F is for Family Meals - Spaghetti Bolognese

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I’ve been asked by Kelly of Almost Frugal to post one of my favourite recipes here as part of her "F is for..." series so here goes.


Just about everybody I know loves spag bol so when the family gather for dinner, I always find this is a good bet to serve. From the very young to those who are getting on a bit, they’ll all eat it.

Now as some of you already know, I don’t like tomatoes so in order to not have to put myself through the ordeal of picking out big bits, I had to devise a Bolognese sauce that didn’t actually have any tomatoes in it but still tasted the way it ought to. This is what I came up with and as I’ve yet to have any complaints, I’m guessing it really is as tasty as I think it is.

Sharon’s Tomato-less Bolognese Sauce

Serves 6

750 g minced beef
A couple of tbsps olive oil
2 large onions, chopped or sliced
1 ½ small or 1 large garlic bulb, crushed and chopped
1/3 red pepper, sliced or diced
1/3 green pepper, sliced or diced
10-12 closed cup mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, grated
1 stick celery (optional)
8 dl beef stock
6 tbsps tomato puree
1 ½ dl red wine
1 heaped tbsp dry oregano (or 3 tbsps fresh)
½ tbsp dry basil (or 1 ½ tbsps fresh)
2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce

1. Gently fry the onions and garlic in a little olive oil over medium heat until the onions are clear then add the mince and carry on frying until it’s brown and crumbly.
   
   
2. Add the beef stock, tomato puree and red wine, stir it all up then add the peppers, mushrooms, grated carrot, oregano, basil and Worcestershire sauce.
   
   
3. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce had reduced and thickened.

I usually make a big batch and freeze some for a quick meal at other times. Thaw it overnight in the fridge (or, if you forget to take it out, use the microwave defrost setting or submerge the container of frozen sauce in hot water for a while) and then heat through until its piping hot. You may need to add a little extra liquid, but on the other hand, you may not - it depends how liquid the sauce was at the outset.

Sharon J

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Ebico - Cheap Pre-Payment Gas & Electricity

Image: FotoJunkie

Ok, maybe cheap will never be the right word for our energy supplies but Ebico offer it on pre-payment for the same price as billed gas and electric.

Apparently, pre-payment customers pay up to 3 times as much as others for the energy, even though most of those on pre-payment meters are on a low income and we all know that it’s really not fair. The government have asked energy suppliers to bring their pre-payment energy prices in line with the rest making energy more affordable to all. Most, however, have done little or nothing to improve the situation.

Ebico is a not-for-profit organisation set up initially to provide cheaper energy to those on a low income but they’re now open to all.

I haven’t switched yet myself but am told by somebody who has that he made a substantial saving by changing.

I’m on a pre-payment meter myself. I prefer it that way because there are no surprise bills, but now that most companies offer online meter reading (I haven‘t actually seen this in action but I‘ve been told about it), the surprises shouldn’t be as bad. Also, having to go outside in the wind and rain in order to put money into the meter isn’t much fun to start with but the fact that mine’s right down doesn’t help.

Because of my dodgy legs, getting down to it and getting up again is fraught with risk. If I fell and broke my hip I’d really be up the proverbial creek (I have osteoporosis). At the moment either Richard or my daughter put it on for me, but once my daughter moves out I’ll be even more dependant on Richard having to come over to put the emergency on. That also goes for the electricity because although I can reach that ok myself (it’s higher up the wall), if I happen to be hooked up to my feeding pump at the time, I’d risk losing my entire feed regime for anything up to a fortnight and at a cost of £120 a day to the taxpayer, that just isn’t witty. Not to mention the hassle of getting emergency feed to me while my new feed is being compounded.

So what do I do?

Just two days ago I decided that I’d take the £100 out of my kitchen fund and use it as a deposit instead. That way I’d be left with more to save in the kitchen fund each month (or to pay off credit card debt with) so it seemed the sensible thing to do. Then yesterday I heard about Ebico and all that changed. I’ve decided now to switch to Ebico but stay on pre-payment for the time being while I save up the necessary deposit to switch to quarterly billed metering.

