Dailies: The Good Life, xylophones, herby roast chicken, All Her Fault, kouign amann

Monday 27 October

I took a week off there due to I’m not quite sure what, but I’m back now and I missed writing here very much. Clearly not a lot has been happening, which always seems to be the case in my world. I much prefer that to drama and chaos, though, states that my old life was often full to the brim of.

It’s windy and drizzly outside as ‘false spring’ has retreated and we’re back to gloomier weather. I honestly don’t mind. It’s so easy to rug up and get cosy … much harder to cool down, economically at least.

My Log Cabin Crocheted Blanket WIP, The Lasting Harm book, Nobody’s Girl book, My Body Keeps Your Secret book.

I’m going to roast a chicken and some potatoes for dinner. Perhaps some carrots too. Thus I need to trek to the shops and likely not wear my Birkenstocks which is annoying (due to rain … nobody wants soggy toes). That said I will be so pleased to have cosier toes and it’s worth the effort of socks and laces now isn’t it?

I spent the weekend quietly, eating soup and toast, making tuna pasta for Saturday late lunch, reading the (heart-breaking) Virginia Roberts Giuffre book and listening to Lily Allen’s new record (West End Girl). Very little crafting went on, due to the reading, which I find is always the way with me.

Roast chicken dinner alongside a glass of wine, The Lasting Harm and tin of travel sweets

Wednesday 29 October

The mowers are out this morning. It’s such a lovely day already, so who can blame them? False spring is back! It’s 9.15. I got up later than usual at 8, watered the garden with the dogs, fed the cats, made a toasted sandwich and a cup of tea and sat back down at my computer to watch an episode of The Good Life. I blame this show – and Little House On the Prairie – for my quite unreasonable expectations of life. I’m going to rewatch TGL from the start and so far Episode One did not disappoint. Granted the social scenarios are a little bit out of touch (all men at the office, lots of suits, the house is paid off) but Tom and Barbara’s relationship seems adorable still. I will continue to report back about it (not that you likely care!) It’s on Britbox.

Somewhere in this period of time I made pumpkin soup … and the rolls are from ALDI

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The Good Lifealia: Wellies, Volvos, breakfast tables, hair pulled back in combs (semi Olivia in Xanadu), frilly dressing gowns, toast racks, indoor daffodils, champagne in pretty little wine glasses, belted cardigans, floral sun lounges, squeaky patio chairs, eggs for dinner, shepherd’s pie …

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I’ve not been doing much except making nourishing meals, reading, resting … It sounds great I am sure, but it’s not very … vitalising. That said, we must meet ourselves where we are, so all is well.

L/ BBQ sausages and asparagus R/ Pasta salad, roasted potato slices and BBQ sausages

I made a little BBQ last night, the first in a long time in the mini Weber. I just cooked some spicy fennel sausages from Sacca’s and a few bunches of asparagus on it (three bunches for $4.) And I roasted four sliced Dutch Cream potatoes in the oven and made a gluten-free pasta salad too (I just cooked the pasta and tossed it in this sauce with a slosh of extra olive oil, extra olives and some fresh herbs, letting it come to room temperature and soak up all the flavours). It turned out to be a little feast. I threw the asparagus into the salad too and it gave it such a lovely fresh and smoky flavour. I think I probably had a similar smokiness to me because it was windy outside and the smoke was robustly omniscient (sorry neighbours! I will do better next time and consider the wind!)

Last week I managed to plant some tomato seedlings and I threw some more flower and herb seeds into the beds, with a hope-for-the-best kind of attitude. I’ve got a bunch of seedlings ready to plant out too. Things that I have grown from seed but not found spots for yet. I think it might be time to convert some more lawn into garden beds, my friends.

Kouign Amann from Oven Street Bakery, some paper pieced stars and a vest I am working on for June

I’m trying to make friends with some ravens, so I’ve been feeding them various things (chicken wings, leftover bacon, etc) and so far so good. They’re quite skittish still, but they sit out on the fence in the morning yelling until I come out. I don’t do it every day, worry not. Just sometimes. Ravens look sort of like punk crows, don’t they? I like that in a bird … a bit of punkishness.

