Wednesday, 5 March 2014

Down By The Seaside


A day down at the sandy shores of Cleethorpes. 

This was late January, brisk but bright. We got there just in time to see the bridled donkeys being led away, and then wandered up the pier & along the tide marks gathering tiny pink shells.


We walked towards the rusting rollercoaster & Ferris wheel, unshackled from its summer cargo of seating cages...



Walking back towards the station, the evening was closing in...





Monday, 27 January 2014

Books, Glorious Books!



A warm walk in the winter sun, along the river and into town to put back some library books... of course I came home with another lovely big batch. Lots of inspiration to get my green fingers twitching, a couple of life-centric thought provoking tomes and a couple of novels I'd seen recommended in various places. An eclectic collection that should keep me going for a while.

It's turning sleety and brisk again this afternoon, the bread maker is on and a cup of coffee has been poured, so I'll dive into one of these beauties before returning to the fray of organising & continued house decluttering - all part of returning to a simpler and more relaxed lifestyle.

Friday, 24 January 2014

Mistletoe & Wine




Oops, life well and truly got in the way for a while there, and probably will do yet for a fair while yet, so I'm thought I'd put together a collection of of nice Christmas memories before attempting to kick things back into some serious action.


     
     Gifts & biscuit tins!


     
      Books, wonderful books!


      
      Our very jolly tree.


      
      Poor Santa, he didn't last long after this!




Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Warming Winter Veg Soup


We had two drawers of vegetables ready to go to waste, so I thought it was about time I did some soup experimentation. Another reason for this blog is to help keep me on the straight and narrow when it comes to money-saving, being creative with leftover foodstuffs, and generally being healthier would NOT go amiss either.

It turned out I didn't a big enough container to make one big vat of soup, so I made a small pot, and roasted the rest (to be frozen and then used alongside a sausage casserole I have lurking in there). The soup ended up tasting so flipping good that I ate half a bowl of it, somehow managed to stop myself devouring the rest, which will go in the freezer for another day. I literally threw in some root vegetables and some warming spices, and I'm still in slight shock that it turned out to be edible.

I thought I'd post my makeshift recipe here so I could remember it for next time.



WARMING WINTER SOUP RECIPE:

2 Large Carrots
1 Large Parsnip
1 Sweet Onion
1 Red Onion
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Tumeric
Scant tsp Ginger
Sprinkling of Celery Salt
1 tsp Mixed Herbs
400ml Vegetable Stock

Dice the root vegetables, and slice the onions however you want them. Put them in the pot along with the oil, a sprinkling of celery salt and the spices, then soften the veg for a few minutes, turning to coat everything with the spices.

Then add your mixed herbs, cook for another minute, and add your hot vegetable stock. I used about 400ml (1 3/4 cups), basically enough to cover the vegetables (I added hot water from the kettle to cover them, then about a tablespoon of liquid vegetable stock on top because I'm lazy. Still works though).

Simmer everything for about 15 minutes, or until everything's soft. I used my potato masher to combine it at this stage, but sparingly as I wanted some of the chunky vegetables left in there. Season & serve.

Serves Two

Monday, 4 November 2013

The Dawn...

Cloud Light, Scotland

It's so ridiculously hard to kick off a new project. And blogs are just one long daunting and ever-expanding blank canvas. I haven't got the foggiest idea what this is going to end up containing, lots of chatter about nonsense most certainly, and a good selection of charming pictures (art! craft! pretty houses! - for I do so love pretty houses).

A big reason for starting this is to get myself back into the habit of taking photos (photos are an easier way for me to journal my life and capture memories), but also to make myself slow down a little, appreciate the abundance that's around me, mine it for deeper gifts, explore and think about things at a more relaxed level (and also practice my writing and engage in more critical thinking). Hopefully it will be a haven of happiness where I can collect things that make the world just that little bit lovelier (and where I can take a break from its goings ons and reorientate myself to it, looking at things a little differently).

Onwards & upwards!