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MonthMarch 2010

3BT – surrounded, distracted, rewarded

29/3/2010 / / 0 Comments

1. I wake up just before dawn to the sound of some low half-barks – Lily getting excited in her sleep. She’s still in her bed so I go to her to soothe her. Next time I wake up, perhaps an hour or so later, she’s lying in between us, on her back with her paws in the air, Carla is sat on my chest purring and Boron is fast asleep on my head. The best way to wake up.

2. On the bus, my ears and brain are distracted by a lecture on human pre-history, my hands and eyes by granny squares.

3. After a difficult rehearsal, I need cake. Lots of cake. Then I spot it – a fancy, expensive cake reduced to clear for just 99p.

Last week’s Tweets (up to 2010-03-28)

28/3/2010 / / 0 Comments
  • @davidsmalley we went out during a little break in the rain earlier. Lily got *slightly* muddy. Bathtime later for the furry filthpot! in reply to davidsmalley #
  • Cleaned dried mud of Lily's belly ahead of @strowger78 coming to tickle it tomorrow. #
  • Cat & dog both curled up, bums touching, on the sofa. Too cute. #
  • @sarahjarvis or a couple of months if you'd swapped to wearing muu-muus and claimed it was a new fashion trend. in reply to sarahjarvis #
  • Had to interrupt a business phone call to stop the dog chasing squirrels. #thejoysofworkingfromhome #
  • @sarahjarvis your question should be "do i eat a 4th cupcake or not?"; the first three don't need questioning. in reply to sarahjarvis #
  • Off to Salvo's with @johnleach tonight for our first proper date night in flippin' ages. Can't wait. :D #
  • Full of Salvo's. Happy. #
  • Wild garlic & leftover mash potato cakes. Y.U.M.M.O. #almostafreelunch (Eaten with @johnleach-paid-for smokey bacon so still free to me ;) ) #
  • @davidsmalley that's why i booked team always-late onto a direct train ;) in reply to davidsmalley #
  • Boron's head smells of biscuits … and burped wild garlic gas. Funny that. #
  • Had a good run around the Chevin with Katherine & Joe, and Lily-dog. All got rather muddy but was fun. #
  • Would really rather like a nap. #
  • @tim_waters ooh, maybe. would a (well behaved, ever so pretty) doggie be welcome too? in reply to tim_waters #
  • Just had one of those "the food isn't very good but there is lots of it" moments with a random takeaway. Leftover dhal & naan for tomorrow. #

Four beautiful things from the weekend

28/3/2010 / / 0 Comments

Saturday:

1. We walk further into West Wood that we’ve done before and come across high cliffs of rock with dangling ivy floating in the breeze; a dead tree snapped in half; a precarious overhang.

2. The garage at the end of the road (which, strangely, sells some of the best samosas I’ve ever eaten) has installed a slushie machine – two flavours: raspberry and strawberry. I text John to tell him and he replies: “we’ll look back on this as our diabetic summer.”

Sunday:

3. We sit on the balcony in the sun, waiting. I don’t hear the doorbell but the dog does and we all race to welcome John home.

4. There isn’t quite enough room but I join them on the sofa anyway and watch the film from underneath his arm.

3BT – the view, the smell, the silliness

26/3/2010 / / 0 Comments

1. We pick the wrong path around the Chevin and end up on a path just a bit too muddy, bumpy and hilly for the pushchair. We battle through though and are rewarded with a fantastic view of the hills to the north of Otley and the pools of Pool. We stop to catch our breath and take it all in.

2. The steeping rosemary fills the kitchen with its perfume.

3. The frequent silly text messages stop me missing him quite so much. One sleep down, two sleeps to go.

Wild Food Fun: Wild Garlic (Ramsons) potato cakes

25/3/2010 / / 0 Comments

I had my first wild garlic of the season today! The woods behind our house are *full* of it – the banks of the stream on both sides are five foot deep with it, mostly just small baby leaves at the moment but some bigger leaves too.

I picked some – a large handful – while on my lunchtime walk with Lily. Because they’re *everywhere*, it was easy to pick up some from slightly off the beaten track and I nibbled a leaf as I walked back to the house.

In the kitchen, I squished the roughly chopped wild garlic leaves into some leftover mashed potato and added a beaten egg as a binder, then shallow fried them until golden brown-ish. In the other side of the pan, I fried up some smoked bacon and ate them together with a giant grin on my face.

In the past, we’ve done slightly more elaborate things with wild garlic – eg, the ubiquitous pesto – but this was very simple and delicious!

My favourite British green/simple living/craft blogs

25/3/2010 / / 2 Comments

I read A LOT of green/simple living blogs – some religiously, others only when the subject particularly appeals. There is such a wealth of knowledge out there and inspirational actions, not from proclaimed experts or media stars but from a range of people living (or trying to live) “simpler” lives. (I share my favourite posts here – http://www.google.com/reader/shared/louisa.parry)

However, the vast majority of the bloggers are from the US and while a lot of the information transfers over here, it’s nice to read stories from British bloggers too – their photos show familiar hilly landscapes not alien prairies or mountains, they talk about tea & Jaffa cakes, and they have small, climate-challenged gardens & no chance of an allotment this side of the year 3000.

So anyway, on with the links:

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