Entertaining

Our summer continues to be miserable. My skin is not brown. It does not glow. What gives?

Anyhoo, I decided the other week that it was high time I had some people round for chat and grub. I LOVE cooking for people, I enjoy using them as Guinea pigs, and they seem to enjoy being cooked for. With Rach, I decided to put my Christmas soup cook book into action, and made a really yummy chilli crab and butternut squash soup. Pretty good if I do say so myself. With Katy, just last night, I was presented with more of a challenge: what DOES one cook a vegetarian wheat allergy sufferer? In the end it was a korma with prawns, green beans and more butternut squash (I love the stuff), then apricots poached in Grand Marnier on a meringue nest with whipped cream. Hee, my presentation skills leave a lot to be desired, and the korma was a little bland, but it was ok. Katy brought round a fantastic bottle of Ruggeri, and I am not enjoying the last half of it right now.

I had more culinary happiness when I met Rona and Nick for sushi a couple of Fridays ago. It was GOOD sushi! I really wish the Yo! sushi place hadn't closed down...

Tomorrow, I am very excited, as I am off to play Ultimate Frisbee on the Meadows! Whee! I've always suspected it was a game I might love, and that was confirmed during my last Japan year, when games were organised semi-regularly. I don't know anyone I am going to play with, I saw the ad on Gumtree, but I guess that's half the fun.

Speaking of Gumtree... does anyone reading have any opinion on social clubs? In the past, I always felt they were an organisation for people with below-par social skills who needed organised fun on order to meet people. Social crutches. And they always seemed to have a secondary 'dating service' theme to them, which I always found highly off-putting, and even sad and desperate. Now, after moving back to the city, it seems to have become a much more normal way of meeting people and taking part in any hobbies you have. It doesn't seem to be a last resort for social gooseberrys. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Last week, I was pointed in the direction of a WONDERFUL music website, Pandora.com. You have to be in the US to become a full member (so I made a zip code up) but if you get in, it's a fantastic way of finding new music. I'll for sure be making some iTunes purchases based on what I have heard on that site. Currently reading the 'Tales of the City' series, and thoroughly enjoying them, even if I have started to say "Far out" to most anything. I wanted to write more, but the Ruggeri is having none of it. It is demanding I go and lie on the couch, switch on the Open, peruse the employment pages, and then possibly fall asleep until tea time. Sounds good to me!