I've Been Impersonating a Beanbag Chair

Holy Shit. I walked up a hill today and just about pitched back down it. Why? Because I'm arse lazy these days.

I've not been walking too much, nor even jogging. I've been sitting, and lazing. I've been leaned back, eyes glued to a book, a commuter screen, or TV. The book isn't a bad thing, it was a good read! Its been so busy two, most of my post work victory dances have resulted in a make-out session with my pillow with my drooling soars as the theme song.

My Usual Victory Dance

I've never been a gym junky or a addict, but I have lots of energy and I enjoy a healthy body, so I've always been minimally active at some point or another. Even in University, I created a stair work out where I'd climb ever flight of steps on campus I could access. If I wasn't working out, I was working, which often had me on my feet and running about. So panting wildly at this wee hill just broke my heart, nearly literally as it did figuratively.

Since a rather vicious fall ripped both my palms open, I've not done much exercise. I've indulged my Tae Bo videos a couple of times, but not in a manner that would develop into anything. So I plan to start again. My own personal DIY for me!

The plan is 40 minutes of brusque walking every day!

That's it for now. It seems rather less productive then most who realize they've been impersonating a beanbag chair, but you'd be surprised to learn that its a good way to start. If I force myself into that habit, then I can add to it. But if I over load myself, then I'm not going to appreciate and feel bogged down. I can fit in 40 minutes in my sometimes crazy scheduled and with the coming good weather (Good is optimistic for Scotland).

I'm going to add in things like push ups, rowing sit ups and even jogging. I like a good yoga stretch in there as well, to keep my old bones limber rather than like moist crackers.

Its the source too, of a sudden lack of energy. It was dulling my mind and lowering my endurance, which has always been a source of pride. I'm hoping to see some improvements.

I have a trip coming up where I have to walk two hours wearing at least twenty pounds of equipment on my back. Not light. I don't want to be Rocky. I don't need buns of steel or washboard abs. I want to be me, happy and reasonably healthy.

Reusing paper, and my adventure clothes!

Want to walk with me?

Today's Drawing

Roots

A New Phone: Welcome to the 21st Century

I got a new phone. its a smart phone. My 20th century ape hands clearly were not meant for this device. This is how I feel now and I will never mock my father's tech skills again.

I feel the olds. 

Android.

Packing For A Week in Scotland

I've talked about packing before, especially early on in this blog, but I want to re-approach it for the novice packer, I often still feel like her these days.

But I'm experienced now! I know things! So I'm going to try to apply them to a friend (Shar) who is coming to visit for a week.

This is Shar! Say hi!

Sharlini is one of those friends I've often tested my adventures on. Back home I took her kayak, canoeing, hiking, driving (for her first time) and horse back riding. We're doing a bunch of things, some I've done and some I haven't but it will be adventurous, more diverse than your average bus tour. We're going camping/bothying on the west coast, Glen Coe and the Lost valley (AT LONG LAST) and we are hitting up Edinburgh!

We'll be busy, doing a lot of different things with in those days. It won't be just the bus tour sort of thing. We'll be hitting the hills and for that we need a bit of out door friendly clothes. WARNING: Mountains are no place for ballet flats. So I thought to give a helpful guide so she doesn't travel like I did the first time.

Most international flights let you pack a large rolling bag/rucksack and a high school styled backpack, so tuck your purse in and don't put any liquids in your over head stuff. Remember, this list is flexible. You can always alter it to suite your style.

Packing for a Week

Clothes

8 Underpants	As I said, never can go wrong with extra underpants
2 Bras	One for sweat and one to make the ladies look and feel fantastic
8 Pairs of socks	2 pair of warm/hiking socks (for adventures) and the rest normal socks
2 Jeans	That is all one needs. 2 Pairs. I first travelled with 7. This is more denim then I now own. They weigh so much, and are easy ish to clean
7 Tops	Long sleeve short sleeve, tank tops and t-shirts all are fine, just try to have a verity of sleeves for the sake of changing weather. Make sure they can be layered. Layering is life.
2 Adventure Ready T-shirts	When I say adventure ready, I mean ready to get sweaty and dirty. *as a note to my friend, I have an extra set of thermal clothes just in case!
1 Jackets	One for delightful city strolls and looking fabulous. *another note to my friend. I have an extra out door Jacket just for the adventures so don't worry :)
2 Shoes	1 Pair of running shoes, or walking shoes, good for not destroying your feet after hours of walking. 1 pair of shoes/boots for looking damn fine for the city. If your feeling ambitious, squeeze in a pair of Ballet flats, the baby daddy of travel shoes for their tininess.
2 Sweaters	One for warmth and outside activities and the other for lookin' good with that Jacket!
Helpful Accessories	A scarf, one of those warm pashmina ones that go with everything. A set of light gloves. Belt, for pants. A hat or Tuque never hurts. Bathing suite if weather permits A Purse! (Jewellery at your discretion)

