Many Ways with Squash

Saturday, went to the feedback session of the Fantasy Writing Workshop. (Sounds like it wasn’t a real thing).  Consensus, I created good descriptions of the ‘other world’, and it’s likely I’ve started a novel for adults - not my fault, the story carried me away.  Got a really humbling compliment, “I’d read this to my children”.  Wow.

Will edit it to a short version because they would like the workshop stories to be part of the George MacDonald celebration eBook.  Enjoyed these sessions and the experience got me writing fiction again.  A tenner well spent*.

Was also Huntly Farmer’s Market Day, but didn’t want to hang around before the workshop started – or to spend anything.  Don’t want to avoid going places so as not to risk spending money – although what else is there to do at a farmer’s market really. 

Noticed that if I go anywhere with a big supermarket nearby, I always go shopping – because I’m there anyway and it’ll save petrol.  Usually spending more than a half-tank of petrol would cost on processed treat-food, books, stuff.  It’s almost a close-of-a-day-out ritual.  Even if I have already bought enough groceries, I’d still go.

Scientific explanation is, obviously, was a squirrel in another past life, so am compelled to forage, bury clusters of food (in pantry), then forget about them.

Came straight home on Saturday though.

Both yoga and the calorie app went the craw road** over the summer.  Craws are back home to roost, so spent Friday afternoon flicking through River Cottage ‘Veg’ (many ways with squash and goat’s cheese), and ‘The Midlife Kitchen’ (chia-not-cheese) for veggie recipes. 

I believe it was Yoda who said; “When to spend £15 on groceries intending, best plan meals and ingredients list.  Yeesssssss.”

There’s an actual ‘Yoda-speak-generator’ website. 

Now that’s a close-of-day-out ritual.

*Disclaimer: No October no-spend experiments were harmed in the making of this journal.  All items had been purchased prior to October 24.

**The craw road – Scottish expression, literally the crow road, meaning dead, no longer in existence, irretrievably broken, lost, spent. As in, ‘Her good intentions have gone the craw road’.

Credit: ‘River Cottage Veg Every Day!’ Fearnley-Whittingstall, Hugh.  Bloomsbury 2011

Credit: ‘The Midlife Kitchen: health-boosting recipes for midlife & beyond’. Mimi Spencer, Sam Rice. Publisher Mitchell Beazley. 2017

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoda

https://www.yodaspeak.co.uk/index.php#mainform