Lovely times

I've been attempting to be gentle with myself lately. It means I'm doing little work on the PhD. But I'm also happier. 

I'm baking...

And op shopping...

And gardening more.

And that has to be a good thing. Right?

India - revisit

I miss India.

Back home again

I got back from Fraser Island last weekend but the work that naturally piles up while you're out of town kept me busy all week. This is the first chance I've had to post...the mid Friday procrastination has kicked in! Time for some tea and toast.

Fraser was beautiful as usual. Great weather (mostly), great students (mostly) and beautiful midnight and dawn swims (the only time I could sneak away). Rejuvenating. I always come back from these trips feeling like science is the right path for me. Only trouble is when I spend the next three weeks stuck at a desk...then the dreams of the country return. 

One of my favourite quotes comes from Jonathan Safran Foer. "Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living”. How are you meant to pick just one life when there are so many amazing options out there? How do you stay satisfied with what you choose? How do you not get overwhelmed by all the things you want to do? I'm ok with minimising my want for 'stuff' but I struggle with the 'wanting to do too much  stuff' bit. Where is the balance?

Cookie time

I'm heading off to tutor a field course on Fraser Island tomorrow, so I made a batch of choc chip cookies for some sustenance while tromping through the mangroves. I like trying new choc chip recipes, it's one of those baked goods which leads to an endless search for the 'best' cookie. I think I'll never find the 'best' because I like different styles of cookies...and I enjoy the search too much!

This recipe came from the Rose Bakery's Breakfast, Lunch, Tea cookbook. This book has never let me down. Mel recently made the shortcrust pastry and the muesli from it and loved both. And these cookies are no exception. They involve refrigerating the dough in a log and then cutting slices for baking. This is perfect for warm Queensland kitchens where butter melts as you shape your cookies. They're also not too sweet which I love. Perfect with a cup of tea. Or mangrove mud covered fingers.

Suitcase Rummage

Mel and I had a stall at Suitcase Rummage this afternoon. I had a lot of fun and met some lovely people...and surprisingly (to me and, especially to my partner, Andy), I didn't buy anything. I felt a little overwhelmed. There were so many stalls! I sold quite a few treasures but I think the thing I liked most was meeting and chatting with some fellow bloggers like Laura and Jules. It's always nice to meet these people in 'real life'.

One of my favourite aspects of second hand shopping and selling is the story the object carries by simply having a past. I like hearing the history of an item when I buy it and I like when someone tells me what they plan on doing with the item I'm selling them. It keeps the story going. 

I sold a framed print today (which I regret not taking a picture of) to a young lady. On the back of the frame, in faded ink, someone called auntie Flo had written an inscription to her much loved niece, Lil. It was written in 1930. When I found the frame, I immediately daydreamed about Flo and Lil and what they might have looked like. The fact that the new owner seemed equally excited by the inscription made me happy too. Maybe it's silly to be so invested in these things...