Other Stuffs

Camera	Camera and its charger, because the trip is going to be faaabulous!
Wallet	Because money!
Make-up	For the ladies and the gentlemen who want it, but make sure you pack it light, a small wallet sized make-up bag is more than enough. You'll never look better than when your on a happy holiday.
Toiletires	Most countries offer toiletries that work, but for things that you know work, bring the shampoo and conditioner, bring the deodorant, the razor, the hair brush cream, but try to make sure their small. Also try to make sure the liquids are in a plastic bag and in you big luggage or security will confiscate it.
Medication	Things like Advil, Ibuprofen and cold medication can be bought outside of the country and it saves you humping it over the ocean. A wee bit for the plane but that's about all you'll need. Things that can't be bought, pack for the length of time your coming and if need be, inform security. (not things like the pill)

The most important thing you can bring with you travelling is a lightish bag and a wee bit of space for souvenirs. Its nice not to haul it all around on holiday, because that's what it should be, a holiday. 

DIY Repainting a Hostel Room

There is a lot of DIY stuff coming up, only because I have to do it myself. This time, though, it was working in the hostel.

Before and After

This week I painted a Hostel Dorm. Funny enough, it was the dorm I lived in for 6 months before getting the manager job, so I have fondness for its brilliant yellow walls, but they had to go. I didn't have the exact colour and the room needed an up date anyway.

I had some awesome help from my good friend Marie, and we had no end of fun and trouble. As you will notice(or not), the ceiling is chip wall paper. It was old and sagging and sagged worse when we applied a fresh code of paint. With a go a head, we pulled it down, chipped the remainder off and repainted on smooth plaster.

It took three solid days of trucking away at it before it was finished, or nearly, one wall still needs plaster but over all its so much fresher looking. I picked white for the walls because in a hostel people get food, gunk and scratch all over the walls, and its tricky and expensive to replace it with funky colours all the time. Funk in some places, too  much funk is no fun.

Want to see the results?

It was fun, though I have to say, the hardest part was working with Gloss paint. Its sticky as all hell. You have to wait a while for it to dry, but once it does, its easy to clean right off and really durable. But again, there was paint everywhere. I was neat about the room, but my skin, hair and nearly everything else attached to me was covered in paint.

The only shame was that I only had 3 days to get it all done. So this means I was unable to have the back wall plastered properly. Its still yellow and waiting for its skim and a paint.

Fun tip: Looking to get rid of glossy paint? Mayonnaise or olive/sunflower oil, no harsh chemicals needed.

Hope you have luck/adventure/success on your own DIY. I'm going to sit on my butt and smile now!

Special thanks to Andy from Up and Doon Guided Walks for covering me so I could get it done while not burning oot! He does some even cooler adventures than me!

Pillow vs. Pillow: How to Make Your Own Pillow

I like pillows lately. Not just a sack of fluff you ram your head into, but a good looking pillow, with texture, substance and character. They don't always have to be practical, but good looking is important, besides, their just full of fluff!

So I was in Homebase the other day which, for those not living in the UK, is a place where you can buy DIY stuff. Its for any scale of project, and right now my partner is completely renovating is home. Down with the dated, textured wallpaper and up with smooth plaster, bold paint and not carpeted flooring. All I walked out of Homebase with were a few plants and a Pillow, a £14.00 pillow. The thing is I'm not that good at some of the stuff he's been learning and often I'm away at work so the most I've learned is how to pick wallpaper. 

If you actually asked me to work some of the stuff, I'd probably cause an accident. 

