All summered out!

I guess I totally failed at keeping you all updated over the summer then? Oh well! I saw a lot of you a couple of weeks ago anyway, so you're all caught up! For the rest of you, I don't think you missed much. Although my reasoning for not blogging much is that we were busy. So, erm, here's your summer update : Baltimore got hot, then it got hotter, and then it got more hot again. We played outside, until it was too hot, then we came indoors. N baked a lot, I ate a lot. We both had birthdays, they were fun. Then I went to the UK for a whirlwind two weeks, and the Netherlands for a relaxed couple of days. I came home for a week during which time two of N's friends came to stay, and then after a week N went to Europe for two weeks. Yes, good timing there! Now he is home and all is right with the world.

So here's the exciting bit: I became a Girl Scout troop leader on Thursday! And like, not just an assistant leader, but actually in charge! Which wasn't supposed to happen, but did... So there we are, now I have to learn how Girl Scouts works. Specifically Cadettes (7th grade, 12-13 yrs old). If anyone out there would like to help me out with that I would greatly appreciate it! I'm excited! We get to start selling cookies soon, so we're probably going to start out doing some badges related to business plans and marketing, which is more fun than it sounds!

In other recent news I did some baking this weekend, before N could come home to start once again doing so much baking that there's already too much food to eat so I can't bake anything. This afternoon I made these tasty cheese scones which we had warm for lunch/afternoon tea:

And yesterday I made these biscuits, which are essentially jammie dodgers, but waaayyy better, if I do say so myself! :D

And for dinner just now I made toad-in-the-hole with butternut squash chips, which I didn't take photos of but was sooooo yummy!

So I think you're all caught up! If you want a more detailed post/photos on any of the above please get in touch in the comments and let me know! In fact, if you're reading this, please leave me a comment to say hi and let me know how you're doing. The reason I write this blog is to keep everyone back home in the UK updated as to what we're up to out here in Baltimore without having to tell the same story over and over again. Which is maybe incredibly selfish and lazy of me, but it doesn't mean I don't want to hear how you are and what you're up to too! It's no secret that while I'm happy and making the best of life here, I'm also homesick and lonely and I miss my family and friends all the time so, please, just take a moment to say hello! And that includes anyone reading this who I don't know already, I'm always up for making new friends!

So there, rant over! I'm off to make a cup of tea and prepare myself for another fun week in the lab!

Meanwhile, back in Baltimore...

...it seems that summer has started, and with it festivals, BBQs and heat galore!

We checked out the Charles Village festival with some of N's colleagues

Attended a leaving do BBQ for one of N's colleagues at Rocks State Park which was a pretty cool day. I got to do some driving, from which I'd been having withdrawal symptoms after the road trip! And of course it was awesome to spend a day in nature for a change, climbing rocks (yes, the park is imaginatively named) and going on a hike before enjoying some awesome food.

One Saturday after getting some food from the Let's Eat Charles Street festival, which closed off the block right by our apartment, we stuck around in Mount Vernon to watch the Pride Parade. Needless to say that was a fun experience!

We went out for crabs with N's colleagues:

We played in the fountains in the Inner Harbour (shame you need to be with a child to get away with that!)

And then yesterday we booked a car and went to the H-mart for Asian food, mainly because our grocery store stopped selling noodles, but also because of all this other awesome stuff! Topped off by finally trying out the incredible Vietnamese place around the corner from us!

And we took advantage of being near Patapsco Valley State Park to go for a very hot hike. Been exhausted from all that sunshine for the rest of the weekend!

Other happenings since coming home from my trip have involved meeting N for lunch at the B&O Brasserie on a work day (in itself a novel experience) to go for a soft shell crab BLT, essentially a whole, fried crab in a sandwich!

Lots of Farmer's Market trips, I don't think I'll ever be able to eat strawberries from the supermarket again!

Had an English ladys' night at an Irish pub eating fish + chips with our new friend that we met in the park :) and met said new friend for a walk with her dog in Harbour East.

Celebrated our minus one year wedding anniversary with a meal at a lovely Italian restaurant, Sotto Sopra in Mount Vernon. I had incredible lobster ravioli!

Tried to make marshmallows, didn't turn out so well...

Re-watched the final episode of series 2 of Doctor Who, still makes me weep apparently.

Had an interesting evening when water started coming through our A/C!

And drinks on the terrace of an Irish pub for a Friday.

So actually lots going on here!

The Back of Tamzy's Head series

Today I'm going to share my latest (and only) art project with you. I have entitled it "The Back of Tamzy's Head series."

While my sister and I were in New York I slowly started to realise that a lot of the photos I was taking pictured the back of her head. And that in fact they were some of my favourite photos from the trip. So then I started doing it on purpose and came up with a series of photos that I really like, and that I would like to share with you today. Let me know what you think, maybe I'll do another art project! XD And see if you can spot the odd one out!

