Nerd Love

This is just a quick post to share something that I love! A little treat that I remember from when I was growing up!

I LOVE NERDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been enjoying the last few that I have and it has been nostalgic and fun! I hadn't had these in years and then I found some in a sweet shop in London when we were there for the Olympics. Then fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when we were in Bath and yet again I went into an old-fashioned sweet shop and found some. I know that they are nothing but sugar, but who cares...I like them ;-) I don't get treats like this often so when I can I'm very happy. The biggest part of it I think is the nostalgia :-)

As I mentioned, I got these when we were in Bath and I promised to share some photos of Bath here from that trip, so my next post will be about our little trip to Bath...one of my favorite places in all of England!

I hope that you'll come back to check out my photos and my story about what we were up to there. Until next time...

Memories Through Cornbread

It’s been a while since I did a cooking post, so it just seemed like a good idea for today’s post, since I need to get back into the blogging hot tub. I don’t love to cook, but I like it pretty well and hey, we've all gotta eat don’t we? For those times when I don’t want to cook, a frozen dinner is my best friend ;-)

There are times when I like cooking and times when I loathe it. It’s all about balance ;-) In those times of enjoyment, the thing that pulls me in is the chance to be creative, so that aspect is right up my alley.

I truly enjoy watching cooking shows, especially Barefoot Contessa. Her food inspires me to want to cook EVERYTHING and do it well. Her variety of dishes that she cooks always inspires me to try something new and I’ve learned lots of cooking techniques from her, so I love me some Contessa :-) And as a fellow Georgia girl, I love to watch Paula Deen when I’m back home visiting. I can see the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network over here, but they don’t show Paula Deen here. So that’s where the website comes in handy. Anyway, that’s enough of my TV favorites for today. Pardon my detour ;-)

So this past weekend I cooked cornbread muffins…well actually cheese cornbread muffins. I had a taste for some. I’m not a really big fan of cornbread or any bread really, but sometimes I get the taste for it. It usually coincides with me thinking about home or back to the times when my parents were still alive. When I was growing up, my mom made cornbread everyday and I used to love to watch her make it. The memories that I have of watching her make cornbread stick firmly in my mind. I don’t know why. I guess it’s the everyday normal things that you may take for granted at the time, but when you look back, those are the things that are burned into your memory forever. As time goes by I realize that memories are TRULY the beautiful things in life :-) The simplest, beautiful things…

Over the Christmas holidays, I received a package from my sisters and I had mentioned to them when we were Skyping once that I couldn’t get cornmeal very readily where I live. So I’d asked them to send me a small bag if they could. Well, in the Christmas package there was the cornmeal…just like my mom used to use :-) The sight of the bag instantly filled me with nostalgia. Here it is:



Yeah, I took a picture of the bag of cornmeal…it’s an expat thing. LOL. Anyway, I made some cheese cornbread muffins and they turned out pretty good. My mom was strictly old school though…she just made straight cornbread and hers was great, but I love to play around with a recipe from time to time.



I’ve been nibbling on these muffins all week and yesterday I crumbled some up in a bowl of soup…mmmmmm. Now that was good! Next time I may try putting some other flavor in there to see how it turns out. See, it’s that creativity thing again ;-)

I realized the other day how much I used to love posting about my culinary creations in the earlier days of this blog and I realized that I don’t do that much anymore. Well that will definitely be a returning feature here. I’m no chef or even a really great cook, but I just love mixing stuff up and seeing what happens. And also I love photographing things…and that includes food, so I hope you’ll come back and see what I cook next :-)

Until next time…

Our Evening With A Cat

Today I’m in a much better state of mind since my last post. Calling out my frustration in my previous post was therapeutic. I had a good weekend and put all of that holiday drama behind me ;-) Thanks everyone for your comments and support. It meant so much to me :-)

Anyway…on with the show as they say….and it’s apt here because this post is about our trip to the theatre on December 23rd. It was truly wonderful! :-)

I love going to see plays and musicals and Brit Boy likes going along with me too. We both love an outing somewhere :-) I found out quite a few months ago about the Debbie Allen directed production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof coming to the West End after a highly successful run on Broadway. I did a happy dance when I found out. You should’ve seen me…lol. I told Brit Boy about it and we got tickets and then held onto them for a few months. Finally December 23rd arrived and off to London we went!

