Blogging, Life and Art

I never intended being away so long but somehow blogging no longer feels like it is up there at the top of my list of priorities. I still enjoy writing but there is always so much else to do and life just feels busier than ever. I know I have felt this way before and yet have never quite been able to give it up. I have been writing this now for over twelve years and have seen many old blogging friends come and go, but I have carried on because it felt like something I needed to do, but it no longer has that same pull. And of course, the longer between posts the more there is to write about and the longer it all takes. There has been so much going on since my last post for instance...

I have come to the end of the ten week painting course I was taking and can't quite believe how much new work I have made... and so different to anything I have ever painted before. I really am loving it and want to do lots more, so it was tempting to take the six week follow up course but I was finding it really hard to keep up with the modules (and I haven't finished them all) so thought it was best to concentrate on finishing and trying more of what I have already been doing. These are just two of my recent pieces on paper.

I spent a day at the knitting and stitching show as an Artist in Action for Art Van Go. I had a lovely day working with Maria Boyle and Jenny O'Leary.

Whilst there I took some of the paintings I had been working on and deconstructed (i.e. tore up) and stitched into them, something I would quite like to explore further. I also managed to spill hot wax everywhere because I am so clumsy but that's another story!

I constructed some of the stitched pieces into little folding books.

I finished knitting a scarf from some variegated sock wool and took about fifty selfies trying to get a decent photo for Instagram. I always end up pulling ridiculous faces so I've cropped my face off this one. You really don't need to see me pulling a funny face. I think I'm the wrong generation for a selfie... no plumped up lips and painted on eyebrows for a start! I like the scarf and it matches lots of my tops but I wouldn't recommend the pattern as it's a very peculiar shape. It is the only new thing I've had this month and made from yarn I already had so I'm still on track for no new clothes for a year... ten more months to go!

I spent a brilliant day learning how to carve a spoon and was actually allowed to use an axe which was rather exciting given how clumsy I am.

 

I also got to use a very sharp knife for the final whittling and managed to get away with just a few small nicks in my hand. I was more upset that I was getting blood on the spoon than about anything else.

It doesn't bear close scrutiny but for my first time ever working with wood I was quite pleased. I've started a list of 100 new things to do before I'm 100 and this was one of those things. I'm tagging the posts with them in but not necessarily writing them all down in a list like my sixty by sixty. I have an axe and a whittling knife on my Christmas list now!

Did I mention I have been in a play too? Eight weeks of rehearsing and learning lines so I guess it's little wonder I've not had time for blogging. The performances were last week and it seemed to be quite well received. It was all a bit ridiculous being a typical farce and I think really I just like dressing up. I loved the pink boots... and  I dyed my hair pink to match! It was lots of fun but it's also quite nice that it's over.

So you can probably see why there has been no time for blogging, although I'm on Instagram most days. A post on Instagram takes just minutes and can be done on my phone. You can find me at gina_ferrari_art although it's not all art...

But then if all life is art I suppose it is. There are paintings but also stitching, knitting, food, walks... and even the occasional dodgy selfie.

I'm not saying I will stop blogging altogether... not just yet because it's hard to stop something you have done for twelve years... but you are more likely to find me on Instagram!

Since Last Time...

Yet again it seems a long time between blog posts but I'm not sure it matters much anymore... is anyone really interested in the minutae of my life? But should you be the least bit curious a summary of what has been happening in these parts...

• More decluttering - despite the divided opinions on the Konmarie method of decluttering I am continuing bit by bit. I don't see it as a ruthless throwing away reducing myself to a minimalist lifestyle but more of an honest appraisal of what really is necessary or "brings joy", which let's face it is not a million miles away from the William Morris adage of "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful nor believe to be beautiful". William Morris was there way before Marie Kondo! The plastic shoebox contains my boys' first shoes... and little red wellies. Not in the least bit necessary or useful but they bring me joy when I see them so they are staying. However, the piles of card making supplies that hadn't been touched in years were re homed. The tidy cupboards bring me great joy!

