One loaf is not enough

Yesterday I finally tried out A Girl Called Jack's soda bread recipe. She calls it 'airy fairy easy peasy soda bread' - and it's by far the simplest, quickest, easiest bread I've ever made. It came out beautifully tasty - so much so that one loaf was not enough, and I made another one.

 It's so quick! From start to stomach in an hour. My second loaf was lighter and I reckon I could get it lighter still with time. Both were utterly delicious. I just can't get over how easy and quick! It's a loaf I can make after work that's ready in time for supper, and the ingredients are all things I have in the cupboard/fridge all the time so no planning or shopping is required. It's so simple that I didn't even have to refer to the recipe second time around. Thank you Jack!

Distractions

Do you get these periods? Maybe it's just me. I periodically seem to sort of 'switch off' for a week or so. I don't really engage with anything, and all I seem to want to do is reread old books and rewatch old movies that I've read/seen a million and twelve times (roughly).

I know this is not ideal - this is very much a retreat from the frontier of life, and it's extremely unfair on my boyfriend who starts wondering if he's annoyed me somehow. It says a lot about my lack of self-discipline that it takes me so long to pull myself out of it. But I'm out again now! And trying to catch up on the housework that I allowed to pile up.

During these detached, unproductive and undisciplined moments, I find myself re-reading books by LM Alcott and similar, in which the characters openly discuss their battles against their weaker instincts in a journey to be 'good' human beings, with value not just through their jobs or their material possessions but through growth and relationships. There's something ironic about reading rather than living this kind of life, and I find myself thinking 'what would Darryl Rivers do?' (She certainly wouldn't be inside blogging on a day like this!)

I am now enjoying once again the lovely feeling of being lazy and productive at the same time. Thank you, oh thank you industrial revolution! for giving us the washing machine. Is there a better feeling in life than curling up with a cup of tea, smug in the knowledge that the laundry is being washed and the bread being baked while I sit and relax? 

Has anyone ever made an oven glove?

I'm trying to make a pair of oven gloves. I have a lovely Cath Kidston pattern from her book Sew! and I've cut out all the fabric and batting, but before I make it up, I am testing the heat-proof-ness against a cool-ish iron - and it is utterly failing to withhold the heat for more than about three seconds.

I've got two layers of batting, a dressmaking cotton both sides, plus tea-towel-type thick cotton on one side, and it's still not working. What is the problem? Is it the batting? (Cotton quilting batting, the only cotton kind in the shop) or the fabric? Or have I not added enough layers of either fabric or batting? Should the batting be wool rather than cotton?

Any thoughts or suggestions most welcome!

Slowing down should not be rushed

I'm feeling a little embarrassed about my tantrum yesterday - so petty to get so worked up about something so small. I'll leave it up, though, because it is honest. It's not that infrequent for me to get deeply annoyed because I've spent the whole day at work looking forward to some crafting activity, and then I am disappointed in this when I get home.

It's a reminder, I think, not to be in too much of a hurry about slowing down. Building a simple life doesn't happen overnight, it takes time, and the journey should be savoured as an end in itself, not just the means. I had forgotten this last night, but that story had a happy ending - I started with something I could do and sewed on the buttons. I felt calmer after this, remembered the pliers in the cupboard, liberated my seam ripper from its casing and was able to complete one buttonhole before I curled up with a mug of cocoa (inspired by Jane Brockett's Cherry cake and ginger beer)

It's actually by far the best buttonhole I've done yet! I'm using a slightly different stitch (see tutorial here) and it's coming out much more evenly. I think I might need to redo the bars along the bottom, they're sticking out a bit too much, but other than that, not bad for my first ever buttonhole on an actual garment! I'm feeling pretty chuffed.

Next time I'm feeling this frustration, I will take a look at the teeth marks (!) on my seam ripper and remember to slow down, rather than getting worked up.

Technology fail

There have been quite a few posts around blogland recently about honesty in blogging - about how often we only share the good bits, perhaps because we're trying to fool ourselves that our lives really do look that picture perfect.

This evening, I have entirely failed to stitch a buttonhole. An attempt to do so with a machine had me with screw driver, tweezers and scissors trying to excise a ginormous tangle from the depths of machine.

Thinking, 'sod it, I'll do this old-school', the sewing machine went away and out came the needle for hand-worked buttonholes. But oh no. The stitch ripper has jammed - I must have rammed it into its lid too tightly, and I've spent fifteen minutes trying to get it out, resulting in sore fingers and no buttonhole.

