Advance planning

In previous years I've spent a bit of time every week wandering around the shops looking at clothes. I'd see what was new in, try on an item or two and plot what I might buy.

This year I'm trying to only buy things I really need and that I cannot make myself. I've been wearing the clothes I already own. As a result I've haven't been planing what I might wear because I know it's going to be something from my current wardrobe.

Tonight is the work meal and rather than planning what to wear well in advance I only started to give it any real thought last weekend. I think on reflection this has been a mistake. Apart from anything else my body shape has changed slightly as a result of more exercise and better diet. Alas this means I'm not as curvy as I used to be and so some of my slinkiest party wear doesn't look quite so hot.

I had a panic at lunch time and ran around the shops trying things on. However, I couldn't help but think that I could have replicated many of the effects I admired. What I need to do in future is have a look around a month before an event that I want to dress up. This will give me time to make alterations and additions.

I'm wearing a little black dress that I bought when I was 16. I hope it works out OK. I need to wear it with attitude! I'm considering adding a floor length net skirt for future years. I'm also very keen now on the idea of making some slim satin trousers in dark grey. I've heard satin can be difficult to sew with though.

Next week I will post pictures of my latest present bags. I'll also try and get my head straight and embrace the festive season!

P.s. This is post 100!

Leftover carrots

What to do with leftover cooked carrots? Soup would have been the obvious answer, but since I'd just made a huge pot of rustic lentil and tomato from The garden of Vegan (only minus the pasta and blended so that Dear Heart would eat it), I needed something else!


Dozens of food/vegan blogs later I came across this post.

http://www.shespillsthebeans.com/kitchen/2006/05/chard_fritters.html


Inspiration struck. I had a go with carrots and ate them zapped in the microwave for lunch with a little tub of vegan mayo. Very nice. I was thrilled when a co-worker spied them on my desk and commented on how delicious they looked! She probably didn't know that they were carrots dressed up to look fancy! I should have taken a photo, but I'm sure this won't the last time I make this.

Great to have something go well today. I went to renew my bus pass and realised that I had forgotten my photo card. Then I went to the market to begin purchasing items for this weekends Thanksgiving themed brunch club. As I got close to the vegetable stall I realised that my carefully drawn up shopping list (highlighted and all) was still sitting on my desk.

Think I need an early night.

Use it up...quick

Every so often I am gripped by an urge to use up all the foods that are in the freezer and the pantry. I can see that at one point this probably prevented the cupboards from over flowing. I did have a tendency to pick up new and/or interesting looking products while wandering around the supermarket. I'd buy just in case the shop never ever had it in stock again (that's logic, right?).

However as I've moved away from shopping in supermarkets I tend to buy stuff as I plan to use it. I impulse buy less. The types of food I'm buying have also changed. The pantry is much more likely to be stuffed with dry goods than anything else.

However, I'm still feeling that I need to use up stuff. This ranges from the last spoonful in the jar to any unopened packets (why aren't they opened? I can't have needed to buy them that much). The freezer is quite full at the moment with frozen beans, blackberries and peas.

Then I spotted an item that I could use up and satisfy my urge (for the present anyway). I bought a load of bananas really cheaply at some distant point in the past. I prefer my bananas green instead of ripe so I froze the lot. I'd eaten most of them but there was half a box just waiting for me to get the urge to eat them. Trouble is where the weather wasn't too warm this summer the urge for frozen stuff wasn't too strong.

I put them to defrost and then made banana choc chip bars from one of the Sarah Kramer books. 4 minutes in the microwave and - yum!

My busy weekend

Dear Heart’s mother and sister were visiting on Friday night. I made my completely fail safe leek and cider casserole. I can’t actually remember where I got this recipe from. I’ve also made a number of alterations to remove the animal products. It always disappears whenever I serve it. Essentially, you chop and fry and onion, stir in a spoonful or so of flour, add most of a can of cider and a cup or two of stock. Let it cook for a few minutes and add some kind of chicken substitute, a peeled chopped apple and a sliced leek. Cook until the leek and apple are tender and serve.

I served it with mashed potato and Really big bread. The bread recipe is astoundingly easy and I suspect I will be making regularly. I got it at the marvellous vegweb.

Saturday was my day to be a rock chick as I had tickets to see Alice Cooper. It was completely amazing. Dear Heart and I had a really great night. It's ages since we've been to see a band and we've decided that we must do it more often.

What a show it was. I've wanted to see Alice Cooper from years but I've never had spare money for tickets during previous tours. It was fun watching the crowd too. It used to be cigarette lighters that appeared in the dark at concerts. Instead one could see the lights of mobile phones appearing among the crowd. They looked like constellations.

I got a t shirt which I intended to cut a v-neck into and make more fitted. However, I was delighted when I tried it on at home to discover that it fits perfectly and doesn't actually need any further alterations. Only snag is finding something suitable rock and roll to wear over the short sleeves during the winter months.

We got home around lunch time on Sunday and chilled out for the rest of the day. I finished reading Set this house in order by Matt Ruff. It's a great novel about Multiple Personality Disorder. I made some Hearty Winter Potato soup for dinner. Then we watched another couple of episodes of Lost. It's probably this combination that bought on such strange dreams.

The BrocanteHome Puttery Treats Challenge

Today my blog is inspired by Brocante home the source of all delicious, cosy and wonderful in vintage housekeeping. If you haven't yet discovered Brocante home do visit at http://brocantehome.typepad.com The puttery treat challenge asks for a post inspired by a certian puttery treat. I have chosen this puttery treat about vintage fabrics to start me off.

Use the stacks and stacks of vintage linens I know we are all hoarding. Stretch scraps of vintage embroidery over canvas and prop them one leaning against the other on your mantelpiece. Cover a pinboard in a tablecloth. Peg a line of pretty hankies across your kitchen window. Use crocheted table runners to scoop back your curtains. Decide to have a fresh pillowcase daily. Just for the hell of it. (It will be a teeny bliss you will come to adore). Use your bestest teatowels till they are threadbare because that is what they are for- to bring pleasure to something dull...

I rarely buy material and when I do it tends to be an end piece in the sale that has caught my eye. What I have been blessed with in abundance over the past few years is vintage fabric in various forms. Much of it came from my grandparent's house. My grandmother worked in a clothing factory for a while and used to bring home offcuts. When I see these I am transported back to afternoons at Nanny's making clothes for various toys while sitting in front of the gas fire. A plate of homemade buns and a cup of tea usually featured as well.

I've also inherited lots of curtains. Some are pairs in beautiful condition that I feel the urge to tuck away until I have somewhere to hang them. There is a pair in magnificent shiny green that have a gold sheen when viewed from the right angle. Some curtains have been damaged (one has a large round hole in the middle!). I also have pillow cases and antimacassars, often with beautiful embroidery.

The cupboard that I have designated for fabric storage is usually over flowing with bundles of fabric, ribbons and jars of buttons. To overcome this I have paper carrier bags. Only really lovely ones are permitted. I have a Kew one and two deep, dark blue ones from a charming home and kitchen accessories store called 31st of August. Into these I pack projects that are in progress.

Of course, progress doesn't always mean that I have begun the project, merely that the fabric has been designated for a project. I take a Saturday afternoon. Chilly Saturdays are best, but summer days when it is too hot to be outside are also pleasing. I will already have visited the High Street and purchased bread and other supplies for the week ahead. Dear Heart and I will have had a light lunch and he will be lighting a fire (unless it is summer) in the living room and settling down to play with this friends on Xbox Live.

I go up the stairs to the room I grandly call my study, mug of tea in hand. I close the door to block out the electronic beeps from below, disturbing the wind chimes hanging from the door handle. I might play music but not always. It's good to enjoy the small sounds of the house. I begin to unpack the fabric from my cupboard and from the bags. I examine each piece in turn seeing how it speaks to me. Sometimes a piece of fabric is clearly wanting to be made into a bag or a wallet or a dress. Sometimes when I sort through my designated projects I discover that the fabric has changed its mind and wants to be made into something else.