We took the train into Paddington Station and then took the tube to Covent Garden. We had left ourselves a bit of a cushion with the time, so there was an opportunity to get a bite to eat. We were starved. We dropped into a small shop and got drinks and sandwiches. Then we stood along The Strand right outside the tiny store and ate as we people watched. Everyone was bustling around on the eve of Christmas Eve with an air of expectation.

After we ate, we walked to the Novello Theatre. The theatre is beautiful and the perfect size…not too big, not too small. We got really lucky and had seats at the center of the seventh row. Just close enough, but not too close :-) We saw a matinee performance and it was truly thrilling.

As I mentioned earlier, this was a production directed by Debbie Allen. Many of you will probably remember her as the dance teacher Lydia Grant in the television show Fame. I used to really want to go to that high school when I was a teenager :-)

Anyway, Debbie Allen is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning director and her expertise definitely shows onstage. Her skill is ever so evident in this sumptuous production. She has taken this true American classic by Tennessee Williams that was made legend in the movie version starring Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, and shown how universal the themes of family are as she presents this new cast. It was a beautifully true revelation.


Photo Credit: Jeff Fasano ; left to right, Rashad, Lester, Lathan, Jones

This production stars the truly legendary James Earl Jones as Big Daddy and the elegant Phylicia Rashad as Big Mama. It was indeed such a treat to see two Tony Award winners on stage together in Mr. Jones and Ms. Rashad.

James Earl Jones’ voice is amazing to hear in person and his rich baritone is just thrilling to the ear as he beautifully enunciates every word. I wanted to pinch myself. I couldn’t believe that I was seeing this truly great actor right before my eyes. Mr. Jones totally inhabits the role of Big Daddy. He is exquisite. We seem to throw around that word legend a lot these days, but on December 23rd, I saw one before my eyes :-)

Phylicia Rashad is wonderful as Big Mama too. She is Debbie Allen’s sister and is affectionately remembered for her role as Clair Huxtable in the classic sitcom The Cosby Show. I was so excited to see her too. She was the epitome of elegance and class as Clair Huxtable and the way she carried herself made such an impression upon me when I was in my formative years. I loved watching her on my TV screen each week back then. The Cosby Show was a truly landmark show.

Her depiction of Big Mama in the play reminded me so much of the elder women in my family. Her portrayal reminded me a lot of my mother and aunts. They were women who dressed up as we got together for traditional Sunday dinners back in Georgia and then they would sit on the front porch and fan themselves and talk :-) They’ve all passed on now, but their imprint is still in my mind and will never leave. Those are some of my best memories of growing up. So I thank Ms. Rashad for giving me a great gift. She is a wonderful actress.

One of the other leads is portrayed by Adrian Lester, who plays Brick, the son. Lester does a fine job in this role. I applaud his agility because he spends the whole play hobbling around with a cast on his leg. He is a fine actor.

The final lead is played by Sanaa Lathan. She plays Maggie, ‘The Cat’, Brick's wife, and gives a beautifully sultry performance in this role made famous by Elizabeth Taylor in the movie version. She earned my respect early on because most of the entire first act is her talking to Brick and he says very little. And I’m thinking to myself, how in the world does she remember all of that dialogue and it is said at such a quick pace???? She’s fabulous in this role and truly luminous.

So I guess that I don’t need to tell you all that I was on cloud nine the whole time. LOL. It was a fabulous way to spend an afternoon into evening with my Brit Boy. We both walked out of there with a smile on our faces as we walked out into the night.

After the show, we walked over a couple of blocks in search of food. The angels were on our side because we found a wonderful restaurant called Sophie’s. The food was delicious and the service was quick. The ambience was perfect. It was lit by candle light and the electric lights were soft and not overly harsh and yet you could still see where you were walking.

