Wednesday Bits and Bobs

So what have I been up to lately? Here's a recap - everything all at once.

1. It looks like, fingers crossed...toes too actually...that I don't think we are going to have to move. When we found our current "flat" the landlords reneged on the deal at the last minute. They had a few more stipulations that we all finally agreed upon and we ended up signing the lease about one week later. They added a six-month break clause during the second rental year, which we agreed to because we liked the place and we were getting desperate, we didn't want the deal to fall through, again. The break clause just happens to fall about 10 days before the Olympics and we are nervous about having to find a new place at that time. We sent our landlords an email asking if we do renew if we can delete the break clause, and lo and behold, I think they agreed to it! I probably shouldn't get too excited considering their history of changing things at the last minute, but it seems that we can work with the letting agency to redo the lease to reflect the full second year rental period.

I am so relieved and I think Riley will be too. She has so many places she likes to sleep here, it would be sad to take them away from her. She sleeps downstairs on the guest bed, in the entry when it's hot and she wants to cool down on the tiles, on the landings outside the kitchen and bedroom, in the living room, in the kitchen, in the bedroom and finally in our bathroom. How can she live without that much choice? It is imperative she stay here. And it saves me the trouble of dealing with letting agencies again. And the horrible rental market here, which I am not even going to get into it's so depressing.

2. I went to Waitrose today and accidentally dropped a six pack of eggs on the floor. I was wandering the cereal aisle and heard a noise, looked down and saw the carton sitting on the floor. Oops. I picked it up, looked inside and saw one cracked egg (and probably five others, but seeing one was enough). I then casually went back to the egg aisle (after 2.5 years here I am STILL getting used to eggs not being refrigerated, it's just what I am used to...) and returned my faulty carton for another. I put the broken ones in the back so hopefully no one will pick them up. Is that bad? I was worried there could be a "you break it, you buy it" policy with eggs. At least they didn't splatter all over the floor. Now that would have been embarrassing.

I also bought more pumpkin while I was there. Once my stash gets to four cans I get nervous I'll run out. Luckily Waitrose had some and it was Libby too! So now I am good, I have six cans ready for baking. Now I have to make something....

3. It's almost time for Halloween and I am not sure what Riley is going to be this year. I actually do have a costume for her. I bought it at Target. Annnnddddd side note - how I miss Target. Oh my. I remember the days that I would go to Target and pick up some shampoo, conditioner, mascara, dish soap, maybe a cute serving plate, a sweater, a People magazine and cereal. Sigh. Anyway, I bought her a bee costume one year, thinking it would be SOOOO cute to parade her around dressed as a bee. Well you know what happened? She hated it. I mean truly hated it. Riley isn't a clothing dog. Take a look:

Look how embarrassed she is. Not to mention she has too much fur for it to fit. Poor dog. I think I have learned my lesson and she will NOT be dressing up this year. Although I am tempted to take the bee out of the closet for a few minutes just to make her squirm. (I have a really good Halloween costume idea for myself but I am not going to say what it is in case I need to wear it one year. It may come in handy say five years from now, and I want to keep it a surprise. And I don't want anyone to steal it, it's THAT good.)

4. I am so confused and sort of annoyed by my Kindle. I just want to put that out there. I have been looking at some books and the price for Kindle editions is just ridiculous. I mean they are more expensive than other formats, hardback included at times. And what I really don't understand is that if I don't sign in to Amazon then it shows a cheaper, yet incorrect price. For instance one book may say $6.50, then I sign in and the price for that book jumps to $10.99. I guess my location means one price, the cheaper one, but my account means the US price, which is higher. I can't stand it. I know people have been complaining about Kindle prices for while, but not having a Kindle until recently means it was irrelevant to me. Now I am part of the complainers and I am pissed. It defeats the purpose of the Kindle if I just buy the paper books. But I am going to start doing that, I swear I am.

5. I also went to Peter Jones today to look at coats. I am obsessed with coats and jackets. And shoes. And purses. But anyway, while I was there I decided to go to the haberdashery department. I love the haberdashery department, mainly because I love the name. Does anyone in the US even use the word haberdashery anymore? Could I walk into a store and say to the 20-something salesperson, "excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the haberdashery department please?" Um, no. If people do use the word I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that they are 80 or older. But anyhoo, I decided to try and get back into knitting. I have about four knitting projects awaiting completion, so I thought - and this is brilliant thinking - that if I complete a NEW project then it will inspire me to finish the old ones. That should work, right? I mean there's no way this could go wrong. I will not end up with FIVE unfinished projects. Right? I bought some yarn, dark grey, and found a pattern online that looks really easy, like finish in less that two hours easy (sure, easy for them to say) so I will start soon. I swear. Like maybe next month...as in December. Oy.

And that's it for now. I think you are caught up, although I am not as I STILL need to write about Provence, Asia, SF and the NFL. Ugh. Oh, I also have to give Riley a haircut. Yeah, that'll happen.