midorigreen

The random thoughts in my head

2012-02-10T21:18:00.001Z

Isn't it just amazing the avenues your mind can wander off down?

I've been having a really busy but great time at work recently but it's very intense. So you might think that if i'm thinking about anything on my daily commute at present it would be the tasks that lie ahead each day.

It would appear my mind has other ideas. This morning I contemplated whether in Gone with the Wind There was any evidence that Rhett actually loved Scarlett. There is a tendency for the reader to think he must because Miss Melly says he does. So I found myself wondering if there was any other evidence in the text and if not why Miss Melly has such influence. Although she's considered a good person her behaviour clearly shows favouritism. I had to remind myself that it was a book and that they weren't real people.

Then my journey home was consumed with the sliding signifiers in the lyrics of Bon Jovi. What exactly is the behaviour that the girl referred to in the You give love a bad name? What is the game she is playing? The lyrics are so vague it's impossible to determine whether the offence is caused by her being a picture of virtue or by being some kind of sexual predator.

Who knows what my mind will throw at me on Monday!

Things I Love Thursday - tea, snow and optimism

2012-02-09T21:24:00.001Z

I've always liked a cup of tea. Best served very hot with no milk or sugar and in a decent sized mug. However it did take me by surprise on Friday night when I opted for tea instead of wine! Maybe I'm turning into a proper adult...
Snow - ok I don't like the uncertainty with snow (will it still be heavy in the morning? Will I be able to get to work?) but a snowfall on Saturday night was just perfect to have an excuse for a Sunday pottering around the house and getting the most out of my thermal underwear.
More layers - I've spent years building up a great winter wardrobe with plenty of garments suitable for layering. The mild winter thus far had mean so many garments were lingering in wardrobe because it just wasn't cold enough for them. Happily the drop in temperature of late means that I can make use of some items I really love wearing. How's that for finding the glass half full?

Other stuff - *buying vegetables from markets *sewing *vegan pizza *routine *face pack Friday *codecademy *Making plans *staying on top

What's in my lunchbox this week? Beans and non setting icing

2012-02-07T20:37:00.001Z

I've been looking at the last bit of Quinoa in the jar for several weeks and thinking it needs using up. So naturally I then had to buy a load of other stuff to go with it!

Clockwise from top right:

Brussels Sprouts - more steamed deliciousness from my favourite vegetable
A vegan chocolate chilli cupcake topped with my icing that refused to set
Inspired by Veganomicon a mix of black beans, quinoa, apple, seasoning and a dressing of raspberry balsamic and olive oil. This is really good. It's a great combination of flavours and textures.
Pear - not too ripe just the way I like 'em

My weekend - the end of sobriety?

2012-02-06T21:18:00.001Z

The quality of this photo isn't great but I like that it has lots of green in it. Additionally my home desk is a place I spent a chunk of the weekend partly because the weather reduced outdoor activities but also because I really wanted to get up to date with the codecademy courses and projects.

This weekend was also my first after sobriety January. I really enjoyed a month of sobriety. My energy levels were consistently good and I felt cheerful. In fact I think it might have been my least blue January ever! And how was my return to the demon drink? Well Friday night I had no urge to have a drink. So I didn't. Saturday I had a glass of wine and felt sleepy so I switched to water. Who knows where things will go from here?

Other weekend fun: walking in the frozen world *buttercream icing that just keep consuming icing sugar and wouldn't set *reading The faith instinct by Nicholas Wade - the concept of religion is fascinating as is this book *facepack Friday *homemade vegan pizza with mushrooms, sweetcorn, cheese, chillies, pineapple and basil leaves *completion of 3 items on my sewing pile *that cool programme about vegetable based food on Radio 4 (plus the heads up from a friend and iPad app that allowed me to listen to it) *mushrooms, tofu and potatoes in miso gravy -mmmm! *bass practice 6 minutes a a time *the joys of long thermals as loungewear *more cupboard clear outs - anyone for some decaying swim hats?

Things I Love Thursday - losing track of time, hand made and hand massage

2012-02-02T21:44:00.001Z

Losing track of time - the battery needs replacing in the clock in the kitchen and dining area. I was about to rush to add it as a task (under 'Household') in Wunderlist when I realised it was actually having a positive effect. Rather than making me rush through things I just took as much time as they required which actually turned out to be much the same as without the clock watching. So I'm thinking I should worry less about the time I have to do things and just do them.

Hand and arm massages - I had on in my local Lush at lunchtime today and it was awesome. I would never have believed that it could be so relaxing. I'm now planning/plotting to go to the Lush spa forth see if their massages are as awesome as the staff reckon (and I've no reason to disbelieve them!).

Hand knitted stuff - my mum knitted me a fabulous sweater dress from a 60s pattern. It's a loose knit, done on huge needles in vaguely punk green and black stripes. It's really warm, really cool and I love knowing that it was knitted just for me.

Other stuff - still loving codecademy * plans to take burlesque a step further *Ginger perfume *leftovers for dinner *getting my car washed *bus journeys *doing stuff a bit at a time

What's in my lunchbox this week? In which I conquer TVP

2012-01-31T20:50:00.001Z

I enjoyed last week's lunch so much I just had to run a repeat on some of the dishes especially the TVP.

Clockwise from top right:

Steamed Brussels Sprouts - my favourite vegetable
Asian style TVP - everyone probably discovered this years ago but it's an amazing new thing for me. I've always had difficulties getting TVP to taste of, well, anything. Following last week's Vegan with a vengeance Chorizo TVP I was inspired. So I mixed up the Asian marinade for tofu from Vegan with a vengeance, added some extra water, threw in the TVP and left it overnight. Then the next day I just stuck the whole lot in a pan and cooked the excess liquid off. Expect to see a lot more of variations on this.
Pear
Rice and lentils
I've also been nibbling on popcorn with ground herbs and salt

My weekend

2012-01-30T22:12:00.001Z

I had an amazing weekend packed with interesting things like the netsuke above.

* lots of coding lessons - loved last week's lessons on codecademy * time with my family * my niece demonstrating what fun chairs are in the way only a small child can * a fab knitted dress from a 60s pattern * a car full of firewood (loading and unloading weren't exactly weekend highlights) * cooking including Gingerbread Apple pie (minus the ginger) and conquering TVP * a visit to the V&A including the netsuke in the top photo,

An exhibition of Annie Lennox costumes and related items (alas none of the costumes photographed well) and a costume from Rhinoceros!

Things I Love Thursday - simplified, yoga in ten and office love

2012-01-26T19:42:00.001Z

Stuff that's making my day at present based on Gala Darling's concept

Words Words Words - I popped along to Selfridges on Oxford Street on my way to London Vegan Drinks last week and discovered they have a fabulous concept store on their ground floor which is where the simplified card above came from. If you're in London to pop along and grab your own card from their fortune telling roller coaster contraption or visit www.itsnicethat.com/wordswordswords

Yoga in the morning - I'm doing a few minutes of yoga every morning inspired by Barbara Currie's book. It's something I've intended to do for years but I've tended to skip days and only do he exercises I like. The variety this forces me to do us great and it's having an impact. When I had acupressure earlier in the week the therapist commented that my back was much looser than usual. Only thing is the book needs to back to the library soon so do ibuy a copy (even though I'm not interested in the diet and beauty bits) or look for an app that will give me a couple of new poses every day?

Office space - I moved into a new office at the end of last week. I'm in the same building but on the second floor instead of the first. I'm loving it! The light levels are great and I'm enjoying the company of the colleagues I'm sharing with.

Other Stuff - Shakeaway (love that they do stuff for vegans although not so enthusiastic about the cost) *trying new recipes *"I'm not brave enough to wear knickers" *strutting in high heels *how to remove a tie *playing bass and coming over all punk *porridge with dates *speedy delivery *sobriety January

What's in my lunchbox this week? Two new recipes

2012-01-24T21:02:00.000Z

I'm so enjoying cooking at the weekends and chatting about food, recipes and blogs at London Vegan Drinks really inspires me to try out new things. If they use up stuff I already have in the house better still.

Clockwise from top right

Cream crackers

Curried carrot dip - from Veganomicon. The only snag with vitamix for things like this is that larger quantities work better in it. That said even thought its not entirely smooth this blend of carrots, sunflower seeds and spices is great. I will definitely make this again. I can see it going with so many things.

Pear

Rice and lentils topped with breakfast veggie chorizo. The chorizo was from Vegan with a vegance and so easy to make. It made top chunks actually taste good and used ingredients I had in the pantry. Another make again.

What I did at the weekend (and at the end of last week)

2012-01-23T21:35:00.001Z

I've had the busiest few days. I've been having much fun and thinking how great life can be but I seem to have been on the go non stop! Hence I missed doing Things I Love Thursday (or Friday, or Saturday or even Sunday).

*I started a new Burlesque class and the routine should find a use for that school tie I bought for a Hen night *moved offices at work - love my new bright, light office with fab colleagues * London Vegan Drinks!!!!

I always have a great time at London Vegan Drinks. The food is always amazing and you get to meet lovely new people. So in the dodgy photo below you can see fab and Mendelian (as they are known on the PPK website) and the lovely Natalie (hope you made your train).

With two late nights out of the way the weekend then arrived and entailed:

* more cupboard clear outs * lots of Bass playing (still working away on Living' on a prayer) and recording stuff for YouTube and last.fm * working to get through the week's codecademy lessons * Sunday brunch * a through application of henna to my hair * getting creative in the kitchen * staying on top of the weeds at my allotment * Work on crazy patchwork *tons of paperwork

So with a wonderful Monday out of the way I'm fully prepared to embrace the rest of the week - bring it on.

What's in my lunchbox this week? Lurking in the pantry

2012-01-17T20:23:00.001Z

Such is my enthusiasm for using up odds and ends of food stuffs that I now have a basket in the pantry to put them in. Thus whatever I'm cooking I'll have a look to see what 'extra' I might be able to shove in. So here's what I've cobbled together this week.

Clockwise from top right:

Dried figs and dates - mmm

Pearl barley - amazed that I don't cook this more often. It's easy to cook, goes with loads of things and tastes good. Plus it makes me think of sugar puffs!

Steamed spinach. I've teamed this up with a ginger/miso/soy dressing from The Garden of Vegan.

Chocolate chilli cupcakes - I had a bag of mixed chillies and grated chocolate so I just stirred loads into the cake batter. I did plan to make icing but on discovering that I was out of icing sugar I cut out circles from a block of royal icing that was lurking in the pantry. These are seriously sweet- I can feel the sugar hit my system after eating one

My weekend - changing the world one shelf at a time

2012-01-16T21:52:00.001Z

Before - what was my obsession with Clinique boxes?

After - a slimmed down shelf but I bet there's more here to ditch!

I had a real clear out thing going on over the weekend. I'd been rearranging a shelf and then wonder why I was even keeping the stuff I was rearranging. So a busy weekend even if things didn't turn out quite the way I expected. You live and learn.

*made chilli chocolate cupcakes* put a Supernatural poster* did a lovely 8km walk in the fresh, cold air*watched Sherlock and speculated on how he survived* caught up with various bank statements* worked on codecademy lessons* played Angry Birds* spent a morning weeding and digging my allotment * finished Case studies by Kate Atkinson - loved the ending - so happy, so unexpected, so right* worked on learning the main riff from Living' on a prayer - I've still got a long way to go* watched The King's Speech and enjoyed it Erne than I expected* finished knitting a dishcloth I started about 5 years a go - something else that needs some practice*cleared out various cupboards but there always seem to be more to do

My weekends currently leave me ready to face the week ahead and ready for another weekend of shelf clearing

Things I Love Thursday - being busy, haircuts and codecademy

2012-01-12T21:16:00.001Z

Inspired by Gala Darling's Things I Love Thursday here is what is making my life great at present.

Being busy - I'm always moaning about how much I have to do and that I'm always busy but I'm coming around to the idea that actually I like being busy and that it makes me happy. I love being productive, creating things and ticking jobs off lists. So I'm mega busy as ever but feeling good with it!

Shorter hair - I had a haircut today and as ever am amazed that I lasted as many years as I do with long hair. Plus I can never work out how I manage to go without a haircut for so long. It's like the long hair creeps up on me!

Codecademy - I spotted something about a coding course on Twitter so I popped over to codecademy to sign up. So far so good and it's giving my brain a workout in the evenings. Head over there and have a look for yourself

Other stuff - The kindness of strangers, daily yoga practice, sobriety January, sewing on Saturdays, Sherlock.

My weekend

2012-01-09T21:05:00.001Z

I had a great weekend. I got loads done and by Sunday evening I felt fresh and ready for the week ahead.