My present energy supplier wants £100 deposit (bad credit history since getting into a two and eight over my credit card spending) as have several others I’ve contacted. I’m assuming Ebico are the same. That’s understandable I guess - so many people just do a runner when the bills get too uncomfortable - but not everybody can just dip into their pockets and pull out a hundred quid. These things need to be budgeted for. But the catch 22, of course, is that in the meantime those who don’t have any disposable savings are paying far more than need be for their energy leaving less each month to save.

I’m just glad I heard about Ebico before I made the switch.

Sharon J

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When It Comes To Organic Food, I’m In A Bit Of A Quandary

Image: Kaptein Kobold

I’ve been thinking about organic food versus non-organic for a while now and although I’m still convinced that organic food has to be better for our health, I'm not so sure about the environmental side of things because, while there seemed to be no doubt that spraying the countryside with pesticides is damaging animal habitats and upsetting the balance of things, the fact that it’s a less efficient means of farming than the conventional non-organic way is worrying me. We have a growing population in this world that needs feeding so surely we need to be looking at ways that will increase food yields rather than reducing them?

Because organic farming is less productive, organic food naturally costs more. The farmer still has to make his living, after all. Now that increase in price is all very well and good for the middle-classes with a reasonable disposable income and those of us who are naturally frugally minded but what about those who are at the poorer end of the scale and who aren’t frugal in the same way? Those who don’t understand how to cut costs elsewhere in order to be able to afford the best possible quality of food? And not everybody can grow their own, either. Some live in flats without so much as a balcony, others may simply be physically incapable of growing much other than few herbs and salad leaves. These people still need to eat a good, balanced diet that’s affordable. Not to mention the starving millions who’d be ecstatic to have a diet that comes anywhere close to the one we generally enjoy.

Here in the UK, our children are suffering from obesity. The government have warned parents about the dangers of the fats and sugars that kids are being fed with (microwave meals being a HUGE culprit), but if the price of fresh fruit and vegetables continues to rise and production continues to decrease, the obesity situation isn’t going to get any better. I personally know families who honestly believe they can’t afford to give their children 5-a-day already, let alone buy organic pasta, rice, bread, milk, meat, fish and use organic herbs and spices, and although I could easily re-budget for them, making it possible to at least ensure 5-a-day of organic fruit and veg, being on a low income myself I know it isn’t possible to buy everything in its organic version and still have money to save for other essentials and a rainy day fund. Choices have to be made, and if the organic lobby get their way, those choices will surely become increasingly unavailable?

Of course, one answer is to stop all production of animal food products. No more beef, pork, lamb or poultry. No more eggs or milk. We all know that isn’t going to happen, though. Even though I’ve cut back on the amount of red meat we eat - especially beef as cattle are a big environmental problem - the hardened carnivores amongst us (of which I have to hold up my hand and admit that I am one) are never going to just sit back and quietly accept that.

While we’re on the subject of meat, this is the one area where I do believe organic really is best. While I’m still on the fence regarding the environmental consequences of organic crop farming - the pesticides that leech into the environment versus the growing need for food - when it comes to livestock, only the best possible methods of raising them is, in my opinion, acceptable. That means no stuffing them full of anti-biotics or keeping them in conditions that restrict movement and their ability to act naturally. Unlike fruit, vegetables, corn and the likes, animals have feelings and should never be raised or slaughtered under inhumane conditions just so that we can stuff our faces. We carnivores will just have to put up with a little less meat and fewer eggs, it’s as simple as that. We CAN get our protein elsewhere and if I can accept that I can’t have an egg for breakfast every day and I have to make my meat go further by adding more veg and cereal to stews, casseroles, meatballs and what have you, then so can others. Making do with less isn’t such a hardship and it beats having to give it up entirely.

Anyway, what do you think? Apart from the health benefits of eating organic food, should we keep focusing on organic food production for the sake of the environment or not?

Sharon J

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When Things Go Bad - The Importance Of An Emergency Fund

Image: drp

I have an eleven year relationship behind me that was great to start with but gradually went bad. Really bad. I was scared of the man - scared of what he’d do to me, my children, my pets… everything. He was very unbalanced and prone to lose his temper for the least thing, often something totally irrational and unexpected, and was really not a nice person to be around when that happened.

I knew I had to get out of the relationship but I had no idea how I’d do it. I had no money, nowhere to go, and no local support network. It took me several years to pluck up the courage to walk away, regardless of the threats that he’d kill us all if I did, and start afresh in another town with nothing to my name.

