Still a dearth of photos around here. A shot of the river at high tide taken on Saturday when I took the biggest boy to look for birds. And the castle in the January gloom. I love the beech hedge at this time of year. Well, at any time of year actually, beech is one of my favourites. The middle boy likes it too, I think it's something to do with his survival book which says you can eat the leaves fried in butter. (Don't try it, I might be wrong and I'd hate to poison anyone. I sometimes only half listen to things people are telling me. Quite often I'm somewhere else entirely inside my head.) Obviously if you were starving and trying to survive you might skip the frying in butter part.
The middle boy lost a tooth the other day. It was painful, so after tea I gave him the last of the ice-cream. The littlest boy was incensed. I told him if he put a molar on the table he could have half. He did of course give it his very best shot.
I've been searching for inspiration on these fresh new days of 2017. My list of resolutions and things to accomplish sits neglected in a Word document. These past few days I am missing my oomph. I think I might be fighting off some virus or other. Only thing I can think. Today I couldn't even muster up the energy to cook anything decent. Although the evening meal is often a trial I think. That need to feed people something, ticking all those nutrition boxes, every single day. Nigel Slater makes it all sound so easy. He just picks up some exquisite cheese and pairs it with, well, a pear or something, and everyone raves about the marvellousness of it all. If I threw a handful of walnuts and blue cheese into the pasta people would want to know where the rest of it was and what was for main course.
Anyway, in my slump I have come across various inspirational people. Not necessarily famous ones. Just ordinary people putting the effort in. Fitting their dreams in around day jobs and children and homes and keeping it all together. That's who I want to be. Tomorrow. Well, today, but I just haven't got the energy for it today. Today I'm just eating a little dish of chilli peanuts. So tomorrow, it will be tomorrow. Keep me to it.
You are interesting even without your oomph and I think you undervalue what you achieve.
ReplyDeleteI'm over being sick, but no energy has returned so I sympathize with you.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand how you're feeling. I just want you to know that I find you inspiring every time you write about your life. You're funny and smart and a very good mother.
ReplyDeleteEnergy comes to those that wait... like everything else. I have just survived 18 months of dragging myself around - went to see the doctor, took my medicine and now I can again recognize myself!! I love your blog very much! Happy new year!
ReplyDeleteYes to the pains of the evening meal. I was visiting a neighbor once and she was preparing a meal of yogurt and muffins for her family's dinner (two adults, three children). I was stunned. If I tried to serve that to my family they'd say "Cute. Now where's the food?" I frequently find myself making soup. All the protein and vegetables thrown together in one dish and you're done.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are feeling a little more inspired today! I love watching Nigel Slater cook, he's so entrancing and yet I would never eat most of the things he cooks or be bothered to cook them!
ReplyDeleteI like Nigel Slater's recipes although I find his leftover suppers somewhat ridiculous. I mean, whoever has half a fried aubergine, some lemon grass and a quail's egg spare in their fridge! Hope you find your energy soon x
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that it's the time of year that makes us feel like that. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteWhen the slump hits me, I feed the troops raw vegetables and a small treat for dinner and call it tapas. I suppose I'll be found out one day. Here's to an uplift for you CJ.
ReplyDeleteHello! I've been meaning to pay you a visit for such a very long time. Seems like some things just keep getting pushed back whilst others aren't happening at all.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about Nigel Slater. I do love him, but he seems to have all these incredible 'leftovers' in his fridge at all times, doesn't he? Ours usually amount to an inch of baked beans in the bottom of a tin and perhaps some questionable celery.
I do believe that this time of year is all about feeling a bit blah. It's nature's way of making us keep warm and conserve energy ready for the spring. That's my excuse, anyway - although I've recently joined a Facebook group for small creative businesses, and it's actually getting me quite fired up. BTW, I'm just about to email you with an idea.
Reading back, this comment makes me look a bit all over the place. Sorry about that.
