Chocolate Brownies, Jenny Eclair and Log Fires

Sunday afternoon and planned Easter holiday gardening action postponed due to weather.  So have spent a large part of the weekend in front of the fire reading. Still on 'Skippy Dies' by Paul Murray, reread as it's my book club choice.  Not so good on a second read so a bit worried the others won't like it. I also picked up a book by Jenny Eclair (Life, Death and Vanilla Slices)  from the library yesterday which I'm reading at the same time.  It's the sort of book you can pick up and read with a cup of tea as it has nice short chapters.   About middle-aged woman with twenty-five years teaching experience and an English and French degree married to someone called Paul.  Isn't that me?  Except she has two teenage boys, and I have been a teacher now for 30 years. OMG as Fashion Girl might say.  Anyway a good read so far - black humour which always appeals to me.

 

But did get off the sofa and got in the mood for Easter by making some Chocolate Brownies this afternoon with Fashion Girl.  She is into baking after her success with a chocolate cake a couple of weeks ago in Home Ec. (or Food and Nutrition as it's offically called now).  We used a basic recipe but modified it leaving out the nuts which she doesn't like and adding chocolate drops and raspberries.  They are a bit singed around the edges as our oven burns everything but they taste delicious.  The raspberries cut through the sweetness and they are squidgy in the middle. 

Fashion posts on hold until I stop eating brownies and get off the sofa.  Won't fit into any of my clothes at this rate!

The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year

Have joined a new book club and went to the first meeting last week.  The book choice Bad Science wasn't really me at all.  For a start it was non-fiction. And it was about science.  Can only recall one other science book I've ever read (The Language Instinct by Stephen Pinker and that was a bit of a struggle).  But persevered and glad I did.  Ben Goldacre, who writes a column in the Guardian with this title, points out the flawed research methods used to prove the effectiveness of anti-ageing face creams, vitamin pills and alternative therapies such as homeopathy  It was very convincing and surprisingly funny, especially the chapter on Dr Gillian McKeith.  I shouldn't sneer though - there's a copy of  'You Are What You Eat' on my bookshelf and I once resorted to homeopathy when conventional medicine failed to sort out a medical problem.  After reading this I won't be taken in again nor will I bother forking out for Clinique. Will stick to my old favourite Oil of Ulay, which I notice is now called Olay. Presumably to make it more European like the transformation of Opal Fruits into Starburst and Marathon into Snickers.


This month's choice appeals to me a lot more.  I've loved Sue Townsend since the first appearance of Adrian Mole and the title of her latest book, The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year,  is intriguing.  Could have applied to me in the last year as I seemed to spend a lot of time in bed, despite being a bit of an insomniac.  Prone to waking a 3am and then would lie half-asleep for a couple of hours worrying about things or inventing things to worry about.  Then tired the next day so I'd have an early night or, at weekends, a nap in the afternoon. So lots of wasted time in bed.  After watching a recent documentary on sleep problem, I have now cut down the amount of time I spend in bed.  Reckon I only need six hours sleep to function properly.   So now I use the time saved to write this blog instead of lying awake worrying. Anyway looking forward to reading about Sue Townsend's character.

No photos of me today.  Am mostly wearing repeat outfits from the minimalist wardrobe anyway.  Still haven't trained myself to mix and match separates and tend to wear the same tops with the same trousers etc.  My Spanish friend, on the other hand, seems never to wear the same thing twice.  Not quite sure how she manages this as her budget isn't much different to mine.  Here's tomorrow's  plan then for an outfit I haven't worn yet. Might change my mind if it turns cold again though and substitute a polo for the shirt.

Black/White Herringbone pattern jacket form Next

White Shirt, also Next

Marks and Spencer, Slim leg Black Trousers.