Mmm... muffins.


It's amazing what you can do with a bucket of sugar, half a pound of butter and a jug of fresh cream. I'd like to thank Marie for giving me the recipe last Sunday, but unfortunately I'm too fat to reach the phone. Suffice it to say that the cholesterol cupcakes came out of the oven at two-fifteen this afternoon, and by five-thirty there was only one left. And that's gone now too. You can't write a blog post on an empty stomach.

Fortunately, however, Lisa and I did have some help eating them. And I don't mean from Amelie. We actually spent the afternoon at home with our chums S & A (thank God his name's not Michael), which was a bit of a shame because it meant I couldn't get down to Woolworths for some half-price pick 'n' mix.

Anyhoo, what do you get if you cross Johnny Cash with Chris de Burgh?

You get a man in black with a lady in red. And judging by his jeans, he's just been run over by a tractor.

I'm glad they made it here in one piece though, because they brought us a top-of-the-range yule log, and the finest singing cat that money can buy. Sadly we can't work out what the heck it's singing, but that's beside the point. The important thing is that Amelie likes it. Although she's only seen it briefly. I've been playing with it for most of the evening. I feel a bit guilty actually - they showered us with fabulous gifts, and in return I wrapped up a bauble for their cat.

We had a nice afternoon though. It's not every day I get to discuss art, depression, bus fares, well-dressed penguins and the lovelife of my sister, with a Slovakian workmate and a bloke from Canada. We should have friends around more often, before Amelie learns to talk and starts telling people what she thinks of them.

Anyhoo, must dash - the X Factor Final Results are starting, and I've recently learnt that Lisa's brother-in-law's cousin is the step-father of the short one in JLS. So they're practically family. This time next year I could be backstage at one of their gigs. It's the one place I want to be when they start singing.