Says it all.....
Wednesday 25 December 2013
Monday 23 December 2013
The weather outside is frightful....
I've been laying in bed listening to the howling wind and the rain lashing against the window and decided that I wasn't going to sleep so got up for a cup of tea, and very nice it is too. Anyway I've been sitting here drinking my tea, letting my mind drift a bit, trying to let it solve a couple of conundrums that are going round in my head. That doesn't seem to be working, so I'll let my subconscious mind continue that process but in the meantime I started to think about how I wanted things to be so I have come up with a kind of draft framework to work to so I thought I'd share this with you..
Things to think about every day (or as often as I can manage!) to try to fit in to every day, week or month
1. Love is..... for us and our relationship
2. Make sure there's time ...... for friends and family
3. To make a house a home .... the stuff that keeps the home running
4. To nourish the soul .... creativity, freedom, fun, music and laughter
5. Fit, healthy and happy .... look after our fitness, wellbeing and health
6. Save the planet.... reduce, reuse, recycle and grow our own
7. Pay it forward .... help others whenever we can
8. Manage the money .... pay off debts, save, afford to do, be frugal(ish), earn differently
9. Stretch the boundaries .... learn new stuff, extend our comfort zone, travel
I've just read these again and right now it feels like a big ask to manage all of this, but I haven't put any timescales on this, such as expecting to do all of these every day. I just wanted to put down in writing the general direction of travel, as they say in all good management speak presentations!! I keep thinking I've missed one as the logical half of my brain says there should be 10 things in a list, but the maverick side of my brain says 9's a good number, so 9 it is!
So here's to a 2014 where all 9 things on the list get equal importance....
Things to think about every day (or as often as I can manage!) to try to fit in to every day, week or month
1. Love is..... for us and our relationship
2. Make sure there's time ...... for friends and family
3. To make a house a home .... the stuff that keeps the home running
4. To nourish the soul .... creativity, freedom, fun, music and laughter
5. Fit, healthy and happy .... look after our fitness, wellbeing and health
6. Save the planet.... reduce, reuse, recycle and grow our own
7. Pay it forward .... help others whenever we can
8. Manage the money .... pay off debts, save, afford to do, be frugal(ish), earn differently
9. Stretch the boundaries .... learn new stuff, extend our comfort zone, travel
I've just read these again and right now it feels like a big ask to manage all of this, but I haven't put any timescales on this, such as expecting to do all of these every day. I just wanted to put down in writing the general direction of travel, as they say in all good management speak presentations!! I keep thinking I've missed one as the logical half of my brain says there should be 10 things in a list, but the maverick side of my brain says 9's a good number, so 9 it is!
So here's to a 2014 where all 9 things on the list get equal importance....
Thursday 19 December 2013
Do I or don't I?
This week I've been trying to make a decision about something. Maybe you can help me?
The question I'm trying to solve is related to my hopes and desires, my fabric addiction, my Mum, my future and my present!
To me it feels complicated, but maybe someone out there can give me some suggestions or ideas or some perceptions that will help me cut through the stuff that makes it feel complicated.
Ok, here goes. I have an addiction to fabric and I have bought so much over the last 3-4 years that it is taking over my house. If I saw a bargain, either in a shop or on line, particularly on a particular on line auction site, I had to have it - for a rainy day, for when I retire or just for no reason. I used my credit card ( now paid off) and bought bulk lots as well as single pieces, everything from upholstery fabric to vintage fabric to bridal fabric, and some haberdashery lots too. Now it has got to the stage where I can no longer sew in my sewing room because it's too full of "stuff". The stuff is in lots of other places in the house too! Hubby is beginning to get cross about the amount of the "stuff" and I'm getting frustrated because I can't sew easily.
Why did I buy it you ask? Well it was for my future plans primarily. In that I'm in a position to be able to retire from the NHS in 21 months time, and although the pension won't be sufficient to live on it will go a long way towards it. I currently am beginning to struggle with my job and the stress involved in it so my dream is to take my pension at 55, and then top up my pension with some sort of textile business. So I thought that while I could afford it I should buy the fabric ready for later, but now I have so much fabric it's affecting my life now!
Anyway I've decided I need to make some decisions about what to do with it all. My husband just wants me to throw most of it away, and believe me that is not going to happen! It's not good for the environment, not frugal and not what I want to do! But I have to get the house in to a more usable and tidy state! Lol
So, what to do with the fabric? In the last week I've seen a couple of options and need some advice so help me out here...
