Rain doesn’t stop this girl from barbecuing

comments 32
Life

Another weekend gone in July and it was yet another ever so slightly damp one here in the UK. Well, where I was. When will it end!? Well for me, 31st of July. I’m off for a week to Portugal to visit my parents with the money they gave me for my birthday! Think it was their plan.

See, Friday I spent the day getting one year older. Yep, it was my birthday. I’m not a big fan of birthdays. They usually let me down and they always make me feel blue. Birthdays remind me that I’m one year older and still yet to do all the things I so wished to have done in my life so far. Nice way to look at birthdays, huh? I did get a couple of cards and the nice monetary gift from my parents. (Which has already been spent.) Also got a nice little surprise on Friday too. My new laptop arrived!

Well, when I say arrived, what I mean is that it was scheduled to be delivered on the Friday and I successfully picked it up from someone’s house on Friday evening. See the clever UPS delivery man decided that the road down the end of my road, was in fact my road. So he delivered my new laptop to someone else’s house. Both roads have the same first part, but one is a Gardens and the other Avenue. For some inane reason, this driver decided that both are the same. After about 4pm I checked the state of my delivery and was surprised to see it had been delivered. Erm, not to my house. After a few hours of calling Dell and UPS I eventually got hold of the laptop. I think this is the second or third time this has happened. Feel like lodging a proper complaint!

Ahhh… getting older and lodging complaints. Those go hand in hand, right?

I have devised one way to feel less blue about getting older though. Every year since I moved into my now house, I’ve had a barbecue for my birthday. Well, initially it was a sort of house-warming. But it’s always been around the time of my birthday. So it’s turned into a birthday barbecue. Saturday was my birthday barbecue.

It’s never a barbecue at my house unless there’s far too much food. Saturday did not disappoint. I made some turkey burgers, pulled pork and salad-y vegetable bits. Alongside that there were sausages, lamb, chicken, potatoes, more salad and even some lobster! Cheers, Steve for that one.

I had a stab at making some Umami turkey burgers and slow cooked pulled pork. Both turned out good. The burgers probably better. Pork needed more cooking to be truly pull-able.

The start of the meat feast

The start of the meat feast that was the birthday BBQ. Some turkey burgers, big bit of lamb and some crackling!

Men and the fire

Men and the fire – they like to be in charge of the fire.

Lobster

It’s a lobster!

It's a cooking...

The lobster gets a good cooking. Mmmmm.

Lobster yum!

Now this is what I call BBQ food. Lobster. Mango. Salad. Amazing!

Too much desert

Following on from too much meat there was too much desert. Who am I kidding? You can never have too much desert! Cupcakes, Eaton Mess, biscuits, cheesecake, ice-cream sandwich!

The rain tried its best to wash the barbecue away. Thankfully, there were only a few light showers and none were enough to kill the BBQ. However, we did have to spend the day huddled indoors.

Thanks to my friends for a very, very lovely day!

My Sunday was a bit of a mess. But, a very patient and kind brother helped get my laptop sorted and by the end of the day I had my spanking new laptop ready to be loaded with software and be used! No longer will I be waiting half an hour after opening Photoshop up to do any work!

It was a weekend that was lacking in any filmage. Oh wait, that’s a lie. Friday night I watched Paranormal Activity 3. I’ve seen it before, but it’s always fun watching it with Tim and seeing him get absolutely terrified.

So that was the weekend, it’s now Monday and I’m counting the hours until I can go home and watch brand new Breaking Bad! This is the most exciting thing to happen in July, not my birthday! To while away the hours, here are some of my favourite links for some Monday reading:

How was everyone else’s weekends?

32 Comments

  1. I spent my weekend watching arrested Development and finally saw the entire season 3 – I was shocked at the big reveal concerning Rita! I also had some friends over which basically meant I was really hangovered the next day.

    Hey, happy birthday! I always feel sad on mine and feel so old, but it’s silly, birthday should be happy so I hope yours was joyful. This post made me very hungry btw ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Ohh Rita! Yes, big reveal. I thought Charlize was great in Arrested Development.

      Thanks for the birthday-ness ๐Ÿ™‚ Glad I’m not the only one who feels a bit glum on their birthday!

  2. Happy birthday!!! I’m not a huge birthday fan either. I feel like I have a birthday curse. I haven’t had a descent birthday in four years. LOL

    I guess the rain is another reason why you should come to Hawaii!!!! I’m just saying….

    Congrats on the new laptop!

    • I can relate. I had a terrible 21st and since then my actual birthday has usually sucked. Ah well!

      Yes, the rain is just among the many reasons I NEED to go to Hawaii. You wait… I’ll end up at your doorstep!

  3. Batteries Bitches!!!

    I so enjoyed the first episode.. seen it now?

    I am pleased the weather didn’t stop your weekend either matey

    • Seen it and loved it! I forgot how much I missed my Breaking Bad. Magnets. Batteries. They’re not letting up on the science!

