Food Glorious Food! - Blog Every Day in May!

One of the reasons I started this blog was to write about food.  Food is one of the things I find that I can get most pleasure from as well as most displeasure from if it doesn't suit my palette or it is prepared incorrectly. I haven't written much about food recently as my appetite is a fraction of what it used to be! Here's a few pictures of the highlights of some of the recipes I've tried over the years and other lovely food I've sampled whilst out and about though...

 

 

These are a few of the things I have made, bought or had made for me in the last couple of years and I'm hoping to pop a few more posts up in the not too distant future regarding my future adventures with food.  Watch this space!

Go Green! Blog Everyday in May.

I've always thought of myself as a relatively green person, maybe not green fingered as my sadly deceased cactus would attest to... In some respects I like to do what I can to be green by using public transport rather than my car for most journeys. (I'm one of those weird people who enjoy bus journeys because I can spend them catching up on twitter, I can read my book or just people watch on them.)

I also like to do my bit recycling. Well, like maybe an overstatement! I tend to recycle any unwanted paper, cardboard, plastic and tetra packs that maybe lying about my house.

Obviously I could do more for the environment I did go through a stage of composting my waste food and I plan to start this again in the future.  I also like the idea of up-cycling clothing but as I'm no great seamstress I generally decide that any clothes I no longer want should be given to a charity shop to be purchased by someone else.

I always welcome ideas about how to be greener and any suggestions would be appreciated!

Collecting - Blog Everyday in May.

I don't know why but I have got into my head that a collection is when you have three or more of something.  If that's the definition of a collection then I have a few collections and my criticism of someone showing me their sword collection, which consisted of one sword still stands...  I seem to have accumulated a fair few shoes, badges, baking goods and cookbooks.

The two things I seem to have accumulated the most of are cds....

...and of course books!

 I sometimes wonder if I'm a hoarder but I then again there are a few things I actively collect like the Walking Dead graphic novels.

As well as band t-shirts, roller derby bout programmes for bouts I've seen and pieces of fabric I am sure I'll make something with one day.  They may not be the most conventional of collections but they're my collections and I think they are one of those things that make up a little part of who I am.

Book Love - Blog Every Day in May.

Sometimes I go through phases of not reading many books and I forget how much pleasure I get out of them... but actually books are a bit like my kryptonite.  I have happy memories of climbing up a tree at Padgate cricket club and sitting in it for hours reading my book whilst my Dad played cricket.  I was also one of those who got in trouble for finishing the book we were reading in English too early, reading other books in boring classes and staying up too late reading by the light of the street light outside my bedroom window.  I guess you could say I'm a bit of a book worm...

It wouldn't be a lie! The day after I finished my degree in English Literature and Creative Writing I wound down from dissertation writing and my essays by reading Filth by Irvine Welsh.  Now me and Paul have our own house we've filled it with our books. There are a few in the bedroom.

Some in the living room.

The obligatory cookbook horde in the kitchen, as well as the master bookshelf in the study.

We won't mention the book in my handbag, the few that live under the bed or the last ten or fifteen in a box in the wardrobe I need to find a proper home for.  That would be foolish wouldn't it?  Whilst thinking about this blog post I also started to think about which books I read over and over but to be honest I don't tend to do that unless I'm studying a book.  There is one exception though the book Adverbs that my friend Amy bought me for my 21st birthday.

This is a beautifully written but confusing book full of the stories of different peoples lives who may or may not know and effect each other.  Each time I read it I discover a new element or notice something that I hadn't seen on previous readings, this is why I keep coming back to it.

Another book I have fond memories of is The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, which I received from Paul on my 21st birthday.

I got this book on my birthday and then took it with me to read on my way to Glastonbury and accidentally spilt tea all over it! It was a bit damaged but still readable.

Another book I love is The Little Prince.

It's only a short book but a lovely one, I think I may re-read it after I've finished reading my Game of Thrones book.  I also adore Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World but I believe that this may be residing in the wardrobe at present.  It was a key book for sparking my interest in philosophy.

My friend Heather has also bought me some lovely books over the years, the most recent one was the Adventuress which is a gorgeous book by Audrey Niffenegger.

I also received a very nice Ukulele book called Ukulele Crazy from my friend Emma recently which re-ignited my interest in learning to play the Ukulele.

I could go on about books forever and a day but I sadly have other plans; however, should you ever want to get on my good side I can always be buttered up with a good book!  I'm partial to a bit of Terry Pratchett, Angela Carter, Phillip Pullman, Jasper Fforde, Anais Nin, Paul Magrs, JK Rowling, Malorie Blackman, Irvine Welsh or Quirk Classics...

Travel Dreams - Blog Every Day in May.

