Nice People Thread Part 9 - and so it continues

Doozergirl

PasturesNew wrote: »

Little French Kitchen woman .... I remember LIR saying that anybody can cook in a small space and that Rachel Khoo shows how easy it is .... well, I tried to find out how big her kitchen is and couldn't. I always thought the filming was "sleight of camera".

I've now found out - it's "226-square foot" according to many websites.

Now .... let's face it - that's huge. in fact, it's bigger than most of the studios I've lived in.

So, "small kitchen" just really means "not a 100' square commercial kitchen"

226' is 22'x10', or 15'x15' - palatial!

When I say I have a small kitchen I mean more like 30-40-50 square feet.

226 square feet is the size of her whole apartment! Kitchen, bathroom and living/bed room. Her kitchen really is that tiny.

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

Most people would just take it down the tip as you can't build bonfires in many places.

We'd broken it up to feed into a garden incinerator, which must be reasonably commonly used, they are sold in the big sheds. We'd broken it up to feed into the burner because of the rain, The rain still beat us. Now its going to turn into pulpy wood chip. . We've done the best we can putting a tarp over it and might try again if the rain passes of, and we'll buy the Sunday times as recommended by silver car which will give us plenty of material to light with, if we ever get ready's to go out.

lostinrates

Doozergirl wrote: »

226 square feet is the size of her whole apartment! Kitchen, bathroom and living/bed room. Her kitchen really is that tiny.

Thanks, I thought I must have gone mad, because it looks small!

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

Today I'm doing a big yorkshire with onions/herbs and some stuffing balls and beans.

Got to use up the onions and half a tin of beans.... and I need comfort food as it's cold... and the oven being on will give me some heat..... and it's Sunday so time for a big meal.

We gave in yesterday and turned an electric heater on upstairs. I had a bad day health wise yesterday and couldn't temperature regulate at all so was shaking with cold and then baking up through the night before. DH just said it was stupid and plugged the heater in.

(I'm much better today I think I had let my fluids get too low as I was quite dehydrated too and the old brain was bashing around like an underground rave). I'm probably excited by a big day out coming up.

Generali

Hi All. Sorry I've been away for a bit. I've had some thinking to do which has come to a conclusion. I'll let you in on the results in a while.

All well in the Generali household really. Generalissimo #1 trod on a sewing needle a few weeks back which snapped off inside his foot. He then walked around with it in his foot for a month afterwards until the second visit to the doctor prompted an x-ray. He's now hobbling around on crutches and being pushed in a wheelchair with a semi-plastered leg. 3 days off school and half a needle in a jar which he is looking forward to showing off. He's remarkably cheerful with it although he gets tired easily with the crutches walking.

I took him to the local shopping centre as a cheap pastime we have is looking round toy and electronics shops, buying nothing. It's amazing how nice people are when you're pushing a wheelchair! I might get one for him to use for Xmas shopping. I felt pretty guilty when people well into their 80s were jumping out of the way and apologising. It's amazing how many shops you simply can't get a wheelchair through though, and this was just a kid's one. I took great pleasure in knocking their displays over and shouting a cheery apology over my shoulder. Trashing the new Xmas display in a video games store was a highlight.

The bush fires are getting bad here. There were even fires at the Olympic Park (Homebush) by the 'Aquatic Centre' (swimming pool). 40-100 cars went up depending on who you ask:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-13/fires-burn-out-of-control-at-fingal-bay-and-salt-ash/5019246

There were 2 kids' sports carnivals there so there could have been a far worse outcome. Thankfully only property was damaged. What a downer though. You work hard to get to a Representative level for swimming, and those guys really put the effort in, and then you have to be locked in the pool complex while dad's car burns down with your luggage inside. Gutted.

Sorry, I'm too lazy to catch up. Congrats to NDG. I feel bad for anyone who's had bad stuff happen and I celebrate with those who have had good stuff happen.

lostinrates

Oh gen, how worrying for you and mrs gen. Hopefully she is all better and her lungs are back t full strength?

Kids can be remarkably stoic. . Chipper is a bonus.

Generali

lostinrates wrote: »

Oh gen, how worrying for you and mrs gen. Hopefully she is all better and her lungs are back t full strength?

Kids can be remarkably stoic. . Chipper is a bonus.

Yup, she finally seems to have gotten over it. The all clear for lung damage came though a while back but it's taken a further few weeks for her to stop being constantly exhausted.

I feel sorry for my daughter actually. Her brother has had this huge fuss made of him and she's been left out. I made sure I took her out this afternoon, just me and her. We went to the Club and she got to have a go in the fancy paid-for kids play area, eat ice cream and mess about with the pool table.

vivatifosi

Generali wrote: »

Hi All. Sorry I've been away for a bit. I've had some thinking to do which has come to a conclusion. I'll let you in on the results in a while.

I did wonder Gen when you posted in the wider world but not here. I hope that whatever you decided works out well for you. I'm sure all of the NPs feel the same.

PasturesNew

I can never explain big discussions.... ever. I get tangled, then it all gets out of hand and I find I am in the middle of a discussion I didn't start having.... and I can't even say that right.

Doozergirl

If you're stillinterested PN, this article is quite descriptive of her flat and how she lived. No floor plans though.
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-03-19/meet-rachel-khoo-star-of-the-little-paris-kitchen

Don't worry about it though, PN. People are passionate about different things. If somebody wants to make space for a particular purpose, they will. She is passionate about food and cooking for people, not just herself.

Fwiw, when it comes to cooking, I am motivated by cooking for others. During the day, I tend not to feed myself very well because there is no one to share with. Sometimes I will do fresh fish as no one else is all that keen. If I were by myself all the time, I'd still have to treat myself sometimes to properly cooking and cheat with pre-prepped veg, but I'd probably eat M&S meals and take away curry.

Cooking is a labour of love and dinner is an event for me. I try to insist that we all eat together even if that means waiting for the last one to come home. A small kitchen wouldn't stop me. I've got a three burner hob because it looks nice. It's perfecty manageable as I have a big pot with steaming levels - in fact I only use two rings now. Home food tastes better all in one pot, imo.