Out and about art

My dad used to develop his own photos circa 1980. 

CUBE HOUSES, ROTTERDAM 

Portrait of  Marie Jeanette de Lange - Jan Toorop (1900) 

“Marie Jeanette de Lange chaired the Vereeniging voor Verbetering van Vrouwenkleding (Association for the improvement of Women’s Clothing), which championed hygienic, loose-fitting, natural clothing that allowed women greater freedom of movement. In February 1900 she posed at home, dressed comfortably, for Jan Toorop. Using tiny dots of colourful paint, he created a sparkling portrait of a modern woman on the threshold of a new century.”

catalogue drawing seen in Magritte Museum, Brussels 

The cool and calm

Alfred Hitchcock, 1964

Last year when I came back from travelling, my neighbour said ‘well, you must have been doing it on the cheap’, and wondered at how I could afford it. 

Odd comment aside, this is true. Of course I stayed in some shocking accommodations and returned with no money.  

‘Worst arrival experience’ prize can be given to the hostel pictured. With a modern art museum looking hallway in a bright yellowish green colour, the sense of unease crept in. When I burst into the dorm, it was empty of people... but not of cold meats.

I have lots of time... we’re talking unemployed levels of time. 

In finding the job hunt unsatisfying and unyielding, I have tried to use my time to think about Bramley apples instead. Autumn (and Isaac Newton) brought the great drop. Apples upon apples covered the yard and begun rotting into cider on the grass. 

So here is a list of what I did with my foraged finds, so I can remember to do it again. 

I saved what I could in a cold shed before getting started on the chutneys. First there was an apple and date chutney that will make you pucker and then a Christmassy spiced chili and apple. Delicious! I gave away lots of jars as a cheap gift. 

Of course, there were the crumbles. Have you heard there’s a stall in the borough market that charges £9 for apple crumble?!?!? I made it three wildly different ways while my cousin was staying with me from Australia. I can’t remember how I like it but I reckon any way is a safe bet.

My 2 year old niece has a DEATHLY egg allergy. It turns out applesauce makes a good egg substitute for cakes and things, so I made a giant batch of it and froze it into egg-size portions (1/4 cup). This has felt pretty genius as we are frequently out of eggs.  

The crowning glory was the fruit leather. Its not for everyone (not for anyone in my family, it turns out), but it IS for me. I have great memories of fruit leather stalls on the side of the roads when I was a kid. Chewy and delicious.