A little bit about me
I'm Jan and I live in Cornwall with my husband and 3 dogs. I have a very elderly gentle Bichon who is plodding along, despite being almost blind and deaf, bless her. I also have 2 Poms, mother and son, who are adorable fluffballs and a whirl of energy and love.
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We have 5 grown up children between us and 2 grand-daughters who also live in the County. It's lovely to be a nanny, but my goodness it makes me feel terribly old!
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We returned to Cornwall shortly before the first lockdown after several years in Southampton. Aside from our small family group I haven't had a chance to get to know anyone in our town yet.
I've always loved to cook and my kitchen is my haven - in a very mis-matched, thrown together from car boot and auction finds kind of way. It's very me and at present is still a work in progress. The original kitchen was tiny and has become the futility room and kennel. Our eldest grand-daughter can't understand why we have 2 kitchens, so we've told her it's for the maid (snort). My new kitchen is coming together and is just about there - though it desperately needs painting, and I need to make the tiles (I'm printing them myself - just have to get around to doing it).
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I'm an aging rock chick with a sarcastic sense of humour. I love to binge on box sets. I have my TV faves; Bake Off, Pottery Throw Down, Sewing Bee, Portrait Artist and anything else of a crafty ilk.
I can't function in the morning without my freshly ground black coffee - it's my life force. I am so not a morning person. I can be exhausted all day and bing to life late evening, often staying up until it's getting light.
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I'm a creative soul and always have to be making something - I find it impossible to sit still. My hobbies go through phases which can last weeks, months or years. My craft room is rather full of sewing machines and fabric, art kit and jewellery findings and yarn, lots of yarn ..... I'm currently enjoying a lengthy sojourn into crochet. I may be disappearing under a mountain of blankets soon.
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I've been a bookworm of the highest order since a young child. I devour books. In the last few years I've started listening to audio books rather than reading. It frees up so much time! I now listen whilst walking the dogs, cooking and crocheting, even whilst cleaning the house. I've only recently discovered it's possible to borrow free audio books from the library - via phone app, what a game changer!
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I do get out of the house! I love to walk and go out daily with the dogs. I'm struggling in Cornwall due to the hills - my hip and knee can't cope. I have Psoriatic Arthritis and go through phases of flare ups that limit my mobility. In 2019 I walked/ran 3800 miles in the year, covering a minimum of 10 miles each and every day (it was my year of getting super fit and I felt fantastic). I'm currently limited to a brisk stroll with the dogs of about 3 miles a day and drag myself home if there's any hills involved.
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I've become Vegan this year almost by accident. I was eating very little meat anyway and when I saw the Veganuary group on Facebook I thought I'd give it a go - more to focus on my need to cut out dairy rather than meat.
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I've found being vegan far easier than I thought it would be and have no intention of returning to my previous diet. I have no wish to eat meat again whatsoever and haven't missed it at all.
The real struggle for me has been having to be gluten free too. It really does make shopping a nightmare as I spend so much time checking labels. I do prefer cooking from scratch but sometimes it's nice to have a bit of help from the ready made aisle. Yes, there's a lot of vegan products for sale but sadly an awful lot of them contain gluten. I'm getting the hang of it though - and gradually extending my repertoire of culinary delights.
Why not join me as I explore new recipes and test existing ones. Always happy to receive tips and hints from others.
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