Stuff I did

* sorted out my filing system all ready for 2012* put a zip in a dress and did some work on a couple of little bags* further to above discovered that although my sewing machine is awesome it doesn't t actually thread itself and unsurprisingly don't work well when it's not threaded right* went for a walk* visited my allotment to do some digging and to try out my new apple green wellies and fleece boot socks. Returned with a bag of potatoes and spinach* had Sunday brunch with the Sunday papers* prepared lovely food to enjoy*Painted my toenails in a variety of shades of green* various bits of cleaning involving vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and the impressive No more chemicals cloth I have recently acquired. Amazed by how much gunk it removed from my desk!

Next weekend I've got plans to restring my bass, reorganise a couple of shelves and dress like a rock star

What's in my lunchbox this week? - just a little time

2012-01-09T20:13:00.001Z

Cooking inspiration is kicking in once again and an hour in the kitchen on Sunday pays off.

Clockwise from top right:

Steamed setian and Branson pickle. I used the dregs of a bottle of BBQ sauce to flavour the setian and think it could have done with a bit more oomph. The experiments with steaming the stuff will continue.

Boiled rice

Gingerbread Apple Pie from VWAV and a square of ginger chocolate. This recipe always turns out great.

Steamed Brussels Sprouts and red pepper hummus. I can't believe I've only really started combining these in the last six months or so.

Things I Love Thursday - unexpected gems, pjs and tiny details

2012-01-05T20:59:00.000Z

Things that are making my day in the first week of 2012

Unexpected lunchtime joy - In the summer months there are a variety of parks I like to have lunch in. One is attached to a museum and despite entry being free I never venture through the doors. Today I did and it was great. There was so much more than I expected that I'll be making return visits all year to take in the details. Being a Thursday lunchtime in term time the place was empty. I was taken by surprise by the art collection and by other gems. Imagine stumbling across an entire room of 18th century glassware on a rainy lunchtime in January.

Wearing pjs - although I don't tend to wear a suit to work (spare me from having to iron shirts) I do tend to get changed when I get in. This week I've taken it a step beyond jeans to put my pjs on unless it's band practice. The way I see it I'd happily answer the door with a wine glass in hand so why not 'lounge pants' and fluffy slipper boots!

Spotting the tiny details that make houses individual -the front hedge trimmed into the shape of the door number, various wind chimes, different paths, fences and front doors.

Other stuff - sober January, Turkish delight, routine, yoga in the morning, wonderful neighbours with a zen atmosphere surrounding them.

My master plan for 2012

2012-01-04T21:45:00.000Z

If my blog had a soundtrack there would be an evil cackle right now as I lure you into reading yet another photo free post where I set out yet another philosophy to live by. However philosophies for life have to change on a pretty regular basis because change is the only constant.
So my big ideas for at least the first few months of 2012 are as follows.

1. Accept that routine is a good thing that it frees the mind to get creative and ensures food is prepared, clothes are washed and that bills are paid. Also accept at I would be unlikely to be doing anything more exciting most of the time anyway.

2. Declutter one space in the house every week. Go for low standards on this and consider that even a single item counts as a declutter activity.

3. Sew something every Saturday. The same low standards apply but keep reminding self how nice it would be to clear my fabric stash.

4. Eat main meal at lunchtime on Sunday and embrace vegan brunch type dishes.

5. Spend an hour on Sunday preparing food for the coming week. Try to include a carb, a protein, a vegetable, a sauce or dip, a snack and a dessert.

6. Behave one weekend a quarter as if I am ill e.g. Do nothing, avoid alcohol, sleep, eat easy food and generally recharge my batteries.

That's it. Let's see how things pan out. Stay tuned.

That was the year that was - 2011 review

2012-01-02T13:21:00.003Z

Here are my highlights from 2011. I must try to include illustration for the 2012 review!

January – Has an alcohol free month with two exceptions and one major hangover. Visited the Future beauty: 30 years of Japanese Fashion exhibition.

February – Saw MCR in concert. Passed my driving test (after 19 years). Celebrated my unbirthday at a Beer festival.

March – Dressed up 60s style for my parent’s joint birthday party. Went to Yoshi Yamamoto exhibition at V&A. Bought my first car and terrified myself driving all over the place.

April – Went to Paris for the first time. Loved it. Went skiing for the first time. Hate is a strong word but… Had my first passenger in my car. Watched the royal wedding while wearing a Tinkerbell tiara.

May – Went to the Japan at Home exhibition. Got inspired by heatwave to change wardrobe over early. Walked a dog for the first time in my life.

June – Drove to Somerset and discovered that you can’t drive up really big hills in fifth gear. Stayed in an Easy Hotel. Dyed clothes green. Took part in belly dancing show.

July – Got stuck in massive traffic jam on M25. Celebrated my niece’s birthday with fairy lemonade. Drove around the countryside tracking down weights for a sash window.

August – Tried Zumba – energetic fun. Went to V Festival – loved Manic Street Preachers, You Me at Six and Good Charlotte. Enjoyed Judith Kerr exhibition at V&A childhood museum and bought my own copy of The tiger who came for tea. Hung out with my sister and grandparents for the day (and acquired a new green handbag). Spent a day recording with my band. Planned a fabulous west to East coast American road trip for 2014.

September – tried Burlesque and loved it. Dressed as Lara Croft for a fancy dress party and hung out with Hunter S. Thompson, Indiana Jones and a number of fairy tale princesses. Went to London Vegan drinks, met some amazing people and felt inspired.

October - a second night of Vegan London drinks and ate at Tibits – mmm! Went on Jack the Ripper walk. Joined a burlesque class and went to ‘an evening of Burlesque’. Enjoyed an afternoon of pumpkin carving and cider tasting.

November – Introduced my niece to fireworks (she was less than impressed). Discovered that one should always check the trains for engineering works before venturing into London. Went to the third London Vegan drinks and had even more awesome vegan food. Made a skirt for a friend so that she could go to a party dressed as Jessica Rabbit (she did and looked so glam). Made steamed Setian. Went to Hogswatch in Wincanton and had a jolly time with friends and family.

December - Went to the Christmas without Cruelty fayre and enjoyed sampling various foods including cupcakes. Went to Westfield with my sister for a day of Christmas shopping. Hosted our 7th New Year party with 10 guests. My song of the year was Sure feels right by Sixx a.m. got to bed at 4.31 ready to begin an awesome 2012.

Things I Love Thursday - spa day

2011-12-29T19:37:00.000Z

In addition the the joy of Christmas and the luxury of a week off work to indulge in sewing, reading, sleeping and eating today I got an extra blast of relaxation.

I spent the day at a spa with 3 friends. The day started early as I went to pick one of them up so we could all go in one car. However after a few days break from driving it was really nice to get in my car and have the roads pretty much to myself. The day involved a facial, swimming pools, an aromatherapy room, and snoozing on poolside. I was so relaxed I fell asleep in the car on the way (no need to panc folks - I wasn't driving).

Mimi and I then shared a pot of tea and toast in my kitchen before she got the bus home and I got back online.

Other stuff I'm delighted with:
Good reads, cups of tea, hummus, sleeping late, making plans for 2012, long socks.

The three books in your life

2011-12-26T15:14:00.001Z

They say there are always three books in your life; the one you've just read, throne you're reading, and the one you will read next.

So here are my three for Boxing Day 2012. The Murder Room was a fascinating read bringing together science, art and psychology. I did find the timescale used difficult and was surprised when the three men the book focused on we're suddenly identified as being in their 70s. Maybe it just represented how life goes by without us realising.

A friend recommended Ten minutes in the morning to me. I'm not bothered about the diet but I like the idea of having suggested Yoga exercises for each day. I do have a tendency to do the poses I like best or find easiest. I'm hoping it will be really good for my achy muscles.

And finally I am about to start World without end. I first read The Pillars of the Earth as a teen and look forward to seeing how things have changed in Kingsbridge. Plus a doorstep of a book like this is just the thing for Christmas break.

What's in my lunchbox this week? - bonfire leftovers

2011-11-08T20:33:00.000Z

Saturday night we introduced my niece to the dubious delights of fireworks. My sister prepared loads of food including vegan friendly baked butter beans, jacket potatoes and corn on the cob. I bought along a pot of vegan coleslaw and my mother made vegan chocolate cake. There's no cake in this post because I ate it way before it had a chance to make it to the lunch box.

Clockwise from top right:

Baked butter beans - made by my sister. I love these. They are very garlicky and very good.

Watercress, sweetcorn and seitan - I had to put my latest purchase of vital gluten flour to work. I really wanted to steam it but lost my nerve and went for boiling. Maybe next time.

Gingerbread Apple pie - With no ginger (again) and the addition of raspberries. A great way of putting to use the windfall apples I collected while out walking.

Coleslaw - Not sure what I did with the recipe but it had a slight sour cream taste to it. Making me crave a jacket potato though!

What's in my lunchbox this week? The importance of being idle

2011-11-01T20:25:00.000Z

I don't very often have sandwiches for lunch. I don't find them very filling. Plus my mother spoilt me by making me amazingly varied packed lunches during my school days. So consequently sandwiches are what I fall back on when I'm too lazy to even put together a selection of crackers, spreads and veggies for lunch.

The filling is red pepper hummus, cucumber, carrot, roasted aubergine and roasted tomatoes. It was good but some pickles, chillies and olives would have made it amazing.

Phrase of the week - just vegan

2011-10-26T22:24:00.000+01:00

I gave a friend a lift tonight and she made me dinner. It was delicious. As we chatted about food and what she has feed guests with various dietary requirements I apologised for any trouble my lifestyle choice might have out her to. "Oh," she said, "you're not difficult - you're just vegan."

As good a reason as any for not apologising for my choices.

Sent from my iPhone

What's in my lunchbox this week? Farewell to the greengrocer

2011-10-25T20:41:00.000+01:00

I am heart broken. The fruit and vegetable stall in the town I live in has closed for the foreseeable future. A visit was part of my Saturday morning routine. Happily I can still visit the one in the town I work in and it will mean I have to leave my desk one lunchtime a week. And I was able to stock up for this week when I stumbled across a tiny health food shop on my way to a craft fair.

Clockwise from top right:

Cucumber -mmm

Tortilla chips

Refried beans - this is a freezer special a mix of Pinto beans and frozen spicy tomato soup.

Apple - I love how white and crisp looking the flesh is when I cut into these

It means what it means

2011-10-24T20:46:00.001+01:00

I understand (from reading an interview with Lee Child in the Times a few weeks back) that Hollywood was a bit concerned about making any of the Reacher books into films because Reacher doesn’t change. The whole point of Reacher as a character is that he stays exactly the same. Yes, the reader might discover a little more about him but that doesn't change him in any way. Hollywood meanwhile is obsessed with the character arc and how everyone is a better person at the end of the story.

This made me think about Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas has some interesting ideas about the storyless story. So in these there is no problem to be solved or obstacle to be overcome. Something happens, no matter how insignificant and that is enough to make it into a story.

Our Tragic Universe isn’t an entirely storyless novel but it edges in that direction. There is no big ending where everything is wrapped up. The characters do develop but there are also indicators within the novel that the development is on-going and that it isn’t always for the better.

I’ve also just recalled the definition of theatre that Peter Brook offers in his book The Empty Space. If memory serves me correctly he talks about anyone walking across a space while someone else is watching to be theatre. So no need for a complicated plot or character development.

Now this got me thinking about blogs and the urge to find meaning in small things and explain via a blog entry how this realisation made the blogger a better person.

I’ve done it myself. I’ve over explained the simple. I’ve read layers of meaning into the every day. While I’m all for taking inspiration where you can, living in the moment and embracing the mundane maybe it’s time to let things be when I blog about them. Just note what I’ve done/seen/been thinking about. Comment that it’s cool/shocking/amusing. Leave it be.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

What's in my lunchbox this week? - My cooking mojo takes a holiday

2011-10-18T20:56:00.000+01:00

Sometimes it seems that my cooking mojo just packs its bags and leaves for the weekend. I spill ingredients everywhere, over cook things and even when I follow the recipe things just don't turn out right. Happily my interest in experimentation hasn't vanished so I was able to make over my mistakes and end up with something slightly more than just edible.

Clockwise from top right:

Autumn trifle - I decided to make Zucchini bread from one of the Sarah Kramer books and somehow it went straight from bread to bread pudding. Rather unfortunate as I was going to take it share at a pumpkin carving party the next day. So I sliced a banana in and made some soya milk custard (which boiled over in the microwave) and came up with this take on trifle. It's actually rather good.

