Chocolate dog

Have made a green Thai curry and been to the gym since work ended (early) today. Reacquainted myself with the rowing machine, not a happy reunion. Managed only a few minutes before I was huffing and puffing like an old hippo. This was after 40 mins of power walking so it is not end of the world stuff.

Someone wrote a comment on the blog and I was thrilled. I am off to the Ardingly Antiques Fair next week with a friend and am quite excited. I am on the lookout for something for the hallway and of course for my ebay sales. I am now also on the lookout for a woman called Polly and a chocolate (coloured) dog. Have a look at her blog. What a fabulous way to live!

Jamie Oliver has let us down today. The mango icecream I made tasted fishy! All that went into it was honey, yoghurt and frozen mango pieces with some lime juice....mmmmm. The blender is not fishy, so what could it be? Something I did?

Fiddling around

This, my day off has been productive. Firstly I have been fiddling with the blog. To make it nicer to look at and hopefully more interesting. Not easy but worth perservering with. The blogs I follow are so beautiful to look at, always inspiring.
The fish (now called Gaspar after years of being nameless) has cloudy water and that worried me. The local fish shop is well known and they gave me some good advice when I raced down there this morning. The fish may not rejoice as much, as his food is to be limited for some time!
Another Jamie Oliver recipe for tonight, a meeting at the school for the upcoming trip to NORWAY....in my day a trip from Toowoomba to Brisbane was just amazing and that was by bus, returning the same day!
Then a little browse/shop planned in the wool shop this afternoon to use up my gift vouchers. My crochet hook has been calling me.

new work year

Back at work today with a nifty packed lunch of brown rice and black beans, astuyaki tamago (rolled Japanese omelette) veg, olives and fruit and yoghurt. Lovely to see all the crowd and everyone is being very positive about the January detox! Managed about 45 minutes at the gym during lunch hour, slow going, but it is a First Step.

Have heard from Artist Sister who arrived in Rome yesterday. This is her site: http://www.janethaslettonline.com/works.php
She is a scholar at The British School at Rome (http://www.bsr.ac.uk/) until the end of March, having won an award from the National Art School in Australia. We plan to descend on her in the next half term. I am incredibly proud of her.

Dissatisfaction x Vision x First Steps > Resistance

This formula is one that I read about over the holidays. It is not new but it works as a guide on how to do something about those things that are always in the back of my mind that remain undone and unchanged.
My problem is that I am always doing new things as well as looking for new things to do and there are times when I feel swamped. There is no end to what I want to be doing, but simulateously I want to be able to slow down and enjoy life more and the things that I do in my life!!
Even getting started on living by the formula is not easy. Big J and I talked about it alot. My solution was to keep a book of lists and ideas. Daily jot down things that must be done or I would like to do. Then work through the lists and get on with whatever is acheivable that day. So far so good. As long as the list is not a measure of things not done and a guide for organising and prioritising, it might work. Watch this space.
Done today from the list:
Christmas decorations etc put away. Living room dusted and vacuumed.
Rice and beans done for tomorrow's meal...
Lunch box ready to be filled. (I hate this one, but think how nice it will be to have a ready made lunch in the morning...yippee)

Now to order school sports socks and find out the dates for the first antique fair at Ardingly this year!

Big J

Big J is 52 today. A year ago he left his 30 year career to branch out on his own. It has been a very good first year, which he deserves. The man works seven days a week and every night after dinner. This year there are some big changes ahead, things may be more challenging. He will rise to them and we are all behind him.

Time for change

It is awful not to blog when there is one waiting for posts. It is like starting a diary at the beginning of a new year and then letting it slide...all that guilt! Not only that, but the sad knowledge that things have been missed and not recorded. Bearing in mind that the recording is for the writer more than the reader...readers, if there are any left, may not care so much...
The fact is I have missed blogging and am about to have another go at it.

It just happens to be New Years Day 2011, but that is less important than the fact it is a holiday and I am relaxed and at home and have TIME to write.

This is an odd time of year and for the most part, while I enjoy certain aspects of it, it is stressful and fraught. I am a natural Scrooge and do not like that Christmas seems to be about excessive spending and splurging when in reality few of us need more in our cluttered lives. My favourite part is the planning of the meals, the cooking and the eating together. A happy group around a table eating and drinking makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Tonight is no different, when we all sit down to eat it will be for a fabulous leek and turkey pie with a chestnut pastry crust. It is a Jamie Oliver recipe and much loved in this house. See for yourselves at this link
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/turkey-recipes/turkey-and-sweet-leek-pie

To blog or not to....

I miss not blogging, but struggle to make the time. This year I have spent less of my free time in the garden, but have been busier. I have been sewing and crocheting and selling fabrics on ebay. I have also tentatively started to run and joined the new gym in town to work on this. There is a girl at work who will run with me and row on the machines too. We may even enter a race if I can persuade her. 5k would be a good target for us.
Currently we are harvesting tomatoes, lots of them, beefsteak, plum and cherry. The raspberries have been brilliant this year and there are lots frozen for the winter months and delicious winter puds. The potatoes were not good this year and so next season we will rest the bed and fertilize it well. We have cabbages and courgette to come and have probably had the last of the cucumbers.
Now that I work four days a week there will be more time.
I was feeling at a very loose end recently about making things, sewing and being creative. It struck me that I should work on my beautiful Hawaiian quilt which has been put away for many years. No starting anything new, I want to use my things and what could be better? So for the last few days I have been working on it bit by bit and accept that it will take many months of patience to finish, but am so happy to be quilting again.
On Saturday I went to Hever Castle, home of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, with three friends. We attended a Quilter' Guild exhibition which was breathtaking, but I did NOT have my camera with me. Fired by the show and the fact that I am a member of the Guild now, I have a little dream that my quilt might have a chance to be shown one day.
Finally, I am loving work. It looks as though I may get a full-time contract and that is very positive. It is intense busy work and the days can be long, but given that I have one day off mid week, it is bliss.