I ate some porridge

Hello there!

This morning I managed to tick off this month's goal of "Try new food". And I picked a food that would be a huge challenge - porridge. I have been a fussy eater since childhood. My Mum was very laid-back with food and didn't force us to eat anything, which would probably have worked well with some kids, but not me. One christmas, I had a plate of mashed potato.

My big problem (along with many other smaller ones) has always been with sloppy, mushy foods. I used to have Weetabix every day and if I poured slightly too much milk into the bowl and it got mushy, I couldn't eat it. I developed a weird thing where I would always start retching on the last 2 mouthfuls. Rice pudding and porridge are two things that I decided I would never eat.

Until today. Admittedly, it wasn't the success I had hoped for. I only ate one spoonful and had to steel myself in order not to heave it back up. It actually tasted okay but the texture was horrific. I'm thinking I should try it a few more times and maybe my aversion to sloppy food will be overcome.

Afterwards, I sat thinking how bizarre it is that the idea of a comedian I have never met had just led to me doing something I would never have dreamed of doing before. That's a terribly worded sentence, but the message remains! I would have continued through life having never tasted porridge.

So, what to pick for next month? My boyfriend has nominated uncooked cheese. I can eat cheese melted on pizza or toast or within a burrito, but I have never managed a proper bite of what I call "raw cheese". I even gag at cheese that's half melted, so this will be a challenge. But that can wait until April. Before then I have to eat more porridge.

In other TYSIC news, last night I finished reading "Go Tell it on the Mountain" by James Baldwin, which takes the total of "Top 100 Modern Novels" read to 39. At some point I'll put up the list. It was a harrowing tale and brought me close to tears at one point, which I rate highly in a novel. I found John's conversion bizarre though. I felt like his story was just starting and didn't feel satisfied at the end. The characters were strong though.

In unrelated news, I managed to turn my hair orange yesterday. I bought one of those kits that are meant to give subtle light tones to your hair. Instead, I am left with chunks of brassy orangey blonde. I had originally wanted to put pink streaks in but decided on the subtle option, but now I'll have to put the pink in to cover up the mess. I ordered it yesterday, which means I have to work at least one evening with terrible hair, possibly two. Still, it's nowhere near as bad as when I bleached my black hair and got a whole head of orange. :-)

Cheerio! Amy. xxx