February 2010

That’s right, you heard (read) it.  My fiance and I have come to the conclusion that despite his great love for cheese, it doesn’t love him back.  I think he’s lactose intolerant.  It literally took moving to another continent to get away from the dairy temptations our social lives teased us with and go without it for several weeks (in other words, we don’t know anyone here yet, so we’re not resisting dairy while with friends).

I’m not willing to be a puritan so I just cook without it when we eat together, but it’s really not been that bad.  Switch oil for butter, soy milk for cows’ milk, broths for creams, etc etc and there you have it (I’m still working on a cheese substitute).

My soon-to-be-sister-in-law is also plagued with being lactose intolerant and has given me some pointers.  She sent me some recipes, one of which I tried tonight, with a few personal tweaks added.  We had sausage-gnocchi soup (here’s the recipe).  It was so easy to make I almost thought I was doing something wrong.  I added spinach, green onions, spices and garlic to add kick and some color (leave it to the artist to require dinner have a complimentary color scheme).

We spread whole cloves of garlic roasted in olive oil over toasted french bread topped with sauteed oyster mushrooms.  Add a little candle light and it doesn’t really sound like a compromise.  Now, if I can just talk him into being vegetarian.  He does eat veggie burgers and tofu with me.  We’re a good match.

What do I do in my spare time now?  I look at wedding venues.  I told my fiance tonight that at some point we have to decide we’ve seen enough and just pick one.  Easier said than done because 1. we’re new to London, so the activity is also a newbie’s crash course in learning about the city, 2. there is such a gap in cost from place to place and 3. I just keep finding more cool places.  Granted, I’m getting sick of trekking all over the city and the outskirts (which requires getting on a train) in the cold February rain/sleet.

Maybe feedback will help.  Below are the three current contenders.  The toughest part is being at peace with the rain options for the ceremony when all of these places have drop-dead gorgeous garden/grounds.  The hippie in me wants to get married under a tree or next to a rose bush.  But lets be honest, it’s rains a lot here.  London could water the world with it’s surplus from drizzle alone.  Can I get married in wellies (that’s British for rain boots)?

Fulhman Palace

Pembroke Lodge

Horniman Conservatory

I have officially lived in London, England for 15 days.  My first visitor came on day 12.  Not bad, huh?  My aunt Pat from Houston was in Brussels, Belgium with my uncle on business and came over for a quick 2 day visit.

Since my stuff from the States still has not arrived, we went shopping (Pat’s calling in life) for a third pair of pants as my other two pairs I’ve been wearing for the past 2.5 months are getting a little old.  We may have also purchased just a few other things (essentials I assure you).

The highlight of the trip for me was the Van Gogh exhibit at the Royal Academy for Art.  The exhibit focused on the artist’s letter writing and sketches.  I discovered my newest favorite Van Gogh painting, “Hospital at Saint-Remy.”

The painting is of the psychiatric hospital he checked himself into.  It’s interesting that his best work (in my humble opinion) was when he was seemingly most tortured in the last few years of his life.

While Van Gogh’s story is rather depressing, the exhibit was inspiring and has further encouraged me to keep my sketchbook out.  Getting out and about with Pat to new places reminded me that I doubt I will ever run out of things to draw and paint here.