Potatoes

I have yet to bust out my camera here. As the weather has been foul, I've been mostly indoors, cowering from my newfound arctic reality. Lukas has been doing a good job of entertaining me though. He's been dancing around, giggling, and taking me on a french fry tour of Cardiff. I have eaten more potatoes in the last three days than should be allowed by law. Yesterday was the start of a grand and debilitating stomachache which is still winding down as of this morning. 

I have since decided to ditch the tots in an effort to eat crisp juicy veggies. This seems simple. However, everything in this country is drenched in thick luscious sauces and gravies. Oh they are so tastey. Which is their purpose by the way. To conceal the fact that you are eating boiled chicken and undercooked frozen vegetables that were shipped here from South America. I love the sauces. But no more! I'm on a mission. A healthy, non-british mission.

In other news, Lukas took me to the park to meet a special friend. 

This, is Thorin Jonesenshield. It took us a while to come to a satisfactory name for a strapping horse of his stature, but with the help of Tolkien and some stereotypical Welsh names, we decided. It suits him.

Lukas stumbled upon Thorin and company about 3 months ago. He goes by and feeds T the good tall grass that's on the hard-to-reach side of the fence. Lukas has his own patented grass bundling technique that makes it easier for Thorin to nibble from his fingers. Thorin is the biggest horse on the lot and we believe he is also in charge as he shoos any other horses that come by for a grass bundle. For scale, the top of my head comes up just past Lukas' shoulder. He's a big horse. Thorin's butt is taller than me!

Anywho, if your not in the park and your not in the city, Cardiff looks like this. It's street after street of row houses from the industrial era. They all look the same and I admit to forgetting where I live most days. Notice, the lovely grey overcastedness. Supposedly the rain should stop for a little while in the next few days. I walked the 30 minutes into town yesterday to purchase some clean dry pants for myself. Alas, it started pouring and by the time I arrived I was so cold and wet and aggravated that I simply turned around a slogged back. I've yet to reattempt the mission.

On a more positive note, Cardiff really is very pretty (when its not raining). There are flowers everywhere. Every house has a little garden in front, often with brightly colored plants that I've not seen before. Even Lukas is entertained by them and well, he's a guy. There is a big emphasis on green space here and I appreciate that people let wildflowers litter their gardens.