Defining moments of the spring thus far...

1. I feel like a croissant. Shall we go to Paris for the weekend? Yes, we shall.
2. Buddy perfecting his English Garden Gnome look
3. We've all settled in to British Life!

Cakes for Quakes

Last week my friend, Ela, and I decided that we needed to do something to help the relief efforts in Haiti. Not having £2 billion pounds (or whatever the current estimates are up to), we decided that we needed to solicit money from our friends. Then we decided that the best way to our friends' hearts (i.e. wallets) was through their stomachs! So we baked bunches of cakes and brought them to the Institute of Astronomy for "tea time". Ela is a fantastic baker so we had a huge selection of cakes including brownies, carrot cake, Polish crumble cake, vegan gingerbread, vegan chocolate cupcakes, and gluten-free lemon drizzle cake. People seemed to enjoy the cakes and in the end we raised over £300. So, what is £2,000,000 minus £300...?

I love Christmas! By: Buddy

Thanks for this swell present, Uncle John and Aunt Kaye. You guys always know just what I want! Love,
Buddy

Buddy almost, but not quite, outsmarts George!

Happy solstice, happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year all!

Luck comes in threes?

Sorry for the extended pause in the blog but there have been extenuating circumstances. Our life has taken a left turn with the aim of supporting the theory that luck always comes in threes. I just hope it is done for now! In short:

1. George took our car to a garage for its annual MOT (inspection). The garage proceeded to intentionally damage our car in order to STEAL OUR MONEY.

2. I used my debit card at an ATM and the card was retained by the machine. It turned out to be a "false front" scheme where thieves put an artificial front on the machine to steal your card. The thief then proceeded to STEAL ALL OUR MONEY.

3. ...Well, we're just waiting for it now... :)

So now we are involved in a criminal lawsuit against Kwikfit (who apparently do this all the time but were only dumb enough to leave conclusive evidence in our car) and are embroiled in paperwork and negotiations with Barclay's to get all our money/fees/reputation back. No fun. Oh yeah, and I started a new job, did I mention? Hmmm, too tired now, more later!

And they said it wouldn't last!

Ha! We made it through one year already! And what a year it has been! We still haven't been on an official honeymoon and could only muster energy for a quick day trip to celebrate our first anniversary, but it was a lot of fun. We went to Dunwich Heath, a nature reserve along the North Sea coast in Suffolk. It was the perfect time of year because all the purple heather was in bloom along with the yellow gorse...it really was a sea of purple as far as the eye can see! Then, when we got tired of that view, we headed down to the rocky beach which seemed to stretch endlessly in either direction. It never crossed our minds to bring swimming suits with us but we wish we had as it turned out to be one of the warmest days of the summer (maybe it even got up to 80!). As we were about to leave the nature reserve a troop of traditional English folk dancers, called Morris Dancers, showed up as if to help us celebrate! Then we went to the nearby beach town of Southwold for dinner. But first we encountered the idea of the English picnic hut. All along the boardwalk runs a string of little, brightly-colored, huts, which one can rent for the day or week. We have discovered that the English cannot tolerate being more than 5 minutes from food and a cold, sandy picnic lunch simply will not do. Inside the hut is a primitive kitchen and some seats so the English can get out of the sun before they turn into lobsters or, more likely, get out of the rain! Next time we go to the beach, we're definitely getting one of these. Here are a few pictures from the day and you can also check out Our Albums to the right.

Why I am loving the Organic Box Scheme

I recently attended a talk entitled "Reconnecting Consumers, Producers and Food" and was inspired to rethink where, why, and how we get our food. I already do my best to grow my own vegetables, make food from scratch, and buy as locally as I can, but this talk really opened my eyes to the problems that supermarkets create. For example, because giant supermarket can fix prices as they see fit, farmers can't make a decent living anymore. And about 30% of all produce farmers grow is thrown out because it doesn't fit supermarket standards (ie. peppers that are a certain size and shape). Furthermore, since supermarkets want all of their produce to be identical, farmers only grow a few varieties of crops, letting all the other seed varieties be lost!

So, now we are getting our produce delivered to our door once a week by local organic growers! We've joined the Cambridge Organic Food Company box scheme and the above picture is part of what arrived at our door on the first day. One of the best things about this scheme is that it is a big surprise what we will get! Yesterday I got a weird purple vegetable which Google Images has identified for me as Kohlrabi. Anyone have any good kohlrabi recipes? I'm excited to expand my cooking skills!

