Food for thought

It's been a fairly quiet week here in Leipzig. Chris is away in the States so I've been spending a bit of time alone with Mr Pablo doing boring things like accounting. I'm also working on a presentation for a client back in Australia and recipe testing quite a bit. I've been thinking about releasing a small e-book of recipes that I've been teaching and/or developing, preferably in Deutsch and English. 

My German classes starting in the first week of September and will be Monday-Friday, four hours a day. It'll be a challenge as I don't have a natural affinity for language but I miss the ability to communication with people on more than a superficial level. As someone who's worked from home for many years I like spending time in chit chat, at the shops, coffee shop, post office etc. It sounds superficial, but when this I keenly miss this kind of interaction. 

I've also changed the name of my blog. Basically I am trying to put all the things I'm doing a bit more under one banner to make it easier and it seemed to make sense to rename the blog also. I've also started a Facebook page to link everything together.

I've also started up a Craft and Cocktails group here in Leipzig. Crafting seems to be popular from people I've spoken to (you can even get fairly involved crafting supplies at department stores) but there's no real visible, organised crafting community. There's a shop that does knitting classes and various practicing artists studios and plenty of art exhibitions but not things like craft markets and gatherings. In Melbourne I went to a fortnightly craft group and really enjoyed it. Hence my desire to start something here in Leipzig. I think it might take a while to kick off, but I think it could be something great. Our first event was small but fun. 

My other venture is the Apartment Supper Club. I've always loved shows like Come Dine With Me  for a bit of fun and I'm hoping this kicks off. There are over 30 supper clubs and underground restaurants in Berlin but none in Leipzig, so fingers crossed. It's a little hard to work out the marketing but hoping there's so interest. I was thinking of making a flyer to put around all the hotels and backpackers? There's very little tourist resources here in English (at least from what I have seen) so it might prove appealing. Likewise a flyer for the craft group might be a good idea. 

I'm off to Berlin on Sunday to hang out with my friend Kate and visit flea markets. Really keen to get some vintage crockery and linens as I sold off 99% of my collection back in Australia. 

Other things:

I'm propogating some succulents on the windowsill (we have no balcony).

Taking a few pics around town

Working on my patchwork quilt, as you can see I've got a bit to go! It's always good to have an excuse to buy fabric isn't it? Especially vintage fabric from ebay. 

I guess like many people, I am deeply sad by the death of Robin Williams. Suicide devastates so many lives and leaves irrepairable damage to friends and family. I'm writing a bit more about this but I'm not sure if I'll put it on this blog. That said, the one thing I have found wonderful about Robin's death is the sheer number of people speaking openly and honestly about mental health, depression and grief. Powerful stuff. 

Things I'm reading:

Richard Marx hates my guts, Edward McClelland, Salon

Expose: shedding light on collective beauty (NSFW), The Militant Baker

You’re 16. You’re a Pedophile. You Don’t Want to Hurt Anyone. What Do You Do Now?, Luke Malone, Medium

You and me on a sunny day, Rocky Mc Corkle, Medium 

The most wanted man in the world, Wired