I fold the the fabric with a pattern if appropriate and any trimmings that I have to hand. Then it goes into the paper carrier bag ready to begin. Often a piece of fabric knows what it wants to be so much that I must begin to cut and sew immediately. A beautiful green and white curtain spoke to me this way in the early summer and I made a kind of wrap dress which I wore with white linen trousers all summer. A crocheted doily that wanted to be part of round drawstring bag.

Maybe I'll cut out the pattern. Or pin it to the fabric. Or decide to wash and iron a new piece of fabric. Or look through patterns and sewing books for inspiration. Or change the lace pinned up at the window.

When I've finished I pack all of the fabric back into the cupboard and bags. Maybe I'll leave out on my desk something that is actual work in progress. A piece of fabric with a needle and thread resting in it looks so pleasing lying on the wooden surface with light coming in from the window next to it.

Then (wearing my new creation if possible) I'll venture down stairs to Dear Heart and the fire. He'll hopefully admire my new work of art. I'll top up the mugs of tea and put some more wood on the fire. Then I'll curl up with a book on the sofa, pausing in my reading occasionally to admire my handiwork.

Lots to be grateful for

According to the always interesting Sewing my shadow on, it's gratitude month. Bloggers are encouraged daily to add an entry about something they're grateful for. I'm not sure I can commit to daily blogging. However, I do count my blessings most mornings and evenings either before getting up or going to sleep.

I have lots to be grateful for. Here are the first few that skittered into my head:
Dear Heart
Lovely friends
comfortable bed
My cat
beautiful house
breakfast
lunch
dinner
the colour green
my sister
tofu
kale
hot water

bread, boots and Lost

I think I've made progress with my sourdough. I've been making my dough too dry and the result is a very heavy bread. This week I made sure it was still capable of sticking to my hands before I began the second proof and it's much lighter with a chewy crust. I used rye flour and sunflower seeds for a change. The starter is doing amazing well and is happily bubbling away.

I'm getting in the mood to see Alice Cooper in Saturday night. I 'm so excited. I've wanted to see him live for well over a decade. I was really tempted to buy a new pair of boots f0r £20 from a cheap shoe shop. They weren't leather but I'm betting the glue was probably made from boiled up animals. they were probably made in a sweatshop as well. I resisted and got the glue out on my old boots. I don't very often get dressed up in rock/goth gear so a new pair of boots seems largely pointless. I am saving up for another good pair from www.bboheme.com

And finally, Dear Heart and I have been watching lots of episodes of Lost. Oh, wow. Every episode gets more mysterious. We're on the third series and I'm no closer to figuring out what's going on. I have to stay about from Lost websites, message boards and forums because I fear that I will be sucked in. On similar lines I've just finished a fascinating book on the Voynich manuscript. I suppose it would be the low tech version of Lost.

Tempeh

I love tempeh. However, it's quite difficult to buy (generally only independent health food shops stock it) and then it needs to go into the freezer (which means trips to purchase it need careful planning and cool bags). Hence I was delighted when Dear Heart suggested that I should consider making my own.

The only snag seems to be purchasing the culture. The closest place I've found it for sale is Belgium! However, I've signed up for the yahoo Tempeh group so maybe they will be able to direct me to a UK source.

Apparently Tempeh used to be widely available until the growth of the vegetarian foods market which saw a much greater variety in a wider range of locations. Thinking back I used to buy Tempeh 'bacon' at University, only I didn't know it was tempeh I just called it 'the bacon stuff with grains in it'. It was actually much nicer than the stuff that is just about everywhere now. You know the stuff I mean - it turns into cardboard in the microwave!

I'm still wondering what's going on at my local Holland and Barrett. Their chiller cabinet is empty most of the time. I'm eating less tofu than I have for years because they simply don't have any in stock most of the time.

This weekend I'm going to have a crack at making some cookies from The everyday Vegan. I've also purchased some rye flour and I'm planning on using that with my sourdough starter. I've got a new leek and potato soup recipes to try (Dear Heart has revealed it's the chunks he doesn't like in soup and that practically any flavour would be OK if it was blended). I've begun work on the Christmas present bags so I am also looking forward to a few hours of sewing.

Have a splendid weekend and enjoy the nip of winter in the air.

Casserole or stew?

I'm much perplexed by what the Americans call a casserole. To me a casserole is a load of vegetables (and meat if you are inclined to eat such things) in some kind of gravy like sauce. An American casserole seems to run something along the lines of mixing grated vegetables in mayonnaise, adding some grated cheese and topping with breadcrumbs or crushed crisps. Not that American style casseroles aren't delicious, just that I would call them a bake.

I certainly can't grumble as I've tried some delicious recipes from American and Canadian cookbooks recently. My (almost) father-in-law kindly gave me lots of produce from his allotment when we saw him last. Hence I've enjoyed a variety of salad leaves, cucumber (great with peanut butter), aubergines, beetroot and chillies.

The beetroot I used to make Garden Vegetable Borscht from How it all vegan. It's utterly divine. Such a shame Holland and Barrett are out of Better than sour cream because that would really set this off a treat. It would also go nicely with tonight's tortilla chip soup (from the same source). The fresh chillies were marvellous in this. Just the thing to eat as the cold begins to set in, here in England.

Other 'interesting' cooking was Cobb nut and spelt fairy cakes. I shelled and roasted the nuts a few weeks ago. I was expecting friends for Shepherd's pie and mulled wine after fireworks on Saturday night. I needed to get organised on Friday night as I was expecting to spend most of Saturday carting wheelbarrows of manure around my allotment. Friday night I rolled up my sleeves ready for a few hours in the kitchen. I whizzed through the preparation for the Shepherds pie, stuck the oven on to bake some potatoes for dinner when it occurred to me that I needed to make some kind of dessert. I had a quick rummage in the bottom of the newspaper box and dug out this recipe. They didn't turn out quite perfect (I'm useless with desserts) but I renamed them chaos theory butterfly cakes and enjoyed icing while listening to Alice Cooper.

My preparation paid off and I was able to enjoy fireworks and serve dinner to my lovely friends despite spending all day behind a wheelbarrow. Next project: preparation for a Thanksgiving themed lunch.

Have you been on holiday?

I haven't been away (accept for the briefest of visits to Dear Heart's lovely family), but I've had a lovely week and a bit at home. It's ages since I had more than I couple of days off in a row so I've been looking forward to time at home.


I finished work on the Thursday and Dear Heart and I went for dinner at the Italian near our house. We sometimes go out for a bottle of wine on a Thursday and then have a takeaway but we thought it would be good to try and have a meal with wine rather than a takeaway from time to time. I had the Caponata salad as usual but they make it so well.


Friday morning, I attempted to dye my hair green with Kool Aid while I sorted out my wardrobe. I seem to far fewer winter clothes than summer clothes. It was so nice to have the time to sort through and pull things out that needed washing or repairing. The dye didn't take which actually turned out to be a good thing when we went to watch the rugby the following night. I had no idea that South Africa played in green! I felt wonderfully domestic and autumnal pinning my clothes onto the line with scrunchy leaves at my feet and the sky a bright cold blue.


Wardrobes also featured on Saturday when I cleared two and a dressing table out of a storage unit. They came from my grandparents house and are Victorian/Edwardian. A lovely lady who I found through staff adverts at work was going to take them home and use them.


Sunday was brunch club and it was a truly lovely day. I so enjoyed spending such quality time with my friends. The food was lovely with much cider to be drunk (the hardship!). While everyone watched the motor racing I read through The gentle art of domesticity. If you haven't read the blog by the author, Jane Brocket, do have a at Yarnstorm. with so many family changes this year (relatives moving house and moving on), I really do appreciate my friends and what an important part of my family they are. We've got a few more things planned for the coming weeks which I am anticipating with delight.