But! I can sew! I can sew like a master. Stitching, hemming, altering, all those things are at my finger tips, literally, since I only hand stitch. Its a very calming hobby, with audio books or Documentaries playing in the background. I'm no professional, but I really enjoy making stuff myself. Sewing is one of those things I really recommend people learn, its doesn't have to be a hobby, but it can help you in small ways and give a sense of achievement, having fixed something yourself, or even altering things to fix you. Its low cost and in an age where people are starting to look for a way to get back to older more natural roots, making and fixing things by sewing is a good first step.

The first time I made a pillow it was for the hostel. In need new ones and there was no shortage of old, patterned duvets. I made five in total. This one I did a few days ago, kinda a spur of the moment thing, when I found the lacklustre charity shop on the high-street was a secret gold mine for nice fabric for really cheap. It was 40p! Everything else were things I had lying around. 

This was the result!

Materials Used:

Cotton/polyester blend Fabric
Thread
Needle
Scissors
Sewing Pins
Buttons (Optional)
Pillow Stuffing

I think the two most important pieces of advice I can give when it comes to sewing are these:

1.) Start your project inside out. Pin everything in place, but do it inside out. When you flip it right side out, your seams will disappear. If you want neat seams that don't look cheap then inside out is the way to go.

2.) Small stitches. Make your stitches small and close together. This makes them tight, and your pillow or what ever your making less likely to fall off. Big stitches can be for décor, but if you want something to hold, then small stitches are the way to go.

I found buttons laying around and added three black and two mother of pearl buttons on the bottom fringe. 

So I made a 40p pillow, and it'll sit next to the £14.00 and no one will know the difference. Well... except you!

If you're interested in how to make pillows or even just basic sewing, let me know! I'd love to help! 

Marinated Pork Chop

Pork.

Pork Chops. Mmm. I have fond memories of my mom making it, breaded and covered in crumbs. So I try often to recreate it, or the sweet taste of succulent pork. Often it comes out like jerky, or damp jerky.

This time I think I did a better job, but it still dried out. None the less, I think it needs to stay in the sauce to the end. Browning is for marbled steak.

Here is our pork chop! We worked from frozen and slow cooked in a marinade. It was at the end, when we wanted it browned, that it dried up.

To make the marinade we slow cooked the fillet in the following;

3 cloves of sliced garlic
1 teaspoon of sherry
1 teaspoon of maple syrup
2 table spoons of sage
2 table spoons of oil
1/4 cup of water

Simmer slowly. That's it. Its a damn good sauce.

Gnocchi and Spinach Cream Sauce

I've got an interesting looking dinner tonight. We've been so busy lately, that dinners and breakfast are either slap dash or don't reach my camera lens. I have got three days off and we've been busy working but tonight we ate well. I've had gnocchi once before, with a cream sauce, but thought I'd give it another decedent go.

Here was my result. Gnocchi and Spinach Cream Sauce

The Gnocchi I have yet to learn, so if your looking for a crash course on them, you'll have to wait for the fall, when I learn to make German dumplings and noodles.

Ingredients:

2 Table spoons of Flower
1 Table spoons of Butter
1/4 cup of cream cheese
2 Cups of Milk
1/3 Cups of Smoked Bavarian Cheese
1/3 Cup of Chopped Parsley
1/2 Teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
3 Cups of washed spinach

3 Cups of Gnocchi

Instructions:

Mix melted butter and flower to make a thick paste. Add in a cup and a half of milk and at low heat, mix until thick. This is the bases of all cream sauces and can be built on from. Add from there and spices and herbs.

Next I added the chopped parsley and cream cheese. Mix well and add other half cup of milk. Next add Smoked cheese and mustard, and mix together. Now Will loves to add in mustard to all my sauces. It has a nice strong kick and gives it tang, but I would have liked to try the smoked Bavarian on its own. In any case, lastly, we added fresh spinach. Add the last of the milk and cook until the leaves of the spinach were wilted.

That is your cream sauce. To cook pre made gnocchi, boil them in salted water.

You'll notice a Pork chop sitting in with the Gnocchi, I think it was done well, though check next week's post for the sauce I sauteed them in.

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Check it! And here is a pretty picture to go with it!

How my Drawings usually end

I love drawing, mainly eyes, dragons, ladies and sometimes animals. But mostly eyes. I want to do the whole face... but they always either end up awesome or like this. :D