The Curious Case of Paul, Sarah, and the Perfect Cambridge Weekend

After a week of sub-par weather while Matt and Lindsey were in town which only left us time to bond, cook, and play with Buddy (is there an icon for a fake exasperated sigh?) we were absolutely shocked to have decent weather while Paul and Sarah were in town! Paul and Sarah had just spent a week in Scotland and London where the weather was miserable but it somehow smiled upon us for the weekend. (Those of you who are regular blog readers are probably sick of hearing me talk about the weather but those of you who have been here will understand how absolutely crucial good weather is!)

We spent Saturday touring Cambridge, taking Buddy (who was at once clean, fluffy, and charming) for a walk, and having a nice dinner (albeit during a downpour) at D'Arry's Wine Shop. Sunday dawned bright and sunny so we took a tour of the newly-completed building at the IOA (pictures and tour of George's new office will follow) and then took out a St. John's punt with a picnic for the afternoon. We had to bail about an inch of water out of the bottom of the punt with a dust pan before starting but managed to keep a stiff British upper lip all the while (but, ah well, nevermind...) Paul, Sarah, and George were all "brilliant" punters and we even decided to lug the punt above the locks to extend our tour. That evening we caught the tail end of the Cambridge Summer Music Festival and saw the Clare College choir perform the Faure Requiem and a John Tavener piece, Ex Maria Virgine, which had been commissioned by the choir. As an added surprise, the composer was even there to hear the performance! So, Paul and Sarah got to see the Cambridge highlights including punting and music and took off on Monday morning before the true Cambridge colors (ie. grey) could show themselves! So, if you have visited us and didn't get this experience, here it is for you in print :) Thanks for visiting Paul and Sarah! It was a great end to Visitor's Season 08-09!

Shakespeare in the Park

It is too bad that no one appears to be enjoying this feast of Pasta Fagioli soup prepared by Matt and Lindsey! After one rained out evening (which we spent instead eating Indian food and seeing Harry Potter) Regina, Ben, George, Lindsey, Matt, and I finally got to see the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival's production of The Merchant of Venice. The play was fun but the picnic was better because it was both more savory and warmer!

100th Anniversary Lake Bluff Reunion

We just came home from a week at George's childhood summer home, Lake Bluff, NY. The occasion was a reunion inspired by the 100th anniversary of when the Beckers first came to the Bluff, but really it was just a great excuse for 100 or so "Bluffers" to reunite for one big weekend. It is a rare event when all four of the Becker sibling and their families get together and I think we all tried to make the most of it. We had such a great time bonding with nieces, nephews, siblings and cousins and listening to the older generation reminisce. The amazing part is that in 4 generations, the experience at Lake Bluff has not changed that much! Here are my top 10 Bluff highlights from this trip:

1. Giving Emily, Evelyn, and Johnny horsey-back rides at sunset until the bugs got too bad
2. Jetting off to Mills for giant "baby" ice cream cones before they close at 9:30. Oh yeah, and Amish soft-serve with George.
   
3. Playing inter-generational 4 on 4 tennis and ladder golf
4. Learning how to do a passable cannonball from Devin in the bay
5. Catching fireflies with Morgan, Connor, and Mitchell and having them teach me how to tell males and females apart.
6. Hiking, no, poison-ivy-dodging, at Chimney Bluffs with Kara
7. Watching the water snake hunt fish during the Connelly's picnic with about 30 other Bluffers of all ages
8. Playing cards with nieces and nephews on our knees to help
9. Taking the boat over to Sodus point for lunch and watching Meg crawl into the Barf Ball
10. Seeing the memorabilia at Jeff and Ruth's house...especially the pictures of Bluffers 3 generations ago doing the exact same things we are doing today!

Although cell phones and internet have now arrived at The Bluff, it will always be a place of tranquitilty for us. I filmed this video on one of the special nights where all the Bluffers gathered at sunset and sang a song composed just for the occasion. Also, check out the Lake Bluff album in Our Albums to the right. But be forewarned, it is a cuteness explosion!

Canoeing on the River Cam!

Our friends, Sabine and Jorge, wisely purchased a season's pass to our local boat rental company and are making the most of these warm summer days on the River Cam. Last Sunday, Sabine invited us to go canoeing with her so we decided to see what Buddy thinks of canoeing! We know he doesn't like water, but fortunately, he does like sandwiches in canoes and once he settled down, he had a great time!

There were tons of people on the water that day as well as all the swans with their new families and hundreds of beautiful dragonflies. After a while, the heat really got to us (it's been in the 80s for a week now!) so Sabine and I went for a swim while Buddy watched with great concern from the bank! Now this that is what summer is all about...Thank you, Sabine, for a great afternoon! You can see more pictures in Our Albums to the right.

