Some images and thoughts right now.

Spring has arrived on the common, and the dance of the wildflowers has begun. One of the first stars of the show is the lovely Cowslip, waving gently in the breeze. This is the reason I carry my camera everywhere. It's a light camera and I have a special camera bag, which looks like a normal shoulder bag, it's padded and keeps my camera safe. It has room for my phone and purse too. So I am never without it!

The more I learn about editing, the more I realize I have to learn. Now a days, I only brighten the photo a little and increase the contrast a touch. Sometimes I use a filter, and sometimes, as in this picture, it's just fine as it is. The light and the moment I wanted to capture are all there. The camera I use for blogging is a Canon EOS 100D. Now this is not a sponsored post in anyway, but it's a great simple little camera and I just wanted to tell you...  

When you walk somewhere almost everyday, you get to see the subtle changes and feel the joy at new happenings in your familiar territory. A emerging wildflower is happy sight. Blossoms, spring leaves, meadow grasses, the colours of the sky. The moody greys and the bright blues. And the views...It's all so lovely. Clean air, friendly dog-walkers, good vibes, it's truly kind of addictive...and the dogs...it's just the nicest place for them.

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Sometimes I find a sunny spot on the slopes, to sit, out of the wind and take in the view. I try not to sit on thistles.... Occasionally enthusiastic dogs will come hurtling down the slopes chasing a ball, before it's lost down the hill.... But a sunny, quiet moment, lying on the ground in the spring sunshine, is magic.

At home, I caught this shot, as the sun went down and shone it's pinky light across the valley, onto the trees. The cabin is there. The other day I saw my sweet cabin lady wondering around putting little twigs in the ground around the Cowslips, so the guys who mow the grass will see them, and mow around them.

The cabins were already here when I arrived. Probably about fifteen years old now, they are not well insulated, but they have woodburners and character. First I thought I would run them as a B & B....that was 10 years ago, and since then they have had permanent dwellers in them the whole time!

If one becomes available, I might list it as a Airbnb. I watched the tedx talk of Joe Gebbia, the founder of Airbnb recently. I had a look through the 200 or so in my local area, which was slightly voyeristic,... but interesting to see what's out there.

Crafty and creative updates:

I have had to do some more visible mending on my jeans...the other leg decided to tear too. I thought I would catch it quick before it ripped all the way across. It's got a patch underneath now as well so it should hold up.

Talking of clothes, I recently got out my two bags of summer clothes. Seeing them in their see-through bags, all squashed together and old, leaves me feeling as though I might want to give the whole lot away and start again. I can see things which never really fitted right, or that never got worn for whatever reason. So I have decided to not open them yet and think about it.

Am I really brave enough to just let them go, without opening them.... And how will I find the new fresh feeling I am looking for? how do I want to shop and where do I want to spend my money?

Foodwise: I have discovered Papaya, and that it's very photogenic, and I love it. It's great for making smoothies, with banana, and almond milk, and for breakfast. Yum. I find myself just still wanting to eat warming, comforting food, like baked potatoes, every night... I need to feel full and fed. I've been reading about raw food and vegan food. But I'm not quite ready to take it on yet.

I've been walking by the canal. I feel drawn here now to have my dose of boats and water. It's very relaxing to watch the canal boats chugging up and down.

There has been some pink sunsets.

Some cloud wings appeared.

Some pink daises on the lawn.

I enjoyed the sunlight in my messy kitchen:-) haha...not so pretty, but look at the light coming through the curtain...The paintwork is a bit tired but it's homely in here and I like it..

 And new makes: a pile of wristwarmers, just ready for the.... summer!

I am working with a new kind of wool. They were just gorgeous to make.The pattern is a closed shell stitch, which I had to work out how to crochet into a round. It worked. I'm happy with them. I used the gorgeous hand dyed wool made by the Indie wool company Fyberspates. Each ball made two sets of wristwarmers, I'm pleased to say, and thankful because, oh the price...! The colours are incredible and you can read more about them in my Etsy shop, if you would like.

So I have to say that as I have written this blog post....stopped to walk the dog, eat breakfast, make tea, open and close windows, that I have felt everything opening up in my mind that I wanted to talk about. As though it were a concertina of things which were originally squashed down and now have opened up, drawn in some air and made a tune.

I feel better for having brought them here and shared them with you. Such is the mystery and wonder of blogging....have a good week :-)

♥   

my food story

shopping at the local farmers market

I have been really trying to improve my relationship with food. Don't get me wrong, I love food, I just don't think I am very creative with it. A little while back I felt I had really lost my way with it. I was doing the same old shop, spending far too much I thought. Forgetting what was in the fridge, throwing forgotten things away. The freezer was full, but I had no idea what was in it, or how long it had been there..... I didn't know what to cook. The kitchen felt cluttered. No one seemed to want anything from it. The tins of baked bean were looking attractively appealing and fast food had infiltrated our lives in a way that's made it hard to get rid of it since.

bringing home lots of tempting goodies

So this summer I de-cluttered and cleaned all the horrible corners of the kitchen. I emptied everything of the shelves and cleaned the whole thing.This was a good start. Cooking and preparing with everything to hand and only what I use around me makes a huge difference.

