Sunday 3 June 2007

Anti-Social

I've had a weekend full of people. Which is lovely. I do love my friends, I really do. But for some reason the last couple of days, company has been too much for me. I found myself with people all day yesterday, and when I wasn't with people I was cooking a huge meal for lots of people (and I dropped an entire rhubarb crumble on the floor taking it out of the oven, which didn't amuse me), and this morning in what I can only imagine to be a fit of insanity I went to a car boot sale with a couple of friends where I was surrounded by people selling off the detritus from their people-ly lives and... urgh. If I could have been transported to a remote mountaintop right then, I'd have been in heaven. As it was, I was in a real grump and probably not good company.

I bought a few bunches of the most beautiful pinks though, so that makes me happy.

This afternoon I ordered our wedding cake (I am just getting three fruit cakes from extra large to medium, white iced, to tier up and cover with whatever fresh flowers take my fancy - it's not like I'm going to eat it, so I can't be fussed with it) and then spent a couple of peaceful hours with more friends, digging up horseradish roots from the edge of Salisbury Plain in the sun. Now I am back home, blessedly alone, and there is a storm brewing which should be fantastic if it comes to anything. And it will save me having to water the garden later, so bring the rain on please.

Nutrition has unfortunately been so-so. It's difficult to eat enough CR food in company, and today I ate various cheeses and a couple of ryvita rye crackers for lunch (with tomatoes and celery) - cheese is my weakness, and I haven't had it for ages, and I was 109lbs on the scale yesterday so... Hmm, no, I can't justify it! But it was yummy. And I can have a light meal of greenery tonight.

Even with the storm brewing I'd quite like to be lying out in the garden right now, but unfortunately my neighbours on one side, and their neighbours (both sets of friends of mine) have been fighting, and I seem to have been caught in the middle. Now the set of neighbours on the far side seem not to be talking to me, and given the proximity of our gardens it's all rather awkward - they are out there gardening right now, and having not noticed they were there for a while, it now looks as though I am ignoring them as well - which I'm not, but... argh! I don't quite know what to do to fix the rift since it wasn't of my making in the first place, but since I was there when it happened I appear to have been tarred with the same brush. It's quite upsetting.

Isn't it daft how petty humankind can be, sometimes? It's all about territory - the argument began over the garden border. Bizarre. But not nice. I hate conflict. But one can only apologise for something one hasn't done so much before apology becomes a source of friction itself.

Six weeks today and The Day/Weekend will all be over. I wonder what on earth I will find to occupy my imagination after that!

7 comments:

Deborah said...

You have to eat your own wedding cake!! You cannot avoid it..you're the bride.

I'll never forget the morning after our wedding, waking up in a gorgeous inn room, turning to peek at the clock and seeing instead the remains of our cake for some reason placed on my bedside table. In a fit of pure decadence, I reached over and grabbed a hunk and stuffed in my mouth..perfect cake..then I did the same to my new hubby. It was the best cake we'd ever had! You must eat your cake. It doesn't have to be a lot..but your wedding day is a day to enjoy everything, everyone, have your cake and eat it too!!!
You have a whole wonderful new life to look forward too. There WILL be plenty to do, believe me.
:-D

Illiah said...

Uh, I never did get any of my wedding cake, except for the token piece that I ate when we cut the cake. It wasn't that I didn't want any, it was a delicious Italian cream cake. But after the pictures, walking around visiting with guests, and all the other princess type stuff, I didn't get any cake. Some lovely friends packed some in a picnic basket for us to take to the honeymoon cabin with us. We got to the cabin, looked in the basket and said "This isn't food, this is football snacks!" then drove thirty miles back into town to get steak. And escargot.

It's your wedding, enjoy everything!! What good is a long life if you don't celebrate the big things?

Mizpah Matus said...

Hope your neighbours come to their senses soon - it is incredible how people put so much energy into things that are really not so important. Life is too short to worry about the ownership of a small patch of grass.


109 seems very light for your height Sara - mmm...now you've got me thinking about cheese too.

Enjoy your peace and quiet today :)

Arturo said...

Hi Sara

It would be nice to know the ingredients of the rhubarb crumble. It sounds delicious.
My uncle told a story of when at a Thanksgiving celebration when he was growing up in Tennessee, the cook dropped the bird as she was bringing it to the table. His mother told the flustered maid, "don't worry, take the bird back to the kitchen, clean it up, and bring the OTHER bird." In your case there isn't another crumble, though.

You may want time by yourself in anticipation of the busy-ness of an upcoming wedding. What is a car <> what did you call it? Is that like a garage sale here? If so, my friend Phillip, who used to do them regularly and visit other people's garage sales also used to joke that it was an opportunity for people to pay you money to haul your trash. He lives in a college town, so sometimes rich students who are in a rush to move back home dump the most amazing valuable stuff. Anyway, I'm taking up your band time. And I should be packing...
Cheers,
Arturo

Sara said...

Hi Arturo! My band time? What's that? :-)

A "car boot". Yes, I guess it is kind of like a garage sale, except everyone drives their cars to a venue and lays out their junk (from the boot, or trunk)... Lots of people actually make a lucrative living from this, scouring auctions and then selling on in car boots or on e-bay.

Rhubarb crumble ingredients... Lots of rhubarb, about six or seven large stems. Cut into one inch chunks and cook in a little water until broken down and mushy. Add sugar to taste. Place in ovenproof dish. Crumble topping is flour and butter - add the butter, ice-cold, in small pieces and work into the flour until the breadcrumb stage. Mix in sugar to taste, rolled oats, cinnamon and walnuts. Sprinkle over the rhubarb mixture and bake in the oven until golden.

If I am not cooking CR I never measure quantities; I just go by feel.

Serve hot with custard, cream or greek yoghurt. Cold it is a glutton's breakfast.

Not CR, not ON - but delicious. Not that we managed to salvage much, and I didn't eat what was salvaged anyway. I don't actually like sweets. Hence my aversion to my own wedding cake.

Go pack!

Robin said...

Sara,

Car boot = flea market

I second Arturo's recommendation that you get a little time to yourself before the big day. As for the wedding cake - well, if you really don't *like* cake (hard to fathom) then by all means, skip it. Have wine and cheese instead! It's your day to do whatever you want.

R

Arturo said...

Hi Sara
I saved the recipe because it sounds delicious, even if I may not prepare it. Maybe I'll prepare a lowfat, low sugar version. I meant bandwidth space, or blogspace. My brain is distracted with the move. Yes, I'll resume packing.
Cheers,
Arturo