I always feel that when I'm not at work I should be doing all kinds of useful things and worry that I'm not be effective enough. However when I look back on what I achieved in between a few lovely pub lunches I've actually done loads (ordered composter for my allotment, dug part of allotment, repaired clothes, made sourdough bread, vegan brownies, chestnut soup, shelled and roasted hazelnuts, made a curtain for the utility room , ordered 90% of Christmas presents, ordered seeds for allotment, found new second hand jeans, dyed hair purple to cover grey, cooked a new courgette/carrot casserole recipe, sorted out more boxes from my parent's house to list on Ebay). I do really do want to clear all of the boxes cluttering my study though.


The end of the week was great as Dear Heart and I went to the Midlands to visit his Dad, Stepmum, brother and sister. It's been an age since I've seen them and it was such a nice visit. I really feel like one of the family and time just flew by as we chatted, ate and drank. Lovely stepmum also sorted my hair out for me. I just didn't feel entirely happy with my last cut - it was sooo nice and I don't want my hair to be nice, I want it to be funky. It's now the shortest it's ever been and I love it. She also told me the right way to apply Henna so watch this space for further adventures with dye.

And now it's back to usual routines for a month or so before seasonal festivities begin to interrupt. I've pulled wads of fabric out of the cupboard to begin making bags for Christmas presents to go in. I've made weekly and monthly job lists using the planner at Brocantehome. November here I come.

Soup and sourdough

I made some bread from my sourdough. I was really worried that the starter wasn't actually ready because the bread was didn't seem to rise very much, but then I popped in the oven and it began to swell. Next time I need to put it some where warmer to prove. It tasted good anyway. I always thought that tang it had came from rye or something. I now realise that is the taste of sourdough.

Dear Heart has been reading Bad Food Britain. It appears to be having a bit of an effect on him. Often we have a takeaway on Friday and Saturday night. This week we enjoyed stir fry and pizza - both totally homemade. Sunday I wold normally make a big chilli or stews that we can eat it over two nights. Dear Heart suddenly announced he fancied soup. What kind?, I inquired. Potato he stated. Well, I have lots of potatoes because they are the one thing that grows well on my allotment whatever. I suggested the hearty winter potato soup from How it all vegan. So that' s what we ate it was delicious. I hope this will be the start of even more home cooked meals.

Food is a simple pleasureand since we have to eat we may as well enjoy it as much as possible. We're eating the other half of the soup tonight. Yum!

Why do these things only happen to me? - enter Cinderella

I usually get off the bus about three miles from work on Wednesday morning and walk in. I pack my clothes into my rucksack and, if there is no room for my shoes (as often there is not), I pack them in another bag. I have been using a sort of drawstring carrier bag (I got it years ago when I bought some dresses in Elle). It seemed to make sense to use it until it wore out.

Well, I think I can conclude that it has worn out. I arrived at work this morning, changed my clothes and then went to retrieve my shoes from the bag. However, there was only one in there and a big hole in the bottom! I clearly didn't hear the other fall out as I was listening to MCR as I walked (nothing like some angry rock to start the day).

So it will either be go barefoot for the rest of the day, buy some new shoes or hope that people think my my pairing of slightly grubby trainers with grey linen trousers and a lilac cardigan is a fashion statement.

Furthermore, what on earth should I do with the remaining shoe?

Nasty 'n' nice

I have a horrible secret. I like sweet and sour sauce. The nasty type that's all sugar and colouring and cools to a kind of gel. I ordered a pot on Friday night to go with my boiled rice and tofu.

It's been a while since I've ordered it but a book I was reading made me crave it. Amusingly the book was Bad Food Britain: how a nation ruined its appetite by Joanna Blythman. The left over sauce took revenge on me this morning when the polystyrene container it was in split on the bus and smeared itself all over the inside of a cotton bag.

So let me whisk you away from orange coloured nastiness and instead tell about my Sunday afternoon. I often cook on a Sunday afternoon and just as often feel that maybe I should be doing something more important instead. Blythman's book points out that in Britain we are taught to worry more about the cost of food (it's got to be cheap) than the what it actually tastes like. We are taught (by adverts and marketing campaigns) that cooking is something difficult that we want to avoid doing if we possibly can. But an afternoon of cooking delicious things to consume over the following week should be something to celebrate, not seen as a time wasting eccentricity.

So here's what I cooked on Sunday afternoon:

• I made a big pot of popcorn.
• I started my sourdough (which looks marvellous in one of the kilner jars from my Grandma's).
• I made caraway crackers (following Hugh F-W's recipe in Saturday's Guardian).
• I whipped up some fruit and nut bars. I've done these several time now and have started adding a variety of fruits.
• I also had a go at classic white uncheese (the shop I buy canned tomatoes from most unexpectedly had agar on the shelf). It didn't come out as firm as I expected. Maybe I need to add more agar. It tastes delicious anyway.
• Then I made a big vegetable casserole with lots of herbs for flavour and mashed potatoes for dinner.

Next weekend I hope my sourdough will be ready to make bread with. I'm also planning to make some digestive biscuits. If they turn out OK I'll use them as a base in future for lime tease cake.

so, dear readers, respect yourself, rise above the hype and adverts and cook yourself food from scratch at least once a week. Cherish time preparing and eating. Food is a necessity, so it may as well be a pleasure.

You can't park there!

One of my pet hates are people who park in bus stops. As some one who makes extensive use of public transport I find it really annoying when the bus has to let people off in the middle of the road. It also makes it difficult for people with buggies and the less mobile. No point in having buses that can lower themselves to the kerb if the bus is nowhere near the kerb.

I also find it quite annoying when people park on double yellow lines. I see the on the narrow High Street of our town quite often in the evening when people just can't be bothered to park in the car park and walk a short way to the bank or to collect a takeaway.

This morning as I waited for the bus I saw not one, not two but three vehicles all parked on double yellow lines on the High Street. One was using the cash point. One lorry was unloading. Two men with high visibility vests labelled GWC where doing something around water mains (and dropping their cigarette butts on the pavement!). I'm hoping that they were unaware of the car park just behind where they stood.

It's obviously the day for it. The poor bus driver after navigating his way around this lot, then was bought up short by another trade van on a country road.

I got off the bus at the hospital (one of my days to walk in to work) and was forced to take a detour because someone was parked across the 'ambulances only - do not park here' area and obstructing the footpath to boot. If it was A& E they were after the entrance and drop off point was just round corner.

This has been a really grumbly post so I'm going to finish by sending out waves of good thoughts to all those people who make my easier by driving around doing deliveries and providing services. Next time you pick up a newspaper or switch on a tap remember that in order for you to do that someone drove van somewhere and send a happy thought to the driver (wherever they are).

Where did it go?

It's just really hit me that summer is gone. This isn't a couple of days of rain in August. I can't assume that normal summer service will be resumed soon. It's October. It's Autumn proper. It's serious.

Things that have made me realise this:

• I'm wearing my new winter boots and thick tights.
• I've been cooking cold weather dinners for a few weeks.
• I've planned 90% of my Yule shopping.
• Manure day at the allotment is a month away

I've also looked at my entries for last October and realise that I changed my wardrobe over on 10th October last year.

Time to accept it's not going to get any warmer for a least 5 months and start taking action to take advantage of this.

Bliss is...

I seem to have had a very busy weekend what with one thing and another. I'm not quite sure that I am fully ready for the coming week. Last week seemed to be crammed with activity as well.

However, let me tell you about Wednesday night. I arrived home as the rain started and it was cold and grey outside. Dear Heart had gotten home before man and had made a fire (the first of this autumn). He insisted that I sit by the fire and warm up while he made me a cup of tea. It would have seemed rude to refuse so I did just that until he went to his Round table meeting at 8.30 p.m. I read the marvellous Bread Alone by Judith Ryan Hendricks and felt inspired to start making my own bread again ( I want to play with sourdough).

Anyway after Dear Heart had gone I needed to make myself some dinner and sort out some lunch for the next few days. I had a look in the fridge because I do like to see what I have in the way of leftovers and create from them. I found 2 rather dried out sweetcorn cobs, some melty pizza uncheese and a spoonful of chillies. So I boiled the sweetcorn until it looked a bit fatter, let it cool and then sliced it off the cob. I made a batter from gram flour and water and added in my leftovers. Ideally this batter would make little pancakes but mine always break up so I go for something that looks more like scrambled eggs. With lunch for the next couple of days sorted I popped some gnocchi from the freezer into some boiling water and enjoyed them with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Feeling blissfully warm in my belly I washed up and headed off to bed where I feel asleep with a contented smile on my face.

