Good things

1. Discovering new parts of London - This weekend we stumbled onto Hackney Broadway near London Fields. It is like an oasis of cool (but not too hipster cool) between Shoreditch and Bethnal Green. Then we walked along Regent's Canal and took the train home.
2. Dominoes - The game. I love playing Dominoes. Whenever we go to the pub we take our set with us because we are geeks. I like slamming the bones down and talking smack with Jeremy. Whenever I get a really good play and he gets all mean I like to look at him and say "Don't hate, girl, don't hate, get down." But he doesn't listen to Kanye West so he never knows what I'm talking about. He likes to quote the inimitable LL Cool J whenever he gets a good play and jumps into the lead by saying "Don't call it a comeback . . . " and then I say, "Don't worry, it isn't, jerk!" Anyone watching us play Dominoes would think we hate each other, but really it is the glue of our love. You should see us play Backgammon.
3. Fancy Cocktails - On Friday we went to this bar called Liquorish in East Dulwich. They do really nice fancy cocktails and the bartenders are always super friendly (It's like the Trader Joe's of pubs, except with DJs and more drinking). I had something called a Kentucky Julep. I don't know what makes it from Kentucky but I know it was good. It had smashed up strawberries and mint, lots of Bourbon (is bourbon from Kentucky?) some kind of Cherry liqueur and ice. It made me feel a little bit loose (as they would say in a novel by Hemingway or Fitzgerald)
4. My cat - Listen, Oliver is a totally awesome cat. He likes me best and I like him best back. We cuddle until he gets sick of it and bites me. Sometimes I let him attack my knitting needles. And whenever he gets caught in the rain he comes running inside and I call him my soggy mogs and dry him off with a yellow towel and then we cuddle more. This usually makes him purr. He also sleeps with his belly exposed a lot of the time and this is perhaps the cutes thing ever. Please see pictures in earlier posts for evidence.
5. Jeremy - Jeremy is pretty awesome too. He makes me laugh a lot and I like it that he sometimes freaks out about open windows and has to go home right away to make sure we haven't been robbed, because then I feel better about myself when I have to do the same kind of thing. Also, he is very charming and really good and talking to strangers. And he is very smart, he's a Mensa Member, no joke. This means he is a genius. When I lose at Backgammon I remember this and I don't feel so bad, it's not like I lost to Cletus the slack jawed yokel, no I lost to a Mensa member. It doesn't help me feel better about losing at Dominoes. Also, he is awfully cute in a dorky way and he is very funny. Sometimes he is a pain, but mostly he is the bringer of the awesome. That is why I married him.
6. My niece - My 15 year-old niece can break concrete blocks with her bare hands (she is almost a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do) but she freaks out if a bug comes near her. I think this is really funny. When I asked her who she would vote for when she is old enough, she said oh I'll probably just look at the ballot and say oh she looks good. I like that her inclination was to say she and not he without thinking about it. She was also really surprised when I said I would probably vote for Barack Obama, I think she just assumed I would vote for Hillary Clinton. But I explained my attachment to Obama and she seemed to understand. Although her taste in boys is totally suspect, she thinks that kid who plays Draco Malfoy is cute (grody) and she likes Logan from Gilmore Girls more than Jess or Dean. Clearly she is smoking some kind of crack that makes her find pale creepy boys attractive, but I can overlook this.
7. The New Pornographers - I am going to see them play in Islington tonight at the Bar Academy. I don't even mind that Neko Case isn't touring with them, they are one of my favorite bands and I can't wait.
8. Cooking - Last night I made a really good dinner. Bow tie pasta with water cress, artichokes, halloumi and preserved lemons using a recipe from a cookbook we just got. It was so tasty! Not a combination of flavors I ever would have figured out on my own but I am very glad that the cookbook author, I can't remember his name right now, pointed me in the right direction. I also grilled some aubergine slices to eat on the side. They were tasty too.