Flitter of activity

I've had all these things to write about, but I've not had the time yet. So here we go...

Wednesday O and I went to a little party held by Amsterdam Weekly to celebrate them being chosen by London's Design Museum as an innovative project. Our friend, Steven, writes music stuff for the paper, so he sent us the invite. The do was held in the basement of the Post CS building, hosted by a gallery there called W139. It was a nice, atmospheric space, and there was free wine and food. Yay! Food was provided by Gary's Muffins, so lots of bagel sandwiches, as well as brownies and cheesecake. Later on, to add to the UK theme going on, they brought out portions of fish and chips for everyone. Mmmm, grease. In the background some good tunes were spinning, and now that I think about it, I think every band played might have been British. Add some nice chatting with friends and it made for a great event.

More chatting with friends took place Thursday night when a co-worker and I went out with a former co-worker who went back to her native Australia two years ago. She's totally missed the Netherlands though and was so happy to be back in Amsterdam. The plan had been to find a canal-side cafe table and sit out there all night, but the expected 30 degree weather disappeared by the evening, so we ate outside, but then dodged into the cafe because it was too cold and breezy out by the canal (and of course then today it stays sunny and warm...) But nevermind, we had a great dinner and drinks, and caught up on what's been going on in our lives for the past two years. It was great to see our friend again. Maybe next time I see her it'll be in Australia.

And yes, today's weather was lovely. Some might say it was too warm and sticky, but, granted, I was in a cool office building all day, and after last year's lousy summer, we needed this. O and I used our balcony for the first time (we moved here in October, so there's not been the chance yet), sat on our Ikea outdoor chairs for the first time, and had our summer salad for the first time in ages. (What is our summer salad?, you may ask: Cook a bunch of small tiny elbow macaroni, drain and rinse in cold water. Make a hard-boiled egg, if you feel like it. Chop paprika, tomato, pickles and egg (if you felt like making one). Don't forget a small can of corn, drained. Throw it all in a big bowl. Stir in Calve yogurt dressing. Eat directly out of bowl on balcony.) I hope tomorrow is reasonably nice still since we have to wander around town and get all the things we wanted to get last Saturday but were unable to (long story). Actually, I rather that Sunday be nice because we're going a co-worker of O's house for a barbecue, but it's meant to rain by then. The guy is Australian, so I guess it'll be my first Australian barbie. Except it probably won't be sunny. And it won't be on the beach. But, um, we can pretend.