My Lost Umbrellas

A few things:

1. The term started off well with a party for two friends on my program. We ate a delicious pineapple upside made by my extremely talented flatmate and danced to many Beyonce songs. It was another very successful party!

2. Destiny's Child, my very beautiful new guitar, is doing well.  She's helping me learn "Blue Spotted Tail" at the moment.  Will continue to give updates on her progress.

3. School is moving full steam ahead.  We have to turn in the title of our thesis tomorrow.  I have it narrowed down to three decent but entirely unoriginal titles.  How are some people so good at creating pithy, effective titles?  Mine all tend to be straightforward and utilitarian but definitely not catchy.  If anyone has a pun about British savings during World War II, please do share. 

4. I went to the First Aid Kit concert on Tuesday. They were incredible. There was a moment that they decided to unplug their guitar and go off microphone. The audience got so quiet. It was chilling and beautiful.  Hear an excellent cover of "America" here.

5. My search for the best victoria sponge is still ongoing, but I may have found the best cherry pie.  There is an adorable vegetarian cafe off Sicilian Avenue called Orchard.  Delicious soups. Fresh bread every day. No reason not to go.  

Somehow my first semester in grad school and the holidays have come and gone.  Way too much of that time was spent in the library, but I also left some room for exploring and fun.  

Around mid-October I went to a ball in Oxford with my friend Peggy.  It was probably the best school event/dance I've ever been to.  There were rooms and rooms of food, ice sculpture lions, a jazz band AND a DJ (not in the same room), some sort of inflatable slide, a photobooth, and a room where you could watch the Chronicles of Narnia movies.  I made the horrible mistake of wearing brand new shoes so I partook more in the eating and movie watching than the dancing, but even with the excruciating new shoe pain it was ridiculously fun.

Another highlight of the semester was Thanksgiving.  Maggie and I had 18 people over for a fantastic dinner, mainly thanks the her incredible culinary skills. There was the perfect abundance of turkey, old family recipes, pie, and friends.  Before the meal, we had so many groceries that the Waitrose by our house let us borrow a grocery cart. We understandably got some weird looks pushing it down the streets of London.

I also got to visit my friend Mary in the small Burgundian town where she works.  It was very idyllic.  Wine, cheese, baguettes, markets with incredibly fresh produce. I had a fabulous time celebrating Mary's birthday and getting some much needed time away from the city.

The semester ended well with all papers handed in with time to spare, and I headed back to Texas to spend to holidays with my family. I've eaten Mexican food about every other day, just in case anyone was worried.  Now, I have stocked up on a few essentials you can't find in London, which ironically includes my favorite tea.  Celestial Seasonings needs to start selling Sleepytime tea in London very soon.