Bootfair Hell.

  Well it had to happen, I had put it off for a week, then there really was no choice but to get on and do it. The dreaded bootfair. I have spent the last two weekends sorting through all our cupboards and wardrobes and every other place that mysteriously ends up full to the brim with all the crap we seem to aquire over the years. I had a moment on saturday when I realised that our car boot was never gonna be big enough for the amount of stuff we had to get rid of. 
   So after much deliberating the clothes and shoes did'nt make the final cut. They are awaiting delivery to the charirty shop. 3 bin bags had already gone but now there are 3 more and a box of shoes! Oh dear oh dear! That does not include 2 bags of stuff for my work friends and the bits that will be going on my blog sale! Hoarding problem did I hear you mutter?
   Anyway I ended up boxing up everything that you cannot see and everthing that we do not use. I now only own 4 plates, 4 bowls, etc etc etc, on the surface though the house looks no different, how is that possible?
   So 5.30am on sunday morning I was awoken by my alarm, now I 'm not really a morning person so when the reason you are getting up at that godawful time is to do something so unpleasant, it is not a good feeling! But Mr and I reluctantly left a nice comfy bed to head for a field where after about an hour it started to rain!!! Not terrential down pour, nice steady drizzle!!! AGHHH. I told you in a previous post about my rain powers!! Well the rain only lasted about an hour and luckily we had a golf umbrella that was unsold. But one of the funniset things I saw was a punter wearing a cardboard box on his head to ward off the rain, WTF?? We could of sold him a perfectly good umbrella! And he was probably one of better dressed even with the box on his head!! Crikey I don't know where these people crawl out from. (Must add at this point they were not all so skanky, there were some perfectly nice people too, one lady who bought some of my nicer bits was sporting a lovely Vivien Westwood bag.)
   But I think the sale of the day was a mouldy blow up mattress! Bear with me on this one, I think it was probably one of those 'had to be there' moments but here goes, a few years back I bought a double blow up mattress for a chill out area for a garden party we were throwing. Since that one use it has been folded up living in the loft. I had'nt even opened it up as I had never had any use to.
  Then yesterday a lady comes up to us asking about the said mattress, Mr unfolded the mattress to show her, and then I noticed that there was a 10" mark on the bottom, suspiciously looking like a 3 year old beer spillage that had somewhat became a little more than a stain, Mr then casually started brushing off the offending mouldiness saying it was bits loft insulation, she paid us £2 for a gross mouldy mattress! I must add had I realised I would not have even taken it, but one persons trash is anothers (mouldy) treasure!!
 The crowd was a tough one, we only sold half of what we took, made a reasonable bit of cash and left the unsold items for Shelter. I left them with some really good stuff that I could'nt believe did'nt sell! But it is a relief to have got rid of all that stuff. Every time something like this gets ticked off the list we are one step closer to those mountains!!! So no matter how rubbish thing are sometimes it will all be worth it when I arrive in Val d'isere in november to start a new life.
  One rather important thing to add though is that seeing all that stuff that we had accumulated made me really think about our compulsion to over consumme. I was selling 3 steamers for gods sake! So I really think we should all stop and think before we buy another thing, do we really need it?

Food Glorious Food.

        On monday whilst having a bit of a cookathon I was thinking that I haven't done a blog about food or cooking, along with clothes, shoes, Vogue and Sex and The City, this is one of my favourite things. I have many cook books, I love to read all atricles and blogs (especially shutter bean and LLG), and really enjoy cooking for friends and family.
        Although I must add at this point my most frequent dinner guests are a testing bunch, one Mr that only eats 4 types of veg, absolutely no green stuff (you don't make friends with salad is his motto, ERRR), one man that does not eat veg of any kind (he has an onion phobia!!!!! AGHH), one meat and two veg man that does'nt do any spice (pepper is his hot stuff!! URGH), one lovely lady that does'nt do fish and the only meat consumed is chicken and at this point I probably should add that I turned vegan 3 years ago (not as scary and bland as it sounds!!!), and I live with the 1st carnivore mentioned !!
      So my cooking skills have been tested to the max on more than one occasion. My poor old cookbook recipes have been changed and adapted more than I can count. There probably is'nt one thing that tastes as it was intended. But whilst listening to an interview with Delia Smith on the radio last week (I know I'm getting old!) it was rather a relief to hear that the great lady herself still follows recipes and still has to look up her own creations.
      Every week for as long as I can remember I have sat down with my recipes and worked out the following weeks meals for Mr Meateater and I and then shop accordingly. Not only is this more cost effective but I have no waste. (I would like to add that I am not a 1950's housewife!!!).
      The reason that I do this is to make sure I eat the right stuff and keep the weight off but also I work horribly late everyday so take my lunch and dinner with me so that I get to eat!! So this brings me back to my monday cookathon, I spend a few hours cooking and preparing the weeks meals on my day off , I see it as whilst you're making one thing you could be prepping the next and the next and the next............ultimate multitasking!!!!
     But the one thing that really got me thinking the other week was how pissed off I am with eating two of my three daily meals out of a tupperware pot in a dirty staff room surrounded by crap!!!! This is one of the reasons why I need to change my life, I would like to join the land of the living, I would like to sit at a table for dinner and eat my dinner off of a plate!