Here's to the week ahead.

No longer blue

I'm happy to report that I've solved my BSOD problem. I learned a lot more about my laptop and computers on my journey there and felt so satisfied when I resolved things.

So often in life we don't take care of things or notice them until they stop working. I hope I can pay more attention to the things that help my life to run smoothly. The old saying 'A stitch in time saves nine' is still relevant.

BSOD

My laptop keeps displaying the BSOD. Just when I wanted to get back to EBay.

I'm thinking optimistically. I've already learnt a lot from reading various things about dealing with a BSOD. I'm more likely to back up carefully and store photographs in other places. If I have to call in an expert I'll be allowing a professional to exercise their skills and might pick up some tips.

I'll be working on it this evening. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Vintage stuff

I'm completely thrilled to discover that a vintage fair is coming to town at the end of the month. After reading about such things in It's vintage, darling!, it will be marvellous to actually attend one. I doubt I'll actually buy anything though (although I do rather like the idea of a cloche hat).

I've become rather good at not buying things (particularly clothes). My purchases this year add up to tights, socks, flip flops (second hand) and boots. But part of the trick with this is not looking. Casual browsing of clothes, even when you have no intention of buying anything lead to spotting items that you might consider buying, even though you don't really need them.

I wandered into several charity shops last week. Partly because I wanted to try out some of the things from It's vintage, darling!, partly because I'm starting to think about Christmas presents (dear heart's music stand came from a charity shop and he was thrilled with it) and partly to visit the newly refurbished Heart Foundation shop.

I found myself seriously considering a pair of grey trousers for winter - this despite the day being sunny and my winter wardrobe not lacking grey trousers. If you don't look you can't want!
With Christmas on my mind, I'm planning on getting back on EBay and shifting some of the stuff taking up space in my study. I'll need to store the Christmas presents somewhere!

P.S. I visited Holland and Barrett midweek and they had Pure on the shelf. By Friday afternoon, there was only one tub left. It's obviously more popular round here than I ever realised.

Pure

What's going on with Pure margarine? I used to buy it from Holland and Barrett every week or two depending on how much baking I was doing. A couple of times they were out of stock, but it was the end of the day so I didn't think much of it.

I'm now struggling to recall the last time I saw it actually on the shelf. The Coop don't stock it (not sure if they ever did). The only alternative with no dairy is Vitalite (which only some Coops stock)

When did marg become a rare and exotic item that needed to be carefully sourced?

Something old, something new

I've got my new winter boots from Bourgeois Boheme and they are gorgeous (and they sensibly have adjustable straps to make them fit around my calves). I definitely needed new boots following the loose sole incident earlier in the year (see Pride comes before post in March).

Not only is the product really good, so was the service. This company has tried to make the experience as lovely as possible. When I needed to exchange ,because the boots I'd been eyeing up all year didn't actually fit me, it was no problem.

I'm thrilled to hear that Bourgeois Boheme will be at the Christmas without Cruelty fayre and have told Dear Heart that we need to go so that he can buy my Christmas present. Amazingly he agreed!

That being the new out of the way, I've been using something old - my Popeye lunchbox. It still has a label stuck inside with my name and class. I've used an insulated bag in the past but I like the more rigid metal container as it means things are less likely to get squashed. The flask is proving great for carrying soups without leaks.

Life is grand. I've had a marvellous week of early starts, evenings with cups of tea and early nights. Tonight I'm looking forward to a Whisky Sour (tried one at a barbecue last weekend- yum), but only one. I want to walk on Saturday morning and then engage in autumn type activities!

September

Isn't September a totally amazing month? You get the new start buzz of January but without the grey skies, depleted bank balance and general sense of gloom. There's enough of a nip in the air to make PJs, baked potatoes and hot tea an option. Yet it's still warm enough to venture for a walk without a jacket. The last of the summer fruit is still available but the first of the autumn stuff is coming in too.

The summer after I graduated I ran a B&B in a tiny isolated village in France. I had a marvellous time. However, I began to long for Autumn and particularly autumn in England. There were a stack of old glossies magazines and I lingered over recipes for stew and autumn fashions from a decade earlier. I also discovered an old paperback copy of September by Rosamund Pilcher.

So I'm happily cooking potatoes from my allotment, making soup and sorting out slightly warmer clothes to wear (not that this summer allowed for much skimpiness!). I'm happily snuggling on the sofa of an evening reading It's vintage, Darling! by Christa Weil and looking forward to my new boots arriving from Bourgeois Boheme. I'm considering the possibility of taking a days leave in October just to sort out my winter clothes. I can't decide it's a terribly sensible idea or totally friv. Would I be better spending a day making soup?

Just when you think you've seen it all online...

You discover the amazing Street Sensation which shows you shop by shop what's on some of London's most popular streets! Check it out!
http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/

Apologies for my recent lack of posts. I've been very busy indeed selling my childhood toys on eBay, getting the bride box page ready (do have a peek!), walking, allotmenting, cooking, reading and seeing friends.

I began to feel I was doing too much so I'm taking a break from eBay for a while. Sitting in the sunshine reading is so nice and makes me feel all relaxed - I don't want to approach autumn a worn out wreck!

Consequently this weekend I looked at my long job list and decided:

• I would eat up the veg that was in the fridge and if we were out I'd eat something else.
• I'd stop panicking about getting things of eBay and have a summer break
• I'd read in the sunshine if I felt like it - I can clean the house when the weather gets bad
• If it's too hot to go outside, it's too hot to work on my allotment
• There's no need to rush if I'm not due anywhere
• News of guests will be welcomed by expressions of delight over their arrival, not by working out bedding and catering options.
• A week of early nights increase optimism about the day ahead

So dear readers, don't put yourself through the grinder, be thankful you are alive and while the sun shines only do what you must!

It made my blood boil

Things have been hectic of late but generally in a nice sort of way. Who can complain that thy are busy spending time with friends and other activities of a similar nature?

However, I have found myself being infuriated about the recycling bin/collection debate. I get really angry with people complaining about the inconvenience of such systems. Won't global warming and a land fill site on every corner be even more inconvenient? If you fill your bins in a week perhaps it's time to stop buying so much so that your bins aren't over flowing with waste!

I'd best stop there before I get into full rant mode, but before I do I must say how happy I am with the waste service in Uttlesford. I was thrilled to discover the other day that all types of plastic can now be recycled in our bins. I'm happier still to realise that the amount of waste produced each week is diminishing.

The Renaissance soul

I commented to a colleague yesterday that my biggest problem is that I have too many interests. I want to read, walk, cook, grow vegetables, make clothes, make cards, make present bags, run a business, do my own website design, make my own beauty products, enjoy wine, dance, blog, watch DVDs, write, trace my family history, catalogue family photographs, practice Tai Chi and Yoga, manage a website, be involved with my professional association, enjoy the Sunday papers, keep in touch with friends...

I was reminded of a blog entry I read a while a go about a book called The Renaissance Soul. It suggests that having lots of passions and interests is a good thing. Rather than worrying that I have too many interests I should enjoy the variety and how these various passions enrich each other.

I've also thought about ensuring that I can enjoy each of these passions without taking on too much. Hence I have written to the town council asking if my allotment plot can be split. I'm finding my huge plot a challenge to keep up with and think a smaller plot would give me much more satisfaction. Not buying stuff if ?I can possibly help it has also helped here. I waste less time working out what to buy, adding up receipts and just generally browsing.

Isn't life great? Aren't the possibilites in life just endless?

Ironing water

Dear Heart has added ironing water to the list of groceries to purchase that lives on the side of the fridge. Alas, the Co-op do not apepar to stock such stuff. I fear that I may have to venture back into the dragon's den (Tesco) to get it for him.

Can there really be no other easily reachable outlet that has such stuff?

