Serena's US Open Win

Today I wanted to take a moment to highlight a true champion and her name is Serena Williams! She is extraordinary and I admire the true tenacity, athleticism, hard work, and dedication that Serena and her sister Venus have displayed to the world time and time again! Like everyone else, I've read about the tough road that they've had to travel in order to be two of the best tennis players ever and so every time they win I take a moment to contemplate what got them there. Often we only see people when they get to the finish line, but as we all know, there is so much that goes into succeeding before the world ever knows about it.

 

As I have watched the Williams sisters over the years all that I can think of is how lucky we all are to see not one, but two women from the same genes delight us with their amazing athleticism. We all come to the world with gifts and these ladies are sharing theirs each time they pick up a racket.

 

Sometimes when I'm reading or hearing about someone who was great at what they did throughout history in any field, I sometimes think how cool it would have been to be alive to witness their greatness firsthand. That's why I'm so grateful to have been able to see both Serena and her sister Venus play at Wimbledon in years past. When I saw Venus play, she won her match and she was amazing! Even though Venus has her challenges with her disease nowadays, she still has the heart of a champion. When we saw Serena play a couple of years back, she didn't win the match that we saw, but still, I felt so grateful to be there. In the future when they have both retired, I won't have any regrets because I saw both of them in their prime. To see someone do what they are meant to do and as an extra to see them do it well, is such a treat!

 

With her win in the US Open last night, Serena won her fourth US Open title and her fifteen Grand Slam title. She played against Victoria Azarenka and they both were incredible! Hats off to them both.

 

Over the last ten weeks or so, Serena has won Wimbledon, an Olympic gold medal in singles and doubles with her sister Venus (third Olympic doubles gold), and now she has won this US Open title once more. The statistics for Serena and Venus are astounding. Here are some photos from last night... 

 



 

 

 Above: Victoria Azarenka alongside Serena Williams

 



All photos courtesy of Getty Images

 

So there it is...my little tribute to Serena, her sister Venus, and indeed to Ms. Azarenka. Well done ladies!



Wimbledon Pics

Here are some of the pictures that I took when we went to Wimbledon as I promised. It was hard to decide what to post, but I hope that these give you all an idea of what it's like inside the grounds. It's a beautiful place and I highly recommend it if you get the chance to go sometime. This is one of those cases where the truth definitely lives up to the hype :)

I wrote a long piece about it when we went three years ago, so I won't repeat myself in this post. I figure that I'll just write this short bit and then just let you enjoy the pictures without a lot of words getting in the way :)

I will say that Brit Boy and I had an awesome time and it was REALLY hot that day, but I loved it! We have to relish those warm days here when we can get them ;-) The tennis itself was top notch and I just admire the athleticism of all of the players. We saw Serena Williams vs Marion Bartoli in the first match. I really enjoyed watching these two ladies play. Both women are excellent players. I was especially pleased on a personal level to see Serena play even though she didn't win. I saw her sister Venus play three years ago, so now I feel complete that I've seen both of them play. I just think that it is beyond incredible that there are two champion players like that in their family, not just one. What an incredible and inspirational story! Serena has had quite a health scare this past year, so good on her for competing the way she did! She will always be a winner to me! And congrats to Bartoli on the win.

In the second match we saw this year's mens' winner Novak Djokovic play against Michael Llodra. I didn't get any pics of this match because that was when we took a break, so we were in and out. The third match was between Roger Federer and Mikhail Youzhny. Federer won and it was a great match too. All three matches were fun to watch and I'll say it again...everyone showed how much of an incredible athlete they were. Watching everyone play just reminded me what dedication to something can really do. I applaud them all!

