Born in the Fifties which makes me?…..mmmm I will let you do the maths. I was the eldest of three girls and the tomboy….my sisters loved dolls and pushing other peoples babies up and down the street…I still ask myself why?? I much prefered climbing trees, camping out and spending all my school holidays on my granddad’s farm…My grandmother taught me how to cook on her aga and I suppose that was where my love of cooking started…Singing in the church choir was also a passion of mine as is playing the piano.

I was an avid reader and writer even then, my school teachers must have really cringed as I used to write pages and pages…I sometimes wish I still had my school books but I think they must have just got thrown away at some point …As I grew older my aunt suggested I keep a diary and I still do to this day …Leaving school for college I never really settled or found anything that I really wanted to do except write and my father did not consider that to be a job. He really just thought girls got married and had babies so I did.

In between bringing up our children my husband passed away and also some close family members and I lost two very dear friends who I still miss terribly, I completed a marathon all 26.2 miles with two of my daughters. Learning beckoned again and back to college I went to do Law…I just love learning and researching and of course, writing. I also met my second husband who humours me …He has always been very supportive of anything I have done and is a great dad to my kids. The children grew up and took their own very successful paths in life and now have families of their own…Life has a habit of just carrying on, doesn’t it?

Retirement then beckoned for my hubby and of course, I was getting pretty disillusioned with the rat race so decided I would take early retirement.

That was when we decided to not only think outside the box but throw it away and do some travelling.

I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.  I love shopping at local markets and wherever I am I search out the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetables ones I have never seen or cooked with.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I am using have which may improve our health and well-being.

I am also very much into the environment and am concerned about our Oceans and fisheries and about all the preservatives and processed foods and am an advocate about cooking from scratch and growing our own food where or when we can even a few pots or a window box for herbs is a start.

I wish everyone would count chemicals and not calories they would much healthier…it’s true we are what we eat and while a cake or a bar of chocolate does no harm on occassions to stick to a healthy balanced diet will keep our bodies healthy as we age…

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

2019 brought about many changes to the direction of my blog and our personal life… such as growing our own Turkeys having had two past Christmases when I couldn’t buy one here. The black chickens are a new addition we started with just two and now I have lost count. Next on the horizon maybe pigs and/or maybe a cow. We have planted a few more trees Durian, Coconut and Banana for starters.

And here we are now a few months into 2020…

My interest in the environment has gone up a level partly due to an increase in media coverage and also because of my research into the environment I very much feel that plastic and pollution of the air we breathe and our waterways are becoming more important …I also feel that governments do not do enough they need to step up as do we as individuals we need to be aware of what is going on and also be more responsible for our own health and the environment. Changes need to start with us from within ourselves and our own homes…

COVID-19 has brought about many changes to our lifestyles and the environment…my dream is that manufacturers and governments and people will heed all of this and make changes sooner rather than later…Be well and stay safe.

Thank you for reading my about page if you have any questions at all then please ask I invite you to comment on my blogs… I just love to chat…

I can also be found on the links below:-

https://twitter.com/CarolCooksTwo

http://www.facebook/carol.taylor.1422

https://in.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/

Thank you for reading I hope to see you soon x