Updating my 101 in 1001 Goals

Sometimes you need to shake things up, update and change the status quo. I'm not thinking anything life changing - don't worry, this Kiwi isn't giving up chocolate, moving to another country, or going to live on a house boat).

Specifically I think my 101 in 1001 goals need a shakeup. Some of the goals were kinda place fillers, some I've completed and they weren't amazing and some I'm just plain bored of.

Goals? Our wee cat certainly doesn't forward plan.
Except when her bowl becomes a little emptier than she likes...

To go into the list:

- Attend a Dawn service on ANZAC day or visit Gallipoli
- Cross off 15 new foods tried to the HowFoodieAreYou? list
- Visit all the Oranges and Lemons Churches - in progress
- Pat a Lion or big Cat
- Visit the Crooked Pub
- Go to Paris for Lunch

To come out:

02. Participate in NaNoWriMo
14. Begin drawing again
27. See the All Blacks in Twickenham
62. Cook an entire Cookbook
64. Make Vanilla Rum & Skittle Vodka
95. Write a “day in the life” blog post

It'd be so easy to forget about these goals, but you, my lovely reader are keeping me honest, and on track. Having sat down and looked at all of these goals, progress surprisingly isn't bad, I'm on target 25% done, in 26% of the time gone.

Goals are great, but it's also good to have mid-point review and reassess of how things are going. Time to get things moving!

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Mojito, Monopoly and Mushkalica Night

Saturday was a day of good intentions, bad organisation, on the hoof cocktail ingredient making, much laughter and soft warm bread fresh from the bakery.

 

 

I am blessed to have some lovely friends. Ones whom will let me experiment on them, subject them to an evening of board games and then let them cook dinner. This evening came about due to a drunken conversation over homemade pizzas at our friends place, and a determination to enjoy more Rum.

I woke up on Saturday morning to realise that I had forgotten how to make Mojito's, hadn't looked up the ingredient list, didn't know where to buy Mint and if it was in season, no shopping list, chores to do and an urge to stay inside.

 

I threw these aside, and with an on-the-hoof Google search and a backpack, walked to the town centre. I'm never there on a Saturday morning, and the local fruit and vegetable stores blew me away. There were fresh fruit and vegetables as far as the eye could see, and a breadth & depth of varieties that means I will be back soon to check them out properly.

After enquiring after Sugar Syrup, a key cocktail ingredient, in quite a few stores I gave up and turned for home armed with a variety of nibbles, warm French sticks (oh so gorgeous - I'm not sure how they made it home), Rum and bags of Ice.

Thankfully hubby had worked his magic on the house chores whilst I was galavanting, so I set about making a sugar syrup. This is great for cocktails, desserts, adding to hot drinks, possibly using in place of hairspray(!?)... basically where ever you can use sugar, but removes the grainy sugar crystals.





Extreme Jenga. Anything goes.



Sugar Syrup
It's really easy; take white sugar & water, at a ratio of 2:1 (eg. 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water). Boil the water then add the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Once dissolved, turn the mixture down to simmer until all the sugar is melted and you don't see any at the bottom of the pan & remove it from the heat.

• If the sugar crystals at the bottom are not going away, turn the heat back up to high and add a tad more water. A couple of tablespoons more water should suffice.

From the research I've been doing, if you store it (once cooled) in a sealed container/bottle in the fridge, it will keep from between 3 and 6 months. I let mine cool naturally for about 10 minutes, then placed the pan in a cold water bath (my sink half filled with cold water) in order to hasten the process, as our guests were due in 20 minutes.

Warning:

• Sugar mixture will burn and harden if it comes in contact with skin; take precautions to avoid being splashed.
• Don't let this sit on the heat for longer than absolutely necessary, or it will burn.

Scrooge McCat, rolling in her winnings...

We settled in for the night to an evening of laughter, board games, drinks, Mushkalica (a Hungarian dish of Paprika & spices infused Pork) and good fun.

I am determined to beat the idea that Januarys have to be grim.

What's your favourite cocktail?

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Boxing Day

Presents are unwrapped, a scrumptious dinner eaten and the pine needles are starting to hit the carpet already.

With a self imposed offline day yesterday, it was quite refreshing to mostly be away from all electrical equipment (bar the TV when the kids started to dance Gangnam Style!).

Favourite part of the Day? Gathering with almost all of my London family for Roast Turkey & Beef, Christmas Pud & a lot of laughter.