      Well, we gotta do our best to battle through this bloody weather here, eh Scott?

  4. I very much enjoyed my Zane Donovan Pulled Pork sandwich!! ๐Ÿ˜€

    We always bring too much food but at least this time most of it got used up or taken home!

    • Am hoping next time I do some Zane Donovan sandwiches they’ll be much more pulled!

      Wait.. does that make any normal sense?

      I was surprised at how much got eaten this time. I didn’t have as many left overs and yes, it got taken away. I had the quiche on Sunday for lunch. Filled me right up! Obviously, not all that was left. That would make me a right pig.

  5. Hi Jaina. Happy belated birthday! Glad you had a great BBQ to celebrate. That picture of the plate with the lobster and the mango and the salad just made me mouth water ;). Not sure you’re old enough to get depressed about birthdays. ;). Thanks for the mention, glad you enjoyed the post. I have never seen Paranormal Activity 3 (nor 1or 2 for that matter). We saw Spidey at our brand newly fitted out Everyman on Sunday. Movie heaven.

        • Ahhh… been there with my auto correct feature on my phone!

          Thank you for the birthday wishes ๐Ÿ™‚

          If the picture alone made your mouth water, how would you like to know that it tasted absolutely spectacular? Lobsters + BBQ = best idea in the world.

          Paranormal Activity films are a bit silly. But they have, on occasion, a decent jump. They’re still pumping them out with the 4th one this year.

          Ooo, new Everyman! That must be a joy to go to!

  6. Happy belated birthday Jaina!

    I don’t think you should feel down on your birthday…it’s just another day, and much like fine wine the better the vitage, the better it ages; I like to think I’m most valuable bottle of wine there is ๐Ÿ™‚

    I absolutely LOVE the grill!!!! Now that’s the way to BBQ! Not with these propane tank required grills that the majority use today. I haven’t eaten breakfast yet (and probably won’t), but my mouth is watering at how delicious everything looks!

    Have a great trip, and keep your chin up….”age ain’t nuttin but a number”

    • Thank you Joe! Really, thank you. Your comment has definitely given me a bit of a lift. Age is nuttin’ but a number. Sometimes hard to remember that!

      There is no better way to BBQ than actual charcoal and flames. I’ve never done it any other way and hope to never do it any other way. The food was amazing. Home cooked and straight on the grill. Yum!

  7. Hey, happy belated birthday Jaina! That looks like an AWESOME feast. Now I’m hungry…

  8. I want to be invited to your BBQ! Looks so good. Glad you got your laptop. I’d be on the phone complaining too. Have fun in Portugal!

  9. I had a BBQ in the London SUNSHINE once, it just wasn’t the same.

    Also, apparently, there was a thing on the BBC the other day. They were talking about those portable throwaway BBQs. If, when one is dying out, you put it in your tent. Within 30 minutes you’ll be suffocated. Did you know that?

    If you’re not inside the tent, you’re fine. Like, if you put the little BBQ in the tent while you’re somewhere else, like Nottingham, you’ll get to live. But not forever.

    Happy birthday. Is that a grey hair I see?

    • Thankfully, I didn’t put a portable BBQ in a tent. I don’t own a tent, so no one died! Phew!

      Grey hair? You saw it…. noooo!

  10. Happy belated birthday Jaina! It’s been sooo darn hot ever here nobody even remotely interested in barbequing, ahah. Even a few minutes of rain this morning felt sooo good! I know you guys are so tired of it, ahah, funny we always think the grass is always greener on the other lawn ๐Ÿ˜€

  11. Happy Birthday! That food is making me hungry. I need to stop by here more often – added to my blog feed so hopefully that fixes that. And thanks for the link-love!

    • Thank’s for stopping by, Bubbawheat. And for the birthday wishes!

      I’m hungry just looking back at these photos.

  12. Yeah birthdaysโ€ฆ I know how you feel, I have been told it is best to look at them like they are just another day, one more year gone and no big deal, everyone gets older. It is a nice theory but as the years fall away the creeping horror of approaching thirty is always there, it is like โ€˜T minus 2 years and countingโ€™.

    Well anyway, happy belated Friday the 13th!

    • At the end of every decade, there’s a bomb to count down to. Damn you thirty!

      Fun fact – I was born on a Friday 13th.

  13. I’m so genuinely sorry it’s belated, but a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

    I tend to feel the same way on birthdays, but I admire your way of tackling it. That was one awesome looking BBQ! Admittedly, being a veggie, I haven’t a clue what pulled pork is?! That’s one fiesty looking lobster though ๐Ÿ˜›

    And yay new laptop! You know it’s time to upgrade when Photoshop starts taking forever to load. Been there ๐Ÿ˜‰

    • Aww, don’t be sorry! Thank you for the birthday wishes!

      See, my bbqs always have plenty of vegetables too! Roasted peppers, sweet potato – yum!

      New laptop has been so worth it!

Leave a Reply to BubbawheatCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.