the other stuff

Well, Apple released something I want but don't need. And can't afford. I think I predicted something like this.

I'm going to Belfast to cook for the multi-talented Jo and her mates this weekend. I haven't done a proper dinner party in ages, so am hugely excited. And Jo loves good food. It's always nice to cook for people that genuinely love good food. I hope her friends love good food. I'm sure they do. If they don't, they're going to get some anyway. It's all part of this wine tasting thing. It's an experiment. To do a food & wine matching dinner at someone's house. Cuz I think I could do that as a side thing. Maybe. When I'm not writing novels. Decent wine in Belfast though? In any case I've been running through recipes running from the ridiculous to the sublime and think I've got the right ideas. Keep it simple but good. Cookbooks are wonderful and dreadful all at the same time. So many ideas, so little time, skill etc.

Writing is becoming compulsive and my notebooks, when I don't lose them, are essential whenever I leave the house. For hardcore output, the keyboard seems better but for new ideas, the inspiration comes from the notebooks. Weird. The novel and short stories are battling it out at the moment. The novel's winning as it's more fun to write new stuff than to transcribe from the notebooks (for some reason the short stories all start in the notebooks).

I've started reading Don Quixote. It's remarkable.