The Weekly Friday Feast

[CherryBomb]

Glad you could make it @kristin!

There's still some pumpkin soup and pizza if you'd like some. I will definitely need to try your recipe. Never thought of adding coconut milk. Sounds delicious.

How's your week been? Got anything planned for the weekend? I presume there's a bit of snow on the mount now?

[kristin]

Hey @Former-Member

My songave me the set of Song of Fire and Ice for Christmas. I'm an avid reader and love science fiction/fantasy/mystery/historical novels. But I hated this - I rarely start a fiction book and don't finish but I found then hideous. To be frank I couldn't handle what I perceive as the author's attitude to women, there's some pretty vile abusive stuff in it and I didn't even get halfway through. And some of the descriptions were quite triggering. I'm now trying to find somewhere to sell a nearly new boxed set (after explaining to my son about why and asking him if he wanted them or had any suggestions who to give them to).

I think I have found about the perfect style for me at the moment, as I don't get a lot of time for reading books (most of my reading is on-line non-fiction to do with MH, social justice, child developtment, envirnoment, etc. My therapist called it "comfy crime" - in other words not triggering and overly focussed on the gorey details - the Father Brown Mysteries by GK Chesterton (I see it has been made into a tv series too). They are interesting enough for me to wwant to read them and not so stimulating that they wake me up when I need to sleep. Perfect bed-time reading. And I have been sleeping much better since I started reading the complete adventures. So I recommend it!

Kind regards, 

Kristin

[kristin]

Hi Cherry,

Me too. Pizza looks nice after my (take away left-overs) Indian spinach & potato curry with rice for dinner.

It is very yummy, I forgot to mention I also add chicken or veg stock (Massel like Sandy, better flavour) I puree it too. I won't try to give you quantities because I use a whole {bad word - really!!} pumpkin and two large sweet potatoes when I make it, good if you're feeding the five thousand (or a hungry half-dozen)!

This week has been better, still too busy but travelling a bit better. Managed to go walking twice this week, which was great. It is really helping, a lot more than I realised. yes my plans are to stay at home and have a very quiet weekend. Unfortunately I discovered we are nearly out of goat's milk (my 7yo can't have cow's milk) so I need to go to the local supermarket (5km away) tomorrow. That will be enough of an outing (more than I wanted but oh well)!

Sorry but I don't think there is any snow on Donna at the moment. It's been quite warm; for snow we need those very cold nights, fairly cold days and above all precipitation! I can cope without them to be honest, they will come soon enough.

[CherryBomb]

I'm looking forward to hearing about the day it does snow. Speaking of which, I booked tickets to N.Z. over the winter. I'll get to play in the snow then!

A weekend of nothing sounds great. Sounds like it's well deserved after a hectic week.  Pity you got to leave the house. I think it's going to a be a perfect weekend for staying inside under a blanket, reading a book, with a few cuppas.

[kristin]

Yep, these days my idea of a perfect weekend is generally not needing to leave the house. It's not great but things are so incredibly hectic on the weekdays that my idea of a having one quiet day/week for and to myself at home just about never happens, not even on weekends because I have sole care of my 7yo (for her sake). So weekend hibernation is almost mandatory for me, otherwise I really would end up in a PARC facitilty or psych ward - and I can't go there.

I like the look of Life in a Day too. Will check it out on the weekend, thanks for the tip @Jacques ! (Hope you are travelling ok, glad you're enjoying the forum - it's a great space, a genuine blessing.)

NZ - you lucky thing Cherry, though no doubt also you worked hard for it. I would love to visit NZ, but even going interstate is out of my league these days. I've been to Nth America too many times (especially involuntarily as a child), Japan once briefly, and travelled a little here in Aus. But I think my travelling days might be close to done which makes me a bit sad, but who knows? And at least I am home; how much worse would it be if I was over there (US) and couldn't afford to get home?

[CherryBomb]

@kristin travelling with little ones can be tough, lots of lives to organise, not to mention the cost. Who knows maybe, you'll get a chance in the future. Great thing about technology these days, is that we can share our experiences with so it can kind feel like you're there. I will share some photos once I get back.

I've always wanted to go to Japan, what's it like? Whereabout in the States did you go?

[CherryBomb]

just realised the forums is closing in 15 minutes, can I offer you a cup of hot chocolate or tea?

[kristin]

I know what you mean, but to me there's really no comparison with being there. Being present in that environment. After doing a lot of driving around places over many years, and then doing the Great Tasmanian Bike RIde in my early 30s I would prefer to see places by bicycle if possible (and I would need to be a lot fitter!). The reason is that the difference in what you see and experience is huge. Almost as big as (in some ways bigger than) watching it on tv and being there. In so many ways driving around in a car looking out the windows to me feels like watching it on tv.

My ex-husband used to travel quite a lot for work, so I was only in Japan 20 years ago for a very short time, and didn't see much for various reasons - a bit of Tokyo and then a bit of a smaller city (Ueda, population about 150,000 then I think), bullet train travel between. My impressions were not particularly favourable to be honest; even though I find some of Japanese culture fascinating, and love the traditional art. My unfavourable impressions of very polluted and very crowded were compounded by my eldest (then 6 months old) becoming very ill with gastro. We think of Japan as a Westernised country and think things like hospitals will be similar/same. I was utterly appalled, and couldn't get out of there fast enough - we ended up taking the first available flight home and my son was in the Royal Children's Hospital for about a week after we got home (and as I've said before elsewhere on the forum - I really hate hospitals).

In the States I lived in Chicago for a couple of years, then in Boulder Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains for another four years. Desperately homesick the whole time. Back then Aussies were not flavour of the month, we were considered to be "white trash" because we were poor and not American. So I copped it from lots of kids. I find it a fascinating and scary place. The attitudes are so parochial it's terrifying. When I was in school you hardly learned anything about the rest of the world, mainly about the US - it was like nowhere else existed. And the culture is very much that the US is some super shiny perfect place to be, far superior to anywhere else on earth. Who wouldn't want US style (given/forced) democracy? 

I still love the Grand Canyon, and the Rockies;  I've been back as an adult, but I prefer the Canadian part of the Rockies for many reasons. My favourite US city is San Francisco, I love to visit it but not likely to again. I've been as far south as Texas and New Mexico, and as far north as North Dakota in the States. I've also been to Mexico, and as far north in Canada as Churchill on Hudson Bay. 

Have a lovely weekend all.

Cheers, Kristin

PS Thanks for the Friday Feast idea - it's another great one!

[NikNik]

FRIDAY FEAST!!!

Who's going to join me for this week's Friday Feast?

Remember to bring along:

1) Bring a (virtual) plate of food

2) Bring a topic of discussion

I'm not sure what it's like where you are, but it's COLD here tonight.

I feel like some warm comfort food. So here is my (virtual) plate of food -

How has everyone's week been?

@kato & @Ellie Looks like you're online tonight - plan on joining us for our Friday Feast?

[Ellie]

Am I joining you? Absolutely

Pity I don't have any pecan nuts or ripe bananas or I'd bring one of my famour choc chip banana cakes. Made in a ring tin and iced with Philli cream cheese with more pecans on top.....or choc chips......or strawberries......or cherries. Aw heck. Why not the lot??