Well, I guess I wrote more than I intended, but oh well ;-) I got to share how much I loved it! Anyway, enjoy the pics! They're presented in a kind of collage style and kinda random, but I hope you enjoy them. Just click them to see a bigger one. Thanks as always for stopping by! :-)

Headed to Wimbledon Again

Hello there! I just wanted to drop in with a quick post today, as I take a break from packing. Brit Boy and I are headed into London tomorrow for a few days. We're going to Wimbledon on Monday. Here's my post from three years ago, when we went for the first time. We were surprised that we got tickets this year. They do a drawing for tickets so we never know if we'll get tickets or not. So we're really pleased to be attending again :-)

The weather has been a bit dodgy lately, so I'm hoping that the weather will be kind to us. No matter what...it will be fun to go again. I'll definitely blog about it all when I get back and also I have a couple of foodie posts to share too. So watch this space! Have a great weekend! :-)

In Celebration and Honor

I wanted to offer my BIG congratulations to Serena Williams today. She just won her FIFTH Australian Open title and now ties with Billie Jean King in having TWELVE grand slam titles! Wow! That is truly amazing. Her true athletic strength and determination is so inspiring to me.


Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

And also, she and her sister Venus won the Australian Open women's doubles title for the fourth time on Friday. That is amazing too! So congrats to both of them. They are truly great athletes.


Photo Credit: AP

Brit Boy and I got the chance to watch Venus Williams play at Wimbledon on Centre Court in 2008 and I'll never forget it. You can check out our experience here. What a great athlete and winner she is :)

I often shake my head at the heat the Williams sisters take for....gasp...winning ;-) Some people say it gets predictable and they get tired of seeing both of them win. Well I say, how ridiculous is that?!!!! And some of the criticisms of the sisters that I read sometimes are just vile, mean-spirited and narrow-minded and absolutely stink of sour grapes from people who have never come close to such achievements. We should all celebrate these two women and the determination, sacrifice, and inner strength it takes for them to achieve what they have so far. And I applaud their parents, for not just raising one champion, but raising two. Now that's something to be proud of.

These ladies inspire me and this is why I'm smiling today!

My First Blogoversary

Today is my 1st blogoversary! When I started this blog a year ago, I had no idea how much I was going to love going on this journey. As I’ve written before, this blog came along at a time in my life when I needed an outlet and it has been a great catalyst in my life. I’ve also been able to connect with some fantastic people from all around the world. I’m a Georgia girl, who came across the Atlantic and settled in England, and then kept traveling around the world everyday on this magic carpet that we call the blogosphere. I've met some great friends. What a ride! (smile) 

During this past year, I have had lots of fun along with some low points, but in the end, it’s all been great to look back on the highs and lows. And it’s all been great to experience it all alongside my hubby Brit Boy. 

Here are some of the things that I experienced and enjoyed sharing here on my blog during this first year of blogging: 

April 2008 - I got my unlimited leave to remain visa, which allows me to settle here and that was a wonderful step. We celebrated our wedding anniversary and the visa by going to see the play “Speed the Plow” starring Jeff Goldblum. 

June 2008 – We went to Wimbledon... what a thrill that was. We attended the Nelson Mandela birthday concert and we were able to see him speak briefly which was very moving. 

August 2008 – We went to the Madonna concert in Wales. 

September 2008 – We went to the Stevie Wonder concert. He was amazing! Stevie Wonder is Brit Boy’s favorite singer, so my hubby’s grin was a mile wide during the concert (smile) 

October 2008 – I was in the thick of trying to get my absentee ballot in for the election and after many attempts I got it in. This showed me that I have more persistence than I ever imagined. LOL. 

December 2008 – We went to the Simply Red concert. And at the tail end of the month, I had my visit to the US Embassy and it turned out well. On that day, Brit Boy and I got separated twice and found each other again, but I discovered for the first time since I’ve been here that I’m still able to take care of myself. And that was a great turning point for me, since I’ve relied so heavily on my husband since I’ve been here. I loved that day! (smile) 

Since the start of 2009, the big events have slowed down a bit, but it’s still been fun to share my life experiences with all of you my dear readers and commenters who make my day when you come to visit me. So I want to say a big thank you to you all!!!! (smile) This blog wouldn’t be what it is without you all. And thank you to all of my fellow bloggers for welcoming me into this world….what a pleasure!

Our Day at Wimbledon

Our day at Wimbledon was fantastic. Brit Boy and I both kept saying, “I can’t believe that we are here.” You know how it is sometimes when you look forward to experiencing something in your life and then you finally get to experience it and you say to yourself, ‘Is that all that there is?’ Well going to Wimbledon was not one of those situations at all. (smile) We have all had our share of letdowns in life and God knows that I have had my share in my life, but this day at Wimbledon was just a beautiful reminder that there are still some great experiences out there despite the problems in the world. Our experience at Wimbledon was my first of two reminders last week that there are still glories and truths and things in this world to be excited about. My other reminder came a few days later, but more about that to come.