I promise that I will do my best...

We're taking a break from the road trip saga today because I'm too excited about something else I want to share.

A few months ago Girlguiding (in which I was a Rainbow, Brownie, Guide, Young Leader and, since I was 18, an adult leader) held a consultation about the Promise. Just asking about it was exciting enough for me, as I had had problems with the wording since I was old enough to really understand what I was saying. However I obviously put up with it, because it never took away from the fact that it's an amazing organisation.

This is what the Promise has been for as long as I can remember:

I promise that I will do my best:
To love my God,
To serve the Queen and my country,
To help other people
and
To keep the (Brownie) Guide Law.

Which is fine, but must have been off-putting for newcomers to the organisation who, for example, were atheist or agnostic; or anyone who believed in another God and weren't able to make this apply to them. I even had a discussion with some fellow Guiders at a training once who were convinced that if you were an atheist you weren't allowed to be a leader. I'm nearly 100% certain that this was never the case, but it does put it into perspective when even people within the organisation were put off by it!

Well, I am very happy to say that today Girlguiding has announced a change in wording for the Promise, effective 1st September 2013. It now reads:

I promise that I will do my best:
To be true to myself and develop my beliefs,
To serve the Queen and my community,
To help other people
and
To keep the (Brownie) Guide Law.

So I no longer have to pretend that I believe in God every time I say the Promise! I can be my true agnostic self, who will wait for a divine being to be proven or disproven either way before I decide whether or not to love it! I no longer have to say my God is "chocolate" or something else silly just to justify the Promise to myself! Yays!

And to all of you who have used the Promise as an excuse not to help at your local unit: haha! You now have no excuse! Now get out there and go for it, I promise you won't regret it!

Road Trip - final day in New Orleans

Day 9 - Friday 24th May - New Orleans

Slept really well, but woke up too early, stupid body still on Eastern time!

Diner for breakfast, poor service, massive pancake not cooked through, won't be going back!

Went out into hot muggy weather. Found post office but no international stamps. Tried to walk to garden district but too far. Got streetcar instead.

Wandered around some pretty houses and found a cemetery, very interesting above ground graves/tombs. Lizards roaming the streets! Got too hot so stopped at Starbucks for OJ and iced chai before heading to the Magazine Street shops - shop full of reused items including beautifully bound notebooks made of scrap card, for $54! Estate sale/antique store, record store and needlework store.

Headed back to Canal Street and changed trams to go to City Park. Too hot, nowhere to eat and too far to real bit of park so saw the Pavilion of Two Sisters and the museum sculpture garden then headed back to streetcar.

Very late lunch of shrimp po boy at a cafe on the corner of Jackson Square, followed by beignets and sweet tea. 

Wandered to Louis Armstrong Park again, but no music today so sat a bit then walked back. Sat in Jackson Square for a while but couldn't stand terrible pipe music. Never found the perpetrator though! Sat by the Market Cafe for a bit instead.
Got pre-dinner drinks and then dinner of jambalaya. Went to Preservation Hall and saw some amazing jazz!

And so ends my road trip journal! The following day we went back to the Beignet Cafe for an amazing breakfast of waffles, then I had to say my goodbyes to my sister (who was off on the next leg of her trip, from New Orleans to San Francisco!) and head to the airport. It was nice to be home though, although I can't believe how fast the time has gone since I got back now!

Road Trip - Tallahassee to New Orleans

Day 8 - Thursday 23rd May - Tallahassee to New Orleans

Slept well at the motel, real bed! OK breakfast, learned the lady's whole family, including her sixteen year old son who eats everything and her daredevil daughter in the navy!

Florida

Got on the road to New Orleans, I-10 for over five hours!

Stopped at a rest stop, then in Alabama for gas, and in Mississippi for lunch! 

Mississippi

Made it to New Orleans around two, they didn't even check the car so we just ran away before they noticed the scratch! Although I think it's more likely that it was just covered by the insurance so they didn't actually care!

So hot here! Chilled out (literally) at hotel for a bit before venturing out into the French Quarter. So many amazing houses!

Saw crazy Bourbon Street, to be avoided for rest of trip, Royal Street with antique and art shops. Bought some praline, and Taffy for Tamz. Got an iced chai at a lovely cafe. Saw a wedding at Jackson Square. checked out the waterfront, serenaded by the old guy!

Saw the French market then wandered up to Louis Armstrong park where there was a little festival thing going on, lots of music and people watching. 

Went back to the market for a drink at the Market Cafe, also with music. Then an amazing dinner of alligator sausage and chicken gumbo! 

Took pecan pie to go, enjoyed with tea and silly telly back at hotel. Now excited for sleeping in the super comfy bed!