That's all folks

Well, I was quiet on here for a long time because of my course. But it is now nearly a month since I finished my course, and I just haven't had the interest to post. Having a break from blogging has made me realise my heart's just not in it any more, so I'm calling time on this blog.

I might create spin-off blogs in time, with more focussed themes, but at the moment I think I need a break. You can still follow my progress on my Day Zero list if you're interested, and if I do create new blogs I'll post details on here.

So this is bec, signing off. So long and thanks for all the fish.

Day Zero: Challenge 68

Last night, instead of watching a rubbish England match, I managed to persuade hubby to go out for a meal! I'm very lucky!

Challenge 68 is 'Try a cuisine I've never eaten before'. It was always going to be tricky, as the most commonly available cuisines are ones I've tried before - Italian, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Spanish - and a lot of other cuisines are not so friendly for the veggies. But then I remembered a friend telling me about Bistro Saigon in Ilkley, which is a Vietnamese restaurant. So I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Vietnamese food is a lot like Thai which I really like, but I'm still counting it! I had vegetable spring rolls for starter, and sweet potato curry with sticky jasmine rice for main, both of which were delicious and very filling! The scariest bit was using chopsticks, which I haven't done in years and I never really got the hang of, but after a few drops I got the knack. The atmosphere of the restaurant was lovely, and the staff were very friendly. I would thoroughly recommend it.

As I complete Challenge 68, I add Challenge 86 (go on a RailRover holiday) - how neat is that?! Just 15 more to think of and then my list is complete. As ever, I'm open to ideas!

Day Zero: Update

Well, I went quiet on here again, but that's not because I've forgotten about my Day Zero list - far from it! Here are some of the challenges I've completed recently:

Challenge 1: Buy something from Etsy - I love this website having only recently discovered it, and I hope to set up a shop over the summer. In the meantime, I bought a gorgeous screenprinted notebook from summersville for my best friend and a cute pencil case from funkydivadesigns for my goddaughter. Anyone who appreciates artistry and handmade items should look at this website. It has also led me to add another challenge - Buy something from Folksy, which is like Etsy's British counterpart.

Challenge 5: Write a letter to a friend - Written to my best friend for her birthday instead of a card. I cannot believe how hard it is to write a letter, I'm so used to e-mails (or worse, status comments on Facebook) that a sustained piece of writing was a real struggle! I must practise this art!

Challenge 14: Have a picnic - This one was completed quite by accident! We visited friends in Oxford at the weekend and as it was such good weather they prepared a lovely picnic for us which we enjoyed by the river. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon ...

Challenge 23: Make something out of Rachel Allen's 'Bake' - I bought this book mainly to just drool over the pictures, but I recently baked the rhubarb and strawberry version of the 30-day muffins (so called because the batter keeps for 30 days). They were absolutely scrummy and conquered my fear of baking muffins!

Challenge 25: Wear a skirt to work - not an easy task when you hate your legs as much as me! But with the mini-heatwave recently, I was forced to bare my pins on Friday and Monday (and over the weekend but I wasn't at work then!) and was shocked that I could hardly fit into one of my 'work skirts' any more. Just goes to show how long it's been since I wore it!!

I've also been making progress on some of the longer-term challenges, but will post about them when they're done. I only have 18 more challenges to think of before my list is complete - and I'm open to ideas!

Day Zero Challenge 70

Choosing challenges with a set deadline turns out to be a good idea. Challenge 70 - Read the Manifestos of the three major parties before the General Election - is a good example of this. While everything else on my list I can do pretty much any time in the next two and a half years, I was on the clock with this one. And it turned out to be not as easy as I thought.

I don't know why I expected a manifesto to be short but I did. Well I was wrong: Labour's manifesto was 76 pages, Lib Dem's was 57 and Conservative's was 113. That's a lot of reading. But when I've voted in previous years, I've always felt guilty for not knowing what the parties really stood for. Now I've read all three manifestos, I may not understand all the policies but at least I know them.

This challenge hasn't helped me choose who to vote for, I already knew. But it has confirmed that decision. There was one manifesto that stood out as being clear and understandable and that had policies that made me smile. It also happened to be the manifesto with the least backbiting about other parties. I won't say whose it was - you'll have to read them and see if you agree!