So Brit Boy and I got up bright and early on Tuesday, June 24th and readied ourselves for our day out. The gates were to open at Wimbledon around 10:30ish and since we had to travel a bit from Wembley to get there, we had to get going early. We had a bit of a hiccup that morning with our hotel room. I mentioned in my last entry that we had to wait a good while to get checked in and then had to collect our key later. Well the fun just kept happening because that morning I was the first into the shower and it was not working. Ugh!!!! Not a good thing.(laugh)But I didn't miss a beat and just plopped myself down and had a very quick bath and Brit Boy did the same. There was no way that we were gonna turn up at the storied lawns of Wimbledon without touching a bit of water. (smile) This was only a minor blip. Nothing was going to stop us that day. I wore my mom's green-stoned ring. I always wear something of hers when I go somewhere new here, because I feel like I am taking her with me. I never got the chance to show her England like I wanted to because she missed making it here by three months. So I take a bit of her with me and it feels like it sets things right. So anyway,when we got down to the lobby, we reported our shower not working and then we were off to Wimbledon.

Brit Boy and I had been praying for great weather for weeks and we certainly got it that day. It was just wonderful…warm and sunny with a breeze. I had always heard that the Wimbledon area was leafy and green and it is that way on the walk down to the complex. There were shuttle buses taking people to the tennis complex from the tube station, but we just walked along with everyone else. The day was too pretty to not walk the couple of blocks and take it all in. Along the way, there were vendors selling food and things. Also there were street teams giving out cereal bars to spectators. Brit Boy and I got a couple. They were chocolate and orange cereal bars. The chocolate and orange combination is a very popular combination here in England. It was free and we hadn’t eaten yet, so I ate it as we walked along. (smile) Brit Boy ate his when we sat down later.

Just as we arrived, the gates were opening. Across the street, some people were veering off to another area to wait to see if they could possibly pick up some tickets to at least get into the grounds. We had thought about doing that too if we hadn’t been so lucky to get our tickets. It is a good option and a good chance to get in also. So anyway, we went through the gates with everyone else and then went through security. They just checked your bags or whatever you were carrying. We traveled lightly. I only had my small over the shoulder purse and my camera. Brit Boy carried a small bag with a couple of things in it.

Once we made it through security, we headed over to get a bit to eat. We timed it just right, because there weren’t too many people in line at that point and the drinks were nice and cold.(smile) We found a nice seat on a bench near a flower pot and had sandwiches and Pepsi. Then as a chaser, we had the traditional strawberries and cream that are a part of the whole Wimbledon scene. They were nice. Brit Boy did remark that he thought that the cream was more like milk than cream. We both thought that it would be thicker when we imagined what it would be like, but it was still wonderful. Here is a photo.



After we finished our little picnic, we took a walk around. People were steadily arriving and there was a lovely atmosphere. Our first quasi-“celebrity” that we spotted was a journalist from Sky News here in the UK. I can’t recall her name and neither can Brit Boy, but she was one of the blond ladies on there. (smile) She was talking on a cell phone as she passed us. Here is a photo of the part of the grounds that they call Henman Hill. It’s named after the former British #1 tennis star Tim Henman.



Then we walked around to the souvenir shop. We were going to go into the museum, but it was closed at that point. We always try to find a keepsake from our adventures together, so we bought a little keepsake box that has the Wimbledon insignia on it. Each of us also purchased a t-shirt. Mine is pink with the Wimbledon emblem on it done up in sparkly beads. What can I say, I love a bit of bling sometimes. (smile) Brit Boy opted for a basic white shirt with a small emblem on the chest. Here is another photo of the grounds.



After a bit more of a walk around, we went ahead and made our way to our seats in Centre Court. While we waited for play to start, we saw the backs of retired tennis star Tracy Austin and Sue Barker who were doing a courtside bit of chat for tv preceding the match. Sue Barker is a former British tennis star who now does commentary and sports presenting for the BBC. Tracy Austin also does commentary for the BBC. Here is a photo of Centre Court before the first match.