Brit Boy had soup for his appetizer and I had a house salad. Then for dinner we both had steak and fries. Very yummy!!! :-) It hit the spot. We don’t eat red meat a whole lot, so it was a great treat. I told Brit Boy that that was Christmas to me…just chilling and enjoying each other’s company. Brit Boy’s a fun date ;-)

So after our dinner, we wrapped back up and headed for the tube. We got to Paddington Station and waited for our train. Then we were carried off across the snowy landscape…back to Wiltshire… :-) I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride!

Three That We've Lost

It has been a surreal morning. When I went to bed late last night, I went to bed with this thought. A great chunk of my American life’s popular culture memories are shifting right before my eyes.

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson as we all know by now, have died recently and it has really got me in a pondering mood today. It’s eerie because they always say these things come in threes. Yesterday afternoon, Brit Boy and I were sitting watching Wimbledon on television and I was sort of in my own world a bit with headphones on listening to my music. Then the Jacksons’ song came on, “Blame It On The Boogie”, and I said to Brit Boy, ‘I can’t wait to see Michael next month and I hope that on our night he just happens to bring his brothers onstage for a reunion.’ We both laughed and thought how cool that would be. Brit Boy and I were going to one of the Michael Jackson concerts in July and we were so looking forward to it. I want to pay tribute to all three of these iconic people in my life. So here goes.

Ed McMahon was a staple of American life. He was best known as Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show sidekick, but he also hosted Star Search which was a predecessor of some of the talent shows that we see on television now. My greatest memories were of being a kid in the 70s and watching The Tonight Show. I would get a chance to see it on Friday nights and during the summer. I was probably the only kid in my elementary school getting excited around midnight about watching Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson, and Doc Severinsen welcoming guests to the show. (smile) Before discovering The Tonight Show, I thought that everyone went to bed after all of us kids were sleeping. I thought the world stopped. LOL. Ahh, innocence. (smile)

Farrah Fawcett was an icon of my 70s childhood. Brit Boy and I often relish our memories of our 70s childhoods and 80s teen years. What a great time it was. (smile) We always say that those 70s shows of our childhood were truly iconic and really define the era. To us, and I’m sure many others, those shows will never get old. I wanted to be a Charlie’s Angel and the Bionic Woman when I was a little girl. I would act out each episode after I saw them. I loved it because these shows had women doing things that I would love to do. They were so cool. (smile) When I found out that Farrah was married to Lee Majors(the Six Million Dollar Man), and realized how that fit with him being the Bionic Woman’s television boyfriend, I was in 70s kid girl heaven. (smile) It was my own mini “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” with a few less degrees. I just loved her.

And last, but definitely not least, there’s Michael Jackson…the King of Pop. I am like most people in the world today….completely stunned. Brit Boy and I found out about him going into cardiac arrest on Twitter, right after we learned of Farrah Fawcett’s passing. And incidentally, we found out about Ed McMahon on Twitter too, so social media is really making its presence know. Once we heard about it, we turned on CNN, Sky News, and the BBC to get the latest and we watched until late into the night. We were both absolutely stunned.

Brit Boy and I had bought tickets to one of his London comeback shows and were to see him exactly four weeks from today. I was getting ready to share the news here on my blog today in fact. Neither of us had ever seen Michael Jackson perform live and now that will never be.

I grew up hearing his music with his brothers and his solo work and it truly was a soundtrack of my life. I had my “Big Three” of my teen years that I had always wanted to see and in the last couple of years, I had finally seen two of the three…Prince and Madonna. I hate that that circle won’t be completed, but I hate more that a musical legend is gone. No matter what some may think about the controversies in his life, you can’t deny his sheer talent and his musical contributions.

I have one more memory about Michael Jackson and his brothers. When I was a little girl and my dad was still alive, he used to always think that everyone was the Jackson 5. My dad didn’t watch much television and so when he would walk through and we were watching a music group on television, he would ask, “Is that those Jackson boys?” (smile) It didn’t matter who it was as long as they were male and singing. (smile) My dad was a character.

