Hello my lovelies! I am keeping my tree up all year and will redecorate it every month in a seasonally appropriate way. I’m starting a revolution. I’m also jumping in headfirst to plan and write my cookbook. Someone will publish it. While my resolutions for the year haven’t completely taken shape yet I have two goals so far. To swap out as much of the food I eat with home-made and to learn about something new every month.
Last year I struggled with short-term memory and motivation – two very common side effects of anxiety. So our Christmas tree stayed up. And stayed up. And stayed up some more. By June I decided it was closer to next Christmas and there was no point taking it down. I had loose plans to decorate it from time to time for Halloween and the like. But I never did. I was taking the decorations down earlier this week and decided that it was time to own the year-round tree. Banish the ghosts of 2016. And I get to decorate it over and over again. It will change at the start of every month. January is decked out in simple paper bunting and lights. Relaxed and breezy. February could be nothing but a celebration of kitschy love. And after that who knows? I will of course share my tree’s journey with you all!
This week I have been easing back into work. My first bake back from holiday was a bit rusty. Getting into the rhythm of shooting and styling took a bit of effort. The weather helped. Greyness isn’t the best for living but is great for lighting photos.
I have also been trying to teach myself to use Indesign. Coz, you know, I’m trying to write a cookbook. A lot goes into it. I have my chapter structure and approach. I’m not feeling too bad about Indesign. But I use Adobe already so I’m used to the lack of help and the counter-intuitive setup. It’s a weird feeling to be working on a book. It’s something I always kind of wanted but it hadn’t taken shape until recently. It’s odd to just up and do it. Books are things other people write that I buy. Bloody hell.
So resolutions. Anybody got any? Two that have solidified for me are about what I eat and what I learn. This week I realised that I have been having days when a lot of what I eat, made myself. So I wondered how far I could take it. Could I spend a day a week eating only things I had made? Within reason of course. I ain’t starting a farm in my backyard. Or milling flour. So there is a less specific goal of generally replacing foods with home made alternatives, along with attempts to push the boundaries of how far I can take it. I totally get that proper grown-ups with jobs and families can’t go as far as I can but I have a challenge. I want you to think about what you eat and find ONE thing that you can replace with something you make yourself. Bread? Try this one. Muesli? Here’s one. How about crackers for snacks? Muffins for morning tea at work? Yoghurt. Jam. If you have an idea and want some help let me know! Here’s a humble-brag about a super from-scratch black forest s’more…
I am happily a generalist. Aspiring renaissance person if you will. I like to be able to do a lot of things. I also like to know about a lot of things. I am reading McGee’s On Food and Cooking from cover to cover. Ugh I’m that guy. To this end I have set a goal to learn about something new every month. In January I am going to learn the fundamentals of weather science. Maybe not the most useful. Fascinating though. A recommended book is on it’s way.
BTW if you are after books for hardly any money you should really check out Thrift Books. It’s an online second-hand bookstore based in the States. I have got some great buys from there. Historical cookbooks. Bread books. History books. Weather science books. Hah.
Make some food. Read some books. Give your tree some year-round love.
Look after each other xx
Me too! I’m a generalist. Makes working out what direction to take your life much more tricky! 😄
Totally!