• Listing things on Ebay - I was going to throw out my old Blue Peter annuals discovered lurking at the back of a cupboard - why on earth have they been kept?  But when I put a picture on Facebook there was an outcry of " don't throw them, sell them". So I have listed three of them on Ebay to see what happens... so far nothing... not so much as a starting bid! So they will no doubt be thrown away after all!

• I've been Pantomiming - if there is such a word! I wasn't acting in our local AmDram Pantomime, Beauty and the Beast this year but I have done a supporting role as producer/business manager as well as helping out with costume. It has been very time consuming but lots of fun... friendships are always made and cemented!

• Painting - Those grey brick walls were my doing!

• Reminiscing - the young girl playing Principle Boy (centre of the photo) was wearing an outfit I made for me to wear about 23 years ago when I was playing a Principle Boy! The outfit was actually older than her! Talk about making me feel ancient *sigh* where do the years go?

• Editing - our village newsletter. Just one more edition to go before we move and I no longer live in the village so no longer will be an editor!

 

• Baking - Coconut Dream bars from a Hummingbird Bakery recipe. I have made them at the cafe before but never at home until this week. I now know why they are called dream bars... boy are they good! Chewy, sweet, coconutty and hard to stop at one!

• Teaching - rag rugging to two large groups of adult learners in Luton. There were language difficulties to be overcome but we crossed those cultural barriers and had lots of fun as the learners made rag rug corsages. It was a wonderful example of how creativity can be such a great boost to self esteem and mental well being.

• Visiting - I've had a twenty four hour trip to Dorset with my Mum to visit her sister who is very poorly, but despite the underlying sadness there has been much laughter too and as a bonus we got to visit the beautiful Wimbourne Minster. The ceiling of the central transept was stunning.

• Sewing... on buttons. I finished knitting this cardigan (yarn and pattern from Eden Cottage Yarns) ages ago but couldn't face sewing on fourteen buttons... I know lazy! But I thought I might like to wear it tomorrow so I have finally put the buttons on. I was going to use the mother of pearl but ended up putting on the glittery black ones. I like the contrast.

So that's what I've been up to... have you done anything interesting?

A Skimpy Outfit

There has been a big disappointment this week that has left me feeling a little less bouncy than usual, but before I explain shall we have some cake?

I must admit that my interest in this year's Bake Off has waned slightly. I didn't really mind the move to Chanel 4 and although I think Noel Fielding does seem a little awkward and out of place at times, mostly the new line up works well... But the bakes? I think they are having a laugh! The technical skill required to make some of the bakes seems way beyond the scope of most amateur bakers and it feels as if they are coming up with more and more obscure and difficult tasks each week. As you know I stepped back from my own personal challenge of doing all the technical bakes the week of the Stroopwafel, not being prepared to buy a wafflemaker just to complete a technical challenge. But I got back into the swing of things with my Portugese Custard Tarts, or Pasteis de Nata, made unnecessarily difficult by the addition of a custard made with a sugar syrup...who on earth makes custard that way? I could have used a different recipe of course (Paul Hollywood uses a completely different method in his baking book) but I've been trying to use the same recipes as the contestants. They weren't too tricky in the end, despite the custard and the results didn't hang about for long. I may have eaten one or two... possibly more, even though I deemed them too sweet.

The next week was Italian week with a ridiculously complicated showstopper challenge to make Sfogliatelle and a tricky signature bake of Cannoli, which are not even baked but fried. The technical bake that week was really simple by comparision - a Margherita Pizza. As I often make pizza from scratch I wasn't going to bother, that was until I got a message from youngest son who was outraged, demanding to know why hadn't I made the technical bake when it was his favourite thing. I sucumbed and made him pizza for lunch. It got the thumbs up!

This week was all about forgotten bakes and mostly I think you can see why they were forgotten. Why would anyone want to bake an oversized architectural Savoy cake, a favourite centerpiece at Victorian banquets, but seldom actually eaten? Or a Bedfordshire clanger containing both sweet and savoury fillings? However the technical bake - a Cumberland Rum Nicky did actually sound quite nice. With a sweet shortcrust base, a lattice top and a rum soaked date, apricot and ginger filling I thought it sounded delicious and I was looking forward to trying it. It didn't disappoint! Especially with a generous helping of rum butter. Once again a helping or two may have been eaten.