Do I.....
Put it in storage at a cost of £12-15 a week in a wooden storage crate inside a large barn type building......
Rent a small office/workshop about 5-6 miles away from home, knowing that working full time means I will be limited with the amount of time I can spend there but at the same time giving myself the space to start building a business. The office is in a small complex with a number of other small businesses and appears to be a real community type space....
Do what hubby wants and just get rid of it all....
Suggestions on a postcard.... Or alternatively just on a comment below...
And to help here's a picture of one of the vintage dresses I have in construction. It's made using a real vintage 40's pattern made in modern material, not quite finished...
I've got to the stage where I've gone around this in my head time and time and time again and don't seem to be getting anywhere...
Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions
KJ xx
The question I'm trying to solve is related to my hopes and desires, my fabric addiction, my Mum, my future and my present!
To me it feels complicated, but maybe someone out there can give me some suggestions or ideas or some perceptions that will help me cut through the stuff that makes it feel complicated.
Ok, here goes. I have an addiction to fabric and I have bought so much over the last 3-4 years that it is taking over my house. If I saw a bargain, either in a shop or on line, particularly on a particular on line auction site, I had to have it - for a rainy day, for when I retire or just for no reason. I used my credit card ( now paid off) and bought bulk lots as well as single pieces, everything from upholstery fabric to vintage fabric to bridal fabric, and some haberdashery lots too. Now it has got to the stage where I can no longer sew in my sewing room because it's too full of "stuff". The stuff is in lots of other places in the house too! Hubby is beginning to get cross about the amount of the "stuff" and I'm getting frustrated because I can't sew easily.
Why did I buy it you ask? Well it was for my future plans primarily. In that I'm in a position to be able to retire from the NHS in 21 months time, and although the pension won't be sufficient to live on it will go a long way towards it. I currently am beginning to struggle with my job and the stress involved in it so my dream is to take my pension at 55, and then top up my pension with some sort of textile business. So I thought that while I could afford it I should buy the fabric ready for later, but now I have so much fabric it's affecting my life now!
Anyway I've decided I need to make some decisions about what to do with it all. My husband just wants me to throw most of it away, and believe me that is not going to happen! It's not good for the environment, not frugal and not what I want to do! But I have to get the house in to a more usable and tidy state! Lol
So, what to do with the fabric? In the last week I've seen a couple of options and need some advice so help me out here...
Do I.....
Put it in storage at a cost of £12-15 a week in a wooden storage crate inside a large barn type building......
Rent a small office/workshop about 5-6 miles away from home, knowing that working full time means I will be limited with the amount of time I can spend there but at the same time giving myself the space to start building a business. The office is in a small complex with a number of other small businesses and appears to be a real community type space....
Do what hubby wants and just get rid of it all....
Suggestions on a postcard.... Or alternatively just on a comment below...
And to help here's a picture of one of the vintage dresses I have in construction. It's made using a real vintage 40's pattern made in modern material, not quite finished...
I've got to the stage where I've gone around this in my head time and time and time again and don't seem to be getting anywhere...
Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions
KJ xx
Saturday 14 December 2013
I said never...
Today I did something I had vowed and declared I would never do! I had made a big thing about not doing it, it was a waste of money because you lost too much, it wasn't what "people like me" did, it was so against what I believed in. What did I do you ask?
Well today I bought a new car, yep that's right a brand new car. It had a whole 13 delivery miles on the clock when I picked it up this afternoon. And I also discovered you can pay for a new car with a bank debit card! I have never ever spent this amount in one hit before, and nor am I likely to do it ever again! My new car is thanks to my Mum and Dad as it was their money that paid for it, and the reason I bought a new one is because it made financial sense!
But, stuff the financial sense, I really like my new car!It's a Dacia Logan MCV and looks like this......
And getting the new car also took me down memory lane to when my Mum and Dad got their first ever car. I don't remember how old I was, but I'm thinking not very. It was my Dad's works car and was a mini traveller and I even remember the number plate EVL 465E. It looked like this one below (courtesy Google..)
