Lanyon and on and on

I was on Queen's campus today so I couldn't resist a few shots of Lanyon, my favourite building.

It has to be the most photographed building in Belfast--tour groups stop by all the time. You also see lots of parents taking photos of their kids and vice versa.

This is the outside of the graduate centre.

And this is the inside, where I'm currently writing. There's a glass wall between me and the front wall (pictured above) because there is an enclosed study area at the front of the building.

I spent Wednesday and Thursday cleaning and cooking. I hosted the former owner of the house, Hillary, and her daughter and son-in-law for lunch yesterday. I hate cooking, especially here, where I'm easily confused. For instance, I didn't understand that the dial on the oven is in celsius, not fahrenheit, so the sweet potato pie was both burnt and undercooked. I always cook in a hurry (because I spend too much time cleaning the house, setting the table, arranging flowers, etc). My American recipe called for 15 oz. of vegetable stock. I had a British stock cube that I was to dissolve in 450 millilitres of water. What relation might that have to 15 oz., I asked as I ran around the kitchen trying to find the measuring cup. David unpacked the kitchen and I have no idea where anything is. In the U.S. I used a food blender to make my butternut squash-apple-curry soup. I donated the blender before I moved and here I had to use one of those wands that chops things up. It just splattered squash bits all over the wall as I splattered a few well-chosen words. Sigh. I only have a kitchen because it came with the house.

The soup nonetheless turned out very well and the pie was edible. Hillary, Kathy, and Peter had a great old time wandering around the house and taking in all the changes. I'm glad that she feels the house is in good hands. The house was lovely during Hillary's tenure and I'm doing my best to maintain standards.
11-6