Favourite memory of the Day? Grandad getting up & trying it Gangnam Style.

Favourite (only) Photo of the day?

Hubby gets a bit blue as the excitement of the impending Christmas season is over, and once the New Year has passed, we have to trudge through the grimness of January. I can honestly say I've never thought of it that way, but I suppose as a Kiwi with summer holidays in January, it was never a cause for sadness.

 

 

 

We have been very retrospective today, musing the highlights of this year, and by anyones standard 2012 has been an amazing year. London especially has been a very exciting place to be.

• The Diamond Jubilee - I got to see the Queen!! 

•  The Olympics - absoloutely smashing 

•  Made some great new friends over the year - caused mischief camping & brunching to name but two instances 
• Climbed the iconic Big Ben 
• I completed a 5k - something I would never think I could do

I also started this here little blog, which you are all so kind to read day in day out, and I'd like to thank you for this. Thank you for giving me a chance to share our adventures.

We have a lot of exciting new plans for next year, and I hope you will stick around to join in them with us.

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Christmas Eve Eve Afternoon Tea

We decided with Christmas day being a little hectic (15-16 adults + an assortment of kids) that us ladies would have a wee afternoon tea to chat and catch up.

We ended up having such a lovely low key day. Bar a few (actual) nightmares the night before (you know, like the ones you have before an important job interview, and you get to the end and realise you forgot to put trousers on?) it was a dream.



We had looked into the option of being shamelessly spoilt and going out for afternoon tea eg. like this afternoon, but decided it would be easier, better to organise transport-wise and, honestly, cheaper to do it ourselves.

The Menu?

Bite-size Sandwiches:

Egg Mayonnaise & Cress on fresh White Bread

Chicken & Sweetcorn on fresh White Bread

Ham, Rocket & Chipotle Sauce on Wholemeal Bread

 

A variety of Savouries hot from the oven

(the only real let down was the Ketchup served in Tupperware!)

 

Cherry Scones with Devonshire Clotted Cream

 

Jaffa Slice

Cherry Bakewells, Lemon Sponge Slices, Festive Caramel Slice

White Chocolate Penguins, After Eight Mints, Snowballs (Marshmallow with a Chocolate shell & Coconut)

((Lolly Cake should have made an appearance, but I got a bit creative with the recipe & instead of being a slice, it's more of an ice-cream topping))

 

Champagne

Eggnog

Cranberry Juice with Mulled Spices - such a beautiful non-alcohol drink - literally get some of the mulling spice bags from your nearby supermarket, and heat the cranberry juice on the stove with the bags steeping. Absoloutely lush - it tastes like it should be alcoholic!

Tea

 



Written up, it looks like it would be a lot of work, but to be honest we we allowed the supermarket baking companies to help take most of the strain. The drinks and sandwiches took the most work, but with three of us in the kitchen, drinks in hand, it really was a lot of fun. I wanted it to be low-key, and that's what we got. The developing 'Foodie' in me wanted to handmake everything, but by the time we got to this morning, it wasn't an option.

 

A lovely, decadent afternoon with some of the loveliest ladies. We opened a couple of pressies with my cousin who is having an Orphans Christmas (with the rest of her Kiwi friends - something that is a London tradition - I can't wait to see how their Turkey comes out!)

 

It wasn't over the top but just the right level of decadence, the conversation flowed, the food came out steadily and the drinks flowed.

 

Can you tell we enjoyed it by the below 'after' pic?

I hope you are spending some time with your loved ones, either over video chat, with an afternoon tea like the above, or at the Cinema, or just somehow.

 

I think I need to host more of these next year. Maybe that should be one of my New Years resolutions?

Right now, dishes to wash. Er, maybe I should reconsider the 'at home' business!!

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101 in 1001 - 96 - 5 new foodie blogs

This is probably on of my easiest 101 in 1001 goals - and certainly a pleasure. I've had the pleasure of meeting most of these lovely bloggers too, it's funny as it adds an extra little je ne sais quoi (which I typed into Google as gene se qua - languages really aren't my strong point!) to reading their blogs.

Feel free to sit back with a cup of Tea & a nice slice of cake...

Simply Foods - a vegetarian blog filled with the most wonderful recipes. I have several bookmarked for our dinners over the next few weeks. I'll let you know how they go!

The Londoner - A self confessed 'ra' and girl about London town, she is someone you want to be.

Utterly Scrummy - Recommended to me, her photography is beautiful and she's a fellow Kiwi. I swear I'm not biased! She has great recipes on her blog, and a few Kiwi home classic recipes, such as Stuffed Kumara (Sweet Potato).

