Begin at the Beginning

I love Caitlin-pronounced-Catlin Moran. 

Hello, webby world!

I'm Jay. I live in the lovely city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, with my partner, our 3 kids and our many animals.

To the left is a photo of me meeting Caitlin Moran, who would TOTALLY be my best mate if we actually knew one another irl. As would Kathleen Turner.

For those people who like the census type details, I'm 44, white, of mixed heritage (well, born in the UK, raised in Canada and chose Yorkshire as my permanent home by age 22. Basically I have a wonky accent and an uncharacteristic love of hockey for a Yorkshirewoman). My partner Mark and I have been together since 6th form, which is either sweet and romantic or exhibits a staggering lack of imagination, depending on your perspective. 

When I was young I  meant to be CEO of a major company, travelling the world Business Class and writing novels in my spare time. And obviously being utterly fabulous at everything. Then I grew up. And, in a move that would have 16 year old me wetting herself laughing, I am drifting into being a kind of urban Jill Archer.

 I blame becoming a mother. It was when I was pregnant with our first baby that I decided 'Mums know how to bake so I'd better learn." Now I bake for a living.

Have a gingerbread man. Go on, I insist. 

That was just the start. There were all sorts of other things I thought clumsy people like me couldn't possibly do. I can't even drive a car or touch type,I realised I was not trying lots of things because I'd assumed I'd be terrible at them. Who wants to live like that? So I changed my mindset and I have a go at pretty much anything. Almost despite myself I've learnt to love sewing, knitting, growing fruit and veg, making preserves and keeping chickens.

I'm blogging my attempts - both successes and failures  - to learn new skills in all sorts of aspects of my life. 

Sometimes I'll run through how to do stuff I've got the hang of already; sharing skills is one of my favourite things. I've learnt from friends, neighbours, other bloggers and books and I love being part of the cycle of shared knowledge. 

Other times I'll photograph and blog new things I'm trying to work out how to do. This may occasionally go a bit wrong. Think about it this way - if I know how to do it I'll share it with you and if I don't, I'll tell you what went wrong so you can avoid the same mistakes.

I fail so you don't have to.

Hmm, perhaps not the best recommendation in the world.

Jay x