I managed to get some old furniture (and I don’t mean old as in antique but old as in ready for the tip!), a clapped out cooker, a fridge and other basic essentials. Home was far from cosy and comfy, but it was at least safe and that’s what mattered most. I went on benefits in order to survive and we muddled by.

Looking back, if I’d had a decent sized emergency fund, things would have been so much easier. I would have been able to get out earlier and been able to equip the house with decent essentials (I still wouldn’t have minded second-hand, but a little better than what I had - proper beds instead of mattresses on the floor, for example, a fridge that was cold enough and perhaps even a TV that didn’t switch itself off every half an hour) and most of all, I’d had the peace of mind in knowing that, if things got dangerous again, I could take the kids and leave there and then.

Unfortunately, I was still rather naïve when I met him and hadn’t built up an emergency fund. I also allowed myself to be suckered into having joint accounts. Never again.

By the time I met Richard I’d built up a reasonable emergency fund and that was just as well. When I became seriously ill, both Richard and I had to give up work and our income was slashed drastically. For a while we lived on some money that he had, then my emergency fund, then my credit cards. Now I’m once again in the position where I have no back-up funds, and a whole lot of debt. But I’ll get out of debt, and I’ll build up that emergency fund again. It’s important to me because no matter how well you think life’s treating you, things can so easily go bad. Nobody knows what’s around the corner.

Do you have an emergency fund? If you don’t, I really do suggest you start one. About 3 times your monthly income should be enough, although the more you have, the safer you are, obviously.

It may seem like a daunting prospect, but by saving a little each month, it will gradually build up and the peace of mind it brings with it makes the little sacrifices made so worthwhile.

Sharon J

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Are You A Sniffler?

Because my bowel can’t accept natural nutrients, my immune system is seriously compromised, which means that if I catch a common cold, it can take weeks, if not months, for me to shake it off. Some patients with my condition have even had to be hospitalised because of what most just think of as a bout of the sneezes. Anything more serious and… well, I’m sure you can imagine.

Because of this, I have to try to do other things that help boost the immune system and when I talk to people about that, I often realise that they don’t know much about this subject; our immune system is something we kind of take for granted.

As well as eating nutritious food, which of course includes getting your five-a-day of fruit and vegetables, reducing alcohol consumption, eating less sugar etc, there are other, non-nutrition based ways of boosting your immune system even further, helping ensure a long and healthy life.

1. Maintain a healthy weight. By keeping your weight at a healthy level the body’s cell development is better balanced and therefore better equipped to fight off infection. Yo-yo dieting, on the other hand, has the opposite effect; the more our weight fluctuates outside of healthy norms, the less likely it is to cope.

2. Make sure you get enough sleep. Even mild sleep deprivation has an adverse effect on the body’s immune system. When we’re tired, the body’s less able to cope with the fight against infections. Unfortunately, fatigue is one of the negative side-effects of the rat-race society we’ve developed, where people are working long hours, coming home to more work, caring for children, and so forth so slowing down and living a simpler lifestyle is definitely better us physically as well as psychologically.

3. Exercise. One of the main benefits of exercise - and we’re talking mild exercise here, not weight lifting or training for a marathon - is that it helps the body produce more bacteria attacking cells as well as helping those that already exist move more quickly around the body. For this to have any long-term effect though, it’s important that mild exercise (walking at least a mile, heavy housework, gardening, swimming etc) is kept up on a daily basis.

4. Don't smoke. I’m pretty much preaching to myself here, being as I was stupid enough to start smoking again after five years of going without, but just as exercise increases the number of bacteria fighting cells, smoking reduces them. Luckily, this is one of the things that change rapidly when we finally ditch the weed.

5. Avoid stress. I was told on leaving hospital that stress would basically knacker my already compromised immune system and several times that information has been proven correct. In fact, the two times that I’ve become seriously ill since developing my condition, stress has been the forerunner to the problems. I don’t know why stress does this, but I know it definitely does.


Unfortunately, my weight is largely determined by hospital doctors and out of my hands but I’ve certainly noticed that after losing more weight than was healthy for my height and build, I became more susceptible to infections. Thankfully, the doctor I have now has accepted that I was forced to lose too much weight and has given me a 70 kilo goal to reach. 5.5 kilos up so far, 17.5 to go!

