I found a great big grocery store that sells all sorts of wonderful, reasonably priced things, including ground black pepper, that most elusive of condiments.  So my plan to spend my weekends in London hunting down pepper has ended but with happiness, including a low-cal trifle for dessert ;-)  It may suck, but where else in the world can you find a "lite" trifle?  Or even pre-packaged trifle at all? 

 

I also found lots of cheap, healthy things for dinner which had been a challenge thus far without being a master chef or having much in the way of cooking implements.  I hadn't realized how much I rely mixes and frozen meals for quick, easy dinners.  It's a little embarrassing, but there you go.  However, this time, I found cheap healthy soups, couscous mixes (they don't understand the concept of non-quick-cook rice mixes), and some fascinating bottled sauces that can be combined with fresh veggies to form curries, etc.  YUM!

 

Thanks to Tove for the tip!!

Soooo yeah.  It's (as usual) been a while since I posted anything but the big news is that I'm now posting from London.  And as soon as I acquire a camera (or go back and get one from home), there will be pictures. 

 

Today I took a break from lots of work and did some shopping.  The flat I'm staying in is furnished but it was missing little things like coasters and a timer so my tea doesn't end up a semi-permanent dye.  Oh, and a scale, so I don't go crazy from all the fun new types food and gain back all of the weight I've lost in the past few months.  Given all the walking, that's not likely, but the espresso maker at work could finish me off, you never know.  And the tiny kitchen that makes it oh so tempting to just walk less than a block for Indian takeout.  Luckily, with the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar, eating out isn't as tempting as it might be. 

 

I also figured out that iTunes is the one service that will let me buy video from the US so I had a Monk to watch with dinner tonight (YAY!) 

 

I've gotten back into knitting, more as a stress reliever than anything else, but it's been lovely to be able to play with wool again.  I brought a bunch of my wool stuff here figuring that 8 time zones is far enough that Clio won't be bothered.

 

I've just about finished the first glove of Fetching from knitty.com.  I had a boo-boo so had to do major frogging this afternoon.  I was trying to go too fast and completely misread the directions.  But I'm back on track now!

 

Beyond that, I've been playing on Facebook and checking out what the BBC has to offer.  Last night was a great show called QI so I have high hopes for tonight.

Went out with friends this weekend to see Michael Clayton (great flick!) and the next day tried out a Segway AND a Wii!!  Both were tons of fun and now I have major techno envy. 

 

I've also signed up for Facebook so I can more easily keep up with friends while I'm away in the wonderful world of London.  It's pretty cool so far, fun applications and easy ways to interact with people.  I haven't found anyone I haven't seen recently yet, but I finally found a few people from high school.  I was starting to wonder if it wasn't just me and we were really all that anti-social (or tech backwards, your call ).  Mostly I think we're all just busy. 

As promised, here are photos of a few of the tomatoes.  I figure we got about 10 tomatoes from the one plant by the end and they had lovely flavor.  They also ripened well inside, an important trait for tomatoes growing in the rainy Northwest :-)

 

 

After lots of work getting everything ready, my condo is finally ready for sale.  Woo hoo!!!  If anyone is interested, check it out at http://northwestrealtors.washington.remax.com/listings/ListingDetail_r4.aspx?LID=35253366#aTop.  I also have tomatoes turning red so I'll post some photos of those shortly.  They taste divine. 

The new flooring in my condo should be finished up shortly, then it's just a matter of cleaning up the place and listing.  If anyone is looking for a cute condo in Duvall, let me know.  Mine will be on the market shortly and I will consider discounts for friends :-)

 

I'll post pictures of the new floor tomorrow when I can actually get in to see it (there have been numerous delays, but all approved so no trauma to report). 

 

In other news, the tomato plant continue to thrive despite having fallen off the porch and being blown over. (It's now attached to the porch by string)  Just a few scratch marks to give it "character".  

 

The tomato (in my experience) is a melodramatic plant.  I came home last night to a droopy, thirsty plant looking like it was on the edge of death.  I panicked, thinking this was what Charles meant when he said tomatoes can break your heart and just die in an instant.  I raced over to water it and check the tomatoes to make sure none had dried up.  When I came back 15 minutes later, my little drama queen was in perfect form, leaves fully un-drooped and pointed at the sun.   Such fun.

I am getting my condo ready to sell, and as part of that process, I am getting tile floors installed in place of my laminate fake wood floors in the kitchen and entry way.  After seeing a few recommendations for Home Depot, I thought, why not, they're at least big enough to remember to call back (one of the other people I called was clearly high when I talked to him, and when I asked if he wanted to call me back at a better time, he gratefully said yes and never followed up).

 

On to Home Depot.  Home Despot.  Current bane of my existence.

 

1st trip - Find a tile I kind of like, can't get any samples to take home that night as they would have to special order it.  Given I want to sell ASAP, waiting 10 days just to see if I'd like the tile doesn't seem optimal.  I asked about tile in stock, do they have samples?  Yes, provided I want to buy the individual tiles.  Not ideal, feels a bit like a scam, but fine.  I buy three tiles in various colors and go home to test them out.  Find one that will work, done.

 

2nd trip - Hand over tile, this is what I want.  Choose grout, etc.  Pay $50 for someone to come out and measure my floors.  Home Despot assures me that someone will call me to schedule a time to come out.

 

1st phone call - Vendor calls, we schedule time to meet on the weekend.

 

2nd phone call - Different vendor calls.  Tell them I already have something scheduled with first vendor, must be some mix-up.

 

1st meeting with vendor - No show.  Call, leave messages, nothing.

 

3rd phone call (me to HD) - What happened?  Vendor didn't show, no one has followed up, what's the deal? 

 

It turns out HD had neglected to inform me that they sent my information to the wrong vendor the first time around.  When they noticed the mistake, they called the first vendor and cancelled the request.  Apparently, this also cancelled my appointment although no one told me.  Second vendor is correct, HD will make sure they contact me ASAP.  I complain fairly vehemently since I would be out $50 with nothing to show for it if I hadn't called.  As near as I can tell, HD had no inkling that there was something they needed to follow up on here.

 

4th phone call (me to 2nd vendor, 5 days later) - Hi, I'm betting you don't know me, but I need to schedule a floor measurement.  Vendor: Gosh, you're right, we thought you were working with someone else, but let us schedule you in for a workday measuring or you can wait until the end of the month for a weekend.  Fine. 

 

Measuring happens, oh joy unbounded.  Luckily, 2nd vendor is cool, very helpful.  Will have quote shortly.

 

5th phone call (HD to me) - Quote available, need to sign paperwork.

 

Meet with HD, complain a bit about lack of follow-up with vendor from last discussion since I had to call them directly.  HD helpful, sign paperwork and hand over credit card.  Am assured that everything will go smoothly from here on out.

 

6th phone call (Vendor to me) - Schedule time, by the way, are you picking up the supplies? 

 

This is news to me.  Why is the vendor unable to pick up supplies or why is HD not planning to deliver them?

 

7th phone call (HD to me) - When do you want to pick up your supplies?  Hmmm.  Ok, nice of you guys to tell me I needed to do this or pay more money to have you or the vendor take care of it.  Schedule time to pick up supplies.

 

8th, 9th, and 10th phone calls (HD to me) -

Call 8: Out of tile, can you go to Bellevue to pick up?  Me: No.  

Call 9: Out of tile, not enough time to transfer, can you go to Bellevue to pick up?  Me: Will all of my supplies be there?

Call 10: All supplies will be waiting for you at the Special Services desk tonight.

 

So I drive over to the Bellevue Home Depot last night to pick up all of my supplies.  But are they ready and waiting?  No.  The tile is there, but nothing else.  I have to go find all of the other items as no one seems to be available or even willing to help.  They can't wait to foist me off on the next person who has no idea who I am or why I am soooooo angry at this point.

 

Bottom line.  Next time, I'm hiring the vendor direct.

 

Home Depot's stock should be in the toilet; their employees are unhappy, bitter people who have no resources and their stores are incredibly understaffed for the volume of customers they serve.  The store computer systems don't even talk to each other - Bellevue had no record of my order at all.

 

In both of the stores I've been in recently, I've seen people looking at high ticket items ($1,000+) forced to wait for 15 minutes to half an hour to get help.  And often, the "help" is "Sorry, not my department".  That's just unacceptable, I hope they go under soon.