Archive for the 'Tracking the Tempest' Category

I am sitting in a hotel room in Bar Harbor, Maine. I was just in Eastport, visiting the Old Sow. I have many pictures and had such a great time, but I can’t blog that yet . . . because I still have to blog the rest of my trip to the UK!

I left off with Brighton and the news that Rootie had to have an appendectomy. Poor bunny! I have to say though, if she was going to have to have emergency surgery, she was very organized and British about it. She waited till she’d gone home to visit her father, who was also in hospital, to become ill. So she ended up having the surgery at the same hospital her dad was in. The poor man had no idea she’d had the operation until she wheeled her own drip into his room at the hospital.

Here are some horrifying action shots from Walking Wounded Ruthie:

Poor Ruth! Poor wee belleh!

While Rootie was away having bits removed, I went to Orbit UK to meet with my editor and publicist, who were absolutely lovely. It was fantastic! I’ve been telling y’all over and over how important a UK publication was to me and I was thrilled at how seriously they’re taking the books. I wrote TR in Edinburgh, I lived in the UK for six years, I still have so many dear friends across the pond–so having the book published in Britain is a huge deal for me. And they let me steal lots of books. Mmmm. Books.

That night I met up with a friend from West Aurora High School I hadn’t seen for AGES. Funnily enough, he was in Brighton at the same time that I was, and I ended up seeing his band play, and then I ran into him on Brighton Pier.

So Erik was kind enough to keep me company while Ruth healed. First we met for drinks, then we walked down the street from Ruth’s flat, in Islington, to have dinner at a super posh restaurant called Frederick’s. The place is gorgeous, the food was delicious, and the staff could not have been friendlier. Especially to an American who had not thought she’d be going to a fancy restaurant and was wearing her gym shoes. Such a faux pas!

Anyway, the establishment was almost as handsome as Erik:

And the food was amazing. We did have starters, but I literally shoved my chicken-liver mousse into my face so fast I nearly nipped off the waitress’s fingers. I might have been a little hungry, at that point.

But here are our other courses:

The brownies nearly broke me, they were so beautiful. Just mushy in the center, so it was almost like brownie dough surrounded by delicious brownie crust. Erik and I both had a bit of a moan, which everyone politely ignored.

I also had a different type of moan when Orbit US sent me my Legacy copyedits. To London. On my vacation. Thanks guys, you’re the best! Seriously, though, the book looks great and it’s very fun to see it go through it’s stages of maturation. It’s nearly grown, now! Here’s a piccy of Legacy!

So from getting the MS, on, I really buckled down to get it finished. Which meant cutting in to fun time, but since Ruth was laid up with her organ-removal, anyway, it worked out. And Percy Pigs helped, too…

But in between doing copyedits and traveling around a bit, on my own, Rootie and I still managed to fit in some bonding time. The day after she returned from her surgery, we headed down to the road to a local Islington market. Here she is, having a rest on a bench, and looking gorgeous for anyone, let alone for someone who just had an organ removed:

Most unsurprisingly, we also managed to fit in some more food. Here are some delicious cakes from a local Italian deli:

And we even squeezed in a date night! Pretty ladies, if a bit blurry . . .

We went to this incredible, awesome, you-must-go-now-if-you-are-in-London cocktail bar, the name of which I CANNOT remember to save my life. But Ruth will know, and when she tells me, I’ll update this bad boy. Anyway, here’s a pic from the inside. It’s tiny, and the cocktails are to die for. Really.

After cocktails, we went for Thai food, then saw Sex & The City 2. The food was good, but the movie made me want to return my vagina for a refund. And then use the money to buy hats. I keep trying to think of a redeeming feature of the film, but find it difficult. Miranda was great, as usual, but …….. ummmmm … I have been inspired to buy some kohl eyeliner. There! That’s a positive! Yay!

We also did some general tourism. Here’s me taking part in the ubiquitous London Eye shot . . .

And we also did my absolute, favorite thing to do in London. Borough Market! YAY! I adore it. And Rootie finally indulged me in the one thing I’ve always wanted to do, and no one would ever accompany me . . . I went to Roast! It’s a fabulous eatery that overlooks the Market, and was one of the champions of Noveau British cuisine. Which is fancy for “posh chips and stuff.” They have all local, organic produce, and are famous for their meats. Here’s a pic in the restaurant, and one of the view of the market:

And here’s our food! To start, I had a goat curd and tomato salad. It was amazing. Much moaning! And maybe a grunt. But I had to accede that Ruth’s Fancy, Fancy Scotch Egg definitely won. It was sublime. Seriously. Like Wordsworth would have chucked over Tintern Abbey and written a poem called Roast’s Fancy, Fancy Scotch Egg, had he only known.

And here are our mains. I went for the light, delicate luncheon option . . . roast pork. The crackling was so hard I nearly broke a tooth, but it was worth it. The meat was fall apart tender and everything was delish. Rootie went with a chicory and chicken salad, which had a really quite perfect dressing. All in all it was a huge success. Thanks for going to Roast with me, Rootie!

After Roast, we crossed the market to get iced lattes at Ruth’s favorite coffee stand, Monmouth Coffee.

The coffee WAS brilliant, but it was so strong that I nearly had palpitations, and I’m a coffee drinker. It also had other, less bloggable effects. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say that another name for the iced latte might as well be Colon Blow Latte. Good heavens!

And that was all she wrote, folks! The next day I flew back to Chicago, where I did laundry, repacked, and then left for Maine with my mom, my friend Loren, and my former English teacher, Mrs. Bunch. I already miss Ruth!

That was before we nearly shat ourselves, btw. And tucked over my arm, in that great shopping bag, is the Most Amazing Dress Ever. I’m too excited to talk about it now . . . but there will be pictures from Seattle, later in the summer. It’s fancy, for a wedding, and involves anchors and a red petticoat. HEAVEN.

So in a day or two I’ll blog for you our Maine adventures, starting in Eastport then going on to Bar Harbor. But here’s one last Drs. Ruth and Peeler’s Moment of Zen. Enjoy!

Yay, us!