That is sooooo beef stroganoff.

So now you know what I made for Navs dinner last night. Pretty yummy, although the stewing steak was twice as expensive as mince so I did it with mince... it was the po' man's version.

Yesterday Tim and I went out for tea to the cafe around the corner, Nicki's, and chose our wedding photos. Finalmente! We did pretty good I think, and kept within the 30 photos limit very easily. The annoying thing was that we realized there were virtually no pics of my mom or Tim's dad, expcept for in the family shots where we're all together. It feels kinda wrong but there's nowt to be done. Aaron, you've got a whole page to your handsome self! :-)

This week end Tim's uncle Paul is getting married down in the borders. I'm looking forward to going on a trip WITH Tim for once... usually I go away on my own. It'll be fun to catch up with all Tim's fam again too.

My friend Pip gave us a visitor's book for the wedding, and it's been really fun for everyone to sign it when they come over for a meal. We've got some great comments from crazy friends. :-) At St. Columba's, the church I went to for 2 years before getting married, there is this wonderful lunch culture where everyone goes to someone's house for lunch after church - there was not many a Sunday lunch went by where I wasn't enjoying a feast in someone's home. So I've decided to bring that to Morningside! Maybe they do it there as well, but I haven't heard.
So far Tim and I have had Matthew/Sarah/Miriam, the Gillies'/Colin's brother, Claire/Dave/Louise...
On Sunday Tim met a young couple who just got married on the very same day as us, Billy and Jilly (great names!) so I think we'll target them next.

Current Music: Graham and Jilly's Wedding - Emily Smith
Current Mood: Well the sky is BLUE today so I'm happy :-)

The Chefered Pamp.

So last night I did it.

I actually officially became a domesticated, uncool, married lady. I went to a Pampered Chef party. The last time I went to one of those I was, I don't know, 12 or something, and the demonstrator showed me how to cook a skirt-shaped cake and stick a barbie doll down in it to make it look like she was wearing a beautiful cake for a skirt. Being a tom-boy I was embarrassingly unimpressed.

This time was better, admittedly, and we got to chow down on some yummy food whilst we watched. At the end of it, I cut off one of my limbs and gave it to the Pampered Chef in exchange for a fabulous, top-of-the-line, super-duper, self-defrosting, kick-A ice cream scoop which will, of course, last us a lifetime.

Current Music: That Counting Crows song where he calls himself a rain gauge...?
Current Mood: Revving up for a day where I'm going to conquer the world!

Dang.

Last week on Thursday my friend Rhona's dad passed away. He was a lovely, gentle man and I spent my first Scottish Christmas with him and his family in Ballachulish up north, which was very generous. And a lovely time it was. They found out he had cancer last year.
The funeral was amazing. Rhona spoke towards the beginning, about her dad. The main thrust of what she said was about his faith, that he was a man of faith and that he believed that Jesus was The way The truth and The life. I personally was reduced to tears by it, and a friend of ours, Chris, who is an undertaker by trade and has been to numerous memorial services (obviously) said that it was the most powerful presentation of the gospel that he had ever heard! Praise God for Rhona and all that He's done in her family.

On a completely different and slighly irreverent note, I just went to a play... it was called - get this- The Vagina Monologues. My friend Isla was in it so I wanted to go root for her. She did very well and was the best actress out of all of them, I thought.
The play itself was... the word self-indulgent comes to mind. But I can see why it was written. I guess in many cultures, including the west, women and womanly things have been taboo for so long, now that people have the freedom to use (or misuse) freedom of speech, it's somehow cathartic to get the issue 'out there' somehow just so that something is said rather than nothing.

Don't know if that makes any sense what I just said... anyway...

Current mood: sleepy
Current music: A Living Prayer - Alison Krauss

The Canny Man's

So there's this great little pub around the corner called The Canny Man's. Canny really means 'shrewd' or 'artful' but The Canny Man is actually a policeman I think. I guess good policemen are canny. Anyway I had never been in until Friday evening when Tim and I went with John and Susan, friends from my choir. You walk in and there are little knick knacks plastering the whole place... between that and the amount of people that were crammed in, you had to walk sideways to get anywhere. They had more bottles of liquor lining the cabinets than any other place I'd seen. Musical instruments and cases hanging from the ceiling... along with Skiis, decorative belts, dog cart yokes, and even a woman (mannequin of course). All the bar staff are required to wear a suit and tie, and if they don't like the look of you, they may refuse to serve you! I wanted to go dressed in a trash bag but Tim wasn't so hot on the idea...
You could tell that EVERYONE was a regular and there was even a 'regulars corner' which apparently is a sacrament for the old-timers and you don't dare sit there or move the chairs or even breathe the air.
But it was pleasant and most punters were friendly. One girl just turned to me and started telling me her life story including the fact that she's a westernized muslim which makes her feel torn in 2 directions (should she follow her religion or society, which seem to be mutually exlcusive?)... interesting to mull over.
This weekend was lovely... spent most of the time drawing, which I haven't done in ages. Yay for coloured pencils! :-)
Okay, I posted. Gold star for me!

Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: some classical floaty stuff on in the background...