So with all this extra baking there wasn't too much chance of me fitting into the skimpy outfit I had lined up for the play... except the play was destined not to happen. It was no ones' fault but despite weeks of rehearsals it really wasn't ready to put on for a paying audience. Although we are just a small AmDram group we do have a good reputation for putting on a high standard of entertainment and so the decision was made it was better to cancel than to put on a substandard performance. It had been in trouble from the start with one cast member having to drop out due to work commitments, another suffering one illness after another, there were lots of tricky movements and some people had an extraordinary amount of lines so we knew it was the right decision. But it was still bitterly disappointing after all the hours learning lines and sitting around at rehearsals... especially with just one week to go until curtain up. But as I've said before, village life is never dull and on Saturday evening there was a chance to dress up in another skimpy outfit as we headed off to a 1960s themed supper.

I got kitted out in a dress that came from our drama group wardrobe and as it happens one that I actually wore about 17-18 years ago to another 1960s themed evening. It wasn't quite so loose fitting as it was back then when I was newly divorced and far too skinny but I squeezed into it even finding the same earrings that I wore all that time ago. We had a fun evening of sixties music, a quiz and a reto supper of prawn cocktail, boeuf bourginon and the most enormous slice of black forest gateau... like I needed more cake. Thankfully I didn't get as drunk as I did the last time I wore it... like I said...newly divorced and somewhat emotionally unstable in retrospect.

So, here I am disappointed and feeling a little down but life goes on... there will be more plays, more cake and no doubt more nights out* before too long, so I along with the other cast members will get over it.

*Talking of nights out we were at another village event on Friday - a monthly cinema club, held in the chapel schoolroom where the film shown was Child 44. I'd read the book with bookclub and had obviously deleted it from memory... it was really disturbing, violent and I found it rather incoherent. The sort of film that makes me long for a gentle drama... and makes me think I'm getting old. Last month it was Kind Hearts and Coronets which was hilarious and charming and much more my thing.

I hope your weekend has been a good one.

What a Week!

I somehow feel as though I have lost a week. I'm exhausted and running on auto pilot after a whole week of rehersals and then a three night run of Charley's Aunt.

I have wanted to direct Charley's Aunt for ages after having seen a wonderful outdoor production of it many years ago. I finally got to realise this ambition last week with our local amateur dramatics society.

It has been a long time in the planning... starting with me attending a committee meeting last April to present my idea and breaking my ankle on the way home! The broken ankle was just the first of many set backs. I had a cast member drop out after just a week into rehearsals but that turned out to our advantage as we found someone new who turned out to be excellent. Then another cast member went down with pnuemonia after Christmas and it was touch and go whether he would make the performances... but he rallied round and we all gave a sigh of relief. There are no under studies in am dram!

But despite these problems on the way, it has been a fabulous production and we have laughed so much as well making new friends. Although it has been a lot of hard work, it has also been an awful lot of fun. We played to a full house every night and the audiences seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. I had an amazing cast to thank.

Meanwhile I've also had my second week at work... which has left me tired beyond belief, and that's before having to go out every night. Long hours on my feet all day are really taking their toll, but that's a whole other story.

And then as if I wasn't doing enough we hosted the after show party on Saturday evening... but again more fun and a chance to unwind with all the lovely people we'd been working with for weeks.

Needless to say it's been a struggle to stick to our healthy eating regime... and by the weekend we fell off our healthy eating wagon with a bang! I think I had some left over crisps, a slice of toast, a brownie, and some chocolate buttons for lunch on Sunday... Oh.. and a pear too, in an attempt to be healthy! I was too tired to think of anything else. 

One of our cast members celebrated their birthday on Friday so I managed to make a cake... hence the left over chocolate buttons! When she is not making her debut as an actress, Jenny is known as the owl lady in our local schools when she brings her owl in to visit.

Would I do it all again... yes, I would because it has been a brilliant week working with a lovely group of people. It's like being part of a fabulous close knit family.

But I do wish I could have a week's holiday now! Fat chance!

Listen Very Carefully

Work began on our kitchen yesterday and there is a backdrop of banging, crashing and drilling all accompanied by loud pop radio... Not really conducive to the work I was planning to get done this week. After trying to struggle to think all morning I've given in and have settled down with a cuppa to write out the recipe I promised instead. 

