[Not] In My Kitchen

This past month has seen me mostly OUT of my kitchen (as well as off my blog) – mainly travelling or, when not travelling, keeping my head stuck in a book and my fingers clattering on the computer keyboard. When I have other distractions or am blinded by research tunnel vision, the kitchen is not one of the places you will find me. Pity, since I do enjoy puttering around making bread, risottos, soups, creating pasta dishes from whatever I can cull from the larder. Recently, in my travels, I saw something that epitomised my present position. It was a plaster cast of an ancient funerary monument, obviously dedicated to the woman of the house. The cast depicted the clasped hands of a couple – the female identified by the bracelet – and the accoutrements of the lady of the house – a key (the chatelaine), an upright loom with a stool in front of it, a scroll with a pen and ink pot. Obviously, the lady of the house engaged in needlework and literary endeavours. Missing, of course, was anything to do with the kitchen.

My own endeavours over the month have not included needlework, but they did begin with books in the British Library.

London was dreary, but it does have its moments. The view from my window looking out at the dome of the British Museum at dusk. At the end of a cold wet day spent, for the most part, in a warm library.

A little later in the month, I was looking out another window in different part of the world. Weather had definitely improved – sunny, clear, but still cool.

This was the view from one of the turret windows of the White Tower of Thessaloniki. I’ve passed this monument many times, but this was the first time I went up to the top. Definitely too many stairs, but the view was worth it.

Perhaps later in the month I’ll be back in my kitchen and perhaps more active on the blog, too.

A monthly IMK (In My Kitchen) post. Check out other IMK bloggers, each of us writing about what’s been happening in our kitchens each month, hosted by Sherry @ Sherry’s Pickings. Earlier IMK posts can be found on former IMK host blogs: Liz @ Bizzy Lizzys Good Things, Maureen @ The Orgasmic Chef) and the fabulous Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial who began the IMK phenomenon. A chronological listing of my In My Kitchen blog posts can be found on a separate page, just click the link or look under the heading of Diaries in the Menu bar above.