Pumpkins!

It's sad, but true. My husband had never carved a pumpkin in his life, until last night! They have Halloween here in England, but it's a pretty poor effort. There really isn't Trick-or-Treating and they sell pumpkins, but it's not really "the thing" to carve them. Anyway, we had a blast last night. The boys were sceptical at first (Andy's mate Biff was here too - and he had never carved a pumpkin either) but once they got started, they really enjoyed it and got into it! They were so sweet. And I think they did a great job! We put them out back and people walking in the park have been checking them out with interest. Maybe we'll start a trend!

Andy wasn't keen on the Pumpkin Goo!

Silly Boys...Pumpkin-Heads!

Andy's Pumpkin

My Pumpkin - I gave it hair like me!

Today we took Rachel to Stonehenge and then to Windsor - I have been to both places many times, but Windsor couldn't have been more beautiful in the Fall. I love the Long Walk - especially with all the changing leaves. It was beautiful. And then we went for Afternoon Tea at The Crooked Tea House.

Stonehenge

Crazy Rachel!

The Long Walk

The best scones on the planet!

The Crooked Tea House

It's been fun having a break - but Rachel leaves tomorrow morning and it's back to the grind! Reading, reading, reading! At least I have carved pumpkins and a few photos - those will make me smile while I'm hard at work : )

Still Busy : (

I've still been too busy to keep up-to-date with the blog. I guess the simple fact is - if you spend all your time going to and from London for class and then you're at work or at the library the rest of the time, there isn't much time for doing fun things and taking photos.

However, my friend from America (Rachel) arrived on Tuesday so that has forced me to slow down the pace which has been really nice. For the first time in YEARS I've been doing all the touristy stuff in London! On Wednesday we did The London Dungeon (so Halloween appropriate!) and Madame Toussads Wax Museum. And then yesterday we went to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben & Houses of Parliament and last but not least, The London Eye (where Rachel promptly freaked out and only opened her eyes for about 2 seconds of the 20 minute ride! Haha.) We have taken about 1,000 photos - so there will be many funny pics to post soon. On Sunday we are taking her to Stonehenge and then to Windsor to see Windsor Castle and (my favorite) The Crooked Tea House - it's this tea house that is so old, it's leaning and there is no loo inside! But they make the best scones around : )

Andy has had to work this week - but we've been hanging out in the evenings. I'm glad it's finally the weekend so that he can play with us too. It's a busy time at the Keet Household - Andy's mom arrives tomorrow from America - so we have that to look forward to as well. But how am I going to get all my work done!?! Haha.

SOAS (and quiche)

While I was University on Friday, I took a few pictures of the main square. SOAS (The School of Oriental and African Studies) is part of the University of London which is made up of about 15 different Universities. SOAS is in Central London, but I guess - looking at a Tube map it's North East. So three times a week I take the train to Waterloo Station, which is about 30 minutes on the train from my house) and then walk from Waterloo to SOAS (another 30 minutes). Eventually I'll have to take the tube, but I prefer to walk while the weather is nice. Above is the main building that holds the library as well as many classrooms and lecture theatres.
This is the Brunei Gallery, (which was donated by the Sultan of Brunei) there are classrooms here as well as a main theatre. As you can see, SOAS is a happening place - seems like there's something going on nearly every day. It is one of the most diverse Universities in the world meaning that there are an endless number of clubs and societies from 12 different types of Martial Arts to The Hare Krishna Consciousness Society. And politics are huge at this University, H-U-G-E. Never a dull moment at SOAS.

And then, I'm also posting a picture of the quiche I made last week. I'm just really proud that this was my first attempt and it wasn't a complete failure. That was just bacon, leek, tomato and cheese (a.k.a what I had in the fridge). A few days ago I made broccoli, pancetta, camelized red onion and goat's cheese. Andy LOVED it - so much so he had seconds and thirds!
p.s. I also love my "I love baking" tea towel. A friend from my old job got those for me!

CRAZY LIFE!

I have not been good with posting these past couple weeks, but that's because I have hardly had a moment to myself since I got home nearly two weeks ago. I think most of you know I started my Master's Programme the day after I returned from Malawi(!) and since then it has been a mad dash to get all get enrolled, get my courses right, get all my course readings, find my classes, sign up for the right tutorials...and it has been exhausting. But I just finished my first full week of classes and I am still alive! Haha.

And of course, I also had a lot of work to do post-Malawi in terms of writing up the notes from the research trip, tying up loose ends and then completing two very important funding applications...so, that was time consuming as well.

Also - while all this was going on, I was meant to be starting that new job I got at the care home up the street from us. After just one day there, I realized that it wasn't the right place for me. I think the biggest problem was that the job was too demanding...I just didn't think I could give it all that it required, emotionally, physically, etc - and also be 100% committed to my degree programme. As well, I didn't feel very welcomed by the staff, my new boss wasn't being very flexible with me, and it was just hard. So I quit - after just one day. And that was difficult for me, I don't easily give up. But I knew I didn't want to get involved there, go through the training, only to leave 2 months from now or something. So, that has also been difficult to deal with.

But now, two weeks later, the dust has settled and I'm starting to feel pretty good about life. Other than the fact that I'm supposed to be doing about 500 pages of reading a week, EEK! And it's also Fall - who doesn't love that first nip in the air? The leaves changing? It's my favorite season - by far, so I'm happy! I think I need to go bake something with pumpkin in it! Also - for anyone out there who likes a good recipe (I DO!) - a friend told me about another great recipe site:

http://pinchmysalt.com/

She's not a professional cook, just a regular woman (what's the female version of "Average Joe? haha) But there are so many fun recipes on this site, especially if you have kids! Check out the Halloween cupcakes. The photography is also amazing...which I love.