Sugar Dish Me - A North Carolina belle who doesn't "like driving to 14 stores to find obscure things that I’ll only use once; my recipes reflect that." She also loves cookies, a brilliant feature.

The Botanical Baker - Charting baking adventures of mum & a 2011 GBBO contender, Urvashi.

...and an extra for kicks - Mississippi Kitchen - Check out her Vanilla Bean Iced Coffee. If only it was as hot here!

There are sooo many more amazing blogs, but these are the ones I can't get enough of lately. My blog addiction continues. Much like Chips (Crisps for my British readers) - one is never enough.

Y'all come back now y'hear!

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101 in 1001 Goals - Interim Health Check

So far, not too bad. With about 6 months lapsed, of my 101 in 1001 goals, I've completed 11 and have 10 in progress. That's a fifth in the pipeline with two and a half years to go, and I have another 5 or so planned to be completed already.

I'm pleased that I've managed to complete a mixture of items, large and small, but may need to pay some attention to more of the longer term items, eg. the reading ones (would you believe?). It's also quite interesting to see the areas that I've completed, and the areas that I need to have a look at.

The 'general' list is no real surprise, but I've manged to do a few things that surprised even me;

• 7 Random Acts of Kindness in 7 days 28/10/2012
• Learn to recognize a constellation 28/07/2012
• Visit Buckingham Palace 14/08/2012

Health, food and photography have taken a bit of a backseat, though I'm pleased that I've completed

• Do a 5k & raise money for a Cancer Charity 11/07/2012 £500 between us raised!
• Two day Photography Courses 1 of 2

Will I change any yet? I think there are a couple of 'to do's' close to being struck off, due to lack of interestedness, but I will wait and see where we are in another few months. I always intended it to be a work in progress - and knew a couple of items may be replaced as life continues on.

It's been fantastic so far - if we find ourselves with a quiet afternoon, and simply have to check out the list, and more often than not, boom, afternoon sorted.

Right, I'm off to do some more - wish me luck!

Any suggestions?

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7 Random Acts of Kindness

There are two schools of thought; one that say that a random act of kindness can't really be random if you tell everyone; it needs to be done quietly and not lorded about. I think I'm more aligned with the second school of thought - share it, and who knows what you may influence, even subconsciously.

I like a challenge which is why I picked 7 in 7 days; and have tried to carry out kindnesses that can have an effect on a personal level. Just recently I've had a random middle-aged lady look up at me and smile. I didn't quite know what to do, before awkwardly grinning back. It really brightened up my morning commute, and cost nobody anything (though did make me wonder if I had something green in my teeth for a second!)

Day 1. Smile genuinely at 5 people
I like to set myself a challenge (hence 7 in 7 days) but I hadn't quite counted on the frozen countenances of London commuters. London commuters generally have one facial setting "ohcrapImreallyreallylateandIhaveahugedeadlinewhyisthatweirdgirlsmilingatmeaaarghitsmybusquickquick" with various settings of intensity - I should have realised this, as I have settled into it myself. Then you have the robots with cords hanging out of their ears, computers/phones/mp3 devices in hand. It was really hard to catch anyone's eye, let alone hold it long enough to smile at them. Thank goodness for 2 last ditch attempts walking to our gym in the 'burbs. Mission successful. Whew!

Day 2. Pick up Litter
Todays act was completed within the mile walk from my train station to my office. It was kinda gross really how easy it was - 3 items in quick succession. And I work in quite a nice area. One man even tore the clear plastic wrapper off his cigarettes, walked past a bin, dropped it on the ground before lighting up and shoving the pack in his pocket.

Day 3. Make time to be silly
My “Tomorrow it’s my Birthday dance” put a smile on a sad colleagues face. Oh the things we do…

Day 4. Buy a coffee for a homeless person
Seeing as it's my birthday, I wanted to pass on the karma from the lovely gifts I have received - I've gifted a local Big Issue seller with a coffee gift card. It's cold, it's misty and he must be feeling miserable.

Day 5. Write a thank you note
Written to a dear friend for the many kindnesses she does for me on all the time.

Day 6. Let 3 people ahead of me in line

Day 7. Gave up my seat
This I do normally and have a bug bear about – I’ve seen young people blatantly sitting in in a designated seat ignore pregnant ladies or older people who clearly need it more. To challenge myself I wanted to do it as often as I could – ending up 3 times.

