… which as you can probably figure out, is jambalaya with Spam in it. No photos, we ate it up too soon. But it was basically some onion and yellow pepper fried up till soft, with some mushrooms and the chopped-up Spam and some chopped-up chorizo sausage all added in and fried a little bit too. Then all the spices - with much chilli - and the rice got added in, stirred around, and then the stock added in on top. Oh, and some pineapple to give it a nice Hawaiian feel.

It was surprisingly tasty, and will be a good way to use up the other can of Spam that’s been in the cupboard for way too long.

Also today, I am mostly … listening to the Lions beat the Springboks

… at rugby, via live internet-streamed radio. And I was paying attention to the score in the women’s singles final at Wimbledon too. Ah, the power of the interwebs - what the hell did we do before?

It was nice to get a win in the Lions test series anyway, even if it was a bit too late. But I’m glad I didn’t put any money on Venus winning, as I almost did. Don’t have a bet on for the men’s tomorrow either, but I suspect Federer might clinch it. Although it’s probably a good idea not to underestimate the power of the Roddick serve, after yesterday.

I love big sporting occasions. And if that makes me a fair-weather fan, and unworthy in the eyes of the dedicated followers, then so be it.

… because although it’s a bit overcast here in Northern Ireland, it’s still pretty damn hot, being in the low 20s and very humid.

At least it’s not as hot as in parts of Britain, where it’s supposed to edge into the low 30s this week… And I have to admit I did enjoy the warm sunny weather on the weekend. There’s a lot to be said for being able to sit out in the back garden on Saturday evening till 10pm, with the sky still bright, the cats in playful mood as they chase the bee-on-a-string, and with a glass of wine (or two) to hand. Yesterday was pretty nice too, if a bit windy, and Clover and I spent a comfortable half hour lying on the travel rug on the grass before Colin mowed it for the first time in a month and chopped down all my buttercups and clover.

The warm weather has sent my veg patch beserk too. I planted too much and too close together, I admit, which hasn’t helped with the overcrowding. But the spinach is about a foot tall, and I really need to harvest it properly and freeze some; likewise with the parsley and chives. The celery stalks aren’t very thick yet, but they are tasty, and I could probably take up some of that too to freeze for soup. The leeks and onions and rhubarb and my lone potato are doing well too; the only things that haven’t are the radishes, which the slugs ate, and the lettuces which are hidden under the spinach somewhere.
I’m planning to dig the bed bigger before next year though, and I definitely won’t be planting spinach again. (Colin wants more potatoes, but I’ll see first how this year’s does.)

The potato I planted in the veg bed is actually the brother of Spudthulu - it came from the same bag. Spudthulu itself is doing very well, as the photo shows - I kept it in the cupboard until quite recently, which is why it’s purple rather than green and leafy, but it’s time for it now to start producing some leaves… And I’ve just realised that it’s now nearly 4 months old (in its incarnation as a bonsai potato, rather than just an ordinary one).

… especially because of this morning’s slog into Belfast, which involved
1) getting stuck behind a tractor & trailer doing 30mph all the way from Strabane to Omagh, without a hope of me passing him.
2) crawling down the M1 around Lisburn for 40 minutes - due to an accident, fair enough, but the electronic signs just displayed ‘Delays’ and not the reason for them.
Both of which incidents made me too late to catch the park&ride bus anyway, so I ended up coming all the way into the city centre. I was amused, about 20 minutes after getting into the office, to see the lorry I’d been behind on the slow M1 stretch coming down the street outside my window…

I did a lot of driving last weekend too, though for more enjoyable reasons than just commuting. We had visitors for the first time in absolutely ages, which meant that a) we had to clean the house up thoroughly (except for our bedroom and the spare bedroom, which remain very untidy and covered in clothes) and b) we got to go places we don’t normally even though they’re not that far away…

I’ve known Tara for about 11 years online, and it was great to meet her. Yes, of course, she might have been weird and/or an axe murderer - as might I - but as she put it, if I had managed to successfully maintain a persona for 11 years, I would’ve deserved to axe-murder her.

Anyway, she and her fiance arrived on my birthday (last Thursday) for which I’d made cherry upside-down cake after spending the morning cleaning out the study so I could put the spare mattress down. They brought us wine all the way from New York state! (Lucas Vineyards - a Tug Boat red, and a Cayuga white.) I’d cooked roast chicken & the trimmings for dinner, so we had a good one with some other wine and a lot of chat.

Friday I took them up to Derry and showed them round the Guildhall and the walls and the murals, and met Marion for lunch (since she knew Tara too). We went back into Derry in the evening for my birthday dinner - Italian at a Bring-Your-Own-Bottle place to which we took the NY wine.

On Saturday, I made Colin get up early against his natural inclination, and we drove off into Donegal. We managed to track down the stone circle about 5 or 6 miles from home, which was pretty damn impressive, but was guarded by a lot of noisy sheep and a rather evil-eyed billy goat. After that, we headed on a long drive up round the northwest coast to bits I’d never even been to before, despite them not being that far away. The highlight was the Glenveagh national park - I’d like to go back and visit the castle there, definitely.

Saturday evening, Tara and Nick cooked for us - Caribbean Cola Chicken with pineapple-coconut rice, which was even better than it sounds. And I really should write down the recipe so I can make it myself some day… We had another late night, this time with a game of Monopoly (I won).

