Plank Story: Afternoon Tea

When Matt and I were in Alabama earlier this year we stayed at this cute, intimate bed and breakfast.  One morning during breakfast we chatted with a couple from Scotland about Trump, a recent wedding they had been too and about the Microbiome Diet I was doing.  The B&B owner had been very accommodating, always making sure I had hard boiled eggs and gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free options.    When the woman from Scotland heard about my diet, it reminded her that traditional afternoon tea was making a comeback in the UK.

“Oh,” she said, “if you can’t have dairy, you wouldn’t want to come to afternoon tea.  It’s so dairy laden.”  (Note: If you haven’t started reading this in your best Scottish brogue, start now.  It makes the story better.  Think Mrs. Doubtfire and you’ll pretty much have it down.)  “First, they bring out these little finger sandwiches and they are all lathered in butter.  And then you get scones smothered with crème fraiche.  And now, after that, they offer cream cakes the size of your first.  There is so much food you don’t even need an evening meal.  And it’s not even really about the tea anymore.  Now they bring […]

Plank Story: Afternoon Tea2018-01-13T16:09:28-05:00

Plank Story: Matt’s Birthday Nap

Specter, AlabamaMatt is better at relaxing than I am.  I’m improving though.  This year on his birthday, as always, he got to pick the activities.  So we napped in the living room.  We napped in bed.  And we napped on the deck.  Sadly, this isn’t code for anything else.  We actually just took three names in one day and then went to bed around nine.  When we got in bed he said to me, “This was a great day.  We napped on the couch.  We napped in bed, and we napped on the deck.”  Cheap date.  I’ll remember that next year.

Clearly, we both needed some sleep.  And I know I’ve gotten more chill because once upon a time that kind of day would have killed me.

My plan for Matt’s birthday involved a trip to Specter, Alabama—the faux city from the set of Big Fish.  There he tossed his only pair of shoes up on the line running along the town limits.  We had to drive to JCPenny in stocking feet to go buy a new pair of shoes.

If you’re a Tim Burton, Ewan McGregor or Big Fish fan, check out […]

Plank Story: Matt’s Birthday Nap2017-12-29T20:57:01-05:00
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