Updated

Blog list updated - I had to do it early as I am not going to have internet access now till 5th September. I had a problem - there was a tie for first place! I chose to put Sarah top because she went to Wetherby. Don't know why that makes her go top but it does! There were an awful lot of zero's this time, but congratulations to Claire who made the biggest improvement!

Pink!

...It had to be done!

Things that I find Amazing – Part 1: The Effect of Heat. (See 1st post below!)

Ok, so I am sure there are some very scientific reasons for this, and I am sure I will probably sound a little bit dense when I say this, but I do find it amazing so here goes:

I went to visit a friend of mine at the weekend, and this friend happens to be an all round brilliant hostess. She cooked a roast dinner for us on Sunday, which was delicious – but feeling bad leaving her in the kitchen on her own for that long I decided to see if I could help out. I was given the task of stirring the gravy – (a very important job I’ll have you know – who likes lumpy gravy?!). For a long time I was just stirring away, until gradually I began to notice the gravy getting thicker. Now I know that this is because of the effect of heat on the flour, but I just suddenly realised how amazing that was. How brilliant that heat can change the properties of something!

But it doesn’t only happen with gravy! Oh no! Heat makes cakes rise, and turn from a thick liquid type substance into beautifully fluffy sponge, it turns a bunch of fatty but delicious ingredients into caramel, and so much more!

I am all for science teaching us the reasons how this happens, but what science can’t tell me is why! It can tell me something about how molecules move around, or join or whatever it is they do, but it doesn’t tell us who told heat to do that to things, it doesn’t tell us why heat decided to move those molecules – just that it did. Why did heat end up with the ability to do this? What made flour have these properties? I know it’s a very little thing, but I find it a little bit mind blowing! It speaks to me so clearly of a designer. Someone who thought all that out and knew that heat would be useful for cooking and baking and making really nice things. How did he think in such minute detail? Isn’t it incredible?!

Things I find amazing

If you look to the right, you will hopefully see a new link list called, 'Things I find Amazing.' I often have these occurances in life where I notice something quite usual - something we use every day and take for granted, and yet when you really take time to think about it, it is incredible. I love finding these things. It is something my friend Mel and I used to think about a lot when we were at Uni. Others thought (probably quite rightly), that we were mad, but I can't seem to stop doing it. When i thought of one the other day, it made me feel so peaceful - so looked after, that I thought I ought to record these things somewhere. So i have chosen to start a new blog with these little thoughts on it. I am going to copy them to my main blog as well to start with so no need to read it twice, but I wanted to start it as a seperate blog for two reasons:

1. So that I had a record of them that I didn't have to search through for ages to find
2. In case anybody else ever did this, and fancied writing to the blog too. If you do, let me know and I will add you as a co-author.

Anyway - thought I would explain myself a little. The first part will follow shortly...

Oliver

I couln't let the opportunity pass to share this photo with you. Call me a proud aunty if you will but HOW CUTE IS MY NEPHEW?!?!?!!!

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The other day during a conversation, I listened to someone practically scream, 'who am I?' I realsied that this was a question which has come up in numerous blogs and poems etc over the last year or so; and yet I have to admit, that in spite of all that discussion, I am still no closer to discovering who I really am.

I am a very very analytical person, particularly when it comes to myself - my attitudes, my feelings, my thoughts, my motivations, my decisions - I could go on! And yet I don't really know myself. For me, the poem below sums it up:

I don’t know what I’m good at, Or even what I’m not.
I don’t know what my gifts are, or which ‘gifts’ aren’t so hot.
I don’t know when I feel indifferent, or where passions lie.
I don’t know what I’m meant to do, or when I should decline.

I don’t know when I’m deceiving myself, I don’t know when I’m right.
I don’t know how to believe myself, or how to stop the fight.
I don’t know what my heart says, or what I truly feel.
I don’t know who I am inside, I don’t know what is real.

So my question - can we ever truly know ourselves? Can we ever be sure that what we say we feel or think is real? Is it possible to decieve yourself? Is it possible that you could have become so analytical that you don't even know what's real and what's not anymore?

Is it sometimes right to just go ahead and do something even if you are not sure its 'right', just because you are so tired of analysing it, and so confused by it all that you can't even distinguish anymore what is true and what is not?

Sometimes I think that other people know or understand me better than I do myself. Is that possible?

The Blog List...

Yes it has been updated!

Welcome back to Richard Wright who has succeeded in not only being back on the list but being somewhere near the top thanks to his recent blogging surge.

New additions are Cedric Hills and Jon Fuller, both of whom have great blogs. I recommend you check them out.

Having returned from her trip, Amy's blog has now ceased to function as has Keith Hall's so we say goodbye to them.

Matt White remains near the top despite the fact that many of his blogs are actually stolen from youtube.

That's all folks - make sure you check out the new additions!