Penny had bloomed!
My little girl is growing up!
It was such a wonderful surprise, and honestly a shock since I was pretty much assured by the flower salesman that Penny had no chance in a room with no sun. I have always believed in betting against the odds. I took it as a sign that my life here is just beginning to bloom, and even if there is no sunshine in the forecast, that doesn't mean things can't grow.
It's so amazing that while I laid sleeping, dreaming about cupcakes, Penny sprouted high into the air!
I felt like throwing her a birthday party.
I think my favorite lunch spot must be reading my thoughts, because when I went to pick up my salad and stop to ooooh and ahhhh over their gorgeous display of cakes - I saw this.
I giant Victoria Sponge cupcake, clearly in Penny's honor. It was only right to get a piece.
Victoria Sponge is something I've been wanting and meaning to try since I got here, but hadn't gotten around to that treat yet. It's very traditionally English. 2 layers of vanilla sponge, with raspberry jam in between and whipped cream or a sort of frosting on top.
They call all their cake "sponge" and I have noticed that the texture of cake here is definitely different, but oddly not sponge-like at all. It's much more dense, dry, and has more of a crumb than any cake recipe I make. If I could just figure out this whole grams vs. cups madness I could get myself a proper english cookbook and start making my own sponge. The state of our kitchen is also a problem.
Living with 4 girls is definitely interesting when it comes to "tidiness."
On most days, the kitchen is a state. But since there are 5 of us, you don't know who is the cause of the problem - you just know that it is not you. It is likely small contributions from everyone that add up to the total disaster. Tea bags left here, a spoon left there, bits of crumbs - what one would expect. Luckily, once a week Abel comes and saves the day.
I love coming home to find my room cleaned and bed made by Abel. He has proved to be an excellent bed-maker, a skill that I never developed. I wish I could also bribe Abel into doing my laundry, since I finally gave that a go and it did not end well.
I hadn't yet attempted to do laundry since I moved in because I have enough clothes to just keep wearing different ones, enough towels to last a month, and always shower right before bed so my sheets stay fresh. But the time had come, and so I had my flatmate give me a tutorial on using the washing/drying duo machine. It completely boggles my mind how those two processes can happen in one machine.
Turns out, it is the smallest washer/dryer machine I have ever seen - and those two proceses can't really happen in one machine. You can fit about 2 towels and a pair of socks in at a time - if you squeeze. So since I had a mound of laundry from the past month, I ended up doing 6, yes 6, loads of laundry.
I threw my sheets in first last night so that they could dry before I went to sleep, and oh what I mistake that was, because the dryer portion of the washer/dryer in one does not actually dry things. My flatemate told me once my sheets were going, that no one ever uses the dryer because it takes almost 3 hours for the things to dry, it shrinks everything, and makes the whole house shake. Brilliant.
I had to bundle up and sleep sheetless, and I came to the realization that whoever invented these horrible machines should be put behind bars.
Come to think of it, no dual purpose product is good, just look at Shampoo + conditioner in one!
During my 6 loads I was hang drying everything on racks and every surface of my room imaginable until my room became an art exhibit on old-fashioned laundry methods.
Needless to say, I may send it out from time to time in the future, since I've realized having a washer and dryer in one is more like not actually having either.
On the brightside, my flatmates and I bonded during the several loads I did and I think they found the whole spectacle rather entertaining. I guess not everything can about transitioning into life in a new country can be a piece of sponge.
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