Cucumber - the fruit and veg stall I go to on Saturday morning's was closed this week so I picked up a few bits in the Coop instead including a cucumber that wasn't encased in plastic.

Chestnut stew - I bought chestnuts a few weeks a go and totally forgot to cook them. So this weekend I decided to roast them but cooked them for too long. They weren't quite rock hard but... Happily I'd read A Vegan Obsession's post about Chestnut Hotpot so I threw the chestnuts in with onions, garlic, carrots and stock. It came out yummy and the chestnuts softened up.

Snow peas - another Coop buy - I'm a sucker for the reduced section although I've gotten better!

Things I Love Thursday - Radio 4, Family and stretching

2011-10-13T20:46:00.000+01:00

So what's been awesome in my life recently? Well despite the sad library related news I've still found plenty of good things in life

Radio 4 - The radio in my car recently got tuned to Radio 4 and I'm now wondering why I've never taken this action before. I listen to Today before leaving the house in the morning and now I can continue to listen all the way to work. What I love is the intelligent presentation and the variety in programming. So last night coming home late from a Burlesque class I was able to enjoy a talk on how cultural perceptions of alcohol affect our response to it while earlier in the week I discovered the fascinating topic of LA street food and this afternoon it was nursing as a graduate profession.

Family - Between living at far flung corners of the planet and leading really full lives I often don't seem to see my family for ages. This weekend was a real treat as I had a highly enjoyable phone conversation with my mum and then got to spend the evening in the company of my niece and her parents (my sister and almost brother-in-law). I won't bore on with the proud auntie stuff but ... Now I just need a good chat with my Dad to round things off.

Stretching - I can see why cats stretch with such pleasure. When your muscles ache there is nothing like stretching them out. Now if someone can just invent a desk I can work at lying down...

Other stuff - Travallier mins, produire plus, lots of water, cashew cheese, time out just to breathe, Pinterest, cups of tea, being thrifty, having a plan, early nights, empty moonlit roads.

Phrase of the week - it hurts

2011-10-12T16:55:00.002+01:00

Ok it's not the wittiest or most exciting post title ever but it's true. That's got to count for something.

It seems like I've always had achy shoulders and back. How much might have varied on how tense and tired I was but I tended to figure it was just my 'default' setting. That and sore throats to go with everything. I thoguht myself lucky that at elst I wasn't the kind of person who vomited at everything.

Then back in 2002 I took up yoga. It was awesome. I loved the class, thoguht the teacher was amazing and my shoulders stopped aching all the time. In fact once I'd got into the swing of yoga if I felt my shoulders tensing up I'd make a concious effort to relax them.

But then things began to change. The classs stopped running. I switched to another near work and took up Pilates. Then the yoga class closed and I was working on the other side of town. I tried to get to classes but things kept cropping up.

Not a problem, I told myself. I will still have regular accupressure or masaage. I can just do yoga at home. Yep, I said, 10 minutes before bed will be perfect. I can stretch during the day too, I thought and set an hour alarm on my PC.

Alas I have been tumbling down a slippery slope. I'm inconsistent. I stretch some days and not others. I tend to do exercises that I like rather than a good all round selection. I've put off joining a new class on the grounds that I'm busy at work and don't want any more evening taken up.

All of which has put where I am now. The therapist delivering my accupressure on Monday commented on how sore and tense my muscles were. So I need to look for a way of ensuring that I get the relaxation I need. Although there is lots to be said for doing yoga or pilates at home I think I really need a class. An hour or so of focusing on stretching my muscles will be a physical and mental break from everything else in my life. Plus if I commit to doing it at lunchtime it will force me to take a lunch break, get away from my desk and out of the building. I manged to do a driving elsson in lunch hour every week for a yearso there is no reason I can't do it for something else.

So I've added to my Wunderlist to find a lunchtime class within the next 2 weeks. Life's hard enough without taking the small steps I can to make it easier.

What's in my lunch box this week? Leftovers rule

2011-10-11T20:00:00.000+01:00

I really do think my favourite meals are the ones thrown together from the leftovers in the fridge. Which means that the time I spend trying to cook efficiently and buy only the ingredients I actually need results in me doing myself out of more opportunities to browse a variety of part consumed goodies. This weekend we were entertaining my niece and her parents. In the past we would have done something around a big main dish and then I would have gotten all worried about the side dishes. In the last year we've moved more towards a tapas/meze type arrangement. This ensures that all of our guests (whatever their tastes, allergies and preferences) can enjoy a number of different tastes plus I get to indulge in the leftovers.

Plus I played a bit less fast and loose with the recipes so my mayonnaise thickened because I added lemon juice, my tofu marinade has a tangy flavour and my cake wasn't chewy.

The big success which I haven't shown here because there wasn't enough left was cashew cheese. I took the trouble to make it properly without any variations and my sister took the trouble to eat it with great enthusiasm and ask for the recipe. I will be directing her to Lunch box bunch.

Clockwise form top right:

Potato salad with home made vegan mayonnaise, spring onions and gherkins

Falafels and olives

Home grown lettuce and italian tofu (from Vwav)

Plum, apple and pear cake - delicious - a bit like bakewell tart

There really is nothing like a good lunch to ensure a great afternoon!

Things I Love Thursday - working life, dancing queen and other vegans

2011-10-06T21:17:00.001+01:00

Wow the week has just flown past and I can't believe that Thursday has come around so quickly. My life is so busy at present and it's full of the most brilliant things

I love my job - When so many people are thankful just to have a job job I'm totally blessed to have a job I love, working with amazing colleagues and without a long commute into London each day. Yes I do long days. Yes sometimes I get frustrated or frightened or disheartened by my work. Yes I'm often tired. But I believe in what I'm doing. I'm challenged by what I'm doing. And to think that when I that I didn't even plan to end up doing this!

Dancing - I went to a Burlesque class last night and it was fun and it stretched some muscles that clearly haven't been stretched for a while. Plus I have a good friend doing the same class and got to wear one of my vintage petticoats. What's not to like?

Meeting other vegans - Last week after complaining that I didn't know any other vegan I discovered that a girl who worked in an office down the corridor was vegan. Alas I only found this out while signing her 'sorry you're leaving card'. Happily I got another change to meet a load more vegans at London Vegan Drinks. I had such a good time. I didn't actually talk to masses of people because I was having such a great time with the first people I started talking to. I only managed one drink and totally failed to eat because there was so much to discuss - language, open university curse, travel, pesto, posh places in Essex. I'll just have to make sure I attend the next one. I seriously don't think I've been to something that made me feel quite so excited about life and all its possibilities in quite some time.

Other stuff - doughnuts, reading outside on hot days, fresh bed linen, planning 90% of my Christmas shopping, time at my sewing machine, relaxation, cold vegan pizza for lunch.

What's in my lunchbox this week? - you've got to start somewhere

2011-10-04T19:20:00.000+01:00

I honestly started off with recipes that I had every intention of following fairly closely. But then I just felt the need to improvise with slightly mixed results. Oh well you've just got to give things a try...

Clockwise from top right:

Apple, pear, rhubarb and raspberry crumble - fruit is either allotment grown or windfalls. This should have been very similar to the one I made a few weeks ago but it's not. Unfortunately I tend to just make up my crumbles as I go along. this works fine when I'm making them on a regular basis as I can recall that adding nutmeg or sugar is nice. This is ok but I think a little more sugar and spice would have made it really good.

Raw carrot

Cashew and walnut cheese - I love the cashew cheese recipe that I got from Kathy at Lunchboxbunch. However I find myself unable to resist trying different things with it. Maybe one day I'll even have the patience to strain it. This time I couldn't resist soaking some walnuts along with the cashews resulting in a rather dark coloured cheese. Although as my previous version was green due to the addition of some spinach I guess I can't grumble. It tastes good but I think I prefer the cashew only version - unless I can find a way to do stripes!

Cream crackers - although I have since discovered this spread tastes amazing on dark rye Rivita

Courgette Fritters - these were based on the Greek style tomato zuchinni fritters in Veganomicon but by the time I'd skipped the tomatoes, doubled the courgette and done a bit of trading with the herbs they were heading for unrecognisable. These are good but breadcrumbs are a much tastier coating when mixed with a little seasoning prior to coating. A spot of sweet chilli sauce works well with them.

Plums

Things I Love Thursday - good health, a stitch in time and London vegan drinks

2011-09-22T21:28:00.001+01:00

It's that time of the week again. Time to carry on with what Gala Darling started and be thankful for all the good stuff that's in my world. I am, of course, capable of being grateful by myself but a little inspiration never went amiss.

First up has to be my health. After last week's cold I'm so happy to be feeling myself again. It's so true that you don't miss what you had until it's gone so I'm making an extra effort not to put to much strain on my body and to be good it. I've clearly been doing soemthing right as during a check up the other day I discovered that not only is my blood pressure about the best it's ever been but apparently I've lost a stone since last December. I did my clothes were getting a bit loose, however I think this is the result of swapping cups of tea for glasses of wine on a regular basis giving me a clearer head, more energy and less drunken junk food nibbling. Let's here it for tea and health.

I usually like to set aside Saturday afternoon's to indulge in a spot of sewing but mine have all been so busy of late. However the urge to get some stuff moving through my sewing pile just wouldn't shift. Happily I've discovered that if I do a tiny bit of preparation in advance and leave the sewing machine out and threaded that I can easily manage 20 minutes when I get home from work. I've just got squeeze all the clothes I've altered or repaired back in my wardrobe now.

Thirdly I've very excited at the London Vegan Drinks meet up taking place next Thursday. I don't think anyone else I know is a vegan and I've been thinking it would be cool to meet some people who share my lifestyle choices. Plus Tibits is on my list of places I want to visit (but am unlikely to).

Other stuff - tea made in a proper tea pot, the heating going on at work, weekend plans, unbroken nights, making music, @markdavidson, 93 days to Christmas, wonderful friends.

Phrase of the week - You look terrible

2011-09-21T21:10:00.001+01:00

Last week I was hit by a hideous cold. Everything ached. I was exhausted yet either couldn't sleep or dozed my way through the kind of dreams only a fever can bring on. My colleagues, when they weren't telling me that I looked really awful, compared me to a zombie. Apparently it was something about my glazed eyes...

The only bright spots were that (a) I didn't have a blocked or runny nose - such are the perks of a vegan diet and that (b) I couldn't do anything but the basics.

In a strange kind of way not being able to do more than the bare minimum necessary was very liberating. Usually I've got dozens of things I'm trying to keep track of, keep on top of and stay ahead of in all spheres of my life. Plus it's not enough for me to simply pay these things lip service I've got to make a really super special amazing job of everything to meet my own high standards.

Last week I was forced to reconsider my standards. I had to accept that dinner might be on the uninspired side. That my outfits wouldn't be perfectly planned. That I wasn't going to manage to do any of the stuff I had scheduled on Wunderlist. That I wouldn't be playing bass for an hour each day. That clothes weren't going to get put away. That emails and phone calls likely wouldn't be returned. That I wasn't going to start planning Christmas or make decisions about my pension.

And the world didn't end as a result of me not doing stuff. Our weekend house might not of had their visit planned down to the pre dinner snacks but they had somewhere to sleep and didn't starve. So while I clearly don't want to spend every night lounging on the sofa after a dinner of ready salted crisps I need to remember that sometimes it doesn't hurt to take a break. Everything that I'm picking up again this week feels fresher for the time away. I suppose this is why people take holidays. It's not the break from routine, it's the break from the person that the routine makes you.

What's in my lunchbox this week? Harvest festival

2011-09-20T10:17:00.000+01:00

It must be the best time of year for good fresh food. My fridge is packed and I can't fit anything else in the freezer. I can really understand why our ancestors celebrated Harvest. Afteral lthey really were going to be eating half frozen cabbages for the next 6 months or so.

Clockwise from top right:

Victoria plum and slices of cucumber

Apple, pear and raspberry crumble - the raspberries made this awesome and the rest of the fruit were windfalls gathered on my travels

Green salad - various lettuces from my allotment mixed with a few basil leaves from the pot on the windowsill

Daddy Mac - delicious vegan macaroni cheese type dish inspired by Veganomicon

Things I Love Thursday - burlesque, delicious stuff to eat and crazy websites

2011-09-08T19:40:00.000+01:00

Currently on my 'isn't life great' list are:
Burlesque - I enjoyed the class so much at the weekend that I've just signed up for a 5 week course
Delicious stuff to eat - cakes that aren't made with bread flour, chilled plums, loads of fresh (and sometimes home grown vegetables), soya milk porridge for breakfast and the occasional bag of McCoys ready salted crisps (it's the crinkle cut that does it).
Crazy websites - currently floating my boat are betterbooktitles.com -a site that suggests alternative and often more accurate titles for well known books - and bonkerworld.net - picked this one up from Seth Godin's email it features some very funny, accurate and thought provoking cartoons (although that just doesn't do it's scope justice).
Other stuff - cups of tea, bass playing, online stuff, real life stuff, meeting up with friends, being busy, sleeping well, funny autobiographies (who would have Richard Branson's would be so amusing?), keeping warm on cold nights.

