At Home
The girl is out of sicky danger zone. She is eating and laughing and I'm sure she will come back to full strength tomorrow.
While she was ill, we cancelled swimming lessons, ballet rehearsal and martial arts. Not just for her but for everybody. Fionn walked home from school instead of me collecting them both and the zen was wonderful. Today, as Brighid started to eat, I could concentrate on her health, popping aloe vera, vitamin C, probiotics and cod liver oil down her throat.
This afternoon she was up for some sunshine and helped me plant daffodils and pansies. She lay on the trampoline soaking up the sun while I went on to sow rocket and violas and plant freesias, perpetual spinach and red poppies.
I wore my navy crossover top today. It is lovely and soft to wear. I've been reading up a little and examining the pattern (Simplicity 1945) some more and I see where I made some of my mistakes. Those mistakes led to wonkiness and a strange unflattering cosiness down the bottom (tucked in in the photo and likely every time I ever wear it). I found this tutorial on doing an FBA on a wrap top and that explains some of my wonkiness (though not all). I can't work out how she has done her initial fba before she lines up the crossover sides - I don't think it is a Fit for Real People technique, which are the only ones I know.
I think I will have another go at this top, though when, given I am giving up my sewing space and moving into the (crowded) lounge next week, I'm less sure. Although this jersey knit fabric is a pleasure to wear, it is slippy to sew with. I think I am beginning to understand what is meant by a 'stable knit' in sewing terms now. I do see a visit to Spotlight in Nelson in my future, and I'm hoping to pick up a cheap stable knit there to make version #2. I'm holding off shopping at the very tempting Bella Chic in the meantime.
Everyone I ever talk food to, and I have a considerable enthusiasm for talking food, is aiming to reduce or increase something in their eating habits. More fat, less fat, less meat, more fish, more vegetables, no gluten, dairy free and so on. I'm frequently aiming to eat less bread. I feel much better when I don't eat bread, but on the other hand I love the feeling of actually eating the stuff. One of my favourite food thinkers is on my blog roll, a woman called Heather Twist who writes Off the Food Grid. Heather has a particular interest in iron and its attendant evils when it is present in the body in excess. As an official label wearer of the term haemochromatosis, I'm interested in her take on this and I'm also curious about her thoughts in response to the craze for "paleo" eating. In a recent post on beef, eggs come up positively in her musing on people she observes who are older and in great health.
Which prompted me today to finely chop half a red onion, two sage leaves and some silverbeet (argentata beet from my garden to be precise) and saute them briefly in butter. Then I cracked an egg into the pan and mixed it all up until the egg was set. I scooped it on to a plate and added salt and pepper and it was beautiful and also filling in a good way. I think the sage might be the special ingredient.
For dinner, as I was at home instead of in the car somewhere and by then I had the prospect of everyone eating dinner, I made pumpkin and beef shepherds pie. It was very good. The topping was half potato and half pumpkin with some grated cheese in with the butter when I mashed it. The bottom was roast beef minced up and added to sauteed onion, garlic and carrot and chopped red pepper and broccoli. Then I added red wine vinegar, a bit of beef stock, some soy sauce and a big big slosh of tomato sauce.
That's it. Time to go read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I finished The Weissmans of Westport and although I was a bit dismissive for the first half at least, it turned out quite good. It's Westport, nearish to New York, not Westport, nearish to nowhere, on the West Coast of New Zealand.
.
While she was ill, we cancelled swimming lessons, ballet rehearsal and martial arts. Not just for her but for everybody. Fionn walked home from school instead of me collecting them both and the zen was wonderful. Today, as Brighid started to eat, I could concentrate on her health, popping aloe vera, vitamin C, probiotics and cod liver oil down her throat.
This afternoon she was up for some sunshine and helped me plant daffodils and pansies. She lay on the trampoline soaking up the sun while I went on to sow rocket and violas and plant freesias, perpetual spinach and red poppies.
I wore my navy crossover top today. It is lovely and soft to wear. I've been reading up a little and examining the pattern (Simplicity 1945) some more and I see where I made some of my mistakes. Those mistakes led to wonkiness and a strange unflattering cosiness down the bottom (tucked in in the photo and likely every time I ever wear it). I found this tutorial on doing an FBA on a wrap top and that explains some of my wonkiness (though not all). I can't work out how she has done her initial fba before she lines up the crossover sides - I don't think it is a Fit for Real People technique, which are the only ones I know.
I think I will have another go at this top, though when, given I am giving up my sewing space and moving into the (crowded) lounge next week, I'm less sure. Although this jersey knit fabric is a pleasure to wear, it is slippy to sew with. I think I am beginning to understand what is meant by a 'stable knit' in sewing terms now. I do see a visit to Spotlight in Nelson in my future, and I'm hoping to pick up a cheap stable knit there to make version #2. I'm holding off shopping at the very tempting Bella Chic in the meantime.Everyone I ever talk food to, and I have a considerable enthusiasm for talking food, is aiming to reduce or increase something in their eating habits. More fat, less fat, less meat, more fish, more vegetables, no gluten, dairy free and so on. I'm frequently aiming to eat less bread. I feel much better when I don't eat bread, but on the other hand I love the feeling of actually eating the stuff. One of my favourite food thinkers is on my blog roll, a woman called Heather Twist who writes Off the Food Grid. Heather has a particular interest in iron and its attendant evils when it is present in the body in excess. As an official label wearer of the term haemochromatosis, I'm interested in her take on this and I'm also curious about her thoughts in response to the craze for "paleo" eating. In a recent post on beef, eggs come up positively in her musing on people she observes who are older and in great health.
Which prompted me today to finely chop half a red onion, two sage leaves and some silverbeet (argentata beet from my garden to be precise) and saute them briefly in butter. Then I cracked an egg into the pan and mixed it all up until the egg was set. I scooped it on to a plate and added salt and pepper and it was beautiful and also filling in a good way. I think the sage might be the special ingredient.
For dinner, as I was at home instead of in the car somewhere and by then I had the prospect of everyone eating dinner, I made pumpkin and beef shepherds pie. It was very good. The topping was half potato and half pumpkin with some grated cheese in with the butter when I mashed it. The bottom was roast beef minced up and added to sauteed onion, garlic and carrot and chopped red pepper and broccoli. Then I added red wine vinegar, a bit of beef stock, some soy sauce and a big big slosh of tomato sauce.
That's it. Time to go read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I finished The Weissmans of Westport and although I was a bit dismissive for the first half at least, it turned out quite good. It's Westport, nearish to New York, not Westport, nearish to nowhere, on the West Coast of New Zealand.
.
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