Unplugging: 5 things 13.2.2017

1. Life without a phone really sucks. I’m not good at unplugging. Especially not in the middle of an Instagram challenge. Fortunately I wasn’t without a phone very long last week, but it was enough to throw me severely off. Having my hard drive die a complete and total death, on the other hand, was kind of a relief. My computer is still basically working, after all, I just can’t access that drive; but I have backups (in theory, I haven’t checked them yet), so, all is well-ish. And, y’know, it’s an actual diagnosis. Real progress from the frustratingly vague Issues I’ve been dealing with as it was in the process of dying. (Of course if the new drive is installed and weird vague Issues continue… that will be properly stressful.)

2. I impulsively did a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle last week. And having completed it, despite the children’s best efforts, with only one piece lost – and having greatly enjoyed it – I seem to have started another one. It’s satisfying me strangely. Something to do with having a mental challenge that’s completely and utterly pointless and self-indulgent. Fun!

3. Took the kids up Felsenegg yesterday (the nearest cable-car to Zurich – not very high, but a beautiful outing none the less) and was surprised to find just how snowy it still was up there. I was specifically looking for snow (for photo shoot reasons) and yet I wasn’t prepared for the cold. Or the ice. Taking two small, rather hyper children on a narrow, icy path that falls away steeply on both sides? A bit stressful. But it was so gorgeous.

1. On Saturday I left the kids with Armin and went to a cheap, English-language Inkscape workshop. Although geared towards techies hoping to create informational posters, slides etc, it was an opportunity too good to pass up – I’ve used both Inkscape and Affinity Designer, but I find them very hard to learn and always wished for someone to talk me through things, so I wouldn’t get stuck so much. And it was great. I was (as expected) totally out of place among the coders, and I had a splitting headache that made me even slower on the uptake than usual, but it was still great. Now to make time to practise what I’ve learned.

2. As it happens, I’m about ready to take a little break from designing. My last Lost in the Woods pattern is almost ready for release, and what with one thing and another, I’m feeling a bit burned out. It certainly won’t be forever – I am still full of ideas – but when all I really want to knit is hexipuffs, well, apparently I need a break. Luckily, I can take one. I wonder how long it will last?

Nos 6 & 7 of #52recipes: “Modern Greek salad with spinach and chickpea parcels” from Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals. Honestly, Jamie, does a Greek salad have to be “modern”? It was all very tasty though. I made a pie instead of the parcels – following the super-easy method from Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals, because Migros doesn’t seem to know about phyllo, but has plenty of puff pastry. And on the same day I baked Smitten Kitchen’s browniest cookies, which were predictably delicious, although I screwed up the quantities somehow (perils of baking with kids) so the dough was far too runny and the cookies came out far too flat and thin. But very, very tasty.

So that’s TWO recipes down in a week where I wasn’t sure I’d manage one. Go me, and since I’m doing so well I’m not even tempted to count the salad and pie/parcels as two separate recipes, which they basically are.