What I've been making

I finally got around to loading the pictures from the camera to my computer.

This is the bag my sister's birthday presents went in. I actually made it for another occasion but some pomegranate juice intervened. It washed out well though. The outer fabric is a napkin which lacked matching companions and I really liked the design woven into the fabric.

This is a dress I made from an old skirt belonging to my Mum. The waist was too tiny to fit me. I removed the broken zip and the waist band, cut into three of the side seams to make arm holes and the V-neck. I then machined sheering elastic around the waist to give it some shape. Very happy with this and it looks great over jeans.

More as soon as I clear the clutter I referred to yesterday.

Visiting my past

My house is currently looking extremely cluttered. This is not my fault. Honestly.

My Grandfather died a few weeks ago. This mean that the contents of his house (which have been in storage for some months) had to be dealt with. Additionally my parent’s are moving house after 35 years. It would appear that they kept all of my childhood toys (the place was groaning with care bears, my little ponies, sweet secrets and more) I also seem to have gotten in on the hoarding thing myself. They uncovered boxes in their loft that I had packed between my first and second year at university.

The end result is that a large number of boxes and some pieces of furniture have arrived at my house for sorting. It’s been interesting sorting through them. I had several scrapbooks and folders devoted to Bros. Additionally, I also collected information on Jason Donovan, Tommy Page and Twin Peaks. Clearly, My vocation should have been a role in a press cuttings agency.

Having so much extra stuff to deal has made me consider clutter that I was already hoarding. Some of it is stuff that I packed away in January (but somehow no longer want). Much of it consists of items given to me as gifts that I feel morally obliged to hang onto.

Today I took a stash of old earrings into work and was thrilled when people picked out some of my old favourites to keep. It’s so nice to see something that you once loved but no longer use gain a fresh lease of life.

Much is going to a charity shops but I will try some items on ebay. I wonder if there is a market a signed Jason Donovan 12”? Or a Bros Christmas box?

It’s been fun revisiting my past but I’ll be glad when it’s taken care of so that I can get on with the future.

P.S. Anyone interested in a wardrobe or a dressing table?

Fabric stash

A dear friend is getting married in August and for her hen party we are going to a Great Gatsby Party in the gardens of Easton Lodge. It's a 1920s theme night with a jazz band.

I intended to make a simple dress, adorn it with trimming, wear during evening and then remove trimming and have a pretty summer dress to wear.

With this in mind, I headed off to the fabric shop at lunchtime, with the vouchers Dear Heart gave me for Christmas. I had a hard time choosing between all the different fabrics on offer. I kept having to restrain myself from selecting something that I wouldn't be able to wear on a regular basis after. Happily I managed to find some fabric I liked in the quantity I needed in the remnants bin. I also found some pale green spotty fabric which will make a lovely summer dress. And I picked up some fabric dye to dye my rather tired looking once-cream espadrilles.

I left the store thinking about which fabric I would use first when I realised that I have perfectly nice green and gold dress at home that would do for the party. It has a tiered skirt with a very low waist. It will look excellent with a green and gold headband.

Now all I can think about is what other patterns I might use my fabric to make up. I'm rather busy over the next few days and the weekend which is rather frustrating because I just want to get sewing.

Out of sync

I'm feeling a little disconnected.

I've lost the plot on menu planning. Usually I'm full of ideas for delicious lunches. Right now it looks like it will be peanut butter sandwiches for lunch tomorrow.

I was initally thrilled to get my summer clothes out. However, the weather isn't as warm as it could be. Nothing fits. It's all too big (which is better than too small). I don't know what pieces to put together or which shoes to wear.

I should be making use of my time to work on some of my projects. But I don't feel like doing anything.

In short I feel like I've lost the plot and don't feel very inclined to get it back.

Perhaps I need to spend a few days reading quality chick lit and eating chocolates?

The curse of the roller disco

I fully intended to post an entry about celebrating my sister’s 30th birthday the day after. However, we spent the evening at a roller disco. Roller skates and alcohol are a dangerous combination (particularly when you have no natural sense of balance). I came off better than my Brother-in-law (looking forward to signing the plaster cast on his wrist).

My sprained elbow is improving. However, I find myself reaching further than it will allow me at times. Over the last couple of days I’ve replaced a book on a head height shelf, found I couldn’t raise me arm high enough to get the book on, but neither could I bring my arm down. Solution? Use my head to head butt the volume into place.

My behind is also rather bruised and clearly needs to have more fat on it (hello vegan cupcakes).

What else have I been up to?

• I’m up to book 12 of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. A big thank you to the lovely friend who made me read them when I wasn’t sure.
• I’ve discovered Facebook.
• I wore the dress I made my Mum’s old skirt. I’ll post a picture here soon.
• I changed my summer clothes over on Saturday, slightly earlier than last year. It was just as well I did as I certainly couldn’t lift a suitcase off a wardrobe at present. Alas when I tried to dress for work this morning I discovered that all linen trousers needed ironing (never a talent of mine even without a sprained elbow). Having located a pair of trousers with a patterned weave (excellent for hiding creases) I then discovered they are enormous around the waist. Clearly I need dessert more often.

I think I’m in something of an energy slump so I’m going to go with the flow for the next week or so and assume that high levels of energy will return as my bruises fade…

I walked the walk

Well, today I’m finally recovered enough to actually post about the Moonwalk. It’s interesting to note how much space is devoted to preparing for a marathon while what to do after tends to get skipped.

I made it round in less than 7 hours. I can’t recall if I feel better than I did last year or not. The weather was better; just fresh rather than cold and wet.

My sister was a total star. Not only did she make it round in less than 6 hours, but she had spent all day Saturday at college!

I’d also like to award a star to her lovely husband who allowed himself to be woken up at 4 a.m. in order to come and pick up at 6 a.m. Thank you, Mr T.

Also a big thank you to Dear Heart, who has been looking after me all week. I’m quite keen to get back in the kitchen.

I don’t think I’ll be walking again. Trying for a faster time every year doesn’t really interest me. However, I intend to keep walking every weekend and I think I might volunteer to be crew next year.

My Mother’s Wedding Dress

I’ve just finished reading My mother’s Wedding Dress by Justine Picardi. It wasn’t quite what I expected. I’d read a magazine article had written about the book. It featured lots of pictures of clothes she had worn in the past and her reminiscing about how she felt when wearing them, why she bought them and how she felt about them now. I expected the book to be more of the same.

Instead the book was both angry and bewildered in tone. Picardi was clearly affected deeply by her sister’s death (and who wouldn’t be) and this theme of loss is one that runs throughout the book. She also seems to be rather obsessed with feathers.

However I intend to use what I expected the book to be about as inspiration for future blog entries. It made me think about clothes in books I read as a child. My favourite Enid Blyton story was The Enchanted Cloak (from Tales after Tea). I had a purple crocheted cloak (where is it now?) that I called by the name and used in endless games.

I remember the Fossil sisters in Ballet Shoes (Noel Stratfield) needing dresses for auditions. I remember Pagan, in Lace, taking her dead father’s clothes from the attic and finding a use for them and Maxim’s wonderful French style. I think Lace was the book that made me wear black and white for years because it claimed it was the best way to stand out I newspaper photographs (for maximum impact, wear stripes!). This was clearly before newspapers all had colour photographs. In fact, I’m sure I would of embraced a catalogue that came with my copy of Easy Living this month. All the clothes in it were black or white. I doubt I would have actually bought anything but I would have kept it next to my bed as a style bible.

A golf themed gift

I though I'd share the present bag I made for Dear Heart's Dad's birthday with you.

He's a keen golfer so I made this bage with a picture of a golf ball bouncing towards the hole. It held a 'Jobs to do before Golf' notepad.

Monthly updates

Have not been abandoned - I'm just trying not to be so hard on myself while training for the Moonwalk (sponsor me at www.bmycharity.com/v2/babeinabra).

Additionally I appear to have hit a couple of snags with meeting some of the other targets. See, I need a pan of some kind to put my t-shirts in in order to dye them. I've been unable to locate one so far and can't see any point in buying a new pan just to dye things in. My parent's are moving house so I've out them in the alert for any suitable receptacles that they may be binning.

