Ricetacular

My culinary adventures continued with the creation of a risotto using a recipe adapted from, erm, the side of the rice packet. This was my first risotto since the rather strange ones we made at school about ten years ago, and I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. I'd probably want to make some changes next time though, and therein lies a problem because thinking about all the different ways of combining ingredients, and having to decide between them, threatens to get me all het up as decision always do...

Saw a woman at Sainsbury's carrying a small dog in her arms. She may think she's in an episode of Desperate Housewives or somesuch, but surely this isn't allowed?

Spare a thought for the poor dear little American chickadee at Heathrow, who so endeared herself to us by telling the (presumably English) reporter that if she had to be stuck anywhere, she'd rather be anywhere but England. Presumably it was her choice to come her in the first place?

Saw a young woman earlier who I'm sure I don't know, but seems strangely (slightly unsettlingly) familiar. Perhaps she was at my school, perhaps we met. It's odd when this kind of thing happens; associations are activated, old memories are set off, but when they're as weak or obscure as in this case, it feels like looking directly at the question won't solve it, only looking obliquely at it as if trying to see in the dark. Do you ever find that you're trying to remember what someone looks like, even someone quite familiar, but can't if you think about them directly and have to sort of imagine them peripherally? It's a strange thing, the mind, etc. etc.

24 time, methinks.