Phrase of the week - I quit my City job to become a posh stripper

2011-09-07T20:16:00.000+01:00

I quit my City job to become a posh stripper

On Sunday I went to a burlesque class with the fabulous Bettsie Bon Bon who informed us that she had done just that. I'm not about to do the same. For starters I already do my dream job.

But Bettsie was inspiring and a reminder that to get to what you want you have to put in the effort.That hard work, patience and determination will get you there. Plus that your dream probably won't be as glamorous as you imagine it to be.

So, is there a vegan alternative to the feather boa?

What's in my lunch box this week? Inspired by Hugh

2011-09-06T08:15:00.000+01:00

Hugh F-W's article in the Guardian Weekend magazine a week or two back was just amazing. Recipes that used vegetables but didn't drown them in cheese AND was enthusiastic about beans and pulses.

From left:

Potatoes, aubergines and chickpeas roasted with Harrisa paste and a nice helping of Runner beans gently steamed (got to work through that glut)
Plums - I adore these. They are a great combination of sweet and sour.
Salad of lettuce, spinach and basil (all home grown)
Leftovers cake - an interesting mix of some kind of sweet powdered tea drink and past their best dried fruits soaked overnight. Plus I did not use strong flour for this so for one I have cake that is light rather then chewy!

Things I Love Thursday

2011-08-25T11:56:00.003+01:00

Green sparkly shoes - they give everything I wear them with a little edge! Plus I never realised before thta my office carpet is actually green

Making plans - Maybe it's the idea of autumn (the old 'new school year' feeling), or all the blogs I've been reading about making lists, planning and getting organised. Or perhaps its just the joy of wunderlist.com and the sense of control and feeling of relaxation that adding everything you think of to a list. Anyway I'm feeling happy and anticipating the future with a calm glee.

Scrambled tofu - I used to make this all the time and then fell out of the habit. then Dear Heart made it for me a couple of times which has not only gotten me back into the habit but I'm adding loads of veggies to it. So it tastes good, contributes to 5 a day and uses up my courgette glut.

Staying on top of my job list (and not worrying about what's on it tomorrow), live bands, Catching up with friends and relatives, picking sloe berries to make sloe gin, friends who actually know what a sloe looks like, getting inspired about being thrifty (rather than frugal), tea made in a pot.

Phrase of the week

2011-08-24T20:48:00.000+01:00

I never buy much these days

Doesn't everyone say this? You spend your lunch hour wandering around the shops telling yourself that you have no intention of buying anything. You're just staying in the loop and keeping yourself aware of what's on offer. After all you wouldn't want to miss out on that perfect item that you've been looking for forever and that is going to make the rest of your wardrobe work. If you could just find it you'd never have to shop again. And what if there's an amazing not to missed sale on somewhere? Plus, you reason to yourself, Christmas is coming up as are a couple of birthdays. You can never get organised for those too early. Anyway I'm not actually going to buy anything - once I've tried it on I won't want it...

I thought I was doing pretty well on the not buying front. I bought stuff second hand. I shopped my wardrobe. I refashioned. In fact I was justifying to myself just this morning that I'd bought practically nothing this summer. So I was entitled to the two pairs of green sequin shoes from eBay. Oh and the white sandals and the pink ballet pumps. Well, four pairs of shoes over 6 months isn't too bad, I thought, after all I haven't been buying clothes. If you don't count the two black skirts, biker style leggings and white dress (now dyed green). But they were all charity shops finds so they don't count unlike the green trousers, black and grey stripped socks and black cotton tights...

Just like being on a diet it's easy to start slipping . You make an exception here and another there and before you know it it's turned into a habit. So I'm thinking that I need to nip this habit in at the bud. A quick search on the Internet turned up The Great American Apparel Diet and a whole range of blogs about making your wardrobe work for you and the financial benefits. I'm quite taken with fabulouslybroke.com but there are quit enough variations on the theme for me to spend whole lunch hours surfing, not shopping.

I've spent a lot of time putting my wardrobe together. I have some items that I enjoy wearing. I'd like to do them justice by actually wearing them. I'd like to spend my lunch hours enjoying my food, losing myself in a book or solving Sudoku. Not running frantically from one store to another just in case I miss something.

So I'm thinking that I'll commit to not buying any new clothes for the rest of 2011. Plus I'm going to limit any lunchtime wanders around retail units to once a week and that includes visits to Lush for soap, the market for vegetables, and the oriental grocer for tofu. Let's see how I get on.

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2011-08-23T20:52:00.002+01:00

Here it is - the post V festival lunch box. This lunch box is also a reminder of why you should never food shop when you are hungry (I just popped into the Coop for some odds and ends on my way home from the hairdressers and ended up going home loaded down with food).

Clockwise from top right:

Celery

Mango chutney - Yes, it's an Indian takeaway leftover. Yes, I am on a clear out the fridge kick.

Pakoras, samosas and bhajis from an Indian snack pack

Home grown runner beans lightly steamed and served with a dab of vegan margarine

What's in my lunch box this week?

2011-08-15T18:37:00.001+01:00

This week's lunch box is the green and gold edition!

Clockwise from top right:

Corn on the cob

Cucumber

home grown runner beans lightly steamed

Mini refried bean tacos (from M&S and much reduced - I find it hard to resist food in the reduced section) on a bed of home grown lettuce

Plum and peach cake

Things I Love Thursday

2011-08-11T18:30:00.003+01:00

Essex Police - for making good use of Twitter to reassure communities during the recent riots

Sudoku - Once again I'm drawn to this fendish puzzle. I've been trying variations but nothing beats the classic.

Driving - My car was in the garage on Monday and I actually missed driving. Still good to take the bus for a change. Routine kills creative thought.

Other stuff - trying new things (Zumba), doing stuff I've put off (finally making a will), Cashew cheese, sleep, allotment produce (yeah I grew it myself), keeping busy, Lego, Scarlett Thomas novels.

Phrase of the week

2011-08-09T20:58:00.005+01:00

We must plan a menu

This seems to be muttered about every two minutes in the midorigreen household which makes the fact that I haven't gotten around to actually taking any action on it a disgrace.

I used to plan a menu every week. If I had a few spare minutes I'd start planning out what we might eat over the next few days, what we had that needed using up and look up new recipes to try. I got quite efficient over time coming up with solutions to using up various ingredients. I'd often make a dish that could be eaten over two days in two different ways or where leftovers could form the base of a new dish.

However I've fallen out of the menu habit for a whole number of reasons. Pressures of work, the differences between my diet (vegan) and Dear Heart's (non-vegan), changing ideas about portion sizes and what equals a meal. There's been the question of who's doing the cooking and when.

However the time has come again to start menu planning on a regular basis. Apart from anything else the glut of courgettes, beans and leafy things from the allotment need dealing with before they take over the kitchen. Clearly I'm not the only person to think about this. Mimi at Little Sips of tea has been talking how she stopped menu planning and why she wants to start again.

With our busy lives including long working days and evening commitments it's clear that a few moments of thought about what to eat could make life run just a bit more smoothly. I just need to dig out the mini blackboard and start writing up my plans. When I've got a spare minute that is.

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2011-08-09T12:29:00.002+01:00

I'm thinking seriously (once again) about how I eat, what I eat and when I eat. Currently I eat breakfast about 6.30 am. This means that if I wait until 12.30pm to eat my lunch I am very hungry and likely to snack if the opportunity presents itself. Then I get hungry mid afternoon. So I'm trying to spread my food out over the course of my working day and to pack more of it. This could do with a few more veggies but I'm sure I'll get the balance right in time.

Clockwise from bottom left in black/red containers:

Rye crackers and a plum

Apple and blackberry cake loosely based on a recipe from Vegan with a Vengance. Blackberries and apples foraged locally.

Cucumber and home grown salad leaves - I'm always thrilled when I find a cucumber that hasn't be suffocated in plastic wrap. This one was from my local Co-op.

Cashew cheese - this stuff is awesome. The recipe and variations can be found over at the always inspiring Lunch Box Bunch.

The tub on the side contains a mix of spaghetti, quinoa, peas, runner beans, home made vegan mayo and chillies.

Things I Love Thursday

2011-08-04T16:34:00.000+01:00

Early nights – I feel so much better when I get to bed before 10pm. It doesn’t need to be much before (a couple of minutes will do). It’s not just how much sleep you need it’s when you get it.

Fruit – I’m mad about fresh fruits of all kinds at present. I guess it does help that it’s the middle of August and not January or I’d be overdosing on apples and pears.

Getting on with it – I made three phone calls today that I’ve been putting off for months and just like that I could cross them off my job list. I need to remember this feeling and stop putting things off.

Other stuff – driving to new locations, working by an open window in the twilight, lunches in the park, huge courgettes, lego pirate ships, late night post band practice curries, plans for lots of burlesque related activities in the autumn, Percy Pig going vegetarian (if not vegan…)

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2011-08-03T15:16:00.001+01:00

clockwise from top right:

Fresh pineapple - I got two massively reduced ones so one got chopped for consumption, the other chopped for the freezer

Kiwi fruit and blueberries - I know it's the middle of the British soft fruit season but I've been craving Kiwi fruit for days and finally I give in. They are delicious!

Rice and chickpeas - Iwas cooking up a load of chickpeas for the freezer so I kept a cup back to throw in with some rice.

Courgettes in herbed breadcrumbs - I'm ace at growing courgettes and have enjoyed them in a variety of ways - stuffed, raw and grated, fried in tomato sauce. This is an adaptation from Vegan with a Vengance and it's very good. It reheats well in the microwave and goes well on toast too!

What I've been reading

2011-08-01T15:21:00.001+01:00

I Love The 80s – Megan Crane
I picked this up because I wanted something lightweight. Plus I thought it would be fun to cringe at all the references to 80s style. What I had failed to take into account is that this is a book where the plot hinges on time travel. Therefore it’s science fiction. So just a few pages in I found that I was enjoying this far more than I expected and for different reasons. Ok the plot line isn’t great but there is an element of whodunit that had me trying to work out who, when, where and why. Surprisingly gripping while being a cross between Back-to-the-future and Sweet Valley High.

Worth Dying For – Lee Child
I like Lee child books. I find Jack Reacher fascinating. However I find there are two sorts of stories in the series. The first type is those with a strong human element. Reacher will often be solving some kind of puzzle in these and we’ll learn more about him and his life. They tend to finish up with 20 pages of serious violence but the journey there makes up for it. Then there’s the second type which seem to be essentially action thrillers recounting in detail weapons, battle and attack plans. I find that I scan read passages describing this kind thing in same way that I do Hardy’s descriptions of the countryside. Still it filled an hour or two and there was a tiny glimpse of that human part of Reacher at the end that was worth waiting for.

Wrong About Japan – Peter Carey
I’m interested in Japan and read a review of this slim volume some years back. However whatever the review said it clearly didn’t inspire me enough to want to go and find a copy. I grabbed this off a shelf in the library as I was passing (the bright cover helped it to stand out). It’s an interesting piece. Peter thinks he can encourage his shy son by encouraging his love of Japanese comics. The ultimate encouragement being a trip to Japan. It seems thought that Peter has his own reasons fro returning to Japan in that eh wants to find the ‘real Japan’. Of course, the book isn’t anywhere near big enough to even scratch the surface of Japanese culture and that I think is the point the Carey is trying to make. It doesn’t just apply to Japan either. We can’t expect to understand a culture that we are not part of. What we do instead is take aspects and use for our own purposes and to reflect our own culture.

Things I Love Thursday

2011-07-28T10:14:00.003+01:00

Days off - I have a couple of days off work and although I do have a big job list to work through I'm trying not to overdo it. It was great to wake up this morning and realise that not only did I not have leap out of bed for work but that I didn't have anything else pressing to do either. Now if the weather could just get it's act together.

Decluttering - One of the tasks I will be undertaking during my time off is a clear out of our utility room. We finished puttung cupboards in it 2 years ago but it's never been properly organised. I'm slo looking at other bits around the house and embarking on another round of general clearing out.

