Where I am very happy with myself!

Ok I could go on and on about Egypt and I might later in the week but for now I’m too excited about other stuff. Like the goals and resolutions we all set for ourselves at the start of the year. Two months in and how many of you have forgotten them already? A few of mine have quietly faded away but I’m rather pleased with myself as yesterday I ticked one off my list!I can make sushi!!!!! Yesterday afternoon I attended a sushi course and surprised myself with how easy it is…once you know how!

There are quite a number of sushi places in Brighton but the one I pass by regularly is called "Okinami" and they frequently have a board out on the footpath advertising their lessons. So Sunday I went along and it was great!

We learnt how to make the sushi rice, how to shape the rice and how to roll with the mats. We made Inari, Nigiri, Temaki, Maki rolls and California rolls.
An arty shot of the sushi...
Another arty shot of the sushi that I made.

Yes I am rather happy with myself at the moment! Just wait...I'm sure I'll do something stupid to repair the balance any minute now!!

By the skin of my teeth!

Essay three for your approval! My brain is dead but I'm rather proud of myself really. The threat of shame is great for motivation.
In other news I’m a bit lost knitting wise. Having finished off all my works in progress I’m not quite sure what to start next. I have cast on a scarf for myself (I need a green one) in the left over Patons Moonglow yarn which is nice and so, so, so soft, but hardly challenging. It’s so simple even I don’t have to look at the needles! Cast on 17 stitches on size 10mm needles and knit every row! The larger needles give that holey look and knitting every row makes every second row raised….which makes the scarf lovely and squishy with loads of texture. Perfect!
I think I need a larger project and will have to go through my list of “wants” to see which one comes next. Very exciting.

Two down......

Isn’t is amazing what a little motivation and accountability will accomplish? Rather that get to the end of the week and post that I was unable to complete the task I set myself, I’ve somehow found the dedication to (so far) complete 2 whole essays!
I’m currently ½ way through the 3rd one, which I hope to finish today and then perhaps tomorrow I’ll get on to a 4th! She’s on a roll people!!!
It hasn’t been easy. I used to be good at this essay stuff but I seem to have lost the ability to plan the train of thought in them over the decade plus that I’ve been out of the education system.

Still I’ve been sitting myself down every day at the computer and I’ve found that "treats" work great for getting the paragraphs to add up. Promising myself chocolate and “online time” might not be ethical…some might call it bribery!

I call it 2 down, 1 to go!!!

A new week, a new challenge

Oh I’m having a bit of trouble. I’m really a routine kinda gal at heart. Without routine I have a tendency to become distracted and before I know it I’ve spent the day on some obscure task such as alphabetizing my collection of theatre programs or reorganising my spice rack.

I’m finding that without work to set the routine I’m struggling to make the most of my days. Ok….no what I’m struggling with is the studying. Or rather the discipline that’s required for studying. It seems I can force myself to sit down for an hour every night for 4 months and spit out a cardigan at the other end but try to sit down at the computer for an hour or so and suddenly scrubbing the toilet seems like a great idea!

Even now I’m supposed to be studying. And here I thought that losing my work broadband connection and having to rely on my “home dial up Internet that is slower than a snail with a brick on it’s back” would prevent me wasting days of my life on the net. No sireebob!

SO…due to the mild success of last weeks finishing binge I am making another online commitment. I will finish four…no three (lets live close to reality) essays this week and post photographic proof on this very blog. If I don’t do it all of you who the statistics say are reading please feel free to post a derisive comment. On the other hand if I do manage to finish them I expect congratulations, hoorahs and some balloons!

Strange how it can be so hard to do things that we want to do….even when those things are those we are interested in.

A moment of reflection please

I think this time of year is for reflection. While most of the world seems hell bent on making resolutions that they swear this time will stick, I like to take a moment to look back over the year that is almost over and think about what I achieved…or didn’t.

At the start of each year I write down a couple of things for each part of my life that I’d like to achieve. Now that does sound a lot like New Year Resolutions but that's not how I think of them. For me these are not amazing and life changing things as resolutions usually are, but are experiences, tasks or skills that I think will stretch me and enhance my life a little. I guess there's little difference really but it's my blog and if I want to call them goals instead....I will!!!

I don’t always get them done. Life is fluid and changeable. What is right now might not be so right in a few months time but the point of it all is to find ways to live my life rather than just let it go by in a haze of 9-5ness.

So what did I achieve this year?

Well…I got myself sorted out online. Not only did I set up this blog but I’ve also managed to post fairly regularly! Gotta be happy with that!

Cooking wise, although I’ve not kept track exactly, I’m pretty sure I’ve managed to try a new recipe at least once a month. It’s certainly been a good year for soups and muffins!

Knitting of course has been successful this year and I have knitted two cardigans….one of which I actually wear!!

Although I haven’t finished my Correspondence course like I wanted to I have made good progress on it and am rather pleased with how I’ve integrated the things I’ve learnt into my life.

It hasn’t been a good year for writing unfortunately (aside from the blog and essays) and that’s something I’ll have to address in the New Year, however sometimes life goes in different directions and you have to accept that.

It’s not been the easiest of years for us. Lots of big decisions, hard choices and not a little fancy footwork to keep life moving forward. However it’s time now to move on, to take what we can and to welcome in the New Year with as much positivity and champagne as we can!

Have a Happy & Safe New Year everyone. I just know it’s going to be a great one!!!!

Soup Kitchen

Apologies for the lack of posts last week. I started with good intentions but lost my inspiration and I’m blaming the weather!
I know that this is England and so, not the sunniest climate and I know that it’s now October and so we should be expecting some Autumnal atmosphere. HOWEVER I, like the rest of the country was holding out hope that even at this late stage we might get something that resembles a summer.

