Friday 10 February 2012

Choices, decisions!


 
This week not so much of a museing but a rant, a highly recommended pattern to knit, and a nice blog to check out,  and something vegans eat!  Podcast suggestion with a podcast that has something for all tastes.

Ahead of the game for once

Well for once I have been ahead of the game in the fashion stakes.  Apparently grey hair is not only acceptable, but de rigeur in some circles! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2096546/Madrid-Fashion-Week-Models-step-catwalk-grey-hair-Maria-Barros-show.html?ITO=1490
I don’t care that this is a Daily Mail link either!  I am shameless today!
Colour/racial prejudice is quite rightly totally unacceptable but there are many other prejudices still practised and not frowned upon.  Apparently it is OK to taunt people with red hair and call them names like “Ginger Nut”, obese people are fair game to some unthinking idiots too.  The myth that goes with overweight is that the person who is obese is lazy.  Well we all know someone who is overweight and not lazy.  Vegans and vegetarians get singled out for the treatment too.  Eating out is not such a delight when the only choice afforded is the anonymous “vegetarian option”, very often the restaurant doesn’t even bother to elaborate upon that until the waiter disdainfully advises what that option is.  Betting folk know the odds are ten to one on it being pasta based, eight to one on the omelette.
Back to grey hair, it does actually have some advantages, I have noticed a marked difference in that more  drivers stop more readily at zebra crossings for me to go across, than when I had my hair dyed whatever colour took my fancy that week.  But now I wonder if I should be in favour of this sort of positive discrimination...... However,  on the footpath it is still women with pushchairs that rule the territory.  I am more than happy to give way to them, but would appreciate a smile in return rather than a continuation of the fixed glare that says “move because I am coming”  
Its time these prejudices were left were they belong, back in previous centuries.  I hope this doesn’t sound a paranoic rant, but I have been “teased” for being fat, speaking with a Birmingham accent,being short of stature etc etc. (By now you will have recognised Mother Nature was having an off day when I was produced)  And for “teased” which is how the perpetrator describes it to make it more acceptable, read “bullied”, “intimidated”.
I don’t want to be treated differently because I am old/fat/grey/short/vegan.  I want to be treated with the same respect that I afford others.  Am I being naieve? Optimistic perhaps?  Well I think it will happen one day.  And on that note, did you just see the pink pig fly by?

1_On the needles
On the needles, this week I have started a shawl in Rowan Kidsilk Haze, I have started a couple of projects and decided I did not like knitting them because the result was disappointing.  I then tried knitting on smaller needles than the patterns recommended and liked it a whole lot more.  At the moment I am concentrating on Kiri by Polly Outhwaite, 2087 projects for this on Ravelry, and I am not surprised.  It is well written, charted for those who prefer, or longhand for those who don’t like charts.  It is free and details on Ravelry are here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/kiri.  It was written as an alternative to Sharon Miller’s Birch which too is hugely popular, but having started both, I prefer the Kiri as due to its construction one can determine the size better, whereas the Birch starts at the neck and the size is determined at the outset.
 
2) Seen this blog?
During the week I visited a blog I found delightful and decided to share it http://the-greenwood.blogspot.com/.  Pop over there and have a look.

3) Choices, choices, or even Choice Choice!
Another answer to “what do you eat then?”  is  “if I want little preparation, something quick, something hot, something tasty, then stir fry fits the bill”.

Two choices are then afforded, 1) the easy way and 2) the not so easy way.
First the easy way:
Fortunately the supermarkets are vying with each other for the stir fry market at the moment!  I know it sounds unlikely doesn’t it!  But for around £3 one can get all the veggies, noodles and pour over sauce.  And what does one need to do to create this culinary experience?  Step 1) open packets, step 2) heat a little oil in the wok/pan, step 3) hurl in the contents of the bags and stir around for a couple of mins and then 4)add the sauce and stir well.  And before you can utter the words “take away”, there is a filling tasty meal.
Second the not so easy way:  Choose what veggies are to be used and peel and slice them to bit size.  Suggestions are: sweet peppers, carrot, sweetcorn, mushroom, cabbage, onions, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, ooooh the list is endless, just decide on combination that seems tasty.  And then once the veggies are prepared, the steps 2 to 4 above apply.

4) Podcast ….. 
For potted biographies of a wide variety of people its worth checking out http://www.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/freeodnb/pod/  Each episode is no frills factual presentation of the chosen subject.  When going to the link scroll down to a list of those whose biography has been done, quite a surprising mix I thought, and ideal listening for a commuting jourmey where the listener doesn’t want to embarrass themselves whilst listening, which can be the case for The News Quiz and Wait Wait Don’t tell Me!

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