Summer Solstice

You may remember how much we were griping about the short winter days this year. I took pictures at sunrise and sunset on the winter solstice at about 8:15am and 3:30pm. Well, we're definitely making up for it now! Here are pictures from sunrise and sunset around the summer solstice. The first picture was taken on our street at about 5am on June 19th (although the sun had just risen, it had been light for quite some time already) and the second picture was taken in Wales after we finished our Mt. Snowdon hike. You will notice the clock tower was striking 10:00pm as I was taking this picture. It was still light even though we were in a valley! Crazy!

While it doesn't make us look forward to those short winter days, it sure is nice to have these long summer days as a trade-off. Buddy generally thinks it is time to get us up at about 4am, when it starts to get light, and we have a really hard time quitting play time and coming inside to make dinner before about 9pm. We're sorry that the solstice is already past but we will treasure these pictures during the darkest days of winter!

A Visit to Madrid...or...How to Sweat Profusely

After traveling for the last two weekends, first to Wales with our friends Micol and Chin, and then to Madrid, we are so happy to spend a weekend at home! We have big plans...to do nothing! At the moment, it is pouring rain and bright and sunny outside. Guess I better blog!

George's Mom, Meg, and her husband, Russ, made a weekend stopover in Madrid on their way to Botswana for a photo safari(!) and generously invited us to join them there. We took off early on Friday morning in the English drizzle and emerged into the 35 degree Celsius heat in Madrid in time for lunch with Meg and Russ! After a lunch of meat with a side dish of meat, we made a bee line for the Ham Museum (see picture below). Or rather we couldn't resist stopping in a place that claims to be a museum for ham...indeed with prices like 44 Euros per kilo of ham, it must be a museum! Anyway, then we sauntered off to our real destination, the Museo Nacional del Prado (National Prado Museum). It would have been enough just to have a place to spend the afternoon out of the heat, but instead we became engrossed in the incredible collection. The collection is so large and so full of masterworks, that we had to eventually just use the guide to hit the major masterpieces by the Spanish artists Velázquez (Las Meninas), by Ribera (Jacob's Dream) and, Goya (The Third of May). Not to mention the other major European artists like Hieronymous Bosch (the Garden of Earthly Delights) and Rubens (The Three Graces), whose work I've never seen before. Six hours later we finally dragged ourselves out (or rather were pushed out by pushy security guards) and emerged into the relatively cool evening.

The Spanish dinner hour doesn't start until about 10pm so we liesurely got ready for dinner and sought out one of the few vegetarian restaurants in Madrid: Yerbabeuna. We weren't quite sure what to expect since the English menu had some quite dubious translations (macerated plums, anyone?) but it was delicious! And beautifully presented...all of our dishes had flowers on them. If you're ever in Madrid, give it a try. Don't be scared of the descriptions of salads with "cornflakes"on them.

After dinner we took an evening stroll through Plaza Mayor to soak in the evening life (see picture below). I love the late schedule that Spaniards keep...all the buskers and street performers in the square at midnight amongst all the people finishing up dinner or just strolling like we were. So relaxed and beautiful.

The next morning we met up with Dave Freeland, our friend from LA who was teaching in Barcelona for part of the summer, and all of us took off to stroll around Parque del Buen Retiro before the real heat of the day set in (see photo below). Then we toured the brand new Caixa Forum - an old power station that has been converted into a modern social centre for the city. I particularly liked the "living wall" forming a vertical garden next to the building (see photo below). After a quick lunch of spanish tortillas, we cooled off for a while in the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, a modern art museum. Even though it seemed like everyone else in Madrid had the same itinerary as us, we still got to see plenty of amazing Dali, Miro, and Picasso works. Then the "museum leg syndrome" hit us all pretty hard, so Meg and Russ retired to the hotel for a while, while George, Dave, and I recharged our batteries at a cafe in a plaza with some sangria (see photo below). Sigh...what a life!

That evening we sought out some tapas for dinner and then some churros con chocolate for dessert (see photo below)! What a brilliant idea: long skinny doughnuts with melted chocolate for dipping! And all this at midnight! I'm a big fan of the Mexican version of churros, but I think this has it topped!

Sunday morning dawned (at 1oam) a bit cooler so we headed to the El Rastro flea market. What a zoo! Once we got through the touristy part, we discovered that the real flea markety stuff extended down all these tiny alleys. The booths included things like the any-kind-of-rubber-tubing-you-want booth and the random statues booth! Very strange! But we felt like we finally saw a non-touristy slice of life before we had to head back on Sunday afternoon.