Day Zero

Sometimes serendipity throws good things in your path. The other day I stumbled upon Day Zero, a project whereby you make a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. Recently I've been feeling like I'm not achieving anything fast. Despite doing my OU course (which is giving me a greater sense of achievement in my life) there was still something missing. But this project has captured my imagination, and might well give that sense of purpose I'm looking for. My list is here, and combines study goals with crafty tasks, baking tasks, environmental/ethical tasks and many more. So far I've only got to 62 items, so if anyone has a suggestion do let me know!

I will post on my blog whenever I complete a task from my list, so you can follow my progress. If you want to.

Update

I told you it would be a while! Nearly two months into my course now and about to submit my second assignment. It's been intense - I've studied 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Frankenstein', 'Great Expectations' and 'Fathers and Sons', and learnt a heck of a lot of literary theory about the Realist Novel too. Sorry, I can almost hear my readers snoring. Except for the fact that I probably don't have any readers.

As you can imagine, I've had very little time for anything else. Knitting etc has ground to a complete halt, except for my occasional attempt to unravel the disaster cardigan so I can put the yarn to better use when I have time. I've been reading lots (obviously) but don't have tme to review what I'm reading any more, plus it's mainly textbooks. As for being green and ethical ... well, I'm trying to keep up with what I was already doing but I'm afraid I've not added much new to my Generous repertoire.

In cat news, Millie had to have an operation recently so we had the joy of listening to her lick the inside of a cone for nearly two weeks while her stitches healed, but she's fine now. Expensive, but fine.

Well, I don't really have any other updates. Next in my course I will be studying Romantic Writings, mainly poetry. Wish me luck!

Holding page

Sorry I've not blogged much recently, but I'm afraid that's the way it'll stay for a while. I recently enrolled on an Open University course and, despite the fact that it hasn't even started, I'm already drowning in preparatory reading. I'll try to check in every once in a while, but updates will be few and far between!

200 word review: 'The Complete Polysyllabic Spree' by Nick Hornby

I once saw a picture of a girl wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a girl wearing a t-shirt with … you get the idea. This is the literary equivalent – a review of a book of reviews!

I didn’t enjoy Hornby’s 31 Songs but I don’t hold a grudge (usually) so I thought I’d try The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, and I’ve warmed to Hornby again after reading it. This book is witty, honest and interesting – his breadth of reading is quite impressive (no matter what his self-effacing comments would have you believe). But you don’t need to read any of the books he discusses to enjoy it. There were only one or two I had read, and I doubt I’ll read many others, but he has such an accessible way of writing about books that I didn’t feel excluded. He is honest about his flaws, too – he admits to preferring some genres to others, and struggling with long novels. So many reviewers won’t admit to any bias, it’s refreshing to read somebody who lays his biases on the table.

Lesson of the day: just because you don’t like one book, doesn’t mean you won’t like anything by the author.

200 word review: 'Four Letter Word: New Love Letters' edited by Rosalind Porter and Joshua Knelman

I borrowed this book from my local library mainly out of shock that they had it –a few months ago, I read an article about it in The Big Issue so I was surprised to see such a current book. It’s a collection of fictional love letters from modern authors, some more famous than others but all with excellent literary credentials.

The problem with collections like this is that there are always bits you love and bits you hate. Some of the letters really caught me – some were endearing in their innocence, others deeply moving, and others simply entertaining. But there were a few that were just a bit, well, smutty for my tastes. Maybe I’m a prude, but a number contained crass references which didn’t seem to have much to do with love.

The variety of letters represents well the depth and diversity of love. There were examples of love for someone (or something) other than a lover. Many letters expressed the pain of love gone wrong. Some were historical, others current (one based on Hurricane Katrina almost had me weeping on a commuter train). Overall, this is a generally enjoyable book which effectively shows all areas of love.

Generous Journal: Catching up

I've been rubbish at blogging in general, but my Generous Journal has particularly suffered. That's not to say that I haven't been plugging away with my efforts to live more generously and more greenly; here's a few things I've been up to:

Now, I'm really not a 1950's housewife despite what my craft habit would have you believe, but ... I've got into baking recently! It's so satisfying to bake your own cakes and biscuits rather than buying them from the shop, and it means you can ensure the ingredients are ethical. I only use free-range eggs and try to use Fairtrade/organic chocolate and cocoa where possible. I've also found the best way to use up over-ripe bananas - Banana Bread! And not being wasteful with your food is very important, particularly with bananas - if you're going to fly something halfway across the world, it's not very good if half of it ends up in the compost bin. Here's an example of my yummy Banana Bread:

Mmm. Baking is also good for warming up the flat a bit whilst still using the heat for something else. The weather has suddenly become very cold here, so we need as many opportunities to heat up as possible. Now I have to admit we are using our central heating (I know hardened eco-warriors would string us up for that!) but we are trying to find ways to avoid it where possible. When I'm watching TV in the living room, if I get cold I'll cover myself in a throw. I'm layering as much as possible - I've even bought thermal vests!! And we're trying to eat warming meals like soup and casseroles. Our biggest problem is our bedroom though - easily the coldest room in the house, and that's where you really want to feel snug! We might have to rearrange furniture to see if there's any way of maximising the heat, but I don't like change!