 

You do feel good about doing these small things, I won’t lie. I do some of the above anyway, but wanted to challenge what I normally do. I haven’t recorded this to get a pat on the back – who knows what the actual acts themselves inspire.

 

Another 101 in 1001 goal down!

 

When did you last experience a random act of kindness?

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European Adventures: Barcelona's Must-see Tourist Attractions

I just had to share with you the other places we saw that were amazing. This will be my last post about Barcelona, I promise.

Sagrada Familia: No question, this place is incredible.

Park Gaule: Fantastic place to wander, watch the parrots and take a picnic.

The La Boqueria Food Market, off Las Ramblas (a tourist attraction in it's own right):

Take a half day trip to Montserrat - you can do this easily by train or with a coach tour:

Nb: Definately catch the Furnicular/Cog Train up to the Monastery:

Listen to the oldest established boy choir in Europe and explore the Monserrat Basilica:

 

Explore Barcelona's Gothic Quarter - discover all some of the nooks and crannies:

Check out the Barcelona Cathedral:

... say 'Hey' to the 13 Geese there

See some Picasso artworks in the Museum and on the buildings:

 

 Above all, enjoy the amazing weather, the tasty Tapas, Slurp Sangria and relax. We also managed one of our 101 in 1001 - no phones, no internet for 4 days.

Really good Tip: Pickpockets are rife on the Metro; don't have you valuables easy to snatch, try and keep to the middle of the tube trains (Pickpockets tend to haunt the ends as they can get away quick) and above keep a really good eye out. If someone stands really close to you or asks something out of the ordinary (especially in English) be really aware that they may be pick pockets.

We really enjoyed Barcelona, it's a great city break.

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Letter to my future self - 10 years

One of my more random 101 in 1001 goals (bar dancing in the rain and sleeping in the treetops) was to write a letter to myself, to be opened in 10 years time. It's a really interesting thing to do - it really made me think about where I want my life to go. It's aslo a trange feeling to contemplate where I am now - married, living on the other side of the globe and up to general mischief around London.
I wanted to be an achitect working on the conservation of buildings; but with wanderlust hitting me hard, after a year of working like a fiend off I trotted to pastures foreign and I love it.

The question I get asked the most when I tell people that I'm from New Zealand is if I miss it. New Zealand itself, yes and no but my family absolutely yes. but, with the advent of video calling, NZ is just a click of a mouse away. The lovely thing is because I live so far away it seems almost more important to have that contact regularily, and I think that we probably talk more than a lot of families living in the same town.

So 1st September 2022, who and where am I going to be? Rather randomly, we met up with a really good friend today, turning 48 soon, and he said in the course of our conversation "I think that by the time you are 25 your personality is pretty well set. The only thing that changes is your body begins to fail."

Awesome.

Have you ever made 10 year plans/goals?
 

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London Living: Big Ben

When people think of London and British landmarks, what top three come mind? People normally say Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge.

Well hubby, my brother-in-law, a very good friend and I played London tourists for the day. It was awesome. I think I'll have to split the day into 3 posts, or you may curse me for the sheer length of time it takes your computer to load!

Firstly we climbed about 210 feet high (the total tower is 96.3m, roughly 16 storeys) tower, by way of of a 334 step spiral staircase. Not just any fly-on the wall, blase turn-of-the-century run-of-the-mill tower, but up the big daddy. St Stephens tower - known to the World at large as Big Ben, to see the fascinating mechanism and clock face that comprises the world famous icon, then the enormous bell himself.

It doesn't look THAT tall.. I think...

What a fantastic way to spend a Tuesday morning! With this looming, I've been in secret training for this, and it's had me on the stair machines in the gym for a while, building up to 10 minute sessions (you may think '10 minutes? That's nothing!' try it, I dare you. It's surprisingly hard!), and I am so glad I have been. As a bonus our guide said we were a rather fit group, and because of such we were up there in double quick time, meaning we spent more time listening to the beautiful bells up close. I've never been called 'fit'!

The guides do this climb 3 times a day, 15 times a week! We got to watch all of the mechnisms at work, see the famous pennies keeping the pendulum ticking regularily, check out the 32ft clock faces and best of all see Big Ben himself. It was SUCH a fantastic thing to do, a moment that you never forget methinks.

