Today is what is known as a "Bank Holiday," and consequently I am the only person in the postgrad study room! In the U.S., we make up fake half-assed excuses for holidays, like "President's Day" and "Columbus Day," where the banks and post offices close but pretty much everyone else has to go to work. In the U.K. and Ireland, they dispense with the pretense and just declare a Bank Holiday every couple of months.

So anyway, today is October Bank Holiday Monday and therefore no one is on campus. It feels strange and deserted. Of course, I am on campus, because I have a big paper to write this week. It's important that I get a lot of work done this week, because next week...

MY MOM AND SISTER ARE COMING TO VISIT!

More on that later, I'm sure. ^_^


In other news: in the past week, I have twice set out to make something without a recipe and twice succeeded in creating a hella-delicious meal. On Tuesday or Wednesday, I decided I wanted salmon cakes. I half-remembered watching a couple of different people make them, and rather than try to track them down for recipes I just decided to wing it. And they turned out great! Not perfect-- I fried them a little too hot, and the browned parts were tough-- but still delicious.

Then, Saturday night, I made homemade bean-and-bacon soup. About a year ago I found a recipe for bean-and-bacon soup that purported to taste like the Campbell's variety. Campbell's bean-and-bacon soup has been my favorite food since I was a wee little child, and they don't have it here. So, I couldn't find the recipe I had used before, and I decided to just wing it-- I remembered the important parts, like the tomato paste. And it turned out even better than when I used a recipe! Though, as is often the case when not following instructions, I just kept throwing more stuff in the pot and ended up with way more soup than I planned on making. This isn't a bad, thing, though.