Did we like Madrid? Well...it was an interesting city...so much going on at all times and so much history. But it was also very urban, with lots of construction going on, and no breezes or water for relief from the heat. So, maybe, go, but don't go in June! As always, you can see more photos in Our Albums to the right. Thanks again Meg, Russ, and Dave for a fun trip!

Greenhouse love

George is definitely one of the best gift-givers I know but he really outdid himself for my 30th birthday! He's listened to me drone on and on about what a green thumb I have and how the only reason that my garden is totally behind/achlorotic/beset-by-aphids is because of the English climate and how *if only* I had a greenhouse, we'd be up to our ears in tomatoes by now. Behold: the birthday greenhouse! You know you are 30 when this is the best gift you can imagine AND you are thrilled to stay home on Saturday night and put it together! I'm happy to report that it is definitely doing its job and the purple sprouting broccoli seedlings I put in there have doubled in size in just about a week. Sigh. Now that's love.

Ediburgh, Scotland

The second part of my trip with my Mom was two days spent in Edinburgh visiting Edinburgh Castle, The Elephant Cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter, eating some vegetarian haggis, and enjoying the beautiful old city. Here are a few of my favorite pictures...for more, see Our Albums to the right.

Inverkip Scotland

This is definitely old news, but if I don't post something about it, I'll never catch up! In early May my Mom, Susan, came to visit us in Cambridge and Mom and daughter took a 4-day trip to Scotland. We first visited my Mom's friends, John and Joan Pow, in Inverkip. We then took a ferry over to the highlands to stay overnight at their caravan. Here are few of my favorite pictures from our visit...but check out Our Albums to the right for more. Thanks again Joan and John!


Sheep grazing and beautiful yellow gorse







Taking the ferry over to Glenaurel from Inverkip






A waterfall near the Caravan in Glendaurel

A day in the life...

Molly: how was your day, George?

George: good. I spoke with the guy who invented the computer.

Molly: Oh? What was he like.

George: old.

(I'm wondering if the wonders of living in a place like Cambridge are starting to wear off!)

Stonehenge

We are now entering our personal tourist season, starting with a visit from our friend, Laurel, from Pasadena. Laurel and I left George slaving away in Cambridge and did a driving tour of southwest England. Our first stop was the famous historic site of Stonehenge. I had mixed feelings about going there because it seemed so touristy and overdone...boy was I wrong! As soon as we drove around the corner and glimpsed the famous stones, we both got the chills! Despite the fact that I've seen a million pictures of it, I couldn't imagine the scale of it or how out of place it would seem in the landscape. It didn't hurt that we were there on a stormy day...it really added to the mystery!

I particularly like the detail in this picture...can you see the small triangle on top of the column in the foreground? All of the columns have these and they fit into notches in the lintels (crosspieces) on top of the columns! How can something like Stonehenge have been erected in 2500BC? Using only stone tools? With the nearest stone source in Wales? Crazy!!! It really does make you think about our place in human history...


And now for some fun with World Heritage Sites...if you want to see more pictures, please check out Our Albums to the right. I'll post more on the rest of our trip soon...

Escape Artist

While I don't usually like to tell horror stories on our blog, I am so relieved at the outcome of this one that I just have to share it with you. Tuesday was one of those perfect spring days in Cambridge where the sky was a beautiful blue with big puffy white clouds and nice spring breezes. Buddy and I took off for our normal walk on Stourbridge Common in high spirits and short sleeves! I always take Buddy on the common because it is a huge green space and it is safe to let him run off leash because there are very few access points to the common. When we got a safe distance from the entrance to the common, I let him off leash as I normally do. I was thinking, "What a gorgeous day to be a dog in the prime of life" as I watched him tear around the common. Then he got a wild hair and just took off running away from me. I should emphasize here that this is something Buddy never does, but I wasn't too alarmed because I knew he wouldn't go too far.

Boy was I wrong. I spent about a half hour on the common searching for him, calling his name, and interviewing people about which way he went. Finally, I decided that I needed to go home and get my bike to make the search faster. So, I ran home, called George, got on my bike and headed back to the common. One of the great things about having a dog in Cambridge, is that I'm getting to know a lot of the people on the common through their dogs. So, when I started asking around about Buddy, everyone knew which dog I was talking about. One person told me that he had seen him about 15 minutes ago and had tried unsuccessfully to catch him. He gave me his cell phone number and made me promise that I would call when I found Buddy, so he wouldn't keep searching. Then I ran into two other blokes I'm beginning to know pretty well, and they told me they had just seen him running around the high street in Chesterton by the Tesco (grocery store). Then I panicked. It was one thing to think he was hunting on the common and another to think he was running around, rendered witless by the promise of food on the streets.

