Dear diary...

Since I started teaching, my love of sketching and drawing had to take a back seat and did so for many years. As a child, I sketched endlessly and my works of ‘art' were strewn everywhere.  In a bid to reignite this passion my younger sister bought me this incredible visual journal as a present:

You are required to draw one sketch a day, for a whole year.  I recently completed this and the process of looking back at the year's drawings brings me such childish delight.  Many of my pictorial representations of the day are related to my teaching but here is a sample of all sorts of daily visual gems:

Why not try something like this?  You could even ask a different student a day to create a sketch; imagine a whole wall filled with a year's worth of their creations.  Now that would be masterpiece!

Accessorising my pasta...

So this is my third food post in a row which perfectly highlights my preoccupation with food. I mean, you'd think us teachers spent the morning's lessons daydreaming about our lunches (ahem). I accessorised another pasta dish (I had already mixed in a tomato and olive stir-in sauce) with green olives, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and quorn fajita strips.  The end result was a humble dish that had been ‘blinged' and elevated in the taste stakes.  Yum.

Homemade heaven...

This homemade pasta sauce comprises 5 ingredients only.  Here is a nice ‘arty' photo of said ingredients (minus the salt):

I cut the mushrooms into quarters and the pepper into strips.  All of the vegetables were cooked together and the passata (sieved and puréed tomatoes) was added last.  This mixture was gently simmered until the desired consistency was reached.  Then salt was added to taste.  Stir in some pasta and you have a disgustingly healthy lunch.