Another Generous thing we've done recently is join Freecycle - and I've been waxing lyrical about it since! We've already got rid of a mirror and a cat feeder that were taking up space with minimal effort, and we managed to get a new lid for our compost bin too (the old one blew off in the gales a few weeks back, despite being very difficult to take off - that's how bad the weather is!) It's incredible what people give away on there, I've seen double beds and freezers listed, so check your local one out!

Our veg-growing has now stopped for winter, but hubby has planted cauliflowers for next summer. He's also been reusing stuff creatively in the garden - using our old broken bedframe to create a frame which, with some plastic over it, will keep our caulis warm over winter. He's also been cutting an old pair of fleece pyjamas and stuffing the sleeves with old socks today for use in the garden - don't ask me what they'll be doing, I'll just have to trust him on that!

The next Generous challenge is Christmas - I always try to make it as ethical and eco-friendly as possible, but it can be challenging. I fully intended to make cards but I'm not convinced I'm going to have time. We're cooking our own Christmas dinner this year (eek!) so we can be more conscious of the food we're buying. Other than that, the usual tricks of shopping locally and in charity/ ethical shops for presents, using gift lists so I don't end up buying wasteful, unwanted presents, and making what I can will come into play. Any more ideas for an ethical Christmas?

Stash Wars: Defeat?

Ahh, just as I'm coming to the end of my stash, it all goes a bit wrong.

The tabletop sale I was preparing for in September didn't go too well. As well as the cupcakes and brooches I've posted about before, I also tried to sell these hairpins, catnip-filled toys and Christmas decorations:

Unfortunately, I only sold two things in three hours at the sale - a cupcake and a mouse. Not much money raised for charity then. I managed to double my sales last weekend when my Mum visited though - she bought a cupcake, a mouse and two stockings. I think she felt sorry for me.

As I had some green cotton left from the shrug I made recently, I used this to make some baby stuff - no, not for me unfortunately, but for a friend of my brother:

Soo cute! Unfortunately the socks turned out bigger than I'd hoped so they can't be worn with the top, but still, I think it's sweet. Still got some of the yarn left though ...

Speaking of my brother, he very kindly bought me some black Bluefaced Leicester as a belated birthday present, which I am shortly going to use to make myself some gloves as I've lost my old ones:

It's lovely and much appreciated as I am in dire need of some warm gloves, but I am a bit worried about how much I'll have left over.

Then came the biggest blow to my Stash War:

A work friend has been clearing out and found a bag of crocheting cotton, which she very kindly donated to me. I'm delighted with it - anything that will fuel my obsession with anything crafty is gratefully received, but I think we can safely say that the war is over and the stash won!! I am excited by this crocheting cotton though, mainly because I don't really know what you do with it. As you can see, it's been used to make a few doilies, but I'm not really a doily girl, so I'll have to get creative with it.

So there, I'm defeated. But hey, I couldn't have lost to a better opponent!

200 word review: 'Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad

Something strange happened to me when I read Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ – I didn’t feel gripped by the plot, I wasn’t particularly interested in how it ended, and yet I couldn’t stop myself reading it. Something about the novel cast a spell on me, and without me even noticing, I was enthralled.

It is a story about a seaman named Marlow, who travels to Africa on trade business and embarks on a journey to find the mysterious ivory trader Kurtz. Marlow himself tells his tale to fellow seamen on a boat on the Thames as evening turns to night. This gives the whole novel a sense of gloom, and the growing darkness of the night is paralleled by Marlow’s journey deeper into the jungle. The identity of Kurtz is gently hinted at throughout, and even when he appeared I still felt that I had missed something about him. The whole novel feels unresolved, but deliberately so. The words ‘heart’ and ‘darkness’ recur like a heartbeat, alluding to something never quite revealed.

I wish I could write more than 200 words on this occasion, because this novel is a masterclass in narrative – subtle, yet engrossing, with quietly wonderful use of language.

Sorry ...