Well today I bought a new car, yep that's right a brand new car. It had a whole 13 delivery miles on the clock when I picked it up this afternoon. And I also discovered you can pay for a new car with a bank debit card! I have never ever spent this amount in one hit before, and nor am I likely to do it ever again! My new car is thanks to my Mum and Dad as it was their money that paid for it, and the reason I bought a new one is because it made financial sense!
But, stuff the financial sense, I really like my new car!It's a Dacia Logan MCV and looks like this......
And getting the new car also took me down memory lane to when my Mum and Dad got their first ever car. I don't remember how old I was, but I'm thinking not very. It was my Dad's works car and was a mini traveller and I even remember the number plate EVL 465E. It looked like this one below (courtesy Google..)
I remember going to the seaside, Mablethorpe, in it and it was quite an adventure at the time...
What was the first car you remember?
Until next time
KJ xx
Wednesday 11 December 2013
A recipe or two....
Firstly I'd like to say hi to Frugalmummy and Frugal in Bucks. Thanks for reading and I hope that occasionally I can make you smile. I've followed your good selves for a while, mostly lurking in the background to be fair.
Now Frugalmummy asked me to give the recipes for the soups which got me thinking about cooking and my relationship with food. I love food and cooking, and watch some cookery programmes on TV. However what I am not is a fan of celebrity chefs per se. For me a chef has to be firstly and primarily a chef and only secondly a celebrity. Back to that in a minute but first a couple of recipes....
Carrot, orange and ginger soup
This is so easy to make and the actual amounts of the constituents can be varied according to what you have in and how you prefer the balance of ingredients, so if you use this recipe feel free to amend it to suit yourself. I'm not sure where I first found the recipe so if anyone recognises it I'm more than happy to give credit for whereever it came from. It's now hand written in a cookery notebook which goes back to Domestic Science lessons at secondary school!
Melt 2 oz butter in a large pan and fry 2 medium sliced onions gently until soft. Add 1 lb diced carrots and fry gently for another couple of minutes. Stir in a pint and a half of home made chicken stock, half a pint of orange juice, 2 tsp ground ginger and simmer covered until the carrots are very tender (about three quarters of an hour). Liquidise, add salt and pepper to taste and if you have any cream or creme fraiche in the fridge stir in some of that to serve.
Like I said, simple and yet really flavoursome.
Cauliflower and Taleggio soup
This is my variation on a BBC Cauliflower soup recipe.
Heat a small amount of oil in a large pan, add a chopped onion and 2-3 chopped garlic cloves and fry for 2-3 minutes to soften. Add 1 tsp of both ground cumin and ground coriander and fry gently for a further couple of minutes. Add about 800gm of cauliflower and a litre of chicken stock. I guess you could use home made, bought or vegetable stock according to personal taste. Bring to the boild and then reduce to simmer until the cauliflower is tender. When I cut the florets off I leave quite a length of stalk on it so for me it has to simmer for probably 30-40 minutes, but if only use the very top of the florets they will soften in 10-15 minutes. Let it cool slightly and then liquidise (or in my case use my stick blender - a fabulous pressie from hubby a couple of years ago for me to make smoothies with!). Then add about 150mls of creme fraiche - again you could use fresh cream but with the cheese as well it becomes a bit too rich - and bring back to full heat. Season to taste but be light handed with the salt as the Taleggio will give it more flavour. Drop cubes of taleggio cheese into the bowls of hot soup to serve and if you are feeling posh add croutons - or cubes of bread which have been dried to a crisp in the oven.
No photos of this I'm afraid as I got it into the freezer before thinking about pictures!
Anyway back to my feelings on celebrity chefs. The chef's I respect and like are those who have truly mastered their craft, who obviously love and enjoy food and who have a full understanding of flavours and who are almost humble in their craft. I really can't stand "celebrity chefs" who rely on either bad behaviour (you can guess who I mean) or some sort of marketing ploy to become popular. My favourites are Raymond Blanc and Michel Roux junior I think. I just wish I could cook like they do!! I also love almost all Nigel Slater recipes!
So who's your favourite chef? Or what's your favourite recipe?
It's funny, but I never thought I would talk food on my blog! Next time something textile relate I think....
KJ x
Now Frugalmummy asked me to give the recipes for the soups which got me thinking about cooking and my relationship with food. I love food and cooking, and watch some cookery programmes on TV. However what I am not is a fan of celebrity chefs per se. For me a chef has to be firstly and primarily a chef and only secondly a celebrity. Back to that in a minute but first a couple of recipes....