The first match that we saw was Venus Williams versus Naomi Cavaday. From her very first serve, I was just in awe of Venus’ muscular tennis-playing prowess. Wow, you can see why she is the champ. Her serves were like lightning. I told Brit Boy that I so want sleek muscular arms like her. She is powerful. She is tall and has long legs and arms which would make you think that would make control tough for her. But she uses her length to her advantage and couples it beautifully with sheer athleticism. She is a great athlete and I am so glad that we had a chance to see her play and win. (smile) Her opponent Naomi Cavaday was good too. She held her own and kept the match close most of the whole way through.

The second match that we saw was Rafael Nadal versus Andreas Beck. Nadal is also tremendously muscular and powerful in his play. I watched the monitor that showed the speed of serves and he and Venus had serves that were similar in speed…well into the 100mph plus range. During the match, a lady collapsed in the stands across the court from us. This guy ran up from several rows down to come to the lady’s aid. The guy running was the reason that most of us noticed the activity. Brit Boy and I wondered how the guy noticed it from that far below the commotion. We wondered if he was a doctor or something since he seemed to be tending to her. There were others crowded around the lady and security was there to help. The guy that ran up the stairs yelled, “Call 911.” We figured he must have been from my side of the pond, because here the emergency number is 999 and it is 911 back home. And kudos to him and all of the other helpful people that were there to help this lady. She was helped away to get medical attention and I guess that she was alright. I hope so. The match continued on after an initial halt when she passed out.

In between the sets you are allowed to go in and out of the match to get refreshments or whatever. Brit Boy and I sat through both of the first two matches, because we didn’t want to miss anything, but by the third match we were getting hungry. So we ducked out after the Nadal match and went to get food. This time the lines were quite a bit longer, but we still made out okay. This time Brit Boy had a tuna and cucumber sandwich and I was feeling adventurous and had a wrap with duck in it. I had never had duck before, so I figured that I would live a little. Well, let me just say, that was my first time and last time having duck probably. I ate it and didn’t let it go to waste, but I didn't like the taste. Brit Boy said that he had had duck before and he didn’t like it also. So that is another thing we have in common. (smile) I know that lots of people like duck and that is great. Everything doesn't suit everyone's taste. That is the fun in the world...there is something for every taste. (smile) After we ate, we walked back towards Centre Court, but stopped off to share a cup of ice cream…it was praline and caramel. Lovely stuff. (smile)

Then we went back to watch the last match with Andy Murray and Fabrice Santoro. They had started by the time we got back so we had to wait a minute to go back to our seats. This match was good too. Murray won.

When we were walking around the grounds before we left, we looked at one of the balconies and saw tennis greats Boris Becker and Tracy Austin being interviewed. Boris Becker popped up again in our London adventure later in the week and he was nearly thisclose. (smile) I’ll tell about that later. Here is a photo of a bit of a trellis along the grounds that I thought was pretty.



We walked back to the tube station with all of the other happy spectators. It had been fabulous and everyone was in a good mood. The tube station was bursting at the seams by the time we got there. There were scores of people queued to buy tickets. Thankfully we had our Oyster cards which are a prepaid card that you use for journeys on London public transport. We bought them before the last time we went to London and now when we go up there we just top them up with more credit. So we swiped our Oyster cards, got on the tube and headed back to our hotel.

We had a glorious day and we will never forget it. Going to Wimbledon is a great experience that we hope to repeat again. I don’t know if fate will hand us Centre Court seats like that ever again, but after that great experience, we can’t be picky. (smile)

First Day in London

Brit Boy and I are still having broadband problems, but we have pieced together things enough for us to get back into the internet world until we can get things worked out permanently on that front. I am so glad, because I don’t want too much time to pass and then I will forget bits of the absolutely great time we had in London this time around. This was the longest stretch that we have spent in London and it was fab. We went from the storied courts of Wimbledon to the truly sublime experience of seeing Mr. Nelson Mandela speak and pass the torch to the rest of us in taking care of our world. It is a week that Brit Boy and I will never forget. (smile)

I will begin today with our first day there and continue onward in the next few entries. So Brit Boy and I set off on our trip, on Monday, June 23rd. This time we didn’t take the train due to some scheduling and money-saving considerations, although in the end, we didn’t really save any money, but anyway we took the coach/bus into London. Let me say, Brit Boy and I remembered why we love the train so much after two hours on the coach. (laugh) It was hot and grubby. We have had better coach rides, so it isn’t always like that, but this time it was icky. Still, we are going to stick to the train when we can because it is a more comfortable way to travel and it takes half the time. In the end though, we were too excited to really care. We were just glad to be going on this cool journey together.