My cooking mojo - This is really another take on decluttering but much inspired to cook stuff at present and use up things in the pantry and freezer. So chick peas are soaking, popcorn will be made, and another chunk has been hacked off the monster block of spinach pesto in the freezer. Plus I made vegan croissants at the weekend from scratch.

Other stuff - making adavance plans for gift free christmas (let's focus on the company and the food), wunderlist, stripy socks, cool stuff on the South Bank, toenails painted different shades of green.

Enjoy today and embrace the moment!

Monday evening slump

2011-07-26T15:22:00.000+01:00

It happened again last night. It’s the second Monday in a row I’ve gotten home and just slumped. On both occasions I’ve powered my way through the day ticking items off my job and then as I’ve parked my car I’ve felt done for the day.

Except on Monday’s I’m not done. I’ve got to dash inside, have a speedy cup of tea and a snack, get changed, get back in the car and go to my belly dance class.

And I haven’t wanted to for the past two Mondays. All I’ve felt like doing is slumping on the sofa with a book and a cup of tea with a view that at some far distant point I will go prepare some food.

I do think that part of the issue might be that my band practices every Tuesday evening. What was once a possible night for practice has now become fixed. So That means that between rolling out of bed on Monday morning and diving under the duvet on Tuesday night I seem to be on the go. Which isn’t a bad thing and does mean it’s half way through the week before I know it.

But maybe this is my mind telling me that I need to take things a bit easier. That I shouldn’t rush around all weekend trying to get ahead of myself. That I should consider leaving work a little bit earlier on a Monday night so I’ve got time to relax a bit before my class.

Or I could look for some other class to take on a different night. I enjoy belly dancing. I’ve got some vegan dance shoes that still have lots of wear in them. However I’m wonder in if an hour of throwing myself around to music in a different style on another night of the week would work better for me.

How do you know when it’s time to move on? How do you know when you need to make a change?

Phrase of the week

2011-07-22T09:07:00.002+01:00

Breaking distances at least double in the wet

It's been raining a lot this week and I thought that I was getting a good idea of what driving in wet conditions was like. Until Tuesday evening, when just a few miles from home a sudden torrential rain storm turned what had been a dry road with traffic moving at around 70 mph to something much scarier. Suddenly it was like trying to drive through a swimming pool. Visability dropped. The window screen wipers struggled to make a difference. Speeds massively reduced. The road was inches deeep in water. All you could do was look at the tail lights of the car in front, keep moving slowly and hope it stopped soon.

You can't get past nature. You either have to live with or suffer through it.

Things I Love Thursday

2011-07-14T21:35:00.000+01:00

Playing bass - I don't know if it's because I'm getting to grips with my job and driving or because it seems like the band is really cooking together but playing bass is so enjoyable at present. I always enjoy playing but I feel really in the zone and so eager to play.

Home cooked food made from fresh ingredients - I seem to have slipped into rather bad habits when eating recently. Fruit and vegetables have been rather lower on the list than they should be and I've been indulging in lots of vegan cheese and processed stuff. Monday night I did pasta, quinoa and peas and topped it with slices of aubergine coated in herby breadcrumbs and shallow fried (inspiration from Vegan with a Vengeance). It tasted awesome. Leftovers have worked well for lunch and I feel so much better.

Melissa shoes - I love my 4 pairs of Melissa shoes and they are proving to be a mainstay of my summer wardrobe. they are comfortable, look great and are ideal for both hot days and rain storms! Anyone else find that if they wear them with socks (I know plastic shoes and socks sound wrong) the socks won't stay up?

Other stuff - feeling the fear and doing it anyway, learning to love fifth gear, Wunderlist, cups of tea, being inspired, wandering around charity shops.

Phrase of the week

2011-07-13T16:41:00.002+01:00

Nothing is forever

Uttered frequently as I realise that I've been in a new job for over a year, an auntie for over year and playing the bass for two and half. When you are in the middle of things you believe that they will go on forever in a completely unchanged manner but tend to forget how utterly things have changed from how they were before. Your band breaks up. You start a new one. Your job changes. You discover new annoyances and pleasures from the role. Your routine changes but you still complain about having to get out of bed so early.

In some ways that nothing is forever means that you need to worry about it less because you don't know what it will become or how it will turn out but know that it will be different to now.

Things I Love Thursday

2011-07-06T21:20:00.003+01:00

Changes in routine - particularly when they include lovely company and cocktails. Monday I left the car at home so I could break with my usual Monday evening and have a couple of drinks with girlfriend. Two cocktail and a very special coffee later we left off from planning our burlesque debut and headed to our respective homes. I felt relaxed and refreshed the next day.

Lunchtimes in the park - It's good to be outside with my lunch and a book. I like looking at the people in the park and the occasional duck on the river. Whether it's hot or cooler the weather makes a change from my icebox office.

Other stuff - playing bass, feeling strangely calm, List making, home made pizza vegan cheese.

Phrase of the week

2011-07-05T14:26:00.006+01:00

"I'll stick it on my list"

Such is my obsession with Wunderlist and the way it links up between my phone and various computers I use (although it doesn't like IE6 very much) that I utter this abut every ten seconds.

Plus inspired by Raptitude I've been reading Getting Things Done by David Allen. I must confess that I've been working through it in small easily digested chunks. there are loads of thing int his book that have really made me thing but the main one is that if I've added it to my list then I don't have to worry about it (as long as I empty my collection buckets regularly).

Things I love Thursday

2011-06-30T15:10:00.002+01:00

Clothes dyeing – I used washing machine dye on 4 white garments in my wardrobe that I just wasn’t wearing. I love the new colours and that I might now actually wear them.

Chill out time - I have a busy life but between work, commuting, belly dance shows, band practice, allotmenting and other bits and pieces I seemed to be running around with the time to actually enjoy what I was doing. Things seem to be slowing down a bit or I’m getting really well organised.

Discovering new parks - I realised this weekthat I had never visited the park by the museum and it was within lunchtime walking distance. It was quite busy and put me in the mind of Topsy and Tim go to the park but throughly enjoyed the winding paths. It was nice to just wander around and think good thoughts.

Other stuff – resolving the tights issue (just in time for the heat wave), getting to grips with third gear again, reasons to by a P bass, breakfast with a friend, hash browns,

Phrase of the week

2011-06-29T12:49:00.003+01:00

'Nice and easy does it' - muttered to myself everytime I change from second to third gear (going to fifth has a phrase all of it's own). It does seem to be working though. What's really bizarre is that prior to passing my test and doing all this solo driving I'd never had a issue with gear changes and couldn't figure out why people kept sugegsting I try an automatic. HoweverI'll be sticking with my manual for the foreseeable future.

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-08-11T07:43:00.000+01:00

Things I Love Thursday

2010-07-08T16:52:00.000+01:00

Driving lessons – Never thought I'd be putting this down on a TILT! I’ve been taking driving lessons on and off since I was 17 and I’m at it again. I’m enjoying my lessons so far and am feeling much calmer than I have on previous occasions. Part of this is due to my instructor. A friend of a friend I knew it was going to be alright when I saw the ‘Total Guitar’ magazine stickers all over his diary.

Being nearly an auntie – My sister is nearly at her due date which means Auntie-type duties could commence anytime now. As a plus my parents are going to be staying with me just before and after the birth. Given that we live some distance apart and so don’t get to see each other much this is definite plus.

New job – I have been in my new job for just over a week and things are very fine indeed. Ok I’m still getting my head together, working out all the bits the role involves and writing massive job lists.

Other stuff – Bud, exercise, Supernatural, the unexpected, Spinach, high heeled shoes, thing that turn out to be easier than expected, Porn star martinis, hummus, Kid Rock.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-05-20T14:28:00.001+01:00

Jeans that fit – I have huge problems finding jeans that fit me. I spend hours trying on jeans in charity shops trying to find a pair that fits me. Hence I was delighted to find not one but two pairs of jeans that fitted me today. I’m so excited at the prospect of wearing them.

New stuff to read- I am awash with exciting new things to read. In the last week I have enjoyed a two Jeffry Deaver novels and a Kathy Reichs. In my pile waiting to be devoured are the new Hester Browne, a Gavin Lyall, a Cory Doctorow, a Peter James and the new Scarlett Thomas, Our Tragic Universe. I am in book heaven.

Vegan doughnuts – I had heard rumours that the Cop had vegan doughnuts but I needed to read the label before committing. I was so pleased to find a packet with an actual ingredients label. These taste so good and provide a delightful flashback to my student days when I consumed large quantities of doughnuts, quavers and Caramels.

Making crazy videos for Youtube – we often record our jam nights and stick the best/most interesting/most amusing bits on Youtube. Somehow I always seem to avoid appearing on camera, but not on Friday night. As well as footage of me playing bass (and actually looking like I might be enjoying it) there is the Laura Palmer song inspired by watching hours of Twin Peaks on DVD.

Other stuff - Underground rebel bingo, plotting trips to Brighton with Dear Heart, Homeopathic remedies, making job lists, clearing out, feeling in tune with life, long drinks of cold water.

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-05-19T08:05:00.001+01:00

This has been such a good lunch. Rice is really filling and I love the increased variety in fresh produce as the summer approaches.

Clockwise from top right:

Tofu - cold raw tofu sprinkled with nori powder. I was planning to cook the tofu then I stumbled across a branch of Whole Foods in London on Friday. Their salad bar had a huge tub of fresh tofu that jsut looked delicious.

Radishes and steamed Asparagus

Onigiri - I've made versiosn of these before but was inspired this time by a recipe in the Guardian Family supplement.

Lettuce and home grown spinach

Things I Love Thursday

2010-05-06T11:18:00.001+01:00

Rockin’ in a free world – I’ve always loved this song. I’ve recently learned to play in on the bass, heard a pub band play a great version at the weekend and get to jam it tonight.

Homemade falafel – I don’t know why I’ve never bothered to do these before. The dough was simple to make in the Vitamix but I reckon it wouldn’t have been too difficult by hand. They taste amazing. Mass produced store bought ones are so dry.

A new book by Scarlett Thomas – It’s so exciting to walk into a bookshop and find something telling you that there is new book by one of your favourite authors being published in a few weeks. I rarely buy books but will certainly be purchasing Our terrible universe on 20th May.

Other good stuff - Vegan Thai red curry, white wine, great customer service from Marks and Spencer, water, Cool Hand Luke (what we’ve got here is failure to communicate), election madness.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-04-29T12:38:00.000+01:00

My job – I’m really enjoying my work right now. The tasks are interesting and my colleagues are fabulous.

Allotment produce – Everything is coming on really well except from the Radishes. Having allotment buddies this year has made such a difference.

The election – It’s been a big topic of discussion at work and you’ve just got to love the wackier parties. I’m quite taken with CURE and the New Millennium Bean Party as outlined in this piece on the BBC website on the more unusual election pledges.

Twin Peaks – I’ve been waiting what seems like forever for Season two of Twin Peaks to be released on DVD. I spent a chunk of last weekend watching part of it and it’s even better than I remember.

Cryptic Crosswords – I’m starting to get to grips with these and just find them so satisfying. Quite good for learning new words and bits of trivia too.

Other stuff – playing bass, learning new songs, warmer weather, lunch in the park, Melissa shoes, Lush products, tofu, sleeping well, BBQs in the garden followed by attic jam sessions.

What I wore 28th April 2010

2010-04-28T08:52:00.005+01:00

The warmer weather has given me the excuse to dig out one of my favourite summer dresses.

Black dress with mushroom pattern - made from a vintage skirt

Black cardigan - Gap

Spider necklace - Alchemy

Woven belt - charity shop

Black cotton tights - Boots

Melissa Night V flock shoes - Bourgeois Boheme

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-04-27T09:00:00.001+01:00

The first bit of produce from the allotment this growing seasons inspired my lunchbox for this week. I'm also thrilled that things like Aspargus and Watercress are coming into season. It seems to have been a long carrot/apple/pear filled winter.

Clockwise, from top left:

Home made cupcake (vegan) with chilli chocolate flakes and baked rhubarb from the allotment.

Purple sprouting Broccoli on a bed of spinach, both from the allotment. The dressing is home made vegan mayo mixed with lemon juice and chili flakes. Inspired by a recipe in Rose Eliot's Vegetarian Supercook.

