Stephen just going blah, blah, blah
Quiet days over here at 31 Dorchester Court. We got our damage deposit back from Englefield Green the other day and will be able to pay back Elisabeth's work the money that we had to borrow from them to move so Yay!

We've been trying to check out the local music scene here in Woking but it looks like the clubs aren't interested in any sound other than ones that have bass lines that go um-tisk, um-tisk over and over again so Boo!

That said, we did find a nice pub last night off the beaten track, away from the clubbing part of town with its police who constantly patrol the sidewalks and skinny, shaved-head dumb-asses barfing left, right and center.

Over here, right this instant, Elisabeth's coffee has just CURDLED! Will the madness ever end??? I've been trying to convince her to do some blogging as well but she's following in Nancy Regans foot steps and Just Says No.

So here we go: How to live on 2 pounds a day: Recipe 1: Chili con Quorn

1) Make 4 cups of vegetable stock.
2) In a large pot with heated oil add:
-6 finely chopped cloves of garlic
-2 large onions, chopped
-2 red peppers, chopped
-Top the rest of the pot up with chopped mushrooms.
3) Fry over a high heat 'till the volume reduces & the onions are soft.
4) Add:
-1 HEAPING TBSP of chili powder
-1 HEAPING TSP of cumin
-A significant dash of pepper
Fry for another minute.
5) Add:
-The stock
-3 cans of kindney beans (Keep in mind, in the UK cans are smaller so in Canada you're probably alright with 2 cans)
-A package of veggie-meat (Preferably Quorn)
6)Bring to a boil and leave uncovered at a high heat for 10 minutes so the level reduces and a nice mess is left on your oven-top.
7) Add:
-1 TBSP of sugar
Cover and reduce heat for 50 minutes.
8) When it's ready, boil 1 cup of basmati rice and once it's done, mix it in with the chili.
9) Serve with Tabasco on the side as well as cubed Red Leicester cheese.
Yum!
The total cost is about 4 pounds & makes 6-8 servings which means each serving costs in the area of 50 pence!
Yay!

A new look for a new metrosexuality
Since 'butterscotch' wasn't metrosexual enough for some people, the colour format of this blog is now 'tangerine nip.'

I've also had feelings of regret about bumping off my wife so I've exhumed her and sent Elsabeth back to Poland. Unfortunately Elisabeth tried return the favour last night when I made the critical error of going jogging with her. I lasted about two thirds of the way but her final push pushed me over the edge and I was left to sheepishly walk home while an old man going for a stroll nearly overtook me.

Metrosexual my ass.

We're cleaning the place today; engaging in that hearty protestant work ethic of punishing yourself because you slept in 'till 10AM because you watched four hours of Sopranos last night.

S.

Stephen: The Metrosexual?
I don't know, A hair cut, new clothes, kinda-designer jeans (Well, not Levi's, anyway), sissy socks (Though I'm getting Elisabeth to actually buy them for me). I mean they're all cheap and we're using all the end of year sales but I don't know what's come over me. Probably has something to do with how Barclay's raised the limit on Elisabeth's credit card...

...and I'm not the only culprit, here. She's still at the mall shopping.

Besides, we'll be in last year's fashions. One year out of date isn't bad, mind you. It's not retro, it's vintage. Or so I'm trying to convince myself.

Message from >E<
I'm writing to brag about my going jogging this morning. That's right, I'm still exercising...call all bets off. I was running so long and fast (uphill too) today that my lungs hurt. I've exercised 4 of 6 days so far, and am feeling very good for it. Yay.

So we tried out karaoke Mondays in Woking, and well, hmmm, it just isn't like back home.

There were not very many people there, and it was oh so serious. The selection was all modern and terrible, and the song book itself was full of moulding beer (oh the smell). The DJ stood in a booth dircetly behind the singer, and none of the video screens were working (except for the singer's prompt). Stephen sang Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash) and I sang Bohemion Rhapsody. We both murdered (or got murdered as in my case) our songs, and nobody was amused.

Today I checked out a CD from the library called "Hairbrush Diva", which I am gobbling up so that I can win Woking over next week, or perhaps the week after.

We also got from the library Season 4 of the Sopranos. Definitly staying in tonight.

For dinner I am trying a new receipe of chickpeas and ginger, in a tomato sauce on spaghetti. We bought rosee, which is chilling in the fridge. I am also attempting to make a lemon meringue pie, but it sounds tricky. If it turns out, I'll be sure to write about it.

Hope everyone is enjoying similarly hot and hazy weather.

E- :-p

New Gallery
A Day in Guildford

Fun in Guildford
Hi all, just back from a day in Guildford. Saw a castle, went to the mall, looked at an old clock and goofed around in a medieval Guildhall. I suspect that there may be photos of our adventure soon enough...

(Unfortunaely there won't be any pictures of the bearded lady we saw. That's right - A BEARDED LADY!!! Right in the middle of Guildford, sitting on a bench outside a church with a skirt, lipstick and a long, white, wispy, Amish beard! [I swear I'm not making this up] E and I were too nervous to try and sneakily take a picture - she looked pretty surly.)

And that's about it. We're off to Karaoke tonight (Every Monday night). I'm going to wear my snazzy new Converse high tops and maybe some of my new shirts - After a year of not being able to afford a single new vestment, yes, I'm actually buying clothes. And shoes. Check the temperature in hell - it may have frozen over.

And probably sent all the heat to England. It's a bloody sauna over here!

S.

Word of the Day
'Maritable':
Derrived from 'married' and 'irritable.'
Refers to addressing a subject with your spouse which you know will render them irritable. Used in such situations as: "I don't want you to get maritable but I want to discuss our finances" and "Not tonight honey, all this talk about family has made me maritable."

...and the hot new hairstyle for young British men this season is
The mullet.
'nuff said.

Saturday Morning
A quick note because our breakfast potatos are almost ready and I'm pretty spaced out this morning and the coffee isn't really doing anything and I don't have my glasses on and I shudder to think how many typos there's going to be in this update but there's a new photo gallery of Elisabeth's 23rd Brithday up and I've gotta go and eat spicy potatos with too much mayonnaise on them. Yummy yum yum!

S.

I'm in Love: With Woking!
Wow. Yesterday I went swimming (nice pool), and today I went jogging. There is a beautiful park not far from where we live that is just ideal: a fitness and leisure centre, water slides, pools, ponds, ducks, fields, shady groves, large sweeping willow trees, lots of tennis courts, nice paths, flat fields, and not very many people. It's such a pleasure to have free access to something of value for once!

So yes, I am on a fitness kick. And I think we all know the reason why!

Other good news is that I did manage to play the piano this morning for the first time in over a year! The church in the town square was happy to let me walk in and play their grand piano. It felt so good, but I was extremely rusty. The real drawback was that the back of the church is open to a cafe for old dears who eat lunch there. I mostly played depressing nocturnes which made me self conscious because I hope it didn't remind them of their impending death...hey, I can't help what my though process was! I've been watching The Sopranos! (Thank you VERY much SEAN--it's all YOUR FAULT!)

This afternoon Stephen and I went to a used furniture store close by and picked up a small side table and a beautiful stained glass vase--all for 6 pounds!

So yes, Woking is really woking out nicely ;)

E-