Fish Frenzy

My new sewing machine certainly had a workout last week, and my little fabric box is growing by the day and threatening to overtake my flat, like someone pouring soap powder into a fountain.

It is exciting to be making things that I like so much. I have just received a delivery of eco-friendly tote bags to sew my designs onto, so hopefully they will be on Etsy next week.

I mentioned that I started a fish bowl last week. Well, I have discovered that I have an extremely mean fish. He scared and chased the other two little ones (Dave Grohl held out slightly longer than Josh Homme) and I think the poor things died of heart attacks. Mean old Jack Black is on his own now, and I hope he enjoys his cruelly-won solitude. He is very pretty to look at but I think he has a very miserly attitude.

Recipe culling 101 is going well but slowly. It is too taxing to cook unknown meals every night. Sometimes you just crave something familiar and requiring no thought whatsoever. Good old curried sausages have had a whirl, as has spaghetti bolognese and chocolate mousse (served in the cutest dishes ever, look -)

- amongst the marinated steamed salmon (a winner, 8 out of 10) and the pesto chicken gnocchi (JUST acceptable, too heavy, 6.5 out of 10.)

By the way, I have discovered that I make a mean sangria. Mmmm Mmm MMMMMM. I got so inspired by the fruit I took a photo of how pretty it looked.

Learning the Art of Restraint

As the flat I have just moved into is the size of a handkerchief, I made a resolution to get rid of any Non Essential Junk. Of course I don't have any. What I do have is a giant folder of cut-out recipes from magazines and newspapers (I have a dreadful habit.) So my first concession to streamlined living is to implement a Ruthless Recipe Culling Program, the aim being to throw away any recipes that are tasteless, boring, involve too many ingredients or require the skills of Jamie Oliver. This means that, one by one, I will cook each meal from the folder. If it makes the grade (only above 7/10, as decided by my gentleman lover) it will be stuck into my special blank-diary recipe book, where only classics may go. If not, it makes the recycling bin. Tough but fair, I say; my house has no room for dull and boring recipes!

In other news, I am having difficulty pulling myself away from my laptop for long enough to actually sit down and do some Hard Work. I get engrossed in the Etsy forums and just looking at the sheer amount of beautiful things to buy. I need to stop! Or my things will never get made!

A Little Bit About Me

To Whoever is out there,

Hello - let me introduce myself. My name is Emma and I live in Melbourne. This week has been a week of starting new things, including this blog. I have also started a fishbowl, a fitness regime (let's see how long that keeps up), a balcony garden, a Ruthless Recipe Culling Program (more on that later) and I have launched my own handmade crafty treats out there into cyberspace, on www.neverever.etsy.com.

So, a big week; and I am curious to see how all this turns out. Mostly I will use this blog to talk about my NeverEver label of handmade stuff - baby wear, stationery, bags, and assorted things that I like to make. But inevitably I will keep whoever's interested informed of the state of my fish, my garden, my cooking, and my running shoes. How mundane it sounds when listed like that!