... I've been a bit rubbish at posting recently. I actually have loads to post, but life is getting in the way. Watch this space for an update on my craftiness, my Generous journal and a review of Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' - as soon as I find the time!!

Blog Action Day: Climate Change

On 24th June 2007, my first wedding anniversary, we were driving up from the West Midlands, having visited friends down there the night before. Our plan for the day was to stop off at Rother Valley Park on the way back up to Leeds and have a romantic stroll. But the driving rain scuppered that plan, so we went to Meadowhall, a huge shopping mall outside Sheffield. We window shopped, had some lunch in the food court, then headed home.

The next day, we watched footage on the local news of Meadowhall. The food court we had lunched in was underwater. We had driven through the start of the most severe flooding I could remember. The summer of 2007. It was the summer I realised that climate change was not a concept, and it wasn't happening gradually. It was, quite literally, storming in.

That summer, schools were closed, public transport was severely disrupted, and people were driven out of their homes. A whole area of the West Country couldn't drink tap water because the flooding had contaminated the water supply. This is in a developed country, with a relatively stable climate. If we can't cope with climate change, how are developing countries in more volatile parts of the planet meant to cope?

Some people say that humans aren't causing climate change. Others are saying it's too late to stop it now. But I believe it's better to try even against the odds, and if there's even the slightest chance that this is a man-made problem, we need to find a man-made solution. What do we have to lose by trying?

Coincidentally, I received an e-mail from Generous today. It didn't mention Blog Action Day or that the theme for the day is Climate Change. But it did talk about the simplest action we can do to help combat climate change - avoid using central heating. As I write this, I am guiltily aware of the warm radiator next to me. It's too late to try to push back the date we switch our heating on, but I am going to make a real effort this year to avoid putting it on. It's a little thing, but hey, what have I got to lose? Suggestions on how to beat the freeze will be gladly received!!

P.S. I didn't actually register for Blog Action Day because I was a bit worried about the security of the website, but I'm joining in the spirit nonetheless!

200 word review: 'Lesley Castle' by Jane Austen (Foreword by Zoe Heller)

This is a collection of Austen’s early writings, including Lesley Castle, The History of England and Catharine, or The Bower. All three works were written when Austen was about sixteen years old – and will induce envy in any budding author.

Lesley Castle is a novel composed of letters, parodying a popular style of the time. The plot is a little muddled, but you can already see Austen’s use of characterisation and exposure of hypocrisy. The History of England is another parody, in which a, “partial, prejudiced and ignorant historian,” comments on the monarchs from Henry IV to Charles I. Despite the narrator’s self-proclaimed ignorance, it actually made me think about how well informed Austen must have been to comment on each monarch, when I struggle to remember who came between Victoria and Elizabeth II. In Catharine, a story of a young lady with little wealth or family connection who falls for a rather caddish young man, you begin to see the seeds of her later works and her most famous characters.

While these works are not of Austen’s usual standard, her knowingness and observational humour is so evident that it is hard to believe they were written by a teenager.

200 word review: 'Died in the Wool' by Mary Kruger

‘”A body in a yarn shop.” He snorted. “Sounds like a bad mystery novel.”’

Well, I must give Mary Kruger credit – at least she’s honest. This is a bad mystery novel.

Ariadne Evans opens her yarn shop one morning to find an old, wealthy and unpopular lady on the floor, murdered with a garrotte made of her best friend’s hand-spun yarn. Nice. The detective who comes to investigate just happens to be handsome, brooding and a good cook. It couldn’t get much cornier – but somehow it does. The dialogue is cheesy, the constant descriptions of people’s appearance reminded me of creative writing lessons in primary school, and the whole premise just seemed bizarre to me.

It’s a harmless enough novel, a no-brainer that you don’t have to think about too much. But I’m afraid I’ve read better no-brainers. I’m sure that the combination of knitting and murder mystery would appeal to a lot of women, just not me. Perhaps I would have actually got caught up in the plot had I not accurately predicted the murderer about halfway through.

There is one good thing to come out of this novel, though – it inspired me to try designing a cardigan myself!

