Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Yarn Along and a bit of babble.....


Hello!

I am joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along today, and am still hooking away at the Cutie Patootie Pants.  
I am not sure if stripes were the best thing to do for these pants, as I didn't realise the pattern changed stitch widths within the rows, so my stripes are going to be thicker on the backside than the front.  
Oh well, I will see how they turn out anyway.

It was my birthday last week and I received a couple of lovely books, one of which was this one, 
'Whole Larder Love' by Rohan Anderson.  
(I seem to be reading a lot of non fiction, practical type books at the moment, ones you can dip in and out of as you like)
This cookbook is full of gorgeous photos and lovely little snippets of story telling about his food love affair.  I am not sure if I will actually cook a lot of the recipes, they are quite adventurous for a house of fussy, plain eaters, but I love where he is coming from with the food he makes.  
I am passionate about growing as much food in our garden as we can, and just love knowing I have been able to provide parts of our meals from outside the backdoor.  
We are a long way from self sufficient, (and am happy to support our local farmers for things that are beyond our capabilities), but I think there is so much satisfaction and sense of 'worthwhileness' in food gardening, I really don't know why everyone doesn't give it a go!!  It makes me really happy!

But I digress, back to the book, there are a lot of recipes for wild game 
(rabbit, hare, venison, duck, yabbies)
which is something I don't cook (or hunt, for that matter), but you never know, maybe if I'm feeling a little wild I might give the duck risotto a crack!  

Speaking of books, I have gone a little crazy recently on Book Depository, and seem to have parcels arriving every few days with lovely, interesting books for me to pour over, so I thought I might do a 'book sharing' post one day a week till I have shown you what I have bought.  
Trust me, there is a lot of lovely, colourful, inspiring, booky goodness coming your way! 

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Well, it has been a rather emotional, draining and long couple of weeks around here, but we got through the funeral and gave Jack a send off I think he would have loved. 
 Some positive things come from such a stressful time too, the strong bonds of family and friends, and a deeper appreciation of how lucky we are to have one and other,  and the great lives we are actually living right now. 
I'll be stopping to smell the roses of life and giving thanks for just being here in this moment, in this family, in this place.  It is a lucky feeling.   
I was feeling a bit nihilistic, the other day, you know, 'what's the point to doing anything, nothing really matters in the big picture, our lives are so fleeting, why bother with anything, there is no meaning to doing anything....'  that kind of depressing thinking.  Not like me at all.
I lost my purpose briefly, and so now I am trying to make sure I focus on the good, lucky life I have, and that the purpose of life is to actually get out there and live it, see where it takes you and make the most of each new day. I am sure that is what Jack and my grandpa would want. (my grandpa died on the morning of Jack's funeral, how's that for timing!) Lucky for me Gary is a very positive husband and keeps reaffirming all the good things we have got going for us.

Ok, getting a bit deep (morbid) there, time to finish up I think!  Sorry about that little tangent, I don't usually write about this sort of thing, but it's kind of how I am feeling at the minute, I am sure I will be back to my happy self shortly, I am going to crochet my way to happier days!

Oh, and thank you all for the fantastic response you gave my Christmas decorations, you are all so nice and supportive in this crafty bloggy community.
And yes, I will put together a tutorial on how I made them so you can all have a go at a bit of
 Crochet Christmas Cheer. Keep an eye out for it soon.

Um.... I think that's all for tonight, 
see yay later!

15 comments:

  1. Happy belated Birthday.

    My condolences on the loss of your Grandpa. ((hug))

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  2. i'm so sorry for your losses. it can be so overwhelming at times. i completely get where you were coming from, those feelings can creep in so easy sometimes. ((hug))
    that cookbook sounds amazing. i love a cookbook with lots of photos!

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  3. Hi Julie,

    Sorry to hear that you're having such a period of loss at the moment. We suffered several bereavements within a short space of time, and I think it really can take it's toll emotionally. It's important to remember that no one can be jolly all the time, so part of being in the moment can also include allowing oneself the space to grieve or to experience whatever emotions one feels at any time, without judging it or wishing it were not so. I don't know if that makes as much sense on the page as it does in my head....?

    You bring a lot of joy to others, here on your blog, and I'm certain in the real world too - I'm glad that you had some inspiring birthday presents - the book looks lovely.
    xxxx

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  4. I am so sorry for your loss hun sending big hugs to you.

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  5. I'm so sorry to hear about your grandpa - goodness that is a lot of sadness to shoulder. And I too empathise with your "nihilistic" thoughts - sometimes when I dwell too much on the things that are going wrong, life can seem to be quite an absurd conceit. But it's love isn't it that brings us here and sustains us and gives us purpose. Thank goodness for love - and all the marvellous ways we have of expressing it - growing our food for our family, sharing people's lives and experiences, stitching beautiful things to bring comfort and delight. Wishing you lots of love and enjoy those books - that's my idea of excitemen :-)

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  6. Seven weeks ago my nephew and his wife were in a horrible car accident.
    She died and my nephew has suffered severe brain damage, both were 34 years old and they have 5 children ages 3 to 15.
    I had exactly the same thoughts as you.
    I am now trying to look at things in a more grateful way and to live my life happily.
    It's still hard some days,as my nephew still has not come out of his coma.
    Just as you said we must get on and make the most out of life while we can.
    It just shows even though we all seem different Grief is Grief no matter who you are.
    Lauren..

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  7. I'm glad you posted about your feelings. Sometimes in blog land pictures and commentary are just too cheerful to be believed. And after all, if we don't have downs, how can we know when we're up?

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  8. i've loved reading rohan, truly an inspiration. so sorry to hear of your sadness and loss, there is no other way but to go through it i believe. i hope your hooking is one of the things that brings you joy and comfort.

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  9. I am sorry to hear about your losses. I went through feeling the same way after my mom died almost exactly a year ago. I kept waiting for some epiphany to lift my sadness, but it was really time that did its work. I'm glad you shared what was really going on in your life on your blog.
    Linda

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  10. It was actually refreshing to read a blog post that felt real and not determidly happy jolly, not that im pleased you've been grieving but it's good to read a thoughtful, reflective post. I think we all think those thought from time to time and try to make sense of things.

    I'll look forward to seeing the books you've bought.

    Best wishes to you and your family

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  11. Hi Julie, sorry to hear about the loss of your Grandpa. Hope you feel a little better each day as the grieving lessens, and you can build on lots of wonderful memories. x

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  12. Looking forward to the book reviews! I do love your christmas trees very much - well done.

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  13. duck risotto is SO worth the effort!! (seriously really good) looking forward to more book reviews, i've read more non-fiction lately too. i need a good kitchen gardening book, but as there are so many out there it's hard to know when shopping online whether it's what you're after or not!

    i'm with your hubby... you are making a difference :)

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  14. Belated birthday greetings. I do love books, a little too much! I had better keep away from The Book Depository or this floor will need some reinforcement.

    I was sorry to read of the loss of your Grandpa and can understand your "what is the point" feelings but these pass and, as you look back, you will smile at the happy memories you built. Living your life to the full, in the very best way you can, will be a tribute to his influence on your life. Your love for him will stay in your heart.

    Carol xx

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  15. Oh that's so much loss at once. And with a birthday in the mix... I hope you were able to enjoy some quiet moments celebrating life and all that's precious to you. I love your books and hearing about your garden/ self sustainable living. You're doing good things there.

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