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Good things

My latest Feeling A Bit Sh*t newsletter over on Wallfower Cordial
I love everything Polly Pots makes. Thanks to Holly for telling me about her.
This slow reading book club looks really good.
I’ve been making this soup every week.
After Bean died, I watched this video too many times.
And then I made this ragu because it’s very comforting.
Apple and Blackberry Crumble!
Apple and Raspberry Crumble Cake
I’m pondering doing this writing course …
All praise to the lunch ladies
A bit about the new Patti Smith memoir

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A tiny sample of the sardines at the Brunswick IGA

Friday 31 October

A gloomy weather type of day, but no matter because it’s raining a bit and the garden/earth needs it. I’m going to pop in on Rin and June today to lend a hand, I think. Breakfast was baked beans on toast and a giant cup of tea.

Getting dressed: H&M black cotton dress from Saver’s, black leggings, Birkenstocks.

I bought a Fisher Price Dog Xylophone at Saver’s which June is very obsessed with. She’s shaping up to be a World Champion Xylophone Player/Appreciator and I understand completely. I remember being a little girl and falling in love with the school’s fairy music-emitting glockenspiel so I expect she might be a bit the same.

… I played with June for a couple of hours while Rin did some solo around-the-house things. She’s just started to play by repeating actions and it’s so cute and fun. We did a lot of touring the house and looking at things and touching things too (she especially likes to look at wall art and touch plants.)

Dinner was a couple of slices of ALDI pizza and leftover salad from Thursday. Yum.

Photos from the front seat of my car – picking Ari up from study placement in Heidelberg – op shopped books, car crochet, old Nancy Bird bag

Saturday 1 November

Pinch, punch pals. Up at half seven for pets and the usual faffing about. I watched a couple of gentle videos and ate my breakfast (baked beans on grainy toast and a giant cup of tea).  Then I worked on the Log Cabin blanket for a while. Then I got dressed and headed out …

I met up with Rin and June for coffee, then dropped some seedlings off to Ari and Indi, then came home and pretty much stayed there until Monday morning due to feeling not great. The most normal things make me so exhausted and spark so much pain. It’s annoying, pals. Super annoying.

Anyway, I finished Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre and started The Lasting Harm by Lucia Osborne Crowley (gripping, so far.) So that was something! At least I could read!! Nobody’s Girl was a tough read, but I’m really interested in what happens to girls and women and how it impacts their lives and future health. Hence this current hyper-fixation of mine. My Body Keeps Your Secrets is up after TLH.

Log Cabin crochet, watching YouTubes of gentleness, travel sweets (my latest hyperfixation thanks to The Marlow Murder Club)

Also I spent some time tooling around on Threads, which I am sure I will get tired of very quickly when things turn snarky (which they always seem to do on text-based social media.)

Monday 3 November

June is 7 months old today!

Breakfast was grainy toast with avocado, tomato, hummus, ham and sriracha, alongside … a strong cup of coffee.

Getting dressed: Red track pants, pink Pasta t-shirt, pink Yale sweatshirt, Birkenstocks (the silver ones.)

Oven Street Bakery

Thursday 6 November

Gosh. This is a bit of a start and stop Dailies, isn’t it? Sorry about that! Life/health gets in the way most days.

It’s a blue sky morning, a bit crispy with dew on the blooms and seedlings. I’ve nearly finished The Lasting Harm and it’s been so eye-opening. Highly recommend if you have an interest in Epstein, Maxwell and/or trauma and recovery. (Which I do.)

The past few days have been a routine of rest, helping with June and picking Ari up from his very far away from home placement. There’s been a lot of travel sweets ingested. There’s been a lot of baby snuggles. On Tuesday I roasted a chicken and some crispy potatoes at Rin’s, so she had some goodies to tuck away in the fridge and snack on as needed. June and I walked to the shops to get the chicken and some other things, which was so lovely. On the way home we talked about a bunch of roses that were growing in a neighbourhood garden and she smiled when I showed her each pretty coloured flower.

