February 09, 2003 - 6:17 p.m.

simon has been home all weekend, which has been, well, fabulous. i'm used to entertaining myself on the weekends, which is fine and dandy, but i really noticed how much easier things can be and how much faster projects can be completed when he's around.

we went to the queen vic market yesterday. if i go by myself, this requires taking two trams up and two trams back, and on the way back i'm carrying a backpack full of heavy fruits and veggies and carrying some bags in my hands, as well. since simon was home, we drove (bonus!) and each filled a bag full of stuff. then, because we could and because we would eat them anyway, we bought a box of mangoes and a box of avocados - 30 avocadoes for $5! (our normal grocery store was selling the same avocadoes for $2.89 apiece the previous night - that's two avocadoes for more than the price of our entire box of 30.) tip: everything at the queen vic is cheaper toward the end of the day, and the selection is still really good. sleep in, i say.

some of the nectarines got squashed on the way home, so we had to eat them. boo hoo. then we gorged ourselves on mangoes and avocados. simon made his famous spinach-tomato pesto for dinner, and i made mango sorbet. we have a ton of beautiful fruits and veggies left, which should last us awhile. even though we're b-r-o-k-e and i am still without job prospects, it's nice to know that we can eat like royalty.

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we're having a property inspection on wednesday morning, so i've started cleaning like crazy. simon singlehandedly transformed the garden today (yes, he gets a good-boy prize), a once-thought impossible task. now i just need to talk myself into mopping all the floors in the house. we don't have carpet, kids, which can only mean one thing: THE ENTIRE HOUSE.

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we had a new heater installed last week. behind the old one had fallen some artifacts from previous tenants. how about this postcard, addressed to chloe and pete (because you know you'd rather read about the life of someone who's on vacation when you're not):

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Hello, lovlies!! Exhausted! Nick has been touring me hard. Since arriving in Barcelona, I have seen a Pagan festival - [indecipherable], devils, etc, been painted, Costa Brava'd (small, glam resort towns w. 16 C buildings), whisked to South of France for wine, more costal, lost in Pyranees (see front) looking for a deserted 8th C convent, hilltop walled cities, cable car riding (which you know aren't legal), as well as picnicing in Gaudi's park for dinner and seeing B. itself. It's fabulous to have a local as a tour guide, as well as see N. again. I'm so jealous about missing out on all the goss, and got rather homesick while telling N all the news. Massive kisses for everyone, and love from the Med. xxx M.
C - did you hear about the bins?
* THANK YOU TO THE POSTIES *
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or how about this one, in the same handwriting and to the same address, yet oddly to mel and clare:

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Hola, Senoritas! How are things? It's grand here - beautiful men, very strong coffee + gorgeous, decaying grandieur. I think I like it here, I eat, drink, shop + ooh + ahh. Thank god I'm back on the Continent. The antique shops are filled with stolen churchy 14th C goodies + my pension looks over this big square filled with pigeons (ha ha Burrow). Very polite, too. I got on the tram + it was musical chairs, I got up for an old lady, but she wasnt as old as the next so she got up.... I'm heading for the Algarve, XXX, + I'm drinking cerveza for you both. xxx M.