Teapots, goodbyes, and tulips

        It was sad to see my parents go home. It was fun having them around. I'm glad they decided to come. We ate at a lot of pubs. I mean, a lot of pubs. It was delicious. We walked around a lot; I saw some more of London. On Friday, we managed to get the wrong theatre (we went to the Lyric Apollo, instead of the Apollo Victoria), but it was all right, because we had two hours to spare. So they got to see the main theatre district, which we otherwise would have missed. On Saturday we wandered around Greenwich, which was fun. It was a beautiful day out. All in all, a really nice week.
        But, I did come down with some sort of sinus infection. Last night I was convinced it was meningitis, because my neck was rather sore, and I gave myself a panic attack and spent the evening trying not to throw up. Fun stuff. So today I stocked up on chicken noodle soup, veggie broth, and barley soup. I also finally bought a teapot. I bought some tea a while ago, but they weren't single serving bags like I thought, and make an entire potful of tea. So now I can actually make it.
        Hence, right now I'm drinking tea with sugar and milk in, and eating gingerbread cookies, and a white tulip in a green bottle sitting on my windowsill with sunlight and a light breeze coming in. It's very picturesque.

        The tulip is my favorite part. There's a guy who sells flowers out of an alley next to the pub near my school. It's not a scary alley, not one of those dark and drippy ones where you get mugged. It's cheerful and strange, this little space of green and blooms and little terracotta pots, right next to a streetful of angry car horns and urgent police sirens. There was a big crate full of white tulips, and a hand-lettered sign that read "A bunch for One Pound."
        I asked the man how much for only one. When he looked askance at me, I explained that my vase only had room for one flower, and said I'd pay the one pound for only one bloom.
        "Just one tulip?" he asked. I nodded. He walked over to the crate and selected one. When he handed it to me, I tried to give him the money, but he waved it away. I thanked him and he smiled. It made my day.

        This week is reading week, so there are no classes (except my evening writing classes, which I'm okay with). I'm going to catch up on readings, start my essays, sleep, recover, and watch a lot of movies. And, of course, drink absurd amounts of tea.



p.s. Jenna - I saw a lot of secondhand, beat up Penguin classics, and I was tempted to buy one to carry around in my back pocket. But I didn't. Mostly because the ones I saw didn't pique my interest. But ... the next time I find an interesting one, I may just have to succumb. Goodbye mellow England louvin'.