The 'not buying' is becoming much more of a habit. I've been buying more food from the market and shopping for small quantities of food when we actually need it rather than doing a huge shop once a week at Tesco. I still count my blessings everyday.

Come the start of June my moonwalk obligations will be out of the way and I intend to revise my targets and post the new list here.

Leafy greens

I went to the Vitality Show at the end of March. I was delighted to find a stand selling laptop lunch boxes. I resisted the urge to purchase one (Dear Heart would faint if I added any more containers to my fantastic plastic drawer). However, I did buy the Vegan Lunchbox book. It is every bit as good as expected and I’ve made a number of the recipes, most notably Veggie Wellington. I didn’t think it was available anywhere in the UK so this was really good to find it.

I’ve been really working on the eating seasonally thing and have also been to trying to buy from outlets other than supermarkets. I love the covered market near where I work. Recently I’ve been purchasing Spinach, Watercress (so divine in a sandwich for breakfast) and Kale. Buying what is in season is giving new value to my cookbook collection as I try to find the best to way to cook vegetables that I’ve never really tried before. I think my tastes are changing as well.

I find it hard to believe that I’ve never eaten Kale before. I tried out Emira’s speedy gourmet Kale and Tofu delight (picture below), from Dolce Vegan and was so impressed. I had to resist not eating the whole pan at once instead of packing it up for lunch. Dear Heart said it looked so good I had to take a picture (although he doesn't seem keen on eating it).

I really want to try Jennifer’s recipe for Asian Spinach but, keep getting distracted by the delights of mixing spinach with green lentils. I've also made watercress pesto (so easy, so quick and so delicious).

I’m looking forward to the first tomatoes of the season but quite frankly am very happy with spinach, kale and watercress for the time being.

Post yoga

Just in case anyone is wondering , I survived and am now feeling pleasantly stretched and sleepy. After wandering into the plant room by accident I found the 'sports hall'. It was very warm which means I won't need a jumper and two pairs of socks next week.

I was able to keep up. Some of the moves I knew (but some by a different name). Some I knew bits of and some I had done but had no idea they had a proper name. It's different to my old class but changes are good and must be embraced (even when we don't want to). The next few months look like they will be full of change but they will be interesting!

Yoga

I've been without a yoga class to attend for the last month or so. Happily there is lunchtime class that takes place an extremely short distance from my desk so at lunchtime I'm off to give it a try.

I'm excited by the prospect of doing yoga again. My attempts to practise at home (even aiming for just one exercise a day) have tailed off.

However, as I found myself putting together the kit I needed for today it began to dawn on me that this will probably be slightly different to my experiences of yoga so far. It won't be in a church hall where the temperature plummets in the winter (even with the heating on). I think there are proper changing rooms. It seems unlikely that the tutor will be a wonderfully eccentric art tutor who throws in exercises from other traditions if he thinks they will be valuable.

However it will be lovely to stretch my body again. Walk training has been keeping me fit but possibly not flexible.

Serendipity

I think I recently experienced serendipity. I was visiting Bury St Edmunds. One my last visit there I attempted to find the town centre without following directions. IT was interesting but I think I walked a long way out of my way. On this occasion I decided to follow the directions the first of which was to cross the road at the railway bridge. Alas the traffic was very heavy, but in the distance I could see a crossing point! Grumbling slightly I headed towards it and was rewarded when I had to pass the site of St Saviours Hospital as a result.

The remaining ruins were amazing. I also liked that the site had been planted with rosemary (for remembrance?). Have a look here and you can find out more and see some pictures http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/sebc/visit/St-Saviours-Hospital.cfm

It really made my morning to discover such a fascinating site on my way to somewhere else. This is definitely one of the benefits of public transport. You get to see things that you miss if you are in a car going straight from A to B.

I was even more thrilled when I got to the town centre to find the ruins of Bury Abbey. I spent a big chunk of childhood holidays wandering around ruined castles and loving every minute. Hence this was right up my street! This site has some marvellous pictures of the bits of ruins that are still standing. http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/buryabbey.html

I liked it so much I went back at lunch time for a further wander!

In a similar vein was recently asked for directions to The Flitch Way as past of it runs near where I live. Well despite living here for 5 years I’ve never gotten around to exploring it. Having given directions I felt I simply had to check they were correct. Dear Heart and I got the bikes out on Sunday and had a look. It was simply amazing. So close to the town, but so quiet and hidden away. It was like discovering a secret valley. I think that once the Moonwalk is out of the way I’ll be visiting this a lot more.

Mother's Day

I was a creative little bunny for mother's day this year. My original plan to cook dinner from my Mum at my house was out. My Grandmother was visiting near where my parent's live and was going to drop by.

Following a chat with my sister and my Dad we moved the cooking to my parent's kitchen with input from sister, Dad, me and Dear Heart.

I made this card for my mum making use of some magazines I was about to throw out. I just love the 'Mum' spelt in jeans on the back.

I made couple of present bags this week. One with a present for my grandmother in it (bath bombs) and one for Dear Heart's sisters birthday. I find that I'm really busy as the moment. Particularly as a result of all the time I'm spending on Moonwalk training. I think I might have to reconsider the targets I am setting myself while I'm spending time on training. I also need to sort out in my head all the books I've read about not spending, how evil supermarkets are, how cheap proper food can be and quality of life. I'm sure they all tie together but I'm getting bit tangled up in all the principles at present. Anyway, here are the bags. Enjoy the cute green signature hearts on the backs (reminds me of the care bears!).

I'm off to try and wind up my ever growing job list, eat more carbs (lots of walking means I now have to wear a belt with my jeans to get them to stay up to a decent point!) and get my head together!

P.S. I cannot believe that 2 weeks have passed since my last entry. I will try harder to blog at least once a week, particularly during busy (and therefore interesting) times.

Pride comes before...

...your boot falls apart!

Let me start at the beginning. I headed off to a meeting this morning feeling rather smug. I've taken to wearing leggings (so much warmer and so, so much more comfortable than tights) and long in the winter. Alas the leggings were a little worn (i.e. ripped to the knee) after 2 winters but a few minutes with the sewing machine sorted them out. Any lining my boots might have had had also worn away but I made some lovely inner soles to stop my getting sore and keep them warm.

As I'd arrived early for my meeting and congratulating myself on my thriftiness I went to a coffee shop to enjoy a large cup of Earl Grey. As I sipped I read a little more of Not buying it. the time came when I finished my tea and exited the coffee shop. However as I did so I lost my balance. Righting myself and hoping that I didn't look too stupid I then realised there was something odd going on with my boot. The sole was hanging off.

Admittedly I noticed the sole was a little loose in places the other day, but I thought it would last me until the end of the winter. It became clear almost immediately that I was going to have to take some action. Should I buy some blue tack to hold it in place? Would chewing gum work? I shuffled into New Look who, of course, aren't stocking boots at this time of year. I tried all the charity shops in the area. They either had no long boots, the boots were leather, too small or had skyscraper heels. I then decided the answer was to buy pair of tights to replace the leggings and some colourful flat shoes.

Unfortunately I bought the tights before I realised that all the shoes available were too boring to spend money on, over priced, open toed or way too high to walk in. I was also cutting it rather fine for my networking meeting.

Working on the belief that people don't tend to notice flaws unless you point them out I tied sole to the top of the boot and went to the meeting. Once there I stayed seated (with my bag practically on top of my boot) for as much of the time as possible and left at the earliest opportunity. I couldn't concentrate anyway and spent part of the time making a list of all the shoes and boots that are currently sitting in my porch waiting to be worn. They'll be seeing a lot more action over the next few weeks and I will be buying new, good quality boots next autumn.

Time for a rest

I'm training for the Playtex Moonwalk once again. I did 8 miles on Sunday and got totally drenched. I only realised how wet I had gotten when the clothes were still wet yesterday. I took advantage of the better, although windy weather yesterday to enjoy a number of hours working on my allotment. The planting season will be here soon. I'm still finding potatoes from last year's crop as I dig the ground over. These are very welcome as the pantry at present only contains those too small to bother peeling.