S x
It's January... don't beat yourself up. I blame it on the grey weather... and the cold... hang in there, it'll all come back to you.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, you haven't poisoned anyone. Beech leaves are edible (although you'd probably be best off with the young, green ones, rather than the mid-January dried brown ones :o)). They make a delicious spirit too, only I've never made it because I'd just drink it and end up with a headache :o(
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain about supper (my recent cookathon accepted). Cheesy pasta or egg and beans on toast? Or for the healthier option, chuck a load of sausages in a baking tray with chopped up potatoes, squash, carrot, onion, tomatoes, leeks etc, season with herbs, salt, pepper, drizzle with oil and shove in oven for half an hour. Job done. Hope you're more chipper soon xx
"Just ordinary people putting the effort in...". Exactly. You got it.
ReplyDelete"Just ordinary people putting the effort in...". Exactly. You got it.
ReplyDeleteoomph gone here too, and also serious lack of photo evidence of anything. its just all so grey and blah. Though this afternoon seemed a little less dark and gloomy than of late so perhaps we've turned corner
ReplyDeleteJillxo
Hello from a new reader! Yes...those pesky resolutions are sitting in the back of my mind and I wish I had included one last one for "The energy to accomplish all of this!"
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the mind going blank sometimes when it's time to think about dinner. It's almost the end of the day and not time to take on something ambitious. I'm all about eating healthy but I have found a few frozen meals I keep on hand (amazing how far they have come in keeping it tasty and somewhat preservative free). Other times it's just a simple sandwich or chili dog with chips.
Hurray for your son and the tooth. Love the story!
I enjoy your posts and your pictures are beautiful!!
Jane x
I do love tomorrow, because it might be found/get done/happen then! I have no answers for January, other than to stay frantically busy. It's the only thing that keeps me going; that, and sunshine. Fortunately lots of the latter.
ReplyDeleteAs to suppers, well, you can always ask them what they want to eat. Sit down with the kids and do a week of favourite meals. So many times I forget the easy ones because I hate thinking about food all the time. And maybe reward yourself with a new cookbook at the end of the week. Even if you only get it from the library.
i always say that i don't mind making the food, it's the thinking of what to make that drags me down. i think it's all part and parcel of being worried i'm making something nobody likes. so i tend to default to the old tried and trues and then i worry that i'm being boring. the whole meal preparation thing is so fraught with angst, isn't it? of course, i'm embarking on a Health Journey so i'm all up to my eyes in fruit and veg, which is singularly unpopular with my carnivorous family members. you can see my dilemma.
ReplyDeletei'm always most inspired by the ordinary people. i can relate to them. the ones that do all of the everyday things and then still manage to squeeze in the Thing that makes their soul sing. i try to remember that, when i get all whingey about having to do the everyday things when i'd rather just Work On My Art. because i know if i had all the time in the day, i probably still wouldn't write for more than an hour because that's the sort of feckless git that i am. :)
January is a bit of a trial, i find. then again, February is worse in our particular climate. do you need one of those UV lights, do you think?
hang in there, spring is coming. xoxoxo
I found myself missing the Christmas season this morning and wondering if anyone else was too. January is nice. I love the rain and cooler weather, but it's kind of an awkward in between point to me and I can't quite put my finger on what I should be doing that I know I'm not. I hope your cold feels better soon. Rest up, you deserve it. You always seem so productive... and inspired... and inspiring!
ReplyDeleteHere is a Granny, giving you a big hug, folding all your washing for you and making you a cuppa. Try taking yourself on an Artist's Date and then join in with us and our 17 for 2017 - I haven't actually posted my list yet but the 16 for 2016 was so motivating I really enjoyed it - go to https://nanacathydotcom.wordpress.com to get the idea of it - Cathy inspired me. In the meantime this is the 'creative void' of sitting on the riverbank waiting for the waters to rise just a little to carry you off again into your fabulous stream of creativity. Take care. <3
ReplyDeletePlease don't be hard on yourself. Don't think about what hasn't been achieved and inspiration will come when it's meant to. Now go top up that dish of peanuts and just enjoy Thursday.