We arrived at the Victoria coach station in London at about 1pm. We were hungry, so we wheeled our bags down the street and across the way to a little shopping complex there at the Victoria Station, which houses a grocery store and various shops, as well as restaurants. We set out on our trip with the idea in mind that we would eat cheaply as much as we could to save money in these times that we live in. (smile) Well everyone else had the same idea and all of the fast food places were packed, so we had to go over to the Italian place across the plaza. Luckily, it was sort of Italian-esque fast food, so it was reasonably priced. The food was really good. Brit Boy and I both had a slice of pizza and a platter of finger food that we shared. The platter had chicken strips, nachos, and various vegetables and was served with two sauces. It was nice and filling. Here are a couple of photos of our platter and my glass of drink.





In yet another cost-cutting measure, we decided to stay outside of central London this time since we were staying several nights. We stayed in the Wembley area of London. Our hotel was virtually a stone’s throw from Wembley Stadium. Here is a photo.



They are doing lots of revitalization and construction around that area. My guess is that on top of rejuvenating things, they are sprucing up things in time for the Olympics in 2012. They are building lots of housing and workspace around there. Here is a photo of some of the change going on out there.




By the time that we got to our hotel in Wembley it was well after 3pm which was check-in time. So when we got there we thought that we could go in and dump our stuff and lounge a bit in preparation for our early start the next day. But when we turned up, things were in all-out chaos in the lobby. (laugh) There were about 100 teenagers milling around who were either on their way in or out, we couldn’t figure out which. And then there were about eight others there waiting for their rooms. So we were “checked in”, but then we had to go along with the others and wait in the bar for our rooms to be ready. It was cool though. In the end, they gave us free drinks, so all was not lost. (smile)

After almost two hours, we all were finally shown to our rooms. They couldn’t give us our keys at that point because things were still chaotic, but we were able to get it later. As another consolation, they offered us all free breakfast the next day, but Brit Boy and I didn’t hang around the next day for that…we were off to Wimbledon and we didn’t want to miss a minute. (smile)

That evening, as we were settled into our room, I took this photo of the sunset out of our window. It was lovely.



From our window you could see for miles. This photo makes me calm because it makes me remember the sense that I had at that moment that we were on the eve of a wondrous journey over the next few days and I was right. This sunset was a perfect close to the day before some of the best days of my life.
My next entry….our day at Wimbledon.

Acupuncture and London Here We Come Again!

I should be packing right now, but I am procrastinating. Although, at least I have piled my clothes that I am taking with me onto our bed. And in a bit I am going to go downstairs and have a bit of lemonade and then I will do my packing. Here is my wardrobe for next week ... fashionable, huh? (laugh)



Yeah right. (laugh) Well, maybe not "fashionista-esque", since we will be hoofing it a lot around London, but I am leaning more towards "casual and slightly fashionable". I am packing my sunglasses optimistically in hopes that I will need them to shield my eyes from all the bright sun at Wimbledon. Brit Boy and I are so hoping that the rain holds off for the tournament. We had lots of rain last night and today it is sunny and clear and windy. So if we can just have sunny, lovely weather like this for the tennis it will be splendid. One other fashion note, I am NOT going to be taking my “blister-blooming boots” this time. If you are not familiar, please read my post from our trip to London in April…I limped for days. (laugh)

Brit Boy and I ate a big breakfast this morning, so we both may not be hungry until 9pm. (smile) Since we are going to be gone all week, I am trying to use the last of our perishable food so it won’t go to waste while we are gone. The last few eggs, last few pieces of bacon, a few pieces of bread, and the last of the orange juice have now been consumed so we are almost all set. Whenever we get a space in our guts for some dinner, we will have a baked potato each and some brussel sprouts…and then tada…no perishable food left except for a few slices of bread and a bit of cheese to make sandwiches to take along with us tomorrow and then our consciences will be cleared. Since food shortages and high prices seem to be the rule of the day, we don’t want to throw away anymore than we have to.

