Sunday, 18 May 2014

Refashioning Jewellery

I seem to have a lot of defunct jewellery I don't wear. Things that aren't my style or I only have one of or are the wrong size or have been passed on to me.

They lie in boxes making me feel sad and guilty. Until I got a great tip from Alistair's Mum that you can have them re-made by a friendly jeweller..

This is my first project, a lone pendant earring with a cool opal which will make a great necklace.

In more happy news today, I discovered a fun exercise I can do without hurting my knee. Recumbent cycling in the gym is gentle and relaxing (thanks to the video of landscapes on the TV screen in front of the cycle chair). Today I cycled (virtually) through Rheims in France.

Sunday, 11 May 2014

Sushi School

This is my second blog about sushi. In the first I was eating, in the second I was making! Me and Alistair went to the Yo Sushi workshop.

Firstly, a girl showed the Japanese way to cut up a side of salmon for sushi making. With a very big, sharp knife. Then we started rolling sushi on clingfilm covered bamboo rolling mats. There were bowls of sticky rice, dried seaweed (nori) sheets and ingredients including fish roe, cucumber, avocado and egg. The rolling is tricky, it has to be tight and the rice must be very sticky. The basic principle is that a piece or nori is placed on the mat, then covered in rice well squished on and then a row of filling. You roll it using the mat and squash it together once it is a tube. Then leave to settle before slicing up.We really enjoyed it and got lots of sushi to take home.

We made these sushi: Maki (as above) ISO or inside out sushi with the rice on the outside, California Hand Roll (a cone of nori containing the filling) Gunkan (an oval of rice wrapped in nori with a topping on the open end) and Nigiri (a block of rice with topping of fish).

Saturday, 3 May 2014

Poetry pleases

Poetry. Like opera, a bit of a puzzle to me.

A mini project, to learn to appreciate and familiarise myself with poetry. Every day I read aloud a poem to enjoy. So far, we are mostly on funny poems.

Liking AA Milne, Spike Milligan, Edward Lear, Hilaire Belloc and TS Eliot.

It seems to be quite therapeutic, reading poetry. It slows you down and helps you to focus.

Does anyone have any favourite funny poems?