Next book review: 'Lesley Castle' by Jane Austen

Generous Journal: Carrot-Man and libraries

Well, I've been very slack with my Generous Journal recently, but thankfully that doesn't mean I've become a materialistic, resource-eating monster. I've still been trying to live a Generous life, just with nothing remarkable to say about it. But here's a few things that have been going on recently. First of all, meet Carrot-Man:

Heehee! This was part of our (very modest) carrot harvest, we only had three others sadly. But we are inundated with potatoes (weeks after harvesting them!) and runner beans, and have had a good crop of broad beans with more on the way. I've just had a lunch including salad leaves from the garden, which needed a good picking because they were starting to grow out of control. We had a few very small onions so not much better than last year there. But all in all I'm quite pleased with our progress in the garden, especially when we have very limited space and poor, shallow soil. Our indoor dwarf chilli plants are also faring well, giving us an abundance of tiny chillis to dry for future use. They had a spidermite problem recently but that's sorted now. (Tip: If you get a spidermite infestation, which is noticeable by very fine webs on your plants, spray the plants with a hose until all the webs and tiny little beasties are gone. Sorted ours out.)

So we're doing well on the grow-you-own front, bringing down our average food miles nicely. What's great is that our families are also in on the act so we can get home-grown fruit and veg from them too - I'm currently trying to think of things to do with piles of plums and greengauges!

In other Generous news, I've been side-tracked from my library-going recently, partly because of a rather disappointing trip a few months back where I couldn't really find anything good. But today I went and found loads of books I'd love to read! So once I've finished my current book, I'm going to try to only read books from my local library until the end of the year. I would do longer, but I'm bound to get a book or two for Christmas. It's a start though, and I do believe in supporting local libraries as they're very important community resources.

I'll try to post more about Generous stuff ... maybe I should start a diary so I remember when I've done something interesting ...

200-word review: 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel

I think I’ve lost my literary mojo. I should have liked ‘Life of Pi’. After all, it was the 2002 Booker Prize winner, and it’s extremely well written.

Yann Martel’s story of the childhood and coming-of-age of Piscine Molitor Patel, known as Pi, is best known as the book about a boy who gets trapped in a lifeboat with a tiger. This dismisses the fascinating part of the novel before the shipwreck, in which Pi grows up as a practising Hindu, Muslim and Christian. Not a theological standpoint I sympathise with, but interesting nonetheless, and vitally important to understanding the meaning of the novel. The bulk of the novel dealing with Pi’s time at sea is also beautifully written and, at times, engaging.

Despite that, I didn’t enjoy it. This may be because I am an animal lover with a strong sense of empathy, and some horrific things happen to animals. I also found much of the ‘at sea’ part tedious. That’s probably a literary effect to reflect the monotony of Pi’s life, but it was difficult. However, I thought the ending raised interesting ideas about belief and tolerance. But it’s definitely not a book I want to read again.

Next Book Review: 'Died in the Wool' by Mary Kruger

Stash Wars: Ceasefire

I took a break from my Stash war to make myself a shrug to go with the vintage dress I bought a while back, and here is the final product:

I got the pattern from 'Let's Knit' magazine, it was originally meant to be knitted in red mohair but I absolutely love the way this yarn makes the lace pattern look all leafy:

The yarn is Rowan Purelife organic cotton in Chlorophyll. It's naturally dyed as well as being organic, and it's lovely and soft. So not only is it a pretty shrug, it's Generous too! Apparently it can't be machine washed due to the natural dyes but I'm always dubious about these claims so might knit up a swatch and chuck it in a washing load.

I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, it's by far the hardest thing I've ever knitted (lace on DPNs? Now that's sadistic!) but it's also the most wearable garment I've made to date and I think my version is actually nicer than the original! How modest am I?

Well, time to get back to the war. The tabletop sale is finally organised for 26th September so I'll be furiously knitting things to sell - I've started on little cat toys and may make some potpourri sachets that look like sweeties which I've seen in one of my books. Hopefully they'll sell, I'm starting to worry that nobody will like my little creations!

200 word Review: 'The Thrift Book' by India Knight

This book should carry a warning: Only to be read by people without common sense. I thought it might teach me something new about saving money, but instead I discovered there are people who know considerably less than I do. And that’s not much.

If you need India Knight to tell you how to save money, I worry for you. What’s so difficult to grasp about using leftovers, making packed lunches and holidaying in Britain? Who needs telling to mend clothes, go to their library and buy second-hand furniture?

If the blatant stating of the obvious doesn’t annoy you, Knight’s constant references to London will push you over the edge. Why wax lyrical about the Eurostar and how it’s cheaper than a train ticket to Manchester, when some readers might be in Manchester? Add to this her rather snobbish rants (the section on weddings will get many people fuming) and you may need to take deep breaths to calm yourself.

There are some useful bits, but nothing I couldn’t have found online if I looked hard enough. Flick through this and write down the books and sites she recommends, but don’t waste your time or (more importantly) money on it.