Watercress - not from the allotment obviously

Asparagus and sun dried tomato frittata from the Vegan with a Vengance cookbook. I should have used firmer tofu to stop it falling apart but it tastes great anyway.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-04-08T11:35:00.000+01:00

Being surrounded by friends, lunch at the sushi bar, keeping up via Facebook, smoothies made in the Vitamix, the return of my cooking and sewing mojo, white wine, tofu madness, jamming, having an excuse to wear sunglasses, vegan Haribo, vegan hot cross buns (thank you M&S), cryptic crosswords, the prospect of a lie in, home made vegan pizza, green bass leads.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-03-25T15:22:00.000Z

Curry filled birthday celebrations, massage, playing bass and feeling like a rock star, vegan chocolate, making a conscious effort to relax, good news for friends, enthusiasm, being back in control, hair cuts, being in tune with friends, Grapefruit juice, stretching, big sunglasses with green frames, being invited out for lunch, my phone, knowing you are wanted, vitamix solutions, sleep.

Watch my hands

2010-03-24T09:06:00.004Z

On Sunday I went for my annual visit to the Vitality Show with Mimi. Last year’s show wasn’t brilliant stall wise but the talks, workshops and demonstrations were good on the whole.

This year our plan was to get there for 11am so that we could go to a hula hoping workshop. Our plans were somewhat challenged due to non-running trains and a bus replacement service. After looking a number of different routes and taking in account Sunday bus services we finally hit upon one that would get us there on time.

All was going well. The weather was good. The buses were running on time. Then our train didn’t move for an hour due to an accident. We arrived at the vitality Show an hour and half later than anticipated.

The show wasn’t particularly good. There seemed to be fewer stands than in previous years. There were no Nairs Oatcakes, Redwood foods, Colour Me Beautiful or Lara bars. We were totally ignored at the Black Tower wine stand (maybe we looked to young to buy alcohol!).

On the plus side lunch was amazing. We’d been planning to take a packed lunch as food at these venues is often fatty and overpriced. As a result we were thrilled with the selection on offer at the Crussh. The Japanese Noodle Salad was just the kind of food I wanted to eat and the price was very reasonable.

We always make a point of having a massage and this year tried seated Zen shiatsu. I found it quite relaxing. I was pleased to be told afterwards that all my major organs were in good shape (apparently you can tell from checking pressure points). The guy also told me that I carry all my stress in my hands.

I’m inclined to think he has a point here. My hands do have a tendency to shake if I am very nervous or stressed. Or they become very cold. My Belly Dance teacher is always telling me to relax my hands.

The big question is how do I relax my hands and will this reduce my stress levels? Or do I need to reduce my stress levels and this will relax my hands?

The day must have done us some good. We both felt more ‘vital’ than usual on Monday morning.

Marmite toothpaste?

2010-03-11T09:40:00.000Z

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-03-09T14:47:00.001Z

I’ve been trying to shake off a bug that been doing the rounds. Consequently lunch this week contains lots of garlic since I vaguely recall reading somewhere that garlic is good for that type of thing. In any case it all tastes delicious.

Clockwise from top right:

Mushrooms – this is Sautéed mushrooms and green beans from VwaV minus the green beans. I thought afterwards that I could have subbed broccoli but it does fine by itself. I will make this loads in the summer if I ger a good bean crop.

Kale – Garlicky Kale with Tahini dressing from VwavV. I added some Kombu I had lying around to make it more delicious. It did. I love this and could eat bowlfuls of it. The dressing I added to the potatoes instead of the Kale.

Boiled potatoes with Tahini dressing. I don’t usually bother with dressings but I’m finding more enthusiasm for them. The Vitamix helps with this as well.

Rhubarb – baked Rhubarb with a bit of homemade apple flapjack sprinkled over the top.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-03-04T16:25:00.000Z

More joy in the abundance of my life in the past week:
Just asking (with the expectation of receiving), water and lots of it, looking good on film, having a fridge full of interesting food, sunshine, exchanging amusing text messages, light at the end of the tunnel, getting our first seeds planned for this year’s vegetable crop, having dinner prepared for me, contemplating the difference between English punk and American punk, making excellent vegan chocolate cupcakes with choc mousse filling, Dear Heart actually eating two of said cupcakes, winter warmers, desk tidying, planning for music festivals, tuning your instrument, bagels, the sweet of flowering bulbs just outside the bedroom, the sweetness of friends when you feel poorly.

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-03-02T14:45:00.000Z

Things I Love Thursday

2010-02-25T16:49:00.001Z

Making stuff in the Vita–mix (even if it does scare me), Remoska – perfect bread, dancing, music, Lost on DVD, planning which seeds to plant and dreaming of summer abundance, Massage anticipation, realising that it might just be OK, home made pizza.

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-02-24T16:04:00.001Z

A week with nothing from Vwav and no white cabbage! What happened? It’s simple –the vita-mix has arrived. I’m completely terrified of it and attempting to overcome this fear by blending anything that happens to by lying around the fridge.

Clockwise form top left:
Apple – no vita-mixing involved.
Brussels Sprouts – no vita-mixing involved.
Parsnip, sweetcorn and vegan mayo – the parsnips were ground pretty much to sawdust in the Vita-mix. The mayo was whipped up in the Vita-mix using soya milk. I didn’t add as much oil as I should be I suitably impressed to be thinking that I’ll be making my own mayo from now on.
Rice with Cashew cheese sauce – this is a mix of a recipe from the Vita-mix cookbook and the garden of Vegan. The alarming colour is due to a roasted red pepper. It tastes good if not amazing. One to play around with a bit.

I haven’t abandoned Vwav entirely. I shall be making vegan cupcakes for a gathering at the weekend and have a recipe in mind for lunch next week. By then I may have got to grips with my fear of the fierce sounding motor.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-02-18T16:40:00.000Z

Random people on Penny Farthings, sun dried tomatoes, pancakes that turn out eatable, potato wedges made in the Remoska, overhearing someone rapping to his mates (and thinking about literary theory), Indian Head massage, good relaxing sleep, Silken tofu, Lost on DVD, Raw mushroom sandwiches, the smell of hyacinths in the kitchen, Desk diaries blog, reading the manual.

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-02-16T16:35:00.001Z

Much as I like tofu I’ve always been a bit suspicious of silken tofu. It’s blancmange like texture and tendency to crumble (in a sloppy manner) put me off. Well Vwav has changed all that. I now appreciate the wonders of vacuum packed tofu. In fact I’m feeling generally inspired by the wonders of tofu.

Clockwise from top right:

Carrot sticks
White cabbage – this should be the last week to feature the giant cabbage I bought a while back
Sun dried tomato frittata – Made using a recipe from Vwav. Much easier than I expected and much tastier. Definite remake.
Apple – I bought these enormous apples at the weekend. It’s been quite a challenge to fit one in the laptop lunchbox.

The mysterious case of the missing maternity clothes

2010-02-15T16:28:00.001Z

Life can just be so perplexing at times.

I’m expecting to become an auntie in the summer. So as a first time auntie to be who wants to support the first time mother to be I offered to by her some maternity clothes.

I’ve always liked the look of those maternity capsule wardrobe and did offer one of these initially. However after a bit of discussion the high street was deemed perfectly acceptable (especially if the shop was linked with Kidstart). Buying online is easy but being unfamiliar with maternity wear I thought I’d best go and check out the items in the flesh so to speak.

So at lunchtime I headed off. My destination was M&S but as my route passed Bhs I decided to pop in their and have a look at the Dorothy Perkins section which has just moved into the front of the store.

As I teenager I perpetually would find a garment I totally adored in Dorothy Perkins only to discover it was actually from the maternity range. Consequently I had high hopes. Well they were dashed when I couldn’t actually find any maternity wear. Then again the whole section was a bit of a mess. Wallis has recently taken up residence in Bhs too and the section seemed to be mixed up. Another issue was a range of clothes with a W and threaded needle on the label. I began to wonder if this was some kind of clever reference to something but then realised that it was actually a Bhs range. I stumbled around for a while and then off to M&S.

Stumble being the correct word. Had I thought it through I might have chosen a day that wasn’t the start of half term to venture into the shops. So trying not to tread on small people and avoiding being mown down by buggies and teenagers on skateboards I headed to reliable old M&S.

Alas I experienced the same problem. I just couldn’t find any maternity wear. I had lots of false hits. Current fashions for tunic tops and jumpers dresses fit right in with my concept of maternity wear. Likewise there seem to be a lot of skirts and trousers with elastic at the waist. However not a single one of these was labelled maternity.

So is maternity wear just not labelled anymore? Is it only available in stores at certain times of year? Do all expectant mothers just buy online?

I suppose I’ll have to either buy unseen or go to Mothercare.

What I read this week

2010-02-12T16:43:00.001Z

Primal – Robin Baker
First thing anyone needs to know about this book – it’s awash with naked bodies and sex. Look past that and the inevitable comparisons with Lost and you’re onto some gripping fiction. The story of students stranded on an island when a field trip goes wrong is essentially told by an author (the actual author appearing as himself!) writing a book about the events. What makes it interesting is the different voices that appear in the narrative based on where his information from. While wondering what will happen next as a reader you are also questioning how true any sequence of the events is. The main characters (including the author) all have their reasons for manipulating the truth. Unfortunately this means that focus is on just a handful of individuals and the rest of the characters are a little on the generic side. I found that as time went on I disliked most of the characters but wanted to know more about their experiences. The descriptions of life on the island and the break down of social mores were interesting but I think the author’s background in sexual biology coloured his perspective. This is definitely worth a look at and make sure you don’t have anything else on when you start reading – you won’t be able to put it down.

Lost – Chris Jordan
Nothing to do with the TV series. A fairly standard crime novel story about a kidnapping and Private Investigator/consultant. What really made this was the characters. The telling is intriguing. Most of it is in third person. Big chunks are told in first person by Jane, the mother of the kidnapped girl. I liked Jane. What makes this nvoel more intriguing is that pretty much everything we know about the consultant, ex- FBI Randall Shane we learn through Jane with occasional bits from the third person. This distance increases his mystery. Parts of his story are fascinating. Like his inability to sleep when stressed. Other bits, such as his back story and nearly retirement seem more usual. It looks like this one of a series of book featuring Shane Randall. I’m wondering f the same style of narrative is used. I can see it’s a great way of humanising characters who would only appear in that book while keeping our main man suitably interesting.

A dance in time – Orna Ross
I’m only about fifth of the way through this. There are several story lines. One is around Izzy and her daughter, Star. The reader is learning something of Izzy’s life story with commentary from Star. Then there is another strand around Maud Gonne. It took me a while to get into it despite the early introduction of tension and mystery (Was Izzy responsible for her father’s death?). I always see it as a good sign when I find I am thinking about a book while not reading it so I think I’ve been success drawn in. The writing is well crafted and there is a clear change in style between the two stories. No idea where the plot might be heading so that means that just like real life it’s not predictable either.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-02-11T16:58:00.000Z

Conveyor belt sushi, beer festivals, unbirthdays, wonderful friends, playing bass, compliments, red wine, Vwav, green nail polish, gripping novels, Postcard bags with ribbon straps, new notebooks, family, escape, blue skies, green stars, reminding myself not to worry, stretches before bed, Kettle the cat, future plans, ticking off jobs lists

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-02-10T16:28:00.001Z

I’m beginning to wonder what I’ll do when I worked my way right through Vwav. Go back to the start and go again?

I bought cauliflower this week with the intention of either making the recipe that appeared in the Meat Out Monday email or just steaming the cauliflower. Then I thought I’d just have a little peep in Vwav and the die was cast.

Clockwise from top right:
*Steamed Brussels Sprouts
*Unsalted Cashews nuts and a piece of dark chocolate
*Cauliflower Kugel – I did a little playing around with the recipe for this (Isa would be proud). I skipped the leeks (didn’t have any) and subbed wheat germ for Matzos and ground almonds for whole roasted. It’s so good I had to resist going home and eating the whole pot. Bet it would be great with roast potatoes and gravy.
*Pear

Celebrate whenever you like

2010-02-08T16:38:00.000Z

My birthday is on a ridiculous day. It’s so close to New Year and Christmas that everyone is partied out. Celebrations as a result tend to be a little on the half hearted side. I also know that it’s usually the last day before going back to work and facing up to January.

This year I made the decision to hold off on celebrating until the first weekend in February. By a rather marvellous coincidence this turned out to be the same weekend as a local beer festival.

The result – a wonderful afternoon and evening with friends. The atmosphere at the festival was great. Everyone had been looking forward to getting together. No one felt under pressure to do anything. The selection of drinks on offer was suitable varied even to please the non-beer drinkers.

As a bonus I also felt less need to actually celebrate on the date of my birthday. This made for a relaxed day which actually lead to celebrating with a couple of neighbours.