Yesterday, I went to my next to last acupuncture visit. Karen and Ta were kind as always and I had my treatment. Karen and I talked as Ta made me into a human pin cushion. (smile) After all the pins were in…about thirty…she placed three big sponges along my body to cushion so that she could place the towel over me and thus the pins would not get snarled up or go in even deeper with the pressure of the towel. So they leave me in the room, all Zen and stuff, with the lights out and lovely Chinese spiritual music playing in the background. Then within five minutes the fire alarm goes off in the shopping plaza. I’m not losing my mind, but instead of being scared, I laughed first that this was my current condition with all the pins and I may have to run for my life in my underwear. (laugh) But good ‘ol Karen comes into the room just as the alarm pipes down and she says that it was a false alarm. She said, “Don’t worry, we will take care of you if there is a fire or anything. You are our friend.” Then she patted me on the arm. I told her that I had no fear and knew that they would look out for me. I was the only customer in the shop at that time. Karen is a sweetheart and I told her so. I always feel very relaxed in that tiny shop. (smile) Even though I have my last treatment coming up in the next couple of weeks, I am still going to stop by and say hello every time I get into town, just to see my friends.

Well, I better get to my packing. Just one last quick note. I won’t be able to post anything from tomorrow (the 23rd) through Friday (the 27th) since I will be in London and away from my laptop. I will probably go into shock and miss my little green machine, but we are trying to pack lightly. (smile) But rest assured, I will be taking notes on what we see and do on our next London adventure and I will also be taking lots of photos to share with you all. Brit Boy and I will be doing the rounds of London this time for sure…Wimbledon, King Tut’s exhibit, the Victoria & Albert Museum to see some Supremes memorabilia, and then on Friday we have the Nelson Mandela concert. And I will also share wherever else that we come across on our latest trip to the Greater London area. It’s always a fun time when we take a trip there, so I look forward to sharing it all here with whomever takes the time out of their busy days to read my blog. Once we arrive back home on the 28th, I will start spilling my guts on all that happened. (smile) Thanks for visiting with me here. Until then…take care :-)

A Quick Note

Just a quick note, in only eight days, Brit Boy and I will be at Wimbledon. I can’t believe it. We are both so excited about that and it is made even more memorable because we had the good fortune to be picked to sit in centre court. We are so grateful. We are just hoping that the weather is nice that day. Also that week we are going to see the Tutankhamen exhibition at the O2 and we are going to hopefully finally get to St Paul’s Cathedral and see Sir Christopher Wren’s fabulous architecture. A while back, I wrote about Brit Boy and me going to West Knoyle one day, which is right next to East Knoyle, here in Wiltshire, where Sir Christopher Wren is from. In all of our visits to London, we have yet to go have a look. So we are hoping to get there. And then on the Friday, we are going to the Nelson Mandela 90th birthday concert and we are overjoyed about that. That will be a true milestone to remember in our lives to see Mr Nelson Mandela. As I have said before, I will definitely share my experiences over that week here in my blog, along with photos. So the countdown continues. (smile)

Pound Cakes and Tickets

Today was a day of baking for me. I had some buttermilk in the fridge that I wanted to use before it went out of date, so I decided to make a buttermilk pound cake. This is the first time that I have made one of these from scratch, but from time to time I have a taste for foods that we ate back in Georgia. Brit Boy is a big fan of any kind of cake, so let’s just say that it won’t go to waste between the two of us. (laugh)

Pound cake is pretty popular back home. It gets its name from the original basic recipe that was made from a pound of flour, a pound of butter, eggs and sugar. However, some more up to date recipes like the one I did can be a bit lighter. The southern version that I did, calls for buttermilk. And buttermilk always seems to have this way of spiking up the flavor in cakes.

