One of the interesting developments of having my own place, rather than living in other people’s spaces, is that I feel like I own it. I actually like staying in my place; my place still feels a little like a hotel but it is developing its own character. An odd side effect and I don’t know if it’s related, is that my desire for travel doesn’t seem to be as strong at the moment. It’s as if, staying in my place is a sort of destination of its own for me. I’m heading off to Mexico in July for work and I just can’t seem to get in the mood for it – consequently I’m only attaching a week’s holiday instead of longer. Oddish.

All my life, whether it was living with mum, or living with dad, or living with friends, living with partner, or living in the house I shared with dad (after he died), I’ve lived in the space of others. All my life has been spent going out rather than staying in: I visit others, I dine with others, I hang out with others; I inhabit spaces that are not my own. I rarely invite people back to my place, or if I do, it’s a space to meet before heading out to other spaces.

Last Saturday night I hosted a dinner party at my place. I suspect it was my first. The initial plan had been to show off my place to old friends and then head into Newtown for dinner. However the weather was looking cold and wet. Plus I’d been practicing a new dish after someone told me how to make thai green curry. It was really simple and I’d cooked it several times, changing bits each time. So I figured, buggrit, let’s stay in. And we did. I bought some nice cheeses and a friend made a pavlova. Though I had to quadruple the recipe, a wrinkle was that having practiced cooking for one, suddenly I had to cook for four.

Amusingly, I accidentally bought chives instead of coriander. There was no label in that section of the grocer’s and I guessed wrong :-) My curry included chicken (on my first attempt I used lamb which also worked fine), various veges I chopped up, coconut cream and water, thai green curry paste and a little chilli paste (not too much due to the palates of the guests alas). All in a pot and simmer for 20 minutes. Plus rice.

It all went swimmingly. I felt relaxed not nervous and they were old, and forgiving, friends. I even had leftovers to stick in the freezer. Definitely have the confidence to keep going. And I liked entertaining people in my space, rather than being the source of entertainment :-)

Tonight I plan to do a stewy soup as filmfest gets underway tomorrow. I’m going to cook enough for 4-5 meals, have one tonight and consume the rest over the coming days…in the gap between work and movie. I’ve bought a few tins of tomato soup, some diced lamb, a bunch of veges including carrot and onions and potatoes and zucchini and something I haven’t identified yet. All will go into the pot and I shall keep my fingers crossed that something tasty emerges.