One of my favourite poems begins with: WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?— (W. H. Davies, ‘Leisure’)

And yet sometimes when life is hurtling along and then you hit a sudden moment of calm and stop, it’s actually quite disconcerting. So, a couple of oddly empty days at home with just the cold, a heap of work and a doglet for company and I’m looking forward to rest of the week which has a few more interesting events lined up… starting tomorrow, with a Lebanese/Arabic-themed food evening.

My contribution to this is supposed to be in the shape of Turkish Delight – something I have never successfully mastered. However, with marshmallows, sugar glass, fudge, chocolate and a few other sweet concoctions under my belt these days I felt ready to try again. Plus, I have been dying to find an excuse to buy rose water from Waitrose! My first attempt this afternoon was more successful than the last but I halved the recipe – partly through lack of sugar, and partly thinking that if the first attempt went wrong I wouldn’t waste much. Ironically, the fact that I used such a small quantity of ingredients meant that it burned slightly as it cooked (and you’re not supposed to stir it either, so I couldn’t avoid this) and the result doesn’t look very appealing. So I’m waiting until post-supermarket-shop later when I can try again, this time with a larger quantity.

It seems that there are two main ways of making Turkish Delight out there – I’m just using the simpler method for now, from here. However, I’m not convinced the way it will set – my problem is partly that I never use a sugar thermometer. Not sure why, I’ve just never managed to part with the money and my success so far has spurred me on to use my intuition. Perhaps I have met my limit? Well, a much more time-consuming recipe (with some rather hilarious pictures) that I found here looks worth a try sometime.

A few other snippets from being at home includes the lovely food cooked by my mother, which always looks so appetisingly presented. Pan Haggety and poached egg, one of my favourite comforting combinations.

And as you may know, most of my entertainment comes from mucking about with the dog! Here is a cute picture which I just couldn’t resist sharing.

Another nice thing about being home is being reunited with the creative spirit which seems to creep into every part of our lives here. I’ve been wanting to share this picture for ages – my brother constructed this fantastic two-string double bass out of an old wooden box, a piece of moulding and some strimmer wire…

I have even found myself doodling and doing a little painting, inspired by a friend telling me they had attended the Warwick Art Society’s life drawing class – I’m tempted to join, just to have a bit more of a creative outlet. I’m very excited about next term, when I start my practical art module…

So for now Truffle and me are waiting for something interesting to happen. It’s good to have some time to get essays, reading and homework done. But it’s just not quite the same as having fun.

♪ ♫ ♪ Wilco – Please be patient with me ♪ ♫ ♪

♪ ♫ ♪ Citizen Cope – Sideways ♪ ♫ ♪