Sleep can also be a bit of a problem as I’m often up at night to empty out the waste from the 2.5 litres of TPN that’s pumped straight into my blood stream. I’ve learned to sleep when I’m tired though, even if that means going to bed at 8pm or having a couple of hours kip in the afternoons.

Exercise can also be a bit iffy because of my PVD - my legs hurt far too much for any real kind of walking (100 yards and I’m struggling), cycling’s out of the question, and although I could swim, I can’t get in and out of the pool because of the weakness in my legs and the kind of ladder steps they have at our local bathes. I do try to push myself just that little bit extra when I do walk though, and doing the housework is good for me. And dancing has always been something I’ve enjoyed so I often put on some music and dance for as long as my legs and stamina will let me.

As for smoking….well, you know the score.

Unfortunately, even though I tell them how bad stress can be for me, a lot of people really don’t understand it. I suppose that’s natural because they only have their own reactions to stress to judge by but as a consequence, in order to maintain my own health, I’ve had to seriously cut back on the amount of time I spend around people who stress me. I don’t like it, I can’t deal with it, and I won’t compromise my health because of it.

Anyway, if you’re one of those people who seem to easily pick up infections, maybe one of the above could be part of your problem.

Sharon J

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Selfish Parking - Disabled Spaces Are For The DISABLED

Image: Alexio's Pics

I have a blue badge in my car. For those that are unfamiliar with the scheme, it’s a badge available for those who experience extreme discomfort when walking more than 100 yards or have other specific reasons for needing to be close to their car, giving us the right to park in specially allocated spaces and on yellow lines.

When I first received my badge I was really thrilled. At last I’d be able to park closer to the shops in town, enabling me to get about easier. Unfortunately it didn’t take long before I realised that it doesn’t always work that way.

The first thing I noticed was that there never appeared to be enough disabled parking spaces available. I’d often have to drive around town several times, spewing unnecessary carbon into the air, before I eventually either found one or gave up and went home. I couldn’t help wondering why so many taken. it’s the council’s job to issue the badges so it would stand to reason that they’d have a general idea of how many spaces would be needed. The answer, my friends, lies in the selfishness of the fit and healthy.

Time and time again I’ve been unable to use the disabled parking areas because of spaces being occupied by cars that weren’t displaying a blue badge. I’ve even seen perfectly fit people leap from cars that they’ve parked in disabled spaces and practically run into a shop, using the space as convenient parking rather than taking the trouble to walk a few hundred yards extra.

Not only are those people stopping those of us who can’t walk far from shopping comfortably, disabled spaces are generally wider than the average parking bay, making entering and exiting a vehicle far easier. I wonder whether they’ve ever tried getting out of car and into a wheelchair when there’s about a 12 inch (or less) gap between cars! Even getting crutches sorted out is pretty close to impossible without risking a scratch on the neighbouring car.

What’s more, there never seems to be a traffic warden around when the spaces are taken by non-badge holders. No, they’re always too busy at the main car-parks, looking for those who have parked for a few minutes longer than they’ve paid for!

Why oh why are there so many selfish drivers around? Are people really so lazy that they’d rather stop the disabled from going about their business in order to go about their own in as few steps as possible?

Sharon J

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Book Prize

No, I haven’t written a book for which I’ve won a prize - I’ve won a prize which is a book. And what a useful book it is too.

Jennifer of HomeMattersMost ran a competition a while ago where anybody who wanted to enter had to write about why their home matters most to them. I wrote mine but didn’t really expect to win; I’m one of those people who rarely wins anything. But low and behold, I won, and now I’m the proud owner of The Reader’s Digest Household Manual from 1978! And believe me, having already spent several hours pouring through it, this is one very useful book.

A lot may have changed since the book was printed but things are changing back and the knowledge in this book is valuable. There’s information on everything from decorating, installing kitchen units (I’m sure this will be useful when I’ve finally saved enough for my new kitchen) and laying a carpet to sewing, housework hints & tips and cooking. There’s information on how to use just about every vegetable common to the UK, freezing instructions, info about cuts of meat and how to use them and much, much more. The book also focuses on repairing or improving what you already have rather than buying new. What a treasure!

Thank you, Jennifer. And thank you too for the way you wrapped the book, complete with a pretty little sachet of lavender. Receiving it really made my day.

Sharon J

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Red Cabbage

Image: SwansonRut

I have to admit that I’m generally not a lover of cabbage, however, there is one exception and that’s red cabbage.

Red cabbage differs from all other types in that rather than being cooked quickly so that it doesn’t go limp and smelly and lose their flavour (remember those old school dinners?), the red variety can be cooked slowly and with it’s lovely sweet flavour makes a perfect accompaniment to all sorts of meats but is especially nice served alongside poultry and pork.

One of the really good things about red cabbage is that they last ages in the cupboard - longer than their white cousins - so although they’re a relatively large vegetable, especially for those who are living alone or as a couple, they’ll still get used up before they go off. Mine usually last for about 2 weeks in the cupboard although they do keep longer in the fridge but I’ve found the taste isn’t quite as good then.

Red cabbage has the highest vitamin C content of all cabbages and also contains more iron, potassium and calcium than any other type. It’s also low in calories - about 30 calories per 100g portion - and it contains plenty of fibre too. How can you go wrong?

Apart from shredded raw in salads, it’s probably best know when used in sauerkraut, or pickled red cabbage, but there are plenty of other ways of preparing it. It can be used in coleslaw, boiled plain, sautéed, braised or used in casseroles. In fact, when it comes to casseroles, it‘s the only cabbage worth using. And because, when prepared, they don't look like your typical cabbage, fussy children who say they don't like cabbage will often eat them anyway.

Thanks to their long growing season, British red cabbages are available throughout most of the year and are always a popular choice at Christmas (beat those disgusting Brussel sprouts, any day!) or as part of a winter side salad. Served as a warm side vegetable, it brings colour to the plate, something I always feel makes a meal look more appetizing.

If you’ve tried the white, pointy or savoy types and not liked them, don’t let that put you off. Red cabbages are different and unless you try one, you just won’t know whether you like it.


Quick Recipe: Red Cabbage & Apple

Half a large red cabbage, finely sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 large apple, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or malt vinegar if that’s all you have)
1 clove garlic, crushed and chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
A small handful of currants (optional)
Enough water to just about cover ingredients
Salt & pepper

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion. Sweat for about 5 minutes while stirring.

2. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes under a lid, stirring occasionally, or until most of the water has evaporated.

Can be served hot or cold and tastes delicious. It can also be made beforehand and chilled or frozen, which is always handy, then reheated by adding a little water to the pan and simmering for about 15 minutes.

Sharon J

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Supermarket Comparison

Image: Dominic's Pics

I recently found a site called MySupermarket and although it’s designed for those who do their shopping online, it’s also really handy for those wanting to compare prices between Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose (or Ocado, as the latter’s online shopping site is called).

I recently put my grocery list in, using Asda as my guide (because I knew they had a few things that I couldn’t get elsewhere) and would you believe that I saved the following:

Compared to:

Tesco - £9.42
Sainsbury’s - £12.27
Waitrose - £18.10

Now I realise that some of the products are no doubt better quality at Waitrose but having tried and tested everything on my list earlier, I knew I wouldn’t be getting ‘rubbish’ either. And quite honestly, the difference in quality just isn’t worth £18.10 to me, especially as my bill only came to £40.70 so not a HUGE shop really. I mean, at Waitrose I would have paid almost half of my bill again for more or less the same products (lots of fruit & veg, much of which is organic, a few tinned bits and pieces, some meat and dry cupboard stuff).

As much as I hate supermarkets and what they've done to the local economy, sometimes I just can’t do the many stores jaunt and will therefore definitely be using the site before I either head for the cavernous hole of capitalism or book my online shopping because you know what they say about a penny saved. I wonder what they’d say about eighteen quid saved? Or even just under a tenner?

Sharon J

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More Heat in Winter for Just 50p a Year?

With the dark evenings starting to draw in now and Autumn in the air, I've started thinking about getting my house ready for winter. One product I've recently stumbled across is a Radiator Booster. It seems to me like a really clever, eco-friendly product, and as such I just had to let you all know about it.

Apparently it’s a ‘Dragon’s Den’ product that’s designed to circulate warm air from water fired rads making them up to 50% more efficient whilst also reducing warm up times. It plugs into the mains but is said to cost an average of just 50p a year to run, which is dead cheap. Ok, so you have an initial outlay of £14.99 per booster but if it helps heat up your home more efficiently, it'll not only pay for itself relatively quickly but by eliminating cold spots, which it supposedly does, it'll help make life more comfortable too. If it works, I'm all for it.

It works by blasting warm air that would usually disappear into walls out of the sides of the rads instead. Sounds excellent, don’t ya fink?

It just sits on top of your rads, doing it’s thing and is such a simple idea that you can only wonder why nobody ever thought of it before. But you know how it is, the simple ideas are usually the best.

I haven’t bought one yet but I’ll definitely be ordering one this month before the cold really starts to set in again. If it works as well as it I'm hoping it will, I'll get more.

Sharon J

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Arrogance, Aggression and Accusation

Image: Zohar Manor-Abel

My recent visit to East London has left me astounded and appalled by the lack of tolerance amongst so many of the locals. Never in my life have I encountered so many arrogant, aggressive and accusatory people before.

Now I consider myself to be reasonably tolerant of others and will generally try to excuse a certain degree of bad behaviour - maybe the person was having a really bad day; perhaps they’ve just received bad news; it’s possible they don’t feel too well; or maybe… well… y’know… there could be all sorts of reasons why somebody ‘bites’ for no reason. East London, though, seemed to be teeming with people who were deliberately looking for an argument, and that’s something I really can’t excuse.

Now this particular area of London, for those who don’t know it, is a melting pot of cultures so it’s very easy to blame ‘the immigrants’ for the problems. I’ve mentioned it to a few friends who have blamed it on ‘the Asians’ or ‘the Muslims’ and as soon as I’ve said that a large percentage of the people my daughter and I had problems with were white they’ve jumped in with “ah yes, the Eastern Europeans”. But no, I’m talking about LONDONERS here.

Those we encountered that clearly had an attitude problem were, for the most part, either white females in their late twenties/early thirties with a clear East London accent or black women of Caribbean decent, the latter belonging to an immigrant group that have been in the area for a long time and who I’m sure would consider themselves Londoners.

We had women screaming from their car windows at us because LM, being a stranger to the area, wasn’t changing lanes quick enough, one of which started to follow us whilst making lewd hand signals, women snatching clothes from rails right in front of us and pretty much pushing me out of the way in shops, a veterinary nurse who gave me the filthiest look because my Dad’s dog had never been to a vet before (even though I’d explained that he’s NOT my dog and that I disagreed with the way Dad had treated him), a woman with a pushchair and half a dozen kids asking in a sarcastic tone whether I was some kind of cripple because I obviously wasn’t walking quick enough for her, and a woman who rolled down her car window at the petrol garage and suggested to her children that they all clap at “the clever lady’s parking skills” because she had difficulty getting her ruddy great 4x4 past LM’s tiny Vauxhall Corsa, even though she couldn’t have got much closer to the petrol pump.

What on earth is wrong with people?

I can only put it down to having to live in a fast area of the city where traffic jams are abundant, there’s no escape from noise, and queues in shops so long that you need a whole morning just to buy in your groceries. Needing everything done NOW and QUICKLY must become so engrained in them that anything that holds them up in the slightest is likely to tip them over.

Living simply must be incredibly difficult there.

I’d rather spend my life watching a spot develop on my knee than live in East London again.

Sharon J

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48

Image: robokow

Today is my birthday. I’m 48. That’s just a number though, a number that says nothing more about me than how many years have passed since I arrived in this world. Most of the time I don’t think about how old I am.

To be honest, apart from the fact that my body doesn’t function as well anymore, I don’t feel much different now than I did twenty or even thirty years ago. Obviously, I have more life experience but the essence of who I am is still the same. I don’t even feel that ‘grown up’; there are people younger than me who I look at think “wow… they’re so mature”. Perhaps they feel the same way about me - maybe we just don’t see ourselves in the same way others see us.

How about you? Do you feel you’ve changed during the past ten years or so? Twenty years? I guess the answer largely depends on how old you are now. Certainly, the older I’ve become, the less I feel I've changed. I suppose I must have, though.

I’m not sure what I’ll do today. Probably nothing. There’s luxury in nothingness :)

Sharon J xx

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