I'm not going to bore you with all of the geeky fun facts, like the bell is a bit cracked, all 13.7 tonnes of it was winched up the Tower by 8 men, taking them a total of 32hours, and the E note Big Ben is famous for, is now E flat.. Go, I implore you. Or, check out Big Ben's official website for more info than you can shake a stick at. Big Ben also has Twitter. Awesome.

As promised months ago, Nicola and Frankie (check out the FitWriter blog, they've just done a fantastic Olympic inspired series!), I thought of you and I waved in your general direction!

The tours are (as of writing) free, and can only be done by UK Residents, but it's so easy to do. Check-out their website and let me know what you think. Do it, it was amazing. I was only able to take a couple of very very sneaky pics, but we left grinning ear to ear.

Watch this space for further installments of the day. So much fun - there really is nothing like being a tourist in your own city.

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The Longest Crawl - Book Review

Disclaimer: I read a lot. I read almost as much as I breathe. I read everything, and I enjoy almost everything I read. At the moment I am going through a London-phase, a Fantasy/Supernatural Phase and a devour every book in sight phase. This book I picked up on a whim, and loved it - it has kept me going through most of the rainy days we have had the last month or so.

"According to G. K. Chesteron, the act of getting to and from a pub is central to an understanding of the British life and landscape. With around 60,000 to choose from, he may have had a point."

Ian Marchant decided to set off with his mate Perry Venus and document his month-long British pub crawl from the two fartherest apart pubs he could find. Witty, informative and thirst-inducing, this is the authors journey both personal and researched, reflecting an integral part of British Life - the Pub. When I came to England, I was amazed by the role the pub plays in British life, straight out from work, you gather in the pub to moan, cry and laugh at life. A man's local is his paradise.

This is a long, slow burning read, perfect for rainy Sunday afternoons (accompanied by a beverage if desired - highly recommended). I loved the sheer enjoyment and whimsy of the author as he meets up with his many friends along the way, but also explores the fantastic history and processes of various pubs, monasteries, breweries and stills around the British countryside. I ran a pub for the first year I was here in England, and witnessed first hand the close relationship that can develop in a friendly local - I met my husband working behind the bar, and one of my (other) favourite regulars even brought in his fiancee to meet me!

I've now bookmarked about a dozen places to check out for ourselves. Road trip here we come! It's not a great commuting read (in printed format) as it's a little large, so this baby lived mostly at home. I've not yet succumbed to an e-reader as I'm a little dubious.

 

The Longest Crawl Ian Marchant

 

Definately a must-read, great as a travel read, a rainy day read and a slow-burner read, you feel like you are accompanying the author. Marchant is beautifully, chummily written author, and I am going to be on the look out for further works.

(Please note any links to Amazon are through my Amazon Associates account, which means I make a little money (less than 5%) from any purchases made after clicking through these links with no added cost to your purchase. This helps support my book addiction, so if you are interested in buying the book, please click through the top link)

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Olympic Camping

Camping, oh how I love thee. Oh how I hate thee.

Forgetting the Olympic opening ceremony was on, we accepted a lovely invitation to go Camping with a group of really good friends.



Our 5.5mile tramp, skirting beautiful lakes..

Our home for the weekend, sleeping under the Stars (a 101 in 1001 goal!) It was cosy, very very cosy and one of the harder things about Camping - like our friend said when he kindly lent it to us "It's meant to be a 2 man tent, but it's a good thing that you know each other well!". The next time we'll go, I think we'll invest in one ourselves. And an airbed. Or maybe I'll just stay in a hotel, carrying some freshly mown grass to create the proper smell of camping. I wonder if they'll mind me using the furniture to make a bonfire? Celebs get to chuck TVs so I can't see why I can't utilise the curtains as lighter paper.



Gathering for Camp, we settled in amongst suited and booted businessmen, celebrating Friday night.





Rolling English Pastures...













... and primordial forests.





Oh, why, herrow.



A well earned rest stop





 

If I could only remember where I left that tent...

 

 



The best meal of the weekend.







How to get into our campsite, this is roughing it.



 

 







Home, Sweet Home.



 

 






Best part of the weekend. Sitting around the campfire, talking tall tales with wonderful people.





Dusk Sack Racing! There was quite a bit of foul play that went on.



I learnt how to recognise a constellation, the Big Dipper. Thank you Mark! (another 101 in 1001 Goal!)





(Best viewed large)



Workout: Lugging 17 pound backpacks from campsite to campsite, including a 5.5mile tramp. Loved it, and would never have been able to complete it 3 months ago.

Are you a Camper or a Glamper at heart?

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