I have been making chicken according to a recipe I saw on TikTok – you push a spoon between the chicken’s skin and breast to enlarge the ‘pocket’. Then you stuff that with a bunch of good things – butter, herbs, garlic, lemon rind, salt and pepper, whatever is your fancy. You pop a cut lemon into the cavity and put the chook in a baking tin, atop carrots, celery, onion and half a cup of stock. Then you roast for 90 mins or so in a hot oven, basting every 20 minutes. It’s so simple but it’s super delicious and you end up with really tasty pan juices.

June is sitting up now, and beginning to make those first movements babies do when they want to be mobile … to crawl. It’s exciting and cute, but also seems to be very exhausting for her. She’s been a bit out of sorts because of these big changes, I think. That said, it’s nothing that’s not redirected by a little walk in the garden or a vivid board book or some chatting about toys. Babies are so reasonable, really.

I’m going to listen to the new Florence and the Machine album today because I keep forgetting about it and it’s meant to be great. Have you listened? Also Oasis were just in town and it was fun watching some of the vision from the gigs, although they looked a lot like football games in a lot of ways. I thought about going, but it would have been a bit too much I think. Not quite the sit-down gig vibes of Nick Cave. Not quite the best idea for someone with chronic illnesses.

Getting dressed: Black leggings, H&M black cotton dress, yellow Birkenstocks

L/ the local fish and chip shop R/ playing with June Bug. Excuse the busy baby blur.

Tuesday 11 November

Gosh. We’ve had a rough few days as our doggo Bean got sick and had to leave us, in the end. It was very sad and knocked the stuffing right out of me. I’m starting to get used to it now, but it’s very quiet without him. I had two dogs – Bean and Peach – who were best friends. Now it’s just Peach and it’s proving a big adjustment for her, of course. It’s hard to know the best way to handle it, apart from giving her lots of love and play and special treats. One day it won’t feel like this, I know. Saying goodbye to a beloved pet is just such a hard thing, especially when it was not entirely expected, despite him being 14. Onward, as they say …

This morning’s breakfast was Promite toast, tea and some mango/passionfruit yoghurt. I ate it while I caught up with the news and some videos (a new KrisAtomic!) online.

I’m going to get this Dailies published in the next couple of days NO MATTER WHAT, though.

It rained so much during the day, but I managed to nip over to see Rin and June while Max watched over Peach. The girls were doing so well and June was being extremely adorable, reminding me that even during the hard times there are gems to be found. When I got home, Max had put Love Is Blind UK on the telly for Peach to watch, and cranked up the heater. She was relieved to see me, it seemed, but also managing as well as she could. She didn’t even mind that it was LIBUK Season One (which we’d both already seen, along with season two.) Sometimes a rewatch is supremely comforting, I think.

I must admit my brain is utterly scrambled after a few weeks of challenges, but I am hoping to unscramble/defog it as soon as poss. I need to pull myself up by my bootstraps and return to some gentle and nourishing routines, just to feel more like myself and more like I am achieving something … In the hardest hours I miss my old job, studying, being busy, my lovely old house. But also, I remind myself that the way things are now are not the way things always will be. Things change, surprises happen, life shifts. I will always, always, always remain hopeful that things will get easier and nicer. Even if it doesn’t seem that way at first glance.

Poached eggs on Promite toast

Wednesday 12 November

It’s still quite nippy, after yesterday’s rainy day. Peach is slowly getting used to being the only dog in the house, but she’s crying a lot whenever I get up or move around.  It’s making leaving the house a bit tricky, but I am going to do that even less than I usually do, just for a wee little while.

Breakfast was Promite on toast with poached eggs and a strong coffee. Yum.

Getting dressed: Black barrel leg jeans and an old op-shopped dress. Socks and Birks at the moment.

Quick questions: have you watched that series All Her Fault on Binge? What did you think? I liked it, but it felt like it needed a tighter edit? I loved Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning in it though. Excellent performances. Apparently the book is very good. Have you read it?

I had plans to make a new garden bed today, but I am feeling peaky so perhaps I’ll save that for another day? I don’t really want to go to Bunnings and leave Peach for too long … It doesn’t seem that important when I think about what she’s going through. Better to stay in, sip tea and snuggle with her, I think. For now at least. Next week is sure to be less intense ..? * nervous laugh*

Hoping you are managing okay, dear reader.

xx Pip