It's no secret that I enjoy a bit of travelling, I can easily spend hours day dreaming about where I'd like to go and places I've already enjoyed visiting.

My first holiday abroad was before I could even remember  so I don't have any fear of flying, ferries or trains... my biggest fear is that in the future I won't be able to travel any more with a little one in tow! (Not that I've travelled all that far in recent years.) 

Last year I managed to get to Brussels and the year before that I enjoyed a few days in Amsterdam, both cities were lovely.  I might be one of those weird people who love city breaks and I keep pondering how I'd manage to swing a tour of Europe. Maybe start in the north and work my way down to Barcelona or Madrid....  Then again I've heard great things about Germany and I'd love to see St Petersburg and Moscow after learning about the 1917 revolution as a teen.

The foodie part of me would also love to visit Mexico, India, China and Thailand to sample my favourite foods in their countries of origin, although the realistic part of me things I would melt. 
The realist in me also pipes up about the heat when I consider visiting the pyramids in Egypt or going belly dancing in Turkey... why don't you go to Italy and see the Colosseum and Pompei instead it suggests?  How about Australia? You could see a Kola or a Kangaroo...

I'd also like to revisit America one day, see a bit more of New York and maybe have a road trip from there to San Francisco... obviously this is a dream as Paul would never consent to that but in an ideal world we'd hire a Winnebago and hit the road.

Another place I'd love to go is Iceland to see the Geysers, bathe in hot springs, watch whales and admire the northern lights whilst looking out for Bjork. I also hear that they've started doing All Tomorrow's Parties in Iceland too... So basically I have a few travel dreams, I even went so far as to make this (very embarrassing) video a few years ago to try to win a travel internship with STA travel...

The job was to travel round the world for six months, make and upload videos about the travels to encourage others to do the same. I thought that a bit of humiliation would be worth it to see the world! (Paul was quite glad I didn't get it and run to the other side of the globe.)

So those are a few of my travel dreams, what are yours?

Favourite Social Media Channel - Blog Every Day in May.

Choosing a favourite social media channel is a difficult thing and can leave you wanting to have a snooze on your computer chair!

Many people seem to use Instagram for posting pictures of their food...

...or so I've heard but I mainly use it as my phone won't let me up load pictures to Facebook normally but for some reason it will thought my Instagram ap, which has the added bonus of improving my pictures slightly.  I do find that on most days my default social media channel is Facebook as I have an ap on my phone I can consult when I'm on the bus or waiting for the kettle to boil.  I also find it quite useful for finding out about gigs, roller derby bouts and keeping in touch with friends. Half the time at the moment it does appear filled with Doctor Who related pictures and memes though.

I've been on twitter for less time than I've been on Facebook and it is less easy to access on my phone but I do enjoy the onion's tweets, finding out about things going on in Sheffield and watching the shock waves of current events ripple across it.  It's a weird social media channel I have gone to events because of it like the Appetite Sheffield Events but I can also go days or weeks without thinking about it.

Or maybe this is what distracts me from twitter?

When I started to think about social media channels I also thought back to when I started out on Livejournal and Bowlie before progressing to MSN and Myspace, then abandoning it for Facebook.... it's funny but without Myspace I wouldn't have booked two of the acts that played my 21st birthday party!

The Lovers - the headliners I booked for my 21st.

It all seems quite laughable now and I think that we'll probably look back on Facebook and their ilk in the same way.  Still I do enjoy catching up with friends on Facebook where I might miss them on twitter, as well as the endless possibilities for procrastination that twitter presents. (This is probably why I don't delve into it too often!) In short why decide which is your favourite social media channel you may as well embrace them all!

First Job - Blog Every Day in May.

I'm not really sure what to make of the blog topic for today... I didn't take any pictures of the first few places I've worked.  Come to think of it I've hardly taken any pictures of anywhere I've worked!

When I was in college I worked for a few months at a telemarketing company called Ant Marketing where I was sat in the loft calling BT's 123 number to enquire about telephone numbers on a list.  I hated it, mainly because I kept hitting my head when I stood up so I ended up quitting in the new year.

After college I wasn't sure what to do with myself so I got a job at the Sainsburys in the centre of Sheffield and worked there full time for just over a year.  I stood all day at the cigarette kiosk and served people cigarettes and lottery cards.  It's also where I met Paul... After working at Sainsburys a few months I made my mind up to go to university and I ended up leaving when I moved to Huddersfield to begin my studies, although I did return there to work one summer I made that good an impression.

Even though I did my stint at Ant marketing I still think of Sainsburys as my first job as it was there that I learnt my customer service skills and made my first work friends as well as work based memories. (Along with after work night out blurs!)

Those are my first job memories anyway...