:: What I’m Doing, Reading, Making

What have you been doing? I’ve been working on my book a lot, and doing some other work for other people too. I’ve been doing all kinds of different crafty things (some are a secret!) And I’ve been making nice stuff to eat…

Today I made a salad that went something like this:

Speedy Japanese style salad
1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sushi seasoning/dressing, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 small sachet of miso : whisk together.
Cook half a packet of soba noodles and rinse with cold water until cool. Chop up some tofu, cherry tomatoes, avocado. Grate a carrot. Wash a handful of baby spinach.
Toss the whole lot together. 
Add chilli or toasted sesame seeds. I added some golden shallots too. 
Eat it up! (Serves 2!)

I’ve got a bunch of great books on my pile to peruse.  I’m particularly keen to make the cinnamon rolls in Notes From A Swedish Kitchen. They’re not really in my healthy eating plan, but I’m quite into having a treat now and then!  Speaking of treats, the Asian grocer near my house has started selling fair-trade chocolate. I am quite keen to buy more ethical chocolate, so this is making things a lot easier! I don’t eat much chocolate, but the people in my house LIKE IT A LOT!  Surely fair-trade is the way to go. It feels a bit gross to be sweetly involved with the whole palm oil/slavery gang… #notgood

I’ve been making some changes to my daily routine, taking a walk in the mornings to wake myself up and get out of the house. Working from home means I often don’t leave the house for a day or two, when my workload is particularly heavy. This walk is my way of making sure I get some fresh air and sunshine (or rain!) on me/in me.  Then, in the afternoon, if I am not too tired, I do my Barry workout. How healthy am I?! Sometimes I do it while I watch Deal Or No Deal. I like seeing people win things and it seems like an efficient way to time 30 minutes. (Plus, they have giant cheques!)

On the weekend, Gemma and I went to Women of Letters (hosted by Clare Bowditch) at the Regal Ballroom. It was super great. It’s a (sort of) monthly event where women (and sometimes men) read a themed letter to an audience. This time the theme was ‘A Letter To My Greatest Temptation’. I particularly loved the letters read by Kat Stewart, Judith Lucy and Estelle Tang. Estelle Tang is some sort of bibliotherapist! I can not even believe that! That is the best thing I have ever heard of, just about…!  (Except for the fact that she reviewed canned mandarin segments.)  How can one person be so interesting?!  I do not know. Nope. Also notable was the bit where Judith Lucy showed us her lay-back-chuck-a-spread method of watching telly. She doesn’t do it anymore, but it was her preferred position as a teenager in Perth. Also she talked about Flapper’s Factory which made me a bit excited.  Kat Stewart would not reveal whether Billie dies in Offspring this week, which was terribly discreet of her.

I had an email from my editor who said I need to aim for about 25 000 words for my book. That made me gulp a bit. I have a lot of work to do. Sometimes I wish I had a little house with awesome internet and I could go there and write all by myself. There would be a cliff. The house would be on it. And there would be a beautiful beach below, with chilly sand and white-capped waves. Actually, I think that I have been watching Broadchurch too much. I do really need to find some quiet time to get stuck in, though.

I have been making Cam watch Luther and after much resistance he is as addicted as me. It’s really NOT A NICE SHOW. Do not watch it if you are sensitive. I am sensitive but somehow the farfetched, dark delivery of the whole thing coupled with the charisma of John Luther and his cray sidekick Alice make the horrible bits seem totally unreal. Still, I am not recommending it to you. You might be alarmed by it.

In other news, I have a cute giveaway happening here tomorrow. You should pop back. It might involve pom poms…!

Write soon,

your pal,

Pip

x

PS: Wow. I really blabbed on today…!