George arrived and we started our search of the neighborhood. We talked to dozens of people who hadn't seen Buddy but were extremely sympathetic and helpful. I raced around calling Buddy's name and just praying that I wouldn't find him flat on the road. Then I ran into our neighbor, Kelvin, who was red-faced on his bike. He asked me whether I knew that Buddy was out and said that he had been out searching for a while too. Apparently, the neighborhood kids (there are about 10 kids on our block alone) who are out of school on Easter break, spotted Buddy hiding beneath our car and tried to catch him to bring him home. Buddy, of course, took off running and the kids, after failing to get me, alerted Kelvin next door. The kids, bless their hearts, decided to set up a neighborhood blockade and stationed kids at different points around the neighborhood to try to catch Buddy while Kelvin went on patrol. I really blanched when Kelvin told me that the last place Buddy was seen, was running up Milton Road, a very busy street about a block from our house.

We continued on with the search by bike but saw neither hide nor hair of Buddy. Finally, I decided the best thing to do would be to go home and wait for him, since that is obviously where he wanted to be. While I waited, the kids told me their versions of the story and started a committee to make "Wanted" posters to put up all over the neighborhood. Then, after two and a half hours of freedom, Buddy came trotting up the street. Imagine the flood of simultaneous relief and anger! Still, I welcomed him home with open arms and the kids plied him with about a week's worth of treats. A few minutes later, another woman came biking up and asked if Buddy was our dog. She said that she had seen him running around on Milton Road and even saw him dart across two lanes of traffic to get a Kinder Bueno (chocolate bar)! She even went to the neighborhood pet shop and borrowed a leash to try to catch him!

This terrifying experience has taught me a few important lessons. The first is about how life is so precious and can all change in an instant. What would I have done if the outcome of this tale had not been so good? The second is about the nature of British people. I have always heard that the Brits are the most helpful people. I can't believe how many people selflessly gave of their time and energy to help us get Buddy back! And how many complete strangers would actually go to a pet shop to borrow a lead and how many pet shops would lend a leash to a random person on the street? I am astounded by this event. So, today, I am going to town to by Easter candy for everyone involved in this event, except, of course, Buddy who has had quite enough, thank you very much!

Happy Easter to you all! We are very thankful to have you in our life!

a sunny weekend in London

George and I haven't had much R&R recently due to George's deadlines at work and my interviews and applications. So, when our friends, Liz and Bruce, offered us their flat in London for the weekend, we jumped at the chance! Unfortunately, our camera is on the fritz, so you'll just have to be satisfied with my 'colorful' descriptions.

We were fully prepared for rain or at least gloom this weekend but instead got to experience a rare sunny and warm weekend! So, instead of heading to the Tate Modern as we had planned, we went for a long stroll through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens instead. What wonderful parks! The parks are connected by a series of twisting paths which wind their way around the Serpentine Lake, cafes, flower gardens, and, of course, Kensington Palace. We followed the Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Trail part of the way and wound up perusing the sunken gardens at the Palace. One of the highlights for me was watching the courtship display of the Great Crested Grebe, in front of a crowd of hundreds! Our other favorite part was actually sitting down on the grass (not wet!), taking off our shoes (!), and taking a nap on the grass under a flowering apple tree. So peaceful...

In the evening we enjoyed a delicious meal at the home of our new friends, Chris and Carolyn. Both Chris and Carolyn are world travelers and have wetted our appetites for more travel. Thanks for the introduction, Micol and Chin!

Today, we visited the free and amazing Saatchi Gallery. At the moment, they have an amazing exhibit called Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East. The variety amongst the pieces was really astounding - some angry, some sad, some funny. Our favorite exhibit was Ghost, by an artist named Kader Attia. A whole room full of empty, tin foil Muslim worshipers...very powerful!

We learned two very important lessons this weekend. First is that although London is one of the most expensive places to visit, there are tons of things to do for free or very inexpensively. We took a double-decker bus home from our dinner date and got a great impromptu tour of the city for £1! The second lesson is that regardless of your plans, if it is sunny out, you have to abandon your plans and do something outside instead. London in the sun is really beautiful and Londoners are practically bubbling over with kindness. That is something you really don't want to miss!