well respected national newspaper. (Although, this little article probably only made it to their website.) Still, I am flattered that this columnist quoted me in his article.

The parmo goes national

I am the "one American blogger" referenced in the article, and the article links to my original Anglotopia post about the beloved Teesside delicacy. Maybe I will become famous for coining the term "delinquent nephew of veal Parmigiana" and soon after pigs will probably fly, but one can dream.

This was a nice little ego boost today after a very stressful week.

Let's be serious for a moment

I've been a bad blogger, I know. Failing my driving test kind of caused a lack of focus in me, or really I have been so busy distracting myself I have lost the ability to un-distract myself. So, I am forcing myself to focus for just a bit.

I am feeling okay about the whole failing thing, its a good thing in a few ways. First of all, I know that I can pass because really I already did once. Second, I know that I can drive well in the test situation. If this makes sense, before the test I was nervous about being nervous. I was afraid that my nerves would get the best of me on the test and it would cause me to drive badly. Now I know that I can drive exceptionally under the pressure of the test so I no longer need to be nervous about being nervous. And third and finally, I feel more prepared to drive on my own. To be perfectly honest before my test I was terrified of getting in the car and driving on my own. Even though my driving itself wasn't lacking, I think my confidence in being able to drive on my own without my driving instructor as a security blanket has really gone up since the test. The examiner obviously doesn't give any help during the test and I managed to get through the test fine without needing any reminders from someone and that is a big confidence boost and now I feel like in two weeks when I do pass I can hop right into my car and not be afraid of driving on my own.

As my blog has become more popular, especially with some of the Anglotopia readers coming over to read my blog, I feel the subject matter has gotten a lot less personal. I think I blogged a lot more about how I felt in the beginning, I was more keen to go into detail about how I was handling things emotionally and I haven't really gone into great detail about that recently since I know there are strangers reading this.

Whatever, here goes. I think I am handling things exceptionally well. One thing I resolved to do when Jason left was to really cut back on alcohol consumption. Not that I by any means had a drinking problem, but last year bars and free flowing beer were just so accessible. Going out every weekend was fun, but it really took a toll on my mental state and the depressive effects of alcohol really started to manifest themselves. I am certainly not going to stop drinking altogether, but I have resolved not to have alcohol in the house and only drink if I am going out with friends. Its made a huge difference. At the same time I have also cut out all snack foods, because if I can't reach for a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, the next best thing is a cookie or ten.

That Friday that I failed my test I seriously felt like a patient detoxing in rehab. I was a bit disgusted with myself that I have come to rely on wine and snacks to get me through difficult emotions. I felt the emotions so much more sharply when I couldn't reach for a glass or a sweet thing in shiny foil paper and I found it a bit alarming that I had dependence on these things. Don't worry, I didn't get the shakes or start sweating, just had a bit of a rough "Eureka!" moment.

Max has been such a big help, I never feel alone and he knows when I am sad and knows just what to do to make me feel better. He has really settled into our home well, and I think he feels like he belongs here now.