I also did lots of cooking (and therefore washing up). I redyed my hair for the first time since I had it cut short (dyeing with Kool aid doesn't really count). I'm used to having a large porous surface (i.e. lots of hair) to soak up the dye so yesterday it was going everywhere. I looked like I something form a disaster movie. Hence the bathroom then needed lots of cleaning.

Anyway as a result of all that physical exertion I began to ache all over yesterday evening. Therefore I'm planning on a nice quiet evening with a book on the sofa. I've just finished World War Z : an oral history of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. It's an amazing book, but one that does tend to stay on your mind (paranoid? me?).

Tonight therefore I will be reading Not buying it: my year without shopping by Judith Levine. I imagine that this will have no mention of zombies. I'm hoping it may provide further inspiration for my frugal quest. Additionally I've heard very mixed reviews. I read an extract in one of the weekend papers last year and I must of enjoyed what I read because I wrote down the title to check on the library catalogue.

I'll report back later this week (hopefully) on if Not buying it was worth the wait.

Loyalty points

I have about £30 worth of Boots points. This would keep me in hair dye for a year. Yet what do I do when I need dye to cover the grey? I pay for dye with actual money. Why am I saving these points? They won't gain interest (unlike real money). The last time I saved them up I kept thinking that I'd buy myself a treat but I ended up using them to buy a present for someone else.

Time to save few pennies and get to Boots with my Advantage card rather than my Switch card.

My monthly update

Managing to do this post in timely manner is definitely a good start. So here is my progress for this month and my to-do's for March.

Use what I have

• Still no clothes purchases
• Resisting buying excess food
• Utilised an old laptop bag to make a portable craft bag (all the little pockets come in really handy)
• I am still not buying glossy magazines and I do think this has made me want less. I started to keep a list of things that I wanted to buy in January and some of them would have been very easy to justify. Of course, vacuum storage bags would be a good thing to buy. A big bag would make carting all possessions around much easier. But as time as gone on I abandoned the list because I didn't seem to be generating the same wants. I'm currently reading (borrowed from my local library) The New Spend Less Revolution by Rebecca Ash.

EBay/ Freecycle at least one item per month

• 5 items sold on EBay this month. It is so nice to be freeing up space in my study.

Count my blessings

• Still loving this one. I have so much to be grateful for.

Be more mysterious

• Trying to keep quieter but I've found an urge to share the joys of positive thought. Perhaps I'm denying my true (non-mysterious) nature?

My to-do’s for February

• Post at least one picture on this blog completed - no excuses now for not adding more http://prettylittleblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/my-gift-bags.html
• Redesign my home page Completed - I'll try and make a few changes every month http://www.prettylittleparcels.co.uk/
• Post target update at the end of the month completed - this is it!

My to-dos for March

• Dye two t-shirts that I have in my projects to do bag. I have the dye I just need to find a vessel to put it in. This project has been waiting ages to be done.
• Make 4 gift bags and tags to photograph and sell.
• Scan 25 photographs from the old family photo album.

Have a great March!

I resisted!

I've always liked things in shops that have been marked down from their full price. When Racing Green still existed I filled my wardrobe with cut price garments from their website. I linger around the reduced shelves in Boots picking up hair dye in odd colours (although they all look much the same once on my hair). I always look at the reduced produce section in supermarkets.

Yesterday I popped out to the Co-op to buy a loaf of bread. It was the only thing we needed. When I go there I discovered lots of marked down things. Happily the bread was reduced, but so were lots of other goodies. I was about to go and get a basket so that I could indulge in this bargains when I questioned if I really needed some blueberries from Peru or Strawberries (in February!) from Chile.

I'd done the usual round of food shopping on Friday. I'd planned my menus for the week and purchased the necessary ingredients. I'd even been to the market to buy fruit and vegetables in brown paper bags. Did I really need to buy lots more food in plastic wrappings?

I left the store several minutes later having bought just the loaf of bread required. A lesson learnt. Just because you can buy it doesn't mean you should.

My gift bags

I said ages ago that I would post some pictures of the gift bags I made. So this weekend I got the camera out to take some pictures for EBay and did a couple of the gift bags while I was at it. these are bags that I made for Christmas 2005. The reason that they are currently in my possession is that they were reused this Christmas to give a gift to me. Isn't recycling a wonderful thing! I made this one for Dear Heart's sister and it had a DIY book, muffin tin and a muffin recipe in it. It was bulging with Benefit make-up and other goodies when it came back. The ribbon definitely needs an iron before I reuse it this year.


I made this one for my Grandfather and to my shame I can't remember what I put in it! It doesn't show up very well in the picture but the net around the candle flame is orange.


I hope to have a profile photograph soon so watch this space!

Planet Organic

I recently ran out of nutritional yeast. Nutritional Yeast unfortunately doesn't not seem to be something that can be picked up easily in any old health food shop (Holland and Barrett take note!). I love visiting the kind of places that sell it (like the Natural Way) and browsing all the marvellous things on sale. Alas I knew that I was not going to be near a branch of the Natural Way and was trying to work out if I should arrange a trip and when I might be able to fit it in.

Yesterday I had to go to London for a meeting so I decided to see if there were any health food shops near where it was taking place. I was just thrilled to discover that there was a branch of Planet Organic just two streets away.

Oh and what an experience. It was so much larger than I expected with so many more things. The staff must have thought that I was a bit strange or was about to start shoplifting because I just couldn't decide what to buy. Alas I hadn't taken a cool bag so I couldn't buy any frozen food (but next time I will). I had to restrain myself from buying a vegan calzone, spinach wrap, rice ball or sushi to eat immediately (when I had sensibly packed my own lunch).

What I did buy was Larabars (Kenny has talked about them so much), a Nana's cookie (which could almost actually be good for you), some kind of chewy seitan and hemp bar (very chewy and very tasty), squirty soya cream and the nutritional yeast (imagine if they hadn't had any).

I then began to worry about how much stuff was imported and wrapped in plastic. Hence I'm trying to see the products I bought as inspiration rather than things that are about to become regular additions to my diet! It's just so good to go somewhere where vegan food is normal. I now really understand the phrase about children in sweet shops. Being vegetarian/vegan restricts your choices. If you go out to eat or buy a snack or lunch there will probably be only 2 things on the menu that you can eat. They will also probably be really worthy stuff (a salad when your pals are overloading in fat and carbs), foods that you would never have chosen to eat (I have only ever eaten Mushroom stroganoff in a restaurant) or really boring food (tomato sauce and pasta).

So being somewhere where there are dozens of choices is difficult. I'm not used to having to make such decisions. I'm out of practice!

P.s. Unlike some other shops they immediately understood that I wanted to use my own bag.

February here I come

Here’s my update of the changes for 2007 that I posted a few weeks back

Use what I have
I think I have conquered my glossy magazine addiction. Other good things to report are:
· I have not bought any clothes.
· have been taking lunch (and on occasion breakfast) to work.
· made my dad a birthday card and some fudge and popcorn to go with his birthday present.
· Sorted through the fabric and half finished sewing projects lurking in my study. Hemmed a skirt, finished turning an old pair of trousers into a skirt and made some spare curtain fabric into napkins.

EBay/ Freecycle at least one item per month
I listed 3 items on eBay in January. I sold one, didn’t sell one and the auction on the third is still open. I also sold my Mum on the joys of Freecycle.

Count my blessings
I so enjoy doing this one. It also ties in well with this amazing book on positive thinking I’ve been reading called Excuse me, your life is waiting. Written by Lynn Grabhorn, this is well worth a read, so get to your local library.

Be more mysterious
Not really sure how I’m doing on this one. I think it’s probably also about listening to other people more.

My to-do’s for February

Post at least one picture on this blog

Redesign my home page. It really needs re-doing and I've been learning a bit more about HTML at this marvellous site http://www.w3schools.com/

Post target update a the end of the month (unlike this month)

Those aren't many targets for February, but better to set small targets and exceed them than aim too high and lose heart.

