I live in Ballarat. It’s a beautiful historical town in Victoria best known for Sovereign Hill, the multi-award winning outdoor museum depicting life during the 1850s gold rush era. And no, I don’t work there.
If you’re wondering about the diverse range of topics here, it’s because I couldn’t decide which I liked most, and at least I left out a few others (crosswords, movies, dancing, travel) otherwise this website would be a real mish-mash.
I love reading – always have. Growing up as an only child I needed something to fill my days, and books gave me something to do. I’ll never be bored with a book in hand, although I have read some very boring books. Given how many great books are out there, I am now training myself to stop reading if it doesn’t capture my interest in the first few pages.
I love food. Or, more accurately, I love recipes. I’m an avid collector and have so many pages torn from magazines, or copied from cookbooks, that even if I cooked three recipes a day for the rest of my life I’d never get through them. Typically, I find a few recipes I like and cook them over and over.
I like cooking, but am not a confident cook – I don’t have the intuition to just mix things together, nor the palate to taste individual ingredients in a dish, but I enjoy the process of following a recipe, and trying something new.
I follow a Paleo diet, as I have found it suits me. But when there’s cheesecake on offer, the Paleo goes out the window. I have no discipline when it comes to nuts, especially cashews.
I love going out for a meal with friends, and eating things I wouldn’t make at home. It’s fun to try out new cafes or restaurants, but there’s usually a quick way to decide whether I want to return – is there more than one item on the menu I want to eat, is it quiet and restful, and are the staff prompt and friendly. Not many places, unfortunately, make my cut.