It is clearly not to be. The weather has changed with a ferociousess that has taken everyone by surprise and left the whole country a tad shell shocked! It’s grey, it’s wet, it’s windy…hello winter!

I first noticed the change last Wednesday when I got rained on as I walked to work. Obviously the raincoat and umbrella I was using were inadequate for the tornado inspired squall I was caught in because it took my trousers till 2.30pm to dry out and my socks were still wet when I got home.
This is what I’m up against people. This and puddles in the sidewalk that could swallow a small person!!! (ME!!)

Sigh…but on the up side it’s SOUP season!!! And I love soup. It’s also snuggle up under a duvet season, Hearty meat pie season, DVD watching season, ignore the garden season, knitting season, Apple pie season and of course the dreaded Christmas season - although this doesn’t officially start till December.

But back to the soup season which is one of my favourites. I love me a soup and I have a huge number of soup cook books which, I realised yesterday, I don’t really use that much. I tend to just repeat the ones I know.
SO I am going to make a new soup each week until I get sick of the idea!! If they are good I’m going to post the recipe up here because I want to share the soupy goodness with you all. No, don’t thank me…I consider it my civic duty!

Also so you know I’ve put some new photos up on the photo page (follow the link here or the one at the top of the page). The photos are from the Medieval Festival we went to before we left for Canada.
I'll be making an effort in the next two weeks to get some others up there as well so keep checking back.

Happy Un-Birthday to me!

hh so it’s the day before my birthday and as I sit at my desk at work feeling all mature and smug I look down and notice I have a stripe of toothpaste right across my top. Classy!
I think this kinda sets the tone for the year to come really. “Tries hard but somehow always ends up grotty”.

I always like to reflect a little when my b’day rolls around. So what are a few of the best things that have happened in the last year.

Starting my correspondence course – despite struggling to get back into the study thing, deciding and signing up for this was a pretty major thing. It signalled a new direction in my life. It told me that my obsession with food was not just a passing fancy but a real and abiding interest. It took that obsession and moved it to the next level, from hobby to lifestyle. And although there are no thoughts of career changes now, it’s given me options….should I ever want them.

Learning to ski. Not so major in some peoples minds but it’s always bugged me how I never got back (after the previous disastrous experience) and showed that mountain who was boss. Now the mountain might still be laughing at me but at least I can get down it without bursting in to tears of sheer terror!!

Sorting out where I want to be in 10 years time. Not all the details are set in concrete but the dream is in place. We definitely want a reasonable amount of land with which to populate with pigs n other animals. Self sufficiency (or as near as damn it) is our lofty goal, a higher quality of health and life our aim. I think the big thing about this (cause I’ve known about it for a bit longer than a year) is that it’s not a huge goal. There’s no longer any dreams of being famous or fabulously wealthy, just a realisation of how we want to live our lives. And I’m happy with that.

Getting back in to knitting. It was a slow start but finally I made the leap from plain scarf knitter extraordinaire to someone who can actually knit a garment. An incredibly proud moment for me!! And not only did I finish a garment….but I immediately cast on another one! I’m hooked!

And where do I want to be in a year’s time (thought this might be interesting to look back on)

I think the obvious one is finished my course. That would be a real achievement for me after so many years of not studying. What I’ll do with the knowledge is yet to be decided but actually finishing the course is the first step.

Still knitting…..by this time next year I’d like to have mastered socks, be competent with most patterns and perhaps experimenting with lace. I like the look of lace….it’s prutty.

I’d like to think I’ll finally have picked up some fluency in Italian but it’s been on my list for a few years now and so I somehow doubt it.

Travel wise I would like to have climbed the volcano Stromboli, seen Moscow and Ireland.

I’d like to have taken a pottery course, learned how to make sushi and picked up a few more jewellery making skills.

I’d like to master bread making (in a machine) for brown, wholemeal and rye breads….I can do white but the others just don’t seem to work as well.

I’d like to finally get it in to my head about shutter speed and aperture and how to use them when taking photos. I know in theory but using it in practise is another matter for my brain.

Oh….and learnt not spitting on myself when I’m brushing my teeth….

Strange how there’s always more I can think of to do, than what can I remember I’ve done!

testing 1 2....1 2....

So…a blog.
Well it certainly seems to be what I’m looking for anyway. I’ve been running a web page for friends and family since we (my husband Matt & me) moved from Australia to the UK 6 years ago. As time has passed the webpage has become a rather high maintenance and more of a chore than a hobby. As a result it’s languished without TLC for the past 18 months leaving friends and family in the dark.
Time to do something about that I thought one day…and here I am. The blog thing seems easy enough, quick to update, upload photos, linking to other sites. I’ve probably just jinxed myself!!
So we'll see how it goes

Anyhoo…..a little about myself? I’m an Australian living in the UK. We moved over here to be closer to Matt’s family and are here indefinitely. And no I don’t know how long that means! My family is pretty much all in Australia but we have roots here so it’s interesting to travel around and see where my ancestors once lived.
Matt’s actually English Italian and has lived in Canada and Australia for large chunks of his life as well so he’s a bit mixed up…I try not to stress him out!!!! Nah he’s great and puts up with my…quirks without comment! And he can cook!!

I guess this blog is mainly for those back home that want to keep up with what we’re doing but hopefully I reach a wider audience and even get to make some new friends.
I'll be posting as frequently as I can think of things to write. Mostly stuff about my life and interests. But also posts about our travels (including spur of the moment on the road posts!!) and use it to showcase some of our keen amateur photography skills.

I’m also in to cooking, knitting, gardening, writing, reading, crafty type stuff and nutrition. And all of that will probably come up in conversation quite frequently. Knitting in particular at the moment…I seem to be obsessed.

Consider yourself warned!!!!!