Carrot, orange and ginger soup
 | |
| 6 individual portions of this soup ready to freeze! |
This is so easy to make and the actual amounts of the constituents can be varied according to what you have in and how you prefer the balance of ingredients, so if you use this recipe feel free to amend it to suit yourself. I'm not sure where I first found the recipe so if anyone recognises it I'm more than happy to give credit for whereever it came from. It's now hand written in a cookery notebook which goes back to Domestic Science lessons at secondary school!
Melt 2 oz butter in a large pan and fry 2 medium sliced onions gently until soft. Add 1 lb diced carrots and fry gently for another couple of minutes. Stir in a pint and a half of home made chicken stock, half a pint of orange juice, 2 tsp ground ginger and simmer covered until the carrots are very tender (about three quarters of an hour). Liquidise, add salt and pepper to taste and if you have any cream or creme fraiche in the fridge stir in some of that to serve.
Like I said, simple and yet really flavoursome.
Cauliflower and Taleggio soup
This is my variation on a BBC Cauliflower soup recipe.
Heat a small amount of oil in a large pan, add a chopped onion and 2-3 chopped garlic cloves and fry for 2-3 minutes to soften. Add 1 tsp of both ground cumin and ground coriander and fry gently for a further couple of minutes. Add about 800gm of cauliflower and a litre of chicken stock. I guess you could use home made, bought or vegetable stock according to personal taste. Bring to the boild and then reduce to simmer until the cauliflower is tender. When I cut the florets off I leave quite a length of stalk on it so for me it has to simmer for probably 30-40 minutes, but if only use the very top of the florets they will soften in 10-15 minutes. Let it cool slightly and then liquidise (or in my case use my stick blender - a fabulous pressie from hubby a couple of years ago for me to make smoothies with!). Then add about 150mls of creme fraiche - again you could use fresh cream but with the cheese as well it becomes a bit too rich - and bring back to full heat. Season to taste but be light handed with the salt as the Taleggio will give it more flavour. Drop cubes of taleggio cheese into the bowls of hot soup to serve and if you are feeling posh add croutons - or cubes of bread which have been dried to a crisp in the oven.
No photos of this I'm afraid as I got it into the freezer before thinking about pictures!
Anyway back to my feelings on celebrity chefs. The chef's I respect and like are those who have truly mastered their craft, who obviously love and enjoy food and who have a full understanding of flavours and who are almost humble in their craft. I really can't stand "celebrity chefs" who rely on either bad behaviour (you can guess who I mean) or some sort of marketing ploy to become popular. My favourites are Raymond Blanc and Michel Roux junior I think. I just wish I could cook like they do!! I also love almost all Nigel Slater recipes!
So who's your favourite chef? Or what's your favourite recipe?
It's funny, but I never thought I would talk food on my blog! Next time something textile relate I think....
KJ x
Sunday 8 December 2013
A list of things to do....
It's been a long few days. The insomnia had returned, combined with a really irritating night time cough, a hubby who snores and my brain in ovedrive! I was beginning to get bogged down with the thoughts of everything I need to do over the next few days and weeks and was finding it really difficult to turn my brain off when I went to bed, so I have been surviving on 3-5 hours sleep a night. I know that when I get tired I get real cranky and decided I had to do something to try to fix it, although from experience also know that that's not necessarily going to help.
So I thought if I could get a list down on paper of all the stuff going round and round in my head it might help my brain to slow down a bit. The list got longer and longer and included everything from making soups and meals for the freezer, to sorting out car insurance, taking the dog to the vets, sanding and varnishing the lounge window sill, and all sorts of other things. I then decided to rewrite the list dividing these things over a number of days. It's truly amazing how much I've managed to achieve over the last 4 or 5 days with this list to work on. It's also truly amazing how I've managed to do entirely "jobs" and things that are for other people, whilst at the same time managing to put all those "fun" things for me such as creativity right down to the bottom of the list. Think I need to do a reprioritisation of my list or otherwise I'll never get to do any of the fun things.
