Black Salsify

It's a vegetable, but it sounds like a verb from the auto de fe.

Susie made a beautiful salad involving this unique vegetable last night (pictured). The flavour is something like parsnip meets artichoke. Very nice. Next on the list of exotic vegetables sitting in our fridge is Jerusalem artichokes (nothing like any artichoke you've ever seen before).

Coming soon: "Mind the Gap - Walk on the left - Stand on the right (and other useful British transport tips)

The end of the holiday

So I left off mid-way through my tale of our US campaign. What followed would, in descriptive terms, read more like the index of a history book than a story - a blur of place names and proper nouns. In the space of the next six days we met up with some twenty four relatives, travelling through seven states, by car, train, plane.

We travelled to Maryland on day 4 (Shrove Tuesday) to be introduced to the Eight Petrys of Randallstown. As Jennie put it, the theme for this two-day period was 'washing machine'. Prior to our arrival, the Petry washing machine had groaned its last and the laundry was quickly piling up, so we spent day 5 (the start of Lent - no meat this year!) comparing prices and finding a bargain. However, perhaps even better than spending all day sourcing a washing machine was relaxing with Jennie into our favourite Mozart and Pleyel duets. I've never enjoyed playing with anyone else so much. I made a recording on my MacBook, but the sound is not so good. When Susie and I made it back to Connecticut, we found some old home videos from 1993/4 featuring Jennie and I playing the same pieces, but better. Alack.

On day 5 Jennie introduced Susie to ziti (two thumbs up). On day 6, I introduced Susie to grits (two thumbs down).

Day 6 and we arrived in Columbus, ate lunch at Chipotle (two thumbs up), and met Mandy, Ben, Julie, Ella and Sophie. Our defining experiences while in Columbus (days 6 - 9) were:

• Susie spending much longer on the X Box than me (playing Rock Band)
  
• meeting Grandpa Donnelly
• pizza every day (two thumbs up)
• ice cream tastings
  
• introductions to the Kesslers and Parkers (Mater and Aunt KK, Uncle John, Brad, Laura, Aunt Peggy)
• showing Susie around the farm
• late night chess
• dinner out at Rigsby's in the Short North

On day 9 we flew back to Connecticut, and Anne Marie drove down from Vermont to spend the evening with us, just as a snow storm descended on Connecticut. It was this evening that Anne Marie said, profoundly, "He will pursue you until he breaks you." Sadly, neither of us can recall to whom the words apply.

The next morning Anne Marie left and the snow continued. Mom drove us to JFK (memorably, we stopped for food at a random carribean cafe in Jamaica in NYC). We flew back to London.

In other news, we are making progress on the wedding plans. We've reserved rooms for people at the Days Hotel in Shoreditch for 27 and 28 May. And we've agreed that we'll have an organist. I'd quite like to have the Widor Tocatta for our exit music.

Any suggestions for any other non-hymn music which we could have during the service would be much appreciated.