Come Dine With Me

We recently subscribed to a British TV streaming site, which is wonderful except for the fact I am getting sucked back into religiously watching some of my old shows.  I use to love Come Dine with me, watched it at least once a day and always wanted to plan a similar sort of dinner party week.  The show was new to Luis and he loves it, and now he would also like to do something similar.  But I am so thankful that our week did not include our dinner last night at Ruth and Adam's as it would have been a hard one to top.

 The winning setting.

 We so need an oven, not that I could ever live up to this dish,  Moussaka (veggie of course), it was super duper yummy.

 Then there was this, a dessert with fruit that I LOVED! Usually, I hate fruit in dessert, I feel like it has no place there.  But this pavlova was the best ever, I could have had at least three servings, but thought I better be polite and stop at two.

 We then played this roll the pigs game, it was my first time, but clearly a natural as I destroyed the competition with my rolls.

The two champs of the night.  Adam for recently completing an Iron Man in New Zealand and me at winning pig tossing.  I feel like the level of skill involved for both things are on par.  A great award winning 10/10 night.

Leica's Birthday

Yesterday was a day to celebrate a very special lady.  A lady who pretty much never left my side when I was in hospital, she took me in, stayed till I woke up, slept on a couch over night to make sure I was okay and brought me real food to eat.  During my Dad's illness she was always there to listen and checked in on me daily.  She has been a wall of support and helped make last year a little more bearable.  For all these reasons and many more, I feel very lucky to have come to Phuket the same time she did and have her part of my life.  Last night to celebrate Leica's special day a few ladies went out for a lovely dinner on the lake.

 But we could not wait all the way to dinner, so we had a little cake at break (Jacqui made these fabulous cupcakes).

A lovely night, with some great people.   This is just the beginning of course as you don't just get one day on your birthday, you should get at least a week.  Therefore, the big celebrations will be on Friday.

BISP 'Fun' Hour Run

Not sure how they ever put 'run' and 'fun' in the same sentence, I can see 'pain' and 'run' but just don't get the fun. This year was particularly painful, the course tougher, the sun hotter and well I was in much better shape last year.  I have woken up this morning barely able to walk!  I have definitely learnt that stretching is crucial (which I did not do) and maybe training even a little before an event a good idea.  But I got my medal and that made me happy and also had an excuse to go out for an extra yummy dinner.

 Before the run, when I could still stand on both my legs without feeling like I might fall over at any second.

 First they had the family mile run, I think next year I may borrow a child as this seems much more up my street.

 Luis finishing

 Me and amazing Sara who ran rings around me.

A nice dinner out with Sara and Richard.  Altogether a great way to spend our Saturday even if it means I can't get out of bed today!

Crab's Beware

Lola has been a huge worry for the last couple of months, she has had a million tests, still taking too many drugs and was just not herself.  She had a bit of a reprieve when we went on holiday but I reckon she was still sick and put on a brave face as the minute we got back she regressed.  The last few days she has turned a corner and I am happy to report she seems to be almost back to normal (she is still not off her meds so reluctant to say she is cured until they are all done and she is tested again).  Yesterday was the first day I took her to the beach and she wanted to walk and chase crabs.  Maybe what made her feel better is the again empty beaches and the beautiful water. It really is the best time of year, the millions of tourists have left with the end of the high season but the dry season is still with us.  The water looked amazing yesterday and even better we had to share it with very few people.

The crabs have also become lazy in her absence, there were millions out and not hiding at all.  Lola had a bawl chasing them.  She doesn't really get anywhere near them though as I reckon her eye sight is not great and well her hearing is pretty abysmal these days.  But she was so happy to be out on the beach it did not matter that the crabs eluded her. 

International Day Ladies Outing

To celebrate International Women's Day yesterday, Leica organised an outing for the ladies to see a female comedian at a local wine bar.  I think the last time I have seen a stand up comic was in Basel as a Valentine's treat for those of us without Valentine's.  I had kinda forgotten what a great night out they can be.  This women was pretty hilarious, definitely not for the squeamish and I could see that there were a few people in the audience who had signed up with out really researching the content.  It was all about her past addictions to sex, drugs and alcohol and she did not hold back.  Most people knew a little of what to expect and therefore had a grand time.  But there were a few that definitely could not get out of there fast enough, goes to show it is important to read the small print (although I thought the advertisement was pretty clear).  It was great fun and I genuinely laughed more than I have in 70 minutes then I have in the last six months.

 Was surprised to see a little Canadian Moosehead being served.

A great ladies wine and comedy night out.  Must do more often.

Krabi Ladies Weekend

There are so many places accessible from Phuket, lots of beautiful islands just a short ferry ride away. But for some reason we just don't seem to take advantage of this enough and we should.  So a few weeks ago I decided that it was about high time that some of us ladies had a well deserved weekend away.  A pretty fabulous bunch jumped on board and the planning began.  Instead of an island we went across the water to Krabi, a little town on the mainland.  It has very dramatic views around and well is just something a little different.

We took the 8:30am ferry in style with a glass or two of bubbles 

 We stayed in a real gem, just off the main street, Whalecome. The staff were ridiculously nice and I would highly recommend it.

 Some drinks by the pool

 A lovely Indian and then a night out on the town.  We were a little full after dinner but all had a good time.

It was so easily done and should be done more often.  The weather was beautiful, as was the people and the scenery.  The only question now is where to next!

Chef Luis

I found it hard to admit in the past, but there is no denying it, Luis is a way better cook than me.  He proved this a few times in Ecuador with our cook offs and pretty much every time we both make a dish for an event.  I am not sure why I ever even decided to fight this fact as it is wonderful that he is the better chef.  He now cooks when we have guests and when we have dinner at home.  This is pretty much a win win situation for me, I get to eat delicious food and don't have to buy it or attempt to cook it (as clearly can't).

Luis is in super cooking mode this week.  Last night he spent four hours creating a master piece of a meal.  Lentil 'meatballs', best ever.  Oh and then the cauliflower cakes, delicious.  He is now at home preparing some other yummy dinner.  

Lola helped by picking up anything that fell on the ground.  Who would have guessed but she is a big lover of lentils and cauliflower.

 The only thing I hate about Luis cooking is I have to be sous chef, cleaning and doing rubbish tasks like peeling corgettes.

This picture does not do the meal justice, but I was so hungry I could not wait for presentation marks.  I think I see a veggie restaurant in his future.