b

had been before with a friend but left unimpressed and didn't think to return. not a reflection on the company, at all, who was ever delightful. so it's been literally a year since and thought to give it another chance as the weather was nice and as the days grow shorter there isn't much time left for roof terraces. shared four starters and split a rib eye for our main. the italian cheapie wine was surprisingly tasty and bang for buck, although i only got a small glass. that's the bad thing about me and red meat, desperately need to wash it down with a hearty red. i mean, if one's being liberal with carcinogens might's well go the whole hog :P

planning ahead

 

so i'm a little parsimonious when it comes to oven usage, as if it's hard-wired in me. the mister occasionally teases me about having a poverty mindset, like i need to be more comfortable spending. baby steps and i'll get there but for now when i use the oven for one thing, it better be rammed full of other things and multi-purpose it to an inch of its existence. which's probably how i ended up with enough roasted veg to feed the 5000. roasted a chicken that was meant to be a week's worth of packed lunches and threw in the veg, before realising at the end of it that i had insufficient storage and fridge space for the rest of it. oops! thought to blitz the veg to make a thick roasted veg soup and it turned out better than expected. roasted carrots, celery and sweet peppers. that's going to make things interesting at lunch when i'm picking at dry chicken breasts :( 

fajitas

mondays aren't as hard as they were when i worked in a law firm. and i maintain that if mondays are consistently hard / blue-sy then one's in the wrong line. easy for me to say and don't mean to be smug about it but it's true! don't like waking early but once i get going, it's pretty exciting. another week, another adventure. thrilled to be where i want to be, doing what i want to do and feel incredibly fortunate to have that sort of job satisfaction. would recommend it to anyone, any time. but there are days when it's tiring, it's so human to be tired, isn't it. and it was lovely to be able to go round C's for fajitas. we joked that it was a cultural experience, and maybe it was. my first fajitas (deprived, i know!) and hopefully not the last.

sunday strolling

it's been pretty full on the last few weeks but did manage to squeeze in a stroll. one of the areas i want to be better in is exercise and discipline, something i was quite enthusiastic about after hepatology placement at st mary's earlier this year. the consultants were advising all their patients in fatty liver clinic to do 30min brisk exercise 5 times a week and yes while i like to think i'm far from fatty liver (hoho, one never knows!) it's a good rule of thumb. also met a senior reg with three young children who's working and doing her masters (!!!) who told me she gets an hour of exercise in every day if not she'd go crazy. now if someone like that who's juggling so many balls can find time to exercise, i've no excuses. again, easier said than done, but baby steps and i find brisk walking helps. it's nothing earth shattering but incorporating exercise into my daily routine seems easier than carving out time to pound the pavement. so i walk everywhere as far as possible. couldn't believe it when i could walk to work at the marsden for a few months this year, and then i got lazy and bought a travelcard for the other postings that were slightly further afield (GOS and st mary's) but oh well! 

there were cute stone lions by this that i took for my dear friend C who's just birthed the sweetest little spirit named leo

and some autumn colours - yaY!

indian summer

it's been one of the wettest summers and i feel like such a local obsessing over the weather. hadn't realised just how weather-dependent my mood and activities have become. am often reminded of the nice italian man at the deli down the road who told me not to stress about things beyond my control. easier said than done! love the cows (coos) on the moor and even though the poop everywhere and get in my way it feels like i'm the one imposing on their land. the swans are cute too and i find it adorable how they bury their heads in their feathers and sleep on dry land.

that's the bridge to the moor and i feel a sense of schaudenfreude every time i look over to the motorway and clock the traffic jam, when i'm on foot and not stuck behind a row of cars. 

ferry fun

it'd been a rough week. then again, the weeks usually are. started GP rotation and was feeling overwhelmed and out of my depth. nothing to do with the practice, that's been nothing but warm and welcoming, with great mentors who encourage and are patient with me and my multiple shortcomings. but it's first day (week?) jitters and i was being weaksauce. had anticipated more sociable hours after coming from women's health but oh no, ended up doing longer hours in GPland (?!). can't complain really because been fortunate to luck out with a practice near home and not spending hours commuting like friends who've found themselves assigned to practices in the middle of nowhere. and while it's a big-ish practice, it feels like one big happy family with each partner bringing something different to the table. great array of styles etc and their combined life experience is truly fascinating. that's something one of them shared about a vocation like medicine - it's not about age but what one has done before and what one brings with them. lots of honest, open bants and i appreciate the frankness and humility. they very quickly sussed out that i'd done something before and treated me like an equal from the get go, talking about family and relationships, the demands of the job and other fascinatingly grown up conversation that i've not always had. sometimes i don't like saying i'm older etc because expectations increase and i feel i disappoint people by not being as smart as they assume i'd be, but this was different and fun and i really like my temporary GP family.

but it was a long week and i needed a pick me up. actually, i always need a pick me up haha. there's a handy little ferry (random! i know!) and at the end of said ferry is a row of curry shops called curry mile. now i don't know about you but perfect autumn day, salty sea air and a curry to top it all is sort of my idea of sheer indulgence. was like a kid in a candyshoppe on the ferry because i like boats and all things nautical, islander heritage never far away haha, and just scampered to the top deck in wide eyed wonder. too easily pleased :)

weekend breather

stumbled upon this cute little cafe and went twice in as many days. sometimes the need for novelty is less and i'm happy with repeats while other times i'm adamant about not going back because the world is so big and there's so much else to see. it had cute fixtures like cinema seats in place of chairs and fairy lights, which i'm partial to. also conveniently located next to an oxfam where i spied these framed prints going for £5 each. i liked the one of the girly about to hurl herself off the rocks. no suicidal ideation here, no worries, but it reminded me of sappho and the island of lesbos. again, no homosexual ideation nor homophobia here...

