Keeping it simple

Happy Mondays!

Okay, so it's easy for me to say that, what with having the week off work and all, but in the spirit of last week's blog, this week I am keeping things simple.

Things have been going pretty well with the whole writing thing at Shelly Berry Towers - my dabble at writing a script for a short film is progressing nicely (watch this space), as is my stab at journalism, what with a couple of juicy pieces for the Waltham Forest Echo working themselves out of the woodwork (again, keep your eyes peeled).  Edit of novel number two is getting closer to completion too, despite my wavering confidence in the project.  The problem is, it is all starting to feel a bit manic, and, having committed to a college course starting in September, it is going to get worse.

Or is it?

Maybe I just need to do what I keep telling myself to do; keep it simple.  Stop putting pressure on myself to get things done that can wait and enjoy those little pleasures in life, like cooking and reading.  I've been trying to read Iris Murdoch's The Sea The Sea for weeks now, but keep finding myself distracted by things I ought to do, rather than settling down with a good book and a nice cup of tea.  And, rather than cooking the food I really want to eat, I end up churning out the same old thing night after night, rather than taking an extra 15 minutes to experiment and try something new - something that a recent meal out and a weekend with friends has made me determined to do.

Here's one I made earlier. Ahem...

So, when I get my train home tomorrow, I shall read my book.  And when I go shopping, I will buy ingredients to make Moroccan Lamb and Aubergine with pomegranate and tabouleh salad, just like I had at The Bell in the Stow, and even more aubergine to make Simone's Melanzane parmingiana.  And, before my next batch of leave, I will make a cake to take into work - I have a heap of cream cheese icing in the freezer that desperately needs using up, and quite a few colleagues who I really owe a slice of my grandma's carrot cake for one reason or another.  And, hell, I like baking.  So that is what I am going to do.

Emptying the loft, cleaning the bathroom and redecorating the kitchen can wait.  I am on a new kind of mission, my friend...