In writing this post about my pound cake, I had a thought. I wondered if pound cakes differed or were eaten around the world. So I did a bit of research. The pound cake that I made is basically a Southern US version of pound cake that is rich yellow cake. According to what I read in my research, a British pound cake is from the same origins which call for a pound of each ingredient and then dried fruit is added to this version. And there are many, many other varieties in other parts of the world. It is quite amazing and wonderful I think, that many of us share the same name for a cake, but our individual twists on the recipe in our regions of the world can make it uniquely ours.

So after reading this, I decided that I needed to tell a bit about how it is served where I come from. We usually serve our pound cake with no icing and just enjoy it like that. But you can also drizzle it with a glaze of your choosing or serve it with whipped cream and strawberries or whatever you have a hankering for. There are also chocolate and lemon pound cakes...it is kind of just whatever flavor you desire. One of the basic ways to bake pound cake is to bake it in a fluted pan, which makes a hole in the middle. Well I don’t have one of those pans, so I used a deep spring form pan and it turned out fine. It just made bigger pieces than is usually customary, but hey, that isn’t a bad thing sometimes. More to enjoy. (smile)

In other news, Brit Boy and I received something good in the mail yesterday. We got our Wimbledon tickets so we are all set. (smile) We found out that we had been chosen to receive tickets, months ago, but they don’t mail them out until close to the event. So now we just have a few short weeks to wait. We are so excited. I have watched it over the years on television as I grew up, so it is so great to now be able to go. Brit Boy and I are both thrilled.

London and Cupcakes

My sinusitis or whatever it was, has nearly calmed down all the way. I had a bit of a sore throat also and that made me feel awful for those couple of days, but now I am doing much better. So I wanted to get back here and get caught up on what is going on. Here is my mini rewind back to Saturday.

Well on Saturday, I went to see Karen and Ta again, to have my acupuncture. It went fine. Then Sunday, Brit Boy and I just hung out around home and enjoyed the nice weather. The weather had been spring-like at that point for a few days, although today it is kind of windy and there has been some rain. The temperature also cooled off too, so I have been putting on my cardigan and taking it off because I can’t decide if I am warm or cold. (smile) Back to Sunday though, I spoke on the phone with my niece who lives in California. She was doing great and we had a good talk about all things retro. (smile) She is only about nine years younger than me. She says that my pop culture tastes from back in the day gave her lots of good memories since she followed some of what I followed. We discussed the upcoming return of New Kids on the Block and a lot of other musical acts from back in the day. It was a wide-ranging discussion and we talked about current artists. This conversation was peppered with me singing lyrics from everyone at random. It was hilarious. It was kinda cool that she said that she enjoyed following some of my tastes from back then and that she has good memories because of that. Awww. (smile) That was good to hear. It was a good talk, filled with good nostalgia.

Then on Tuesday, the 13th, I was in a baking mood, so I baked some red velvet cupcakes again. Brit Boy and I love them. They are SO not low-fat, but we eat them in semi-moderation. (wink)(smile) I won’t make anymore for a while though in order to save the specialness of them and to save our waistlines.

I have to backtrack a bit. I wanted to save this bit of news for last. Brit Boy and I are adding another event to our next London adventure. Back on Wednesday, May 7th, we got a chance to buy some tickets to a concert during a presale that we had registered for. We were able to purchase two tickets to the 90th birthday celebration concert for Nelson Mandela that will be held in Hyde Park on June 27th. We are so excited. It is amazing to think that Brit Boy and I will be seeing a truly great person of our times. We are really humbled by this opportunity. To see Nelson Mandela will certainly be a great highpoint in our lives. I will most certainly share this experience here on my blog. The timing of all of this works out great, because this will be the same week that we go to Wimbledon. So I will definitely share some of the experiences of that week here, along with some photos. It will be a fun week and we just can’t wait. So London, here we come again. Oh and this time, those blister-causing boots will be left at home. (laugh)

One More Thing

Just one more thing for today. At the bottom of the page, I have added a couple of tickers for a couple of big days in my life which are coming up. I have added one ticker to countdown to the day that I go and get my visa extended, which will be fabulous and a load off my mind. I have been waiting for this day for two years so it is a big milestone for me. And then I have added a countdown to the day when we go to Wimbledon. Brit Boy and I are so excited and can't wait to experience the view of it all at Centre Court. I will definitely be posting pictures of our Wimbledon experience here to share.