Greetings from London

Non-verbal communication

The other night while playing with the dogs, Thomas stood holding a stuffed toy at arms length and encouraged Lola to leap for it. She played coy, not confident enough to jump five and a half feet straight in the air. Lola made small jumps or tried to climb up Thomas' body to reach the toy but did not have any success. She sat down a few times hoping that if she was patient Thomas would just give up and hand her the toy. I sat back cheering her on and trying to coax her to jump higher. This went on for about five minutes all while Henry sat beside me patiently watching, waiting, and little did we know, calculating. Finally he had had enough. Without warning, from a sit about six feet away, Henry leapt past me over a standing Lola and BANG! He snatched the toy from Thomas' hand, gliding through the air and landing on the other side of the room. He casually turned back to see our faces stunned in amazement. Henry casually dropped the toy and said to Lola, "That's how it's done, bitch."

London weather

Am I a sadist? I'm leaving this weather:

And paying a ridiculous amount of money to go to this weather:

"It doesn't look that bad," you'll say. "It's just a little rain, Heather."

Do you even know the last time I saw rain? Neither do I.

What I've been cooking

Albeit a vegetarian meal, that does not mean as Thomas pointed out, low calorie, the Baked Cauliflower and Broccoli Cannelloni by Jamie Oliver was delicious. I am not versed at making baked pasta dishes even though they are some of my favorite foods to eat. After watching Jamie At Home this week I felt confidant enough to stuff my own pasta tubes, something I've never done.

We called the neighbors and said hey we'll be bringing you dinner at 7. Reluctantly they obliged the offer of a full Sunday night meal completely prepared and brought to their home. Served with some salad greens and a hearty glass of red wine, the Cannelloni got rave reviews all around. You can read my official review here.

Join me

I have a huge and underwhelming fascination with the idea of doing chores around the house. Laundry makes me crazy. The dishes can make me cry on any given day. And don't even talk to me about scrubbing the toilet. Did I mention I am known among family to have an immense hatred for the vacuum cleaner? I enjoy being at home, cooking and doing domestic hobbies but please, never, EVER accuse me of keeping a good house. I am not a housewife, a homemaker or other such female pejorative. I am allergic to housework. Violently.

Which leads me to my new website, Housework Rules! (to be said with the thickest sarcasm you can slather on). Go, check it out. Find new ways to avoid daily chores with inspiration and products from your favorite hobbies including knitting, cooking, gardening, scrapbooking, sewing and paper. I know I'm not alone. I know you hate housework too.