I've gone through this clearing process in the kitchen now a few times. Using the kitchen feel's so much easier now.  

Of course the next thing was to tackle was the food itself. I went through my whole fridge and freezer and made a list of what I did actually have and stuck it on the fridge door.
I was surprised by how much was actually in there! I made a list of some meal ideas just using this and realized I could probably be buying less for a while. Just perhaps adding some fresh ingredients.

I made it a plan to keep checking what needed eating, to try and avoid wasting food.
It wasn't exactly meal planning, I'm not convinced that would work out for me everyday.
What I noticed as I ate my way through the fridge was that the vegetable section would still look quite full and rather bedraggled! Something was amiss. Not exactly veggies bursting with health.

If I was growing my own food, or shopping at the local farmers market, I would no doubt be planning my meals around my vegetables, and eating more seasonally too. I have fallen into the habit of buying the same things over and over, no matter what the season! My inspiration had hit the floor. I  felt like nothing short of a magic wand would transform my meals!

flowers and fruit grown in a local garden

I've been thinking a lot about how this all came about.
As far as I can remember, I think I was basically brought up eating versions of the same meal, until about age twelve. Fish fingers, baked beans, chips and of course ketchup! I didn't mind, I was quite happy. I didn't mind eating the same thing over and over. I'm fairly sure there was nearly always a Sunday roast and I expect the odd vegetable was eaten now and again.

There was some simple baking I remember. Flapjakes, cupcakes, cheese straws, apple crumble all the things I make now, and probably from the same seventies cook book which I still have. And not forgetting banana and custard too! It was all simple and straightforward, and not too clever.

There was quite a lot of anxiety in the early years for my Mum and me. Eating the same food for me became a kind of security blanket I think. Also I loved apples. There was a time probably around the age of five when my Mum tried to check in a suitcase full of apples as extra luggage while we were going on holiday. I can remember the suitcase having to be taken back the car!... obviously I found something else to eat and survived!

From that point on other dishes appeared,  but the whole idea of different flavours and exotic spices didn't really reach far into our world. I don't think it naturally set me up for a life of creative cookery. I find myself in awe when people seem to throw in all kinds of ingredients and flavours. 

There were a few simple meals were learn't at school, and then forgotten. I have to say when I left home, (the first time!) I was seventeen and didn't know how to cook at all. I once famously boiled an egg without putting the water in.....I never did that again! And the packet of lasagne I kept in the cupboard. I really expected to find a complete lasagne in there.....

As I grew older I found I would begin to eat like whoever I was spending time with. I feel as though I learn a dish from everyone I meet. I hadn't really found my own way of eating. I still have moments when I look inside my fridge and have no idea what to do with it all.

Mainly I think I eat okayish, I try and aim for organic when I can. I think I could be cooking with more vegetables. I could probably forgo meat most of the time. We have our little range of staples. Dishes we have eaten for years. Truth is we are probably a bit fed up with them. The habit of not venturing far from the known food perimeters is still very strong I note now with my own son. It's a challenge to want to create new things when you feel they won't be tried. I have spent years trying to eat round what other people want.

So.....to cut a log story short. I want to re-introduce myself to food. Really find my own way with it for the first time. I've been asking myself what do I really want to eat? Imagine not having to shop around anyone else? How would you eat if you were only catering for what you want? Breaking away from the set family shop! It was surprisingly difficult actually. All I could think of was more vegetables, maybe soups. Juices. Perhaps some stews and hotpots. Less meat. I can feel a kind of new eating plan evolving, but don't know quite what it is yet.

The Farmers market cookbook by Nina Plank

A couple of weekends ago I shopped at our local farmers market.

I have been reading The farmers market book by Nina plank. Nina was the founder of the organic farmers market movement in America. She describes the aliveness of the produce that she loves and the way the food can be used in a way that made me have an inkling of what I'm missing.

The book was left here by a previous cabin dweller. In truth I may have almost wrestled her to the ground for it as she was leaving. The name of the town Nina grew up in and the name of my house were the same and I felt that on some level me and this book were destined to meet! Her message was for me. I knew I needed it more! and bless the good natured gal that she is, she let me keep it.

So armed with Nina'a advice I set off to snap some fresh peas and marvel at the local produce.
I really wanted to stall holders to tell me how fantastic their produce was. How fresh, how ripe, how tasty it was. I wanted to feel like Nina! I wanted the hard sell on the veggies! I wanted to be enticed. I wanted them to wave their vegetables in the air and call out how wonderful they were......what lovely meals I could make with them.....

Actually it was a bit more subdued than that.....! but really I feel like I should have asked more questions. You know, drawn them out. I'll do that next time..... I've got my bearings a bit now. It's a great excuse to dig out the baskets and string bags.
I'll try and keep you posted.

Enjoy the weekend :-)

♥