It’s totally clear to me. Bah to old fashioned traditions of actually celebrating your birth on the day of the year you were born. Unbirthday celebrations are the way forward.

What I read this week

2010-02-05T16:42:00.000Z

Weekend newspapers
Amazingly our paperboy managed to deliver a paper on Friday (The Times), Saturday (Saturday Guardian) and Sunday (The Sunday Times). Usually there is a problem with at least one of the deliveries. It’s taken me most of the week to work my way through the various sections. I’ve been enjoying some really good pieces covering Fat fashion blogging, Blair’s appearance at the Chilcot enquiry and the dress code for Tesco customers.

Lit riffs – edited by Matthew Miele
A collection of short stories inspired by songs. It’s taken me all week to work through this because the stories are all so different. I think this is because the only link the stories have to one another is that they are inspired by a song. Hence I’ve found it difficult to rush on and read the next story without stopping to think about and digest the one just read. Some are surreal. Some have a moral point to make. Others just capture a little snippet of life. It’s great if you know the music that was the inspiration, but they read perfectly well if you don’t. It’s got me thinking, if I was asked to write a story inspired by a song which one would I choose?

Things I Love Thursday

2010-02-04T16:46:00.001Z

Melissa shoes – I’ve always been told a bargain is only a bargain if you were going to buy it anyway. Well, I’d planned on buying some Melissa shoes from Bourgeois Boheme at the end of January. I was pretty chuffed to discover that they shoes I wanted where in their sale. I was even more chuffed when they arrived yesterday. They fit perfectly, are comfortable and look great. That’s my summer shoe needs taken care of then.

Environmentally sound packing and packaging – My Remoska and shoes mentioned above both came with paper based wrappings. Easy to recycle. None of this nonsense about putting it in a plastic bag for no apparent reason.

Waking up feeling relaxed – I slept really well on Saturday night and woke up without achy shoulders or tense muscles. It was a great night of sleep. I put I down to a combination of bass playing and red wine.

Other stuff -Playing Bass, vegan sushi, Whisky at the Cro Bar, seeing my niece/nephew 2B on the baby scanner machine thingy, making a summer skirt from two t-shirts, cooking in the Remoska, music, Vwav, tofu.

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-02-03T14:48:00.001Z

My obsession with Vwav continues. I understanding now why so many Vegan bloggers go on about it. It’s making me a less lazy cook (some of the time anyway) as it’s as much effort to follow a Vwav recipe as do something random. Also it seems to use ingredients that I already have.

Clockwise from top right:
Raw white cabbage – yes it’s back!
Italian marinated tofu – from Vwav and totally divine
Cream crackers and vegan cake – guess which one used a Vwav recipe? I intended to do pasta to go with the tofu but the crunch of the cracker goers well against the softer tofu.
Rhubarb – Gently compoted with no added anything.

This week I have been reading

2010-01-28T10:46:00.002Z

Green is the new black – Tasmin Blanchard
I’ve flicked through this a few times in bookshops so when I saw it on the library shelf I decided it was time to read it all the way through. My opinions on it are mixed. I think it’s trying to appeal to a lot of different audiences. I related to a few bits, like where the author talks about lying on the floor drawing around herself to make a dress and wanting to get a new creations done as quickly as possible. I got a few new things out of it – mainly online stores that offer ‘green’ products. I wanted a bit more information about things like how long it takes knicker elastic to break down and what the alternatives might be. Also surprised there was no mention of Lush.

My thoughts on first seeing this book is that I probably wouldn’t get anything new out of it. I think they were pretty much correct. Good for those just starting to look at green living. The website/blog that goes with it is worth a look http://www.greenisthenewblack.typepad.com/

Freakonomics – Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt
One of the things this book keeps going on about is the lack of unifying themes to Levitt’s work. This is made abundantly clear by the way the book leaps around from topic to topic. In general I like the way subject that seem unrelated are bought together. However it is a bit exhausting at times. This is quite a quick read so to have so many different things happening can get confusing. I also wanted to stop the author at times and ask for more information on a subject that he dashes past. I assume the topics covered where a result of information that Levitt had to work with which might be why there is an emphasis in certain areas. I didn’t feel quite as inspired as I did at the end of The Tipping Point, but this was definitely worth a look.

Wedlock: How Georgian Britain’s worse husband met his match – Wendy Moore
I’m only part of the way through this but finding it very moreish. The characters really come to life. Moore includes some excellent snippets. There’s the bit about the cottage industry that gossip was in Georgian England with informants being able to deliver their new directly to the printers. Makes Hello/Grazia/Etc sound a bit dull. Also thrilled to hear that Fox (a leader of the Whig party) was so indulged as a child that he was allowed to sit astride a joint of meat on the table at a dinner party. I’m going to order The Knifeman: blood, body snatching and the birth of modern surgery from the library at once.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-01-28T10:43:00.001Z

Non-fiction – I’m just not in the mood for reading fiction at the moment. So I went to the library and borrowed a stack of non-fiction. Also enjoying Fiendish sudoku. Stretching my mind and challenging my thoughts is good.

Remoska – a sort of mini oven type thing. Efficient on power, easy to clean and taking up a tiny amount of space in the pantry. The food in it tastes marvellous too.

Sewing –I’ve been spending Saturday afternoons working through sewing projects. It’s good to move on projects that I’ve had hanging around for a while and it’s making me get creative too.

Other stuff – Melissa shoes, belly dancing, red wine, tea, vegan cupcakes, mobile twitter, wearing more than one pair of socks, being needed.

Under the influence

2010-01-27T16:44:00.001Z

I’ve always been uncertain about celebrity endorsement. It reminds me of the warrior eating the heart of an animal s/he has killed in order to gain their strength.

Ok when I was 12 or 13 I bought Wrigley’s gum and Pepsi (not coke) because my favourite band of the time used those products. Not many years down the line really from wanting something (anything!) because it had a care bear or a My Little Pony on it. While I can be smug about not buying the signature scent of some model/actress/pop star type, if I at little closer at what steers me towards things I have no doubt that some kind celebrity endorsement would turn up.

If fact there are many things that I have taken up because I think the person in question is cool and I wish to emulate them. The difference is that these people aren’t particularly famous. I read a lot of blogs and I can see that I’ve been turned onto certain things through these blogs. I started looking into Melissa shoes after reading Vintage Vivant. I wanted a laptop lunchbox after reading Vegan Lunchbox (and the now defunct Vegan lunchcast). I found myself wearing shorter skirts after reading What I Wore. So I what I eat and wear is influenced by these people. I want to be like them. Presumably by blogging about my own life I want readers to think I’m cool and potentially to take up the activities or products I mention.

It’s like being influenced by your big brother’s friends or idolising your glamorous auntie. The only difference is that you don’t know these people. Well, I don’t know these people but I am sufficiently taken with what I know of them to believe that my life would be better if I just had a little piece of them.

Of course these people aren’t endorsing products in the same way that celebrities do. They are simply sharing their way of life and the things that get them through the day. There is a big difference between sharing your love of refashioning and deliberately promoting products. I believe Gala Darling refer to this as ‘gay for pay’.

What I find a teeny bit worrying is that I think I’m an individual and work at not being sheeplike. Either I’m less original than I think I am or individuality is built from tiny bits of other people. Is that what being your own brand is? Or is this just part of an ‘act as if’ approach? Or do I just have too much time to think?

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-01-26T14:09:00.001Z

Subtitle: 50% inspired by Vegan with a vengeance or the one without white cabbage.

White cabbage would have certainly appeared in this box along with some rice or noodles but my allotment intervened. One of my new allotment buddies while clearing a patch at the weekend discovered hidden treasure. The form of this treasure? A row of Parsnips that I vaguely recall planting but assumed had never come up. A consultation of Vwav and one ancient hand mincer later and lunch had changed course…

Clockwise from top right:
Steamed Brussels sprouts – the love affair with my favourite vegetable continues.
Balsamic glazed mushrooms – from Vwav. So good. I’m finding it hard to keep these for lunch and resist snacking on them.
Parsnip and Scallion pancakes – I’m not wild about the very sweet taste of parsnips but these are ok. Very easy to make. Obviously better hot and fresh but perfectly edible cold. Think I’ll through some chillies in the mix next time to offset the sweetness.
Pear and a little tub of BBQ sauce to go with the pancakes.

This week I have been reading

2010-01-22T16:16:00.000Z

Crow Stone – Jenni Mills
It’s hard to describe this one too much without giving the plot away. Let me simply say that the story moves back and forth between the past and the present and that some elements between these collide. A number of secrets are hinted at. The main character seems so honest but clearly is hiding things and on several occasions does things that seem stupid or underhand.
While some aspects were a bit predictable I found the mix of subplots fascinating. In fact I became much more interested in these than in what was presumably the main plot. Generally speaking it read in a very true to life way. I could really relate to the teenagers and their desire to be grown up. This is a first novel so I’ll keep an eye out for more from this author.

The Rose Labyrinth – Titania Hardie
This is much too long. I love a good secret manuscript hidden treasure story as much as the next person. What I found hard to take here were how complex the ‘clues’ were. Also having struggled through I couldn’t quite see what the point was supposed to be.

I also found the John Dee connection a bit difficult to swallow. Maybe because I’ve read a couple of things that details Dees’ life and suggest that he was duped by Kelley? So I found the character’s belief in him a bit naïve. Otherwise everyone seems to know all about equinoxes and the symbolism of roses.

Maybe there was just a bit too much crammed in for this to work. Pity.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-01-21T16:47:00.001Z

Allotment buddies – I’ve teamed up with a couple, of friends who live nearby to work on my allotment. They want to get started in gardening and I have a plot that is too big for me so we’re both happy. We got loads done in an hour on Sunday so the outlook for the new growing season is very good indeed.

Dancing – I’ve been really enjoying my belly dancing class on Monday nights. The teacher works us really hard but I come home feeling great.

Clearing out – My thoughts last year that the best thing to do clothes wise would be to keep everything and buy nothing. However I often acquire clothes as gifts or hand-ons. I also have been holding onto things that I’m never going to wear because they are the wrong shape or colour for me. I could refashion them but why cut up a piece of perfectly good new clothing? Instead I’m having a major clear out. I’m familiar with my tastes and know that my style goes in cycles over several years. Less items in my wardrobe mean that I will be able to enjoy and use the clothes I do have better and it doesn’t mean that I have an excuse to buy more stuff. More space feels good. Appreciating what I have feels good.

Other good stuff - Baking powder biscuits, fruit, Melissa shoes, exercise, vegan pizza with chilli oil, balancing the books, stuff disappearing immediately on Freecycle, solving sudoku, hot water bottles, Sunday night home cooked dinner with friends.

The big magazine swap

2010-01-20T16:22:00.001Z

I sometimes look back on my life so far and recall the magazine that I read during a certain time. Starting with Twinkle, then onto Princess, Tracey and Bunty. My next life stage was ‘guided’ by ‘music’ publications like smash Hits and teen titles like Just Seventeen.

My first year at university saw me reading Cosmopolitan with real enthusiasm for the glamorous 1990s world of being feminist and feminine. Then I dropped that to pursue the grunge of NME and Melody Maker.

A few years later I was enjoying Good Housekeeping and clipping recipes and tips to go with my first mortgage.

Then a need to have change for the bus lead me to buy pretty much every glossy under the sun for a year or two until I tired of tacky free gifts and recycled articles.

I rarely buy magazines now. I subscribe to Easy Living although the quality of content is a bit uneven. I buy Bass Guitar Magazine. I have more money in my pockets and less desire to buy expensive face creams.

I was discussing with Mimi of Little Sips of Tea whether I should renew my Easy Living subscription or not. A couple of glasses of Expresso Martini later (it was NYE) and a plan was hatched.

We decided that during 2010 we would buy each other a magazine every month. It can be any magazine as long as you think it will be of interest. Today we did our first swap. I managed to mess things up by failing to take mine along but am working to remedy that.

Mimi has given me the January/February issue of Sew Hip! to read. My review and thoughts will follow in a later post.

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-01-19T19:00:00.000Z

I’m really into rice at present so it’s making an appearance in my lunchbox for the second week in a row. The white cabbage is obviously looking to set some kind of record for an unbroken run of appearances.

Clockwise from top right

Apples – In order to fit most of an apple into my lunchbox some pieces had to ‘ride’ in with the rice. Still taste delicious though.
White cabbage – raw, see previous weeks. Head does seem to finally look as if I may finish it at some point in the not too distant future.
Brussels Sprouts – Lightly steamed and served cold. So good.
Brown rice and lentil with peanut and ginger sauce – I had a slight cold and thought something with a bit of spicy ginger would be just the trick. Alas I can’t find the original recipe I at some point in the past. Going back through previous blog entries has been no help. All I can recall was that I made it in a mini blender and used pickled ginger. I’m wondering if it was in a book I have since returned to the library. Anyway my approximation of it tastes just fine.