So I just wanted to give my two cents on the passing of three people who were a big part of my collective memories as I grew up in America. But I know that I’m not alone in my memories around the world. Michael Jackson and his brothers have had me dancing my whole life.

Thanks to Ed, Farrah, and Michael for entertaining me and many others for all these years. Rest in peace to all.

Please check out Brit Boy's post too for his Michael Jackson tribute.

Looking Ahead to Summer

Yesterday Brit Boy and I did our first yard work/mowing of the year. Our grass had started to grow and green up again. It was getting rather long very quickly. So we hauled out the lawn mower and clippers and got to work. It seemed to go pretty fast which was a change. I clipped the bushes and pulled weeds, while Brit Boy mowed the grass. We bagged up all of the grass and brush so that we could take it to the recycling center, where they make it all into mulch.

So we hopped into the car and drove over there. It’s a nice drive and the weather was nice. We dropped off our clippings and then headed back home.

Later, after we got home and got cleaned up, we heard that familiar little tune of the ice cream man. Brit Boy and I were thrilled….I mean nothing makes me think of summer more than freshly cut grass and the ice cream man (smile). It was a good afternoon.

All of this talk about summer has me thinking of a sunny, summer holiday somewhere. I come from a primarily warm climate back in the States, even though we have a climate of four seasons. When I first arrived here, I had no idea how essential that sunshine was to my well-being. I just knew that I enjoyed it! Well now that I've been here for a while I realize how therapeutic it is to get a chance to hang out in the sunshine, especially when you can't take it for granted. So recently I've been scanning online to find out about different places to plan on visiting in the summer. There are cruises and all kinds of varieties of sunny trips. I've also found some great value holidays to Benidorm. I've never been to Benidorm, but I hear that it's a great place to visit in Spain. Judging from the pictures that I see online, it sounds like just what the doctor ordered...sun, sea, and summer even if it isn't quite summer yet! Here's to sunnier days!

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!

I'm Vertical Again

Hi there :-) Well, I took my much needed rest since I posted here last and many days before that when I was AWOL from here, and now I’m doing better. Brit Boy is fine too. Thank you to all of you who came by here to offer your get well wishes…Brit Boy and I really appreciate it. We are getting back into life after what seems like an eternity lying horizontal :-) In all, we were sick for about eight days, give or take a day. We don’t know who had the cooties first since we started to feel sick the same day :-) I haven't said "cooties" in years. LOL. It was yucky though…ugh. We’re just glad we are feeling better. We took the time we needed to rest and even though we were nauseous most of the time, it was just nice to slow down anyway :-) While we were stuck horizontal we talked about how we humans don’t realize we are rushing so much through life until we are forced to slow down. What a lesson that is :-) Anyway, enough sick talk.

I’m playing catch up here a bit today. Ah, let’s see…oh, our Valentine’s Day was good. We were sick and there were no flowers or candy this year, but it was just nice to have our romantic sick-fest together…hey, we’re easily amused ;-) We both said that there’s nobody we’d rather be sick with…now that’s true love :-) I know, enough already, right? Anyway, we watched movies and had a good day.

While I was lying around, I did finish one of my books that I’ve been reading. It was The Legs Are The Last To Go by Diahann Carroll. It was really a good read. I love biographies and autobiographies, so this was right up my alley. I always like to read how others, especially my elders, have persevered in their lives despite it being an uphill battle. Ms. Carroll has indeed led a wonderful life. Her accounts of her days in Hollywood, on Broadway and in the music world are truly intriguing. The list of people that she has known and/or worked with reads like a who’s who of the 20th century. I have always thought that she was one of the truly elegant ladies of our time and through the photos you see that she has truly been a beauty from the early days of her career over fifty years ago. There are also tales she tells of tough times, which ring true, because what life goes unscathed.

