Real? Day 20 #100daysofwriting

I actually hit something with my car tonight. I keep writing about it and deleting it. It was small, like smaller than a cat. It appeared to be oval and black. It darted in front of me, I heard a thump and then nothing. I drove up and down, peering into the dark rain for the body; but nothing.

Did it dart? Or did it blow? Was it even an animal? Was it nothing?

I felt bad. A police van drove past with sirens wailing while I drove slowly down the road. I felt like I'd committed a crime.
I wish I didn't feel so awful. If I'd found a pet I was fully prepared to take it to the vet. I'd imagined the plastic bags, the apologies. I tried to do right. But what if I did no wrong in the first place?

I really should sleep.

Sharona's Make It Better Curry #100creativedays Day 37

It was one of those days...

I wore horrible trousers - loose at the waist and toit at the thigh... Leaving me waddling around like Justin Bieber with a poo in his nappy.

I'm also trying to leave my hair loose, but by the end of the day I wanted to shave my head... How does anyone maneuver with a handbag and laptop bag with a flowing mane over their shoulders?
I pulled my own hair waaaay too many times today.

Then the normal stuff of cold weather, hungry tummies, car issues, nagging people, money worries, a huge angry pimple... Blah blah blah.

As soon as I got home I tied my hair up, got rid of the horrible trousers, whisked off the strapless bra that had been sagging all day (sorry, didn't mention that before)... Once I was clad in the pj pants, uggs and a huge hoodie... I felt human again.

Then dinner. The Squire was wrestling with a broken down car and I'd promised him Nandos... But our resident Nandos is under renovation. Now in my snuggle uniform I had no intention of hitting Spar... So I needed to make a plan. I decided to attempt a chicken curry... It came out soooo well!!! Squire was very very impressed!

So how did I do it?

I had ready grilled chicken breasts (with Dukan we usually have cooked chicken handy), so I just chopped them roughly into chunks. Chunks got a light fry in a blob of margarine just to brown them, a squirt of honey for a bit of caramelized flavour. Then I liberally added: smoked paprika (YES PLEASE), curry powder, cayenne pepper, rosemary and cinnamon. Once beautifully coated in flavour, I added some plain yoghurt and let it simmer into a gorgeous curry sauce.

I might have added some chutney, coriander and a few other Indian spices had I had them handy.

You could totally add onion, carrots, chickpeas etc. Serve with papadums, pita, rice... Or just on it's own for a Dukan protein friendly dinner!

And I'm claiming double creative points for inventing a recipe and writing about it!

CART HORSE

This post has nothing to do with horses... other than the fact that I feel like my car is a very sick, lame cart horse... and it's high time that he went to "the farm".

I'm at my wits end - I should have let them write off my Uno when I crashed it. The excess was over 3 grand. And now my car is back in hospital with a host of issues that may or may not have something to do with hitting the engine end into another car. My mechanic seemed to think the engine may have shifted due to the accident, so I phoned my insurance, then he changed his mind. Cue me throwing my hands dramatically into the air. This is bound to be more thousands. I neeeeeed to sell this car. I need to bite the bullet and buy a very young car. The poor Uno is 19 years old, and has been mine for over 8 years.

He's been pretty abused while living with me. Not always by me. Twice he's been damaged by people trying to steal him. I've crashed him once into a car. Early on I spun him twice (no damage to him, just to my nerves). I managed to drive very hard into a raised yet grass-concealed drain and bashed a hole in the gear box (that was 8 years ago and I haven't lived it down). He's run out of petrol, he's dropped pieces of brake, his central locking has been temperamental, once his windows wouldn't open. Far too many people in my life have pushed him. Once he rolled into a garden (more serious than it sounds). He's carted the sick and the drunk. Once I fell asleep in the front seat, in my parking bay after a long night out. He's been filled with balloons, sprinkled with sea sand, I've laughed and sung along with the radio, I've balled my eyes out on to his steering wheel. I've changed his spark plugs myself and avoided changing his tires.

I need to end off now, I'm feeling pretty emotional. How do I let go?