My life is for sale.

      Right whilst sitting here about to write I am reminding myself that what I should be doing is sorting and packing all the stuff piling up in my spare room which used to live in the loft until last weekend. Why oh why do we end up with so much stuff? I have always been a bit of a hoarder but seriously this is quite ridiculous, I know I need to get going but uhh, the thought is just so bad!!!!
       I am probably going to be moving in around a months time so I have a whole house full of stuff that needs new homes before I move! I am currently living in a sustantial 3 bed house and will be vacating to a 1 bedroom teeny flat so I cannot take anything of no use with me.
       So what to do? I have had requests from friends for furniture so I'll deal with that nearer to moving but the rest is going to bootfaired on sunday. I bloody hate doing bootfairs but I am also too tight to throw it all out! I will donate some to charity though, I'm not that bad!!! The thought of getting up at stupid o'clock on a sunday is just awful, and knowing what you're in for does'nt help! What is it with people diving into your boot and just getting in the way!!!! And wanting all your old crap, why is it the more rubbish it is the more popular it is?  But hey a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.
      But for the good stuff I may do a little blog sale, What do you reckon?

P.s. If you have enjoyed my blog please vote for me here in the cosmopolitan blog awards.

Its all happening now!

         Well where to start! The last time I checked in on the blog front was just before my holiday to Istanbul, so I think that I'll start there. Was a great few days in an extraordinary city, big, busy, hot and rainy! Before I continue I should probably tell you that no matter where Mr & I go we always get some of the wet stuff. For example, Fiji- hardly ever rains- 2 days, Australia- Sydney had had a 5 month drought- we arrive, 2 days later 5 days of rain, Nullabor desert (western oz)- over a year no rain, we ride through on a train, it chucks it down! Magnetic island (advertised as "364 days of sunshine every year"), we were there 2 weeks- 4 days of rain! Get the picture? Anyway I've digressed, Istanbul is known as the city where east meets west and I don't think theres ever been a truer word said.

         The city is a melting pot of old meets new, the beautiful ancient mosques jostle with the neon strip lighting of convenience stores and hotels, the ladies covered in their burqua whilst strolling with their friend in her spray on skinnies and strapless top, the sight of spices, once bought for the sultans own kitchen, towering in the bazaars next to the crappy tourist gifts?

          It is a stunning place in many ways, but also it lends itself to a little sadness because of the sheer magnitude of derelict, run down buildings and constant tail to tail traffic. The mighty Bosphorous river carving its way between Asia and Europe, an impressive sight lined with ancient palaces but filled with rubbish? 

          I really enjoyed it though, despite its short comings it is an incredible place and something of an experience not be missed. I just hope the wonderful buildings that have lasted 1500 yrs or more are looked after a bit better for future generations to come and explore their history.

         If you ever get the chance go check it out,

       Right next, our house has sold, 3 weeks after it went on the market which is great, nothing to do with the agents I may add but do not get me started on that one!! The buyers are renting so we have no chain which means we should be moving august sometime, yay!! So that means that I have much packing and sorting and selling to do! I think that I am going to start at the top in the loft, which is probably the worst to be honest (how do we end up with so much stuff?), and then make my way down from there! As we will be going from a 3 bed house to a 1 bed rented apartment before we set off for France just about every bit of furniture and general household stuff is going to be needing new homes! I must add it's a very liberating feeling just shrugging off all these belongings, I recently read a very poignant remark from the great Karl Largerfield that went along the lines of it being more fun searching for things than actually owning them, food for thought I think.

        

      Next on my list, to find us a temporary home to tide us over til we head off to Val d'isere. The funny thing is it's actually been really easy securing a home in France for the winter, the deposit is paid and then we pay the rest of the rent upfront 5 weeks before we go. A nice way to do things, no outgoings (bills included), so just need to find enough hours of work to cover a little spending money whist giving us loads of time off to ski (snowboard for Mr), have a bit of time out and hopefully figure out where our path goes from there. Its a great feeling to know that there are no boundaries, no responsibilities, a life where you work to live not live to work, go where the wind blows and enjoy the break from conforming to the idea that life has to be about working in a job that you hate just to pay the mortgage of a house that you don't really want to live in just because thats what everyone else does and that is what is expected of you.

       I've spent the day today contacting many people regarding work and have had a great response in just a few hours of sending lots of emails and cv's out, so its looking really positve, I seems that (touch wood!) everything seems to be going in our favour, so surely that means its meant be eh?