there was also a lovely cow on the moor when i went for a walk and it got bit too close for comfort! sad when the cows go though because one just knows they're headed to the big burger heaven in the sky. then again, they're happy healthy and free range on the moor so it's cold comfort that they had a good life and were well treated. had an interesting discussion about animal rearing with one of the consultant obstetricians who has lots of birds at home. he's growing turkeys for christmas and was telling me how he kills them. fascinating stuff and the registrar and i were intrigued by the various egg selling regulations in place, how he's lost many a chicken to the fox and remains sympathetic to them. says they probably kill more than they need to store for winter but get disturbed halfway so looks like they massacre for fun but actually misunderstood and interrupted before able to complete their tasks. makes for a fun morning on call in the doctors' office!

made a batch of broccoli soup that looked like oscar the grouch had a blender accident. 

and more evening strolls to look at the swans because i was in a reflective mood and needing to post-process after work.

providore

it's more famous for its coffee? or so i was told when we went by ages ago in the afternoon for a cuppa. was a little apprehensive about brunch as it seemed too hipster a menu for my liking. recommendation from one of the mister's londoner friends (haha funny how i refuse to identify as such!) but thought to go with an open mind because i'm really at risk of becoming a boring old stick in the mud. had hard-to-please guests with us so i was a little nervous that they'd not like it. also because they'd expressly expressed a preference for sunday roast but the mister and i were being unobliging. there's only so much bossiness one can take, you know? thankful the mister had the foresight to book because the place was packed and we smugly made our way upstairs to the section with tablecloths. said guests have a way of checking their brains at the door and asking me to order for them, not that i mind because my inner control freak not-so-secretly loves being given free rein. so i ordered what i thought they'd like, and they did. the turkish eggs were yummy, as was the chorizo hash (?) mash? can't remember. photographed well, if i may say so myself. pretty efficient service, clearly wanting to turn the tables over and there was a long queue so not the most relaxing of meals but hey.

already at marylebone, we worked off brunch (haha, who are we kidding) by walking to primrose hill. did take forever with guests stopping at every shop along marylebone high street and believe you me there were plenty. then may have been some stamping of feet and gnashing of teeth but we did make it up the hill, unlike the grand old duke of york, and rewarded ourselves with crepes and coffee at the bottom.

gold mine

oldie but goldie - haven't been in months and feared losing out tongue-in-cheek solitaire status, seeing how the place is frequented by the singapore*air cabin crew too! but thankfully the lovely manager remembers us. fingers crossed that means we haven't aged beyond recognition in the four year since relocating to the big smoke. as usual, the mister went mental and over-ordered. 

one of the newer waiters was taking the order and kept trying to hint that it would be too much but the mister was having none of it! restraint is so not his strong suit. was impressed by how the food quality has remained consistent, and it's even improved. not salty nor oily. was i imagining things?! one of the reasons why we don't go there as often as i'd like is how i feel the after effects of extra salt and oil the next day. learnt on this most recent visit that it's unlikely to be an issue if the healthy cooking continues! yay! 

kept peering over to the big SQ table next to us wondering what they order, like what's their 'usual' you know? because we're such boring creatures of habit it's always the same thing. think we ordered the cereal prawns, wanton soup and beef shin noodles this time (hadn't before) but was sad they'd run outta char siew. had siew yoke but it's never as nice.

island eating

there's something about eating from a tray that makes me think it should be kept for breakfast in bed. but what wouldn't i give for cute trays like this to serve food on at home, like it's so stepford wife-ish, just missing a gingham apron, no? perfectly sunny day and all the better for soaking up the last few rays of summer. that said, it's been a warm start to autumn and hope i don't jinx it by saying that! was never one to notice subtle temperature / daylight changes but living here has made me more aware of my surroundings and the changing seasons.

also, the mister knows the way to my heart is through good cheese and better wine. the wine was a bit of a let down ! random comp-ed bottle from the post*ranch*inn. tried to find it on vivino and the reviewers were ambivalent. seems like it's only available at the PRI and hm strikes me more as a rich person's hobby horse? being affluent with cash to throw after vines and vineyards does not a good wine make ! but i've it on good authority (winemaker friend ming) has whinged about the uhmurikan propensity for sweet wine, even wine that's not meant to be sweet. it was barely drinkable though and a bit of a waste of space seeing how it's been lovingly carted from big sur to london then to scotland. cheese was good though! yummy local cheese from mull, where else :)

mull

scottish adventure

so this is a little fraudulent seeing how the mister took the photos but they were too good not to share. scotland is truly beautiful and a couple of days in the trossachs followed by some time on the isle of mull was a well-earned break. got lucky with the weather and gorgeous day to be up ben lomond. the whiskey distillery is the smallest in scotland but got a private tour because a big group of 28 had pre-booked and started just before, presumably not wanting tag alongs. bonus! 

great walking trying to push away thoughts of all the walkers mountain rescue gets called out for. wilderness medicine and the odd afternoon with the scottish mountain rescue has left a bigger impact than i thought. hyper-vigilance / paranoia, call it what one will.