Besides her obvious beauty and elegance, you also get to see a woman who was intent upon showing her talent and fighting for equality. Ms. Carroll was a trailblazer along with others like Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge, and so many more who paved the way in popular culture and in many other ways. I honor them all. They make me stand taller as a woman when I think of what they have gone through before me. They, like my own ancestors, light my path everyday. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I believe it will stay with me for a long while. What a gift :-)

We Saw "The Secret Life of Bees"

Last night, Brit Boy and I went to the movies. The movie “The Secret Life of Bees” was finally released here in the UK, so we decided to go check it out. We loved it so much. The acting in this movie was superb. It was a beautifully down-to-earth movie and was just great because it kept reminding me of the house and surroundings that I grew up in. It reminded me of home. The movie was set in 1964 during turbulent times in America. And even though the movie was set in a time before I was born, it still evoked memories of my roots and for me, it showed the triumph of the human spirit.

The house in the movie wasn’t exactly like ours, but the characters sitting on the porch reminded me so much of how I grew up. Afterwards, Brit Boy even remarked that the porch had reminded him of sitting on the porch back home. It was funny…during the movie I kept thinking, "we had that piece of furniture and that one", as they showed the inside of the house. Then when Brit Boy and I were talking about the movie afterwards he said he thought the same thing about the house. It was like looking at a part of my own ancestry through that fictional house and the things inside of it.

I’ve read a few very arrogant, and condescending reviews of this film, but here’s the thing…the critics like what they like and I like what I like and then I go and see what I want and Brit Boy and I never go by what the critics say anyway. Everything isn’t everybody’s cup of tea and that’s fine. But that’s no reason to look down on it and be paid by some newspaper to call it a dreary “chick flick”. Whatever……

Some have said it’s a fairy tale because it was set during the time of the Civil Rights Movement and yet it comes off unrealistic. Well, the way I see it is that it showed some of the brutality of the time and a lot of us know the story of what that time was like. And for those who don’t know, there are many ways to find out. Every single thing didn’t have to happen in this one movie. I think that the story showed the perseverance of people during that time in our history, who were beat down like the character Rosaleen, and still got back up and did what they had to do, and in her case, she registered to vote. This movie was about relationships. These three sisters and Rosaleen were there to mother this 14 year old girl and to guide her to maturity. The story in this movie was told in a whisper, not with an iron fist. It nudged us along to see things clearer and sometimes that is a good way to get a message.

And at the end of the day, I don’t see anything wrong with a movie showing the beauty of life, even in the midst of hard times. The bond between the Boatwright sisters and what they shared with those who came to join them, is what holds the world together…and that is people caring for each other in simple everyday ways. This movie was so beautifully shot and the story was so life-affirming that I can’t stop thinking about it. I think that it was a beautiful walk down memory lane for me and I’m glad I took that walk.

I thought that it was nice just to see a movie that made me feel good…that made me possibly remember parts of myself and showed me that there is one thing that we can “choose” to always have no matter what and that is hope.

A Movie Sunday

I just wanted to drop in and say hello. I've been taking it easy and enjoying the weekend. On Thursday, we had our Thanksgiving dinner and it turned out really great. I surprised myself...everything turned out really great, like someone else had cooked it. LOL. I will share a bit more about this later in the week. On Friday, even though it isn't called Black Friday over here, we did go out and finished all of our Christmas shopping. We missed most of the crowds since most people were not off work. Brit Boy took the day off. There were lots of sales going on, so we got some good deals on some modest gifts. A sign of the times, but it was really nice and simple...the way I like it :-)

Today, Brit Boy is downstairs watching his sports and I'm upstairs watching one of my favorite films.... "Tootsie". I love it because it is definitely of a certain time period and it once again takes me down nostalgia alley just like "last weekend". I guess it's a phase. The end of the year always gets me nostalgic. When I was growing up, one of my favorite things to do on Sunday was to watch movies...the more retro the better :)

Brit Boy and I have already had leftovers from Thanksgiving to eat for early dinner. So I'm free of cooking today. Woo Hoo! LOL. After I finish watching "Tootsie", I may watch a DVD or something. I really love Sundays. Have a great rest of the weekend! :)