ReplyDeleteMy oomph likes to curl up in front of the radiator and prefers not to move much. It does enjoy lonely walks though. I very much agree with my oomph. Dinners are a drag. Nothing quite beats watching the offspring chewing in that must-not-let-the-tastebuds-come-in-contact-with-THAT-food way. I am currently trying out recipes in the hope we can identify one that is not repulsive (not my word). I must admit the success is rather underwhelming. Wishing you and your oomph a pleasant end of the week. Did I ever mention I come here for inspiration? xx
ReplyDeleteI am afraid my younger son and I play a game called Oh Shut up Nigel. I have many of his books and even make quite a few of his recipes but sometimes his flights of whimsy are too much. (Have you noticed that everything in his fridge is neatly wrapped in greaseproof paper and tied with string?) So we take turns to read the flowery bits out and when get to a line we can't bear, intone Oh Shut Up Nigel. He doesn't deserve that really.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you are not yourself, I hope that you are improving now. I guess that if you served a plate of fried leaves one day for dinner the pasta and cheese etc the next day would look like quite the feast! It is all about comparison isn't it. It is definitely a blah time of year isn't it. Let us hope it improves for us all soon!
ReplyDeleteI do hope your oomph returns soon. Meanwhile stay warm and cosy until it finds you... And I'll pass on the fried beech leaves, thank you all the same!
ReplyDeleteI believe in ice cream for the injured, whether that's of body or mind/spirit.
ReplyDeleteHi CJ, sounds like you need a little TLC, it isn't easy trying to please everyone all the time. Being a mummy and running a home is a full-time mission with not much time left over for you...
ReplyDeleteDo try and take an hour out for yourself now and again. Do something just for you with the time. Schedule it, put it in the diary, and do it! I know it's probably easier said than done with family, but you deserve time out too.
I used to do a yoga class once a week when the children were young, and I also introduced 'Writers Hour' into my none writing household. I managed to get the children and my husband to realise I needed time and space to do my writing.
When I started it, I got countless interruptions the first few times, but I was firm and explained how important it was, and eventually they got it! I didn't actually leave home, I just went into the kitchen and set my timer for an hour.
Your oomph will return!
Looking forward to more blog posts from you soon.
Just catching up with your blog and laughed out loud at your families potential reaction to Nigel Slater pasta. I do admire his nonchalant cooking style but as the contents of my fridge never resembles his I think it's a lost cause. Hope your oomph returns soon.
ReplyDeleteThe Nigel Slater thing - yes!! John's main complaint is that his recipes "aren't proper dinners" but then John doesn't consider salad or jacket potato a proper dinner either. I often think I'm a weekend cook, full of ideas and inspiration Saturday and Sunday but woefully lacking the rest of the time.
ReplyDeleteSorry your oomph is gone. Those chilli peanuts will fight off any viruses, surely?! And a glass of red. Xx
I just discovered your blog and I'm feeling a little better to know there are so many funny, creative, tough people in a world that seems a bit crazy right now. My adult daughter discovered Nigel Slater years ago, and one night cooked for me a sardine dish that involved a classic buerre blanc sauce, having no idea that was supposed to be a tricky sauce to make. I made quite a drama about it, asking her if she knew what she had accomplished. Anyway, we still laugh about that. Now that we live together and are trying stay sane in Trumpville USA, she occasionally whips out some amazing dish--although Mum is the main cook (because cooking ties me to the beauty of nature and creativity, and yeah, it's sometimes a drag). Just reading your comments cheered me up wonderfully, and I would add that January is perhaps a time to let yourself rest a bit, and savor the turn of the seasons. Best regards, Kate and Laura in Oregon
ReplyDeleteI'm just over a heavy cold, nailed it in two days by staying in bed, reading, sleeping and eating pearl barley and kale soup. Amazing how much better I feel, more energy and, importantly, patience! The supper thing is a total drag isn't it? When my son isn't here I can eat what I like for supper (sometimes crackers, sometimes an omelette), but for him I feel the need to cook man meals. I recently rediscovered a three week rotating meal plan I did when he was young, no two meals the same for three whole weeks - awesome! I can't believe I had the mental capacity or energy to do that now! It's hard to build dreams when you're flagging but I'm sure you'll get there, CJ - after all, you're a cheery influence on the rest of us! Wishing you lots of ooomph, C xxx
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