Sunday, October 26, 2008

SF - done!

In the words of the great Gordon Ramsay - "San Francisco is done"...click here to read what happened next.

I'm baaaaack

I know it’s been ages. And it was never my intention to not blog; I just found everything else got in the way. Firstly there was a series of laptop disasters that removed my main tool of blogging, followed by tons of work commitments, various trips away of both business and pleasure nature and even a occasionally a mixture of both, followed by bouts of jetlag and various malaises.

I am so fortunate with my jetlag, I don’t need to travel far to get it, I don’t have to board an aeroplane or even cross a time zone, I am just incredibly lucky like that! Maybe jetlag is just too an exotic word for it, as many times it’s sleep deprivation from working too late in the office and then having some commuting challenges getting home, occasionally sipping sangria and listening to fellow colleagues burst into song in a Spanish hotel – and much to the consternation of other guests. Oh that was work by the way - mostly!

There was hanging around an airport for six, seven hours and then getting home around 3am, not strictly jetlag but definitely airport-lag. And then was a matter of an extended New York trip that cast its usual spell of making me want to sleep at inappropriate moments and being utterly unable to sleep when I should. But that is official jetlag, something I could do professionally if they ever think of making it a sport!

But enough of the excuses, I have the rest of my wonderful US train holiday to record, there’s a raft of fabulous and delicious Michelin starry meals I enjoyed around my birthday – not that I needed an excuse, but it’s as good as one as any! There’s DD and I hitting NY in every sense, or should I say hitting New Yorkers! Hmmmm, not our finest hour! And bookshelves positively groaning with the latest and greatest foodie tomes. Having some Virgo characteristics I must blog in order so I will clear out my ‘most recent forkfuls’ as they are hardly recent and then you won’t miss anything. Now all I’ve got decide is where to start now I’m back, back, back.

Happy digesting...

Saturday, October 11, 2008

What's a little blood amongst friends?

I’m not sure why I’m so frantic at the moment, there seems to be periods of ‘death by PowerPoint’ and a lot of running hither and thither, hence such a dearth of blogging. But after the trip I am due to leave for in 15 minutes, yes blogging by the skin of my teeth again – I am hoping from some weeks of relative tranquility and intense blogging. Well that’s plan A. The blogging parties seem to utterly coincide with me arriving back from travelling all jetlagged and fuzzy or manically stuffing a suitcase before running for a train (I missed the one I was aiming for last blog party and got a right ticking off from a man in a peaked cap, but thankfully not fined), I am not sure if the airlines can be so persuaded so this will be short and sweet or short and a little icky!

Stephanie went for some Gross Anatomy theme which threw me completely. I hit the usual suspects by Google and realised that there is a world of rather gory food creations out there, often involving way too much tomato ketchup really for anyone’s good but it didn’t get my creative juices flowing I just felt a little grossed out – is that the point? I had a yen for some fabulous little skeleton table confetti but time was completely against me and being disinclined to whip up some slimy eyeball soup or worm filled head I opted for judicious shopping instead. Marks & Spencer kindly produced some ‘squirting skulls’ this year which seemed to play into the theme. They are jelly skulls filled with jammy liquid fruit centre. Rather tasty even though the idea is a little creepy.

And the drink – well all those clutching glasses of Bloody Mary I will have to avoid as that tomato juice is one of the most hideous creations ever and just smell sooooo bad. And as I write this I am fairly convinced that I will be saddled with a Bloody Mary (or even Virgin Mary, they are both horrible) addict sat in the seat next to me who’ll be waving the air hostess over at regular intervals to top up his addiction and I will be silently screaming the whole journey over the Atlantic. So after that little glimpse of my personal hell I choose the wonderfully bloody looking raspberry and boysenberry juice with the suitably anatomical glass heart stirrer. So I'm rather early which must be a shock to all and also that haven't totally gone overboard this month (for a change you say) - but maybe next month I'll make up for it big time, no more body parts though please?
Happy early Halloween everyone, enjoy the body part-y. Must fly, literally!