Chocolate and Peanut butter layer cake

This is a cake of three parts... The chocolate sponge, peanut butter frosting and chocolate ganache. I have adapted a chocolate cake recipe from one in Nigella Lawson's book Nigella Bites, mostly because it is so easy and despite the large quantity of sugar it doesn't actually taste too sweet, which is what you need. Of course you can substitute your own favourite chocolate cake recipe and make more than two layers (next time I'm planning three)... But this is what I used. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients as it really is easy.

Chocolate sponge

400g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

250g golden caster sugar

100g caster sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

150ml creme fraiche

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

175g unsalted butter, melted

125ml vegetable oil

300 ml water

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C (350 deg F, Gas 4) and grease and line two 20 cm sandwich tins. Combine all the dry ingredients by sifting them into a large bowl. In a large jug whisk together the eggs, creme fraiche and vanilla. In another large bowl, or the bowl of a free standing mixer, whisk together the butter, oil and water. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and oil mixture  and whisk in well, finally adding the egg mixture and whisking again until everything is well combined. Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake for 50 to 55 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 10 mins and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut butter frosting

110g unsalted butter, softened

250g smooth peanut butter

250g icing sugar, sifted

2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat together the butter and peanut butter until well combined. Gradually beat in the sugar with the milk and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Set aside a small amount of the frosting to use as decoration and then use the rest to sandwich the cakes together and to cover the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Ganache

70g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) broken into pieces

30g unsalted butter

25 ml double cream

Combine all three ingredients in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted and combined. Stir well until smooth and glossy and set aside to cool. Meanwhile put the cake in the fridge to allow the frosting to chill a little. When the ganache has started to thicken, remove the cake from the fridge and pour the ganache into the centre of the cake allowing it to cover the top and drip down the sides. Allow the ganache to set ( you can pop the cake back in the fridge) and then use the reserved frosting to decorate the top, along with some Reese's Pieces peanut butter cups cut in half.

Then all that is left is to eat it... And enjoy. I'm not even going to mention calories.

Well, they have now finished in our kitchen for today... And this is the current state of play. Our fitter is still saying he will be finished by early next week! I'm not convinced and I'm getting baking withdrawal symptoms!

Luckily there is plenty to take our mind off things as the curtain goes up on our play this week. Last night we had a photo call for the local press. Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once... yes, the red head is me!

The Year in Books :: August

It actually took me all of July to read my book choice for The Year in Books last month but I enjoyed and savoured this wonderful biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrara. Her extraordinary life makes for fascinating reading and I also enjoyed learning more about her paintings and why she painted them. I finished the book in the last week of July and we watched the film Frida at the weekend, which I also thoroughly enjoyed.

 

 

My book choice for August, recommended by my friend Anne is another crime drama but not your usual run of the mill murder mystery

 

The death of Lucy Kyte by Nicola Upson is set in the 1930s and tells the story of crime writer Josephine Tey recreated as a fictional character, who inherits Red Barn cottage from her godmother Hester, a well known actress. The cottage is close to the site of the notorious 19th century murder of Maria Marten, which was an actual event. Hester had been fascinated by the life of Maria and frequently played her on stage. I admit that I am already half way through this book and the tension is building as the secrets of the cottage and Hester's life and death are unravelled. I think my favourite type of story is one that weaves a fictional tale around real life events.

 

I suppose that the book holds a particular fascination as many years ago I also played the part of Maria Marten when our drama group put on a Victorian melodrama as part of an Old Time Music Hall.

 

We played "The Murder in the Red Barn" very tongue in cheek and I'm not sure at the time I was even aware that it was based on a true story.

But now that I've done some research into the original story of the murder it has brought me right back to my childhood. From about age 5 until I was 9 or 10 we lived in Bury St. Edmunds, where the murderer William Corder was tried and hanged. And suddenly I have clear memories of playground games involving murders in barns and ghosts etc. that had been long forgotten. Isn't it strange how things come around

 

Joining in with The Year in Books with Laura at Circle of Pine Trees.

What are you reading this summer?