Living it up

Well, its been over a month since I've blogged. Basically, I've been working hard at growing old, fat and unfit. I've had fun doing it though. Rebecca left last week so now I am all alone once again in my little apartment. Only this time, it is full of all sorts of interesting things designed to cook me waist-expanding delights! I just finished the last of the home made ice cream, washed down with beer from a frosty beer mug, and am now tucking into my first pizza made with dough from the bread machine. Earlier in the month I went a bit crazy baking banana nut breads. And of course the piece de resistance... I smoked a brisket in my grill (well, this is a slight exaggeration, since my grill is only 14 inches in diameter 'part of' a brisket would be a better description). This was for the dinner we made for friends last weekend. A classic southern menu of brisket, beer-butt chicken, potato salad and the trimmings followed by pecan pie and homemade ice cream. Sometimes I really miss Texas! So, now its back on to the belly reduction regime. Five hours of surfing with dolphins, seals and pelicans (their beaks can hold more than their belly-can!) this weekend started that off nicely.

By the way, for those of you who think you are jealous of the weather here: For the first month here I kept hearing "it's never normally like this". I think if you live here for a certain amount of time your brain gets a bit mushy because they have the phrases 'May Grey' and 'June Gloom' so it must be like this normally!!! For me though, it is pretty lovely. It is quite often sunny, but it rarely gets very hot down here near the sea. That's great for me but poor Rebecca, who grew up on the nasty Texas heat, spent a lot of her time here shivering. She is a bit of a special case though when it comes to feeling the cold. She can't even shop for too long at the refrigerated section of the supermarket.