My alloted time for crafting has elapsed, leaving me annoyed and frustrated and with NO BUTTONHOLES.

So that's honesty.

UPDATE: Judicious application of pliers has resolved one part of my difficulty. Now I just need to stitch the buttonholes. 

Slow Living 2013 - July

I'm joining the Slow Living Month by Month project again - taking stock of progress and challenges in trying to slow down and live more mindfully. 

[NOURISH] I've continued eating breakfasts of natural yoghurt and fresh fruit and salad lunches. I've started eating breakfast at work to give myself time to (occasionally) go for a run in the mornings, as I'm just not getting round to doing sport later in the day. An unexpected bonus of the late breakfast is that I don't get hungry again until just before lunch, so no more snacking mid-morning. Tonight I cooked for the first time in aaaaages - almost-cooked falafel burgers (I never manage to time these right!)

[PREPARE] Erm... not much to report here.

[REDUCE] Just the usual jars kept back for the next round of preserving. More expected for this next month.

 

[GREEN] I experimented this month with two new green cleaning methods - baking soda and tin foil for cleaning silver, and using sunflower oil as wood polish (with lemon juice to help lift dirt.) Normally I see olive oil recommended, and I have used this before, but olive oil aint cheap, so I'm experimenting with replacing it with sunflower oil where possible.

[GROW] Still nothing. I REALLY need to start on this...

[CREATE] More (slow) progress on the homemade curtains. It's going to feel soooo amazing when they are finally finished, it's been six months so far. The first single curtain was finished this week, hopefully its pair will be done soon.

[DISCOVER] I have discovered A Girl Called Jack's awesome blog about living on the poverty line, with some intriguing budget recipes. I have also fallen in love with a second-hand bookshop, and am currently reading Vanity Fair (getting a fabulous return on my investment of €1).

[ENHANCE] Supporting local tradesmen and shops is revealing some pleasant surprises (see bookshop above).

 

[ENJOY] Leisurely evenings, afternoons and meals with friends. With the fine weather, we've been eating on the balcony a lot, which means less tv as we actually converse (I know, OMG) and casually judge all passing pedestrians. Lots of fun to be had making up stories about their lives and journeys. As you can see above, I've dug out Jane Brockett's Cherry cake and ginger beer, which is self-indulgent combination of revisiting my favourite childhood characters and worlds, and tantalising descriptions of food and recipes. Even though it's pushing thirty degrees outside, I'm suddenly in the mood for cocoa...

The difference between choice and necessity

Many of the blogs I read on simple living, cutting back, slowing down and so on are written by people who have made a choice about the lifestyle they want to lead. These are sometimes prompted by changes in circumstances, but are predominantly about choice.

However, recently some blogs have started appearing which are not drive by choice. People living on unbelievably and unsustainably limited budgets, feeding their families for £10 a week or less. For these people, the lifestyle they blog about is not chosen but a seemingly inescapable and terrible fate. I have only really read one blog but the level of resilience, creativity and passion in such dire circumstances is something that demands respect. So now I'd like to introduce her to you.

Photograph: The Guardian

 

In her own words: A Girl Called Jack

Poverty isn’t just having no heating, or not quite enough food, or unplugging your fridge and turning your hot water off. It’s not a tourism trade, it’s not cool, and it’s not something that MPs on a salary of £65k a year plus expenses can understand, let alone our PM who states that we’re all in this together.

Poverty is the sinking feeling when your small boy finishes his one weetabix and says ‘more mummy, bread and jam please mummy’ as you’re wondering whether to take the TV or the guitar to the pawn shop first, and how to tell him that there is no bread or jam.

Hunger Hurts, written 30 July 2012.

Jack's blog is a fantastic resource of tasty, varied recipes on a shoestring budget (around 10-30p per serving). I can't wait to try out her super-simple soda bread recipe, and the sheer variety of dishes is impressive. She won the Fortnum and Mason food blog award, and a quick trip to her blog will show you why. (Her record? Carrot, cumin and kidney burger, 9p.)

Her blog is more than that, though. It's a a passionate and biting comment on modern politics and poverty. She identifies two kinds of food poverty - lack of funds, yes, but also lack of knowledge, skill and confidence about cooking on a budget. She comments on the misperception that ready meals are cheaper than cooking, and calls on us not to accept the availability, convenience and price of ready meals as an excuse for child obesity. I totally agree with her that we need home economics to be taught in schools - how to budget, how to cook, how to maintain your living environment.

Please go visit her blog and take a walk with her along the food poverty line.