screwing in knives with butter forks

so, two weeks ago today sarah and i trekked out to ikea and bought some essentials. you know, pillows, cutlery, that sort of thing. :) when we came home we discovered that the pots need some assembly. so sarah took it upon herself to figure out how to attach the handles to the pots. we really needed a screwdriver, but we discovered that if i held everything steady sarah could semi-tighten the screws with a butter knife. we were laughing and sarah was trying to exclaim about the ridiculousness of what she was doing, but she was too focused on the task and it came out as, "i'm just screwing in knives with butter forks!"

this phrase has since become synonymous with improvisation, getting by and figuring out life without the tools that we are used to having with us in a place that is not familiar. so, when you ask how i am, what i really want to tell you is, "i'm just screwing in knives with butter forks." and look! now i can.

sunday was a really good day. last week sarah and i went by the globe theatre and got £5 standing tickets to see "the merry wives of windsor" this sunday. standing tickets means that we were in the yard, the large expanse of ground all around the stage, and that we stood for the whole performance. but oh my goodness. it was so worth it. i mean, think about it! seeing shakespeare at the globe theatre!! the performances were phenomenal and the play was so funny. we had no idea what the story was about, which was actually really fun, because everything was a surprise. the two wives were hilarious. we liked them the best. oh man. what a delicious london moment. i'm sorry that i had to use the word delicious there, but i really did have to. i love theatre and i love good shakespeare and so of course i was just so happy. almost as happy as i was climbing a tree a couple of weeks ago. well, ok. it was a different kind of happy.

on the way back from the play, we ran into the most delightful tube surprise (i have no idea why the words delightful and delicious are working their way into this post, but i really can't help it). right next to us was this young couple who had two six-week-old husky puppies in a box at their feet. they were ridiculously cute. and the best thing is what they did to everyone on the tube who saw them. our train got delayed in this tunnel and while we were waiting people on the tube started behaving very oddly. this little 12 year old girl got up out of her seat to look over at the puppies and this man told his girlfriend to touch one. she asked if she could and once they let her, it was like free rein for everyone else who wanted to pet them, myself included. her boyfriend then got down by the box and started growling at one of the puppies and baby talking them. it was hilarious. he was telling this couple that they needed to name their dogs ancient names that no one had ever had before, and he started to predict what their personalities would be like. it was then that we learned that they were brothers and only six-weeks old. everyone in the near vicinity was watching this whole exchange with grins on their faces. who doesn't love puppies? especially two young husky puppies?? goodness sakes. i want a dog. so fuzzy... :) the couple got off the train and everything went back to normal. but we now knew that we were traveling with human beings.

i'll write about my job later. but for now i will say - i like it. i like the people: customers and staffers, and i like all the time for praying and processing that it gives me while i fold napkins during quiet times. and the wonderful food. that is a blessing.

there. you are updated on events. we have a kitchen table now. if you didn't know. here is a lovely, cluttered, tea-filled picture of it: