How boring life would be….

...without the occasional power-cut to force us to use our imaginations! 

If any of the original readers of this blog are still out there, you may recall mention of a certain friend from the olden days, Miss Brittney, with whom I first ventured to Malawi.  In the months since I last posted, mysterious twists of fate have decided that her life’s journey should also bring her to Mzuzu in this fine year!  This crazy reunion has already brought about many memorable moments, one of which I would like to share with you now.

Last Tuesday was Miss Brit’s birthday, and after a lovely lakeshore weekend 

(where nothing at all surprising or unusual happened... ;), we decided to celebrate her actual birth-day with a quiet night at mine with a couple of friends and some home-made pizzas. 

Tuesday afternoon I rushed home from work, and with the help of my kitchen assistant (hehehe), got to work heating sauce, kneading dough, and chopping toppings.  A couple of hours late the table was laid with an array of exciting yummies, including roasted vegetables, carmelized onion, chicken, mozzarella, feta, basil, and chili sausage (yum!)

While I rolled out the dough for pizza number one, someone cracked open the wine, and …. The power cut.

Oh dear.

Hmm…

Well…  at least we have Salticrax… 

These delights have recently arrived in Mzuzu, and have revolutionised my snack time!  Although I do miss the satisfaction of baking my own crackers on Saturday afternoons.

What began as a simple cheese-and-crackers affair, quickly became much more complex, as the power cut persisted through the evenings celebrations.  Here is the result:

Who needs pizza?  Salticrax to the rescue!

Basil, roasted tomato and mozzarella Salticrax

Chili sausage, roasted veg and mozzarella Salticrax

caramelised onion, roasted chicken, basil, tomato and feta Salticrax

(Pretty sure I should be copyrighting these to sell to Salticrax actually….  Think I could get myself a lifetime supply?  Yum!)

This is dedicated to this crazy world....

Recently, (and by recently, I mean in the last ten minutes….) I have been inspired by a range of influences, who have reminded me of the joys of… writing!  

These include:

http://lunafinula.com 

http://indieberries.blogspot.com and her awesome new sponsors

Caitlin Moran and her new book 'Moranthology'

Dr. Suess

and Salticrax salted crackers.

Also, the entire crazy population of Mzuzu town.

It has been so long since I posted anything on here, god only knows if anyone actually still reads it.  But perhaps this is for the best.  Writing is, and I believe should be, something that is done for myself.  Perhaps that is selfish of me, but it is something that I enjoy. Something that flows naturally when the time is right.  Once there is an expectation of output, and knowledge that people will be reading my ramblings, a sort of self-consciousness seems to seep in.  And with that feeling comes hesitation, awkwardness, and dishonesty. 

But the above people have reminded me why I love writing, and, well, does it matter whether you like it or not? 

So I may be back more consistently from now on…  or maybe not! 

On this lovely lazy Saturday morning, I would like to thank Caitlin Moran and her new book ‘Moranthology’ for bringing me this quote, and reminding me to watch out for all the giggle-worthy things that occur in a day, and then to share them.

“This book is a collection of how brilliant the world often is….However many terrible, rankling, peeve-inducing things may occur, there are always libraries.  And rain-falling-on-sea.  And the Moon. And love. There is always something to look back on, with satisfaction, or forward to, with joy. There is always a moment where you boggle at the world – at yourself – at the whole, unlikely, precarious business of being alive – and then start laughing.”

(This quote is followed by a typical, hilariously self-depreciating Moran style paragraph, but you will just have to go out and buy the book in order to enjoy that bit!)

So begins the next chapter in this blog.  I can promise nothing, except that it will be terribly inconsistent, and range wildly between anger and frustration at the state of this crazy world, and wonder at the beauty of earth and its creatures. 

Enjoy! 

Or not… whatever….  :)

(Also, as I read through this, I realized the horrific number of connectives I use to start sentences in my own writing.  After just delivering a lesson on NOT using ‘and’ or ‘but’ to begin a sentence, the hypocrisy of my life is almost too much to bear!  Ah well…  I have graduated from primary school….  I reserve the right to use terrible grammar all I like!   And also, to never, ever use cursive writing! Or edit my work! Yay for being an adult! )