Resolutions update...

I promise to do one tomorrow!

Today has been horribly hectic (despite my best attempts to be marvellously organised).

Not a very good start. I'll have to set myself lines if I don't pull my socks up.

Kenny's back!

I'm so thrilled. Kenny at http://veganlunchcast.blogspot.com/has returned. I still have him listed on my favourites, but had stopped checking his site on a regular basis because I thought he was gone forever.

This morning I clicked on it by accident and discovered that not only is he back, he has been for almost the whole month. That meant that I had several weeks of yummy looking lunches to catch up on. He's such an inspiration. I've recently gotten into the habit of making something (like fake tuna salad) and eating it over the course of a week. I need to make my lunches more varied.

I also discovered 2 new sites through looking at Kenny's links. Flippantly Vague Musings of a Quirky Vegan looks like one that I will be reading everyday. I also liked this recipe site http://www.pakupaku.info/

Talking of recipes I had a go at making vegan sweets at the weekend, using recipes from La Dolce Vegan. My truffles were a bit of a disaster. I couldn't get either the Carob-almond or the Chocolate-Walnut to set. I'm sure I'll find another use for them as even unset they are delicious.

However my mint chocolate fudge (minus the mint essence) did set and tastes amazing. I've never been able to manage fudge before. This time I used my Grandmother's cooking thermometer and so actually boiled the stuff for long enough (rather than getting scared when it foamed up).

I've been doing lots of walking (managed at least 4 session last week in excess of 30 minutes) so I deserve all this sweet stuff! Well, some anyway!

Making it different in 2007

These are the things I want to start or change in 2007 following my observations during the first few weeks of 2007.

Use what I have
I have enough. I don’t need to buy more. I should enjoy the things I have (things I choose for myself in the first place). So I’m going to try and make this the year I buy as little as possible. The stuff I have (and have been taking with me every time I have moved house) is amazing and I need to use it up before I buy anything else. For example, I dug out last night some purple embroidery thread. I bought on a school trip to France in 1987! I’ve got stacks of postcards, writing paper and notepads. I’ve got enough clothes. I can take lunch to work every single day. Working towards this will be good for my purse and good for the planet. If I really need it (and can’t find a substitute) I’m going to get it second hand or make it before buying new.

Ebay/Freecycle at least one item a month
This is a kind of follow on from the above. I’ve got lots of things that I no longer really need but someone else might enjoy them. This is less about making a profit and more about clearing space.

Count my blessings
I’ve already been trying to do this. If I wake up before the alarm or can’t get to sleep I think about all the things I have to grateful for (a warm bed, fantastic boyfriend, my cute cat, and so on). If sleep right to the alarm then I count blessings while I shower (hot water, nice smelling shower gel, animal friendly shampoo). It proved an effective way of blocking my worries about work, life and the universe in general.

Be more mysterious
This might seem a strange thing to put on a blog, but in RL I’m certain that I go into too much detail and give people far more than they need. Let me restrain myself a little and let them wonder.

My monthly targets will begin in February and I’ll try to update regularly how I’m getting onwith making my life different.

The truth about hairdressers

Having gone for the big chop on Monday what I always suspected about hairdressers has been proved true. Yes, they really want to cut loads of it off. My very lovely hairdresser was perfectly nice when I arrived at the salon but she became really lively when I announced that I was going much, much shorter.

Still I suppose it must be quite boring just trimming tiny amounts off hair all day and I've very happy with my new style. I realise that I just don't look like me when I look in the mirror now.

I still haven't posted my resolutions but I hope to do so over the next few days. I've been having a huge clear out at home and am getting through job lists at a fantastic rate so I haven't been taking it easy and letting myself go!

A marvellous organisational tip

When I had to wear a suit to work it was very easy to get dressed (if rather boring). I had 5 outfits (more or less - the end of the week could be a struggle) and I knew what I would put on everyday.

Lately I've been finding myself standing in front of my wardrobe (a lovely piece of furniture formerly owned by a distant cousin I always called Auntie) and pondering over what to wear. Yes, pondering. Something I don't really have time for at 6.15 a.m.

Then I read a marvellous tip in Easy Living (February edition - must check which nice person suggested this - think they were something to do with handbags). Now every week I plan food for the following week; I work out what we are likely to be eating for dinner and what I will be eating for lunch so that I know what food to buy and can try and make preparation as straightforward as possible. Imagine how much simpler mornings would be if I planned my clothes at the same time. I could ensure that I wasn't selecting items hiding at the bottom of the wash bin far enough in advance to do something about it. I shall see how it goes but I do very much like the sound of this.

Abstinence

January is proving so far to be a month where my mind is busy (the combined result of a new year and no booze). I just can’t stop thinking of lists I need to make, emails, letters and phone calls I should make, concepts that need to be put into action (or at least noted down for further attention) and cupboards and boxes that need clearing out.

However it is satisfying when I look around the room I rather grandly label my study to note that piles of stuff are moving. It’s also rather satisfying to note that a large number of tasks have been crossed off my job list.

It’s all a bit like clothes really. You think you have the perfect wardrobe and then what you see people wearing changes (so subtlety you don’t really notice) and then one day you decide that you have nothing to wear! Hence I thought my study was probably as sorted as it was going get and that various half started project would be completed one day and suddenly I am moving things around and putting up pictures. Clearly the day has come!

An important lesson is to remember that nothing lasts forever or is as sorted as expected. No doubt this burst of energy will die out and I’ll be back on the sofa with my nose stuck in a book soon. In the meantime I’m making the most of it!

I resolve….

This year rather than making resolutions either before New Year (while feeling bloated from excess) or immediately after New Year (still hung over, tired and emotional), I’m taking a slightly different approach.

As I start the year feeling refreshed I’m thinking about habits I have that I would like to break as they crop up in my life. One I’ve identified so far is buying glossy magazines. It started when I was buying snacks and magazines all the time to get change for the bus. I’m also thinking about things I want to achieve but never seem to get round to.

I’m hoping to have a list by the end of next week. I’ll review my progress on both resolutions and targets at the end each month. If I’ve made real progress I might even have to think up some new targets!

The only exception to the above is swearing off the demon drink for the whole of January (post birthday anyway). I’ll appreciate a glass of wine so much more when I’ve had to wait a whole month for it.

I am blessed

I sat on New Year’s Day in my front room, curled on the sofa with Dear Heart drinking wine and eating biscuits. The fire was warming the room. We’d been out for a walk earlier and I’d changed into pyjamas on my return. I took a pause from reading my book and thought how utterly blessed I am. I’d like to keep that feeling of warmth generated by family, friends and home with me all year.

Santa visited my house!

I had a splendid Christmas curled up at home with Dear Heart. He did home-made pizza for Christmas dinner served with champagne.

So many people bought me thoughtful presents. Dear Heart bought me (among other delights) some vouchers for a local sewing shop. I’m so exciting by the prospect of buying patterns and fabrics!

I also had some lovely gardening themed presents including slate markers, stuff to scrub my hands with (and boy do I normally need it after a session on my allotment) and then make the nails all nice and a welly airer (no more wet wellies).

A feast of Sudoku puzzles with an enormous pack of pencils. I was thrilled to solve a ‘killer’ (where you have to make the number equal the total in dotted line box) for the first time ever.

My birthday is just after Christmas, so I was showered with presents once again. My sister bought me a totally genius card with fuzzy felt front (see http://www.fuzzyfelt.com/ if you have no idea what I’m talking about). It showed a birthday cake and I’ve made loads of different pictures since. That’s definitely going on my desk to play with when I’m stressed or need to be creative.

I got loads of Benefit products. I was really excited to have so many different products. Some of them were things that I would never buy brand named (such as make-up remover) so it rather nice to give them a go even if I never buy them again. I’ve had a play with some of them over the festive period but have decided that I’m going to put some of them away and open them in June so I can really appreciate this kind of abundance.

I’m really touched that so many people bought me such lovely things and have taken the time to think about my interests and what I might like (anything green rocks).