But do I actually wear it?

2010-01-18T15:30:00.001Z

I was rather taken with the post over at House of Mirth asking sewers if they wore what they made.

It’s unusual for me not to be wearing something that I either made or altered in some way. However I must confess things don’t’ always go according to plan.

I make from fabric I have in my stash or buy up roll ends. Consequently I tend to think what a piece of fabric could become rather than what gaps I have in my wardrobe that need filling. So it was only as I began to turn a long pink skirt into a short wrap skirt with frills that I stopped to think that I rarely wear pink or frills and consequently a great deal of future wear seemed unlikely.

I get carried away. I don’t very often follow patterns. I think I’ve been influenced by the punk school of clothing construction and refashioning. After all if it doesn’t work out I can always make it into something else. Even if I start off following a pattern I’ll add some twist to it. Which is great. When it works out. Otherwise it goes back in the stash until I can face solving whatever problems my embellishments have created.

I can’t wait to wear my creation. So rather than do the prep and then leave it until I have time to work on it more I rush through bodging bits right, left and centre and then having to find a way to cover them up. So lots of unpicking, refitting and extra work.

Looking on the bright side:

No piece of fabric is wasted. Really ugly stuff lines bags. Scraps join crazy patchwork or get plaited.

If I find something that works I’ll make it again and again.

I’ve started to see that less is more when it comes to alterations.

I’m intending to work through my stash and unfinished projects this year doing a little every weekend.

This week I have been reading

2010-01-15T14:14:00.000Z

The Godfather – Mario Puzo
I only got around to seeing the film last year. There are so many films that I’ve just never got around to seeing. 2009 was also the year that I saw the Rocky movies for the first time ever. Anyway I was curious to see what the book was like and I was not disappointed. The film is very true to the book. There are only a couple of changes and they are done in the spirit. Somewhat bizzarely I found myself thinking about how I could apply the ways of working and relationships in the book to my own life. I don’t mean that I’m going to start taking hits on people or making them an offer they can’t refuse. I’m thinking more about the emphasis that is put on investing in friendship simply for the sake of it. When you put something into your community you will reap rewards even in indirect ways. So reading about violent mafia hoods has made me want to be kinder to the people around me which can’t be a bad thing.

All in the mind – Alastair Campbell
I didn’t know what to expect from this but I now await his next novel, Maya which is published at the start of next month. This was a really moving book. Parts of it were very difficult. You experienced the agonies of the characters. But you found yourself actually interested in how the characters developed. I cried at times. Sometimes because I felt so full of hope after reading certain passages. I love novels that make me feel inspired and make me think. This makes you think about your own mental health and attitudes. The ending was also totally unexpected.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-01-14T16:32:00.000Z

*People – I’m lucky to know some really wonderful people. Talking with them and making plans reminds me that friendship is the most important thing in the world.

*focusing on what you’re doing – I first read Feel the fear and do it anyway years back but the ideas that I got from that first reading have stayed with me to draw on. I remembered that really focusing on the task in hand makes whatever you are doing more enjoyable. Consequently I’ve been getting a great deal of satisfaction out of what I’ve been doing over the last few days. The work itself isn’t necessarily that fascinating – it’s the mindset that counts.

Other stuff – dyeing clothes emerald green, the time being ripe, dilligaf, Tattoos, hot drinks, Lush soaps, resisting the urge to shop, The Godfather, using it up and wearing it out, plotting lunches and unbirthdays, things never being as bad as you think, hot toddies, layers and layers of clothing, compliments, belly dancing, Friday night jams.

And remember your life is what your thoughts make it.

My cures for the January blues

2010-01-13T15:01:00.000Z

As much as I look forward to the fresh start a year represents it only takes a few weeks for me to realise that there is no such thing as new. There is always baggage. Your job and the rest of your life are still there waiting for you after Christmas. The things that you found annoying, irritating and downright unbearable did not vanish in a puff of glitter while you were eating vegan mince pies.

Furthermore you’ll have forgotten all the coping strategies that you had in place to get you through the day. You know, the routines that you abandoned sometime after Halloween on the grounds that the festive season was here.

So these are what I’m doing this January to remind me that there is more than the 9-5 grind.

They might not do it for you. You might not feel blue in January. But currently they are working for me.

Get out
Force yourself to leave your place of work every lunchtime. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes. Walk, breathe deeply, look around you, find out what’s down that side road you’ve always wondered about. Go out even if it’s snowing or raining. It breaks up your day, get your blood circulating and remind you that you are free.

Get a stack of books
Go to your nearest library and get a pile of books that you really like the look of. Some libraries are better at displaying tempting titles than others. If you really can’t find anything you like visit a bookshop, make a note of the titles they have on display that you fancy and then ask your library for them. Take your mound of books away and delight in the escape to other places that awaits you. Relish the excuse to wrap yourself up in a big blanket and read the long booze free evenings away. Congratulate yourself on what you’ve picked up for free. Make a note of the return date on your diary or calendar and pat yourself on the back for being well organised.

Shop with caution
Even if you are not overdrawn spending loads of cash on the sales will not make you feel less blue. If you are shopping for essentials in your lunch hour make a list and buy one item each day of the week. You’ll feel less inclined to throw all kinds of sale odds and ends into the basket. In fact, don’t even pick up a basket. You’re only buying one item. Why do you need a basket? Feel smug at not being sucked into buying yet more nonsense in the sales.

Start to plan ahead
Make a list of birthdays and other events over the coming year that will require presents and cards. Do one for next Christmas while you are at it. Make a note in your diary to check list at regular intervals. Begin to write in ideas for presents. Only buy presents that you spot in the sale if (a) they will not date and (b) you have storage space for them. While you’re at it plan meals and clothes for the next few days. Feel proud at your ability to take control of your life.

Focus
Whatever you are doing, focus totally on it. Don’t be tempted to put it off. Get it done and move on to the next thing. There’s nothing like a sense of completion to chip away at the blues.

Sleep well
I find that I sleep better if I do a few minutes of gentle yoga before bed. Nothing fancy. Some stretches, a roll down or two. If I still can’t sleep I make plans in my head or think positive thoughts. Or dig out some of that pulse point oil that you got for Christmas a year or two back, apply and breathe deeply.

Have an incentive for getting up
The thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is knowing that I will be plunging my feet into be warm slipper boots and that I can have a chunk of Lush emotibomb in the shower if I think I really need it. Relish the though that you already know what you are going to wear and have the days meals already in hand.

Friends
I find that talking to friends even if it’s only to moan makes me feel so much better. It’s good to know that you have people who feel that same as you. It’s good to make plans for the future. It’s good to recall later in the day people you spoke with earlier and know that you are not alone on this planet.

What's in my lunchbox this week?

2010-01-12T15:48:00.001Z

I’m still working my way through the bowling ball sized white cabbage I bought some weeks back. Last week I discovered by accident how good raw cabbage tastes when served with something hot. I decided to make this the basis for my lunchbox this week.

Clockwise from top right:

Basmati rice – delicious cold but just a quick blast in the microwave from being piping hot!
Dried figs and dark chocolate – I love this combination. The different textures and sweet flavours compliment each other perfectly.
Carrot and Cashew fans – This recipe came from The Vegetarian. It should contain carrots but the snow seemed to result in a lack of carrots. My local veg stall wasn’t there at the weekend and the Coop was out altogether. I used cooked red lentils instead. I also replaced the breadcrumbs with oats. It turned out rather well. Like a crumbly savoury flapjack. I think with a few more adaptations I could turn out a really nice savoury flapjack that isn’t too high in fat.
White cabbage and spring onions – Raw and crispy

Stay tuned to see more exciting ways with white cabbage!

Changing rooms

2010-01-11T16:19:00.000Z

It’s all madness here in the world of Midorigreen. Following last week’s snow fuelled disruption, I was hoping for a return to some thing approaching ‘normal’ and ‘routine’. It’s January after all. The time we expect thing to be dull and to actually have to get on with doing some work after weeks of doing very little because it’s (nearly) Christmas.

Instead bodies are being shuffled round and squeezed in to offices and offices are being redecorated. Cue having to pack stuff up in boxes, put up with strange smells and loud noises and find oneself with out a desk to call home.

It’s also made me realise how much I rely on having a computer. I’m trying to embrace my forces adoption of analogue. So this post was created in long hand first.

There doesn’t appear to be a working telephone extension in the space that has become my temporary home so I’ve absolutely no excuse for not working through the big list of jobs that didn’t get done last week. Wish it was still the holidays though and I could sit around in jeans and furry slippers drinking tea and doing sudoku.

This week I have been reading…

2010-01-08T14:45:00.000Z

Easy Living magazine – Just when I decide that I won’t renew my subscription to Easy Living an inspiring issue like February 2010 comes along.

The Musician’s daughter – Rupert Holmes
I’m not sure what I expected when I picked this up. A tale of the life of a jazz musician and his disapproving daughter maybe? This is a terrific story set in pre-WW2 America. You get an excellent flavour of the era plus crime, mystery, secret codes and jokes. This is one of those marvellous books where every turn of the page changes your expectations.

Silent in the Grave – Deanna Raybourn
I spent the last few months of 2009 devouring Mike Ripley’s Angel series. I was suffering withdrawal and wondering if there could possibly be any more wonderful characters out there for me to discover. Enter Lady Julia Grey and the March family. I’m half way through this and will definitely be heading to library to pick volume 2.

Passion – Louise Bagshawe
When Louise does chick lit well it is excellent. She can be by both funny and inspiring. Her works of late have taken a turn towards action plots. So the girl meets boy, loses boy, finds herself and regains boy in process plot gets reworked. This reworking tends to take the form of some kind of murder with an international flavour. It does not on the whole make me laugh or make me feel inspired. I found the supposed passion between the two main characters in this very hard to take. Other inconstancies around religious feelings, how quickly exercise has an impact on your body and all the loose ends being swept under the carpet by various governments did not enhance things. It is James Bond-esque only in that bond is a rather cold character in the original novels.

War and Peace
I’ve started this twice and not finished it because it’s just too big to carry around. My new solution is to keep it on my desk and read ten pages of so every lunch hour. The snow has rather hampered things this week but I’ll keep on with it. It’s just starting to get interesting.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-01-07T10:53:00.002Z

Chilled out birthday celebrations – I made the decision not to have any major birthday celebrations on the day this year. It’s a bit too close to NYE and everyone is partied out. Instead I’ll be celebrating some time in February. This took all the pressure off and meant I was able to relax on the day itself. In a very grown up manner I spent the day having my hair cut, doing food shopping, showing some new allotment buddies around the plot and eating/drinking good stuff.

Great gifts – I love it when you get a present that makes you realise that someone has thought about you. Really pleased with High Voltage Tattoo book, Bee house (from ethicalsuperstore) and Bass guitar Magazine subscription.

Exercise – my exercise routine was a bit lax between June and December. With the exception of belly dancing things were sporadic or non-existent. This week I’ve been going for walk at lunchtime and doing yoga before bed. I managed an hour walk yesterday through the snow. It was exhilarating to start with anyway.

Other good stuff -warm slippers, working at home, home made smoothies, avoiding the sales, fresh air, scarves for indoor and outdoor wear, The Musician’s Daughter by Rupert Holmes (who can resist a novel with twists, humour, music and a secret code), allotment buddies, blogging, packing up and clearing out my office, February Easy Living, plans to go to the Vitality show, lunch out, pink blusher for winter, friends old and new, frozen assets, countdowns, the year ahead.

Three good things about the bus not turning up

2010-01-06T10:06:00.001Z

My bus failed to turn up last night. As it frequently runs late it is difficult to tell the difference between cancellation and tardiness. I spent an hour standing in zero degrees and below. I arrived home feeling cold and somewhat annoyed that I’d lost part of my evening.

In The Little Lady Agency, Melissa/Honey tries to think of three good things about any situation she is less than happy with. I like the character of Melissa because she is both glamorous and organised. So taking inspiration I have tried to think of three good things about my bus not turning up.

1. Standing in the cold must burn more calories than sitting in the warm. Good excuse for me to enjoy a mini mince pie.
2. Reminder of how fortunate I am to live a life where I am able to catch a bus, have warm clothing and a home to go to.
3.Bit stuck on #3. Any suggestions?