They left on Sunday to head up to the Causeway Coast, and took a wombat with them. But that’s another story…

I really enjoyed having guests though, not just because I had to get the house clean! Plus, Colin and I have decided that we really should Do Things on the weekend, and go places. I’m hoping to head up to the Medieval and Game fair in Antrim this Sunday - lots of falcons and hawks for me to ooh over! Although it will mean more driving… maybe I can get Colin to drive some of the way.

… amidst everything that’s happening in my life. To whit:

Wednesday May 20th, Colin & I went to Italy for a week. Rome for 4 nights and Sorrento for 3. It was exceptionally hot for the time of year (low-mid 30s °C Rome was very busy and expensive though Sorrento thankfully a bit less so. And we had a fantastic time. Photos will be forthcoming.

We got back in the early hours of Thursday 28th, and we brought the good weather back with us. Last weekend - and much of this week - the temperature has been in the low-mid 20s, with clear blue skies and nonstop sunshine. I actually got more sunburnt last weekend than during the whole week in Italy - did more sunbathing, probably, including a late afternoon hour on Sunday spent lounging in my paddling pool in the garden.

The heat even caused my PC to go a bit doo-lally on Tuesday, and refuse to boot properly from the hard disk, though I got it back to rights yesterday.

But our enjoyment in the good weather turned sour on Monday. Colin’s cousin Dale, on his day off from his job as a chef at our local hotel, went for a picnic down the river with some friends. He went for a swim in the river - and didn’t come out again. Police divers eventually found him after 5 hours.

I knew nothing until I got home from Belfast about 9 on Monday night; it had taken me nearly 3 hrs to drive home due to a damaged bumper which I finally tied on with string. Colin was up at his mum’s, minding his nieces while the rest of the family was down at the river - he’d worked that day and had to be back in again at midnight and was exhausted by Tuesday morning.

We went up to see Dale’s parents - and the rest of the family - on Tuesday night, but the wake proper began yesterday when his body was brought home. The funeral’s tomorrow, and I don’t think it’s yet sunk in for anyone. He was just 21, had a great career as a chef, had everything going for him. The family’s in pieces, and what seems like the whole village has rallied around. And although he’s not my own immediate family, he’s someone I knew, and whose family I am part of, and I’m understandably not feeling great at the moment.

We weren’t going to go back up to the wake tonight, but since the rest of the family was there, we did. Just back now, after around 2 hrs spent talking quietly to people, and worrying about his parents and granny. We’re both drained. Tomorrow will be hell for everyone.

I was in Belfast again earlier today anyway - my car was at the mechanic’s yesterday and hopefully is all healthy again now - and was struggling to concentrate. I have a hell of a lot of work on, not helped by having had a week off even though my team lead covered for me very well. Everything seems to be piling up - we have visitors arriving in 2 weeks to stay for a few days, and I need to get the study completely cleaned out so they have somewhere to sleep.

I need to make lists. Lots of lists. And stick to them. But first there’s tomorrow morning to get through.

… firstly this afternoon in work, by slicing the side of my hand with a serrated plastic knife - I didn’t realise how sharp it was when I tested it on my skin, but I drew a few beads of blood!.

And then this evening, helping Marion to cook by both tasting a piece of raw chilli (which resulted in burning lips and an application of butter to them) and then later rubbing a chilli-juiced finger on my eyelid without thinking. Ouch!

Also today, I am mostly … realising how long it’s been

… since I last wrote anything in this blog. I have thought of things to write, on lots of occasions; I just have never got round to typing anything.

Not that much has been happening, really. We’ve had both sunshine and showers throughout April, though it’s been raining and grey for the past few days which has depressed me. Work’s been busy; the house needs a good clean and I’ve been planning for at least a month to paint the bathroom. Cats are fine, Colin’s fine; I’ve been getting more exercise and have embarked on a first-to-walk-100-miles challenges with some friends. (That’s 100 miles over many days, not all in one go, we’re not idiots.)

It’s only two weeks until Colin and I finally go on our honeymoon though, to Italy, and I can’t believe how soon it’s crept up. Still so much to do - but I cannot wait to go back to the country I love.

… because the clocks went forward on Sunday morning, making my usual wake-up time of around 6:45 happen an hour earlier according to my body clock - which unfortunately can’t be adjusted by turning a little dial.

On the other hand, despite my brain being insistent that it was too-early o’clock when the alarm went off, I didn’t actually have any trouble getting up, showered, dressed and organised for my drive and my day. If only that were the case every day!

At least I had a very quiet weekend, with plenty of sleep. OK, I watched too many Buffy episodes, and I’m way behind on my writing for the month, but I went out for a lovely meal with Colin - the first time in months that we’d actually been out together. I even expanded my culinary horizons by eating beetroot - something I’ve been avoiding ever since primary school dinners, where the salad comprised a limp slice of ham, some limp lettuce, and some soggy beetroot.

Also today, I am mostly … buying Easter eggs and bunnies

… but not chocolate ones. I paid a visit to Lush at lunchtime, to buy some of their Easter-themed bath ballistics. My cold is still bad enough that I could barely smell anything in there, so I might have to wait until my sense of smell is back before I actually use any of my ballistics.