On the plus side, I've sanded down and put two coats of varnish on the lounge windowsill, touched up the wallpaper paint around the window, started to prepare a small wall at the bottom of the stair for a new coat of paint (why oh why did I choose white emulsion at the bottom of the stairs!),sorted out my car insurance for my new car which I'm collecting on Friday, sold my old car so am now without transport, made three different lots of soup (Carrot orange and ginger, Cauliflower and Taleggio, and Hunter soup with a dash of chilli) which I've frozen so hubby has them ready for lunches at work, done all the washing and ironing, looked after a poorly dog, walked a well dog, emptied, sorted and cleaned/defrosted both the fridge and freezer, cut hubby's hair, and of course all the usual daily jobs like cooking, cleaning, shopping, washing and ironing! But no, not a sewing or knitting needle, artists paintbrush or pencil has been anywhere near my hands.
So this week I'm going to menu plan, work out the food finances for the rest of the month, and work out how to increase my exercise, and then watch out creativity here I come......
And anyway, I have a few Christmas presents to finish making, and yesterday my brother, who is getting married on April 12th, asked me if I could just knock up 6 mens waistcoats in patchwork please, oh, and he thinks the bride to be might well want a wedding dress making if she can't find exactly what she's looking for.... Eeeek - how on earth am I going to get that all done!
And tomorrow I'll tell you all about my addiction....
Don't get excited, it's a fabric addiction. I have way way way too much!!
Until next time remember....
So I thought if I could get a list down on paper of all the stuff going round and round in my head it might help my brain to slow down a bit. The list got longer and longer and included everything from making soups and meals for the freezer, to sorting out car insurance, taking the dog to the vets, sanding and varnishing the lounge window sill, and all sorts of other things. I then decided to rewrite the list dividing these things over a number of days. It's truly amazing how much I've managed to achieve over the last 4 or 5 days with this list to work on. It's also truly amazing how I've managed to do entirely "jobs" and things that are for other people, whilst at the same time managing to put all those "fun" things for me such as creativity right down to the bottom of the list. Think I need to do a reprioritisation of my list or otherwise I'll never get to do any of the fun things.
On the plus side, I've sanded down and put two coats of varnish on the lounge windowsill, touched up the wallpaper paint around the window, started to prepare a small wall at the bottom of the stair for a new coat of paint (why oh why did I choose white emulsion at the bottom of the stairs!),sorted out my car insurance for my new car which I'm collecting on Friday, sold my old car so am now without transport, made three different lots of soup (Carrot orange and ginger, Cauliflower and Taleggio, and Hunter soup with a dash of chilli) which I've frozen so hubby has them ready for lunches at work, done all the washing and ironing, looked after a poorly dog, walked a well dog, emptied, sorted and cleaned/defrosted both the fridge and freezer, cut hubby's hair, and of course all the usual daily jobs like cooking, cleaning, shopping, washing and ironing! But no, not a sewing or knitting needle, artists paintbrush or pencil has been anywhere near my hands.
So this week I'm going to menu plan, work out the food finances for the rest of the month, and work out how to increase my exercise, and then watch out creativity here I come......
And anyway, I have a few Christmas presents to finish making, and yesterday my brother, who is getting married on April 12th, asked me if I could just knock up 6 mens waistcoats in patchwork please, oh, and he thinks the bride to be might well want a wedding dress making if she can't find exactly what she's looking for.... Eeeek - how on earth am I going to get that all done!
And tomorrow I'll tell you all about my addiction....
Don't get excited, it's a fabric addiction. I have way way way too much!!
Until next time remember....
If you can't stand the heat, don't tickle the dragon.....
KJ xx
Friday 6 December 2013
Simple things...
What simple things make you happy? I've been thinking about this a lot lately, although I'm not really sure why if I'm honest. Maybe it's because Christmas is nearly upon us and these days it seems to be more about greed and consumerism than about family and things that matter. Anyway that brings me to my thoughts for today, a list of some of the simple things that make me smile...
KJ x
- Walking through fallen leaves and kicking them around, the sound is amazing
- The first cup of tea in a morning
- That half an hour of quiet in a morning when I'm the only one up
- The smell of freshly cut grass
- The sound of the sea
- A hug from someone who loves me
- A cuddle from my dog
- A baby's smile
- Home made lemon curd - well, there had to be food in here somewhere
- Listening to my favourite music
- Toast - even better when served with the above mentioned lemon curd
- Walking the dogs on a bright, sunny winter morning, all wrapped up against the cold
- Enjoying a cup of coffee with a friend
- Snowflakes
- The first snowdrops pushing through the earth
KJ x
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